(5 Breakout Stars of 2007)
1. Chuck Taylor: No doubt, deserves the number one spot here. He has won the IWA-MS Heavyweight Title, IWA-DS Light Heavyweight Title, IWA-MS Women’s Title, Chikara Young Lions Cup, and Rey De Voladores. He came into Chikara as a comedian, but left most of his matches a winner.
2. Claudio Castagnoli: Everywhere Castagnoli has gone, he has made both himself and his opponent look like gold. Whether it was Chikara, PWG, Ring of Honor or even wXw, he witnessed an unbelievable amount of success. In Chikara, he won the 2007 Cibernetico. Pro Wrestling Guerrilla finally caught up with the East Coast as the Kings of Wrestling split up and Castagnoli is now teaming with Eddie Kingston and Human Tornado in what is said to be one of the most emotional feuds of the year. He’s competed in wXw’s King of Europe Cup. He’s been featured on all of Ring of Honor’s Pay Per Views and was one of the first wrestlers to sign a RoH Contract. Fantastic year, expect more from this giant.
3. El Generico: Ring of Honor was tossing El Generico around in singles competition for a very long time before actually giving him a purpose to be popular. February 17th marked the Ring of Honor Debut of Kevin Steen as he teamed with El Generico to take on The Briscoe Brothers in RoH’s best tag team match up to that date. Since then, the feud between those four men elevated to main event Pay Per View status, and El Generico battled Claudio Castagnoli in the Race to the Top Tournament back in July. In PWG, Generico was able to capture the PWG Tag Titles while holding the PWG World Title. He represented International Wrestling Syndicate in the 2007 King of Europe Cup, but was eliminated by Matt Sydal in the first round.
4. Erik Stevens: Full Impact Pro, Ring of Honor’s Sister Promotion, kept Erick Stevens in Florida for a couple of years to butter him up and get him ready for ROH. Not only did they do a good job, but Ring of Honor severely misused this monster. While being pushed in Ring of Honor as a trios member, he won a tournament to win the FIP Florida Heritage Title. The Florida Heritage Title is what it’s name is. It represents the history of wrestling and it’s evolvement, and involvement in Florida. Now that his Trios in RoH is split, expect a big push.
5. Sara Del Ray: The number 5 spot goes to Sara Del Ray. She is one of Ring Of Honor’s main features on their Pay Per View’s with her recent addition to Sweet N’ Sour INC. But her success isn’t only limited to Ring of Honor, oh no. She defeated 15 other ladies in a Shimmer Tournament to become the first ever Shimmer Champion. (Expect a review of those two nights later…) Awesome matches with Daizee Haze in Chikara made their match one of my favorite parts of Maximum Overdraft. This girl came out of nowhere. Her star will continue to shine.
(5 Rising Stars for 2008)
1. Kevin Steen: Sure he’s been on a roll in 2007, but he hasn’t quite landed the impression he wanted to on the Ring of Honor audience after his feud with the Briscoes. Steen will do big things in both Ring of Honor and PWG in 2008.
2. Tim Donst: Chikara’s most popular Technico (besides Quack) is making quite the roar around the internet. It’s only a matter of time before he explodes in Chikara and starts winning his matches. 2008 will be the feud of Eddie Kingston vs. Tim Donst… with Tim Donst ultimately winning.
3. Cheech and Cloudy: They have done nothing but impressed and should travel the States more often. You may see a couple of Ring of Honor tryouts in 2008.
4. Jigsaw: Chikara Wrestle Factory student finally making it to the pinnacle of the Independent Wrestling Scene, Ring Honor. Has a nice ring to it. Jigsaw is involved in a new angle teaming with Jack Evans and Ruckus to make one of the most interesting stables I’ve seen in a long time.
5. Kenny King and Chasyn Ranch: Just like Stevens, expect these two to take ROH by storm. These two stuck out while I was watching a FIP DVD, and their tag team work is amazing!
NEWS
1) I recently got in touch with Chikara Commissioner Leonard F. Chikarason and he stated that Steven Colbert > Bill O’Reilly will be filmed by Smart Mark Video and released on DVD. But still, the show is free! If you are local… even 4 hours local… go and see the show!
2) Steven Colbert > Bill O’Reilly’s card has been updated. Check it out!
3) November 16th, 17th, and 18th’s shows have been released on DVD over at Smart Mark Video. Chapter 11 was a fantastic show. If you like wrestling or comedy, buy it.
4) Equinox is no more! Being unmasked and humiliated by Chris Hero after their Hair vs. Mask match, the other Lucha Wrestlers came out and sent him packing. The disgrace of a gringo (white person) acting as a traditional Mexican was just so ridiculous, it even made the Tecnicos shun him. Equinox then revealed his new moniker to be “Vin Gerardâ€. He has his long hair hanging over his face, which is already covered by a bandana. Picture a Raven/Jimmy Jacobs person refusing to do flips. Yeah. Awesome.
5) The new Chikara Pod Per View is out, and it is awesome! Go ahead and shell out $2.99 via PayPal at www.chikarapodcast.com .
Upcoming Chikara Event
December 9th, 2007 in State College, PA: “Steven Colbert > Bill O’Reillyâ€.
1. The Colony vs. The Order of the Neo Solar Temple
2. Shane Storm vs. Vin Gerard
3. Cheech, Cloudy and Sara Del Ray vs. Team FIST and Brodie Lee
4. Tim Donst vs. Mitch Ryder
5. The Osirian Portal (1 Tag Team Point) vs. Los Ice Creams (0 Tag Team Points)
6. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chris Hero
NEWS
1) New matches have been added to All Star Weekend 6.
Upcoming PWG Events
January 5, 2008 in Van Nuys, CA: “All Star Weekend 6 Night Oneâ€.
1. Bryan Danielson © vs. CIMA for the PWG World Title (Best in the World vs. Best in LA)
2. Super Dragon vs. Susumu Yokosuka
3. Tyler Black and Jimmy Jacobs vs. Joey Ryan and Scott Lost
4. Alex Koslov vs. TJ Perkins
5. Jack Evans vs. Roderick Strong
6. Naruki Doi and Masato Yoshino vs. The Young Bucks
7. Karl Anderson vs. El Generico
8. Ronin vs. Scorpio Sky
9. Claudio Castagnoli, Eddie Kingston and Human Tornado vs. Chris Hero, Necro Butcher, and… Candice LaRae
January 6, 2008 in Van Nuys, CA: “All Star Weekend 6 Night Twoâ€.
1. Bryan Danielson vs. Roderick Strong (If Danielson is still champion, this will be a PWG World Title Match)
2. CIMA vs. Jack Evans (If CIMA wins the PWG World Title on Night One, this will be a PWG World Title Match)
3. B-Boy (Last Match) vs. Super Dragon
4. Tyler Black and Jimmy Jacobs vs. The Young Bucks
5. El Generico vs. Susumu Yokosuka
6. If Human Tornado’s Team Wins Night 1, it will be Human Tornado vs. Candice LaRae where Hero and Necro are barred from ringside. If Chris Hero’s Team wins, there will be a No DQ match between Chris Hero and Human Tornado where Kingston and Castagnoli are barred from ringside.
7. Naruki Doi and Masato Yoshino vs. Scott Lost and Joey Ryan
8. Karl Anderson vs. Alex Koslov
If you are in the California area, go ahead and put in your request off. Call out. Go to Van Nuys and see these shows. All Star Weekend is the Wrestlemania Weekend for PWG. They will go all out to entertain.
1) The promoter of Full Impact Pro has delayed all upcoming shows due to the passing of his wife. Inside Pulse’s Staff’s thoughts and prayers go out to him and their family.
2) IWA-MS’s December 8th Show is more than likely canceled.
3) Low-Ki is back on the independent wrestling scene after taking up the offer of leaving TNA. He will be on TNA’s Impact for the next two weeks as he attended the tapings earlier this week, but is 100% through with TNA.
4) Freakshow won IWA-DS’s 2007 Carnage Cup after beating Danny Havoc in the finals. Ultramantis didn’t even make it past round one. Take that, you evil insect.
12/7: IWA-MS Show
1. Mike Quackenbush vs. Chris Hero vs. Eddie Kingston vs. Chuck Taylor
2. Ian Rotten vs. Mickie Knuckles
3. Deranged vs. Cornell Jamarcus Otis
4. 2 Cold Scorpio vs. Toby Klein
5. The Sandman vs. Drake Younger
6. Davey Richards vs. Michael Elgin
12/7: International Wrestling Cartel “A Tribute to Spiritâ€
1. Ricky Reyes vs. Davey Richards
2. Delirious vs. Larry Sweeney
3. Troy Lords vs. Super Hentai
4. The Gambinos vs. Babyface Fire vs. Sexual Harassment vs. The Cleveland Mafia
5. Shirley Doe vs. Sebastion Dark
6. Motor City Machine Guns vs. Josh Prohibition and M-Dogg 20
7. John McChesney vs. Low-Ki
8. AJ Styles vs. Homicide vs. Christopher Daniels
12/8: International Wrestling Cartel “Controlled Chaosâ€
1. Sexual Harassment vs. Southern Comfort
2. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brent Albright
3. Erik Young vs. Delirious
4. The Gambinos vs. Babyface Fire
5. John McChesney vs. Larry Sweeney
6. Samoa Joe vs. 2 Cold Scorpio
7. Dennis Gregory vs. Raymond Rowe
12/8: Combat Zone Wrestling “Cage of Death 9â€
1. LJ Cruz and Greg Excellent vs. Alex Colon, Nicky Benz and Joe Gacy
2. Whacks vs. Sexxxy Eddy vs. Viking
3. Chuey Martinez vs. Mitch Ryder
4. Lobo vs. Maven
5. Nate Hatred and Team AnDrew vs. Up In Smoke and Brodie Lee
6. Derek Fraizer and Niles Young vs. Danny Demanto and Jon Dahmer
7. Sabian vs. LuFisto
8. Team CZW (Derek Fraizer, Toby Klein, Necro Butcher and Danny Havoc) vs. Team MBA (Brain Damage, DJ Hyde, Scotty Vortekz and Dustin Lee)
Feel free to send me any news you have with indy updates or a lineup for your local indy wrestling promotion. Also, if you any questions you want to see answered in the opening segment, please send them to me. My e-mail is futureisyoung@yahoo.com, or you can send me an IM at OcopacabanaO.
Contest Results
Congratulations to Chad Allen for winning the contest! The following was written by Chad Allen.
In the great issue presented in today’s wrestling market, one must always ponder the question, is the smaller venued independent wrestling better than the major market TV wrestling? It is the writer’s opinion that independent wrestling IS better than TV wrestling for the following reasons:
1. STYLE vs. SUBSTANCE-Though TV wrestling does get the nod on flash and spectacle with the ability for pyrotechnics, big budget sound and lighting, and the ability for more extensive skits and stunts (such as the Steve Austin Beer Truck, as an example) Independent wrestling gets the nod for keeping the word “wrestling” on the marquee, and making it the focal point of the event. You may not get much more than music played over a cheap DJ set up, but for the writer’s money, the wrestlers tend to put more into their matches, and give the fans more of a show with pure ABILITY, and not just what tag line they can recite to react the crowd. The fans of independent wrestling become more interested in seeing a well done dropkick, or a new submission move, versus the TV wrestling needing sledgehammers and turkey suits to keep the fans attention.
2. FAN INTERACTION- TV wrestling is more than happy to have you watch, with no REAL interest in what the audience’s thoughts or feelings may be (such as the continued use of men the fans are not truly interested in, such as Randy Orton). Independent wrestling almost by rule need to make sure the fans are not just simply spectators, but part of the event. They want to know your likes and dislikes about the shows, so they know how to keep a majority of the audience interested and coming back. And where TV wrestling has been known to drop storylines with sometimes no reason or explanation, indy wrestling usually wants to see everything finished off with the best of their ability (see the farewell tour of Samoa Joe from ROH for an example.)
3. STORYLINES: Independent wrestling does NOT use former TV writers, so the storylines used tend to be in the vein of “We do not like each other, let’s fight it out”, which keeps things simple, but usually still interesting in the eyes of the fans. Because independent wrestling does not have a TV Rating to worry about, the storylines are usually not “hotshotted” without a major reason, as the TV wrestling has tended to do in the past.
In conclusion, with coherent storylines, less flash and more substance, and not only the want, but the NEED to keep an interested fan base, independent wrestling easily outshines the “sizzle but no steak” of the bigger, TV wrestling entertainment conglomerates.
“DOCTOR” CHAD ALLEN
Congrats Chad! You’ll be hearing from me shortly. And as for the rest of you who participated in this contest, thank you!
Fin
