Easton, PA – 9.6.2008
Commentary is provided by UltraMantis Black, Louden Noxious, Chuck Taylor, and Leonard F. Chikarason.
Tonight’s theme is a Lethal Lottery tournament, in which a pool of 18 CHIKARA wrestlers will be randomly drafted into 8 teams of 2. The remaining 2 undrafted wrestlers will compete in singles competition. The 8 teams will compete in the quarter and semi-final round matches tonight, with the finals taking place next month when CHIKARA returns to Easton for “The Global Gauntlet, Night I.”
Louden Noxious kicks off the show with a song called “CHIKARA es Necesito.”
Icarus and Ultimo Breakfast are backstage. Icarus says he’s one-third of F.I.S.T while Breakfast is one of three most important meals of the day. He plans on taking the team all the way to the top, unless, of course, Breakfast screws up. Breakfast is of course offended.
La Lotería Letal Quarter-Final Round
Tim Donst {SD} & Helios vs. Ultimo Breakfast & Icarus {F}
Donst amateur trips Icarus down into a side headlock. He stretches out Icarus’ legs in a cradle before getting two with a crucifix pin. Donst puts on the Cycling Yahoo. He then falls back while Icarus’ legs are locked to add pressure. They trade overhand chops. Donst snaps Icarus’ head across the top rope. Helios flies in with a springboard crossbody. Breakfast gets arm whipped across the ring. They have a Lucha exchange, ending with Helios hitting a tiger feint kick to the back. He neck-tie headscissors Breakfast to the floor. He takes down Icarus with a pair of armdrags and a dropkick. Breakfast catches Helios with an airplane spin into a flapjack for two. Icarus keeps Helios grounded. He slaps Breakfast in the face to tag him in. Breakfast hits a clothesline for two. Breakfast slaps Icarus in the face and slingshots him in, causing Icarus to land a senton on Helios. Helios spin-out slams Icarus out of a Cobra Clutch. He drops Icarus with a Busaiku knee and tags in Donst. He takes down Breakfast and Icarus with fireman’s carry’s. He belly-to-belly suplexes Breakfast and drops Icarus with an STO. He German suplexes Icarus. Breakfast breaks the pin. Donst goes for the Donstitution. Breakfast escapes and hits He’s Toast. Helios makes the save and tosses Breakfast to the floor. Icarus shoves Helios out. He drops Donst with the Wings of Icarus. Helios comes in with the Sky is Falling. Breakfast catches Helios with a back senton. He’s Toast puts down Helios for the pin at 9:24. Both teams worked together very well. Helios’ high flying was a nice contrast to the mat wrestling utilized by Donst and Icarus, as well as Breakfast’s high impact offense. **½
Lince Dorado is not pleased to be teaming with Jimmy Olsen, as Olsen unmasked him a few months back. Olsen says a lot has changed for him lately. Dorado tells Olsen to save his apologies as he’s all about getting three points and nothing else.
La Lotería Letal Quarter-Final Round
Lince Dorado & Jimmy Olsen vs. Eddie Kingston & Shane Storm
In a special update a few weeks back, Shane Storm was convinced by Vin Gerard to show his true colors. Storm now wears some new, ripped up gear and a silver mask with a mohawk and demented looking smile. Kingston and Dorado start by brawling on the floor. Kingston slams Dorado on the floor. Storm lights up Olsen with forearms inside the ring. He misses a running knee strike. Olsen armdrags him into an armbar. Kingston suplexes Dorado on the floor. Storm knees Olsen in the stomach and tags in Kingston. Olsen catches him with an armdrag into an armbar. He chops up Kingston in the corner and takes him over with a Frankensteiner. Dorado comes in with a double stomp. Kingston then drops him with an STO. He holds onto Dorado’s leg so Storm can take over with forearms and chops. He and Kingston wear down Dorado’s back. Storm misses a Swanton, allowing Dorado to tag in Olsen. He dropkicks Kingston to the apron and crossbody’s Storm in the corner. He comes off the top with a missile dropkick. Kingston elbows Olsen in the neck to stop the count. He misses the Backfist to the Future and eats an enzuigiri. Dorado suicide dives onto both Kingston and Storm. Olsen moonsaults after them. In the ring, Kingston peppers Dorado with slaps to the face. Dorado rolls him into the CHIKARA Special. Kingston taps out at 7:05. For a relatively short time they packed in a lot of action. Storm is a lot more intense in this persona and Olsen matched him in that department. Dorado and Kingston also did a magnificent job keeping their feud going and bringing the goods in right. This was really fun. ***
Mitch Ryder isn’t thrilled about teaming with a hoochador, Halcon Guerrero. Ryder tells Guerrero that he’s here to win and hopes that he can set his sights on that goal as well. He hopes he won’t catch Guerrero trying to steal his wallet. Guerrero calls Ryder stupid and says of course he wants to win. Ryder says that he better bring the goods.
La Lotería Letal Quarter-Final Round
Vin Gerard & Colin Delaney vs. Mitch Ryder & Halcon Guerrero
Delaney gets a huge positive reaction from the crowd, as this is his return bout in CHIKARA. Gerard attacks Guerrero at the start. He keeps at him with chops. Guerrero grabs his hand and runs the ropes into a Frankensteiner. Guerrero rolls to the floor to avoid some stops from Gerard. Guerrero trips him to the floor and grazes Gerard with a tope con hilo. Ryder and Delaney exchange wristlocks. Delaney knocks Ryder down with a shoulder block. Ryder claims hair pulling. Delaney snaps off a pair of armdrags. Ryder trips his way out of an armbar and drops an elbow. Delaney armdrags him back into the armbar. Guerrero tags in and trades pin attempts with Delaney. Gerard refuses to lock up with Ryder, leaving Delaney by his lonesome to eat a short-arm clothesline. Ryder and Guerrero keep on top of Delaney until he sends Ryder to the floor and leg lariats Guerrero. After a slam he tags in Gerard. He leg trips Guerrero into the STF. Guerrero taps out in quick fashion, giving Gerard and Delaney the win at 10:05. Aside from Delaney’s grand return there was nothing to this. Guerrero and Ryder were a styles clash and not all that interesting on offense. *
Larry Sweeney is excited to be teaming with Claudio Castagnoli. He knows Claudio turned down his suggestion to team before, and he understands why, but Sweeney thinks it’s going to work out. Claudio is not excited about this team at all. He pretends like his phone is ringing so he can leave. Sweeney is all smiles.
La Lotería Letal Quarter-Final Round
Mike Quackenbush & Pinkie Sanchez vs. Claudio Castagnoli & Larry Sweeney
Sweeney cleanly breaks a lock up with Sanchez in the corner and dances away. Sanchez does the same. Sanchez fails to get Sweeney down with a shoulder tackle and ends up knocked down himself. Sanchez tries a sunset flip. Sweeney tries sitting down on him, but Sanchez moves. He rams his rumpus into Sweeney’s face. Quackenbush and Claudio tag in. Claudio takes him down in a wristlock. Sweeney chops Quackenbush. The interference throws Quackenbush off. He takes down Sweeney with an armdrag and headscissors Claudio into him. He then Lucha pops Claudio into Sweeney and comes of the second rope with a London Bridge to both men. He armdrags Claudio to the floor and moonsaults after him. As Sweeney checks on Claudio, Sanchez schoolboys him for two. He also gets two with a running crossbody. Sweeney clotheslines him and takes him over with a suplex. Sweeney and Claudio, though not necessarily on the same page, get their act together enough to isolate Sanchez. Claudio even mocks Sanchez by putting on his light up glasses and headband. Despite being dizzy from a Giant Swing, Sanchez avoids a palm strike from Sweeney and tags in Quackenbush. He comes off of Claudio’s shoulders with a flying mare. Claudio ducks a palm strike but gets tripped out to the floor. Sweeney schoolboys Quackenbush for two. Quackenbush gives him a pump-handle slam. Sweeney kicks him into a spinebuster. Sanchez breaks the cover. Claudio tosses Sanchez to the corner. Sanchez avoids a running uppercut and comes in with a springboard huracanrana for two. Claudio nails an uppercut as Sanchez comes off the ropes. Quackenbush ducks Swiss Chin Music. He cascades up Claudio and monkey flips him to the floor. Claudio catches Sanchez’s suicide dive. However, with Claudio tied up, Quackenbush is able get Sweeney in a Magistral cradle for the pin at 12:39. Despite losing, Claudio and Sweeney made for a really fun odd couple tandem. Of course Quackenbush and Claudio always work well together, but Sweeney and Sanchez’s dynamic was a joy to watch too. ***
Claudio is displeased with Sweeney. Sweeney says “my bad” and suggest they go tanning. Claudio is not down with this plan.
Hydra {SD} vs. Brodie Lee
As the two undrafted men, they will face each other in singles action. Hydra is a bit confused as he comes out in some trucker garb (see short jean shorts and a tank top) to Diesel’s theme song. Taking a page out of Lee’s playbook, he big boots Lee before the bed. Lee pummels him to the corner. Hydra responds with forearms. He avoids a splash and goes for a roll-up. He avoids Lee’s punch and small packages him. Lee splashes him against the ropes and nails a rolling clothesline. Outside the ring he delivers a chop. He suplexes Hydra back in the ring and chokes him on the middle rope. From the mat, Hydra rolls him up. Lee kicks out and big boots Hydra in the corner. A torture rack neckbreaker and another boot gets Lee the win at 3:41. Hydra’s entrance was hilarious. So was him getting murdered. This was a barrel of fun. *½
La Lotería Letal Semi-Final Round
Lince Dorado & Jimmy Olsen vs. Ultimo Breakfast & Icarus {F}
Dorado arm whips Icarus into an armdrag. Icarus forearms him in the back. Dorado armdrags him to the floor after a headscissors. Breakfast and Olsen tag in. Breakfast taps his mask to his head since Olsen unmasked him back in July. He refuses to shake Olsen’s hand, so Olsen throws some forearms his way.Breakfast headbutts him in the stomach and snapmares him into a knee to the gut. He headbutts Olsen in the stomach and armdrags him into an armbar. Icarus knees Olsen as Breakfast whips him to the ropes. Breakfast and Icarus keep control of Olsen, working on his legs and back. Olsen is able to sneak in a neckbreaker on Icarus and tag in Dorado. Icarus sends Dorado into Olsen. They get in a shoving match, allowing Breakfast to clothesline them both. Breakfast gives Dorado a fallaway slam. Olsen attacks Breakfast from behind. After a chop he misses a corner attack. Breakfast drops him with the Cereal Killer (a reverse tornado DDT). Dorado breaks up the pin. Icarus gives Dorado the Shiranui. Breakfast comes off the top with a diving headbutt for two. He also gets two with a Death Valley Driver. Icarus crotches Dorado on the top rope. Breakfast goes for He’s Toast. Dorado turns it into a Frankensteiner. Olsen superkicks Breakfast for the pin at 8:35. Both of these teams continued to look proficient, and I think Icarus and Breakfast kicked things up a notch from the initial round. The right team won, but in an alternate universe, Icarus and Breakfast would have been interesting in other tag competition. ***
La Lotería Letal Semi-Final Round
Mike Quackenbush & Pinkie Sanchez vs. Vin Gerard & Colin Delaney
Quackenbush wants to fight Gerard, but Gerard refuses This allows Delaney to sneak in and give Quackenbush some armdrags. Quackenbush shoves him to the ropes but gets sent to the apron. He comes in with a slingshot armdrag. He courting holds Delaney into a crucifix pin for two. Sanchez tags in, so Gerard decides to come in as well. Sanchez misses a seated hip attack, but gets it on the second try. He uses a headscissors and dropkick to send Gerard to the floor and follows with a suicide dive. Quackenbush rolls Delaney into a double leg stretch. Delaney chops his way free. He tosses Quackenbush’s leg to Gerard who gives him a dragonscrew leg whip. Gerard works over Quackenbush’s left leg since he has an injured MCL. Delaney joins in on the attack. Quackenbush is able to roll through Gerard driving his knee into the mat and give him a palm strike. He elbows Gerard to avoid a running knee strike and palm strikes him again. He rolls out to the floor to bring in Sanchez. He chops up Gerard. He dropkicks his knee out and hits the Shiney Hiney for two. Sanchez nails a superkick. He drops Gerard into a seated splash. Delaney makes the save. Quackenbush and Sanchez hit a modified Total Elimination on Gerard but again Delaney is able to break the count. Gerard hip attacks Sanchez after sending Quackenbush to the floor. Delaney spikes Sanchez with a leg capture DDT. Gerard locks Quackenbush in the STF on the floor. Sanchez goes for a stunner on Delaney. Delaney escapes. He hits the Attitude Adjustment on Sanchez for the pin at 8:52. Gerard and Delaney recovered nicely from their first round debacle, getting the chance to tell a story and make the most of the match. It also set up Gerard and Quackenbush for their tag match tomorrow, and Sanchez got a chance to shine as well. ***
The finals are set: Lince Dorado & Jimmy Olsen will meet Vin Gerard & Colin Delaney in the tournament finals on October 18th back in Easton, PA.
Hallowicked {I}, Fire Ant {C}, Soldier Ant {C} & Worker Ant {C} vs. Gran Akuma {F}, Chuck Taylor {F}, Amasis {OP} & Ophidian {OP}
Hallowicked outmaneuvers Taylor in the opening exchange, sending him to the floor with a step-up Frankensteiner. Akuma sends Hallowicked out, only to be taken down with various offense from Soldier Ant. Ophidian pitches a saluting Soldier Ant to the floor. Fire Ant misses a crossbody. He does however pull off the Stop, Drop, and Roll. Worker Ant and Amasis trade armdrags. Amasis gets two with a springboard crossbody. Worker Ant comes back with a single leg dropkick and bodyslam. Fire Ant’s offense angers Akuma. Akuma is armdragged to the floor, allowing Ophidian to clothesline Fire Ant out as well. He ties up Soldier Ant in a legged full nelson. He forces Ophidian into a saluting position, leading to an armdrag. He gets two with a crucifix pin. Amsis comes off the second rope with a shoulder tackle to Hallowicked. Hallowicked avoids a Frankensteiner and a courting hold armdrag. He then mocks Amasis with some breakdancing! Hallowicked gives him a step-up enzuigiri and super snapmare. He baseball slides him outside the ring. Taylor catches Worker Ant with a slam. He pulls out a grenade! He tosses it up in the air! It eventually lands down the back of Worker Ant’s pants. Taylor gives him an atomic drop causing the grenade to explode. This strange occurrence actually gives the Rudos squadron a chance to isolate Worker Ant from the rest of his team. After taking a suplex from Amasis, Worker Ant crawls his way to the floor. Soldier Ant knocks down the Portal with saluting elbows. Ophidian knee strikes him in the face for two. Soldier Ant now becomes victimized by the Rudos, specifically getting his right knee targeted. While the Rudos argue with Bryce Remsburg about having too many men in the ring, Soldier Ant slips out. Fire Ant gets in a few shots on his opponents before eating a fallaway kick from Akuma. Fire Ant eats a quadruple dropkick, not seen since original Kings of Wrestling days. The Portal and F.I.S.T. bonk heads as they bend down to pick up Fire Ant. As they argue, Fire Ant rolls out.
Hallowicked clears the ring, leading to him and the Colony hitting quadruple pescado’s. Akum sends Fire Ant shoulder first into the ring post. In the ring Taylor stomps on Worker Ant. He and Akuma clothesline Worker and Soldier Ant in opposite corners. The Colony dispose of the Portal when they try to attack and take down Akuma and Taylor in opposite corners. Akuma takes the Ants Marching dropkick. Soldier Ant headbutts Taylor while Fire and Worker Ant hit stereo dropkicks on him from the floor. Amasis avoids a TKO and hits a spin-out facebuster. Hallowicked chokeslams Amasis. Ophidian nails the Duat Driver. Worker Ant Baba Chops Ophidian and lands an antzuigiri. Taylor overhead suplexes Worker Ant. Fire Ant Burns Down the House on Taylor. Akuma misses a fallaway kick. Fire Ant goes for the Beach Break but the Portal hypnotize him. F.I.S.T. give him Dinner N’ Drinks. All of Fire Ant’s partners break the pin. The Colony are disposed of leaving Hallowicked alone. He takes an awesome Slave Initiation/F.I.S.T. kicks combo. Worker and Soldier Ant come back in. They give Amasis the Ants Marching neckbreaker for two. Fire Ant joins his partners. Ophidian tries a crossbody but gets caught. He’s tossed into Hallowicked’s Go 2 Sleepy Hollow. Fire Ant gets Antapulted onto the Portal. Taylor and Akuma German suplex Soldier Ant and Worker Ant. They get double two counts with a Falcon Arrow and jackknife pin. Akuma tosses Hallowicked into an Ace Crusher from Taylor. The Portal hit the Osirian Sacrament. The Colony make the save. The Rudos try quadruple top rope dives. They all miss. The Portal try stopping the Ant Hill but get backdropped. Hallowicked gives Taylor the Rydeen Bomb. Akuma is put down with the Ant Hill at 23:32. Perhaps this was a little long, but the action was consistent and really fun. All these eight guys work tremendously well together, threw in a little humor to break the monotony, and were crisp throughout the entire bout. It was a nice way to send the fans home happy and keep the tag team theme of the night going. ***½
The CHIKARA Special 