Contemplating CHIKARA 05.09.09: The March to Aniversario Continues!
Posted by Kevin Ford on 05.09.2009
More matches for Aniversario announced, Quackenbush down, new CHIKARA DVD's, and Dragon Gate tidbits.
Ahoy hoy Chikaramigos! Welcome back to yet another edition of Contemplating CHIKARA. This week we'll talk about some more matches announced for the Aniversario weekend coming up at the end of the month. In addition, we'll discuss the newest CHIKARA DVD's and a bit about Dragon Gate. So step on in and get your CHIKARA fill!
Matches announced for Aniversario weekend!
"Aniversario Yin" takes place at the Palmer Community Center in Easton, PA on Saturday May 23rd. "Aniversario Yang" takes place at The Arena/New Alhambra Arena/ECW Arena in South Philadelphia, PA on Sunday May 24th. More matches for both shows have been announced since last week, so let us take a look at those very matches!
HEY WAIT A MINUTE! What in the world is Jigsaw doing teaming up the Future Is Now?! Shouldn't Jimmy "Equinox" Olsen be by the side of his teammates?
Generally speaking, you would think so, but special circumstances have occurred. Jigsaw's usual partner, Mike Quackenbush, is going to be out of action for some time to get surgery done on his back. Before he left though, Mike wrote a message to Jigsaw via the CHIKARA Blog:
"5/4/2009: It wasn't all that long ago that the only points I had toward tag title contention were with Shane Storm - the last guy on Earth I'd want at my side to challenge Los Campeones. But starting in January, I was on my way to picking up another three points with Jigsaw - my protege, my partner, my little brother. Even though it was just 26 months ago that Jig, Storm and I were named King of Trios, a lot has changed for the three of us since then.
For starters, Jigsaw went fulltime with ROH for a while, he upped his game, wrestled on pay-per-view, and the next time we saw him at CHIKARA, it was without a mask. Shane Storm betrayed everyone in the tecnico locker room for a win over Hydra, and later, transformed into STIGMA, the snorting warpig of The UnStable. And as for yours truly? Well, since the three of us won King of Trios 2007, I went onto win the Ted Petty Invitational, I lost some belts, I won some new ones, I even lasted long enough to see that perennial pain-in-my-butt Chris Hero up and vanish from CHIKARA without a trace at the end of 2007. I accomplished quite a lot in that span of time, but one thing eluded me. I needed three points. I needed the perfect partner. And I needed an opportunity.
With Jigsaw at my side, those three points came easily. On Night 3 of King of Trios 2009, we picked up the last point we needed for our title shot, and we took it - at "Behind the 8 Ball". But just as quickly as we picked up those points...they were gone. That night, The Osirian Portal got the better of us, and our chance to be champions slipped away.
At "Behind the 8 Ball", and especially since then, I've been in a lot of pain. I knew sometime this year, I was going to have to bow out to allow time for much-needed back surgery, but I was hoping that it would be on my terms, my timetable. Evidently not. The surgery I had hoped to put off until the end of the year is calling for me now. When I'm back in the saddle - back at 100% once again - maybe then it will be time to renew our quest for those golden belts, Jig. But until then, I've got a project for you, little bro.
There's a group of up-and-comers in our ranks that really impressed me. I got to watch them from the Commentation Station on March 29th, and they've got all the tools to make it to the top. But, maybe they could use a little advice, a little direction, from a guy who's done the miles. A guy that's wrestled not just across the US, but in Canada, Mexico and in Europe. That guy is you, Jigsaw. And The Future is Now have got all the promise in the world, if they can stay on track. I need you to make sure they don't get derailed. They've wrestled with identity and mask issues, and I think maybe your perspective is just what they need to hear. They're starting to taste real success, and maybe you can keep that from going to their heads. They've already got the potential. I think you can help them realize it.
Make me proud,
LMQ
Both honored by Mike's suggestion, and very serious about the request, Jigsaw wasted no time taking The Future Is Now under his wing. The only question left was who to challenge first. Who better than the 2009 King of Trios, F.I.S.T (Icarus, Gran Akuma, & Chuck Taylor)? The Future Is Now was very, very close to unseating F.I.S.T. in the semi-finals at King of Trios so it's plausible that with Jigsaw by their side they could get the victory the second time around. Icarus and Chuck have one of the biggest matches of their careers the next night against the Colony, so they will want to keep the momentum in their favor heading into that match. Each team is determined to win, but which one will score the big victory in Easton at "Aniversario Yin"?
Jigsaw isn't the only one of Quack's star pupils who will be busy at "Aniversario Yin", as Tim Donst has challenged the Tecnico Trader and Mike's enemy, STIGMA. At "Duel & Duality" in December, STIGMA was the man responsible for Donst suffering a head injury and being pulled from the match (leading to Jigsaw's big return). While Donst was able to face STIGMA in February in Trios action (STIGMA actually pinned Donst in the match), Donst has wanted revenge in a singles match. Donst made the challenge on the Podcast-A-Go-Go, and the match was made official just one day later.
Will Donst be able to get his revenge on STIGMA once and for all, or while February repeat itself with STIGMA getting the duke?
A big time "Tecnicos contra Tecnicos" atomicos match-up has been signed for "Aniversario Yang". On one side, you have Jigsaw and his now-mentored stable, The Future Is Now (Equinox, Lince Dorado, & Helios) squaring off against Incoherence (Hallowicked & Frightmare) and Cheech Hernadez & KC "Cloudy" Day. While it seems like The Future Is Now and Jigsaw would have the advantage as the team with the most expertise, Cheech & Cloudy have teamed up with and crossed paths with Hallowicked multiple times in CHIKARA, usually with Cheech & Cloudy dressing up as Deliriouscito and Hallowickedcito (also known as Incoherencecito). With that said, both teams should be about square when it comes to experience. Jigsaw and Hallowicked have also been on opposite sides countless times in multiple promotions for years now, and are two of the most illustrious students to come out the CHIKARA Wrestle Factory. This has the potential to steal the show, and it will be a match to keep your eyes on.
Well this is an…umm…odd match-up, to say the very least. Yes my friends, Los Ice Creams (El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream Jr.) will take on The Roughnecks (Brodie Lee & Grizzly Redwood) in Philadelphia at "Aniversario Yang." It will be very interesting to see a team whose offense is riddled with nonsense to take off against a no-nonsense team like The Roughnecks. The CHIKARA Myspace revealed that Los Ice Creams wanted this match after they heard something about Brodie driving over "cones" with his big rig. Out to avenge their fellow cones, Los Ice Creams made the challenge (it's stories like this that make CHIKARA amazing). Each team also has zero points, and I am sure each team would love to begin a quest for the coveted Campeones de Parejas. This one will be interesting to say the very, very least.
Speaking of "Aniversario Yang", tag team matches, and teams with zero points, another contest of the like has been signed! In this contest, The Super Smash Bros. of Player Uno & Player dos will take on the "Insect Evil-Doer" Ultramantis Black and "The Real Life Heavyweight Horror" Crossbones, collectively known as the Order of the Neo-Solar Temple. As stated above, both teams have zero points going into this match, but that doesn't mean they haven't been trying. The Order came so close to collecting three points in 2008, until the Sea Donsters cost them the match. The Super Smash Bros. also had the tag belts for a cup of coffee in 2008, which has only made them hungrier for those titles. On the last set of shows, The Order kidnapped Delirious, supposedly to bring him into their Temple. Will Delirious make an appearance? Will Incoherence make an appearance to avenge Delirious? Which team will gain that illustrious first point? Lots of questions that will be answered come May 24th!
April DVD's on sale now at Smart Mark Video!
Yes folks, as always, the folks at Smart Mark Video have put out CHIKARA's latest set of shows in a very expedient fashion. Of course, I suggest you pick those bad boys up! And while your at it, all the CHIKARA shows from 2007 and backwards have been reduced to $15 a piece. Make sure to expand your back catalogue while stocking up on the newest shows.
Here are spoiler-free cards of the April shows for those interested!
Campeonatos de Parejas: The Osirian Portal (Amasis & Ophidian; Campeones) vs. Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw Young Lions Cup: Jimmy "Equinox" Olsen (Champion) vs. Colin Delaney
The Colony (Fire Ant & Soldier Ant) vs. F.I.S.T. (Icarus & Chuck Taylor)
Helios vs. Escorpion Egipcio
Player Uno, Vin Gerard, Buck Hawke, & Hydra vs. Player Dos, STIGMA, Brodie Lee, & Tim Donst
Incoherence (Hallowicked & Frightmare) vs. 2.0 (Jagged & Shane Matthews)
Shadow Phoenix vs. Gran Akuma
Nevaeh vs. Shark Girl
The Future Is Now (Jimmy "Equinox" Olsen, Lince Dorado, & Helios) vs. The Osirian Portal (Amasis, Ophidian, & Escorpion Egipcio)
Glacier vs. Vin Gerard
Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw, and The Colony (Fire Ant & Soldier Ant) vs. F.I.S.T. (Icarus, Gran Akuma, & Chuck Taylor) and Buck Hawke
Incoherence (Delirious, Hallowicked, & Frightmare) vs. The Roughnecks (Eddie Kingston, Brodie Lee, & Grizzly Redwood)
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Shadow Phoenix
Elimination Match: The UnStable (STIGMA & Colin Delaney) vs. The Super Smash Bros. (Player Uno & Player Dos) vs. Cheech Hernandez & KC "Cloudy" Day vs. 2.0 (Jagged & Shane Matthews)
Create-A-Wrestler vs. Ultramantis Black
Shark Girl vs. Sara Del Ray
Dragon Gate USA Info!
This week, SHINGO, Susumu Yokosuka, YAMATO, and BxB Hulk have been added to the Dragon Gate USA debut in South Philadelphia, PA on July 25th.
Also appearing on this event are:
-Open The Dream Gate Champion Naruki Doi
-Open The Brave Gate Champion & 1/3 of Open The Triangle Gate Champions CIMA
-Dragon Kid
-Masato Yoshino
-2 Cold Scorpio
-CHIKARA 8 Man Tag Team Match
-The Young Bucks of Nick & Matt Jackson
And speaking of the CHIKARA 8 Man Tag, one of the eight participants has been announced! Announced for the Tecnicos side is "The Hot Property" of CHIKARA, Fire Ant! As the winner of both the 2008 Young Lions Cup and 2008 Tag World Grand Prix tournaments, Fire Ant has most assuredly made a name for himself lately. Fire Ant is one of the most talented guys on the roster, and a fantastic choice to represent the company in this match. The rest of the participants will be announced soon, and we'll keep you posted in this here column!
Tickets can be purchased at Dragon Gate's website (listed at the end of the page).
Also, a fan bus trip from New York City is being congregated over at CHIKARA Fans. A link to that will also be put at the end of the column.
2009 Create-A-Wrestler Contest!
I'd be remiss not to mention that currently going on is the 2009 Create-A-Wrestler contest. You, the fans of CHIKARA, get the opportunity to see a wrestling character you dream up be made into a reality. The winner of the contest will see CHIKARA mainstay Create-A-Wrestler portray the winning persona for the latter half of 2009.
How do you enter? I'll just copy and paste the instructions from CHIKARA themselves: So, what do you do? Send us a .jpg image of the character you've created, along with his name, and a description of 200 words or less explaining as much about your creation as possible. (Please don't send .gifs, .tifs or .bmps, and trust us when we tell you, we can't read 20 pages of backstory - we're just going to delete the ones that don't adhere to these simple guidelines.) You can send in as many entries as you like - just be sure to include your name, age and address with it, so we can track you down if you're the lucky winner! When Create-A-Wrestler debuts with his new persona, the winning creator will be mentioned by name at the event, and they'll get a free copy of the official CHIKARA DVD release of the show! We want you to get involved! Send your entries to the Director of Fun at TheBossLFC@gmail.com, and get cracking - you've only got until the end of May to send 'em in!
Don't dilly-dally folks. Get those awesome submissions (and no, I don't mean the STF or Fujiwara armbar) in right away and see if you're the winner come June.
YouTube fun!
Here we have the 160th episode of CHIKARA's Podcast-A-Go-Go. This week starts coverage of the 2008 Tag World Grand Prix. The matches covered here are F.I.S.T (Icarus & Chuck Taylor) vs. PAC & Martin Stone in first round action, and the incredible Mike Quackenbush vs. Johnny Saint rematch. Speaking of Tag World, my reviews of both nights will be up this week! Don't miss em'!
And that's all from me for this week. Thanks again everyone for reading my weekly column and my DVD reviews. I have heard your concerns about star ratings, and they will most assuredly be taken into consideration with further reviews. Please continue to leave your feedback here and on the reviews; I love reading them! Hope everyone has a great week, and that you all have something special planned for your mothers tomorrow.
Links! The CHIKARA Home Page: www.chikarapro.com CHIKARA Fans!: www.chikarafans.com Buy CHIKARA DVD's at Smart Mark Video: www.smartmarkvideo.com Follow CHIKARA on Twitter!: www.twitter.com/chikarapro Follow CHIKARA Fans on Twitter: www.http://twitter.com/chikarafans CHIKARA on Myspace: www.myspace.com/chikarapro Dragon Gate USA Home Page: http://www.dgusa.tv/ Follow Dragon Gate USA on Twitter!: http://twitter.com/DragonGateUSA Dragon Gate USA on Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/dgusa NYC fans, get on the bus to Aniversario Yin AND the Dragon Gate USA debut!: http://chikarafans.com/?page_id=2240
