It’s no surprise that I am a huge CHIKARA fan, but I have no shame in admitting that my primary interest has been in Ring of Honor as of late. If it wasn’t for Bryan Danielson, there is no doubt in my mind that I probably would not have been as big of an independent wrestling fan as I am today. Seeing him wrestle twice this month, just before he leaves for the WWE, was a real treat and something I’ll never forget. If you haven’t read my live review of “The Final Countdown: Boston”, then please check it out and share your thoughts.
Enough is enough, though. I am the CHIKARA guy around here, not the ROH expert. Although there are no upcoming CHIKARA events until next month, as usual, Leonard F. Chikarason has been busy updating us with all of the latest announcements on the company. Next month, in Easton and Philadelphia, CHIKARA will resume their hot streak with “An Optimistic View of a Pessimistic World” and the annual Cibernetico show, “Cibernetico Increible”.
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?
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 Sight”, 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 Conformity”, 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?
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 World”. 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, 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.
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 trigged him off into a winning streak, which eventually led to him defeating Vin Gerard for the prestigious, Young Lions Cup. Anyways, this year’s Cibernetico bout is “increible”-themed, which means that partners will collide. Soldier Ant will captain his current team of Mike Quackenbush, Player Uno, Carpenter Ant, and four others to be named, while Fire Ant will lead his squad of Jigsaw, Player Dos, Green Ant, and four individuals yet to be announced. I can only imagine that this match will be worth the DVD, alone. Let’s hope that all of the participants set to compete in the match will be revealed by the next “CHIKARA Chronicles”.
Links For Looking
CHIKARA proudly announced in a forum post on CHIKARA Fans that they will be releasing “CHIKARA Sampler” DVDs for under two bucks (that includes shipping, too) on Smart Mark Video 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 X”, and so much more. The discs are only available to residents living in the United States. 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 179 and 180 of the CHIKARA Podcast-A-Go-Go are now up and ready to be viewed. “King of Trios 2009” coverage rolls on, as matches from this year’s “Rey de Voladores” is shown. If you haven’t heard about how great Kota Ibushi versus El Generico versus Nick Jackson versus Jigsaw was yet, then you must be living under a rock. Watch the Podcast-A-Go-Go and buy the “King of Trios 2009” DVDs on Smart Mark Video today.
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. Thus far, Davey Richards, CIMA, and none other than “Lightning” Mike Quackenbush have been announced for the title tournament. New participants in the match are being revealed daily, so be sure to keep checking back on the company’s official website. 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.
Dasher Hatfield hinted that he could be gunning for the Campeonatos de Parejas sooner than later in a recent special update. Heck, Dasher even mentioned that his partner will be there for the October shows. I’m sure we’ll hear more about Dasher’s new buddy within the next week or two. Some names that I’ve seen being thrown around thus far have been Vökoder and even Matt Classic of Wrestling Society X. Root, root, root for the Dasher!
Have you gotten around to purchasing “Never Kneel at the Altar of Conformity” yet? No? Well, maybe this trailer created by Cip Jimperley will convince you. In my eyes, CHIKARA’s only stop in Reading in 2009 was one of their funnest shows of the year.
In a blog posted on the official CHIKARA website, UltraMantis Black appears to be just as confused as the CHIKARMY is about this whole “BDKorg” deal. On a more understandable note, though, UMB has agreed to give Crossbones another shot at wrestling apart of the Order of the Neo-Solar Temple. Also in the blogging department, despite being suspended from CHIKARA until 2010, Tim Donst made it clear in a blog that he has not forgotten about Hydra and his win over him at “Young Lions Cup VII: Night 1”.
Still looking for that perfect podcast series? The Grizzly Bear Cafe is here and available with a new episode just about every week. Fox News anchor, Clayton Morris, and CHIKARA founder, Mike Quackenbush, co-host in one of the most enjoyable podcasts of all-time. Even Kanye West agrees. Clayton and Mike’s fiftieth episode should be posted some time this week, so keep checking back.
Pulse Plugs
Raw sucks, but Andy Wheeler sure knows how make fun of it in “For Your Consideration“. On a personal note, let’s hope we never see Cedric the Entertainer on WWE television again. I still can’t believe that guy wrestled and beat Chavo Guerrero.
Not happy with the way things are looking for the upcoming WWE pay-per-view? Pulse Glazer isn’t, either. Glazer explains his thoughts on how to improve the “Hell in a Cell” pay-per-view in “A Modest Blog“. Free advice right here, WWE writers.
Michael O’Mahony asked you all a question and now, he digs into your responses in “Poll Position“. What does the future of wrestling look like? Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
David Ditch digs into the title scenes of the Japanese professional wrestling scene in “Puroresu Pulse“. From everything to results, news, and his own personal thoughts, Ditch will have you covered.
Paul Marshall returns to Pulse Wrestling and gives his weekly thoughts on TNA in “Total Nonstop Weekly“. I’m not a big TNA fan by any means, but Paul does an excellent job of making everything interesting and easy to read.
