Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Oct 26, 2014 19:41:55 GMT -6
Chikara "Thunderball" Results
October 25, 2014
Gibsonville, N.C. at the Mid-Atlantic Sportatorium
It's been over two years since Chikara visited the Tarheel State, and there was a hot crowd throughout.
(1) The Spectral Envoy (Hallowicked & Frightmare & Ultramantis Black) beat The Bloc Party (Mr. Azerbaijan & Proletariat Boar of Moldova & Prakash Sabar) via pinfall when Hallowicked pinned Mr. Azerbaijan. This was a fun opening bout and the crowd was very into it. Prakash Saber does an X-Pac gimmick (complete with a mask featuring a tongue sticking out and a wig with a receding hairline) that was really fun to watch.
(2) 3.0 (Scott Parker & Shane Matthews) beat Chet Sterling & Trevor Lee via submission; Matthews submitted Sterling. Sterling and Lee were local guys, so to sweeten up the deal they announced that this was a "magic move" match, and if anyone hit a body slam, everyone in attendance would win a prize. Sure enough, Matthews hit a body slam on Sterling shortly before making him submit, getting one of the loudest pops of the night. Everyone got a free Chikara sticker.
(3) Ashley Remington beat Juan Francisco de Coronado via pinfall. This was announced as "a wrestling match" and wasn't very special from a technical standpoint, but from a comedy match standpoint, it was five stars. Remington has a "smooth sailing" nautical gimmick where he's positioned as a dreamboat (even to the referee). He extremely over, and won over my wife during the match, which is hard to do. During the match, de Coronado was demanding Remington leave the ring to fight him, and while they were arguing, Remington ended up seeing a spider crawling across the mat and killed it, "saving" de Coronado's life.
After the match, Remington brought de Coronado a fruit basket. I don't know if he always does this or not, but the live crowd went nuts when Remington presented it to de Coronado. After they left the ring, a woman with the ring crew hopped in the ring to kill the spider to a "She's Hardcore" chant.
Selfie Party: The Spectral Envoy and the Throwbacks came out to take selfies with fans. Whoever posted the most selfies with the proper hashtag was supposed to win something, but cell reception was very bad at the Sportatorium, and no prize was mentioned later.
(4) The Osirian Portan (Amasis & Ophidian) beat Oleg the Usurper & Flex Rumblecrunch via pinfall when Amasis pinned Oleg. Pretty basic match that never really clicked with the fans. The Osirian Portal was over, but the fans were still coming down from the previous match and the immortal selfie party.
[Intermission]
(5) The Devastation Corporation (Max Smashmaster & Blaster McMassive) beat The Colony (Fire Ant & Worker Ant) via pinfall when Smashmaster pinned Fire Ant. Standard (for Chikara) tag match with a lot of frenetic action. I could see Blaster McMassive working for WWE down the road due to his look and size (6'5", 260 lbs.).
(6) Silver Ant beat Shynron via pinfall. This match wasn't bad, but the crowd was clearly starting to get worn down and tired after over two hours of action. For the finish, Shynron jumped up from the top rope to a rafter above the ring and climbed out over Silver Ant's prone body. Shynron flipped as Silver Ant got up and hit him with a (slightly botched) cutter. This was by far the loudest pop of the night as the crowd was impressed with the daring and skill of both men.
(7) Chikara Grand champion Icarus & Eddie Kingston & Chikara Campeonatos de Parejas The Throwbacks (Dasher Hatfield & Mr. Touchdown) beat The Flood (Jimmy Jacobs & 17 & Nokken & Jakob Hammermeier w/The Lithuanian Snow Troll) via pinfall in an eight-man tag match when Icarus pinned Jimmy Jacobs. Kingston and Jacobs clearly have issues that Kingston wanted to address, but his team avoided tagging him in early on. Eventually, this match went to the outside and developed the Chikara/Lucha Libre fast-paced style that gets the crowd going. Icarus won with a roll-up.
Afterward, The Flood attacked their opponents after the match. Jacobs told Icarus that the Grand Championship was Icarus's trophy tonight, but tomorrow (in Richmond, Va.) Jacobs was going to win it. After the match, the faces all left the ring to a "Chikara" chant.
Of note: Chuck Taylor was present but didn't wrestle. He said he wasn't sure if he was wrestling the next night either, and only tagged along on the trip for the food.
This was a fantastic show with a hot crowd the entire night, tons of absurd chants, and a lot of great characters. I would encourage anyone who is looking for something 180 degrees different from WWE/TNA to check out Chikara, especially if you have children. Each event has a family friendly atmosphere and children under 12 get in free. Even if you don't have kids, Chikara is a ton of fun and all of the wrestlers (well, except a few of the heels) are extremely friendly before, during, and after the show.
October 25, 2014
Gibsonville, N.C. at the Mid-Atlantic Sportatorium
It's been over two years since Chikara visited the Tarheel State, and there was a hot crowd throughout.
(1) The Spectral Envoy (Hallowicked & Frightmare & Ultramantis Black) beat The Bloc Party (Mr. Azerbaijan & Proletariat Boar of Moldova & Prakash Sabar) via pinfall when Hallowicked pinned Mr. Azerbaijan. This was a fun opening bout and the crowd was very into it. Prakash Saber does an X-Pac gimmick (complete with a mask featuring a tongue sticking out and a wig with a receding hairline) that was really fun to watch.
(2) 3.0 (Scott Parker & Shane Matthews) beat Chet Sterling & Trevor Lee via submission; Matthews submitted Sterling. Sterling and Lee were local guys, so to sweeten up the deal they announced that this was a "magic move" match, and if anyone hit a body slam, everyone in attendance would win a prize. Sure enough, Matthews hit a body slam on Sterling shortly before making him submit, getting one of the loudest pops of the night. Everyone got a free Chikara sticker.
(3) Ashley Remington beat Juan Francisco de Coronado via pinfall. This was announced as "a wrestling match" and wasn't very special from a technical standpoint, but from a comedy match standpoint, it was five stars. Remington has a "smooth sailing" nautical gimmick where he's positioned as a dreamboat (even to the referee). He extremely over, and won over my wife during the match, which is hard to do. During the match, de Coronado was demanding Remington leave the ring to fight him, and while they were arguing, Remington ended up seeing a spider crawling across the mat and killed it, "saving" de Coronado's life.
After the match, Remington brought de Coronado a fruit basket. I don't know if he always does this or not, but the live crowd went nuts when Remington presented it to de Coronado. After they left the ring, a woman with the ring crew hopped in the ring to kill the spider to a "She's Hardcore" chant.
Selfie Party: The Spectral Envoy and the Throwbacks came out to take selfies with fans. Whoever posted the most selfies with the proper hashtag was supposed to win something, but cell reception was very bad at the Sportatorium, and no prize was mentioned later.
(4) The Osirian Portan (Amasis & Ophidian) beat Oleg the Usurper & Flex Rumblecrunch via pinfall when Amasis pinned Oleg. Pretty basic match that never really clicked with the fans. The Osirian Portal was over, but the fans were still coming down from the previous match and the immortal selfie party.
[Intermission]
(5) The Devastation Corporation (Max Smashmaster & Blaster McMassive) beat The Colony (Fire Ant & Worker Ant) via pinfall when Smashmaster pinned Fire Ant. Standard (for Chikara) tag match with a lot of frenetic action. I could see Blaster McMassive working for WWE down the road due to his look and size (6'5", 260 lbs.).
(6) Silver Ant beat Shynron via pinfall. This match wasn't bad, but the crowd was clearly starting to get worn down and tired after over two hours of action. For the finish, Shynron jumped up from the top rope to a rafter above the ring and climbed out over Silver Ant's prone body. Shynron flipped as Silver Ant got up and hit him with a (slightly botched) cutter. This was by far the loudest pop of the night as the crowd was impressed with the daring and skill of both men.
(7) Chikara Grand champion Icarus & Eddie Kingston & Chikara Campeonatos de Parejas The Throwbacks (Dasher Hatfield & Mr. Touchdown) beat The Flood (Jimmy Jacobs & 17 & Nokken & Jakob Hammermeier w/The Lithuanian Snow Troll) via pinfall in an eight-man tag match when Icarus pinned Jimmy Jacobs. Kingston and Jacobs clearly have issues that Kingston wanted to address, but his team avoided tagging him in early on. Eventually, this match went to the outside and developed the Chikara/Lucha Libre fast-paced style that gets the crowd going. Icarus won with a roll-up.
Afterward, The Flood attacked their opponents after the match. Jacobs told Icarus that the Grand Championship was Icarus's trophy tonight, but tomorrow (in Richmond, Va.) Jacobs was going to win it. After the match, the faces all left the ring to a "Chikara" chant.
Of note: Chuck Taylor was present but didn't wrestle. He said he wasn't sure if he was wrestling the next night either, and only tagged along on the trip for the food.
This was a fantastic show with a hot crowd the entire night, tons of absurd chants, and a lot of great characters. I would encourage anyone who is looking for something 180 degrees different from WWE/TNA to check out Chikara, especially if you have children. Each event has a family friendly atmosphere and children under 12 get in free. Even if you don't have kids, Chikara is a ton of fun and all of the wrestlers (well, except a few of the heels) are extremely friendly before, during, and after the show.