Views from the Hawke’s Nest: Forza Lucha! (Debut show)

This was an outdoor show. The company told me they needed last-minute replacements for the referee and the ring before I watched the show (ominous!). The ring did indeed come off as sketchy, and the referee was not wearing referee gear. By the way, I’m checking out this show because I plan on going to future shows. I want to know what I’m in for!

 

October 5, 2013
Newark, New Jersey

David Starr vs. Lance Anoai
Starr was stalling early on. He got control after playing cat/mouse. Lance quickly made a comeback. Starr avoided two superkick attempts and hit a leaping forearm. Starr came off the top rope, but Lance reversed that into a Rock Bottom: 1…2..3

A fine way to start the show. It was short and inoffensive. Lance is solid in the ring, but he needs a charisma upgrade.
Match Rating: **

 

Matt Macintosh vs. Merrill The Peril
This is one of two matches on the show where I am not familiar with either man. They worked the exact kind of match as the first one. Macintosh was the chickenshit heel running away from the babyface. Macintosh targeted the left leg. THE PERIL kicked him away and then made a comeback. Macintosh tripped THE PERIL down and applied an ankle lock on the injured leg. THE PERIL tapped out.

They get points for the leg work playing into the finish.
Match Rating: *

 

Blind Rage, Dasher Hatfield & Shynron vs. The Gentleman’s Club Championship Edition (Chuck Taylor, Dan Champion & Orange Cassidy)
Sexy Chucky T!

The crowd was greatly amused by Orange Cassidy. Dasher is wonderful. I need more Dasher in my life. This has been really fun so far. Dan Champion has awful form on his push-ups. The rudos eventually cut off Shynron and then worked him over. Shynron hit a double handspring Ace Crusher, and Dasher then made a hot tag. The teams went back and forth. There was a weird edit that seemed to serve no purpose. The (presumably) untrained referee was late on a count that killed the drama of a triple team powerbomb. Champion was finished with a Michinoku Driver from Rage and a moonsault from Shynron: 1…2…3

The stuff with the referee was bad at the end and brought the match down slightly. This was genuinely pretty fun though other than that. Chuck, Cassidy, and Dasher definitely got over.
Match Rating: **3/4

 

Eric Corvis vs. Tim Donst

Donst was still in Chikara at the time of this match.

Donst attacked Corvis during the latter’s entrance. Corvis quickly fought back. Corvis’ left leg got tied up in the ropes, and Donst then went after it. Corvis consulted his wrestling magician book or whatever to give him the metaphorical key to his comeback. Corvis had the fans chop Donst. Corvis got a nearfall with a frog splash. Donst kicked Corvis in the balls behind the ref’s back kind of. Donst won on that one.

Donst shoved the ref afterwards. Stone Cold’s music played, and the ref gave Donst a stunner. Corvis and the ref drank beer. Corvis then gave Donst a stunner.

This was odd.
Match Rating: *1/2

 

Danny Inferno vs. Erik Andretti
These guys were billed as “The talent from Jersey Championship Wrestling.”

They cut some very cliche promos to set up the babyface/heel dynamic before the show. This felt like a very standard local VFW indie match. Nothing about it interested me. They made the crowd care though so good on them. Andretti won on a very sloppy transition to a schoolboy with a handful of tights.
Match Rating: 1/2*

 

The Colony (assailANT, Fire Ant & Green Ant) & Frightmare vs. The Osirian Portal (Amasis & Ophidian), Gran Akuma & The Shard
Obviously, this match was very Chikara. The teams went back and forth for a while. Amasis faked an injury so that the (rudo by default) team could cut off Frightmare and then work him over. The match was very light-hearted, as the wrestlers were not restricted in any way by a Chikara storyline. Fire Ant made the hot tag. Amasis tried to fake an injury again, but Fire Ant did not fall for it. The tecnicos hit stereo pescados. I wouldn’t do a dive onto asphalt. Correction: I wouldn’t agree to catch anyone while standing on asphalt. Lots of movez were hit. They really hit lots of movez. It went on for a while. Some of the bumps were quite scary on such a sketchy ring. Dammit, Fire reversed the Tenchi Crash. Eventually, The Colony hit one of their triple-team movez to finish Akuma for the win.

Some of the action came off a little flat down the stretch, but this was a really fun match overall. This match featured some of the best Chikara talent, and it was a worthy main event.
Match Rating: ***1/4

 

Check out some Chikara matches for free!

El Generico vs. Kota Ibushi vs. Nick Jackson vs. Jigsaw

Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Sara Del Rey

The Young Bucks vs. Jigsaw & Mike Quackenbush

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brodie Lee

Fire Ant vs. Vin Gerard

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Mike Quackenbush

El Generico vs. Jigsaw

The Young Bucks vs. The Colony

Colt Cabana & Mixed Martial Archie vs. The Throwbacks

Mike Quackenbush vs. Green Ant

4.0

The final score: review Poor

The 411

Admittedly, this is a strange show for me to review on 411mania. I will say though that the show convinced me to attend the next one as long as there are plenty of Chikara guys booked. They put in a lot of effort, and it would clearly be enjoyable to watch them in such a unique environment. This show should be on their Youtube channel soon.