Contemplating CHIKARA 11.28.09: Long Tall Weekend

Hello all and welcome to Contemplating CHIKARA! I hope the holiday and savings served all you very well, and I appreciate you closing out your weekend with this fine article.

One angle leads all fans to go nuts

To quote Davey Richards, “Sweet Cartwheelin’ Jesus!” This thought went through my mind as Pro Wrestling Ponderings co-founder Jerome Cusson texted me what occurred at CHIKARA’s season finale while I was in the Verizon Center watching the Survivor Series. CHIKARA is one of the few companies who are able to outshine a weekend of spectacular matches with an angle that has turned the company upside down. A lot of neat stuff has happened in CHIKARA this year, but never have I received more questions about an angle in CHIKARA then this one.

What am I talking about? Let me explain.

Back in December 2008, we were revealed that something existed in the CHIKARAverse known as the Eye of Tyr. Hydra wrote it on a piece of paper to explain to his then partner Tim Donst why the insect evil-doer Ultramantis Black was acting so protective and strange as of late. We later learned more about the Eye of Tyr. Apparently, Ultramantis Black apprehended the Eye from Dr. Cube, the evil head-honcho of Kaiju Big Battel. The trading order goes like this: Mike Quackenbush taught the reversal of CHIKARA Special to Shane Storm (and all the other Tecnicos). The Rudos were not taught this, as they would teach it to Mike’s archrival, Chris Hero. Shane Storm taught Ultramantis Black the CHIKARA Special in order to secure a victory over Hydra. Shane Storm was desperate for a win, which is why he turned the reversal over to Mantis. Mantis traded the reversal to Chris Hero. Mantis then went to Dr. Cube for the Eye of Tyr. Mantis cashed in his favor from Hero, and Hero went over to Kaiju Big Battel for a few matches. Since Mantis was able to send Hero to Dr. Cube, Dr. Cube gave Mantis the Eye of Tyr.

Why did Mantis want the Eye of Tyr? The Eye of Tyr legend is as follows: “The Eye, whose exact origins are still unknown, was believed to give unique powers to only those who possessed it. These powers, said to have been given as a gift from Tyr himself, allowed the holder to “control” another individual simply by touching the stone to the forehead (hence, “the third eye”). The translated journals of several Norse explorers, merchants, and pirates, however, also suggest that unless the Eye is given away upon use or if it is obtained through theft or other nefarious means, the holder will be befallen by bad luck or tragedy.” Mantis used the device to take control of Delirious, a cohort on Mantis’ former comrade Hallowicked. Hallowicked once upon a time ditched Ultramantis Black and began regularly teaming with Delirious. Finally, Mantis had his revenge and strengthened The Order of the Neo-Solar Temple.

As mentioned above, those who possess the Eye are usually befallen by bad luck or tragedy. Mantis refused to give up possession of the Eye, as he believed that the bad luck story of the Eye was bollocks. Sure enough, in August, a man dressed in all white brought a box to the ring and presented it to Mantis. Inside was a message that said “The war is coming”. A frightened Mantis left the arena, but still refused to relinquish the Eye of Tyr. Also in August, a robot/man named Vökoder debuted and demolished a handful of people in the Young Lions Cup tournament. He fell in the second round, but still looked impressive. Vökoder had been seen in the crowd earlier in the year, speculated by many to be a detective sent to retrieve the Eye of Tyr.

Carpenter Ant was another new member to debut in CHIKARA, who helped Fire Ant and Soldier Ant squash their beef with Chuck Taylor and Icarus by interjecting himself in their Masks vs. Hair match in May. Carpenter Ant would show up periodically, not wearing the Colony wrist gauntlets like his other comrades, and wrestling a more methodical/hard hitting style than his fellow ants. Carpenter Ant was speculated to be from the future, as the night when The Colony won the Campeones de Parejas, he stated BEFORE the match that tonight would be the beginning of the Colony’s reign. Carpenter Ant then shocked the world as he won the 2009 Torneo Cibernetico when he made his partner Soldier Ant submit to a REVERSE CHIKARA Special. Mike Quackenbush asked Carpenter ant where he learned the move, and Carpenter replied that Mike would be surprised at what he knows. Little did we know. At the same Cibernetico, TWO men draped in all white would approach Ultramantis Black, and again he fled the scene.

Another fact that was stated about the Eye of Tyr was its origin. The current whereabouts of this artifact are unknown. Held for many years in the private collection of an unidentified family, it was stolen sometime in the mid 1980’s. It turned up at an auction in a neutral country in 1990, and has changed hands between private collectors at least three times since. Due to the unusually mysterious history of this artifact, the ISRPPA has made it a priority to locate. The whole bit about a “neutral country” really caught the attention of fans. As most are aware, Switzerland has a reputation of being neutral, and CHIKARA trainer Claudio Castagnoli is a native of the country. Many figured he had a role in the Eye of Tyr, but he had been embroiled in a feud with Eddie Kingston for most of the year and any speculation of his involvement was put on the back burner.

Until CHIKARA’s Finale, “Three-Fisted Tales” in Philadelphia, PA on November 22nd.

At the conclusion of the show, the men in white reappeared in the ring. Many Tecnicos came out including Mike Quackenbush and Claudio Castagnoli. The Colony and The Osirian Portal were already out there, since their match just finished. Mike went to the men in white and demanded their real leader show himself. Mike presumed Ultramantis Black was behind the whole thing, and he and Vökoder came out. Vökoder had befriended Mantis and helped The Order win a couple matches. Vökoder was given possession of the Eye of Tyr, as he convinced Mantis that he should hold it since Mantis was a target in the war. Once all the players were in the ring, one of the men in white revealed themselves to be Ares, European wrestler and long-time friend/partner of Claudio Castagnoli. Sure enough, Claudio nailed Mike with an uppercut. Sara Del Ray, Daizee Haze, and Carpenter Ant all hit the ring and helped Claudio and Ares attack the Tecnicos. Vökoder even turned on Mantis and beat him up! Vökoder unmasked to reveal himself to be Tim Donst and Carpenter Ant revealed himself to be Pinkie Sanchez! Claudio, Ares, Donst, Sanchez, Haze, Del Ray, and the other masked white man all made a formation in the ring and they now hold the Eye of Tyr in their possession. The group has declared war on CHIKARA, against both Tecnicos and Rudos (as seen by the demolition of Ultramantis Black and 2.0). Everyone was left with their jaws dropped by the formation of this super group.

The next day, this video surfaced:

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Brüderschaft is here and the war is upon us.

Credit: CHIKARA Fans

For those who don’t know, Brüderschaft means “Brotherhood” in German. I can say with honesty that I haven’t any idea why Claudio, Ares, or the man in white are involved with this group. However, I’ll do my best to explain the other four:

Tim Donst: Donst did a big favor for CHIKARA by infiltrating the Rudo locker room in 2008 to discover who it was that Ultramantis Black learned the reversal of the CHIKARA Special from. Were it not for Donst, we would not have found out that Shane Storm (now STIGMA) was the Tecnico traitor. What does Donst have to show for this? Absolutely nothing. He got a handshake, a pat on the back, a couple chances to tag with Mike Quackenbush, and was forgotten about once Jigsaw returned to the fold. Donst spent the first half of 2009 teaming with Hydra and feuding with STIGMA. Sick of running on a treadmill, Donst turned on Hydra and the fans turned on him. But why? Donst was doing what was best for him. CHIKARA had turned on Donst, making it logical that he would take a spot in the Brüderschaft.

Pinkie Sanchez: Pinkie made a handful of appearances in 2008 at the Young Lions Cup and La Lotería Letal. The Order of the Neo-Solar Temple was on the hunt for a third member in early 2009, and Crossbones gave Pinkie Sanchez a try out much to Mantis’ dismay.

Right off the bat, Pinkie wasn’t taken seriously. At the conclusion of the match, The Order left Pinkie laying and ditched him. Pinkie was brought back for the 2009 King of Trios, but lost in his first round match with Beef Wellington and Greg Excellent and in the Tag Team Gauntlet with Mitch Ryder. He re-surfaced as Carpenter Ant to prove his worth. Since Pinkie was betrayed by Mantis and the Order, him screwing the Order and joining the Brüderschaft not only gives him the chance to face the group that left him laying, but the company that also didn’t give him a real serious shot.

Sara Del Ray and Daizee Haze: The only two women on the CHIKARA roster have begged and pleaded for competition all year. Both have been on the roster for years and never got a real fair shake. The amount of times the two faced each other was getting ridiculous. Not since February 2006 has either woman been apart of a CHIKARA tournament. Both women were considered that neither had been taken seriously, especially when they easily disposed of their competition all year long. Both women aired their grievances with cameras after a tag match at Cibernetico Increible:

Daizee and Sara had been begging with CHIKARA to get real competition. Offended by the competition the CHIKARA office placed in front of them, you can see why Sara and Daizee decided to join the Brüderschaft. They’re now with a group of like-minded individuals who also don’t agree with CHIKARA’s ways.

Wait…the Claudio video said there were eight members. Claudio, Ares, the masked man, Donst, Sanchez, Daizee, Sara…that’s only seven! Oh no. Now we have an eighth guy roaming about that’s also anti-CHIKARA that we don’t know. Who that is and when that will be revealed…God only knows.

Now what? The battle lines are drawn. The past is seemingly washed away. What we once knew is now gone. For instance, subtle changes on the CHIKARA website lead for us to make conclusions. Take for instance the changing on the UnStable’s photographs

Before the formation of the Brüderschaft

The UnStable WERE the anti-CHIKARA. CHIKARA viewed them as this way, which is why their backgrounds were plain white as opposed to everyone else. This was a quick and easy distinction separating the UnStable from the rest of the CHIKARA roster.

After the formation of the Brüderschaft

All of a sudden, The UnStable has the CHIKARA background like any other roster member. The UnStable is now accepted as a part of CHIKARA since a war is being bestowed upon EVERYONE. The UnStable are now distinguished from the Brüderschaft and officially accept under the CHIKARA banner (literally!) This is a bigger deal than one may think, considering just how frowned upon all three of these men were/are looked upon.

Eddie Kingston also curiously made a comment after his match with Claudio. The stipulation of their singles match was that the loser would have to tell the other that they respect them. Claudio beat Kingston, and Kingston stated that he did NOT respect Claudio. Kingston said that Claudio and his former partner (Chris Hero) were shady people and should not be trusted. This was before Claudio turned on CHIKARA. Did Kingston have some knowledge about this? If not, why didn’t he share?

Kingston is a curious character in the CHIKARA landscape. Kingston is very vocal about his disliking of Quackenbush, Hero, and others in CHIKARA. He’s berated Leonard F. Chikarason to his face and rolls his eyes at the comedic aspects of CHIKARA. Kingston is an ass kicker and sucks up to know one. He’s very independent, referring to himself as “God’s middle child”. Kingston tends not to take sides, aside from an occasional team-up with cohort Brodie Lee. On the other hand, Kingston takes great pride in being from the Wrestle Factory. He discussed how he carries CHIKARA on his back wherever he goes and how he reveres himself on being the best student the company has produced. Kingston feels he owes CHIKARA nothing and they owe him a lot more than he’s received in the past. So why would Kingston give this information to the higher-ups if he views them as the enemy? Then again, as much as he wouldn’t want to admit it, wouldn’t be happy to see a company he’s worked so hard to build and takes pride in coming from go belly-up because of another group. There I think in lies the core of this for Eddie. If CHIKARA’s going under, Kingston wants it to be on his own terms. Imagine CHIKARA as Eddie’s little brother. When Eddie picks on his brother it’s okay, but God have mercy on you if you decide to pick on Eddie’s brother. Where Kingston ends up is something to note.

Of course, wrestling happened this weekend too! And with that, here are some results thanks to the folks at CHIKARA Fans

Results from “Throwing Life’s Instructions Away”

Preshow Notes: Good turnout so far, looks like a lot of fans came out to see the big finale weekend. A lot younger of a crowd than usual, a lot of kids here. UltraMantis Black fan masks on sale on this very special occasion, a hit at the gimmick table. Louden’s song this month in Easton: “Goin’ to Rasslin'” A fun little tune that officially announced King of Trios for next year at the end.

1. Hallowicked vs. Ophidian: Crowd is split evenly amongst the two, with Ophidian having his strong pocket of fans in Easton. Really fluid match, both guys moving flawlessly with a lot of technical matwork. Awesome moment when Wicked came off the ropes for his yakuza kick but Ophidian countered with his spinning high kick. Later, Ophidian goes for his headscissors in the corner but Wicked popped him up for a Go 2 Sleepy Hollow. Death Grip in, Wicked attempts to power out but ends up in it again until Wicked rammed the corner for Ophidian to go face first into the turnbuckle. Ophidian gets the win in 10:34 with a bridging roll up. Great opener.

2. Lince Dorado & Helios [The Future is Now] vs. Chad Badd & Brad Badd [The Badd Boys]: Badd Boys go on the attack outside before the bell, eventually tossing Lince in and putting the boots to him. Future is Now are attempting to use their speed to top the Badd Boys’ strength. Lince and Helios counter powerbombs into ranas to the outside, then hit twin Space Flying Tiger Drops. Future is Now with some REALLY awesome flying double teams. However, it wasn’t enough as a Badd pinned Helios in 5:00 following a Demolition Decapitation. Fun match!

3. Carpenter Ant vs. Amasis: Carpenter Ant was just relentless with strikes, repeatedly ignoring Papagiorgio’s warnings. Amasis wins by DQ ~ Excesivo Castigo in 4:27. Of all things, errors in the sound system after the match killed the heat of the finish since people were more distracted by that than what happened.

4. Player Dos vs. Yujiro Kushida: Personally the match I was looking forward to the most! Very fast paced out of the gates, Kushida really impressing the fans here, the act that he was trained by Tajiri is very apparent. Kushida with a chop to the butt because he can, amongst other heelish tactics. He saved the belt and Japanese flag he was wearing around his waist to use to his advantage hen Papagiorgio wasn’t looking. Awesome back and forth, Dos with a CRAZY German. Dos gets the win in 11:54 with a frog splash in a crazy good match. Honestly one of the eat performances out of Dos in a long while, and Kushida really impressed too. Great match.

5. Mike Quackenbush, Claudio Castagnoli & Jorge “Skayde” Rivera vs. UltraMantis Black, Crossbones & Delirious [The Order of the Neo-Solar Temple]: Big news of this match is that the health care bill passed its first hurdle in the Senate. Also, Crossbones is wrestling Skayde WTF. Claudio powerhousing Mantis around like it’s no one’s business. Mantis and Delirious teamed up on Skayde with a combination of backrakes and chestrakes, perhaps just attempting to rip his shirt off since I can’t imagine that having much effect through his clothing. Quack and Skayde with some crazy double teams on Mantis and Delirious, making way for Claudio and Crossbones. Claudio with the no hand airplane spin on Crossbones! Finish saw Claudio accidentally hit Quack with a Euro Uppercut, allowing Mantis to pin Quack with a backslide in 13:20. Really frenetic match, if sloppy at points. Claudio and Quack made up after the match, and all was well.

6. Chuck Taylor & Icarus [F.I.S.T.] vs. Dasher Hatfield & Sugar Dunkerton [The Throwbacks]: FIST have extra heel heat tonight for whatever reason. Dasher runs the bases and slides into home on Icarus’ face; Bryce ejects him from the ring, much kicking of dirt went down. AWESOME match full of fun, Dasher slips under Icarus to cradle him for the pin. Two points for the Throwbacks! Huge “DON’T GO, DASHER!” chant after the match.

7. Loser Leaves CHIKARA: Hydra vs. Tim Donst: Hydra is MASSIVELY over, moreso than anyone else tonight by a longshot. Crowd going bananas for him! Hydra laying in some deep chops while taking Donst all over the outside. Donst brings it inside and delivers a number of crushing suplexes, but Hydra perseveres. Donst starts ripping off Hydra’s muscles, until Hydra rips then off himself and drops the straps; abs ARE drawn on underneath. Donst with two neckbreakers but Hydra kicks out! HUGE chokeslam by Hydra! Hydra goes for a tope but Donst catches him with an ace crusher to the hardwood floor. Hydra comes back in at 19! Fans are going nuts and Donst is INFURIATED. The two trade slaps in the middle of the ring, then forearms…Hydra’s beasting up, more really stiff forearms. HYDRALOCK! Donst grabs Bryce, fouls Hydra while he’s distracted and pins him at 14:40. Crowd is enraged. Crowd chants “We Love Hydra!”. He makes a speech, Dasher comes out…Hydra’s speech is incredibly inspiring. Incredibly reminiscent of Lou Gehrig’s retirement speech. This is easily one of the best moments in CHIKARA history, albeit very sad.

8. Fire Ant, Soldier Ant & Green Ant [The Colony] vs. Vin Gerard, STIGMA & Colin Delaney [The UnStable]: The Colony have matching gold capes with the ant logo emblazoned on the back in black, really cool for their entrance. They Supermans, indeed. Nick Papagiorgio keeps saying “C’MON GUYS” and it’s never not funny. Everyone is really on point in this match, really good so far. Fun match, kinda fell apart in the middle but it was good. Soldier Ant pinned Colin with a TKO, but with an upside down Colin, in 15:00 even.

9. Jigsaw vs. Gran Akuma: Louden announced Jig as a member of Future is Now, but he still didn’t get any of Lince’s sweet freakin’ wristbands. Going at it hard out of the gates, crazy strikes and a big dive from Jig. Story early is that Jig has a counter for all of Akuma’s stuff, but Akuma comes up with a way to counteract Jig’s saves. Heavy work on Jig’s injured knee early on, but it’s not stopping him much since he still took to the air, albeit with a visible handicap. Akuma still targeting the knees hard. Jig with a top rope ‘rana which was a reversal from an attempted top rope Joker Driver from Akuma. Jig with a Van Terminator! Incredible trade of strikes, Akuma with a stiff clothesline for two. Akuma goes for a top rope Yoshi Tonic but Jig holds on and brings Akuma down with a Jig’n’Tonic from the top for the win. Really fun finish!

Results from “Three-Fisted Tales”

Preshow Notes: Very tired today, so excuse me if the details are a bit lacking. Strong crowd, very lively. Attendance estimate is around 280. Both Jigsaw and Akuma are out after not being cleared by doctors.

1. Green Ant, Carpenter Ant [The Colony], Dasher Hatfield & Sugar Dunkerton [The Throwbacks] vs. Vin Gerard, Colin Delaney, STIGMA [The UnStable] & Brodie Lee: Carpenter Ant still the odd man out with no Colony cape. Sugar D takes down Brodie early and goes for a slam dunk, but Brodie swats him down with a block. Carpenter Ant and STIGMA now, and Carp broke Stigma’s nose again. Bleeding quite a bit here. Gerard and Green Ant now, Gerard and Colin attempt some heelery but Green is on top of things today. Game 2 of the Rudos vs. Tecnicos baseball series is teased, but Brodie’s not having any of the shenanigans. Brodie with a RIDICULOUS running chop on Dasher. All eight men run rampant until Brodie kills Green Ant with the big boot in 11:14. Okay match. Heels spend extra time celebrating their win.
2. Helios vs. Yujiro Kushida: Very similar to last night with a lot of early ground work, but Helios had a lot of Kushida’s tactics scouted with some of unique reversals. Some really cool stuff in this match but just not as good as Kushida’s match with Dos last night. Helios wins with the 630 in 10:46..

3. Tim Donst vs. Player Uno: Very glad to see Uno here on finale weekend! Crowd is heavily behind him, and he’s laying it in early with some heavy chops. Donst is a heavy rudo, resorting to every trick in the book. Donst goes for a Hydralock but Uno turns it into a stunner for two. Uno’s offense tonight is on point, he looks really good doing all sorts of innovative stuff. Uno taps out Donst in 6:17.

4. Hallowicked & Frightmare [Incoherence] vs. UltraMantis Black & Delirious [The Order of the Neo-Solar Temple]: Notable that Crossbones is here on the outside, keeping a keen eye on the front door of the Arena for any BDK business. Really fun and fast paced match so far, Delirious doing a majority of the work for the Order. Delirious and Wicked going buckwild on each other, Shadows Over Heck kicked out of at a one count. Yakuza kick from Wicked on Delirious that should’ve netted the win but Mantis saves him.Delirious with a sick Praying Mantis Bomb on Frightmare in 10:58 to give The Temple their third point.

5. Mike Quackenbush & Jorge “Skayde” Rivera vs. Icarus & Chuck Taylor [F.I.S.T.]: Small pocket of fans booing Quack again this month. Another really fun, but standard fare tag match. Icarus working over Skayde’s knee in deadly fashion. A bit of miscommunication on F.I.S.T.’s part, but it wasn’t enough asChuck Taylor tapped Skayde with the Cross Crab in 11:23.

6. CHIKARA Young Lions Cup ~ V3: Player Dos (c) vs. Lince Dorado: Slow start, but Lince picks it up big with an Asai 450 to the outside that looked awesome. Just a real spotty match, feels like a sequence of moves that’s nothing special. Lince goes for the shooting star senton but lands on his ass. Dos just german’d Lince off the apron onto the steps! Insanity! Player Dos hits a frog splash to retain the Cup.Lince was carried out by his stablemates, clearly an attempt to play on Lince’s accident two years ago.

7. Respect Match: Eddie Kingston vs. Claudio Castagnoli: Claudio runs right out the gates and hits a Ricola Bomb for two, only for Kingston to combat with a backfist for two. They keep the pressure going, just brutalizing one another in ridiculous fashion. Just an incredible back and forth match, brutal as all hell. Kingston with a huge tope! They’re brawling on the outside and Claudio throws a CHIKARA trainee in the way of a huge Kingston strike, providing just enough of a distraction to get in a bicycle kick and an Alpamare Waterslide on the apron. Ricola Bomb and Kingston’s out at one! German for two! Clothesline for two and the crowd is strongly behind Kingston. Claudio with a pumphandle off the top…two count! Kingston kicks out! Bicycle knee, uppercut…and Claudio gets the win in 15:53. Awesome match, strong contender for the best this year in CHIKARA. Kingston says he doesn’t respect Claudio. He pushed Claudio and tested him, and Claudio still can’t put his demon away. Says that Claudio and his former tag team partner are shady people, and that he deserves the respect of no one. Backfist and King leaves.

8. CHIKARA Campeonatos de Parejas ~ V2: Fire Ant & Soldier Ant [The Colony] (c) vs. Ophidian & Amasis [The Osirian Portal];
Primera Caida: Icarus and Akuma are sitting in the entraceway watching closely for who they have to face next. Vokoder is standing in the rafters behind Mantis on commentary, both of them keeping a keen eye on the action. Crowd is split dead even with the two teams. Solid stuff, the guys are going at it strong. Amasis gets the first fall over Fire Ant to put the Portal up 1-0 in 8:23.
Segunda Caida: Ophidian getting the heat on Fire Ant. Fire makes the tag to Soldier…not soon after,Soldier taps Ophidian with the CHIKARA Special in 13:09 to tie it up.
Tercera Caida: Huge sequence of dives to start the fall. Back and forth action, Ophidian and Soldier Ant with some CRAZY slams. Fire Ant goes for the same armbar that they won the belts with, Ophidian attempts to turn it into a pin but gets two counts twice, second one breaking the hold. Colony with twin double stomps for two counts. Super Beach Break attempt shoved off as Ophidian kicks him. Sacrament attempt, Fire Ant rolls out! TKO on Ophidian for two. Death Grip into a suplex, Sacrament attempt on Soldier is good! Two count, kickout! Another Sacrament attempt but the Colony fight out…Super Beach Break and Super TKO for the Colony to retain in 23:15!

The Future of the column in 2009

The eighth season of CHIKARA is in the can and there is no new CHIKARA show until January 31st, 2010. Because of this, final exams, the holiday season, working over my winter break, and beginning an internship in January, I’m not sure how often this column will be posted. It certainly won’t be every Saturday, and I plan to have to make a “CHIKARA in 2009” column in early 2010, but other than that I’m not committed to anything else. I have a few ideas floating around that may or may not come to fruition, but we’ll see.

You WILL see DVD reviews of both season finale shows when the DVDs come out and I get the shows. Other DVD reviews may be posted as well, but Contemplating CHIKARA for now is on a “write when I feel basis”. I want to thank everyone who reads and enjoy the column and hope you’ll return when I do.

YouTube Fun!

Since he is no longer in CHIKARA, I felt it necessary to post this great Hydra tribute video. We’ll miss you buddy. Thanks for the memories.

PCN Thomas made a fantastic Mike Quackenbush tribute video set to music by The Cure! The Cure people! Good stuff.

An entry for the 2009 CHIKARA Video contest. All clips are from the awesome show “Hiding in Plain Sight”.

Shillville

If you have not begun listening, Mike Quackenbush and Clayton Morris (of FOX News & Friends) host a pop-culture podcast known as The Grizzly Bear Egg Cafe. Clayton and Mike talk about all things geek such as movies, music, television, comic books, tech stuff, and wrestling here and there. I find it wildly entertaining, as Clayton and Mike play off each other very well. It’s also really cool to hear Mike talk about non-wrestling stuff as well. So please, check out The Grizzly Bear Egg Cafe and subscribe to their podcast on iTunes.

Hey, I have a blog now! I post all my wrestling writings there (outside of this column), so check it out! I have a review of AAW’s “Us vs. Them” show featuring Bryan Danielson, Jigsaw, Gran Akuma, Hallowicked, Arik Cannon, The North Star Express, Jimmy Jacobs, and others. Click here to check out the review and everything else on my blog.

Check out my new podcast with Jerome Cusson at Pro Wrestling Ponderings. In the podcast, we discuss my live experience at Survivor Series, the CHIKARA Season Finale, the 2009 PWG Battle of Los Angeles, the 2009 Jeff Peterson Cup, Final Battle 2009 being live, and some DVD recommendations for the holidays. The podcast, and other fine articles, can be found at Pro Wrestling Ponderings.

Ari Berenstein is awesome. So is his column. Go read it, right now.

So are Brad Garoon and Jake Ziegler! Both of them have their own respective blogs you should check out. Brad’s blog, Open The Garoon Gate, is all about Dragon Gate and Dragon Gate USA. He reviews every Infinity, PPV, etc. Jake Ziegler’s blog, Kayfabe, has WWE, TNA, and ROH reviews. Make sure to check out and enjoy both!

Thanks so much again everyone for checking out this weeks Contemplating CHIKARA! Make sure to check my other stuff here on the website, as well as my blog. My blog will get lots of updates during break as I am planning on reviewing lots of DVD’s from FIP and AIW. Thanks again, and I’ll see you all in a little while.

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