CHIKARA~!
The Philadelphia-based promotion continued its 11th season this past weekend with a double shot of shows in Reading, PA and Long Island, NY. Reading is almost like a second or third home to the promotion -- Easton being the competition in this case -- but Long Island was uncharted territory for the company. It's always tricky trying to break into a new market and I'm sure Mike Quackenbush and company knew they had to unleash a dynamite show to help things along.
And boy, did they.
The Long Island show saw the first defense of Eddie Kingston's Grand Championship as he took on bitter rival Vin Gerard. It also saw UltraMantis Black taking on Colt Cabana for the first time in the history of the universe. You hear that? CHIKARA delivered something that had never, in a million, billion years ever been seen before. That would be like if a stegosaurus showed up on Raw.
Okay, I've losing my point. Just check out the great results after the jump!
A Death Worse than Fate (Feb. 25)
Recently turned rulebreaker Ophidian defeated Green Ant after The Colony member got a throat-full of turnbuckle. An impromptu match between Los Ice Creams member El Hijo del Ice Cream and Saturyne came next. The young lady scored the pinfall on the tag team specialist.
The third match of the evening saw The Colony -- Soldier Ant and Fire Ant -- taking on The Throwbacks -- Dasher Hatfield and Mr. Touchdown. The old school sporting aficionados came away with the win after Green Ant -- or at least someone dressed like him -- came out and attacked Hatfield, leading to a disqualification (DQ). Everyone -- The Colony most of all -- was surprised at Green Ant's action.
Brodie Lee makes his in-season return to CHIKARA in the next bout. Aside from an appearance at JoshiMania, "Big Rig" hasn't stepped inside a CHIKARA ring since October. He took on Jigsaw in a winning effort and said he was gunning for Eddie Kingston and the Grand Championship when the promotion goes to the Great White North next month.
Colt Cabana tapped out Kobald in the next match-up and was followed up by an eight-man tag with the team of The Batiri -- Obariyon and Kodama -- and Die Bruderschaft des Kreuzes -- Tim Donst and Jakob Hammermeier -- taking on Kingston, Gregory Iron and 3.0 -- Scott Parker and Shane Matthews. Donst caused Iron to pass out after nearly 20 minutes of action.
The penultimate bout saw Sara Del Rey force a tap out from Archibald Peck. Needless to say, Veronica -- "Marchie" Archie's lovely assistant and valet -- was none too pleased as Peck continued his losing streak.
And in the maaaaaain event of the evening, F.I.S.T. -- with Icarus filling in for an injured Johnny Gargano -- defended their tag straps against The Spectral Envoy consisting of UltraMantis Black and Hallowicked. Icarus scored the first pinfall through nefarious means, tossing powder in Mantis' eyes but a few minutes later, Hallowicked evened the score up. The ending came when Delirious showed up and laid Mantis out which allowed F.I.S.T. to score the second pinfall.
Delirious is probably a little peeved that the vegan anthropomorphic insect used the Eye of Tyr to control him for most of 2009. At the beginning of Season 11's opening show The Thirteenth Hat, it was revealed that Delirious remembered "everything." And yes, we'll have a review of that show up very soon.
Caught in the Spider's Den (Feb. 26)
The opener in Long Island was Kobald taking on New York Wrestling Connection's own Francis K. Stevens, a match The Batiri imp would end up winning. Next up was tag team action between 3.0 and The Throwbacks. Parker and Matthews had won two consecutive matches meaning a win in New York would earn them a shot at the Campeonatos de Parejas in the future. Parker nailed Mr. Touchdown with a spear and secured the win -- and the title shot -- for his team.
Ophidian took on Peck next and the former Osirian Portal continued the marching band enthusiast's losing streak. Peck seemed more interested in talking than wrestling and it ended up costing him in the end. If Veronica was displeased the night before, she was absolutely livid last night. From her Twitter...
DONE! DONE! DONE! DONE! Had it with him. Going back to philly, drink some article splash, and smack the first person who looks at me funny.
Looks like Peck might be in need of a new number two.
Delirious came out and ... brace yourself folks ... SPOKE. The masked man who everyone assumed was like a grappling Nell said he was going to keep going after Mantis until 2014 to make up for the two years Delirious lost thanks to The Spectral Envoy leader. Oooooo, Mantis is in trouble! Next, Grand Akuma, looking to exact a measure of revenge on his former F.I.S.T. compatriots took on Chuck Taylor next. Akuma scored the pinfall but Taylor and Icarus handed out a beatdown after the match. Del Rey took on rookie Saturyne in next bout. The "Queen of Wrestling" came away the victor but the young star in the making gave it everything she had. Hey CHIKARA, how about putting Saturyne in this year's Young Lion Cup?
UltraMantis Black and Cabana locked horns for the first time ever following the intermission and Black scored a nice pinfall after sidestepping the Flying Asshole into a roll up. After picking up the win in the previous night's eight-man tag, the team of Donst, Hammermeier and The Batiri tried to make it two for two when they took on Fire Ant, Soldier Ant, Mike Quackenbush and Jigsaw.
The match went to a No Contest, however, when Green Ant -- or again, someone dressed like him -- and some other masked cronies showed up and laid out all the fan favorites. Is The Colony falling apart? Or are these shenanigans of the highest order? And if so, who is behind it?
Rumors are flying around that someone from Ring of Honor (ROH) might be the culprit. After CHIKARA "invaded" ROH at The Homecoming 2012, there have been rumblings of displeasure from the ROH roster. Has someone been sent in to help destroy CHIKARA from the inside? We might get more answers on Sunday (Mar. 4) at ROH's 10th Anniversary Show as it's been said Kingston is looking to get some face time with his ROH counterpart Davey Richards.
Speaking of the "Last of a Dying Breed," the main event saw the first defense of CHIKARA's Grand Championship as Kingston took on rival Vin Gerard. The villainous Gerard nearly forced Kingston out of last year's 12 Large: Summit tournament with an unwarranted beatdown. It was enough to get Gerard suspended but it hasn't stopped him from calling out the Grand Champion ever since.
It seems Kingston finally had enough of it. So it was set: title versus career.
Two Backfists from the Future from the champ put an end to Gerard's career and earned "War King" his first successful defense. And if Lee is to be believed, Kingston will be taking on "Big Rig" next month in Canada in his second.