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100 Percent Fordified: CHIKARA Caught in a Cauldron of Hate

March 22, 2011 | Posted by Kevin Ford
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100 Percent Fordified: CHIKARA Caught in a Cauldron of Hate  

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Reading, PA – 2.19.2011

Commentary is provided by Bryce Remsburg, Tim Donst, Johnny Gargano, Gavin Loudspeaker, Steve “The Turtle” Weiner, and Leonard F. Chikarason.

Dasher Hatfield is backstage. Dasher compares Claudio Castagnoli to the New York Yankees. He believes that a win over Claudio will gain him some votes from the fellow CHIKARA wrestlers to compete in an impending singles title tournament.

Dasher Hatfield vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Hatfield charges Claudio with forearms in the corner immediately. Claudio bails to the floor to regroup. Claudio takes his time after claiming Hatfield hit him in the mouth. Claudio finally gets back in the rings when the fans chant “coward” at him. He nails Hatfield with a barrage of knee strikes and an uppercut. Hatfield slides under Claudio’s legs and wrenches on a headlock. Claudio shrugs off Hatfield’s shoulder tackle attempts. Hatfield steps on Claudio’s toe and takes him down with a clothesline. Hatfield’s momentum is cut off when Claudio gives him a Hot Shot. Claudio chokes Hatfield on the middle rope. Hatfield turns a crucifix into a sunset flip after Claudio shoots him off the ropes. Claudio rolls through and hits a second clothesline. Claudio snapmares Hatfield into a legdrop for two. Claudio aggressively applies a sleeper hold, grabbing at Hatfield’s mask at times. Hatfield shoves Claudio away and puts on a sleeper of his own. Claudio immediately counters with a back suplex. Hatfield puts his foot on the rope to prevent a pin. Claudio reapplies the sleeper. Hatfield’s arm drops twice, but begins to fire up when his arm drops for the third time. Hatfield gives Claudio a chin breaker to break the hold, and Claudio falls down with a headbutt to Hatfield’s shoulder. Hatfield lands a few punches and sends Claudio to the opposite corner. He charges in with a splash. Hatfield slaps Claudio on the top rope. He takes Claudio off with a Northern Light suplex for two. Claudio goes up and over in the corner. Hatfield rolls him up twice but can’t secure the three count. He connects with a baseball slide. Claudio avoids the Suicide Squeeze by turning Hatfield’s mask around. Claudio nails him with a European uppercut for the pin at 10:34. Any time someone can hang with Claudio for the entirety of a match, you know they’re doing something right. That’s exactly what Hatfield did. As much as this match seemed like a forgone conclusion, these guys did a convincing job in a few of Hatfield’s nearfall attempts. **3/4

Claudio nails Hatfield with a lariat and stomps him down in the corner after the match. Claudio calls out Eddie Kingston and says that he will give Hatfield the Ricola Bomb if Kingston doesn’t come out to give him the respect he deserves. Claudio impatiently gives Hatfield the Ricola Bomb and tells Kingston that that move is “on him” for not coming out.

We then go to 3.0. in the backstage area. They admit that they’re having difficulty thinking of a clever, funny promo to cut since their opponents for the night, The UnStable, are boring. Matthews questions why they’re so angry. Jagged says their goal is to make them smile tonight. Jagged ends the promo Road Warriors style.

3.0. (Scott “Jagged” Parker & Shane Matthews) vs. The UnStable (Vin Gerard & STIGMA)

Jagged gets the crowd to chant “Justin Bieber” due to a comment he throws The UnStable’s way. Matthews powers STIGMA to the corner and celebrates the minor feat. STIGMA then powers Matthews to the corner. Matthews ducks a cheap shot. STIGMA drops down twice but Matthews drops an elbow on his back both times. STIGMA rakes Matthews’ eyes and applies a side headlock. He knocks him down with a shoulder block. Matthews sends STIGMA to the floor with a headscissors. Jagged and Gerard tag in. Jagged goofs around instead of attempting to fight Gerard. Jagged breaks a wristlock by flicking Gerard’s nose. Gerard angrily wrenches on the wristlock once more. Jagged takes a few times to nip up and smiles when he gets it. Tired of his antics, Gerard tags in STIGMA. 3.0. nail him with some tandem offense. Gerard comes back in and Jagged gets in a knock-knock joke involving Equinox, Gerard’s former persona. Gerard angrily punches Jagged right in the chest. The UnStable take turns beating on Jagged. Shane Matthews calls STIGMA fat and ugly to distract him. Jagged hits the floor to tag in Matthews. Matthews quickly gets cut off with a knee strike from the apron from Gerard. Matthews escapes The UnStable’s grasp with a dropkick to Gerard. Jagged comes in and hits a springboard forearm to Gerard. STIGMA gives Jagged a flapjack and Gerard dropkicks him in the chest. The UnStable double team Jagged while Matthews eggs them on verbally. He even goes as far to pretend to fall asleep to the UnStable’s boring antics on the mat (pillow and all). Gerard hits him with the pillow. Jagged small packages Gerard as he turns around and gets the pin at 12:03. The sad reality is that Matthews is right; The UnStable have not been entertaining for quite some time (despite some very good matches with The Osirian Portal last year). However, this match seemed to be a step in the right direction for them. My perception was that of a more polished, motivated duo than before, with more crispness and flow to their sequences. It’s an interesting approach to the feud, I just hope it doesn’t backfire with the fans resenting The UnStable. I didn’t care much for the finish either. **1/2

Icarus and Gregory Iron come out for their match. You may remember Iron from his excellent matches back at the Young Lions Cup tournament. He’s also stricken with Cerebral Palsy which affects his right hand. Icarus says he’ll allow Iron to forfeit the match, which of course Iron refuses to do. Iron also gives Icarus a few insults for good measure. Icarus says he’ll send Iron back to the Special Olympics and charges at him.

Gregory Iron vs. Icarus

Iron avoids the attack and hits a variation of the Codebreaker. He follows with a headscissors and senton for two. Icarus drops him on the second rope and slides out onto his back and chest. A dropkick gets him two. Icarus drapes his ring jacket on Iron and arrogantly pins him for two. Icarus hits a legdrop for two. He slams Iron and applies a butterfly stretch. Icarus throws Iron down by his hair. Iron reverses a slam by shifting his weight and gets a two count. Icarus boots Iron down. Icarus spears him in the corner. Icarus chokes Iron with his boot. Iron pushes him away and sends him to the apron. Iron elbows Icarus off the apron to the floor. Iron springboards from his knees into a tope con hilo. Iron hits the Handicap Parking (a reverse STO) for two back in the ring. Iron stomps on Icarus’ foot and hits the Gimp Slap for two. Icarus drops him with the Pedigree and Iron shockingly kicks out at two. As Icarus argues with the referee, Iron rolls him up for two. Iron applies a literal Crippler Crossface on the mat. Icarus bites Iron’s hand to break. Icarus then hits the Blu-Ray for the pin at 6:32. Iron continues to impress in CHIKARA. Icarus seems like he’s better suited for tag matches; the first half of the match when he’s on offense fell flat. Still, I give Iron all the credit for being as over as he is. **

A video package is shown of Brodie Lee and Sugar Dunkerton’s interaction during their tag team match from “Chaos in the Sea of Lost Souls”. Of course, the highlight is Lee powerbombing Dunkerton on the ring steps. We then cut to Lee who says he’s going to run through Dunkerton again tonight.

Sugar Dunkerton vs. Brodie Lee

Dunkerton immediately throws a flurry of strikes. Lee pushes him down twice, but Dunkerton won’t let up. Dunkerton goes to the floor after Lee knees him in the mid-section. Lee target Dunkerton’s ribs with strikes. Lee forearms Dunkerton in the lower back in the ring. He hits a suplex for two. He chokes Dunkerton on the middle rope. Lee slams Dunkerton on the arena floor. Back in the ring, Dunkerton fires back with a running chop in the corner. Lee responds with a running chop of his own. Dunkerton ducks a big boot and trips Lee. Dunkerton slams Lee’s legs against the ring post. He grapevines his legs around the ring post and torques them. Dunkerton stays on Lee’s legs, applying a figure four while applying additional pressure to one Lee’s legs. Lee gives Dunkerton two overhand chops to break the hold. Lee gives him the Truck Stop for two. Dunkerton applies an inverted figure four and applies more pressure with his hands. Lee grabs the ropes to escape. He hits a superkick and a half-nelson suplex. Dunkerton trips Lee and rolls him up for two. Dunkerton and Lee trade strikes on their feet. Dunkerton punches out his legs and nails him with a lariat for two. Lee gets his knees up to block a top rope senton. Dunkerton rolls to the floor and Lee follows him out. Dunkerton slides out of a powerbomb and gives Lee a flurry of punches and chops. Lee nails Dunkerton with the Big Boot and heads back in the ring. Dunkerton gets counted out, giving Lee the win at 10:10. Dunkerton’s drive to beat Brodie and his refusal to stay down made this match. This was a more aggressive, resilient side that Dunkerton hasn’t had the chance to show until now. The fact that he gave Lee a run for his money and got the crowd behind him really adds more interest into the Throwbacks/Roughnecks feud. ***

A video package is shown of Jonathan Gresham’s introduction into the Osirian Portal and his transformation into Hieracon.

The Colony (Fire Ant, Soldier Ant, & Green Ant) vs. The Osirian Portal (Amasis, Ophidian, & Hieracon)

This is Green Ant’s first match back since he suffered an arm injury back in August. He and Ophidian exchange holds on the mat. Fire Ant tags in and helps Green Ant with a vertical suplex. Amasis tags in and engages in a Lucha sequence with Fire Ant. Fire Ant ends it with a fireman’s carry. Soldier Ant tags in and rolls up Amasis for two. He salutes as Green Ant and Fire Ant hit a senton/legdrop combo. Soldier Ant falls into a headbutt for two. The Colony take turns beating down Amasis. Amasis escapes by ducking a Yahtzee Kick and rolling to the floor. Hieracon tags in and dragonscrews Fire Ant to the floor. Soldier Ant and Green Ant hit stereo boots to the stomach. Hieracon then enzuigiri’s Soldier Ant who by proxy dragonscrews Green Ant. Ophidian and Hieracon each kick Soldier Ant. Ophidian hits a standing moonsault for two. Soldier Ant shoves Fire Ant out of a wheelbarrow stunner. Fire Ant ducks down to avoid being hypnotized, but referee Bryce Remsburg is the one who is hypnotized. The Colony try to shake him free but fail. The Portal take them out. Ophidian and Amasis dive onto Fire Ant and Green Ant on the floor respectively. Hieracon boots Soldier Ant in the corner. Hieracon hits a standing moonsault for two. The Osirian Portal take control by cutting the ring in half and working over Soldier Ant. Soldier Ant eventually tags out to Fire Ant, but he’s cut off quickly and gets trapped like his partner. Fire Ant escapes by reversing a hip toss from Hieracon. Green Ant tags in and chops Hieracon and Amasis down. He drops Ophidian with a torture rack slam. Hieracon knocks Green Ant down. Soldier Ant gives him a rolling saluting forearm. Ophidian gives him with a spinwheel kick. Fire Ant hits Ophidian with a missile dropkick. The Colony hit Ophidian with the Ants Marching dropkick and Amasis breaks the count. Amasis gives Soldier Ant an atomic drop, and Ophidian and Hieracon kick him in both sides of his head. The Portal hit a barrage of offense. Ophidian hits a top rope legdrop for two. Fire Ant hits Ophidian with a wheelbarrow stunner. Soldier Ant and Fire Ant give Amasis the Ants Marching neckbreaker for two. Ophidian flies in with double knees to Fire Ant. Soldier Ant launches him with a German suplex. Soldier Ant suicide dives onto Hieracon. Green Ant puts Ophidian in the Cloverleaf. Ophidian rolls himself and Green Ant to the floor. Amasis and Soldier Ant trade shots mid-ring. Soldier Ant locks in the CHIKARA Special. Hieracon takes out Fire Ant and breaks Soldier Ant’s submission. Hieracon moonsaults off the apron onto his own partners by accident. The Colony Antapult Fire Ant onto the Portal. Amasis gives Soldier Ant a full nelson facebuster. Fire Ant gives him the Yhatzee Kick and Beach Break. Hieracon drops Fire Ant with the Lightning Spiral. Green Ant elbows Hieracon down. Green Ant puts Ophidian in a torture rack. Amasis breaks by coming off the top rope into a sunset flip for the pin at 17:50. This was a really fun trios match that really got going in the second half. Everyone looked really strong, especially Hieracon who gels with Amasis and Ophidian extremely well. An excellent pre-cursor to King of Trios. ***1/4

Young Lions Cup
Frightmare (Champion) vs. Rich Swann

Unfortunately, Swann does not rap himself to the ring. Frightmare escapes a headscissors on the mat and puts on a headlock. Swann turns out into a wristlock. Swann takes Frightmare down with a wheelbarrow armdrag. Frightmare comes back with a huracanrana. They block each others hip toss attempts. Frightmare crucifix pins Swann for two. Swann flips over Frightmare’s drop down attempt and dropkicks him to the floor. Frightmare drops Swann on the apron and comes out with a tope con hilo. Swann recovers as Frightmare plays to the crowd and hits Frightmare with a yakuza kick. Swann puts on a kids Frightmare replica mask and mocks the fan. Rich Swann is my favorite person right now. Swann moonsaults off the apron with his knees hitting Frightmare in the head. In the ring, Swann hits a rolling frogsplash for two. Frightmare retaliates with a leaping enzuigiri. Swann throws him with a belly-to-belly suplex for two. Swann continues to mock the fans. Frightmare pops-up into a clothesline. Swann rolls out of the way of a Kneecolepsy. Frightmare hits a jump-up neckbreaker. Frightmare tries a pump-handle driver. Swann escapes so Frightmare spikes him with a reverse huracanrana. Swann catches Frightmare with a step-up huracanrana off the top rope. A standing shooting star press gets Swann a two count. Frightmare drops Swann with the pump-handle driver for two. Swann nails a superkick after trading strikes with Frightmare. Swann drops him with a headscissors square driver for two. Frightmare blocks the standing 450 by getting his knees up. Frightmare hits the Kneecolepsy for the pin at 9:43. There are no two more appropriate wrestlers right now to fight for the Young Lions Cup for these two. Their ability is so advanced and they’re two of the top young stars in independent wrestling. Seriously, if you haven’t taken notice of either of these two yet, wake up. This match was ten minutes of fun, flippy action. ***1/2

Tim Donst is backstage. He’s still on his mission to take out all of the past Young Lions Cup champions. He’s pinned six so far in the past few months, and tonight he goes for his seventh in Max Boyer. He mentions a blog he posted on the CHIKARA website where he mentioned a scrapbook he keeps. Donst goes through some of the drawings in his book, which look like they were drawn by a little kid. He eventually gets to the page with Hallowicked and the lace from his mask that he stole. This brings in Hallowicked who begins to beat Donst down.

We cut to the arena where Max Boyer is making his entrance. Jakob Hammermeier does the ring introduction for Tim Donst. Donst gets thrown out of the back and Hallowicked follows. He beats Donst with his own scrapbook, ripping out the pages. Hallowicked throws him into the ring post then into the ring.

Max Boyer vs. Tim Donst

Boyrer immediately pins Donst and gets the victory at 0:04. Yep, that happened. This is officially the shortest match in CHIKARA history and the end of Donst’s undefeated streak against former Young Lions Cup champions. N/R

Eddie Kingston vs. Johnny Gargano

Derek Sabato, the BDK official, is the referee for this match. He is visibly afraid of Kingston. Gargano is also afraid which is why he goes to the floor right away. Kingston then goes to the floor for a washcloth when Gargano licks his hands for a test of strength. Kingston grabs a headlock. Gargano breaks but Kingston reapplies it on the floor. Gargano reverses to the dismay of the crowd. Kingston reverses to the delight of the fans. Kingston knees Gargano down as he comes off the ropes. Kingston hits two suplexes and a Falcon Arrow for two. Gargano comes back with a slingshot spear. Gargano works over Kingston’s arms. Kingston brings Gargano to the floor. He accidentally chops the ring post. Gargano throws Kingston’s hand into the ring steps and ring apron. Gargano throws Kingston back into the ring and continues to target his hand. Kingston fires back with a chop, but it hurts him more than it does Gargano. Gargano comes off the second rope and Kingston catches him with an ace crusher. Kingston elbows him down and yakuza kicks him in the corner. Kingston knocks him down with a short-arm lariat for two. Gargano trips Kingston and kicks him in the head. Gargano hits a standing shiranui for two. Kingston blocks a superkick with a Saito suplex for two. Gargano evades the Sliding D. He hits an enzuigiri and dives onto Kingston with a suicide dive. He immediately comes off the apron with a somersault senton. Gargano superkicks him twice back in the ring for two. Kingston blocks the Hurts Donut. Kingston backfists Gargano but grabs his fist in pain. He shrugs it off and hits the Backfist to the Future for the pin at 13:30. This started of slow but did pick up by the end. Gargano working over Kingston’s hand for the majority of the match only for him to win the Backfist in the end was a well told story. Sabato refereeing this match was a nice touch, since you can see how disgusted he was to give Kingston the win. Solid match overall. ***

A video recap is shown of how Obariyon and Kodama racked up their three points towards their shot at Los Campeonatos de Parejas tonight. The first beat The Super Smash Bros. at The Dark Ciberknetico, then The Osirian Portal at “Scornucopia”, and picked up their final point against Incoherence at “Chaos in the Sea of Lost Souls”.

Los Campeonatos de Parejas
Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw (Campeones) vs. The Batiri (Obariyon & Kodama)

Batiri member Kobald accompanies Obariyon and Kodama. Obariyon takes Quack down with a few strikes and kicks. Quack tricks Obariyon to reverse a chinlock into a wristlock. Obariyon however knocks him down with a back elbow for one. Quack hip tosses Obariyon and hits a dropkick. Kodama and Jigsaw tag in. Kodama relentlessly lays in some strikes. Jigsaw cuts him off with a second rope dropkick. Jigsaw hits a slingshot doublestomp in the corner. Obariyon tags in. Quack sunset flips him into a dropkick from Jigsaw. The Batiri regroup on the floor. Quack and Jigsaw slam their heads together and throw Kodama back in. Jigsaw suplexes him into a senton from Quack. Jigsaw doublestomps him. Obariyon comes in gets chopped. Kobald grabs Jigsaw’s leg from the floor. The Batiri take the opportunity to target Jigsaw’s knee while Quack is at bay. Admist their beatdown, Obariyon nails Jigsaw with his patented Flying DDT to pick up the first fall at 7:16. Kobald throws Jigsaw’s bad leg into the ring post. Quack chases Kobald away and checks on his partner. Quack begins the second fall fighting both Obariyon and Kodama by himself. They take Quack out with a drop toe hold/knee drop combo. They throw Quack to the floor to legally tag Jigsaw in. Obariyon hits a kneeDT. Jigsaw escapes to the floor to tag Quack in again. Kodama slingshots in with a huracanrana. Obariyon boots Quack to the floor and brings Jigsaw back in again. Jigsaw escapes a Stump Puller and slides back out. Quack chops and forearms Obariyon on the ropes. Obariyon drops him with a neckbreaker for two. Quack chops both Obariyon and Kodama repeatedly. Obariyon leg lariats Quack into a side Russian legsweep from Kodama. Quack gets thrown back to the floor. Kodama dragonscrews Jigsaw down. The Batiri each give him a double stomp and Kodama hits a cannonball stomp. Jigsaw rolls up Obariyon in a Tornado Clutch to pick up the second fall at 13:47. The match is tied up at one fall a piece.

Quack chops Obariyon in the corner and knocks him down with a back elbow. Obariyon connects with a chin breaker. Quack hits a back drop and the Black Tornado Slam. Kodama breaks the pin. Kodama springboards into a chancery/facebuster combo. Jigsaw hits Kodama with an enzuigiri. He follows up with a brainbuster and Obariyon breaks the pin. Jigsaw springboards in but gets caught with a backcracker from Obariyon. Quack breaks the count. Quack gives Obariyon a monkey flip. Quack misses a strike in the corner. Obariyon sets up for the Flying DDT. Quack catches him and hits a superkick. Jigsaw superkicks Kodama as he runs in. Jigsaw flies onto Obariyon with a pescado. Kobald spears Jigsaw on the floor. Kodama small packages Quack for two. Kobald and Jigsaw continue to brawl on the floor. Quack crotches Kobald on the top rope. Quack brings him down with an avalanche Quackendriver I for the pin at 18:17. The Batiri taking advantage of the rules by throwing Quack to the floor constantly to keep Jigsaw in the ring was a great idea. Even little things like Quack and Jigsaw throwing Kodama, the less experienced of the two partners, back into the ring from the floor made the story of the match. I’m really surprised the crowd didn’t get into this match as much as I thought they would. They weren’t silent, but there plenty of spots that other crowds have “ooh’d” and “ahh’d” at that this crowd didn’t. Overall, a fine first defense of the Campeones. ***1/2

Bonus Match

The UnStable (Vin Gerard & STIGMA) & Dasher Hatfield vs. Tigers Mask, Black Buffallo, & Tadasuke
Osaka Pro “Battle Autumn 2010” – Osaka, Japan – 10.31.2010

We start off with a baseball spot since both Hatfield and Mask’s gimmick involve baseball. Hatfield runs the bases and takes out Buffalo with a shoulder block. Mask rolls up Hatfield for two. STIGMA sends Mask out with a forearm to the back. Hatfield baseball slides Mask into Buffallo. Gerard hits a tope con hilo onto both of them. In the ring, STIGMA gives Buffalo a back drop and Gerard hops over him with a senton. Gerard trips Tadasuke and STIGMA gives him a DDT. STIGMA and Gerard stretch out Mask’s arms (and I think bite them as well; poor camera work at this moment). Hatfield rolls Mask into a dropkick for two. Mask gives him a sole butt and heads up top. Hatfield slams him down. Mask recovers and hits another sole butt and again goes up top. Hatfield cuts him off and throws him down again for two. Gerard pushes Mask into a German suplex from STIGMA. Tadasuke and Buffalo break the count. Mask gives Gerard a brainbuster and tags in Buffalo. He knocks Hatfield and Gerard down with clotheslines. STIGMA knocks him down with a clothesline of his own. Tadasuke and Buffalo hit a clothesline/enzuigiri combo in the corner. Gerard drops Buffalo with an STF. Tadasuke gives Gerard a hard right punch and Hatfield a Death Valley slam. Tadasuke punches Hatfield and stacks up all three CHIKARA students in the corner. Mask hits a diving headbutt onto the pile. Mask drops Hatfield with a Tiger Suplex for the pin at 7:38 shown of 14:02. The CHIKARA guys actually looked better than the Osaka team. You can tell all three guys were motivated to have a good outing. Mask and Tadasuke did fine, but Buffalo…yikes. This was a fun watch, and it’s neat to see these guys outside of their typical environment. **3/4

The 411: Both title matches on this show delivered, showcasing some of CHIKARA's younger talent in the process. The undercard was riddled with good stuff, especially the trios bout between The Colony and The Osirian Portal and Sugar Dunkerton's war with Brodie Lee. Most of all, it successfully progressed the company towards the impending introduction of its singles title and King of Trios. There's enough good stuff on here to warrant a recommendation, but nothing blow away to make it an absolute must-see. Be sure to check out all of my CHIKARA reviews at my CHIKARA blog; "The CHIKARA Special" and all the CHIKARA news over at "The CHIKARA Special" Tumblr.
 
Final Score:  7.0   [ Good ]  legend

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