Contemplating CHIKARA 11.14.09: Line in the Sand
Posted by Kevin Ford on 11.14.2009
Y'know, it's from Evolution's theme song? Cuz of "Evolve"? Ant hills are made of sand, right? Is there sand is Switzerland? Just read the column.
For an opening, I got nothing. It's time for me to talk, so listen!
Time for professional wrestling to Evolve
This past Monday, Evolve wrestling was announced. For the zero of you reading this that don't know about Evolve wrestling, it's…well, I don't know what it is. None of us know. We know that the brainchildren behind it are Gabe Sapolsky (VP of Dragon Gate USA and former Ring of Honor booker), Sal Hamaoui (Owner of Full Impact Pro, as well as the DVD production studio that ROH used to use and DGUSA currently uses), and Ring of Honor World Tag Team Champion/Full Impact Pro world Champion Davey Richards. It's a brigade of ROH's burned bridges! I'd get into more about Davey, but we'll keep that for the Ring of Honor experts *cough* Ari Berenstein *cough*. What I will talk about, is what this could mean for CHIKARA.
As we know, Dragon Gate USA announced it's partnership with CHIKARA at the end of April. People anticipated exactly what this partnership means. As we've seen, 13 members of the CHIKARA roster have so far made an impact on the shows with 3 of them becoming full timers for the company (Hallowicked and Eddie Kingston could make it 5). Many people stated that CHIKARA's eight man tag tore the house down on Dragon Gate USA's debut show, and some went as far as to say it was the best match on the entire card. While some of the roster have become regulars, it's easy to see why most of the roster only got to showcase its talent as opposed to become full time roster members.
First off, it is DRAGON GATE USA, not CHIKARA V.2. The fans of DGUSA expect to see the majority of the show be the Dragon Gate crew (CIMA, Shingo Takagi, etc.) If people wanted to see the CHIKARA crew in full force, they can buy a CHIKARA show. It's really great that DGUSA and CHIKARA have a partnership, especially for CHIKARA. The fact that Mike Quackenbush, Gran Akuma, and Jigsaw are all full timers and in a prominent program is fantastic. Another reason some of the guys aren't featured is because of DG's style. Akuma is tailor made for Dragon Gate, Quackenbush shared a trainer with CIMA and others, and Jigsaw's high flying and overall ring prowess have improved immensely since he returned to CHIKARA. The others (while fantastic wrestlers) don't necessarily fit the Dragon Gate mold as much as the guys who made it full time.
This is where Evolve comes in. It seems nowadays that anyone from the Ring of Honor roster associating themselves with Gabe Sapolsky is taboo, meaning Evolve will most likely not feature any ROH guys. The company also seems to be based in the Northeast, as the first show will debut in Rahway, NJ. With DGUSA's allegiance with CHIKARA, AAW, Hybrid Pro Wrestling, and WSU, along with Sal Hamaoui seemingly forming a bond with CZW (they are competing in the Jeff Peterson Cup after all), there is no shortage of talent that Evolve can pick from. Heck, even JAPW could be an option! Since CHIKARA has already established a great relationship with Gabe for the past few months, I would not be surprised to see a bunch of guys featured on the shows. This would be outstanding press for the company overall and a great opportunity for the guys to polish their skills. Plus, we could finally see Chuck Taylor booked by Gabe Sapolsky!
The sky is the limit for CHIKARA when it comes to Evolve. As much fun as it is to speculate, there's not much use in saying any more until more information about the company is released. Needless to say, I'm on the edge of my seat to see what comes next.
With Ophidian busy in a singles match with Hallowicked, Amasis will take on Carpenter Ant the same night in Easton. Amasis and Ophidian have to get through their two big singles matches before making it to Philadelphia to challenge Fire Ant and Soldier Ant for the Campeonatos de Parejas. It's likely that Carpenter Ant will be looking to put a hurting on Amasis they day before Amasis challenges Carpenter's fellow ant hill members for the gold. Although you'd think that Amasis would be the odds on favorite, Carpenter Ant is coming off a shocking victory when he took the 2009 Torneo Cibernetico by defeating Soldier Ant with the Reverse CHIKARA Special. Will Amasis pick up some steam towards his match with Fire Ant and Soldier Ant, or will Carpenter Ant be able to stop the Funky Pharoah dead in his tracks?
Don't think Fire Ant and Soldier Ant get the night off however, as they, along with Green Ant, team up to take on the UnStable (Vin Gerard, STIGMA, & Colin Delaney). The UnStable has only lost two trios matches since they formed in September of 2008. The first time this version of the Colony teamed up was back in July where they defeated The Order of the Neo-Solar Temple. The Colony look to gain a second victory as a trio, as well as keep their momentum towards Philadelphia, by defeating one of the most victorious trios in CHIKARA. Will this version of the Colony go 2-0 in trios matches, or will the UnStable regain some of their lost luster?
An addition to "Three-Fisted Tales"
Gee, the Colony sure wanted all the attention in this weeks column huh? Green Ant and Carpenter Ant will team up with The Throwbacks (Dasher Hatfield & Sugar Dunkerton) to take on the UnStable (Vin Gerard, STIGMA, & Colin Delaney) and Brodie Lee. Dasher Hatfield has a history with Colin Delaney, as they squared off twice before (in the finals of a six-way elimination match at the Young Lions Cup VII weekend, and in September). Dasher, Green Ant, and Carpenter Ant also opposed the UnStable in a 10-man tag in September. Sugar and Brodie stand as the odd men out as far as rivalries go, but don't forget that Brodie and Colin were BFF's back in the day and took on the Colony in two trios matches in 2007. Not to mention that the trios match between The UnStable and the Colony the night before could add a sense of intrigue to this. Needless to say, it should be a fun match.
HEY! A blog from Claudio
11/11/2009: Good Evening Dear Chikara Fans,
Well that's quite the formal start to my blog here at chikarapro.com. Let me try this again...
Heeey, how are you doin'? Me I'm doing so-so (as you say in America.)
The current Director of Fun, Leonard F. Chikarason asked me to write something regarding the CHIKARA season finale, November 22nd in Philadelphia. So I thought back about this year at CHIKARA. And to be honest, it's not been a good one. Actually I'm not happy with it at all. The more I think about it, the more it bothers me. Why?
I came off a great 2008 when I was able to beat my biggest challenge at CHIKARA - Brodie Lee - in a feud that consumed most of '08. I had my eyes set on Sweet & Sour Inc. coming into '09, with revenge on my mind. Well that didn't happen. As dumb as Mitch and Larry are, they were smart enough to run from me, but I got no closure. I was left without a purpose, so I decided I'd find a new purpose. King of Trios 2009 came and after not being able to compete in 2008's KOT, I wanted to prove that I'm still CHIKARA's ace by winning that event. After reaching the finals, F.I.S.T. put a roadblock in my path...and here I am again - unhappy, unsatisfied. At Aniversario I faced Vin Gerard who took advantage of my distraction (figuratively and literally,) and was able to pull out the win with the help of STIGMA.
That bothered me, since my singles record in CHIKARA is pretty remarkable. Quite frankly, I can't remember losing a singles match at CHIKARA - and I've been here more than five years now. The following day, Eddie Kingston pinned me, fair and square, in Philadelphia. These were CHIKARA's yearly Aniversario cards. It's supposed to be a celebration! I was not in the mood to celebrate! It annoyed me that Gerard beat me with STIGMA's help - but he needed help to do it, help to get a fluke win over me. Eddie did something nobody has done before ... well, here we go again...I honestly don't remember anybody pinning me fairly in my CHIKARA singles run. I'm not full of myself, I'm just stating a fact. Looking back, maybe that's what I needed. Because I've been beyond focused since getting pinned. I've beaten everybody that crossed my path in singles competition, and even won my rematch against Kingston in August.
The only problem with that win was that it was by count out. Not just that, but it was also a quite controversial decision and many people were unhappy with the outcome. Including me. I don't like controversy. Especially when people question my ability in the ring. Because when it comes to that, my abilities are second to none! A referee's mistake should not somehow reflect negatively on my talents. So what I want for the season finale is this: I want to end this year on a high note. I'm happy with my newfound focus, and I know that 2010 is going to hold great things for me.
Eddie, I want our last match to leave no doubts - no questions unanswered. I'm confident in my abilities, and you seem to be confident in yours. But at the end of the day, we both know, I am the better wrestler. On November 22, you'll tell the world as much. Because the loser of our match at "Three-Fisted Tales" will take the microphone and state that he respects the winner.
If I lose to you I'll gladly tell you that I respect you, are you willing to do the same?
CC
We need a little more clarification here. Is this a No Disqualification match? We don't know. What we do know, is one man is going to have begrudgingly admit that they have respect for their opponent in Philadelphia.
YouTube Fun!
Here we have the 187th episode of CHIKARA's Podcast-A-Go-Go, where clips from the show "The Bobliographon"are shown. Matches covered are Incoherence (Delirious, Hallowicked, & Frightmare) vs. The Roughnecks (Eddie Kingston, Brodie Lee, & Grizzly Redwood), and Claudio Castagnoli vs. Shadow Phoenix. Be sure to check out my review of the show, by clicking the show name in a sentence or two above!
The Osirian Portal shares their thoughts on their match with The Colony at "Three-Fisted Tales".
Shillville
If you have not begun listening, Mike Quackenbush and Clayton Morris (of FOX News & Friends) host a pop-culture podcast known as The Grizzly Bear Egg Cafe. Clayton and Mike talk about all things geek such as movies, music, television, comic books, tech stuff, and wrestling here and there. I find it wildly entertaining, as Clayton and Mike play off each other very well. It's also really cool to hear Mike talk about non-wrestling stuff as well. So please, check out The Grizzly Bear Egg Cafe and subscribe to their podcast on iTunes.
Hey, I have a blog now! I post all my wrestling writings there (outside of this column), so check it out! I have a review of AAW's "Us vs. Them" show featuring Bryan Danielson, Jigsaw, Gran Akuma, Hallowicked, Arik Cannon, The North Star Express, Jimmy Jacobs, and others. to check out the review and everything else on my blog.
Check out my new podcast with Jerome Cusson at Pro Wrestling Ponderings. In the podcast, we discuss ROH in Edison with Jason Sterlacci, AAA talent in ROH, BOLA, and much more. There's also another Cool Kids Table Podcast with myself, Brad Garoon, and Samuel Berman where we talk DGUSA's Untouchable, Mike Quackenbush, Evolve, and much more. These podcasts, and many great articles, can be found on the front page of Pro Wrestling Ponderings.
Thanks so much again everyone for checking out this weeks Contemplating CHIKARA! Make sure to check my other stuff here on the website, as well as my blog. I'm not entirely sure if I'll be back next week, but I will be back for sure on November 28th to talk CHIKARA's Season Finale weekend as well as Dragon Gate USA's "Open the Freedom Gate" show.
Heard your Sirius show. Good stuff.
I've already posted my thoughts about Evolve Wrestling. The season finale should be awesome so I'm excited to check it out after it comes out.
Posted By: spawnsyxx9 (Guest) on November 15, 2009 at 03:35 PM
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