wrestling / Columns

411 Interviews: The Batiri (Obariyon, Kodama, and Kobald) of Chikara

February 22, 2012 | Posted by TJ Hawke

The Batiri of Chikara are composed of Obariyon, Kodama, and Kobald. They have had much success in Chikara since they started to debut in 2010. This weekend, Chikara has two huge events and all three of them will be competing in important matches. On February 25th, at A Death Worse Than Fate, in Reading, PA, Kobald will be taking on Colt Cabana. Obariyon & Kodama will be teaming with Tim Donst and Jakob Hammermeier to take on Eddie Kingston, Gregory Iron, and 3.0. The full card and the information for how to go to that show is HERE. On February 26th, at Caught in the Spider’s Den, in Long Island, NY, Obariyon & Kodama will be teaming with Tim Donst and Jakob Hammermeier again to take on The Colony, Jigsaw, and Mike Quackenbush. Kobald will face off against Francis K. Stevens. The full card and the information for how to go to that show is HERE

TJ Hawke: The next weekend of Chikara events is a big one for The Batiri. On February 25th, at A Death Worse Than Fate, Kobald, you will be taking on Colt Cabana in what many would consider to be the biggest singles match of your career. How do you think you will be able to defeat the much more experienced Cabana?

Kobald: Death and fate both lie in the hands of the Batiri! EVERY match is the biggest match of Kobald’s career because Kobald level’s up after every match…Kobald grows stronger, smarter, and more wicked… Kobald has fought Eddie Kingston, CHIKARA Grand Champion, Jigsaw, CHIKARA Grand Slam Champion, and now COLT CABANA, international superstar and a champion amongst mortals…

Kobald doesn’t fight fair. How will Kobald plan on winning? A punch to the throat, a slap in the face, and a hook of the leg, that’s how…The Batiri’s End of The World Tour stops at Reading P.A., the armpit of the east coast hopefully for the LAST time, to see the demise of COLT CABANA…

TJ: As for Obariyon and Kodama, you two have already been announced as competing in a huge 8-man tag team match on February 26th. You two will team up with Tim Donst and Jakob Hammermeier to take on The Colony, Jigsaw, and Mike Quackenbush. What do you think is the key to your victory for this match? Do you think you and the BDK can get along for another match?

Obariyon: The key? The key is the same as it has always been: brute force and precise mental and anatomical dissection. Every team member on the other side of the ring from us this Sunday has felt the devastation we can bring. This time will be no different. As for the BDK…if they stay out of our way this time…there should be no problems.

Kodama: Going into this, fully carbed up, I’m physically prepared, being that we’ve been in the ring with all 4 of these guys on countless occasions. Only teaming with Hammermeier & Donst at Cibernetico, it’s obvious who wears the pants in that relationship. We, for one, will not tolerate anything out of the ordinary from either of those 2 boys. If they get out of line with us for just one second…they will both find their way to the hospital. Obariyon & Kodama can take on Quack, Jig & The Colony ourselves! Tim & Jakob can take their Bobby & Whitney crap elsewhere.

TJ: While this interview started with us talking about your immediate future, I am also really interested in the origins of The Batiri when it comes to you joining Chikara. As Chikara fans know, UltraMantis Black brought you to Sinn Bodhi (previously known as Kizarny in the WWE) to be trained. What was training under Sinn Bodhi like?

Kodama: While Bodhi was quite informative, it was very abusive. If we didn’t follow his orders during training, he would peel off our toe nails with a rusty pair of pliers and make us eat them while he tweeted WWE Smackdown spoilers on twitter. His tactics were effective, however, we were never able to get the job done under his supervision. He even caused us our match against The Throwbacks in Brockton, MA. I don’t speak for my Batiri brother’s but I don’t miss him. Dead weight.

Obariyon: Sinn is an evil man and a wise man indeed. He taught us the ins and outs of the wrestling business and not only how to break an opponent physically, but mentally as well. Though he is a wicked man, all shall soon see that what he has helped create in The Batiri is exponentially more sinister…

Kobald: Ultramantis found us on Bled Island and had us shipped to Sinn’s locations in the Alps, the Grand Canyon, and Southern California (supposedly never rains…Kobald HATES water). We carried several hundred pounds of rocks up mountainous terrain, were left for several days in the hot desert sun, were frozen, electrocuted, burned, stabbed, smothered, and thrown from heights, and much more…Needless to say, it was the GREATEST time of our existences…
The only negative was Sinn constantly forgetting our names…Every time one of us did something worth being punished for…like the time Kobald ate the Kat’s favorite shoes…We all faced punishment…Every day we were punished…For a human, Sinn Bodhi is tolerable…

TJ: After debuting in Chikara as a team, The Batiri quickly ascended the Chikara Tag Team ranks by defeating The Super Smash Bros., The Osirian Portal, and Incoherence, and thus earning a Campeonatos De Parejas shot. What was it like to dominate in Chikara so early? Why do you think you were not able to defeat Jigsaw and Mike Quackenbush for the tag titles?

Obariyon: When you have a force as diabolical and physically powerful as us, domination is no surprise. Chikara lines up its finest tag teams before us and as good as they all may be, one by one we systematically broke them down. Our fall at the hands of Mike Quackenbush and Jigsaw may be attributed to our being a little over confident. Jigsaw felt The Rapture. When I dropped Jigsaw on the crown of his head with that flying DDT and pinned him for the first fall of the match…we may have underestimated the amount of fight that he and Mike Quackenbush still had left within themselves. Rest assured…The Batiri does not make the same mistake twice.

Kodama: We’ve studied enough tapes during the dark days on Bled Isle to know what to expect from Chikara’s tag team division. Nobody knew what to expect from us. Quack & Jig studied our every move from the beginning of time and knew exactly what they were in for that very evening in Reading, PA last year. They had our number. But we made them sweat. They even cried. Smart Mark Video was forced to edit that part out of the DVD. We already have a nice spot prepared in our musty cave for the Campeonatos De Parejas, and it doesn’t matter who we have to humiliate to take them. We have everyone’s number at this point, and before end put an end to this world on 12.21.12…those belts are coming to Bled Island once and for all.

TJ: The Batiri, while still competing as a tag team, have also since then competed in some high profile singles and trios matches. I was hoping you could comment on some of them:

Creatures from the Tar Swamp 2011: Obariyon vs. Frightmare© for The Young Lions Cup

Obariyon: Oh Frightmare…this was not the first time we met nor will it be the last. I had you all but beaten after nearly breaking your back on the apron in front of a packed house of New York City swine. Somehow…somehow…you managed to turn the tables. I hope you enjoyed the taste of your victory…but remember…every victory has its price. A price you have still yet to pay…

King of Trios Night 2 2011: Obariyon vs. The 1-2-3 Kid vs. Amazing Red vs. Frightmare

Obariyon: This page has its own page in my skin-bound scrapbook, for it was the day that all realized that NO ONE is safe from Obariyon’s wrath. In that one match a legend, an internationally renowned star, and a fast rising star all felt my fury. In the end, Frightmare once again cost me what is mine. Be slow to return my friend…because when you do, it will most certainly be soon followed be your demise.

The Evil that Lies Within Part 4 2011: Kodama vs. Frightmare© for The Young Lions Cup

Kodama: I will give credit where credit is due. Frightmare is clearly one of the smelliest and ugliest Chikara has to offer. I did lose my train of thought because of this. Not to mention, the Lakewood crowd was as boring as any sheep shaving session could be. But the task at hand was the Young Lions Cup. That was my opportunity to show the world what I can do. And I believe I did my part but slightly under-estimated Frightmare’s speed. He was the YLC champ for a year for a reason and I second guessed him. Kizarny punished me severely after my defeat but I learned my lesson.

Joshimania 2011: The Batiri & Toshie Uematsu vs. The Colony & Cherry

Kodama: Uematsu was no question, the best and most suitable fit for our evil plot at Joshimania. It was an honor to share the ring with her. It was a pleasure knowing we were her partners for her last pro wrestling match in the U.S. Her guidance and ruthless offense lead us to victory. Our imaginary cave door is always open for her if she wants to come over to our neck of the woods to terrorize the town and we hope her door is open for us as well.

Kobald: Kobald spoke about the terrible things he would do to Cherry for several days leading up to the match…The colony kept Kobald at bay, otherwise she would no longer exist…
We all were very pleased to have the pleasure of teaming with Uematsu, a woman cut from the same cloth as the Batiri…The Chemistry between Toshi-A and Kobald was UNMATCHED…She listened…lead when needed…and went home when the job was finished…the perfect female…

Obariyon: What to say about this match… The ultimate opportunity to team with a Joshi legend who enjoys delivering pain and punishment just as much as we do in the most vile place in existance next to Bled Isle…Manhattan New York! As always, those vile insects and their new found friend Cherry brought their A-game to the table but they were unable to overcome the sheer evil stacked against them. Can one really fault them? My one regret about this match was having to say goodbye to Toshie Uematsu after the contest. She is a true queen of evil. Much more of a queen than this foolish “queen of wrestling” we have running around Chikara now could ever hope to be. She will always have a home in The Batiri!

TJ: Thanks guys for taking the time to do the interview. Is there anything you would like to plug (Facebook, Twitter, merch, youtube page, how to be booked, etc)?

The Batiri: You should ‘friend’ us on Facebook , follow us on our Twitter , and email us for bookings & merch at [email protected]. Our Batiri shirt (as seen on Botchamania 192) is available in sizes S-XXXL and we’ll ship it worldwide. Keep your eyes peeled for individual Obariyon and Kodama Tee shirts coming soon. Check us out in a town near you. Our upcoming dates & appearances can be seen on our Facebook page in the INFO section under “likes and interests”. Download the Chikara Colortoons app by Axeva on iTunes, which features Kodama of The Batiri and many more Chikara stars.

For all your Chikara needs, go to their
Website
Twitter
Facebook
Youtube (with a ton of free matches on the Chikara Podcast-A-Go-Go)

411’s Kevin Ford also has two great Chikara resources that you should check out: The Chikara Special Blog and a Chikara Tumblr

Thanks everybody for reading! You can send feedback to Twitter or at my email address: [email protected]. If you are a wrestling personality who would like to be interviewed by 411mania, you can also contact me in either of those ways.

PLUGS!

I am now the editor of a brand new wrestling website, FreeProWrestling.com . What is this site, you ask? It’s a website that posts a free wrestling match every single weekday. All matches are legally provided by the promotions that originally put them on. If you like wrestling and you hate spending money, I think you will enjoy it! If you are a fan of Chikara, I think you will enjoy the first post, which features Sugar Dunkerton and The Batiri discussing their match from Chikara’s Odyssey Of The Twelfth Talisman 2011 . Our most recent post sees Prince Devitt discussing his match against Kota Ibushi from the finals of the 2010 Best of Super Juniors Tournament

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TJ Hawke

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