wrestling / Video Reviews
100 Percent Fordified: CHIKARA Tag World Grand Prix 2013, 2nd Stage
Chicago, IL – 5.18.2013
Championship Rundown
Grand Champion: Eddie Kingston
Campeones de Parejas: 3.0 (Scott “Jagged” Parker & Shane Matthews)
Young Lions Cup Champion: “Mr. Touchdown” Mark Angelosetti
Commentary is provided by Dave Prazak, Leonard F. Chikarason, Bryce Remsburg, and Dr. Keith Lipinski.
Tag World Grand Prix Quarter-Final Round Match
The Spectral Envoy (Hallowicked & Frightmare) vs. The Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson)
Hallowicked runs the ropes to armdrag Matt. Matt rolls through a super snapmare but is sent out with a step-up Frankensteiner. He boots Nick so Frightmare can come in with a high crossbody. Frightmare rolls him into a low dropkick. Hallowicked super snapmares him for two. Frightmare elbows Matt who goes for his mask. A side slam/reverse DDT combo on Nick only gets two. Nick gives Frightmare a chin breaker. Frightmare gives Matt an atomic drop. Nick blind tags in and nails Frightmare with a tornado kick. The Bucks isolate Frightmare in their corner until he’s able to hop off Matt’s back to give Nick a headscissors and dropkicks Matt. Hallowicked evades some superkicks. Nick accidentally knees Matt in the face. Hallowicked gives him a Rydeen Bomb. Frightmare gives Matt the Frightmare on Elm St. Double step up enzuigiri’s are delivered. Matt powerbombs Frightmare into Hallowicked while Nick enzuigiri’s them both. Matt pescado’s onto Frightmare. Nick hits the Slingshot X-Factor on Hallowicked for two. Frightmare takes More Bang For Your Buck which hurts Matt’s knee, but gets the Bucks the win at 8:39. That was white hot and brought out the best in both teams. It was also a terrific call back to the main event from the last Chicago event, “Zelda the Great.” The real story here is that Matt will now be heading into the second round with a bad wheel. ***
Tag World Grand Prix Quarter-Final Round Match
The Batiri (Obariyon & Kodama) vs. The Daywalkers (Mathias Cage & Alexandre Barnabus Castle)
Kodama rakes Castle’s eyes. Castle responds with a forearm to the face. After taking it to the mat, Kodama lights him up with a series of punches. Obariyon shoves his boot in Castle’s face. Castle drives his elbows into Kodama’s shoulders. Kodama escapes when Castle goes to bite him. Castle throws an axe kick and kicks him in the side of the head. Obariyon pulls a Killer Bees switch and cradles him. Cage reverses the momentum but it’s only good for two. He headbutts Obariyon out of a double knuckle lock when he can’t win a test of strength. Cage takes a drink out of Gangrel’s goblet, giving him the energy to bring Obariyon to his knees in a knuckle lock. Obariyon give him an elbow, but Cage knocks him down with a leg lariat for two. He headbutts Obariyon in the chest before suplexing him overhead for two. He and Castle do some damage to his legs. Castle is brought back to the Batiri corner where Kodama punches him and Obariyon rakes at his face. Castle tosses Kodama out so he and Castle can go back to wearing Obariyon down. Obariyon brings Cage to the corner. Kodama snapmares him into a chinlock. He hits him with a spinwheel kick. Castle gives him a Manhattan Drop. Cage knees him in the face for two. Kodama however waterwheel slams Cage into a knee strike from Obariyon! Gangrel pulls referee Dan Yost to stop the count. Obariyon kicks Gangrel and Castle from the floor. Cage catches Obariyon on the top rope with a haymaker. Obariyon rakes his face, shoves him off, and drops him with the Rapture for the pin at 12:14. This was the Daywalkers time to shine and they took it. The dynamic of demons and vampires actually played really well for the crowd and the wrestling was on point. Really good work out of both teams. ***
Green Ant and Fire Ant are in the back. Green Ant says they melted Los Ice Creams in the first round but drew the biggest, baddest team in the second round: the Devastation Corporation. Green Ant says they’re not afraid. He’s slayed giants before and Fire Ant won the 2008 Tag World. We’re told to bet our money on the Colony once again becoming Tag World champions.
Tag World Grand Prix Quarter-Final Round Match
The Colony (Fire Ant & Green Ant) vs. The Devastation Corporation (Max Smashmaster & Blaster McMassive)
Sidney Bakabella and third Devastation Corporation member Flex Rumblecrunch are Smashmaster and McMassive’s corner. The Colony go right after the Corporation, throwing forearms and not backing down when they’re shoved away. Smashmaster clotheslines them both. The Corporation miss a pair of splashes in the corner. Even though the Colony sneak in an attack, the Corporation clothesline them down quickly. McMassive blocks Green Ant’s gamengiri and forearms him to the floor. He also double axe handles Fire Ant after he fails to Burn Down the House. Fire Ant rolls to the floor after taking a double biel. Green Ant missile dropkicks Smashmaster. Smashmaster boots him down and delivers a splash. McMassive drops him with the Black Hole Slam. Green Ant kicks out Smashmaster’s leg and superkicks McMassive to the floor. Fire Ant crossbody’s Smashmaster but gets caught. He drops him with a suplex. He picks him up for another suplex. Fire Ant burns down the house and gives him a DDT. Green Ant hits a frog splash. McMassive breaks the cover. Green Ant gives him a Northern and regular lariat. The Colony give him the Ants Marching dropkick. They kick Smashmaster to the floor! They land stereo dives onto the Corporation. Both teams get so caught up in the fight on the floor. Fire Ant almost makes it in the ring, but Rumblecrunch grabs his foot. Both teams are counted out at 10:02. This was a great way to introduce Rumblecrunch formerly and set up a brand new feud. It also gives the winner of the next team a bye into the finals which comes into play later. A finish would have been good but they paid it off in the post match aftermath. **¾
This is where the brawl gets out of control. The Devastation Corporation decimate and destroy The Colony 3 on 2. Rumblecrunch walks the top rope and comes off with a shoulder block to Fire Ant. He gives Green Ant a claw slam. Green Ant is put down with the Death Blow. The Devastation Corporation stand tall as the Colony can barely move. Sidney declares that this is their territory now and that the fun and games are over.
The Pieces of Hate (Jigsaw & The Shard) are in the back. Jigsaw remembers that he and Arik Cannon teamed in the Tag World Grand Prix back in 2006. The year before, Arik Cannon won with Claudio Castagnoli. Jigsaw says that Claudio picked up the slack and that he and The Shard will prove just that.
Tag World Grand Prix Quarter-Final Round Match
Arik Cannon & Darin Corbin vs. Pieces of Hate (Jigsaw & The Shard)
Cannon and Jigsaw start off. When they reach a stalemate, Shard tags in. Cannon pie faces Jigsaw anyways. Cannon utilizes a few different armdrags on the Shard. He and Corbin double dropkick The Shard. Jigsaw comes in and we enter Corbin’s world of slow motion. Jigsaw kicks Corbin in the stomach. Cannon ducks a double clothesline and punches the Pieces of Hate in the stomach. They get their heads thrown together. Jigsaw and the Shard attack to bring things back to real time. Cannon is thrown out so the Pieces can bully Corbin. They even mock his slow motion. Corbin escapes by giving Jigsaw a standing shiranui and spearing the Shard. He does the worm over to Cannon for a tag. Cannon bulldogs Shard while clotheslining Jigsaw. He gives Shard an exploder suplex for two. Corbin suicide dives onto Jigsaw sending them afew rows back. Shard tries a headscissors on Cannon. Cannon instead muscles him up into a buckle bomb and a lariat that turns him inside out. Corbin Superfly splashes onto him but Jigsaw breaks the cover. He shoves Cannon to the floor. Corbin goes for the ginger snap. Jigsaw blocks it and drops Corbin with a brainbuster for two. A tandem brainbuster from the Pieces of Hate almost puts him away but Cannon jumps in at the last second. He gives Shard a haymaker. Jigsaw takes Total Anarchy for two. He goes for a waterwheel slam on Shard. Shard turns it into a Canadian Destroyer! He ducks Corbin’s boot and superkicks him. He waterwheel slams Corbin into the corner. Jigsaw puts him away with the Jig N’ Tonic at 14:39. I loved a lot about this match. The action got better as the match progressed, the wrestling was excellent, the slow motion worked well, and all four played their roles to perfection. The Pieces of Hate are the best heels and Cannon & Corbin were awesome opponents, especially when Jigsaw and Cannon were together to call back to the past. Tremendous stuff. ***½
Tag World Grand Prix Semi-Final Round Match
The Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson) vs. The Batiri (Obariyon & Kodama)
This is a rematch from “Young Lions Cup IX.” Nick and Obariyon are circling when Kodama sneak attacks Matt on the apron. That distracts Nick for a moment and the Batiri stomp him silly. Matt blind tags in when Nick hits the ropes. He clotheslines Obariyon and drops a knee on him. Nick dropkicks him into Matt’s fist drop. Nick cartwheels into a back rake. Obariyon shoves him to the floor from the top rope. Obariyon traps Matt’s legs in the ropes. The Batiri pummel him with dropkicks. Matt’s knee becomes the Batiri’s target, as one would expect. He has no choice but to retreat to the floor to bring Nick back in. He throws elbows to Obariyon’s face and superkicks Kodama from the apron on the floor. He springboard crossbody’s onto Obariyon for two. He clotheslines each member of the Batiri in opposite corners multiple times. He ends it with a bulldog/clothesline combo. Nick eats the Skull Bronzing. Matt breaks the cover of a double dropkick. He goes for a superkick. It’s blocked. Nick superkicks both Batiri members to stop them from hurting Matt. Matt’s knee is to hurt to powerbomb Kodama. Nick helps lift him but Obariyon chop blocks his leg out. Kodama tries a spinning toe hold. Matt catches him with a small package to get the win at 12:03. This was a step above their first match; funny what a few years can do. Obviously Matt’s knee will play a big part in the finals and this was a good way to play that up. The Batiri deserve credit for putting in three good showings and ending on a high note. ***¼
The Pieces of Hate are announced as officially having a bye. They insist Bryce Remsburg raise their hands in victory which he does.
Colt Cabana vs. Icarus
Cabana makes himself a human jacket to cover up Icarus’ tattoo. It also serves as a sleeper hold. Icarus fights out, so Cabana takes Icarus’ own fist and punches him with it. He tickles Icarus’ armpits when he asks for a test of strength. Cabana hip tosses him into a kneeling frog press for two. They criss-cross the ropes. Icarus avoids a slap. He hits Cabana on the clavicle and it does nothing. Embarrassed, Icarus allows Cabana to slap him. Cabana uses referee PJ Drummond inadvertently to wishbone Icarus’ legs. Icarus covers Cabana’s face with his own towel and delivers a gamengiri from the apron. Icarus chokes him with that towel. Outside the ring Cabana gives him some chops. Back in Icarus hits a running knee strike for two. He goes to the second rope. Cabana knocks his legs out from underneath him. Icarus sets up for a spear and runs into some double chops. Cabana twists his nipples before delivering the Flip, Flop and Fly. He gets two with a splash. He also gets two with a hip attack. Icarus gets two with the Shiranui. He tries for a top rope maneuver. Cabana reverses it into the Chicago Skyline for two. Icarus avoids the Billy Goat’s Curse. Cabana pops him off his shoulders into a punch. Icarus responds with a spear leaving both men laying. Cabana goes for the Colt 45. Icarus escapes and drops him with the Wings of Icarus for the pin at 11:34. This was exactly the win Icarus needed heading into his Grand Championship match at “Aniversario” in a couple of weeks. They got the humor out of the way in the beginning so Icarus could have a more definitive and meaningful victory. Good stuff. **¾
Eddie Kingston feels like things in CHIKARA have been a joke lately, but no matter how much of a joke it’s becoming, he’s still the Grand Championship. People claim he’s losing his mind because of the title but Kingston says it’s the only thing that brings him solace. He says Archibald Peck, his doppelganger, and everyone else will suffer at his hands.
CHIKARA Grand Championship
Eddie Kingston vs. Archibald Peck
It’s worth noting that back at the end of 2012, Peck’s lawyer RD Evans said that if Peck were to be Backfisted again, he would be sent back to June 2nd, 2012 to finish his “Loser Leaves Town” match back at “Chikarasaurus Rex.” Here’s the video to refresh your memory. Both men tussle to the floor out of a collar and elbow tie-up. Back in the ring Kingston wins a shoulder block contest. Peck trips him into a side headlock. Kingston shoves him off. He goes for the Backfist but Peck grabs the ropes to avoid it. Kingston lights him up with some chops. Peck absorbs them and drives Kingston’s head repeatedly into the turnbuckles. He drives his face into the mat with a modified bulldog for two. Kingston catches Peck coming off the ropes with a belly-to-belly suplex. Peck low bridges the ropes to bring Kingston to the floor. He follows with a forearm off the ring apron. Back in the ring he nails a diving shoulder tackle for two. Kingston drops him with a neck breaker. He applies a chinlock. When Peck backs him to the corner Kingston chops him. Peck drop toe holds him to the second turnbuckle and drives his shoulder into his back. A flying snapmare and the Snow Plow get him a two count. Kingston stops him on the top rope and brings him down with a superplex. Kingston catches him with a drop toe hold. Bryce checks on Peck who is grabbing at his neck. Kingston drags him out and throws forearms at his face and neck. He applies a chinlock. Peck avoids a bulldog and drops Kingston with a clothesline. This leads to a strike exchange that ends with Peck delivering a leg lariat. He hits the Cranial Crescendo for two. When Peck goes to the legs, Kingston kicks him away. He gives Peck a German suplex, Dragon suplex, and a Tiger suplex for two. He goes for a Sliding D. Peck stands up and get his foot up to hit his injured hand. Peck kicks away another Backfist attempt before hitting his New Move for two. He hits the New Move again for two. The third time isn’t the charm, as Kingston kicks out of that as well. Peck goes for his own Backfist. Kingston blocks it with a Saito suplex. Peck ducks another Backfist. He hits three Backfists of his own! Kingston kicks out! Peck goes to the apron when he notices a second Archibald Peck in the balcony! Peck decides to go for a springboard attack anyhow. He’s caught mid-air with the Backfist to the Future and the lights go out! When they come back on, neither Archibald Peck is anywhere to be found. Bryce Remsburg does some investigating under the ring and ringside before calling for the bell at 20:21. It had to be done. It was the only logical way to conclude the match without their being a title switch. It also plays into a storyline they have built to for over two years. Kingston did an awesome job wearing down Peck’s neck and Peck on a couple of occasions had the Chicago crowd think we had a new champion. The finish will be a divisive one, but I liked it and thought that the match itself was also really good. ***½
Kingston is furious. He begins throwing chairs, trashcans, and other objects into the ring. The fans begin to chant “New York sucks” as he grabs a microphone. He says he built this company for 11 years and that he’s the first and only Grand Champion. He declares Archie to be dead and says Icarus is next.
2013 Tag World Grand Prix Tournament Finals
The Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson) vs. Pieces of Hate (Jigsaw & The Shard)
The Pieces of Hate attack the Bucks before the bell. Matt is visibly limping. Shard forearms Nick to the floor. Matt tosses him out. Jigsaw chokes Matt in the corner. Jigsaw gives Matt a shinbreaker and kicks away at his knee. He and the Shard make frequent tags to stay fresh while also doing damage to Matt’s hurt leg. After awhile, Matt knocks Shard to the floor and hops over Jigsaw. He goes to make the tag, but the Shard trips Nick off the apron to prevent it from occurring. Jigsaw gives Matt a brainbuster for two. Matt kicks Jigsaw away and rolls to the corner to bring in Nick. Nick dropkicks Shard off the apron. He throws some clotheslines at Jigsaw and carries him out to the floor with his legs. Nick backdrops the Shard out as well and a springboard sentons onto both of them. Nick hits Jigsaw with a slingshot X-Factor. Matt spears Jigsaw and Nick follows with a springboard frog splash for two. Jigsaw kicks Nick’s leg as he climbs the ropes. He holds Nick in a crucifix position while the Shard drives his knees into his chest for two. Shard waterwheel slams him into the corner. Jigsaw goes for a Jig N’ Tonic. Matt superkicks Jigsaw, turning the move into a Yoshi Tonic for two. Both teams exchange blow until they knock each other out with four simultaneous superkicks. Nick is sent to the floor. Jigsaw’s figure four attempt on Matt is thwarted. Matt small packages the Shard for two. Superkicks for everyone! Matt goes for a second but the Shard catches him and applies an ankle lock! Matt rolls forward to send Shard to the corner. Nick enzuigiri’s him from the apron as Matt nails a clothesline. Matt even musters him up for the powerbomb/enzuigiri combo. Shard blocks More Bang For Your Buck. Jigsaw shoves Nick off the top rope. Shard reapplies the ankle lock to Matt. As Matt begins to kick away, Jigsaw gives him a double stomp. Shard grapevines the leg leaving Matt no choice but to tap out at 13:20. This was all sorts of brilliant. The Young Bucks worked hurt the entire show turning from Rudos to Tecnicos in the process. The match saw the brilliance of The Pieces of Hate’s leg work all tournament paying off and the Bucks fighting through the pain in the hopes of besting them. Both teams are two of the best today and showcased that fact in this match. ***¾
Jigsaw says on June 2nd on iPPV, he will once again have gold around his waist. He tells current Campeones de Parejas 3.0 that they are cashing in at “Aniversario: Never Compromise.”
The 411: This show had a lot of great matches and storyline advancement. It was a great precursor to the "Aniversario" iPPV and left you wanting more. They built from the 1st Stage perfectly as well. I definitely recommend picking up this show, regardless of whether or not you get the first part of the tournament. You can purchase the show on DVD, mp4, or steam it On Demand over at Smart Mark Video. Be sure to check out all of my CHIKARA reviews at my CHIKARA blog; "The CHIKARA Special." In addition to that, you can check out a lot of promos from CHIKARA DVDs over at the CHIKARA Special YouTube Page. Be sure to follow me on Twitter as well! |
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Final Score: 8.0 [ Very Good ] legend |
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