Chikara "Under The Hood" iPPV Preview!

Chikara has it’s third iPPV this weekend, with their Season 11 Finale, “Under the Hood” taking place in Philadelphia, PA.  The show will certainly see the culmination of several feuds, while also perhaps setting the tone for what is to come in Season 12 as well.  Here’s a look at each of the matches scheduled for this Sunday’s show!  

Dasher Hatfield vs. Icarus

This is a rematch from Cibernetico, as they’ve built a little feud here.  Icarus really doesn’t do much for me in the ring, but I love Dasher Hatfield, such a fun character, and a really nice guy to boot.  I think this is the opener, and Hatfield gets the win here to start of the show on a fun note.

Mike Quackenbush, Fire Ant, Green Ant & assailANT vs. Jigsaw, The Shard, deviANT & Soldier Ant

The story here is that Jigsaw super kicked Quackenbush at Cibernetico, and has apparently aligned with The Shard and deviANT.  This HAS to be the end of the “Soldier Ant with the Swarm against his will” and “assailANT with the Colony against their will” stories...really, it does.  Jigsaw’s blog this week is an interesting read about where this might be going, saying that he’s mentoring The Shard and showing him a different way (check it out here:  http://www.chikarapro.com/blog/11-29-2012.php).  Is it really a different way though with him cheap shotting Quack?  This will absolutely setup a huge storyline one would think for Season 12, and I’m interested to see where it all leads.  I’d guess that the Jigsaw team should probably win this one to get his apparent heel turn off to a good start.

Young Lions Cup Mach
Mr. Touchdown (C) vs. ACH

ACH is one of the hottest prospects on the indy scene right now, and lost to Mr. Touchdown in the finals of the Young Lions Cup Tournament, so this is a rematch of their finals match from Indianapolis back in August.  I have to say I’m a bit shocked that we don’t have Mr. Touchdown vs The Mysterious and Handsome Stranger here on this card, but this will be a heck of a match regardless (and I’m guessing we’ll get the confrontation between those two when they announce “Homecoming King & Queen”).  Touchdown should keep the cup here as he’s the one they are obviously building up here in Chikara, and ACH isn’t a regular.  That being said, I could see the Stranger costing Touchdown the Cup too.

3rd Point on the Line
3.0 vs. F.I.S.T

Each team here has 2 points, so the winner will be in line for a shot at the titles after this show.  3.0 defeated F.I.S.T. for the titles earlier this year, and then lost them right back to them in their first defense, so this is a rubber match of sorts between these two.  It’s so interesting to see Gargano in F.I.S.T. here, instead of at the absolute top of the card like he is in DGUSA and Evolve as I’ve mentioned before.  This should be a perfectly good match, and with The Young Bucks as the current champs, 3.0 winning here would make sense.  Another one I can see going either way though.  

The War to Settle the Score!
Ultramantis Black, Hallowicked, Frightmare, Crossbones & Blind Rage vs. Delirious, Ophidian, Kodama, Obariyon & Kobald

This war has been building all year, but Delirious has said it would be a 2 year reckoning for Ultramantis Black, so perhaps it doesn’t really end here.  This will be all over the place, and should be a heck of a brawl.  I don’t know alot about Blind Rage, but those who have followed Chikara longer than I have seem excited about it, so I’m good with that!  I had hoped for Amasis (and wouldn’t be shocked to see him show up with a run in or soething anyways), but Blind Rage works too.  If it really is the end of the war, than the Spectral Envoy has to win.  But, if it’s only the mid point of the feud, and it really is going to go into 2013 as well, then Delirious and his army will get the duke by some cheating method, and the pin probably won’t include Ultramantis.  So, it’s all about where these teams head in Season 12!

Campeonatos de Parejas - 2 out of 3 Falls
The Young Bucks (C) vs. 1-2-3 Kid & Marty Jannetty

Having Kid and Jannetty, former WWF Tag Team Champions challenging for the tag titles is pretty cool!  These two teams should be able to put together a fun match, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see it go 3 falls (most 2 out of 3 falls matches tend to anyways).  But, in my eyes, unless The Young Bucks are headed back to TNA or something (which was rumored at one point, but I haven’t heard anything in a while on it), there’s no reason to put the titles on a nostalgia act, keep them on the Bucks and let them enter Season 12 as the champs, and build to another team taking them from them (I’m begging ya...the Bravados, PLEASE!).  

Chikara Grand Championship
Eddie Kingston (C) vs. Tim Donst

This has been building since King of Trios, and it’s the most interested I’ve been in Tim Donst in...well, ever!  Kingston won the title at the their season finale last year and looks to try and make it through all of Season 11 as the Grand Champion.  Part of me thinks he will, and that he’ll eventually lose it to a newly heel Jigsaw.  But, a short run for Donst could work here too.  I think this will be a war back and forth, but in the end, I see Donst coming close, but Jakob Hammermeier finally snapping from all the times Donst has treated him badly, and Jakob turning babyface by costing Donst the Grand Championship, setting up Donst/Hammermeier as a feud in Season 12.  Perhaps after the match we’ll also get an idea of who will be gunning for Kingston next year as well.  Should be a great end to a good show!

Chikara’s “Under The Hood” iPPV comes to you live from Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon at 4pm Eastern time on SMVOD.com for just $16.99.  Head on over there to order it today, or if you’re still on the fence, they are airing a live, free pre-show preview on Saturday night at 8pm Eastern time on the same site to make sure everything is working perfectly for Sunday, so give that a look as well! 

Survivor Series 2012 React!

The 26^th edition of Survivor Series is in the books!  Jim and I both ended up 3-3 in our picks on Sunday night, so the deficit for Tom remains the same (down 1, with 1 pay-per-view remaining) and the overall records are as follows: Jim 40-24 to Tom 39-25.

Here are our thoughts in the aftermath of Survivor Series:

3MB of Heath Slater & Jinder Mahal vs. Santino Marella & Zack Ryder

TOM:  As expected here, 3MB pick up the win.  Will it be built on in the coming weeks or not.  I think this group against Tyson Kidd & Justin Gabriel or Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara would be a lot of fun.

JIM:  Well, I thought they’d go with a “faces start the show winning” formula, and clearly, I was wrong!  We almost lost this match from our picks as after we’d recorded the podcast, WWE had changed it to 3MB vs. Gabriel/Kidd, but then switched back, presumably to add the extra elimination tag.  Wish they hadn’t…or I’d have had a 2 match lead going into TLC!  Darn WWE!  3MB was the right pick though for going forward. 

Rey Mysterio, Sin Cara, Brodus Clay, Tyson Kidd & Justin Gabriel vs. Tensai, The Prime Time Players of Darren Young & Titus O’Neil, Primo & Epico

TOM: Nice little added match and would have been better if they had done more on TV to build it up.  Rey, Cara, Kidd & Gabriel being the sole survivors is the right move.  Can we get a good, competitive tag match between those two teams?  It could do a world of wonder for Kidd & Gabriel.

JIM:  Man, how far has Brodus Clay fallen?  First he was being built on Superstars as a monster heel, then they finally debut him (After teasing him for what seemed like forever), and give him the “Funkasaurus” gimmick.  He gets a bunch of squash wins and seems to be firmly entrenched in the mid to maybe even upper mid card, and now, I wouldn’t be shocked if he gets released in the next few months.  When you’re the only one eliminated on your team, it’s not a good sign.  Once the Team Hell No thing runs it’s course, I fully expect to see Rhodes Scholars (who will win the belts from them) feuding with Mysterio/Cara and Gabriel/Kidd, which will be really fun matches. 

Divas Title Match: Eve Torres (C) vs. Kaitlyn

TOM: Pick was wrong here, as I guess WWE does not see Kaitlyn ready to hold the Divas Title.  Appears as well she moves into a feud with Aksana.

JIM:  Yeah, it seems they are headed towards Aksana/Kaitlyn, though I still think Aksana is working with Eve.  Rumors of Eve vs. AJ coming down the line, which would be a fun Divas Title feud (as AJ is by far the most over Diva they have right now).  I figured Kaitlyn would get a short run, but it appears it won’t be anytime soon if she does. 

United States Title Match: Antonio Cesaro (C) vs. R-Truth

TOM: Match and outcome as expected.  It is almost too bad that Rey Mysterio and/or Sin Cara are in their tag roles, because I could see both being terrific opponents for Cesaro and give an even bigger, bolder and more meaningful United State Title feud to the WWE Universe.

JIM:  I’d love to see Mysterio or Cara feuding with Cesaro too, but alas it’s not to be for now.  Maybe this would be a great spot for Christian to return and feud with Cesaro, those would be good matches.  Cesaro is obviously headed places in time.  Easily the right call to keep the title on Cesaro. 

World Heavyweight Title: Sheamus vs. The Big Show (C)

TOM: I figured Show would retain here, but clearly WWE showed that they did not want to have Sheamus look weak by taking another loss.  The post-match aftermath set up just as I anticipated and alluded that it might and I expect we get a re-match for the World Title in a Chairs Match at TLC next month.

JIM:  Yep, good call on that one Tom!  I like that they’ve given Sheamus back his edge lately.  His “aw shucks” demeanor just didn’t fit, so it’s good to see a harder edge to him again.  While I hate Big Show holding the title, it made sense to leave it on him at least here, and then setup for the gimmick match at TLC, which I believe will also be a Chairs Match as well.  Regardless as to who wins there…I think it might be time to cue Dolph Ziggler after the match, much like Daniel Bryan last year at TLC.

Team Ziggler vs. Team Foley Elimination Match: Dolph Ziggler, Wade Barrett, Alberto Del Rio, David Otunga & Damian Sandow vs. Kofi Kingston, Randy Orton, Team Hell NO of Kane & Daniel Bryan & The Miz

TOM: This match made great sense and I think all of the eliminations were spot on, though I was surprised by the Miz elimination of Wade Barrett.  The final two should have been Ziggler & Orton, so I was really happy it came down to them.  As you know if you’ve followed my thinking all year here, I’ve been waiting for Dolph to get his “true” shot and maybe we really saw it here and perhaps it is his road to cashing in the Money in the Bank briefcase next month and ending 2012 as World Heavyweight Champion.

JIM:  I actually figured I’d get this wrong after I thought more about it after the podcast, as it seems they are pushing The Miz and are getting behind him as a babyface, so I thought to get him over in that role, he could be the sole survivor.  But, Ziggler needed the big win, especially if he is (as Tom and I both suspect) going to be World Heavyweight Champion by the time the year ends, so this was absolutely the right call, and I’m glad I stuck with my guns and made it!  Good stuff here with everyone. 

WWE Title Triple Threat Match: CM Punk (C) vs. Ryback vs. John Cena

TOM: This match was  the expected vehicle I stated it would be last week on the podcast; Punk retains, ends his feud with Cena, we get good teases of Cena & Ryback and we even got the bonus of the NXT talent Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns all debuting and laying waste to Ryback.  I am really eager to see how they are featured in WWE and what role(s) they play.  Are they aligned with CM Punk or are they just anti-Ryback?  Is this a new wave of a Nexus-type group?  I very much look forward to what comes next and also send congratulations to CM Punk in completing 1 full calendar year as WWE Champion.

JIM:  I too loved the debut of Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns.  I would have loved it even more with Kassius Ohno in Reigns spot, but that’s ok, Reigns has the pedigree being Afa’s son, and they probably wanted a powerhouse in the group too (whether the group is aligned with Punk or not).  This is a nice way to remove Ryback from the title situation for a bit too if they decide to, while also keeping him strong since he’s had the title won twice now, but outside forces have kept him from winning it.  I’m curious who challenges Punk at TLC though if they move towards Cena/Ziggler (involving the AJ/Vickie thing), and if Ryback gets sidetracked with Ambrose, Rollins & Reigns.  What does Punk do next month?  Clearly whatever it is, it’s academic, as we’re headed towards CM Punk vs. The Rock at the Royal Rumble, which I can’t wait to check out!  The promos alone leading up to that are going to be a ton of fun to watch! 

Head 2 Head: Survivor Series!

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Chikara: Zelda The Great Live Review!

Chikara returned to Chicago, IL this past Saturday night to a standing room only crowd at the Logan Square Auditorium!  They actually had moved the merchandise tables down to a narrow hallway downstairs (in front of a dentist’s office) so they could fit more chairs in the venue, but even that wasn’t enough as there was a decent crowd still standing throughout the night.  

1. The Batiri d. Da Soul Touchaz:  Da Soul Touchaz are local to Chicago, but have appeared for Chikara a number of times before.  Marshe Rockett in particular was pretty impressive from the Touchaz, and The Batiri were their normal creepy selves.  Before the match, Kobald got a picture of President Barack Obama and was insinuating that Marshe Rockett looked like Obama.  He then tore the picture up and stomped on it, which got a huge heel reaction in Chicago as you might expect.  After a brawl on the outside, Kobald hit the Demon’s Toilet on Acid Jazz to get the pin.  Good opener.  

2.  Devastation Corporation d. Wayne Campbell & Garth Algar:  Sadly Mike Meyers and Dana Carvey were replaced by two guys who obviously are very new to the business.  In fact, as they came out, one of them even remarked “and you have no idea who we are, yay!”.  Devastation Corporation are managed by Sidney Bakabella, who does an old school greasy hair gimmick.  They are HUGE guys, and absolutely destroyed the two local guys, almost killing each of them in the process, though it looked like the local guys didn’t quite take the moves right.  They won with their finisher (one guy holds the opponent in a bear hug laying out and the other comes off with a splash from the top).  Match lasted maybe 90 seconds if that.  The big guys are impressive in size (one in particular), but it would be interesting to see them in a non-squash situation and what they’d do there.  

3.  El Generico d. The Shard:  Probably the match of the night, though the main event was certainly in the mix for that award as well. Generico was absolutely awesome here (as he is almost all the time), and The Shard more than held his own too, he has alot of potential as well if and when this Gekido thing ends.  Generico teased the turnbuckle brainbuster a number of times before finally hitting it for the win.  Just great stuff, well worth checking out when it’s available on DVD!

4. Chuck Taylor & Johnny Gargano d. Soldier Ant & deviANT:  I’m not a big fan of these forced together teams that Chikara has done this year, and as you’d expect, the troubles between Soldier Ant and deviANT continued here.  It’s also interesting to watch Gargano be featured in such a different spot on the card than he is in DGUSA/Evolve.  Eventually Solider Ant almost accidentally hit deviANT, but stopped himself in time...thought about it....and hit him anyways.  That distracted him long enough though that Gargano got him from behind hit a wheelbarrow gutbuster on Taylor’s knees with Soldier Ant and then into the Hurts Donut for the 3 count.

5. Colt Cabana d. Mike Quackenbush:  This was a rematch from their great technical battle in Milwaukee back in August.  This started out much the same way, with each man countering the other’s offense, it was clear that they knew each other well.  Then, just as it started, it ended just as quickly as Cabana got a roll up on Quack in probably the 2nd shortest match of the night (after the Devestation Corp’s squash).  If this went 7-8 minutes I’d be surprised.  It was good while it lasted, but I felt like it never had a chance to really get going before the abrupt end.

6.  Jimmy Jacobs & The Bravado Brothers d. Fire Ant, assailANT & Jigsaw:  Jigsaw filled in here for Green Ant who missed the weekend due to illness.  That made me happy as I was disappointed that Jigsaw hadn’t been on the card up until Green Ant had to bow out.  assailANT is making the best of this “forced together team” thing, as he’s really overplaying the “good guy” role and “wants to get along” with Fire Ant.  It actually comes across pretty funny.  But in the end, again there was miscommunication between that team, and the Bravados were able to hit their finisher for the win on Fire Ant.  The Bravados have gotten really good since coming back from Japan, and Lancelot seems to have put on some mass as well.  

7.  Tim Donst d. Gran Akuma:  Really, I don’t have alot to say about this match, Akuma was not on at at all here, and unfortunately, that’s been my feeling about him more often than not.  I do like Donst’s new direction though, and he is ruthless in his abuse of Jakob Hammermeier.  Hammermeier also should be commended for his portrayal of the abused lacky, often heard saying “that was ok, it was my fault” after Donst would smack him around.  Hammermeier is going to snap at some point though (likely at the iPPV I would think) and when he does, it should get a HUGE pop.  Donst got the win here after hitting Akuma with a loaded bag and locking on a submission on the unconscious Akuma.  

8.  3.0 d. Icarus & Sugar Dunkerton, The Mysterious & Handsome Stranger & Sapphire, and The Throwbacks in a 4 way Elimination Match:  Sapphire was the story of this match.  Sapphire was Stranger’s tag partner, a plastic pigeon.  Of course, this led to chants of “tag the bird”, which after the first few minutes of the match going back and forth between the other combatants, the Stranger obliged and tagged the plastic pigeon into the match.  He clipped the pigeon to his shoulder and hit shoulder blocks (Sapphire headbuts?) on the rest of the competitors and was going bezerk until he hit Dunkerton and the pigeon got caught in Dunerkton’s afro.  Dunkerton ran all over the ringside area screaming like a girl because the “bird” was stuck in his hair, absolutely hysterical.  Eventually they first elimination happened when Shane Matthews forced Icarus to tap to the Boston Crab.  Shortly after that the Stranger and Sapphire took control again, and it led to Stranger setting Sapphire on a downed Mr. Touchdown for a pin attempt.  Touchdown kicked out at 2, and then took ahold of the plastic pigeon, placed it back in the pillowcase that the Stranger had brought “her” out in and proceeded to smash the pillowcase on the mat 5-6 times viciously, while everyone (including El Generico & Fire Ant who were watching from the balcony) were blown away by the actions of Touchdown.  He then performed his up/down spalshes on the “fallen bird”.  Stranger came in the ring and charged at Touchdown only to be hit with a spinebuster and pinned by Touchdown, eliminating he and Sapphire.  Even Veronica (Touchdown’s cheerleader girlfriend) looked horrified at how far he’d gone this time.  Eventually 3.0 got the win over The Throwbacks to earn themselves 2 points in the hunt for a title shot!  As Touchdown left the ring he got massively booed and Veronica walked away from him as well shaking her head.  

9.  The Young Bucks d. Ultramantis Black & Hallowicked 2 falls to 1 to retain the Campeonatos de Parejas:  The Bucks got a really quick pin in about 2 minutes with a spike tombstone on Ultramantis Black to take the first fall.  For the 2nd fall, Hallowicked had to go it alone for the most part, until Black finally regained his senses.  Hallowicked hit Nick Jackson with Go 2 Sleepy Hollow for the pin for the 2nd fall.  Once the third fall started, The Batiri came out and watched, with Ophidian directing from the balcony.  They attacked Hallowicked on the outside which led to a series of awesome dives to the outside by just about everyone!  Ultramantis finally hooked in the Chikara Special, but just as it appeared the Spectral Envoy would win the belts, Ophidian came from under the ring (absolutely no idea how he got there) and spit mist in the eyes of Ultramantis Black.  Nick Jackson hit a big super kick, but Ultramantis kicked out!  At that point the crowd was going crazy thinking they’d see a title change, but alas, it was not to be as the Bucks hit More Bang for your Buck on Ultramantis Black to get the win and retain their titles.  An awesome main event to cap off a really really fun show!  

Chikara always delivers the goods when it comes to the live experience, if you get a chance, go check them out live if they are in your area, you won’t be sorry!

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