Column of Honor: 10.18.08: Part One–The CHIK-ROHssover Continues!

Welcome to the Column. I’m way behind on deadline so I’m splitting this up into two parts. First we get more of the CHIKARA vs. ROH fun going and then later on today will see ROH news and a preview of the Danbury, CT show and much more. On with it!

Ring Toss
– CHIKARA Buy-In Spectacular!
– CHIKARA vs. ROH Round 2

CHIKARA Buy-In Spectacular!

I just finished a whole stack of CHIKARA DVD’s and boy, are my eyes tired.

Lame joke I know, but all in the fun and spirit of CHIKARA. As stated above, I ordered a whole stack of CHIKARA DVDs and have been watching them all in sequence over the last two weeks. I started with Young Lions Cup Night 1 (June 2008) and wound up through Style and Substance (early September), eight DVDs in total.

One of the advantages of ordering a bunch of DVD’s at a time from the same company is that when you watch them in a row, you can easily see the progression of angles and character direction. CHIKARA is currently where ROH was back in 2003 as it regards to the release of its DVD;s—not so much that they’re heavily delayed (in fact, quite the opposite—ROH is still waiting to release its August 15th show on DVD while CHIKARA has already released its late September shows through Smart Mark Video). CHIKARA runs two to three shows per month (usually taking a break from December through early February) and that gives it a really good pace to progress its featured angles and give something a little bit new each time to its fans. The second half of 2008 in CHIKARA has been a huge chapter and every show gives you a little bit of it to read.

For instance, this time span takes you through the saga of Shane Storm and Quack’s perception that he was betrayed, all the way through to Storm turning into STIGMA and joining hated exile Vin Gerard (the former Equinox unmasked and scorned by the fans and those backstage). Then you see Jimmy Olsen’s descent into rudo tactics because of misdirection from Gerard, and how it ultimately leads to Colin Delaney Olsen’s return and heel turn. Quackenbush starts to fight Gerard and STIGMA in matches, bringing this feud more and more upwards towards the main event scene and with larger consequences for all of those on the roster. Then when Quack is at his most vulnerable, his former protégé (and current ROH wrestler) Jigsaw comes back to save him from further damage by Gerard and company. Quack walks out in disbelief, not knowing why Jigsaw returned to help him out. It all fits together so perfectly and since I began to watch during the emergence of that angle, I saw it evolve simply and effectively.

Another feud that has been running hot and heavy throughout all of 2008 has been Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brodie Lee. The latter had begun a huge campaign of slaughter against smaller opponents and was just running over everyone in his path. Claudio wanted Brodie to test himself against someone his own size. They fought twice in hard hitting matches that ended in DQs because the issues became too hot and heavy among them both, resulting in some referees being KO’ed in the process. It seemed they were going to finish the series with a conclusive finish at Triumph and Tragedy in July through a no-DQ match, but that went all to heck when Lee enlisted annoying braggarts Mitch Ryder and Shane “Buck” Hawke. Both men has bones to pick with Claudio, so Hawke helped out with a distraction and Ryder burned Claudio with a fireball. Lee picked up the win as a result, and Claudio burned (literally and figuratively) for revenge. Style and Substance saw the two close out their feud in the first steel cage match ever held in CHIKARA. Castagnoli picked up the win in that one, but it was far closer than you’d think. Larry Sweeney, who was “dumped” by the Fabulous Two and was looking to get back in Castagnoli’s good graces (they have a ton of history between them in CHIKARA and ROH) and helped prevent Ryder and Hawke from distracting him this time. Castagnoli threw a MASSIVE European uppercut from the top of the cage (and since he is quite tall, that ended up being quite high in the air) and then a massively powerful Ricola Bomb for the win.

There’s lots of really good matches and angles in CHIKARA, but there’s also still a long ways to go for them in certain categories. Of course, they are limited in production by what they can do. It looks very bush league when they have to use the shorter rings in smaller venues like Reading or Hellertown, PA. It looks quite silly for the wrestlers to come out of a rec center stage or run around where you can clearly see a mirrored bar and their reflection in the mirror. Then again, when CHIKARA runs shows in the New Alhambra in Philadelphia, they give up crowd reaction in favor of a more professional looking production set up. I swear there are some points on “Vanity and Violence” as well as “Style and Substance” where you can literally hear a pin drop. NO crowd reaction whatsoever in matches that would get terrific responses if it took place in Hellertown…and that’s not a good sign. They ran a three night set there for Young Lions Cup and it was a very positive environment where everyone was out to have a good time. Not so in the former ECW Arena. A mausoleum would have more volume.

It seems like some of the “impress me first, then I’ll cheer” fans have made their way into CHIKARA over the last several months and they have situated themselves in the New Alhambra. They are the fans who don’t know the difference between bringing the Super Smash Brothers a Yoshi-plush doll or a question mark block (which is very cool) and ringing a bell a million times during a match (not cool. They are the fans who Eddie Kingston took to task (maybe as a part of the angle, but you’d have a hard time trying to argue at least some of what he said wasn’t from the heart) for not cheering on Lince Dorado. In fact, over the last several months fans are pulling the old “John Cena” and “Nigel McGuinness” on Lince. They are outright booing him out of some sort of perceived over push that he is somehow overrated or not hardcore” enough. How ironic that it’s happening in the same building where Tommy Dreamer had to prove himself to be legit and hardcore oh so many years ago. Meanwhile, Lince is pouring his heart out to show baby face fire and fighting spirit, and doing some pretty cool things in the ring to boot, but many of the fans just don’t care. Eddie Kingston may be the heel in this situation where he beats up Lince (who comes back and asks for more—to prove his manhood), but that doesn’t mean he is wrong in his opinion about these types of fans. It took FOREVER for some of the fans to come around for Lince during Style and Substance, but at least they did so, if just for a second. Then the vacuum of crowd silence took over again.

Lince is young and is going to make mistakes (as he did during his babyface comeback during Vanity and Violence), but the fact is, many of these wrestlers are young and many of them are still going to make mistakes and look sloppy in the ring. No one is perfect and no one show on CHIKARA will go without someone screwing something up or at least looking somewhat awkward in their execution. It’s justified to expect competent execution, but it’s also somewhat of an unfair criticism, not just due to experience but also due to the degree of difficulty for some of these attempted moves. Just for an example, Stupefied will fly around like a pinball and come up with some awesome move or another, but that spot heavy style results in some sloppy execution of his splashes—he’ll miss the mark on occasion. There are some points where the CHIKARA wrestlers outright whiff on strikes or splashes and you can’t hide that, but sometimes they’ll still sell it anyway, which then knocks you out of your suspension of disbelief. There were some moments over the course of these shows where the wrestlers forget to grab their opponent to bring them down safely. I don’t necessarily like to hear the sickening splat of a wrestler doing a tope con hilo and hitting nothing but hardwood floor.

These fans haven’t taken over yet. CHIKARA drew some fantastic and enthusiastic fans (as well as more than a few of the regulars) to Easton, PA for their “La Loteria Letal” (a.k.a. Lethal Lottery) tournament, which along with Style and Substance, YLC Night 2 and Triumph and Tragedy represent the high water marks of their current run. Fans who remember WCW’s Battle Bowl format will immediately get this—newer fans, think TNA’s “Egotistical Eight” tag tournament from a few months back—only about a million times less predictable, more logical and much better quality wrestling matches. This show was just incredibly fun to watch, and flowed from match to match easily. It was so one of those shows that was so much fun to watch I couldn’t believe how fast it seemed to go. The Lethal Lottery, with 18 wrestlers pick for 8random teams picked to go in a tournament and the other two fighting in a singles match, had some teams that worked because they were so out there (Tim Donst and Helios; Quackenbush and Pinkie Sanchez, which is an actual name of an actual wrestler). Yet, there were still ties into past continuity, with Sweeney and Claudio being picked to be on the same team (while they feuded in 2007, there was no real interaction between the two as yet in 2008) and Eddie Kingston and Shane Storm on the same side (Kingston busted him up bad in two matches, but Storm didn’t even care because by this point he was turning into STIGMA). The finals of the tournament (held in October), now that Colin Olsen has joined the UnStable (Gerard’s unit), make perfect sense in hindsight. It’s a really good DVD that shows CHIKARA’s tone and style at its best and most effective.

A few other notes and observations on the series of CHIKARA DVD’s I watched. Official inclusions of DVD’s into the Independent Buy In to follow:

-CHIKARA ring announcer Louden Noxious lives up to that billing as ring announcer. I like him a lot as a face color commentator, but he is just way too talky in introducing the wrestlers. He almost comes across like a carnival barker—just way overdone. Yes, in describing motivations and feud as the wrestlers come down the ring it does help any new fans in attendance understand what’s going on, but it’s too much information for the beginning of the match and when too “forced” upon, can ultimately lead to some rejection of the events in the ring. Give me the names, weights and hometown and any other special stipulations and I’m fine.

I will say this much, I give him kudos for being able to come up with some original songs about CHIKARA at the beginning of some of the shows. Again it’s something if overused will be too much, but it definitely matches the tone and context of the CHIKARA universe to do something as out there as an opening song / concert. It’s also a funny touch to see someone hold the mic for him as he sings—no room to buy a mic stand in the CHIKARA Fun Budget I see.

-Steve “The Turtle” Winer took part in the Young Lions Cup tournament and one other match during that weekend—and I have to say, I’ve grown a soft spot for the guy. As a wrestler mind you, not as some indecipherable sort of backstage “journalist”. The Turtle gimmick and reaching across to the Ninja Turtles characters is pretty good—maybe it helps that I was a TMNT fan as a child. Winer does a good job as the “just out of training school” noob and takes a hell of an ass kicking. The use of the “turtle shell” gimmick in a similar method to Lance Steel’s armor works well for cool moments in ring. If I could suggest one thing it is that he brings the turtle staff he uses down to ringside and not just place it on the stage in Hellertown.

-The “Swiss Mist” spot used by Acid Jazz of Da Soul Touchaz is genius! He carries the box with him to ringside, so using it as more than an entrance prop is the right touch (no pun intended).

I still have no clue what those guys are saying when they do their chant, but they’re still fun .

-Also genius- the Mortal Kombat “Finish Him” moment that allowed the Super Smash Bros. to defeat F.I.S.T. at Vanity & Violence. Hopefully this won’t be overused (notice a trend) but be done when its right—that way it won’t telegraph the finish outright. They should also do a spot out of that where Player Uno tries to enter the code for the finish, but can’t get it right, so the opponent just falls down.

The SSB have really grown into their characters, although they can still be spotty and sloppy at times in the ring. Stupeified’s switch into Player Dos does work well and creates some real cohesiveness between the two (although that mask is damned ugly). The built-in NES console in his tights (NO THAT’S NOT A EUPHEMISM)can lead to so many different types of spots if they are willing to take advantage of it. They’ve only done Karate Kid with it, but I’d love to see Mega Man, Kirby, Zelda or Metroid (Screw Attack! (ALSO NOT A EUPHEMISM)) be given a shot.

Video by: supaloco51

-Tim Donst was getting way over as a part of the Neo-Solar Temple with his half face paint and metal air-guitar (totally reminded me of Jon Heder in Blades of Glory).It makes sense that he was a mole for Quack, but the revelation seems to have hurt his reception with the fans. He and Hydra are well received in general, but man was there no heat for their title match against Incoherence at “All that Glitters” (Reading, PA) . On the plus side, this trip into rudo territory has helped his in-ring; he’s now looking very self-confident during matches.

-Ultimo Breakfast (the former Create-A-Wrestler doing the fan created gimmick) had a great start with all of those breakfast based puns, and he has become a decent undercard worker. He still loses way more than wins, but I think that’s just fine given the role. While we’ve seen a lot of the “breakfast” part of the gimmick, what I’d really like to see is that he starts to incorporate some of the “Ultimo” into his matches—that is use some of Ultimo Dragon’s high spots if he’s capable, like the kick sequence or the Asai DDT. Maybe he should breathe fire like Ricky Steamboat in 90’s WWE, NO! Better yet, he should shoot out milk and cereal! I think those sorts of things may be the final touch to the character.

-Pinkie Sanchez is one of those guys where you’re like “really, HE’S a wrestler?” on your first impression, but the more you watch the more you “get” the character he’s going for. I like his enthusiasm and the “accoutrement” of a leather jacket and flashing lights in the glasses. Really he’s got the heart of a Colt Cabana in terms of bringing the slapstick in the ring. And like Colt butt-based offense to boot. Or Butt. Whichever. His finisher is called “Go Back 2 Sleep”—use your imagination. I do think he needs a partner named Ralphie Tuscadero or Fonzie Malph. Maybe Michael Nakazawa will do it.

-Christian Faith (who wrestled during the YLC)—worst ring name ever. I get what it’s going for, but I don’t like it. And I wasn’t impressed with the match either.

-Hydra is still trying to find his way as a technico—sure, he may have tested positive a second time for illegal substances under the CHIKARA wellness policy, but I think it was just a mistake of youthful ignorance. He wanted to please the fans and his friend / tag partner Tim Donst so much he succumbed to the temptation. I think we should all find it in our hearts to forgive our easily misled man-monster and wish the best for him and Donst on the tag scene.

-I heart wacky Larry Sweeney—his return to babyface form in CHIKARA not only brings the goofy side out of him, but it gives him a whole new direction to go with in feuding with Ryder and Hawke. Plus he wears the tie-die shirts!

BUY IN

**CHIKARA Young Lions Cup VI Night 1 (Fabulous Three / The Colony, YLC Semi Final Six Way Elimination, Sami Calahan / Vin Gerard, Jimmy Olsen / Stupefied, Amasis / Ultimo Breakfast) (NEW ADDITION) Medium Recommendation
**CHIKARA Young Lions Cup VI Night 2 (YLC Semi Final Six Way Elimination, Storm & Quackenbush / Super Smash Brothers, Worker Ant / Chip Day, Johnny Gargano / Marshe Rocket, Neo Solar Temple / Soul Touchaz, Ophidian / Turtle ) (NEW ADDITION) High Recommendation
**CHIKARA Young Lions Cup VI Night 3 (YLC Finals: Fire Ant / Vin Gerard, Brodie Lee / Drake Younger, Eddie Kingston / Soldier Ant, Osirian Portal / Bobby Dempsey & Sara Del Rey, Fabulous Three / Soul Touchaz, Jimmy Olsen / Lince Dorado) (NEW ADDITION) High Recommendation

Buy If: You want to see some of the younger talent on the independent scene; you like Sami Calahan (Night 1); if you want to see how Quack splits up with Shane Storm and his explanation; you like breakfast; Fire Ant vs. Vin Gerard or Drake Younger lights your world.

**CHIKARA Tragedy & Triumph (No DQ: Brodie Lee / Castagnoli, Vin Gerard / Fire Ant, Storm / Quackenbush, Eddie Kingston / Lince Dorado, Osirian Portal & F.I.S.T. / Super Smash Brothers & The Colony) (NEW ADDITION) High Recommendation

Buy If: You want to see some of the more heated moments of this year’s programs, Vin Gerard and Shane Storm on the same page.
Skip If: You get upset by interference or screwy finishes.

**CHIKARA La Loteria Letal (Vin Gerard vs. Colin Delaney / Mike Quackenbush & Pinkie Sanchez, Larry Sweeney & Claudio Castagnoli / Pinkie Sanchez & Mike Quackenbush, Icarus & Ultimo Breakfast / Tim Donst & Helios, Lince Dorado & Jimmy Olsen / Shane Storm & Eddie Kingston , Colin Delaney & Vin Gerard / Mitch Ryder & Halcom Guerrero, Icarus & Ultimo Breakfast / Lince Dorado & Jimmy Olsen)(NEW ADDITION) High Recommendation

Buy If: You want to see Claudio run for his life; if you liked Colin Delaney, if you want to see Hydra as a trucker; if you like Mitch Ryder getting upset at “hoochadores”, if you like fun
Skip If: You are not fun!

**CHIKARA Style & Substance (Cage Match: Claudio Castagnoli / Brodie Lee, F.I.S.T. / The Colony, Vin Gerard & STIGMA / Mike Quackenbush & Tim Donst, Osirian Portal / Cheech & Cloudy, Kingston / Dorado, The Best Around & Order Of The Neo Solar Temple / Hydra, Helios & Incoherence ) (NEW ADDITION) High Recommendation

Buy If: You want to see the best match of the Castagnoli / Lee rivalry; you want to see the Delaney heel turn and the formation of the UnStable; you want to see some really good tag matches

SKIPPABLE:

All That Glitters: Buy ONLY If you want to see how Vin Gerard persuades Shane Storm to join up with him, you want to see more of Storm vs. Quack, you want to see the opener of Osirian Portal vs. Super Smash Brothers. The rest is a mess and a miss.

Vanity & Violence: Buy ONLY if you want to see Eddie Kingston kill someone half to death or shoot on the audience, otherwise avoid due to the crowd of death and some bad matches (if Quack has a bad match on a show, you know its trouble).

The Independent Buy In: 2008

**CHIKARA “Cibernetico & Robin” (Torneo Cibernetico: Kings of Wrestling vs. Dorado’s Luchadores, The Olsen Twins / Cheech & Cloudy, Quackenbush / Donst, The Colony / BLK OUT ) High Recommendation
**CHIKARA “Brusied” (Kingston / Donst, Campeones de Parejas: F.I.S.T. vs. Incoherence / Castagnoli / Taylor, The Colony / Brodie Lee & Olsen Twins, Cheech & Cloudy / Osirian Portal ) High Recommendation
**Pro Wrestling NOAH “Special Budokan Double Shot”7/15 & 9/9/07 (Determination League Semi Finals & Finals, NTV Cup Finals)High Recommendation
**PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 1 (Castagnoli / Williams, Evans / Pac, Black / Shelley, Aries / Strong, PWG Tag Titles: Generico & Steen / Dragon Kid & Susumu Yokosuka)Medium Recommendation
**PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 2 (CIMA / Tornado, Steen / Butcher, McGuinness / Richards, Kid / Yokosuka) Low Recommendation
**PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 3 (the entire show) High Recommendation
**Shimmer Volume 11 (Sarah Stock / MsChif, Sarah Stock / Cheerleader Melissa, Sara Del Rey / Cindy Rogers, Nikki Roxx / Lacey, Daizee Haze / Malia Hosaka, Allison Danger / Hosaka)High Recommendation
**SHIMMER Volume 12 (Del Rey / Lacey, Del Rey / Sarah Stock, Haze / Lacey, Portuguese Princess Ariel / Josie / Nikki Roxx / Portia Perez, Melissa & MsChif / Lexie Fyfe & Hosaka)High Recommendation
**SHIMMER Women’s Athletes Volume 13 (Melissa / Portuguese Princess Ariel, “Dark Angel” Sarah Stock / Daizee Haze, Portia Perez / MsChif, Del Rey & Roxx vs. Rain & Lacey, O’Neal vs. Melissa) Medium Recommendation
**SHIMMER Women’s Athletes Volume 14 (SHIMMER Title: Del Rey / Lacey, Nikki Roxx / Amazing Kong, Two out of Three falls: Allison Danger / Cindy Rogers, Portuguese Princess Ariel / Amber O’Neal) Medium Recommendation
**CHIKARA The Battle of Who Could Care Less (Incoherence & Tim Donst / BLK OUT, Claudio Castagnoli & Equinox / Hero & Hawke, Lince Dorado & Pantera / Olsen Twins, Quackenbush & The Colony / F.I.S.T. / Osirian Portal) High Recommendation
**CHIKARA The Sordid Perils of Everyday Existence (Campeones de Parejas: Incoherence / Cheech & Cloudy, Lucha de Apresta: Chris Hero / Equinox, F.I.S.T., Ellis, Ryder / Quack / Donst / Super Smash Bros.) Medium Recommendation
**CHIKARA Chapter 11 (Hallowicked / Kingston, Colony / Super Smash Brothers & Shane Storm, Tex-Arkana Title Match: Alvarez / Sweeney, Quack, Trik Davis & Helios / Shayne Hawke & The Osirian Portal, MIYAWAKI, Hasegawa & Pantera / Cheech & Cloudy & Delirious) High Recommendation
**SHIMMER Women’s Athletes Volume 15 (SHIMMER Title: Sara Del Rey / Amazing Kong, Daizee Haze / Sara Stock, Cheerleader Melissa / Alexa Thatcher, Minnesota Home Wrecking Crew / Ariel & Josie, Sereena Deeb / Jetta) High Recommendation
**SHIMMER Women’s Athletes Volume 16 (SHIMMER Title Two Out of Three Falls: Sara Del Rey / Sara Stock, Amazing Kong / Cheerleader Melissa, Daizee Haze MsChif & Eden Black / Lacey, Rain & Jetta, Portia Perez & Nicole Matthews / Ariel & Josie, Sereena Deeb / Jetta) High Recommendation
**CHIKARA Two Eyebrows Are Better Than One (Castagnoli, Lince Dorado & Ophidian / Quackenbush, Donst & Amasis, Kingston / Storm, Colony / F.I.S.T., Moravian Greyhound / Zombie Plantain / Hydra)Medium Recommendation
**CHIKARA King of Trios Night One (Colony / Go, Nakazawam Shimizu, Osirian Portal & Mecha Mummy / Quackenbush, Storm & Skayde, Cheech & Cloudy & M.C. KZ / Quackenbush, Storm & Skayde, Delirious, Hallowicked & Helios / The Cartel) High Recommendation
**CHIKARA King of Trios Night Two (Player Uno, Stupified & El Generico / Cannon & North Star Express, Lince, Pantera & Incognito / Los Ice Creams & Glacier, Sweet & Sour Inc. / F.I.S.T. & Taylor, Donst, Gulak & Sumner / Fabulous Three / ) Medium Recommendation
**CHIKARA King of Trios Night Three (KOT Quarter, Semi Finals & Finals, Tag Team Gauntlet) High Recommendation
**CHIKARA Deuces Wild (NWA Jr. Heavyweight Title: Mike Quackenbush / El Pantera, UltraMantis Black / Tim Donst, Young Lions Cup: Helios / Lince Dorado, Colony / Osirian Portal, Robbie Ellis / Ice Cream Jr.) Medium Recommendation
**CHIKARA Passion and Persistence (Brodie Lee / Claudio Castagnoli, Campeones de Parejas: Incoherence / F.I.S.T., Quackenbush, Shane Storm, Cheech & Cloudy / Mitch Ryder & Shayne Hawke, Larry Sweeney & Robbie Ellis, Hydra / Chuck Taylor)High Recommendation
**CHIKARA Grit & Glory (Castagnoli, Sonjay Dutt & Pantera / Quackenbush, Jorge Rivera & Turbo, Campeones de Parejas: Incoherence / Osirian Portal, Storm / Kingston, Vin Gerard/ Lince Dorado, Colony / Fabulous Three, Hydra & Tim Donst / Super Smash Brothers, Gran Akuma / PSYCHO, Daizee Haze & Chuck Taylor / Sara Del Ray & Bobby Dempsey)High Recommendation
**CHIKARA AniversarioMA (Atomicos Increibles: Mike Quackenbush, Cheech, Stupified & Worker Ant / Cloudy, Player Uno, Soldier Ant & Shane Storm, Brodie Lee, Mitch Ryder & Shayne Hawke / Incoherence & Claudio Castagnoli, Chuck Taylor & Gran Akuma / Turbo & Lince Dorado, El Pantera vs. Jorge Rivera , Osirian Portal / 2.0) Medium Recommendation
**CHIKARA AniversarioCT (Osirian Portal / Shane Storm & Mike Quackenbush, Super Smash Bros. / Cheech & Cloudy, Hydra & Tim Donst / Los Ice Creams, F.I.S.T. / The Colony, Brodie Lee / Claudio Castagnoli) High Recommendation
**FIP Cage of Pain II (Cage of Pain II, Roderick Strong/Larry Sweeney, Delirious & Hallowicked & Jigsaw/BxB Hulk & YAMATO & Jack Evans, Erick Stevens/Necro Butcher) High Recommendation
**FIP Redefined (Erick Stevens/Roderick Strong in their best encounter in FIP or ROH, Austin Aries/Davey Richards, Nigel McGuinness/Necro Butcher, Shawn Murphey/Heartbreak Express, Sal Rinauro/Tyler Black) High Recommendation
**CZW Deja Vu 3 (No Rope Barbed Wire Match: JC Bailey/Necro Butcher, El Generico/Super Dragon, B-Boy/Nate Webb, Ruckus & Mike Quackenbush/Kings of Wrestling) High Recommendation
**SHIMMER Volume 17 (Sara Del Rey & Allison Danger / MsChif & Cheerleader Melissa, Lacey / Sara Stock, Mercedes Martinez / Wesna Busic, Amazing Kong / Ariel, Daizee Haze / Cindy Rogers) High Recommendation
**SHIMMER Volume 18 (Amazing Kong / Wesna Busic, SHIMMER Title: Sara Del Rey / MsChif, Cheerleader Melissa / Sara Stock, Mercedes Martinez / Cindy Rogers, Minnesota Home Wrecking Crew / Ashley Lane & Nevaeh) High Recommendation

This section needs your help! If you want to recommend some good independent wrestling to your fellow internet readers out there, drop me a line for the column.

Chikara vs. Ring of Honor BEST OF SEVEN SERIES Round 2

Last week we began the dream match series in the making for some years now—the battle between two of the top flight independent companies. One is known for its moments of irreverent comedy, lucha-oriented and fast paced style. The other is a company based on fighting spirit and proving yourself to be the best wrestler possible. Now, the CHIK-ROHssover continues! It’s CHIKARA vs. ROH in a best four out of seven series of dream matches!

The best part is that THE READERS DECIDE WHO WINS. That’s right, be sure to vote at the bottom of the page in the comments section or send me an email me with your vote about who you think would win. I’ll post results in the following week’s column.

Last week saw the first match, a six man tag between ROH’s Vulture Squad of Jack Evans, Ruckus and Jigsaw up against the masked ants of The Colony featuring Fire Ant, Worker Ant and Soldier Ant. It was pretty clear by the time the smoke cleared and the voting had ended that this one turned out to be a one-sided affair.

Let’s read some of your comments on this first match:

seaneb14: I would pick the colony over any Chikara guys to put in ROH, just because of how awesome they are together. I would say that they would go over the Vulture Squad as well just because of how much better they are as a unit.

The Bagman: Gotta go with The Colony, heck, lets face it most Chikara teams would beat ROH teams in a tourney as Chikara is more of a tag team based fed.

Thug Saint OGA: I like the Colony in this one. I really don’t care for the Vulture Squad too much. I like them all individually, but not so much as a crew.

massdestraction: Colony over the Vulture Squad via Jack Evans no showing the match. Next matchup has to be AotF vs. the Unstable!

There you have it, the fan’s word. As for my opinion, I would agree—The Colony would take this one, outstripping The V-Squad in the aerial game. While all three members of the Vulture Squad would be able to match and maybe outdo the Ants individually when it comes to an air attack, there’s no question The Colony have better chemistry as a tag unit and would overwhelm (I’d say swarm, but that would be describing bees, not ants) their opponents. A crazy spot for this match would be to see The Colony stack themselves up over their shoulders like in the electric chair position and have one of them come down with a flying splash. Jack Evans would be chomping at the bit to counter with the same double chicken fight position, but he’d top it with a 630 splash. However, in the end, The Colony wins with a combination of the G.I. Ant and the Ant Hill (pyramid splash)

1 0

CHIKARA goes up one to nothing! It’s still early but this next round could be critical for both sides and ROH needs to make up ground. massdestraction must have been reading my mind as to the next dream match up…so he is going to be very, very satisfied with what’s next, as here we go with Round Two:

The Age of the Fall (Jimmy Jacobs, Tyler Black & Delirious with Allison Wonderland)
-vs.-
The UnStable (Vin Gerard, STIGMA & Collin D. Olsen)

While last week was a technicos vs. technicos match, this week It’s going to be the rudos facing off with the rudos! Not to mention that these two stables might be the most rude heel units currently on the independent wrestling landscape. Jacobs formed his Age of the Fall to create social revolution, meanwhile Vin Gerard’s stable was formed out of thoughts of revenge for being outcast. Both men recruited soldiers. Jacobs has his trusted tag partner Tyler Black and the lizard-man Delirious. Gerard picked up STIGMA, the former Shane Storm who sold out the technicos to be able to stop a losing streak, and Colin Delany Olsen, who resents having to return to CHIKARA after a six month stint in WWE’s ECW brand. Who wins this six man tag match?

The Age of the Fall

Strengths: Both teams mirror each other well in certain areas—deviousness, for one thing. Both Jacobs and Gerard are planners, schemers and ruthless in their enacting of them. However, Jacobs has shown a willingness to go above and beyond the pain threshold when he is executing his strategy. He has bled and hurt so much over the years that I don’t think much fazes him anymore. Tyler Black is riding a surge of momentum in breaking out from the pack over the last year. He uses that energy to endure enormous amount of offense. He also is an expert at high impact moves and hitting from different angles. Delirious’s strength is his unpredictability—you never know just what to expect out of him or how far off the deep end he’ll travel, especially now that he has begun to explore the dark side. All three are willing to do anything it takes to win.
Weaknesses: Jacobs and Black have teamed up often together, but not so often with Delirious. In fact, it’s only been a few months that Age of the Fall has featured this particular line up. Jacobs may think he can control Delirious, but maybe he’s overconfident in that though. Age of the Fall also tend to get isolated from each other in the heat of the match, meaning they can’t always coordinate their movements together.
Best moves: The End Times (Jacobs), Senton from the top (Jacobs) Small Package Driver (Black) Phoenix Splash (Black), Chemical Imbalance II (Delirious), Shadows Over Hell (Delirious), Rack position dropkick and slam, simultaneous dropkick and knee attack into the turnbuckle, Contra Code into Powerbomb

Video by: sebax14

The UnStable

Strengths: Gerard is an excellent motivator, and his “seduction” of sorts turning Shane Storm into STIGMA is proof that he can lead his men into battle and get them to do what he wants. Gerard uses his hatred to propel himself further in matches, and his STF has been an unescapable finishing submission. STIGMA was noted for his courage and ability to withstand extreme amounts of punishment when he was Shane Storm, but now he resembles Delirious in that he is an unfeeling, uncaring, grunting animalesque figure. He is weapon just ready to be pointed at a target. Colin Olsen may appear to be light-hearted and all about fun, but he is bitter and angry on the inside and like Gerard uses that as motivation. He has a solid wrestling base and knows how to distract the referee and use timing and opportunity to full effect. He has also been using the F-U as a finisher (to connect with his WWE run), and that has proven to be very effective in CHIKARA rings.
Weaknesses: Like Age of the Fall’s current incarnation, these three have only been together for a few months, officially forming in early September. They may have common goals and a common bond, but have they been together in the ring enough to be fully effective as a trio? Delaney is also a weak spot when it comes to stamina, as his small frame can’t handle too much abuse. Gerard for as much as he motivates his men, is very much “unstable”, and if he is reminded of his former alter ego (Equinox) he is likely to fly off the handle. Jacobs would know this and come in with some mental games to get him to lose his focus.
Best Moves: leg mare into STF (Gerard), Air Raid Crash (STIGMA) F-U (Olsen)

Video by: Real Wiggly

Video by: Mr. Excite

So who wins the second round of the Column of Honor CHIKARA vs. ROH series? YOU DECICDE! Again, submit your choice in the comments section or email them to me and results will be next week!

While you’re voting, I’ll be back in a few with part two of this week’s column!
–Ari–