RADICAN’S CHIKARA DVD REVIEW SERIES
ZELDA THE GREAT
NOVEMBER 10, 2012
CHICAGO, ILL.

The show started with Gavin Loudspeaker singing “Chikara’s Just What I Needed” in front of an enthusiastic crowd that participated in the singing of the song.

Da Soul Touchaz cut a promo on the Batiri backstage. Rockett promised that the Batiri’s souls would be touched tonight.

1 - - The Soul Touchaz (Marshe Rockett & Acid Jazz & Willie Richardson) vs. The Batiri (Kodama & Obariyon & Kobald) w/Ophidian. Rockett won an assisted test of strength against Kodama, who had Kobald on his shoulders. He sent Kobald to the outside and then wiped out Kodama with a huge kick. Richardson held up Kodama for a 50 second suplex while the crowd counted along. Ophidian ended up tripping Jazz to give the Batiri the advantage. C-Red was livid on commentary at Ophidian’s interference. The Batiri tagged in and out to work over Jazz for a long period of time. Jazz fired back on Kodama and hit a big right that left both men down.

Rockett got the hot tag and ran wild on the Batiri. Richardson tagged in and Obariyon and Kodama tried to hit a double suplex on him, but he reversed it. Richardson hit a second rope spinebuster on Kobald, but Ophidian got up on the apron to distract the ref. They ended up isolating Jazz and Kobald nailed him with the demon toilet for the win.

Winners: The Batiri

Star rating: (***) – This was a great way to start the show with trios action. The crowd was behind Da Soul Touchaz and the Batiri have a good heel act going in CHIKARA. The action was good throughout and set a good tone for the rest of the card.

Sydney Backabella came down to the ring next. He said usually he works in bigger arenas and tonight he was giving a tag team an opportunity. He told them to come to the ring because 9,000 people were waiting for them. Backabella told the two men that came down that he had a card for them. They were introduced as Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar. The Devastation Corporation then came out to face them.

2 - - The Devastation Corporation (Max Smashmaster & Blaster McMassive) w/Sydney Backabella vs. Wayne Campbell & Garth Algar.

Campbell & Algar got a We’re not worthy chant from the crowd. The Devastation Corporation went to town on Algar and Campbell. McMassive held Algar and Smashmaster came off the top with a splash for the win.

Winners: The Devastation Corporation – This was a short squash with Devastation Corporation doing a Road Warriors knockoff gimmick. They were a little sloppy, but showed some impressive agility and power.

3 - - El Generico vs. The Shard

Shard jumped Generico. Keith Lipinski was in on commentary with Gavin Loudspeaker. The crowd loudly booed Shard as he worked over Generico. Generico mounted a comeback and hit ten punches in the corner as the crowd counted along in Spanish. Shard fired back and took control of the match, which made the crowd upset. Generico tried to mount a comeback, but Shard caught him with a spinebuster out of the corner. Shard hit several kicks and Generico tried to catch him with a surprise blue thunder powerbomb, but Shard countered it into a delayed German for a 2 count.

They battled on the outsisde and Generico caught Shard by surprise with a suplex into the turnbuckles. They went to a big exchange and Shard caught Generico with a huge kick, but he kicked out at the last second. They battled up top and Shard pushed Generico to the mat. He went for a splash, but Generico got his knees up. Generico hit a running Yokuza kick in the corner followed by a super brainbuster for the win.

Winner: El Generico

Star rating: (***) – This was a fun back and forth match with the crowd hating Shard and being way into Generico. They had some really good exchanges and the crowd added a ton to this match, especially down the stretch.

Gargano and Taylor cut a promo backstage. They said tonight they would get point number 1 towards another tag title shot. This was wacky.

Solider Ant and DeviANT weren’t getting along before the opening bell. CHIKARAbrametrics lives!

4 - - F.I.S.T. (Johnny Gargano & Chuck Taylor) vs. Soldier Ant & DeviANT

Gargano wrestled the early stages of the match with a scarf made out of some orange streamers. DeviANT took control of the match and worked over Taylor before slapping Solider in the face to tag him into the match. The ants couldn’t get along, which allowed Gargano to nail Solider with a spear. F.I.S.T. cleared the ring and Taylor and Gargano began working over Solider. Some fans got into F.I.S.T. who took down Solider and did a dance before putting the boots to him. Gargano began choking Solider behind the ref’s back, which drew some boos. Soldier finally fired back and hit a double springboard elbow out of the corner.

The crowd fired up for the hot tag, but Solider turned around and ran wild on Taylor and Gargano by himself. DeviANT ended up tossing Solider out of the ring to tag himself in. He immediately took a tandem ace crusher from F.I.S.T., but Solider made the save. F.I.S.T. ended up hitting a tandem neckbreaker on Solider a short time later, but he kicked out at the last second. Soldier no-sold a pair of superkicks and nailed Gargano with a roaring elbow. He then took out Gargano with a dive through the ropes. DeviANT held up Taylor, but Solider intentionally hit DeviANT. Solider was then quickly pinned by a series of double team moves from F.I.S.T.

Winners: Taylor & Gargano

Star rating: (**3/4) – This was a hard match to rate. There were three heels in the ring and a team that didn’t get along. That being said, the match told a story and delivered some solid action. My favorite sequence in the match was Solider Ant no-selling a hot tag and running wild on his own on Gargano and Taylor. I’m still having a hard time getting into the CHIKARAbrametrics pairings of heels and faces together as teams, but I’m willing to see where it goes.

Cabana came out to face Quackenbush to a big reaction. Quackenbush didn’t get as big of a response with some cheers and boos mixed in.

5 - - Colt Cabana vs. Mike Quackenbush

Chikarason and Hatfield are in on commentary. They did some mat wrestling early with Quackenbush eventually escaping a head scissors on the mat. The crowd popped before they went back at it. Cabana got another head scissors and Quackenbush eventually found an escape route after a long period of time and the crowd popped again. Quackenbush began working over Cabana’s leg. Quackenbush got a leg submission with a bridge, but Cabana blew in his ear to escape the hold. They had a great exchange of counters on the mat that ended when Cabana caught him with a unique pinning combination for the win.

Winner: Colt Cabana

Star rating: (***) – This was short, but I love this style of British wrestling that both men employed during the match. It was like watching a game of chess between both men as they traded submissions and counters on the mat.

After the match, Cabana got on the mic. Cabana told Quackenbush he had gotten him this time, but he’s a hell of a competitor. Quackenbush got on the mic and told Cabana he had proven he was a true master by pinning him.

6 - - Jigsaw & AssailANT & Fire Ant vs. The Bravado Bros. (Lancelot & Harlem Bravado) & Jimmy Jacobs

The crowd was hot to kick things off. Jacobs tagged in to go at it with Jigsaw and the crowd chanted Twilight Princess at him in reference to the Zelda franchise. AssailANT took down Harlem and tried to tag in Fire Ant, but he didn’t want to work with him. Jigsaw tagged in, but got cut off by Lancelot. The Bravados and Jacobs worked well together and tagged in and out of the ring to work over Jigsaw. Jigsaw cut off Harlem, but he knocked Jigsaw’s partners off the apron. The Bravados and Jacobs then triple teamed Jigsaw while the ref was distracted holding his partners back. Jigsaw finally made the hot tag to Fire Ant, who ran wild.

Fire Ant argued with AssailANT, but they eventually agreed to hit a triple kick on Jacobs in the corner. The action broke down and Harlem hit a big boot on Fire Ant, but Jigsaw made the save. Jigsaw ducked a head butt in the corner from Jacobs and sent him outside. He followed up with a dive through the ropes on Jacobs. Fire Ant then wiped out a pile of men with a huge springboard flip dive to the outside. Fire Ant argued with AssailANT again and the crowd chanted be his friend. They took down Harlem, but Lancelot shoved him into Fire Ant up top. The Bravados then finished off Fire Ant with a tandem neck breaker.

Winners: The Bravados & Jimmy Jacobs

Star rating: (**3/4) – This was a nice setup for Cibernetico with Jacobs and the Bravados showcasing what they can do as a unit. They worked together really well here. Of course, Fire Ant and AssailANT arguing cost their team a chance to win the match, but this was fun overall.

7 - - Tim Donst (w/Jakob Hammermeier) vs. Gran Akuma

Donst told Akuma he was no Eddie Kingston and slapped him in the face. Akuma fired back with a leg kick and went to work on Donst. Donst fired back and nailed Akuma with a dive through the ropes. The announcers said they hadn’t heard from Kingston since Donst attacked him at King of Trios 2 months ago. Donst indicated he wanted the belt and hit a spear on Akuma. He went after Jakob on the outside as the announcers talked about their odd relationship. This gave Akuma the chance to fire back and get some offense in. The announcers mentioned Donst doesn’t have a lot of singles wins and said it hasn’t been defined how contenders are chosen yet in reference to the Director of Fun.

Donst fired back with an ace crusher and got a 2 count. Jakob gave Donst a shoelace and he went to the outside and slapped him. The shoelace is a reference to how Donst got DQ’d against Hallowicked and eventually lost that match earlier this year and got his head shaved. Akuma fired back and hit a spider suplex. He followed up with a nice moonsault on Donst for a nearfall. They went back and forth. Donst ended up hitting a big DDT and grabbed a submission, but Akuma got the ropes. Donst got a boot from Jakob and attacked him. The ref went after Jakob and Donst nailed Akuma with the boot and applied a modified crossface. The ref called for the bell giving Donst the win.

Winner: Tim Donst

Star rating: (**) – This match was about getting over Donst’s personality and his state of mind heading into a future title match with Kingston. It was funny watching him attack Jakob, who was trying to help Donst cheat to win. I think Akuma is a really good wrestler, so it was a shame to see him play a background role here, but overall this was solid.

The Mysterious and Handsome Stranger cut a promo backstage. He sounded a bit like Dusty Rhodes talking about how he got his heart broken and was having trouble trusting people. Stranger talked about Sapphire and said the bird was now his friend. He said he was going against three other teams, but he wasn’t worried because he had Sapphire on his side. Sapphire is a plastic bird in case you’re wondering.

It has to be noted that Stranger made his entrance for the Four Way Tag match Sapphire in a bag like Jake the Snake Roberts carrying his snake to the ring.

8 - - F.I.S.T. (Icarus & Sugar Dunkerton) vs. The Throwbacks (Mr. Touchdown & Dasher Hatfield) w/Veronica vs. The Mysterious and Handsome Stranger & Sapphire vs. 3.0 (Scott Parker & Shane Matthews) –Elimination match

Dunkerton was in a lockup with Parker and he began dancing. Some music began playing and Parker and Dunkerton began dancing. The crowd got way into the dancing and chanted along as they danced in the ring. The music stopped and Parker kept dancing. Dunkerton tried to whip Parker, but the turned it into another dance with Dunkerton. Dunkerton ended up getting Parker in a leg lock while dancing. Parker finally ended up tagging in Hatfield. The crowd chanted this is awkward since Hatfield was facing his old partner Dunkerton. Before they could engage, Icarus tagged himself into the match. Hatfield tied up Icarus’s legs and he couldn’t get them loose until Dunkerton helped him.

The action broke down and Touchdown ended up alone in the ring with Stranger, which got a big pop. Stranger ran wild on Touchdown and the fans fired up for the tag to Sapphire. Before he could tag in Sapphire, Touchdown cut him off and Icarus ran into the ring and began working him over. Touchdown worked over Stranger, but he cut him off and made the hot tag to Sapphire. Stranger tossed everyone into the bird in the corner. He then hit a series of shoulder tackles with Sapphire. They went to an 8 way submission spot. Sapphire got in Dunkerton’s hair and he freaked out. The crowd went nuts and chanted this is awesome. Dunkerton hit a dive to the outside with Sapphire still in his hair. Stranger freed Sapphire from Dunkerton’s hair. He hit a big shoulder tackle off the second rope on Touchdown and put Sapphire on him for a 2 count. Mr. Touchdown put Sapphire in the bag and went to town on the poor bird before Tebowing on top of the bag.

The crowd chanted you’re a monster at Touchdown. Anger checked out Sapphire and freaked out when he saw the bird was dead. Touchdown then hit a spinebuster and covered Stranger for the elimination. The crowd booed heavily and the ref was even selling

Dunkerton went after Touchdown, who ducked a punch. Dunkerton hit Hatfield by accident and nearly got pinned with a rollup from Touchdown. The action picked up and Icarus tapped out to a Boston crab to eliminate F.I.S.T. It was down to 3.0 and The Throwbacks. 3.0 double teamed Touchdown. Matthews got the Boston crab on Touchdown, but Hatfield made the save. Parker hit a big lariat on H as they went back and forth. Touchdown ran in and hit flea flicker out of nowhere on Parker, but Matthews broke it up. The Throwbacks hit a tandem muscle buster on Matthews, but he kicked out. Parker took out Hatfield and 3.0 hit a tandem lung blower on Touchdown for the win.

Winners: Shane Parker & Scott Matthews

Star rating: (***3/4) – This match was really everything CHIKARA is in a nutshell. There was a dance contest between Dunkerton and Matthews. Later, Touchdown killed Stranger’s bird and everyone was very upset by this. The action was very good throughout, but Sapphire’s demise seemed to bring the crowd down. 3.0 ended up picking up their third point and they now qualify for a shot at the tag titles.

Veronica was shown on the outside looking upset at Touchdown’s actions. 3.0 then ran by her celebrating.

The Young Bucks made fun of the Spectral Envoy calling them the Special Envoy. Matt said they were the tag champs and they weren’t an elite tag team like the Young Bucks. Nick asked who would step up. Matt said the Young Bucks were ready to make their money doing superkicks and 450 splashes. This was a funny promo.

9 - - Campeonatos de Parejas The Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson) vs. The Spectral Envoy (UltraMantis Black & Hallowicked) – 2/3 Falls match

The crowd got a big chant for Black before the bell rang. Chikarason and Quackenbush were in on commentary. The Bucks tried to attack the Envoy with their belts before the bell, but they avoided it and ran wild on the Bucks. The Bucks fired back and hit a springboard spiked tombstone on Black to go up 1-0. This was the same move that injured Black on night 3 of King of Trios. Hallowicked went at it alone against the Young Bucks and managed to take out both men, but was quickly cut off. Black was down on the outside selling the effects of the Tombstone as Hallowicked continued to take a beating from the Young Bucks, who showcased some nice tandem offense much to the dismay of the fans. Hallowicked tried to fight back, but was continually cut off by the Bucks.

Black finally made his way to the apron and the fans fired up. Hallowicked crawled towards his corner, but Nick nailed Black with a punch and he fell to the floor. Hallowicked mounted a comeback and hit Go 2 Sleepy Hallow on Nick to get the three count with Black taking out Matt with a dive off the apron to the floor. The match was tied 1-1 with all four men down. Hallowicked got to his feet first, but the Batiri came out and distracted him. Ophidian was also shown watching the action. The Batiri attacked Hallowicked with the ref distracted. Black ran into the ring and went to work on Matt. Black managed to hit the ocean cyclone on Matt, but he kicked out at the last second. Hallowicked recovered, but the Batiri were still at ringside. Nick distracted the ref and the Batiri attacked Hallowicked again. Nick then ran over and wiped everyone out with a dive. The Envoy got another nearfall on Matt, as the action picked up. Black ended a big sequence with a huge clothesline on Matt and all four men were down again and the crowd went nuts.

Matt powerbombed Black into Hallowicked in the corner. Black managed to counter more bang for your buck and got the Chikara special on Matt. Nick tried to make the save, but he applied the Chikara special on Nick. Matt ran in, but Hallowicked cut him off with Go 2 Sleepy Hallow and followed up with a springboard dive to the outside. The ref tried to clear one of the belts from the ring, which allowed Ophidian to blow mist into Black’s eyes. Nick nailed Black with a superkick, but he kicked out at the last second. The Young Bucks took Hallowicked out and hit more bang for your buck on Black to win the match 2-1.

Winners: The Young Bucks 2 falls to 1

Star rating: (***1/2) – This was a very good tag match that told a good story, although it could have been given more time to let the story unfold. It felt like the match went by very quickly. The crowd wasn’t happy that the Envoy lost and this match not only was a heck of a main event, but it also furthers the issue between the Batiri and the Envoy.

Overall thoughts: (8.0) – This was a really fun show from start to finish. CHIKARA is one of the most storyline-intensive promotions out there and nearly everything on this card had a purpose when it came to building feuds and pushing towards future shows. The wrestling was really good up and down the card. There weren’t any must-see matches, but this qualifies as a show worth going out of your way to see given how hot the Chicago fans were and the depth of the card.

The highlight of the show was the Four-Way Elimination tag match featuring the demise of Stranger’s tag partner Sapphire the bird. This match featured everything that makes CHIKARA so much fun to watch. There was a dance contest, a plastic bird taking the hot tag, good storytelling, and good in-ring action. Stranger’s feud with Mr. Touchdown has been a blast to watch unfold and the reaction of everyone in the match to Touchdown “killing” Sapphire was fantastic. Almost lost in the story was that despite of all the little storyline threads in the match such as a teased matchup between Dunkerton and his former stable mate Touchdown, 3.0 came out of the match with a third point qualifying them for a shot at the tag titles.

The undercard was a blast to watch. Cabana and Quackenbush had a fantastic technical battle on the mat. The Shard-Generico match was pure fun with the fans way into Generico and hating the Shard. The only thing that is hard to get through at times is the constant in-fighting between certain tag teams because of CHIKAbrametrics. I’m hoping all of these heels and faces teaming together eventually leads to something down the line and I think it will given Quackenbush’s track record, but for now, it seems to be dragging along.

The main event was really good and well-worth checking out if you want to see good storytelling and in-ring action. I like the Young Bucks as heels and they were really good getting under the skin of the crowd during the match. There were so many nice little threads in the match as it built and ultimately the Envoy lost because of the constant outside interference of their rivals the Batiri.

Overall, this show is well-worth checking out. It might be hard to jump right into a show like this if you haven’t seen CHIKARA before and they certainly present a different product, but nearly every time I watch a CHIKARA DVD I come away impressed with the variety of characters and storylines up and down the card.

You can purchase this release on DVD at SmartMarkVideo.com or as a VOD at SMVOD.com

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