This one is from January 2015 but it’s completely timeless.

I don’t care for the Best Friends. I never have and I don’t think I ever will. They can have some good matches with the right opponents, but there is something about them I just cannot bring myself to care about. When I pulled this one out of the box, I kind of rolled my eyes a bit as I can never escape from these people. Then I found out that it’s them interviewing Teddy Hart and had no idea what to think. It wound up being way different than what I would have ever expected.

This is one of the most unique interviews you’ll ever see as there is very little about wrestling and much more about the life of a wrestler. There is one thing that changes this one though: Teddy Hart is completely insane. I know that word is thrown around a lot, but in this case it seems to be the case. Maybe it’s the ridiculous amount of weed he smokes or just one too many shots to the head, but you can see that Hart is several steps off but he completely embraces the whole thing. You’ll never see someone like Hart and it makes for a fascinating interview.

I’m not going to bother going into the details of the stories here because I can’t do them justice. Hart’s way of speaking and it could only work for him. You can see Trent and Chuck being terrified and intrigued by everything that he is saying and it’s rather awesome in several ways. If you can find this one, check it out whether you’re a fan of the people involved or not, because it really is like nothing else.

Oh and as a bonus: there are a dozen or no indy wrestlers in the background, including Ricochet and Drew McIntyre. They all seem disturbed too, as they should be.

Orange Cassidy Is Doing Something Or Whatever Who Knows???
Date: April 6, 2019
Location: White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, New Jersey
Commentators: Denver Colorado, Sarah Shockey

I think it’s safe to say that this is one of the most unique titles I’ve ever seen. This is a replacement show from Wrestlemania weekend with a one off card to replace the Dragon Gate show after the promotion fell through. It feels like a bunch of shows that I’ve seen from the weekend but Cassidy is entertaining enough on his own. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Orange Cassidy to start things off and I don’t know if I’ve ever heard him talk. Cassidy slowly introduces himself and asks a fan at the bar to do the ring announcing. The fan gets in, is told that he’s the wrong guy, and the right one gets in. Cassidy can’t find the match card, which Sarah says is so indy wrestling. The announcer tells Cassidy to hold his jacket, which Cassidy throws at the ropes. As luck would have it, the guy just happens to be former Chikara ring announcer Gavin Loudspeaker. It’s like that time with Santino Marella being pulled out of the crowd. You never know how lucky you can get.

Allie Kat vs. Kris Statlander vs. Saraya Knight vs. Shotzi Blackheart

Statlander is like an old friend at this point. This is a Swamp Monster lumberjack elimination match and Saraya is better known as Paige’s mom. Naturally the lumberjacks are in swamp monster gear as the commentators rant about how worthless it is to be trending. The fans are behind Kat with the MEOW chants and she lays down, asking Saraya to pat her belly because it’s an honor to be in the ring with her.

Saraya kicks her instead and does the same to a concerned Kris. A slap to a swamp monster does very little as the announcers try to figure out why the monsters aren’t sending Kris and Allie back in. Saraya takes Shotzi to the top, punches her low, and throws them onto the monsters. Kris rolls Saraya up for two and is asked what the f*** she is doing. Saraya: “You’re a f****** alien, a f****** wolf and a f****** cat. Are you f****** kidding me?”

That earns her a triple teaming, which Sarah thinks is the spinach to her Popeye. A running forearm in the corner sets up a triple pin to get rid of Saraya at 3:13. Crowd: “BREXIT!” We’re down to three and Kris uses mind control to make the other two collide with each other. Everyone winds up outside and the swamp monsters continue to just stand around. Shotzi gets on the apron, tries a running start, and drops to her knee to punch Kris.

The monsters pick Shotzi up and walk her around so she can kick Shotzi in the face as commentary is ripping this apart (in a nice way). A running dive off the apron takes Allie and Kris down as the fans want to see something. Back in and Shotzi hits an enziguri on Kris (who is taking a beating here), followed by a top rope backsplash for the elimination at 7:04. We’re down to Allie vs. Shotzi, with the two of them colliding in the corner.

They forearm it out until Allie ties her in the ropes to claw at Shotzi’s chest. Allie teases a suicide dive but decides that she’s scared and stops. Crowd: “SCAREDY CAT!” She tries it again and slowly crawls onto the arms of the monsters, which the crowd declares PAWSOME. Back in and Shotzi hits a running splash in the corner and a DDT right back out of the corner gets two. The top rope backsplash misses though and Allie hits a piledriver for the pin at 11:11.

Rating: C. Oh this is going to be a long night and that’s a good thing. This was a lot of goofy fun, which is exactly what this show is supposed to be. You can’t have the most serious show in the world under these circumstances so don’t waste your time trying. Do something different and have a good time, which is what happened here. Except for Saraya, who seems rather angry about everything.

Bryce Remsburg gets a big introduction, as he should.

Logan Easton LaRoux vs. Chris Brookes

This is 7/13 falls and LaRoux is a rich guy. Brookes kicks him low for the DQ at 10 seconds. The second fall begins and Brookes’ partner Kid Lykos comes in for another low blow and the second DQ at 42 seconds. Brookes grabs something like an Octopus Hold for the tap at 1:24, which Sarah says is treating him Logan Easton LaRoux-edly.

Logan chops away (Sarah: “Trading chops like Pogs.”) before grabbing a sunset flip but Brookes sits down on it for the pin….and then Logan gets the flip for the pin….and then Brookes reverses for another pin….and then they alternate until it’s 6-6 (with one two count in the middle to freak the fans out) at 2:59. Logan hits a dropkick and a running kick in the corner sets up a suplex for two. Brookes is right back with a middle rope backsplash to the standing Logan for two as the announcers think it should be 6-5.

With Brookes caught in something like an abdominal stretch, Lykos puts a mask on Remsburg to blind him. Brookes’ low blow is blocked and Logan hits an enziguri for no count. Lykos comes in to cheat but gets kicked low as Remsburg is still fighting with the mask. As the mask comes off, Brookes feigns having been kicked low but Remsburg doesn’t buy it and throws the mask at Lykos. To keep the pace up, Brookes grabs a small package for the final pin at 6:55.

Rating: C+. What am I even supposed to say to this one? This was another very entertaining match as they’re not even trying to do anything serious on this show. That was the case again here and that pinfall exchange sequence was great stuff. They didn’t bother with anything stupid that would take too much time and just went with the fun idea instead. I’m wanting to see what they do next and that’s a nice feeling.

Tony Deppen vs. Lucky 13 vs. Jigsaw vs. Air Wolf vs. Dan Champion vs. Jake Atlas vs. Sonny Defarge

The winner gets a $16.34 Friendly’s gift card. At the same time, it is announced as the 3^rd Annual Jansport Backpack Orange Cassidy Invitational Scramble, meaning the announcers make Jansport jokes throughout the entrances. Champion gets sextuple dropkicked to the floor as the announcers laugh about some of the novelty Jansport products available. Deppen spins out of a headscissors attempt but gets taken down by a very springboardy wristdrag. Multiple F bombs are dropped as Atlas spins around him and cartwheels into a standoff.

Wolf and Jigsaw come back in for the stereo submission attempts but stop to slap each other. Jigsaw is sent outside and Defarge takes his place to kick Wolf outside. 13 comes in and kicks Defarge to set up moonsault knees to the chest. Defarge is back up with a spinning kick to the chest in the corner with Champion having to make the save. Champion backdrops 13 over the top for a messy DDT onto Defarge onto the apron, followed by a Nightmare Pendulum into a backbreaker.

A heck of a TKO plants 13 again and it’s a suplex to Jigsaw for a bonus. Atlas and Wolf get double chokeslammed but Deppen pulls Champion outside. Deppen hits a VERY hard suicide dive onto Defarge and Jigsaw, followed by 13 with a corkscrew moonsault onto everyone. Atlas isn’t being outdone and hits a springboard spinning dive of his own. Champion, the biggest guy in the match, dives onto everyone as well and that’s enough to even get him Champion cheered.

Back in and Champion powerbombs Atlas for two with Jigsaw making the save. Deppen gets suplexed for two but 13 comes off the top with a backsplash for another save. Atlas makes his own save and cartwheels into a cutter on Deppen, followed by a cartwheel on the top into a DDT for two more. Wolf makes the save this time and knees Atlas in the face. This time it’s Defarge making a save and clotheslining the heck out of Wolf.

Champion breaks that up and poses at Defarge with Deppen breaking that up for some posing of his own. Champion and Defarge have had it with Deppen and throw him to the floor, but an attempt to the same to Jigsaw is blocked. The Jig and Tonic (over the back kneeling piledriver) finishes Defarge at 11:54.

Rating: B-. In a way, this was the least interesting match of the night as it felt like it could have been on any given indy show this weekend. Actually that’s because there was a scramble in the same building the night before, featuring a group kick to the biggest guy to start and Atlas as one of the wrestlers. This was fun, but when they literally did something that similar the night before, it loses some effect.

Gavin talks about how awesome Wrestlemania will be, or as he calls it, Fastlane Part II.

Session Moth Martina vs. Nate Webb

This is the It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere Drunken Match, meaning that every thirty seconds, the wrestlers have to chug a beer. Webb gets a big entrance and sings his own theme, complete with playing Remsburg’s leg like a guitar. Webb even starts drinking on his way to the ring, seemingly without much of a tolerance. Remsburg starts dancing and is already the biggest star of the night.

Martina brings in even more beer and starts dancing in front of Remsburg as I don’t know if I’m old enough for this show. Remsburg: “God help us all. RING THE BELL!” They slug it out to start with Webb getting the better of things and a confused Martina swinging at Remsburg. Hang on though as we need to stop for the required beer. They stagger around and forearm each other with Martina slapping at Remsburg some more. And now, more beer. Sarah: “Why couldn’t this be a Gatorade chugging competition???”

They hit the ropes and collapse on their faces, meaning it’s time for another beer. Martina gets fired up as Webb goes outside, leaving her to….run the ropes to the point of exhaustion. Beer time ensues again and Martina falls down again. Webb brings in some chairs and they sit down for another beer. Martina gets knocked out of the chair but gets back up just in time for the next beer. A knee to Webb’s face sets up a half crab but they manage to drink even in the hold.

Webb is smart enough to spit his into Martina’s face for the break, leaving Martina to slam him down. Martina’s top rope Codebreaker gets two and of course, another beer. Webb hits a half nelson faceplant but Martina is up to spit beer in his face. As Martina loads up a superplex, they are still able to get some beers in. Martina plants him for two and they’re already needing to drink again. A double clothesline gives us a double pin at 7:41.

Rating: D-. And I hesitate to call this anything close to wrestling. This one completely missed for me, though that might be because I don’t drink so this is all completely foreign. It was the same joke over and over again and it didn’t really change anything in the, ahem, match. It didn’t work watching it, though the fans seemed to like it live, which seems to be the point.

And now, a dodge ball competition! There are ten people here (MJF with his scarf around his head is glorious) and I have a feeling a ten person tag is about to break out. We need captains to pick teams though so here are Veda Scott and Faye Jackson. It’s time for a quick draft with the following lineups:

Blue: Faye Jackson/Wheeler Yuta/Terra Calaway/Arik Royal/Red Eagle

Red: Veda Scott/Jeff Cannonball/Veda Scott/Daniel Makabe/Sage Phillips

MJF isn’t picked, with Jackson dropping a nice F bomb before picking Eagle to complete her team. Therefore, MJF grabs both dodge balls and leaves, making himself the most entertaining man on the show all over again. Since there are no dodge balls, let’s have a mixed tag! The fans boo and start a WRESTLING SUCKS chant. Denver: “WRESTLING FANS ARE STUPID!”

Team Blue vs. Team Red

Blue: Arik Royal/Faye Jackson/Red Eagle/Terra Calaway/Wheeler Yuta

Red: Daniel Makabe/Jeff Cannonball/Sage Phillips/Shazza McKenzie/Veda Scott

Fans: “DODGE BALL IS REAL!” The rather large Cannonball (who looks like King Kong Bundy’s son) and Calaway start things off and slug it out, with Denver saying that these two are engaged. Well that’s rather appropriate. Cannonball gets knocked down and sits in the corner so Calaway asks for a hug. That’s not happening as Cannonball ducks the hug and chops her.

Yuta comes in and rolls over Shazza, setting up a loud dropkick. It’s off to Sage, as Sarah seems to enjoy the mesh jerseys. Royal hits a claw slam as the lack of tags is strong here. Eagle dropkicks Makabe to the floor and it’s Scott coming in to take him down, only to get scared off by Jackson. Some running hip attacks from Faye crush Veda in the corner but a rake to the eyes gets Veda out of trouble.

With an assist from the ref, Veda walks the rope (Veda to ref: “Thank you!”) and dives onto everyone, triggering the parade of dives until the rather large Royal hits one of his own. Makabe cuts off Yuta’s dive with an abdominal stretch of all things but Terra pulls out a dodge ball for the save, triggering another chant.

Yuta grabs it and tosses it at the pile, followed by a big dive. Sarah: “Yuta utilized it to perfection!” Crowd: “STUPID SEXY YUTA!” Even Jackson hits a dive of her own but Cannonball can’t get over the top. Instead he hits the rope and gets Crossfaced by Terra. Cannonball: “I WANT TO DIVE!” Blue comes in for a quintuple submission at 9:43.

Rating: C. It was fun but it felt a bit like the scramble, meaning it wasn’t quite as entertaining as it could have been. I’ve seen a lot of matches like this before and it felt like it was following a formula for this style. The dodge ball stuff was entertaining, though that might have been MJF.

A fan wins…..a piece of swamp monster!

Gavin is glad we had a wrestling match because Ronda Rousey thinks dodge ball is BS.

And now, Teddy Hart with his cat, to the Reading Rainbow theme. The fans seem to be more interested in the cat. Teddy says that Mr. Velvet (the cat if that isn’t clear) has a black belt in making people smile. He talks about being divorced twice and being in jail twice but he wanted to come to Wrestlemania weekend.

This isn’t just a WWE event because it’s about all kinds of wrestling. He’s liking this place too because the crowd is intelligent and knows that wrestling is everything from dodge ball to him carrying a cat. Teddy talks about how he wants to put smiles on faces and wrestling isn’t about watching a screen, Vince McMahon cutting a promo and people in the back writing a script. He puts over Orange Cassidy and asks him to come out here, so here’s Orange to meet Mr. Velvet. Orange picks up the cat so Teddy can wrap a scarf around him. Now for the book: If I Was A Kitty.

Teddy gets one page (work with me here) in and gets cut off by a GCW chant. A line in the book says that if Teddy was a cat, his nose would be crinkly. Fans: “HOLY S***!” Teddy doesn’t quite know how to handle that a moonsault gets less of a reaction than “my nose would be crinkly.” Teddy: “Maybe less is more.” He finishes the book, which he admits he memorized because he can’t read. That’s one of the most bizarre moments I’ve ever seen and I think they’ve got something here. Just…..this. And then Teddy throws his cat in the air and catches it for the gasp of the night.

Shinjiro Otani vs. Jonathan Gresham

This is announced as a wrestling match, which is booed out of the building. A handshake starts us off and Otani grabs the arm. Gresham spins out without much trouble and Otani has to applaud. Another counter sequence gives us a second standoff but Gresham makes the mistake of chopping in the corner. Gresham takes him down a few times and starts kicking at the arm to take over. With the left arm in trouble, Gresham starts in on the right arm so Otani rolls away for a breather.

Otani can’t slam his way out of an armbar and the fans are rather impressed by that one. A legsweep takes Gresham down and it’s the signature facewash in the corner. The fans are rather pleased so we see it again, with Otani kicking his second in the face again as well. Actually we’ll make it three times for a bonus. Gresham trips him into the corner though and nails a running dropkick. That just ticks Otani off so he forearms Gresham in the face over and over. The slugout goes to Otani until a dragon suplex gives him two. A helicopter bomb finishes Gresham at 7:53.

Rating: B-. It was cool to see a legend like Otani here, even though he feels like he got lost and wound up on a show like this. You had to have a wrestling match here and putting someone like Gresham in there was the best idea they had. Otani was one of the best things about the show so far, mainly because he was something different. This was a rather solid match and the kind of thing the show needed.

Respect is shown post match.

Chuck Taylor vs. Trent?

One minute time limit. Chuck throws a shirt at him and they shove each other around as we’re halfway done. They lock up and the bell rings for the time limit at 1:03. Fans: “MATCH OF THE YEAR!”

Hang on though as we’re getting five more seconds.

Chuck Taylor vs. Trent?

Trent rolls him up for the pin at four seconds.

Post match Chuck yells at Remsburg, who snaps off a headscissors. Remsburg and Trent do the big hug, which is NOT cool with Chuck. They tease a fight and then hug, with Sarah being very pleased.

Nick Gage vs. Ultramantis Black

Gage’s GCW World Title isn’t on the line and this is a Yuletide Death Match because that’s all Gage can be asked to do. A bunch of wrestlers who haven’t been on the show and Air Wolf bring in all kinds of Christmas decorations/various weapons as I have a bad feeling about this one. Black runs him over and Gage gets annoyed at getting caught in the Christmas tree wrapped in barbed wire.

A running dropkick sends Black through the barbed wire board, allowing us to see his Christmas tattoos and mask. Black is tied up in the wire but manages to get untied and low bridge Gage to the floor. Gage throws a chair at his leg to break up a dive off the apron, followed by a whip through some chairs. Another chair is thrown at Black’s head and Gage takes another barbed wire board and drops it wire first on Black.

Somehow Black is right back with a DDT onto a chair but Gage posts him. They get back in with Black getting his knees up to block a middle rope elbow. A full nelson slam onto the barbed wire tree gives Black two and it’s time for the tacks. Of course Gage is right back up to DDT him onto the tacks for two, with the fans wanting the referee dead.

Now the middle rope elbow onto the tree onto Black connects, followed by a swinging neckbreaker onto the tacks. Gage grabs a pair of chairs and puts a board covered in ornaments between them. The superplex through them makes Black cringe and gets two. Black’s comeback goes nowhere and Gage hits a chokebreaker for the pin at 13:10.

Rating: D. I really can’t stand this kind of “wrestling” and I can’t stand Gage even more so this wasn’t exactly my favorite thing in the world. Gage never loses in these things so it wasn’t like there was much doubt. This has never been my style and Gage continues to feel like a lost relic from 2002 indy wrestling, making this pretty easily my least favorite thing on the show.

Post match MJF comes in to chair Gage in the head because I don’t like him enough yet. MJF isn’t happy about not being picked first or about this being fake HAHA nonsense. He’s the only real wrestler in the ring but here’s Cassidy to interrupt. MJF: “ARE YOU A F****** IDIOT???” He explains the idea of a sneak attack so Cassidy blows orange juice in his face. Gage is back up for another chokebreaker and Black lays MJF out as well. Gage and Black put on sunglasses of their own and they exchange hand signals. Cassidy says we can go home now to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The Jim Cornette fan in me is appalled but I had a great time watching this one. This show made no secrets about what they were going for and they ran with it. There are no long term stories here and it’s just a bunch of people throwing together a show for the sake of throwing together a show. The jokes were funny, the atmosphere was great and I was laughing more than once as I wanted to see what they came up with next. As a wrestling show it’s a nightmare but as two hours and forty five minutes of entertainment, it was a blast. Oh and Sarah Shockey is the most adorable commentator ever.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Ring of Honor
Date: June 20, 2018
Location: Odeum Expo Theater, Villa Park, Illinois
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

We’re less than two weeks away from Best in the World and that means it’s time to start setting up some of the lower matches on the card. Well at least that would be the case most of the time but around here you never know because Ring of Honor doesn’t always announce a lot of its card until the weekend of the show. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

The Bullet Club is ready for Los Ingobernables de Japon because Los Ingobernables couldn’t sell out an arena in thirty minutes like the Club did.

Opening sequence.

Chuck Taylor vs. Kenny King

Chuck offers a handshake but pulls it away because he’s kind of a jerk. They finally do shake hands and King motions a bunch of hugs to the crowd. A headlock slows Chuck down to start and King runs him over with a shoulder, meaning it’s time to dance. Chuck runs him right back over and it’s time for some Kentucky dancing. They share a hug and Chuck teases jumping him to no avail. More dancing sets up another hug but this time Chuck belly to belly suplexes him to take over.

Back from a break with Chuck missing a middle rope moonsault and Kenny slugging away. Chuck gets sent outside for a dive but let’s stop for King to take a picture with a fan. I mean, he’s not ready to take it so we’ll come back to that later. King mostly misses a high crossbody but gets two anyway. That’s enough for Taylor to send him outside for a dive and NOW we’ll take a picture with the same fan. A Falcon Arrow gives Chuck two and a stuff piledriver is good for two more. King is right back up with the Royal Flush for the pin at 11:37.

Rating: C-. I’m not big on this style of match as they were just trading moves on each other until one of them hit their finisher for the win. It wasn’t terrible or anything but it’s nothing that I’m going to remember in about five minutes. Taylor has grown on me though and he’s nowhere near as bad as I used to find him.

We look back at the Briscoes attacking the Young Bucks a few weeks back.

The Briscoes aren’t happy with being asked why they’re going down the dark road. The Bucks are the best in the world at selling shirts and making Youtube videos, but they can’t take the titles.

Video on Shane Taylor.

Here’s Shane in the ring to call out Josh Woods. He had Woods beaten in Florida when King Mo interfered. Now Taylor is going to beat Woods up faster than Derrick Rose pops his ACL.

Shane Taylor vs. Josh Woods

Taylor wastes no time in knocking Woods to the floor with the power, followed by a big headbutt on the outside. A big Cannonball crushes Woods against the barricade and a legdrop on the apron sends us to a break. Back with Woods reversing a powerslam into a sleeper but Taylor throws him down. The referee gets in the way and Taylor knocks Woods out with a right hand for the pin at 5:33. Not enough shown to rate but this was pretty much a squash.

Bullet Club vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon

Cody, Hangman Page, Young Bucks, Marty Scurll

Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi, Evil, Sanada, Bushi

Dalton Castle is on commentary and we’ll look at him for the first few seconds of the match. Cody and Naito start things off with Cody striking his pose and Naito doing his eye opening deal. Naito sends him outside and rolls into the pose, which of course is cheered to high Heaven around here. That’s too far for Cody, who throws a bunch of chairs around. Scurll tags himself in to face Bushi so let’s go back to Castle, who is holding the title upside down.

Ever the evil one (though not Evil), Bushi grabs the beard so Scurll goes for the fingers. That sets up a showdown between the Bucks and Bushi/Evil with the fans not being sure what to do. Ian talks about the teams fought in Osaka, even though Evil and Sanada lost the titles there but came out with them here. Nice try at least. They stare each other down and it’s eventually all ten in the ring for a big staredown. The referee tries to keep order (get that man a raise) but the brawl breaks out anyway with the Bucks taking over (you’re kidding me) by way of dives and dropkicks.

Scurll kicks Sanada in the face so Page can hit a running shooting star to clear the ring. Cody does the Rise of the Terminator pose to annoy the fans but Takahashi cuts him off with a Darryl shot. Everyone else gets Darryled until a double superkick takes him down, followed by a big rope walk flip dive to Evil and Sanada. The Meltzer Driver is broken up and Evil chops a chair into Matt’s face as we take a break.

Back with things having settled down a bit as Matt superkicks Sanada down. The hot tag brings in Scurll to slug it out with Takahashi but he can’t quite get the chickenwing. Instead it’s the Ghostbuster for two but Takahashi kicks the heck out of Scurll, allowing the hot tag to Evil. Sanada comes in for a bonus, meaning Nick can have extra targets to beat up. The Bucks grab the stereo Sharpshooters but get broken up in short order. Cue Punishment Martinez to fight Page into the back though and we take another break.

Back again with Los Ingobernables cleaning house for a change and a quadruple basement dropkick rocking Matt. There’s a Destroyer to Matt and the Magic Killer gives Bushi two with Nick pulling the referee out. Even Bernard the Business Bear offers a distraction so Bushi mists him for good measure. Scurll hits Cody with the umbrella by mistake and Naito adds Destino…..but it doesn’t matter as the Bucks come in with a bunch of superkicks. The Meltzer Driver ends Bushi at 16:37.

Rating: C+. And that’s why the Bucks get on my nerves: the Road Warriors weren’t pushed as this unstoppable. The Bullet Club, who are having problems, haven’t been a team as long, and are down a man due to Page being gone, is in trouble but DON’T WORRY because the Bucks are here for a bunch of superkicks. In other words, absolutely nothing in the first sixteen minutes mattered because the Bucks are going to come in and almost literally beat up the other team by themselves. What’s the point in even watching a match if there’s no reason to think anything else is going to happen? Good match with an annoying ending.

Cody checks on Bernard and pours water on the mask.

A Best in the World rundown ends the show.

Overall Rating: C. That ending really rubbed me the wrong way and took me out of a lot of the good things that the show had going for it. While still good, this was really all about the main event and that match was really not working for me because of the last few seconds. They did a better job of setting up some stuff for Best in the World, but so much of the TV still feels like they’re filling in time because they don’t have anything else to do outside of their one big match. That’s been a problem for so long around here and it’s getting tiresome.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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Ring of Honor
Date: June 14, 2017
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Colt Cabana, Ian Riccaboni

Best in the World is rapidly approaching and it would be nice to actually know something about the card other than just the main event. I know I’ve liked the fact that we know that match so far in advance but a little more than that would be nice. Hopefully it’s not just throwing a bunch of names together and hoping for the best. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Young Bucks/Hangman Page vs. Roppongi Vice/Chuck Taylor

Taylor is Trent Barretta’s other partner so this is kind of a mixture of two teams. It’s a brawl to start with the Bullet Club being sent outside for a big flip dive. That earns Chuck a chant, followed by the BEST FRIENDS chant (Trent/Chuck’s team name). Trent does a big run up and down the apron before slingshotting in for a stomp to the face.

Chuck adds a slow motion hilo and we get a big hug. Romero isn’t happy so he grabs Trent’s leg as the announcers talk about either team being possible challengers for the Six Man Tag Team Titles, again showing how TOTALLY WORTHLESS those belts are. These teams are working together for possibly the first time ever in this promotion and they might be in line for a title shot? Vice and Chuckie have some communication issues but Romero clotheslines the Bucks down anyway. That means the Bucks might have to sell something so they start cleaning house with kicks and a flip dive as we take a break.

Back with Romero being pulled off the apron so Chuckie can get the hot tag. A middle rope dropkick puts Page on the floor and Nick is suplexed into Matt. Everything breaks down again and Matt gets reverse Razor’s Edged into a cutter for two. Romero suicide dives onto Nick and Adam, leaving Matt to eat a cradle piledriver for two more. Strong Zero is broken up but Chuck takes Romero’s place to keep the wedge going. Nick Swantons onto Trent for the save and it’s time for a bunch of kicks to the face.

The slingshot X Factor drops Trent again and a DDT on the apron makes things worse for Chuckie. More Bang for Your Buck gets two with Romero making the save for Chuckie, meaning it’s time for the Superkick Party. Romero even shields Chuckie but he takes his sixth superkick anyway. The Meltzer Driver is broken up and a quick rotating piledriver is enough for the pin on Matt at 13:31.

Rating: B-. That was a lot of fun, assuming you can ignore the lack of the tagging and the Bucks in general, though I’ve ranted enough about them as of late. Chuck being wedged into the team is interesting, though that’s a story that could have taken three months and they did it in a single night here. If nothing else it’s nice to have someone from Kentucky who isn’t a hillbilly or Eugene.

The winners celebrate.

The Kingdom is ready to beat up the Boys next week. This team is still stupid.

Video on Jay White, who is so glad to be here after working so hard. The New Japan Dojo is awesome if you didn’t know that. He had a great match with Will Ospreay at War of the Worlds and now it’s time to face Punishment Martinez, who interrupted after. The Martinez stuff was a simple promo style and I liked it more than what you usually get around here.

Rebellion vs. Jay White/Jonathan Gresham

Shane Taylor/Rhett Titus for Rebellion here. The Rebellion jumps White and Gresham in the aisle to start as Alex Shelley joins commentary. Double dives take the Rebellion down as a Jay White chant starts up. White throws Gresham at Titus and we hear Shelley talking about how awesome Search and Destroy is. I still don’t quite know who is actually on that team at this point and I still don’t know why it’s supposed to be interesting.

The opening bell finally rings with the massive Taylor hammering on the tiny Gresham. Titus adds a gutwrench powerbomb and a splash for two. There’s no White to tag so it’s back to Taylor as we take a break. Back with Gresham still in trouble until Titus Bronco Busts Taylor by mistake.

White comes in to clean house as everything breaks down. Jay actually slams Taylor and a two man backsplash gets two. Caprice Coleman comes in with a spinebuster on Gresham so Shelley and Chris Sabin come in to take Coleman down. Jay dives onto the Rebellion and the match is thrown out (because SOMEONE INTERFERING IN FRONT OF THE REFEREE isn’t a DQ anymore) at 8:30.

Rating: C. This has been my least favorite story in Ring of Honor for months now as these teams really aren’t interesting. They’re just kind of there for the sake of having a feud, which isn’t enough to keep my interest most of the time. It doesn’t help that there’s nothing for these teams to do other than fight for a potential shot at the worthless Six Man Titles, which isn’t enough to keep my interest.

Shelley issues a challenge for Best in the World: Search and Destroy vs. Rebellion with the losing team having to disband. Well that helps a lot.

Kazarian has a belt and wants to use it on Hangman Page.

Jay Briscoe isn’t happy with the Boys costing him a tag match last week. Therefore, he wants to eat the Boys.

TV Title: Kushida vs. Marty Scurll

Scurll is defending and has to spin out of a wristlock to start. The fans decide that THIS is wrestling as the announcers talk about wrestlers debating what the top title is around here. Eh probably something from New Japan. Marty can’t spin out of a front facelock so Kushida spins around on his back and mocks the bird pose.

Back from a break with Kushida kicking him in the head and adding a springboard chop. The champ quickly breaks a cross armbreaker but Kushida grabs a DDT into a failed fisherman’s buster. Kushida misses a flip dive but is still able to reverse a chickenwing attempt into a cradle for two. They start trading the kicks until Kushida handsprings into the chickenwing.

The Hoverboard Lock goes on but Scurll spins out and snaps the finger. A hard clothesline turns Kushida inside out and both guys are down. Back up and Scurll calls for the chickenwing but the lights go out. They come back up in a hurry and someone is on the apron, wearing Scurll’s villain costume. Of course it’s Adam Cole and the distraction sets up a fisherman’s buster into a small package to give Kushida the title at 11:32.

Rating: B. I was ready to be annoyed at the title change but the interference and advancement of Cole vs. the Bullet Club helps a lot. I’m never wild on throwing a title on a New Japan guy if they’re not going to be around full time (which isn’t happening here) but you have to get used to it at this point.

Overall Rating: B. This was easily the best TV show they’ve done in several weeks as they advance stories, change a title and help get ready for a pay per view. I had a good time with the show and it flew by, which really isn’t the norm around here. Keep this stuff up and don’t take major detours before a pay per view and things will be fine.

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Off the Hook
Date: October 24, 2015
Location: The Arena, Jeffersonville, Indiana
Commentators: Mike Quackenbush, Leonard F. Chikarason, Dr. Rod Diamondfire, Bryce Remsburg

So this is an interesting one as I was actually in the arena (as in The Arena) for the show. I’m far from familiar with Chikara but I know enough about it to have some form of idea of what I’m watching. This was my first time seeing them live and it was a rather entertaining night, especially for $20 for the last row (last out of four that is). Let’s get to it.

Now for those of you that aren’t familiar, Chikara is basically a comic book come to life in a wrestling promotion. There are cults, secret organizations, mind control, wrestling ants and blowing up a bus full of children. When you get into something like this, you have to know what you’re signing up for. You can’t expect WWE style or production values, along with expecting a very indy style experience.

It should also be noted that this season’s main story (yeah Chikara is divided into seasons, with an actual offseason) is a multi-team competition called Challenge of the Immortals. The roster has been divided into ten four person teams. Each team will face off against each other at least once with the captains picking the stipulations. No word on what the prize is for the winning team.

Finally, I’m probably not going to know a lot of the details and backstories here. Chikara is one of those places with an incredibly deep and complicated history and there’s almost no way to keep track of everything. I apologize in advance for any mistakes I make though I’m sure I’ll be corrected on them.

The opening sequence is almost identical to the Marvel Studios logo. Again: I love that they aren’t hiding what they’re doing. It makes things so much easier.

We get graphics of all the matches on the card.

The arena really was small with maybe 150 people in the arena at most. I was sitting opposite the hard camera so on the off chance you see this show, I’m in the fourth row in the Superman shirt.

The announcer (Alex Pearlman, a guy who doesn’t seem to be that well known. He was a really good host though and held the show together all night.) welcomes us to the show, with his mic cutting off a few times in the middle. The only problem here was he said they were going to blow the roof off the place. It was raining pretty hard that night so does he want everyone to get wet?

Challenge of the Immortals: Orange Cassidy/Drew Gulak vs. Ophidian/Shynron

Gentleman’s Club vs. Snake Pit. Each team has their own flag which is a very nice touch. Gulak is a British style wrestler and Cassidy wrestles in sunglasses and torn jeans. Cassidy and Shynron start things off with Orange grabbing a headlock. Cassidy: “I want out! This is too much!” He takes off the sunglasses as the announcers are ripping on Cassidy for being lazy and exhausted.

Cassidy runs in slow motion and taps against Shynron for a shoulder before tripping him down. The comedy is actually working here as Cassidy trips but claims it was a splash. Off to Ophidian vs. Gulak for the actual wrestling portion. They hit the mat for some nice counters until Ophidian bounces off the mat several times to escape a wristlock. Cassidy tags himself in and asks for a test of strength. You can see the joke coming from here.

The much smaller Ophidian puts him down with one arm as referee Bryce Remsburg (one of the stars of the show) says this was Cassidy’s idea. Now Cassidy wants Shynron. Ophidian: “You sure about that buddy?” Shynron moonsaults off the middle rope and moonsaults right up to Cassidy who immediately tags out. Gulak easily wrestles Shynron to the mat and starts working on the arm before getting rolled up for two. It’s back to Cassidy vs. Ophidian with Cassidy taking a nap with a stuffed tiger.

Ophidian gets smart and tries a quiet count but Gulak shouts FREE BAGEL BITES at two, making Cassidy snap up and small package Ophidian for two. Cassidy asks for a weapons check of all things and gets caught in a reverse Tumbleweed of all things for two for a bunch of two counts. Gulak comes in for a rolling cradle of his own but still can’t end this comedy. Shynron tries some handsprings into a headscissors on Drew but has to settle for a victory roll instead.

Back to Ophidian vs. Cassidy with the snake man headstanding on the top turnbuckle and hissing. A very complicated rollup gets two on Orange and it’s back to the wrestlers for a crisscross into a sunset flip from Drew. Shynron’s springboard is countered into an electric chair which is countered into a hurricanrana for two but it’s time for the partners to come in and turn the hold over about a dozen times in a row. Cassidy: “STOP IT!”

Cassidy complains to the referee that he’s trying to win the match and Ophidian is over here trying to win the match too. Totally unfair! The fans want a hug and Ophidian offers a handshake. Cassidy tries a trick of course and gets rolled up to give Ophidian the pin at 14:01 with Gulak (where was he anyway?) being a second late.

Rating: C+. This was longer than it needed to be but it was the perfect way to set the tone for the show. The comedy was really working here with Cassidy as a good slacker and Gulak the completely opposite partner. The Snake Pit could have been any given combination and the match would have worked just fine. Really entertaining stuff with the wrestling as a backdrop, which is going to be a trend all night.

Pragash Sabar, who is basically an X-Pac tribute character from Pakistan, says Farmer Frog (just go with it) isn’t poisonous enough for him. He gets in a few Sean Waltman jabs for good measure. Waltman has to show up (again) and squash him good and strong.

Pragash Sabar vs. Farmer Frog

He’s a frog who farms and certainly NOT the Estonian Thunder Frog who died recently. We get another weapons check and the referee finds…..cucumbers on Sabar? Sabar bails to the floor and hands a fan two more cucumbers. I really don’t want to know the joke here. The much bigger Frog shoves him down a few times before grabbing Pragash by his big fake tongue. That means it’s time for the armpit to the tongue and I have no idea how I reached this point in my life.

Sabar goes to the floor for a breather (and so fans can rub his tongue), allowing Frog to come off the top with an ax handle. Back in and a Cannonball sets up a delayed gordbuster (Frog: “OOPSIE!” Oopsie?) for two. The Slop Drop (for once that name makes sense) is broken up though and Sabar gets two of his own off a high cross body.

Some X-Pac kicks in the corner (and a few licks of the hand) set up the Bronco Buster (Chikarason: “Five hit combo.”) for two, mainly because it’s not a move you pin people with. Frog grabs an Oklahoma Stampede of all things but Sabar bails to the floor and tries to get his cucumbers back. That goes nowhere so Frog hammers away in the corner, only to get powerbombed down into a rollup with Sabar putting his feet on the ropes for the pin at 7:44.

Rating: D. I wasn’t feeling this one and the match really didn’t work that well. Neither guy showed off that much as it’s kind of hard to get into a match between Henry Godwinn/Brian Knobbs as a frog (which didn’t change much) vs. X-Pac with a long tongue. It’s not a terrible match or anything but I didn’t care too much for it. This might have been edited as the live notes I had listed it as longer but I didn’t notice any major edits.

Sabar gets his cucumbers back. I still don’t get it.

AC/DC (Arik Cannon, wearing a Less Than Jake shirt, as in the band that sang We’re All Dudes in the cinematic classic Good Burger, and Darin Corbin) are ready for their match. Corbin calls Cannon for fun but Cannon yells at him for not taking this more seriously. Darin suggests slow motion tonight. Oh dear indeed.

AC/DC vs. Lucas Calhoun/Missile Assault Man

Calhoun is an Elvis impersonator and Missile Assault Man used to be an ant but was brainwashed into being extra aggressive by a shadow corporation (or something like that). From what I understand, they’re followers of a guy who was murdering various wrestlers last season (just go with it). Man and Cannon get things going and a quick armdrag sends Man outside, which is as good as a tag around here.

Corbin comes in as well and it’s time for a karate demonstration (Chikarason: “The school of Stan Lane vs. watching a lot of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.”). A little dancing leads to Corbin putting on a karate headband but Calhoun punches him in the ribs and rips it apart. More karate leads to a slap fight and that’s enough for Man as he drags them apart. Corbin sends both guys to the floor for a big dive before telling Cannon they should isolate Calhoun. A double dropkick gets two for AC/DC but Man comes in and dropkicks Darin down for the same.

We get a Missile Assault MAN stomp (with one letter per stomp) as the match settles into something like wrestling. A kick to the head gets two for Calhoun and rolling northern lights suplexes get the same for Man. Corbin elbows both guys away and the hot tag brings in Cannon so everything can break down. Man is sent to the floor and a double superkick gets two on Calhoun.

After a quick interlude from Man, we hit SLOW MOTION. Corbin Stuns Calhoun as even the announcers are speaking slowly. A fan in the crowd says Missile Assault Man sucks in slow speak as well. Cannon gets two off a backslide and now it’s back to full speed with Calhoun eating an RKO, only to have Corbin walk into a Brogue Kick from Man for the pin at 13:55.

Rating: C-. I was getting into this one until the slow motion kicked in. I’ve seen the bit before and while it’s a cool idea, it really takes me out of the match. It’s ok to just have a match end once in awhile, though to be fair that’s the kind of rule that you see for a match in a bigger company. Man and Calhoun were kind of working as an oddball tag team and AC/DC are a good choice for a midcard pairing. Good enough match to start but it needed to have a better finish.

Challenge of the Immortals: Blind Rage vs. Eddie Kingston

Nightmare Warriors (captained by Grand Champion Hallowicked, which will become important in a bit) vs. Snake Pit. Rage is a generic guy with red paint on his face and Kingston (coming in with a bad knee) is a big star known as the War King. Kingston has some issues getting his robe off in a funny bit. Eddie works on a top wristlock and shouts that Hallowicked isn’t here to save Rage. A snapmare puts Rage down and Eddie slaps him in the of the head. Kingston: “It’s ok. I’m a tweener.”

Rage gets smart with a dragon screw leg whip but Kingston fights up from the mat in a nice touch. Kingston gets in some weak knees to the back but gets dropkicked in the knee to slow him down again. A middle rope knee to Blind’s head (with Eddie limping after landing on the bad knee) sets up a DDT for two. The spinning backfist (Eddie’s finisher) misses and a Michinoku Driver gives Rage two more.

Some really weak looking rapid fire chops (I have yet to see those look good from anyone) from Kingston have Rage in trouble but he gets caught in a sitout powerbomb from the corner. They’re way too spent for only being eight minutes into a match. Rage misses a top rope double stomp and rolls outside, allowing Hallowicked to run in for a DDT. A quick STF gives Rage the knockout win at 8:16.

Rating: D+. Rage really didn’t hold my interest very well here but you could see that Kingston is one of the better guys they have. He carries himself better than most guys on the roster and he actually sold the knee really well. The ending was a good idea as there’s only so much you can do to have a guy like Rage look credible against one of the biggest names in the promotion.

Kingston yells at the referee for missing the interference. Referee: “I was outside.” Kingston: “ARE YOU KIDDING ME???”

Intermission, with a lot of the wrestlers coming to ringside to sell shirts. The handful that I talked to were all very nice and it was a really pleasant experience for a change.

Challenge of the Immortals: Juan Francisco de Coronado/Proletariat Boar of Moldova vs. Jakob Hammermeier/Soldier Ant

United Nations (Coronado is one of the bigger heels in the company) vs. Bruderschaft des Kreuzes (a former mega heel stable who are now barely a thing. The United Nations take their sweet time coming to the ring with Pearlman and Remsburg taking a nap in the corner during the entrance. Pearlman does their introduction in slow motion (“Making their way to the ring……eventually…….at their own pace……”). The Boar of course has a tail. Soldier Ant seems to be under mind control of some sort (Fan: “Remember who you are Soldier Ant!”) which is likely a very interesting backstory because they always are around here.

No commentary on this match for some reason. Coronado respects Jakob for being a foreigner and offers a handshake. Jakob offers his left hand and attacks (“YOU CAN’T TRUST THE GERMANS!”) before grabbing Coronado’s bowtie. It’s time for a test of strength but both heels go for kicks to the ribs. Juan: “I THOUGHT I LIKED YOU!”

They both poke each other in the eyes and it’s off to the Boar for a spinebuster/dropkick combo. The heels (as in Coronado and the Boar) stomp away in the corner until Jakob crashes to the floor, which again counts as a tag. Soldier Ant comes in for a clothesline on Juan and a Liger Kick to the Boar. A not very giant swing sends Juan flying and it’s off to some freaky leg lock. Juan gets thrown around and then out to the floor, allowing Boar to come in instead.

The Ant beats him up too until Juan grabs his foot, only to be terrified by the Ant staring down at him (well in theory as you can’t see his face). Boar’s Samoan drop gives Juan two and the Ant’s layout powerbomb from the corner gets the same. The Ant starts boxing the Boar (another thing I never expected to type) until the tailed one kicks the Soldier outside. Jakob remembers he’s in this match and goes after the Boar, only to eat a spear for the pin at 10:49.

Rating: C. Chikara is interesting as this competition is basically throwing a bunch of people together for what feel like random matches, even though they make sense when you know the story. That being said, most of these matches are working well enough and the competition gives the match some meaning, even if it doesn’t feel like it all the time. Fun enough match here though with Soldier Ant stealing most of the show.

Blaster McMassive, a guy who is exactly what his name sounds like, snaps a Slim Jim, just like he’s going to do to Chuck Taylor’s neck tonight.

Challenge of the Immortals: Blaster McMassive vs. Chuck Taylor

Wrecking Crew vs. Gentleman’s Club. Taylor is a big star and known as the Kentucky Gentlemen (I think I have a Chikara favorite) but he’s on a retirement tour (which might see him go to WWE as he’s only 29). Chuck breaks up the posing with a dropkick to the floor, followed by a quick dive.

Back in and a jawbreaker is broken up so we hit a chinlock from Blaster. Taylor fights up for an octopus hold of all things, only to get kicked in the head for two. They slug it out until Taylor grabs a release Rock Bottom for two. There’s a DDT for the same but Taylor misses something off the top and walks into a sitout Boss Man Slam for the pin at 5:32.

Rating: C-. Quick match here but power vs. speed is still one of the best stories you can run no matter what. Another good enough match here but the time was kind of surprising. If Taylor is supposed to be a big deal, you don’t expect to see him lose in just a few minutes. Not bad but it needed more time.

Dasher’s Dugout (the team leading the competition coming into the show) is ready but they don’t like missing Young Lions Cup holder and fourth partner Heidi Lovelace. They have Princess KimberLee as a fourth though so it’s not the worst thing in the world.

Dasher Hatfield/Icarus/Mark Angelosetti/Princess KimberLee vs. Hallowicked/NRG/Heidi Lovelace

This is challengers vs. champions with Hallowicked as Grand Champion (NRG (Race Jaxon/Hype Rockwell) as Tag Team Champions and Lovelace as Young Lions Cup holder. Lovelace is usually part of Dasher’s Dugout (a sports themed team with Dasher wearing a baseball mask and Angelosetti being named Mr. Touchdown). KimberLee is a princess with purple hair.

Icarus and Hallowicked (former champion vs. the champion) start things off but it’s off to Lovelace before anything happens. Icarus isn’t clear what to do here so he wrestles slowly as they trade arm holds. Neither can hit a kick so Lovelace clotheslines him down and they slap hands before tagging out to Jaxon and Hatfield. Dasher grabs an armbar to slow Jaxon down before it’s off to Mark for a bulldog.

The much bigger Rockwell comes in to trade shoulders with Angelosetti with Mark getting the better of it. We stop for some Tebowing (with the announcers wondering if that’s still a thing) until NRG takes Mark down. That goes nowhere so here’s the Princess vs. Hallowicked for a big showdown. The Princess actually gets the best of it and kicks Hallowicked down for two. NRG tries to interfere again but gets caught by Dasher and Mark with a double headbutt to keep the good guys in control.

KimberLee puts Race in a full nelson with her legs until Jaxon springboards out of the corner for the tag off to Rockwell. Everything breaks down for a bit and Hallowicked throws Heidi to the floor to prevent a showdown with the Princess for some reason. Go To Sleepy Hollow (a GTS with a kick instead of a knee) gets two on KimberLee before it’s back to Race for two off a butterfly suplex. Hallowicked comes in and cranks on KimberLee’s arm before it’s off to Heidi for a chinlock. Hallowicked: “SHE IS OUR ENEMY! WHAT DO WE DO TO OUR ENEMY???”

A crucifix into something like Rings of Saturn has the Princess in trouble until she rolls out. Heidi and Hallowicked argue on the floor until KimberLee dives through the ropes to take them down. That means it’s off to Icarus for a bad looking hurricanrana on Rockwell as things speed way up. Dasher comes in with no tag for a wheelbarrow slam/Stunner combo (the Bo Jackson) on Race.

Jaxon gets caught in the corner for a double superplex until Rockwell makes the save by powerbombing Dasher and Mark off the top. Race moonsaults onto both of them and it’s off to KimberLee for some chops to NRG. The two of them are taken out with ease and NOW we get KimberLee vs. Lovelace. They kick it out because this is an indy promotion and we have to do it at some point.

KimberLee gets the better of it until a wicked Saito suplex sends her to the floor. Hallowicked comes in and decks Icarus before telling Heidi to get out. Lovelace says no so Hallowicked shoves her down allowing Icarus to beat up Hallowicked with strikes and a nice Sliced Bread #2. It’s time for the parade of finishers, including Heidi apologizing to Dasher for a Fameasser. A pop up Diamond Cutter seemed to hurt Heidi but here’s Eddie Kingston for the backfist to drop Hallowicked, allowing KimberLee to score the pin at 20:15.

Rating: B+. This was a lot of fun with all eight of them flying all over the place. This place is similar to Lucha Underground as the women are on equal footing with the men, making for a much more entertaining match instead of the stupid “let’s treat them differently” nonsense that you often have to see. KimberLee getting the pin is a good choice instead of the normal stuff where it’s the main World Champion contender getting the pin. This was by far and away the match of the night and a lot of fun with all eight looking awesome.

The credits roll and Alex thanks us for coming out, but here’s Bryce Remsburg to say ONE MORE MATCH.

Fire Ant vs. Oleg the Usurper

Oleg is a viking who was frozen in ice and is rapidly turning face. Fire Ant is the high flier of the former Colony and a fan favorite. Ant dives through the ropes to take him out and fires (see what I did there?) off strikes inside. A boot to the face puts Ant down though and Oleg SMACKS him in the side of the head for the pin at 1:23. Well it was just an encore.

Pearlman thanks us for coming to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This is a show where there’s a lot more to the show than just the wrestling. Chikara is much more about a fun show that is built up over time instead of a single show. That being said, this was a lot of fun and more than worth the money. It’s definitely a show that you can get into more if you watch regularly but as a one off, this was a lot of fun and a really entertaining night.

The main event blows away everything else but nothing was bad and it was a really fun atmosphere all night long. It felt like the wrestlers were having a good time entertaining the fans and it showed in their performances. It’s a really fun company if you want a legitimate alternative to WWE, which is often the case in name only.

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