Aniversario 3: Dodging The Sophomore Jinx

Emmaus, PA – 5.22.2004

Shane Storm enters the ring when the newly rudo Cavalier Jones comes out. He presents Shane Storm with a Young Lions Cup medal and he will be entered into the Young Lions Cup II tournament in July. Cavalier says he doesn’t deserve the medal and calls Storm cocky. He says Storm will be taken down a notch and be placed as the first participant in tonight’s battle royal. That battle royal happens…now.

Double Jeopardy Battle Royal

This is an eight man battle royal. The entrants come in at random intervals. The last two participants in the match go on later in the night to participate in a singles match.

Order of Entry
1. Shane Storm
2. Rorschach
3. Sabian
4. Melvin Snodgrass
5. DJ Skittlez
6. Private Eye
7. Hallowicked
8. Blind Rage

Order of Elimination
– Shane Storm by Rorschach at 7:08
– Hallowicked by DJ Skittlez at 7:10
– Private Eye by Blind Rage at 7:39
– Melvin Snodgrass by Rorschach at 7:46
– Rorschach by Sabian at 7:55
– Sabian by DJ Skittlez at 8:07

So later tonight, DJ Skittlez will take on Blind Rage. This match happened one year ago at the original Aniversario. Blind Rage hasn’t been seen in awhile, so hopefully this will be good. As for the match itself, it was your typical battle royal, meaning it wasn’t very good. Not much storyline tie-in either outside of the last two participants, which is unfortunate. ½*

Jolly Roger vs. Darkness Crabtree

Crabtree comes out wearing the Young Lions Cup medal that he stole from Jolly Roger in their match last month. Roger dropkicks Crabtree to the floor and follows with a springboard splash. Back in the ring, Crabtree pokes Roger in the eyes. Roger slams Crabtree head first into the turnbuckle nine times. He let’s go, and Crabtree continues to ram his head. He then asks Roger to return to finish his job. He gives Roger a thumbs up and falls down so Roger gets a two count. Roger ducks a clothesline and snaps his eye patch on Crabtree’s face. Crabtree drop toe holds Roger face first into the bottom turnbuckle. He gives Roger a pair of snapmares and a kick to the back. Crabtree gives him a hip toss and a variation of the People’s Elbow for two. Roger lays in some punches. Crabtree forearms Roger in the back and gives him a backbreaker. Crabtree goes to the second rope and walks across it. Crabtree falls with a headbutt to Roger for two. Crabtree chops Roger a couple times then shoots him off the ropes. Crabtree knocks him down with a back elbow and throws Roger to the floor. Crabtree comes off the middle rope with a springboard asesino. Roger ducks a couple clotheslines and hurricanrana’s Crabtree to the corner. Roger gives him an implant DDT for two. Crabtree snapmares Roger and goes back to the second rope. Roger hops up and gives Crabtree an Ace Crusher for two. Roger hits the Walk The Plank for the pin at 6:10. This was really boring. I did like the head in the corner spot and the asesino to the floor, but outside of that this was a waste. ¼*

Chris Hero vs. Murat Bosporus

A long feeling out process starts the match. Bosporus takes Hero to the corner and forearms him in the face, which causes an angry Hero to shove him and claim that Bosporus did it because Bosporus can’t outwrestle him. Hero lays in some hard shots to prove a point. Hero concentrates doing damage to Bosporus’ left arm. Bosporus armdrags Hero and then throws him to the floor. Bosporus comes out and throws Hero forehead first into the ring post. Bosporus gives Hero a hard backbreaker in the ring. Bosporus chokes Hero on the bottom rope and applies a side headlock. Hero escapes and stomps on Bosporus’ back. Bosporus backdrops Hero for two. Hero jams Bosporus’ arm, and Bosporus responds with a clothesline to Hero’s back. Bosporus throws Hero to the floor as Hero runs at him. Bosporus bites Hero and brings him back in the ring. Hero fights up, and Bosporus gives him a bridging German suplex for two. Hero comes off the ropes, snapping Bosporus’ arm. Hero continues to do damage to Bosporus’ arm. Hero tries for a Hero’s Welcome, but Bosporus takes him over with a belly-to-belly suplex for two. Hero blocks a powerbomb and drops a knee on Bosporus’ arm. Hero locks in a Hangman’s Clutch and Bosporus gets his foot on the bottom rope. Bosporus gives Hero a Samoan Drop for two. Hero is able to lock on the Hangman’s Clutch II for the pin at 18:23. This was a good back-and-forth technical match. Bosporus delivered and Hero looked quite good even at this time. A little long, yes, but it never felt that way. A fun little match right before intermission this was. **3/4

Cavalier Jones comes out to discuss the main event. The Toxic Trio of The Wildcards and Jigsaw come out to seemingly confront him. Kingston asks about him attempting to suspend The Wildcards last month, and threatens to knock him out. Instead, Kingston and Jones hug and he hugs Marciano and Jigsaw as well. Kingston says Jones he was the mastermind behind getting Quack to put all his titles on the line, Icarus putting his hair on the line, and Akuma to put his mask on the line. Kingston mentions that it was Jigsaw who tapped out in the big ten man main event of Aniversario last year, and says Jigsaw better not screw things up again this year. Quack, Icarus, and Akuma come out and the Toxic Trio bail. Quack mentions that everyone in the match has something on the line except Jones. Quack offers up the stipulation that if The Toxic Trio loses, Cavalier Jones is fired from the board of directors. The Rudos have a pow-wow and decide to oblige since they have nothing to worry about.

DJ Skittlez vs. Blind Rage

Rage carries with him Ichabod Slayne’s mask that he took (from the now Icarus) back in October 2002. Rage gets a hammerlock and kicks Skittlez’ in the back. Skittlez gets Rage in a backslide position and twists him around. He lets go, but Rage can’t stop spinning so the referee helps him out. Skittlez gives Rage a backdrop, a Manhattan drop, and an Atomic drop. Skittlez lays in some chops. Skittlez goes to the apron and slams Rage face first into the corner. Skittlez comes off the top and Rage catches him with a dropkick. Rage dragonscrews Skittlez to the mat. Rage keeps on Skittlez’ leg. Rage hits a quebrada for two and then turns Skittlez into a half crab. Rage turns into a figure four leg lock. Skittlez rolls into a pin for two. Rage dropkicks Skittlez’ leg out and stretches it forward. Skittlez gets up and gives Rage a spin-out facebuster for two. Skittlez then lands a DDT for two. Rage gives Skittlez a reverse suplex for two. Rage trips Skittlez and applies an STF. Skittlez turns into a cross armbreaker and Rage grabs the bottom rope. Skittlez places Rage on the top rope and kicks him in the back. Skittlez drops Rage off the top rope with the Rainbow Bomb, and Rage turns it into a bulldog. Rage then reapplies the STF for the submission at 8:13. Really basic and very mildly interesting match. Rage is excellent, but Skittlez flat out sucks. *

Rage picks up Skittlez, shakes his hand, and hugs him. Rage claims tonight was his last pro wrestling match ever. He says CHIKARA has the hardest working locker room and the best fans. Skittlez brings in former CHIKARA wrestler Love Bug who puts over Blind Rage big. Skittlez then gets the fans to give Rage a nice ovation. Isn’t that cute? Don’t worry Blind Rage fans, he does indeed come back in less than a year.

UltraMantis Black enters the ring in a druid outfit. He says he scoured the past for the one man that Mister ZERO (Mantis’ former partner turned enemy) that could not beat in his past. That would be Hallowicked, who also enters in a druid outfit. Mister ZERO comes out and says he knows somewhere UltraMantis is still good. He says he considers Mantis to still be his friend but would love to beat the stuffing out of him tonight. ZERO says why he hasn’t defeated Hallowicked before, he recruited the man who beat Hallowicked last month: Shane Storm.

Mister ZERO & Shane Storm vs. UltraMantis Black & Hallowicked

Storm gets the better of UltraMantis at the start. ZERO tags in and Mantis immediately tags in Hallowicked. ZERO throws Hallowicked to the corner asking for a tag but doesn’t get it. ZERO fights off Hallowicked and applies a Camel Clutch right in front of Mantis’ face. Hallowicked whips ZERO to the corner. Mantis and Hallowicked run at him and Storm puts up the STOP sign. ZERO reads the newspaper while they’re halted. He then comes off the ropes with a dropkick to both guys. Mantis ducks down the ropes as Storm hits them, and Mantis sends ZERO to the floor. Hallowicked and Mantis isolate Storm from ZERO. Storm catches Hallowicked with a sunset flip in an attempt to switch the momentum, but Hallowicked counters and keeps the beating going with Mantis. Storm finally tags in ZERO, who takes out Mantis with a barrage of clotheslines. Hallowicked comes in and makes matters worse by clotheslining Mantis by accident. ZERO and Storm take Hallowicked and Mantis to the floor with Cactus clotheslines. ZERO throws Mantis face first into a wall. All four guys then brawl into two separate bathrooms right next to one another. Storm throws Hallowicked back into the ring as Mantis tries to push ZERO’s face into a fire pit in the corner of the building (it’s not a raging fire, but a hot looking coal). Hallowicked hits a hurricanrana on Storm for two. Storm gives Hallowicked a release German suplex and That Japanese Move (a Shining Wizard). Storm looks for the Air Raid Crash but Mantis stops him. ZERO sends Hallowicked to the floor. He gives Mantis a bulldog out of the corner. ZERO drops Mantis with a gutwrench powerbomb variation. He then drops Mantis face first on Storm’s STOP sign with the Last Shaven Unicorn drop for two. Hallowicked breaks the pin. Storm and ZERO hit the ropes. Mantis drags ZERO out and forearms Storm. Hallowicked tags Storm with a Yakuza kick for the pin at 11:20. Really fun tag match that ended up being a lot better than I expected. Mantis took the drop on the STOP sign like a champ and everyone did a good job. **3/4

Ultimate Jeopardy Match
Mike Quackenbush & F.I.S.T. (Icarus & Gran Akuma) vs. Jigsaw & The Wild Cards (Eddie Kingston & Black Jack Marciano)
CHIKARA “Aniversario 3: Dodging the Sophomore Jinx” – Emmaus, PA – 5.22.2004

If Mike Quackenbush loses the fall, he loses all six of his championship belts. If Jigsaw or Gran Akuma lose the fall, they lose their mask. If Icarus loses the fall, he loses his hair. If either Eddie Kingston or Blackjack Marciano lose the fall, BOTH of the Wildcards lose their hair. If any member of the Toxic Trio (Jigsaw and The Wildcards) loses, Cavalier Jones is fired

CHIKARA Board of Directors member Cavalier Jones accompanies The Toxic Trio to the ring. Jigsaw and Akuma start with Akuma working over Jigsaw’s arm. The Tecnicos outmatch the Toxic Trio no matter who squares of with whom. There’s a comedy bit where Kingston sits on Marciano’s face and Jigsaw’s face lands in Marciano’s crotch. The Toxic Trio isolates Quackenbush, working over his back and arm. They dump him to the floor which tags in Icarus. Kingston and Jigsaw immediately send Icarus to the floor with a back attack. Jigsaw misses an attack on Akuma, and Akuma takes it to Jigsaw. Quackenbush takes Marciano back in as Icarus brings Kingston the floor. Akuma whips Jigsaw to Quackenbush. Quackenbush knocks Jigsaw onto Marciano’s shoulders. Kingston comes over, and Quackenbush leaps out and gives him a hurricanrana whilst Jigsaw and Marciano fall over. Icarus back elbows Marciano in the ring for two. Marciano gets isolated by F.I.S.T. and Quackenbush where they focus their attack on his back. We now get a six person submission spot (there was a headlock one earlier in the match). Akuma gets trapped by the Toxic Trio afterwards, where they beat him down and tear away at his mask. Kingston misses a back senton which allows Icarus to tag in. Icarus takes out the Toxic Trio and gives Jigsaw a split-legged moonsault. Kingston breaks the pin. Kingston and Jigsaw splash Icarus and Marciano misses on. Quackenbush and F.I.S.T. attack Marciano in the corner. Icarus puts him in an abdominal stretch, and Quackenbush dives onto Jigsaw. Quackenbush armdrags Kingston and sends Jigsaw to the floor. Quackenbush leaps onto him and Icarus brings Marciano to the floor. Akuma crossbodies Kingston for two. Kingston hits a lariat/backbreaker combo for two. Icarus, with Quackenbush’s assistance, gives Kingston a Shiranui for two. Marciano breaks it and F.I.S.T. take him over into a tandem Boston Crab. Quackenbush looks to attack Jigsaw but Jigsaw hits a powerbomb. Kingston and Jigsaw then break the hold. Marciano sunset flips Kingston into a German suplex on Quackenbush. Quackenbush rolls up, leaps over the Wildcards, and palm strikes Jigsaw. Quackenbush lays out both Wildcards with DDT’s. Jigsaw hops onto Quackenbush’s shoulders, and Quackenbush gives him the Quackendriver II. Marciano breaks the pin, and Icarus calls for a Shiranui. Kingston stops it and dives onto Akuma. Marciano takes Icarus off the top rope with an inverted suplex for two. Jigsaw gives Quackenbush the Jig N’ Tonic for two. Marciano and Jigsaw get in a shoving match, so Kingston boots Jigsaw in the face. Marciano dives onto Quackenbush who went to the floor. Kingston takes Akuma over with a uranage. Kingston turns Akuma over into the Kondo Clutch. Akuma escapes and applies his own Kondo Clutch. Icarus and Quackenbush prevent Marciano and Jones from interfering, and Kingston quits at 37:59. Because of this, both Marciano and Kingston must shave their heads and Cavalier Jones is fired. So this served its purpose well, giving Jigsaw sympathy going into the Young Lions Cup and getting Jones out, but the match itself was fairly dull. Still good, but many slow and uninteresting moments. As a whole though it wasn’t as good as the first Aniversario’s main event. ***

Afterwards, many Tecnicos hit the ring to witness the head shavings of the weeping Wildcards.