CHIKARA: Best of 2008 Review

1) Eddie Kingston vs. Shane Storm - Two Eyebrows Are Better Than One - 1/28/08
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

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

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

CHIKARA: Best of 2007 Review

My quest to watch as much CHIKARA as possible because of how awesome it is continues as we travel back in time to 2007. If I had known that I would become so hooked on this promotion, I would have started from the beginning with these "Best of" sets instead of going from 2009-2011 then back to 07. It's too late for that now though so just enjoy the ride!

1) Team TNA (Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley & Sonjay Dutt) vs. BLKOUT (Sabian, Ruckus, & Joker) - King of Trios Night Two
Ah! Sabin & Shelley were two of my favorite guys to watch at this period of time so I was pumped to see them in CHIKARA here. Shelley seems like someone who would have been a perfect there. I'm surprised he didn't become a mainstay. None the less, this was the debut weekend for "Team TNA" and they certainly impressed in this particular match. What I liked was that they played heels here which was completely different from what they were in TNA at the time. The X Division was mostly all loved and seeing three of it's finest athletes get the chance to do something a little out of the ordinary here was cool. Shelley got some good arm work in early on and his team defined themselves as heels by using sneaky & cheap tactis. BLKOUT would do some of their own later on in return however and we got a pretty competitive match as a result. Just great wrestling all around like you would expect fromthe names involved. I know they don't get talked about much, but Sabian & Ruckus have always been fun to watch and they hung right there with Sabin, Shelley, & Dutt. The finish to this match was awesome as Dutt & Shelley dove to the outside on opposites sides of the ring while Sabin hit the cradle shock. Excellent start to the set.

Match rating - ***1/2

2) Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw, & Shane Storm vs. El Pantera - King of Trios Night Two
I knew this would be a ton of fun right from the get go as Excalibur & Larry Sweeney were on commentary and ended up being a wonderful pairing. As a PWG fanatic, it was super cool seeing Excalibur calling CHIKARA action here considering their my 2nd favorite Independent promotion. And this was certainly vintage CHIKARA action for him to call as the signature style that the company has become known for was put on display here. There were a few minor slip ups from Storm, but other than that everything was very well done. This was a fun trios match as you can always expect from CHIKARA. It's not mindblowing, just fun action.

Match rating - ***

3) Claudio Castagnoli vs. Ricochet - King of Trios Night Three

CHIKARA: 12 Large Summit Tournament Review

In 2011, CHIKARA decided to implement it's first ever singles title aptly named the CHIKARA Grand Championship. How to decide who the first champion would be? A tournament. A 12 person tournament. A tournament held in honor of one of the brightest personalities to ever grace a CHIKARA ring - Larry Sweeney. This tournament is the 12 Large Summit and it is chronicled in it's entirety in this three disc set which I've reviewed in full below. Enjoy!

1) Mike Quackenbush vs. Hallowicked - Aniversario & His Amazing Friends - 5/21/11
The tournament begins with a teacher vs student match up between two long time members of the CHIKARA roster. This was everything you'd expect it to be. Fine technical wrestling to start out with Quack targeting the arm of Hallowicked. There were some lucha exchanges here as well though with Quack also nailing several high flying manuevers including an isai moonsault to the outside. The final moments featured big moves, unique counters, and nearfalls however it would end during the midst of a flurry of pinning combinations. Hallowicked gets the surprise victory and gains two points. Nice match to get things going.

Match rating - ***1/2

2) Brodie Lee vs. Vin Gerard - Aniversario: The Legendary Super Power Shows - 5/22/11
This is an odd match on paper. Lee & Gerard are largely known as friends and beyond that, the vast size difference makes for a mismatch in Brodie's favor. Despite all that, this was still a fun match. It went around seven minutes and they packed some good stuff into that time. Brodie got his signature stuff in and Gerard played the sly heel and ended up picking up a cheap victory with a quick roll up.

Match rating - **1/2

3) Sara Del Rey vs. Icarus - The Case of the Bulletproof Waldo - 6/24/11
I was really interested in how the crowd would react here considering Del Rey is part of the most hated stable in CHIKARA, BDK and Icarus has been hated for quite some time. The crowd ended up siding with Del Rey which came as a bit of a surprise considering Icarus won a portion of the crowd back over the previous fall in the Cibernetico match. Del Rey dominated the early portion of the match with a wide variety of kicks & strikes however Icarus would take control and keep it for a good while until the closing back & forth exchanges began. Pretty solid match up here. Sara picks up two points!

Match rating - ***

4) Claudio Castagnoli vs. Hallowicked - The Case of the Bulletproof Waldo - 6/24/11

CHIKARA: Best of 2012 Review

1) Mike Quackenbush vs. Green Ant - The 13th Hat
It's the first match of the first event of the season and the funplex is PACKED. All the chair seats are normally filled, but this time there are also alot of people standing behind the seats around the walls. CHIKARA! CHIKARA! I don't think there's a better way to start the year off than with this teacher/student match up that always deliver. This match represented alot the things I've come to love about CHIKARA. They stayed on the mat and showed everyone the technical side of their offense while also displaying the fluidity that CHIKARA athletes are known for. This was an extremely well done submission contest that had several call backs to their previous encounters. In the end, Fire Ant picks up the win to finally earn himself some points in his series Quack. He's still down 2-1, but this was an awesome to start the season for a guy that Bryce Remsburg predicted would be the star of the year.

Match rating - ***1/2

2) FIST (Chuck Taylor & Icarus) vs. 3.0 (Jagged & Shane Matthews) - Campeones De Parejas - Green Ice

CHIKARA: Best of 2011 Review

1) El Generico vs. Eddie Kingston - Chaos In The Sea of Lost Souls - 1/23/11
What way to kick off this set! I was hoping they'd go with the story of Generico being the underdog and Kingston pummeling him however, they decided to just go with showcasing Generico's resiliancy right off the bat as we saw him trade shots with King early on without backing down. Eddie got control for a short period of time, but Generico would soon mount a huge comeback which consisted of a michinoku driver, a helluva kick, and a brainbuster on the ring apron. I've seen Generico do that move several times in PWG, but damn if this wasn't the best one yet. It looked like Kingston's head got clobbered. Somehow Eddie was able to make it back in the ring before the 20 count and managed to fight his way to a victory after turning Generico inside out with two lariats followed by his signature backfist. Crazy good match with alot of jawdropping action. I'd consider it your stereotypical El Generico match meshed with your stereotypical Eddie Kingston match which isn't a bad thing in my book. I could watch both guys hit their signature stuff all day.

Match rating - ***3/4

2) Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw vs. The Batiri - Caught in a Cauldron of Hate - 2/19/11
Here we have our first call back to 2010 as Quack & Jig make their first defense of the Compeones De Parejas after defeating Claudio & Ares in the season finale in December. This was also a callback to 2010 as The Batiri debuted late in the year, but this is my first time seeing them in actual action. Speaking of The Batiri, they came pretty close to pulling an upset here although it seemed the crowd never really thought it would happen which kinda held the bout down a bit because the audience didn't react to certain things like you may have expected. This was good for what it was though. Some solid limb work by The Batiri on Jig to earn them the early advantage in the form of the first fall and a pretty chaotic closing few moments that finally got the crowd going.

Match rating - ***1/4

CHIKARA: Best of 2010 Review

CHIKARA: Best of 2010 DVD Review

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

CHIKARA: Best of 2009 Review

Best of Chikara 2009 DVD Review

In my quest to dive deeper into Independent Wrestling, I find myself with two Chikara DVD's on my hands. I felt the urge to buy this set after seeing two PHENOMENAL free matches on YouTube (both of which are on this set) and hearing Chuck Taylor tell a story about one of his favorite matches ever that happened here. Beyond that, when I looked at the match listing and saw the variety of talent & styles that looked to be showcased, I was ecstatic. One of my other main draws in buying this set were Mike Quackenbush & Claudio Castagnoli. After seeing Quack have some epic matches with Claudio in IWA-MS and CZW, I was dying to see more of his work not only with Claudio, but with other competitors as well. And the fact that there are bouts on here pitting him against the likes of Claudio and Bryan Danielson sold me on this DVD completely.

None the less, enough pre-review talk. Lets get into this 3 disc Chikara collection!

1) The Colony vs. The Osirian Portal - Revelation X
As mentioned in the opening paragraph, this set is my first time seeing alot of the Chikara exclusive talent and that was the case here. I had seen the Osirian Portal one time prior to this although it wasn't enough to make a lasting impression. However, they certainly made a good impression here because this was a really good tag match! From bell to bell these two teams displayed some awesome wrestling and also mixed a few comedy spots in. On top of that, they put together a dramatic closing sequence with several close near falls. I loved it! Awesome start to the set.

Match rating - ****

2) Equinox vs. Vin Gerard - Ladder Match for the Young Lions Cup Championship - Revelation X
This is an interesting match up. It's the first ever Ladder match in Chikara history and it's got quite a bit of backstory. The commentators did a good job of filling me in on what took place. Apparently, Vin Gerard was the original Equinox and Jimmy Olsen now dawns the mask he once wore which in turn, set Gerard off. Sounds like an interesting storyline, definitely something I'm gonna look into. Just like the first match, I had minor experience seeing these talents compete as I saw Vin Gerard during his only weekend with PWG back in 2008 although I can't remember much from what he did so I came into this one with pretty much a clean slate. This was a really unique Ladder match as it wasn't just a bunch of daredevil stuff, it actually told a nice story. Vin worked over the leg of Equinox throughout the match in various aways including using the ladder on several occassions. Gerard played a great heel here as working the leg got him alot of heat, but not as much heat as he would get when he unmasked Equinox. The cockiness ended up costing him though as he clearly had the match won after DDTing Equinox on the steps (vicious spot) however he allowed the fact that Equinox was still moving to get under his skin so he came down from the ladder and recieved a death valley driver off the ring apron through a ladder for his troubles. Very nice change of pace for a Ladder Match here. Instead of throwing everything out there, they told a story and built towards one big highspots. I dig it. Great match.

Match rating - ***3/4

3) Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw vs. Cheech & Cloudy - Motive, Means, Opportunity