CHIKARA Review: Young Lions Cup VI, Night I

The weekend of June 13th, 14th, and 15th of 2008 brings you the 6th annual CHIKARA Young Lions Cup tournament! Many new faces look to make a big time impact in CHIKARA, and the permanent mainstays of the CHIKARA crew look to advance their way up the CHIKARA ladder. Tonight, the first dozen competitors will compete in singles competition and the winners will advance to a Six Man Elimination match. The winner of the elimination match advances to the Young Lions Cup finals on Night 3. Who will make it to the finals tonight?

Commentary is provided by Louden Noxious, Chuck Taylor, Bryce Remsburg, Jimmy Olsen, Leonard F. Chikarason, Larry Sweeney, Ultramantis Black, and Mike Quackenbush.

Louden Noxious comes out with an acoustic guitar stating he will be the host of the Young Lions Cup tournament. He then plays a song on his guitar called “Young Lions Just Want Too Have Fun.” Cute, I suppose.

They introduce tonight’s 12 contestants (who you will see listed in the tournament bouts, obviously) and they took a picture. Also quite adorable.

Young Lions Cup Qualifier
Amasis vs. Ultimo Breakfast

Amasis says tonight is a big night for him, and he is no stranger to big nights. He mentions how he broke up ShaneSaw in his very first match and went up against Incoherence for the Campeones de Parejas. He does a little bit of dancing and says tonight he will win. He then takes it home with a hearty “can you dig it?”

Breakfast comes out to “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds; AWESOME. Both men start out at a fast pace trying to get the advantage. Amasis is able to get the advantage and works over Ultimo’s upper arm. Amasis locks on a Fujiwara armbar for leverage. Breakfast is able to work his way out and get the upper hand on Amasis. He puts Amasis up in a Razor’s Edge and yells “HE’S TOAST!” to the delight of the fans. Amasis uses the ropes to get out of the hold and lands a hard forearm to the face of Breakfast. Amasis attempts a headbutt, but Breakfast’s toaster like mask hurts Amasis instead. Amasis continues to work over breakfast, even biting the toast coming out of the toaster while he had Breakfast in a Camel Clutch. Breakfast worked his way up from the ground and got the advantage on Amasis Ultimo hits a fallaway slam which has some whacky breakfast related name for the 2 count. Ultimo then hits a really cool DVD into a powerbomb but also gets the 2 count to the fans surprise. Ultimo picks up Amasis and is able to the hit the He’s Toast Razor’s Edge for yet another 2 count. Breakfast picks up Amasis and whips him into the ropes. Breakfast catches Amasis, but Amasis reverses. Amasis then calls for the “Twist of Funk” which is the Side Effect into a face plant. The Twist of Funk is all it takes for Amasis to get the 3 count; he will advance into the Six Man Elimination later tonight. I thought this was a silly debut for Breakfast, as he hit three could-be finishers in a row on Amasis and still did not get the victory. What can you do? *3/4

Young Lions Cup Qualifier
Ethan Page vs. Pelle Primeau

Ethan is in the back talking on his cell phone. He is complaining to his supposed agent saying that if they won’t him to do Brokeback Mountain 2, they better get Dwayne Johnson. He hangs up and introduces himself as “The Motion Picture” Ethan Page. He says tonight the role he is playing is “the winner”, and Pelle Primeau better watch out.

Ethan attempts to grab Pelle, but Pelle rolls out of the way. Ethan makes another attempt but Pelle rolls away again. Ethan then throws Pelle off the ropes looking to catch him with a move, but Pelle instead catches him with a hurricanrana. Pelle follows up with a spnning headscissors off the ropes and an arm drag. Ethan takes a quick squat on the outside then gets back in the ring. Pelle maintains the advantage till out of no where Ethan hits a sit out facebuster on Pelle. Ethan and Pelle began to exchange forearms till Ethan blasted him a sit out powerbomb. Ethan maintained the advantage keeping Pelle on the mat and hitting him with elbows and various other moves. Pelle got back on his own feet when Ethan pushed him up in the air and Pelle dropkicked him in the chest. Pelle made a small comeback until being caught with the Cluster Bomb (which is kind of like a sleeper into a full nelson slam). Ethan and Pelle continued fighting, with Ethan going for the Doctor Bomb. Pelle rolled out of it, but Ethan caught him with Doctor Bomb for the 2 count! Ethan tried a clothesline but Pelle turned it into a one armed backslide pin. Unfortunately for Pelle, Ethan’s shoulders went on the mat. Pelle decided to roll up Ethan for the pin instead! Pelle advances to the Six Man Elimination. A good match with a ho hum finish. **

Young Lions Cup Qualifier
Vin Gerard vs. Sami Callihan

Vin notes today is Friday the 13th and that he is competing in his third Young Lions Cup. He says this time is different because he is unmasked and that no one on the Young Lions roster can topple him. Vin mentions he has beaten Lince Dorado, Jimmy Olsen, Create-A-Wrestler, and Woker Ant. He says Sami Callihan is a joke and that he plan on beating him then going to the finals. He tells CHIKARA that they better hope their luck hasn’t run out.

Sami runs around the ring trying to get at Vin. Vin goes through the ropes to keep him away. Vin throws the mask at Sami and gets a small bit of offense in before Sami goes crazy and attacks him. Sami throws some moves Vin’s way until the go to the floor. On the floor, Sami continues the attack throwing Vin into the turn posts and dropping him face first on the mat. Sami throws Vin back in the ring and continues the assault. Sami went to the second rope and lept off with a cross body but missed. Vin followed up with a big kick to the gut of Sami. Vin proceeded to work over Sami using all the usual Vin Gerard offense, including a poke to the eyes and his hard knee in the corner. Vin attempted to lock on the STF but Sami got to the ropes. Sami ducked one of Vin’s maneuvers and Lariated the crap out of Vin to get back some heat. Sami hit a pumple handle piledriver into a cradle DDT that looked killer, and followed up with a rope assisted lung blower. Vin kicked out and went back to the floor. Sami leapt off the apron onto Vin and threw him back in the ring. Sami tried his headlock driver but Vin pushed him off and caught him with his STO. He went for his STF, but Sami got to his feet and hit his headlock driver this time. Sami was in the corner once both men got to their feet. Vin ran at Sami and Sami but his foot up for a boot. Vin grabbed his leg, threw Sami to the mat, and locked on the STF. Sami got the ropes, but Vin rolled him into the middle of the ring where Sami had no choice but to tap out, much to the dismay of the Hellertown crowd. This was excellent; Sami really impressed me. Of course, Vin is just an awesome heel to. Great stuff here. ***1/4

Young Lions Cup Qualifier
Alex Payne vs. Pinkie Sanchez

Pinkie is shown dancing backstage a bit. He says those who know who he is know he delivers, and that those who don’t know him will get a nice treat. He says once he wins the Young Lions Cup he will have proven that he has the skills to pay to the bills and that he is the hungriest Young Lion.

Pinkie dances as he takes off his jacket. He tries to tie his jacket around Payne, but Payne will none of it. Pinkie continues to dance and Payne attacks him. He whips Pinkie into the ropes and Pinkie slides outside. He comes back in with a punch to Payne’s face. Pinkie starts working over Alex bringing him to the mat. Pinkie delivers a few of the Junk Yard Dog’s headbutts on the ground. Pinkie kicks Alex numerous times in his back and slaps the mat. He does Low Ki’s signature taunt, but instead of following up with one giant kick to the back, he nails Alex in the face with a butt butt. Pinkie goes up top for a splash, but Payne catches him with a gut buster across one knee. Payne began to work over Pinkie while mocking the fans. Pinkie had a few moments where he attempted to come back but Payne put an end to those with a few hard clotheslines. Payne at one point hit a big gord buster from the top rope for the two count. Pinkie then Hulked Up and got back from the mat and began going at Payne with all his might. Pinkie hit a flying asshole/head slap double maneuver to Payne in the corner. Pinkie put Payne into the Alabama Slam position. Pinkie dropped Payne behind him and hit him with his patented Drop It Like It’s Hot maneuver. This move was enough to give Pinkie the win and advance him to the Six Man Elimination Match. Good match, nothing spectacular. The crowd LOVES Pinkie though, and was very happy to see him win **

Young Lions Cup Qualifier
James Ross vs. Drake Younger

Drake and Ross start off with a stare down. Ross slaps Drake, which causes Drake to slap Ross back and then throw him over the top rope with a clothesline. Drake continues to beat the tar out of Ross throwing headbutts, slaps, forearms and everything else. Drake slams Ross onto the hard wooden floor. Drake goes up the apron, hits Cactus Jack’s signature “Bang Bang!” pose and leaps off with an elbow drop. Drake then throws Ross back in the ring and slaps him some more. Drake goes up top and Ross catches him with a poor looking knee to the face. Ross then gets a couple moves in on Drake, but Drake then continues to beat him down. Drake hits a big slam followed by a frog splash for the two count. Ross and Drake go back and forth with Ross catching Drake with a beautiful twisting Blockbuster for the two count. Ross gets Drake back to his feet and looks for a double underhook suplex. Drake turns Ross’ arms and nails Ross with the Drake’s Landing for the victory. This was a solid match, but it was well worth it for Larry Sweeney’s commentary. Sweeney marked out for Drake for pretty much the entirety of the match. With Sweeney’s commentary you could give this match five stars. The crowd loved Drake even more than Pinkie so they were delighted to see him advance as well. In reality, this match was **1/4.

Young Lions Cup Qualifier
Jimmy Olsen vs. Stupefied

Olsen and Stupefied start out with Olsen locking Stupefied in with a waist lock. Stupefied kept rolling out which ticked Olsen off. Olsen and Stup went back and forth with many evasions and such to the delight of the crowd. Stupefied got the one up on Olsen throwing him to the outside. Stupefied went for a dive but Olsen blocked it by jumping up and nailing Stup in the face with his hip. Olsen came back in and began working over Stup. Olsen went up top and Stupefied jumped up with him. Olsen thrust his hands into the ribs of Stupefied sending him to the mat. Olsen came off with a beautiful dropkick but was only able to get the two. Stupefied came back with hard offense and more flips. Stupefied flew over the top rope with a swanton onto Jimmy Olsen. Stupefied only got a two count once they were back in the ring. Olsen and Stupefied went back and forth each hitting awesome moves and getting close two counts. Stupefied hit a wrist clutch sit piledriver for the two to which Stupefied said “stop kicking out of everything!” Stupefied went for Olsen’s face, which Jimmy blocked by putting up his arms. Stupefied picked up Jimmy by his arms for the Final Smash and dropped Jimmy right on his head. This was enough for Stupefied to get the win, and what some fans considered an upset. Stupefied picks up the final spot in the Six Man Elimination match. Yes, I did a poor job explaining the match move by move. But my goodness, this was AMAZING. It was super fast paced, the crowd loved it, all the false finishes worked, and the real finish kicked ass. A really great way to end the qualifying round. ***3/4

The Colony (Fire Ant, Soldier Ant, & Worker Ant) vs. The Fabulous Three (Larry Sweeney, Mitch Ryder, & Shayne Hawke)

The Fabulous 3 say that although everyone is celebrating the Young Lions Cup, they are the bigger party in Hellertown. Shayne says he plans to have an unblemished record and will keep it when they beat the ants. Larry Sweeney adds that they look good, they’re cohesive, and tonight they will be united and take out The Colony.

This a re-match from “Grit & Glory” in which the Colony won by pinning Sweeney. Ryder was irate with Sweeney, so Sweeney laid out the challenge to the Colony for a re-match tonight. On the Podcast-A-Go-Go, The Colony accepted the challenge.

Worker Ant started off with Mitch Ryder in a headlock. Mitch fought out of the headlock only for Worker to apply it once more. Mitch and Worker had a bit of back and forth, but Worker got the advantage using arm drags and Lucha to his advantage. Shayne then came in the ring as did Soldier Ant. There was some excellent comedy here involving Soldier Ant saluting and Shayne attempting to make him stop. It came down to Soldier Ant getting the advantage on Shayne. For whatever reason, Shayne was wearing some gaudy U.S.A. outfit this evening, which makes no sense considering he’s Canadian. Anyways, Soldier positioned Shayne for a monkey flip, but Soldier paused to pull out the U.S. flag Shayne had in his back pocket, saluted it, then hit the move on Shayne. Fire Ant and Sweeney were the next two in and Fire Ant really gave it to Sweeney. Fire Ant tagged in Worker Ant who also took it to Sweeney. Sweeney tossed Worker into the ropes nearest the Fabulous Three allowing Mitch to catch Worker with a hard knee to the back as he came to the ropes. From here on out, the Fabulous Three beat down Worker Ant FOREVER. Seriously, they must have beat on him for five straight minutes. Lots of old school moves from the Three; the highest risk move I recall was a double axe handle off the top rope. Mitch was ruthless as he just bashed Worker’s head into the mat. Worker Ant never gave up, as twice during the course of his beat down he went for a sunset flip on Larry Sweeney and made multiple attempts to tag in his teammates. This led to Sweeney and Worker Ant being the ring once again, and Sweeney ducked his head. Instead of Worker going for another sunset flip, he leapfrogged over Sweeney then rolled towards his corner to tag in Fire Ant. Fire Ant came in and gave a bodyslam to every member of the Fabulous Three. This led to Mitch being isolated and given the Ants Marching dropkick. Sweeney came in and broke it up. The Ants triple teamed Sweeney even giving him the awesome G.I. ANT. This was broken up by Shayne. Soldier and Worker Ant took out Shayne and Mitch on the outside leaving Sweeney and Fire Ant alone. Fire Ant went for an Oklahoma roll pin on Sweeney, but Sweeney kicked out. Shayne came out of nowhere into the ring and nailed the Tomahawke on Fire Ant for the victory. Pretty good match; the rudo beat down could have been a lot shorter. It’s understandable considering the six qualifiers were pretty short, but they could’ve filled in time somewhere else. This being a good match, plus Quack talking about Grimace (yes, the McDonald’s mascot) on commentary, gives this match three stars. ***

F.I.S.T (Icarus, Gran Akuma, & Chuck Taylor) vs. The Order of the Neo-Solar Temple (Ultramantis Black, Hydra, & Tim Donst)

Donst tells Mantis that while he was gone, he and Hydra collected the three points needed to take on the Campeones de Parejas. Ultramantis said he did not care about that, but he was upset to get a phone call from Dr. Cube telling him that Hydra put the Hydra Lock on Grudyin! He then sends Hydra to his room. Mantis tells Donst not to let Hydra distract him, because he is the one who will take the Order to the top.

The match starts off with Icarus and Donst doing some mat wrestling. Donst clearly has the advantage on Icarus, but Icarus tried his damndest to escape. Icarus succeeds and tags in Akuma, while Donst tags in Hydra. Hydra comes in and poses off his giant muscles while Akuma laughes. Akuma does a pose of his own on Hydra causing him to leave the ring in fear. Hydra comes back in and is taken down by Akuma. After taking quite a beating, Hydra comes back from off the mat with a spinning headscissors from Hydra taking Akuma out of the ring! Hydra also rolls out, bringing in Chuck Taylor and Ultramantis Black. Mantis tells Chuck that he does not want to fight, and wants to be friends. He insists they will wrestle but want’s to let the crowd it will be a fight between two friends. Chuck and Mantis go at it with quite the back and forth giving neither man the advantage. Mantis grabs Taylor’s legs and locks him in a submission. Icarus comes in and locks on an abdominal stretch. Hydra comes in and locks on the Hydra Lock, so Akuma comes in and holds him in the air in a leg submission. Donst runs in, rolls up Taylor for the two, which causes the submission monstrosity to tumble; much to the crowd’s delight. The last two in the ring were Icarus and Hydra. This began F.I.S.T. dominating on Hydra. All three men tagged in and out hitting all their signature stuff as well as some double team moves. Hydra impressed when Taylor had him on the top rope and attempted a move, but Hydra flipped into a hurricanrana instead! The fans went nuts for this. F.I.S.T. once again cut him off for the tag. Icarus grabbed Hydra and fed his arm to Akuma. Akuma proceeded to wrench Hydra’s arm over the top rope ten times. Mantis came in the ring, Icarus caught him, and then fed Mantis’ arm to Akuma for ten more wrenches. Donst came in, Icarus caught him, but Donst turned it around and fed Akuma Icarus’ arm instead (Akuma obviously was not looking). He did it ten times, and asked the crowd if they wanted ten more (thinking it was Donst). He began ten more, but looked in front of him and stopped. In front of him were all three members of the Neo-Solar Temple and Chuck, who was telling him to stop. Akuma put his head down, reached back, and felt Icarus’ hair. Icarus yelled at Akuma, and they proceeded to get into a slapping fight! Taylor came in to try and break it up, but Icarus and Akuma pushed him down! Hydra came in to cheer on and encourage this, but Icarus and Akuma put their differences aside and attacked Hydra. From here on out, everything broke down. We had a sequence of each F.I.S.T. member hitting a Neo-Solar Temple member with a big move, and vice versa. The sequence had all three members of F.I.S.T. end up on the outside. Donst picks up and powerbombs Hydra onto F.I.S.T on the outside. Icarus is tossed in the ring. Ultramantis and Donst hit a double team move but Taylor and Akuma make the save. Akuma and Taylor send Donst and Hydra packing leaving Mantis alone with all three F.I.S.T members. Icarus hit a lungblower on Mantis, which was followed by a german suplex from Akuma, which was followed by a big boot from Taylor. All this amounted to only a two count from Chuck! Donst came back in to battle with Chuck. Chuck went for the Sole Food, but Donst picks up Chuck to counter. Hydra comes off the top rope, and he and Donst hit a Whoopee Cushion/Spinebuster combination for the win! The Order picks up a big win over Team F.I.S.T. This was insanely long; almost 20 minutes. However, it had some real fun moments and the closing minutes were hot. ***1/2

Young Lions Cup Six Way Elimination Semi-Finals
Amasis vs. Pelle Primeau vs. Vin Gerard vs. Pinkie Sanchez vs. Drake Younger vs. Stupefied

Drake and Amasis started out. Drake put on a waist lock and took Amasis to the mat. Amasis made it back up and threw Drake to the ropes. Amasis attempted to use his quickness to keep Drake out, but Drake’s power and agility was too much for Amasis. Even though he had the upper hand, Drake tagged out to Pelle. Pelle and Amasis then went back and forth with Pelle also getting the advantage. Pelle headscissored Amasis to the outside. Vin Gerard came in and circled the ring, but then decided to roll out of the ring instead. Pelle tagged in Pinkie, and Stupefied jumped in to take the place of the vacant man. Stupefied and Pinkie exchanged some holds until Stupefied threw Pinkie into the corner of Drake. Stupefied went for a chop, but Pinkie moved and Stupefied chopped Drake instead. He repeated this but instead chopped Amasis. Amasis and Drake both fell to the floor because of these chops, and they along with Pelle began to brawl on the outside. Pinkie chopped Stupefied who dropped to his knees. Stupefied then hit a chin breaker on Pinkie. Seeing what was going on outside, Stupefied and Pinkie decided to do consecutive dives onto all three men. Vin got in the ring and jumped up and down as if he was preparing for a drive, but decided against it. All six men were now brawling on the outside. It ended up with Pelle and Drake as the legal men back in the ring, but Drake threw Pelle to the outside once more. Drake went for a swanton onto Pelle, but Pelle moved causing Drake to crash back first on the outside. Pinkie and Amasis became the legal men exchanging chops. Amasis ended up in the corner. Pinkie fired up and looked to attack Amasis in the corner, but Amasis moved. Amasis then tried a split legged maneuver in the corner only for Pinkie to move causing Amasis to crotch himself on the top rope. Pinkie then jumped to the top rope and hit a leg drop on Amasis in the hangman’s position. Pinkie went for the cover but only got two. Drake then came in and attacked Pinkie with various chops and headbutts. Pinkie retaliated by kicking out one of Drake’s legs then nailing him with the Shiny Hiney. Pelle then came in lighting up Pinkie with chops. Pinkie, now bleeding from the forehead, thwarted Pelle’s attempt to throw him into the ropes, and turned it into the Go Back Too Sleep. Amasis came in and kneed Pinkie in the gut. Amasis tried getting the Twist of Funk, but Pinkie reversed it into the Drop It Like It’s Hot position. Vin Gerard came in the ring and hit an STO on Pinkie, turning his set up into a roll up. This allowed Amasis to roll up Pinkie for the three count, eliminating him from the match. The fans are PISSED.

Drake comes in the ring asking what the heck that was, looking at Vin on the outside. Drake and Pelle start off after the elimination. The two get in a chop battle which ends with Drake headbutting Pelle. Drake follows up by throwing some hard forearms at Pelle, and then tosses Pelle in the corner. Pelle jumps over the top rope and lands on the apron. Drake comes after him but is met with a forearm to the face. Pelle then jumps off the top rope with a hurricanrana on Drake. Pelle runs off the ropes only to be caught by a big powerslam. Drake only gets the two count. Drake looks for the Drake’s Landing but Pelle turns it into a roll-up. Drake escapes and pounds on Pelle’s back with four hard forearms for good measures. Drake hits a running Drake’s Landing on Pelle for the pin, eliminating Pelle from the match.

Vin sneaks into the ring while Drake isn’t looking. He rolls up Drake for the three count! Drake Younger has been eliminated!

Stupefied climbs to the top rope while Vin is circling the ring. Drake goes to attack Vin, but Bryce holds him back. Stupefied looks to jump on Vin, but Vin sidesteps him causing Stupefied to splat against the mat. Vin follows up with a kick to the ribs. Vin begins to attack Stupefied like a vicious animal on the mat. Vin picks up Stupefied and tags in Amasis. The two rudos look each other in the eyes as if they don’t like each other. Amasis comes in the ring and also begins the beat down on Stupefied. Amasis tags Vin back in, and the two begin to double team Stupefied. It looks as if the rudos have come to a silent agreement to ride of the Tecnico. Amasis and Vin throw Stupefied to the ropes, but Stupefied holds on. Amasis then attacks Vin from behind to a great crowd reaction. Amasis beats down on Vin nailing him with a splits leg drop. Vin rolls out of the ring and Stupefied attempts a german suplex on Amasis. Amasis counters however and gets the advantage on Stupefied. Amasis works over Stupefied and lifts him up for a suplex. Stupefied rolls forward into a cradle, and pins Amasis! Stupefied and Vin are the final two.

Vin wastes no time as immediately after the fall he pounces onto Stupefied. He beats on and chokes Stupefied on the mat. He brings Stupefied to his feet and chokes him on the rope. He tosses Stupefied to the ropes, and Stupefied comes back with a clothesline. He enjoys a small advantage on Vin kicking him to the outside with a leg lariat followed by a spinwheel kick. He fakes out Vin on one side of a ring with a 619 but then hits him with a corkscrew tope. They both come back in and Stupefied goes up top. Vin drops him off the top rope stomach first onto the top rope. Vin picked him up for a suplex but Stupefied countered into a face buster. Stupefied went up top with a beautiful looking frog splash. Foolishly, Stupefied wasted time going back up top for another move. Stupefied went up top and came off with the Cancun Tornado but missed. Vin came at Stupefied with the choke STO, but Stupefied twisted it so he was hoisting Vin over his head in preparation for the Final Smash! As Stupefied walked forward, Vin slid off and pushed Stupefied down to the mat. Vin then locked on the STF leaving Stupefied no choice but to tap out. Vin Gerard now advances to the Young Lions Cup VI finals on Night 3! Excellent match here, with great storytelling throughout. Everyone looked real good and it set up the Vin/Drake match for later in the year. ****

Vin ended telling whoever it is that ends up being the winner tomorrow night he will kill on Night 3.

The 411: A pretty darn good show overall. You had a mixed bag in the six qualifiers, but Sami vs. Vin and Stupefied vs. Jimmy Olsen were way awesome. The F.I.S.T. vs. Neo-Solar Temple match was also awesome for many reasons. It also should be mentioned that Quackenbush and Sweeney were on fire in the commentary department. It’s definitely not a must own, but I’d say it’s definitely worth a recommendation.

Final Score:  7.5   [ Good ]