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Ford’s CHIKARA Chikarasaurus Rex: Flesh and Stone Review

November 23, 2017 | Posted by Kevin Ford
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Ford’s CHIKARA Chikarasaurus Rex: Flesh and Stone Review  

Philadelphia, PA – 8.5.2017

Championship Rundown
Grand Champion: Juan Francisco de Coronado
Campeones de Parejas: El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream Jr.
Young Lions Cup Champion: Razerhawk

Commentary is provided by Mike Quackenbush, Sidney Bakabella, and Scott Holladay.

Bike Cops (Officer Warren Barksdale & Dez Peloton (Jasper Tippins & Donald Kluger)) vs. Hermit Crab, Cajun Crawdad & Sloan Caprice

Sloan Caprice decides to take a seat in the front row and munch on some popcorn as the match begins. Kluger suplexes Crawdad thrice and dazes him with a headscissors. Tippins tags in and launches Barksdale onto Crawdad’s back. Kluger cuts off the charging Crab with a suplex. Outside the ring, Crab ducks a forearm strike, causing Kluger to strike Caprice! Back in the ring, Kluger hurts his knee going up and over Crab in the corner. Caprice grabs the injured leg and drags Kluger outside. He stalks Kluger while inside the ring Tippins pulls Crab into a short arm clothesline. Barksdale and Tippins take him out with the Broken Arrow. Tippins dropkicks Crawdad as he enters the ring. Tippins is cut off by Caprice and gets muscled up into a powerbomb. He slingshots Tippins off all four ropes before suplexing him. The Crustaceans help isolate Tippins while Kluger is checked on ringside and Barksdale hopefully awaits a tag. Tippins rolls to the floor after Caprice whips him to the corner, bringing in Barksdale. He stops Crawdad from using his pincers and “cuffs” his wrists. He knee lifts Crawdad in the corner before nailing a flying clothesline. Crab trips Barksdale as he hits the ropes. Caprice has been pummeling Tippins on the floor this entire time, and now the Crustaceans are doing the same to Barksdale. They get into the ring in the hopes for a countout victory, but Kluger enters the ring from the opposite side! They set him up for a triple powerbomb. Tippins and Barksdale make the save, dropkick the Crustaceans to the floor, and Kluger backdrops Caprice. Dez Peloton double flapjack Caprice into a Code Breaker from Barksdale for the pin at 11:15. This was designed to show off some of the teamwork and tenacity of the Bike Cops team before King of Trios, which was wise considering that of all the CHIKARA trios in the tournament, they are the least experienced. They had the crowd behind them and did a solid enough job of building momentum. Caprice was the best of the bunch here and I’m hoping he’ll get more singles opportunities. *½

Missile Assault Man vs. The Whisper

Missile attacks Whisper as soon as he comes out. Whisper fires aways with shots in the corner but Missile pushes him away. Whisper fights out of a spinebuster. Missile goes for the Missile Launcher after countering a headscissors. Whisper slides out but gets knocked down with a clothesline. As Missile pummels Whisper with uppercuts, he yells that the Whisper is the reason he’s not the Grand Champion. Whisper covers up as Missile unloads punches on the apron. Whisper gets him to the apron and kicks out his legs, causing Missile to crash face first on the apron. Missile pulls Whisper outside, but Whisper drives him back first into the apron. Missile is distracted by the Snow Troll, allowing Whisper to land a suicide dive. Back inside, Whisper lands a step-up legdrop to the back of Missile’s neck. Missile uses a knee strike to stop Whisper’s momentum. Missile dazes Whisper with more uppercuts. Whisper attempts a sunset flip, only to find himself lined up for the Missile Stomp. More uppercuts follow. Whisper maneuvers his way up to the top turnbuckle. He comes off with a dive, only for Missile to catch him mid-air with a slam. Missile puts on a Sharpshooter. The Snow Troll pulls the Whisper to the ropes. Whisper keeps on top of Whisper with a bicycle kick for two. Unbeknownst to Missile, Whisper rips off a turnbuckle while placed onto Missile’s shoulders. Missile is able to land a rolling Death Valley Driver. Whisper avoids the Missile Launcher. Missile almost gets sent into the exposed buckle but halts before colliding with it. The Whisper is handed his yo-yo by The Snow Troll. Whisper hits Missile low with the yo-yo, causing a disqualification at 8:14. You knew going in this wouldn’t be much of a match, but I thought the story was good. Missile took out all his anger on the Whisper for costing him his Grand Championship opportunity, and the Whisper had to resort to dirty tactics just to escape his grasp. You could tell some timing was off, but this was a fine enough chapter in their story. *½

Young Lions Cup
Razerhawk vs. Everett Connors

Razerhawk has been champion since 7.23.2017 and this is his first defense. Connors brings a Justin Bieber cardboard cutout to the ring. Connors attacks Razerhawk from behind before the bell. Quickly, Razerhawk sends Connors to the floor with a casadora armdrag, then follows with a tope con hilo! Inside he snaps off a headscissors and a somersault senton from the middle rope. Connors knees Razerhawk and forearms him in the face. He gets one boot in the corner. Razerhawk avoids another attack, sweeps out his legs, and nails a standing moonsault for two. Connors rolls outside. He trips Razerhawk and drags him outside where he sends Razerhawk face first into the ring post. In the ring he lands a basement dropkick to the face. Razerhawk gives some shots to the stomach and leg, but Connors cracks him with a pump kick to cut him off. Razerhawk cracks Connors with a Pele kick after ducking a pair of clotheslines. He does the deal with a Falcon Arrow for two. Connors catches Razerhawk trying to slingshot in with a superkick to the head. He uses the ropes to assist with a spike piledriver for two. Connors brings his Justin Bieber cardboard cutout into the ring. Razerhawk ends up superkicking it, angering Connors. Razerhawk weaves him into a casadora bulldog. Razerhawk comes off the top with a double dropkick to Connors and Bieber. Razerhawk throws Bieber outside and hits a Swanton Bomb on Connors for the pin at 7:22. Things got a bit reckless at times, but ultimately it all came together in the end and the crowd was very into it. Connors once again had a good showing, and I think he’d be a fun occasional guest, especially on their Midwest swings. **½

Ophidian makes his way to the ring. Two druids are behind him when he comes out, but exit on either side of the stage. He lists off some of the names who have fallen to Frightmare. Fire Ant stepped up and did something no other warrior has done in defeating Frightmare. They learned, however, that that was not enough. Like Ophidian, Frightmare is a little less alive, you can’t kill what is already dead, but you can lay them to rest. The druids bring a Sarcophagus to ringside. Ophidian says he is not here to pin or submit Frightmare. The night will not end until he is inside the sarcophagus and it is locked shut. Hallowicked informs Ophidian that Frightmare is tending to more important business and will not be appearing this day. However, he will gladly take his place and put Ophidian into the pine box to wither over time. Ophidian says that’s fine with him.

Sarcophagus Match
Ophidian vs. Hallowicked

The only way to win the match is to put your opponent in the Sarcophagus located ringside and seal it shut. Ophidian relentlessly strikes Hallowicked at the start, bicycle kicking him in the corner. He drives his knees into Hallowicked’s back. He tries to do it again but is halted by a yakuza kick. Hallowicked tosses Ophidian overheard with a fallaway slam, but Ophidian remains undeterred and continues with forearm strikes and chops. He gives Hallowicked a lung blower and back cracker. He tries to throw Hallowicked into the sarcophagus. Hallowicked stops himself on the apron and tries to pull Ophidian into the sarcophagus. Ophidian pulls Hallowicked up to the second rope and superplexes him back inside the ring. However, Hallowicked yakuza kicks Ophidian into the sarcophagus. Ophidian headbutts Hallowicked and kicks him in the chest after breaking free. Hallowicked falls into the sarcophagus. Hallowicked grabs Ophidian’s face when Ophidian goes to shut the lid. On the apron Hallowicked for Never Wake Up, but Ophidian clothesline him back into the ring. Ophidian comes off the top with double knees. Ophidian chops Hallowicked ringside until Hallowicked throws a chair into his face. In the ring, Hallowicked lands a Rydeen Bomb onto the chair! He rips some pieces off Ophidian’s mask off, resulting in Ophidian rolling into the sarcophagus. Ophidian prevents Hallowicked from closing it shut and comes out of the casket with double knees into the pavement. In the ring, Ophidian inspects the pieces of his mask that have been ripped off. Hallowicked attacks while he is preoccupied. Ophidian rolls through the super snapmare and puts on the Death Grip! Hallowicked maneuvers Ophidian into a Rydeen Bomb. Ophidian weaves out of Never Wake Up and hits the Duat Driver. Hallowicked blocks the Egyptian Destroyer. Ophidian blocks Go 2 Sleepy Hollow and uncorks and enzuigiri. He drives his knees into Hallowicked’s chest twice in the corner. He places Hallowicked onto the chair and hits double knees off the top and through the chair! He puts Hallowicked in the Death Grip. When he feels Hallowicked is out cold, he rolls him into the sarcophagus. However, Frightmare attacks Ophidian from behind with a chair behind his back before he can shut it! Frightmare helps Hallowicked regain consciousness and brings him back in the ring. Ophidian clobbers Frightmare in the back with a chair. Hallowicked blocks a chair shot. Ophidian is able to block Never Wake Up and hit the Egyptian Destroyer! Ophidian hypnotizes Frightmare and has Frightmare place himself in the sarcophagus. Hallowicked breaks the hypnosis with a yakuza kick from behind. He drills Ophidian with Never Wake Up. Hallowicked gives him a tombstone piledriver into the sarcophagus. Frightmare and Hallowicked shut and lock the lid, winning the match at 14:00. This was a real treat of a bonus match. Both guys beat each other senseless and did a phenomenal job building up Never Wake Up throughout the entire match. It also clearly portrayed that Ophidian would’ve been victorious had Frightmare not showed up. This makes Ophidian 0-2 in sarcophagus matches, and it’ll be interesting to see how his character evolves this time. ***½

Druids return to take the sarcophagus. The Snow Troll assists. The sarcophagus is placed in a white van outside the Wrestle Factory. One of the druids reveals themselves to be The Whisper, who drives the white van off into the distance.

Dasher Hatfield vs. Merlok

The two hosses trade forearms to start. Merlok headbutts Hatfield down. He charges, but Hatfield cuts him off with a forearm from the ground. Hatfield’s sunset flip gets a two. Merlok mows him down with a spinwheel kick. He chokes Hatfield with his boot after pummeling him down in the corner. Hatfield ducks a clothesline. He dazes Merlok with some running forearms. Merlok jabs him in the throat. Hatfield dropkicks him the ropes before clotheslining him to the floor and landing a suicide dive. Hatfield gets in some shots, but Merlok shoulder tackles Hatfield to knock him down on the cement floor. In the ring, Merlok drives Hatfield back first into the corner. Despite Hatfield’s desperation blows, Merlok again chokes him with his boot. Hatfield fights up but is halted with a spinebuster. Merlok misses a splash off the second rope. Hatfield rolls away to evade a corner splash. Merlok tries again, only for Hatfield to drop toe hold him into the middle turnbuckle. Hatfield baseball slide dropkicks Merlok from the apron and tries a slingshot Oklahoma Roll. Merlok is too large to budge. He knees Hatfield to the apron and follows him out. Hatfield gives Merlok a Death Valley Driver onto the ring frame! He muscles Merlok back into the ring and gets a close nearfall. Merlok charges at Hatfield, but Hatfield uses Merlok’s own momentum to successfully armdrag him into the buckles. Merlok drives Hatfield to the corner and clobbers him on the shoulders and upper back. Merlok places Hatfield on the top turnbuckle and follows him up. Hatfield slips underneath and brings down Merlok with a running Liger Bomb! That gets Hatfield the win at 10:36. I enjoyed how this match was structured, in that Hatfield used his veteran wherewithal to use Merlok’s momentum against himself, and outmaneuvered him into a victory – but barely. It gave Hatfield a key victory to end his slump but showed that Merlok is still a beast of a challenge. All that said, I am quite a sucker for a hoss battle, but I appreciate that they whipped a little story in there too. ***

Sylverhawk vs. Race Jaxon

Sylverhawk backs Jaxon to the corner in a lock-up and gives him a noogie. Sylverhawk catches his bicycle kick attempt and sends him face first into the mat. He attempts several pin attempts until Jaxon superkicks him in the stomach. Sylverhawk out runs Jaxon and lands a crossbody from the second rope. Jaxon pulls on his mask and delivers a punch. Sylverhawk responds with an overhand chop. Jaxon covers up his chest, thus allowing Sylverhawk to pepper him with multiple jabs to the face. He sends Jaxon to the corner with an enzuigiri and follows in with a splash. Jaxon crotches Sylverhawk in the corner to block a bulldog and nails a rolling elbow to the back of the head. As Jaxon checks himself out in the mirror, “Somebody’s Watching Me” by Rockwell plays over the PA system as Hype Rockwell sneaks in from behind! Jaxon turns around right into the Hyperwheel! Bryce Remsburg calls for a disqualification at 2:52. Even though the major takeaway from this was Hype Rockwell’s return, Jaxon and Sylverhawk kept a frenetic pace and provided some solid action for 2 and a half minutes. *

The Furies (Fire Ant, Icarus, Solo Darling & Travis Huckabee) vs. Oleg the Usurper, Kobald, Sonny Defarge & Cornelius Crummels

Oleg scoops Huckabee up into a spinning backbreaker, but misses a somersault senton. Huckabee hooks him in a crucifix pin for two. Oleg is too large for Huckabee to butterfly suplex. Oleg uses his posterior to break a waistlock. He begins picking up speed off the ropes. Kobald enters to criss-cross with him, which annoys Oleg. Crummels and Defarge ask them to exit the ring so they can take control. Fire Ant flying forearm strikes Crummels away but is caught by an uppercut from Defarge. Fire Ant comes out on top of a Lucha exchange with a wheelbarrow armdrag to the corner. Fire Ant uses the ropes to send Defarge outside with a flying Frankensteiner. Defarge avoids a dive, but walks right into a forearm and tornado suplex from Darling upon re-entering the ring. Fire Ant hops off her back for a senton before Darling covers Defarge for two. Defarge grabs Darling in a front facelock and suplexes her into a running elbow from Crummels. Darling is able to get a blind tag to Huckabee, who assists Darling with a headscissors. Icarus takes Crummels down with a side Russian legsweep for two. Crummels slides outside when Icarus whips him to the ropes. Defarge is able to catch him with an uppercut. Defarge wipes out the Tecnico apron before he and Crummels hit Icarus with the Night Cap for two. The Rudos and Oleg take turns beating down the Gen 1 original.Bryce catches Kobald handing Oleg a wrench and gives him a bit of a guilt trip. Huckabee tries to intercept but Defarge stops him and Kobald continues to beat Icarus down. Icarus almost has Huckabee tagged when Kobald pulls him off the apron. Icarus is able to pull off a second tag by crashing Crummels and Defarge together and tagging in Huckabee. Huckabee sends Defarge outside with a shotgun dropkick, but is dropped with the Killswitch from Crummels. Darling snapmares Crummels to the apron and knocks him to the floor with a hip attack. Kobald pulls Darling by the hair into a slap and onto her shoulders for an inverted Go 2 Sleep. Fire Ant comes off the top with a high crossbody and Yahtzee Kick to Kobald. The brainbuster gets him a nearfall thanks to Defarge interrupting the count. Defarge blocks a satellite DDT and mows Fire Ant down with a lariat. Darling spears Defarge. Kobald spears Darling. Icarus spears Kobald and drops him with the Pedigree. Oleg makes the save. Oleg absorbs Icarus’ shots and splashes him against the ropes. Icarus escapes a chokeslam. Oleg blocks the Shiranui and hits the Usurper kick for a very close two count. Oleg looks to double chokeslam Fire Ant and Icarus. Kobald tries feeding Darling to him, which confuses Oleg, who lets both Fire Ant and Icarus go. Defarge and Crummels give Oleg an earful, so he chokeslams the both of them! Huckabee scores with a butterfly suplex on Oleg. Kobald shotgun dropkicks Huckabee and suplexes him onto his head. Darling clobbers Kobald with a punch before dropping him with the Tailspin for the pin at 17:55. One or two minor flubs aside this was very good. Crummels and Defarge have improved significantly over the past year, especially Defarge who really got a chance to shine here. The Furies pick up a nice win heading into Trios and Oleg still can’t seem to make the team with Kobald work. That, or he just doesn’t want to. **¾

Grand Championship
Juan Francisco de Coronado vs. Rory Gulak

Juan Francisco de Coronado has been champion since 4.1.2017 and this is his fourth defense. Coronado’s Ecuadorian flag sticks out from the apron, as it usually does when he makes his slow entrance. Coronado is moving particularly slow, enough to annoy Gulak. He grabs at the flag to pull Coronado to the apron, but when he pulls the flag, nobody follows. Coronado sneak attacks Gulak on the ramp! Despite this, Gulak is able to back drop Coronado into the ring. The bell rings as both men enter the ring and Gulak goes for the Dragon Sleeper. Coronado slips back to the floor before it can be applied. Gulak gets control of the exchange and sends Coronado back inside. He avoids a legdrop to the back of the neck from Coronado and whips him to the corner. Coronado rolls forward to avoid an attack but Gulak kicks him in the stomach and delivers a backbreaker. Coronado trips Gulak off the top turnbuckle, causing the back of Gulak’s head to hit the back of the turnbuckle! Coronado follows up with an enzuigiri for two. He muscles Gulak up onto his shoulders, but Gulak slips out into a schoolboy for two. Coronado dropkicks Gulak’s leg leg out and drops all his body weight onto his knee. Coronado takes a page out of Drew Gulak’s book by slamming his younger brother onto the ropes. Coronado gives Gulak two kneebreakers. Gulak sneaks in a pinning combination, but Coronado takes him out from behind his knee and wraps his legs around it to apply pressure. He adds forearm scrapes to the arsenal, and Gulak is able to grab the ropes to escape. Coronado twists up Gulak’s knee in the ropes before suplexing him into the corner. He puts on a figure four leg lock. Gulak reverses the pressure. Coronado grabs the bottom rope to break the hold. Uncharacteristically, Coronado goes for a springboard maneuver. Gulak stops him mid-air with a dropkick, which halts Coronado, but does further damage to his left leg. Gulak throws Coronado overhead with an arm wringer and follows with a fireman’s carry. An exploder suplex earns him a nearfall. Coronado comes back with the Tiger Driver for two. He tries a German suplex. Gulak pulls Coronado shoulder first into the corner. Coronado catches Gulak on the top turnbuckle again. Gulak uppercuts Coronado to the apron and comes off the top with a splash! Coronado gets his shoulder up just in the nick of time. Coronado captures Gulak’s leg as he hits the German suplex. This time it’s Gulak whose shoulder is up at the last moment. Coronado tries applying his own Dragon Sleeper, but Gulak rolls back and goes for it himself! Coronado strikes referee Bryce Remsburg in the side of the head. Gulak pulls Coronado down in the hold and he taps out. Gulak releases too early before Bryce can see it. Coronado kicks out Gulak’s knee and puts him in the Coronado Clutch. Gulak passes out at 13:05 and Coronado retains the championship. This match was laid out really well, with Coronado targeting Gulak’s leg like a shark and Gulak going for the Dragon Sleeper when he had the opportunity. You just knew the match wasn’t going to end cleanly, and the distraction couldn’t have been more telegraphed. That kept this match from being the best of Coronado’s reign, but it was a good in spite of that fault. ***

Encore Match
“Mr. Touchdown” vs. Jeremy Leary

This match was supposed to happen at “The Parting of Ways” but Angelosetti was injured. As Angelosetti is welcoming the crowd to Touchdown City, Leary jumps up and brings him down with a super powerslam! Leary boots him in the side of the head and is surprised to only get a two count. He stands on the side of Angelosetti’s head before peppering him with forearm shots and jabs in the corner. Leary hammerlocks his arm before hitting a short-arm lariat for another two count. After a couple knee strikes, he lands a basement clothesline for two. Angelosetti finally ducks a strike and pulls Leary into a Magistral cradle for two. He messes up Leary’s hair before a crucifix pin gets him another two. Leary catches him with a powerslam for two. He chokes Angelosetti on the middle rope. Angelosetti flips out of a back suplex and hits the Flea Flicker for the pin and his third point at 4:13. This was more action packed than most encore matches, and Leary REALLY picked up his intensity and emotion here. Angelosetti’s Flea Flicker came off as a one shot kill move like Never Wake Up, which is worth noting as he will challenging Coronado for the Grand Championship at the end of September. **

In a post credits scene, the white van with Ophidian is now in the woods. The druids have dug a tomb. The Whisper grabs the shovel and shushes as the show concludes.

6.5
The final score: review Average
The 411
The "Chikarasaurus Rex" name carries a lot of weight since the 2010 installment. While this show wasn't as good as previous installments, it was still a good show. The Sarcaphogus match is the stand out bout, with Merlok vs. Hatfield and the main event also being worthy of a watch. It's not a show worth going out of your way to see, but is a good set-up show for the King of Trios tournament. The show is available to watch on CHIKARATopia, CHIKARA's streaming service which is $7.99 a month and comes with a free 7 day trial. You can purchase the show on DVD or Blu-Ray from CHIKARA's store and on mp4/VOD here, with options to purchase individual matches.
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article topics :

CHIKARA, Chikarasaurus Rex, Kevin Ford