Contemplating CHIKARA 7.12.09: Takin' Care of Business
Posted by Kevin Ford on 07.12.2009
A relatively slow week, but we still got loads of Young Lions Cup news. Plus stuff from DG USA and...Inter-Species Wrestling?! Oh it's true, and it's all inside. And don't forget, the FREE DVD GIVEAWAY is still going on!
Hello readers! Welcome back to this weeks edition of Contemplating CHIKARA. I must admit, aside from a few Young Lions Cup announcements, it's been a fairly slow week. Thankfully, I have a fellow promotion to pimp as well.
But first…
DVD Contest Giveaway by yours truly!
It's been about three and a half months since I have started here at 411 Mania doing this weekly column along with my DVD reviews. I took a hiatus from writing from the end of December till mid-March as I was a bit burnt out and bummed that my previous writing gig ended so abruptly. I was extremely thankful that 411 Mania greeted me with open arms, but was also a bit skeptical about writing once again. I can safely say that I am so happy I made the choice to write again, because since my return, I've met so many new people and had my love of pro wrestling ramped up to a whole new level. I love getting comments, e-mails, and other forms of feedback for everyone and I can't say thanks enough. It always brings a smile to my face when I hear that I was the reason someone decided to give CHIKARA a try; that's been the whole purpose of this very article all along.
With that said, I decided that I am going to combine my gratefulness for the readers and my goal to spread the love of CHIKARA in the only way I know how: to give away a free DVD. In fall of 2007, CHIKARA (by way of Big Vision Entertainment) released a nine match DVD of some of their best stuff from 2005 and 2006. I will be giving away a copy of this DVD to one lucky reader. The match listing for the DVD is as follows:
- Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw, and Shane Storm vs. Claudio Castagnoli and Team F.I.S.T. (Icarus & Gran Akuma) (Young Lions Cup IV, Night 3: 6/25/2006)
- Shane Storm vs. Chris Hero (The Crushing Weight of Mainstream Ignorance: 7/22/2006)
-Tag World Grand Prix 2006 Finals: The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) vs. Team dragondoor (Jorge "Skayde" Rivera & Milano Collection AT) (Tag World Grand Prix 2006, Night 3: 2/26/3006)
- Allison Danger, Ranmuru, and Rain vs. Daizee Haze, Sumie Sakai, and Mickie Knuckles ( Tag World Grand Prix 2006, Night 3: 2/26/3006)
- Jigsaw vs. Hallowicked Son of the International Invasion of International Invaders - 2nd Stage; 9/17/2005
- The Colony (Fire Ant & Soldier Ant), Equinox, and Angel de Fuego vs. Rorschach, Crossbones, and Los Ice Creams (El Hijo de Ice Cream &Ice Cream Jr.) (Young Lions Cup IV, Night 3: 6/25/2006)
- Tag World Grand Prix 2006 Quarter-Finals: The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) vs. The Northstar Express (Darin Corbin & Ryan Cruz) (Tag World Grand Prix 2006, Night 3: 2/26/3006)
- Mike Quackenbush vs. Claudio Castagnoli Negative Balance: 8/13/2005
- Eddie Kingston vs. Larry Sweeney (The Crushing Weight of Mainstream Ignorance: 7/22/2006)
How do you enter? It's very easy. Shoot me an e-mail (link to e-mail me is at the end of the column) telling me why you, of all people, deserve the DVD the most. I'd like to try and keep this limited to people who have seen very little to no CHIKARA whatsoever. Maybe if you've been hesitant to try out CHIKARA, have limited funds, don't trust credit cards/Paypal, or there is some other reason you have to try out the promotion, now is the time for you to get your shot at seeing it for absolutely free. Only one entrant per person, and all entries must be submitted by July 31st. The winner will be announced on August 8th. Good luck, and go forth!
MOAR Young Lions Cup news!
Two more participants have been announced for the Golden Dreams Triangle Trios match. Equinox and Vin Gerard have picked their first of two partners, and Equinox posted a blog explaining his first chose (not that it needed much explanation, but I digress). Here's the blog!
7/7/2009: Effective August 14th, I will no longer be Young Lions Cup Champion. All good things must come to an end, they say. This good thing lasted 202 days all together...and that's 6 days longer than Vin Gerard held the Cup. That's right.Equinox had a longer reign as YLC champ than Vin Gerard. How ya like them apples, Vincent?
I'm not writing to gloat though. Well, just a little.
But now that I've gotten that off my chest, let's talk "Golden Dream" match. A crazy 9-man bout with three separate teams. Sounds like a cool new concept for CHIKARA. Sounds like a cool concept for The Future is Now. So, big shocker here, I'm picking Helios for my team. I had a good feeling about him way back at "Cibernetico Begins," and since inviting him to be part of my squad, he hasn't let me down.
The choice is easy, really. Helios has proven himself, and in the clinch, he knows how to win. Ask Escorpion Egipcio if you don't believe me. By the time the next one of these "Golden Dream" matches comes around, I wouldn't be surprised if it wasLince Dorado serving as captain of a team. Looking at the 2009 field so far, he's definitely my pick to take the trophy. And as champions go, it takes one to know one.
The "Golden Dream" Triple Threat Trios Match is just over a month away. I've heard they had one of these at Dragon Gaterecently, so maybe that'll be a good reference point to start brainstorming. Trios matches are hard enough...a three-way trios match? I'm getting a headache just thinking about it.
Your pick, Vinny,
J"E"O
And Vin, indeed, made his pick. None other then fellow UnStablemate, and former Young Lions Cup holder, STIGMA. Who will Fire Ant counteract with? Just a reminder, the options to pick from are now: Hallowicked, Larry Sweeney, Jigsaw, Arik Cannon, Max Boyer, and Chuck Taylor. It will be neat to see how this match shapes up.
Macaratia Dorada vs. Pierrothito has been announced to take place on the third and final night of the Young Lions Cup tournament in Philadelphia. These two have really impressed in Mexico, and look to do the same for the first time ever in the U.S. come Young Lions Cup weekend. It seems as if CHIKARA is making to look this one of the best Young Lions Cup weekends yet, with many new faces, old favorites, and all the regulars we've come to love.
And speaking of old favorites, I for one could not be more happy to announce that The North Star Express (Darin Corbin and Ryan Cruz) will be competing in this years Young Lions Cup tournament (separately, not together. That would SO be cheating.) The North Star Express are no stranger to the CHIKARA tournament game competing in two King of Trios tournaments, one Tag World Grand Prix, and one previous Young Lions Cup tournament. In addition, they also racked up enough victories to earn a shot at the Campeonatos de Parejas against Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli in 2006. I personally love the Northstar Express and am excited to see them return to CHIKARA once again for this tournament. Never underestimate these two, and don't be surprised if they make it far in the tournament.
With El Leonino in the tournament, CHIKARA has seemingly reached out to SoCal for this tournament. To further prove this point, another SoCal independent wrestler, Chimaera, has been added as the 18th participant to the Young Lions Cup tournament. Even though he's a relative unknown to us East-Coasters, he has competed all over the West Coast in promotions such as FMLL, SoCal Pro, EPIC WAR, Lucha VaVoom!, NWA and AWS. Again, I don't much about him, but this is the tournament for him to make his name known to a whole new audience.
Annnnnd finally, we have the debuting Carpenter Ant making his way to this years Young Lions Cup. He is the second member of The Colony entered into the tournament, so the Queen must have some pull in the CHIKARA offices. Carpenter Ant poked his head into the main event of Aniversario Yang fending off Gran Akuma, and Icarus called him out in a blog, but aside from that we have not seen much of him. That is, until August 14, 15, and 16th. Like all the other people making a debuting, going far in this tournament is the way to turn some heads. Will Carpenter Ant do exactly that?
"Never Kneel At The Altar Of Conformity" news!
Well there isn't too much to report. Last week I said it was speculated that Claudio Castagnoli vs. Eddie Kingston was likely to occur. Well, in CHIKARA's spam, they reported that Kingston will be out with an injury for four weeks, meaning this match isn't going to happen. However, it was also stated in the same email that the show will feature an unannounced match that will "please longtime followers" of CHIKARA. What does it all mean? I'm riddled with curiousity.
However, Claudio Castagnoli WILL be in action still, taking on Tim Donst, the All American Hero. If you look back, Reading has been quite the town for Tim Donst. He had his rematch with Kingston there, he pinned Kingston in a six-man tag there, and he challenged for the Campeonatos de Parejas in Reading with Hydra as well. Donst defeating Castagnoli would be another career mark for him in the same city. Claudio lost both of his singles matches during Aniversario weekend and for sure was shaken by the losses. Claudio will come into this match determined to put the kaibash on his losing streak and once again show the Chikarmy why he is one of the top guys in the company. I'm very interested in this match, and it has lots of potential.
Although it's not match news, it has been reported that the 2009 CHIKARA Yearbook will be released at this show on July 31st. The 2007 version is supposed to be quite the read, and this look like it could be the 2007 version on steroids. I'd be sure to buy this puppy when it comes out; I'll be doing the same.
Dragon Gate USA news!
As we know, Ophidian's injury will not allow him to compete at the DGUSA show in Philadelphia. In this video, Ophidian's replacement is chosen. The man chosen? None other than CHIKARA veteran Hallowicked. Yes, a Tecnico on the Rudos squad; but that's just how much everyone wants to be on this show. Hallowicked has fought all the competitors in the match multiple times, even winning the Campeonatos de Parejas from Icarus and Akuma. However, way back in 2002, Hallowicked and Icarus were actually teammates when Icarus was known as Ichabod Slayne, and teamed with Icarus and Akuma during the 2005 Torneo Cibernetico. Now that the "Rudos" squadron is officially complete, who will be the final man on the Tecnicos side?
CHIKARA regulars, Cheech Hernandez and KC "Cloudy" Day will be a part of The Fray on the Philadelphia debut show on July 25th. Also, Flip Kendrick has suffered a broken jaw and will not longer be involved in this match. This match will only be on the DVD release of the event.
Talent announced for the 9/6 Chicago show in Congress Theater: Open The Dream Gate Champion Naruki Doi; Open The Twin Gate Champions Ryo Saito & Genki Horiguchi; Open The Brave Gate Champion CIMA; Bryan Danielson; Shingo, Dragon Kid & YAMATO of Kamikaze; Davey Richards; Masato Yoshino; The Young Bucks of Nick & Matt Jackson; "Live Event Hostess" Dawn Marie plus Highspots.com presents WWE Hall Of Famers Jim Ross & Jerry "The King" Lawler for a rare autograph signing. On top of it, more talent will be added soon.
Inter-Species Wrestling news!
Say whaaaaaat? Yes, I am now going to cover some ISW news here. They do a lot of crossover (in terms of talent) with CHIKARA, and are making their U.S. debut soon, so I figured what the hell?
Like I said, Inter-Species Wrestling will be making their U.S. debut on August 8th in East Hartford, CT. Go check it out now. Why? Well, besides all the great action, CHIKARA alumni and "Party Pirate" Jolly Roger will be coming out of retirement to compete on the show. If that's not awesome, I don't know what it is. Be sure to check out Inter-Species Wrestling's website for more news.
The card thusfar:
Absolutely shameless shills!
Click this banner to go!
The first shill is for Wrestling Interviews dot com. Their latest interview with WWE legend The Honky Tonk Man is up now. Need I say more? It's The Honky Tonk Man for goodness sake! Everyone, go watch this. This interview is absolutely free of charge, so there is no excuse to not watch it. While you're at it, check out their Ultramantis Black and Drake Younger interviews too. They're only three bucks each, have special guests, and are very entertaining and informative. The best part is that all the questions are submitted by us, the fans. Their next set interview is with CHIKARA wrestler and former WWE superstar, "The Extremely Cute Wreslter" Colin Delaney. Head to Wrestling Interviews dot com now to submit your questions and watch their awesome interviews.
Here's a free preview of the Honky Tonk Man interview:
The second shill is for Pro Wrestling Ponderings. As most of you know, I actually came here to 411 because of my work over at the now defunct Cool Kids Table website. A bunch of my former co-workers now write at this new and growing website. There's lots of cool stuff over there, so check it out.
The main reason I am plugging Pro Wrestling Ponderings is because I also do a podcast over there! Oh yes. Jerome Cusson (webmaster, and great man) and I sit down every week (sometimes more than once) to discuss all the news in pro wrestling. WWE, ROH, CHIKARA, PWG, DG USA, and more are covered. I suggest you give it a listen, I'm pretty proud of what we've produced so far. This week we had our friend and fellow writer Chris TSG (who runs the Ring of Honor Livejournal community as well) come on a shoot from the hip about all the rumblings and happenings in the wild world of pro wrestling. So check it out!
YouTube Fun!
Here we have the 167th episode of CHIKARA's Podcast-A-Go-Go, where the show "Duel & Duality". The matches covered are Hallowicked vs. Grizzly Redwood and Mike Quackenbush & Tim Donst vs. The UnStable (STIGMA & Colin Delaney).
Alright, that's all for this week. I got to get ready to go see Billy Joel and Elton John live at Nationals Stadium. Have a great week, and I'll talk to you in seven!
