-Taped from Indianapolis, Indiana
-Your hosts are of course various members of the Chikara roster and staff
-Kobald screams to the point of being annoying. He’s says they’re unstoppable since joining up with Ophidian, and he promises victory at King of Trios. Ophidian is in control of the Batiri as per the orders of Delirious.
Match in Five Words or Less: King Of Trios Favorites
Match Highlights: Soldier Ant and combatANT get into a shoving match beforehand. Soldier Ant is ordered to the apron. He stands on the floor. combatANT confronts him. What exactly is stopping Soldier Ant from simply beating him up. Kobald begins with deviANT as Soldier Ant goes back to the floor. Boots from Kobald. Lucha roll into the cover by deviANT. Kobald with a series of strikes. Forearm againt by deviANT. Kobald roll-up gets two. Kobald up and over. deviANT hits a flatliner in the corner. Kobald sent in the corner. Hard tag to Soldier Ant. Kobald sent into the top turnbuckle. Running back elbow. deviANT sends Kobald down in the corner. Soldier Ant is not happy and exits the ring. Forearms from combatANT. Boot by Kobald. Kodama with a series of kicks. Headbutts. Whip reversed. Back elbow by Kodama. Another back elbow off the middle rope. He brings combatANT up by the antennas. Cover for two. combatANT hits a stalling vertical suplex. Strike exchange. Kodama cross bodies combatANT and they both head out. Obaryion and Soldier Ant enter. Samoan drop by Soldier Ant. He argues with deviANT. Dropkick by Obaryion. Batiri double team Soldier Ant. Soldier Ant flips out. Powerslam on Obaryion. Kodama sent head first into the turnbuckle. Chop. Back elbow off the middle rope. Headbutt. Obaryion with a short strike. Heat segment on Soldier Ant. Forearm as Soldier Ant begins his comeback. Clotheslines for everyone. Discus forearms. And he salutes. Kobald connects on a spear. Kobald takes the other Swarm members out. Knee to the back of the head on the way down on Soldier Ant. The same finish as in Milwaukee is good enough to get the Batiri a win.
Match Analysis: The finish of this match pretty came out of nowhere, and this angle continues to drag on. I just don’t get Soldier Ant’s presence within the Swarm. I understand the need to want to win wrestling matches, but what’s the point if you keep losing those matches and hate your partners so much? On the plus side, Chikara has done an excellent job building up the Batiri has favorites for King of Trios with a series of victories leading into the big weekend. Okay match. Not a great opener.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: The Batiri/9:45/**1/4/**
Match in Five Words or Less: Donst Wins!
Match Highlights: These two met six days earlier in Reading, but this should be closer to a “real” match. Donst is moping in the corner as a depressed Jakob Hammermeier is moping on commentary. Saturyne calls for a test of strength. Donst grabs her by the hair. Pair of dropkicks. Donst avoids a third one. Armdrag by Saturyne. One footed dropkick. Top rope rana. Leapfrog. Into an octopus. Tilt a whirl backbreaker by Donst. Backbreaker from the apron to the floor. Saturyne tossed back in the ring. Donst tears her down by the hair. More hair pulling as he holds her down by the hair. Crossface elbow. Donst tears her down by the hair. Into the ropes. Donst pulls his usual shenanigans. Saturyne low bridges the middle rope and Donst ends up on the floor. She ducks a sweep and hits an armdrag. Springboard cross body to the floor. Unfortunately, she can’t lift him off the floor. The members of the Chikarmy help her out. Chivalry. Chikara Special. Donst won’t give and kicks away. Roll-up gets two. Ridiculous bucklebomb. STDonst. Up and down goes Saturyne. From Dusk ‘til Donst and Saturyne taps almost immediately.
Match Analysis: Thankfully, this got a little bit more time than the first match. Donst actually winning against a rookie makes sense. I wonder if this leads to the start of a win streak or is merely a way to continue Donst’s descent into madness.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Tim Donst/5:36/**/**1/2
-Lancelot Bravado is wrestling The Mysterious and Handsome Stranger. He says Stranger isn’t anywhere near as handsome. Meanwhile, Stranger is walking around and making random noises in the background. That was wacky.
Match in Five Words or Less: Bravado Goes Solo
Match Highlights: Very interesting to see Chikara throwing the Bravados into singles matches. Other than a Tommaso Ciampa squash in Ring of Honor, I can’t think of a singles match I’ve seen either one of them in. Code of honor followed. Bravado teases going after Stranger’s hat. Them’s fightin actions. Basic start. Back elbow by Bravado. To the bag goes Mr. Bravado. He puts the hat on! Stranger chases him around. Trip sends Bravado down. Stranger puts the hat on and rides him like a horse. Stranger holds the gun up. Time for a duel. Bravado tries taking a cheap shot. Stranger draws and hits an STO. Spinning toe hold blocked and Stranger hits the post hard. He’s holding his left shoulder on the floor as Bravado comes out. Stranger sent into the post again. Stomp across the back. Hammerlock. Stranger elbows away. Bravado. Bravado hip tosses Stranger up and over to the floor. Bravado tosses him back. Armdrag into an armbar. Stranger works out of the hold. Running boot by Bravado. Bravado continues working the arm. Big punt as it lays prone on the middle rope. Big right hand by Stranger. Stalling atomic drop. Clothesline. 1-2-NO! Double axehandle off three of the four corners. He puts the hat on for number four. Bravado steps out of the way and applies a fujiwara armbar. Elbow by Stranger. Big boot. He preps the lasso. Bravado brought in. Front Russian legsweep. Leg drop misses. Bravado hits a shoulder breaker. Bravado goes to the bag and gets attacked. Spinning toe holds from Stranger. Bravado taps.
Match Analysis: Lancelot Bravado showed a lot of poise in this match. This was not the greatest match of all time, but I walked away thinking he could be a solid singles wrestler down the road. Stranger continues to excel in his role and I love the fact that they’ve pushed him immediately. Bringing in a “new guy” and having him so thoroughly dominate can be a really great idea sometimes.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: The Mysterious and Handsome Stranger vs. Lancelot Bravado/11:55/***/***
Match in Five Words or Less: Quack Snaps
Match Highlights: Jigsaw comes out clearly limping. Quack sneaks from behind and goes to work on both members of the Gekido. He quickly clears the ring of them. Tope con helo on both men. 17 and Shard sent into each other. Quack breaks out an asai moonsault. Jigsaw remains in the ring and awaits Shard. Brainbuster countered. Shot to the back by Shard. Jigsaw tosses him down face first. Big kick but his knee is still hurt. Sunset flip. Kick to the side of the head. Back elbow on 17. Gory special. Double stomp by Quack. Submission hold applied with an emphasis on 17. Boot from 17. They spill to the floor. Shard superkicks Jigsaw’s injured knee. KneeDT. Punt to the injured knee. Choking in the corner and here comes 17 with a chop. Knee first into the apron. Elbow drop and Shard wrenches on him. Quack kicks him. Another KneeDT by 17. Quack with kicks. The man is nearly unhinged. Jigsaw with a chop. Jigsaw fights out of the corner. Shard enziguris him down. Wow. Jigsaw placed in the tree of woe. Dropkick misses and he hits his own knee on the turnbuckle. Quack and 17 become legal. Palm strike. Whip and a clothesline. Another clothesline. Whip. Back drop. Quack applies another leg submission. Shard dropkicks him. Quack taken outside. Shard goes for a cannonball but he bounces off the ramp. He literally bounced. Good God almighty. Quack puts his finger across his throat. He then decides to hit four straight Quackendrivers and refuses to pin him. The crowd is actually cheering for this as he’s doing it. Referee calls for a disqualification. How is that a disqualification? Quack didn’t go for a pinfall. Jigsaw is still hurt. Quack wrenches on the leg after the match. Jigsaw yells at Quack for what happened and asks if this is necessary. Wow. That was a pretty powerful moment there.
Quack whispers something in 17’s ear before exiting.
Match Analysis: It appears that Quack’s behavior, which really showed a dramatic shift back at High Noon, may be getting dark once again. His actions are not those of a virtuous babyface as his destroying 17 shows a rudo side we’ve not seen very often. The match was going along pretty well, but the ending really elevated this into something significant. The Gekido storyline has not been able to hold any interest for me until now. Quack turning rudo would be the pinnacle of Chikara and a fascinating turn of events considering where it would leave a number of people, particularly Jigsaw. My hunch is 17 is either done for good or out a long time after this beating.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: 17 and Shard/8:36/***/***1/2
Match in Five Words or Less: Redeeming The Weekend
Match Highlights: This is a rematch of sorts as both teams were in a four way. Neither team won so this is a chance for both teams to redeem themselves. Mat work to start. Frightmare with an armdrag. Another one off the ropes. Boot out of the corner by Cannon. Swinging neckbreaker. Double team work ends with dropkicks to Frightmare’s head. Frightmare placed in the tree of woe. Corbin with a sliding dropkick. Forearms. Whip in the corner. Step-up boot. Mantis also enters. Enziguri/chop combination. Mantis works the arm. Pair of back rakes. Clothesline misses. Mantis with a Lucha roll. Running boot misses. Corbin kicks him. Up and over. Mantis DDTs Corbin. Frightmare double axehandles Corbin. Up and over. Corbin drives Frightmare into his knees. Mantis blind tags. Slow mo! Frightmare boots Corbin. Headscissors on Cannon. Mantis double chops Corbin. Mantis boots Cannon. Headscissors by Frightmare. Rana on Corbin sends him outside. Running kick. Back elbow by Mantis. Sidewinder but Cannon breaks the count. Chinbreaker by Mantis on Corbin. Corbin gets an assisted sliced bread. 1-2-NO! Punch misses. DDT by Frightmare. Corbin catches Frightmare with a cutter. Double chops by Mantis. Corbin puts Frightmare on the top rope. Mantis chops him. Powerbomb. Frightmare with a double stomp the back. Big punch and superkick. Mantis rolls Cannon up, holds the tights, and gets three.
Match Analysis: This was a solid tag team sprint involving four very wrestlers. It was chaos after the slow mo in a good way. Very enjoyable. Not much else to say.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: The Spectral Envoy/8:18/**3/4/***
Match in Five Words or Less: Harlem Hangs Around
Match Highlights: The other half of the Bravados gets his chance, and boy howdy is this a doozy. Chikara tends to like to put in some younger guys with Kingston so they can get their butts handed to them. Fans are chanting random things, but they definitely don’t like Harlem Bravado. Harlem powders outside right away. Feeling out process as they start out on the mat. Shoulder tackle by Kingston. Overhead throw. Into the side headlock. Butterfly suplex into the bridge. Again to the headlock. Crowd loves headlocks tonight. Chop by Bravado. Kingston fires back with some of his own as they make their way around the ring. Headbutt. Kawada chops. Bravado reverses a whip. Kingston takes him up and over. Bravado rams the right knee into the post. Kingston’s right knee into the post. Follow-up stomp. Choking on the middle rope. Strike exchange. Chop block to the leg. Bravado ties the leg up and applies a modified figure four leglock. Kingston chops out. Chop exchange. Backfist misses. Another kick to the knee. Back drop driver but Bravado gets a sunset flip. STF! Bravado says he has until five. Kingston sends him down. Forearm battle. Big boot to the knee. Lge submission but Kingston grabs him in a sleeper. Kingston says forget it and chops him. Whip across. Boot out of the corner. Russian legsweep. Bravado goes to the top. Leaping palm strike by Kingston. Acecrusher off the top rope. Forearm. Back elbow. Punch to the face. Another hard chop. Elbows by Bravado. Chop. Kingston hits an overhead uranagi. LARIAT! 1-2-NO! Bravado low bridges him out. Knee strike from the apron to the floor. Dropkick off the middle rope to the knee. Running boot no sold by Kingston. Running bicycle kick does nothing. Swinging DDT. 1-2-NO! Figure four leglock. Kingston rolls over to the ropes. Small package by Kingston gets two. Back drop driver. Backfist to the future. Done.
Match Analysis: Nice to see Chikara give the Bravados great opportunities. Lance and Harlem are very different from a lot of indy wrestlers in that they don’t need to resort to dives but are just really solid mat wrestlers. The psychology of Harlem going after Kingston’s knee made perfect sense, and although he didn’t win, Harlem looked like a significantly stronger wrestler for having gone through this match. I liked this match a lot more than I thought. It’s a compliment to both men that they were able to have such a strongly, competitive bout and make it look credible.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Eddie Kingston/16:41/***1/4/***1/2
-Icarus says they have someone new to help them out. Sugar Dunkerton is their servant and waterboy. Boy, I do NOT like the connotations here.
Match in Five Words or Less: Increible Fun
Match Highlights: Icarus tortures everyone by taking his jacket off. The babyfaces feign going blind. Matthews tries dropkicking him out of anger. Icarus rolls outside. Chuck Taylor rings the bell. Matthews shoves Icarus down right away. Shoulder tackle connects. Pair of armdrags and a dropkick. Taylor and Green Ant come in next. We get some shenanigans with the ringer. Cravat by Green Ant. Roll-up for two. Blow to the back by Taylor. Reverse of the whip by Green Ant. Back elbow hits. Moonsault misses. Three punches in the corner. Taylor reverses and hits a series of forearms. Green Ant rolls. Hip toss. Taylor takes him up and over. Enziguri by Green Ant. Parker clotheslines him over. Dunkerton comes in to face Parker. Taylor rings the bell again. Leg kick by Dunkerton. Parker with one of his own. Series of kicks and they dance. They lock arms and continue dancing. Parker takes advantage and grabs the arm. Series of low fives and hip bump. Taylor and Icarus walk away. Taylor tries bringing a chair in the ring. Ophidian yells at Dunkerton. Fire Ant with an armdrag. Headscissors by Ophidian. Fire Ant with another armdrag. Octopus. Everyone slowly begins coming in and applying various holds. Parker grabbing Dunkerton’s hair is hilarious. Taylor has a grenade! Everyone immediately clears the ring. Taylor pulls it. Matthews eats it. It goes off in his stomach, and Matthews isn’t feeling so well. Green Ant brought in. Triple team boots. Dunkerton is absent. Green Ant with a takedown and ankle lock. Icarus makes the save. Short series of suplexes. Snapmare by Ophidian. Taylor comes running to the ring wearing a Green Ant mask. Why not? Dunkerton applies a headlock. Dunkerton headlocks Taylor. Stomps by Taylor as Icarus has a headlock. Green Ant up and over. Clothesline misses. Fire Ant with a kick to the side of the head. Cross body hits. Duck of the clothesline. Swinging DDT. Ophidian tosses Fire Ant out. Parker with forearms. Flying forearm. Double chops. Icarus knocked out of the ring. Taylor punches Parker. Double chops off the rope from Ophidian. Headbutts by Ophidian. Parker fights out of a hold. Kick from Ophidian. Headbutt in the back. Stomps by Taylor in the corner. Dropkick. Icarus with a double axehandle. Parker with jabs to the midsection. Rolling elbow. He has no partners in his corner. Matthews comes running back and comes in. Chops on Icarus. HEADSCISSORS! Ophidian comes in. HEADSCISSORS! Boot from Taylor. HEADSCISSORS! Poor Bryce Remsburg takes one too. Matthews covers. Dunkerton counts. Remsburg kicks out at two. Dunkerton points to his shirt. Taylor nails him from behind. Four feet of fury from FIST. Double stomp into the DVD. The ants have them each in a corner. Four feet of fury on both men. Ants Go Marching. 1-2-NO! Ophidian breaks the count and tosses Fire Ant out. Chop exchange. Ophidian with a nerve hold. Enziguri. Running knees thrice over. Parker with a short back suplex. Dunkerton with jabs. Matthews with a short clothesline. Soul Food. Icarus German suplexes Fire Ant. Splash by Green Ant. Drunk slam. Chikara Special: Green! Ophidian takes him out of the ring. Fire Ant dives on a bunch of people. Dunkerton with aspringboard dive. Tope con helo by Taylor. Green Ant with a dive of his own. Kick to the back of Ophidian. Double chops. Mist to the face of Dunkerton. Matthews tosses him out. Kick from Icarus. Pedigree blocked. Double lungblower. Parker covers and gets the win for his team.
Match Analysis: These eight man tags are always fun, and this was no exception. I liked the storyline parts that were included as Dunkerton and FIST can play these things off better than almost anyone. Great semi main.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: The Colony and 3.0/22:02/***1/2/***1/2
Match in Five Words or Less: His Super Bowl
Match Highlights: Great night for Beyond Wrestling considering where these two have had their chances to break out. ACH not touching the cup is a nice touch. ACH wants to follow the code of honor. Remsburg and some of the fans take him up on the offer. Angelosetti passes. Armdrag and another handshake offer. Exchange of armdrags. ACH gets his handshake. Slap by Angelosetti. Test of strength. ACH controls the arm. Applied headscissors. Bridge into a two count. ACH goes for a backslide. Back and forth they go. ACH goes to the side headlock. Shoulder block sends ACH back. O’Connor roll blocked by ACH. Shoulder block. Cartwheel. Touchdown shoulder blocks him. Rana by ACH. Angelosetti throws the football at him. We get a three way game of catch. Leapfrog by Angelosetti. Palm thrust. He spins the ball. ACH stops the ball from spitting. Remsburg snaps the ball to ACH. Angelosetti goes long. ACH tells him to go longer. Angelosetti bangs his head against the wall. ACH spins the ball and dances. Hatfield lectures him. Plancha connects. Angelosetti comes back. He puts his foot across his ribs and them rams his back against the side of the ring. ACH then shoved to the back of the ring post. Series of clubbering blows to the back. Running shoulder blocks in the corner. Knees to the back. Running forearm. Shove into the corner. Chop. ACH comes back with chops of his own. Running clothesline and ACH ends up outside the ring. Cross body. Angelosetti rolls through and hits a backbreaker. Another uranagi style backbreaker. Series of splashes. Knees from Angelosetti. Small package by ACH gets two. Dropkick hit by Angelosetti. He kips right up. Leaping headbutt by ACH. Series of short punches. He catches himself on the ropes. Drop toehold to the middle rope. Charge but Angelosetti gets out of the way. Spear attempt but ACH hits a leg drop while Angelosetti lays across the middle rope. Angelosetti prevents a dive and pulls him down hard across the apron. ACH tossed back in the ring. Bodyslam. Knee drop off the ropes. Roll-up attempt blocked by ACH. Exchange of nearfalls. Clothesline by Angelosetti gets two. Headbutt. Angelosetti rammed into the corner. Whip of ACH. Boot and a rana. Hard kick. Springboard acecrusher gets two by ACH. Angelosetti tries avoiding a dive but can’t. Battle goes to the outside as they take a tour of the building. Angelosetti bounces ACH’s head off a wall. Remsburg counts. ACH gets back in at 19 in a scene reminiscent of the 2008 final between Fire Ant and Vin Gerard. Running dive misses. ACH with a rana into a cover. 1-2-NO! Back drop by Angelosetti. 1-2-NO! ACH drives his opponent down with a double stomp. Right into the cover. 1-2-NO! Implant DDT blocked. Over the head acecrusher by Touchdown. 1-2-NO! Angelosetti taunts ACH. Knee strike. Stunner. Running knee strike. 1-2-NO! Springboard 450. Veronica goes on the apron to distract Remsburg. Hatfield carries her off. Another acecrusher by Angelosetti. 1-2-NO! Boot by ACH. Implant DDT. 1-2-NO! Angelosetti asks if that’s all he’s got and wants ACH to chop him. ACH responds in kind. Clothesline goes nowhere. ACH with a clothesline to the back. Headbutt to the midsection. Kick. Sitdown spinebuster. ACH KICKS OUT AT ONE! Slap to the back by Angelosetti. ACH slaps him in the face. Turns into an exchange. ACH with a series of forearms and kicks. Unreal. Big boot. Kick to the side of the head. DDT. 1-2-NO! Both men slowly get up. Blind charge misses. Angelosetti heads to the top rope. ACH with a flip kick. Angelosetti spinebusters him from the top rope. 1-2-3!
Match Analysis: Undoubtedly one of the best matches in each of these men’s careers. ACH has been the one to have most of the breakout matches this year, but this was his Chikara breakout party. Angelosetti also delivered strongly in a spot where he needed to. These guys going 26 minutes and keeping everyone’s attention is an incredible aspect to their performances. I don’t think this was the best Chikara match of the year, but this was excellent by any standard. Congrats to both guys.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: NEW YLC Champion-Mark Angelosetti/26:14/***3/4/****
-ACH says you always live to see another day. He gives Angelosetti credit but says he’s not done. ACH says this loss won’t be the end of him. ACH vows to come back for the cup. If this means he’s coming back to Chikara, I approve of this.
The Verdict: Another consistent show from Chikara as they’ve had a fine summer. Fantastic crowds in Milwaukee and Indianapolis definitely make a difference. The YLC final is worth going out of your way to see even if you’re not a regular Chikara follower. Getting a chance to see the Bravados excel individually was a real joy. The atomicos match also served its purpose. Big thumbs up.
For more information in CHIKARA Pro, including tickets and event information, please check their website. While you can purchase DVDs there as well, you can also purchase their DVDs on Smart Mark Video. Something relatively new to Smart Mark Video is video downloads. This is a great way to save on shipping and not have a DVD clogging your shelf (if that’s what you’re concerned about). It’s super easy to purchase and then download on your computer. I could not recommend this service strongly enough whether you’re buying CHIKARA or many other promotions.
To get a great sense of history and participate in discussion of the company, check out their official messageboard. One thing the promotion does really well? Videos. They have frequent (almost daily) updates on their YouTube channel.
As someone who is not nearly the CHIKARA fan as certain others, even I need to look up information and have a good CHIKARA resource. I can can think of no better place to do this and also read exclusive reviews of every CHIKARA show in history than at The CHIKARA Special. Kevin Ford maintains this little blog and also updates a CHIKARA Special Tumblr with news and videos nearly every day.
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“Nice to see Chikara give the Bravados great opportunities.”-Especially since ROH, ostensibly their home promotion, isn’t going to.