100 Percent Fordified: CHIKARA Young Lions Cup IX

Easton, PA – 8.27.2011

Commentary is provided by Mike Quackenbush, Gavin Loudspeaker, Trent Seven (Fight Club Pro wrestler), Leonard F. Chikarason, UltraMantis Black, Tim Donst and Johnny Gargano.

This tournament was supposed to take place over the course of two days, but due to the looming threat of Hurricane Irene on the East Coast, CHIKARA took precautionary measures and cancelled the second night and packed the entire tournament into a one night super show. Some of the matches had to be cancelled due to time constraints, but at the very least the entire Young Lions Cup tournament went on as intended.

Robbie Eagles says his sister-in-law Madison Eagles paved the path for Australian wrestlers like him, but he’s going to walk all over that path and leave his own scent behind. He said that tonight is his night. This was very odd.

Young Lions Cup IX Quarter-Final Elimination Match
Green Ant vs. Kobald vs. Robbie Eagles vs. Will O’ The Wisp II

Kobald dropkicks Green Ant off the apron. An exchange of strikes ends with Green Ant dropkicking Kobald to the apron. Kobald tosses Green Ant to the floor, bringing in Wisp. Wisp lights him up with chops. He sweeps out Kobald’s legs and hits a standing moonsault. Kobald fires back with a Mongolian Chop. He drops an elbow for two. He slingshots into a splash for two. Kobald spears Wisp twice in the corner. Wisp kicks him in the chest. Kobald comes off the ropes with another spear. Green Ant rolls Wisp out of the way and nails Kobald with his surgically repaired forearm. Green Ant pins Kobald at 2:38. Eagles comes in and shoulder blocks Green Ant down. Green Ant comes back with a hip toss and scoop slam for two. Eagles kicks Green Ant’s leg out from the mat. A sliding kick gets him a two count. Eagles lands a couple strikes in the corner but misses a Bronco Buster. Wisp comes in with a springboard dropkick. He hits a regular version and a step-up huracanrana. Wisp delivers a tope suicida after kicking Eagles from the apron. Back in the ring, Green Ant nails a running headbutt to Wisp’s mid-section for two. Wisp delivers a spinwheel kick after missing a corkscrew attack off the ropes. Green Ant powerbombs Wisp and puts him in the Cloverleaf. Wisp taps out at 6:40. Green Ant drops Eagles with an Angle Slam for two. Eagles kicks out Green Ant’s leg and delivers a running forearm to his neck for two. A pump-handle suplex gets Eagles a two count. Green Ant escapes a 450 splash. Eagles rolls through and kicks Green Ant. Green Ant rolls Eagles into the Cloverleaf. Eagles taps out at 8:50 giving Green Ant the victory. Wisp and Eagles made a good impression for the little time they had. Although the winner was a foregone conclusion, it was still good to see Green Ant clean sweep the match to make it that much better of a story. **1/2

Young Lions Cup IX Quarter-Final Elimination Match
Gregory Iron vs. Jakob Hammermeier vs. Obariyon vs. Chase Owens

Obariyon replaces Joel Maximo due to the hurricane. Owens ties up Iron’s arms on the mat. Owens releases the hold. They reach a stalemate after ducking one another’s moves. Owens shoves Iron into Hammermeier who attempted to run in. Owens forearms Obariyon who also tries to run in. Iron and Owens go for a quick pin but reach a stalemate. They shove Hammermeier and Obariyon into one another, then Owens brings Iron back to the mat. Hammermeier drops down the top rope to send Iron to the floor. Obariyon comes in and chops Owens in the corner. He delivers a back cracker for two. Hammermeier blind tags himself in. Owens gets in a few shots before Obariyon knees him from the apron. Hammermeier chokes Owens with his vest. Owens hits a back elbow off the second rope. Obariyon nails Owens with a clothesline to cut him off. Obariyon boots Owens and slams him down. Hammermeier blind tags back in and gets a one count on Owens. Owens breaks Hammermeier’s submission and hits an enzuigiri. Obariyon hits Owens with a boomerang clothesline for two. Obariyon suplexes him for two. Obariyon punches Hammermeier when he blind tags himself in again. Owens catches Obariyon with an O’Conner Roll for the pin at 6:53. Owens delivers a backbreaker/reverse STO combo on Hammermeier for two. Hammermeier feigns that Iron pulled his hair. With the referee busy with Iron, Hammermeier low blows Owens and rolls him up for the pin at 7:45. Iron takes Hammermeier down with a headscissors and neckbreaker. He delivers the Gimp Slap. He O’Conner rolls Hammermeier for two. Iron prawn holds Hammermeier for two. Iron avoids a corner attack. He hits Handicap Parking, but Hammermeier grabs the ropes to prevent being pinned. Hammermeier drops Iron on the top rope. Iron blocks the Rude Awakening. He dives onto Tursas on the floor, who had been making his presence known on the floor. As Iron comes in, Hammermeier delivers a draping neckbreaker on the second rope for the pin and victory at 10:41. Owens really impressed me here, and Obariyon did a great job considering he was a stand in. Hammermeier and Iron really didn’t do a whole heck of a lot early on, which made the finish feel a little flat. Still, a good match overall. **1/2

Matt Jackson vs. Johnny Gargano

Jackson shakes the hands of many of the staff and fans, as a nod to the rumor of The Young Bucks not shaking hands when backstage both in TNA and WWE. When he finally goes to shake Gargano’s hand, he kicks Jackson in the stomach. Jackson backflips into a headscissors and delivers a trifecta of armdrags. He sends Gargano to the floor with a dropkick. Gargano evades a dropkick to the floor. He delivers a suicide dive and senton off the apron to the floor. Gargano throws Jackson back into the ring. Jackson is able to hit a rope assisted dropkick. He goes for a dive but gets caught with Gargano’s slingshot spear. Gargano suplexes Jackson for two. Gargano focuses his attack on Jackson’s arm. Jackson hits a couple clotheslines. Gargano evades a dropkick and kicks Jackson in the chest. Jackson counters a powerbomb with a backbreaker. Jackson spears Gargano and delivers three Northern Lights suplexes. He delivers a fourth in the corner. Jackson hits a top rope elbow for two. Gargano goes for the Hurts Donut. Jackson escapes, but Gargao rolls Jackson into a kick to the face. Gargano puts Jackson in an Anaconda Vice in the ropes. He kicks Jackson from the apron. Jackson powerbombs Gargano as he comes off the ropes. He delivers one on the mat and in the corner. Gargano blocks the Tumbleweed Stunner. Gargano hits the Diced Bread for two. A strike exchanges ends with an enzuigiri from Gargano. Jackson blocks a slingshot spear with two superkicks. He hits a dangling DDT and goes up top. Jackson lands the 450 splash for the pin at 9:47. This was a nice display of talent from guys who are on top of the independent wrestling world right now. Now, if only we could get a Taylor/Gargano vs. Young Bucks match. ***

Archibald Peck thanks his attorney, Barrister RD Evans, for getting him into the tournament. He says destiny is working in his favor, because he was delivered as a “young lion cub” on top of a mountain and seen as a hero to Canada. They knew Peck would honor those people by winning the Young Lions Cup tonight. He laughs so hard that his hat falls off. MK McKinnan talks about how he will walk out of tonight’s event as the Young Lions Cup champion and take it back home to England.

Young Lions Cup IX Quarter-Final Elimination Match
Archibald Peck vs. Professor Milo Shizo vs. Mat Fitchett vs. MK McKinnan

Peck and McKinnan start off trading holds. McKinnan catches Peck with a kick, so Peck responds with a boot. McKinnan throws Peck’s boot into his own face, then headmares him to the mat. He hits a rolling knee strike in the corner. Peck Flair’s himself to the apron, then sends McKinnan to the floor. Shizo comes in and frightens Peck. He bails, so Fitchett comes in. Fitchett misses a senton and Shizo kicks him in the back. Fitchett delivers a series of armdrags and grabs an armbar. Fitchett lands a back senton after Shizo drops down. McKinnan and Fitchett have a quick back-and-forth with no true winner. Peck and Shizo attack them from behind, then stomp on Fitchett. They drop Fitchett with a tandem backbreaker. Peck sends Fitchett and Shizo to the floor. Peck drops McKinnan with a backbreaker for two. Shizo and Peck form a loose team to wear down McKinnan. McKinnan comes back with a few kicks and a tornado DDT to Peck. Fitchett tags in and takes out Shizo and moonsaults off Shizo’s back onto Shizo’s back (confused?) Fitchett hits a pele kick and trips Peck. A chain of submissions is formed by all four people. Peck bites Shizo’s tail to break the chain. Peck and Shizo trade strikes with McKinnan and Fitchett. Fitchett and McKinnan respond with stereo German suplexes for two. Peck and Shizo trade strikes on the floor. Fitchett rolls up McKinnan for two. McKinnan blasts him with an enzuigiri which sends Fitchett out to the floor. Shizo gives McKinnan an armbreaker. McKinnan rolls to the floor and Shizo dives onto Fitchett and Peck (McKinnan moved). McKinnan tope suicida’s onto Fitchett and Shizo. Peck fakes a dive, but instead marches around the ring. McKinnan and Shizo pull him out and Fitchett Fozberry flops onto everybody. Shizo catches Fitchett with a jump-up reverse STO. McKinnan superkicks Shizo and hits a brainbuster for two. Peck drops McKinnan with a backbreaker for two. Fitchett hits Water for Elephants on Peck for two. McKinnan and Shizo exchange punches until Peck boots McKinnan. McKinnan hits a cascade X-Factor for two. Shizo sunset bombs McKinnan off the second rope. Peck crotches Fitchett on the top rope. Peck drops him with a super backbreaker for the pin at 14:58. McKinnan blocks a Tiger Driver. Both guys exchange roll ups with no success. McKinnan catches Shizo with a Mexican Rolling Pin for the pin at 15:43. Peck delivers a leg lariat. McKinnan small packages Peck for two. Peck stops a headscissors with the Unchained Melody for the pin and victory at 16:45. This was the best match in the opening round of the YLC, and maybe one of the best ever. All four guys really brought the goods and performed an exciting, fun and well-balanced match. I want to see everyone in this match again return to CHIKARA. ***1/4

Sean South (who sounds like Sheamus) says he thinks of CHIKARA in the literal sense – strength and influence. He says he’s been influencing the European wrestling scene for the past seven years and plans to smash up CHIKARA tonight.

Young Lions Cup IX Quarter-Final Elimination Match
Nick Jackson vs. Tadasuke vs. Mark Andrews vs. Sean South

Nick does a spinaroonie in the aisleway, since Booker T was one of the people involved in the Young Buck handshaking “scandal”. Andrews and South look for the first show. South gets it with a chop, but Andrews sends him to the floor with a huracanrana. He sends Tadasuke out as well. Jackson boots South on the floor, then flips Andrews into an X-Factor. On the floor, South tosses Jackson onto Tadasuke. South boots Andrews and dives onto Tadasuke and Jackson. Andrews shooting star presses onto everyone on the floor. Andrews rolls South into a doublestomp. He dropkicks Jackson into a moonsault on South. South superkicks Tadasuke and Jackson superkicks Andrews. Tadasuke clotheslines South and Jackson simultaneously. Tadasuke and Andrews end up in the ring together. Andrews lights him up with kicks, but gets met with a haymaker. Tadasuke drops him with Outkast for the pin at 3:41. Jackson spinwheel kicks Tadasuke and sole butts South. Nick hits a solo version of N’Sync for two. Jackson German suplexes Jackson and hits a low DDT for two. South then hits a brainbuster for two. South goes for the Implant, but Tadasuke punches him so that Jackson could flip him into a Yoshi Tonic. That’s enough for Jackson to score the pin at 5:28. Tadasuke and Jackson exchange forearm strikes. Jackson hits a sole butt and tornado kick for two. Jackson hits a slingshot X-Factor and a moonsault for two. Tadasuke distracts the referee in order to hit a low blow. One haymaker and Outkast later, and Tadasuke wins the match at 7:27. Way too short to see anything special out of anyone. Everyone looked fine except South who really did nothing of note. **

”12 Large: Summit” Tournament Match (Block A)
Hallowicked (2 Points) vs. Sara Del Rey (4 Points)

They look for control on the mat. Back on their feet they exchange arm holds. Sara clamps on a headscissors, which Hallowicked rolls out of into a side headlock. Sara grapevines his legs. Hallowicked grabs the ropes to escape. He puts Sara in an abdominal stretch. She turns it into a cross armbreaker. Hallowicked turns over and grapevines her legs. Sara crucifix pins him for two. Sara backs Hallowicked to the corner and rams her posterior into Hallowicked’s mid-section. She snaps Hallowicked down and sinches her legs around Hallowicked’s arm. Hallowicked armdrags his way free. He baits Sara to the apron and kicks her in the chest. He comes in with a sunset flip for two. He delivers a step-up enzuigiri which sends her to the corner. Sara snaps Hallowicked down by his arm. She armdrags Hallowicked to the corner and delivers a single-leg dropkick. Sara seatbelt pins him for two. They forcefully exchange arm wringers, ending with Hallowicked whipping Sara arm first to the mat. Sara gets the ropes to break an arm submission. Hallowicked continues to target her arm, much like Sara did to him in the early going. She forearms Hallowicked and nails him with three running boots. She ducks a yakuza kick and crossbody’s him. She immediately rolls away and grabs her arm in pain. She holds her arm while kicking away at Hallowicked. An axe kick gets her two. He hits a step-up enzuigiri and yakuza kick for two. She hits a Koppu Kick for two. Hallowicked hits the Go Too Sleepy Hollow. He Magistral Cradles Sara for the pin at 11:56. The finish was anticlimactic, but up until then the action was really solid and told a good story. I like Hallowicked getting two victories back to back in the same building in the same manner and how he used Sara’s tactic of isolating the arm to ultimately best her. ***

Vin Gerard says all he sees when he looks at Fire Ant is two more points, then it’s on to Eddie Kingston. He proclaims “Holla At Your Boy” mockingly to the camera.

”12 Large: Summit” Tournament Match (Block B)
Fire Ant (2 Points) vs. Vin Gerard (2 Points)

This is a rematch from the Young Lions Cup VI finals, which I think is one of the best matches in CHIKARA history. Fire Ant ducks a chop and Gerard rolls him up for two. He nails Fire Ant with a forearm, who responds with a headscissors takedown. He side slams Gerard and delivers an armdrag. He quesadora’s Gerard then takes him down with a fireman’s carry. Gerard pulls Fire Ant’s antlers to block a suplex. A running clothesline gets him one. Gerard curb stomps Fire Ant multiple times for a two count. Gerard delivers a running knee to the corner. He doublestomps Fire Ant from the second rope for two. Fire Ant rams Gerard to the corner, but his knee buckles. Fire Ant blocks a 2k1 Bomb with a stunner. He hits an antzuigiri in the corner. A brainbuster gets him two. Fire Ant delivers the Yahtzee Kick and tries for the Beach Break. Gerard fights down. He powerbombs Fire Ant twice for a two count. Gerard hits an inverted curb stomp for two. Fire Ant catches Gerard coming up the ropes with a kick to the side. Fire Ant follows up with a crossbody and a suicide dive. Fire Ant quickly comes back so he can hit a tope con hilo. Gerard legmares Fire Ant by the steps, but barely even touches them. Gerard drags Fire Ant back to the entrance in the hopes of a count out victory, as well as a call back to their YLC VI bout. Gerard breaks the count and smiles while looking towards Fire Ant. Gerard drops him on the floor with a 2k1 Bomb. Gerard brings him back into the ring and gets a two count. Gerard rolls up Fire Ant for two. With that failing, Gerard tries a standing shooting star press (a calling card of his as Equinox). He misses, so Gerard puts Fire Ant in the CHIKARA Special. Fire Ant kicks free, so Gerard transitions into the STF. Fire Ant rolls into a cradle for two. He drops Gerard with a Burning Hammer for the pin at 11:45. I actually watched this twice and I enjoyed it much more the second time. All the call backs to their previous YLC encounter was enough to satiate my appetite in terms of what I was looking for out of this match. This may not have been the epic match I was hoping for to get Gerard back to do something of substance, but it served it’s purpose. ***

A Joshimania video plays, hyping Aja Kong’s participation.

Young Lions Cup IX Semi-Final Match
Green Ant vs. Jakob Hammermeier

Green Ant and Tursas fight on the floor before the bell rings. Hammermeier drives Green Ant into a group of chairs with a side Russian leg sweep. Hammermeier superkicks Green Ant twice and throws him into the ring apron. Hammermeier brings Green Ant back into the ring but only gets a two count. Green Ant fires up and hits a springboard headbutt to Hammermeier’s chest. They knock each other down with simultaneous clotheslines. Green Ant tears Hammermeier’s vest and chokes him with it. Green Ant connects with a forearm. After a hard lariat he goes for an Angle Slam. Hammermeier rakes his eyes. Tursas holds Green Ant on the apron. Hammermeier accidentally runs into Tursas, and Green Ant rolls him up for the pin at 2:30. A good way to advance the story of Green Ant against the BDK. I’d love to see a Spectral Envoy/Colony vs. BDK/Dark Army Cibernetico. *

Tursas and Hammermeier continue to attack Green Ant after the match. Tursas delivers a big splash to him before he and Hammermeier leave. Some officials and crew members check on Green Ant, as does Fire Ant.

Young Lions Cup IX Semi-Final Match
Archibald Peck vs. Tadasuke

Peck is quite frightened of Tadasuke, and rightfully so. Tadasuke puts the boots to him in the corner. Tadasuke presses his knee on the back of Peck’s neck. Peck peppers Tadasuke with some punches and knocks him down with a back elbow and single leg dropkick. Peck headbutts Tadasuke in the abdomen, causing Tadasuke to roll to the floor. Peck suicide dives onto him. Tadasuke chops Peck as Peck goes to the top rope. He throws him to the mat and nails a running knee strike. He connects with a knee lift and some more strikes. Tadasuke legdrops Peck for two. He applies a sleeper hold. Peck elbows to escape, but gets knocked down right away with a clothesline. Peck boots Tadasuke to block a corner attack. He hits a forearm off the second rope. Peck lays in some punches and a headbutt. He hits a flipping DDT and a body slam. He hits a Bret Hart style forearm off the second rope for two. Tadasuke suplexes Peck for two. Tadasuke puts Peck in a torture rack. Peck breaks free and goes for a Sharpshooter. Tadasuke breaks. Peck trips him into an arm clutch submission. Tadasuke picks up Peck with an electric chair drop. Peck Flair flips to the apron. He comes off the top with a shoulder tackle for two. Peck goes up top for the Cranial Crescendo. Tadasuke moves out of the way. He delivers a haymaker and Outkast for the pin at 9:03. It’s going to be hard to boo Peck if he keeps being so entertaining and good in the ring. He and Tadasuke meshed together shockingly well and the crowd got into both men (but especially Peck). Just a surprisingly good bout. ***

Pinkie Sanchez makes his way out to the ring. He calls the fans foolish for booing him and can’t believe that they had a Young Lions Cup tournament without him. Sanchez verbally berates some heckling fans until UltraMantis Black makes his way to the ring. As Mantis enters the ring, Sanchez stomps on him to start an impromptu match.

UltraMantis Black vs. Pinkie “Pink Ant” Sanchez

Sanchez stomps Mantis as he comes in the ring and chokes him in the corner. He delivers a flurry of chops. He misses a splash, allowing Mantis to deliver an inside out suplex to Sanchez. Sanchez rolls to the floor. Mantis follows out with a double ace handle, but Sanchez moves so that Mantis hits the steps. Sanchez throws Mantis into a nearby table and messes with some DVD’s at the Smart Mark Video table. Sanchez tries to hit him with a DVD copy of “Clutch of Doom”, but Mantis hits him with it instead. Mantis goes for the Cosmic Doom on the floor. Sanchez blocks. Mantis blocks an attack to the table and delivers two headbutts. He puts Sanchez’s head by a speaker and screams into the microphone connected to it. Mantis DDT’s Sanchez on the nearby bleachers. Mantis delivers a Mongolian Chop before bringing Sanchez back into the ring. Sanchez kicks the referee into the ropes so Mantis crotches himself on the ropes. A super huracanrana gets him a two count. Sanchez hits The Shining but Mantis grabs the ropes to prevent a pin. He hits a DDT for two. He misses a moonsault, allowing Mantis to recover and hit the Praying Mantis Bomb for the pin at 5:15. This was a fun brawl for the time allotted and nice way to have Mantis continue to dispose of the BDK members. **1/4

Mantis warns Ares for the second time that he is going to destroy every BDK member until Ares gives him another match. Just for good measure, Mantis drops Sanchez with another Praying Mantis Bomb.

”12 Large: Summit” Tournament Match (Block A)
Icarus (2 Points) vs. Claudio Castagnoli (2 Points)

Both men boot each other in the stomach simultaneously. Icarus goes to the apron to avoid being hit by Claudio again. They lock up and pull each other’s tights. Nick Papagiorgio breaks them in the corner, but both men poke each other in the eyes before doing so. They both yell at the referee for not catching it. Claudio monkey flips Icarus. Icarus rolls through, so Claudio chops him on the top rope. Icarus armdrags Claudio and stomps on his hand. Icarus delivers a headscissors and stomps on Claudio’s hand again. Claudio snapmares Icarus and stomps on his hand. Claudio stands on it. Icarus gets mad at Papagiorgio because he steps on Icarus’ hand to break it, missing Claudio’s boot. Claudio prevents Icarus from going to the back. Icarus pescado’s onto him after being put back in the ring. Claudio dropkicks Icarus off the apron. Claudio seesaw’s him into the bottom of a merchandise table. Claudio slams Icarus stomach first into the ring post. Icarus throws Claudio off of the top rope. He goes to the top rope himself and gets thrown off by Claudio. Claudio drops an elbow for two. Claudio applies a Camel Clutch. Claudio throws Icarus to the corner to block a Shirnaui. Icarus rakes Claudio’s face across the top rope. Claudio blocks a kick and punches Icarus in the mid-section. Claudio chokes Icarus on the middle rope. Claudio blocks the Shiranui. Icarus tries the Pedigree. Claudio goes for an uppercut instead. Icarus tries a backslide but Claudio reverses it. Icarus kicks the referee down by accident. Both Claudio and Icarus drop to the mat and pretend that they got kicked in the groin. Icarus superkicks Claudio for two after Papagiorgio decides to not make a call. Claudio delivers Swiss Death for two. Icarus recovers and comes off the top with a huracanrana. He hits a spear but Claudio gets his foot on the ropes. Claudio uppercuts Icarus in the neck for two. Icarus tries to sunset flip out of a Ricola Bomb. He sits down on it and grabs the ropes for a pin, but Papagiorgio catches him. He catches Icarus with his feet on the ropes as well. A series of pin attempts ends with Icarus grabbing the ropes in a reverse prawn hold and pinning Claudio at 12:45. Both guys trying to out Rudo one another was quite entertaining, and the fact that Icarus eventually won by grabbing the ropes after failing to hit the Shiranui and Blu-Ray was good storytelling. A good match that you don’t see usually from these guys. ***

The Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson) vs. The Batiri (Obariyon & Kodama)

Obariyon throws Matt down twice by his hair as they exchange wristlocks. Matt dropkicks Obariyon to the corner, and Kodama and Nick tag in. Nick turns Kodama inside out, and Kodama sunset flips him for one. Nick kicks Kodama to the corner and asks for a handshake. Kodama obliges but then attacks Nick from behind. Matt comes in and gets double teamed by The Batiri. Matt pops Nick into a double dropkick on both Batiri members. Matt comes off the top with a double sledge to Kodama’s neck. The Bucks hit a wheelbarrow slam/ace crusher combo for two. The Bucks continue to wear down Kodama until Obariyon trips Matt and brings him to the floor. Obariyon drops him face first on the apron, cutting off Matt’s attempt at a springboard move. The Batiri now isolate Matt in their corner. Matt escapes a suplex from Kodama and tags in Nick. Nick clothesline Kodama and slides to the floor to superkick Obariyon. He hits a Tiger backbreaker for two. Matt dropkicks Obariyon as he grabs Nick’s foot. Nick kicks Kodama into a tombstone from Matt. Obariyon breaks the pin in the nick of time. Obariyon drops Matt with a back cracker for two. Matt looks for the Worst Case Scenario, but Obariyon wheelbarrow suplexes him into a neckbreaker from Kodama. Matt blocks Obariyon’s Flying DDT. Kodama comes in with a sloppy reverse rana. Nick delivers a tornado kick, leaving all four men on the mat. Nick blocks a second reverse rana with a powerbomb. Nick hits a running knee strike on Kodama in the corner and dives onto Obariyon. More Bang For Your Buck on Kodama earns them the pin and their first point at 11:18. This is a match I had wanted to see for awhile, and even though it may not have been as good as I wanted, it was still pretty darn entertaining. **3/4

Young Lions Cup IX Finals
Green Ant vs. Tadasuke

Green Ant is visibly in pain after the beating he took from Tursas and Jakob Hammermeier. Green Ant and Tadasuke start off by trading forearm strikes. Tadasuke knocks him down with a knife-edge chop. He stomps Green Ant in the corner and delivers a knee lift. He comes down with a back senton. He kicks Green Ant in the ribs twice, causing Green Ant to kick him in the arm twice. Tadasuke smiles and once again trades forearms and chops with Green Ant. Green Ant drop toe holds him on the apron and dropkicks him in the side of the head. Green Ant dives off the ropes onto Tadasuke. Green Ant brings him back in the ring for a two count. Tadasuke hits a few clotheslines in the corner and delivers a neckbreaker. He brings Green Ant down with a side headlock. Green Ant headbutts Tadasuke as they fight on the ropes. He small packages him for two, then gets two with a Magistral cradle. Tadasuke counters with a uranage back breaker. He hits an Argentine Backbreaker for two. Tadasuke turns him into a Boston Crab. Green Ant escapes and rolls Tadasuke into the Cloverleaf. Green Ant hits a low dropkick and goes up top. He misses a flying headbutt. They go back to trading forearms. Green Ant lays in a flurry of headbutts. Tadasuke shrugs them off and delivers two hard clotheslines. A running lariat gets him a two count. Tadasuke levels him with a haymaker. He drops Green Ant with the Outkast for the pin at 9:35. I like Tadasuke winning the tournament; it was fairly surprising and adds intrigue to the Cup since Tadasuke will take it back to Japan with him. Green Ant and Tadasuke had a fun hard hitting bout and it seems likely that Green Ant will get a rematch when he goes to Osaka Pro in late September. ***

Tadasuke raises the Cup to the crowd. He waits for Green Ant to get off the mat, looking like he’s going to shake hands. Tadasuke instead grabs his Cup and heads backstage.

Yet another Joshimania video is shown, this time hyping Manami Toyota’s involvement. Then, we get a Japanese television program showing the Larry Sweeney tribute video that was shown at the beginning of King of Trios weekend, as well as some clips from Night 3.

The 411: While nothing on this show blew me away, it was solid up and down and provided some really good action. The biggest flaw with some of the matches is that they were just too short, but that's something that was completely out of CHIKARA's hands. I personally don't want a 13 match card going 5 hours or something crazy like that. CHIKARA absolutely did the best they could under the circumstances and still had an entertaining show with storyline progression. I certainly think it's worth picking up for historical purposes, but if you want an amazing blow away show, pick up King of Trios or Chikarasaurus Rex instead. Be sure to check out all of my CHIKARA reviews at my CHIKARA blog; "The CHIKARA Special" and all the CHIKARA news over at "The CHIKARA Special" Tumblr.

Final Score:  7.0   [ Good ]