CHIKARA:  A New Start

1/25/15

Gavin Loudspeaker comes out to start the show and talks for quite awhile, apparently buying time while the cameras were setup or something of the sort.  Everyone claps for a girl in the front row eating pizza.

Sidney Bakabella complains about the dirtiness of the Arena.  He says that tonight will be the easiest paycheck The Wrecking Crew has ever made.

Opening Match:  Blaster McMassive, Flex Rumblecrunch, Max Smashmaster, Jaka, and Oleg the Usurper vs. Dasher Hatfield, Mark Angelosetti, Jervis Cottonbelly, Princess Kimberlee, and Shynron

Angelosetti is called out on not having a properly-inflated football but Hatfield has a pump!  The Throwbacks knock the Devastation Corporation to the floor.  Oleg shakes Cottonbelly’s hand and then boots him in the face.  Cottonbelly responds with a few armdrags and a russian leg sweep.  Bakabella comes into the ring and scolds Oleg.  Kimberlee withstands some strikes from Jaka and takes him over with a hurricanrana.  The Throwbacks help Shynron headscissors Smashmaster to the floor.  Shynron follows out with a dive onto the Wrecking Crew.  In the ring, the Wrecking Crew create an opening to isolate Angelosetti.  Kimberlee tags into the match but falls victim to a back suplex from Rumblecrunch.  Cottonbelly fights off the Wrecking Crew and politely walks Kimberlee back to her corner.  Shynron lands a flying crossbody onto Rumblecrunch but Rumblecrunch rolls through and hits a backbreaker.  Shynron hits a double handspring ace crusher on Jaka and Oleg and makes the tag.  Hatfield stacks up the Wrecking Crew in the corner and connects with a big baseball slide.  The other technicos try baseball slides of their own.  Well, Shynron just leaps the length of the ring and the crowd goes crazy.  Kimberlee clotheslines McMassive to the floor but stares down Smashmaster in the ring.  They exchange strikes and Kimberlee hits a tornado DDT.  She goes up top but McMassive takes her down with a superplex for the win at 15:41.  This was a fun opener and I appreciated how little cheating the Wrecking Crew engaged in during the course of the match.  While some (Kimberlee, Shynron) were showcased while others (Jaka, Oleg) were barely apart of the action, I came away from this contest feeling good about everyone’s prospects moving forward.  ***

Ophidian is shown praying for strength during his upcoming battle against Nokken.  He wants to win a title soon and if he fails, he may lose faith in himself and the Gods.

Match #2:  Ophidian vs. Nokken

Since both men have two points towards title contention, the winner will become the #1 contender for the Grand Championship while the other goes back to zero points.  Ophidian tries an early death grip to no avail.  Nokken showcases his distinct power advantage early on.  Ophidian headscissors him to the floor and follows out with a series of dives.  Nokken eventually catches him on a dive attempt and hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker.  Nokken takes control until Ophidian headscissors him into the turnbuckles and connects with an enzuigiri.  He finally takes Nokken off of his feet with a spin kick and adds double knees in the corner.  Ophidian connects with double knees from the top rope for hardly a two count.  He transitions into the death grip but Nokken counters into a spike piledriver for the victory at 8:05.  They told the story that you would expect them to tell but it was well-executed.  Ophidian used his resourcefulness and generally would land a string of successful offense whereas Nokken usually only had to hit one big move for greater impact.  I never gave Ophidian much of a chance here, but he found enough openings to look competitive.  **½

Match #3:  Hype Rockwell and Race Jaxon vs. Arctic Rescue Ant and Missile Assault Ant

Rockwell hip tosses Jaxon to the floor onto the Colony Xtreme Force.  Jaxon superkicks Artic Rescue Ant into a spinning backbreaker from Rockwell for the win at 1:16.  Finishes like this one are reasonable in that they should theoretically happen from time to time in professional wrestling.  With that said, I’m not sure what this match did for either team.

UltraMantis Black talks about vanquishing Delirious last season.  He is afraid of the effects the Eye of Tyr has had on Hallowicked and Frightmare.  He tells Juan Francisco de Coronado not to underestimate him.

Match #4:  UltraMantis Black vs. Juan Francisco de Coronado

Coronado cuts a promo before the match and Spanish subtitles appear on the screen.  I think that’s awesome.  Coronado attacks before the opening bell but runs into a back elbow.  UltraMantis hits an ocean cyclone suplex and follows with a bubba bomb onto the apron.  Coronado slams his left arm into the guardrail and begins to work over the limb.  UltraMantis military presses Coronado off the top rope and hits Cosmic Doom for a two count.  Coronado responds with a spinning armbar and chaos theory but UltraMantis won’t stay down.  Coronado escapes the Praying Mantis Bomb and tries a victory roll while holding onto the ropes to no avail.  While Coronado argues with Derek Sabato, UltraMantis successfully hits the Praying Mantis Bomb for the victory at 8:44.  While this match won’t end up being a highlight of the show, it felt like a decent showcase to illustrate how Coronado can wrestle a smart match and how UltraMantis can fight from behind.  **½

Match #5:  Jakob Hammermeier, Pinkie Sanchez, and Soldier Ant vs. Fire Ant, Silver Ant, and Worker Ant

Hammermeier describes his relationship with Solider Ant by saying “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”  Both teams start brawling before the opening bell.  Fire Ant tries his best to avoid confrontation with Soldier Ant.  Worker Ant comes off the top with a double axe handle on Soldier Ant.  Silver Ant hits a body slam on Sanchez and follows with chops in the corner.  Fire Ant finds himself in the wrong corner and the rudos isolate him.  He samoan drops Hammermeier onto Sanchez and makes the tag.  Worker Ant cleans house with body slams.  Fire Ant is catapulted to the floor onto all three of his opponents.  In the ring, Soldier Ant goes crazy on Worker Ant and the rudos now work him over.  Silver Ant gets the tag and connects with a missile dropkick on Hammermeier.  He hits a tornado DDT on Soldier Ant for a nearfall.  The Colony connect with a triple dropkick in the corner on Hammermeier.  The Colony military presses Sanchez to the floor onto Solider Ant and Hammermeier.  Soldier Ant and Silver Ant go at it in the ring.  Silver Ant hits a blue thunder bomb but gets caught off-guard by a dropkick from Sanchez.  Sanchez adds an implant DDT for a two count and then transitions into a dragon sleeper.  Fire Ant breaks the hold with a kick to the face.  Silver Ant and Sanchez trade strikes.  Silver Ant wins the headbutt battle and hits a german suplex.  Soldier Ant hits a powerslam on Worker Ant.  He applies a heel hook but Silver Ant breaks the hold as this match continues.  Hammermeier connects with a knockout punch on Silver Ant.  Fire Ant hits a brainbuster on Hammermeier and connects with a knockout kick on Sanchez.  Fire Ant literally drops Sanchez onto his head with a beach break.  Soldier Ant lariats Fire Ant and grabs him by the neck.  Fire Ant salutes him and Soldier Ant breaks the grip.  Hammermeier interrupts.  Hammermeier applies a sharpshooter variant on Worker Ant for the win at 20:28.  The best part of this match by far was the interaction between Fire and Soldier Ant.  The action really dragged and I’m confident that twenty minutes was excessive here.  The crowd direly wanted to be vocal for this contest but even they were losing willpower at points.  Additionally, the finish really didn’t tie anything together or bring the match to a satisfying end.  This was a big time investment with not much payoff.  **¼

Match #6:  Eddie Kingston vs. Kevin Condron

Condron is the former Kid Cyclone and he is upset with Kingston for taking out his mentors.  Condron brings out the wrench he used to attack Kingston, so Kingston grabs a chair.  Condron dares Kingston to get disqualified and losing his points.  Kingston connects with a right hand and hits an exploder.  He throws Condron into the guardrail.  Condron keeps Kingston from getting back into the ring, begging for a disqualification.  Kingston hits an inverted DDT onto the apron.  In the ring, Kingston connects with a yakuza kick and a facewash boot.  He connects with Kobashi chops in the corner.  A distraction by the Lithuanian Snow Troll allows Condron to hit a spinebuster.  The referee gets inadvertently clipped and Condron starts rolling on the ground acting like Kingston gave him a low blow.  The referee turns around and disqualifies Kingston at 5:41.  The points system in CHIKARA has enough legitimacy that this feels like a devastating loss for Kingston.  So to some extent, this storytelling was effective.  As usual, the follow-up is key.  *

Match #7:  Obariyon and Kodama vs. Hallowicked and Frightmare

Hallowicked and Frightmare have completely new gear and attitude after being subjected to the Eye of Tyr.  Kodama slingshot armdrags Frightmare and connects with a dropkick.  Obariyon snaps off a hurricanrana on Hallowicked.  Kodama lands a dive to the floor.  Hallowicked and Frightmare throw Kodama in the way of Obariyon’s dive.  They isolate Obariyon until he low bridges Hallowicked to the floor and makes the tag.  Kodama hits a leaping neckbreaker on Frightmare and a springboard ace crusher on Hallowicked.  He connects with a shotgun dropkick on Frightmare and follows with a cannonball senton.  Kodama hits a blockbuster on Frightmare onto Obariyon’s knees.  Hallowicked hits Go 2 Sleepy Hollow on Kodama and a rydeen bomb on Obariyon.  Hallowicked iconoclasms Obariyon into Kneecolepsy from Frightmare for a nearfall.  Hallowicked boots Kodama into a crucifix bomb from Frightmare for the victory at 13:11.  After the previous tag team match failed to come together as a cohesive whole, this was the exact opposite situation.  The crowd didn’t know how to react to Hallowicked and Frightmare, but they certainly became invested in the action down the stretch.  These two teams managed to pull off some pretty intricate sequences without any trouble and this ended up being the most enjoyable match on the show thus far.  ***¼

Chuck Taylor talks about how he’s done everything in CHIKARA except for winning the Grand Championship.  Taylor takes credit for FIST’s King of Trios win and claims that he’s better than Icarus.

Match #8:  CHIKARA Grand Championship: Icarus © vs. Chuck Taylor

Icarus blocks a charge and comes off the middle rope with a hurricanrana.  Taylor blocks a plancha attempt and sends Icarus into the guardrail.  Taylor piles some chairs in the entrance aisle.  Icarus suplexes Taylor onto them.  They make their way back into the ring where Taylor finds an opening to take control.  Icarus comes back with a dive to the floor.  Back in, Icarus headscissors Taylor into the middle turnbuckle and hits a german suplex.  Taylor anticipates a charge and connects with a knee strike.  He runs into an enzuigiri but recovers by overhead suplexing Icarus into the turnbuckles.  Taylor misses a moonsault and accidentally boots Bryce Remsburg.  Icarus hits sliced bread but Bryce isn’t there to count.  Taylor throws powder into Icarus’ face but Icarus responds with powder of his own.  Taylor hits the Awful Waffle for a nearfall.  Taylor then tries a low blow behind Bryce’s back to no avail.  He locks in the half crab but Icarus reaches the bottom rope.  Icarus hits Taylor with the Grand Championship and follows with Wings of Icarus for a nearfall.  Icarus applies the Chikara Special to retain his title at 11:34.  This wasn’t the epic battle between former partners that I was half-expecting.  The big mark against this match as the inconsistency of Icarus’ cheating to the point where the crowd was actively booing him using the belt shot to retain.  If they were going to go that route, the WHOLE match should have been them trying to one-up each other in the cheating game.  However, if we bracket the awkwardness of the cheating, these two showed great chemistry and delivered a reasonable main event given a short duration.  I can’t help but think they have a much better match in them, though.  ***

Overall:  A New Start was one great match away from being an easy recommendation.  The part of the show that I appreciated the most was that the storylines seemed fun and intriguing and nothing frustrating happened storyline-wise.  Even the Kingston/Condron match, which seemed more like an extended segment, had a purpose and was well-executed.  I don’t know if A New Start earns a recommendation on match quality alone, but the show certainly put CHIKARA on the right track heading into an important 2015.