Reviews in the key of TH:
Highlights:
General Observations:
Match of the Night: El Generico vs. Sara del Rey - There are cases where the best match on the card is unexpected. There are also cases where the one you're expecting to rock the house does totally that. This is a case of the latter. I bought this show with the express interest of watching El Generico and Sara del Rey, two of the top five wrestlers on my 2011 A1W 100 ballot, work magic against each other, and I got just that. With the Grand Championship match proceeding the way it did, the absolute right call was to have this match close the show.
The match had all the big spots you'd come to expect from a Generico match, but I've noticed he's upped his grasp of psychology in 2012. Here, it manifested itself in his tentativeness slowly eroding away at the thought of having to violate societal norms by striking a woman, with del Rey playing her role as angry and disrespected competitor looking to be treated as an equal just as adeptly.
Add that in with Generico's flair for the dramatic and del Rey's pinpoint kicks (she may be the best striker in wrestling), and you have the formula for a fine main event, worthy of holding up Chikara's end of the bargain for the big doubleheader. While it turned out to be the kickoff of del Rey's farewell tour to the indies, making it bittersweet, it's still one of the best matches of 2012.
Overall Thoughts: Chikara was tasked with igniting the fires for a red hot doubleheader of action with Ring of Honor in Chicago, as well as juggling its own storyline needs. They attempted to do both, and I think they succeeded. There were several strong matches on the card, some of which had story implications. Sure, the del Rey/Generico main event was an athletic exhibition at its finest, but they knocked the ball out of the park with it.
So many of the major stories in the company were advanced here though, as it was one of those early season shows that had a lot of set-up to go with the proceedings. Unlike the Long Island show from February though, the matches were more than up to the level that Chikara is known for providing. This is a definite must-see card.
Highlights:
- In the raucous atomico opener between the Swarm/Shard teaming against Jigsaw and the Colony, Soldier Ant tapped out combatANT with the Chikara Special.
- In a match that saw referee PJ Drummond get a pinfall demonstrating how to win a wrestling match to Mixed Martial Archie, the aggro alter ego to the Leader of the Band picked up a tapout victory with the guillotine choke over Kobold.
- Thanks to unintentional distraction by Dasher Hatfield after taking a flying DDT to the apron by Obariyon, Mark Angelosetti was able to whack Kodama with his helmet and score a cheap pinfall to give the Throwbacks the win over the Batiri.
- Tianlong's wrestling career lasted for a little over a minute, tapping out to 17's injurious wristlock.
- The Young Bucks defeated Darin Corbin and Arik Cannon with More Bang for Your Buck on Corbin.
- During intermission, Tim Donst sneaked into the ring under a Los Ice Creams mask and assaulted Hallowicked with a keylock, injuring him to prevent his participation in the atomicos match that followed.
- In said atomicos match, 3.0 and UltraMantis Black weathered the shorthanded storm against Donst, Jakob Hammermeier, and the Bravado Brothers long enough for 'Wicked to come back down to the ring. Shane Matthews tapped Hammermeier with the Boston Crab to secure victory.
- Rather than take the inevitable pinfall that would've followed, Kevin Steen got himself disqualified in his match against Eddie Kingston, countering a second Backfist to the Future with a blatant low blow.
- Thanks to some fortuitous distraction from Greg Iron, Gran Akuma was able to defeat all of Team FIST in a three on one handicap match by rolling up Johnny Gargano.
- In the main event, Sara del Rey defeated El Generico in an amazing match with the piledriver.
General Observations:
- As Gavin Loudspeaker was giving his preshow spiel, the Gekido came out and shooed him off. I wonder, since he didn't get through the entire speech, would the fans have had any recourse if they were caught videotaping the show or using bad words?
- If there was any fault with the early part of the Gekido vs. Chikara feud, it wasn't with the performances in the ring. Man, they tore at each other in the opening match like they owed each other money.
- The veracity at which both teams went for the other teams' masks and protected their own teams was absolutely fascinating to me. When people rag on the masks of Chikara, they miss so much great storytelling potential.
- I love the Chikara Special, but Green Ant's variation is the best. I love when he breaks it out.
- It was interesting to see the Gekido both enter and exit through the crowd. It felt like they were trying to make a commentary about the group.
- Kobold, you NEVER REFUSE THE PREFIGHT FIST BUMP.
- I thought Kobold/MMA was an enjoyable match, but Mike Quackenbush and Loudspeaker were the all-stars for this on commentary. I legitimately laughed out loud when they described Peck's MMA training dojo as the "Overcompensation Station."
- I maybe should've waited until after seeing this match before giving my Comedian of the Year Bloggie, because Peck had me rolling with the entire shtick after he "knocked out" Kobold and thought he won.
- I'm usually loath to notice these things, but it's funny that Kobold got a win (as cheap as it was) against Sara del Rey at the previous set of events and was basically squashed like a bug in this match. Even Chikara can make questionable card-to-card booking decisions.
- In the pre-taped promo before the match, Angelosetti quoted the Five Man Electrical Band song "Signs" in reference to the Batiri "And it says on my clipboard, 'Long-haired freaky people need not apply.'" Of course he didn't even realize it, which is what makes it brilliant.
- Long-term storytelling is nothing without a bit of foreshadowing, and the tension between Hatfield and Angelosetti was set in this match, with Hatfield reaching for a tag and getting Touchdown's headband thrown in his face. He spent a good part of the first half of the match sitting on the guardrail. Even though they'd patch things up, well, there's a precedent.
- Angelosetti's the cad of the group, but Hatfield was prone to a bit of vanity, prompted only back to the apron when the Batiri did Hatfield's own home run baseball slide to Touchdown.
- Obariyon busted out his leaping DDT from the top on Hatfield, only onto the apron. It was definitely the sickest-looking spot of the night.
- If Tianlong's only purpose was to provide a warm body for 17 to put out of action, then in the short term, it was effective. Long term though? With 17 not being around anymore, it feels like a waste.
- I'll say this though, 17's wristbar-style submission was really neat looking. Someone should adopt it for his/her own arsenal.
- Cannon yoinked out a fan's whiteboard that had "PBR is not PG!" and mugged with it for the camera.
- Matt Jackson broke out the Chris Jericho-flexing-"c'mawn, baby!" pin, and it warmed my cold, dead heart. Besides, if Jericho isn't using it anymore...
- I was crushed, absolutely crushed, not to see the Space Flying Tiger Back Rake. WHY DID YOU DEPRIVE ME OF MY FAVORITE MOVE?
- "Jennifer Aniston's hairdresser's second favorite client..." Gavin Loudspeaker introducing Jakob Hammermeier.
- "MICHAEL JORDAN'S OVERRATED!" Harlem Bravado, doing himself no favors in Chicago.
- 3.0 is such an underrated tag team in the ring, and I love watching their double team offense. They make stuff like a drop toehold into a step-assist elbow drop look so damn natural.
- Man, this whole shorthanded thing was messing up the whole mojo of the match. Matthews only got off ONE headscissors. ONE!
- A wild Delirious appears!
- Steen came down to the ring with a Bumblebee mask from Transformers. Say what you want about him, but Steen throws himself 100% behind any feud he's involved in.
- "Let's do some chain wrestling!" Steen, to Kingston at the beginning of the match. Of course, Kingston responded with a right hook to the jaw because that's how he rolls.
- The two traded blows on the outside, so of course Steen finished it with a quick poke to the eye.
- The exchange led to Kingston attempting a backfist that he slammed right against the ringpost. Steen proceeded to work over the hand (including biting it, because duh, it's Steen), which the announcers deftly described as taking away the Backfist to the Future as well as the grip for his suplexes. Little things.
- Kingston subsequently chopped Steen, and sold it more than the recipient did. Again, little things.
- Gotta call bullshit on Steen leading his own "YES!" chants. Major party foul.
- I have to admit that I was a bit worried that they were crazy enough to do more than tease their respective package piledrivers and Saito suplexes on the apron. Thankfully, they restrained themselves, but it was high drama.
- Okay, the DQ finish may have nonplussed a lot of people, but I thought it was brilliant knowing how they'd continue on for the next six months. Plus, it wasn't a glib finish; Steen knew his goose was cooked and would rather humiliate Kingston if he was going to take the loss anyway.
- So UltraMantis is the only guy in the world who likes Icarus' tattoo? That's... unexpected.
- This match was more deus ex machina for the Icarus/Akuma feud than anything, but I did dig the reversal of the Hurts Donut into the pin by Akuma.
- del Rey's regal hand wave before the match = ALL THE STARS
- During the beginning phase of the match, when they were feeling each other out, I caught del Rey subtly cheesing for the camera while she had Generico in a top wristlock. And people say she doesn't know how to have fun...
- I loved how Generico slowly evolved from being hesitant at "hitting a girl" to being so brazen as to do del Rey's own finisher, the Royal Butterfly, to her at the end of the match. That's psychology. (He also did it better, at least the impact half... please don't kill me, Sara)
- EVEREST Northern Lights suplex? Please, Sara, don't just train for the rest of your life. WE NEED YOU.
Match of the Night: El Generico vs. Sara del Rey - There are cases where the best match on the card is unexpected. There are also cases where the one you're expecting to rock the house does totally that. This is a case of the latter. I bought this show with the express interest of watching El Generico and Sara del Rey, two of the top five wrestlers on my 2011 A1W 100 ballot, work magic against each other, and I got just that. With the Grand Championship match proceeding the way it did, the absolute right call was to have this match close the show.
The match had all the big spots you'd come to expect from a Generico match, but I've noticed he's upped his grasp of psychology in 2012. Here, it manifested itself in his tentativeness slowly eroding away at the thought of having to violate societal norms by striking a woman, with del Rey playing her role as angry and disrespected competitor looking to be treated as an equal just as adeptly.
Add that in with Generico's flair for the dramatic and del Rey's pinpoint kicks (she may be the best striker in wrestling), and you have the formula for a fine main event, worthy of holding up Chikara's end of the bargain for the big doubleheader. While it turned out to be the kickoff of del Rey's farewell tour to the indies, making it bittersweet, it's still one of the best matches of 2012.
Overall Thoughts: Chikara was tasked with igniting the fires for a red hot doubleheader of action with Ring of Honor in Chicago, as well as juggling its own storyline needs. They attempted to do both, and I think they succeeded. There were several strong matches on the card, some of which had story implications. Sure, the del Rey/Generico main event was an athletic exhibition at its finest, but they knocked the ball out of the park with it.
So many of the major stories in the company were advanced here though, as it was one of those early season shows that had a lot of set-up to go with the proceedings. Unlike the Long Island show from February though, the matches were more than up to the level that Chikara is known for providing. This is a definite must-see card.
