Chikara’s run through the south continued in grand fashion to Porterdale, Georgia. Grand because Eddie Kingston had to once again defend the Grand Championship, this time against Mr. Touchdown. Both of these men have been outstanding performers while holding their respective titles, so I’m really glad we got to see this. I’m not sure why this wasn’t the main event proper given how painfully mediocre the campeonatos de parejas match was, but these two had a good to great match with Kingston leaning more toward the tecnico side. This was a very physical contest where Touchdown PLANTED Kingston with a version of the Flea Flicker. I’m not even sure calling it that is appropriate, but it was disgusting. Bryce Remsburg’s reaction hit the correct beat. Kingston continued selling the knee but ultimately won with a twisting uranagi on a prone Mr. Touchdown. Very enjoyable match. Could have been even better if Touchdown winning was even somewhat believable.
Now to the the main event, a paint by the numbers tag team match which did nothing for either team and could have been performed by action figures on Mike Quackenbush’s desk. I don’t hate either team, but to do what they did came off like something I would see on a Wrestling Is show. Presuming this is the one and only trip to Porterdale, I would have much rather seen the Kingston/Touchdown match main event instead. Batiri attacked right away. They worked over Scott Parker’s ribs. After a quick pin in fall one, Shane Matthews got a roll-up (the most overused ending in independent wrestling) before Parker returned. 3.0 overcame the odds and retained their titles once Matthews made Obaryion tap to the Boston crab. I thought this was a huge disappointment and again reinforced how badly Batiri have been wasted the last year. Some of their performances haven’t helped, but not being slotted in good angles does them no favors. Any match with an injury angle and a referee bump is crying for attention.
There is another match worth seeking out. Shockingly, it involves Shard, Jigsaw, and Fire Ant. Funny how you take three of your best performers, put them together, and they have one of the best matches on the card. Tons of history as Shard and assailANT were in Gekido together. Really solid action. Too bad poor assailANT can’t catch a break as he once again lost. Shard hit the superkick and his terrible version of the Gory special to get the win. He does a million things well. Why does Chikara insist on having him do that as his finisher? Pieces of Hate get a much needed win while the poor Colony continue losing.
The most noticeable upset on the show, and probably in recent independent wrestling history, had to be Chenron making his debut in defeating Chuck Taylor. There was a portion of the crowd with well made signs for Chenron. Either he has family in the area or they were plants. No matter the reason, it was cool to see someone come in and get such a big victory. It would have been even better if Chenron had been on the TWGP or booked for the iPPV. Chenron took a disgusting suplex… on the apron of course… but reversed the Awful Waffle into a cradle for the win. Good on Taylor for putting Chenron over clean. We’ll see if this actually leads to Chenron getting increased opportunities in the Chikara Universe.
I was really excited to see two guys who I believe are underrated, not just in Chikara but in the world of wrestling overall, have a match. Sugar Dunkerton and Gran Akuma could have done something special given it’s Dunkerton’s hometown and the F.I.S.T connections. What we got instead was a nine minute match with an abysmal finish as Icarus pushed Akuma off the top rope leading to the disqualification finish. Dunkerton then got on the microphone and cut an incredibly passionate promo, which ultimately led him to quit F.I.S.T. He also is not scheduled for the Chikara iPPV and was not at TWGP. What frustrates me most about this angle is Dunkerton has been made to look subservient to all the F.I.S.T members, creating some odd and oft-putting vibes. Ultimately, he got no revenge on any of the members and even had to quit in his hometown after having a nothing match with someone who could have given him one of the better singles matches he’s ever had. What a potentially crappy ending for Dunkerton given he’s not on the roster page anymore.
Amasis continued his revenge seeking by defeating Kobald in a match that served its purpose in getting the former a victory but was a borderline mess from a match quality standpoint. There was some general sloppiness and a terrifying spot where Kobald appeared to slip on a top rope tombstone piledriver. Amazing that Amasis would even put himself in this position given his injury history.
The toned down Colony Xtreme Force got a disqualification win of their own against the Spectral Envoy. Missile Assault Ant handed Frightmare his mask. Bryce Remsburg had no choice but to ring the bell given the rules systems. A cheap ending to a show that had a number of them between the two disqualifications and multiple roll-up finishes. I don’t under why CXF continue going after Frightmare’s mask. This has never been explained and in fact feels redundant to the purpose of the Gekido. I under CXF being as annoying as humanly possible and even incorporating more rudo tactics in order to get the proper response from the crowd, but this feud with the Spectral Envoy feels so forced. If deviANT’s original purpose for being in Chikara plays into why CXF is going for the mask, at least make that clear on commentary. Not saying the angle is more engaging but at least it will make more sense. The match itself was slightly above average because of the crowd and the ability of some of the performers.
I saved my big Tim Donst rant for the previous show. All I’ll say here is we got more of the same. This was in some ways a rock bottom night as he lost to Saturyne in a nothing match and ate some Gavin Loudspeaker’s hair before having to get his stomach pumped for real.
I feel very similarly about this show as I did about Gibsonville. There were a couple good matches worth checking out, but I walked away feeling frustrated with a lot of the angles and storylines. I hope the iPPV pays all of this off in one magical swoop. Otherwise, I question why a lot of what has been done the last season and a half.
Grade: C+
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Taped from Porterdale,Georgia
Commentators: Bryce Remsburg, Gavin Loudspeaker, Leonard F. Chikarason, and UltraMantis Black.
Quick results, times, and match ratings:
Shenron defeats Chuck Taylor by pinfall with the prawn hold/8:55/***
Jigsaw and The Shard defeat Fire Ant and assailANT. Shard pins assailANT after the double stomp/11:14/***1/2
Gran Akuma defeats Sugar Dunkerton (w/Icarus) by disqualification after Icarus shoves Akuma off the top rope/8:47/**1/4
Amasis defeats Kobald by pinfall after the rolling elbow/5:44/*
Saturyne defeats Tim Donst by pinfall with a roll-up/6:21/**
Chikara Grand Championship: Eddie Kingston retains over Mr. Touchdown (Young Lion’s Cup champion) by pinfall after the super uranagi off the top rope/14:20/***1/2
Campeonatos de Parejas: 3.0 (Shane Matthews and Scott Parker) retain over the Batiri two falls to one/15:20/**3/4
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