This upcoming weekend, CHIKARA will present their third and fourth final shows of the season, “An Optimistic View of a Pessimistic World” and “Cibernetico Increible”. One more match is set to be announced for “Cibernetico Increible” in Philadelphia, but other than that, both shows’ cards have been pretty much finalized. As far as I am concerned, both events look like they are definitely going to be something special and will most likely be worthy of DVD purchases.
Before I get to revealing the Easton and Philadelphia event cards, though, I somehow managed to catch up with Dasher Hatfield via telegram last week. As a huge fan of the “Old Timey King of Swing”, myself, I did not hesitate to ask him several questions about previous experiences in CHIKARA, as well as a few thoughts as he continues on his journey in the squared circle.
Exclusive Interview: Dasher Hatfield, The Old Timey King Of Swing
Remember Create-A-Wrestler? How about MosCow? Ultimo Breakfast? Dasher Hatfield was once all three of those individuals, but has now recently taken a transformation for the best, as Mr. Hatfield is in the middle of one of the most impressive CHIKARA winning streaks to date. Last September, Dasher defeated ex-WWE wrestler, Colin Delaney, at “Man Makes Plans, and God Laughs” in singles action and was on the winning end of a ten-man tag team bout at “Hiding in Plain Sight”.
At the moment, Dasher is currently working for his home promotion of CHIKARA on a regular basis. On occasion, you may even catch the baller smacking a few hits in CLASH Wrestling of Michigan. Regardless of where the “Old Timey King of Swing” is competing, though, you can always expect great fun when this all-star steps up to the plate.
REYNOLDS: Mr. Hatfield, it is more than a pleasure to have a fine gentleman like yourself on this week’s edition of the “CHIKARA Chronicles”. You have easily been one of my favorite wrestlers to watch over the years. With all that out of the way now, how are you doing today? Looks like a beautiful day for a ball game.
DASHER: I’m doing just fine today, I suppose. As far as a ball game goes, any day is a fine day to play baseball. Rain, sleet, or snow, if you can wrestle up enough ballplayers, any day will due.
REYNOLDS: Let’s dive into a few questions, shall we? In 2008 at “Global Gauntlet: Night 1” as Ultimo Breakfast, you faced Yuji Okabayashi of Big Japan Pro Wrestling in a losing effort. What was it like to face one of the premier rising stars in all of Japan? What are some of your thoughts on the CHIKARA versus BJW feud in general?
DASHER: I did what? With who? Sorry, my friend, you have me confused with someone else. I once played against the Tokyo Dragons, but I do not remember any Okabayashis while I was over there. I have been confused with an “Ultimo Breakfast” quite often since I manifested here in CHIKARA, and I am afraid I do not know what this is.
REYNOLDS: Ever since this year’s Young Lions Cup tournament, there has been a rivalry between yourself and former WWE superstar, Colin Delaney. Colin pinned you at “Young Lions Cup VII: Night 1”, but you were able to gain some revenge by putting the “Big League Superstar” away with the Grand Slam at “Man Makes Plans, and God Laughs” in West Springfield. Is it safe to say that hard feelings have been resolved or do you feel strongly that Chikarason will book another game between you two?
DASHER: In my world, when the series is tied one to one, a game three or rubber match is a must. Any team can win on any given occasion, but when playing in a series, the best team will always come out on top. So, indeed, I hope Chikarason allows us to finish this series of match-ups very soon.
REYNOLDS: In a special update that was posted earlier last week, you claimed that you were ready to change up the lineup and begin gunning for the Campeones de Parejas with a mystery partner. I don’t want to ruin the surprise, but would you like to give any hints on who this teammate of yours might be?
DASHER: He is indeed, a good friend of mine, and we go way, way back. Hint over.
REYNOLDS: Speaking of titles in CHIKARA, a former partner of yours in the Saturday Night Slam Masters, Player Dos, won this year’s Young Lions Cup tournament and is the current-reigning Young Lions Cup Champion. Your thoughts on Dos joining Hallowicked to only become the second man to win both, the Young Lions Cup and the Campeonatos de Parejas, in CHIKARA history at just the age of twenty? Any jealousy? With your eyes seemingly locked on the Campeonatos de Parejas, do you still consider yourself to be a top contender for Dos’ championship?
DASHER: No jealousy. He is a great champion, but you bet your farm that if I was given the chance to challenge Dos for the Cup, I would jump right at it. I’m not saying that he is afraid to wrestle me, but he has been dodging my telegrams for some time now. I should, however, be a top contender, considering I defeated the man who faced him in the finals of the Young Lions Cup.
REYNOLDS: Stepping away from wrestling now, with the regular season coming to a close in just a matter of games, which team do you see winning the World Series? Any guesses as to who the Most Valuable Players for the American and National Leagues might be?
DASHER: Please bear in mind that there is a big difference between the team I would like to win and the team that I would wager is going to win. With the money on the table, I would definitely go with the Yankees. They have the best record by far and for once, they are playing like the highest paid team in baseball should. Now, if I was giving out MVP awards this year, I think I would give the American League MVP and the Cy Young to Zack Greinke. The guy won fifteen games as a Royal, which is the most impressive thing I have ever seen in my one hundred plus years of being apart of this game. In the National League, Pujols is the only option. He hits in the top three for home runs, batting average, and RBIs.
REYNOLDS: Before we both hit the dugout, any last comments that you would like to make?
DASHER: Dasher says “go buy the CHIKARA Sampler DVD. It is under two bucks. Find it at CHIKARAPro.com or on Smart Mark Video.”
REYNOLDS: That’s all I have for you, Dasher. Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to be interviewed on this week’s edition of the “CHIKARA Chronicles”.
DASHER: Root, root, root for the Dasher!
To learn more about Dasher Hatfield, feel free to add him as a friend on MySpace or even Facebook. For an old timer, the man’s kept up with technology pretty well. What a guy, indeed.
CHIKARA “An Optimistic View of a Pessimistic World†(10.17.2009); Easton, PA
Hot off their CHIKARA debut earlier this month in West Springfield, Chad and Brad Badd will have two points in sight, as they take on Helios and Lince Dorado of the Future Is Now. Lince and Helios have teamed on occasion in the past and certainly know how to get the job done. I could be off by a bit, but I believe the Badd Boyz have never been beaten in a match before. Their stint in Inter Species Wrestling has been nothing short of remarkable lately. Will Helios and Lince or the Badd Boyz be the duo that takes one step closer to challenging for the Colony’s Campeonatos de Parejas?
About one month ago, Crossbones pleaded UltraMantis Black for another shot to be in the Order of the Neo-Solar Temple in a blog entry. Apparently, Crossbones will get his shot at redeeming himself in Easton. It’s been quite some time since we saw UltraMantis and Crossbones team last, as Black has recently been taking on all-comers with Delirious. Green Ant and Carpenter Ant will challenge the Order in their first match as a cohesive unit. Will the newcomers of the Colony be able to prevail or will UltraMantis Black and Crossbones be able to rack up their second point?
Jigsaw and Shane Storm were once apart of one of CHIKARA’s most beloved tag teams, ShaneSaw. After Jigsaw left CHIKARA for Ring of Honor and Storm went to the dark side to become STIGMA, though, the tag team disbanded on a sour note. Since then, these two have never faced off one on one in the ring before. However, both wrestlers will get a chance to prove to the CHIKARMY which one is the better man in Easton. This match was initially supposed to be contested between Jigsaw and Gran Akuma, but Akuma was forced to pull out after doctors deemed him unable to compete for the next couple months. Which former Young Lions Cup Champion will prevail in Easton this October?
It’s been no secret that Player Uno has been a bit frustrated lately. After losing to Dos in the first round at “Young Lions Cup VII: Night 2″ and in a bout for the Young Lions Cup at “Hiding in Plain Sightâ€, Uno expressed his thoughts in a recent blog entry. Uno will certainly be looking to get back on track in Easton, but his opponent is definitely no slouch. Claudio’s been on an interesting streak lately, defeating Tim Donst at “Never Kneel at the Altar of Conformityâ€, taking Eddie Kingston to a draw at “Young Lions Cup VII: Night 3″, and most recently, falling to Mike Quackenbush and Jigsaw with partner, Bryan Danielson, at “Hiding in Plain Sight†in Nashua. Will Uno arguably pick up the biggest singles win of his career or will “Double C†take the “8-bit Luchador†down?
Sugar Dunkerton introduced himself to the CHIKARMY in a special update and revealed himself to be a long-time friend of Dasher Hatfield and will now serve as his tag team partner. See, this was the guy that Dasher was hinting at in the interview posted above. Anyways, four corner survival matches are always big news when announced in CHIKARA, as it is possible for a single team to accumulate three points in a single bout if they are able to score all of the pinfalls. Aside from Dasher and Sugar, Matt and Nick Jackson of the Young Bucks will return to CHIKARA competition in the quest for three points. Ophidian and Amasis will look to regain the Campeonatos de Parejas they lost last month to the Colony, and Icarus and Chuck Taylor of F.I.S.T. will try to score big in Gran Akuma’s absence. Which team will walk out with points in Easton? Guess we will have to wait and see.
In a backstage promo on the “Hiding in Plain Sight” DVD, Sal Rinauro of all people made an appearance and laid out a challenge to “Lightning” Mike Quackenbush for his NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. National Wrestling Alliance heard Rinauro’s words and have made the match official for “An Optimistic View of a Pessimistic View” in Easton. Quack has hung onto the NWA belt for nearly three years now, but has not made a title defense since December of 2008. Will Rinauro be able to take advantage of Quackenbush’s recent back injury and capture the prestigious NWA belt or will “LMQ” manage to rack up his tenth defense?
A personal dream match of mine will finally come true in Easton, Pennsylvania, as Player Dos defends his Young Lions Cup against one of the brightest new stars in CHIKARA, Frightmare. Last month, Frightmare scored a big singles win over Brendan Michael Thomas at “Man Makes Plans, and God Laughs” and even was able to defeat Icarus and Chuck Taylor with Hallowicked as his partner at “Hiding in Plain Sight”. Dos was also able to successfully defend his Cup against Player Uno in Nashua, New Hampshire. Will Frightmare score the biggest win of his career by defeating Dos for the Young Lions Cup or will it be Player Dos who prevails once again in Easton?
Breaks are almost unheard of in professional wrestling and the Colony will certainly not be getting one here, as they make their first defense as the Campeones de Parejas against Brodie Lee and Grizzly Redwood of the Roughnecks in the main event of “An Optimistic View of a Pessimistic Worldâ€. While Fire and Soldier may be the more experienced team, don’t count Lee and Grizzly out. The Roughnecks made their intentions clear in a recent special update. Dare I say it, but both, Grizzly and Brodie, have looked particularly impressive in recent tag team action and their gaining of three points was definitely not just pure luck. Will the Colony or the Roughnecks be the tandem that walks out of Easton as CHIKARA’s Campeones de Parejas?
CHIKARA “Cibernetico Increible†(10.18.2009); Philadelphia, PA
Daizee Haze expressed her feelings about the lack of challenge in CHIKARA some time last month. Now, Sara del Rey has done the same via a blog after her match against Ariel in Nashua. To please both of these women, Sara will team up with La Malcriada of Japan to take on Daizee Haze and her partner, Bullfight Sora (Atsuko Emoto) of NEO. Dan Lowth of CHIKARA Fans made a video that highlights Atsuko Emoto, so check that out if you aren’t familiar with her work. Never heard of her before this match was announced, but Emoto appears to be pretty talented.
Whether he manages to defeat Mike Quackenbush for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship or not, Sal Rinauro will go one on one against Claudio Castagnoli, another one of the main trainers at the Chikara WrestleFactory. Claudio has looked extremely impressive as of late, even adding a few new moves to his already impressive repertoire. In the other corner, Sal certainly has the odds stacked up against him in this particular match, but it remains to be seen if Rinauro is prepared to succeed in a CHIKARA ring. In the end, though, it is undeniable that the fans will be chanting “shut up, Sal” at some point in time. If you don’t know what I am referring to, then you must be living in a dumpster next to Vin Gerard.
As far as things go in the points department, it is more than possible that both teams could have a lot on the line in this match. If the Badd Boyz manage to beat the Future Is Now in Easton, then they will have racked up two points. That’s one shy from earning a shot at the Campeonatos de Parejas. Dasher and Sugar are booked for a four corners elimination match the previous night, so it wouldn’t be too crazy to think that they could potentially earn at least a couple of points while wrestling there. Will Hatfield and Dunkerton walk out of Philly victoriously or will the Badd Boyz be able to continue their impressive undefeated streak?
Ever since Ophidian returned from his arm injury, the Osirian Portal have been winless as a tag team. The Roughnecks, on the other hand, could be the Campeones de Parejas going into this bout, but the remains to be seen. The Portal are certainly hoping to gain any sort of momentum they can in the tight situation they’re in at the moment. It should also be noted that the Portal showed some signs of turning to the tecnico side at “Hiding in Plain Sight”, but CHIKARA currently lists them as being rudos on their official website. This match should certainly be an interesting one, to say the least, and I can imagine that it’s hard to predict which team will rise out on top.
Big Japan Pro Wrestling must have a lot of faith in twenty-year old and rookie, Ryuichi Kawakami, because he is scheduled to take on CHIKARA’s most skilled brawler, “The Last of a Dying Breed†Eddie Kingston. Kawakami made his professional wrestling debut at the end of 2008 and was immediately deemed worthy of being called Daisuke Sekimoto’s protégé. Kawakami is no stranger to CHIKARA talent, though, as he competed in this year’s “Global Gauntlet†events in Japan, defeating the likes of Jagged and Shane Matthews of 2.0. CHIKARA Fans’ Smurf created a hype video for Kawakami that is now available on YouTube. Will Kawakami be able to bring back some prestige to his homeland or will Eddie Kingston shut the rookie up with a backfist to the face?
I was in attendance for last year’s Cibernetico event in Framingham and the main event absolutely blew me away. Not many people saw Jimmy “Equinox†Olsen winning the actual Cibernetico match, so witnessing him in the spotlight for one of the first times in his career was pretty awesome. That win really triggered him off on a streak, which eventually led to him defeating Vin Gerard for the prestigious Young Lions Cup. Anyways, this year’s Cibernetico bout is “increibleâ€-themed, which means that partners will collide. Soldier Ant will captain his current team of Mike Quackenbush, Player Uno, Carpenter Ant, Hallowicked, Matt Jackson, Cheech Hernandez, and Lince Dorado. On the other side, Fire Ant will lead Jigsaw, Player Dos, Green Ant, Frightmare, Nick Jackson, KC “Cloudy” Day, and Helios. Only one man can walk out of this match as the winner. With the field we’re looking at now, I think it’s pretty much up in the air as to who will win the big match. I can only imagine that this match will be worth the DVD, alone.
CHIKARA “Throwing Life’s Instructions Away†(11.21.2009); Easton, PA
Ladies and gentlemen, we are well over two months until CHIKARA’s first of two season finale shows of 2009, yet a match has already been announced for “Throwing Life’s Instructions Away”. Yes, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. Yujiro Kushida of HUSTLE, one of the top and rising wrestlers in all of the promotion, is coming to CHIKARA to take on Player Dos. What makes this bout even more interesting is that if Dos is able to successfully defend the Cup against Frightmare at “An Optimistic View of a Pessimistic World”, Chikarason may decide to have Dos defend the Young Lions Cup against Kushida. This match is definitely one that everyone should be excited for. I know that I am.
Links For Looking
The next Dragon Gate USA event is almost upon us, in which the first Open The Freedom Gate Champion will be crowned in Philadelphia at “Open The Freedom Gate†this November. CIMA, Brian Kendrick, YAMATO, Nick Jackson, BxB Hulk, Davey Richards, Mike Quackenbush, Matt Jackson, and Super Crazy have all been announced for the title tournament. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for a huge Quack title win. Tickets are available now. In addition, DGUSA has also released their first pay-per-view on DVD for pre-order. Without a doubt, pick up the show while you can. It was beyond terrific.
CHIKARA proudly announced in a forum post on CHIKARA Fans that they will be releasing “CHIKARA Sampler†DVDs for five bucks (that includes shipping, too) in the company’s international store for a limited time only. The idea of this project is to recruit some new CHIKARA fans. Included on the DVD are bouts, such as Claudio Castagnoli versus Eddie Kingston from “Aniversario Yang†and the Osirian Portal versus the Colony for the Campeonatos de Parejas from “Revelation Xâ€, and so much more. Be sure to get your own “CHIKARA Sampler†DVD as soon as possible and share it with your friends. Let’s make this great company grow.
Episodes 181 and 182 of the Podcast-A-Go-Go can now be viewed on the go-go. CHIKARA is still working through “King of Trios 2009” at the moment, but Mike Quackenbush has reported that coverage of the biggest tournament in CHIKARA history will end in just a few weeks. If you haven’t seen the 2009 tournament yet, then there are plenty of good matches shown on the two of these shows, including the Future Is Now versus F.I.S.T. and Eddie Kingston versus Austin Aries. Watch them now, kids.
“BDKorg” is clearly not a fan of patience, as a new video was posted on the cryptic YouTube page about a week back. This time, he threatens to destroy not only UltraMantis Black, but the entire Order of the Neo-Solar Temple. UltraMantis saw the address and immediately posted his latest thoughts in a blog, this time revealing that Vökoder is the next target of the Order.
Additionally, as seen in a special update, Claudio Castagnoli has had enough of the bologna from Eddie Kingston. Whatever match Kingston wants against Claudio, he will get. Kingston has yet to make up his mind about match stipulations, but he made a few general thoughts clear about “Double C” in a recent blog post. Let’s see how this angle develops down the line.
Clayton Morris and Mike Quackenbush, co-hosts of the Grizzly Bear Egg Cafe, celebrated their fiftieth episode mark last week. Congratulations to those guys on quite the accomplishment. Fifty strong episodes of a podcast is certainly a tough task to pull off. If you have not already checked out episode fifty, then give it a listen. An excellent listen, as always.
Pulse Plugs
Jake Ziegler reviews a set of Ring of Honor shows from early May, including “Never Say Die” and “Validation“. Ziegler is always on the top of his game, so expect good work from him at all times.
Don’t know what to believe of Matt Hardy’s recent Twitter comments? Mark Allen thinks he’s just trying to get some attention and reveals his thoughts on the entire viral situation in “This Week in ‘E“. It’s hard not to agree with Mark on this one.
With Randy Orton versus John Cena in a sixty minute Iron Man match for the WWE Championship set for the next pay-per-view, Will Pruett analyzes the possibilities of how the bout may go down in “The People’s Column“. Personally, I think the match will be solid enough. John Cena was able to fight his way through a near-hour long match against Shawn Michaels on Raw a year ago, so I know one can expect Cena to be prepared for it. I assume Orton will be able to carry his own weight, as well.
David Ditch overviews the All Japan Pro Wrestling run of the late and great, Mitsuharu Misawa in “Puroresu Pulse“. Arigato gozaimasu, Misawa-san. It’s still hard to believe that you’re no longer with us.
Vinny Truncellito observes and critiques the career of Rey Mysterio in “Alternate Reality by Vin Tastic“. Due to the fact that he has been suspended on and off in recent years, it’s awfully hard to tell where Mysterio may be in the next few years. Regardless, he’s still one of my favorite performers to watch in all of WWE at the moment.
