It's the last Friday before Chikara's last stop in Philadelphia for its epic 9th season, and it's a joint show with Dragon Gate USA. Chikarasaurus Rex: King of Show has six huge matches, none of them being straight up singles matches, announced. While I hold out hope that there'll be two surprise matches added to give the card the standard eight matches, it would make sense if it were left at six given that all of the matches are huge multi-man/woman matches. Let's break down each match, starting from the top:
Main Event: Non-Title Tag Match
Tommy Dreamer and Eddie Kingston vs. Ares and Claudio Castagnoli (Chikara Campeones de Parejas)
This match has been in the works since Aniversario Elf, when the BDK came out and ruined Kingston's dream main event match against Dreamer. The two joined up and promised to take out the BDK's leadership. The heat for this match will be epic no doubt. However, I'm a little skeptical about Tommy Dreamer here. No, I don't think Dreamer's washed up yet, but thanks to Dixie Carter's tendencies towards whoring attention and trying to troll Vince McMahon at every turn, Dreamer's involvement in the ReCW (thanks to Jason Mann of Wrestlespective for that name) angle has left him with a torn MCL. He's working through it, but I doubt he'll be all that active in the match. That development dampens my excitement for the main, but there are two possibilities:
1 - Dreamer isn't that hurt and will still turn in a great performance
-OR-
2 - Dreamer can't go and they'll replace him with someone else willing to join the fight, like say, UltraMantis Black (awesome) or Bryan Danielson (ORGASMIC)
Either way though, the heat for the match and the emotion from the crowd will make this a fitting cap to the card, regardless of how Dreamer's knee holds up.
Trios Match
CIMA, Masaaki Mochizuki and Super Sheng Long vs. Team FIST (Icarus, Gran Akuma and Chuck Taylor)
Sheng Long is a last minute replacement for Dragon Kid, who got hurt (injury bug's runnin' wild like Hulkamania) in Japan. Regardless, I still think this will be a nice little appetizer for the main event, or a cap for the first half of the card if you weeeeell. I'd say it'd be a contrast in styles, but both of these teams are similar. Both like to stiff it up with hard strikes; I mean, Gran Akuma especially, when that dude kicks someone, I have to wonder if he's shooting on them for the fun of it. Both teams can go aerial, and both can work a fast pace. Plus, CIMA's antics playing off the super-serious veneer of FIST has potential for fun.
Women's Tag Match
Schwestershaft des Kreuzes (Sara del Rey and Daizee Haze) vs. Awesome Kong and Raisha Saeed
My only complaint about this match is that Cheerleader Melissa is in her Saeed get up. I don't like it one bit, but I guess it fits the continuity? Anyway, both the ladies of the Bruderschaft were bitching last year (no pun intended) that there were no suitable females to challenge them in Chikara, and they finally get their wish. Kong and Melissa are two of the best, and I think this could be the match of the card. Both the BDK ladies are small enough for Kong to toss around the ring, and you know how much I love seeing larger wrestlers toss the smaller ones around. Why else would I be as big a fan of Mark Henry as I am? Plus, del Rey has had a pretty nice year in the ring, and this is going to be a capstone match for her.
Trios Match
Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw and Hallowicked vs. BxB Hulk and Speed Muscle (Naruki Doi and Masato Yoshino)
Yoshino will go from tagging with his opponents the night before at the DGUSA show to facing them on Sunday. I expect fireworks for this match if just because the teams are so evenly matched and love to take to the air. Quack 'n Jig are in their elements against these indie-riffic wrestlers, and the Dragon Gate guys are about as spottastic as they come. Again, if you get motion sickness easily, you might not want to pay close attention to this match. The DG guys move so fast, and Quack and Jig can at least keep up with them. Hallowicked, though not huge by any stretch of the imagination, plays the role of the bully in this match, and I think his interplay with the DG guys, especially the lightning fast but smallest of the bunch Hulk, will be the key to how well this match is. Honestly though, I have no doubts that it'll be awesome.
Trios Grudge Match
The Osirian Portal (Ophidian and Amasis) and Drake Younger vs. The UnStable (Colin Delaney, Vin Gerard and STIGMA)
The UnStable was in the process of teasing a temporary tecnico turn in the face of the BDK, giving the Chikara marks a wet dream scenario of Quack and STIGMA cashing in the three points they earned when the latter was Shayne Storm, and unseating the BDK Champs as the oddest couple of them all. That plan may still be the endgame, but there was a diversion in the way of a feud with the Osirian Portal. The Portal, a man down in Chikara since crowd non-favorite and alleged cohort of Virgil, Escorpion Egipico, pissed off the wrong people in the locker room and was sent packing, imported someone a bit more... hardcore to even the odds, CZW legend Drake Younger. A unique pairing for the Portal, but an interesting one.
Atomicos Match
The Colony (Fire, Soldier and Green Ants) and Frightmare vs. The BDK (Tim Donst, Lince Dorado, Pink Ant Sanchez and Tursas)
Of all the matches on the card, this is the one I'm looking forward to most. There are so many subplots here. The Colony unseated 3/4s of this team at King of Trios, handing the BDK their first pinfall loss since forming. Soldier Ant has payback in mind for losing his YLC opportunity against Donst. Tursas will loom large, especially with tiny little Frightmare in his shadow. And last but certainly not least, Green Ant, Frightmare and Sanchez are all on my radar for Worker of the Year thus far. Plus, as with the main event, the crowd heat for this match will be off the charts.
Also, Tommy Dreamer will be inducted into the Hardcore Hall of Fame. I expect waterworks the likes we haven't seen since... well, the last episode of WWECW. Should be a cool moment for one of the icons of the original ECW. Additionally, there's supposed to be a surprise of epic proportions. I'm not one to speculate... okay, I am, and I think that surprise is going to be... the return of DRAGON DRAGON AS THE NEW COMMISSIONER OF FUN... psyche, no, but I do think it'll have to do with authority figures and such. Now that the BDK has installed a crooked ref and Napoleonic Director of Fun, there's no way this angle can keep going without the side of good getting ahead a bit. So, I think Dave Coulier will be replaced as Chikara commissioner by someone a bit more fan-friendly, which means no more Dieter von Stiegerwalt as Director of Fun and no more Derek Sabato as a dirty ref. Or at least that's what I think should happen.
But regardless of what the surprise is, I think that the show is going to be awesome at the very least (because for Chikara, awesome is par for the course). If you haven't already, order your tickets and join the party.
Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography
Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!
