1) Fire Ant vs. Pinkie Sanchez - A Touch Of Class
The set starts off with this match that encompasses two men involved in a feud between The Colony and BDK. Just like with the Best of 2009 set I recently watched, the commentators did a great job of giving me backstory to what led to this bout. Pinkie apparently was partnered up with The Colony then he turned and revealed himself to be a part of the BDK which led to this match between he & Colony member Fire Ant. This was the opening bout of the first CHIKARA event of 2010, "A Touch Of Class", and they certainly got things off to a fiery start. This isn't anything special, but it's a good match that I enjoyed watching.
Match rating -***
2) Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw, Equinox & Lince Dorado vs. Claudio Castagnoli, Ares, Tursas, & Lince Dorado - A Touch Of Class
It turns out that the BDK storyline that showcased in the Pinkie/Fire Ant match is also showcased here. It seems like its basically BDK vs Chikara which definitely sounds interesting. The first thing that caught my here was the addition of Ares to Claudio's team. For those who don't know, Claudio & Ares have been teaming together off and on for years, dating all the way back to IWA Mid-South in 2002-03. It was nice seeing Swiss Money Holding back together as a part of BDK in this match up. From the start, we got some big storyline developments as Lince Dorado jumped Equinox before the match, revealing himself as a member of the BDK! This was the start of a chaotic match that saw Eddie Kingston come out and insert himself as the four the man on Quack's squad. It was about five or six minutes in when Claudio began taunting Kingston and soon enough, King came running out which immediately got me hyped because these two had the CHIKARA MOTY just one month prior so when they stepped in the same ring again it had a big time feel. There was also some comedy here, or maybe I just found it funny, Eddie began chopping Tursas, who is a huge guy with a mask with a long gray beard, and as King kept doing his Kobashi-esque chops, it began knocking hair off the beard, it was hilarious as Tursas barely seemed phased. The closing sequence saw several near falls along with a crazy dive sequence. If it wasn't for the unexplained addition of Kingston to the match and other minor booking quirks, this would get a higher rating. However, the rating doesn't reflect everything because this was a TON of fun and I'll likely go back and watch it again. Loving this storyline!
Match rating - ***1/4
3) Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw, Equinox, & Helios vs. Brodie Lee & The UnStable - Mint Condition
This was one of those awesome multi-mans that CHIKARA has become known for over the years. Matches like this are what got them noticed in the early years and every time one of these takes place, it's easy to see why. Just flawless, great action from beginning to end. Aside from the action, we also saw a more vocal Brodie Lee (now Luke Harper in WWE) in this match as he put his charisma/character on display on several occasions however he still wow'd the crowd with his unbelievable strength and surprising agility. Some notable spots here include a triple dive that knocked down a few fans and absolutely chaotic closing sequence. Awesome stuff.
Match rating - ***3/4
4) Eddie Kingston vs. Gran Akuma - A World of Comforting Illusions
After seeing him tear the house down with Claudio Castagnoli at Three-Fisted Tales in December of 2009, I've become a fan of Eddie Kingston. Prior to that match, he was never a draw for me, but now I'm hooked on his vicious style of pro wrestling. This match was a perfect example of that as it was just a battle of strikes for the most part. Solid hard hitting bout.
Match rating - ***
5) Lince Dorado vs. Equinox - Wit, Verve
After seeing Dorado jump Equinox earlier in this set, I was looking forward to seeing them go at it here. Once again, just like with the 2009 set, CHIKARA is doing a great job of showcasing storylines thus far in this set. The basis of this match was your typical heel/face story with Equinox getting a flurry early only for Dorado to take control. Lince controlled most of the match and was able to pick up a victory despite a few flurries from Equinox in the final moments of the bout. Well worked match that did what it set out to do.
Match rating - **3/4
6) Vin Gerard & Stigma vs. The Osirian Portal - Wit, Verve
This is the first appearance of The Osirian Portal on this set thus far and I'm pretty glad to see them considering how great some of their matches from the 2009 set were. They certainly hadn't lost a step since then as they were hitting on all cylinders here. Gerard & Stigma, who are part of the Unstable, were clearly the heels here and they did their job very well. Things were pretty evenly matched here however in the end, speed would be the determing factor and The Osirian Portal picked up a victory with a quick roll up after an action packed 11 minutes.
Match rating - ***1/4
7) Pinkie Sanchez vs. Equinox - Dead Men Don't Laugh
And we're back to a match that involves the BDK storyline. Pinkie represented the BDK well here by paying tribute to fellow member, Claudio Castagnoli, by hitting Equinox with some uppercuts. Of course they weren't as vicious as Double C's but it's the thought that counts right? None the less, Pinkie really put a beating on Equinox Jimmy Olsen early on however it was never enough to keep him down. Equinox fired back with a spikerana followed by locking Pinkie in the Chikara special which I thought would be the end until Pinkie reached the ropes. In the end, Pinkie Sanchez's dominance early on paid off as he was able to hit Equinox with a big move dropping him on his head to put him away. Decent little match. Think it was mainly put on here to keep the BDK story relevant in our minds as the set goes along.
Match rating - **3/4
8) Team Frightning (Mike Quackenbush, Hallowicked, & Frightmare) vs. Team Big Japan (Daisuke Sekimeto, Kankuro Hoshino, & Yuji Okobayashi) - King of Trios Night 1
When Quack jumped Sekemoto from the start, I knew this was gonna be crazy and I was exactly right. Things stayed calm and collected for a few minutes however it turned into chaos not long after. It all started with Sekimoto nailing both Quack & Frightmare with one of his signature german suplexes. It was a jawdropping and cringeworthy spot as Frightmare landed right on his head. The action just escalated from there and never slowed down. Very fun spotfest.
Match rating - ***1/2
9) FIST (Chuck Taylor, Icarus, & Gran Akuma) vs. Team Osaka Pro - King of Trios Night 2
FIST is here making their first apperance on this set and I'm certainly glad to see them. Although the BDK was probably the most hated stable in CHIKARA at this time, FIST was in that spot in 2009 so they are still getting a mixed reaction here as well. Last year, they defeated a stacked line up of teams to win King of Trios, including making Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan) tap out, the question heading into this match and this whole weekend was could they do it again? It was time to find out as this quarterfinal round match got underway! I think the best way to put it was that this was just plain awesome. They did a good job of making it look like either team could win as we got alot of near falls with some big moves being kicked out of which left you wondering what would be able to put one of these six men away. Team Osaka Pro picks up the upset victory with a roll up on Chuckie T after Icarus & Gran Akuma dove to the outside thus being unable to break up the pin. This one had a WILD finishing stretch.
Match rating - ****
10) BDK (Claudio Castagnoli & Ares) vs. Incoherence (Frightmare & Hallowicked) - Campeones De Parejas - Aniversario Elf
More Swiss Money Holding tag matches with them as part of the BDK? Aw yeah! I know they aren't known as Swiss Money Holding anymore, but let me live! But yeah, I really am loving this BDK storyline. It's just chaos for the most part with them running roughshod over things and that continued here with Delirious blindsiding Hallowicked & Frightmare before the match and the biased referee doing a fast count to give Claudio & Ares the lead in this 2/3 Falls Match. The odds were clearly stacked against Incoherence with the referee being associated with the BDK which led to members of the roster coming out for support which in turn got the crowd more cranked up which IN TURN made this even more fun. Quack, the Super Smash Bros, The Colony, all the top faces of CHIKARA came to ringside to cheer on the Portal. This led to a ton of close nearfalls and action that will keep you on the edge of your seat including Frightmare springing up onto a light fixture above the ring and catching Claudio with a vicious hurricanrana that planted him into the mat. The screwy ref counted fast for BDK and slow for Incoherence which may seem annoying, but it really didn't take away from the match. In the end, the odds were too much for Incoherence as expected and Claudio & Ares pick up the win. This was so much fun!
Match rating - ***1/2
Disc 2:
11) Mike Quackenbush vs. Green Ant - We Must Eat Michigan
This was the opening match of "We Must Eat Michigan's Brains" and it was a big change of pace as we saw Quack get down on the mat with one of his trainees. It didn't even reach the 10 minute mark, but it was very enjoyable while it lasted as we saw a side of Quack which isn't showcased as often these days plus Green Ant got to show a technical side of his own. Quack picked up the win seemingly out of nowhere with a clover leaf submission. I was sad to this end so quickly however it did do a good job of showing that a match could end at any time. Nice submission style match up.
Match rating - **3/4
12) Tim Donst vs. Frightmare - We Must Eat Michigan
As soon as I saw Frightmare carry Tim Donst through the crowd allowing people to chop him, including a kid, I knew this would be a light hearted affair however I ended up being wrong because once Donst got control, it turned somewhat vicious. He really tried to send a message to his opponent for the next night, Bryan Danielson, and he did just that by mocking him on several occassions. In fact, I think that's the whole reason this match was included because it's a great lead in to the next match on this set. Other than that it's nothing special.
Match rating - **1/4
13) Bryan Danielson vs. Tim Donst - Faded Scars and Lines
This totally exceeded my expectations. I know Danielson is amazing and he's one of my favorites, I just had no clue what level he would perform at here considering this was during his short sabattical from WWE in 2010. Plus, I was unsure of how his style would mesh with Donst's. All my unsurety was thrown out the window once this match got going though because these two grasped my full attention. Donst was cocky starting out as he slapped Danielson and called himself the Best in the World which obviously garnered a mixed reaction as the crowd was pretty much in love with American Dragon here. This match was really a proving ground for Donst though and he certainly proved himself to be one hell of a performer. Bryan did a fantastic job of making Donst look like a million bucks while also beating the shit out of him on several occassions at the same time. Some of my favorite moments include Donst countering many of Bryan's signature moves such as turning the back body drop off the top turnbuckle into a crossbody. Another example of this came with Donst getting out of the way of Bryan's running knee early on only for Dragon to hit later on near the end. I loved this match. Awesome stuff that did showed everyone how good Tim Donst really is. I truly applaud Bryan for all the people he put over in some form or fashion during his short run back on the Indies when WWE released him only to hire him back in 2010. Donst didn't go over Bryan here, but I'm sure that's not what fans remember. They remember a great match, they don't remember Bryan beating Donst. Arguably the best match on the set thus far.
Match rating - ****
14) The Colony & Frightmare vs. Pinkie Sanchez, Tim Donst, Lince Dorado & Tursas - Chikarasaurus Rex
These two squads kicked off this particular show in great fashion as members of the BDK battled The Colony & Frightmare in a wild multi-man bout. There were some vicious neck bumps here and the action was fast paced from start to finish and they even mixed a bit of comedy in. There's not much else to say. Super fun 8 man tag opener here.
Match rating - ***
15) Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw, & Hallowicked vs. Bxb Hulk, Naruki Doi, & Masato Yoshino - Chikarasaurus Rex
This bout was a big draw for me when looking into this set. I'm a big fan of the Dragon Gate guys here thanks to their work in PWG, DGUSA, & ROH plus I was excited to see how their style meshed with that of Quack & Jig's. It was a perfect mix as we got a match filled with great tag team work and quick action all the way through. It wasn't the MOTY candidate that I was expecting however it certainly delivered the quality wrestling that I figured it would. Great trios match.
Match rating - ***3/4
16) Adam Cole vs. Kyle O'Reilly - Young Lion's Cup VIII Night Two
Man, this match was really cool to see. As of this writing, in 2015, Cole & O'Reilly are two of the top wrestlers in the world. It's crazy to look at this match from five years prior and see how far they've come. At the time, neither man had made their ROH debut, Cole was the CZW Jr Heavyweight Champ, and O'Reilly was best known for his work in Evolve. That's TOTALLY different than now as these guys have both had major singles runs in PWG & ROH plus Kyle has won New Japan Pro Wrestling gold in the Junior Heavyweight Tag Division. None the less, this match really foreshadowed what the future held for both guys. O'Reilly stood out in the pure wrestling department with his unqiue combinations and stiff strikes while Cole stood out when it came to ring presence, charisma, and owning his character. These two definitely stole the show at this particular Young Lion's Cup event as the crowd was chanting "This match rules" during the closing stretch that saw Cole bodyslam O'Reilly on the apron. Very good match.
Match rating - ***1/2
17) Frightmare vs. Lince Dorado - Young Lions Cup VIII Night 3
The BDK/Chikara feud continues here in the finals of the 8th Annual Young Lions Cup. The same referee that was doing screwy things in the Swiss Money Holding/Osirian Portal match earlier in the set is reffing here so I expected some shitty calls and we got them. It wasn't to the point that it interfered with my enjoyment of the match though because it made sense and the crowd reacted perfectly. Fast counts for Lince and slow counts for Frightmare were the main things he did anyway. The action here was great despite the shotty ref. For instance, if the ref hijinks wouldn't have took place, I think this would have neared four stars. However, like I said before, I still enjoyed it just as much because this storyline is brilliant. There were some jawdropping exchanges and here as well as an unbelievable spot in the form of what looked like a canadian destroyer on the ring apron. It happened so quickly that I couldn't quite tell, all I know is my mind was blown and Frightmare got his head slammed into the ring apron. The referee, Sabato ended up getting knocked down which led to Bryce Remsburg coming down from the commentation station to give this one a rightful ending. Frightmare wins the YLC and the crowd goes nuts! Thrilling action and such a deserving moment for Frightmare who has been really fun to watch on this set as well as the 2009 edition that I recently finished.
Match rating - ***1/2
18) Claudio Castagnoli & Ares vs. 3.0 (Jagged & Shane Matthews) - Eye To Eye
This was very similar to that of Claudio & Ares match with Osirian Portal in that it was 2/3 Falls just like every match for Chikara's tag team titles (). Also because it featured more BDK shenanigans with the referee and Delirious attacking their opponents before the match. From reading this review you may think that it gets annoying, but it really doesn't because the action makes up for it and it's done perfectly. Plus the crowd eats it all up. The roster came down to the ring to support 3.0 here after they managed to score a fall over Ares & Claudio being the first team to do so since they became champions. It wasn't enough to boost them to victory though as Claudio & Ares retain the belts. Very fun match with an edge of your seat closing sequence featuring alot of near falls.
Match rating - ***
19) Delirious & Daizee Haze vs. The Osirian Portal - Through Savage Progress
I really enjoyed this encounter. It was my first time seeing Daizee Haze in an actual match and she and fellow BDK member Delirious impressed me with their teamwork. They hit some cool combination moves such as a moonsault from Haze onto Ophidian followed by a frog splash from Delirious. The Osirian Portal shined here in that aspect too though of course. After all, they are one of the top tag teams in CHIKARA and for good reason. Another highlight here for me was the bridging german suplexes that Daizee hit on the Portal, apparently she delivered one to Amazing Kong a few months prior which peaked my interest in seeking that match out. Solid tag match.
Match rating - ***1/4
20) Claudio Castagnoli & Sara Del Rey vs. Mike Quackenbush & Manami Toyota - Through Savage Progress
Dream match alert! This was Manami's first weekend in America and she certainly outdid herself in this bout. For those who don't know, Manami Toyota is a Joshi legend and arguably the best Japanese women's wrestler of all time, if not the best female wrestler of all time period. With that being said, it was huge seeing her in Chikara here and even more awesome to see her lock up with the likes of Sara Del Rey. Between that and the great chemistry which Claudio & Quack posess, this was bound to be a MOTY candidate and that's exactly what it was. I'd even venture to say it was the best match on this set up to this point, just edging out Danielson/Donst. Fantastic match!
Match rating - ****1/4
21) The BDK (Claudio Castagnoli, Ares, Tursas, Sara Del Rey, Daizee Haze, Delirious, Tim Donst, & Pinkie Sanchez) vs. Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw, Edde Kingston, Vokoder, Icarus, Hallowicked, & Ultramantis Black - The Dark Cibernetico
I honestly don't even know where to start here. This match was epic. Just looking at it on paper, I figured it'd be awesome considering it's a storyline that's been building for nearly a year finally coming to a head, but I had no clue that CHIKARA would add so many layers into this match like they did. The first big moment came in the form of Vokoder, a masked man who came out after Delirious & Daizee Haze's match earlier in the set and stared them down, took off his mask to reveal... LARRY SWEENEY! The crowd goes absolutely nuts, the bell rings, and this thing gets underway. Claudio & Sweeney go at it in the entrance way and although the rest of the competitors are brawling in other parts of the arena, everyone is turned towards them, that just goes to show how great of a moment it was. After that, the first layer of storytelling began as former rivals Eddie Kingston and Larry Sweeney stood back to back in the center of the ring fighting off the BDK together for the sake of CHIKARA. Man, the significance of that is astounding. After this, things began to settle down and it took me a minute to figure out how this match worked. Once I did though, it seemed like a pretty cool concept. Only one person per team is allowed in the match at a time (obviously), only one person from each team is allowed on the apron and each team has a particular order that they are lined up in so only the person who's turn it is will be on apron thus being the only competitor eligible for a tag. None the less, back to the early happenings of the bout. Pinkie Sanchez and Larry Sweeney were the first eliminated which led to the Claudio Castagnoli/Eddie Kingston rivalry coming to blows, only for a short time though as BDK took turns working over King. As said before, the multiple layer of storyies told in this match is what really stood out so that's what I'm mainly going to focus on in this review. The second layer came when Icarus earned the fans back on his side for the first time in years. This is the one that really struck me because although I understood the signifcance of Sweeney & Kingston teaming up, I hadn't seen their rivalry so it didn't affect me the same way as this instance with Icarus did. I recently watched the Best of 2009 set in which Icarus and his partners Chuck taylor & Gran Akuma were the most hated men in the company during that calendar year. So it was awesome seeing him win the crowd over by coming into this match to fight for CHIKARA and being resilient enough to kick out of everything Claudio threw at him. The next layer of storytelling came with Delirious going at it with UltraMantis Black and Hallowicked. Two men he's been associated with since early 2009 (possibly earlier because I haven't seen anything pre-2008 yet). There were just so many minor stories culminated into this huge match that culminated arguably the biggest feud in CHIKARA history and beyond that, the action followed suit. This was a complete classic although I'd suggest doing your homework before checking this out because you won't be able to understand the significance of some of it unless you are familiar with alot of past storylines. This was a true spectacle that I'm definitely gonna go back and watch again after catching up with all the stories that were touched on during this bout. Match of the year in CHIKARA for sure.
Match rating - ****1/2
22) ZERO, Dragonfly, Ultramantis Black, & Roger vs. Icarus, Rorschach, Steel, & Crabtree - Scornucopio
This was a match that was billed as a throwback. Old characters from CHIKARA's past made their return for this one match while current talents like Icarus & Ultramantis Black participated as well considering they've been around for a while. I haven't seen anything pre-2009 so this match didn't really do anything for me considering it was all comedy and nostalgia. Some came off as too silly while other stuff was actually pretty funny. None the less, this wasn't anything special unless you're a fan of old CHIKARA. In that case, you'll probably enjoy this way more than I did.
Match rating - **
23) UltraMantis Black vs. Ares - No DQ Match - The Germans
The BDK rivalry, while not as hot as it was earlier in the year, is still brewing even after the Cibernetico match. This match saw UltraMantis go to war with Ares in a pretty wild brawl. It's definitely different than anything else on this set as hardly none of the action was in the ring. The two men fought through the crowd, backstage, up stairs to the commentation station, and even outside into the street/sidewalk. It was a very fun match to say the least and there was even some intriguing storyline advancement near the end.
Match rating - ***
24) The Osirian Portal & Jonathan Gresham vs. Delirious, Pinkie Sanchez, & Lince Dorado - Reality is Relative
I was excited to see this match solely because of Jonathan Gresham. I've been a fan of his for a for months now and had no clue he ever wrestled for CHIKARA. This was his debut and he certainly left an impression. This bout wasn't all about him though because everyone else delivered the goods as well. Exciting trios match here with a great exchange near the end that saw all six men collapse to the mat. Good stuff.
Match rating - ***
25) Claudio Castagnoli & Ares vs. Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw - Campeonatos De Parejas - Reality Is Relative
This was the final match of the last show of 2010 so it was time to wrap up the BDK storyline and I can't think of a better way to do it than what they did here. You had Eddie Kingston stop Delirious from doing his signature manuever of attacking Claudio & Ares' opponents pre-match, you had Bryce Remsburg finally knock the crap out of Sabato, and in the end, Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw dethroned Claudio & Ares to win the Campeones De Parejas. I was excited to see this match based just off the names involved and while the action was really good, the slow counts from Sabato when he got involved kind of threw things off at times, but it's been a major part of the story so it'd be wrong to not have him involved and the payoff was more than worth it as Sabato got knocked on his rear end after months of screwing off which allowed Bryce to fairly ref the final few moments of the bout. When you look at the big picture of things this was the perfect way to end this set and the entire calender year of 2010. An emotional end to a chaotic year in CHIKARA as the BDK finally got what they had coming.
Match rating - ***3/4
Overall thoughts: What an awesome rollercoaster ride this was. I've watched alot of Independent Wrestling in the past few years and this set contains some of the best storytelling I've seen on the Indies. Hell, the Cibernetico match features some of the best storytelling I've seen anywhere! If you're one of those fans that doesn't watch the Independents because it doesn't have storylines, I'd highly recommend giving this a watch. For everyone else, I'd definitely recommend giving this a look as well. I had heard some about the BDK storyline prior to this however I had no clue what I was in store for. It almost reminded of something I'd see on WWE or TNA except with better wrestling and not as corny, and in a lot of ways, BETTER than what you typically get from the aforementioned companies. Great wrestling and fantastic storytelling. This set gets a thumbs up from me. I might even look into some more CHIKARA shows from 2010 to get a more well rounded view of this feud although this set did a really good job of hitting all the major points and connecting them from what I could tell. This was my second CHIKARA DVD set and I've got two more on the way thanks to how good this and the Best of 2009 set were, so be on the look out for more CHIKARA reviews from me in the future. Thanks for reading and be sure to follow me on Twitter @EthanPWT and this blog @ThePWTruth!
This set along with a ton of other CHIKARA releases are available at smartmarkvideo.com!
CHIKARA: Best of 2009 DVD Review
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