Running In The Red

Philadelphia, PA – 11.13.2005

Commentary is provided by Eddie Kingston, Sabian, Bryce Remsburg, UltraMantis Black, Larry Sweeney and Leonard F. Chikarason.

Larry Sweeney is eating a Wendy’s Frosty in the bathroom. He says he’s letting his diet go because he has an easy match tonight with Retail Dragon. He informs us that he has no idea where Mana the Polynesian Warrior is, but is not worried because he’s managed to hold onto his ICW/ICWA Tex-Arkana title without him by his side.

Larry Sweeney then makes his way to the ring. Sweeney puts over his Tex-Arkana reign while also putting down a fan or two. He informs the crowd that Retail Dragon hurt himself, so he is unable to compete tonight. Sweeney issues an open challenge to anyone in the back. Beef Wellington makes his way to the ring to answer the call. Wellington talks about random Canadian feds he’s worked for and then essentially asks for a Tex-Arkana title match. Sweeney says that he will defend the belt in a Handicap match and goes backstage to retrieve his partner. Sweeney’s old Modest Mouse theme cues up, and he comes out with his former partner The ShareCropper. Beef decides that instead of competing in a handicap match for the title that he will team with a friend of his for a regular tag team bout. Sexxxy Eddy comes out to a huge reaction. Well, he’s over like crazy in CZW so that makes sense. They all agree that they will regroup backstage and meet later tonight.

Lance Steel, Lance Steel, Dragon Dragon & Angel del Fuego vs. Icarus {F}, UltraMantis Black, Hydra & Dr. Cheung {PT}

Mantis introduces Hydra into the match (it was originally scheduled to be a six man tag). This also marks Hydra’s official CHIKARA debut, with his debut match taking place on NEXT’s Monster Mash show. Lance Steel brings in Dragon Dragon to be their partner to make this an Atomicos bout. This is his CHIKARA debut as well.

Icarus and Fuego trade control on the mat. Fuego delivers a headscissors and a quebradora. He dropkicks Icarus to the floor and feigns a dive. Steel and Mantis tag in. Steel goes for the Boston Crab right away. Mantis escapes and stupidly chops Steel’s armor. Mantis escapes the Crab again. Steel splashes him in the corner and tags in Steel. They joust Mantis in the corner. Dragon and Hydra tag in. The two of them do some back and forth Lucha. Hydra’s armdrag takes Dragon’s head off for a second. He sweeps Hydra’s leg with his tail, which gets a HUGE reaction from the crowd. Cheung and Steel go back and forth themselves. Cheung slams Steel and legdrops him for two. Cheung gets two with a Falcon Arrow. Icarus beats down Steel while the fans boo him mercifully. Steel escapes the Rudos’ grasp by evading an attack from Mantis and Hydra in the corner. Dragon tags in and knocks Hydra and Mantis down. HIS HEAD FALLS OFF!!! Kingston’s reaction is priceless with Steel frantically helping Dragon put his head back on. Dragon gives Icarus Dragon kicks and puts him in a Dragon Sleeper. Cheung and Mantis help Icarus and double backdrop Fuego. Fuego dropkicks them to the floor. He does the same to Hydra and then dives onto all of them. Icarus counters Steel’s Boston Crab with the Pedigree. He then puts Steel in the Burning Wings, causing him to tap out at 9:50. Well Dragon’s head falling off was a debacle, but a funny, memorable one anyhow. The match itself was pretty chaotic. Stuff happened and then it ended. *1/2

Mister ZERO says he spent five months off of wrestling because of Icarus. He says he was cleared in September and called Mike Quackenbush right away to tell him he was healed. At the time there was no openings, but due to Reckless Youth being injured he got his chance to return. He was thrilled to be in the Cibernetico to face Icarus, but ended up being eliminated by Icarus in that match too. He hopes to get his hands on Icarus now that he has a more serious demeanor, and plans to start tonight by taking on Rorschach. He says he has three months of planning for the 2006 Tag World Grand Prix and will think of getting revenge on Icarus the entire time.

Mister ZERO vs. Rorschach

ZERO brings him to the mat with a pair of armdrags and a headlock takedown. Rorschach responds with the same moves. Rorschach is wearing a tie with his name on it to mock ZERO. ZERO breaks a lock-up in the corner. ZERO drop toe holds Rorschach to prevent a briefcase shot. He then puts Rorschach in a Camel Clutch while stapling papers together. Rorschach escapes and sends ZERO to the floor with a dropkick. He follows out with a tope con hilo. Rorschach applies a chinlock back in the ring. He gets two with a slingshot elbow drop. Rorschach chokes ZERO with his tie behind the referee’s back. ZERO chops Rorschach in the corner. Rorschach huracanrana’s him to the ropes for two. Rorschach kicks ZERO in the shoulder and head. ZERO drops him with a capture suplex. ZERO flies in the corner with a forearm and bulldogs him out of it for two. Rorschach hits the Sling Blade for two. ZERO hits the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Rorschach escapes a tornado DDT and suplexes ZERO for two. Rorschach misses a top rope splash. ZERO hits the Last Shaven Unicorn for the pin at 8:12. ZERO looks just as good as he did before his injury. This was a fun, short back-and-forth match that showcased both guys while re-introducing ZERO to the audience. **1/2

Matt Turner and Anthony Franco are excited to finally get revenge on Shane Hagadorn and Davey Andrews who jumped them months ago in Turner’s hometown of Pittston, PA. Turner says they hear the opportunity of the 2006 Tag World Grand Prix knocking and that he and Franco plan to answer the door.

2006 Tag World Grand Prix Qualifying Match
Matt Turner {ROH} & Anthony Franco {ROH} vs. Shane Hagadorn {ROH} & Davey Andrews {ROH}

Hagadorn and Andrews attack Franco and Turner as they are entering the ring. Andrews whips Turner in the guardrail. Hagadorn brings Franco back in the ring and chokes him in the corner. Turner and Andrews fight up the entrance ramp. Franco gives Hagadorn multiple forearms. Andrews piledrives Turner at the top of the stage. Hagadorn pitches Franco to the floor so that Andrews can whip him into the guardrail. He throws him back inside and Hagadorn gets a two count. Hagadorn and Andrews team up on Franco while Turner recovers. Their game plan consists of Hagadorn continuously pitching Franco to the floor for Turner to beat him up while distracting the referee. Andrews throws Franco back in, but Hagadorn can never get a pin on him. Turner makes it back to the ring to save Franco from a pin. Franco lights him up with strikes. Andrews runs in with a clothesline. Hagadorn and Andrews whip Turner to floor, allowing Franco to come in legally with a double dropkick. Turner pounds Andrews with forearms. He and Franco double flapjack Andrews. Turner applies a crossface and Franco dropkicks him while he’s in the submission. Turn double stomps Hagadorn into Turner’s Fujiwara armbar. Andrews pulls the referee and Turner out of the ring. Franco O’Conner rolls Hagadorn for the pin at 9:11. Franco and Turner have been built up so well that the fans gave them a great reaction over this victory. They’re a lot better than Hagadorn and Andrews so it was the right move to make. That aside, the story also made them sympathetic characters and the reaction from the crowd was also proof to how effective that story was. **1/4

Larry Sweeney {SNS} & The ShareCropper {SNS} vs. Beef Wellington & Sexxxy Eddy

ShareCropper and Sweeney attack the opposition before the bell. Eddy and Wellingston take them down with some tandem offense. Eddy ripping off his pants strikes Sweeney and ShareCropper so badly that they bail to the floor. Eddy brings ShareCropper to apron by his stem. ShareCropper drops him neck first across the top rope. Eddy takes him down with a wheelbarrow bulldog. He follows up with a moonsault for two. Eddy brings in Sweeney and delivers a TKO. Sweeney gives him a spinebuster. ShareCropper wheelbarrows Eddy. Eddy rolls through and tags in Wellington. ShareCropper evades a double axe handle. Sweeney gives him a bionic elbow and a suplex. ShareCropper and Sweeney isolate Wellington in their corner. Eddy gets a tag behind the referee’s back, so it does not count. Sweeney accidentally punches ShareCropper. Wellingston moves out of the way and tags in Eddy. He knocks down ShareCropper and Sweeney with clotheslines. ShareCropper gives him a spin-out uranage for two. Sweeney follows up with the ’68 Comeback Special. He pulls up Eddy before the three count. Eddy throws Sweeney and ShareCropper’s heads together. Wellington gives them a double Ass Punch. Wellingston gives Sweeney a Michinoku Driver. Eddy hits ShareCropper with Total Sextecy for the pin at 8:02. Surprising win here for the IWS gentlemen, but considering they’re so over in CZW it makes sense that they would go over in an arena that loves them. It’s a shame we didn’t see them around too many more times, but given their demeanor it’s no real surprise. Sweeney berates ShareCropper after the match, blaming him for the loss. **1/2

Ring announcer Carolina Jim informs the fans that Reckless Youth will not be appearing for his scheduled match with Chris Hero. Hero comes to the ring in anger over the news. Hero is annoyed because this is the second time Youth no showed when he was scheduled to face him, but he doesn’t blame Youth for dodging him. Hero says he wants a replacement opponent and demands one right now. Equinox is the man who answers Hero’s call.

Equinox vs. Chris Hero {KOW}

Hero suplexes Equinox overhead and elbows him in the corner. He slams Equinox and strikes him in the corner. He snapmares Equinox into a rear double arm stretch. Equinox escapes a fireman’s position with an armdrag. He headscissors Hero to the corner. Hero blocks a dive and Saito suplexes Equinox. Hero slams him from a fireman’s position. He misses a moonsault. Equinox chops Hero in the corner and headscissors him to the mat. He nails the Flying Burrito for two. Equinox alita’s Hero to the corner. Equinox small packages Hero for two. Hero suplexes Equinox for two. Equinox huracanarana’s Hero for two. Hero drops Equinox with the Hero’s Welcome: Championship Edition for the pin at 5:34. They did an admirable job making Equinox look like he had a chance, but the in ring had something to be desired. *

Hero berates Equinox for not being true competition. Sumie Sakai makes her way out to the ring to challenge Hero herself. Hero tells her that she doesn’t deserve to be on the same card as Chris Hero and tells her to never cross his path again. She doesn’t go anywhere, so Hero takes the challenge.

Sumie Sakai vs. Chris Hero {KOW}

Hero grabs Sakai by her forehead and shoves her to the mat. Hero catches her coming off the ropes. He spanks her and places her on the ropes. She tries a crossbody but gets slammed instead. Hero shrugs off a dropkick. The second one hits him in the chin. She steps on Hero’s back when he drops down, then takes him down with a pair of armdrags. Hero cuts her off with a boot to the face. Hero slams Sakai and hits a flip senton for two. Hero gives Sakai the Three Amigos (this was the day Eddie Guerrero passed away, after all). He slaps her in the face instead of hitting the third suplex. Sakai bridges up to break a pinfall. Hero pins her with one foot after an elbow strike for two. Hero spanks Sakai and places her on the top rope. Sakai breaks out of the Hangman’s Clutch. She bites Hero’s forehead to send him to the mat. She hits a top rope dropkick twice. She DDT’s Hero and stomps on his chest. She hits a moonsault for two. Hero clobbers her with a rolling elbow. He drops her with the Hero’s Welcome: Championship Edition for the pin at 6:34. The action here was fine, but I can’t help but feel that this and the Equinox match were just wastes of time to fill the void that Hero vs. Youth would have filled. I can’t blame CHIKARA the predicament was something out of their hands, but something more of substance would have been preferred. *3/4

Jigsaw talks about how he and Hallowicked have traveled to multiple companies together and how people have argued which one of them is the better CHIKARA student. He says Hallowicked can claim that his win last month was a fluke, but in a two out of three falls match, no flukes can happen.

Two out of Three Falls
Jigsaw vs. Hallowicked {DB}

Hallowicked brings Jigsaw to the mat in a front facelock. Jigsaw reverses. Hallowicked twists on his knee, which Jigsaw reverses into an armbar. Hallowicked gets the ropes to escape. They exchange chops mid-ring. Hallowicked boots Jigsaw and pitches him to the floor. Jigsaw sweeps Hallowicked’s legs and comes back in with a double stomp to the back. He uses a few armdrag variations to send Hallowicked to the floor. Jigsaw hops over the ring post and huracanrana’s Hallowicked on the floor. In the ring, Hallowicked blocks a springboard maneuver with a yakuza kick. Jigsaw recovers and looks for a tornado DDT. Hallowicked tries for a super snapmare instead. Jigsaw turns it into a headscissors, but Hallowicked turns it into a Magistral cradle to win the first fall at 6:41. Hallowicked kicks Jigsaw in the back of the head to start the second fall. He rakes his face across the top rope. Jigsaw escapes an abdominal stretch. Hallowicked takes him down with a step-up Frankensteiner for two. Hallowicked hits Go 2 Sleepy Hollow. Hallowicked goes for another Magistral cradle, but Jigsaw counters with one of his own to win the second fall at 9:16. Jigsaws superkicks Hallowicked to the floor to block a yakuza kick to start the third fall. Jigsaw follows with a Fozberry Flop. Hallowicked and Jigsaw trade blows mid-ring. Jigsaw blocks a yakuza kick with a Torture Rack Bomb for two. Hallowicked drops Jigsaw with a Back Pack Stunner for two. Jigsaw grabs the ropes to break Hallowicked’s grapevine submission. Hallowicked gets his knees up to block the Leap of Faith. Hallowicked hits a moonsault double stomp that looks absolutely killer for a two count. They fight for control on the top rope. Jigsaw double stomps Hallowicked in a tree of woe position for two. Jigsaw enzuigiri’s Hallowicked on the top rope and successfully hits the Leap of Faith. He follows with a top rope legdrop for two. Jigsaw blocks a step-up Frankenstiener. Hallowicked tries again and hits a reverse step-up Frankensteiner for two. Jigsaw delivers the Jig N’ Tonic for the pin at 15:28. Well that was just as crazy and fun as their match from last month. Hallowicked’s moonsault double stomp was literally jaw dropping. Were he to win, that should have been the finish. Luckily for Jigsaw, he proved that his victory was no fluke. It’s no surprise that these two work so well together. ***1/2

Earlier today, Eddie Kingston and Sabian were sitting in the balcony while the ring area was being set up. Kingston says a lot of people have been doubting them as a team with all the Tag World talk going around. Sabian says they don’t lose in the arena and that he will be happy to take out his frustrations on Cheech and Cloudy tonight. They both dedicate their match to Eddie Guerrero, who they considered a hero.

Eddie Kingston {BO} & Sabian {BO} vs. Cheech & Cloudy

Sabian and Cloudy trade wristlocks. Sabian gets in a pair of armdrags and a dropkick to send Cloudy out. Cheech asks for a test of strength. Sabian rolls Cheech up out of a wheelbarrow for two. He huracanrana’s Cheech to the floor and follows with a tope con hilo. He brings Cheech back in for two. Kingston tags in. He and Sabian pal around for a bit. Cheech makes an invisible line which Kingston mocks. Cheech’s chops do nothing. He pokes Kingston in the eyes instead of letting Kingston chop him. Kingston accidentally chops Sabian, which Cheech insists counts as a tag. Sabian comes in and gets jumped by Cheech. Cheech boots Kingston on the apron and puts Sabian in a sleeper. Cheech whips Sabian to the ropes. Kingston blind tags in and chops Cheech. Kingston drops Cheech stomach first onto Sabian’s knees. Sabian suplexes Cheech and hits a slingshot senton for two. Cheech catches Sabian in a Gory Stretch on the mat. Cloudy stomps on Sabian, jumping into a forearm strike on Kingston. Cheech and Cloudy cut the ring in half, keeping Kingston at bay while wearing Sabian down. They raise Kingston’s Ire by hitting the Holla At Your Boy double elbow that he and Black Jack Marciano used to use. Sabian lands a double stomp on Cheech to open up the opportunity to tag in Kingston. He backdrops both of them after some back elbows. He chops Cheech silly in the corner. Kingston yakuza kicks Cheech and Sabian dropkicks him. Kingston gets two with a uranage suplex. Cloudy lands a tilt-a-whirl DDT for two. Sabian delivers an enzuigiri. He German suplexes Cloudy and Cheech breaks the pin. Sabian gets thrown to the middle rope and eats Partly Cloudy with a Chance of Cheech. Kingston breaks the pin. Cheech springboards into a headlock. Kingston breaks with a Saito suplex. He blocks Cloudy’s tilt-a-whirl DDT with a shotgun lariat. Sabian double stomps Cloudy off of Kingston’s shoulders into a Dominator for the pin at 18:20. Surprisingly good match. You probably would not expect any real chemistry, but these two teams’ styles meshed surprisingly well together. Cool looking finish too. ***

Mike Quackenbush also was in the balcony before the show. He reminds Claudio that he defeated him in the Best of the Best tournament this past April. He also mentions that he beat Claudio the first time CHIKARA ran The Arena back in August. He says tonight is different given the stipulation. Quack says Claudio is doomed to repeat the past even if everyone says Claudio has a bright future. Quack says if Claudio wants to know his future, all he has to do is read Quack’s palm. Clever!

Loser is Boxed Out of the 2006 Tag World Grand Prix
Mike Quackenbush vs. Claudio Castagnoli {KOW}

The winner of this match gets to enter the 2006 Tag World Grand Prix with a partner of their choosing. The loser is boxed out of the tournament altogether. Claudio nails some European uppercuts right away. Quack blocks Swiss Death with an armdrag. Claudio puts his hand out to shake hands, then kicks Quack’s leg. Quack comes off the second rope with a monkey flip. Claudio cartwheels through. Quack flips him into a tree of woe position. He hits a delayed dropkick as Claudio hangs upside down. Claudio hits another uppercut. Quack hops onto Claudio’s shoulders and rolls him into a headscissors. Quack monkey flips Claudio to the floor and follows with a cartwheel into a huracanrana. In the ring, Claudio catches Quack with a bodyslam. He gets two with an elbow drop. Claudio puts on a Dragon sleeper. Claudio turns that into a reverse suplex for two. Claudio clotheslines him for two. They each look for a quick pin. Claudio blocks a palm strike with an uppercut, then suplexes Quack for two. Claudio suplexes him again for two. Claudio gutwrench suplexes him for two. Quack breaks a chinlock, so Claudio drops him with a side Swiss leg sweep. Claudio heads up top. Quack crotches him and hits a palm strike. He jumps up top and nails a super wheelbarrow armdrag. Quack hits the Kangaroo Blaster and slams Claudio off his shoulders. A senton and dragon kick get him a two count. Claudio flips Quack into the Match Killer for two. Claudio hits a top rope elbow drop for two. Quack reverses the Alpamare Water Slide into the Black Tornado Slam for two. Quack gets two with a top rope somersault senton bomb. Claudio hits the UBS Neckbreaker for two. Claudio ties Quack up in the ropes, stretching out his arms and hooking one of his legs. Quack escapes and comes off the top rope with a tornado DDT for two. Quack palm strikes Claudio, who fires back with an uppercut. They hit each other simultaneously with the palm strike and uppercut. Quack turns Swiss Death into a super huracanrana. Claudio follows through with an extra roll-up and pins Quack at 13:55. I loved that this played off the finish from their match in August. This was just as good as any of their other matches from this year, and they would only get better as time progressed. Claudio advances to Tag World Grand Prix while Quackenbush can not compete in it. ***1/4

Shane Storm says he was called a dreamer his whole life and that he would never be anything in wrestling. He tells of his journey to the Young Lions Cup, then mentions how he feels his mask means more than even that. He says Gran Akuma can bloody his nose and beat him down but there is no way he will let him take his mask tonight.

Lucha de Apuesta; Mask vs. Mask
Shane Storm vs. Gran Akuma {F}

Icarus is in Akuma’s corner while Mister ZERO is in Storm’s corner. Storm purposefully leaves his STOP sign in the back. The clever fans throw Caution Tape streamers for him.

An aggressive lock-up leads to a forearm exchange. Storm knocks him down with a right hand. Akuma bails to the ropes to prevent taking another. Storm takes Akuma down with a couple armdrags and a quesadora. He gets one with a slingshot senton. Storm sends Akuma to the apron. Akuma catches him with a chest kick and chokes Storm on the middle rope. He superkicks the back of Storm’s head. Akuma snapmares him into a low superkick. Akuma grabs Storm’s nose that he injured at the Cibernetico. Akuma drops him with a DDT. Two stomps and a senton get him a two count. Akuma kicks Storm a few times, including once in the side of the head. Akuma kicks Storm in the head while trapping him in the ropes. Akuma grazes Storm with a coast-to-coast dropkick. He kicks Storm’s back to turn him into a half crab. Storm gets the bottom rope to break. Akuma twists his nose once again in the corner, ripping the eye socket on his mask in the process. Storm DDT’s Akuma off the middle rope. Akuma counters a backdrop with a crucifix bomb for two. S Akuma lays in kicks to Storm’s side. Storm blocks a kick and turns it into the Air Raid Crash for two. Storm sends Akuma out with a spin kick. Storm follows with a tope suicida. Storm blocks an Air Raid Crash on the floor. Storm however whips him into the guardrail. Storm rips the top part of Akuma’s mask before throwing him back in the ring. Storm nails the Jackhammer for two. Storm rips at Akuma’s mask as he sits on the top rope. Akuma kicks Storm in the jaw. Storm blocks a tornado DDT by placing Akuma on the apron. Akuma however hits a springboard tornado DDT anyways for two. They go back to trading forearms. Storm suplexes Akuma for two. Akuma sweeps Storm’s legs, causing him to fall on his head and shoulder. Akuma insults Storm by hitting That Japanese Move, but only gets a two count. Storm gets two with a Falcon Arrow. Storm sets up for a super Air Raid Crash. He hits it and gets a three count, but Akuma’s hand grabbed the bottom rope. While referee Bryce Remsburg is taking to the announcer, Icarus gives Storm a low blow. Icarus then gives Mister ZERO a Shiranui on the floor. Akuma hits three frogsplashes in a row and still only manages a two. Storm drops Akuma on his head with a capture suplex. They exchange forearms while on their knees. Storm suplexes him again. Akuma fires up. He drops Storm knee first on the mat. Storm still manages to hit That Japanese Move. He hits it a second time for the pin at 18:31. As huge a feel as this match had, the quiet crowd and occasional clumsy work took away from that atmosphere at times. The false finish and Icarus’ interference brought the crowd back, but after Storm kicking out of the three frogsplashes, they sat on their hands again. Still, this is a huge match in CHIKARA’s lore and is still talked about to this day. ***1/4

Akuma is frustrated at his loss. He removes his mask, throws it at Storm and Icarus covers his head immediately with a towel. F.I.S.T. storm to the back embarrassed while Storm celebrates with Akuma’s mask and Young Lions Cup in hand.