This was extremely intense. Apparently it took place on the pre-show of this particular event which blows my mind because I'm not sure anything else could've followed it. Storm ends up bleeding and his mask is soaked with blood during the bout. Both men took an absolute beating from each other here. Sick headbutts, back drop drivers, dangerous suplexes. Just an awesome brawl with alot of mark out moments. Crazy start to the set.
Match rating - ***3/4
2) Team IWS (El Generico & The Super Smash Bros) vs. The F1rst Family (Arik Cannon, Darin Corbin, & Ryan Cruz) - King of Trios Night One - 3/1/08
Just by looking at Team IWS, I'm sure you can tell this match was a ton of fun. It was pretty much just an exhibition for both teams with the action never slowing down which made for a highly entertaining contest. It had one of those insane closing sequences with a bunch of nearfalls which ruled if you're into that kind of stuff. Both trios displayed a number of great combination manuevers here as well. This delivered!
Match rating - ***1/2
3) FIST (Chuck Taylor, Gran Akuma & Icarus) vs. Da Soul Touchaz - King of Trios Night One - 3/1/08
The trios fun continues here. FIST do what they do best and isolate Marshall Rockette of the Soul Touchaz. He was the youngest and most inexperienced member of the team so that made alot of sense. Nice little heat segment which leads to Willie Richardson getting the hot tag and cleaning house. Chuck goes for a crossbody and Willie nails him - "NO DICE CHUCKIE T!!" proclaims Mike Quackenbush. After the two teams traded momentum for a bit, FIST ends up stealing another victory after Chuck nails a member of the Soul Touchaz with the Awful Waffle which got a huge pop from the crowd. Very fun match.
Match rating - ***1/4
4) Mike Quackenbush, Shane Storm, & Jorge Rivera vs. El Pantera, Lince Dorado, & Incognito - King of Trios Night Two - 3/2/08
This was a mixed bag. You had guys who were unbelievably smooth like Quack, Lince, & Pantera then you had Incognito & Storm. Jorge, the former Skayde, was solid here although certainly not his best performance. Shane Storm grew on me in watching the Best of 2005 & 2006 sets, but this match showcased his negatives as he tried to do things he had no business doing and nearly botched. He didn't though, which IS a positive, there were just several things that weren't so smooth. All in all, this was enjoyable for what it was. As I said before, it had a few rough moments in some exchanges although for the most part it was a good lucha exhibition that's very easy on the eyes.
Match rating - ***
5) Eddie Kingston, Ruckus & Joker vs. Team Japan - King of Trios Night Three - 3/2/08
Another good trios match here. It displayed more of a strong style as opposed to the lucha and highflying we've seen thus far from the excerpts from King of Trios. Although, there were a few traces of those styles sprinkled in during the bout. I can't remember any specifics aside from a great exchange near the end that led to a stalemate with all six competitors down on the mat.
Match rating - ***1/4
6) Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brodie Lee - Passion & Persistence - 4/20/08
This marked the beginning of the Claudio/Brodie feud that we will see unfold throughout this set. With that being said, it was only a taste of what was to come as they pretty much just slugged it out for a few minutes. Claudio accidentally knocks the ref down, but manages to nail Brodie with a Ricola Bomb. Bryce comes down and counts to three just as the other ref calls for the bell for a DQ. Confusing finish that made it clear that things weren't over between these two.
Match rating - **3/4
7) Claudio Castagnoli, Sonjay Dutt, & El Pantera vs. Mike Quackenbush, Jorge "Skayde" Rivera, & El Turbo - Grit/Glory - 5/18/08
You probably already know this ruled just because of the names involved. Everybody here is superb at what they do. El Turbo is the only name I wasn't familiar with and I soon learned that he fit right in here. The finishing sequence he put together with Claudio was awesome although that's a given considering Claudio against a smaller high flyer is gold automatically. In short, this was simply a fantastic display of lucha/the CHIKARA style.
Match rating - ***3/4
Disc 2:
8) El Pantera vs. Jorge "Skayde" Rivera - Anniversario MA - 5/23/08
What a match up we have here. Two lucha icons going at it in what turned out to be pretty much an exhibition/clinic. Multiple stalemates to start off after some great matwork. Pantera outdoes Rivera then Rivera outdoes Pantera. Then the two men begin going for the kill with an array of pinning combinations. This results in a double pin after more than 10 minutes of exchanges. I enjoyed watching this however as mentioned earlier, it was more of an exhibition to me than a match that told a story or anything. It gave fans a good taste of what these two and this style of wrestling have to offer.
Match rating - ***
9) Mike Quackenbush & Shane Storm vs. The Osirian Portal - Anniversario CT - 5/24/08
Unfortunately, Storm starts this off. Storm is good, but not in this fluent lucha style, he needs to stick to working matches like he did against Kingston earlier on this set, against Hero in 06, and against Akuma in 2005. Anyways, he goes for a dive, does an awkward bounce off the ropes roll up thing, and Quack ends up tagging in - YES! I've learned by watching matches that happened after this that Quack & both members of the Portal are pretty much matches made in heaven because they are so similar, this was no different. Smooth exchanges, sick combinations, everything you love about Quackenbush (and Ophidian & Hamasas). Storm gets back in and loses the advantage. He gets worked over for awhile then Quack gets the hot tag and shit hits the fan. Crazy finishing run that I loved. Quack hit Ophidian with this sick inverted DDT driver thing that made me mark out, it wasn't enough for the win though and things continued. It ends with Storm diving over the top rope onto Ophidian while Quack nails Hamasas with the QD3. I saw this as a huge proving match for The Osirian Portal considering where they were at the time and they ROCKED it!
Match rating - ***3/4
10) Super Smash Bros vs. Cheech & Cloudy - Anniversario CT - 5/24/08
Another kick ass tag team match here. It starts off with alot of fast paced stuff and never really slows down, to be honest. I think Stupefied got worked over for a few minutes, but Cheech & Cloudy's offense is so enjoyable to watch that it never seemed to get dull. Things picked up once again at the end with some insane stuff from both duos. One exchange that stands out in my mind is Stupified going for a flip over the top rope, landing on his feet on the outside, Uno goes for a dive, Cheech dives back in and catches him with a roll up. That just shows you how wild this one was. I can't begin to name all the moves here so I'll just say that this was a great match.
Match rating - ***3/4
11) Fire Ant vs. Tim Donst vs. Marshe Rockett vs. Shayne Hawke vs. Ophidian vs. Lince Dorado - Elimination Match - Young Lion's Cup VI Night Two - 6/14/08
The winner of this match will go on to face Vin Gerard in the finals of the 6th annual YLC on the following night. This was your run of the mill multi-man with pretty much everyone getting their chance to hit their flippy stuff. It was well booked with the most popular competitor, Fire Ant, and the most hated competitor, Shayne Hawke being the final two. Fire Ant gets the win. Fun match that was a nice addition & pre cursor to the next bout.
Match rating - ***
12) Fire Ant vs. Vin Gerard - YLC VI FINALS - Young Lion's Cup VI Night Three - 6/15/08
THIS FUCKING MATCH. If you've done any reading into CHIKARA on forums and such, you've likely heard about this one. It's hailed as one of the best matches ever in the history of the promotion and this was my second time viewing. First time through, I watched it on CHIKARA's YouTube channel and I felt like it was a solid four star effort however it wasn't until this viewing that I fully appreciated this epic encounter. Vin Gerard is probably the most underrated character worker in the past decade on the Indies. I still need to go back and watch his feud with Chris Hero when he was under a mask as "Equinox" but just from watching the video package on it, I can tell it was a lost classic as well. Gerard got unmasked in a Mask vs Hair Match between the two a year or so prior to this and has since become the most villified man in CHIKARA. He portrays that of a bitter, emo loner at this point in the game whereas Fire Ant is just what his nickname says, the newest hot property in CHIKARA. On paper, this is the perfect match. The audience LOVES Fire Ant and can't stand Gerard so they are into everything they do here. The atmosphere, the action, the story - everything delivered here. You had the rest of the Colony come to ringside, eventually the rest of the babyfaces on the roster come down to help cheer down Fire Ant who is being beaten down by Gerard. Vin cuts corners and does anything to keep control in the early going. Fire starts coming back by hitting a FIREMAN'S CARRY OFF THE APRON TO THE FLOOR! That was a cringeworthy thud as Gerard hit the hard wood floor of the legion hall. Fire starts his comeback here by hitting a senton off the top rope for a near fall. Gerard & Fire trade their finishers which make for big nearfalls that will bring you out of your seat. The crowd is going nuts by this point and the commentary is hugely on point. Every time Fire kicked out, it was like a massive breath of life injected into the audience. Gerard ends up locking in the STF and refuses to let it go. Fire rolls and struggles to get out of it. They end up rolling out of the ring to the floor where Gerard still has the hold cinched in. He keeps it locked in until Bryce gets to a 12 count. Gerard drags Fire Ant to the back row of fans and runs back into the ring. The babyfaces and audience begin rallying Fire to get back in the ring before the 20 count. HE MAKES IT IN AT 19.5!!!! Gerard is completely baffled. They turn things up to yet another level here. Gerard doesn't know what to do and goes for A FUCKING STANDING SHOOTING STAR PRESS! HE MISSED! Stiff kicks from Fire Ant! He drops Gerard with a big move, but he POWERS BACK UP! FIGHTING SPIRIT SPOT!! Fire Ant doesn't let it stop him though and picks him up for the beach brake for the huge victory. I love this match. A CHIKARA classic.
Match rating - ****1/2
13) Mike Quackenbush vs. Shane Storm - Tragedy & Triumph - 7/13/08
This was way more brutal than I thought it would be. Although it wasn't shown on this set, Storm was revealed as the man who spilled Quack's secret counter to the CHIKARA special to UltraMantis Black who relayed it to Chris Hero and that leads us here. Storm gets backbody dropped on the wooden steps in the opening minutes. Quack gets DDT'd on the ring apron and Storm targets the head from that point on. I'm already loving Storm as a heel because it plays to his strengths unlike being a face and having to show off. Quack's leg gets tweaked which makes for another target for Storm. They do some nice work on both limbs. Storm hits a release german that plants Quack on the back of his head and uses a few different submissions to work over the leg. Quack stages his comeback and ends up nailing a nasty tiger driver that plant Storm's head into the mat. This leads to him locking in the CHIKARA special for the submission win until he won't let go and the ref reverses the decision. Pretty crazy stuff here with alot of spots & head drops.
Match rating - ***1/2
Disc 3:
14) Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brodie Lee - No DQ Match - Tragedy & Triumph - 7/13/08
Now THIS is more like it! Great brawl between these two guys that featured a number of mark out moments such as Brodie throwing Claudio up the ramp and Claudio channeling his inner Sabu and running & jumping off a chair over the rope to the outside on Brodie. This was on a different level from their previous encounter. They did a nice job of building up towards the big spot of someone hitting the exposed turnbuckle with that being kind of what the bout was built around. Claudio accidentally hit the referee here once again which allowed Mitch Ryder to come down and light fire in Claudio's face - what the hell? Brodie takes advantage of this and picks up the win.
Match rating - ***1/2
15) Delirious, Hallowicked, Helios & Hydra vs. Order of the Neo Solar Temple & The Best Around - Style & Substance - 9/7/08
If there's any match on this set that I wish would've gone longer, it's this one. There was SO much potential here. Hydra is recently coming off leaving the Order of the Neo Solar Temple and this is his first match against them. They do some good storytelling with that as Hallowicked almost hits Hydra despite him being his partner because of how often they feuded with Neo Solar Temple when he was in the group. Another big moment was Hydra hitting his first bit of offense on his former partners. All the action aside from that here was great as well. This only lasted a mere six or seven minutes, but they certainly made the most of the time they were given.
Match rating - ***
16) Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brodie Lee - Steel Cage Match - Style & Substance - 9/7/08
IT'S TIME! There's a hype video that airs prior to this match that gets even more pumped for it as it runs down their history. Then we go down to the ring where Brodie knocks Claudio off the apron before he can get into the cage. They brawl around ringside for a bit and Claudio gets back into the ring and DIVE THROUGH THE ROPES AND CAGE DOOR TO THE OUTSIDE ON BRODIE LEE! This already rules! They finally get into the cage and Brodie regains the advantage by belly to belly throwing Claudio into the cage wall. Brodie works over Castagnoli and does a good job of it by nailing a double underhook suplex off the top turnbuckle. It wasn't a good enough job though because the Swiss Superman powers back and throws Brodie into the cage after a struggle. Brodie legit went head first into the cage by the looks of it and as the camera pans down BRODIE HAS BEEN BUSTED OPEN! That REALLY shocked me considering CHIKARA is a PG promotion so to speak. A first time cage match means first time blood (to my knowledge) - wow! They start nailing finishers soon after this which made for a few close near falls. They do a nice callback to one of their first encounters as the ref gets taken out and Claudio is checking on him. Brodie goes for the bicycle kick - CLAUDIO CATCHES HIM! NOT THIS TIME! RICOLA BOMB FOR THE 1..2...BRODIE KICKS OUT! Shenanigans ends up happening with Shayne Hawke running down with a chain. He climbs up the cage to hand it to Brodie but Larry Sweeney pulls him off!! SWEET AND SOUR chants erupt in the arena. Claudio uppercuts Brodie off the top rope and begins to escape the cage. Claudio has this thing won, but no, he looks back at Brodie in the ring and smiles. What's about to happen?! Claudio stands up on top of the cage - DIVING EUROPEAN UPPERCUT OFF THE TOP OF THE STEEL CAGE! WHAT THE FUCK?!! CLAUDIO ISN'T DONE! He lifts up Brodie for one of the most vicious variations of the Ricola Bomb I've ever seen. That was a STRONG FINISH! Amazing match!
Match rating - ****1/4
17) Helios & Lince Dorado vs. Brandon & Sal Thomascelli - Artistic Pursuit - 9/20/08
This is the first time we've seen the Thomascelli's in quite some time and they look fairly well. I came out of this more impressed with the new duo of Helios & Lince though. They killed it in their first time teaming together. They flurry early on, Thomascelli's gain control, Helios (Ricochet) gets the hot tag and we got a high impact finishing run. Helios & Lince win with a double shooting star press. Fun little match that seemed to be used just to get Helios & Lince over as a team and it did just that.
Match rating - **3/4
18) Incoherence (c) vs. Super Smash Bros - Laying In The Gutter - 9/21/08
This was a decent match. SSB was on fire at this point in their CHIKARA run and this was where it all paid off. I just wish the match would've been better. Not that it wasn't good, it just felt like it was missing that certain something. A better crowd may have helped. None the less, Uno gets paused seconds in so Incoherence gets the first fall. SSB fires back and earns a second fall then they go into a final run of stuff for the finish. I think they went too long for their own good though considering how mild the crowd was. It was done with well intent however, so I can't complain. SSB pick up the win and become the new tag champs of CHIKARA (Campeones Da Parejas).
Match rating - **3/4
19) The UnStable (Vin Gerard & Colin Delaney) vs. Lince Dorado & Jimmy Olsen - GG Night 1 - 10/18/08
Wow, this was way better than expected. I should've known something involving Vin Gerard in 2008 would rule. They built extremely well towards the Jimmy Olsen hot tag in the first half of the match. Jimmy did amazing on his end, especially by working on the apron and looking like a mad animal ready to come out of it's cage. This, oddly enough, came off like a brutal, intense match. The hatred exuded was great. Jimmy finally gets the hot tag and they have a very nice finishing run. The faces win when Dorado hits a shooting star press to the back of Delaney.
Match rating - ***1/4
20) Brodie Lee vs. Daisuke Sekimoto - GG Night 1 - 10/18/08
Dream match! If this match took place today, it would get a ton of buzz so I'm stoked to see what the man now known as Luke Harper could put together with a man as vicious as Sekimoto some seven years ago. It ended up being just what I expected as they pretty much just slugged it out the entire time with Brodie getting a nice little control segment. Sekimoto fought back and ends up nailing Brodie with an AMAZING briding german suplex for the three count. The finish came out of nowhere and the match was just getting good when it ended however this is still worth a look because there's no way this match could happen today.
Match rating - ***
21) Vin Gerard vs. Equinox - GG Night 2 - 10/19/08
Storytelling, storytelling. That's what this match was all about. Vin Gerard continued to be great at what he does as he portrayed his mixed emotions visibly in exceptional fashion. I only know bits and pieces of the history when it comes to the Equinox character so I won't try give a bunch of backstory because it likely wouldn't be accurate. I'll just say that Gerard was under the Equinox character/mask at what time and this match saw him battle his former self and he displayed his struggle with doing so very well.
Match rating - **3/4
Disc 4:
22) PAC & Martin Stone vs. FIST (Chuck Taylor & Icarus) - Tag World Grand Prix Night 1 - 11/8/08
PAC IS BACK IN CHIKARA! Well, he's not in the US as these shows were held in Germany, BUT STILL! Stone & Icarus start things off then Chuckie T and PAC are tagged in and we get a throwback to 2007 where these two faced off in a Rey Da Valadores four way match also involving Ricochet & Retail Dragon. Nice fast paced stuff between those two before FIST ends up taking control once Stone is back in. PAC eventually gets the hot tag and things get pretty hectic in the final five minutes. Good tag match.
Match rating - ***1/4
23) Super Smash Bros vs. 2.0 - Cibernetico Begins - 11/15/08
It's the elite of Canadian Tag Teams in 2008 going at it. The comedy is out in the open early on with Jagged trying to learn how to apply the CHIKARA special. Larry Sweeney being on commentary just added to the fun as he nicknamed Shane Matthews, "Bad News Matthews", and was just his normal awesome self. Dos/Stupefied hit's this INSANE step up flipping dive off the top turnbuckle post that lit the crowd on fire. 2.0 recovers and slows the pace for awhile until things picked up near the end with both teams throwing all their stuff out there to the point that Jagged said "We have nothing left!"
Match rating - ***
So, for several months, the fourth disc of this set was lost unbeknowst to me after I had only watched the first two matches on it. I started looking through unfinished reviews and ran across this and noticed it was unfinished. It took a few days of scrambling to find this, but when I did I got right on it. As of this writing, it'd been probably three months since I had watched some CHIKARA so I had an itch for it. So, here we go!
24) Eddie Kingston vs. Claudio Castagnoli - Armdrags to Riches - 11/16/08
This was so great. Looking back, it also serves as a perfect pre-cursor to the classic that these two would have a year later. This match was really everything you'd expect from King & Claudio. Hard-hitting and awesome. Kingston was clearly the heel as he resorted to a cheap tactic or two and even did uppercuts on Claudio which only infuriated him. That exchange was the start of an epic closing sequence that saw Claudio duck a backfist, nail a huge helluva kick only for King to soak it up and nail the backfist anyway then BACKDROP DRIVER for a two count. In the end, Claudio wins with the Ricola Bomb.
Match rating - ***3/4
25) Fun Times Battle Royal - Face With A View - 12/12/08
It's time for a battle royal filled with some of the most flamboyant characters from CHIKARA's past and present. Rosarch**, Jervis Cottonbelly, Dragon Dragon, Worker Ant, Pinkie Sanchez, Larry Sweeney, Darkness Crabtree among others. Sara Del Rey is the final entrant in this character filled contest. I was hoping she'd pull out the win however it would be Grizzly Redwood that would come out on top. This was a pretty entertaining little shindig.
Match rating - **3/4
26) The Unstable (Vin Gerard, Colin Delaney, & STIGMA) vs. Helios, Lince Dorado, & Equinox - Face With A View - 12/12/08
The Unstable controlled a large portion of this match with the masked squad only getting a flurry or two until the final sequence. The heat segment was what it was, but it went on so long and in such fashion that I lost interest. A weird thing happens with Dorado appearing to jump off the apron when Equinox went to tag him. The commentators didn't even know what was going on. Dorado ends up pulling his two opponents off the apron as Equinox rolls out and he dives in since someone rolling out of the ring counts as a tag in CHIKARA. The closing sequence is a ton of fun as you'd probably expect with these six involved. Crazy final moment with the faces each hitting a big move. DDT to the floor, springboard moonsault to the floor and SHOOTING STAR PRESS! Helios, Dorado, & Equinox for the win.
Match rating - ***
27) Vin Gerard vs. Equinox - Duel & Duality - 12/14/08
I like the storyline showcasing on the second half of this disc. This in partiuclar is a very interesting one that branches from Gerard being unmasked when he was under the Equinox persona thus being revealed as a fake luchador. Jimmy Olsen is now under the Equinox gimmick and it's Vin Gerard basically against his own former self here. It starts out with brawling, as you would expect, then some major awesome storytelling began with EQUINOX HITTING THE SHOOTING STAR PRESS, Gerard's old finishing move. Moments like that got a huge pop, just like when Equinox locked Gerard in the STF. This ends in a disappointing and slightly confusing way, but it's good while it lasts.
Match rating - ***
28) Mike Quackenbush & Tim Donst vs. STIGMA & Colin Delaney - Duel & Duality - 12/14/08
AHH! The video package that aired before this was so great. It essentially chronicles the entire complex feud involving this men. It all starts back with Hero/Equinox (Vin Gerard) last year where Hero won with the CHIKARA special thanks to a counter that only technicos (baby faces) are supposed to know. This led to a year long mystery of who taught Hero the counter. After a number of twists and turns, thanks to Tim Donst, Quack finds out that his partner Shane Storm was the one who did it. This happens just as they successfully defend their tag team titles and Quack charges him at the sound of the closing bell. I kind of wish they would've showed this earlier in the set because a lot of the matches highlight here are included such as the Quack/Storm tags and even their one-on-one encounter. In the process of all this, Shane Storm dawns a new character thanks to the manipulation of UltraMantis Black - STIGMA. He reveals himself with a new mask and begins working as a rudo (heel) which I think suits him way better because while I enjoyed his face matches, he often tried to do too much. None the less, that leads us here where Quack & Donst try to get revenge on STIGMA and his stable mate - Colin Delaney. This match starts off fast and furious which leads to an awkward moment that sees Tim Donst splat off the apron onto the floor in vicious fashion thanks to STIGMA. He gets carted out and Quack is on his own. I had no clue whatt his was setting up for. A triumphant Donst return to help? Chris Hero? NO! JIGSAWWWWW! He's been gone from CHIKARA for almost a year and he's back WITH his mask (he competed in ROH without it). Unbelievable moment. Jigsaw cleans the house and gets the win over STIGMA with the Jigatonic which was epic because the last person to do that move in CHIKARA was STIGMA and he did it on Quack on the outside earlier in the year. WOW.
Match rating - ***1/4
Overall thoughts: Awesome set that is well worth owning. The Claudio/Brodie feud, essentially the entire Quack-Storm/STIGMA feud, the Vin Gerard/Fire Ant CLASSIC, a bunch of fun tags & trios matches, and the rare Brodie Lee (Luke Harper)/Daisuke Sekimoto match. I'd highly recommend this four disc compilation.
Check out my archive of all the CHIKARA matches I've reviewed by clicking here!
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Other CHIKARA DVD's I've reviewed:
Best of 2005
Best of 2006
Best of 2007
Best of 2009
Best of 2010
Best of 2011
12 Large Summit Tournament
Best of 2012
Thanks for reading!
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