The Indie Corner: Don't Sleep on Cibernetico

Sunday, November 13, Chikara will embark on their first iPPV with High Noon. My colleague here Sergio Hernandez has done a good job getting the hype up for it, and if there ever was a company and an event that deserved to succeed like gangbusters, it's Chikara's High Noon. Fans in the Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York or Washington areas should all make an attempt to make it to the former ECW Arena to show for the live experience. If it's impossible to make the road trip, go to GoFightLive (www.gfl.tv) and order it. I feel like everyone needs to check it out if they like wrestling.

However, while High Noon is rightfully getting all this spotlight, the night before, in Easton, PA, Chikara will be running an annual tradition. Each year, they run an event centered around a giant, sixteen-man tag team match called a cibernetico. Usually, it's the marquee event on any Chikara weekend, but this year, the circumstances are understandably different. While this year's might be overshadowed by the iPPV, I want everyone out there to know that no one should sleep on cibernetico this year.

First off, what is a cibernetico? It's a traditional lucha libre tag match featuring two teams of eight men apiece. It's contested under elimination rules, but there is an order to which each guy can enter the match. Think of it as a batting order. The match ends when there's only one person remaining, even if there is more than one wrestler remaining on the surviving team. If that's the case, then the teammates must turn against each other and continue to eliminate each other until one person is standing. It really is a unique match in theory. I can attest to it being really fun to observe in person as well.

I attended last year's cibernetico match, and it was a blast. It was the climactic battle between a ragtag band of Chikara originals taking on the solid front of the evil BDK. It featured a patchwork team of rudos (heels) and tecnicos (faces), banding together for the good of the promotion. At the team's heart was Larry Sweeney, making his first Chikara appearance in over a year and making his final showing for the company ever. Of course, none of us knew it at the time, but then again, none of us fan knew he was in that kind of mental state.

The match itself was rollicking and chaotic, probably even more so than any other cibernetico in Chikara's history. There was an extra oomph in last year's match though. The war between the BDK and Chikara had reached a fever pitch, and for the first time, the invaded company had a united front against the interlopers whose biggest strength over Chikara had always been their unity. There were several highs and lows, and in the end, when Eddie Kingston finally put Tursas down, the arena, as small and intimate as it was, exploded as if it were Madison Square Garden. It was the theater of the sublime.

This year's match will have a similar feel. The BDK has been shaken to its core, losing members to WWE (Claudio Castangnoli), disgruntlement (Sara del Rey and Daizee Haze) or other reasons (Pinkie Sanchez and Lince Dorado). The depleted ranks have been bolstered by the unholy demon troupe known as the Batiri. This perfect storm of evil will attempt to demoralize, destroy, and in the case of the Batiri, make the tecnico team into a Human Centipede. That resistance team will be led by Hallowicked and UltraMantis Black, two holdovers from last year's Chikara team. They're joined by five new recruits in Green Ant, the Young Bucks and the Throwbacks, as well as a member of the previous year's BDK team in del Rey.

There will be other matches on the card as well, one of which is a must see. The crazy Canadian team of 3.0 will take on the Bravado Brothers, the grandma's boys from ROH. This match will totally be comic relief, but it'll be the best comic relief match in the history of wrestling. That might seem like hyperbole, but not by much, as both of these teams have so much charisma and comedic timing that it's sweat out of their pores during the match. This will be worth coming out to Easton for.

But the cibernetico match is definitely the main attraction for a reason. It's one of the most fun matches of the year, and it'll definitely be more than just a memorable appetizer for High Noon the next day. It's worth attending live for folks in the area, but if it's not feasible to make the drive out to Easton, it can be ordered on DVD, usually with very fast turnaround. Don't sleep on cibernetico, folks.