BRM Reviews CHIKARA Anniversario Yang (AWESOME!)

[Big Red Machine]

CHIKARA Anniversario Yang (5/24/2009)- Philadelphia, PA


LOS ICE CREAMS vs. THE ROUGHNECKS (Grizzly Redwood & Brodie Lee)- 4.5/10

ARIK CANNON vs. OPHIDIAN- 7/10
This was a lot better than I was expecting, with Cannon working the neck while Ophidian tried to put the larger man away with various chokes and sleepers. Amasis came out a caused a distraction leading to the finish. This was done well enough that it actually got me angry at the heels for screwing Cannon out of the match rather than thinking “oh, I guess they want to protect Cannon.”

SUPER SMASH BROTHERS & CREATE-A-WRESTLER vs. ORDER OF THE NEO-SOLAR TEMPLE (UltraMantis Black, Crossbones, & Delirious)- 7/10
The newly mind-controlled Delirious didn’t go nuts at the bell like usual, but instead stood there and waited for UMB’s order to attack. That is a tremendous little detail, and many props are due to the person who thought it up.
This was a great trios match with lots of action, but I really loved the way they highlighted Delirious as the new threat, and yet showed his subservience to UMB, hitting the Preying Mantis Bomb, but then leaving the ring so that UMB could get the pin.

UNSTABLE PROMO- As a promo, this was dull… which is okay (not idea, but okay) because what it really was was an excuse for Leonard F. Chikarason to come by and scold Vin Gerard for leaving him threatening phone calls. Vin Gerard threatened to report him to Dave Coulier. I don’t know for sure, but I assume that this will eventually play into Chikarason being removed from his job in favor of Dieter vonStiegerwalt (likely as an excuse for the change).

D’LO BROWN & GLACIER vs. THE UNSTABLE (Vin Gerard & Colin Delaney) (w/STIGMA)- 5/10
The UnStable jumped the bell on D’Lo and Glacier. There was a lot of choking and similar stuff from the heels. For some reason that is unfathomable to me, it was determined that the old guys should win this feud against the CHIKARA regulars, not just winning this match essentially beating both guys at the same time, but also laying STIGMA out after the match as well.

2.0 PROMO- meh
They’re doing a bit where they refuse to cut promos until they win a match. We were informed of this via a ticker at the bottom of the screen while 2.0 gesticulated wildly.

2.0 vs. SEA DONSTERS- 2.25/10
Apparently this no commenting policy doesn’t extend to in the ring, as 2.0 grabbed a mic and insulted both Sea Donsters. Before the match.
Apparently Donst “got his headgear back after beating STIGMA last night.” Couldn’t he have just bought another one? *Insert joke about CHIKARA payoffs here*.
They did some comedy and also a lot of suplexes. 2.0 won clean in three minutes when Parker sat down on Hydra’s attempted subset flip.

JIGSAW & THE FUTURE IS NOW PROMO- very good
TFIN- and especially Helios- are blaming Jigsaw for their loss last night. Jigsaw is trying to be the mentor that Quack has assigned him to be and takes responsibility for the loss, but then turns it into a “we gave it our all” pep talk that Helios and Lincé probably didn’t want to hear.
Also, due to Jimmy “Equinox” Olsen’s injury, they’re down a man for tonight’s match. Lincé is worried that they can’t overcome this, but fear not, Lincé Dorado, for Mike Quackenbush has come to your rescue to be your fourth!

HALLOWICKED, FRIGHTMARE, CHEECH, & CLOUDY vs. MIKE QUACKENBUSH, JIGSAW, & THE FUTURE IS NOW (Lincé Dorado & Helios)- 7.25/10
Great atomicos action!

EDDIE KINGSTON PROMO- awesome!

EDDIE KINGSTON vs. CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI- 8/10
This was a really intense slugfest with absolutely the perfect finish for where the feud needed to go. This was one of those matches where the wrestlers’ desire to win was palpable. Excellent stuff!


DOUBLE HAIR VS. DOUBLE MASKS MATCH: Chuck Taylor & Icarus (hair) (w/Gran Akuma) vs. Soldier Ant & Fire Ant (masks) (w/Green Ant)- a PERFECT 10/10!
An absolute masterpiece of storytelling. No matter how smarky you are, I defy you to not absolutely mark out while watching this match! The story is amazing and it has some of the most beautifully crafted false finishes I have ever seen! Add in then high stakes and a blazing hot crowd, and you get the best match in the history of CHIKARA.


This was an AWESOME show from CHIKARA with great wrestling and storyline advancement all up and down the card (with the exception of the Glacier match). While obviously I haven’t seen everything, I have seen a lot of CHIKARA’s more hyped matches, and the main event of this show still stands a head above the rest.