CHIKARA: Best of 2006 Review

More CHIKARA? Yes sir! It may seem like overkill, but I've enjoyed going back & rewatching all the Best Of's so much that I decided to purchase the only ones that I don't already own. First up was 2005 earlier in the month, and now we take a look at the Best of 2006 compilation.

1) Team DDT (KUDO & MIKAMI) vs. Team Kaentai Dojo (MIYAWKI & Yoshiaki Yago - TWGP Night 1
This was a pleasant surprise to start out the set. I figured this would be good due to KUDO & MIYAWAKI being involved however I had no clue that this would blow the roof off the place. I was completely unfamiliar with Yago & MIKAMI, but they won me over with this outstanding performance. KUDO started out the bout against Yago with a sick strike exchange that was honestly unlike anything I've seen in wrestling. It was more like a MMA style exchange as the kicks thudded and they blocked each other's strikes with their arms. This viciousness ended momentarily only to kick in again in the insane closing sequence that has to be seen. An all around awesome match here. Everything was crisp and executed with precision. Kicks upon kicks, vicious lariats, dragon suplexes - all that good stuff.

Match rating - ***3/4

2) FIST (Gran Akuma & Icarus) vs. Shane Storm & MISTER ZERO - TWGP Night 2
Throwback to the 2005 season finale as Storm & Akuma are in the same ring. Boy, I was ready for this and it certainly delivered. It was interesting to see how the audience would react to Akuma being unmasked and he still got a ton of heat. In fact, he & Icarus got even more heat than they did in 2005. I think it's safe to say after seeing this that 2006 was when the massive boos started for Icarus. To think they would last all the way up through 2010-11 truly blows my mind. None the less, this match was pretty great. FIST attack early to try and get control and after a wild opening sequence, they do just that. This leads to the comeback from Storm & ZERO. In the midst of this, FIST regains the advantage and Icarus goes up top with ZERO. What is this? SPINNING PEDIGREE TO THE FLOOR! Did not expect this big of a spot here! Craziness! This kept ZERO down for the remainder of the match and allowed FIST to finish off Storm.

Match rating - ***1/4

3) Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) vs. Milano Collection AT & Skayde -TWGP Night 3
This is a rematch from last year which has me excited considering how much I enjoyed that encounter. It ended in a DQ just as things were heating up so with this being the match to crown the first ever Campeones Da Parejas (CHIKARA Tag Team Champions), I expect them to top it in a big way. Everything that made the first match so good was put on display here times two with both teams displaying some unbelievable team work. It had the same format as their previous encounter with KOW being outwrestled early due to their cockiness which led to cheap tactis & teamwork earning them the advantage. After a small period of KOW working over Milano & Skayde, the faces began their comeback which is where we got some great exchanges. This match didn't reach the level that I expected it to however it was certainly a worthy encounter to crown the first ever Campeones Da Parejas. KOW make CHIKARA history.

Match rating - ***3/4

4) Mike Quackenbush vs. Ares - WXW Championship Match - Naked

Best of AJ Styles in IWA Mid-South Review (Discs 2 & 3)

This is the second & third discs of a multi-disc set I got from Highspots. The first four discs feature Styles' best matches from his tenure in IWA-Mid South in the mid 2000's. I reviewed the first disc that featured a phenomenal (pun intended) match with Christopher Daniels. My review of that disc can be found here. That leads us to the next two discs which I've reviewed below.

Disc 2: Best of AJ Styles In IWA Mid-South - Part 2

8) AJ Styles vs. Chris Hero - Winter Wars 2003 - 12/19/03
This was the first ever meeting between these two men in any promotion. Prior to this match, I had only seen them face off once and it was 2 years after this encounter out in PWG at their Chanukah Chaos event. That match was good however I felt like they only scratched the surface of what they could do. I felt like this match was just as good as their PWG encounter that would happen two years later if not a bit better. The first half of the match saw AJ work over the leg of Hero in a number of ways including dropping him knee first on a chair. Hero sold it very well throughout the entire match. He finally was able to create some separation by hitting a backbreaker on Styles with the only downfall being that he used his hurt knee to do so. It ended up being the turning point in the match though as things were more evenly matched from that point. Styles was never able to hit the Styles Clash in this match despite several attempts. Hero came up with several unique counters to the move, one of which earned him a victory as Hero rolled out of the move and locked in a crossface variation to get the win via submission. Solid match, very well executed.


Match rating - ***1/4

9) AJ Styles vs. Michael Shane - 12/20/03
After Styles' match with Hero, Shane came down to the ring and had a staredown with him which was a nice precursor to this bout considering it took place just one night after the encounter with Hero. For that reason, I expected this one to be intense and blow me away since it had somewhat of a backstory, but unfortunately it was just an average bout. Not really much to talk about here aside from the finish where Styles hit a Styles Clash off the top rope for the victory.

Match rating - **1/4

10) AJ Styles vs. B-Boy - April Bloodshowers - 4/9/04

CHIKARA: Best of 2005 Review

I think it's safe to say at this point that 2015 will go down for me as the year that I discovered CHIKARA. With my most recent order, I've now purchased every Best of set from 2005-2012. I honestly never thought I'd get this into CHIKARA, but it happened and I'm certainly glad it did. So, to give a little background and foreshadowing - I've been up, down, and all around in my CHIKARA binge since January. I began with Best of 09 & 10 then purchased 11 & 12 then the 12 Large Tourney & Best of 07. Now, I'm here with the Best of 2005 in my DVD player and the Best of 2006 & 2008 on my shelf ready to be watched & reviewed after this so settle in! Nine discs of CHIKARA action are going to be reviewed in the coming months and we start here with this two disc "Best of 2005" set that can be purchased from Smart Mark Video.

1) Knight Eye For The Pirate Guy vs. Mano Metalico & Crossbones - Tag World Grand Prix 2005 Night One - 2/18/05
This wasn't a match that you would expect to be on a Best of set although it was still quite fun. If you've ever seen any of the men involved, you know that they are the big characters and do their fair share of comedy. That was displayed here well and it didn't last long so I can't complain however as said before, it's not something I'd put on a Best of Compilation. Eddie Kingston & Dave Prazak on commentary was fun to listen to.

Match rating - **

2) Team Toryumon X vs. Team Osaka Pro - Tag World Grand Prix 2005 Night Three - 2/20/05
I expected more comedy here, but we ended up getting quite the exciting tag match with some great action. Considering that Ebessan is involved, there was indeed some comedy however they didn't over do it. The team of Skayde & Milano put on a real show with Team Toryumon X holding their own as well. Solid tag team bout.

Match rating - **3/4

3) Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli, & Arik Cannon) vs. Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw, & Sabian - Remain in Light - 3/18/05