Contemplating CHIKARA 10.16.09: Cibernetico Especial~!

CHIKARA has always been known as a wrestling company entrenched in Lucha Libre. Proud to bring the unique style to the United States, it would make sense for CHIKARA to bring a unique match from Lucha Libre to the U.S. – The Torneo Cibernetico.

Since 2004, the Cibernetico has been used to bring the issues in the company to a head as well as bringing out certain guys as big stars. Since CHIKARA does not have a singles title for most of the regulars, winning the Cibernetico is treated as a huge deal.

The sixth annual Cibernetico is upon us, and with that, I decided to recap all the previous Cibernetico’s in intense detail. So get ready, for this is the CIBERNETICO ESPECIAL~!

The Rules

Lucha tags are in effect, meaning in addition to physically contacting a wrestling, leaving the ring counts as a legal tag. Each team has a batting order that much be followed. That means that the wrestler in the ring must tag out to the next man in the batting order. Only the next wrestler in the batting order is up on the apron while the remaining teammates on each team wait on the floor. If the batting order is broken, the team can be disqualified. The match is under elimination rules by pin fall, submission, disqualification or count out. There can only be one winner, so if more than one man on a team survives when all members of another team have been eliminated those teammates must wrestle each other to determine the winner.

The Cibernetico Cometh
Emmaus, PA – 10.30.2004

The Story: The second Young Lions Cup tournament took place on July 10, 2004 and July 31, 2004 in Emmaus, PA. With a total of 16 competitors, fourteen were chosen before hand and two were picked the night of the tournament in a wildcard draw. The two men who got those spots were Rorschach and a debuting “Sweet & Sour” Larry Sweeney. Sweeney shot straight to the top winning the whole shebang and becoming the second Young Lions Cup champion. Sweeney did not accomplish this task alone, as he amassed a group of masked wrestlers (comprised of men who were not chosen in the wildcard draw) to start Sweet & Sour International. In the final round, it was Rorschach’s superkick to former partner Jigsaw that allowed Sweeney to pin the Wrestling Riddle. Sweeney avoided having a rematch with Jigsaw but finally he would face him in the first annual CHIKARA Torneo Cibernetico. Before the match, Sweeney cut a promo said in order for Jigsaw to get a shot at his Young Lions Cup, Jigsaw would have to do what Sweeney did: get through fifteen other competitors.

The Competitors: Jigsaw, F.I.S.T. (Icarus & Gran Akuma), Mr. Zero, Jolly Roger, DJ Skittlez, Private Eye, and Shane Storm vs. Larry Sweeney, Hallowicked, Ultramantis Black, Rorschach, Crossbones, Mano Metalico, The Sharecropper, and Spyrazul

The Match: The first pinfall did not occur until 41 minutes into the match when Mano Metalico got eliminated. There were short spurts of pinfalls here and there. The importance of the match came to the ending pitting Gran Akuma and Jigsaw vs. Sweeney, Rorschach, and Spyrazul. Sweeney leapfrogs over Akuma, goes down, and grabs his leg. The referee checks on Sweeney. Sweeney slowly gets up, punches Akuma and pins him for the three leaving Sweeney, Rorschach, and Spyrazul against the lone Jigsaw. Sweeney, so proud of his elimination of Akuma, celebrates on the top rope. While he is distracted, Spyrazul hits the Black Tornado Slam on Rorschach and allows Jigsaw to pin Rorschach. Spyrazul then unmasks to reveal himself to be Mike Quackenbush in disguise. Mike tells Jigsaw to finish the job, then leaves the ringside area. A frightened Sweeney, who had managed to dodge Jigsaw the entire match, runs outside. Jigsaw follows, brings him back to the ring, and hits a shining Enzugiri on Sweeney to pick up the win in the first annual Torneo Cibernetico.

The Aftermath: Jigsaw finally got his shot at the Young Lions Cup against Sweeney at “Fear of Music” on November 19th, 2004. Rorschach tried to interfere again, but even with that, Jigsaw was able to defeat Sweeney to become the third Young Lions Cup champion. Sweet & Sour International would also disband shortly after this match.

The Cibernetico Returneth
Hellertown, PA – 10.22.2005

The Story: At the 2005 Tag World Grand Prix, The Superfriends of Mike Quackenbush and Chris Hero made it all the way to the finals to challenge the makeshift team of Claudio Castagnoli and Arik Cannon. After Quack had been beaten on by the Rudo team, he made a valiant tag to Chris Hero. Hero ducked a pair of clotheslines before ending up back in his corner. Hero stopped, looked at Quackenbush, and nailed him in the face with a forearm. Hero nailed a disgusting looking Rubix Cube before rolling to the floor to make Quackenbush the legal man. Cannon wasted no time pinning Quackenbush to make himself and Claudio the winners of the 2005 TWGP. Hero got on the microphone to explain his actions. Hero noted that Quackenbush defeated him in the opening round of the 2004 IWA-MS Ted Petty Invitational, effectively embarrassing Hero in his home promotion. Later on, after Quackenbush lost to Bryan Danielson in the semi-finals, Quackenbush talked about how he had competed in many tournaments throughout his career but never got the opportunity to win one. Hero heard that speech, knew how important winning the Tag World was for him, and under the guise as his confidant teamed with Quackenbush. Hero’s plan all along was to take him to the finals to give Quackenbush a small taste of potential victory before taking it all away. Hero, Claudio, and Cannon formed the Kings of Wrestling that night, and for the next few months would wreak havoc on the Tecnicos.

Later, Icarus and Akuma would turn Rudo and injure Mr. ZERO to the point where people questioned whether or not he would ever wrestle again. They did the same later to Jolly Roger, and he has not returned to action since. Shane Storm, partner of ZERO, in a measure of revenge was able to defeat Icarus in the finals of the 2005 Young Lions Cup tournament, pinning Icarus via The Last Shaven Unicorn (Mr. ZERO’s finishing maneuver). Needless to say, the Kings were none too pleased.

Skayde and Milano Collection AT came over to CHIKARA in September 2005 for the International Invaders shows. On night two in the main event, they challenged Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli in a great tag team match. The invaders were awarded the win after Icarus and Akuma interfered. A giant brawl between the Tecnicos and Rudos ensued, with the Kings of Wrestling and The Dark Breed forming a super group. Hero laid out the challenge to the Tecnico squad for a Cibernetico come October.

Eddie Kingston and Chris Hero’s hatred for one another is well known. Stemming over Hero taking Blackjack Marciano (Kingston’s partner and friend) out of the business, these two have been bitter enemies since 2004. Kingston, mostly a Rudo up to this point, pandered to Mike Quackenbush, asking to team up with him back at Young Lions Cup 2005 to help take out Hero’s Kings of Wrestling. A skeptical Quackenbush allowed Kingston to team with him, and Kingston more than proved to be with Quack and the Tecnicos for now. In an eight man tag at Young Lions Cup 2005, Night 3, Quackenbush pinned Hero with Hero’s very own finisher, The Hero’s Welcome. After the match, Leonard F. Chikarason stated that Hero was signed for CHIKARA’s debut in the ECW Arena and had to face either Kingston or Quackenbush. Hero vowed to NEVER face Quackenbush in a singles match, so he chose Kingston. Hero defeated Kingston via low blow at the show, which pissed off Kingston to no end. Needless to say, it was on.

The Competitors: Mike Quackenbush, Skayde, Milano Collection AT, Jigsaw, Shane Storm, Eddie Kingston, Sabian, and Mr. ZERO (A Mystery Opponent) vs. The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli, Arik Cannon, Icarus, & Gran Akuma) and The Dark Breed (Ultramantis Black, Hallowicked, & Blind Rage)

The Match: The first pinfall went deeper this year as it was roughly 48 minutes in when Blind Rage was eliminated. The feud between Hallowicked and Jigsaw escalated, when Hallowicked pinned and eliminated Jigsaw (the winner of the first Cibernetico) quickly after Hero eliminated Sabian. Icarus used “The Wings of Icarus” to eliminate Mr. ZERO; the Wings is the same choke hold that took Mr. ZERO out of CHIKARA action in the first place. Hero had a brief encounter with Quackenbush, when Hero tagged in while Quackenbush was weakened. Hero and Kingston had an exchange of blows after Hero dodged him earlier in the match. The Rudos ruled the roost, with the score being six men to three. Milano came in as the savior, eliminating Chris Hero and Icarus in quick fashion with the AT Lock. He may have eliminated Hallowicked as well, if it weren’t for Arik Cannon breaking it up. Cannon would be taken out by Quack, Milano by Claudio, Claudio by Quack, and Quack by Akuma. This left Shane Storm all alone with Akuma and Hallowicked. Shane valiantly fought back and used That Japanese Move to defeat Hallowicked. Akuma and Shane fought back and forth valiantly. All throughout the match, Akuma was ripping at Shane’s mask and broke his nose. Akuma ripped the mullet off of Shane’s head, but that didn’t stop him. Shane attempted the Air Raid Crash from the top, but Akuma turned it into the Yoshi Tonic to secure the win 104 minutes into the match.

This is what many consider to be the best of all the Cibernetico’s. To get a really great, well written, in depth look at the entire match move by move, elimination by elimination, please read Brad Garoon’s Special Edition about the match that at this point is almost two years old! Good stuff still, and if you like that, check out his Dragon Gate blog as well.

The Aftermath: Storm and Akuma would settle their differences in a Mask vs. Mask match at “Running in the Red” (Hero accepted the match on behalf of Akuma immediately after the Cibernetico), which Storm won, unmasking Gran Akuma. It wouldn’t be until May of 2007 until Quackenbush finally got his singles match with Chris Hero. After a long heated contest, Quackenbush debuted a brand new submission maneuver known as “The CHIKARA Special” to finally end the war. This loss was the first nail in the coffin of the Kings of Wrestling (which had grown and altered tremendously by 2007) super group, which will get to in just a few short years…

Cibernetico Forever
Philadelphia, PA – 10.28.2006

The Story: Eddie Kingston and Larry Sweeney both started their careers around the same time as students of the CHIKARA Wrestle Factory. You could tell they had fun together on commentary, and generally had a mutual understanding. That is, until “Aniversario Epsilon” in 2006. Larry Sweeney had his “Winner’s Circle” talk segment, asking Kingston to join him. Sweeney tried to lure Kingston in by mentioning Blackjack Marciano (a sore spot for Kingston, as Marciano was Kingston’s long time partner and friend who was forced to retire by Chris Hero) and other past partners of Kingston. Kingston told Sweeney to shut his mouth, which Sweeney finally did. Finally, these two met in the ring for the first time at “Young Lions Cup IV, Night 3”. Sweeney mentioned in a pre-match promo that he didn’t believe Kingston took him seriously as a wrestler and was going to prove to Kingston that he’s just as tough as the best of them. In the match, both men wailed on each other with hard shots. The match ended when Sweeney kicked Kingston in the inner thigh, and referee Bryce Remsburg called for the bell assuming it was a low blow. An angry Sweeney choked Kingston to the point where Kingston was dry heaving like crazy, and could barely move. Sweeney took solace at the commentary booth, seemingly dodging Kingston in the back.

A month later at “The Crushing Weight of Mainstream Ignorance”, these two had another hard-hitting match with Sweeney’s ICW/ICWA Tex-Arkana Television Championship on the line. Kingston eventually won the bout taking Sweeney’s precious title away. The 2006 International Invaders saw another huge development. On Night One, Kingston interjected himself in Sweeney’s match against Fire Ant, causing Sweeney the match when Kingston tossed Fire Ant out of the winning to DQ Sweeney. Sweeney spent the majority of the match mocking Kingston’s phrases and overall style. One Night Two, Sweeney and Kingston met one on one once more with the ICW/ICWA Tex-Arkana Television Championship on the line. The match went to a double count out, and Sweeney stole Ultramantis Black’s car keys and headed to the parking lot. Kingston followed, and Sweeney hit Kingston with the car injuring his knee severely. At “Once In A Lifetime”, it was supposed to be Kingston and Mickie Knuckles (who Kingston had formed a soft spot for during 2006) against Sweeney and Daizee Haze. However, Mickie no-showed, and Kingston insisted to make it a handicap match instead of drawing a new partner from a hat. It was the brass knuckles that allowed Sweeney and Daizee to score the win. It was then announced that Kingston and Sweeney would captain the 2006 Cibernetico teams. The night before the Cibernetico, Sweeney and Kingston competed in a Strap Match at UWA Hardcore in Canada, where Sweeney regained the ICW/ICWA Tex-Arkana Television Championship.

Sweeney’s choices were easy. Being a confidant of the Kings of Wrestling, he brought all four members of the stable into the fold. It was no secret that Sweeney was friends with CHIKARA irregulars The Iron Saints (aka The Thomaselli brothers), so Sweeney brought them to easily make an 8 man team. Kingston was always on the fence of Rudo/Tecnico, but had mended some fences on the Tecnico side throughout the year. Enough to accumulate a peculiar team as listed below. Essentially, Kingston’s goal was to get people who had an issue with everyone but Sweeney, so they could get the other men out of the way and leave Sweeney to himself.

The Competitors: Eddie Kingston, Mike Quackenbush, Hallowicked, Shane Storm, Cheech, Cloudy, and The North Star Express (Darin Corbin & Ryan Cruz) vs. The Kings of Wrestling (Larry Sweeney, Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli, Icarus, & Gran Akuma) and The Iron Saints (Brandon, Sal, and Vito Thomaselli)

The Match: As you would expect, the story of the match was Sweeney dodging Kingston throughout. When Sweeney was set in the batting order to step in with Kingston, Sweeney and his entire team almost bailed. Kingston rolled his eyes and tagged in Darin Corbin. The second time when Kingston and Sweeney met, Sweeney stepped in before immediately bailing to the floor to make the lucha tag to Icarus. Finally, the third time was a charm, as Sweeney failed to notice Kingston had tagged in, and Kingston pounced on Sweeney from behind. Both men rolled to the floor in a flurry of punches, allowing the referees to break them apart. Sweeney low-blowed Kingston the fourth time around to disqualify himself from the match. The match remained even throughout with each team eliminating one man from each side at a time. Kingston made it through to the final two men, as he and Icarus stood across the ring from one another. Icarus landed two Shiranui’s, but the resilient Kingston came back. Eddie placed Icarus up top for a Saito Suplex, but Icarus turned into a super Shiranui to score himself the win.

The Aftermath: Sweeney and Kingston would meet three more times in 2006 after Cibernetico. First they met in a six-man tag match at “From Zero to Hero (& Castagnoli)” when Kingston teamed with Mike Quackenbush and Shane Storm to take on Larry Sweeney, Chris Hero, and Claudio Castagnoli. Sweeney dodged Kingston for the majority of the match. At “Brick”, Sweeney distracted Kingston in a singles bout with Chuck Taylor, and Chuck was able to get the win via O’Conner Roll. The feud finally came to an end at 2006’s season ending show “Talent Borrows, Genius Steals” when Sweeney and Kingston met in a “Yellow Belly Strap Match.” Kingston won after giving Sweeney quite a beating, and touching all four corners necessary to win.

As for Icarus, he and 2005 Cibernetico winner Gran Akuma won a one night tag team tournament at “From Zero to Hero (& Castagnoli)” to earn a shot at Hero & Castagnoli for the tag team titles at “Brick”. Hero dumped Castagnoli from the Kings of Wrestling, and fans thought that would be the last we saw of Claudio in CHIKARA.

Cibernetico & Robin
Philadelphia, PA – 9.22.2007

The Story: Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli split at the end of 2006 after losing the Campeonatos de Parejas to fellow friends Icarus & Gran Akuma. Hero, Akuma, and Icarus kicked Claudio out of the group and jumped him after the match. The Kings of Wrestling grew in spades during 2007. Chuck Taylor joined the fold when Icarus and Akuma recruited him for King of Trios 2007. Larry Sweeney joined the group officially at the “Rey de Voladores” event. Max Boyer joined and left the Kings of Wrestling in a small time frame, but the same night he left, Shayne Hawke was recruited. Mitch Ryder along the way got brought in. Also, Claudio Castagnoli was brought back in. Say what?

Claudio returned to CHIKARA during the 2007 King of Trios tournament under the guise of a member of the Los Ice Creams trio. Under a mask and alias of “Mystery Swiss Ice Cream”, it was obvious to all that Claudio was back. In the second round of the tournament, Claudio finally got to lay a beating on Icarus, Akuma, and Chuck Taylor. Although F.I.S.T won the match, it was obvious Claudio was back for revenge. Although much like Arik Cannon when he left the Kings of Wrestling, Claudio was left with no allies. Remember when I said Hero vowed he would never face Mike Quackenbush in a singles match? By March of 2007, that vow still rang true. At “Time Will Prove Everything”, Claudio and Quack met in a singles match with the winner getting a match against Chris Hero. Claudio ended up beating Quack, getting his match with Hero at “Rey de Voladores”. Things got interesting when stipulations got added to the match. First, Mike Quackenbush was made special guest referee. Hero wanted to regain the Campeones de Parejas and knew Claudio was a great partner. So, it was added that if Hero were to beat Claudio, Claudio would have to rejoin the Kings of Wrestling. However, if Claudio won, Hero would have to be Claudio’s servant for 30 days. As you may have guessed, Hero ended up winning the match thanks to interference from Sweeney and a foul from Hero behind Quack’s back. However, post match, Quackenbush got Hero to finally face him one on one at “Aniversario?”.

In one of the most important and best matches in CHIKARA’s history, Quackenbush submitted Hero with a brand new submission maneuver called “The CHIKARA Special”. In a post match promo, Quack told Hero that since he knew Hero could not break the hold, he would teach it to all his students as well as the reversal. For the next few months, Hero would be upset by luchadores such as Lince Dorado, El Pantera, and the biggest upset of them all in the form of Equinox. A furious Hero had enough of these luchadores, as the losses caused Hero to lose confidence in his quest for the Campeones with Claudio. Speaking of the Campeones, Icarus and Akuma would also suffer a humiliating loss to Los Ice Creams at “Young Lions Cup 5, Night 3” which didn’t help the issue of the Kings of Wrestling and the luchadores.

Mitch Ryder also didn’t like the luchadores. Mitch teamed with Los Ice Creams to take on Lince Dorado, El Pantera, & Player Uno. A fed up Ryder kicked Lince in the groin for the DQ loss. Mitch said that Lince reminded him of all the immigrants who come to this country, taking jobs away from Americans like he and others. Ryder and Lince would go on to have a series of matches that led to Mitch challenging Lince to a Cibernetico Match in September.

As it turned out, in a contract snafu, everyone in the match had to resign the contract the day of the show. While the Lucha team signed with no question, the Kings of Wrestling had something up their sleeves. Each member asked Director of Fun Leonard F. Chikarason for a signing bonus that if they didn’t get, they wouldn’t sign. Therefore, the Kings got their wish. In a promo before the match, each member of the Kings of Wrestling shared what extravagant item they had asked Leonard for…all except Claudio. When asked what he asked for, Claudio just smiled and walked away.

The Competitors: Lince Dorado, Magno, Incognito, Equinox, Las Chivas (Chiva III & Chiva IV), and Los Ice Creams (El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream Jr.) vs. The Kings of Wrestling (Mitch Ryder, Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli, Shayne Hawke, Larry Sweeney, Icarus, Gran Akuma, & Chuck Taylor)

The Match: Much like Sweeney did with Kingston, Mitch avoided Lince the first go around of the batting order. The Kings put away two luchadores early, with Hero gaining a measure of revenge by pinning Equinox with the powerbomb. Things went back and forth in regards to eliminations for a bit. Lince and Mitch got their hands on each other, and the Kings of Wrestling bullied Lince for quite a bit. Finally, El Hijo del Ice Cream was tagged in and pinned Icarus with an impressive Bucanero. The Kings gained control, bringing the match 4 to 2 in their favor. Lince pinned Chuck Taylor, but that was not enough for the Kings to win the match. Hero, Claudio, and Mitch remained. Hero and Claudio had bickered the entire match, and both men were engaged in a shouting match outside when Mitch pinned Lince. Confused by the rules (this was the first time an entire team had been eliminated prior to the match being concluded in CHIKARA history), Mitch and Hero celebrated. Claudio knew what was up, and caught Hero off guard with the Sweet Schwinn Music, Ricola Bomb, and the CHIKARA Special to eliminate Chris from the match. Claudio quickly landed a Ricola Bomb on Mitch to eliminate him from the match. Claudio is your 4th annual Cibernetico winner.

The Aftermath: As it turned out, Claudio asked Chikarason to be freed from the shackles of the Kings of Wrestling if he won the Cibernetico. Now free, Claudio had all eyes on Chris Hero. Claudio would go on to defeat Chuck Taylor, Larry Sweeney, and Shayne Hawke in a tag team match before finally meeting Hero at the 2007 season finale. Hero has not been seen in CHIKARA since.

Two “Luchas de Apuestas (or, matches with wagers)” came out of this. First, after being pinned by Equinox in a tag match, Hero demanded a Mask vs. Hair match with Equinox the following night. Hero got his wish, and won the match unmasking Equinox to be CHIKARA Wrestle Factory drop-out Vin Gerard. Mitch Ryder and Lince Dorado also settled their score in a Mask vs. Hair match with Lince defeating Mitch which forced Mitch to shave his head.

These events, along with Icarus and Akuma losing their Campeones de Parejas to Incoherence (Hallowicked & Delirious) would lead to the Kings of Wrestling splitting up by the time 2008 rolled around. F.I.S.T. (Icarus, Gran Akuma, & Chuck Taylor) and The Fabulous Three (Larry Sweeney, Mitch Ryder, & Shayne Hawke) still remained in tact, however.

Cibernetico Begins
Framingham, MA – 11.15.2008

The Story: Chris Hero defeated Equinox at “The Sordid Perils of Everyday Existence”, winning Equinox’s mask. When Equinox unmasked, Hero immediately recognized the man under the mask as Vin Gerard. Vin was a student of the CHIKARA Wrestle Factory back in the day, but quit when he couldn’t take the regimen. He returned under a mask as Equinox, claiming to be a Mexican luchadore trained by Quackenbush’s trainer, Jorge “Skayde” Rivera. With Equinox unmasked, he was revealed to be a complete fraud. The other masked Tecnicos kicked Vin out of the building, and refused to let Vin in the building at any show he competed at in the future. Quackenbush, who did commentary during the match, noted that Chris Hero broke free of Equinox’s CHIKARA Special, the move Quack taught to all the Tecnicos to defeat Hero. It had worked till now, but Hero somehow was able to break free this time around. Quackenbush had only told the Tecnicos how to break free. How was it then that Chris Hero, a Rudo and Quack’s sworn enemy, learned the reversal? Only one option made sense: a traitor was in our midsts.

At the “Deuces Wild” CHIKARA event in April 2008, Ultramantis Black faced Tim Donst. Donst was knocked loopy thanks to the Praying Mantis Bomb, and Black saw this as an opportunity to take advantage of a weakened Donst. Somehow, Mantis was able to convince Donst in his weakened state that he was a member of Mantis’ Order of the Neo-Solar Temple. For the next couple of months, Donst’s attitude changed, and he donned the face paint to side with The Order. During the time, Donst and fellow Order teammate Hydra formed a duo and together racked up the three necessary points to gain a shot at the Campeones de Parejas.

During this time, Vin Gerard tore through the competition in CHIKARA, specifically focusing on The Colony. The Colony are the antithesis on Vin Gerard; fun-loving, masked Tecnicos. Vin despised The Colony and the fans they catered to. Vin cost the Colony the 2008 King of Trios tournament, took out Worker Ant (thanks to Bull Pain), and cost the Colony an Atomicos match. All this led to June where Vin Gerard and Fire Ant would meet in the finals of the Young Lions Cup tournament. Worker Ant was originally scheduled to be in the tournament, but Vin Gerard took him out as well. In the match of the year for CHIKARA, Fire Ant defeated Vin Gerard. However, Vin would cheat to take the Young Lions Cup from Fire Ant just one month later.

Speaking of the Young Lions Cup, on the second night of the tournament, Mike Quackenbush and Shane Storm earned their third point towards a shot at the Campeones de Parejas. As the conclusion was occurring, Tim Donst ran out and whispered something to Mike. An infuriated Mike mauled Shane Storm, and Shane barely escaped. As it turned out, Donst was posing as a Rudo the whole time to infiltrate their locker room. You see, on an episode of CHIKARA’s Podcast, Ultramantis Black remarked in passing that he knew how Chris Hero came to learn the reversal to the CHIKARA Special. The night Mantis tried to convince Donst he was in the Order, Donst called Quackenbush to explain what Mantis was doing. Quack and Donst hatched a plan, and Donst would bide his time in The Order waiting for Mantis to spill the beans. Finally, Mantis revealed it was Shane Storm that taught Mantis the reversal. Mantis in turn taught Hero the reversal. Shane did all of this to gain a win over Hydra, as Shane had been on a long losing streak and was desperate to get back on track. Quack, needless to say, wasn’t happy. Shane also became shunned by the locker room. After Quackenbush beat up Shane to the point he was disqualified in July, Shane was met by applause from Vin Gerard as he headed to the back. Vin and Shane formed a bond as they both could relate to the situation each other was in.

When Mantis found out about Donst infiltrating The Order, he got another singles match and took out his frustration on Donst. Mantis was counting on himself and his cronies to beat on Donst, but what he didn’t count on was Hydra’s infatuation with his new found tag team partner overcoming his devotion to Mantis. Hydra quit the Order instead of beating on Donst, and decided to team with Donst full time instead.

In the midst of all this was a confused Jimmy Olsen. Jimmy’s partner Colin vanished from CHIKARA right before King of Trios 2008. Jimmy proved himself to be a worthy singles competitor since Colin left, but Jimmy missed his brother. Jimmy and Vin Gerard had a match in May of 2008 where Vin used the ropes to win. Backstage, Jimmy confronted Vin, and mentioned that he firmly believes Colin is returning soon. Vin responded by whispering something in Jimmy’s ear. Jimmy stormed off, leaving the fans to wonder what it was Vin told him. During the summer, Jimmy would do his best to unmask any masked wrestlers he encountered in a match. Colin returned to CHIKARA in September, and we found out Jimmy was told by Vin that Colin had gone under a mask to get away from Jimmy. Jimmy admitted he was foolish and embraced his brother when he returned. Colin did not return the embrace, and was ashamed of how his brother behaved when he was gone. Much to the surprise of Jimmy and the fans, Colin turned on his brother and joined Vin Gerard and Shane Storm (who was re-christened as STIGMA) as “The UnStable”. As revenge, Jimmy donned Vin Gerard’s former persona of Equinox, wrestling in the mask and tights of Equinox to get into Vin’s head. This tactic worked, as Jimmy defeated Vin in a singles match in October.

The first man Jimmy unmasked during a match was Lince Dorado. It sure did make it awkward when Jimmy and Lince were randomly teamed up for CHIKARA’s “La Lotería Letal” tournament in September. Jimmy profusely apologized, but Lince didn’t want to hear it. The two made an impressive team, winning the quarter and semi-finals matches. The two would eventually go on to face The UnStable of Vin Gerard and Colin Delaney in October, winning that match and gaining the points needed to challenge the Campeones de Parejas. At this point, Lince had forgiven Jimmy and the two became a permanent team. Lince spent the summer proving how tough he was by surviving battles with Eddie Kingston. Eddie, furious that Lince cost BLK OUT the 2008 King of Trios tournament, was out for blood. As beaten and broken as Lince became in his and Eddie’s matches, he refused to quit. Lince’s refusal to stay down and the fans admiration of Lince made him sick.

Vin Gerard complained to Leonard F. Chikarason about Jimmy dressing up as Equinox and demanded to know what Chikarason planned on doing about it. Right there, Chikarason signed a Cibernetico match with Vin Gerard and Equinox captaining the squads. Vin and Equinox were given carte blanche to hand pick anybody from the roster to put on their teams. Vin picked STIGMA, and Colin just so happened to have something else going on that day (more like trying to duck his pissed off brother). Vin got first dibs, and therefore chose Lince Dorado to be on his team as payback for the mind games Equinox was playing with him. What’s worse is that it would turn out that the Cibernetico would take place the day before Equinox and Lince would challenge The Osirian Portal for the Campeones de Parejas.

All the feuds listed above (with Helios entered as a wildcard on Equinox’s team) would collide in the 2008 Cibernetico.

The Competitors: Equinox, Mike Quackenbush, Helios, The Sea Donsters (Hydra & Tim Donst), and The Colony (Fire Ant, Solider Ant, & Worker Ant) vs. The UnStable (Vin Gerard & STIGMA), The Osirian Portal (Amasis & Ophidian), The Order of the Neo-Solar Temple (Ultramantis Black & Crossbones), Eddie Kingston, & Lince Dorado

The Match: I wrote a lot about this match, and the entire show, in my review of “Cibernetico Begins”. Read it by clicking here!

The Aftermath: Although Equinox and Dorado would not be successful in winning the Campeonatos de Parejas, they would continue to team with Helios as “The Future Is Now”. The Future would defeat The UnStable, and Equinox went on to win the Young Lions Cup in the first ever CHIKARA Ladder Match. Quackenbush would find his solace with STIGMA, and he and Jigsaw defeated STIGMA and Colin Delaney at the end of 2008. Donst and Hydra defeated The Order in a tag match at the end of 2008, and Hydra beat Mantis in a singles match. Kingston and Dorado have yet to meet up again since the Cibernetico, but that issue is seemingly over. Fire Ant and Solider Ant would go on to beat The Osirian Portal for the Campeones de Parejas in September of 2009 while Worker Ant would retire thanks to Chuck Taylor.

And speaking of The Colony…

This year’s Cibernetico is “Increible” themed. That means that eight teams will be split up onto opposing sides of one another. Captaining these teams are Soldier Ant and Fire Ant, current CHIKARA Campeones de Parejas.

Although there isn’t much backstory to the match, Player Uno and Player Dos have been having a competition of late. Dos won the Young Lions Cup back in August, defeating Uno in the opening round. Uno, vowed to show that he’s just as capable a singles wrestler as his partner, took on Dos in a match for the Cup last month. Uno lost that as well, with things still seemingly unresolved. It will be interesting to see how that issue comes into play during the Cibernetico.

Also, Carpenter Ant doesn’t seem completely on board with his members in The Colony. Reluctant to join The Colony at times, Carpenter Ant seems out of place in the group. Fans aren’t exactly sure what to make of him, but we’ll see if we get some more answers in this match (considering he is both teaming with and opposing members of The Colony).

The teams are as follow (in batting order)
• Squad A:
– Mike Quackenbush (5th Cibernetico)
– Hallowicked (4th Cibernetico)
– Player Uno (1st Cibernetico)
– Matt Jackson (1st Cibernetico)
– Carpenter Ant (1st Cibernetico)
– Lince Dorado (3rd Cibernetico)
– Cheech Hernandez (2nd Cibernetico)
– Soldier Ant (2nd Cibernetico)

• Squad B
– Fire Ant (2nd Cibernetico)
– Jigsaw (3rd Cibernetico; 2004 Cibernetico winner)
– Nick Jackson (1st Cibernetico)
– Player Dos (1st Cibernetico)
– K.C. “Cloudy” Day (2nd Cibernetico)
– Frightmare (1st Cibernetico)
– Green Ant (1st Cibernetico)
– Helios (2nd Cibernetico)

Jigsaw, Gran Akuma, Icarus, Claudio Castagnoli, and Equinox. Whoever wins this match will join those men in the list of men who are winners of the Torneo Cibernetico. As you can tell, that’s quite a group of men to join. The accomplishments that those men have together is incredible. You have Tag World Grand Prix and King of Trios winners, Young Lions Cup holders and former Campeones de Parejas, as well as guys who have much success elsewhere.

Needless to say, the Torneo Cibernetico is a hell of match to look forward to every year, and 2009 has a lot of intrigue.

YouTube Fun!

Here we have the 183rd episode of CHIKARA’s Podcast-A-Go-Go, where clips from the show “King of Trios 2009: Night Three”are shown. Matches covered are The Tag Team Gauntlet and the 2009 Rey de Voladores Finals between Player Dos and Kota Ibushi. Be sure to check out my review of the show, by clicking the show name in a sentence or two above!

Although he’s now a Rudo, Tim Donst is still offering life lessons. This time around, he talks Nutrition.

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.

Pro Wrestling Ponderings is back and better than ever. Yes, I still podcast and write for them, and you should still be visiting! A new podcast where myself and Jerome Cusson talk the past weekend of ROH shows (Cusson was in attendance for Survival of the Fittest 2009) as well as previewing this weekends CHIKARA shows is now up. Check out that, and all the columns, at Pro Wrestling Ponderings.

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.

You know Jake Ziegler? The guy who used to write here? Well, he has a great blog! All his WWE, TNA, and ROH DVD reviews are on it and they’re fabulous. Read it already, jerks!

Thanks so much again everyone for checking out this weeks Contemplating CHIKARA! Make sure to check out my DVD reviews (All three nights of Young Lions Cup VII reviews are posted now!) and all the other fine articles here on the website, and please leave feedback! I love reading feedback and e-mails so keep em’ coming. Thanks so much again for reading, and I will see you in seven!

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