wrestling / Columns
The CHIKARA Special 6.20.10: Needs More Vuvuzela
Hello everyone and welcome back to the CHIKARA Special! I realize it’s been a month since we last spoke, and for that I apologize. But with CHIKARA’s massive return to the Midwest coming up next weekend, I figured I’d make my triumphant return by previewing these shows. No more small talk, let’s do this!
Last year, Ultramantis Black abducted Delirious and put him under Mantis’ command by using the Eye of Tyr. The Eye of Tyr gave Mantis the ability to control Delirious and usher in a new era of dominance to CHIKARA. The Brüderschaft emerged due to Ares wanting to take over CHIKARA and get his Eye back. He managed to do so when Mantis gave Tim Donst (then under the guide of Vökoder) to protect it. With the Eye of Tyr in hand, Ares used it to bring Delirious into the BDK fold. Ares chose to do so during Delirious and Mantis’ shot at the Campeonatos de Parejas. Delirious was absent for three months, but finally reemerged when Ares brought Delirious to ringside during his and Mantis’ singles encounter at Aniversario Zehn. Delirious showed then he was more vicious than ever, taking Crossbones out of action indefinitely. Now it’s time for Ultramantis Black to gain a measure of revenge, or better yet, try and make it so that Delirious come back to the Order. Needless to say, this is one of the more intriguing bouts of the weekend.
Next we see a battle between former Campeonatos de Parejas, as Fire Ant & Soldier Ant of the Colony battle The Super Smash Bros. The Colony have had their hands full lately with the BDK, and even came close to winning King of Trios and the Young Lions Cup in the past couple months. This weekend the Colony put their issues with the BDK aside for other pursuits, such as gaining points towards a future shot at the Campeonatos de Parejas. To do that they have to beat the Super Smash Bros., who are also looking to get three points after a long lapse in tag team competition. They failed to correct any points in two four team elimination matches this year, so it looks they will try to the old fashioned way by winning a two-on-two tag match first. With both of these teams involved, we’ll likely get treated to a hard-hitting, high-flying funfest. It’s anyone’s match for the taking.
Speaking of the BDK, Lince Dorado & Pinkie Sanchez have a weekend of tag matches ahead of them. In Michigan, they face The Osirian Portal. The Portal are hot off a short tour in ZERO-1 and a bittersweet Aniversario weekend. This will be the Portal’s first crack at the BDK since being saddled with them as partners and opponents during King of Trios. The Portal has been in the ring with 5 of 8 BDK members since the groups formation, and after this match it will be 7 (Tim Donst, where art thou?!) The only other time these guys have met in some capacity is when The Portal battled Lince and Equinox in November 2008 and February 2009. The Portal of course have the itch to regain their Campeonatos de Parejas they held for so very long. Will The Portal get back on track, or will the BDK duumvirate look to collect their first of two potential points this weekend?
Ever since he won the Wrestling Observer’s 2009 award, Frightmare has been touted as the next Young Lions Cup holder. In Michigan, Frightmare will finally get his chance against Tim Donst. This will be Donst’s 4th defense since winning the Cup. Frightmare has actually scored a multitude of wins against some of CHIKARA’s heavy hitters lately; Icarus, Crossbones, and Vin Gerard are just a few of the names on that list. Donst has been somewhat shaken lately, as he was submitted by Soldier Ant back at King of Trios and lost a tag team match (with Lince Dorado) at Aniversario Zehn. Perhaps his confidence is shaken enough for Frightmare to capitalize. This is likely the last opportunity Frightmare will have at the Cup before the Young Lions Cup tournament (in which he has yet to be entered). Is now Frightmare’s time, or will Tim Donst be able to pull one over on the crazed competitor?
Bryan Danielson has not made a return to the independent scene; he’s dived in head first. Even with no less than 5 other bookings under his belt (PWG, DGUSA, EVOLVE, wXw, and AIW), it seems as if CHIKARA will be the company to bring him back first. Originally scheduled for this show was Eddie Kingston vs. Delirious, but with Danielson now back into the fold, he has been slated to take on Eddie Kingston instead. This is an independent dream match for many, many fans and a first time ever contest anywhere. The only real interaction these two have had was back at King of Trios 2009 when Kingston’s Roughneck trio took on Danielson’s “Team Uppercut”. Even then, interaction between the two was limited. This time around it’s a straight singles match with each guy having something to prove. Will Danielson be able to re-establish himself as The Best In The World by starting with the Last of a Dying Breed, or will Eddie show why many people refer to him as “The King?” If you’re not excited for this bout, I think you will be pleasantly surprised when you see it.
I’ve said this many times, but the Atomicos matches on the latest CHIKARA shows have been show-stealing spectacles lately. This one packs as hard a punch on paper as some of the others. On the Tecnicos side, The Future Is Now of Equinox and Helios team up with 3.0 of Scott “Jagged” Parker and Shane Matthews to take on Vin Gerard and STIGMA of the UnStable and Chuck Taylor and Icarus of Team F.I.S.T. The Future Is Now have a tag title shot the night after this show. If they pin anyone on the opposite team (three former Young Lions Cup champions and a former Campeone de Parejas) it will be a big step of momentum for them. F.I.S.T. called 3.0 “jokes” when they revealed themselves as The Badd Boyz, and their rivalry will only escalate here. In addition, Vin Gerard and STIGMA have been acting awfully strange as of late, so it will be interesting to see where their heads at in this match. Needless to say however, a fun match is almost a guarantee here.
In the main event, CHIKARA delivers a unique trios match. The 2010 King of Trios tournament winners (The Brüderschaft of Claudio Castagnoli, Ares, and Tursas) will battle the Midwest’s very own Soul Touchaz group of Marshe Rockett, Willie “da Bomb” Richardson, and the returning Acid Jaz. Jaz would put out with a pretty serious injury back in late 2008, and while his other Soul Touchaz partners were around in 2009, he was not. The last we saw the Soul Touchaz was at the 2009 King of Trios tournament where they defeated a trio of CZW regulars in Beef Wellington, Greg Excellent, and current BDK member Pinkie Sanchez in Round One (and lost due to cheating in the second round to the UnStable). The Soul Touchaz are perennial fan favorites and have the home field advantage in Taylor, but The BDK trio have never lost a match together. Will The Soul Touchaz be able to do the impossible and take down the 2010 King of Trios, or will the BDK’s domination continue?
The Soul Touchaz will just be getting started with Trios action in Taylor, because the next night in Cleveland they have another tough triumvirate to deal with in The Colony. While The Colony may not have won King of Trios, they still made it all the way to the finals, and could have won it were it not for the BDK’s nefarious actions. This will be the first time either team have crossed paths with one another in any manner in CHIKARA. With both teams being big favorites, it will be interesting to see if the crowd galvanizes around one team or the other. Will The Colony get back into the groove of things after a very unsuccessful Aniversario weekend, or will The Soul Touchaz score a nice upset on their home turf?
An interesting occurrence took place over King of Trios weekend. While Johnny Gargano and the rest of Team Oreo lost the King of Trios tournament, Gargano popped up on Night 2 during the awesome F.I.S.T. vs. Osaka Pro bout. The one interesting note is that Gargano wore one of F.I.S.T’s shirts to the ring. Ever since, Gargano would drop a status update here and there on Facebook mentioning how much he liked F.I.S.T. but felt they had a weak link amongst the group. Perhaps Gargano feels as if he would be a good addition to the group and is doing what he can to gain their favor. Chuck Taylor has brought this up in a recent blog on CHIKARA’s website:
Johnny Gargoochi, I saw you sitting in the aisle on Night 2 of King of Trios, rocking that super-sweet F.I.S.T. shirt. And yes, I lost to a dirty, cheating Japonesey. Now, through the magic of Facebook, (remember when it was just for college kids?) I saw what you said about F.I.S.T. having a weak link. Using my Sherlock Holmes-esque powers of deduction I’m willing to bet you think that weak link is me, The Kentucky Gentleman.
I noticed you weren’t at Night 3. If you were, you would’ve seen what I did to another man who underestimated me, El Oriental. In what many people are calling the Match of the Year, I made him tap out in the center of the ring (maybe it was a little left of the center, but still,) as I got back on the winning track.
So, Mr. Gargoochi. Let me make it really easy for you. Real formulaic. Young Lions Cup champion. Rey de Voladores. King of Trios. Most beautiful man in Western Kentucky award. I don’t think I like your face. Beat La Oriental. I will never lose. That’s basically my bio right there.
Gargoochi, keep your contract-signing-hands out of F.I.S.T. business, and stay in Ohio with all the other people no one likes.
Yours truly, The Kentucky Gentleman,
CT
Certainly this will come up in Cleveland when Gargano faces Player Uno one on one. For awhile Uno took to singles competition since his buddy Player Dos held the Young Lions Cup at the time. Uno experienced little success, with his only singles victory since the Young Lions Cup tournament being against Tim Donst in November. Although it seems like the Super Smash Bros. could be looking to get back in the swing of things in the tag team division, it doesn’t hurt to have a back up plan. Gargano is no slouch however, and defeating the former Campeon de Parejas would give him another bullet point as to reasons why F.I.S.T. should accept them into their group.
When 3.0 revealed their dual identities back in March, Icarus and Gran Akuma came out and told 3.0 they were a couple of jokes that wouldn’t amount to anything. All that comment did was light a fire under their behinds. 3.0 defeated The Order of the Neo-Solar Temple right away, and had one of their most impressive showings in a four-way tag team elimination match last month. 3.0. however did not win that match, and were eliminated by none other than F.I.S.T. members Gran Akuma and Chuck Taylor. 3.0 dropped off a blog at CHIKARA HQ to lay out a challenge because of it:
6/10/2010: Boy, do I feel pumped. I’m feelin’ really pumped. I woke up this morning, hopped outta my big, bad bed and fixed myself up a 10-egg omelette. But was I done? Oh no. Not by a long shot. I packed 6 pieces of cheese singles into that piece o’ business, chopped up some onions, some red bell peppers and some bacon. Yeah. That’s right. BACON.
I’m a big guy, big guy’s gotta have big meals for breakfast. Lemme tell ya, when I took a bite of that delicious omelette, the taste was out of this world. It was the taste…of victory.
I’m thinkin’ that taste is going to be very similar to the feeling me and the ol’ Jag-man are going to have on June 27th in the city of the Indians – Cleveland, Ohio! You boys think we’re a joke? Lemme tell ya something Icarus, Taylor. The last thing that thought I was a joke was that omelette and now it’s in my stomach!
We’re comin’ to Cleveland, boys! Shane Matthews! YES! Scott The Jagged Parker! YES! 3.0! The freedom fighters of CHIKARA!
YES!
SM
3.0 will have a chance to put F.I.S.T. in their place and obtain a shiny point at the same time. For them, that would just be sweet. Can 3.0 shut F.I.S.T. up, or will they prove what they have been saying about 3.0 all along?
Uno’s partner Player Dos will have his hands full in Cleveland as well. He has a tall task ahead of him (literally) as he takes on the heavyweight brute of the BDK in Tursas. Dos’s small stature will do him no favors, but Dos has pulled out some impressive victories in the past. He also has speed on his side, and Tursas has been shown to be a little more prone to attack more recently than before. Still, the odds are stacked against Dos in a big way. Could Dos pull out an upset? Sure. Will he? Highly unlikely.
AIW held their “Jack of All Trios” tournament during the second week of April to determine the 16th and final trio in the 2010 King of Trios tournament. In addition to the tournament, a few CHIKARA regulars were going to perform. The above match of Mike Quackenbush & Frightmare against the BDK duo of Lince Dorado & Pinkie Sanchez was supposed to happen during that weekend. However, Quack suffered an injury during the Phoenix Dragon Gate USA weekend and Tim Donst replaced Lince Dorado. Frightmare ended up taking on Green Ant in a singles match, and the Tecnicos team was replaced by Sugar Dunkerton and Matt Classic. CHIKARA is now delivering the promised match to the same crowd it was intended for in the first place. This time however, points are in play. While neither team has any points in their name as of this writing, Pinkie and Lince could come into the match with 1 point under their belt were they to beat the Osirian Portal. It also serves in the BDK’s overall best interest to stop a strong team like Quack and Frightmare from collecting three points and challenging for the titles that Claudio and Ares hold. This one is certainly personal, and it could become an all out war in Philadelphia.
The UnStable sure have been acting strange lately. To put in a frank manner, Vin Gerard & STIGMA have been acting like Tecnicos. Their buddy Colin Delaney on the other hand has been Rudoing it up still. Vin and STIGMA seemed to have turned the corner and started engaging in more fair and balanced competiton in the hopes that will help their win/loss records. So when Vin Gerard discovered that it was Colin Delaney who interfered behind to his back to help him beat Amasis at Aniversario Elf, he was less than pleased. He recently dropped off a blog explaining how angry he was.
6/16/2010: I never thought it would come to this. But since someone doesn’t want to answer my phone calls, I felt the need to vent my frustrations on the internet. I’m sure that he Google searches his name enough so hopefully he can take a second out of his HECTIC schedule to read this.
“Cibernetico Begins” was the first chance I had to see your true colors. About who you look out for, and who comes first. Think I forgot?
In Pottsville, at “A World of Comforting Illusions,” you couldn’t just sit there and do your job at Commentation Station. No, not you, you just had to open your mouth…am I surprised?
King of Trios 2010 was our chance to turn things around…OUR chance, to turn things around!!! Your chance to drop the ball, and I couldn’t help but laugh in your face.
My match with Amasis at “Aniversario Elf,” I told you to let ME take care of things, regardless of what happened. Who knew I could trust a snake over you?
June 27th in Cleveland, OH is a BIG deal to The UnStable. And you’re not.
Fair warning: If I see your face while STIGMA and I are taking on The Osirian Portal, there’s going to be a problem.
VG
After the match at Aniversario Elf, Vin and STIGMA were surprised and upset at Colin for interfering in Vin’s match, especially because it caused the Osirian Portal to proclaim that the UnStable “had not changed at all.” Ophidian then layed out a challenge for the UnStable to face The Portal in a rematch from March. This rematch will take place in Cleveland. The UnStable have been looking to gain back some of their lost momentum and a victory over former Campeones de Parejas is a fine place to start. Will the UnStable prove they really have changed for the better, or will the Portal put them in their place? And will Colin Delaney make his presence felt one way or the other.
It’s the rematch that’s nearly 3 years in the making. For those who don’t know, Eddie Kingston and Tim Donst had a singles match back in July of 2007 at “Showdown in Crisisland” that is one of the most iconic bouts CHIKARA has ever had. Kingston unleashed such a beating on Donst, that non-CHIKARA fans have seen the YouTube clip multiple times.
Donst and Kingston did battle once again at “Bruised”, where Kingston was able to defeat Donst again. Then in November of 2007 at “The Battle of Who Could Care Less”, Donst pinned Kingston in a six-man tag. Since then, these two crossed paths once again in a Cibernetico (in 2008). Although Kingston beat Donst twice, it’s likely that Donst’s pin on Kingston in that six man tag still bugs him. We’re almost three years removed from those singles bouts, and things have changed. Donst is a much more experienced, well-rounded, and arrogant athelete. Kingston hits harder than before and is even less remorseful, if that’s possible. Couple this with the fact that Donst is aligned with Claudio Castagnoli and you have a highly anticipated contest. Donst may never live down the initial beatdown he received, but he can certainly hope to redeem himself in some manner by defeating the Last of a Dying Breed. I am quite looking forward to this long awaited rematch, and it’s interesting to see how this match differs and compares to their legendary first encounter.
In our main event of the evening, the Campeones de Parejas of Claudio Castagnoli and Ares will face The Future Is Now duo of Helios and Equinox. Much like Claudio and Ares did, The Future Is Now collected their three points in one weekend. Along the way, the defeated teams including two other BDK members and the current Young Lions Cup champion (Tim Donst and Lince Dorado), former Campeones de Parejas the Super Smash Bros., and a duo consisting of 2/3rds of the King of Trios, a former Campeone de Parejas, and a former Young Lions Cup champion (Gran Akuma & Chuck Taylor). As we saw at Aniversario Elf, Claudio and Ares’ tag title defense against Incoherence was ruined due to BDK referee Derek Sabato’s tactics, and it’s quite likely he could referee this contest as well. If not, we’ve seen before that the Future Is Now are able to take down foes much larger than they are (putting up a hell of an effort against team Big Japan in King of Trios springs immediately to mind). Will The Future Is Now be able to unseat the BDK in only their second title defense, or will politics ruin another chance for CHIKARA to make an impact?
If you happen to be attending CHIKARA’s Cleveland show, stick around for AIW’s Absolution V, their biggest show of the year. On this card, for the first time ever, Tyler Black will do battle with Chuck Taylor. Also, Bryan Danielson will appear on the show (and have a meet and greet before hand) facing the winner of the AIW Absolute Championship match immediately after. There are many other matches as well, and you can check them out and buy tickets at AIW’s website. Be sure to check them out on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube as well for all the Absolution V coverage you need. Again, it is in the exact same building as the CHIKARA show and tickets are only $10 in advance ($15 at the door). This means you could have an entire days worth of wrestling for roughly $30. Do not pass this up, and make sure you give AIW a shot. They have a great staff of people and a lot of hard working wrestlers behind them.
Here’s the card so far:
4 Way Elimination Match for the vacant Absolute Title
Sterling James Keenan vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommy Mercer vs. Facade
Bryan Danielson will face the winner of this match for the title.
First Time Ever
Chuck Taylor vs. Tyler Black
Intense Title
Chris Dickinson (c) vs. Shiima Xion
AIW Women’s Title
Hailey Hatred (c) vs. Jefferson Saint
No Rope Barbed Wire Match
John Thorne & Alpha Beta Duke vs. Blackballed
Rematch from “From Dusk Til Dawn”
The Olsen Twins vs. The Banana Brigade
The 217th CHIKARA Podcast-A-Go-Go is live! This week, Wiggly and Bryce cover The Mint Condition. This episode covers The Throwbacks vs. Claudio Castagnoli & Ares, and The Colony vs. Sara Del Rey, Daizee Haze, & Pinkie “Pink Ant” Sanchez.
Here are hype videos for all three nights of CHIKARA’ King of Trios 2010 events. As usual, you can pick up all these titles at Smart Mark Video or stream them at Hybrid Entertainment Television
My CHIKARA blog, The CHIKARA Special, is still going strong. I have tons of new reviews of and entire 2004 shows up there right now. Also, CHIKARA matches from other companies such as ROH, FIP, PWG, and others will be up there shortly. Go there, subscribe to the blog (on the right) and continue reading my sweet CHIKARA related reviews. Subscriptions are good because: A) They let me know you’re reading and B) They get delivered right to your inbox. Its good times, so check it out and tell your friends about The CHIKARA Special.
While I didn’t have a CHIKARA Special last week, I did post a few video reviews for your pleasure: Aniversario Zehn, Aniversario Elf, and Interspecies Wrestling “Slamtasia 3” have all been reviewed for your viewing pleasure. Read and love all of those wonderful reviews! And don’t call me lazy. I know when you do.
This week, myself and Justin Houston conducted a podcast where we discussed CHIKARA and Dragon Gate for 55 minutes. Then for the last 15 to 20 minutes, Jerome Cusson joins us to discuss ROH’s Death Before Dishonor show. It’s a really fun show, and if you’re a fan of CHIKARA, DG, or ROH, this will be a hoot and a holler. Get yer listen on right here!
Brad Garoon’s blog, Open The Garoon Gate is all about Dragon Gate and Dragon Gate USA. He reviews every Infinity, PPV, appearance of a Dragon Gate wrestler in the U.S. and other Japanse promotions , etc. Almost daily Brad has something new added to his tremendously large archive. You owe it to yourself to check out that blog, as well as his Toryumon and dragondoor/El Dorado/Secret Base blogs which you can find links to on his Dragon Gate blog.
Jake Ziegler, another Cool Kids Table founder, writes some fantastic wrestling DVD reviews in his A 2 Z Analyzis. This guy has been working so hard, reviewing every single TNA Slammiversary show and every single ROH Death Before Dishonor show. Every single review is very good and absolutely worthy of reading. Make sure to support him!
Ryan Byers’ delivered another very enjoyable Into The Indies last week, discussing The Osirian Portal’s debut match in ZERO-1.
Ari Berenstein gives a monstrous restrospective of Ring of Honor’s “Death Before Dishonor” shows in this weeks Column of Honor. You can check out Part 1 here and Part 2 here.
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.
Thanks so much again for reading this weeks CHIKARA Special! Look out for next week’s CHIKARA Special where I’ll wrap up whatever else is announced for Aniversario weekend, etc.
Links!
The CHIKARA Home Page .
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