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
Quack is coming off of a back injury here so Ares targeted that in a big way. For some reason I can't remember alot about this match. I guess it's because it was nothing more than a solid bout and I'm reviewing this after finishing all of Disc 1. None the less, it was decent for what it was with Ares playing a good overpowering bully and Quack selling everything well. I can't remember who wins so I'll leave that for you to find out!
Match rating - **3/4
5) Jigsaw vs. Icarus - Sand In The Vaseline
This spawned from a previous match these two had where Icarus busted the nose of Jigsaw with a kick. I didn't see that match although it does garner more interest in this encounter than I had previously. The good thing about these Best Of's is that the commentary often fills in any missing pieces that aren't covered. Jigsaw & Icarus put together a pretty fun little match here. It isn't anything extraordinary, but there are still several pretty cool moments. Most notably Icarus going for the spinning pedigree of the top and Jigsaw somehow reversing it into the Jigatonic. The ref gets knocked down in the process so Jig can't get the win. Icarus takes advantage of this and gets the victory. Even more heat on him after that, I love it! Smartly worked match.
Match rating - **3/4
6) Eddie Kingston vs. Arik Cannon - Anniversario Delta
This exceeded expectations. I've never been a big Arik Cannon fan however Kingston gave him one hell of a match here. As weird as it sounds, King is best in a role of taking punishment as opposed to always dishing it out. His fighting spirit spots are the best, even back here in 2006. He & Cannon beat the shit out of each other inside of the ring and out here. Cannon ends up delivering a nasty brainbuster/suplex thing to King on the floor that made me cringe. King makes it back in the ring and won't give up even after a bunch of saito suplexes dropping him directly on his head. Eventually he takes too much of a beating to come back from. Surprisingly great hard hitting match.
Match rating - ***1/4
7) Kings of Wrestling/FIST (Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli, Gran Akuma, & Icarus) vs. Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw, Shane Storm, & Milano Collection AT - Anniversario Delta
I never expected this to be as intense as it was although I should have expected it to be considering all the major stories compiled into this one match. You have Akuma & Storm that have a history that's already been noted in this review as Storm beat Akuma thus forcing him to unmask in the latter part of 2005 and they are still clearly at odds. Claudio & Hero have been at odds with Quack for nearly a year now and Milano Collection AT wants revenge on them as he & Skayde lost in the finals of TWGP earlier in this set to KOW. On top of that, Jigsaw & Icarus who we saw face off earlier on this disc have become vicious rivals by this time. I originally thought having that match on this set was worthless, but now I'm glad it was included because it allowed me to understand the significance of them charging each other in this match. There was alot of charging here too. The tension in this match was through the roof as it came off as if these two squads had REAL issues. There was a ton of awesome lucha stuff to start, most notably with Quack & Claudio and Claudio & Jig with each guy eventually facing off with their rival. You had exchanges between Akuma & Storm, Jig & Icarus, and a well built up to face off between Claudio & Quack that brought back shades of their widely recognized match from Negative Balance one year prior. The face team got their stuff in early only for KOW/FIST to completely take control and garner massive heat. They took shortcuts, cheap shots, and took advantage of every opportunity they were given to break the rules. On top of that, they displayed phenomenal teamwork on multiple occasions throughout this part of the match. The hot tag eventually comes and it goes to Milan from Jig. Things get pretty high impact here with alot of big moves. It's not your typical finishing run loaded with false finishes which was another nice change of pace, it's just all these guys going hard just like they did all match. Pretty fantastic match here that serves as a perfect example of what I love about CHIKARA - they mix awesome wrestling AND storytelling like no other Indie can.
Match rating - ****
Disc 2:
8) Player Uno vs. Dan Paysan - YLC V Night 1
This was a showcase for two young talents from Canada and man, does Uno look different!! As you may or may not know, he's gone on to be a part of one of the most exciting tag teams on the Indies, the Super Smash Bros, as they've won the PWG World Tag Titles and competed for both ROH & DGUSA before settling back down in Canada. Well, this was years before that which made for a different Player Uno. These two basically just hit all their stuff in a match that I saw mainly as an exhibition. Lots of fast paced action to impress the audience. A fun watch.
Match rating - **3/4
9) FIST (Gran Akuma & Icarus) vs. The Colony - YLC V Night 1
The Colony had recently debuted a few shows before this so they were the newcomers here against two long time CHIKARA competitors. FIST worked them over for a good five minutes before Soldier & Fire mounted their comeback which featured an insane misdirection dive to the outside. FIST ends up bending the rules to regain the advantage and start fooling around by pulling Fire's shoulders off the mat when he was clearly pinned. Jigsaw & Shane Storm come out to distract/confront FIST, Fire Ant rolls up Icarus and The Colony gets a shocking victory out of nowhere. This was good for what it was, mainly for storyline progression.
Match rating - **1/2
10) Player Uno & Ricochet vs. Chuck Taylor & Cloudy - YLC V Night 3
This was utter insanity. As Bryce Remsburg said on commentary, Chuck Taylor & Ricochet were the Punk/Cabana or Quack/Reckless of the Indies at the time as they had just began traveling all around to get their name out. They started off in IWA Mid-South and made their way to CHIKARA here during Young Lion's Cup weekend. The two certainly impressed as they along with fellow newcomers Player Uno & Cloudy put together an insane match here. Just a ton of fun, crazy stuff that you'd expect from these guys. Ricochet hits a springboard double moonsault to the outside onto all three of the other competitors. WOW!
Match rating - ***1/2
11) Eddie Kingston vs. Larry Sweeney - YLC V Night 3
As with FIST/Colony, this was solely to further storylines and it did a fantastic job of that. After a few minutes of action, Sweeney gets himself disqualfied with a low blow and begins assaulting Kingston. I don't know the backstory to this match, but this angle definitely got me interested in it. Sweeney chokes out Kingston then hits him repeatedly with his belt before leaving. Chris Hero & Ultramantis Black praise him and dub this the transformation of Larry Sweeney.
Match rating - **
12) Claudio Castagnoli, Gran Akuma, & Icarus vs. Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw, & Shane Storm - YLC V Night 3
I said earlier that the eight man involving the KOW/CHIKARA feud was a vast improvement from the six mans that rivalry encompassed in 2005, well, this six man took what they did in the eight man to yet another level. It seems every time these guys get in the ring together it just gets better & better. In terms of action and storytelling. There's no need for me to provide a detailed backstory because I did that in my review of the 8 man earlier in this set and I'd recommend going back to read that if you haven't. I'll just say the feud pairings here are Storm/Akuma who's rivalry dates back to a Mask-Mask Match in 05, Claudio/Quack who's rivalry also dates back to 05, and the newly formed hatred between Jig & Icarus. As with the eight man, a flurry from the technicos starts things off and we get some super fun lucha exchanges & matwork. Following this, the Kings do what they do best and completely take apart Quack's team. Double & triple teams, cheap tactics, attempts to take off Jigsaw's mask etc. Quack's team makes a comeback when Storm gets tagged after Quack rolls to the apron. Claudio ends up getting catapulted over the ring post to the floor by Quack who used his feet to do so (insane). Quack follows this up with a running flip off the apron while Jigsaw is perched on the top and nails a crossbody onto Icarus. This is where the insane finishing run begins and it's even better than in the previous multi-mans. The nearfalls are more well timed and feel even more epic. The exchanges are more crisp. It's just an all around step up from previous sequences these teams have produced like this. Claudio & Quack have an AMAZING exchange here, possibly one of my favorite ones ever between them and that's saying something. Quack does the fucking spring back flip off the shoulders spot, Claudio does a handstand leg bounce into the ropes, Quack hits the ropes, HEAD SCISSORS INTO A CROSSFACE, NO A PINNING CRADLE - 1...2...CLAUDIO KICKS OUT! The crowd is completely on it's feet at this point. After all that batshit craziness, the finish completely shocks me in a totally brilliant way. Icarus & Jigsaw get the chance to close this one out to further their feud which I loved. I expected more high impact action and instead we get something arguably even better. The two reverse out of each other's finishers several times before Icarus is successful in ripping off the mask of Jigsaw. I did NOT see that coming AT ALL. The CHIKARA rulebook states that if a competitor's mask is ripped off, it calls for a DQ so that's how this one ends and while DQ's can sometimes leave a sour taste in your mouth, it did the complete opposite for me here because of how significant of an act happened for the DQ to be called. Storm runs in with a shirt to cover up Jig's face. Quack comes in as well as Claudio & FIST pose together mocking them. It looks like some shit is about to go down. Phenomenal stuff here.
Match rating - ****1/4
After the match, some shit does go down. Jigsaw is PISSED. The emotions are running high and you can feel it. Icarus wants Jigsaw's mask and in turn, Jigsaw wants Icarus' hair. Leonard F Chikarason gets in the ring to sort things out. Jig agrees to the Hair vs Mask match and Icarus says "maybe" before laughing and turning to walk away. JIGSAW CHARGES HIM! We have a huge brawl on our hands. Claudio pairs off with Quack and Akuma pairs off with Storm while Jig & Icarus trade shots on the mat. CHRIS HERO HITS THE RING followed by Mantis. The Colony, Crossbones, and more guys run out to separate things. All the heels have FIST & Claudio out of there when out of nowhere JIGSAW DIVES OVER THE TOP ROPE ONTO ALL OF THEM! The fight breaks out again and it's even bigger this time. Icarus somehow rips the mask off Jigsaw again and poses with it on Claudio's shoulders with Hero & Akuma on the ramp. KOW is standing tall once again. We then get a video package which is cued by Chikarason. It reads as a message from the CHIKARA commissioner and WHAT THE FUCK?! It's Bob Saget!!!! Yes, you read that correctly, Danny Tanner from Full House is on the screen. He announces Jigsaw/Icarus in a Hair vs Mask Match for an upcoming show!! The crowd goes nuts and Icarus pitches a fit. THIS RULED!
13) Chris Hero vs. Shane Storm - Crushing Weight
This was way better than I expected it to be. I guess it should stop having low expectations for Shane Storm matches. Hero was awesome here. He got control early on after Storm went for a Super Dragon-esque corner dive to the floor and missed. Hero stomps out Storm in the ring and mocks him and also hits a running double stomp where he jumps off a barricade on the outside for added impact. In the ring, he dares Storm to roll him up with his back turned, but he never does so UNTIL the next time he turns his back. Storm with the roll up for 2 and he starts building momentum. Armdrag on the floor, hurricanrana off the apron to the floor. It's back & forth in the closing minutes with Hero dropping Storm on his head with a vicious back drop driver before finally putting him away. Despite the loss, Storm looked really good here as he kicked out of alot of stuff that you wouldn't expect him to.
Match rating - ***1/2
14) Jigsaw vs. Icarus - Hair vs. Mask Match - Crushing Weight
With the hype the trios match created for this, it was hard for this to live up to it. It wasn't the classic that I kinda expected although it was still a good match. Despite it not reaching the level that I figured it would, it didn't flop by any means. Shane Storm & Gran Akuma were both at ringside which was a nice touch considering their history in high stakes matches like this. There was a nice spot where Akuma lean in the ring and interfere and Storm nailed with That Japanese Move on the floor. The match itself was solid, but nothing special. Some cool counters and such. The crowd wasn't overly hyped however they were still popped for most of the moments that were worthy of it. Jigsaw gets the win. Decent match.
Match rating - ***
15) North Star Express vs. Los Ice Creams - International Invaders
Somehow, I accidentally skipped this match and I had to go back and watch it after I finished the set. It wasn't really worth it though, to be honest. A little comedy early, Los Ice Creams work over Corbin & Cruz, NSE makes the comeback. There were some cool double teams by North Star at the end, other than that this was nothing special.They didn't do anything to get me fully invested in it, but it was fairly fun.
Match rating - **1/2
Disc 3:
16) Incoherence (Delirious & Hallowicked) vs. Ultramantis Black & Hydra - Brick
Comedy started this one off which is something you'd probably expect with Delirious involved. Alot of the grunting and running around stuff. He even grabs a kid in the audience with a Delirious mask on and carries him around the ring before sitting him back down. Once the match gets going it's a decent little encounter albeit nothing spectacular. It was pretty back & forth the entire time with some solid action in the finishing stretch.
Match rating - **1/4
17) Mike Quackenbush, Ricochet, & Cloudy vs. Shane Storm, Retail Dragon & Cheech - Brick
I love matches like this. Pretty much just an exhibition for all these guys. Smooth, fast paced exchanges that will keep you glued to the screen. The placement of these teams was really interesting considering Quack & Storm and Cheech & Cloudy are regular tag partners. I have no clue why they were in separate times, but it made for some first time exchanges that I really enjoyed so I can't complain. Super fun trios match in which Ricochet gets the pinfall for his time. Huge moment as Quack embraces him. Interested to see what this leads to for the young Ricochet.
Match rating - ***
18) Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) vs. FIST (Gran Akuma & Icarus) - Campeones Des Parejas - Brick
This one had my interest from the get go. The stable mates are facing off as KOW defends their belts against FIST. The story here was whether or not FIST would go against the guys who have been their mentors for the past year. Chris Hero, in particular, played the bully role amazingly well by shoving Icarus and yelling "WHO MADE YOU?!" The crowd didn't react as I thought they would however that's expected considering FIST has been getting major heat for over a year now. If the crowd has acted differently and gotten behind FIST, this really could've been a classic. This was still a great match though. The first fall went longer than expected as KOW got a lengthy control seg and worked over Akuma & Icarus. If I remember correctly, FIST made their comeback and got a pin on Claudio. This infuriates KOW, they come back swinging and pick up the second fall. The third fall comes out of nowhere and FIST win the tag titles (Campeones Des Parejas). The crowd actually popped nicely for that win.
Match rating - ***1/4
19) Chuck Taylor vs. Ricochet - Talent Borrows
It's Chuck & Ricochet in 2006-2007, you can't go wrong here. They know each other so well and are still out to prove themselves. Chuck plays the heel, works the crowd, and toys with Ricochet by beating on him then getting cocky and having to stop his comebacks. Gran Akuma & Icarus appear on the stage during the match. I'm guessing they were scouting Chuck because he joined FIST soon after this. Ricochet ends up coming back and hits some insane stuff on Chuckie T including a canadian destroyer looking move. Chuck gets his foot on the ropes though so Ricochet goes up top for a shooting star press and MISSES. Chuck gets back up, goes for the Awful Waffle, Ricochet counters it for the like the third time, but Chuck hangs on and spikes him with it for the victory.
Match rating - ***1/4
20) Incoherence and Cheech & Cloudy vs. Order of the Neo Solar Temple - Talent Borrows
This was simply too much for me. I've never gotten much out of the Incoherence comedy schtick and when I noticed Cheech & Cloudy were dressed up as clones of Delirious & Hallowicked, I pretty much slept through the rest of this. They just overdid it. If you like Incoherence, you may enjoy this more than I did because they did pick it up near the end with some cool combo moves. I just couldn't get into it at all.
Match rating - **
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