CHIKARA Review: Aniversario Yin

Easton, PA – 5.23.2009

CHIKARA celebrates it’s seventh year in existence with it’s annual Aniversario show/shows. Tonight, CHIKARA returns to Easton, PA with “Aniversario Yin”. Tonight, Vin Gerard faces his biggest singles competition yet as he squares off with CHIKARA heavyweight Claudio Castagnoli. Jigsaw has recently taken The Future Is Now under his wing, and tonight he teams with Helios and Lince Dorado to take on the 2009 King of Trios, F.I.S.T. Also, Delirious will compete for the first time since his abduction against Midwest star Arik Cannon. All this and more awaits, so off we go!

Commentary is provided by Mike Quackenbush, Louden Noxious, Bryce Remsburg, Leonard F. Chikarason, Ultramantis Black, & Eddie Kingston.

Louden Noxious opens the show up with a birthday song for CHIKARA, covering all the events from last Aniversario till now. How sweet of him.

Incoherence (Hallowicked & Frightmare) vs. 2.0. (Jagged & Shane Matthews)

This is a rematch from “Behind The 8 Ball” which 2.0. won thanks to distraction from Brodie Lee. Can 2.0. pull it off once again and reclaim their first point?

Jagged puts a headlock on Hallowicked. Wicked tries to use the ropes to escape but Jagged tightens the hold. Wicked tries again and this time Jagged holds onto the stem of Hallowicked. Hallowicked finally suplexes out and school boys Jagged for two. Wicked applies a headlock of his own. Jagged gets to the corner to break and Jagged kicks Hallowicked. Jagged goes a crossbody and completely misses. Wicked doesn’t move, he just misses. Awesome. Frightmare and Hallowicked hit their sidewalk slam/legdrop combo for two. Jagged knees Frightmare in the gut and tags in Shane Matthews. Shane offers a handshake to Frightmare which is accepted. Shane powers Frightmare into the corner and gives a clean break. The two men lock up and again Shane powers Frightmare to the corner. Frightmare armdrags and hurricanrana’s Shane down and he tries to call for a time out. They again lock up and this time Frightmare gets Shane to the corner. Shane punches Frightmare right in the face then drops the knee. Shane beats Frightmare’s face in on the mat. 2.0 bully the smaller Frightmare in their corner for quite some time. 2.0 softens the back of Frightmare, presumably for Shane Matthews Canadian Crab of doom! Frightmare reverses a whip to the corner, but Shane pulls Hallowicked off the apron to stop the tag. Frightmare comes right back with a headscissors into a DDT and tags in Hallowicked anyway. Hallowicked cleans house sending 2.0. to the floor. Hallowicked teases a dive, and Frightmare hits a real dive onto Shane Matthews. Jagged schoolboys Hallowicked only getting a two. Wicked eats a leg lariat from Jagged, and Frightmare hits an inverted Samoan Drop. Shane powerbombs Frightmare for two. Wicked hits the step-up Frankensteiner on Jagged. Wicked then nails the Go Too Sleepy Hollow on Shane, and Frightmare follows up with the moonsault knees to the chest for two. 2.0. fight back and regain the advantage. Jagged pops up Frightmare into a spear from Shane Matthews for two. Shane puts Frightmare on his shoulders, and Hallowicked boots him in the face. Jagged in the corner gets crotched. Frightmare comes and lands a super hurricanrana from the top. Hallowicked catches Jagged with a Rydeen Bomb and that’s enough to give Incoherence the win! Another good, fun tag team match from these two teams. This was just as good as last month, and 2.0. is still awesome. **1/2

Hydra vs. Grizzly Redwood

Hydra used “Poker Face” as his theme song, which is just as awesome as you’d imagine it being. The two men lock up, and it’s strange to see Hydra being bigger than someone else. Grizzly snaps Hydra’s suspenders on his pecs. Hydra then does the same of Grizzly which has a much worse effect. Grizzly throws Hydra down then brings him up by his arm and does it again. Hydra throws Grizzly down by the hair and gets the fans to clap for him. Grizzly locks on a headlock and gets sent off the ropes. Grizzly goes for a shoulder tackle and can’t get Hydra down. Both men put down their straps to show they mean business! This is serious! Hydra knocks down Grizzly then slams him down as well. Grizzly punches Hydra in the mid-section and throws him face first to the mat. Grizzly stretches his knee across Hydra’s back while pulling back on his neck. Hydra gets up and elbows out of it. Hydra hits a crossbody for two, and once more. He tries for a third and fails. Grizzly drops the axe handles across Hydra’s back then kicks him in the side. Grizzly pins Hydra for two. Grizzly keeps his advantage on Hydra, even stomping his barefoot into Hydra’s face. Grizzly goes to the top and falls off the top for a headbutt, but Hydra moves. Hydra comes up and nails Grizzly with some clotheslines. Grizzly chop blocks Hydra to cut him off then applies a full nelson. Hydra breaks it and rolls through with a prawn hold. Hydra gores Grizzly down for a two count. Hydra signals for the Hydralock. He doesn’t lock the fingers before Grizzly rams Hydra into the corner. Grizzly delivers some chops which fire up Hydra. Hydra puts Grizzly in the corner and lights him up with chops. Grizzly side steps Hydra, schoolboys him, and puts his feet on the ropes to get three count. I believe Grizzly Redwood is undefeated in Easton, PA still. So the match was…well, what you’d expect really. It was a goofy comedy match with little wrestling merit. But hey, it was enjoyable still. *

Create-A-Wrestler vs. Eddie Kingston

Eddie runs at CAW, who dodges. CAW hits a pair of dropkicks to send Kingston to the floor. CAW looks for a tope, and Kingston steps out of the way. CAW put on the brakes though. Kingston slides in and gets jumped on by CAW. Eddie headbutts CAW so hard that he gets sent to the floor. Eddie pulls CAW from under the ring, and CAW now has his Ultimo Breakfast mask on! CAW headbutts Kingston with his toaster head which sends Eddie to the floor. CAW hits a pescado then throws Eddie back into the ring. Eddie begs for no more in the corner. CAW refuses to shake Eddie’s hand and comes at him with strikes. Eddie gets up and kicks CAW. Eddie clotheslines CAW in the corner and then chops him from pillar to post (tea and toast). Eddie chokes CAW breaking at four. Eddie snapmares CAW and then cranks on the head. Kingston rakes the eyes and chokes CAW on the middle rope. Eddie rocks CAW in the corner with chops though CAW strikes back. Eddie stops CAW with a release German suplex. Eddie peppers CAW with some strikes then kicks CAW in the temple. Eddie pins CAW for two, and tells the referee he sucks. Back on their feet, Eddie continues his onslaught. Eddie Yakuza kick’s CAW in the corner and mocks the fans who are applauding CAW. CAW puts on the breaks when he is sent to the corner and springboards out with a kick to Eddie’s face. CAW blocks some shots from Kingston and responds with some shots of his own. CAW hits the ropes and spears Kingston down to the mat. CAW hits the Russian Lariat which sends Eddie to the floor. CAW hits a tope con heilo onto Kingston, but hits mostly the floor with his back and head. Back in the ring, CAW fires up. CAW lands a suplex on Eddie who kicks out at two. Caw picks up Eddie. Eddie hits a Urinagi suplex on CAW and then a shotgun lariat. CAW kicks out at two with vigor. CAW blocks the Backfist to the Future and looks for the He’s Toast Driver. Eddie hits the Back Drop Driver and waits for CAW to get up. CAW turns right into the Backfist to the Future and that spells the end for CAW. This was fine, but very non-descript. Eddie gains a win going into his match with Claudio Castagnoli tomorrow night which should be worlds better. *3/4

Jigsaw and The Future Is Now (Lince Dorado & Helios) vs. F.I.S.T. (Icarus, Gran Akuma, & Chuck Taylor)

Linec and Icarus kick things off. Icarus mocks Lince for his seizure he suffered back in late 2007. Icarus and Lince tie-up and Lince gets Icarus in a waist lock. Icarus turns it into a wrist lock. A bunch more reversals occur between these two. Icarus forearms Lince in the face a couple times before being taken down with a spinning headscissors to the floor. Lince fakes a dive and is caught with a dropkick from Akuma to the floor. Jigsaw comes in and trades Lucha spots with Akuma. Akuma goes to the floor and Jigsaw dives through with a tope to Akuma. Helios and Chuck face off in the ring. Chuck pushes Helios to the corner then whips him to the other side. Helios kicks Chuck in the face then armdrags Chuck to the floor. Helios looks to hit the Sasuke Special before Akuma kicks him in the back. Icarus spears Helios down and locks on a ground Octopus. I’m certain Helios is the chosen man to take the brunt of the beating from here on out. Some nice looking hold and submissions from F.I.S.T. keep the Burning Star of CHIKARA grounded. Helios Tiger Walks up Chuck into an armdrag on Akuma. He then hits the double knees on Chuck before hitting the Backslide Driver on Akuma! Chuck grabs the ankle of Helios, but Helios kicks away to tag in Jigsaw. Jig dives on Akuma and Chuck facing all of F.I.S.T. on his own using his elbows and kicks to keep it up. Akuma catches Jigsaw but he spins into a kick on Chuck and throws Akuma out of the ring. Helios comes out of the ring with a corkscrew tope onto Akuma and Chuck. Lince intercepts a dive attempt from Icarus with a Whoopee Cushion type dive. We’re then treated to a series of moves from every single member in this match ending with a Lynxsault from Lince onto Chuck for the two count; cool spot. Chuck is left alone with Helios in the ring. Chuck tosses Helios to the apron. Chuck muscles Helios up with a powerbomb in the corner. Helios fights back and cartwheels onto Chuck’s shoulders. Akuma comes off the ropes with the Doomsday Device, and Jig and Lince break the pin attempt. Lince misses and Lynxsault off the second to the outside and eats a kick from Chuck. Jig and Akuma trade kicks in the middle of the ring. Akuma looks for the Rubix Cube again and Jigsaw fights out. Akuma gets superkicked twice from Jigsaw. Jigsaw sets him up for the Jig N’ Tonic but Chuck comes back. They hit the Sole Food/Yoshi Tonic combination (from here on out known as “Dinner and Drinks”) for the win. A damn fine trios match-up giving F.I.S.T. a much needed victory before their big match tomorrow night. I like Jigsaw with The Future Is Now also, they mesh well. ***

Chuck grabs a Soldier Ant mask from the merchandise stand and brings it with him to the back as they leave. Foreshadowing!

Arik Cannon vs. Delirious

Yep, you heard it straight from the bug’s mouth: Delirious is in The Order of the Neo-Solar Temple as a measure of revenge against Hallowicked. So there you have it; you heard it here last.

The bell rings and Delirious does not freak out whatsoever. Delirious takes commands from Mantis beating down on Arik more violently than usual, with lots of knees, strikes, and even a back rake. Arik works out of an arm hold by popping off the ropes with an arm drag into an arm lock. Delirious pulls Arik’s Mohawk and Arik backs into the corner to break it up. Delirious rams his shoulder into Arik’s mid-section. Delirious throws Arik to the corner. Arik boots Delirious in the face then comes off the second rope with an arm drag. We’re alerted that Frightmare is spying on this match from the merchandise table. Delirious knees Arik in the stomach then places Arik on his shoulders. Delirious slams Arik and misses a Senton. Arik hits a back elbow. Delirious ducks a punch then thrusts Arik in the throat. Delirious hits an inverted neck breaker across his knee. Delirious chokes Arik to the count of 4. Crossbones then chokes Arik on the ropes. Delirious comes over and applies a choke into a judo throw down. Arik gets back to his feet and elbows out of the choke. Arik hits his patented swinging neck breaker for the two count. Delirious lands jawbreaker then an impressive German suplex. Delirious pins Arik and Arik puts his foot on the rope. Delirious chops Arik down to the mat. Delirious consults Mantis who dangles the Eye of Tyr in his face. Delirious throws some elbows to the back of Arik’s neck. Delirious chops Arik in the corner and then bites on Arik’s head. Arik hits a sole butt to Delirious’ gut then lands a bulldog. Arik nips up and claps to get the fans behind him. Arik runs off the ropes with a low dropkick. Arik looks for the Back Drop Driver and Delirious stops it with a series of elbows. Arik catches Delirious with a sweet punch to the face then the top rope assisted neckbreaker! That looked so cool together. Arik misses a moonsault and Delirious dropkicks him in the corner. Delirious hits the Panic Attack, and once more with Mantis’ call. Delirious goes up top but Mantis advises him against it. Delirious crawls down and takes some strikes from Arik. Delirious and Arik switch waist locks. Delirious applies a Cobra Clutch and turns it into the Praying Mantis Bomb! Delirious gets the win using Ultramantis’ finishing maneuver! Well that was a helluva first match for the new Delirious with some awesome looking stuff. Arik Cannon is great, and he and the Northstar Express should be coming back more frequently. I am highly anticipating where this storyline between Incoherence and the Order of the Neo-Solar Temple goes. ***

Tim Donst vs. STIGMA

Donst comes out wearing a “That Japanese Move” shirt, the shirt representing STIGMA’s former persona, Shane Storm. The fight starts on the floor with some hard chops from Donst to STIGMA. STIGMA rakes the eyes at Donst, then delivers a hard STO on the floor! Donst crawls into the ring screaming for the bell to ring, which it does. STIGMA wastes no time capitalizing on the hurt Donst. STIGMA snapmares Donst over and kicks Donst right in the back. STIGMA hits a forearm smash on Donst then a senton right on Donst’s back for the two count. STIGMA continues to stomp on Donst before delivering another snapmare. STIGMA knees Donst a few times and then digs his knee in Donst’s back. Donst elbows STIGMA but gets cut off with a forearm smash from STIGMA to his back. STIGMA steps on Donst’s face in the ropes. STIGMA chops Donst in the corner. STIGMA hits a suplex for a two count. STIGMA stomps on Donst’ back and then throws out some forearms and chops in the corner. Donst gets whipped to the corner. STIGMA mocks Donst’s hurting back before coming right back with the strikes. Donst strikes back and is stopped immediately with a shot to the back. Another whip to the corner brings Donst to the mat. STIGMA scrapes at his face with the boot. Donst uses the ropes to pull himself up. STIGMA delivers the blows and Donst fights back like he can. Donst gets thrown chest first to the corner. STIGMA dropkicks Donst in the back so he again rams chest first into the corner. STIGMA face washes Donst then hits the ropes. STIGMA lands his boot onto Donst’s face. STIGMA repeats then slides outside the ring. STIGMA hops on the apron and dropkicks Donst right in the face. STIGMA covers Donst and Donst grabs the bottom rope for the two count. STIGMA and Donst fight it out on the apron looking to do something crazy. Donst finally STO’s STIGMA backfirst onto the edge of the apron! STIGMA slowly gets to his feet, and Donst barely gets up. Both men fet back in the ring right before the 20 count. They crawl towards each other and go face to face. On all fours, the two men engage in a chop battle. Back to their feet STIGMA gets the advantage. STIGMA looks to lift Donst up for the Tombstone off the top rope but can’t do it. Donst fires up and comes up to the second rope. After a bit of battling, Donst hits a hurricanrana on STIGMA from off the top rope. Donst locks on the CHIKARA Special and STIGMA taps. Donst wins this feud once and for all. Well, that match was alright. It felt slow often and the crowd (and announcers) seemed a bit bored by it as well. I did like the story with the back, though it didn’t play much into the finish or anything so it only worked for a few spots here and there. **1/4

The Super Smash Bros. (Player Uno & Player Dos) and The Colony (Fire Ant & Soldier Ant) vs. The Osirian Portal (Amasis & Ophidian) and Los Ice Creams (El Hijo de Ice Cream and Ice Cream Jr.)

Hijo and Soldier Ant star off for their teams. Junior gets tagged in as Hijo is scared. Soldier Ant gets a headlock. Junior grabs the ropes to break it and rubs the cone on his head. Soldier Ant gets another headlock and is pushed to the ropes. Soldier Ant knocks Junior down with a shoulder tackle. This happens once more. Soldier bends Junior’s arm forcing him to salute. Soldier Ant salutes at Junior and Junior tries to make him stop multiple times. They then shake hands and Junior pushes Soldier into his corner with a full nelson. Hijo tags in and Soldier Ant takes on both Ice Creams at once. Soldier Ant evades their attacks and knocks them both to the floor. Soldier Ant fakes a dive which causes Hijo to jump in Junior’s arms in fear. The Osirian Portal runs in and attacks Soldier Ant. Fire Ant makes the save and does some of his own dance moves to battle The Portal. Some Lucha ensues leading to Fire Ant to take down both members of the Portal. Fire Ant headstands off Ophidian’s back to hurricanrana Amasis. Fire Ant sends Ophidian to the floor with an arm drag. Los Ice Creams come in to double team Fire Ant sending him to the floor with a tandem slam. Player Uno comes in and gets a double boot to the gut for his trouble. Uno blocks their attack and armdrags Junior twice, each time almost into Hijo. Uno kicks out Hijo’s leg causing Hijo to dropkick Junior, and Junior falls face first into the crotch of Hijo. Player Dos comes in with Amasis and Ophidian. Dos hits a moonsault on Amasis and then armdrags him to the floor. Dos hits a sole butt on Ophidian but gets chopped back. Dos hits an Enzugiri on Amasis on the apron then sends Ophidian into the corner. Dos splashes him with an elbow and hits the ropes. Amasis trips him with allows Ophidian to splash on Dos’ lower back. Dos gets beat on in the Rudos corner. Los Ice Creams and The Osirian Portal do a good job working together. Uno breaks up a pin at one point, but aside from that, it’s a very, very long time before any other members from Dos’ team have an impact. They beat on Dos…forever. Dos fights back against Ice Cream Jr. taking him down with a spinning headscissors. Fire Ant gets the hot tag and comes in, well, a house of fire! He takes down Ophidian with a pair of Antzugiri’s and a fireman’s carry for the two count. We now get a chain of all the participants locking on a headlock except Soldier Ant. Soldier Ant DDT’s the Ice Cream on the end, and everyone goes down. Soldier pins all of them for a two count. Soldier Ant uses salute-based offense to knock down Amasis. The Colony hit a double back body drop on Amasis. Ophidian ducks a double big boot, but then The Colony hits it. They land the Ants Marching neckbreaker for two as Los Ice Creams break up the pinfall. Los Ice Creams hit a double splash and then El Asesino on Fire Ant. Junior rolls him up with La Magistral and Dos breaks the count. Uno assists Dos with a dropkick on Hijo, then they hit a double flapjack on Junior. They then follows up with their Alabama Slam/lung blower combo, and the pin is broken up by Amasis. Amasis hits an Enzugiri on Uno and Ophidian lands the double knees on Dos. The Osirian’s roll forward with Uno for a two count. The Portal set up the Pyramid Suplex, but Fire Ant and Soldier double stack behind them. They hit a big double stack Side Russian Leg Sweep on the Portal! Dos hits a frogsplash on Amasis for the two count. Ophidian throws Dos outside and Uno throws some chops at him. Ophidian comes back with a spinning heel kick to Uno’s head. Uno lifts up Ophidian in a Gory Special and powerbombs Amasis at the same time! The Colony come off the top with a senton and a saluting headbutt on either member of the Portal. Los Ice Creams come back in with The Colony. Fire Ant sends Junior to the floor and Dos stops Hijo from hitting the Cold Stone Stunner! Fire Ant hits the G.I. Ant splash on Hijo to get the pin. This turned into a fun Atomicos match, but it took some time for this to warm up. Really not to much else to say. **3/4

Afterwards, Chuck Taylor and Icarus run out after The Smash Bros. have left the ring area. Chuck is in a Fire Ant shirt and Soldier Ant replica mask and kicks Fire Ant in the crotch. Icarus lays out Soldier Ant with the Pedigree. Chuck alerts the fans it’s just one more day till they unmask The Colony in Philadelphia.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Vin Gerard

Claudio approaches a nervous Vin. Vin shoves Claudio with some force which Claudio raises his eyebrows at. Claudio then shoves Vin right down to the mat. STIGMA consoles Vin as he stands outside the ring. Vin and Claudio circle each other. Claudio takes Vin down with a waist lock and rolls him through to a pinfall. Vin rolls out of the ring to take a breather. Vin comes back in and locks up with Claudio. Claudio takes Vin down with a side headlock. Vin wraps his legs around Claudio’s head, and Claudio bridges up and around into a leg lock. He turns Vin over and pins him for one. Back on their feet Vin rams his shoulder into Claudio’s mid-section. Claudio ducks a chop from Vin and delivers some chops of his own. One European uppercut causes Vin to retreat to the floor. Claudio follows and hits uppercuts around the ringside area. Claudio even delivers one to the back of his neck. Claudio gets back in the ring and pulls Vin by his hair to the apron. Vin responds by snapping Claudio’s neck across the top rope. Vin takes down Claudio with an STO for the two count. Vin strikes at Claudio in the corner with chops and forearms to the back. Vin comes off the ropes and gets sent to the apron by Claudio. Vin goes up top and jumps onto Claudio. Vin looks to apply the STF but Claudio escapes. Claudio comes back with a European uppercut and a dropkick to Vin Gerard. Claudio goes to the corner where Vin drives his knee into Claudio’s head. Vin lands a neckbreaker for the two count. Vin senton’s onto Claudio. Vin turns Claudio over looking for the STF. Claudio escapes again. Vin and Claudio trade blows once more while on a vertical base. Claudio misses a European in the corner and goes up and over the ropes to the floor. STIGMA attacks Claudio before he gets back in the ring. Vin gets the advantage when Claudio gets in the ring, but Claudio comes back with a slam as Vin comes off the ropes. Claudio takes Vin’s head off with a few European uppercuts and a deadlift suplex for two. Claudio spinebusters Vin and holds onto his legs. Claudio Giant Swings Vin Gerard for ten revolutions. Vin goes to the floor. Claudio baseball slides out as Vin goes back in. Claudio uppercuts Vin, then hits a twisting springboard crossbody for the two count! What the hell Claudio? Claudio goes for the Sweet Schwinn Music which Vin ducks. Vin puts Claudio down and applies the STF! Claudio grabs the ropes with ease (he is tall, after all). Vin doesn’t let up, beating on Claudio as he gets up. Claudio catches Vin off the ropes with a wheelbarrow German suplex! Claudio explodes out of the corner with a big European Uppercut. He goes for the pin and Vin gets his foot on the bottom rope. Claudio sets up Vin for the Ricola Bomb. Vin rolls through and sunset flips Claudio for a two. Claudio hits the Sweet Schwinn Music then sets up for the Ricola Bomb! STIGMA gets on the apron and distracts Claudio. Vin gets a jackknife pin on Claudio, STIGMA holds the legs, and Vin gets the win! Vin and STIGMA immediately run away. This was a good match for these two and was exactly what Vin Gerard needed to recoup from his last singles match with Glacier. Claudio busted out that sweet crossbody that he never does and really looked like he was working his ass off. Vin also put on a good show too. ***

Claudio gets on the mic and asks Louden to sing a song with him; his theme song! Claudio makes fun of Louden for not knowing his theme song, then gets the entire crowd to sing him out. Claudio trips over the ring steps on his way out, making it twice now that’s he tripped on them in under a year’s time.

The 411: I can recommend this, but not too strongly. I think Delirious vs. Arik Cannon was the best match of the show, with Vin/Claudio and F.I.S.T./Luchadores being up there as well. Other than that, not a whole lot of special stuff on the show especially when you consider it’s suppose to be part of their anniversary celebration. Still though, not a bad show per say, but not amazing either.
Final Score:  7.0   [ Good ]