{"id":3282,"date":"2015-12-16T21:24:14","date_gmt":"2015-12-16T21:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=3282"},"modified":"2015-12-16T21:24:14","modified_gmt":"2015-12-16T21:24:14","slug":"chikara-15-9-spring-breakout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=3282","title":{"rendered":"Chikara 15.9: “Spring Breakout”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Preamble<\/em>:\u00a0In\u00a0the real world, the Chikara 2015 schedule is now\u00a0over. \u00a0But here on the blog, we’re following along\u00a0a good\u00a0few months behind. \u00a0It’s been nearly a month since the last show, when\u00a0Hallowicked\u00a0defeated Icarus to win the title. \u00a0Usually Chikara does several shows in a weekend, but “Spring Breakout” is a one-off. \u00a0This one is storyline heavy, since it has to pick up\u00a0on the\u00a0characters who weren’t on the UK tour, and it’s the last chance to set\u00a0up the matches for “Aniversario”, one of the big shows of the year, which is\u00a0in a few weeks time.<\/p>\n

When and where:<\/em>\u00a0It’s 2 May 2015 and we’re in St Joseph’s School in Haverhill, Massachusetts. \u00a0It’s a school hall, but a pretty decent one as indie wrestling venues go. \u00a0No proper lighting, but hey, it has sound and a stage. \u00a0Chikara play it fairly regularly, and they’ll be back later in the year.<\/p>\n

1. \u00a0Challenge of the Immortals:\u00a0BDK v. Crown & Court<\/strong><\/p>\n

The back story:<\/em> Continuing the season long double round robin tournament. \u00a0This is match 19 of 90, so we’ve got quite a ways to go. \u00a0Starting with this show, everyone has nice big banners with their team logo. \u00a0The Nightmare Warriors and Dasher’s Dugout\u00a0share\u00a0the lead on 3 points, with the Wrecking Crew, United Nations and Arcane Horde on 2, and the Snake Pit, the Gentleman’s Club, the BDK and the Battle\u00a0Hive on 1.<\/p>\n

That leaves Crown & Court on zero, which is hardly surprising, since\u00a0Princess Kimberlee drafted\u00a0Los Ice Creams, the biggest losers in the company, on the grounds that she likes them. \u00a0As for the BDK, they got their first win thanks to their brainwashed draftee Soldier Ant. \u00a0There are some stray references (including the blurb on the website for this show) which strongly suggest that the original\u00a0idea was to have\u00a0both teams on zero so that\u00a0it would be a match to escape last place. \u00a0That would obviously have been better, but Soldier was the only BDK member available for the UK tour, and he can’t lose right now, because he’s on a winning streak\u00a0to sell his “Winter Soldier” gimmick.<\/p>\n

I should point out here\u00a0that the tournament is obviously\u00a0written with a view to the broad arcs of the individual teams, rather than\u00a0the precise order of the matches, which is sensible enough given that you don’t want more hostages to fortune than necessary. \u00a0They\u00a0really should have put some leaderboard graphics on\u00a0the shows to help keep track of the points, even so – but the\u00a0precise standings at any given point in time are not really\u00a0the focal point.<\/p>\n

Anyway, this is a trios match, with Crown & Court represented by Princess Kimberlee and Los Ice Creams, and the BDK by\u00a0Soldier Ant, Pinkie Sanchez and N\u00f8kken. \u00a0Backstage, Kimberlee implores her team for\u00a0a win. \u00a0Los Ice Creams blithely promise\u00a0to deliver, which she takes at face value.<\/p>\n

The match:<\/em>\u00a0It’s an epic. \u00a0Los Ice Creams are as hopeless as ever.\u00a0\u00a0As in January, Soldier Ant isn’t co-operating with the\u00a0other\u00a0BDK members,\u00a0who pretty much just point him in the right direction and hope for the best, but the\u00a0Ice Creams can’t\u00a0take advantage. \u00a0Kimberlee does\u00a0much better, but\u00a0Soldier deals with that by throwing her out – which is an automatic tag under\u00a0lucha rules – and hauling one of the clowns\u00a0back in. \u00a0Finally, Kimberlee gets the hot tag. \u00a0She manages to throw\u00a0the invulnerable Soldier Ant out of the ring (he can’t be hurt, but he\u00a0can<\/em> be thrown and wrestled), fends off Pinkie, and\u00a0nearly pins N\u00f8kken. \u00a0But a series of dives take her out of the ring,\u00a0so the Ice Creams try to capitalise by double teaming Pinkie. \u00a0Predictably,\u00a0they botch it, and he pins El Hijo Del Ice Cream with the Shiney Hiney in 20:49. \u00a0Kim is distraught that the Ice Creams have blown it again. \u00a0There’s a really good story in there, with the jobbers genuinely trying their best but still blowing it for poor Kim, who gets to look personally strong by hanging in there against 3-to-1 odds. \u00a0Could have been tightened up a bit, though.<\/p>\n

The upshot:<\/em> The BDK now have 2 points, and Crown & Court remain stubbornly stuck on zero\u00a0despite Kimber’s best efforts, as\u00a0she now realises she’s saddled herself with the bozo squad. \u00a0This is a major year-long storyline, though. \u00a0It’s going somewhere.<\/p>\n

2. \u00a0Dasher Hatfield v. Volgar<\/strong><\/p>\n

The back\u00a0story:<\/em>\u00a0Oh boy. \u00a0Volgar is a henchman left behind when the invading Flood faction was defeated last year. \u00a0Kevin Condron has been trying to recruit him as an ally, and persuade him to unmask. \u00a0Condron has a complicated back story, but for present purposes it’s enough to say that he’s an embittered rookie who has convinced himself\u00a0that Chikara treated him as cannon fodder against the Flood. \u00a0He’s also a bit of an egomaniac. \u00a0Volgar was resisting his approaches when we last saw them, and in doing so, he was teasing a face turn.<\/p>\n

The match:<\/em>\u00a0This is a “Magic Move” match, so\u00a0everyone in the crowd gets a token prize if somebody hits the\u00a0“randomly chosen” move. \u00a0It’s\u00a0a Stunner. \u00a0Dasher hits it, and follows with a jackhammer for the clean pin in 6:42. \u00a0Short but decent, but\u00a0it’s\u00a0a backdrop for the post-match angle, as Condron’s voice plays over the speakers. \u00a0To understand this, you need to know that it’s a callback to an angle last year\u00a0when Eddie Kingston was recruited into the Flood, and proved himself\u00a0by taking out Volgar’s fellow henchman, who was never seen again. \u00a0So the idea is that Condron is reminding Volgar that\u00a0the Flood treated him as disposable. \u00a0He\u00a0points out that nobody even remembers the other guy’s name, and urges Volgar to unmask. \u00a0Fade to black.<\/p>\n

The upshot:<\/em>\u00a0The Volgar\/Condron angle continues on the next show. \u00a0The idea here, which Condron explains a bit more clearly elsewhere, is that he\u00a0sees the Flood henchmen as kindred spirits, because\u00a0they were\u00a0cannon fodder too. \u00a0He’s apparently sincere, but\u00a0that won’t\u00a0stop the\u00a0stable being an ego trip at the same time.\u00a0 As for Dasher,\u00a0he now has two\u00a0points towards a Grand Championship shot, so a title shot will be on the line in his next singles match.<\/p>\n

3. \u00a0Challenge of the Immortals: The Gentleman’s Club v. The United Nations<\/strong><\/p>\n

The back story:<\/em>\u00a0Nothing beyond the tournament itself. \u00a0\u00a0The\u00a0Nations have 2 points. \u00a0The Club have 1, but they have a match in hand. \u00a0It’s a singles match, with the Club’s captain Chuck Taylor taking on the Nations’ self-explanatory Proletariat Boar of Moldova.<\/p>\n

The match:<\/em>\u00a0The Boar’s power versus Taylor’s veteran wiles. \u00a0In theory this is heel\/heel, but as\u00a0a beloved veteran tweener, Taylor\u00a0is\u00a0the\u00a0de facto\u00a0<\/em>babyface. \u00a0It’s competitive,\u00a0and the\u00a0Boar gets near falls, but Taylor sidesteps the Gore and rolls him up for the clean pin\u00a0in\u00a07:02. \u00a0Perfectly fine.<\/p>\n

The upshot:<\/em>\u00a0The\u00a0Club are up to 2 points, leaving the\u00a0Snake Pit alone on 1. \u00a0Look, there are ninety matches in this tournament, and some of them are just matches.<\/p>\n

4. \u00a0Ashley Remington v. Missile Assault Ant<\/strong><\/p>\n

The back story:<\/em>\u00a0Nothing between these two, but a\u00a0win tonight will give Remington\u00a0his third point and a shot at the Grand Championship. \u00a0Missile Assault Ant, formerly of the impostor Colony: Xtreme Force, abandoned his team in January and was last seen sulking around the\u00a0fringes in\u00a0February.<\/p>\n

The match:<\/em>\u00a0Missile is exasperated\u00a0by Remington’s genially polite schtick, but can’t outwrestle him. \u00a0Eventually Remington pushes his luck too far and Missile gets the upper hand for a while, but Remington makes a comeback and wins clean with his Anchors Away submission in 11:05. \u00a0Good stuff. \u00a0It served\u00a0the immediate purpose of\u00a0building of Remington for his title shot,\u00a0but the action was good too, and Missile is a great\u00a0straight man.<\/p>\n

The upshot:<\/em>\u00a0Remington gets his win and “Aniversario” gets its main event. \u00a0As for Missile, at this point he’s\u00a0a\u00a0directionless masked henchman left behind when the Flood collapsed – much like Volgar.<\/p>\n

5. \u00a0Challenge of the Immortals: Nightmare Warriors v Snake Pit<\/strong><\/p>\n

The back story:<\/em>\u00a0It’s a trios match, with Hallowicked, Frightmare and Silver Ant for the\u00a0Nightmare Warriors, and Argus, Shynron and Eddie Kingston for the Snake Pit. \u00a0The Warriors are co-leaders on 3\u00a0points, and Hallowicked won the title on the last show, so all is well among the worshippers of Nazmaldun. \u00a0Silver Ant, who is not one of those worshippers, and was baffled to be drafted\u00a0as the team’s fourth member, is deeply\u00a0uncomfortable with\u00a0their mystical babbling. \u00a0The Snake Pit – Ophidian’s makeshift collection of\u00a0otherwise unaligned tecnicos – have only wrestled one match, since they had\u00a0no members on the UK tour. \u00a0Kingston wasn’t in their first match, and Ophidian was grumbling on that show that he wouldn’t return calls. \u00a0As a former Grand Champion, he\u00a0ought<\/em> to be a major asset to the team, but\u00a0all he really cares about is getting his title back, and as far as he’s concerned this whole tournament is an unwelcome distraction.<\/p>\n

The match:<\/em> The match instantly books itself a place in Botchamania\u00a0when the\u00a0stage steps collapse during Eddie Kingston’s entrance. \u00a0He springs to his feet and assaults the wrecking with a plank, which is\u00a0great. \u00a0As before, Silver Ant is co-operating with this teammates, though Hallowicked is\u00a0clearly not happy\u00a0about his sportsmanlike tendencies. \u00a0The antihero Kingston, in contrast,\u00a0has no real interest in\u00a0teamwork. \u00a0\u00a0There’s an exchange of finishers, and Hallowicked and Frightmare double team Shynron\u00a0for the pin in\u00a014:15. \u00a0Hallowicked and Frightmare\u00a0invite Silver to join their celebration prayer circle. \u00a0He hesitates before\u00a0leaving separately. \u00a0Again, the\u00a0long-term story leaves plenty of scope to deliver\u00a0the\u00a0action. \u00a0Oh, and\u00a0the rookie Argus was holding his own\u00a0impressively.<\/p>\n

The upshot:<\/em> The Nightmare Warriors pull ahead in the tournament,\u00a0Kingston’s position in his team is established, and Silver Ant’s story\u00a0edges on.<\/p>\n

6. \u00a0Amasis v Juan Francisco de Coronado<\/strong><\/p>\n

The back story:<\/em> None, really.<\/p>\n

The match:<\/em>\u00a0Flyer versus old school heel technician. \u00a0Juan nails Amasis with\u00a0a metal pipe\u00a0and pins him with a German suplex in 7:54. \u00a0But after careful consideration with the fans,\u00a0referee Bryce Remsburg searches him, finds the pipe, and restarts the match. \u00a0Juan goes to yell at the fans, and gets pinned with a spin kick. \u00a0Wrestling doesn’t get much more old school than that, but\u00a0Juan does it\u00a0so well.<\/p>\n

The upshot:\u00a0<\/em>Nothing immediate, but\u00a0Amasis gets his first point towards a Grand Championship shot, because it’s time to start lining up some future challengers for Hallowicked.<\/p>\n

7. \u00a0Challenge of the Immortals: The Arcane Horde v. The Wrecking Crew<\/strong><\/p>\n

The back story:<\/em>\u00a0It’s a trios match, with UltraMantis Black, Obariyon\u00a0and Oleg the Usurper for the Arcane Horde, versus Max Smashmaster, Flex Rumblecrunch and Jaka for the Wrecking Crew. \u00a0The Crew need a win to stay level\u00a0with the Nightmare Warriors. \u00a0The Horde have\u00a0only two\u00a0points from\u00a0five\u00a0matches, and are saddled with\u00a0the halfwitted Oleg, even though he’s\u00a0also<\/em>\u00a0the fifth member of the Wrecking Crew, and still under contract to their\u00a0manager Sidney Bakabella. \u00a0The Crew thought he was a liability too, which is why they traded him to Mantis – but Oleg is too slow\u00a0to have picked up on his rejection. \u00a0In February, the Horde lost a match when Oleg hesitated after Bakabella ordered him to throw it. \u00a0He got pinned anyway before he could decide what to do.<\/p>\n

Given that, quite why Mantis decided to field Oleg against the Crew is a bit of a mystery. \u00a0You can come up with explanations –\u00a0given Mantis’ usual overconfidence, maybe he just feels\u00a0he can force the issue and lance the boil. \u00a0But\u00a0it really needed a promo to explain it, and without one, it’s a\u00a0glaring plot hole that annoyed me in May and still annoys me now.<\/p>\n

The Horde’s entrance is magnificent, as\u00a0the\u00a0stage curtains draw back, and they enter dramatically through the set of the school play. \u00a0Embrace the indie! \u00a0(The contrast with Mantis’\u00a0fantastic\u00a0entrance music<\/a>\u00a0helps too.)<\/p>\n

The match:\u00a0<\/em>Poor,\u00a0befuddled Oleg\u00a0is confused to see his usual teammates across the ring and decides he must be standing in the wrong corner. \u00a0Everyone kindly steers him back. \u00a0When\u00a0he\u00a0tags in, Max tells\u00a0him to lay down. \u00a0But he’s\u00a0 too stupid to understand that too, so he fights back. \u00a0Bakabella hauls him\u00a0out and explains the position. \u00a0Meanwhile, the Crew\u00a0isolate Obariyon. \u00a0Max mocks Oleg, and it finally\u00a0seems to dawn on him what’s happening. \u00a0He accepts a tag\u00a0but quickly gets hauled out\u00a0again by Bakabella, who carefully explains the contractual position. \u00a0Finally Oleg snaps and breaks up a pin on Mantis, before clearing the ring. \u00a0He signals\u00a0for his finisher on Flex, but Bakabella jumps onto the apron and brandishes the contract. \u00a0Oleg toys with decking him, but can’t go through with it, and Flex spears him for the pin in 12:55. \u00a0The Horde squabble post-match, and Obariyon storms out in frustration. \u00a0The\u00a0wrestling is solid, but it’s a complete backdrop to the storyline, and fair enough. \u00a0Just a shame they didn’t properly set up Oleg being in the match in the first place.<\/p>\n

The upshot:<\/em>\u00a0Well, Oleg’s babyface turn continues – though perhaps not as quickly as Mantis might have hoped for. \u00a0And Obariyon is losing patience with this mess, which is a lesser storyline, but will also play out in its own way.\u00a0Coming out of\u00a0this show,\u00a0we have the Nightmare Warriors and the Wrecking Crew in the lead on 4, Dasher’s Dugout on 3, the BDK, the Gentleman’s Club, the United Nations, the Arcane\u00a0Horde and the Battle Hive all on 2, the\u00a0Snake Pit on 1, and poor old Crown & Court on zero.<\/p>\n

Worth getting?<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Relatively speaking, this is a storyline-heavy show,\u00a0albeit one that’s\u00a0mostly about\u00a0getting the pieces into position for the next phase of major\u00a0storylines. \u00a0But it’s solid wrestling throughout as well, even if the opener could have got away with losing a few minutes. \u00a0And even if that plot hole irritates the hell out of me, I really do love the Horde’s entrance on this one.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Preamble:\u00a0In\u00a0the real world, the Chikara 2015 schedule is now\u00a0over. \u00a0But here on the blog, we’re following along\u00a0a good\u00a0few months behind. \u00a0It’s been nearly a month since the last show, when\u00a0Hallowicked\u00a0defeated Icarus to win the title. \u00a0Usually Chikara does several shows in a weekend, but “Spring Breakout” is a one-off. \u00a0This one is storyline heavy, since […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wrestling"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3282"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3282\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3291,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3282\/revisions\/3291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}