CHIKARA Tag World Grand Prix 2005 Night 1

FIST (Icarus & Gran Akuma) vs Team WXW (Mana & John Cabbie)

Nicely worked opener, with FIST portrayed as the more fluid unit, but Mana being the wildcard factor in the match. FIST control Cabbie early with some nice double teams, but suffer when Mana gets tagged in. He’s a big guy, who easily puts both guys on his shoulders for a Samoan drop before blitzing Akuma in the corner with shoulder barges and running knees. Mana even no sells a pair of dropkicks, really getting put over, before Cabbie blind tags back in, and in the melee accidentally superkicks his own partner. Icarus hits a spinning flapjack on Cabbie for the win. Good stuff.

Davey Andrews & Shane Hagadorn vs the Ring Crew Express

For a guy who vanished off the face of the wrestling earth the same year, Andrews seemed pretty decent. He and Hagadorn are representing Ring of Honor as their students, and even heelishly put RoH turnbuckle padding in their corner. There’s bit of this that aren’t very good, not restricted to an early blown victory roll spot. For some reason, we get a game of dodgeball breaking out midway through, which is pointless. The rest of the bout is basic, but solid, tag formula stuff which is hard to mess up. The RoH team heel it up, double-teaming behind the referees back. Andrews hitting a dropkick on Marcos whilst Hagadorn held him in an abdominal stretch looked really good, and an Andrews stomach buster got real height on it. There’s a few slightly blown bits, like Andrews not tagging in before a double team move, making it look a bit awkward as Hagadorn was clearly expecting the tag. Andrews hit a diving to the floor, the kind of move that probably explains why he didn’t wrestle after this year. It gets a bit messy after the hot tag, before Dunn and Marcos get the win with a double team senton.

Crossbones & Mano Metalico vs Knight Eye For The Pirate Guy (Lance Steel & Jolly Roger)

This was nicely worked, you can see guys like Roger and Crossbones improving show by show. Here, Roger is really laying his stuff in, looks like his strikes are actually meant to hurt his opponent. Fun early spot sees Roger breaking a Crossbones Full Nelson by just punching the hands until Crossbones has to let go. Fun jousting spot, with Roger carrying Steel on his shoulders to hit Crossbones in the corner. Metalico plays monster here, and he’s pretty effective at it, reversing a wheelbarrow into an Irish Curse in one great spot. For some reason, Crossbones seems to be working against his partner, holding an opponent in place for a kick, then moving him so Metalico falls over. Very odd. Metalico beheads Steel with a clothesline, but Roger turns a flying headscissors into a small package for the victory

Big Daddy (Shirley Doe & Darkness Crabtree) vs Team Osaka Pro (Ebessan & Billy Ken Kid)

The cleverly named Big Daddy team are rather an unusual pairing, but Doe and Ken Kid pair up really nicely in the ring together. Ebessan and Crabtree, for their part, work a comedy bit based on Crabtree’s usual slo-motion wrestling, but in a nice twist Crabtree then takes his medication and works a fun, swiftly paced sequence with Ken Kid. Unfortunately, the pills are his downfall, as he takes some more and has a heart attack, culminating with Ebessan hitting a Shining Wizard for the win. Short, stupid, but kinda fun. Ken Kid looked really good, bodes well for the later round.

Team You Can Call Me Al (Allison Danger & Alere Little Feather) vs Claudio Castagnoli & Arik Cannon

Smartly worked intergender match, with the women outsmarting the larger men in the early stages. Really neat spot with Claudio elevating Danger high into the air, only for her to land and flip him into a crucifix. Alere becomes face in peril, with Claudio hitting a nice giant swing into a Cannon dropkick. Cannon also hits a really good looking fistdrop. This is a short match though, and it breaks down a bit sloppily towards the end. Danger gets a nearfall on Cannon with an STO, but Claudio saves. A Glimmering Warlock and Ricola Bomb finish Danger.

Rorschach & Ravage vs Jigsaw & Sabian

Jigsaw looks pretty terrific here, working Rorschach on the mat and looking really smooth in doing so. The heel team look pretty good double-teaming Sabian, with a nice Rorschach wheelbarrow into a Ravage running knee, followed by a Rorschach facebuster. They work over Sabian’s arm, with Larry Sweeney on commentary rightfully questioning this tactic, highlighting that Sabian barely uses his arm and that it would make more sense to go after his leg. Really liked Rorschach hitting a cross-armbreaker which he rolls through with into a chancery. This whole match is probably the best Rorschach has looked in CHIKARA so far. Jigsaw is great as the hot tag, full of energy. Sabian and Jigsaw lock in a fun double submission and both heels tap. This was fun.

Team IWA (Din Mak & Mat Bomboy) vs Team IWA-MS (Danny Daniels & Jimmy Jacobs)

The IWA-MS are very much an odd couple, very much opposites in terms of character, but working surprisingly well as a team. Daniels is enjoyably cocky early on, schooling Din Mak on the mat. Bomboy kind of mirrors Daniels, also being pretty cocky, but he’s laying things in a bit stiffer than his partner. Unlike the IWA-MS team, IWA don’t have much in the way of teamwork, with Bomboy breaking a Din Mak cover in order to try and get the glory himself. Daniels steamrolls both thanks to this distraction, until Bomboy tires of Mak, superkicks him, and Jacobs hits a top rope senton for the win.

Team PWG (Super Dragon & B-Boy) vs Glenn Spectre & Mokujin Ken

Spectre and Ken are the mystery opponents after several names get called out and aren’t there (plus the Rachies, who are there, but are in no state to compete). If you haven’t seen Ken, AKA Ken the Box, he’s a wooden tree-man essentially. His size means he’s unable to stand on the apron while Team PWG kick the shit out of Spectre. Spectre is given a brief comeback, hitting an RKO on Super Dragon, but has no-one to tag to with Ken being stuck on the floor. Spectre instead sends the opponents to Ken, taking big bumps as they run into Ken’s wooden fists, but in the ring Spectre gets destroyed again, eating a Shining Wizard, a Kerb Stomp and a double stomp from the top for the loss.

Claudio Castagnoli & Arik Cannon vs Team FIST

The second round matches are all longer than the first round, so they all get a bit more meat to flesh things out. Really fun spot early, as the heels try to avoid stereo pescados from Team Fist, run into each other and then get wiped out by the dives they were trying to avoid. Icarus showcases an ability to hit an armdrag from any angle, much to the annoyance of Cannon. Cannon holding a full Nelson to allow Claudio to nail a brutal looking uppercut was a great spot. Icarus is face-in-peril, and takes a good beating, including a lovely moment where Castagnoli locks in a full Nelson and swings him round, a la the giant swing, getting a good number of rotations. However, Claudio manages to uppercut Icarus so hard that he falls into the corner to tag in Akuma. Akumao gets a Yoshitonic on Claudio for two, but an attempt on Cannon is blocked and Claudio nails him with an uppercut. The Glimmering Warlock/Ricola Bomb combo gets the three.

Ring Crew Express vs Jigsaw & Sabian

Two popular teams here sees this match receiving some duelling chants. Nice even stuff to begin, with Marcos and Sabian working some fun mat exchanges, whilst Dunn and Jigsaw work quicker, rope-running sequences. Sabian and Jigsaw hit dual topes to take control. Lovely spot sees Jigsaw holding Dunn in place in a surfboard to eat a top rope stomp. Jigsaw misses a 450 legdrop, allowing Dunn to tag in Marcos, and we get a melee of action in the ring. The Ring Crew Express hit the assisted senton, but Sabian saves, and the Sliced Bread #2 is reversed into a Jig’N’Tonic in a smooth sequence for three.

Jimmy Jacobs & Danny Daniels vs Knight Eye for the Pirate Guy

Interestingly, Jacobs hints at a heelish nature in this match, acting even more douchey than his partner, a guy who is working heel. It’s the addition of little cocky touches, like shaking off his fist after a great punch. Daniels drills Roger, who becomes face-in-peril, with some lovely looking kneedrops, really driving the knee into him. Both members of the IWA team hit airplane spins on Roger in a fun spot. Steel cleans up after a blind tag, and locks in his “unbreakable” Boston Crab on Jacobs. There’s a slightly clumsy bit, with Steel backdropping Daniels out of the ring as he tries to break it, whilst still holding onto Jacobs, didn’t flow very well. Jacobs gets dragged to the centre of the ring, and has to tap out.

Super Dragon & B-Boy vs Billy Ken Kid & Ebessan

Going into this, I was curious how Ebessan would fit into this, a guy who’s primarily a comedy worker. The answer, it turn out, is by having Dragon and B-Boy bully and batter him, making him the sympathetic face in peril of the match. They establish this early, with Dragon cheapshotting Ebessan on the apron. Both PWG guys are clearly frustrated by Ken Kid, getting outworked and sent to the floor, stalling for time before re-entering, before feasting like piranhas when Ebessan gets in. The beat him down in the corner, B-Boy locks in a nasty bridging Cobra Clutch on the mat, Super Dragon hits a nasty cappo kick in the corner followed by a B-Boy dropkick to the face…basically a big kicking to a likable schlub like Ebessan. Ebessan kicks out of just enough to remain credible, not taking any big killshots, just a lot of sustained offence. He makes the tag after Super Dragon misses a corner charge spectacularly, flying into the post, and Ken Kid is a ball of energy on offence. He hits a lovely cannonball from the second rope to the floor on B-Boy, only to be stopped by an unlikely leaping rana from Super Dragon, who shows great athleticism. Loved the end of this one, BKK ends up alone with B-Boy, and he circles him round by the arms, suddenly switching it into a backslide and he gets the three, thrusting his legs into the air on the final count to add more weight and to avoid Super Dragon’s save. Absolutely great stuff.

CHIKARA Fear of Music (2004)

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 2^nd 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.

CHIKARA - The Cibernetico Cometh

Claudio Castagnoli vs American Gigolo

Big fan of Claudio demanding a chair to use as a step for his ring entrance, despite the chair being the exact same height as the ring. This is fought under European Rules, with a round system. Round 1 is pretty even, with both guys doing some nice chain wrestling on the mat. The round ends with Gigolo going to the next door room to get a drink, only returning when on the brink of being counted out in R2. Felt like a comedy bit that the crowd didn’t bite. This round is a bit more heated, with Claudio doing a fun bit of schtick where he kept punching Gigolo whilst holding a headlock and claiming it was a flat palm until ref Bryce Remsburg catches him in the act. He also attacks Gigolo at the end of R2, then continues his assault as Remsburg tells the ring announcer to issue a public warning. Gigolo takes some fun bumps getting whipped to the corner in R3, before Claudio hits an uppercut to the back of the head to get the KO win. This was better than the first Euro Rules match against Sabian, felt like Claudio had already got a better idea of how to work the gimmick

Lance Steel vs Darkness Crabtree

This is actually a continuation of the match from the previous night, a falls-count-anywhere affair that saw both guys leave the venue and not return. They battle back into the ring, and Steel locks on a Boston Crab for the win in an announced 23hours and 36 minutes.

Ravage vs Niles Young

Two CZW trainees. This is one of those basic, competently worked rookie matches between two guys who obviously train together. Ravage is very annoying though, all “quirky” shrieks and whoops. Ravage hits a nice cradle neckbreaker at one point, but this is pretty by the numbers stuff. Young gets the win following an overly complicated facebuster and a Yakuza kick.

The Wildcards vs BLKOUT

There’s a bit of genial clowning to start, but soon Joker and Kingston are viciously exchanging headbutts in the corner. Loved the takeovers Joker hits on Marciano, grabbing him around the neck and flinging him to the mat. Sabian is soon isolated, eating a nice gutwrench from Marciano. The Wildcards work like a classic heel tag team, cutting off the ring, quick tags and keeping Sabian in the corner. Sadly, there isn’t any build to the hot tag, you feel like one or two hope spots could have made the eventual tag a bit more exciting. BLKOUT clear the ring, and Joker backdrops Sabian to the floor onto the Wildcards. There’s a poor looking roll up by Sabian where he looks to be chaining to a submission before his opponent actually kicks out, but he does eat a huge overhead belly to belly by Kingston to the floor, before Eddie gets an O’Connor Roll on Joker for the win. Overall, good stuff.

Skayde vs Oriental

This was ultimately fine, but just felt like an exhibition throughout. It’s 2/3 falls, but barely goes 10 minutes, and at a lot of points it didn’t feel like two guys trying to pick up a victory, no sense that anything was at stake. Oriental hits a nice rolling senton to the floor at one point, but there was no struggle, holds getting escaped from and reversed with no build. It ends up one fall a piece, before Oriental gets the eventual win with a flipping legdrop and a cradle. All the execution was on point, but this is pretty forgettable stuff.

Jigsaw, Mr Zero, Gran Akuma, Icarus, Jolly Roger, DJ Skittlez, Private Eye & Shane Storm vs Larry Sweeney, Rorschach, Mano Metalico, Share Cropper, Ultramantis Black, Spyrazul, Crossbones & Hallowicked

This is a Cibernetico match, elimination rules with only one guy allowed on the apron at a time, with tags having to be made in a batting order. It’s lucha rules, so tags can be made by one guy leaving the ring and his partner replacing him. There can only be one survivor, so team-mates may have to battle each other at the end to be the winner.

This goes long, 76minutes long to be precise, and it’s remarkable to note that it never drags. On paper, a 76 minute match featuring DJ Skittlez and Private Eye sounds disastrous, but it’s very cleverly worked to keep the pace up and keep things fresh. The first fifteen minutes sees different wrestlers pairing up then tagging out, so even limited guys only need to find two minutes of stuff to do. Then, as Larry Sweeney tags out straight away to avoid Jigsaw, we go through the cycle again, only with wrestlers getting paired up with different opposition. The first time, all the wrestlers are testing the water, basic holds and matwork, so by the second go around, all wrestlers up the tempo a bit, leading to DJ Skittlez looking the best he ever has by just getting in, hitting a few big clotheslines then hitting a big dive to end his ring time. Even so, Private Eye looks a bit clumsy and lumbering, but we also get a fun spot when someone pokes him right in his massive eye to temporarily blind him. This also builds the excitement for the Jigsaw/Sweeney showdown, as once Jigsaw is out, he knows he has to let his whole team cycle through until he has another chance to possibly face Sweeney.

The first elimination doesn’t come until the 44^th minute, when Metalico pauses when Shane Storm holds up his “STOP” sign, and Jolly Roger hits a crossbody to pin him. Other fun eliminations sees Private Eye’s mask turned sideways to stop him seeing, allowing Hallowicked to roll him up, whilst Icarus takes a nasty backpack stunner, also by Hallowicked to be eliminated. The only really prolonged heat section is worked on Storm, giving the rudo team a chance to do a number on him. A lot of ref distractions and multi-man assaults. Loved the Yakuza kick delivered by Crossbones to a kneeling Storm. By the end, we’re down to 3-1, a sneaky brass knuck shot by Sweeney eliminating Akuma to leave Jigsaw all alone against Spyrazul, Rorschach and Sweeney. As Sweeney gloats to the crowd, Spyrazul – who had been late arriving and had taking a few brow-beatings from Sweeney – suddenly downs his partner Rorschach and gestures to Jigsaw to pin him, leaving it 2-1. As Sweeney turns around confused, Spyrazul unmasks to reveal himself as Mike Quackenbush, leaving the match and FINALLY giving us the Jigsaw/Sweeney battle the match had been building to. Really nicely worked angle. Sweeney tries to escape, but gets brought back by Jigsaw who hits a shining wizard to finally win the bout. An unexpected, but resolute, success.

CHIKARA Young Lions Cup II Night 2 2004

Qeenan Creed vs Chris Hero

This is to replace Jay Lethal, who has no-showed the event. Basic match, pretty inoffensive. Hero is pretty obviously the better wrestler, but Creed adds a few bits to the match with his heeling. Stalling to annoy the crowd, doing a quick pose before missing a corner charge – just little bits to add colour to the bout. His offence is basic, but well executed and, though it’s not a match you’ll remember for long, it’s fine. Hero wins with the Hero’s Welcome.

Sabian vs Jigsaw

This was a step up. Both guys are pretty good by this point, and achieve some nice looking sequences. Liked how even this was until Sabian took a chance with a big flip dive, which gave him control. He’s able to easily counter the Jig’N’Tonic into a bulldog in a nice sequence, and hits a big top rope elbow. You can tell they’re putting in a real effort here, some nice stiff shots by both, and they manage to get the small crowd really into the match. There’s one bad botch, where Jigsaw gets his feet caught on the rope on a plancha, and I liked Sabian having presence of mind to mock him to buy time for the ref to check Jigsaw over. There’s also an odd moment where Jigsaw sells having his nipples tweaked by poking the ref in the eye. That oddness aside, the end is pretty fun, as Jigsaw shows decent strength to catch a Sabian crossbody and transition it to the Jig’N’Tonic to win.

Eddie Kingston vs Blackjack Marciano

The Wildcards collide here. This is pretty long, but is also good fun. A lot of schtick to start, with Kingston demanding Marciano take a dive for him, only to Blackjack to roll him up for two. A load of stalling, with both guys mocking the way the other looks or celebrates hitting a move. Eventually, things get rolling, and it’s pretty good. Kingston in particular is happy to work stiff with his partner. Marciano also takes a big bump to the hard floor, landing with a splat. Kingston shows himself to be slightly better than Marciano at this point, a few things like a bad reverse slam don’t look good by Marciano. There’s a fun ending where both guys decide to walk out rather than wrestle in front of an undeserving audience, then suddenly both sprint back to try and get the other counted out, before a bridging pin wins it for Marciano.

Larry Sweeney vs Shane Storm

Truth be told, I was a little anxious heading into this one. Storm isn’t particularly impressing during these early shows and I didn’t know if Sweeney would be a guy to get a good match out of him. As it was, this was pretty fine. Sweeney slaps Storm early, and this seems to fire him up with his corner splashes actively looking good. Storm even hits a reasonable looking suicide dive. There’s a bit of poor refereeing work, as Sweeney’s henchmen mug Storm outside the ring in such a manner that you’d think it’d be impossible to ignore. Sweeney’s offence is pretty basic, but is well executed, so his heat section on Storm is perfectly fine. There’s a few sloppy moments in the match, most notably when Storm hits a shining wizard on his comeback and tries to pin Sweeney right up in the ropes, but nothing glaringly so, before Sweeney gets the roll up win off a distraction.

Chris Hero vs Gran Akuma

Good bit of storytelling this one, though the match definitely goes on a bit too long. Hero has recently started taking the training in the Chikara school, so there’s a sense of domination throughout as Hero tries to see what one of his students is able to offer against him. It feels like a competitive exhibition, as they work control sections on that mat, but Hero soon starts to build up his strikes and moves, striving to push Akuma to perform at the next level. Hero keeps laying in stiff sounding blows, and Akuma just about remains on his feet. Even when Akuma starts to fire back, Hero remains one step ahead and never really looks in danger of losing. Akuma gets the ropes after surviving the Hangman’s Clutch and gets a nearfall from a falcon arrow, before Hero pins him with the Hero’s Welcome. This does go just over 15 minutes, which is too long for the story, but the meat of this was really good.

Jigsaw vs Blackjack Marciano

Pretty straightforward win for Jigsaw, thought it might be a bit more competitive. Marciano shoves Jigsaw to the floor at the bell, causing a big bump, but Jigsaw isn’t fazed for long and soon is in control, hitting a big cannonball from the top to the floor. You can see just how good Jigsaw was getting by this point, as all his strikes look on point. Real vicious looking kicks. Jigsaw hits a neat leap up rana from the top rope, puts Marciano in a tree of woe for a coast-to-coast dropkick and hits the Jig’N’Tonic to win. Pretty much a squash.

Chris Hero vs Larry Sweeney

Hero gets mugged by Sweeney’s henchmen at the outset, but is still able to put up a fight in the ring. That is, until Sweeney hits him with a foreign object to get the win barely 2 minutes in. It’s the only way you’d really buy Hero losing, and it gives Sweeney a freshness advantage for the final, so it makes sense.

Icarus, Mr Zero & Jolly Roger vs Share Cropper, Mano Metalico & Crossbones

2/3 falls match designed to put over Sweeney’s stable of goons. Share Cropper stands out as the most polished of the three, with a nice bridge on a Northern Lights suplex and moving really well in the ring. Metalico is working a gimmick where is right hand is really solid (and it’s at this point I realised his name translates to “Metal hands”, so that makes sense), and is a big guy. Zero takes most of the heat, as well as making one of his key spots – reading the paper whilst holding a Camel Clutch – look like shit by applying it so sloppily. They bravely give the heels a 2-0 win with the falls, winning the first by dogpiling Zero after a big blow by Metalico, and then winning the second by pinning Icarus following a low blow by Crossbones.

Larry Sweeney vs Jigsaw

This was a suitably decent final. Sweeney’s on top form here, stalling outside the ring, complaining that Jigsaw must have something in his hand after eating a hard chop, and beautifully nailing a shot with a foreign object over the refs shoulder. For his part, Jigsaw’s running knee in the corner looks terrific and he’s got some great timing on his comeback superkick. Again, Sweeney’s control is basic, but it’s effective in getting the crowd behind Jigsaw. Jigsaw does hit a sloppy looking top rope stomp that’s pretty poor. There’s a ref bump before Jigsaw hits Jig’N’Tonic, before his former tag partner Rorschach comes in and nails him with a superkick, with Sweeney hitting a piledriver to get the win. They pretty much made Sweeney in one weekend here, whole tournament worked wonders in getting him over.