Crossbones, Mano Metalico & Rorschach vs Jolly Roger,
Icarus & Lance Steel
Super fun trios match, helped by Crossbones being a Grade-A
trash-talker. He’s on it throughout the entire match, managing to just about
avoid being irritating. Loved seeing Roger hit a sort of proto-Codebreaker on
Metalico. The heat is worked on Roger, and it’s nice to see Rorschach finally
starting to improve. He hits a really neat slingshot elbow and his Indian
Deathlock has a nice bridge. For such a big guy, it’s fun seeing Metalico stop
an offensive run by Roger with a poke to the eye. Roger gets the hot tag after
blocking a Crossbones superplex and nailing a blockbuster. Things break down,
and start getting a bit sloppy. Icarus hits a clumsy looking top rope dive,
Crossbones almost drops Jolly Roger on his head by not holding the head on an
Air Raid Crash and wrestlers get thrown out of the ring in a clumsy fashion.
Rorschach hits a nice Dragon Suplex on Lance Steel for the win.
Darkness Crabtree vs Allison Danger
This wasn’t great, they’re playing up Crabtree being a bit
creepy when facing a woman, which is a little uncomfortable. Crabtree takes
control after he gets whipped to the buckle, and he’s so decrepit that he
slumps down, which causes Danger to miss a corner charge. Crabtree misses a
really slow People’s Elbow, and Danger hits an STO for two. Oddly, she just
tries the pin again and gets the win. That was odd.
DJ Skittlez vs Gran Akuma
For two guys who were among the first CHIKARA students,
there’s a bit of a gulf here in terms of look and performance. Akuma is in
great shape, moves so well and his offence looks a lot better. Skittlez isn’t
graceful in the slightest, which does have some benefits. It makes his top rope
clothesline look more forceful, but after the initial opening sequences of
nicely rehearsed armdrags and reversals, he looks a bit loss. Skittlez seems
legitimately injured after taking a spin kick to the ribs, but he does get back
on his feet to continue the bout for a few minutes. Akuma rolls through a
cradle to get the win.
Sabian vs Ravage
Fuck, Ravage is so bloody irritating, all faux-quirkly
shrieks and laughs. Sabian comes out with a sling on his right arm, and the
match is called off. Only included in this review because it gets reference
later.
Niles Young vs Claudio Castagnoli
Another match to push Castagnoli’s European Rules gimmick.
Niles wins my heart early by working a headlock on Claudio, and slapping it
back on every time Castagnoli escapes. Just nicely frustrating his opponent. Obviously
frustrates him enough that Claudio changes his gameplan for round 2, hitting a
sneaky cheapshot. Claudio shows nice strength to hit a backbreaker and muscle
Young back up for a stomachbreaker. Loved Claudio cheapshotting after the bell
to end round 2, then kicking the crap out of Young while Bryce Remsberg issues
the public warning. Young fires back and gets a 9 count after a leaping 2nd
rope X-Factor, but Claudio stops a second by pushing Remberg into the ropes. As
the second public warning gets issues, Castagnoli nails a European uppercut to
the back on Young’s head to get the 10 count win. Dug this.
The Dark Breed (Ultramantis Black & Hallowicked) vs Men
At Work (Shane Storm & Mr Zero)
At this point, Ultramantis still feels too goofy to be a
dark lord like his gimmick suggests. Dig the early double team with Zero and
Storm flipping each other onto the Dark Breed. The heat gets worked on Storm,
including a bad spot where the ref clearly saw Black get his staff, but goes to
stop Zero entering the ring instead, allowing a beatdown on Storm. Black seems
to struggle at lifting Storm, always looks a bit shitty. There’s a spot where
Black is supposed to hold Storm in a bearhug for an leaping forearm, but he
barely gets him off the ground. Ends up with a melee towards the end, and there’s
a great nearfall with Black holding a half crab on Zero, and Storm hits a
Shining Wizard on him for two. Zero hits a big facebuster on Black for the win,
nicely ending their feud. A few bad spots, but this was good on the whole.
Matt Bomboy vs Din Mak
The third show in a row for this pairing, this time with I
Quit rules. Don’t think anyone was crying out for this feud to continue,
especially as it feels totally isolated from the regular CHIKARA universe.
Credit where it’s due, at least Bomboy tries a few submissions throughout, Mak
seems to give very little lip-service to the gimmick. Loved Bomboy going to the
rope, a la Old School, and clobbering Mak with a clothesline to the back of the
head. Mak at one point threatens the Socko Claw, taking out a sock from his
trunks. Fucks sake. Bomboy seems really fired up, hitting a side Russian
legsweep on the floor, and chaining to an armbar. In contrast, Mak tries a
pinfall halfway through the match, showing he’s not really into it. In the end,
Mak locks in a Dragon Sleeper with a body scissors for the win. Their best
match, but I really don’t need to see this again.
The Wildcards vs The Superfriends (Mike Quackenbush &
Chris Hero)
This was a heap of fun, really loved the dynamic between
these four guys. The early stages see the more experienced Superfriends
schooling both Wildcards on the mat. Loved Hero taunting both Kingston and
Marciano, threatening them with cravats. Lovely spot where Quackenbush hits a
tilt-a-whirl armdrag to send his partner flying onto Kingston before hitting a
senton on Marciano. The Wildcards finally get control following a Quack dive,
as they take Hero out on the outside and isolate Quack in the ring. Really
effective as, even when Quack gets to the corner for a tag after a double DDT,
Hero is still on the floor selling his assault. Hero is great when he finally
does get the hot tag, hitting Kingston with a killer forearm to the face and a
lovely Saito suplex. Powerbombing Marciano onto Kingston looks great. The
Wildcard’s end up winning thanks to Larry Sweeney – he waistlocks Kingston to
prevent a Quackenbush top rope rana, and Marciano hits a reverse powerslam for
the win. Top stuff here.
Skayde vs Oriental
2/3 falls here, and this is very much worked in exhibition
terms. Lots of armdrags, reversals and guys flipping out of holds landing on
their feet. None of the falls ever feel built to, with them just coming at
regular intervals when a roll up or a submission ends up getting the fall. This
means there’s no real tension, but it’s still quite fun to watch guys this
smooth working the mat. A few neat spots, loved Oriental rolling through a
Northern Lights and chaining to an armbar, but with the falls even, Skayde gets
the final fall with a rolling cradle.
Jigsaw vs Larry Sweeney
This is for the Young Lion’s Cup that Sweeney cheated to
beat Jigsaw for a few shows earlier, with Jigsaw winning the right to this
match in the Cibernetico. Sweeney comes to the ring in a sling, playing off the
Sabian no-match from earlier, but then he blindsides Jigsaw to kick off the
match. You can really see how much Jigsaw has improved at this point, he comes
back with a lovely midring rana and hitting a huge dive to the floor. Loved
Sweeney taking over by catching a springboard into a stungun in a really fluid
motion. Jigsaw rolls through a backdrop, grabs an ankle and rolls up Sweeney
for two. So good. Sweeney doesn’t do anything fancy, but he’s got really nice
execution and gives a nice base level for the match. It’s why his DJ Skittlez
match was decent, his basic level of competency doesn’t allow the match to get
too out of control. Both guys get their finishers kicked out of, the 68
Comeback Special and the Jig’N’Tonic. Really fun spot where Sweeney’s continued
cheating backfires on him, as he tries to use brass knucks, misses, but hits a
piledriver. However, Bryce Remsberg spots the knuckles and refuses to count.
Loved that. Quack comes back out to stop Rorschach interfering, and Jigsaw
blocks a superplex to hit a top rope powerbomb for the win. Really dug this.
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