Smack in the Middle

Syracuse, NY – 6.24.2012

Commentary is provided by Bryce Remsburg, Gavin Loudspeaker, Mike Quackenbush, Leonard F. Chikarason, and Sugar Dunkerton.

Green Ant reminds us that deviANT ripped of his mask in Canada a few months ago. That’s his identity. Tonight, Green Ant says he will take deviANT’s pride.

Green Ant {C} vs. deviANT {G}

deviANT carries the mask he stole from Green Ant with him. He stomps on it, causing Green Ant to charge at him. deviANT switches things and throws some headbutts. Green Ant does not feel the effects. He delivers a dropkick from the second rope. deviANT sends Green Ant to the floor. Green Ant punches deviANT as he comes out with a pescado. Green Ant suicide dives onto him. He chops deviANT in the corner. deviANT knees Green Ant from the apron. He slingshots in, stomping Green Ant’s face into the mat. deviANT chokes him on the ropes and the mat with his knee. Green Ant ducks a kick and rolls deviANT into the STF. deviANT grabs the ropes to break it. deviANT hits a springboard gamengiri. Green Ant kicks deviANT out of the corner. deviANT blocks Green Ant’s headbutt. He sole butts Green Ant on the apron and slingshots him back in. Green Ant rolls through and nails a couple of clotheslines. He drops deviANT with a Michinoku Driver for two. He also gives him a sit-out gordbuster for two. deviANT kicks Green Ant to stop the CHIKARA Special: Green from being applied. Green Ant gets it on after blocking deviANT’s Alabama Slam. deviANT taps out at 6:55. Both guys looked very good for the time they were given. Now that Green Ant’s got his revenge on the guy who stole his mask, this feud can hopefully continue on in a more interesting manner. **1/2

Sugar Dunkerton vs. Jakob Hammermeier

Dunkerton puts on a headlock. He twists up one of Hammermeier’s ponytails. He drops a couple knees on it as well. Hammermeier gets on his own headlock, in which Dunkerton sneakily replaces his own head with a basketball. Hammermeier shoulder tackles Dunkerton while holding the basketball which the referee calls him on for traveling. The penalty allows Dunkerton to take a shot into Hammermeier’s arms shaped like a hoop. Dunkerton throws the ball at his face instead. Hammermeier trips Dunkerton onto the ropes and forearms him in the back of the head. Dunkerton throws some punches but gets thrown to the mat by his hair. Hammermeier misses a second rope splash. Dunkerton elbows him in the face. He hits the Kiss My Converse dropkick. Hammermeier grabs the ropes to break the pin. Hammermeier gives him a jaw breaker. Dunkerton escapes the Gute Nacht and hits Bow Chicka Wow Wow. Hammermeier rolls to the floor to prevent from being pinned. Dunkerton brings him back in and sets up for the move again. Hammermeier pulls referee Dave Dawson into the way. Hammermeier pokes Dunkerton in the eyes and gives him Gute Nacht for the pin at 7:36. That was going along fine until the finish. A weird comeback weekend for Dunkerton; he split his two matches and really did not have the strongest opponents ever. I would have put these two in separate matches and had them both win, since Hammermeier is on the trail to the Young Lions Cup and Dunkerton needed wins in his return weekend. **1/4

Jigsaw vs. The Shard {G}

A slugfest breaks out at the bell. Shard turns Jigsaw inside out with a clothesline. Shard drops Jigsaw chest first on the guardrail. He chokes Jigsaw on the bottom rope. Jigsaw sunset flips in from the apron for a two count. Jigsaw armdrags The Shard into a low dropkick for two. Shard drops Jigsaw chest first and clotheslines him in the back of the head. A running boot to the face gets a two count. He goes after Jigsaw’s mask. Jigsaw rolls to the floor to try and tie it back up. Shard comes after him and gets forearmed in the back. In the ring Jigsaw gets two with an O’Conner Roll. He misses a crossbody. The Shard goes for the Gory Special. Jigsaw reverses with a backslide. He drops The Shard on his chest and dropkicks him to the floor. Jigsaw suicide dives him into the guardrail. Jigsaw nails a missile dropkick back in the ring. Shard kicks out. Shard nails an enzuigiri and the torture rack bomb for two. Jigsaw blocks a superkick. He rolls Shard into a double stomp. A superkick gets him two. He goes for the Jig N’ Tonic. The Shard counters into the Gory Special. Jigsaw kicks out. Jigsaw throws more punches while The Shard is on the mat. A swift kick to the back of the head and a German suplex get Jigsaw a two count. Shard blocks a brainbuster. He hits a superkick and waterwheel slams Jigsaw into the corner. Jigsaw grabs the bottom rope to break Shard’s cover. Shard catches Jigsaw on the top rope. Jigsaw headbutts him down and lands a crossbody. That gets him the pin at 13:22. I really liked the dynamic between these two. The Shard has been studying Jigsaw’s arsenal and copying his moves, so both guys knew what each other was going to bring to the table. Jigsaw had to use something different from his usual finishers to score the victory. I am more perplexed that Jigsaw won, as that leads to me to believe this GEKIDO feud is coming to a close sooner rather than later. That is, of course, unless something dramatic is coming to shake up the dynamic. ***

Jigsaw is shown backstage right after his match. He says The Shard couldn’t get the job done because no one in the world is quite like him. Maybe next time The Shard will get him, he says before walking away.

Sara Del Rey vs. Tim Donst

Sara teases Donst by throwing up the ol’ BDK symbol (they were partners in that faction!) Donst rolls to the floor when Sara gets early control. Sara controls Donst again when he re-enters. Donst grabs her hair which Sara claims is from Donst being jealous. Donst twists up her arm in the ropes. Sara kicks him in the side of the head and boots him down. Sara kicks him in the chest multiple times. He snaps her throat across the top rope. Donst rams her head into the canvas repeatedly. Sara throws Donst across the ring by his ears. Donst bites her foot to block more kicks. He rakes his forearm across her face. Donst pulls on her hair again. Donst drops her with the STO. He gives Sara a backbreaker from the ring apron to the floor. He shoves Sara shoulder first into the ring post. Donst pulls up the ring mats. Sara backdrops Donst onto the exposed floor. Sara comes off the ring apron with a somersault senton. Donst tries to tackle Sara on the ring apron. She avoids that and axe kicks Donst. In the ring she hits a Koppu Kick for two. She puts on a Fujiwara armbar. Donst gets the ropes. He picks up Sara. Sara slips off and sunset flips Donst for the pin at 11:01. It took me a couple of matches, but now I understand and enjoy Donst’s character. His arrogance is totally gone. He’s resorting to more cheap tactics due to desperation and self-inflicts pain (multiple times he punches himself in the forehead) when he makes mistakes. It’s a very interesting direction for him and I am curious to see what’s in store for him for the rest of 2012 and beyond. Sara was her usual great self. ***

Harlem Bravado applauds Hallowicked and UltraMantis Black for their big victories at “Chikarasaurus Rex.” He notices that they did not go to Canada because they needed to rest up for their match tonight. However, The Bravados went through a war, and they’re still standing. Lancelot says Mantis calls himself devious. Their grandmother thinks deviousness is a bad trait that many in society have, so they will put down him and Hallowicked tonight.

UltraMantis Black {SE} & Hallowicked {SE} vs. Harlem Bravado {ROH} & Lancelot Bravado {ROH}

Harlem shakes Mantis’ hand. Lancelot attacks him from behind and Harlem knocks Hallowicked off the apron. Hallowicked drops down the top rope to send Harlem out. Mantis and Hallowicked double hip toss Lancelot into a tandem elbow drop. They also deliver a sidewalk slam/legdrop combo. Hallowicked catches Harlem with the Go 2 Sleepy Hollow. Mantis lands a back senton. Lancelot drags Mantis to the floor. Hallowicked sends Lancelot into Harlem back in the ring. The Bravados want a game of chicken. They Envoy eventually clothesline the Bravados down. Harlem pulls Mantis off the ring apron. Lancelot pops Hallowicked up into Harlem’s Ace Crusher. Hallowicked gets beaten down in the Bravados corner until he backdrops Harlem to the floor. Mantis somersault sentons off the apron onto him! Hallowicked step-up enzuigiri’s Lancelot in the corner and tags in Mantis. Mantis takes out both Bravado’s. He gives Harlem a full nelson slam for two. Mantis ties him up in the Safari Stretch. Hallowicked double stomps onto Harlem while he is tied up! Lancelot breaks the pin. The Bravados give Mantis the Gentlemen’s Agreement. Hallowicked breaks the cover. Hallowicked Rydeen Bombs Lancelot. Mantis suplexes him for two. Harlem bicycle kicks Mantis to the floor. Hallowicked goes for a boot. Harlem rolls him up for two. Lancelot powerbombs him into the corner. Harlem’s tornado DDT pin is broken up by Mantis. Harlem ducks a clotheslines and O’Conner rolls Mantis whilst holding his tights. Mantis reverses the Roll and grabs the bottom ropes for the pin at 11:27. Got to love it when somebody tries try to be more devious than Mantis and it backfires. I’ve been singing the Bravados praises ever since they came back from Japan and they killed it once again in this match. These two teams did a remarkable job together and I would not mind another encounter. ***1/4

Young Lions Cup X Quarter-Final Elimination Match
Mark Angelosetti {T} vs. Tripp Cassidy {SOR} vs. Ryan Rush vs. Jason Axe

Veronica Ticklefeather is in Angelosetti’s corner. Axe wants a hand shake. Angelosetti instead rips a fart and tags in Cassidy. No, seriously. It is so potent that Cassidy and Bryce Remsburg are visibly disturbed by it. Cassidy toreadors Axe to the ropes. Cassidy catapults Axe into another armdrag. Axe blocks an armdrag but eats a chinbreaker and a face kick. Axe boots him in the face. He hits a jump-up enzuigiri to send Cassidy out. He sends Rush out too. Rush however uses the ropes to dropkick Axe on the floor. Rush sunset bombs Angelosetti off the apron and onto Rush and Cassidy. Cassidy comes back in to knee Rush in the stomach. Cassidy hits a running knee strike. Axe gives Cassidy a gut buster for the pin at 3:24. Angelosetti pops Axe up and drops him on his stomach. Rush swiftly kicks Axe in the back of the pin to pin and eliminate him at 3:46. Angelosetti pummels Rush in the corner. He drops a knee across Rush’s face for two. He puts on a chinlock. When Rush breaks out of that, Angelosetti throws him to the mat by his hair. Rush knee strikes Angelosetti to stop his tackle. Rush kicks his way to the apron. He side steps Angelosetti’s attack and springboards out with a diving punch. Angelosetti blocks Rush’s top rope attack. Angelosetti misses the Doggy Pile (a top rope splash) and Rush rolls him up for two. Rush enzuigiri’s him for two. Angelosetti pops him up for a spinebuster and gets the pin and victory at 9:22. Like last night’s match, everybody here looked good. I actually would have liked to see Cassidy get more time because I think he had the chance to really stand out. Like Hammermeier, Angelosetti was also the foregone winner but the match was enjoyable anyways. **3/4

Soldier Ant {C} vs. assailANT {G}

Some hot back and forth ends with Soldier Ant dropkicking assailANT to the floor. Soldier Ant hip tosses him on the floor. He drops an elbow back in the ring. assailANT goes to Soldier Ant’s eyes. He delivers a back elbow. Soldier Ant hits a running headbutt to assailANT’s chest. Back to the floor they go, with Soldier Ant diving off the second rope with a headbutt. Soldier Ant pulls up the mats. It backfires as assailANT is the one who pulls off the suplex. Soldier Ant gets his comeuppance however, pulling off his own suplex on the exposed floor. He even gets in a second one just for funsies. He gets two with a top rope saluting headbutt. assailANT misses a corner back elbow. Soldier Ant headbutts him in the stomach and gets two with a Northern Lights suplex. assailANT gives him a jawbreaker and a scoop slam. He goes after Soldier Ant’s mask. assailANT gets in referee Jon Barber’s face for stopping him. Soldier Ant rolls him up for two. assailANT clotheslines him back down. Barber gets in assailANT’s face again when he goes after the mask in the corner. assailANT ducks the rolling forearm and gives Soldier Ant a uranage for two. Soldier Ant misses an elbow. He grabs the ropes when assailANT barrel rolls him. Soldier Ant army crawls the ropes but gets dropkicked to the floor anyways. assailANT comes off the apron with an elbow. Soldier Ant whips assailANT into the ring post. Soldier Ant gives assailANT a rolling forearm on the ring apron. He suplexes him back into the ring. Soldier Ant crossbody’s him from the second rope. A crossbody from the top doesn’t do him any more good. As Soldier Ant climbs the ropes, assailANT hits them so that Soldier Ant comes crashing down face first on the metal buckle. assailANT capitalizes and pins Soldier Ant at 11:28. A very interesting finish, not one you see often. The focus of GEKIDO/Swarm seems to be on 17/combatANT but now things seem to be shifting. assailANT got the pin on Soldier Ant both last night and tonight, so perhaps he will play a bigger role than originally expected. This was quite good, and while it didn’t bring up my interest in the overall feud, it did reiterate the importance of masks. ***1/4

Soldier Ant attacks assailANT after the match. He even suplexes him on the exposed floor.

El Generico and 3.0 are on the roof. Generico is amazed by the view. Shane Matthews is fired up about teaming with Gran Akuma. He apparently is not a fan of his because he thinks Akuma is a jerk. Generico doesn’t understand why, but Jagged reminds Generico that Akuma said some mean things about them a couple years back. Jagged doesn’t understand why Wink Vavasseur thinks he can just throw them onto their team, especially because it messes up the 3.Ole name. Matthews punches Generico in the stomach and walks away.

El Generico, Gran Akuma, Scott “Jagged” Parker {3.0} & Shane Matthews {3.0} vs. Icarus {F}, Chuck Taylor {F}, Johnny Gargano {F} & Ophidian

Matthews is making everybody laugh and they are having great trouble hiding it. Jagged chops Icarus while he has his jacket on. Icarus slips on a puddle of water that came out of his water bottle during his entrance. Akuma tags himself in to fight Taylor. Akuma uses armdrags to win their exchange. Generico and Gargano tag in. Generico nails a leg lariat. Matthews shoves Ophidian to the corner. He hits a dropkick and goes a Boston Crab. Taylor (now wearing an apron for some reason) breaks it. Taylor and Ophidian try a stacked up suplex and fail. Matthews ends up putting Ophidian and all of F.I.S.T. in a Boston Crab all at once with Generico gravving a Camel Clutch and Jagged posing on their backs. Akuma is not amused. Generico punches Ophidian in the corner. Matthews trips Ophidian into an elbow from Jagged. Gargano slingshot spears Jagged. Taylor misses his slingshot quebrada, but Ophidian does not. F.I.S.T. and Ophidian bully Jagged in their half of the ring. Jagged catches Ophidian with the Gory Special but Icarus knocks his partners off the apron. Akuma snaps Icarus’ throat on the top rope. Even though he’s hesitant, Jagged tags Akuma in. Akuma cleans house. He gives Icarus a face wash kick. Akuma blocks Icarus’ headscissors with the Tenchi Crash. Icarus kicks out. Ophidian shoves Akuma out. Generico gives him a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Taylor pulls Generico out. Matthews headscissors Taylor. Gargano superkicks him into Taylor’s neckbreaker. Jagged eats F.I.S.T Kicks. Generico breaks the cover. All the Rudos attack Generico in the corner. Icarus misses and gets attacked by the Tecnicos. Generico tope con hilo’s onto Gargano and Taylor. Matthews powerbombs Icarus. Akuma gives him a frog splash for two. Akuma heads up top. Jagged stops him and suggests doing the Four Post Massacre, as in the move from “Ready to Rumble.” Akuma does not want to play along. Everybody gets knocked down except Akuma. He gets rolled up by Icarus for two. Akuma gives him a rolling Death Valley Driver. Taylor superkicks him. Matthews goes for the Boston Grab but Gargano stops him. Generico yakuza kicks Gargano. Matthews puts him in the Boston Crab. Ophidian jumps on his back to apply the Death Grip. Akuma kicks Ophidian to break it. Matthews then puts Ophidian in the Boston Crab. Ophidian taps out at 16:12. This is one of those matches that is just an absolute joy to watch. The action never ceased, everybody was on point, and we learned that there may be something to this 3.0 and Akuma team. Definitely a show highlight. ***1/2

Eddie Kingston wasn’t worried when they announced Dasher Hatfield as you opponent. However, after seeing him pull out a win over El Generico last night, he’s a bit nervous. With that in mind, he is going to hurt Hatfield so he can ensure a victory.

Grand Championship
Eddie Kingston (Champion) vs. Dasher Hatfield {T}

Mark Angelosetti comes out with Dasher, but he leaves based on Dasher’s request. Kingston immediately goes for the Backfist and Hatfield is able to duck. Hatfield grabs the ropes when Kingston takes him to the mat. Hatfield rolls him up for one. He goes for Kingston’s arm. He cradles Kingston for another one count. Kingston snapmares him into a back kick. Hatfield smacks Kingston in the buttocks. Kingston is not feeling the fun and games right now. He smacks Hatfield in the face and unloads with chops. Hatfield kicks out Kingston’s notoriously bad leg. Hatfield throws a few dropkicks but Kingston won’t go down. Hatfield kicks out the leg again. He puts on an Indian Death Lock while twisting on Kingston’s knee. Kingston gets to the ropes. Hatfield baseball slides him into the guardrail. Hatfield grazes Kingston with a corner tope con hilo. Kingston boots Hatfield on the ring apron. Kingston follows with a suicide dive. He suplexes Hatfield onto the floor. They trade strikes back in the ring. Kingston slaps Hatfield to send him back to the mat. Kingston knees Hatfield as he comes off the ropes. Kingston slaps Hatfield a few times and forearms him to the corner. He gives him a yakuza kick for two. Kingston goes to the eyes when Hatfield throws punches at his stomach. Kingston gets two with a Northern Lights suplex. Kingston misses a yakuza kick. Hatfield slingshots him off the top rope for a suplex. Hatfield gets in a few clotheslines. A wind-up chop leads to a Jackhammer. Kingston kicks out. Kingston sends Hatfield to the apron. Hatfield sends him face first to the corner and slingshots in with an Oklahoma Roll for two. Kingston suplexes Hatfield onto his head. He throws some insults before hitting a shotgun lariat. Another lariat only gets a two count. Hatfield blocks the Backfist. He dragon suplexes Kingston. Kingston gets right up, so Hatfield does it a second time for a two count. Hatfield tries for the Suicide Squeeze. Kingston back chops him to block it. A turnbuckle powerbomb and Saito suplex are only good for a two count. Kingston hits the Backfist to the Future. Hatfield kicks out! Hatfield ducks a second Backfist. He drops Kingston with the Suicide Squeeze. Kingston kicks out of it. Kingston gives him three consecutive belly-to-back suplexes for the pin at 16:44. I’ll admit it, I raised an eyebrow when Dasher was announced as Kingston’s next challenger. Just like in his Young Lions Cup match with Donst two and a half year ago, Hatfield stepped up big time in a title match. He and Kingston told a good story around Hatfield being the underdog, but with him being able to neutralize the Backfist. This has to be Hatfield’s best weekend in his CHIKARA career. ***1/2