100 Percent Fordified: CHIKARA Young Lions Cup VIII, Night Three

Reading, PA – 8.29.2010

Commentary is provided by Bryce Remsburg, Ultramantis Black, Gavin Loudspeaker, and Mike Quackenbush.

Hallowicked {I} vs. Akira Tozawa {K}

Tozawa trips Hallowicked and puts on a side headlock. Tozawa applies a headscissors. Hallowicked tries to escape, so Tozawa trips him and goes back to the side headlock. Hallowicked pops out of it. Hallowicked shoulder blocks Tozawa down. Tozawa dropkicks Hallowicked’s legs out and dropkicks him in the side of the head. Hallowicked goes to the floor and Tozawa follows out with a tope. Tozawa goes back to the side headlock. Tozawa stomps Hallowicked down in the corner. Tozawa slams Hallowicked for two. Tozawa turns Hallowicked into a single-leg crab and bites on Hallowicked’s boot. Hallowicked catches Tozawa’s hip attack and hits the Go Too Sleepy Hollow. Hallowicked hits a Rydeen Bomb for two. Hallowicked sends Tozawa to the apron. Tozawa throws him down. Tozawa tries the Apron Kara Tozawa, but Hallowicked gets his knees up. Tozawa decides to hit a senton instead for two. Tozawa gives Hallowicked a bicycle kick, so Hallowicked responds with a Yakuza kick. Tozawa hits a flying forearm in the corner. Tozawa drops Hallowicked with a deadlift German suplex for two. Tozawa hops up top and Hallowicked catches him with the step-up enzuigiri. Hallowicked rolls him up for two. Tozawa hits a knee to the head. Hallowicked cracks Tozawa with a Yakuza kick and follows up with the Graveyard Smash for the pin at 9:07. A very fun, fast opening match to get the crowd going. I wish Tozawa would have done more CHIKARA dates on his U.S. stint because he’s so fun. Hallowicked was a great opponent for him, and this was a nice extension of the CHIKARA vs. Kamikaze feud. ***

Mike Sydal vs. Obariyon

Obariyon throws Sydal down. Obariyon throws Sydal in the corner, and Sydal rolls to avoid an attack. Obariyon hits a shoulder block. Sydal hits a hip toss and an armdrag. Obariyon goes to the floor as Sydal hits a dropkick. Obariyon comes back in and hits some chops and strikes. Sydal ducks a clothesline and hits a dropkick. Obariyon elbows Sydal in the gut and kicks Sydal away. Sydal goes over Obariyon and hits an armdrag. Sydal hits another armdrag into an armbar. Obariyon applies a headscissors. Obariyon ducks an enzuigiri and drops a hard elbow onto Sydal. Obariyon pushes Sydal down to the mat while Sydal is doing the splits and stomps on his back. Obariyon uppercuts Sydal. Obariyon nails Sydal with a running knee strike for two. Sydal hits a leg lariat and a dropkick. Sydal headscissors Obariyon to the corner. Sydal hits a cannonball senton for two. Obariyon hits a pump handle driver for two. Sydal meets Obariyon on the top rope with a knee strike. Obariyon headbutts Sydal down. Obariyon catches Sydal with a flying DDT to score the pin at 8:49. Obariyon has made the quite the impression this weekend with four pinfalls, all gained by using the flying DDT. He also has great ring work going for him already. Sydal is wacky and fun and I wouldn’t mind seeing him again either. **1/4

Green Ant is backstage with Fire Ant and Soldier Ant. He says he will prove himself against Keita Yano tonight.

Green Ant {C} vs. Keita Yano {BA}

Yano brings Green Ant to the mat. Green Ant turns over, wrenching on Yano’s wrist. Yano turns Green Ant over into a chinlock. Yano twists on Green Ant’s arm. Yano grabs Green Ant’s left ankle and grapevines the leg. Green Ant turns into a heel hook. Yano locks Green Ant’s leg and digs his elbow in the side of Green Ant’s head. Yano pulls Green Ant to the middle of the ring and goes back to Green Ant’s ankle. Green Ant mounts Yano in the hopes of holding his shoulders down. Yano goes to the floor to recuperate. Green Ant applies a sleeper hold/bodyscissors combo. Yano grabs Green Ant’s arm and goes around Green Ant’s body looking for an opening. Yano mounts Green Ant and pulls at his mask. Yano goes to the cross armbreaker. Green Ant rolls under Yano and grabs his leg. Yano digs his elbow into Green Ant’s ribcage, removing his elbow pad to increase it’s effectiveness. Yano works on Green Ant’s left arm and stomps on Green Ant’s face. Green Ant shoots in for a double leg takedown. Yano turns Green Ant over into an orbital clutch variant, and Green Ant pops into a pin for two. Green Ant twists on Yano’s arm, and Yano turns into a headscissors. Yano drives his knee with a faceful of Green Ant’s mask into the mat. Yano pins Green Ant at 10:31, as Green Ant grabs his arm. This was different than anything you’ve ever seen in CHIKARA. This was one hundred percent mat based and was just so awesome. It sucks that Green Ant got legitimately hurt here, but after seeing his two matches this weekend, he is going to be huge in CHIKARA; I can feel it. Yano did a great job this weekend to, even if Green Ant got hurt. ***

Greg Iron vs. Tursas {B}

Iron gets in some shots to Tursas which have no effect. Tursas knocks Iron down with a clothesline. Tursas drops an elbow on him for two. Tursas knocks Iron down with a shoulder tackle. Tursas throws Iron with a hip toss. Tursas misses an elbow drop. Iron gets in some shots, but Tursas knocks him down with a shoulder tackle. Tursas suplexes Iron with a front facelock. Tursas misses another elbow and Iron again tries some shots. Tursas knocks him down with a clothesline for two. Tursas hits a back body drop. Iron hits a back senton and some more strikes. Iron hits a double axe handle and a top rope elbow onto Tursas’ back. Tursas hits a flying crossbody for the pin at 4:41. Not much to this, like most Tursas squashes. Iron got some great babyface sympathy though. As usual, Tursas splashes Iron after the match. *

Gavin Loudspeaker is putting over the Podcast when The House of Truth come out. Christian Abel says today is the real beginning of the journey for the House of Truth, and once again lays out an open challenge. 3.0 answer the challenge and the match is on!

Scott “Jagged” Parker {3.0} & Shane Matthews {3.0} vs. Josh Raymond {HOT} & Christian Abel {HOT}

Raymond breaks a lock-up and yells YEAH! Raymond does it again. The third time, Matthews rolls up Raymond for two. Matthews squeezes a headlock on Raymond and knocks him down with a shoulder block. Matthews scares Raymond by yelling in his face. Raymond hits a shoulder tackle and tries to yell at Matthews, but Matthews slams his face into the mat. Jagged tags in and boots Raymond out of Matthews’ Manhattan Drop. Raymond backs into his corner and tags in Abel. Abel chops Jagged and Jagged fires back. Jagged hits a springboard elbow and a flying boot for two. Matthews whips Jagged into Abel, and Jagged hops off Matthews into an elbow drop. Matthews looks for a headscissors, but Abel turns it into a backbreaker. Matthews takes Abel to his corner and tags in Jagged. Abel slams Jagged on the apron and throws him back into the ring with a reverse flapjack of sorts. The House keeps on top of Jagged until he tags in Matthews after throwing Abel to the floor with a headscissors and hitting Raymond with an enzuigiri. Matthews tags in and cleans house with headscissors. He even gives referee Bryce Remsburg one! He grabs Remsburg arm and gives Raymond a clothesline. Abel lawn darts Matthews into the corner. Abel holds Matthews and Raymond lands on him with an Asai moonsault for two. Abel powerbombs Raymond onto Matthews, but Matthews gets his knees up. Jagged disposes Abel, and 3.0 hit Raymond with the Sweet Taste of Professionalism for the pin at 10:56. 3.0 now have three points in their name and will challenge Claudio Castagnoli and Ares for the Campeonatos de Parejas in Baltimore. Two goofy teams who are also able to put on a good wrestling battle make for a fun time. It was like the definition of CHIKARA, really. I hope that the House of Truth are not done in CHIKARA and will be semi-regulars because they rock. This was a barrel of fun. ***1/4

Sara Del Rey and Daizee Haze are backstage. Pinkie Sanchez walks in and says Vökoder is real and wants them to believe him. They roll their eyes and leave. We then cut to Brodie Lee outside of the building. He says the may as well announce him as the winner of the tournament right now.

The Countdown Showdown

The Rules are almost identical to the Royal Rumble. 30 people come in at 30 second intervals. You eliminate people by throwing them over the top rope and both of their feet touching the floor. The winner gets a “Golden Opportunity” to be used at any point. They are no more specific about the prize than that.

Very little play by play will be going down, so I will give you an order of entry and elimination, as well as the key points of the match.

Order of Entry

1. Colin Delaney {U}
2. Player Dos {SSB}
3. Ophidian {OP}
4. Cheech Hernandez
5. STIGMA {U}
6. Vin Gerard {U}
7. Amasis {OP}
8. Grizzly Redwood {ROH}
9. Sugar Dunkerton {T}
10. Pinkie “Pink Ant” Sanchez {B}
11. Ultramantis Black
12. Vökoder
13. Brodie Lee
14. Fire Ant {C}
15. Jigsaw {TFN}
16. Sara Del Rey {B}
17. Icarus {TF}
18. Delirious {B}
19. Jimmy “Equinox” Olsen {TFN}
20. Soldier Ant {C}
21. Steve “The Turtle” Weiner
22. Daizee Haze {B}
23. Jervis Cottonbelly
24. Claudio Castagnoli {B}
25. Shane Matthews {3.0}
26. Eddie Kingston
27. Dasher Hatfield {T}
28. Mike Quackenbush
29. Scott “Jagged” Parker {3.0}
30. Johnny Gargano {TF}

Order of Elimination

– Ophidian eliminates Player Dos at 2:48
– The UnStable (Gerard, Delaney, STIGMA) eliminate The Osirian Portal and Cheech Hernandez simultaneously at 5:12
– Pinkie Sanchez eliminates himself, and Vökoder follows to eliminate himself at 6:16.
– Grizzly Redwood eliminates Brodie Lee at 7:48. You read that right.
– Sugar Dunkerton eliminates Grizzly Redwood at 9:04
– Icarus eliminates Fire Ant at 9:13
– Delirious eliminates Ultramantis Black at 9:41
– Soldier Ant eliminates Vin Gerard at 10:56
– Steve “The Turtle” Weiner is dumped by Sara Del Rey and Daizee Haze at 12:50
– Icarus is eliminated by Colin Delaney at 13:40.
– STIGMA is eliminated by Colin Delaney at 13:49
– Delirious is eliminated by Eddie Kingston at 14:11
– Sara Del Rey is eliminated by Eddie Kingston at 14:35
– Jervis Cottonbelly is eliminated by Eddie Kingston at 14:55
– Daizee Haze is eliminated by Eddie Kingston at 15:11
– Eddie Kingston is eliminated by Claudio Castagnoli at 15:16
– Jimmy “Equinox” Olsen is eliminated by Johnny Gargano at 17:29
– Jigsaw is eliminated by Colin Delaney at 17:29
– Soldier Ant is eliminated by Shane Matthews at 18:34
– Colin Delaney is eliminated by Mike Quackenbush at 18:40
– Dasher Hatfield is eliminated by Johnny Gargano at 19:13
– Mike Quackenbush is eliminated by Claudio Castagnoli at 19:27
– Claudio Castagnoli is eliminated by Scott “Jagged” Parker and Shane Matthews at 19:30
– Shane Matthews is eliminated by Claudio Castagnoli at 18:40
– Scott “Jagged” Parker is eliminated by Johnny Gargano at 18:50

Notes:

– The match started with the two finalists of last years Young Lions Cup tournament. How cute and full circle of CHIKARA!
– Grizzly did indeed eliminate Brodie. He was posing on the ropes and Grizzly took the opening.
– Delaney eliminated STIGMA while STIGMA was stomping Jimmy Olsen. Very interesting, considering they used to tag team regularly. Later in the match, Delaney helped Olsen up off the mat.
– Delirious and Mantis immediately went at it as soon as Delirious came in. Delirious avoided the Praying Mantis Bomb and eliminated Mantis when Mantis went to the top rope.
– Kingston and Claudio went at it as soon as Kingston came in. Sara and Delirious broke it up, which is why Kingston eliminated multiple BDK members in short order. Claudio dumped Kingston while Kingston was still hanging over the ropes after Kingston eliminated Haze.
– 3.0 eliminated Claudio. This is a big deal when you consider that 3.0 are challenging Claudio and Ares for the Campeonatos de Parejas next month. Claudio was pissed, reached in the ring and pulled Matthews out. Jagged was distraught at his partner being beaten on the floor, so Gargano took the advantage and dumped him over the top to win the match. Gargano now has “The Golden Opportunity.”

This did a really good job of setting up a lot of future storylines in this match. They didn’t waste any time, and this must have been a heck of a match to book altogether. Well done to the guys for keeping everything organized and having the match go off without a hitch. ***1/2

Lince Dorado is backstage. He says he’s worked four straight Young Lions Cup tournaments to get to this point. He says tonight he cuts off Frightmare’s Young Lions Cup dream and he will keep the Cup in the BDK.

Young Lions Cup VIII Finals
Frightmare {I} vs. Lince Dorado {B}

Of course, BDK official Derek Sabato is the referee for this match. Dorado rolls up Frightmare as Sabato checks Frightmare pre-match for two. Frightmare hits a step-up Frankensteiner and sends Dorado to the floor. Frightmare follows with a tope con hilo. Frightmare chops Dorado around the ring. Dorado misses a chop and hits the ring post. Back in the ring Frightmare cartwheels into an armdrag and hits a yakuza kick. Dorado pops Frightmare up and Frightmare hits a clothesline. Dorado blocks the Kneecolepsy. Dorado hits a rolling thunder doublestomp for two. Dorado lands a seated Thesz Press and chops Frightmare in the corner. Dorado hits a baseball slide as Frightmare hangs in the tree of woe. Dorado misses one and hits his groin in the ring post. Frightmare looks for a crucifix pin, but Sabato aids Dorado into turning it into a gut buster. Dorado hits a dropsault and arrogantly does some push-ups and sit-ups. Dorado boots Frightmare, and Frightmare drops Dorado on his head with a hurricanrana. Dorado hits a snap slam and misses a lynxsault. Frightmare drops Dorado with a crucifix for two. Frightmare stops a middle rope Ace crusher. Dorado evades a neck breaker, but Frightmare comes back and hits it. Sabato rolls Dorado to the floor so Frightmare can not pin him. Dorado comes out from under the ring and looks to suplex Frightmare to the floor. Frightmare blocks and ends up on the apron with Dorado. Dorado hits the flipping DDT onto Frightmare on the apron. Dorado gets back in and Sabato starts a fast count which Frightmare barely avoids. Dorado dropkicks Frightmare to the floor. Dorado follows with a springboard splash. Sabato counts as Dorado comes back in and Frightmare barely avoids the count once more. Dorado drops Frightmare with a Michinoku Driver. Dorado hits a shooting star press for two. Dorado then applies the Inverted CHIKARA Special. Frightmare rolls up Dorado for two. Frightmare rolls up Dorado into a DDT for two. Frightmare misses the Kneecolepsy. Dorado accidentally hits Sabato with an enzuigiri! Frightmare rolls up Dorado, and Bryce Remsburg leaves the commentary booth to become the official referee since Sabato is down. Dorado kicks out at two. Dorado goes for a brainbuster but Frightmare reverses it into a hurricanrana for the pin and the Cup at 15:14. This was a well built, very emotional main event that had the fans on the edge of their seat and excited for the finish. The action was really good as well, and Sabato hindering Quack/Jigsaw on Night I and aiding Dorado on Night II were great build-up to this moment. Frightmare is the new Cup holder and I couldn’t think of anyone more deserving of it. ***1/2

The ring fills up with Tecnicos and streamers as the fans chant Frightmare’s name. The BDK admonish Dorado and are also horrified that Frightmare won the Cup and the tournament. Frightmare celebrates with some fans as the show ends.

The 411: The tournament final was a fun, emotional ride with Frightmare battling the odds and taking the Cup back for the good guys. It was a good story with some very good action as well. The Countdown Showdown had tons many storyline implications and nuance to it and was a great watch for an avid CHIKARA viewer. Keita Yano, Akira Tozawa, and Obariyon continue to put on great performances making Night 3 a great watch overall. I feel odd recommending a tournament when I don't recommend it as a whole, so I say you should get all three nights. However, if you insist on only getting the best nights, I'd get this show and Night 2 only. Be sure to check out all of my CHIKARA reviews over at The CHIKARA Special!

Final Score:  7.8   [ Good ]