CHIKARA: Action Arcade
Episode 1 (original air date—3/28/2020)
Report by Michael Keller
CHIKARA: Action Arcade welcomes back pro wrestling to Saturday mornings with weekly simulcasts at 11AM ET on IWTV and CHIKARApro.com—and it’s a whole lot of fun. The first episode introduces the wacky world of CHIKARA while simultaneously making the audience feel like lifelong participants.
IWTV is also offering a free five-day trial with promo code ARCADE.
1. The Bird and the Bee (Solo Darling & Willow Nightingale) vs. The Colony (Thief Ant & Green Ant).
The opening contest is a non-title bout between CHIKARA Campeonatos de Parejas (CHIKARA’s Tag Team Championship), The Bird and Bee, against two members of the company’s oldest and most beloved stable, The Colony. Here, Solo and Willow prominently showcase their contagious charisma and infectious energy alongside their signature series of tandem offense. The Colony answer with their extensive history of teamwork and quirky synchronicity to put the champions to the test. However, it was not enough to stop The Bird and Bee from winning this electrifying opening match and demonstrating why they are the reigning Campeonatos de Parejas.
Winner: The Bird and the Bee.
2. The Spoiler vs. Chuck West.
After an impassioned opening bout, we are introduced to The Spoiler. Talk about a gear-shift. A seemingly intentional anachronism, The Spoiler is named for legendary territorial wrestler Don Jardine. He borrows not only the original’s nom de guerre, but his look, moveset, and attitude as well. An admittedly offbeat idea that could easily be a miss, instead it’s a slam dunk. Following a series of throwback heel hijinks that include walking the top rope for the Old School—just as the original Spoiler and his famed student, The Undertaker, did before him—a powerslam, he makes quick work of his opponent by violently squeezing their brain with the Iron Claw, leading to a quick stoppage by referee Kris Levin.
Winner: The Spoiler.
Afterwards, we enter the Action Arcade Event Center with host Sam LaTerna, who highlights past Young Lions Cup winners (including Hallowicked, Jigsaw, and Heidi Lovelace—AKA WWE’s Ruby Riott) and introduced some of the participants in the upcoming tournament:
Molly McCoy – the hockey-playing niece of CHIKARA Grand Champion Dasher Hatfield and cousin of Boomer, she warns the rest of the roster that she is the only competitor who is gritty enough to get things done.
Forged – a tecnico trio of former Crucible members (the big, bad stable of rudos running amok and led by Ophidian) consisting of Josue Ibanez, Xavier Faraday, and Joshua Wells. While Ibanez has aged out of the YLC’s 25-year-old age limit, the two eligible members aim to protect the CHIKARA tradition from their former associates.
Frey Nassar – a representative of The Crucible, Frey Nassar is the absolute worst. However, evidenced by his stable’s recent victories, the youngest (and most obnoxious) member of The Crucible predicts himself as YLC victor. Frey’s confidence is inversely related to his reverence for the 16-year tradition and… did I mention he is the absolute worst?
ZERO – the son of CHIKARA Gen-1 original, Mister ZERO, this friendly businessman understands the pressure that is on him to prove that he deserves to fight alongside CHIKARA’s pantheon of legends.
3. Boomer Hatfield vs. Travis Huckabee
We return to the ring for more action as Boomer Hatfield and Travis Huckabee are selected to compete via the retro “Character Selection” menu. As the estranged son of CHIKARA Grand Champion Dasher Hatfield, fan favorite and baseball aficionado Boomer makes up for his diminutive stature with agility and sharp wit. Travis’ best bet against Boomer is to catch that fastball and keep it on the ground. But Travis is no slouch—a former two-time Campeonato de Pareja, Johnny Kidd Invitational winner, and active member of rudo faction FIST, his diligent ground game makes him a serious threat to a high-flying competitor like Boomer. Huckabee attempts to slow down Boomer’s hyper offense ultimately fail, granting Boomer his first point of three towards title contention. Make no mistakes, this contest was an absolute barnburner.
Winner: Boomer Hatfield.
4. Devantes (representing The Crucible) vs. Tom Stone—Crucible Rules.
We’re finally introduced to the lethal “resources” that are The Crucible by way of their MMA-like match stipulations. The most noticeable difference in “Crucible matches” is that the ropes are taken down. Each bout has a two minute time limit with wins determined via knock-out, tap-out, ring-out, or referee stoppage. Stone comes out of the gate with a lot of heart, which wasn’t enough to faze the devastating Devantes. Devantes’ focused assault on Stone is deftly punctuated by a brutal TKO.
Winner: Devantes.
5. Jigsaw vs. Matt Makowski.
The ropes are back up and it is time for our main event, which features CHIKARA legend and world-renowned luchador Jigsaw going up against The Crucible’s Matt Makowski, a prolific MMA competitor and with black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Jigsaw is forced to defend against a series of vicious takedowns and suplexes, along with a barrage of heavy strikes—Makowski is the real deal. After regaining steam with a quick flurry of offense, Makowski punishes Jigsaw for giving him an opening, following through with his signature O’Connor Roll transitioned into an armbreaker—similar like Doug Williams’ Chaos Theory—leading to a quick submission. The most impressive finish of the night, for sure. This match was a crazy intense sprint, with Makowski’s ruthlessness and Jigsaw’s resilient tenacity on full display.
Winner: Matt Makowski.
This was a great intro to the CHIKARA universe. With a runtime of 52 minutes, the debut episode was jam-packed with fun segments and dynamic matches. There was little downtime on the program—I never stopped having fun. Action Arcade wonderfully illustrates the company’s true, fun-loving nature.
Until next time, this is it for Michael Keller. You can find me online @HVMTLProdigy. See you next week!