The CHIKARA Special 11.12.11: The Celestial Meridian

Wait, wait, wait. Is…is this a new CHIKARA Special? You mean…that CHIKARA Special? The one of fabled lore? The one that has not been on this here website in over a year? Yes friends, they are one in the same. It’s been a long time since this column has been around, but I figured with such a monumental weekend of CHIKARA goodness ahead that it was a great time to dust off this article and bring it back. Don’t get too excited, it’s probably only for a few weeks. In no way is this a full time return. So, with that in mind, savor every tasty morsel of CHIKARA knowledge I’m about to drop on you.

It was revealed shortly after King of Trios this year that CHIKARA would finally crown it’s first true singles champion. CHIKARA has always been about teams, factions and stables of wrestlers working together, which is why for the longest time their only singles championship was the Young Lions Cup. The Cup, being restricted to those that are 25 years of age or younger, made Los Campeonatos de Parejas (or tag team titles) THE prize to contend for. It also made CHIKARA’s tournaments (the Cibernetico, King of Trios, etc.) more important. 2011, nearly ten years into CHIKARA’s very existence, they decided now would be the time to finally crown what they call the Grand Champion.

How would they decide who would challenge to become the first Grand Champion? In the spirit of recently fallen CHIKARA alumn Larry Sweeney, the company decided to hold the “12 Large: Summit”. The Summit was a twelve person round robin tournament split into two blocks of 6. The six competitors in each block would compete against one another. A win or tie would get you points while a loss would give you nothing. When all was said and done, Mike Quackenbush and Eddie Kingston won their respective blocks and will meet head-to-head on November 13th in South Philadelphia when CHIKARA presents its first internet Pay Per View, “High Noon”.

Would you believe me if I told you this was their first ever singles match? I can’t same I blame you if you don’t, but it is entirely true. Don’t bother trying Google or YouTube, you won’t find a singles match between Kingston and Quackenbush. Sure, they have met in a number of multi-man encounters, but not one-on-one. It’s rather remarkable if you think about it. Quackenbush of course has been in CHIKARA since it’s inception, but Kingston joined the company just a few months later after being under Quackenbush’s tutelage. Nine years and not one singles match? This day and age it’s nearly unheard of. Now they will finally meet and the stakes could not be bigger.

So who has the advantage? Let’s take a look at both men’s careers and see for ourselves.

The experience advantage goes to Quackenbush easily. In some form or facet, Quaceknbush has engaged in wrestling since 1991. From backyard wrestling to Pennsylvania independents to international wrestling companies, Quackenbush has traveled the world and plied his craft. Of course, since 2002, CHIKARA has been his home. Quackenbush is one of the founders of CHIKARA and has been a head trainer of the Wrestle Factory since day one. In fact, Quackenbush has been the only constant trainer of the school.

Quackenbush has been known to use a variety of wrestling types in his arsenal. Whether it’s tying in someone in knots on the mat or taking to the air, Quackenbush can do it all. There’s a reason people call him “The Master of a Thousand Holds”. His craft is so well revered that countless schools and wrestling promotions have invited Quackenbush to teach seminars in their area. There was a time when Quackenbush was heralded as amongst one of the top independent wrestlers in the world and many today would argue the same.

In CHIKARA, Quackenbush (along with Jigsaw and Shane Storm) won the first ever King of Trios tournament in February of 2007. This all came after Quackenbush was thwarted out of the two Tag World Grand Prix’s that proceeded the inaugural Trios tournament (Chris Hero cost Quackenbush the finals of the 2005 tournament, and Quackenbush lost a match to Claudio Castagnoli that prevented him from entering the tournament). Quackenbush is one of the few people to compete in every King of Trios tournament, but has yet to win the tournament for a second time. Quackenbush’s experience level and age prevented him from ever challenging for the Young Lions Cup, making Los Campeonatos de Parejas the only title he could vie for. Quackenbush began eyeing the belts seriously in 2008 by teaming with Shane Storm. Although he and Storm won three tag matches in a row (winning three matches in a row gives a team three points, which translates into a tag title shot), it was revealed to Quackenbush shortly after that Storm had betrayed him prior to their team forming. To this day, Quackenbush and Storm have never cashed in their title shot.

With Storm (now known as STIGMA) no longer his partner, Quackenbush seeked revenge against him for the rest of 2008. He and the returning Jigsaw bested STIGMA and then partner Colin Delaney to put The UnStable (STIGMA, Delaney and Vin Gerard’s stable) in their rearview mirror. Quackenbush and Jigsaw looked forth to 2009 as the year to snag the gold. Their only shot came in April when they lost to then champions The Osirian Portal. A new supergroup, The BDK (Bruderschaft des Kreuzes) came in at the end of 2009 with the sole purpose of destroying CHIKARA. When BDK leaders Ares and Claudio Castagnoli won the titles in March of 2010, Quackenbush’s passion to win the titles become even more great. There was no way he would let a group like the BDK destroy the company he created. The BDK derailed Quackenbush and Jigsaw at every moment they could, costing Quack and Jigsaw their third point two times in 2010. All their hard work looked to be for naught, until Quackenbush and Jigsaw scored three points in one three team elimination match just in time for the 2010 season finale show. It was there that Quackenbush finally accomplished his goal and won the Campeonatos with Jigsaw. They would hold those titles until September of this year. By that point though, it had been half a year since Quackenbush and Jigsaw had defended the titles. A lack of contenders, an injured Jigsaw and both his and Jigsaw’s concentration on the 12 Large: Summit made their reign somewhat of a quiet one.

Quackenbush went 8-2 in the Summit. He lost his first match to Hallowicked, which Quack looked both surprised but also impressed with his students’ outcome. Quackenbush would no longer take any chances and took three victories in a row, taking out Ophidian, Claudio Castagnoli and Icarus. His final match was against Sara Del Rey, who like Quack had won all of her matches except against Hallowicked. With both of them at 6-2, the winner of the match would go 8-2 and take the A Block of the Summit. Quackenbush decided to target Sara’s leg and ended up making her tap out to take the whole thing. Why her leg? We’ll discuss that in Kingston’s portion.

In addition to his CHIKARA accolades, Quackenbush boasts a hefty list of accomplishments in wrestling. Topping those would be his reign as NWA Jr. Heavyweight Champion, a title he held for 1,275 days. That reign makes him the second longest reigning champion in NWA history, falling only 175 days short to Danny Hodge’s record. Quackenbush also won two big independent wrestling tournaments: CZW’s Best of the Best V tournament and the 2007 IWA-MS Ted Petty Invitational tournament, the latter of which Quackenbush won after suffering a serious concussion in the second round. That says a lot about his character.

In terms of experience, cunning, athleticism and accomplishments, Quackenbush is unmatched when it comes to his opponent. As the old saying goes, Quackenbush taught Kingston everything Kingston knows, but he didn’t teach Kingston everything he knows. Classic teacher versus student story. Against most wrestlers in CHIKARA, it would be easy to say the match’s outcome is transparent. Kingston however isn’t like most wrestlers…

Although Kingston technically started his training elsewhere, he has always contributed CHIKARA to be where he truly was trained. Kingston would make his debut in October of 2002 with Black Jack Marciano as a member of The Wild Cards. For most of 2003 and 2004 he and Marciano were embroiled in a feud with F.I.S.T (Icarus and Gran Akuma). Jigsaw ended up joining their side a few times in a group known as “The Toxic Trio”. Their feud with F.I.S.T. and Quackenbush culminated in a Lucha de Apuesta match at CHIKARA’s second Aniversario show where Kingston was shaved bald. After winning the IWA Mid-South tag team title during the 2004 Ted Petty Invitational weekend, he and Marciano defended the titles in CHIKARA for the remainder of the year. Marciano suffered a knee injury forcing him into retirement, forcing Kingston to go solo.

Kingston spent the better portion of the first half of 2005 mostly doing commentary. During that time he made his intentions known: he wanted to hurt Chris Hero. Hero was also one of Kingston’s trainers and the two never saw eye-to-eye. Kingston always said that Hero’s shady demeanor and the way he politicked his way into companies made him disrespect Hero altogether, but the fact that Hero was the perpetrator in Marciano’s injury made Kingston’s blood boil. Kingston and Hero’s historic rivalry crossed promotions, surfacing in CZW, IWA Mid-South, PWG and ROH as well as a few other lesser known companies. To this day, Kingston does not speak highly of Hero. His wars with Hero are what raised Kingston’s prominence in professional wrestling and helped transition him into the singles wrestling star he his today.

I like to call Kingston “The Ambassador of CHIKARA”. Kingston arguably has worked more promotions with regularity than any other person on the roster. No matter where he goes, Kingston always carries to proverbial CHIKARA banner on his back. Whenever an outside talent comes into CHIKARA, more often than not, Kingston cross paths with them. If you look at Kingston’s record since King of Trios 2009, the list of names he has faced (and defeated) is quite astonishing: Austin Aries, Christopher Daniels, Tommy Dreamer, Bryan Danielson (who he loss to via interference), Homicide, El Generico, Akira Tozawa, Colt Cabana and others have crossed paths with “The War King” over the past two years. In fact, Ares and Vin Gerard are the only active roster members who have faced Kingston in a singles match and beaten him, both of them through devious means. However, as stated before, he and Quackenbush have never crossed paths in a singles match.

In terms of championships, Kingston can’t compare to Quackenbush’s list of accomplishments. Kingston did hold both the top singles and tag titles in IWA Mid-South and CZW and won the IWA:MS Revolution Strong Style Tournament in 2006. In CHIKARA, Kingston’s only accomplishment was winning the 2010 Cibernetico. It was in that match that Kingston became the first person to ever take down and pin the BDK Monster Tursas.

Like Quackenbush, Kingston went 8-2 in the 12 Large: Summit. Kingston triumphed over everybody in his path. On the way however, Vin Gerard, who shared the B Block with Kingston, would continuously stalk and attack Kingston during and after his matches. Gerard would target his knee which would be a continuous source of agony and frustration for Kingston over the Summer and into the Fall. Kingston persevered and didn’t lose one singles match from King of Trios 2010 up until October 30th. October 30th is when Kingston finally got to face Vin Gerard in his final 12 Large: Summit match. It was already locked in that Kingston would face Quackenbush for the Grand Championship at “High Noon”, but Kingston went in looking for revenge on Gerard for all the strife he caused. Unfortunately for Kingston, Gerard got the better of him and created the only blemish on Kingston’s nearly perfect 12 Large record. Gerard’s abuse continued after the match and caused damage to the point where Kingston’s involvement in the Grand Championship match was up in the air. Just one day away, Kingston is locked in for the title match. In fact, Tommy Dreamer will be in his corner as a source for inspiration. Quackenbush had been watching Kingston intently. Remember how I said he worked over Sara’s leg something fierce? It’s obvious that Quackenbush was brushing up his skills so that he could do the same to Kingston.

In terms of striking, size, power, and determination, few are as good as Kingston. Even with his bad leg, most of Kingston’s work is done with his upper body. As shown in his training video, Kingston brushed off his classic Koji Clutch submission move that made so many tap out in the early days of CHIKARA. With Quackenbush’s history of back problems, he could fall victim to that very move.

Essentially, this match is either man’s to take. The stakes have never been higher in CHIKARA. Only one person will ever be able to call themselves the first Grand Champion in the history of CHIKARA. It will either be the company’s founder, “Lightning” Mike Quackenbush, or arguably it’s most popular and beloved student, “The Last of a Dying Breed” Eddie Kingston. The whole world will witness live who the first champion will be.

Oh, and if you’re still on the fence about ordering the iPPV, watch this promo by Eddie Kingston. It’s getting universally praised and convinced Kevin f’n Steen to purchase the show. If it’s good enough for Mr. Wrestling, I think it’s good enough for you as well:

With all the iPPV hype, it seems as if some people may actually not know that there is in fact a CHIKARA show the day before. It’s not just any show either; it’s the 8th Annual Torneo Cibernetico! Following CHIKARA’s theme of naming Cibernetico after Batman vehicles, this show is titled “Cibernetico: The Animated Series”. Let us run down this card, shall we?

Gregory Iron has had some tough battles in CHIKARA, but he really hasn’t come across some of the stranger characters the promotion boasts. Few are stranger than Darkness Crabtree who hasn’t been seen since King of Trios when he got his bottom kicked by Sara Del Rey and Daizee Haze. Crabtree has a pension for abusing pills in order to obtain strength and speed for his matches, so don’t be shocked if does that this time around. Iron however wouldn’t mind taking out Crabtree on his path to Icarus the next night. While he be able to take out the Cantankerous Curmudgeonly old-timer? All signs point to yes.

Hop on the Bandwagon! The Bravado Brothers (Lance & Harlem) are making their CHIKARA debut at this show when they take on 3.0. The Bravados are products of the Ring of Honor school and have been in the company for the better part of the past couple of years. Recently they have been embroiled in a feud with Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly, but are best known for wearing argyle and their undying love of their grandmother. Now they will ply their craft in CHIKARA looking for their first point. Jagged and Shane Matthews are also looking for their first point as they come off of a loss in a four team elimination match a few days ago. Can 3.0. get back on the winning path, or will the Bravado Bandwagon steamroll over them?

This is being billed as a battle of former Rey de Voladores champions. Ophidian already contested in a match like this in September when he faced 2007 Rey de Voladores champion Chuck Taylor…and lost. Now Ophidian (2010 champion) will face the winner of this years tournament to gain more momentum. All this the night before Amasis announces the fate of The Osirian Portal. Will Ophidian get back on the right track or will the Generic Luchador bust his brain?

While these two have crossed paths in singles action in Ring of Honor (Jigsaw beat Grizzly when he was known as Mitch Franklin at “Injustice” on April 12, 2008), they have yet to meet in singles action in CHIKARA. However, they have crossed paths in CHIKARA before, as Jigsaw and Mike Quackenbush defeated Redwood and Brodie Lee in the finals of the Tag Team Gauntlet during the 2009 King of Trios weekend. Right before he takes on El Generico, Jigsaw will try to topple the littlest lumberjack. Can he take him down once more, or will Redwood chop him into puzzle pieces?

Although this is a rematch from “Vanity & Violence” from August 2008 (Fire Ant won that match), so much more has went down between The Colony and F.I.S.T. factions since then. It was Chuck Taylor who put Worker Ant out of action for good. It was Fire Ant who caused Chuck Taylor to shave his head in 2009. It was Fire Ant who cost Chuck Taylor the chance to repeat as King of Trios this year. Now with Fire Ant one point away from challenging for Chuck’s Campeonatos de Parejas, a victory here for either man will prove a point to the other. Keep in mind that earlier that day, Chuck will be facing YAMATO for Dragon Gate USA’s Open The Freedom Gate championship, so he will already have gone through one tough encounter before this bout. Can Taylor pull off a victory after already facing one of the best in the world, or will Fire Ant get the last bit of momentum before CHIKARA’s first ever iPPV?

Of course, the main event of the show is the big 16 person elimination Torneo Cibernetico. If you haven’t seen a Cibernetico before, the rules are a little different from your standard elimination match. There’s a batting order to each team, meaning the teams must tag in a specific order (wrestler 1 must tag wrestler 2, wrestler 2 must tag in wrestler 3, etc.) When a wrestler is eliminated, the line shortens and the batting order is still in tact. (Say wrestlers 4, 5 and 6 are eliminated, then wrestler 3 would tag out to wrestler 7). If an entire team is eliminated and the other team has more than one person on the team, the remaining teammates will do battle until only one person is left standing victorious.

This years Cibernetico’s issue revolves around team captains Hallowicked and Tim Donst. It all started when Tim Donst decided to go on a crusade claiming to be the greatest Young Lions Cup champion of all time. As the first and longest reigining champion, Hallowicked took umbrage with this. The two met in singles action at “The Germans” last November where Donst scored the victory by illegally choking Hallowicked out with the string from his mask. By February, Donst had accumulated wins over multiple Young Lions Cup champions and was looking for another win over Max Boyer. Donst even made a scrap book dedicated to all his YLC champion defeats. Hallowicked attacked Donst before the match and destroyed the book. He fed Donst to Boyer, causing Donst to lose the match in 4 seconds: the shortest in CHIKARA history. Donst’s embarrassment wasn’t rectified the next month when Hallowicked pin him in a trios match. Hallowicked’s involvement in the “12 Large: Summit” kept him quite busy, keeping Hallowicked and Donst from getting their hands on each other. Now they look to settle their score this weekend.

Donst’s team recruiting was easy. First, he gathered the other 4 active members of the BDK: Ares, Delirious, Tursas and Jakob Hammemeier. He rounded out the other three members of his team with The Batiri: Obariyon, Kodama and Kobald. The Batiri has had problems with Hallowicked and the rest of the Spectral Envoy for the past year, so filling them out was a smart, obvious choice. Hallowicked took his time to choose the rest of the team, but as you will see he meticulously planned each member.

UltraMantis Black – This really goes without saying. He and Ares have been at war for over a year now. The Batiri were supposed to be Mantis’ new dark army, but Kizarny refused to relinquish them to Mantis from under his tutelage and kept them all to himself to war with Mantis and the rest of the Spectral Envoy. Mantis defeated Kizarny and The Batiri back in September and multiple members of the BDK in singles and tag matches, leaving Ares to be his final foe on his path to redemption. The following night he and Hallowicked have Donst and Ares in a Lucha de Apuesta match, so seeing who pins who will be a lot of fun.

The Throwbacks (Dasher Hatfield & Sugar Dunkerton) – The Throwbacks have had a pretty low key feud with both the BDK and Batiri this year. The Batiri beat the Throwbacks twice in tag action before The Throwbacks finally bested them in September. The BDK was a smaller thorn in their side, but still an obstacle in their path to victories and getting three points. They scored their first point back in June when defeating Tim Donst and Jakob Hammermeier. Sugar however got beaten down by the BDK last month in an Atomicos match. With all four of his opponents from that match in this match as well, Dunkerton can get a measure of retribution.

Green Ant – The Colony vs BDK feud has a vast history, mainly starting with the BDK defeating the Colony in the finals of the 2010 King of Trios. Green Ant and Tursas have stood out as the main key to the feud. Green Ant managed to bodyslam Tursas back at King of Trios of this year, something no one else on the CHIKARA roster has managed to do. Green Ant also made former BDK member Claudio Castagnoli tap out in June heading into a singles match with Tursas. Decked out in the red, white and blue, Green Ant gave Tursas a heck of a fight. Jakob Hammermeier’s interference cost him the singles match however and Green Ant has been looking for revenge since. Green Ant will get his singles match with Tursas at “High Noon”, but this night, he’ll be able to slug it out with every member of the BDK.

Sara Del Rey – Sara recently left the BDK feeling that she was not treated as an equal. Sara has broken out as one of the top competitors in all of CHIKARA, and he string of victories in the 12 Large: Summit proved just that. Sara has toppled former stablemates Claudio Castagnoli and Ares in singles matches. Recently she took on Tursas and lost by disqualification when the other BDK members ambushed her. Sara will face Jakob Hammermeier the next night at “High Noon”, but now she has the opportunity to win one of the biggest matches of the year.

The Young Bucks – The Bucks are a very new addition to this entire feud. The Bucks have their eyes set on tag title aspirations in CHIKARA. They will get a chance at a title shot at “High Noon”, so the night before they will help their fellow CHIKARA compatriots take on the most evil groups in the company. The Bucks hold victories over The Batiri and The BDK (Donst & Tursas) in the past couple of months, so it was a no brainer to include them on the team.

It’s always interesting to see which one of the sixteen rises to the top and wins the whole thing. Who will it be this year?

But of course, “High Noon” is at the epicenter of CHIKARA’s Season Finale. And why wouldn’t it be? It’s their first iPPV and the crowning of their first ever Grand Champion. We already covered the main event in excruciating detail at the top of this article, but let’s check out what the rest of the card has in store.

As you may recall, Jigsaw made a challenge to El Generico and Nick Jackson for a 3 way match at “High Noon” in order to recreate the magic those three and Kota Ibushi captured in an elimination match back at Night 2 of King of Trios 2009. Nick turned down the challenge, stating that he and his brother Matt Jackson were only interested in tag team matches and asked for one on the Pay Per view. While The Young Bucks have yet to be put in a tag match, Jigsaw will now face Generico at “High Noon” in a singles match. Best of all, it will aired FREE on CHIKARA’s UStream page prior to the GFL “High Noon” broadcast. No seriously, this match is free, as in zero dollars. Only CHIKARA would give away a match that could semi-main event most indy shows for free. Just go to CHIKARA’s UStream page for the “High Noon” pre-show at 3:15 PM tomorrow and you will be able to see it. If you have never seen CHIKARA or are not entirely convinced if you want to drop fifteen dollars on their iPPV, check this out to see what CHIKARA is all about.

Amasis was originally slated to be in the 12: Large Summit, but shortly after King of Trios the Funky Pharoah was involved in a serious car accident that has kept him out of action since. Early word was that this injury forced Amasis to retire, but so far nothing officially has been stated by CHIKARA. That will all change on November 13th when Amasis addresses the Philadelphia crowd at CHIKARA’s first iPPV “High Noon”. With Wink Vavasseur’s recent poor treatment of Ophidian, and Hieracon missing from the more recent shows, it will be very interesting to hear what he has to say.

After losing his first match in CHIKARA to Eddie Kingston, Archibald Peck decided to make an open challenge for King of Trios weekend. None other than then NWA World Heayweight Champion Colt Cabana answered the challenge, looking to put the hubristic leader of March Madness in his place. While the usual entertaining antics took place, things took a turn for Cabana when Peck’s gal pal Veronica struck him with her baton as Cabana went to the top rope. Peck followed up with his Cranial Crescendo finisher. Soon after, Peck went on quite the roll, defeating Frightmare, Sugar Dunkerton, Dasher Hatfield, and his first round elimination match during Young Lions Cup weekend. Recent losses to Tadasuke (in the second round) and UltraMantis Black have found Peck in sort of a funk, causing him to bring in Colt Cabunny (a giant bunny wearing a Colt Cabana singlet) as his mascot. With a victory over Chase Owens in Kingsport, Peck is looking to get back on track. Veronica got Peck a bottle of hair tonic (one that turned Chuck Taylor’s hair green) in order to help him cover up his bald spot in the hopes that it would rebuild his confidence. Worried that it could worry his image, Peck hinted that he would be testing the hair tonic on Colt Cabunny. Cabana of course was disgusted that Peck would stoop to such a level, especially hurting a bunny with his own namesake. At “High Noon”, Cabana will get a chance for retribution while Peck hopes to keep his winning record on track.

Sara Del Rey’s quest to vanquish the BDK continues at “High Noon” when she takes on Jakob Hammermeier. Since leaving the BDK, Sara has successfully defeated both Ares and Claudio Castagnoli. When facing BDK member Tursas, Sara was attacked by the other BDK members. After that match Sara laid out the challenge to Jakob which has now been accepted. Jakob is the product of the training of both Ares and Claudio and will do his best to make his trainers proud. Sara has been a roll in singles action this year and won’t let a relative rookie stand in her way. Will Sara pound Jakob into oblivion, or will the rest of the BDK be around the corner to prevent her from taking another victory?

Tursas and Green Ant’s rematch has been months in the making. Green Ant became the first person to bodyslam Tursas at King of Trios, which lead to a singles match between the two at “Chikarasaurus Rex, King of Sequel: Night 1”. Although it looked like Green Ant had the win, Jakob Hammermeier’s interference cost Green Ant the biggest match of his career. This is the rematch Green Ant has been waiting for and he will get a chance at revenge right back where he first slammed Tursas many months ago. The two have not been able to keep their hands off each other the past few shows and may just destroy one another this very Sunday. As we have seen in recent videos, Green Ant has also asked some CHIKARA veterans for advice. Eddie Kingston told Green Ant he needs confidence. UltraMantis Black told him that he needs to be a little bit devious, just like the BDK have a tendency to be. Mike Quackenbush, Green Ant’s trainer, offered to show something he had been working on. Of course, the camera’s were shooed away before we could see just what Quackenbush had in mind. Can Green Ant finally vanquish the God of War, or will Tursas put Green Ant in his place once more?

At “High Noon”, Gregory Iron and Icarus will meet in singles competition for the fourth time this year. Iron has taken their series 2 victories to 1 loss, but Icarus’ desire to put Iron in his place has not subsided. Icarus is certain that Iron is faking his cerebal palsy to gain sympathy from the fans, and it bothers him that Iron can be so fragrant about it. Really though, it’s most likely that Icarus can’t stand that a handicapped person defeated him twice. On Twitter, Iron immediately accepted the challenge and asked for Wink Vavasseur to send him the contract. Now that the T’s and lower case J’s have been crossed, we’ll get the final encounter of the Ringed Wing Warrior and the Handicapped Hero on November 13th on CHIKARA’s first ever iPPV.

Even with the Grand Champion being decided, CHIKARA is still placing emphasis on the importance of Los Campeonatos de Parejas on this show. Nick Jackson turned down Jigsaw’s challenge of a three way match with him and El Generico, stating that tag team gold was his and Matt’s focus for the time being. Nick demanded that Wink Vavasseur give him and Matt and tag team match at “High Noon”. Wink has come through, and the stakes could not be higher, for the winning team will earn their third point and a shot at Los Campeonatos de Parejas. The losing team drops to zero and has to start all over. Outcome aside, this should be a spectable. Which team will walk away with a title shot in their back pocket?

UltraMantis Black laid out a challenge for Ares; one final encounter between the two at “High Noon”. That Friday, Wink Vavasseur made the match official. However, Ares never officially aceepted a singles match with Mantis. Ares stated that hhe would only accept the challenge if it were a tag team match contested under No Disqualification rules. With that in mind, Mantis has recruited Hallowicked and Ares has recruited Tim Donst. However, this match has so much on the line; everyone has something to lose. If either Mantis or Hallowicked take the fall, that person will have to unmask. If Donst is pinned, he will have his head shaved. If Ares loses, he will relinquish the Eye of Tyr, the artifact that has Delirious under mind control and under the command of Ares into Mantis’ hands. With the No DQ stipulation, we could see many, many people looking to poke their nose in this one. We’ll have to wait to see how things unravel tomorrow.

I cannot begin to tell you how hyped I am for this show. I am fortunate enough to be able to attend this show in person, but for those of you who can’t, I highly encourage you to order “High Noon” from GFL. You can do so right here. Be sure to watch the FREE Pre-Show-A-Go-Go on UStream at 3:15 PM ET. You can check that out right here.

These five videos encompass all the “High Noon” reports, hosted by the lovely Jessie McKay. These five videos will help get you up to speed with what’s going down on Sunday (as if what I have written isn’t sufficient enough).

Here are some more hype videos for “High Noon”, covering a bit of the feuds between The Spectral Envoy and the BDK, as well as Colt Cabana and Archibald Peck.

Lest we forget the Cibernetico, as we have these two videos: Hallowicked announcing his Cibernetico team (translated by UltraMantis Black) and Tim Donst’s response.

Gregory Iron wants to be in the 2012 Royal Rumble. He needs our help to get there.

I haven’t had a chance to plug this yet, but one of the reasons I took a hiatus from this column is because I co-wrote the 2011 CHIKARA Yearbook. If you have yet to pick it up, please do so. Unfortunately the hard copy version is out of print, but you can still purchase the digital version at Amazon. Please oh please buy this yearbook, I think you’ll dig it.

The second big reason I have been absent is because I have put in a lot of man hours doing reviews on my CHIKARA review blog, The CHIKARA Special. All of my reviews from 411 are over there, as well as reviews from yesteryear. When all is said and done, every CHIKARA show ever will be reviewed. Its good times, so check it out and tell your friends about The CHIKARA Special.

Myself and Jerome Cusson did an audio interview with Bryce Remsburg at Pro Wrestling Ponderings last week. Bryce is always a pleasure and have some nifty insight into the weekend. On top of that, myself and Brad Garoon did a podcast previewing this weekend’s Dragon Gate USA tripleshot. Also attached to it is an interview with Ricochet that Jerome Cusson hosted. Finally, myself and Justin Houston did a podcast covering this weekends CHIKARA shows. I’m providing you with more audio than you can shake a stick at!

Follow me on Twitter, I’m really interesting.

Be sure to check out Ari Berenstein’s Column of Honors this week. I hear they’re good!

TJ Hawke has a slew of CHIKARA related things going on. First, he has four interviews of interest: UltraMantis Black, Dasher Hatfield, Mike Quackenbush and Johnny Gargano. Check all of them out, and the rest of Hawke’s work.

If you have not begun listening, Mike Quackenbush and Clayton Morris (of FOX News & Friends) host a pop-culture podcast known as The Grizzly Bear Egg Cafe. Clayton and Mike talk about all things geek such as movies, music, television, comic books, tech stuff, and wrestling here and there. I find it wildly entertaining, as Clayton and Mike play off each other very well. It’s also really cool to hear Mike talk about non-wrestling stuff as well. So please, check out The Grizzly Bear Egg Cafe and subscribe to their podcast on iTunes.

That will do it for this week’s edition of the CHIKARA Special. Next week I plan to have a very in-depth look at the three shows I am attending this weekend: Dragon Gate USA’s “Bushido: Code of the Warrior 2011”, CZW’s “Night of Infamy X” and of course, “High Noon”. See you in seven!

Other Links!
The CHIKARA Home Page .
The brand spankin’ new official CHIKARA message board.
Buy CHIKARA DVD’s at Smart Mark Video
Follow CHIKARA on Facebook
Follow CHIKARA on Twitter
CHIKARA on MySpace
CHIKARA on YouTube
CHIKARA 101 on YouTube