CHIKARA The Renaissance Dawns 2002

Just before Christmas, I decided to invest in a CHIKARAtopia subscription, which at approx. £5 felt like a good investment. I wasn't sure where to begin with CHIKARA, so I've gone all the way back to the first event. Seems a logical starting point. There's fun retrospective commentary from Mike Quackenbush and Bryce Remsberg to go with the matches.

Mr Zero vs Dragonfly

Mr Zero isn’t wearing the mask he’d become better known for wearing, which Quackenbush explains on commentary: apparently Zero had ordered his mask, but it didn’t arrive in time, forcing him to improvise from a local costume shop. This is the first match for both guys, and it’s pretty decent considering. They work some basic, competent mat stuff to start, before Zero turns it up a bit with a big clothesline in the corner. Zero works in some of his character-based comedy early, reading the business pages with Dragonfly locked in a camel clutch, then taking frequent gulps of coffee. Zero takes a posting on the outside of the ring, and Dragonfly takes control with some beginners-level high flying. I did like him neck-snapping Zero over the top rope from a tornado DDT position, and he hit a nice tilt-a-whirl DDT. Zero comes back with a huge German suplex and a Michinoku Driver variation for the win.

Marshal Law & Lovebug vs Hallowicked & Ichabod Slayne

Law is that oddly American kind of fat where he has no noticeable neck. Law and Bug are the faces, and they dominate early with two successive stereo atomic drops. The heels soon get Lovebug as their face in peril, and work him over well. Lovebug is able to hit a cutter to break this momentum and tag in Law, who introduces himself with a big shoulderbreaker. The comeback is short lived for the faces, as he takes a big flat back bump to the floor from the apron off a neck snap, which looked nasty. The heels wisely focus on his back with a series of kicks. Law is now face in peril, and Hallowicked hits a Burning Hammer on his partner onto Law, which gets a 2. All four guys end up in the ring, and the faces hit a 2^nd rope Hart Attack on Slayne, which Lovebug smoothly transitions into a reverse crab for the tapout win. This was decent enough.

Kid Kruel vs Zane Madrox

Kruel became better known for his spell in WWE developmental as Mike Kruel, and you can see why they might pick him up – he’s in very good shape, yet surprisingly agile for his size. Madrox is an odd looking character, tall but with a vacant look on his face, and Quackenbush says that he just stopped turning up for shows he was booked on. Madrox hits a nice spinebuster and splash early, but does look a bit lost on occasion. Kruel takes control of the match, and works Madrox over nicely by focusing on the shoulder. Madrox is hyped up on commentary as being surprisingly powerful, which he proves with a gutwrench suplex followed by a double powerbomb. Madrox is on a decent run of offence, but stops to eats some crisps outside the ring. He offers some to Kruel, who swiftly locks in a cross-armbreaker for the tap victory. Odd ending to a good match.

Blind Rage vs Ultramantis

This is before Ultramantis added the “Black” to his name. Rage is apparently more experienced, and he takes control with a slick series of moves, which Ultramantis does well to keep up with. Rage hits three quick flip sentons for a 2 count. Loved him casually arguing with the ref to distract from him choking Ultramantis with his shin bone. Rage hits a big backbreaker and holds Ultramantis over his leg, which I always love. Quackenbush highlights how Ultramantis used to use a lot of butterfly moves, to go with his whole “insect” theme, which is quickly proven with a butterfly praying mantis bomb for 2. Rage comes back with a Niagra Driver and a Gory Bomb for the win. Really fun match, Rage in particular looked good.

Mike Quackenbush, Reckless Youth & Don Montoya vs Chris Hero, CM Punk & Colt Cabana

The main event noticeably features 6 guys with more experience than the rest of the card. This was so fast-paced and endlessly entertaining, with all six guys working seamlessly together. We get some initial matwork with Quack pairing off with Hero, Colt with Reckless and Punk with Montoya. I chuckled at Montoya being too heavy for Punk to try and take over with a fireman’s carry, and it’s followed by a spot where Punk uses Montoya as a surfboard, only for the much bigger Montoya to return the favour moments later. Quack takes a huge dive to the floor to signal that things are about to pick up. Punk works well as a sneaky heel, with eye pokes and quick escapes from the ring to evade Montoya, but when he gets caught, Don chops the shit out of him. The heels work a fun heat section on Montoya, who tries making a comeback by pulling Punk’s shorts down and hitting a big DDT. A fun 6-person submission spot follows as things start to break down and get out of control. Colt hits a nasty looking Colt 45 on Youth, but the pin is broken up at 2. Youth responds by hitting a tornado DDT from the apron to the floor, which must have hurt. A big tope by Montoya, which he’d teased earlier, wipes out Hero and Punk. Quack nails a reverse rana on Colt and Reckless finishes it off with a 2K2 Bomb for the win. Super fun spotfest, which the crowd ate up.