Pro Wrestling Ponderings

You might think lists are cliche and boring. I think they’re a way of doing an easy column when it’s the dog days of summer, and I want to not be inside writing this column. Hey, I love my readers and this side, but Chicago doesn’t get a great deal of nice days. I have to take advantage while I can. So alas, I’m providing my list of the top ten wrestlers entertaining me right now.

10. KENTA

If he was wrestling in the states, this individual might be number one. As it is, I’ve only seen a limited amount of matches from him. His match with Davey Richards is the best match ROH has produced this year. His match with Nigel McGuinness was very good given the context, and he was in a tremendous tag team match in NOAH shortly after the death of Misawa. KENTA’s entertainment value is all in his workrate, which makes him unique to this list.

9. The Colony

Even with the sad departure of Worker Ant, this group has been featured in two of the matches I’ve loved most in 2009. Soldier Ant and Fire Ant are the specific portion of the group I’m including on this list, but I can only imagine what Green and Carpenter Ant can add to one of the best babyface groups in CHIKARA and professional wrestling overall. They are one of the top contenders for the Campeonatos de Parejas, and I’ve enjoyed them so darn much since watching CHIKARA. These guys were actually one of the first groups I noticed back at King of Trios 2008. While the idea of a bunch of guys dressing up as ants might be absurd (Okay, it is.), it fits in perfectly with what CHIKARA is all about. No way would The Colony fit in with ROH or most of the other independent companies in the States, but instead of being generic pale white jobbers, the masks and names give them distinct characters.

8. Kenny Omega

His outings in Ring of Honor haven’t exactly been the best, but everything he touches in PWG  turns to gold. And not a golden shower either. His match with El Generico at Express Written was one of the best mid-card matches I’ve seen in quite some time. His duo with Chuck Taylor has been nothing short of brilliance. I think he’s much better off in PWG because wackiness is far more accepted there as opposed to whatever Ring of Honor is trying to be. If nothing else, Omega has found himself in the middle of the title picture and could possibly have a singles match with Austin Aries before the year is done. He’s basically a new face in major independent wrestling, and while his match quality had varied, he’s at least something very different compared to some of the other individuals you’ll see on an average DVD.

7. Bryan Danielson

If I had done this list in 2007 and 2008, I can almost assure you that American Dragon would have been in the top five. While he’s still one of the best wrestlers in the world, you just get the sense that Danielson is taking it easy and moreso having fun. I’m not accusing him of tanking it by any means or not giving people their money’s worth. It’s just this is a guy who’s seemingly done it all in indepdent wrestling. What else could he possibly have to do? The positive for us as fans is he’s still been in quite a few four star tag team matches. The six main event of Night 2 of King of Trios is just one example. His 45 minute draw with Black as his partner against the Wolves is another. His most unique match of the year candidate took place at DDT4 against The Young Bucks. It wasn’t an exchange of finishers but rather one of the all-time greatest beatdowns you’ll ever see. Even though the Bucks won, they most certainly earned it as Danielson and fellow Hybrid Dolphin Roderick Strong destroyed these young Christian boys.

Danielson did the job in that match just as he tapped out in the finals of King of Trios. He also put over Tyler Black in an excellent match that took place on ROH on HDNet. Danielson is still one of the best in the world and has shown himself to be willing to put younger stars over. He is the very definition of a PROFESSIONAL wrestler, and for that reason will always be one of the best wrestlers in the world.

6 F.I.S.T

Of course, the biggest reason these guys are on this list is because of their match against The Colony. But their work at King of Trios is also a huge reason they’re featured here. They are the best heel group in the business today because they don’t act like cool heels. They act like the biggest douches in the world. They bully people around. They scream with fans. Why? Because they don’t like anyone. They’re the guys in high school who would take your lunch money and stuff you in the locker. The best part is they’d do this with a smile in the face.

Akuma is now in one of the more intruging angles of the year as CHIKARA is about to enter a major feud with Dragon Gate. Akuma also had a great little match with Shadow Phoenix. Chuck Taylor was a part of the big mask vs. hair match, but he’s also on this list for his work in PWG. I guess if I were to rank the F.I.S.T guys, Taylor would be at the top since his PWG work is also included. He and Omega have formed what could quite possibly be the most awesome tag team in the history of wrestling, The Men of Low Moral Fiber. Taylor had a fantastic match with El Generico at “The Gentle Art of Making Enemies” in addition to being in two excellent DDT4 tournament matches. I have absolutely loved Taylor in particular, but Akuma and Icarus have also been excellent compliments in CHIKARA.

5. C.M. Punk

The heel turn that began at Extreme Rules only enhances his value to this list. Of course I have an intense bias toward C.M. Punk. It only makes sense that he’s on the list. Thanks to two months of great promos and really riding the fence between heel and face up until Night of Champions led him to this list. This is a guy who’s been a highly consistent performer on Smackdown since the draft. He’s had some awesome television matches with John Morrison while having two consecutive quality matches on Pay-Per-View with Jeff Hardy. Seeing as how he’s on the brand more suited to letting younger guys excel, Punk should continue to have a solid 2009. If only WWE would stop jobbing him out and just him have the world heavyweight championship for an extended period of time.

4. The Young Bucks

Of course the best tag team of 2009 finds their way on this list. Matt and Nick have brightened up more than one company. Their home company is PWG, where they have been the tag team champions since August of 2008. They’ve had a number of four star matches there with the Machine Guns, Hybrid Dolphins, and even The Men of Low Moral Fiber. In Ring of Honor, they’ve actually been shining lights on some bland HDnet television shows despite the fact they’ve wrestled in two squash matches. They also got to wrestle for CHIKARA and wowed the crowd in two different tag team matches. Nick Jackson was also in the best match of the weekend, but you might have forgotten all about him since it was basically the Generico vs. Kota show. Then there’s Dragon Gate USA.

In the most aniticipated show of the calender year, the Bucks scored a major upset over Dragon Gate icon CIMA and his partner, Yokusuka. They then got on the microphone and said they were the tag team of the present… not the future. They certainly are, and they might be the best tag team in professional wrestling very shortly, if they aren’t already.

3. Davey Richards

Richards is part of a tag team as well and has been one half of the ROH tag team title holders back since April. Eddie Edwards isn’t nearly good enough to be on this list, but Richards has been the MVP of 2009. Not only has been in multiple matches of the years, but his heel persona has only enhanced his value to any company he wrestles for. He’s primarily been in Ring of Honor and Pro Wrestling Guerilla having these great matches. What has made Richards so special is his ability to have great one-on-one matches with guys like KENTA and Tyler Black while also having amazing tag team matches with Kevin Steen and El Generico. That series alone has been a shining light in a rather ho-hum year for Ring of Honor. As a side note, Richards has actually been the Full Impact Pro championship belt, but since their DVDs aren’t being released for whatever reason, this really is just a side note.

If Richards continues to improve and develop, there’s no reason he can’t be the Ring of Honor or PWG world champion in 2010. What there can be no doubt about is he’s going to be one of the biggest names in indepedent wrestling going into the next decade.

2. Austin Aries

There is a fine line between number one and two. So fine that either one of the top two could easily be at the top of the list. So I guess the only thing to is explain the difference. I was as cynical as anyone about Aries turning himself heel. I didn’t see any conceivable way for this to possibly work. Little did I know. Aries changed his gear, changed his hair, and sleazed himself up big time. He’s become Joey Ryan except much better. His in ring work has not been as good, but I attribute that to an overall style change within Ring of Honor. Aries has been an individual that’s become one of the best promos in the sport today. In what I consider to be a major historical note, Aries is also the first two time ROH World Heavyweight Champion in the company’s illustrious two year history. His promo after about his grandmother and tooting his own horn was nothing short of brilliant.

I’ve been a huge Austin Aries fan since even before  I started liking ROH. There was just something about this guy that I even enjoyed in TNA. His evolution as a character has been quite awesome, and I’m excited to see how his title reign goes and if he indeed loses to Tyler Black. Also, is Aries the answer to some of ROH’s financial issues?  If not for these questions, I’d have most certainly ranked him number one.

1. Chris Jericho

What made the Rey Mysterio/Chris Jericho just a little bit more special? Yes, all of the matches were very good or match of the year candidates, but what made the feud was the ability of Chris Jericho on the microphone. His promos are clearly on another planet from everyone else’s in the “WWE Universe.” They don’t sound canned. They don’t sound like a guy reciting lines. They sounds like the honest views of a man who feels he’s been wronged by the fans and WWE management. His ability to cut promos must be enhanced with the use of the thesaurus considering some of the words he’s brought out of mothballs. Or he’s been watching some Nick Bockwinkel tapes.

Jericho is the best part of WWE as evidenced by the fact that he’s holding the Unifed Tag Team titles and appearing on both RAW and Smackdown on a regular basis. I wondered aloud why he would even bother coming back to wrestling, but now I wonder why he isn’t a world champion. His comeback has been more than justified, and I firmly believe that for however long he remains in WWE, he’ll be the MVP.

So there’s my list. Agree? Disagree? Why not leave a comment? Or e-mail me at jcusson07@gmail.com. If I get enough e-mails, I’ll consider doing a mailbag.

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CHIKARA “Pod-Per-View 4: The Quest for Peace”
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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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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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