This week’s Guerrilla Chikarticles features the debut of a new feature in the Chikarticles, “Closer”. It’s pretty much “The Opening Segment”, but it’s just at the end. This week’s “Closer” takes a look at the history of the Campeonatos de Parejas.
Chikara
Chikara ran a contest earlier on in 2008 that will debut a new gimmick for the Chikara Star Create-A-Wrestler. From early February to the end of May, Chikara fans worldwide sent in their ideas for Create-A-Wrestler’s new gimmick and only one would be chosen to debut at Young Lions Cup VI. Despite the millions upon billions of ideas sent in for Create-A-Wrestler, only one was chosen: Ultimo Breakfast. With moves like “Brunchbuster†and “Sunny Side Up†in his arsenal, Ultimo Breakfast will take the singles scene in Chikara by storm. Breakfast will be facing brother-less Jimmy Olsen at Chikara’s next event in Philadelphia, Tragedy and Triumph.
Also taking place at Tragedy and Triumph is a battle of the Rey de Voladores, or King of the High-Flyers. Chuck Taylor will be going one-on-one against Incognito in a battle that will most-likely not have any high-flying moves. Chuck Taylor’s only high-flying move in his 2007 Rey de Voladores Tournament was a moonsault which he claimed was “half-assedâ€, and Incognito’s 2008 Rey de Voladores was won by a submission hold. Nonetheless, it’s going to be a good match.
On May 26th 2007, Mike Quackenbush unleashed a new hold known to us as the “Chikara Specialâ€. In a recent blog on Chikara’s Website, Mike Quackenbush stated that he created a new counter to the move in June 2007 and taught it to all of the Tecnicos on the Chikara Roster. When Chris Hero used the same exact reversal Quack taught all the Tecnicos on Equinox at the end of the 2007 Season, it was clear as a summer day that someone from the Tecnicos pulled a swerve on the good guys. Once Mike Quackenbush learned that it was his very own tag team partner Shane Storm, the man he currently has three points with, he wanted to hunt down Storm and beat the pee out of him. At the end of his blog, Mike Quackenbush stated “Run if you want, Shane, but you cannot hide foreverâ€. And he is right; he cannot hide forever, because at Tragedy and Triumph, Mike Quackenbush will go face-to-face against his former tag team partner Shane Storm.
While Mike Quackenbush is looking to start a new chapter of hate with Shane Storm, Brodie Lee and Claudio Castagnoli are looking to finish off their never-ending, never certain feud. After their meeting at Chikara’s “Anniversarioctâ€, the series was tied at one, with a disqualification victory for both men. At Tragedy and Triumph, there will be no mistake as to who the winner will be when Brodie Lee and Claudio Castagnoli face off in a No-Disqualification Match with two referees.
For those of you wondering, Chris Hero has not burnt any bridges with Chikara. He has had a busy schedule this year and has been touring the world. The only thing keeping him from Chikara is previous bookings. Hero should be back in Chikara by the end of the 2008 Season, if anything to add another element to the already elemental Quack/Storm feud.
Chikara Presents: Tragedy and Triumph in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 15th
1. Ultimo Breakfast vs. Jimmy Olsen
2. Incognito vs. Chuck Taylor
3. Brodie Lee vs. Claudio Castagnoli (No Disqualification, Two Referees)
4. Mike Quackenbush vs. Shane Storm
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla’s 5th Anniversary show titled “Life During Wartime†will take place in Reseda, California.
Brandon Bonham is looking to stay undefeated in PWG. Last time he tried to do so, Davey Richards stopped him in his tracks as the two battled to a draw. This time, Bonham will take on former partner and friend in the mid-west, Arik Cannon. Bonham is the true underdog here, but that’s never stopped him from overcoming the unlikely.
The Young Bucks are walking into Life During Wartime knowing this is going to be one of their biggest challenges to date: MIYAWAKI and KAZMA from Kaientai-Dojo. Styles will certainly clash as The Young Bucks will use every high-flying move in their moveset to avoid MIYAWAKI and KAZMA’s bone crunching strikes.
Good ol’ Chris Bosh will be making his return from a real-world nine to five job to the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla ring. Going up against him is a man that needs to prove himself as a serious singles contender, Scorpio Sky. Bosh, a 2005 PWG BOLA Winner, is the perfect person for Scorpio to prove his skills against. This is most likely a one-night return for Bosh, but still, it’s good to have Lioncock back.
Back in May, Jack Evans and Roderick Strong outlasted seven other tag teams to become the 2008 DDT4 Winners and PWG World Tag Team Champions. At Life During Wartime, they will go up against one of independent wrestling’s most popular and dangerous tag teams, Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black from Age of the Fall. Expect nothing less than amazing from these four men.
The Human Tornado/Chris Hero feud is looking to wind down, because at Life During Wartime. The feud started when Hero saw Tornado mistreating his manager, Candice LaRae. After losing his matches, Tornado would let out his frustration by striking LaRae in the middle of the ring for everyone to see. Hero had enough of this and came out to save LaRae. Things escalated when Tornado brought in one of Hero’s biggest enemies, Eddie Kingston to make it two on one. No more than a couple months later he convinced Claudio Castagnoli to turn his back on long-time partner Chris Hero to make it three on one. After feuding for a majority of 2008, Human Tornado suffered a severe injury and dislocated his kneecap, among other things. Though everyone thought this would lead to another title vacancy, Tornado sated he is a fighting champion and will defend the belt throughout his recovery. Hero then won a #1 Contenders match and added a stipulation to his match with Human Tornado. At Life During Wartime, Chris Hero and The Human Tornado will do battle for the PWG World Title in a Guerrilla Warfare Steel Cage Match.
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla Presents: Life During Wartime (5th Anniversary Show) in Reseda, California on July 6th
1. Brandon Bonham vs. Arik Cannon
2. KAZMA and MIYAWAKI vs. The Young Bucks
3. Jay Briscoe vs. El Generico
4. Chris Bosh vs. Scorpio Sky
5. Jack Evans and Roderick Strong © vs. Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black
6. Human Tornado © vs. Chris Hero (Guerrilla Warfare Steel Cage Match)
Closer: A History of the Campeonatos de Parejas (Crowning the Champions)
“A History of the Campeonatos de Parejas†is a new monthly feature in Guerrilla Chikarticles. In this new feature, I will give a little background story behind the story of the matches and who the wrestlers beat to become championship contenders. After the match review, I will explain on how the match either added or took away prestige to the Campeonatos de Parejas.
In February 2006, Pennsylvania based wrestling promotion Chikara held its annual Tag World Grand Prix, a thirty-two team tournament showcasing independent wrestling’s best. Unlike its previous years, the 2006 tournament had an additional prize besides being the TWGP Winners. This year’s additional prize was the Campeonatos de Parejas, roughly translated from Spanish to English as “Championships of the Teamsâ€. The Campeonatos de Parejas is a Chikara exclusive-belt and would be defended only in Chikara. By the end of the third night, only two teams remained: Claudio Castagnoli and Chris Hero of the Kings of Wrestling and Skayde/Milano Collection A.T. Neither team’s quest to the finals was easy. The Kings of Wrestling defeated Equinox/Hydra, Ranmaru/Sakai, North Star Express and Incoherence to make it to the finals. Skayde and Milano Collection A.T.’s journey wasn’t a walk in the park either as they had to go through Prescription Thugs, Team Toryumon, Nishimura/Takemura and future Campeones de Parejas Team F.I.S.T. Neither the Kings of Wrestling or Skayde and Milano Collection A.T. were going to give that much only to lose in the finals.
The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli) vs. Skayde and Milano Collection A.T.
The Finals of the 2006 Tag World Grand Prix, Winners become the first Chikara Campeones de Parejas
Introductions: The Kings of Wrestling made their rather lengthy way to the ring to Queen’s “We Are the Champions†and a negative response from the crowd. Skayde and Milano on the other hand came out to an up-beat techno song that got the fans on their feet ready to see Milano and Skayde be the first to represent Chikara with the Campeonatos de Parejas. After introductions, photographers took pictures of the four wrestlers and Chikara Officials with the Campeonatos de Parejas. The bell rings, and the action starts.
Hero and Milano open the finals match with some classic chain wrestling. The crowd is pretty full, and most of them are behind Milano and Skayde. After being bested my Milano with a submission hold, Hero backs off and builds a strategy with Castagnoli outside the ring. Milano is in KOW’s Corner and invites Hero to hit him. He ducks out of the way and Hero knocks Castagnoli off the apron. Milano ties up Hero in the ropes and gives him a dropkick to the face. Hero and Castagnoli strategize once again, and we now have Castagnoli and Skayde chain wrestling. This is a different style of chain wrestling though; I’d describe it as European Locks into Lucha Trickery Submissions. Some interesting moves and pins ensue, along arm-drags. Quackenbush on commentary describes Skayde tonight as “On His Game”, and I couldn’t agree with him anymore. An awesome sequence of different variations of arm-drags from Skayde takes place which lead to a rollup and a near fall. Castagnoli tags in Hero and they take advantage of the 5-Second Rule. Hero breaks down Skayde for a bit and tags in Claudio. The Kings of Wrestling had such great chemistry, they tagged at the perfect moments and their double team moves were flawless. Skayde reverses one of their double team moves and gets the hot tag. Milano cleans house and is gaining more and more fans every time he gets in the ring. The tides change yet again after Claudio gave Milano a reverse suplex. Hero gets knocked out after a Milano superkick into a twisting senton legdrop into the AT Lock! Claudio tries to break it but Milano won’t let go. Skayde sends Claudio to the outside leaving Hero to suffer. He escapes and rolls out the ring and the fans are going nuts. Claudio and Hero are now both slapped in submissions and the crowd is going bonkers! It looked as if it was the end, but both men managed to weasel their way out of it. Milano hulks up and is about to finish it off, but Claudio reverses a running strike and places Milano on his shoulders, as well as Skayde. He then executes a big swing sitout bomb, and The Kings of Wrestling are once again in charge. Hero and Castagnoli are now in the middle of the ring with Skayde and execute a Double Ricola Bomb! After the three count, you can see the fans and even referee Bryce Remsburg cover their faces in shock. The Kings of Wrestling have won the Campeonatos de Parejas.
The Kings of Wrestling defeated Skayde and Milano Collection A.T. when Hero and Castagnoli gave Skayde a Double Ricola Bomb.
(The Kings of Wrestling won the 2006 Tag World Grand Prix)
(The Kings of Wrestling won the Campeonatos de Parejas)
The Kings of Wrestling are the very first Campeones de Parejas, and no one is happy about it. The Kings of Wrestling were hated nation-wide at this point. They were hated by CZW, they were hated by Ring of Honor, and especially by a majority of the Chikara roster. There was even a camera shot of Mike Quackenbush being visibly upset over the fact that his company was being represented by the men who tried to end his career. Be sure to check out “A History of the Campeonatos de Parejas†next month to see who will try and save the titles from the evil, grimy hands of the Kings of Wrestling.
2.26.2006: Kings of Wrestling beat Skayde and Milano Collection A.T. to win the Campeonatos de Parejas
Title Prestige as of 2.26.2006: 10 out of 10
