100 Percent Fordified: CHIKARA The Good Life & Live at First Energy Stadium ’15

CHIKARA put on two truncated shows in August. These are my reviews of them.

Philadelphia, PA – 8.15.2015

Championship Rundown
Grand Champion: Hallowicked
Campeones de Parejas: The Devastation Corporation (Max Smashmaster & Blaster McMassive)
Young Lions Cup Champion: Heidi Lovelace

Commentary is provided by Mike Quackenbush and Bryce Remsburg.

Challenge of the Immortals
Oleg the Usurper vs. Prakash Sabar

Oleg represents the Arcane Horde while Sabar represents the United Nations. The Proletariat Boar of Moldova is in Sabar’s corner. Sabar takes solace in the ropes to avoid Oleg’s initial attack. He then puts on a side headlock. Oleg feels little effect, tossing Sabar to the corner with ease. He also fails to trip Oleg. Oleg mocks Sabar asking him to “too sweet him.” Sabar tries a waistlock. Oleg uses his posterior to free himself, then grabs him by his tongue. He sends Sabar face first into the corner multiple times. Oleg picks up speed on the ropes, but Boar grabs his leg. Sabar dropkicks Oleg’s leg out and gives him a dropkick on the side for two. He throws some more kicks, including one from the apron. He comes off the top rope with a seated press for two. Sabar kicks down Oleg in the corner. He misses the Bronco Buster. Boar again grabs Oleg’s leg. Sabar once more dropkicks him twice to get him down for a two count. Oleg looks for a chokeslam. Sabar rakes his eyes. Oleg blocks a boot to the stomach, but Sabar lands a roundhouse kick for two. He knees Oleg in the temple. Sabar lands a middle rope bulldog for two. Oleg splashes Sabar against the ropes to cut him off. Boar grabs Oleg’s foot, but Oleg stomps on his hand. Sabar accidentally dropkicks Boar. Oleg gives Sabar a big boot. Off With His Head gives Oleg the pin at 6:32. They told a fun, simple story. Sabar got more offense in then he usually does and looked good in doing so. It’s easy to see Oleg is ready to become a full blown Tecnico. Them repeating the leg grab/dropkick spot twice seemed odd, but it at least it played into the overall narrative. *½

Juan Francisco de Coronado comes out to speak, but the fans boo him so profusely that he leaves without saying anything.

Los Ice Creams (El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream Jr.) vs. Frightmare & Blind Rage

Princess Kimberlee is in Los Ice Creams corner. They want to refreeze in the refrigerator but Kimberlee gets them back to the ring. Hijo sings the Big Boss Man’s theme because a fan in the front row kinda sorta looks like him. Rage stops Hijo’s dancing by pounding him down in the corner. Hijo baits him into a calf kick with some faux crying. He pinches Rage’s fanny and overhand chops him. Hijo gives him an atomic drop and tags in Jr. Rage avoids a double team attack. Frightmare comes off the top with a double crossbody. Los Ice Creams double elbow him down, then swing him back first into the corner. Hijo jabs him in the jaw. Frightmare hops over Hijo and tags in Rage. They both pummel Hijo to the corner. Hijo avoids a running attack from Frightmare and boots both him and Rage down. Hijo sends Frightmare face first into Jr.’s face. Frightmare gives Jr. a chinbreake. He and Rage fail a corner attack on Jr. as well. He boots down Frightmare for a two count. Jr. gives Frightmare the two scoop slam. He small packages Frightmare for two. Once again Los Ice Creams swing Frightmare into the corner, this time with his head colliding with the bottom turnbuckle. Frightmare hops out of Hijo’s attack. Rage beats down Hijo while Frightmare boots Jr. off the apron. Hijo hops over Frightmare to escape his corner attack, but Rage catches him with a Michinoku Driver for the pin in 6:25. That was a fun, well built contest. **

Princess Kimberlee is downtrodden about Los Ice Creams loss. Hijo tells Kimberlee that they want her to win the Challenge of the Immortals, but they always lose. He says that maybe she should no longer put them in tournament matches so that she can win without them. She says she believes in Los Ice Creams despite their tendency to lose. Kimberlee sings them a motivational song, though they dub her singing over with the real song. This song rejuvenates Los Ice Creams’ spirits and they agree to continue their attempt to try and assist Kimberlee in the COTI. They leave in a good mood.

Challenge of the Immortals
Argus vs. The Proletariat Boar of Moldova

Argus represents the Snake Pit while Boar represents the United Nations. Prakash Sabar, holding his neck in pain, is in Boar’s corner. Argus evades Boar’s starting Gore attempt. He lights up Boar with chops. Sabar trips Argus. Oleg the Usurper interjects and carries Sabar out of the building. Boar rakes Argus’ eyes behind referee Larry Peace’s back. He knee lifts Argus twice in the corner before delivering a running shoulder block to the stomach. He catches Argus with a sidewalk slam for two. He chokes Argus on the middle rope, then drives all of his body weight onto his back. Boar puts on a bear hug. Argus attempts to escape, so Boar shoves him to the corner and once again delivering a running shoulder block to the stomach. He drives his knee into Argus’s stomach twice and whips him back first into the opposite corner. Argus avoids the Boar charging in the corner, causing Boar to land on the top rope. Argus puts him in a tree of woe and dropkicks Boar in the thigh. He applies a stretch muffler. Boar grabs the ropes to escape. Boar kicks him away, but Argus strings together a shinbuster and belly-to-back suplex. Argus goes up top. Boar kicks the ropes to knock him down. The Gore gets him the win at 5:20. Boar did a great job building the entire encounter around hitting the Gore and paying it off. Argus is technically solid and I hope he doesn’t become lost in the shuffle at the end of the COTI. *½

Once again, Juan Francisco de Coronado comes out to speak. He is booed again, but does start speaking behind the curtain. The video however cuts off.

N_R_G (Race Jaxon & Hype Rockwell) vs. Battleborn (Lucas Calhoun & Missile Assault Man)

Missile Assault Man is of course the former Missile Assault Ant who unmasked last month at Kevin Condron’s behest. N_R_G are in snazzy new black and red gear. Jaxon and Missle have an aggressive lock-up. Missile fireman’s carries Jaxon over and places his knee on his face. Jaxon fights up into a wristlock. Missile reverses. Jaxon turns it into a hammerlock and then a cravate. Missile chopps Jaxon. He reapplies a wristlock. Calhoun and Rockwell tag in. Rockwell grabs his own wristlock. Jaxon gives a double axe handle to Calhoun’s outstretched arm. N_R_G knock him down with tandem shoulder tackles. They double hip toss Missile into a double elbow drop. Jaxon misses a corner splash. He notices Missile on the floor and looks for a suicide dive. Missile cuts him off with an uppercut, allowing Calhoun to take over inside the ring. Missile helps Calhoun with his beat down once back in the ring. While Missile is unloading uppercuts to Jaxon against the ropes, Missile grabs his head in agony, possibly some sort of PTSD from his time in Condor Security. Regardless, Jaxon disposes Battleborn to the floor and dives onto both of them. Rockwell tags a swig of Electric Monkey energy drink, allowing him to take down both of Battleborn with clotheslines back in the ring. He cannonball sentons Calhoun and powerslams Missile. He uses the ropes for a headstand double stomp. Calhoun picks Rockwell up. Rockwell slides off. Jaxon superkicks Calhoun into Rockwell’s Hyperwheel for the pin at 9:21. Both teams looked really competent, with Jaxon and Missile showing off some solid wrestling and Rockwell and Calhoun both incorporating their power and size effectively. N_R_G now have three points and will cash in against the Devastation Corporation in Norfolk, VA on September 27th. **¾

Prior to our main event, Juan Francisco de Coronado comes out to speak. He begins to speak and insult a fan when Amasis, half of the main event, makes his way out. He takes out Coronado with a 540 kick.

Grand Championship
Hallowicked vs. Amasis

Hallowicked has been champion since 4.6.2015 and this is his fourth defense. Frightmare and Blind Rage are in his corner. Amasis controls Hallowicked by his left arm. They both fight for a front facelock on the mat, but Hallowicked shoves Amasis a way to end the sequence. Amasis uses a single leg takedown and grapevines the leg. Hallowicked tries a cross armbreaker but Amasis stacks him up on his shoulders. Back on their feet Amasis grabs a wristlock out of a collar and elbow tie up. Amasis grapevines the leg again and digs his fist into Hallowicked’s knee cap. Hallowicked hits the back of his head and twists up his shoulder. Amasis dropkicks him to the floor and follows up with a pescado. Back in the ring, Hallowicked shoulder blocks Amasis twice from the entrance ramp. He puts on a headlock. Amasis shoots him off but is taken down with a running shoulder block. A Lucha sequence ends with Amasis sending Hallowicked to the floor with an alita. He goes for a tope con hilo but lands on Frightmare and Rage. Hallowicked cracks him from behind with a yakuza kick, earning a two count back in the ring. Hallowicked grabs a fujiwara armbar on Amasis. Amasis turns it into a pin for two. Hallowicked stomps on Amasis’ shoulders and kicks him in the chest. Amasis tries fighting back, so Hallowicked drives his elbow into Amasis’ lower back. He gets the super snapmare. Hallowicked puts on a bodyscissors. Amasis elbows his way free. He fights back with chops and punches. He sweeps out Hallowicked’s legs and hits a 540 enzuigiri. Hallowicked kicks out. He comes off the top with a huracanrana for two. Amasis superkicks Hallowicked, lands a sole butt kick, and knee strikes him in the face. The 450 splash connects, but Hallowicked kicks out just in time. Blind Rage and Frightmare have a seance on the ring apron as Amasis heads back to the top rope. He hits a second 450 splash. Again, Hallowicked kicks out. Amasis gets in some strikes. Hallowicked nails a yakuza kick. Amasis kicks out. Hallowicked lands the Rydeen Bomb. Amasis kicks out again. Hallowicked instructs Rage and Frightmare to pray harder. The Graveyard Smash connects and keeps down Amasis for the pin at 9:37. They did a heck of a job making Amasis look like he had a chance. We may have gotten into finisher overkill at the end, but for this story it worked. It’s interesting to see Hallowicked (presumably) get some strength from Frightmare and Rage’s seance to Nazmaldun, so we’ll see if that plays a larger role going forward or was just a deus ex machina for this particular encounter. ***

Challenge of the Immortals Leaderboard
The Wrecking Crew: 7 Points
The Nightmare Warriors: 5 Points
Dasher’s Dugout: 5 Points
The Snake Pit: 5 Points
The Arcane Horde: 5 Points
The United Nations: 5 Points
Battle Hive: 4 Points
The BDK: 4 Points
The Gentleman’s Club: 3 Points
Crown & Court: 2 Points

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Reading, PA – 8.28.2015

Championship Rundown
Grand Champion: Hallowicked
Campeones de Parejas: The Devastation Corporation (Max Smashmaster & Blaster McMassive)
Young Lions Cup Champion: Heidi Lovelace

Commentary is provided by Mike Quackenbush and Bryce Remsburg.

Derek Sabato is the referee for every match tonight.

Challenge of the Immortals
Fire Ant vs. Argus

Fire Ant represents Battle Hive while Argus represents the Snake Pit. Fire Ant suicide dives onto Argus before the bell. He lands a high crossbody back in the ring for a two count. After some chops he whips Argus across the ring and follows in with a leaping forearm. He delivers ten punches from the second turnbuckle. Argus blocks a second running forearm with a belly-to-belly suplex. A fisherman’s suplex earns a two count. They trade strikes. Argus hooks Fire Ant up for the Rock Bottom (the magic move). Fire Ant breaks free. He goes for a kick, but Argus gives him a leg-capture slam to counter. Fire Ant once again blocks the Rock Bottom and hooks Argus for the move himself. Argus escapes. Fire Ant spikes him with a tilt-a-whirl DDT and nails the Yahtzee Kick. He hits the Rock Bottom for the pin at 2:37. Short and sweet, but action packed. This crowd is surprisingly large and should make for a fun atmosphere all night. *

Challenge of the Immortals
Crown & Court (El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream Jr.) vs. The Nightmare Warriors (Frightmare & Blind Rage)

This is a rematch from “The Good Life” which was not a COTI match. The Warriors attack Los Ice Creams from behind as they play to the crowd. Hijo hopes over a double back drop and pinches both of their fanny’s. Los Ice Creams dropkick the Warriors to the floor. The Warriors think they’re avoiding stereo dives, but they slap them on the back. The Warriors think they hurt one another, and the distraction allows Los Ice Creams to send them head first into one another outside the ring. Hijo blocks Frightmare in the corner so Jr. can come in with a dropkick. Jr. wheelbarrow armdrags Hijo into Frightmare. They double hip toss Rage in from the apron and deliver the Ice Cream sandwich. They tandem swing Frightmare into the corner. Rage ducks a clothesline and backdrops Hijo into Jr. He takes them out with a double clothesline. The Warriors isolate Jr. from Hijo, though Jr. is able to kick out of multiple pin attempts. Hijo makes a tag, but referee Derek Sabato didn’t see it so Rage is able to ummel Jr. back down on the opposite side of the ring. Jr. however is able to avoid some offense and tag Hijo back in. He gives Rage an atomic drop and Frightmare the Cold Stone Stunner. Rage takes a Manhattan Drop and a dropkick. Hijo distracts Sabato, saying he landed hard on his shoulder. However, Hijo baits Rage into a small package for the pin at 7:34! This was another fun match, about on the level of their bout from a few weeks prior. It’s also good from a storytelling perspective to have Los Ice Creams win this match, as what better way to show that Kimberlee’s words of encouragement worked by having them beat a team they previously lost to? **

Challenge of the Immortals
“Mr. Touchdown” Mark Angelosetti vs. Amasis/b>

Angelosetti represents Dasher’s Dugout while Amasis represents Battle Hive. Angelosetti brings Amasis to the mat in a waistlock. He shoots Amasis to the ropes. Amasis grabs a side headlock as he comes off. Angelosetti flips Amasis over, then takes him down with a side headlock. Amasis snaps off two armdrags and shoulder blocks Angelosetti’s mid-section in the corner. Amasis turns an alita into a side headlock takeover. Angelosetti belly-to-back suplexes his way out of it. He drives his knee into Amasis’ spine and gives him a forearm strike to the small of the back. Angelosetti splashes Amasis twice before striking the Tebow Pose. This was foolish, as it gives Amasis time to kick Angelosetti in the side of the head. However, Angelosetti cuts him off with a backbreaker and applies a chinlock. He sends Amasis to the corner. Amasis cuts off his charge with a back elbow and kicks Angelosetti in the face. Amasis hops over Angelosetti and takes him down with a clothesline, back elbow, and leg lariat. He backdrops Angelosetti to the floor and follows with a tope con hilo. Back in the ring it only earns a two count. Angelosetti catches Amasis and drives him into the mat with a running spinebuster. Amasis kicks out. Angelosetti suplexes him and heads to the top turnbuckle. Amasis kicks him in the side of the head. Amasis follows up to the top rope. Angelosetti slips out and causes Amasis to crash on the top turnbuckle. Angelosetti brings Amasis down with a superplex for the pin at 6:59. The back-and-forth nature of the match made it truly feel like this was an important bout for both competitors and as such made the win feel like a big deal. I also appreciate that all of Angelosetti’s focus on Amasis’ back paid off. **¾

Challenge of the Immortals
The Gentleman’s Club (Orange Cassidy & The Swamp Monster) vs. The United Nations (Juan Francisco de Coronado & The Proletariat Boar of Moldova)

Boar boots Cassidy and drives his shoulder multiple times into Cassidy’s mid-section. He drops him with a spinning side slam for a one count. He chokes Cassidy on the middle rope and boots him in the back. Coronado tries a slam. Cassidy slides out and schoolboys Coronado for two. Coronado hits a dropkick for one. He slams Cassidy and adjusts his bow tie. Cassidy kicks him away, but Boar tags in. Cassidy kicks him away, then enzuigiri’s Coronado. He avoids an elbow drop from Boar and tags in Monster. He cleans house with forearm strikes and superkicks. He clotheslines Coronado and splashes Boar in the corner. He drops the United Nations with a double chokeslam. He boots Boar but misses the legdrop. Coronado muscles up Monster for a German suplex. Cassidy breaks the pin with a stomp to Coronado’s stomach. He comes off the second rope with a Frankensteiner to Boar. Coronado fights off of Cassidy’s shoulders, but Cassidy picks him back up and lands the Attitude Adjustment. He tries the 5 Knuckle Shuffle, but Boar cuts him off with the GOre for the pin at 4:18. Cassidy was unusually energetic and on the ball. The crowd loved Swamp Monster’s comeback and the UN were perfectly suited in their role. They accomplished a lot in 4 minutes. **¼

Challenge of the Immortals
Dasher Hatfield vs. Oleg the Usurper

Hatfield represents Dasher’s Dugout while Oleg represents the Arcane Horde. After a handshake, Oleg tries a clothesline. Hatfield ducks and throws a flurry of punches to Oleg’s stomach. Oleg reverses a clothesline and back elbows Hatfield to the mat. He headbutts him to the corner and drives his shoulder into his midsection. Hatfield throws various elbows. Oleg knees him in the stomach as well as a punch to the same area. Hatfield gives him a “good game” smack to the posterior before snapping off two armdrags and running the ropes for a double wrist clutch drag. Hatfield looks to charge but Oleg cuts him off with a big boot. He throws a headbutt and gives Hatfield a pendulum backbreaker. Oleg lands a flip senton for a one count. He picks up speed by hitting the ropes and then splashes Hatfield in the corner. Hatfield blocks a suplex attempt at first, but Oleg muscles him over for a two count. Hatfield gets in a few shots to the stomach but Oleg cuts him off with a splash against the ropes. Hatfield stops a second splash with a hard clothesline. He throws an under-handed chop before dropping Oleg with a neckbreaker. Oleg finds solace in the corner where Hatfield follows in with a baseball slide. for two. Oleg Usurperkicks Hatfield after Hatfield comes off the top rope. Hatfield kicks out of the pin attempt. Oleg calls for a chokeslam. Hatfield escapes and hooks up Oleg in a modified cradle for two. Oleg swings Hatfield into a facebuster across his knee. He looks for Off With His Head. Hatfield goes through his legs and swings him into a Jackhammer for the pin at 7:14. Of course you have the baseball guy win the main event of the baseball show! Like the Touchdown/Amasis match, I was happy with how competitive this was and how good Oleg looked. He’s improved vastly in the past year. **¾

Challenge of the Immortals Leaderboard
The Wrecking Crew: 7 Points
Dasher’s Dugout: 7 Points
The United Nations: 6 Points
The Nightmare Warriors: 5 Points
The Snake Pit: 5 Points
The Arcane Horde: 5 Points
Battle Hive: 5 Points
The BDK: 4 Points
The Gentleman’s Club: 3 Points
Crown & Court: 3 Points

6.0

The final score: review Average

The 411

It was probably in CHIKARA's best interest to put on two smaller, inconsequential shows in the month of August with the massive King of Trios looming in the foreground. That said, this did accomplish a few things, in giving us a Grand Championship match, a little story advancement in the Crown & Court, and mixing up the Challenge of the Immortals leaderboard while checking off eight matches in that massive tournament. Is there anything you must see? Absolutely not, but given that these shows are sold at a reduced price and you can buy them both in one DVD (or Blu Ray) set, if you're itching for more CHIKARA content, you could do worse. You could also do better. My recommendation? You can get away with just buying the Grand Championship match a la carte on CHIKARA's website. Unless you're REALLY invested in the Challenge of the Immortals tournament, these are easy passes.