wrestling / Video Reviews
100 Percent Fordified: CHIKARA Pier Pressure
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Cardiff, Wales – 4.5.2015
Championship Rundown
Grand Champion: Icarus
Campeones de Parejas: The Devastation Corporation (Max Smashmaster & Blaster McMassive)
Young Lions Cup Champion: Heidi Lovelace
Commentary is provided by Mike Quackenbush, Leonard F. Chikarason, and Bryce Remsburg.
Chuck Taylor says he and Drew Gulak are going for all three points tonight. Gulak tells the other teams to prepare for war. This was slightly sillier than it sounds, but in a good way.
Elimination Match
The Wrecking Crew (Jaka & Oleg the Usurper) vs. The Gentleman’s Club (Chuck Taylor & Drew Gulak) vs. Los Ice Creams (El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream Jr.) vs. Juan Francisco de Coronado & Prakash Sabar
Before the bell, Coronado requests that all competitors do not touch his hair. Sabar jabs Jr. in the throat after putting him in a side headlock. He re-applies the side headlock. Jr. escapes, but eats a leg lariat. Sabar throws some kicks to the side and rakes Jr.’s eyes. Jr. misses a corner attack. Sabar sets up for the Bronco Buster, but Jr. moves and he misses. Hijo and Jaka tag in. Jaka doesn’t understand Hijo’s dance, so he kicks him in the stomach. Hijo pinches him in the fanny after avoiding a backdrop. Jaka rakes his chest. Hijo does his own chest strike. Jaka feels no effect being sent head first to the corner, so Hijo bails in fear. Gulak tries a sunset flip. Jaka gets on the Jaws of the Jaguar. Gulak escapes and gets two with a running sunset flip. Jaka tries his own sunset flip, which Gulak counters into his own. He headbutts Jaka in the chest and slams him into the ropes. Taylor fights off both Coronado and Sabar. They give Taylor a tandem flapjack and then a modified parachute stretch. Los Ice Creams step in and turn the tables with Taylor onto Coronado and Sabar. Oleg covers Los Ice Creams and Taylor but they all kick out. A series of events leads to many men eating various offense in the corner. Oleg looks for Off With His Head on Coronado but Coronado escapes. Gulak and Taylor lay the Wrecking Crew Out with tandem clotheslines. After tossing Jaka to the floor they, along with the other two teams, wear down Oleg. Sabar crossbody’s Jaka when he tries to help. Jaka however sends Sabar feet first into Coronado. The Gentleman’s Club double clothesline Oleg and Jaka again, tossing Jaka back out to continue working on Oleg. Oleg ends up splashing Sabar against the ropes and rocking him with a big boot. Coronado sends Oleg out by low bridging the top rope, then suicide dives after him. Jr. looks for a slam on Sabar. Sabar escapes and drops Jr. with the X-Factor. Jaka tosses Sabar out. He pins Jr. but Coronado throws him out. Coronado looks to go pin him, but as he’s kneeling, Oleg cracks him with Off With His Head, eliminating the United Nations at 13:26. Oleg then pins Jr. right after at 13:39. Jaka double clotheslines the Gentleman’s Club. Oleg picks up momentum off the ropes and splashes Taylor. He misses a splash on Gulak and eats a corner dropkick from Taylor. Taylor gives Jaka Sole Food. Jaka palm strikes Taylor. Taylor hits him with Brodie Knee, a superkick, and a DDT. Taylor misses a moonsault. Jaka tries a claw. Taylor superkicks him. Jaka responds with the Jumanji Bomb. Gulak breaks the pin. Jaka misses a top rope splash. Gulak locks on the Trailblazer. Oleg pulls Gulak off of Jaka into a full nelson slam. He lands a somersault senton for two. Oleg superkicks Gulak. He goes for another full nelson slam, but Gulak counters into a Fujiwara armbar. Oleg fights out into a pendulum backbreaker. Taylor kicks Oleg from the apron. Oleg kicks him to the floor. Gulak comes off the top with a clothesline. A jackknife pin gets him the pin at 17:11. This had a lot of good wrestling and more intrigue regarding Oleg and the Wrecking Crew. Drew Gulak is somebody I hope sticks around when the Challenge of the Immortals wraps up. His style is so different than most of the roster and it makes his matches stand out. All parties involved worked hard.The Wrecking Crew and Gentleman’s Club especially look strong coming out of this match. ***
Eddie Kingston was set to take on a mystery opponent, but Silver Ant will be replacing him. As is tradition, they pull his mystery opponent out of a hat. Tom Jones and ‘Exotic’ Adrian Street are not present, but Mark Andrews is! Andrews was last seen at King of Trios 2014, where his team lost in the second round to eventual winners The Devastation Corporation, but Andrews himself defeated Sir Oliver Grimsly on Night 3.
Silver Ant vs. Mark Andrews
Andrews spends the first part of the match working out of Silver Ant’s various wristlocks. He snaps off a pair of armdrags and a Frankensteiner. He sweeps out Silver Ant’s legs and lands a standing moonsault for two. Silver Ant shoulder blocks Andrews. He avoids Andrews’ leapfrog and schoolboys him. He then slams Andrews into a legdrop. He misses a senton splash, but is able to grab a side headlock, negotiating back into a wristlock. He whips Andrews to the corner and brings him out with a belly to back suplex. Silver Ant misses a senton off the second rope. Andrews misses a standing shooting star press. Silver Ant tries a boot but Andrews catches his leg. Andrews pulls him off, and in mid-air Silver Ant transitions into a DDT. Silver Ant applies a modified kneebar. Andrews grabs the ropes to escape. Silver Ant puts on an armbar. He rolls Andrews over into a seatbelt pin, converting back into a cross armbreaker. Andrews gets his feet on the ropes. Silver Ant digs his knee into Andrews back. Andrews flips forward and gets Silver Ant in a prawn hold for two. He lands an enzuigiri. He then Northern Lights suplexes Silver Ant into a standing twisting moonsault for two. Silver Ant catches Andrews in the corner with a tiger feint kick. He comes off the top with a dropkick. After some corner strikes, Silver Ant turns Andrews inside out with a clothesline for two. Andrews tries some quick pins to no avail. He tries a back springboard maneuver, but Silver Ant catches him mid-air with a Blue Thunder Bomb. Silver Ant misses a frog splash. Andrews catches him with a huracanrana for two. Silver Ant pitches him out but Andrews grabs the ropes and pulls himself back to the apron. He flips back into the ring, wheelbarrowing up into a bulldog. He goes to the top rope. Silver Ant cuts him off with an uppercut. Andrews fights Silver Ant off the second rope. He hits the shooting star press for the pin in 11:30. I’m pleasantly surprised Andrews got the win here. Him getting a title shot would add some prestige to the belt given his ties to TNA. I liked the story of the match and both guys incorporated their opposing styles together congruently. I’m still impressed by how each of them seamlessly flowed from move to move during the match. **¾
Challenge of the Immortals
Battle Hive (Amasis & Fire Ant) vs. The Nightmare Warriors (Frightmare & Blind Rage)
Hallowicked is in the Nightmare Warriors corner. Amasis dances away from Rage’s initial lock-up attempts. He goes to the floor to do an MC Hammer dance. Fire Ant sneaks in a dropkick which sends Rage to the floor. A lucha sequence with Frightmare ends with Frightmare snapping off a Frankensteiner. Fire Ant catapults into a wheelbarrow armdrag. He blocks an armdrag with a fireman’s carry. Amasis and Fire Ant get in some tandem offense on Frightmare, but Rage stops a pinfall from occurring. Amasis does the splits to duck a couple of clotheslines. He has Rage do some dancing which frustrates him. Caught up in his moves, Frightmare catches Amasis off guard with a dropkick from the top rope. This allows the Nightmare Warriors to take control, isolating Amasis in their half of the ring. Amasis is able to send Frightmare outside and avoid a tumbleweed senton from Rage. Fire Ant comes in with a high crossbody to Rage. He ducks Frightmare’s yakuza kick, suicide dives onto Rage, then Yahtzee Kicks Frightmare. He drops Frightmare with a brainbuster. Rage breaks the cover. He Northern Lights suplexes Fire Ant for two. Rage clotheslines Fire Ant in the corner. Fire Ant avoids an attack. He drives his knees into Rage’s chest and Amasis comes in with a dropkick. He sends Rage to the floor before dropping Frightmare with That Move I Beat Moses With. Frightmare kicks out. Frightmare blocks Amasis’ clothesline and hits the Friggin’ Sweet Driver. Fire Ant breaks up the pin. Frightmare and Fire Ant trade offense. Frightmare misses Kneecolepsy. Fire Ant spikes him with a tornado DDT. Frightmare rolls to the floor. Fire Ant poises to dive but Hallowicked gets in his way. Rage catches Fire Ant with a clothesline. Amasis nails a spinning enzuigiri. Rage turns Amasis inside out with a clothesline. Frightmare hits Kneecolepsy for the pin in 9:42. This was solid overall and very good when Frightmare and Fire Ant were in the ring together. Hallowicked’s disruption seemed superfluous, but it didn’t ruin anything so I can’t complain. **¾
You can watch this match in its entirety here.
UltraMantis Black reminds us that he brought the Batiri from Bled Island to the world of CHIKARA. Although he did make a dastardly trade with Sinn Bodhi at the time, that was the past. Now they are finally aligned. Tonight, the road to immortality begins for the Arcane Horde.
Challenge of the Immortals
Dasher’s Dugout (The Throwbacks (Dasher Hatfield & ‘Mr. Touchdown’ Mark Angelosetti) & Icarus) vs. The Arcane Horde (UltraMantis Black & The Batiri (Obariyon & Kodama)
The Throwbacks and Icarus are representing Dasher’s Dugout while Mantis’ team represents the Arcane Horde. Mantis escapes Angelosetti’s side headlock but takes a shoulder block. Angelosetti takes him over with a hip toss, armdrag, and then dropkicks him. A bodyslam follows. Some Lucha rolling leads to Mantis taking Angelosetti to the corner with a hiponesa, then rolling him into a tornado clutch. Angelosetti counters with a crucifix pin and a Magistral cradle. Icarus and Obariyon tag in after those pins don’t work. Obariyon shoulder blocks Icarus and takes him over with a Frankensteiner. Icarus rolls him into a side headlock takeover. Icarus shoulder blocks Obariyon and takes him to the corner with a toreador. He sends Obariyon outside with a headscissors. Kodama attacks Icarus from behind and bites his forehead. Hatfield blind tags in. Icarus drop toe holds Kodama. Hatfield puts Kodama in the Selfmission. Mantis frees Kodama once Kodama reaches the ropes. Hatfield takes him over with a pair of armdrags. He smacks Kodama’s buttocks after going up and over in the corner. Hatfield gives him a wind-up underhand chop. Hatfield avoids an O’Connor Roll and sends Kodama to the apron. Kodama slingshots back in with an armdrag and nails a dropkick. He bites Hatfield on the buttocks. Angelosetti responds in kind, leading to the other competitors (and referee Bryce Remsburg) to follow, creating a closed chain of buttocks biting. Once they break the chain, they blame Bryce Remsburg for allowing that chain to occur. This leads to the M-Pro comedy spot and a brawl between teams. Angelosetti finds himself trapped in the Arcane Horde corner when the dust settles. Angelosetti jumps to the floor after dodging a back elbow from Obariyon. Hatfield spins Obariyon into a neckbreaker and gets two with a jackknife pin. He pulls Obariyon to the corner. Icarus suplexes him into a front facelock. Obariyon escapes. Icarus charges and Obariyon cuts him off with a slam. The Throwbacks both tag in. Mantis takes them out. He Uncle Slams Angelosetti but Hatfield prevents a pin. The Horde attack Hatfield in the corner. The Batiri send Icarus head first into the top turnbuckle to avoid their heads being thrown together. Angelosetti muscles up Kodama onto his shoulders. Dugout use Shooty McGee, a trademark from F.I.S.T.’s playbook. Icarus lands the Shiranui on Obariyon. Kodama drives Icarus into the mat face first, then drop shim with a neckbreaker. Angelosetti drives Kodama down with a spinebuster. Mantis drops Angelosetti with the Cosmic Disaster. He sets up on the second rope. Hatfield brings him down with the Jackhammer. Obariyon comes off the top with the Rapture. Angelosetti makes the save. Angelosetti drives his shoulder into Mantis multiple times in the corner. Mantis sends Angelosetti to the floor, then jumps to the apron to follow him out with a somersault senton to the floor. Icarus avoids a corner attack from the Batiri. He gives both of them the Blu-Ray (separately), pinning Kodama with the move at 17:12. This was hot and action packed, though at times the match felt off. Quackenbush mentioned on commentary being interested in seeing the two captains mix it up (Hatfield and Mantis) but they hardly interacted, and I too would have liked to have seen those two square off. I really enjoyed Dasher’s Dugout looking more and more like a team (I popped for Shooty McGee, I admit it) as time goes on, especially with their tandem offense paying off with a win. ***¼
Worker Ant says the Soldier Ant he used to know wouldn’t go AWOL on his brothers or choke out Silver Ant. (Did Worker Ant really know Soldier Ant that well? They literally never teamed.) He believes someone needs to slap sense into Soldier Ant, and he thinks he’s the ant for the job. He tells Soldier Ant to get ready, because it’s time to go to work.
Challenge of the Immortals
Worker Ant vs. Soldier Ant
Worker Ant represents Battle Hive while Soldier Ant represents the BDK. An intense lock-up sees Worker Ant break it cleanly in the corner. Soldier Ant grabs a chinlock. Worker Ant turns it into a wristlock. Soldier Ant escapes into a side headlock, which Worker Ant reverses. Soldier Ant forearms Worker Ant in the corner. Worker Ant responds in kind, adding headbutts and chops as well. Soldier Ant frees himself from a side headlock. Each ant absorbs the others’ shoulder blocks. Soldier Ant punches Worker Ant in the stomach and reapplies the side headlock. He ducks Worker Ant’s clothesline and nails a Koppu kick. Soldier Ant knocks him down with a series of strikes to the head. He looks for a bodyscissors Kondo Clutch, but Worker Ant quickly gets the ropes and escapes to the floor. Soldier Ant follows. The ants trade forearms around ringside. Soldier Ant suplexes Worker Ant onto the floor. Soldier Ant sends Worker Ant shoulder first into the ring post. He dropkicks Worker Ant in the stomach before heading back into the ring. Worker Ant makes it back in right before the twenty count. Soldier Ant puts on a chinlock. When Worker Ant starts to escape, Soldier Ant forearms him in the back. He gives Worker Ant a stuffed Northern Lights bomb for two. Worker Ant fights back with forearms and headbutts in the corner, ending with an uppercut. He whips Soldier Ant across the ring and comes in with a back elbow. A running back elbow takes Soldier Ant off of his feet. He slams Soldier Ant into an elbow drop for two. Soldier Ant fights off of Worker Ant’s shoulders. Worker Ant avoids a Koppu Kick. He lands a rolling forearm and a Death Valley neckbreaker for two. Worker Ant goes back to his forearms and headbutts. Soldier Ant absorbs them. He blocks Worker Ant’s rolling forearm with a jawbreaker. He rolls Worker Ant back into a bodyscissors Kondo Clutch. Worker Ant grabs the ropes. Soldier Ant refuses to let go so the referee gets him to release. Soldier Ant tries a chokeslam. Worker Ant fights out. Soldier Ant fights off of his shoulders. A spinning chokeslam gets Soldier Ant the pin at 12:51. I liked this match because it was different from everything else: a heated slugfest with backstory. There’s also this mystique to Soldier Ant, making me as a viewer interested in everything he does. The fans came and went and Worker Ant’s offense got repetitive, but I appreciated the match for what it was anyhow. **¾
N_R_G says tonight is the biggest night of their life. Race Jaxon is super excited and says they’re only two Hyperwheels away from being champions. As Hype is about to speak, Race says not to talk to him about jet lag.
Campeonatos de Parejas
The Devastation Corporation (Max Smashmaster & Blaster McMassive) vs. N_R_G (Race Jaxon & Hype Rockwell)
McMassive overpowers Jaxon in a lock-up. Jaxon breaks out of a side headlock and grabs onto one of his own. He grabs a wristlock when he notices Rockwell is dozing. Rockwell awakens and tags in. He gives McMassive’s extended arm a double axe handle. Smashmaster tags in. He stalls due to his disapproval of the crowd’s response to him. He grabs the ropes when Rockwell grabs a waistlock. Smashmaster backs Rockwell to the corner and slaps him in the face. Fired up, Rockwell unloads with chops and punches, so much so that he ends up tiring himself out. Smashmaster charges but Rockwell gives him backdrop. McMassive and Jaxon enter. N_R_G send the Dev Corp to the floor. Rockwell lands a somersault senton off of the apron. Jaxon channels Koko B Ware before he crossbody’s onto the Dev Corp from the top turnbuckle. McMassive crotches Jaxon on the top turnbuckle from the floor as Jaxon ascends the ropes. Smashmaster gives him a suplex for a two count. The champions take turns bullying Jaxon. Jaxon fights McMassive off of the ropes. McMassive accidentally collides with Smashmaster, giving Jaxon the opening to tag in Rockwell. Rockwell comes in with a flying clothesline and a rolling forearm to Smashmaster. He clotheslines McMassive and Smashmaster in opposite corners. The Dev Corp try a double splash but collide once more. Jaxon moonsault blocks onto the both of them for a two count. Jaxon superkicks McMassive twice, but manages to kick out of the pin attempt. He superkicks McMassive into Rockwell’s Hyperwheel. Smashmaster breaks the pin just in time. He shoves Rockwell out and powerbombs Jaxon. The Dev Corp put down Jaxon with the Death Blow for the first fall in 13:36. With Jaxon down, Rockwell fights off both Smashmaster and McMassive on his own. He drops Smashmaster with a big spinebuster. He spins McMassive into a powerslam for two. He climbs the ropes, but Smashmaster shoves him off. McMassive picks him up and he falls to the Death Blow in 14:54, picking up the second and deciding fall for the Champions. Given that they’re reasonably new, having N_R_G look strong but ultimately lose in two straight, quick falls makes sense. However, both teams looked good and they packed a succinct story into a short period, making for an enjoyable defense and one that should ultimately raise N_R_G’s profile. ***
Challenge of the Immortals Leaderboard
The Nightmare Warriors: 3 Points
Dasher’s Dugout: 3 Points
The Wrecking Crew: 2 Points
The Arcane Horde: 2 Points
The United Nations: 2 Points
The Snake Pit: 1 Point
Battle Hive: 1 Point
The Gentleman’s Club: 1 Point
The BDK: 1 Point
Crown & Court: 0 Points
