From the Chikara Wrestle Factory in Philadelphia, PA.
Commentary states that points are in play. Cornelius Crummels and Sonny Defarge come into the match with 3 points. They are taking on the team of LAX aka. EYFBO, Santana and Ortiz. The match is contested under Lucha Tag Rules. Crummels and Santana start the match. Ortiz gets cut off from his corner until he’s able to make the tag to Santana. Crummels and Defarge hit their signature Great Expectations and a Total Elimination for only a 2 count. EYFBO win with some kind of double team powerslam onto a knee. Beyond Wrestling picks up the victory and the first point of the series.
Second match of the show is Solo Darling taking on Deonna Purrazzo. Darling is coming into the match with 2 points and is looking for the victory to gain a third point and therefore a future title shot. Commentary team mentions that both opponents are submission specialists.
The match starts off with some great technical wrestling. Purrazzo goes for the fujiwara armbar early but it’s countered into the SharpStinger. Purrazzo is able to make it to the ropes. The crowd favorite in this one is Darling. Purrazzo works Darling’s left arm throughout the match. At one point Darling tries to lock in the SharpStinger but is unable to hold it because of the injured arm. Purrazzo gets the armbar on Darling but Darling makes it to the ropes. Purrazzo holds the submission until the count of 4 and is met with boos from the crowd. Darling is able to hit the Electric Blast (Fisherman brainbuster). Purrazzo’s leg is under the bottom rope so Darling hooks the leg for the 3. Series is tied at 1-1.
Chris Dickinson makes his entrance to the ring. He then ambushes his opponent Dasher Hatfield while he was greeting fans in the crowd. Dickinson controls pretty much the whole match. Every time Hatfield tries to come back with some momentum, it is stopped by Dickinson. Dickinson attempts a Pazuzu bomb but Hatfield ends up escaping. He is unable to escape at the second attempt, as Dickinson hits the Pazuzu bomb for the victory. Beyond is up 2-1.
The following match is an Atomicos match as Fire Ant, Icarus, Tony Deppen and Travis Huckabee take on Green Ant, Thief Ant, Worker Ant and Razerhawk. Throughout the match Fire Ant looks like he doesn’t want any part of the F.I.S.T. Team. A big brawl breaks out and Fire Ant stays out of it. The match has a bunch of action. It eventually ends when Icarus hits a pedigree on Worker Ant for the win. Fire Ant walks off.
As Icarus attempts to continue the assault on Worker Ant, Razerhawk makes the save but eats a Blu-ray (Death Valley Driver) into the corner turnbuckles. FIST ends up taking out everyone. They look to take Worker Ant out with a spiked piledriver onto the floor but Fire Ant comes out with a crossbody off the stage, taking out Deppen and Huckabee. The numbers game catch up to Fire Ant until he’s saved by Green Ant and Thief Ant. Fire Ant walks to the back as the crowd chants for the Colony.
Back from intermission, the Chikara’s Young Lions Cup champion Cam Zagami comes to the ring. The crowd with chants of “go away” and boos interrupt Zagami from talking on the microphone. The crowd continues with “no one likes you” chants. Danjerhawk comes to the ring and cashes in his Golden Opportunity. He is able to hit a 450 splash from the top rope onto Zagami for the win. We have a new Young Lions Cup Champion.
The current Chikara Grand Champion Juan Francisco de Coronado faces off against Jonathan Gresham in a non title match. Coronado starts to work Gresham’s back, while Gresham attacks Coronado’s left arm. The match had a lot of back and forth chain wrestling. Coronado is unable to put Gresham away with his third attempt at a Tiger Driver. Coronado locks in the Coronado clutch, Gresham tries to reach for the ropes but Coronado pulls him into the center of the ring. Gresham eventually passes out and Coronado picks up the victory. Coronado ties the series at two.
For this match the crowd seems more split than they have for the other matches. Duel chants for Hot Sauce and Mr. Touchdown. Williams controls most of the match after he gives Mr. Touchdown a German Suplex on the floor. Every time Mr. Touchdown tried to come back, Williams cuts him off. After a double clothesline to eachother, Mr. Touchdown gains the advantage. He attempts a superplex from the top but Williams counters it with a DDT to the top turnbuckle. Touchdown kicks out at two. Williams hits a piledriver but can’t put away Touchdown. As he attempts another, Touchdown sets him up on the top rope. Williams goes for a piledriver from the top but Touchdown escapes and hits a superplex from the top. Mr. Touchdown picks up the victory for Chikara, as they win the series 3-2.
Overall: This was an entertaining show. These joint shows are always interesting because it often exposes people to promotions they aren’t familiar with. For me, it was Chikara. I don’t watch Chikara regularly and listening to PWPondering’s own Kevin Ford explain the point system on the ¡VIVA CHIKARA! podcast was a great help going into this show. The women had a great showing. Jonathan Gresham continues to impress and have good matches with everyone he goes in there against. “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams had another great match. Between his Powerbomb.TV title defenses and his matches in Beyond Wrestling, he’s having a great 2018.
Quick Results/Star Ratings:
- EYFBO def. Cornelius Crummels and Sonny Defarge **¾
- Solo Darling def. Deonna Purrazzo ***¼
- Chris Dickinson def. Dasher Hatfield **½
- F.I.S.T. (Icarus, Tony Deppen, Travis Huckabee) and Fire Ant def. Green Ant, Thief Ant, Worker Ant, and Razerhawk ***¼
- Young Lions Cup Championship: Danjerhawk def. Cam Zagami (c) to become the new Young Lions Cup Champion N/A
- Juan Francisco de Coronado def. Jonathan Gresham ***½
- ‘Mr. Touchdown’ Mark Angelosetti def. “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams ***¾
You can watch this event along with Beyond Wrestling’s previous events on Powerbomb.TV. Use the promo code PWP20 for 20 days FREE with no obligation to stay.