Chikara “Young Lions Cup XV, 1st Stage/ 2nd Stage” Live Show Reports March 16th in Philadelphia, PA
Chikara came back to the Wrestle Factory for the first time this year with two full shows over a Saturday, both to decide the next Young Lions Cup Champion and to attempt to sort out the ugly situation surrounding the Grand Championship.
The 1st Stage in the afternoon started with all of the entrants in this year’s tournament coming out to the ring for a group photo. Blanche Babish was unable to take part for some reason, so new ring announcer Mark Adam Haggerty helped Bryce Remsburg draw a new name, albeit a little haphazardly. Sonny Defarge was already scheduled to wrestle later, and Roman Reigns was unavailable (not sure either one would qualify as a Young Lion), so the vacant spot went to Lady Frost, a wrestler I was cheated out of seeing in person at Beyond’s last trip here. Sixteen entrants, with all of the first round matches were all 4-way elimination matches.
1. Young Lions Cup 1st Round: Boomer Hatfield won over Lady Frost, Jay Sorbet, and Lee Moriarty. Sorbet (pronounced like the frozen dessert) was one of two visiting Australians in the tournament, calling himself the the Australian Scooperman and doing a lot of ice cream wordplay; he would get along swimmingly with Los Ice Creams. Frost (a convenient opponent) used a lot of flashy offense that could double as dancing. Moriarty, out of the Pittsburgh area, was another late replacement and assumed the rudo role here, mocking Boomer’s height. Moriarty eliminated Sorbet first after high knee and a leaping flatliner, then right afterward rolled up Frost to eliminate her. The crowd favorite Boomer was able to pin Moriarty after spiking him with a basement rana. He had a post-match interview with Scott Holladay, but Dasher Hatfield intervened immediately, congratulating his son (“This is the boy’s moment!”) and talked about how both will be champions by the end of the day.
2. The Regime (Juan Francisco de Coronado, Sloan Caprice, and Rick Roland) vs. three enhancement talents went to a No Contest. This presumed squash match never got going, as Caprice wanted to speak to Juan. He said Juan hasn’t been paying him and Roland, that they’re not his friends, and when people don’t pay them, those people get “whacked.” The two Closers proceeded to beat up Juan, and their three opponents and the ref chose to leave. Roland finished off Juan with a sit-out tree slam, but the fans chanted for one more time, so they returned and hit him with the Deal Breaker (Hart Attack power bomb). They then tossed their bowtie armbands and Ecuadorian gauntlets to the mat and left. Pretty heelish actions that the crowd loved. Juan eventually got up and retrieved the bowties.
3. Young Lions Cup 1st Round: Jaden Newman won over Thief Ant, Frantik, and Air Wolf. Newman was the big unknown of these four, coming from Tennessee and having a gimmick of calling himself Number One. He established himself as a heel, leading to the crowd chanting Number 2 at him. Air Wolf returned after being in last year’s Young Lions Cup tournament and winning the Rey de Voladores tournament over King of Trios weekend last year. Frantik was the first one gone when Thief Ant pinned him with an O’Connor Roll. Newman used a finisher where he hit a sliding forearm to the back of a seated Air Wolf to eliminate him, and soon afterward did the same to Thief Ant to win. I thought Newman assessed himself well.
4. Missile Assault Man beat Rory Gulak with an inverted DDT. Gulak had fun with his “Amazing” catchphrase early on and tried to let Missile do the same, then they began grappling. Solid work, ending shortly after Gulak went for a splash off the top but ate Missile’s knees.
- They went to an intermission and said the next match would be an Unsanctioned Chain Match. Haggerty warned fans that this match would be more violent than usual Chikara matches and advised parental discretion.
5. Lucas Calhoun beat Volgar in an Unsanctioned Chain Match. There was no ref for this match. The two of them were supposed to be attached to each other by a long chain, though Calhoun actually just held onto to it. This was unsanctioned anyway, so I’ll give them leeway. This followed Last Man Standing rules, with Calhoun asking the fans to count when one of them was down. This was not a smooth process as it took a while for counting fans to get coordinated, but it got into a pattern of us counting slowly when Calhoun was down, counting normally when Volgar was down, and not counting at all when one was about to do a move to another. They brawled in and out of the ring, and I thought they used the chain well. Calhoun was slammed onto two steel chairs at ringside that he himself set up. The ending sequence saw Volgar dish out excessive punishment, hitting two top rope splashes, followed by a senton off the top. He went up a fourth time, but Calhoun crotched him on the top rope by yanking the chain, then he grabbed a glass bottle from a planted fan and smashed it over Volgar’s head. Calhoun then hit Volgar with a Samoan Drop off the top, and this was good enough to keep Volgar down for a regular ten-count, giving Calhoun the hard-fought victory. Not perfect, but a very effective brawl and potential feud-ender by the end of it. They took another, shorter intermission to clean up the ring.
6. Young Lions Cup 1st Round: Still Life With Apricots and Pears won over Cam Carter, DL Hurst, and Davienne. The returning Carter and the debuting Davienne, who wrestles in Beyond and elsewhere in the New England area, were the stars of this match, with Carter using a lot of his agility and Davienne throwing guys around with suplexes. She was the first one gone, however, when Hurst made her submit to the Rings of Saturn. Carter eliminated Hurst with a standing Spanish Fly out of nowhere. Still Life, looking considerably messier today, largely stayed out of the action, but immediately got involved when it was down to them (Still Life uses they/them pronouns now) and Carter. After some back and forth, Carter went to hit his running 450 Splash from the entry ramp, but Still Life moved out of the way of it and rolled up Carter with a La Magistral Cradle to win. In a post-match interview, Holladay asked Still Life about the whereabouts of BLANK. Still Life had no comment.
7. Young Lions Cup 1st Round: Ricky South won over Green Ant, Allie Kat, and Brayden Lee. The very popular Green Ant was matched up against three newcomers that did very well for themselves. I’ve seen Allie Kat before, and the gist is she thinks she’s a cat and I think it’s an infectious act. “Tuff Stuff” Ricky South is another wrestler all the way from Australia; he acts a bit androgynous with his lipstick and flashy gear, but showed off a lot of power and solid wrestling. Brayden Lee came all the way from Indiana with his chiseled abs and lunch carrier containing his carb-free diet. I thought this was the most fun of a series of fun first round matches. Kat plowed through her opponents after getting her belly scratched, but she was the first one eliminated after Green Ant pinned her with a springboard cross body. Lee upped the ante (sorry) when he eliminated Green Ant with a Shooting Star Press off the top. South was able to score the win after hitting Lee with a piledriver off the top.
8. Mr. Touchdown beat Chris Dickinson with the Flea Flicker. Strong main event of the first stage that told a story of Touchdown fighting from behind. Dickinson alluded to Mr. Touchdown’s injury at King of Trios throughout the match worked over Touchdown’s knee while bullying him verbally. He also got on ref (and Director of Fun) Bryce Remsburg’s last nerves. This was Touchdown’s second straight win since coming back and picking up a victory at National Pro Wrestling Day.
- Afterward, Dasher and Boomer Hatfield came out. Boomer attended to Touchdown while Dasher commended him for beating “the Hatfield family’s Kryptonite.” He said if Touchdown wanted to earn the Grand Champion back, he had one more opponent for him waiting in the dugout later in the night. Remsburg said Dasher doesn’t make the matches around here, but Dasher appealed to Touchdown’s fighting spirit as Touchdown got to his feet and requested the match Dasher had for him.
- About ninety minutes later, the Second Stage of Young Lions Cup XV began.
1. Young Lions Cup Semifinals: Boomer Hatfield advanced over Jaden Newman with a huricanrana. Boomer gave Newman multiple sliding baseball kicks to the outside, but Newman stopped him by pulling up the ring apron. Newman took a lot of the match and hit his sliding forearm that helped him in the first round, but Boomer was able to survive it by maneuvering towards the ropes.
2. Young Lions Cup Semifinals: Still Life With Apricots and Pears advanced over Ricky South when he countered South’s top rope piledriver into a roll-up. A good mix of personalities here. South received a “Please Come Back” chant afterward.
3. Air Wolf beat Cam Carter with a delayed butterfly suplex. A very fun, fast-paced match. This was also a Magic Move Match, meaning if a specific move was hit during the match, everyone in attendance would receive a prize. The magic move was a 450 Splash, of which Carter hit of the springboard variety late in the match for a nearfall, and the prize was a new poster with the spring event schedule on it. After this 450 Splash didn’t work, Carter went for his running 450, but Air Wolf caught him to lead to the finish. Holliday interviewed him afterward about his scheduled match on the next Chikara event - April 5 in Jersey City, NJ - against A-Kid, the Spanish wrestler from Whitewolf Wrestling making waves. Air Wolf gave A-Kid credit for how well he’s done, but he has beaten A-Kid previously to win the Rey de Voladores tournament. He said this next encounter wouldn’t be a match, but a hunt.
4. The Colony (Fire Ant, Thief Ant, and Worker Ant) beat The Creatures of the Deep (Merlok, Hermit Crab, and Cajun Crawdad) when Fire Ant pinned Crawdad following a Beach Break. Originally announced as just a tag match, Thief Ant was added after being eliminated from the Young Lions Cup tournament, and Merlok joined his crustacean comrades to turn this into a trios match, Chikara’s calling card. Worker Ant, recently returning to the ring, held his own, and had a brief hoss battle with Merlok late in the match where Worker was able to take him off his feet. Thief Ant employed some thievery, giving Crawdad his own Gator Roll and putting Hermit Crab in the Boston Crab after they had just done the moves themselves (counter-clockwise on the N64 control stick). At one point, Crawdad was looking to dive from the top rope from the floor, but Fire Ant tried to prevent it. Crawdad grabbed onto the ceiling of the Wrestle Factory (the framing in between the tiles), kicked Fire Ant away, and briefly swung from the ceiling to pull off his dive to the floor. A wild spot pulled off perfectly. The two trios wound up having a showdown in the middle of the ring, ending with Worker Ant and Thief Ant doing suicide dives to Hermit Crab and Merlok on the floor, while Fire Ant delivered a kick to Crawdad to set up the finish. I had so much fun watching this.
- Intermission, as Hermit Crab and Merlok tried to help Crawdad to the back.
5. FIST (Travis Huckabee & Tony Deppen) beat Cornelius Crummels & Sonny Defarge when Huckabee had Crummels in a horse collar to allow Deppen to hit him with a double stomp off the top. Fun rudo vs. rudo tag team match that started with some underhanded tactics from both teams, including fish hooking and face gouging each other in a circle. Deppen is really channeling Beavis for me, when I think he’s supposed to be the obnoxious member of the FIST trio that Chuck Taylor was. Crummels was worked over a lot, being able to make a tag after sneezing on Deppen. This win gave Huckabee and Deppen their third point for a shot at Los Campeonatos de Parejas.
6. Dasher Hatfield beat Solo Darling to retain the Chikara Grand Championship with a powerslam into the corner. Strong match with Darling the clear favorite. Hatfield was able to escape the Sharp Stinger. He hit a Jackhammer late into the match, but Darling kicked out at 1. Darling was able to string together a DDT on the edge of the ring and a bulldog on the floor, but Dasher came back with a powerbomb on the edge of the ring.
7. Young Lions Cup Finals: Still Life With Apricots and Pears beat Boomer Hatfield to win the Young Lions Cup when they made Boomer pass out to a grapevine leg lock. The big story to this match was Still Life working over Boomer’s knee, to the point where Boomer tried for his corner charge (which he used in his previous matches during the day), his knee gave out. A big moment later saw Still Life go after Boomer’s mask while both were on the top, but Boomer knocked Still Life off and delivered a Meteora to them. Shortly afterward, Still Life twisted around Boomer’s mask and went in for the kill on his knee, clinching the Cup. As Still Life was just starting a post-match interview, BLANK emerged and interjected himself. He seemed happy for Still Life at first, but he then yelled how Still Life is no longer his magnum opus. He said Still Life was destroyed by Penelope Ford at National Pro Wrestling Day, and that the splash of gold from the Young Lions Cup won’t help it. Where this relationship between art and artist goes, I have no clue.
- They announced via a video that this year’s King of Trios will take place in Reading, PA, October 4, 5, and 6 (away from what has become a crowded Labor Day Weekend in recent years for wrestling). They’re tying it into the video game they still hope to release. Their ticket site says that King of Trios will be held at The Goodwill Beneficial Association in Reading, which they have run before for other shows.
8. Mr. Touchdown beat Icarus with a cradle pin. Mr. Touchdown was still selling the wear on his body from his match with Chris Dickinson earlier, and Icarus took advantage of it. Touchdown still fought back, and went for a superplex, but Icarus slammed his face on the top of the ring post. Icarus was able to hit a Pedigree, but only for a nearfall. A second Pedigree attempt was countered by Touchdown for the win. Solid main event with a strong technico and rudo at the center of it.
- Boomer ran out afterward to check on Touchdown, followed by Dasher coming out and telling Icarus he failed at his job. Icarus proceeded to hit a Blu Ray on Touchdown into the corner. Dasher said Touchdown’s three victories won’t earn him the championship back, and he told an incensed Remsburg (who officiated this main event) that he can’t take the Grand Championship from him. He ran down all of the challengers he’s turned away, up to and including Solo Darling, and claimed he is the real Grand Champion now. Touchdown got up and said that he earned the title back, that they’re family, and was looking for a hug, but Dasher still clocked him with the title. Remsburg finally had enough, and said that he even though he can’t physically take the title away from Dasher, he came up with a solution. In what he said was his final act as Director of Fun (news that took everyone by surprise), he announced Dasher Hatfield vs. Mr. Touchdown for April 5 in Jersey City in a Ladder Match, to decide the undisputed Grand Champion. Dasher stormed out and called Boomer (who was trying to tend to a downed Touchdown this whole time) to his side, while Fire Ant, Air Wolf, and the other refs came out to make sure Touchdown could get up and leave on his own power, which he did.
A heck of a double-header from Chikara, two full shows with sixteen (technically fifteen matches between them, setting the stage for April 5 and future shows. Lots of quality matches, and I thought all of the new and returning guests did well for themselves, so the independent scene continues to thrive. I intend to be at that April 5 event, along with a number of other events happening in Jersey City (and one in Rahway… and one in Manhattan, my first time in Madison Square Garden!). I definitely can not promise rundowns like this for all of those shows (even this weekend, fatigue set in, which is why this was posted now and not late last night), but I do hope to write up some general articles about what I will have witnessed over Wrestling Week.
