Pro Wrestling Ponderings

There’s been lots of CHIKARA news since I left for Florida last week, but the main headline is an unfortunate one, as a few weeks back, the Osirian Portal of Amasis and Ophidian competed in the NCPI Tag Team Tournament in Michigan. The Portal wound up making it to the finals of the tournament, but Ophidian injured his arm in the match. A picture of the bone fracture can be viewed by clicking here.

Ophidian had previously been announced for the Dragon Gate USA debut show, but he will be forced to sit out for that event, as well as the next few CHIKARA shows. Leonard F. Chikarason announced the future of the Campeonatos de Parejas, as well as a replacement for him in the DGUSA “atomico” match in a special update Friday night. Below is a graphic of the updated match field. One tecnico spot has still yet to be filled.

DGUSA “Open The Historic Gate”
For more information regarding this event, click here.

Aside from Rayna VonTash versus Daizee Haze, Cheech and Cloudy versus the Roughnecks, and Incoherence and Hallowicked versus the UnStable (which I covered in the last edition of the “CHIKARMY Insider”), three new matches have been announced for “Never Kneel at the Altar of Conformity”.

CHIKARA “Never Kneel at the Altar of Conformity”
For more information regarding this event, click here.

While newer CHIKARA fans may not be aware of it, Lince Dorado and Amasis have quite a lengthy history together. The feud dates all the way back to Amasis’ early days in CHIKARA when he and Ophidian destroyed Lince’s and El Pantera’s chances at receivng a shot for the Campeonatos de Parejas. This will be the first time that Lince faces Amasis one on one, though. With that being said, how will the “Funky Pharaoh” do without Ophidian at his side?

Castagnoli initally seemingly challenged Eddie Kingston to a match at “Never Kneel at the Altar of Conformity” in a special update. However, various resources around the internet are reporting that Kingston will be out with a minor injury for the event. Now, the CHIKARMY will get the oppurtunity to see a first time singles encounter between Donst and Claudio. A win here for “American Made” Tim Donst would easily be the biggest of his career. On the other side, Claudio is looking to rebound off to losses in May. Which top CHIKARA tecnico will walk out with a victory under their belt?

Arguably two of CHIKARA’s finest trio teams will collide, as Fire Ant, Soldier Ant, and Green Ant battle UltraMantis Black, Delirious, and Crossbones. The Order has looked seemingly unstoppable in May, picking up victories over Arik Cannon at “Aniversario Yin” and the Saturday Night Slam Masters at “Aniversario Yang”. On the other hand, the Colony are coming hot off a big “lucha de apuesta” victory and a very successful tour of BJW in Japan. Will the ants reign supreme in Reading or will UltraMantis’ army controlled by the Eye of Tyr prove to lead to triumph once more?

A total of ten new additions to the “Young Lions Cup VII” tournament have been added since the last update, joining Player Dos, Grizzly Redwood, Soldier Ant, Frightmare, Trik Davis, Yellow Dog, Leonino, Player Uno, Create-A-Wrestler, and KC “Cloudy” Day. Big ups to CHIKARA Fans for supplying many of the bios of the young lions listed below.

CHIKARA “Young Lions Cup VII” participants

First of all, Hydra will be participating in the tournament once again. In years past Hydra has competed in the tournament but has never really done much, falling in opening round matches to the likes of Jon Moxley and “The Communist Bovine” MosCow.

Next, Grizzly Redwood will be making his YLC debut. Coming into this competition with wins over fellow young lions, Hydra and Create-A-Wrestler, Grizzly may have a chance, but he has not fared particularly well against others, such as Frightmare (who pinned him in January).

Making his debut in CHIKARA is Brendan Michael Thomas (or “BMT”). Bringing quite a considerable amount of charisma to the tournament, “BMT” should not be overlooked, as he has battled CHIKARA’s own, Eddie Kingston, numerous times in Connecticut. What better way to get one over on his rival than to impress on King’s home turf?

The “Golden Lynx” Lince Dorado will be taking part in the competition for his third attempt at winning the cup. In both, the 2007 and 2008 editions of the tournament, Lince has made it to the six-way elimination match, but has never made it to the finals. However, this this time around, he’ll be hoping to do much better than that and actually win the whole thing, finally attaining a singles title after past near-misses in both, the Young Lions Cup and Rey de Voladores.

Also participating in his third YLC is Tim Donst, who has come a long way since his glorified squashing at the hands of Shayne Hawke in 2007. In fact, he has something else in common with Lince, as both men fell in quick succession last year to Ophidian’s unbreakable prawn hold in the six-way. Donst has recently shown frustration at his tag team partner, Hydra, but he has just vanquished his big singles foe, STIGMA, so perhaps that singles momentum will carry him far in the 2009 “Young Lions Cup VII” tournament.

IWA-MS high-flier, Jason Hades, brings some credibility to the table, having held the IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight title in the past. Not only that, but he holds big victories over past and present CHIKARA alumni, such as Chuck Taylor, Josh Abercrombie, Acid Jaz, Marshe Rockett and Ricochet. He also held his own when put into a singles match with former CHIKARA ace, Chris Hero. Hades is perhaps best known for his devastating finishing hold, the Killswitch, which is best described as a butterfly front flip lungblower, and can be seen in numerous YouTube videos. That move has earned him numerous wins in the stacked IWA light heavyweight division, but whether it can guide him to the Young Lions Cup in his first weekend in CHIKARA remains to be seen.

Both, Ryan Cruz and Darin Corbin of the North Star Express, were last seen at March’s huge “King of Trios 2009″ tournament, making it to the quarterfinals alongside fellow F1RSTer, Arik Cannon, before losing to eventual winners, Team F.I.S.T. This will be the second YLC tournament for both men — Corbin made it to the semi-finals of the fifth incarnation of the tournament, while Cruz was eliminated in the first round of the same year by Ultra Dragon.

Not much is known about Chimaera, who makes his home in Southern California while frequently competing in Tijuana. In just two years of wrestling experience, though, he’s made his name known in FMLL, SoCal Pro, EPIC WAR, Lucha VaVoom!, NWA, and AWS. The mythical creature, in which Chimaera takes its name, has the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a serpent, so he’s clearly meant to fit in well with CHIKARA, who has seen El Leonino, Las Chivas, and Ophidian respectively.

The rookie, Carpenter Ant of the Colony, was announced for the YLC tournament as I was in the middle of typing this edition of the “CHIKARMY Insider”. Carpenter debuted at “Aniversario Yang”, helping Fire, Soldier, and Green Ant in fending off Gran Akuma following the big “lucha de apuesta”. Nearly nothing is known about this young gun at this point, but he will secure a second spot for the Colony in “Young Lions Cup VII”.

CHIKARA “Young Lions Cup VII” non-tournament matches
For more information regarding these events, click here for night one, click here for night two, and click here for night three.

When the mini wrestlers, Mascarita Dorada and Pierrothito, were announced to be making their CHIKARA debuts at YLC, many people initially assumed that the luchadores would be facing off against one another in singles action. It turns out that Turbo and Jorge “Skayde” Rivera will also be added to the mix, as a big tag team contest has been signed for night two in Easton. Will the tecnico team of Dorada and Turbo prevail or will Skayde and Pierrothito be the team that has their hands raised in the end?

Leonard F. Chikarason announced a new and exciting match concept, “Golden Dream”, in a recent blog for night three of “Young Lions Cup VII” in Philadelphia. Basically, the bout is a trios contest that features only former Young Lions Cup Champions. The three team captains have been revealed to be Jimmy “Equinox” Olsen, Vin Gerard, and Fire Ant. Equinox selected Helios as his first partner in a blog, while Vin unsurprisingly chose STIGMA. Fire Ant’s selection is next with the following six remaining former YLC holders to choose from for his squad: Hallowicked, Larry Sweeney, Jigsaw, Arik Cannon, Maxime Boyer, or Chuck Taylor. More information on the “Golden Dream” match in the next edition of the “CHIKARMY Insider”.

In a surprise to no one, CHIKARA announced that, on August 16th, 2009 in Philadelphia, a lucha libre explosion will take place as long-time rivals, Mascarita Dorada and Pierrothito, will face off one on one. Those of you that were looking forward to their tag bout on night two should really anticipate this showdown on the third night of “Young Lions Cup VII”, as these two have supposedly had some of the best minis singles matches in all of the land.

Self-explanatory, really. The winners of the six-man elimination matches on “Young Lions Cup VII: Night 1″ and “Young Lions Cup VII: Night 2″ will face off in a singles bout in the main event of night three. The winner of this contest will be declared the new Young Lions Cup Champion.

In other news, president of the Inter Species Wrestling promotion, Mike Rotch, announced earlier this month that the Canada-based company will be making their United States debut on August 8th, 2009 in East Hartford, Connecticut. Several CHIKARA wrestlers will be on hand for this show, including Jigsaw, Vin Gerard, Buck Hawke, Zombified (Player Dos), the Badd Boys (Jagged and Shane Matthews), Hydra, and even Jolly Roger. The official press release for “The Worst That Could Happen” can be found by clicking here.

CHIKARA released their fourth ever Pod-Per-View, “The Quest for Peace”, two weeks back. The PPV is still available for download for a price of three dollars on CHIKARAPodcast.com, but I don’t believe it will be up there forever. I posted a review for this exclusive internet extravaganza yesterday, so be sure to check it out when you get a chance. If you’re too much of a cheap skate to refuse paying for wrestling matches, then watch the last few Podcast-A-Go-Go episodes for free on YouTube.

Rumored to be over four-hundred pages long and containing over fifty photographs (including some that have never been seen before), the 2009 CHIKARA Yearbook will be released within the next couple of weeks. Mike Quackenbush has noted on a recent episode of the Grizzly Bear Egg Cafe that the book will cost a good amount, so be sure to bring a fat wallet to “Never Kneel at the Altar of Conformity” to assure yourself a copy. I’m guessing that the rest of the loot will be sold off on CHIKARA’s official website, so keep checking back there from time to time.

I don’t know how noticable it is, but I will be using a new layout for my articles on Pro Wrestling Ponderings from now on. Graphics and fonts add a more unique touch, in my opinion. Feedback can be submitted via the comments section below this post or through e-mail at perilloboy123@aol.com. A new “CHIKARMY Insider” will be up in exactly two weeks. Until next time, take care, CHIKARMY members. Thank you for the continuous support.

- Anthony Perillo

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CHIKARA “Pod-Per-View 4: The Quest for Peace”
For downloading information, click here.

The theatrical trailer for Canvasman: The Robbie Ellis Story airs at the beginning of the Pod-Per-View. On a personal note, I have had the pleasure of seeing Robbie Ellis perform in a CHIKARA ring before and for his age, he’s one hell of a wrestler.

Following a quick “Aniversario Yang” DVD teaser, Wiggly and Chiz greets us all to the fourth Pod-Per-View. Wiggly thanks all of the great CHIKARA fans for being apart of this special event. Without wasting any more time, Chiz informs us that the viewers are about to see an exclusive match between Gran Akuma and Icarus of F.I.S.T. versus Cheech Hernandez and KC “Cloudy” Day from the Quasimodo Civic Center in Italy (don’t ask).

Gran Akuma and Icarus beat Cheech Hernandez and KC Day via pinfall (frog splash) - A lot of people on message boards were complaining how disappointing this match was, but I honestly didn’t find it bad at all. Cloudy may have been a little off his game, but I don’t believe it affected the bout much at all. In a funny moment, Cheech successfully hit Kofi Kingston’s “thunder clap” legdrop on Icarus. Icarus would later taunt Cheech by yelling “boom, boom, boom” before kicking him. Cheech and Cloudy hit the Tidal Wave on Icarus late in the match, but he managed to kick out at the last second. After clocking Cheech with a dropkick combination in the corner, Gran Akuma hit the frog splash on him and Icarus covered him for the three. Average match that I think would have gone much better in a traditional CHIKARA venue, such as the Arena or the Easton FunPlex. **.

Bryce Remsburg and Wiggly are on stage in front of a live audience at the “WWCC”, which stands for the World Wide CHIKARA Conference. Bryce announces that CHIKARA will be returning to Reading for the last time this year on July 31st, 2009 for “fan appreciation night”. After that, CHIKARA will be heading to Easton and South Philadelphia for “Young Lions Cup VII” which will take place through August 14th, 2009 to August 16th, 2009. In some newly-announced dates, CHIKARA will be returning to New England after a ten month absence — on September 12th, 2009 in West Springfield, Massachusetts and on September 13th, 2009 in Nashua, New Hampshire. In addition, CHIKARA will be heading back to Easton on October 17th, 2009 and to Philadelphia on October 18th, 2009. Next up on the PPV, Bryce lets us know that we will be seeing a clip of “Lightning” Mike Quackenbush taking on Negro Navarro. Sweetness.

The ending of this match was not shown on the Pod-Per-View, so I had to do some research to see which side wound up winning the match in the end. The clip showed Quack taking on Navarro, but it was really a trios match that was cut up. The three minutes that aired on the PPV were great and a lot of lucha libre fans are already claiming this trios match (Mike Quackenbush, Kendo, and Solar versus Negro Navarro, Claudio Castagnoli, and Mr. Ferrari from LLI in Mexico) to be an early MOTYC.

Wiggly lets the CHIKARMY know that a new CHIKARA yearbook is on its way out later this July. You can bet that I’ll be all over that. Bryce also goes on to announce that CMLL minis, Mascarita Dorada and Pierrothito, will be wrestling at “Young Lions Cup VII”. The Colony versus the Osirian Portal in a two out of three falls match is up next.

Ophidian and Amasis beat Fire Ant and Soldier Ant via pinfall (Osirian Sacrament) in a two out of three falls match - It was never announced that this match was for the Campeonatos de Parejas, so I assume that it was non-title action. Fire and Soldier took it to the Portal early and were able to win the first fall with Ants Go Marching. As the match progressed, the Portal slowly began to fight their way back into it. Much to the crowd’s disapproval, Amasis scores the second fall by pinning Soldier Ant with That Move I Beat Moses With. Amasis and Ophidian jumped all over Soldier almost immediately after the fall. Fire showed some signs of coming back for his team, including a successful Burning Down the House, but it didn’t prove to be enough. The Portal knocked Soldier out with an inverted superplex and headed back to the top for the Osirian Sacrament to pick up the victory. Fun match, but I honestly didn’t think that it was anything special. **¾.

Wiggly thanks all of the viewers once more for tuning into “Pod-Per-View 4″. He reminds us all to check out CHIKARA’s live events this summer. Don’t worry, Wiggly. I’ll be on board for a few of those. Chiz mentions that additional CHIKARA matches can be found on Smart Mark Video. As the two hosts ride up the elevator to exit, Wiggly tells everyone that we can catch him on a new episode of the Podcast-A-Go-Go episode on Monday.

For three smackers, viewers will certainly be getting their money’s worth. Sure, none of the matches are spectacular, but it’s some great CHIKARA fun at the least. With that being said, what are you waiting for? Go kill forty minutes and order the Pod-Per-View right now. When you’re done watching it, post a comment below or e-mail me at perilloboy123@aol.com with your opinions. I guarantee you all that you won’t be dissatisfied.

- Anthony Perillo

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The independent puroresu company, Dragon Gate, made their debut in the United States on September 5th, 2008 in Los Angeles, California on a Friday night. Along with many Dragon Gate wrestlers being included on the card, several prestigious championships were also defended on this particular event. After the fantastic fan reactions at this event, Dragon Gate went forth with creating a new promotion — Dragon Gate USA. I guess that just shows you how well this show went.

To date, DGUSA has only released two DVDs, including “The Best of Dragon Gate Vol. 1″ and the one I am reviewing right now, “Live in L.A.”. I can’t say that I was exactly satisfied with the “best of”, so I was a little hesitant about picking this event up at first. I’m sure all of the matches were fantastic live, but there is a lot that needs to be taken consideration on a home video, including commentary and sound quality. With all that being taken into consideration, is this DVD worth twenty bucks? Keep on reading to find out.

Retired Pro Wrestling Guerrilla wrestlers and California natives, Excalibur and Disco Machine, are on commentary. Yes, the rumors are true. These guys are known for their comedy on the microphone, so if you’re into serious stuff, then I can immediately tell you that you won’t be getting it on this DVD. I’m not a huge fan of either guy, personally, so I can’t say I’ll be the happiest man in the world if they continue providing commentary for DGUSA shows in the future. That remains to be seen, however.

El Generico defeated Genki Horiguchi via pinfall (brainbuster) - A solid match, but I can’t say I cared for it much. Generico entered the ring in some sort of soldier uniform. Excuse me for not knowing where he was going with the attire. Anyways, both guys wrestled crisply and they provided a nice introduction to the Dragon Gate style of wrestling to fans who are new to the product. Towards the end of the match, Generico botched his split-legged moonsault, so he had to go for it again. This came off a little awkward on camera, I’d say. After avoiding some inteference from YAMATO, Generico nailed Horiguchi with a brainbuster for the win. **½.

Horiguchi, Gamma, Yasushi Kanda, and YAMATO began beating down Generico after the match was over. Doi, Yoshino, and BxB Hulk of WORLD-1 quickly came out to make the save. Despite the fact that Generico is not a member of the WORLD-1 stable, Excalibur made it clear that all six men have a Open the Triangle Gate Championship match scheduled for later tonight. Doi and Gamma exchanged some words, including Naruki Doi surprisingly talking some smack in English.

Necro Butcher defeated Stalker Ichikawa via pinfall (stiff punch) - For those of you who are not familiar with Stalker Ichikawa, he is basically the fortified “funny guy” or “loser” of the Dragon Gate promotion. Excalibur let us know that this match was apart of Ichikawa’s ten match trial series of moving to the heavyweight division. Ichikawa rolled into the ring and told the Los Angeles crowd that he is more “dangerous” than his opponent. Necro gets hears him, gets pissed, and runs out like a mad man. The bell rang and Ichikawa slapped Necro across the face. Necro clocked Ichikawa with a stiff punch and he’s done for the three in literally seven or eight seconds. DUD.

Not even having to break a sweat, Necro quickly celebrated and began heading towards the backstage area. Ichikawa stopped him, though. He wants a rematch right here and right now. Necro does not have to hesitate and accepts his challenge. The bell rings and these two are at it again.

Necro Butcher defeated Stalker Ichikawa via pinfall (chair-assisted Tiger Driver) - Early in the match, Necro goes for the big punch again, but Ichikawa wisely ducks out of the way. Ichikawa successfully lands the Kanchou, but it has no affect on Necro. Ichikawa goes for it again, but he comes up with the same result as before. Necro swings at Ichikawa, but he gets out of the way, and delivers a diving Kanchou to Necro’s rectum. Necro became angry and began throwing Ichikawa all around the arena. Ichikawa got in some inside cradles here and there, but it was pretty much all Necro from this point on. Necro put Ichikawa out of his misery with a Tiger Driver onto a pile of chairs for the win. Fun times. *½.

SHINGO defeated PAC via pinfall (MADE IN JAPAN) - SHINGO was the Open the Dream Gate Champion at this point in time, but it should be noted that this match was non-title. The story was that SHINGO tried hitting PAC with every move in his arsenal to try and ground the “Man That Gravity Forgot”. However, PAC was able to counter with high-flying moves of his own. The crowd seemed rowdy for this match, but because of the crappy sound quality on the DVD, I could barely hear squat. PAC kicked out of a Last Falconry, Blood Fall, and even the Pumping Bomber. SHINGO was able to block the British Airways with his knees. A crazy number of near-falls happened at the end, but MADE IN JAPAN proved to be enough for the inevitable three. Great match, but I think the show’s live reports significantly overrated it. ***½.

Dragon Kid and Kendo beat Keni’chiro Arai and Taku Iwasa via pinfall (Ultra Hurricanrana) - Apparently, Vampiro was supposed to be Dragon Kid’s original partner, but he no-showed. Kendo, a masked Japanese junior heavyweight, is his replacement. Excalibur and Disco Machine are nowhere to be heard. Where the hell did they go? Can’t they keep the commentary consistent? Kendo was terrible and slowed the match down tremendously. He was gassed about three minutes into the match and botched almost every move imaginable. At the end, though, he managed to pull off a decent-looking plancha through the middle rope, so props to him on that. Dragon Kid pins Iwasa with the Ultra Hurricanrana for the win to end a brutal bout. No wonder why there was no commentary. **.

Following the match, Genki Horiguchi ran out and attacked Dragon Kid and Kendo. I was so happy when Genki started stomping on Kendo’s face. A wrestler in a green lucha mask ran down to make the save. The unknown luchador then proceeded to nail Horiguchi with the Schwein. The mystery man teared off his mask and was revealed to be CIMA, much to the crowd’s approval. CIMA grabbed a microphone and thanked the fans for showing up. CIMA refused to shake hands with Dragon Kid before leaving.

Ryo Saito and Susumu Yokosuka beat Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson via pinfall (Premium Bridge) to retain the Open the Twin Gate Championships - Excalibur wisely pointed out that this was the first time a Dragon Gate championship has been defended in the United States. They played it up as if the Young Bucks had home-field advantage, which I found cool. Match was mostly split until the very end, which saw RyoSuka take control of the bout. Matt and Nick nailed their finisher, More Bang For Your Buck, but it was broken up before a three count could be made. Ryo Saito picked up the victory for his team after pinning Matt Jackson with the Premium Bridge. Excellent tag team contest that may have been slightly better than SHINGO/PAC from earlier in the show. It’s crazy to think about how good the Young Bucks are at this stage in their early and young careers. ***½.

Gamma, YAMATO, and Yasushi Kanda beat Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, and BxB Hulk via pinfall (avalanche Flashback) to retain the Open the Triangle Gate Championships - Fairly back and forth match except for a long heat sequence on BxB Hulk, as he was getting beaten down by Real Hazard. As usual, Gamma spit an insane amount. At one point, he even spit some contents of a protein shake into BxB’s mouth. Out of all the guys in the match, I’d have to say that Doi, Yoshino, and Gamma looked the best. Dragon Gate always excels in trios matches and this one was no different. Gamma scored the win for his team after pinning BxB Hulk with an avalanche Flashback. Hands down, the best match on the show. I wouldn’t even say anything else came close to beating it. ****.

Honestly, I don’t recommend purchasing this show at all. Every match was forgettable, including the main event. If you’ve seen a bout for the Open the Triangle Gate Championships before, then that’s what you’re going to be getting here. The Open the Twin Gate Championships match and SHINGO versus PAC were both great, but they weren’t anything special.

The graphics and sound quality are both pitiful. Before each match took place, a picture would usually pop up, displaying the competitors’ pictures and names. Now, these looked terrible and appeared like they were done on Paint. Either fix these things up soon or get rid of them completely. The sound, on the other hand, was just as bad. When I watch a wrestling match, I like to hear crowd reactions and different sounds from the ring (for example when a wrestler crashes into the mat). You virtually could not hear anything on this DVD. As one could imagine, it got really annoying after a while.

Excalibur and Disco Machine did a solid job on commentary and clearly researched the promotion’s history and stoylines beforehand. This was something that wasn’t too apparent on Dragon Gate’s “best of” DVD when Prazak and Leonard were in control of commentating. Nevertheless, I can’t say that I would like to continue hearing them on future DGUSA DVDs. There’s just something about their style that begins getting old after a while. Then again, I guess they’re better than Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard.

If this review still hasn’t convinced you to pass this DVD aside, then you are more than welcome to look into buying it by clicking here. I will continue buying DGUSA DVDs because I am interested in seeing how the company progresses through their United States tour. After all, this could turn out to be the one mediocre show that Dragon Gate puts on. Who knows for sure, though?

- Anthony Perillo

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Quite a bit of news has surfaced since the last edition of the “CHIKARMY Insider”, including results from the Big Japan Pro Wrestling shows, announcements for “Never Kneel at the Altar of Conformity” in Reading and “Young Lions Cup VII” in Easton and Philadelphia, and more.

Bits and bits of CHIKARA/BJW stories have been coming from Japan, as UltraMantis Black has been kindly letting us all know through his Twitter account. Only one show has been confirmed by the official CHIKARA website, though, so it’s getting somewhat tricky to follow all of the events going down.

When UMB simply says that, “Dino molests Crossbones; Crossbones has unresolved feelings regarding this”, for example, it’s hard to understand exactly how all this went down. Then again, maybe it’s better that we don’t know any further details.

“CHIKARA JAPAN SHOWCASE”
6.12.2009 @ ICE RIBBON ARENA
(SAITAMA, JPN)

Results:

Instead of having to wait another two weeks for another edition of the “CHIKARMY Insider” to find out the official results of CHIKARA’s tour of Japan, check back on this page daily. If you’re not a fan of scouting a website, you can always wait for the DVDs to be released this summer on Big Japan Pro Wrestling’s website. For the record, I do not plan on covering any more of the CHIKARA/BJW events this year.

Before we move away from the Japan tour coverage, it should be noted, however, that according to CHIKARA Fans, points were in play over the past few shows in the “Land of the Rising Sun”. Fire Ant and Soldier Ant of the Colony have reportedly reached two points, while Jagged and Shane Matthews of 2.0 are now back at zero. The Inter Species Wrestling tag team, Chad and Brad Badd of the Badd Boys, beat UMB and Crossbones at the Shin-Yokohama, but it is unknown if points were in play for this match. Could the Badd Boys be making their CHIKARA debut in the United States soon? At this point, it’s hard to make predictions.

On July 31st, 2009, CHIKARA will be returning to Reading for a “fan appreciation night”. The show has been titled “Never Kneel at the Altar of Conformity”. In addition to every seat being at the price of fifteen bucks, every fan will receive a free gift with their paid admission. So far, three bouts have been announced for the show.

Throughout the course of 2009, CHIKARA has attempted to widen the amount of womens matches by adding a variety of female wrestlers to their cards (see Nevaeh and Shark Girl, for example). In Reading, Daizee Haze will face a girl that she is more than familiar with — Rayna Von Tash, one of her very students. For those of you who are not familiar with Von Tash, she is the first graduate of the SHIMMER Wrestling Academy. Will Von Tash be able to pull off an upset victory or will “The Haze” manage to put this youngster in her place?

The team of Cheech Hernandez and KC “Cloudy” Day have had quite a successful run in 2009 already. In fact, if they can manage to win their next tag team contest, then the duo will have accumulated enough points for a guaranteed shot at the Campeonatos de Parejas. Another team that has also been hot this year, however, is Brodie Lee and Grizzly Redwood of the Roughnecks. After finding out that they will be taking on the Roughnecks in Reading, Cheech and Cloudy made sure their words were heard on a special update. At this moment, Brodie and Grizzly stand at one point. Will Cheech and Cloudy gain the ont point they need or will the Roughnecks continue to chop down whatever competition tries getting in their way?

Following a special update posted earlier this month, it became clear that Hydra wanted nothing more to get his hands on the UnStable. The team of Hallowicked and Frightmare will team up with Hydra to form a trio, in order to even up the sides. After an official announcement was made, Colin Delaney voiced his opinions via a blog. Will Vin Gerard lead the UnStable with the momentum he gainedfrom beating Claudio Castagnoli at “Aniversario Yin” or will green reign supreme in Reading?

One can assume that CHIKARA will continue announcing matches for “Never Kneel at the Altar of Conformity” next week. I will be sure to share my predictions on all of these bouts as soon as a complete card is set in stone.

Fortunately for those living in the Pennsylvania area, there will not be a large gap in time when CHIKARA will stop running events throughout the summer. Just a few weeks after “Never Kneel at the Altar of Conformity”, the seventh annual “Young Lions Cup” tournament will take place from the fourteenth of August until the sixteenth. Nine competitors for YLC7 have already been announced.

1.  Create-A-Wrestler
2.  Soldier Ant
3.  Trik Davis
4.  Frightmare
5.  Player Dos
6.  Yellow Dog
7.  KC Day
8.  Player Uno
9.  Leonino

At this point, it’s hard to tell exactly how many participants will be included in this year’s tournament. I am guessing that they will at least double the amount of guys they have now, though. Who is my personal pick to win the thing? From the guys I’m looking at now, I think it’s pretty safe to go with Player Dos. My opinion could change over time, but he seems like a smart choice right now.

Just to remind you all — Dragon Gate USA will be having their debut show at the Arena in Philadelphia on July 25th, 2009. Since the last edition of the “CHIKARMY Insider”, two new participants have been announced to the CHIKARA “relevos atomicos” bout. See below to get an idea of where I’m going at.

As I predicted the last time, Amasis and Ophidian of the Osirian Portal will represent CHIKARA as the Campeones de Parejas at DGUSA in the rudo corner. For those of you guys who are wondering, I’m still going with Hallowicked and Frightmare to be added to the match next. By the next time a “CHIKARMY Insider” article is posted,  I assume that all eight wrestlers in the match will have been announced.

In other news, the CHIKARA Fans website is reporting that two CMLL lucha libre minis, Mascarita Dorada and Pierrothito, will be debuting for the company at “Young Lions Cup VII: Night Two”. It should be noted that they will both be competing in non-tournament match(es). A Mascarita Dorado music video can be found by clicking here. Dorado is one hell of an athlete, that’s for sure.

You can now purchase a limited edition BJW versus CHIKARA shirt off of Big Japan Shop. There is only one hundred of these available, so be apart of BJW and CHIKARA history and get yours today.

Tim Donst posted a blog and set rumors aside, announcing that the Sea Donsters weren’t done just yet. He also had some personal words for STIGMA of the UnStable, reminding him never to forget about his tecnico roots.

More than a couple of Podcast-A-Go-Go episodes have been posted since the last “CHIKARMY Insider”. Instead of linking each individual one, browse through Wiggly’s YouTube account and watch everything you haven’t seen already.

My last day of school was on Friday, so I will definitely have some time to spare in upcoming months. The only thing is that I have a week-long Florida trip planned out at the end of this month. As soon as I return, though, a new edition of the “CHIKARMY Insider” will be up and ready for reading. With all that being said, farewell, my fellow CHIKARMY mates.

- Anthony Perillo

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During Memorial Day weekend, CHIKARA held one of their two anniversary events at the Arena in Philadelphia. “Anniversario Yang” was headlined by a “lucha de apuestas”, which translates to “mask versus hair” in Spanish. The last time CHIKARA fans saw a match of this sort was in 2007 between “Marvelous” Mitch Ryder and Lince Dorado. After Worker Ant was shockingly forced into retirement after Chuck Taylor and the rest of F.I.S.T. brutally assaulted him, it made sense for Leonard F. Chikarason to book a match of this high caliber between the Colony and F.I.S.T.

Upon hearing all of the feedback on how well this show went live, I knew that I would have to fork over twenty bucks to check it out for myself. With the main event being described as “one of the best CHIKARA matches ever”, I knew that I would be stupid to miss out on something that sounded this fun and spectacular. In addition, many of the undercard matches also intrigued me. How can you pass up on Glacier and D’Lo Brown versus the UnStable, an “atomico”, and Claudio Castagnoli versus Eddie Kingston? I know for sure that I can’t.

Brodie Lee and Grizzly Redwood beat El Hijo del Ice Cream and Ice Cream, Jr. via pinfall (logger pin) -  A fun opener that the Philadelphia crowd really got into. Sometimes I wonder how Brodie Lee and Grizzly Redwood manage to draw in so much heat. Eddie Kingston putting over his fellow Roughneck stablemates on commentary also added to the many comedy aspects of this match. In approximately nine minutes of back and forth action, Brodie threw Grizzly onto both Ice Creams and held him down on top of them with his foot for the pinfall. Lee and Redwood regain one point. Kudos to Mr. Kingston for a great version of “God’s Gonna Cut You Down” by Johnny Cash post-match. **.

Ophidian defeated Arik Cannon via pinfall (prawn hold) - Who would have expected a bout this great so early into the show? There were just way too many false finishes to name here. Cannon managed to survive the Death Grip on a couple of occassions. As Ophidian had it locked onto him one time, Cannon managed to use his strength to transition the submission into a sick brainbuster for a near-fall. Cannon then proceeded to rock Ophidian with Total Anarchy, but that only got him a two count, as well. Running out of options, Arik Cannon signaled for the Glimmering Warlock. When the referee’s back was turned, Amasis popped up out of nowhere and yanked on Cannon’s leg. This distracted Arik long enough for Ophidian to capitalize with a prawn hold for the three count in nearly eleven minutes. Good, good times. ***½.

UltraMantis Black, Crossbones, and Delirious beat Player Uno, Player Dos, and Create-A-Wrestler via pinfall (Praying Mantis Bomb) - Following being kidnapped last month, Delirious is now a member of the Order. He’s sporting silver and black gear now, so he fits in with the appearance of UltraMantis Black and Crossbones. This was upgraded from a regular tag team contest between the Order and the Super Smash Brothers to include Delirious and Create-A-Wrestler, as well. It should be noted that Louden Noxious mentioned how UMB was controlling Delirious with the Eye of Tyr on commentary. I don’t know if it was just me, but Delirious seemed to be a little off in this match. He and Dos had some really sloppy sequences in the early going. Other than that, though, this was a solid match. Dos and Crossbones had some real exciting encounters when they were in the ring with one another. After Delirious blocked a Dig Dug Driver attempt by Uno, Delirious hit the Praying Mantis Bomb on him. UMB then took credit for the win by covering Uno for a three count in about ten minutes. Post-match saw UltraMantis lift the Eye of Tyr into the air for everyone in the crowd to see, as he and the rest of the Order praised its power. ***.

Vin Gerard, STIGMA, and Colin Delaney are in the backstage area, ready to shoot on their upcoming match against Glacier and D’Lo Brown. Normally, I post promo videos for everyone to check out for themselves. However, at the time I am posting this review, ChurchOfMilMongoose has not uploaded these specific snippets onto his YouTube account yet. Anyways, Vin wants to know why Glacier and his pals keep coming back for more punishment. Colin pinned D’Lo Brown at “King of Trios 2009″ and Vin beat him in a singles match last month. Before the UnStable get the oppurtunity to say much more, Leonard F. Chikarason interrupts them in mid-sentence. LFC demands for the cameraman to back off. Although we do not see a visual, Chikarason can be heard asking Delaney why he has been communicating him so awkardly lately. Colin promptly tells LFC that he hasn’t been calling him at all and that if Chikarason doesn’t stay out of the UnStable’s business from now on, then he will have to have a little chat with Dave Coulier. Really strange promo, but I’m sure that we’ll be hearing more about this situation later.

Glacier and D’Lo Brown beat Vin Gerard and Colin Delaney via pinfall (Cryonic Kick) - This turned out to be way better than anyone would have thought it was going to be. About two minutes into the match, Brown knocked Vin out cold with a stiff lariat, complete with blood gushing out of his mouth. D’Lo wrestled the whole match in a pretty stiff fashion, but I don’t think it was completely intentional. Brown has been wrestling in Japan a lot lately and obviously, the style they use there is much different than the stuff going on in a CHIKARA ring. Glacier also got in on the fun by bloodying up Colin about six minutes into the bout. D’Lo looked to attack Gerard on the outside, but STIGMA got involved when Bryce Remsburg wasn’t looking. D’Lo finally managed to make the hot tag to Glacier.  Much to everyone’s surprise, D’Lo locked the CHIKARA Special in on Colin Delaney. Gerard trying breaking up the hold, but Glacier rocked him with a Cryonic Kick out of nowhere to score the pinfall at the twelve minute mark. Afterwards, STIGMA tried attacking the veterans, but he wound up getting a Cryonic Kick for his efforts. For good measure, Brown also nailed him with a Lo Down. Just a real great match that also had an awesome story to it. ***¼.

Jagged and Shane Matthews are backstage, standing in front of the CHIKARA logo. Why the heck aren’t they talking? Is my DVD screwed up? After a while of complete silence, a scrolling message appears that explains that 2.0 have refused to speak until they gain one point. The facial expressions on Matthews and Jagged during this promo were absolutely priceless. Definitely go out of your way to check this one out when it becomes available for viewing on YouTube.

Jagged and Shane Matthews beat Tim Donst and Hydra via pinfall (kneeling frog press) - In the beginning of the match, Shane Matthews taunted the Sea Donsters by saying that Hydra is “on the gas” and will be fired soon because of CHIKARA’s Wellness Policy. Before the situation got heated, though, Matthews offered to play a song on Tim Donst’s guitar. Shane strummed a few chords at first, but then attempted to smash it over Donst’s head. Donst ducked out of the way and quickly followed things up with a Stroke. Shades of Jeff Jarrett right there. Minutes later, Matthews began giving everyone in the ring a Boston Crab, including Jagged who apparently tapped to his own partner’s move. Hydra rolled up Jagged, but it was reversed into a kneeling frog press that surprisingly was enough for 2.0 to pick up the victory and one point in approximately four minutes of action. Hydra apologized to Donst afterwards, but Tim walked out on him, hinting at a possible heel turn in the future. This was unusually short, but it was fun for what it was worth. *½.

Jigsaw, Lince Dorado, and Helios are on camera in the backstage area. Lince is anxious because his team is down one man in the “atomico” match. Equinox pulled out of the show due to injury, so it’s now four against three. Before the three guys can discuss the matter, Jigsaw wants to apologize for taking the fall against F.I.S.T. last night at “Aniversario Yin”, but he explains that he tried his best. In fact, all three of them tried their best and that’s all that matters. Lince seems antsy about what Jigsaw has to say, but before he can come up with a long response, Mike Quackenbush comes out of nowhere. Quack asks Jigsaw if he told Helios and Lince about “plan B”. Jigsaw says he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Quack pulls all three guys over to the side and tells them that he will explain to them off-screen.

Hallowicked, Frightmare, Cheech Hernandez, and KC Day beat Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw, Lince Dorado, and Helios via pinfall (powerbomb-Shining Wizard combination) - A simply insane match that featured a bunch of wild moves throughout that the fans seemed to greatly appreciate. Cheech and Cloudy took the green gear of Incoherence, while the real Hallowicked and Frightmare entered with new orange attires. For those of you who were wondering, it should be noted that Mike Quackenbush took the place of Equinox. Anyways, Lince Dorado has improved so much over the past couple of months. He’s more than worthy of becoming Young Lions Cup Champion at this point. Frightmare also looked superb out there, nailing every move to near perfection. Quack didn’t get too much offense in because I’m sure he can’t risk further injuring his back. Cheech and Cloudy pin Lince with a cool powerbomb combination move for the three in nearly fifteen minutes. The crowd chanted “that was awesome” after the match had ended, as all eight men posed in the ring with each other. CHIKARA really excels in these “atomico” matches, so there was really no better time than their anniversary weekend to have one. ****.

Eddie Kingston is talking about insanity and how his particular case is different from everybody else’s. He mentions rooming with Claudio Castagnoli when he moved from New York to Pennsylvania. At one point, both guys were good friends with one another. After their match at “AnniversarioCT”, however, Kingston didn’t receive a handshake or any sign of respect from Claudio. This angered him. Tonight, Claudio Castagnoli versus Eddie Kingston will be personal. As usual, a great promo by King.

Eddie Kingston defeated Claudio Castagnoli via pinfall (Oklahoma roll) - The Philly fans were split on both sides, as Kingston dished out backhands and Claudio answered with uppercuts. Both of these guys just threw everything they could at one another. Hell, Kingston even broke out a tope suicida to the floor at one point. Claudio also showed a high-flying side to himself here, doing a couple of springboard manueveurs on a few occassions. Claudio nailed a bicycle kick on Kingston and tried finishing him with the Ricola Bomb. However, as Castagnoli was setting up for the move, Kingston reversed it into an Oklahoma roll to pick up the huge win in eighteen minutes. As one would have expected, this was a very good match. ***¾.

Fire Ant and Soldier Ant beat Icarus and Chuck Taylor to win the hair of F.I.S.T. via pinfall (Beach Break) - Gran Akuma and Green Ant are in the corners of their respective teams. F.I.S.T. and the Colony began brawling around the arena right away. As things settled down, Soldier Ant began getting a beating, in turn getting a hole in his mask around his mouth and getting his top torn.  A few minutes later, Taylor set the time keeper’s table up by the apron. Bryce Remsburg got knocked down unintentionally by Fire Ant, which allowed Chuck to give Soldier Ant an Awful Waffle off the apron and through the table. Soldier Ant was knocked out cold and Green Ant had to bring him to the backstage area. At this time, Fire Ant was forced to fight on his own. Taylor and Icarus seemed to have him down for the three on more than one occassion, but kept pulling his shoulder up to continue the punishment. Big mistake on their part. Icarus nailed the Pedigree on Fire, but he miraculously kicked out. Chuck had enough of toying around with Fire Ant, so he applied the one-legged Boston crab that he tapped Danielson out with at “King of Trios 2009″ in the finals. Just when it looked like Fire was about to tap out, Soldier Ant came limping from the back and tried breaking up the submission. Gran Akuma held him back, though, so he was unable to do anything. That is, until a new brown ant came in and made the save. This allowed Soldier to finally break up the Boston crab. This is when we started getting a crazy sprint of moves, including an insane running Awful Waffle on Fire Ant and a TKO by Soldier Ant on Chuck. Fire Ant hit the Beach Break, but Chuck somehow managed to kick out of it. Fire went for it again, nailed it, and put him away for the win. Standing ovation from the crowd, as Fire and Soldier shaved the heads of Icarus and Taylor. Hands down, the best CHIKARA match I have ever seen to date. The drama that these four guys managed to pull off was breath-taking, to say the least. If this isn’t nominated for a MOTYC, then there’s something seriously wrong with the IWC. ****½.

What are you waiting for? Get this show on DVD from SMV as soon as possible. Pick it up for the main event and the “atomico” tag. Along with Claudio/Kingston and Cannon/Ophidian both being very good, the Glacier and D’Lo tag completely surpassed my expectations, as well. Not to mention, the Order of the Neo-Solar Temple taking a big turn with the addition of Delirious is also worth giving a look at. I can’t put it any simpler by saying that this was an outstanding show.

Also, just to give everyone a heads up — there will not be a new “CHIKARMY Insider” article until next weekend. I’m busy with working, the ACT exam, and studying for final exams over the weekend. It’s probably better for me to wait, anyways, because a whole lot of news hasn’t surfaced since the last article I posted. Thanks for understanding and being patient.

- Anthony Perillo

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CHIKARA held their second to last show of 2008 in Easton, Pennsylvania at the Easton Funplex on the twelfth of December. The show was highlighted with several matches, including the Super Fun Times Over-The-Top, Elimination Style, No-Holds-Barred, Masked-Dudes-Welcome, Battle Royal of Doom and Honor, Mike Quackenbush defending his NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship against Buck Hawke, and a main event trios bout between Jimmy “Equinox” Olsen, Helios, Lince Dorado and Vin Gerard, STIGMA, and Colin Delaney of the UnStable.

Quite honestly, I was not planning on purchasing this event on DVD any time soon. In fact, I was planning for my next CHIKARA show purchase to be “Duel & Duality”. While the battle royal and NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship sounded like fantastic on paper, there were portions of the show that simply did not appeal to me. After receiving a great deal for the event from a member on one of the forums I visit, I decided to give my first Easton show a shot. You can’t pass up a CHIKARA DVD for eight bucks, can you?

In his first appearance in CHIKARA, Grizzly Redwood cut a promo before the battle royal began. Redwood used some cliché lumberjack terms when talking about his debut. After Grizzly had seemingly finished talking, Amasis came hopping on screen with crutches. Amasis told Redwood that if he wanted to make an “impact”, then he should follow him. Weird stuff.

Grizzly Redwood won the Super Fun Times Over-The-Top, Elimination Style, No-Holds-Barred, Masked-Dudes-Welcome, Battle Royal of Doom and Honor - Rorschach and USApe start off in the ring first. Unfortunately, the crowd doesn’t seem to care much about either guys, but they pop for USApe’s theatrics before jumping into the ring. Darkness Crabtree lights up the Easton Funplex to a great reaction. Poor Crabtree has trouble getting into the ring these days, it seems. Rorschach quickly throws USApe out of the ring, making the gorilla the first to be eliminated. Shun the Kabuki Kid, Jervis Cottonbelly, Pinkie Sanchez, Dragon Dragon, and Dragonfly join the ring next (in that exact order). Bryce reveals that Dragonfly has not wrestled in over six years. Wow, that’s pretty crazy. With Retail Dragon coming in at number nine, we now have three guys with the word, “dragon”, in their in-ring name. Dragon Dragon and Retail Dragon hug, as “Triple Dragon” is momentarily reunited. Worker Ant comes in next at number ten. Some big fat guy, Love Bug, enters at eleven. He apparently wrestled for CHIKARA throughout 2002. Dragonfly, Retail Dragon, and Dragon Dragon are all eliminated within a matter of seconds. Cottonbelly is taken out shortly after, as well. At number twelve is Dr. Cheung, who comes out to John Cena’s entrance theme. Cheung is the real “Doctor of Thuganomics”. A bunch more simultaneous eliminations go down, including Shun the Kabuki Kid and Dr. Cheung. Larry Sweeney and Grizzly Redwood are in at thirteen and fourteen. Sara Del Rey is the final entrant of this insane match, coming out to the “Final Countdown” by Europe. Grizzly shockingly eliminates Larry Sweeney after some trickery. Sanchez and Del Rey agree to go after Redwood, but Grizzly winds up eliminating Pinkie when he tried skinning the cat and failed. Del Rey tosses Worker Ant out of the ring. With her back turned from the last elimination, Redwood knocks Sara out to win the match. Grizzly proves to be a rudo in CHIKARA, as he brutally attacks Worker Ant after the match ends. Clearly, the point of this match was to get Grizzly Redwood over in an exciting fashion. In that case, I think it worked out very well. Aside from that, there were just way too many funny spots in this match to note on paper, so I suggest every CHIKARA fan to check this battle royal out some time or another. **.

The reigning Campeones de Parejas, the Osirian Portal, are backstage for a promo. With a recent ankle injury occuring at “Cibernetico Begins”, Amasis wants to know why Osiris has given the Portal so much bad fortune lately. He then remembers that that isn’t entirely true, however, as Escorpion Egipico is with them now. The group vows to extinguish Fire Ant and Soldier Ant of the Colony tonight. It turns out that Egipico will get his chance now, as he goes up against Fire Ant in singles action.

Escorpion Egipico defeated Fire Ant via pinfall (Plancha de Cairo) - Egipico tossed Fire Ant around early, showing exactly why he is the bodyguard of the Campeonatos de Parejas. After having his face pummeled in for most of the match, Fire Ant finally caught Egipico with a stunner out of nowhere. This allowed Fire to pick up on the offense, eventually taking the big man out with a plancha to the outside. Egipico faked a shoulder injury and the referee bought it. With Fire Ant’s back turned, Amasis knocked him hard in the gut with a crutch shot. Egipico then ran back into the ring and slammed him down. Egipico hops up to the top and connects with the Plancha de Cairo to pick up the victory around six minutes. As short as it was, this was a real entertaining match. Great stuff from both men. **¾.

Jagged and Shane Matthews of 2.0 are backstage, shooting a promo on their opponents for tonight, Cheech Hernandez and KC “Cloudy” Day. How do you cover a 2.0 promo? Just watch this one for yourself. It’s too funny. The random Goldilocks references had me dying laughing. These two guys are quickly becoming my favorite tag team in CHIKARA. Booyah!

Cheech Hernandez and KC Day beat Jagged and Shane Matthews via pinfall (Go 2 Cheech) - Fast-paced match from start to finish with lots of great tag team moves. Shane Matthews screaming for a total of five minutes also adds to match quality. Jagged and Shane Matthews go for the Hart Attack on Cheech, but it can’t put him away. Cloudy tries taking out 2.0 on his own and does great for a while until he botches a hurricarana. Jagged nearly catches Cheech with a pinning combination, but Hernandez gets out of it and follows things up with the Go 2 Cheech around ten minutes. One, two, three. Cheech and Cloudy gain their first point. Excellent tag team contest between these four CHIKARA regulars. There were some comedy spots before the match began, including Jagged dropping an elbow on a 2.0 shirt (don’t ask), but when the bell rang, it was all serious business. ***¼.

Soldier Ant defeated Ophidian via pinfall (TKO) - I have never been a big fan of Ophidian. Obviously, I respect him as a worker, but I have never been able to get into his style of wrestling. After seeing this match, though, you can now refer to me as one of the “Militant Mat Mite”’s biggest fans. Ophidian did not disappoint, either. The submission moves that Ophidian can pull off are simply amazing. Superb technical wrestling displayed by both guys. Ophidian faked a knee injury on the outside, so Amasis attempted to use crutches to his advantage once again. Soldier ducks out of the way, as the crutches bounce off the ropes and nail Amasis in the face. Soldier fakes being injured, so he catches Ophidian off-guard and nails him with the TKO for the win in approximately nine minutes. What a spectacular bout. ***.

Tim Donst and Hydra of the Sea Donsters have the cameras on them, as they prepare for a promo. Donst lets Hydra know that they will both be facing UltraMantis Black and Crossbones tonight. As Donst rambles on, he questions why UMB would have ever wanted to know the reversal to the CHIKARA Special. Hydra says he does and tries explaining, but Donst doesn’t understand him. Hydra scribbles down a few words on paper and Donst still fails to comprehend what his buddy is talking about. After the Sea Donsters are done talking, the camera focuses in on the piece of paper that Hydra wrote for Donst on the ground. It reads, “EYE OF TYR”. I absolutely can’t wait to see where they’re going with this angle.

Tim Donst and Hydra beat UltraMantis Black and Crossbones via pinfall (Donstitution) - UltraMantis Black and Crossbones slap Donst and Hydra in the face before the match begins, angering the Sea Donsters even more than they had before. Hydra gets a little offense going, but the Order is able to take him down and limit his attacks to a minimum. Donst gets in there and attempts to lift Crossbones, but his back goes out on him. Hydra catches UMB with the HydraLock and the two roll outside of the ring. Hydra holds onto the HydraLock, as UltraMantis Black yelps in pain. Finally, UltraMantis escapes the hold and he and Hydra brawl to the back. Inside the ring, Crossbones powerbombs Donst for a two count. Donst catches Crossbones with the Donstitution out of nowhere, which gets him the three count in seven minutes. Short match, but it was good for what it was worth. **½.

Brodie Lee grabs a microphone and tells the Easton crowd that his match against Hallowicked will not be happening tonight. Lee proceeds to grab Hallowicked’s mask out of his back pocket. Before Brodie can do anything with it, Frightmare comes running into the ring and knocks him out of the ring with a hurricarana. The bell rings and it looks like we’ve got ourselves a match.

Brodie Lee defeated Frightmare via pinfall (big boot) - This was the most exciting squash match you will ever see. Frightmare got in about four moves, but it was enough to get him over with the crowd. Did I mention that all of Frightmare’s moves were picture-perfect? It’s hard to believe that this kid just came out of the WrestleFactory. He’s awesome. Frightmare reverses Lee’s big boot attempt and catches him with a backslide. This pumps Frightmare up and he tries milking the crowd. However, when Frightmare turns around, he is met with a thunderous boot from Mr. Brodie Lee. Obviously, this is enough to give him the win in about three minutes. I don’t think it’s too crazy to say that Frightmare is a future Young Lions Cup Champion. Whether he’s in a squash match or not, he’s still one of the funnest guys to watch in a CHIKARA ring. *½.

Gran Akuma, Icarus, and Chuck Taylor beat Player Uno, Player Dos, and Ultimo Breakfast via pinfall (Awful Waffle) - There has never been a time when I doubted Ultimo Breakfast. Man, did he look great in this match. The Super Smash Brothers did not get a lot of tag team offense in on F.I.S.T. On the contrary, F.I.S.T. were able to hit a lot of trios moves. Akuma and Icarus took out Uno and Breakfast on the outside. After Dos managed to block an Awful Waffle from the top, Taylor pulled him by the tights and successfully hit the move on the mat to pick up the victory around the ten minute mark. Very good trios match with some super cool spots. Other than that, I don’t have much to say. ***.

Mike Quackenbush defeated Buck Hawke to retain the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship via submission (twisting ankle lock) - Quackenbush controlled Hawke early with a variety of submissions. After a while, Buck demanded for an end to the mat work. Quack goes to a series of chops next, even allowing the Easton crowd to get in on the action. Hawke gets knocked down hard after being on the end of multiple Kawada kicks. After more bitching from Hawke, Quack begins mocking him by making chicken noises. This is obviously a shot at Buck’s name, which sounds like “cock” when you say it quickly. Hilarious. Buck nails the TomaHawke on Quackenbush, but refuses to go for the cover. Instead, he attempts a superkick, complete with a parody of “I’m sorry; I love you” from WrestleMania XXIV. Quackenbush catches the kick and quickly applies a twisting ankle lock on Hawke, forcing him to immediately tap out. Great wrestling, great comedy, and an overall, great match. ***½.

Jimmy Olsen, Lince Dorado, and Helios beat Vin Gerard, STIGMA, and Colin Delaney via pinfall (shooting star press) - The UnStable take it to Equinox early, ripping and tearing at his mask. Vin Gerard does every trick in the book to stay on top of Equinox and is successful in doing so for the first five minutes of the match. When Equinox finally began fighting back, he looked to tag in Lince Dorado. However, Lince walked away… only to knock STIGMA and Delaney off of the apron. Lince nailed Vin on the outside with a moonsault off the top, while Equinox pulled off a similar maneuver to wipe out Colin Delaney. In the ring, Helios was able to nail the shooting star press on STIGMA to get the three. This was in my opinion, easily the best match on this show. All six guys were giving it their all and it completely showed. ***¾.

This was definitely a solid event, but I never came across a match and felt like it had to be seen by everyone. The main event and the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship matches were good, but I feel like there are better options out there if you’re looking to buy a DVD for one or two great bouts (for example, Fire Ant versus Vin Gerard from “2008 Young Lions Cup: Night Three” and Mike Quackenbush and Jigsaw versus Cheech Hernandez and KC Day from “Motive, Means, Opportunity”). If you’re a new CHIKARA fan, looking to buy your first show on DVD, I wouldn’t recommend picking this up. Instead, give “AnniversarioCT” a shot.

If you feel like this is absolutely a show that you want to add to your collection, click here to be redirected to the DVD page on Smart Mark Video. After you’re done watching it, let me know what you thought of “Face With a View”.

- Anthony Perillo

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Not many people Shiima Xion’s age can say that they have accomplished as much in the wrestling industry as he has. Shiima made his professional wrestling debut at seventeen-years old. Since then, he has competed in international promotions, such as Dramatic Dream Team in Japan and Desastre Total Ultraviolento in Mexico. Though, Xion will be reaching his biggest feat yet this summer, as he heads off to join the Asistencia Asesoría y Administración roster.

He’s competed against some of the best athletes in the world today, including Homicide, AJ Styles, Joey Matthews, Chris Sabin, Jimmy Jacobs, Alex Shelley, and Nigel McGuinness. He’s had articles written about him in Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Heck, he’s arguably the best known Filipino supermodel out there. With that being said, can you blame Shiima for being a little overzealous?

As the current-reigning IWC World Heavyweight Champion and one of the fastest rising stars in the world today, Shiima Xion has gone out of his busy schedule to stop by Cheap Pop Café for an interview with yours truly. Let’s get this thing started, shall we?

PERILLO: Before we get begin, thank you so much for going out of your way to be interviewed by me. It’s truly an honor. I’ve been a big fan of yours for a couple of years now. With all that being said, how are you doing today, Shiima?

SHIIMA: I’m feeling amazing, man.

PERILLO: Superb. It’s a question that’s always asked first, but it’s sort of tough to avoid. Just exactly how did you break into the wrestling business?

SHIIMA: To make a long story short, I was sixteen-years old and I was bored with playing high school sports like football and basketball. I always loved professional wrestling and knew I wanted to do it someday. Then, I went to an ROH show in Pittsburgh in January 2003 and met IWC promoter, Norm Connors, there. He told me about the IWC training center and I decided to try out for the school that summer. I made it into the class and trained there for fourteen months before having my first match in August 2004 at the age of seventeen.

PERILLO: Which wrestler or wrestlers have had an influence in your in-ring style?

SHIIMA: I have a real clusterfuck of influences. I’ve learned so much from Joey Matthews, Dick Togo, Ricky Reyes, Chris Hero, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, and the list goes on. I’m very blessed to be around so many amazing wrestlers and their constant tips and advice has really helped me develop my style.

PERILLO: Tell us a little about your training. You started out at the Coalition of Competition in Pittsburgh, right?

SHIIMA: Yes, Super Hentai and Shirley Doe trained me at the COC in Pittsburgh. Training began in June 2003 with ten students. Around December 2003, however, there were only three of us left. I guess that’s the easiest way to describe how intense the training could be at times! We practiced Tuesdays and Thursdays and I lived an hour and a half away. I would literally get home from school, pack my bags, and drive straight to practice. Then, I’d get home around 2:00AM and wake up for school the next morning… very, very sore. Honestly, though, I miss those days at the COC. It was a blast.

PERILLO: You recently won the IWC World Heavyweight Championship for a second time. This is arguably the biggest championship win of your career thus far. Care to explain your feelings on winning such a prestigious independent wrestling title?

SHIIMA: I didn’t think it was a big deal, initially. Then, when I actually won the title, the locker room came out to celebrate with me, former champion, Dennis Gregory, put the title around my waist, and the crowd chanted my name…. I fucking cried. Some people have collections — baseball cards, stamps, whatever. Well, I collect moments and memories… and both times that I won the IWC world title have been some of the best moments and memories of not just my wrestling career, but also my life.

PERILLO: According to a numerous amount of sources, you will be joining the Asistencia Asesoría y Administración roster this summer. What is going through your mind, as you prepare to compete for one of the most well-known wrestling organizations in the world?

SHIIMA: I still don’t believe that it’s real! I don’t think it’s going to truly hit me until I’m physically there, but I’m really excited. I love the country of Mexico. And to be doing something I love, full-time, in front of thousands of people every night… shit… that’s living the dream, man! I’m also going to be training with Gran Apache and Negro Navarro, two of the most respected luchadors in Mexico, so I’m honored to learn the lucha libre style from two of the absolute best.

PERILLO: What is your opinion of the current WWE and TNA products? Do you follow either of the companies? If given the oppurtunity, would you be interested in wrestling for either promotions in the future?

SHIIMA: I don’t watch either of the products, but of course, like most United States independent wrestlers, I would love an opportunity with either companies. It might actually happen sooner than you think, too.

PERILLO: How did the CHIKARA opportunities come about? What was it like there? Would you be interested in wrestling for them in the future?

SHIIMA: Shirley Doe and Mike Quackenbush are long-time friends, so that’s how I initially got hooked up with CHIKARA. I’ve only had a few matches there over the years, but CHIKARA has always been a fun time and I’d love to come back again in the future.

PERILLO: Who is your dream opponent in the squared circle? The person can be alive or deceased.

SHIIMA: I don’t really know, to be honest. Maybe Shawn Michaels, as he is my all-time favorite to watch. There are so many others, though. It is very hard to pick just one.

PERILLO: What are some of your interests away from the ring?

SHIIMA: Girls, girls, girls. Those are my main interests. I’m also really into working out, hip hop music, fashion, photography, and partying. Typical stuff for a college kid, I suppose.

PERILLO: Just out of curiosity, what is the biggest rib someone played on you backstage?

SHIIMA: It’s a long story. If my career is ever interesting enough for a shoot interview, I’ll tell the entire story then. But let’s just say it was in Japan and that it involves DDT’s KUDO, a Japanese prostitute, a bar of soap, and a great deal of pain.

PERILLO: It’s ten minutes before you are set to come out for a match. What are you doing as you wait until it’s your turn to walk out from behind the curtain?

SHIIMA: I usually have to take a piss really badly right before every one of my matches, so I’m often cursing myself for letting it happen again and for not using the restroom earlier.

PERILLO: At this point in your career, what is your biggest strength? What is your biggest weaknesses?

SHIIMA: My biggest strength is that I’m a junior heavyweight with somewhat of a total package. I have a unique look and gimmick. I take care of my body, I’m not afraid to talk on the microphone, and I can keep up with that fast-paced style of wrestling. I think I’d be a good fit for TNA’s X-Division some day. As far as weaknesses, I have them, but I don’t feel the internet deserves to know what they are. Sowy!

PERILLO: What would be something that would surprise fans to learn about Shiima Xion?

SHIIMA: Hmmm. I had a pretty serious drug problem, a few years ago. I don’t know how I ever got my head on straight, but my desire to succeed in wrestling really helped me get my act together. It might sound cheesy, but I do think wrestling saved my life in a way. If it wasn’t for professional wrestling, I might be some pathetic junkie living on the streets right now.

PERILLO: The floor’s yours now, Shiima. If you would like to plug anything in particular, go right ahead.

SHIIMA: Add me on MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/shiimaxion. Support the independent wrestling scene, watch me this summer on AAA television, and thanks to all of my Shiimarks for enjoying my work. I promise I will only work harder to keep you, sweethearts, entertained.

PERILLO: Once again, thanks so much for taking the time to do this. I’m sure that we can expect many great things to come from Shiima Xion in the near-future. Good luck in AAA and whatever challenges cross your path next.

SHIIMA: Cheers!

Keep your eyes on this guy, as I truthfully believe that he will be one of the next big names to break out of the independent wrestling scene. Move aside, Brock Lesnar. Shiima Xion is the new “Next Big Thing”.

- Anthony Perillo

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CHIKARA currently has no events posted for June on their schedule and it is being assumed that they will not run another show until the last week of July. Although Mike Quackenbush will not be booking his talent any time in the near-future, other promoters will be.

Instead of digging into predictions for the “Never Kneel at the Altar of Conformity” and “Young Lions Cup VII” events that were just announced, let’s all focus on the two promotions that have had CHIKARA talent booked their shows for months now — Japan’s Big Japan Pro Wrestling and Dragon Gate USA. Before we get into those shows, though, I have posted the results to last week’s “Aniversario Yin” and “Aniversario Yang” events below.

“ANIVERSARIO YIN”
5.23.2009 @ THE PALMER CENTER
(EASTON, PA)

Results:

Notes:

“ANIVERSARIO YANG”
5.24.2009 @ THE ARENA
(PHILADELPHIA, PA)

Results:

Notes:

A relationship between CHIKARA and Big Japan Pro Wrestling started up at last year’s “Global Gauntlet” events in Easton and Philadelphia. There, many dream matches between BJW and CHIKARA talent were made.

One year later, Big Japan Pro Wrestling has invited a select few CHIKARA wrestlers to make the trip over to Japan for a joint event of sorts on June 12th, 2009 and June 13th, 2009 in Saitama and Tokyo. The eight lucky wrestlers that will be making the trip to Japan in June are UltraMantis Black, Crossbones, Fire Ant, Soldier Ant, Green Ant, Chuck Taylor, Jagged, and Shane Matthews. The rudo side of Team CHIKARA has already cut a promo on BPW, being led by UltraMantis Black. Also, the cards of both of these events have been announced in their entirety.

“CHIKARA JAPAN SHOWCASE”
6.12.2009 @ ICE RIBBON ARENA
(SAITAMA, JPN)

- Green Ant versus Mask Man

- Chuck Taylor versus Michael Nakazawa

- Jagged and Shane Matthews versus Mototsugu Shimizu and Atsushi Ohashi

- Fire Ant and Soldier Ant versus UltraMantis Black and Crossbones

“CHIKARA JAPAN SHOWCASE ~ GLOBAL GAUNTLET II”
6.13.2009 @ SHIN-KIBA FIRST RING
(TOKYO, JPN)

- Daikokubo Benkei versus Atsushi Ohashi

- UltraMantis Black and Crossbones versus Shadow WX and Yuichi Taniguchi

- Chuck Taylor versus Daisuke Sekimoto

- Jagged and Shane Matthews versus Yoshihito Sasaki and Ryuichi Kawakami

- Takashi Sasaki and Shinobu versus Michael Nakazawa and Mask Man

- Fire Ant, Soldier Ant, and Green Ant versus Jaki Numazawa, Yuji Okabayashi, and Shinya Ishikawa

If any new information is posted about the Big Japan Pro Wrestling shows, then it will be covered in the next edition of the “CHIKARMY Insider”. Now, moving over to CHIKARA’s involvement in the new, Philadelphia-based company, Dragon Gate USA.

On April 14th, 2009, it was announced at a Dragon Gate show at the Korakuen Hall that the promotion would be expanding to the United States. Satoshi Oji was named president and Gabe Sapolsky (former Ring of Honor head booker) took the job of being vice president of Dragon Gate USA. In an online press release that was posted online at the end of April, Gabe Sapolsky stated that DGUSA had reached a partnership with another wrestling company.

At the CHIKARA event, “The Bobliographon”, this video package played on a big screen in front of a packed crowd in Philadelphia. It was none other than CHIKARA that had agreed to team up with DGUSA. Almost immediately upon revealing this news to the public, DGUSA announced that a “relevos atomicos” match featuring all CHIKARA talent would take place at their debut show in Philadelphia on July 25th, 2009. Only three of the eight competitors in this match have been announced so far.

Want to hear my predictions on who I believe will be added to the match next? I assume that Gran Akuma’s partner in crime, Icarus, will join him on the rudo side. My guess is that one of CHIKARA’s most experienced wrestlers, Hallowicked, will side with the Colony on the tecnico side. Then, Frightmare will head into the bout next to his Incoherence buddy.

Amasis and Ophidian of the Osirian Portal are one of the most popular teams on the independent scene today, so I assume that they will be given the nod on the rudo side to fill up all of the competitors in the “relevos atomicos” bout. Not only that, but the Portal are also the current-reigning Campeons de Parejas. What better way to showcase your company than putting your tag team champions to work?

Two new episodes of the Podcast-A-Go-Go have been posted since last time. Click here to watch episode 162 and here to view episode 163. Matches from “Cibernetico Begins” in Framingham are being looked at. I was actually at that event live, so I can assure you that each of the bouts are worth giving a look at. Don’t believe me? Read 411mania.com’s Kevin Ford’s review of the show by clicking here. After you’re done doing that, hop over to Smart Mark Video and purchase the DVD.

That’s about all of the CHIKARA coverage I can hand out for a single article. Don’t forget to check back in approximately two or three weeks to read another brand new edition of the “CHIKARMY Insider”. I am literally obsessed with Mike Quackenbush’s creation, so you can bet that I’ll be on top of everything, as soon as it’s announced. Thank you for reading, my friends. Until next time, sayonara.

- Anthony Perillo

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For those of you who are not familiar with Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, the promotion lifted off in the summer of 2003 by fellow wrestlers,  Disco Machine, Excalibur, Joey Ryan, Scott Lost, Super Dragon, and Top Gun Talwar. Today, PWG is regarded as being the most popular company in all of Southern California.

As soon as I found out that Paul London would be making his first wrestling appearance after being released from his WWE contract at a PWG event, I knew that I would be all over this DVD.  As soon as it was available for pre-order on the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla website, I put down twenty bucks to get it.

When “Express Written Consent” had ended, people began raving about how this was one of PWG’s greatest events of all-time, which made me want to see this on tape even more than I previously had. In addition to Paul London making his Pro Wrestling Guerrilla debut, Colt Cabana also unexpectedly returned to the company. Cabana was recently from his WWE contract on a Friday and he came back to PWG that Saturday, just one day after being fired.

Zokre defeated Scorpio Sky via pinfall (la magistral) - This was Scorpio Sky’s first match in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla in over six months. According to Excalibur on commentary, Sky had been suffering a nasty lower-back injury. Decent match with lots of cool lucha libre stuff. Zokre got the win in a super sloppy finish with la magistral. Sky was clearly by the ropes, so the pin should have been broken up, but Anthony Rosas gave Zokre the controversial victory, regardless. The crowd absolutely crapped on Rosas for this, chanting “you fucked up” and various other derogatory slurs that I’d prefer to keep off this website. *¾.

B-Boy defeated TJ Perkins via submission (rear naked choke) - B-Boy was making his return to Pro Wrestling Guerrilla here, while Perkins was making his departure. For those who aren’t aware, Perkins relocated from California to Florida at the beginning of the year. Human Tornado was at the commentary booth, making some hilarious remarks. There was a ridiculous amount of near falls towards the end with TJ resorting to the cross arm breaker on several different occassions. B-Boy forced Perkins to tap to the rear naked choke to pick up the win. TJ Perkins received a well-deserved “thank you” chant when the match was over. TJ’s one of my favorite wrestlers in the world today, so I really hope that he returns to PWG some time in the future. **½.

At this time, Paul London came out to a mixed reaction. A lot of people who attended the show live claimed that London was high. Judging from what I saw and heard, he definitely wasn’t. It’s easy to tell when a person’s being goofy and when they’re high. Joey Ryan interrupted Paul in the middle of his rant, claiming that he was a “psycopath” for bringing out a trident to the ring. Ryan got into London’s skin even more by claiming that Matt Hardy could kick his ass. London chased Joey out of the ring to end one awkward segment. This wasn’t even very entertaining; it was just strange.

El Generico defeated Kenny Omega via pinfall (super brainbuster) - I don’t know why, but I’m not sure if I enjoyed this match as much as a lot of other people did. Calling this one a MOTYC may be going a little too far, PWG fans. There was a lot of intense action, but only a couple of spots stood out to me in the end. The Hadouken by Omega was nicely done and it really looked like he had Generico down for the three count. The finish, though, is what definitely made this match. After referee, Rick Knox, nailed Omega with a leaping clothesline, Generico quickly followed it up with a corner yakuza kick. BRAINBUSSSTTTTAAAAAHHH~! Game, set, and match. Rick Knox had taken a lot of physical abuse from Omega throughout the bout, so this seemed like the ultimate revenge. ***¾.

Austin Aries defeated Necro Butcher via pinfall (chair-assisted brainbuster) - Before the bell rang, Aries challenged Necro to a pure wrestling match. Necro displayed his excellent technical ability by putting a random fan in a hammerlock for about thirty seconds. To take a shot at Necro for being in The Wrestler, Aries went up for the Ram Jam, but missed. A guillotine crusher by Necro onto two chairs was not enough to put away the “Greatest Man That Ever Lived”. Austin wrapped his boot with a steel chain and knocked Necro out cold with his signature corner dropkick. Aries then followed things up with a spine-chilling brainbuster onto a steel chair for the win. This was a fun match, but it definitely dragged at times. ***.

Chris Hero defeated Human Tornado and Colt Cabana to retain the PWG World Championship via pinfall (rolling yakuza kick) - About five minutes into the match, Colt Cabana came out to a thunderous reaction. He explains to Hero and Tornado that Dino Winwood has put him into the title match, now making it a three-way. Hero and Cabana worked as a unit early on, absolutely decimating Tornado. Human Tornado fought back, though, eventually knocking a tooth out of the mouth of Chris Hero. After sending Cabana out of the ring with a rolling elbow, Hero rocked Tornado inside with a sick-looking rolling yakuza kick for the three. I honestly think that this bout could have surpassed four stars, but it was just way too short. ***¾.

Following the match, Chris Hero offered Colt Cabana a singles match for the PWG World Championship in the future. Cabana gladly accepted, shaking Hero’s hand. A dazed Human Tornado then grabbed a microphone, requesting to make a peace truce with Chris Hero. Tornado extended his hand out to Chris, but he refused to shake it.

Paul London, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson beat Joey Ryan, Scott Lost, and Karl Anderson via pinfall (shooting star press) - London is sporting a sweet, new attire. The dangling pieces on the sides of his boots remind me of Sora’s character model from the Kingdom Hearts series. Horrible comparison, I know. Paul botched a frankensteiner on Lost right at the beginning of the match, leaving the crowd believing that he was definitely going to start showing some ring rust. Aside from his back giving out on him while picking up Joey Ryan, London was absolutely spotless from that point on. The Young Bucks nailed a 450 splash and moonsault combination, only for Paul London to score the eventual pinfall with the shooting star press. When it was all over, London received one hell of a “please come back” from the fans. Paul briefly got on the microphone afterwards, saying that this particular moment was one of the greatest times of his entire life. Best match of the show. ****.

This DVD should absolutely be picked up by all independent wrestling fans. For just twenty smackers, it’s a great steal. Nearly three of the matches on this show hit the four star plateau. Believe me, I’m not such an easy grader, either. For the most part, the Reseda crowd was terrific. The fans definitely added a special atmosphere to all of the matches on the show.

I may have overrated the main event a little bit, but only because Paul London is one of my favorite wrestlers of all-time. Seeing him return to the independent scene after basically suffering for five years in the WWE was a spectacular and overall, relieving, thing to witness.

Once again, absolutely go out of your way to get this event on DVD. I can assure you that it’s worth every single penny. If you’re interested in purchasing a copy of this event for yourself, click here for ordering information.

- Anthony Perillo

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At just twenty-one years of age, Johnny Yuma has already made a name for himself on the Southern California wrestling scene. You may also recognize him from early in his career when he competed as surfer, Johnny Mahalo. Just recently, SoCalUNCENSORED.com announced Yuma to be their runner-up for “Rookie of the Year”, losing to Chris Kadillak by a mere three votes. Notable opponents that Yuma has faced already are current-reigning PWG World Tag Team Champion, Nick Jackson, and the “New Age Punisher” B-Boy. Yuma was also scheduled to face former PWG World Champion, Joey Ryan, and Total Nonstop Action alumnus, TJ Perkins, but schedule changes prevented him from ever getting into the ring with either men.

Today, Johnny primarily works for New Wave Pro Wrestling and SoCal Pro Wrestling. Many Southern California wrestling fans believe that is only a matter of time before Johnny Yuma is one of the biggest names on all of the independent scene. If you’re interested in checking out Johnny’s work, the majority of his matches can be found on YouTube under the account name, “andrewxpulido”. Without further adieu, let’s get this interview under way.

PERILLO: First of all, thank you for taking the time to do this, Johnny. I really appreciate it. I’ve had the pleasure of watching you grow and develop in the ring over the past few years. I have yet to find a match of yours that isn’t entertaining. With all that out of the way, how are you doing?

YUMA: I’m doing great, man. The weather here is messing with me and I’ve been sick on and off for over a month now, but other than that, I am fine and dandy.

PERILLO: Glad to hear it. First, I’ve got to ask you this question. When did you come to the decision to go out there and become a professional wrestler?

YUMA: Well, I’m definitely an odd story. I grew up hating wrestling. All my friends loved it, but all I cared about was Star Wars. I ripped up Raw magazines, broke the heads off “Bone Crunching” figures, and called wrestling “gay”. But I had never actually seen it. Then, one Thursday, one of my best friends convinced me to watch SmackDown! by asking politely and saying he was sure I’d enjoy it. I tuned in and on my screen, there was a tiny white guy getting wrecked by a giant black vampire in a trash bag. I was hooked. Instantly. And I knew there was nothing else I’d want to do for the rest of my life. Right then and there. I was twelve at the time.

PERILLO: What was your training like when you got into the business? Who trained you? Where did you get trained at?

YUMA: I started training right after high school. I moved from San Diego to El Segundo, in order to train with the best around at UPW. I was trained by the Ballard Brothers, Lil Nate, and when I wasn’t being a pussy, Aaron “Jesús” Aguilera.

PERILLO: Who were your wrestling icons before getting into the business? If you’re still a fan of the current product, who are some guys that you enjoy watching today?

YUMA: Well, right off the bat, due to him being the first wrestler I ever actually saw wrestle, Viscera was my favorite. I had never seen a human like him and he amazed me with his spinning heel kick. Influence-wise, Jericho has always been my idol and who I model myself after. But I’m a huge Rey Mysterio Jr. fan, too. Watching him succeed in a big man’s world will always give me hope and having his mask tattooed on my arm will always remind me not to let my size get me down. Watching now, I’m all about Evan Bourne, Jericho (still), Rey (still), and Festus. I really enjoy the big dudes, even though I’m a small guy. Honestly, there isn’t really anyone on television that I currently don’t enjoy. Oh, and don’t forget Mark Henry. That dude’s a beast.

PERILLO: With a total of thirty-six votes, you took runner-up as SoCalUNCENSORED.com’s “Rookie of the Year” for 2008. Previous winners of that contest include B-Boy, Samoa Joe, TJ Perkins, and Human Tornado. How does it feel to take up such an honorable status?

YUMA: I was super stoked. Obviously, I was a little bummed that I didn’t actually win, but to be the only San Diego guy nominated in SoCal, which is all about Los Angeles wrestling, was a great feeling. Not to mention, having Human Tornado and Johnny Webb vote and put me over on SCU was very cool, as well, and I really appreciate it.

PERILLO: Just out of curiosity, what is the funniest or strangest thing a fan has ever asked you?

YUMA: I’ve never really had too many “funny” fan interactions. However, I have been punched in the face by one at a lucha show.

PERILLO: Just a few questions back, you brought up one of your many tattoos. Do you mind telling us a little bit about a few of your favorites?

YUMA: I love all of my tattoos, even the ones that are terrible. I’m very fond of my hammerhead shark on my leg because hammerhead sharks are ugly and badass. My most recent one is of the city of Chula Vista’s logo, which is where I was born and raised. I love that city and I love San Diego as a whole. It’s pretty much my way of saying how much I love my city. The lucha half-sleeve is cool because it gets people asking me about it. Then, I get to tell them about what I do. It’s a definite conversation starter.

PERILLO: I know that you’ve only been around for a year or so, but what is the worst injury that you’ve had to deal with since you began your career?

YUMA: I’ve gotten pretty messed up in training. Two concussions, a broken thumb, etc. Last year, at my twenty-first birthday, my back just gave out. I had a show, a few weeks before, and it felt odd, but thought nothing of it. Then at my party, I leaned back to chug some Jaeger and collapsed. It felt like lightning struck my back and I thought I was paralyzed. Haha. The partygoers thought I was wasted, but that was my first sip all night. The next two days were hell. The doctor told me I had a bad muscle spasm, due to potentially herniated discs. I’m okay now, though! I think.

PERILLO: When you’re not wrestling, what are some things that you enjoy doing during your free time?

YUMA: Watching wrestling. Haha. Seriously, I watch tapes all day. I love it. I love other stuff, too, but I watch at least an hour every single day. I watch old Attitude Era stuff while I work out. Usually, the first time is to enjoy it. The second time, to watch what the wrestlers are doing and why the crowd is eating it all up. I’m a musician, as well, and play bass with my band when the other half is in town and not away at college.

PERILLO: Do you have any advice for people who are trying to break into the wrestling business?

YUMA: Take it seriously. From day one, make sure you really care. It’s definitely not fun at first. It hurts, it’s discouraging, and tons of hard work. If you want to get to the fun stuff, you got to go through the bullshit. Always take it seriously, including your physical shape. I was super scrawny when I first started and everything hurt that much more. After my time off, I was a slob when I started training again and got blown up and embarassed all the time. Take every single aspect seriously and always be respectful.

PERILLO: If you could have a match against any wrestler in the world, who would it be and why? The person can be alive or dead. It doesn’t really matter.

YUMA: Chris Jericho or Viscera. Honestly, it’s always been a silly dream of mine to have a squash match with “Big Vis”. That dude is the reason I didn’t change the channel that Thursday night. As for Jericho, I don’t know. I just feel like he could teach me so much out there.

PERILLO: What is, in your opinion, the best match you have ever competed in?

YUMA: I’d say my match with B-Boy. It got a lot of people ’round these parts talking about me and I was very proud that I was able to keep up with a guy who has been everywhere.

PERILLO: What is your favorite match of all-time that didn’t involve you in any way?

YUMA: That’s a toughie! God, I have so many, but I’d have to say Shawn Michaels versus Chris Jericho at WrestleMania XIX. I was there live and couldn’t believe what I was getting to witness. That night was intense. So many magic-ass moments.

PERILLO: It’s ten minutes before you are set to come out for a match. What are you doing as you wait until it’s your turn to walk out from behind the curtain?

YUMA: Remembering I forgot to stretch and scrambling to get some Elixir-flavored 5 gum out of my bag, so I don’t puke in the ring!

PERILLO: If you weren’t a professional wrestler, what would you be doing with your life right now?

YUMA: Well, sadly, I do have a stupid day job, but I can tell you that if I wasn’t a wrestler, I’d probably be all about music and clothing. I’m going to start my own printing company soon and I’ve always wanted my own clothing brand.

PERILLO: This is a question that I used to like to ask on the Cool Kids’ Table a lot. What’s one thing that people would be surprised to learn about you?

YUMA: From looking at me, I’m assuming it’s hard to tell that I’m obsessed with Star Wars and Pokémon!

PERILLO: You are a brave man for admitting the latter. Pokéfans, beware of Johnny Yuma on Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

YUMA: That’s right! I will wreck you with my team! No joke.

PERILLO: My Breloom would sweep your team, son.

YUMA: Well, dang! I dunno, but I’m good!

PERILLO: Haha. It’s all you now, Johnny. If you would like to plug a website, merchandise, upcoming appearances, or whatever else comes to mind, shoot away.

YUMA: If anyone wants some gnarly Yuma t-shirts, hit up my MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/hypertite. Also, check out my band at http://www.myspace.com/talkfahrenheitband. In addition, you can message me on my MySpace at any time. I’m always down to chat about whatever. Check out my calendar to see if I’ll be in your area soon, which I doubt… unless your area is San Diego or Los Angeles… or… Easton? Nah, just SoCal!

PERILLO: I appreciate your time, man. Good luck in the future. I’ll be watching closely for whatever you have in store for us, wrestling fans, next.

YUMA: Thanks for having me, dude. It was a pleasure to be the first person interviewed on your new website. Everyone should check out Pro Wrestling Ponderings. Rock on!

Johnny’s an outstanding guy and I’m proud to call him a close friend of mine. Give him all the support you can. There’s some real cool merchandise on his MySpace page, so buy everything one thousand times. I know for a fact that Johnny works real hard and does whatever he can to keep the fans entertained. It’s rare that you see someone with so much passion and I’ve got to give it to him for that.

If you liked this interview, you can expect a lot more similar stuff from me soon. I have already started talking to a few potential guests, but nothing is in cement just yet. As soon as I get confirmations, I’ll be sure to let you guys know.

- Anthony Perillo

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