There have been a number of wrestlers over the years who have gotten married in a wrestling ring, most notably Uncle Elmer (Stan Frazier) on NBC in the 80s and the iconic Hawaiian cultural moment involving Johnny Barend in Hawaii in the 60s.
But Joey Ryan of Lucha Underground, coming off pioneering using his penis as an offensive wrestling attacking move, may have done another first last night.
Ryan was wrestling Laura James in a singles match last night in San Diego, and in the middle of a match, after a ref bump, Ryan went to a bag for a presumed foreign object, but instead pulled out a ring and got on his knees and asked James to marry him. She said yes. They hugged, everyone clapped and cheered, and then Ryan surprised her again, with a small package to pin her. He explained on the mic after the match that they were married now and he needed “the winner’s half of the purse.” They are still getting married.
Chikara Pro Wrestling followed up Princess Kimber Lee’s Grand Championship victory at Top Banana with a double shot kick-off for Season 16 at Chikara’s Training Facility The Wrestle Factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The afternoon show, titled The Days of the Phoenix after the AFI album, featured former Chikara everything winner Hallowicked & Wrestling Observer Rookie of the Year 2009 Frightmare challenging N_R_G for the Chikara Campeonatos De Parejas. While the evening show, titled 5 Senses after what I am assuming is the XTC album, featured Princess Kimber Lee’s first defense of the Chikara Grand Championship against Oleg The Usurper.
Both shows saw great turn outs, but the evening show was particularly note-worthy for the super standing room only crowd. Under the new format, Chikara is doing slightly shorter shows — running anywhere from 90 minutes to 2 1/5 hours at the Wrestle Factory rather than a normal 3 hour show. Show one ran about 2 hours with intermission. Show two ran a little more than 2 1/2 hours. Like last season, Wrestle Factory shows are named after favorite musical albums. Shows outside the Wrestle Factory will be subtitles of movie sequels as When Nature Calls, Dead Man’s Chest, The Secret of the Ooze, and the New Batch have already been scheduled.
Chikara: The Days of the Phoenix | Saturday January 30th, 2015
After the passing of the torch from Gavin Loudspeaker, “The Party Tsar” Vlad Radinov is now doing Chikara ring announcing duties. Vlad brings a bit of comedy that hasn’t been seen in wrestling ring announcing since Joel Gertner. Referees for the evening were Bryce Remsberg and Larry Peace.
The Proletariat Boar of Moldova b Arctic Rescue Ant in 8 minutes after a gore as Ant jumped into the ring through the ropes.
This was a fun opener and a slick finish. With the demise of Orbit Adventure Ant at King of Trios and Missile Assault Ant now a part of Battleborn, Arctic is the lone remaining member of The Colony: Xtreme Force. Boar has begun really enjoying his time in the ring and is talking a lot more during matches. The crowd was into this. Vlad Radinov brings out Chikara Director of Fun, Mike Quackenbush. Quack talks about Season 15 being about two things: the season long Challenge of the Immortals tournament and Princess Kimber Lee’s victory. He brings out Kimber. They then raise a banner in the Wrestle Factory commemorating the Crown & Court victory. This was a nice touch.
The Hermit Crab & Rock Lobster b Ben Macklemore & Lewis Ryan in 3 minutes when Crab pinned we’ll say Lewis Ryan after a middle rope walk elbow drop.
This was the unannounced 6th match of the card. Hermit Crab’s partner, Cajun Crawdad, recently succumbed to a knee injury. Since he is a Crawdad it could be problematic. This was Rock Lobster’s debut. A nice showcase for the new team. The crowd sang about Crab People. The remaining members of the Bruderschaft des Kreuzes (BDK), Jakob Hammermeier & Pinkie Sanchez came out. Jakob noted he is here to deal with the traitor, Soldier Ant. They did a BDK roll call and introduced Jaka as the 3rd member of their trio. Pinkie Sanchez mentioned Eddie Kingston, which angered Jakob.
Jaka with Jakob Hammermeier & Pinkie Sanchez b Amasis in 10 minutes after a splash from the top.
The ending was pretty clean. They did a sweet Russian Legsweep from a springboard bit with a slight slip, but it still looked really nice. Jakob was all over the place here yelling at referee Bryce Remsberg. Pinkie Sanchez was fantastic all day. Seriously, words cannot describe just how good he is. Pinkie was taken out by a miscommunication Jaka dive, crawled into the ring, was ignored by Jakob and then rolled to the back.
– They announced Chikara would be going to Toronto on July 23rd before intermission. They’ve since put up tickets for two Saturday shows. Additionally, there is a Chikara v. SMASH Wrestling event scheduled for July 24th. After intermission, they did the drawing for the Magic Move. There was a bachelor party at the show. The gentleman getting married drew the ball. Remsberg read the move as a “long and prosperous marriage”, then noted the Magic Move was really a clothesline over the top rope.
Juan Francisco de Coronado & Prakash Sabar b Dasher Hatfield & Heidi Lovelace when Sabar pinned Hatfield in 15 minutes with a small package after a low blow by Juan in the Magic Move Match.
This was a follow-up to Juan & his team winning the 2015 Cibernetico at the season finale. There was some good comedy with Juan and referee Bryce Remsberg as Remsberg wouldn’t count against Dasher’s team and would force Juan to follow the rules in an overly exaggerated manner. Prakash continues his streak of hitting the Best Bronco Buster in the World. The Proletariat Boar of Moldova came to ringside and interfered. This eventually brought out Icarus, whose arm was in a sling. Dasher debuted a suplex into a gutbuster then a cradle instead of his usual Jackhammer. The story here was Prakash knocking Icarus off the apron after Boar interfered. They tried to use Juan’s Ecuadorian Flag. “Mr. Touchdown” Mark Angelosetti came to the ring to stop it. He took out Boar. Juan begged off, then tossed Touchdown the flag. He directed Dasher to see what was in the ring. Dasher saw Touchdown and assumed he was there to break the rules again. There was a confrontation. As Touchdown tried to explain himself, Juan hit Dasher with a low blow leading to the small package by Prakash for the win. This story is working out very well so far. Hatfield hit the Magic Move. Everyone got a Chikara pen.
Vlad attempted to do Rafflemania. He brought a kid into the ring. There was no Rafflemania. Vlad said that there are no losers in Chikara and proceeded to award the kid 2 semi-mint condition Jim Ross WCW trading cards that “for some reason prominently feature Lex Luger.” Planned or not, this was fantastic.
Soldier Ant b Jakob Hammermeier with a spinning chokeslam in 10 minutes
Solider is fresh off of breaking the spell of the Flood and the Eye of Tyr and is finally back to being himself after Top Banana. He got a Welcome Back chant. Jakob got in a Worldstar! punch early, but Soldier survived. He also hit his Death Valley Drive over the knee for a near fall. Pinkie Sanchez crawled out in commando face paint and circled the ring. He eventually was laid out by Soldier. This was so excellent. Soldier eventually hit Jakob with his own version of the Worldstar punch, told him he was dismissed, then chokeslammed him for the victory. With the win, Soldier Ant received his 3rd point and can now challenge for the Chikara Grand Championship. Soldier, having previously been under a spell, did not realize he had done enough to qualify. This was a fine blow off.
N_R_G (Race Jaxon & Hype Rockwell) b The Nightmare Warriors (Frightmare & Hallowicked) 2 falls to 1 to retain the Chikara Campenatos de Parejas in their second defense in 18 minutes.
This was a bit of a shocking development as N_R_G is still gaining traction with a lot of the Chikara faithful, despite being around the main roster since just after the return show. This victory solidifies them as a real deal team, more or less. The story of the match was Race Jaxon taking everything possible from the Nightmare Warriors and going toe-to-toe with the former Grand Champion Hallowicked. Wicked would eventually overcome him for the first fall in 7 minutes after his cross-legged fisherman DDT, Never Wake Up.
There was really no break between falls as Wicked just kept going at Jaxon. With a slight miscommunication, Jaxon pinned Wicked with a waistlock roll-up in 12 minutes to be only the 2nd person since Chikara’s return to defeat Wicked in some fashion (outside of Kimber Lee twice). This was a big deal. Wicked lost it. He was not happy with fans at ringside. Jaxon was finally able to make a tag to Rockwell. They cleaned house. Things got crazy as both teams traded big moves. Jaxon did a flip reverse blockbuster off the top on Frightmare. N_R_G retained the titles in 18 minutes when Rockwell hit the Hyper Wheel on Frightmare. This was really well done.
After the match, Los Ice Creams music hit. The crowd popped as Princess Kimber Lee had done the same thing at Top Banana. N_R_G faced off with Los Ice Creams and they got scared. They instead ran to the back rather than cashing in their golden opportunity. Fun end to the afternoon show.
Chikara 5 Senses: Saturday January 30th, 2015
Vlad Radinov welcomed the crowd. He announced that due to an injury during training, Icarus could not compete as scheduled against Pinkie Sanchez. This was seen by the sling earlier in the day. He then introduced Kobald as Icarus’ replacement.
Kobald b Pinkie Sanchez in 12 minutes with the Demon’s Toilet (squat splash from the top).
This match was fantastic. If Chikara gave out game balls, Pinkie Sanchez would get it for the day. They started with Pinkie demanding a test of strength since he noticed Kobald checking out his physique backstage. Pinkie, of course, cheated to get out of it. They did spots around the ring where they used the fans to hurt each other. They were given time to breath and have a great match. They did not disappoint. Crowd chanted for both guys.
Vlad Radinov noted that he knows where the parties are and right now, there would be a 60 second selfie party for the fans in attendance. Several members of the Chikara roster ran around the crowd to assist.
Los Ice Creams b Adam Ward & Burt West by disqualification in 3 minutes when the Devastation Corporation (Blaster McMassive, Flex Rumblecrunch, & Max Smashmaster) hit the ring and destroyed Los Ice Creams.
Up until that point, this was a showcase for Los Ice Creams. It was a tight 3 minutes where they got in all their moves and did very little of the comedy work. DevCorp were a bit of a surprise since they were not booked for the show and didn’t appear on the earlier show. They laid out Ice Creams for a while. Princess Kimber Lee eventually showed up and chased them off. Crowd booed DevCorp.
Wani b “Mr. Touchdown” Mark Angelosetti in 15 minutes with a somersault corkscrew neckbreaker.
This was fantastic and a great singles debut for Wani. Touchdown is one of those guys that when given time really brings it, he should seriously be on everyone’s radar. Touchdown paused for a bit on the walkway and looked back at the entrance where no one was behind him. He looked dejected, having lost everyone for the loaded elbow pad shenanigans last season. He tried to do a go-team salute before the match on the floor but no one came. Mid-way through, Juan Francisco de Coronado showed up. He attempted to hand Touchdown the Ecuadorian flag. Touchdown refused. Touchdown spent the match not cheating, only to eventually be screwed by Juan and cheating leading to the finish. Touchdown went to the top and Juan grabbed his leg. Touchdown fought it off, then went for a splash from the top. The delay gave Wani enough time to get his knees up leading to the finish.
Some of the crowd on the bleachers started chanting for “Doctor Touchdown” likely due to a misunderstanding. This led to a crazy series of chants throughout the match giving Touchdown different titles including Sherriff, Captain, Gym Leader, and even SmackDown! General Manager. The chants were so good that Vlad addressed them post-match with some future suggestions. He then asked the crowd if they had heard of King of Trios. The crowd popped. He then said okay and it was intermission time. Some tease.
During intermission, Snow Troll crawled out from underneath the ring. He began whispering to different people wondering where Kevin Condron was and if anyone had seen him.
Back from break, they drew the Magic Move for the next match, the move was drawn as the Alabama Slam.
Kevin Condron Presents Battleborn (“Juke Joint” Lucas Calhoun & Missile Assault Man) b The Batiri (Kodama & Obaryion) in 14 minutes with a sharpshooter by MAM on Obaryion in the Magic Move Match.
Vlad announced the Batiri at a combined height. The story here was Missile Assault Man was vicious. Juke Joint was also less cheery and fun than normal, going all out. They worked on Obaryion’s knee throughout the match. This led to problems on the comeback, especially given all the Batiri’s offense involves kicks and knees. The Batiri hit their Alabama Slam/knee lift double team to hit the Magic Move, but couldn’t capitalize due to the knee injury. This was really good and continues the Batiri’s streak of great tag matches when they get time. With the victory, Battleborn now have 3 points and can challenge for the Campenatos de Parejas.
Harold won Rafflemania for a Chikara Challenge of the Immortals T-Shirt.
The Colony (Fire Ant, Silver Ant, & Worker Ant II) b The Snake Pit (Argus, Ophidian, & Shynron) in 19 minutes when Fire Ant pinned Shynron after the Ant Hill.
Argus & Ophidian have matching gear now. Argus’ new gear looks great and he’s definitely slimmed down in the last few months. Fire Ant had both antenna for this match, despite walking around earlier in the day with only one previously showing the signs of the war with Soldier Ant at Top Banana. Argus was in this match a long way. He took everything from the Colony. He and Silver Ant had an extended exchange of chops and submission work. Argus stood up for himself and went toe-to-toe. The crowd chanted for Argus in a way that I’d never previously heard. This match was probably the match of the weekend, but Pinkie/Kobald was pretty close. This was a great top off to Argus getting his first pin at Top Banana as he came off like a star even in the loss. After the match, Fire Ant demanded that Argus get in the ring. He did. They did a face off. Ophidian and then Shynron joined. They hugged. Great match.
Princess Kimber Lee and Oleg The Usurper went to a no contest in 14 minutes when the Devastation Corporation broke up the match in a match for the Chikara Grand Championship.
Due to the result, Kimber retains the title. Vlad had a nice intro about how the Princess had to slay the giant during the heartbeat of Chikara prior to the main event. Oleg had new music. Kimber’s music was remixed. They squared off. Kimber hit some nice kicks. A little kid yelled that Kimber Lee can save herself. Oleg stopped and then lost it. It was a nice moment. Oleg hit more speed. He tried to suplex Kimber on the floor, but she reversed it. Kimber made a comeback and eventually went to lock on the Chikara Special when a Los Ice Cream (dressed in Brown & Pink instead of Green & Chocolate from earlier) walked down the ramp. A second Ice Cream in normal garb followed confused. The Brown & Pink Ice Cream kicked Kimber. He then unmasked to be Blaster McMassive, member of the Devastation Corporation. Flex Rumblecrunch & Max Smashmaster then jumped the other Ice Cream on the ramp. All three then destroyed Kimber & Oleg. This was a strong heel beat down.
Max shoved Bryce. Max got a microphone and stood over Oleg. He told him that just because you rip up a piece of paper doesn’t mean that you are free. Max then turned his attention to Kimber. He held her against the ropes and made her watch a little girl at ringside crying. He told her to watch. He said that when she won the title at Top Banana, she became queen, but they are here for her life. Larry Peace eventually came down and Dev Corp left the ring. This was a bit dark at moments, but if the idea is that everyone should hate the Devastation Corporation, they probably will. Bryce was helped up and stopped Vlad from announcing it as a DQ victory saying that it wasn’t a disqualification. This would indicate a No Contest and that Oleg would still be able to challenge for the Grand Championship at a later date without winning 3 matches in a row again. Crowd chanted that Dev Corp were not nice people.
Vlad said good night, but the crowd demanded one more match.
Heidi Lovelace b Juan Francisco de Coronado after The Heidi-can-Rana spike huricanrana as Juan was on his knees in 4 minutes.
This would be the last time Heidi would appear as the current Young Lion’s Cup holder as a tournament will be held on Saturday, February 6th in Reading, Pennsylvania as a part of National Pro Wrestling Day. Heidi now has 2 points towards a Grand Championship match. Heidi placed Juan’s Ecuador flag on top of him and left him laying to close the show. Juan laid in the ring as people left. With the lights brought back on, referees assisted the Ice Cream who had been taken out during the main event helping him to the back. He’d be laid out the entire encore.
*****
Thus ended the Season 16 Chikara Premiere. The entire day was very fun. The roster were all up to the task. The talk coming out of the show was a bit of concern, however. After the great victory for Kimber at Top Banana, there was tons of coverage of her title win. The close of the main event match feels a bit like couldn’t pull the trigger on her being a complete equal. The challenge is that Oleg doesn’t get beat often. Arik Cannon outsmarted him on the mid-west tour, but he’d only ever been beaten well by Hallowicked over the summer when he previously challenged for the Grand Championship. If the goal is that Oleg and Kimber have common enemies, there are multiple ways to get there without sacrificing Kimber as the lead-dog. What the next steps are following this beat down will determine how this show stands.
With Chikara, the safe rule is always be patient. The overall attack was strong. Devastation Corporation are no longer cartoonish Demolition/Legion of Doom style muscle monsters, but evil jerks that take things too far. There is a fine line that must be walked, especially given the size difference and the potential multiple views of such a destruction that if seen wrong or mis-stepped, could sacrifice all the PR, goodwill, and alternative perception the promotion has gotten in the last few months.
This weekend will see EVOLVE crown their first ever tag team champions after the DGUSA Open the United Gate Championship was retired. EVOLVE Champion Timothy Thatcher unfortunately had to be taken out of the tournament due to an injury. Thatcher opened up the show saying that while he can’t compete this weekend, he wants to face Davey Richards and Chris Hero in the future. Thatcher promised to take out all of the Catch Point faction one by one which brought out the Premier Athlete Brand of Caleb Konley and Anthony Nese with So Cal Val. Val assured Konley that he would receive a title shot in the future. The Bravado Brothers came out after Thatcher pointed out that tonight was about the Tag Title Tournament.
– EVOLVE Tag Team Title Tournament 1st Round Match: The Bravados def the Premier Athlete Brand with a rolling Complete Shot from Harlem off of Lancelot’s back to advance.
– Jason Cade pins Joe Coleman with a shooting star press. These two from from the WWN tryout.
– Style Battle 2016 Round Robin Tournament Match: Matt Riddle submits Peter Kaasa in a heel hook. Riddle is (1-0) and Kaasa is (0-1).
– PJ Black def. Ethan Page. Page had pinned Black with the spinning Dwayne, but the ref didn’t see Black’s foot underneath the ropes. Page noticed that Black’s foot was there and wanted the match restarted. Page was pinned by a modified crucifix pin from Black who officially wins the match.
– EVOLVE Tag Team Title Tournament 1st Round Match: RPG Vice (Rocky Romero & Trent?) def Team Tremendous (Dan Barry & Bill Carr) to advance after Romero distracted the ref which allowed Trent? To hit Dan Barry with a low blow and follow it up with Strong Zero
– Style Battle 2016 Round Robin Tournament Match: “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams def Fred Yehi after a piledriver. Williams is now (1-0) and Yehi is (0-1). Team Catch Point so far has won all of their matches in the RRT.
– EVOLVE Tag Team Title Tournament 1st Round Match: Drew Galloway & Johnny Gargano vs. Catch Point (Drew Gulak & TJ Perkins) was supposed to happen but Trevin Adams allowed this match to be moved to the main event as Gargano was making it back from a NXT event.
– EVOLVE Tag Team Title Tournament 1st Round Match: Heroes Eventually Die (Chris Hero & Tommy End) def Zack Sabre Jr. & Sami Callihan after a knee strike/rolling elbow combo on Sabre Jr
– EVOLVE Tag Team Title Tournament 1st Round Match: Drew Galloway & Johnny Gargano def Drew Gulak & TJP w/Matt Riddle & Hot Sauce after pinning Catch Point leader Drew Gulak with the Future Shock DDT
Your Saturday night semifinals at Evolve 54 on iPPV: Galloway & Gargano vs. The Bravado Bros. and RPG Vice vs. Heroes Eventually Die.
Combat Zone Wrestling returned to the Flyers Skate Zone Saturday for its annual long day’s journey into night for the 17th annual Cage of Death before a legitimate standing room only crowd.
Before listing the results, one of the personal highlights for me at Cage of Death every year for the last 11 years, is the Toys for Tots collection, first in Philadelphia at the ECW Arena, then at the Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees. This year’s collection was spread over the afternoon DOJO WARS show and Cage of Death (making for an easier process of bagging and storing the donated toys over time).
The final total of donated toys has been estimated at over 420 toys donated by CZW fans on Saturday. I can say personally that an incredible assortment of toys were donated by CZW fans, ranging from radio-operated cars to a skateboard (child’s size) to wrestling figures to all sorts of toys for younger children. Those with toys requiring batteries brought batteries and taped them to their toys.
THANK YOU to DJ Hyde, Maven Bentley, Brian McCauley, and CZW’ s social media staff… and as always the fans. Saturday’s collection set a record for Cage of Death as 12 full bags of toys (estimated at around 420 toys) tonight at a CZW show….more than any Cage of Death held at the Flyers Skate Zone or ECW Arena ever did.
The evening began with five United States Marines who had come to escort the donated toys, brought into the ring by Maven Bentley to USA chants and a thundering and inspirational rock version of the National Anthem by Madison Rising, who describes themselves as “America’s Most Patriotic Rock Group”.
Dark match/Scramble match for spot in Best of the Best
Desmond Xavier defeated Rex Lawless, Chip Day, Eddie Smooth, Conor Claxton, Lucky 13, Brittany Blake after a corkscrew moonsault
In the show opener, Lio Rush defeated Joey Janela to win CZW Wired Championship.
On any other show, this could have been a main event. This had incredible spot after spot…yet the two worked together seamlessly
Greg Excellent defeated Tony Nese by pinfall with a Tiger Driver
George Gatton, who won the DOJO WARS battle royal to secure a spot in Cage of Death defeated CZW Owner DJ Hyde.
Gatton ducked a Hyde lariat and rolled up Hyde out of nowhere. Hyde then put over Gatton post-match.. Gatton is a longtime CZW fan who went through a long training time at CZW’s Dojo and worked DOJO WARS shows. Gatton plays the underdog role to a T.
The Amazing Gulaks defeated The Beaver Boys after an “Amazing splash”.
CZW World Tag Team Titles
TV Ready (BLK Jeez/Pepper Parks) defeated Team Tremendous (actually Dan Berry and Sozio, substituting for Bill Carr) after interference by Cherry Bomb (who’d been selling the legit collarbone injury well after it had healed) , then a superbomb and BLK Jeez Walks.
I Quit Match
Chainsaw Joe Gacy defeated Tim Donst in the “I Quit” match, this went all over the building, involving chairs with barbed wire, thumbtacks in the ring; finishing with Donst saying “I Quit” when Gacy threatened to throw Donst off a scaffold, through a table with a barbed wire chair. Submission or not, Gacy did it anyway, throwing Tim Donst off a scaffold through a cameraman…unlike WWE, a real operating cameraman.
Ultraviolent Rules Death Match
Danny Havoc defeated Rickey Shane Page by pinfall after a dragon duplex through glass
Sami Callihan returned to CZW to defeat David Starr after a good back and forth match with the Stretch Muffler. Post-match, Callihan put over David Starr, calling him “the future”, and “one tough son a bitch”. Suddenly, out pops Jonathan Gresham complaining about Callihan getting the semi-main event “after he had been representing CZW around the world, winning championships…”. Callihan challenges him to get in the ring right then. Starr turns and pops Callihan in the head form behind. This sets up a potential three way for the February Anniversary show with Sami Callihan vs. Jonathan Gresham vs. David Starr
Cage of Death: The Bulldozer Matt Tremont retained his CZW World heavyweight Title defeating Masada, AR Fox and Devon Moore.
The finish saw Tremont and AR Fox we’re fighting on the scaffold, then Tremont hit a sidewalk slam on Fox, through a glass panel and through a table.
CZW will take January off in Voorhees, because they are partnering with Canadian indy SMASH Wrestling on January 16 in Toronto with Team SMASH (led by Johnny Gargano) vs. Team CZW (led by Sami Callihan). CZW returns to the Flyers Skate Zone on February 13 for its anniversary show.
– Brian Cage & Michael Elgin beat Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards
– Sami Callihan beat Drew Gulak
– Trevor Lee beat Will Ospreay
– Kenny Omega beat Speedball Mike Bailey. This one tore the house down.
– PWG Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks retained over Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa
– PWG Champion Roderick Strong beat Matt Sydal to retain
– Adam Cole returned on the show, part of the agreement made a few months ago where ROH contracted talent besides Strong and the Bucks (the Bucks had it as part of their deal) will be back allowed to work for PWG.
The Snake Pit (Argus, Ophidian, & Shynron) beat Battleborn (“Juke Joint” Lucas Calhon, Missile Assault Man, & Snowflake) in 11 min when Argus p Snowflake with a leg in forward scoop slam
This was Argus’ first real win in Chikara, They did a story beat where Snowflake reverted back to Kevin Condron to tell Argus that he knows him and that he shouldn’t hurt him. Argus hit Snowflake anyway for the win.
Frightmare beat Silver Ant with a body scissors into a victory roll from an ankelock attempt by Silver in 10 min. This was really good.
Ring Announcer Gavin Loudspeaker (who was back for the finale) introduced Vladimir Rabinsky, basically passing the torch to him as the new Chikara Ring Announcer going forward.
The Batiri (Kobald, Kodama, & Obaryion) with a wheelchair bound Ultra Mantis Black beat The Gentlemen’s Club (Orange Cassidy, Drew Gulak, & Chuck Taylor) with Swamp Monster in 9 min when Kobald p Cassidy with a spear
This was an insanely perfect mix of high paced action and comedy. There wasn’t a down beat in the whole 9 minutes. Great effort.
Gavin Loudspeaker introduced Chikara’s Director of Fun, Mike Quackenbush. Quack mentions the 2015 Chikara Yearbook and the lights in the arena go out. When they return up, Archibald Peck appears standing in the ring. He sees Quack and the yearbook then shoves Quack to take it. Peck reads through the yearbook and appears to find out his demise last season at the hands of Deucalion. Peck freaked out and left through the crowd yelling at people not to touch him. This was a pay off of a storyline nearly 5 years old where Peck was sent into the future and returned with the Chikara 2015 Yearbook. The crowd went crazy for this.
Juan Franscisco de Coronado won the 2015 Chikara Cibernetico in 41 minutes
Rules worked exactly like a normal lucha Cibernetico were once one team was eliminated, the remaining members of the winning team would fight each other. Teams were:
Rudos: Juan Franscisco de Coronado, Mr. Azerbaijan, Prakash Sabar, The Proletariat Boar of Moldova, Wani, Pinkie Sanchez, Jakob Hammermeier, & “Mr. Touchdown” Mark Angelosetti
Technicos: Dasher Hatfield, Chikara Tag Champions: NRG (Race Jaxon & Hype Rockwell), Young Lion’s Cup Champion: Heidi Lovelace, Amasis, Worker Ant, Oleg The Usurper, & Farmer Frog
Eliminations:
(1) Dasher Hatfield pinned Mr Azerbaijan in about 1 minute with a small package.
(2) Hype Rockwell pinned Prakash Sabar in 21 minutes with the Hype Wheel (spinning uranage across the knee)
(3) Pinkie Sanchez pinned Hype Rockwell with a modified DDT in 22 minutes.
(4) Pinkie Sanchez pinned Amasis in 23 minutes with a missile dropkick.
(5) Jakob Hammermeier pinned Worker Ant in 25 minutes with a Worldstar! punch.
(6) Jakob Hammermeier pinned Farmer Frog in 26 minutes after a powerbomb out of the corner thanks to a Pinkie Sanchez distraction.
(7) Heidi Lovelace pinned Jakob Hammermeier in 27 minutes with a waistlock roll-up.
(8) Dasher Hatfield pinned The Proletariat Boar of Moldova in 29 minutes with a Jackhammer.
(9) Wani pinned Race Jaxon in 30ish minutes with a palm strike.
(10) Oleg the Usurper pinned Wani in 31 minutes with Off with his head.
(11) “Mr. Touchdown” Mark Angelosetti pinned Oleg the Usuper in 34 minutes after a superplex then a spear.
(12) Juan Francisco de Coronado pinned Heidi Lovelace in 36 minutes after a sitout powerbomb.
(13) Dasher Hatfield pinned Pinkie Sanchez after a jackhammer in 38 minutes.
(14) Dasher Hatfield was counted out in 40+ minutes after being knocked off the ring apron by Angelosetti accidentally. Juan ran them into each other as the count was near 20. Angelosetti tried to go after Dasher, but was pulled back into the ring by his foot by Juan.
(15) Juan Francisco de Coronado pinned Mark Angelosetti with a delayed German suplex in 41 minutes to win the Cibernetico.
Fire Ant with Silver Ant and Soldier Ant with Jakob Hammermeier went to a No Contest in 20 minutes
Another big payoff to a Chikara story here as Soldier went AWOL and then came back during the return brainwashed by the Flood. Soldier has been under the spell of the Eye of Tyr and Jakob Hammermeier’s BDK since the dissolution of the Flood at the end of last season. Soldier (who is scarred, missing an antenna) ripped off one of Fire’s antenna’s during the match. Soldier’s trance was finally broken when Jakob got into a fight with referee Derek Sabato (who used to be a BDK member) and went to hit him with his WORLDSTAR! punch, but accidentally hit Soldier. Solider saluted Fire Ant. He then saluted Silver Ant. Worker Ant came out and the crowd chanted “Please Be Friends!”. They saluted each other. Worker returned Soldier’s King of Trios medal the Colony won in 2011. Everyone embraced. People cried. This was a crazy moment only found in Chikara. So insanely good and special. I’ve never seen a crowd so happy to get a non-finish before.
Crown & Court (Princess Kimber Lee (c), Jervis Cottonbelly, & Los Ice Creams (El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream, Jr.) beat The Wrecking Crew (Jaka & The Devastation Corporation (Max Smashmaster (c), Blaster McMassive, & Flex Rumblecrunch) to win the season long Challenge of the Immortals tournament in 19 minutes when Kimber Lee pinned McMassive after a powerbomb out of the corner into an Alligator Clutch.
Crowd lost it when Crown & Court won it. They were, pardon the term, the Cinderella team of the tournament and really only ended up in the finals thanks to the angle with Dasher & Mr. Touchdown forcing Dasher to vacate his team’s points in the tournament. Each member of Crown & Court was presented with a Golden Opportunity, which in Chikara can usually mean anything but in this case was the form of 3 Golden Point Tokens needed to challenge for any Chikara championship.
Hallowicked beat Icarus and Eddie Kingston in a Triple Threat Match in 24 minutes to retain the Chikara Grand Championship for a 6th time.
Wicked p Kingston after a crossed leg DDT. This was the first time a Chikara championship was defended in a 3 way and also featured all 3 Chikara Grand Champions from the company’s history. Match was very good.
As referees checked on Hallowicked, Princess Kimber Lee’s music hit. The crowd went crazy. Golden opportunities apparently can be used at any time and cannot be lost (in Chikara, you need 3 points to challenge for titles which means 3 wins in a row without a loss outside of special competition).
Princess Kimber Lee beat Hallowicked by submission in 5 minutes to become the 4th Chikara Grand Champion with the Chikara Special.
This was a crazy moment. The crowd lost it.
Chikara goes out of its way to present Kimber Lee, Heidi, and any other female that comes through the company as just wrestlers. In the year plus that Kimber Lee has been on shows, my wife and I have personally seen a huge increase in young little girls coming to the shows. They leave with smiles and the general execution of her rise has been so perfectly handled that a crowd at the old ECW arena (which tends to be the most adult crowd at Chikara shows) behaved like 5 years at the finish.
As an aside, special Crown & Court shirts were made by fans (us, full disclosure) specially for the finale for support. The shirts were given to anyone who makes a $20 donation that will be given directly to Chikara & Jervis Cottonbelly’s charity of choice: Philabundance. We have a few of them left in sizes M-XL and we can ship anywhere in the US for $5. So far we’ve raised about $500 for the charity. I’d love to get rid of the remaining shirts and get over $600.
Combat Zone Wrestling returned to the Flyers Skate Zone last night live, and on iPPV for Night of Infamy 2015, its go-home show leading up to the annual Cage of Death:
The pre-show opened with Dave Crist and the remaining members of OI4K cutting a promo on behalf of Jake Crist .
* Xavier defeated Aaron Williams
* Post-match Neiko Sozio came out with a kendo stick directed at OI4K….This segued into Sozio vs. Dave Crist. Crist defeated Sozio after repeated interference by OI4K, including a somersault plancha off the top rope to knock Sozio out. Post-match, apaprently just for fun, Dave Crist super kicked one of the CZW security stafft.
Night of Infamy
* Bad Boy Joey Janela defeated Lio Rush to successfully defend his CZW Wired Television Title after caught him with an inside pinfall out of nowhere.
* Greg Excellent (with Chrissy Rivera) submitted “Wrench” Conor Claxton. with a double leg submission.
* TV Ready (Pepper Parks/Blk Jeez with Cherry Bomb with her arm in a sling at ringside) defeated Nation of Intoxication’s Lucky 13 and Devon Moore, as Parks got the pinfall after a BLK Jeez top rope double stomp.
* Chainsaw Joe Gacy and Tim Donst went to a no-contest after an out of control brawl. The crowd didn’t seem happy with a match being thrown out in CZW. Joe Gacy says he wants another match with Donst at Cage of Death on December 12…an I quit match.
* AR Fox defeated Nation of Intoxication’s Danny Havoc by pinfall
* Bill Carr and Dan Barry of Team Tremendous successfully defended their CZW World Tag Team Titles over IWA Mid South’s The Hooligans (Devin Cutter and Mason Cutter).
Post match, Cherry Bomb ballshotted Dick Justice, then TV Ready jumped Team Tremendous and challenged them for the CZW Tag Team Titles next month at Cage of Death.
* MASADA defeated Drew Gulak (with Rory Gulak) with a knockout after several knee strikes by MASADA
* The main event saw a Squared Circle of Sacrifice match with Bulldozer Matt Tremont successful defended his CZW World Heavyweight Title against DJ Hyde after a Death Valley Driver on a barbed wire board. A Squared Circle of Sacrifice match turned out to be two sides of the ring with barbed wire ropes, two sides exposed with chairs and barbed wire boards, not to mention staple guns, cinder blocks, glass panels, and light tubes in or around the ring.
When I was granted the opportunity to review some Evolve shows from the last year or so, I jumped at the opportunity. I’m always looking to review wrestling from all promotions around the world, especially from ones I haven’t seen. While I have usually read the results from each Evolve show, I haven’t actually seen one live. What I do know about the promotion is that it’s been the stomping ground for many wrestlers that have made their way to other promotions, most notably WWE, as you’ll see in these results. These shows that I’ll be reviewing for the next few weeks are far enough in the past that it’ll be interesting to see who competed on these shows and where they are now.
Some notes on the blu ray itself before I start on the show. I can say that the blu ray I was given for review was very well produced. The disc and art cover looks great, and the show looked excellent in high definition. I wish the audio was a bit better, but it wasn’t bad. Very well produced blu ray in terms of presentation and production.
This is Evolve 34, which took place on September 13, 2014 in Elmhurst, New York.
Johnny Gargano comes out to start Evolve 34. Apparently, Caleb Konley beat him and told him that he wasn’t that man that he used to be. He also mentioned that he doesn’t like Rich Swann due to their past, but when Konley and Nese jumped Swann he knew that he had to prove to himself that he was still the man around here, so he wanted to wrestle tonight in order to prove to himself that he’s the Johnny Gargano of old. He finishes off by saying the road to the Evolve title begins now.
Johnny Gargano vs. Anthony Nese
Su Yung, Trent Baretta and Mr. A accompanied Nese, as they’re all a part ofa group along with Caleb Konley called the Premiere Athlete Brand. Mr. A looks like a bigger Big Bubba, if you can imagine that. At one point Nese had Gargano on the ropes and Baretta took the opportunity to take a selfie for all his Snapchat buddies. This is a very 2015 show here. These two had good chemistry, with some great back and forth towards the end. Nese dodged a swipe off the apron by doing a cartwheel. That’s new! Nese went for a one arm powerbomb but Gargano countered with a roll up for the win. Good opener.
Mr. A laid out Gargano after the match, but Rich Swann ran in and laid him out with a lariat. He also took out Beretta, who was injured with his knee in a cast, and then went for Su Yung but Nese recovered and laid him out, posting him. Gargano took care of the heels with a suicide dive off the top rope, but the damage was done. This would play into Swann’s title match against Drew Galloway later in the night.
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Timothy Thatcher
This is my first time seeing Zack Sabre Jr. after hearing a ton of good things about him. These two had a really cool technical style match. Just a ton of mat work throughout, including working on body parts, which was really well done by both men. Bending the fingers always gets a pop out of me as well. Wonder if they saw the AJ/Suzuki match from a few months before this. Thatcher eventually got tired of mat work and laid out Sabre with a trio of gutwrench suplexes. Sabre countered back, applied an armbar/hammerlock combo and started stomping on his head for the submission. Very good, unique match and the best of the entire show.
Uhaa Nation vs. Roderick Strong
The future Apollo Crews really stands out as a very unique wrestler. He is not only physically opposing, but the finesse he has in the ring is extraordinary given his frame. Guys his size could probably do what he does, but he makes it look effortless which isn’t always easy to pull off. Uhaa got the control until Roderick Strong used the referee to push him out to the floor. Strong tied for his boston crab submission after Uhaa tried for his gorilla press/standing shooting star press combo but Uhaa escaped then hit the combo for the win. A good, solid match.
Ricochet vs. Caleb Konley
Ricochet’s Open the Freedom Gate title was not on the line here. In fact, Ricochet made sure to have the announcer repeat this before the match started, which Konley did not like at all. Konley has a weird highlight pattern in his hair. It’s distracting, but hey, he’s a heel. Ricochet is so beyond the talent level of anyone on the indy scene it’s really amazing WWE passed on him. It’s not only he does high flying stuff, he has the charisma to boot and has an amazing confidence level not many people in the industry have. Again, he’s such a special talent. Konley looked good here, even hitting a Regalplex at one point. Ricochet was going for a springboard hurricanrana, but Konley cut him off and countered with a falcon arrow off the top rope for the surprise win. Hey, after all that talk about a non title match, maybe he’s in line for one now! Good stuff here as well. Konley looked good and I’ve already said my thing on Ricochet.
AR Fox comes out for an interview. He says he wants an Open the Freedom Gate title match. This brings out the Bravado Brothers, whose gimmick is that they are Grandma’s boys while wearing nice sweaters. They say they take offense to him saying that he and Cima were the greatest tag team in the company, because they are. Fox disagrees, saying that they’re the most boring. They don’t like that, saying that they have a surprise for Fox, and it’s none other than Moose.
AR Fox vs. Moose
I liked this match. It wasn’t a great back and forth match like others on this show, but it told a good, solid story. AR Fox used his high flying abilities to take out Moose, but when Moose countered he’d use nothing but big power moves. Fox went for a senton at one point but Moose grabbed him and powerbombed him into the ropes. Ouch! Fox also hit what I think was a springboard inverted moonsault. I’d never really seen a move like that before, but it worked. All of this was good stuff until the Bravado Brothers ran in for the DQ. This protects both guys, but the finish was still kinda lame.
The Colony, consisting of Fire Ant and Silver Ant, ran in, leading to the next match…
Open the United Gate tag champions The Bravado Brothers vs. The Colony
This was ok. Nothing wrong with it, but never really got going. They worked on Fire Ant for the heat. Silver Ant got the hot tag, and from there it devolved into a four way. Silver Ant had Harlem Bravado in the Chikara Special, but Harlem grabbed his mask. Lance came in and grabbed it as well, distracting Silver Ant long enough for Harlem to low blow him and pin him.
Evolve Champion Drew Galloway vs. Rich Swann
The injured Swann, who came out here not in the best condition due to the attack early in the show, jumped Galloway at the bell. Galloway countered, and they ended up having a fine back and forth match. Not awesome, but very competent and both guys looked good. Galloway tried for the Future Shock DDT at one point but as they fell Swann countered into a pin for a nearfall. That was cool. The Premiere Athlete Brand all came out again to interfere, but Galloway wiped them out with a senton. Swann went for a springboard off the ropes but Galloway grabbed him and put him in a sleeper choke. Swann tried valiantly to escape, but Drew got him to the floor and Swann submitted. Nice match that told a good story.
Drew grabs a mic after the bout and gave Swann props, saying that he fought like a man and he’ll get his rematch. He put over Evolve, saying that he’ll defend the title anywhere, anytime. He won’t lead you, but he asks to walk by his side for this revolution.
Final Thoughts:
Not a knockdown, drag out awesome show, but a good show highlighted by some great athleticism and good storytelling. I like the concept of having two shows per weekend as you use one show to build to the other, and that’s what this was here while also having some good wrestling on the card as well. This was my first Evolve show, and I’m looking forward to watching more, as I’ll review Evolve 35 in the near future. Stay tuned!
Global Force Wrestling held their first international show on Wednesday 28th October at the Auditorium in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, England.
The event featured GFW founder Jeff Jarrett, as well as a reunion from the British Invasion tag team of Nick Aldis(TNA’s Magnus) and Doug Williams.Traffic caused by a serious accident on the main road into the town caused the event to be delayed by 15-20 minutes and there were still people coming into the venue at bell time.
Merchandise was selling well, particularly the GFW Amped t-shirts but the most interesting point was the use of a four-sided ring (for the evening.
The event started with ring announcer SoCalVal geeing up the crowd and introducing Karen Jarrett.
Karen did an excellent job of noting the historic nature of the show and making it feel like something really special, before turning into a promo on the Nathan Cruz-Jeff Jarrett match, noting that Jeff had not ‘travelled all this way to lose’.
CHRIS RIDGEWAY v NOAM DOR
Ridgeway is highly-rated on the British circuit and is from Barrow-on-Furness. Dor is a veteran of TNA’s British Boot Camp II.
Big things were expected of the opening contest but the participants opted to go for a comedy match centred on funny wristlock and back slide spots, whilst exchanging ‘wrestling’ taunts – it didn’t click with the crowd.
Dor hit a nice standing drop kick to take control of the match. He worked on the arm before taking the victory with a quick tap out to a leg grapevine submission.
1/2* – very disappointing match, the two guys didn’t click and what they put on seemed lost on the audience.
BIG DAMO O’ CONNOR v BRAM – Falls Count Anywhere
It was announced earlier in the day on social media that Bram would be Damo O’ Connor’s opponent in this open challenge match.
O’Connor is huge, 6’4″ and around the 350lbs mark, he looks like a cross between Bray Wyatt and Jason Albert. He cut a good promo before the match saying that he was disappointed that Bram was answering the challenge and that it wasn’t the competition he was looking for.
Bram responded by challenging O’Connor to a falls count anywhere match and the bout started straight away.
They exchanged shoulderblocks to start with neither guy budging. Bram took charge with a flying tackle that sent Damo to the floor.
The pair brawled into the first row but O’Connor took control and sent Bram flying back across the barrier.
Bram hit the post hard and O’Connor got the first near fall with a running senton on the floor.
Damo overpowered Bram but missed a diving headbuttallowing the Englishman to stage a bit of a comeback with a big bodyslam.
That was cut off by a huge pump handle kick that elicited ‘oohs’ from the crowd. Damo got a fantastic near fall off a Samoan drop/running senton combination.
Damo got another two off a Northern Lights Suplex. He went for a second one but it was blocked and Bram turned it around into an Impaler DDT for the win.
**3/4 – Hard hitting brawl that would have benefited from using more of the falls count anywhere stipulation. First time seeing O’Connor and I was impressed with his movement and presence.
NIKKI STORM v MICKIE JAMES
First big pop of the evening for Mickie. Nikki declares herself the ‘Best in the Galaxy’ and never stops talking, constantly berating the audience and her opponent.
Mickie gets the upper hand early on and Nikki stalls to argue with fans in the front row.
Nikki cut off the early momentum with a drop kick and took over with the usual heel tactics, hair pulling, choking and slaps to the face.
She went for a leglock submission but Mickie made the ropes. Nikki went up top but got caught and slammed off.
Mickie scored two with a cross body from the top rope. She went for a sunset flip but Nikki grabbed the ropes and got two off that before the referee swiped her hands away.
Nikki went for a suplex but it was reversed and Mickie was able to hit a kick to the midsection and a leaping DDT for the win.
**1/2 – Better than the majority of the Diva matches you see on RAW. Mickie looked in great shape and you can see why there’s been some interest in Nikki.
The interval took place after this with the opportunity to meet Mickie James and receive a signed photo for £10.
‘THE PRIMATE’ JASON PRIME v ROBBIE X
These two young British wrestlers got a chance to shine but unfortunately much of the audience was still coming back from intermission.
The match was fairly flat and lacked any heat. They went for a technical, ground based bout, which didn’t allow the fans to really get a feel for either man.
Robbie got the win when he blocked a Prime charge in the corner and grabbed the ropes for a cheap three.
* – hard to gauge this one as the match was solid enough from a technical standpoint but did little to get the crowd involved.
NATHAN CRUZ v JEFF JARRETT w/ KAREN JARRETT
Nathan Cruz is perhaps the biggest star of New Generation Wrestling (NGW) based out of Hull (around 30 miles from Grimsby). This meant he was familiar to many in the audience from local TV coverage and various other shows.
Jeff cut a great promo before the bout stating that Cruz wasn’t strong enough competition and that the match would end up being like the NFL going up against the English Premier League (soccer) – the superior athlete would prevail.
Jarrett took control with an armdrag and riled up the audience with the Fargo strut and then laid across the top rope.
Cruz hit a nice dropkick to send Jarrett to the floor. He hid behind Karen but Nathan kept chasing them until he forced Jeff back into the ring.
Nathan was in charge with some high-flying offence but Karen kept interfering to halt his momentum.
Jeff went for a suplex but it was reversed into a slingshot suplex for a fantastic near fall.
Cruz went back up top but Karen again interfered. This time Nathan dragged her into the ring but the referee pulled the pair apart. The distraction allowed Jeff to hit a low blow and the Stroke for the three.
*** This was an entertaining match that benefited from the constant interference from Karen, which made sure they got the right reaction.
RAMPAGE BROWN & MARTY SCURLL v THE BRITISH INVASION (Nick Aldis & Doug Williams)
Rampage Brown is again one of the top stars in NGW, so he received a good heel reaction.
Marty Scurll is from the first TNA British Bootcamp and is now working a Clockwork Orange-inspired gimmick.
Doug Williams got a nice pop and has wrestled in the area many times before. Nick Aldis is the former Magnus and had the GFW World Title with him.
Scurll cut a promo before the match saying that Aldis wasn’t a good representation of a British world champion.
The British Invasion guys bounced Scurll around to start but he eventually made the tag to Brown, who took over on Williams.
It was old-school tag action with the heels cutting off the ring and using several illegal double teams to remain in control.
Doug reversed a waistlock and went for the Chaos Theory on Scurll but Brown broke it up. Aldis got knocked to the floor and the heels took over again on Williams.
They set him up for a double superplex but Aldis came back in to turn it into the Tower of Doom.
This took Rampage out of the action and allowed Williams to hit an exploder suplex on Scurll, with Aldis coming off the top with a beautiful elbow drop for the win.
***1/4 – this was a really entertaining tag match that had the fans involved from the start and sent them home happy.
SoCalVal then invited fans into the ring for a £10 photo opportunity with Aldis and the GFW Title belt.
Overall it was an entertaining old-school show with plenty of fan interaction and some solid action.
Show started with a promo with Jeff Jarrett, Karen Jarrett and Chael Sonnen where Sonnen made fun of Karen leaving Kurt Angle for Jeff. She slapped him and screamed he wouldn’t be in GFW if not for her husband. This promo went absolutely nowhere and no one believed for a minute that Chael Sonnen couldn’t wipe the ring up with both Jarretts in seconds.
NEX*GEN Championship Finals PJ Black vs. Virgil Flynn vs. Jigsaw vs. TJP. PJ Black wins the Title in the Main Event of the show. It was good for the spotfest it was.
NEX*GEN Contenders match Sonjay Dutt vs. Seiya Sanada. Dutt won, but they stole the show. Best match by far.
Women’s Championship Final Christina Von Eerie vs. Amber Gallows. Von Eerie wins the title cleanly.
Tag Team Championship semifinal Reno Scum vs. Teaze N Sleaze. Jacob Austin Young substituted for Kenny King. Reno Scum still won.
Tag Team Championship semifinal Bollywood Boyz vs. Whirlwind Gentlemen. Bollywood Boyz won, and the audience didn’t care much.
Global Championship contenders match Brian Myers vs. Kongo Kong (w/Henry Maxwell) vs. Kevin Kross. Kongo Kong won with a Top Rope Splash. Myers and Kross worked their asses off to get Kong over.
Nick Aldis beat Bobby Roode for the GFW Title, then got a beatdown from Chris Morteszky which he got hardway busted open bad from, so bad they stopped the show to replace the canvas bad. Aldis was a bloody mess and they rushed him to the back.
The Bollywood Boyz beat Reno Scum for the GFW Tag Team Belts which went over like a brick.
The Masked Saint beat Joey Ryan. The crowd did not care except for the plants. There was an angle where Jeff Jarrett announced the movie was released to rave reviews (it has not been) and brought Brett Grandstaff out who got a beat down from Young and Ryan that got no heat and he basically no sold seconds later. It was bad on many levels.
A group of very obvious plants were at ringside with posters for “The Masked Saint” and it was very obvious to the point of “Stunt Granny” bad.
This show had a few good moments, but really looked like any indy show and not a show trying to be the #2 company in America, and right now they’re not even remotely close.
