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Chikara DVD Review:

Young Lions Cup VII (Night 2)

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1. YLC VII Quarter-Final Match: Yellow Dog vs. Bret Race – *1/2

The rules are the same as Night 1: winners of the six qualifying matches advance to Night 2’s main event Elimination Match. The winner of that advances to face Colin Delaney in the main event of Night 3 in a singles match for the Young Lions Cup. The Yellow Dog gimmick probably gets old quick, but right now it’s awesome. Race comes out, and there’s clearly something off. As it turns out, it’s Lester Crabtree, who is FAR too old to enter. He’s also beats Yellow Dog with a magazine, which is not cool. He’s booted, and a name is drawn from the special Chikara name-drawing hat: Vökoder. He’s in a black full body suit and mask, with red and yellow primary characters. No one knows who this is, but since the name was drawn, he gets the match. Yellow Dog wants a belly rub, but he gets a stomp instead, and crowd boos this. If it were Philly…I’m not so sure. Vökoder eats a shoulder tackle and Yellow Dog follows it up by miming peeing on the new guy. He’s infuriated, but keeps falling for Dog’s tricks. A backslide and a small package get 2. Vökoder hits him with a front kick to stop the shenanigans. He delivers some nasty robot-like chops, but he eats a nice hurricanrana from Dog. He once again gets tricked, and ends up prone on the outside. Huge dive from Yellow Dog! He tries a roll-up back inside, but Vökoder rolls through and get hit with a shotgun dropkick. He’s unfazed though and he chops God down once again. A backdrop from Yellow Dog gets two. Vökoder gets the victory when he hits a spear out of the corner though, and follows it up with the SDT, a front facelock STO. Fun, short match.

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2. YLC VII Quarter-Final Match: Carpenter Ant vs. Soldier Ant – **3/4

These guys work a very technical style to start things out. Soldier tries to take down Carp, but the newest ant rolls through every attempt. Soldier finally hits him with a dropkick that sends him outside. Soldier Ant dives…er, feint dives. He allows Carpenter back in, and they again exchange some pin attempts. A saluting elbow drop from Soldier gets 2. Carpenter Ant escapes a deep headlock into a hammerlock, a nod to his name. Soldier Ant breaks it up by sending him to the outside. Carp once again comes back in, only to be booted out a third time. Carpenter Ant rolls back in and slaps a modified headscissors armbar on Soldier, who seems intent on not following his stablemate to the outside. Carp lets go of the submission and goes to work on Soldier with strikes and quick attacks, mostly targeting his opponents left arm. Soldier catches Carpenter with a front slam, but Carp rolls through and applies another arm wrenching submission. Carpenter runs the ropes but he gets tripped hard but Soldier Ant, who hooks the leg for a two count. Soldier off the ropes, but Carpenter cuts it off with a polish hammer. Get it? Carpenter up top…but Soldier meets him there. AVALANCHE BELLY-TO-BELLY SUPLEX OFF THE TOP! 1…2…Carpenter kicks out! Soldier tries to end it with the TKO, but Carpenter blocks and applies a standing bodyscissors hammerlock to the bad arm. Soldier Ant tries to toss him overhead, but Carpenter rolls through and is in a better position with the hammerlock. Soldier starts to fade…from a freakin’ hammerlock…but he finds the strength and reverses the hold into the Chikara Special! Carpenter Ant taps out! Soldier Ant advances in a really, really smart match. I’d have liked to have seen more elbow selling from Soldier during the match, but he does a good job afterwards. Nice to see a quality indy match between two guys without resorting to huge spots and dangerous nonsense.

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3. YLC VII Quarter-Final Match: Darin Corbin vs. Ryan Cruz – ***1/4

They come out together with their awesome music, but they argue a bit over who gets to come out first. Darin comes out showing his GINGER POWAAAHHHH by tossing around Cruz a bit. Louden makes a ginger joke, too. UltraMantis sighs. They do the same moves over and over for a while, and a standoff occurs. They circle and…circle again and…SLOW MOTION LOCK UP! EAT IT, LES THATCHER. Cruz rolls through a hip toss into a pin! 1………2……..N…O! Slow motion thumb-to-the-eye from Darin Corbin! Bryce is livid as Darin goes off the ropes and eats a beautiful armdrag…but Corbin comes back with one of his own. Another standoff stops the slow mo, and the crowd comes back with a “That…Was…Awe….Some” chant. The North Stars shake hands, but Corbin sends him off the ropes and nails a military press and follows with a nasty back senton. Corbin works the back with a knee and a pendulum backbreaker. Chinbreaker from Ryan, followed by a seated enzuigiri. Cruz off the ropes, but Darin hits a uranage backbreaker. 1…2…Ryan kicks out. Stalling back suplex for another two. Corbin locks on a bearhug, but Cruz breaks it with a running clothesline and a heelkick. A second-rope moonsault gets two for Ryan Cruz. Corbin hits some shoulder thrusts in the corner and heads up top. He leaps and gets caught with a uranage-style spinebuster, leaving both men on the canvas. Both guys try and fail roll ups. Cruz ends the cycle with a back elbow, but Corbin comes back with a DDT for 2. Corbin ends up on top, where Cruz places him on his shoulders and nails an electric chair powerbomb with a folding pin! 1…2…Corbin manages to kick out. Cruz calls for his finisher, the Boom Shaka-laka, but Corbin avoids it and sets Cruz on his shoulders in position for their tag finisher. Corbin does the move, but without an opponent to take the splash, Cruz eats all canvas! Roll up! 1…2…Ryan kicks out. Corbin goes off the ropes, but gets NAILED with a 360 gamengiri. He hits his finisher, which can only be described as a pumphandle fisherman piledriver, and Ryan Cruz gets the win. This was great fun, and beat every tourney match from Night One.

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4. YLC VII Quarter-Final Match: Trik Davis vs. Shane Hollister – ***

Trik and Shane apparently know each other well, and their in-ring counters reflect this. Shane seems to know Trik a little better though, as he gets sent to the apron and then the floor following a trip. Shane hits a springboard armdrag to the floor on Davis! Back in, Hollister applies a standing armbar, then modifies it with a chin wrench. Shane breaks it and hits a stiff heelkick. Trik asks for time, and when Shane asks the fans if he should, they tell Hollister to keep up the punishment.  He hits a seated shotgun dropkick and a springboard elbow drop for…none, as Davis has the ropes.  Trik fires Hollister into the second rope with a Complete Shot to take control. He hits some leaps stomps and knee, followed by kicks to the butt. Yeah. Trik lifts Shane to the apron, who hits an enzuigiri and heads up top. Trik screams and shoves him off, causing his head to bounce off the apron! Back in, Trik works over Hollister’s brain. His delicious, fortifying brain. A springboard double knee gets him two. Trik applies a cobra clutch bodylock…to a man who just got his marbles rocked…and Hollister begins to fade. Shane makes it to his feet, and hits a run behind springboard DDT to take both men down. They trade very stiff strikes, ending when Shane just punches Trik right in the face. Seated 360 enzuigiri to the back of Trik’s head! After some reversals and Hollister screaming “he’s dead!” about twelve times, Shane hits a powerbomb and rolls him into a modified Complete Shot. 1…2…Shane kicks out, and is apparently a liar because kicking out is a clear sign of life. Trik is placed on the top, but he counters into a second-rope sitout uranage for two. Davis hits a cutter and a backpack stunner for two. HANGMAN’S CLUTCH ON HOLLISTER! Groans erupt from the crowd.  Shane elbows free, and hits a crappy buzzsaw kick. A rope-hung knee to the gut gets two. They do more completely meaningless moves and Trik Davis wins with a Perfect Driver. This was total indy junk food, and the crowd was largely disinterested. Clearly, so was I. Look, there was some good work here, but this was the wrong style in front of a bored crowd. The match wasn’t very fun, but it was technically good and the strikes were really stiff.

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5. YLC VII Quarter-Final Match: Grizzly Redwood vs. El Leonino – *1/2

Leo inexplicably gets three streamers from people with yellow paper to waste. Grizzly gets great heat in throwing them back. The crowd chants for Leonino as he hits some nice armdrags on Grizzly and a dropkick that sends him to the floor. Grizz jaws with the crowd outside, but Leo chases him back inside. A hip toss from Leo is met with a headbutt from Redwood. Leonino wriggles away and hits a headscissors on Grizz, followed by a one-hand bulldog and a back senton for two. A clothesline from Grizzly gets him two. He hits a couple axehandles and a back elbow for another two. The straps come down and the shirt comes off! Grizz hits a knee drop for 2. Leo rolls up Redwood for two, but Grizzly fights back with a hard clothesline. Grizzly tries a suplex, but Leo reverses it into a standing hurricanrana. Leonino throws some elbows and hits a gutbuster. He sends Grizz off and hits a Pounce for two. Someone in the crowd is devastated. Redwood comes back with an axehandle to the knee, a kick to the gut and a big boot to the face. FRENCH-CANADIAN BRAINBUSTER FROM GRIZZLY! Holy crap that looked like it hurt. Grizzly gets the three count. Neither guy looked great, or even good. I’m still a shameless Grizz mark though.

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6. YLC VII Quarter-Final Match: Player Uno vs. Player Dos – ***1/2

This is the match I’ve looked forward to the most. They start out with some reversals, Uno showing that he is, quite obviously, the stronger of the two. Dos shows some athleticism, and they stalemate. Uno finally takes control with a low bridge, sending Dos outside. Uno with a suicide dive to the outside! Back in, he gets two separate two counts. Uno hits a pendulum backbreaker, followed by a mat slam backbreaker for two. Dos hits a disgusting double stomp on Dos. Dos hits some strikes, but Dos catches a kick, throws the leg to the ref, and Uno hits a neckbreaker for two. Awesome. Dos calls referee Papagiorgio “evil” and Bryce concurs on commentary that “most Croatians are”. Chops from Uno. Uno calls for the brainbuster, but Dos blocks and goes to the corner. He ducks a splash and Uno ends up on the outside. DOS DIVES OVER THE RINGPOST ONTO UNO! Dos landed badly, and acknowledged that it was a “bad idea”. Back inside, Dos heads north for a Frog Splash, but he forced to leap over Uno when he tries to knock him off. Uno sends Dos to the apron, and eats a leaping enzuigiri. Dos again goes up top, but Uno also meets him there once again, this time yanking him off and nailing River City Ransom! One…Two…Dos kicks out. He follows it up with Pitfall, a swinging modified Complete Shot, for 2. Uno looks for the moonsault, but finds the well has dried. Dos comes back with a big corner elbow, a back suplex, and a standing moonsault for two. Dos says eight, but the ref disagrees. Dos sends his partner off the ropes, but Uno reverse, Dos reveres that, and hits an inverted facelock into DDT for 2. Dos gets reversed and lifted onto Uno’s shoulders, but Dos punches free. Uno tries the Bubble Bobble Buster, but Dos turns it into a swinging DDT! 1…2…Uno kicks out. Mantis is barely awake for this match, and Bryce calls him on it. Dos goes for Final Smash, but Uno reverses it. Player Uno gets reversed and eats a SICK reverse hurricanrana! Dos heads to the top rope. FROG SPLASH…but no one’s home. Game Genie from Uno! Spinning headlock elbow drop! 1…2…Dos gets the shoulder up! Player Uno is once again calling for the Bubble Bobble Buster, but once again Dos has it scouted and kicks him away. Backflip kick from Dos! FALCON PUNCH FROM UNO FOLLOWED BY A SUPERKICK FROM DOS! Both guys stagger to their feet. Dos gets two on a roll up. Uno comes back with a clothesline, but Dos kips up to dodge it, and puts Uno onto his shoulders. Uno counters back into the Bubble Bobble Buster position. He lifts Dos up…but Dos over-rotates into a reverse DDT on Uno! Swinging fireman’s carry sitout facebuster! That’s a mouthful. Dos is up top for the frog splash, but Uno starts rolling away. With Uno three fourths of the way across the ring and still rolling, Dos hits his devastating Frog Splash anyway! 1…2…3! Player Dos pins his partner Player Uno, begging the question as to whether they should have to switch masks now.  This was excellent, and by far the best match of the YLC tournament so far. The action was crisp, the verbal and physical interactions between the Super Smash Brothers were perfect, and the crowd was pretty into it. Oh, and the match had a great frickin’ story, too. Everything just plain worked.

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7. Arik Cannon vs. Jigsaw – ***1/4

This was supposed to be Lince Dorado facing Cannon, but Dorado wrecked his ankle on Night 1, so we get a distinct upgrade in both overall ability and entrance music. Arik ducks an early clothesline, feeding the crowds “oh yeah!” screaming addiction. Jig ducks one, and gets a nice cheer as well. The feeling out process ends with an applauded stalemate, but Jigsaw starts with the lucha, where he is clearly superior to Cannon. Cannon gets sent out side and Jigsaw immediately follows up with a springboard hurricanrana on the outside! Back in, Jig covers Cannon for two. Cannon gets to his feet and shows off his lucha skills, end a reversal sequence with a swinging neckbreaker. Chops from Cannon, and a big back elbow puts Jigsaw down. With Jigsaw dangling between the ropes on the apron, they go strike for strike. This is Cannon’s strength, and he wins the exchange with a running boot to Jigsaw’s head that gets 2. He sets Jigsaw on top…but Jig chops him down. Crossbody on Cannon and both are down. Jigsaw hits a clothesline and a leg lariat for 2. Jigsaw leaps over a charging Cannon, nailing him with a running single leg dropkick for 2. Jigsaw misses a leg drop, but counters a backdrop driver from Cannon with a leaping enzuigiri. Jigsaw goes for the superkick, but Cannon hits a straight right hand, following it up with a big running lariat! 1…2…Jigsaw kicks out. Arik looks for the Glimmering Warlock, but Jig ducks and hits a shotgun dropkick. He places Cannon on the top rope, but Arik knocks him off. He hits another jumping enzuigiri, grabs Cannon, and drills him with a hanging DDT! 1…2…Cannon kicks out. Jigsaw gets reversed into the corner, where ends up on Cannons shoulders. Rope hung snap swinging neckbreaker! 1…2…NO! But Cannon immediately drags Jigsaw back to his feet. BRAINBUSTER ON JIGSAW! 1…2…Jigsaw kicks out again! Glimmering Warlock…is once again ducked by Jigsaw. Tilt-a-whirl DDT on Cannon! SUPERKICK! Jigsaw jackknifes Cannon for the pinfall. Really solid work from both guys. I’m still not a big fan of Cannon, but you can always count on the guy to deliver a fun match.

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8. Mascarita Dorada vs. Pierrothito – ***1/4

Pierrothito holds up his Puerto Rican flag, drawing boos from the crowd. Wow. Dorado eventually gets the flag and performs a series of passes on Pierrothito. I believe that’s known as a tanda, but don’t quote me. Pierrothito mocks Dorado’s diminutive size and bigs bullying him around the ring. Dorado takes control with armlocks and a quick headscissors. Pierrothito applies a surfboard, but Dorado rolls off onto Pierrothito for a two count. Dorado continues to cheat under the guise that he doesn’t understand it’s wrong. Pierrothito nails a slam and tries to start a chant for himself, but the crowd just boos. Great stuff. Mascarita has an armlock, Pierrothito lifts him up for a powerbomb. But Dorada rolls right through into the armbar again. Dorada hits an excellent headscissors to Pierrothito, sending him to the outside. Mascarita Dorado climbs the ropes like a freakin’ cat, but he stumbles back to the mat. However, he hits a NICE springboard dive out onto Pierrothito to cover the blemish. Pierrothito slides back in, but Dorado is waiting on the other side. He hits a springboard crossbody but Pierrothito rolls through for a two count. Pierrothito takes over with a chop to the back and an airplane spin slam for 2. The crowd chants for Mascarita, but Pierrothito continues the onslaught with a fisherman suplex, a clothesline into the corner, and a springboard senton. Dorada counters a whip into the corner with kicks to Pierrothito’s legs, chopping him down. Wheelbarrow armdrag from Dorada, followed by double jump twisting headbutt! A crazy headscissors sends Pierrothito outside. SEXTUPLET JUMP MOONSAULT ON PIERROTHITO! Sweet Zombie Jesus! Back in, Mascarita hits a swinging hurricanrana and lifts Pierrothito onto his tiny shoulders! Dorada slams him down and nails a triple jump moonsault. He calls for one more! This time it’s a quintuplet jump moonsault…but Pierrothito gets both feet up. He runs right at Dorada and applies a bridging arm triangle choke! Dorada taps immediately! The crowd boos loudly as Pierrothito celebrates his victory. The action was pretty spot on, with Dorado only making a few mistakes here and there. The heat was really good, and it was a blast to watch.

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9. YLC VII Semi-Final Elimination Match:  The Six Quarter-Finalists – ***1/4

It’s Trik, The Grizz, Vökoder, Cruz, Dos, Soldier Ant, and The Great Gazoo. Just kidding, dum-dum. Dos and Vökoder start, with Vökoder nailing a two-handed standing choke bomb to begin! Vökoder sends Soldier Ant outside immediately, but finally falls victim to an assisted moonsault from Player Dos. Dos gets tossed by Grizzly, so it’s him and Ryan Cruz. Cruz gets some nice armdrags in before sending him out with a wheelkick. Cruz follows with an apron moonsault. Soldier Ant and Trik Davis in now, trading pins and chops. Davis bails, thinking he’s made a wise choice, but Soldier follows with a saluting suicide dive! Dos and Vökoder are back in. Dos ducks a chop and hits an enzuigiri that sends the roboman outside. Player Dos thinks for second before hitting a twisting plancha on Vökoder. Cruz comes back in for a dive, but Vökoder cuts him off. Everything gets a bit awkward, but Vökoder finally nails the SDT and Ryan Cruz is out first. Player Dos clotheslines Vökoder out, allowing Trik Davis to enter. Trik bails and Vökoder reenters. He punches Dos in the gut and follows with a stiff punch to the jaw that sends Dos spinning in mid-air! 1…2…Dos kicks out. Trik gets a tag and works over Dos. Grizzly gets the tag and does the same with Trik. Dos hits a reverse DDT on Davis and gets the tag to Soldier Ant, who comes flying off the top with a saluting slash! He takes out Vökoder with a saluting diving corner headbutt, but it dizzies him a bit. This allows Grizzly time to sneak in and hit the French-Canadian Brainbuster! 1…2…3! Grizzly wins…or so he thinks. Soldier Ant’s foot was on the rope. Grizzly is infuriated, and goes for the brainbuster once again, but Soldier Ant reverses it into a small package. 1…2…3! Grizzly Redwood is gone! The crowd cheers this like crazy. Grizzly chop blocks Soldier leg in anger before leaving. Trik sees this and starts working over the knee of Soldier Ant with Vökoder. Trik and Vökoder sustain some serious offense, but the team breaks down as Vökoder turns on his new friend, nailing him with the SDT to eliminate Trik Davis. Dos comes in and everything he throws at Vökoder is ineffective. He finally just hammers him with elbows and follows with double knee in the corner. Soldier Ant comes in and they hit a tandem corner dropkick! They pull Vökoder to the middle. Frog Splash from Player Dos! Saluting Diving Headbutt from Soldier Ant! STANDING STUPIFICATION FROM PLAYER DOS! 1…2…3! Vökoder is eliminated! Now it’s just Dos vs. Soldier Ant. They trade elbows, but Soldier’s are much more potent. Roaring Saluting Elbow from Soldier Ant! CHIKARA SPECIAL…is blocked by Dos. Dos tries a Chikara Special of his own, but Soldier breaks it as well. Dos gets to his feet, nailing a friggin’ wrist-clutch exploder for 2. Seriously do Lince and Dos have no idea who Jun Akiyama is and what that move means? They don’t? Well…someone tell them! Dos tries a Dragon Suplex, but Soldier reverses into a Bridging German Suplex! 1…2…Dos kicks out! Soldier hits what was probably supposed to be a brainbuster, but looks like a standard suplex. It gets two. Soldier goes up top, but Dos meets him with a leaping enzuigiri. Elbows from Dos. Dos hoists him up…FINAL SMASH ON SOLDIER ANT! FROG SPLASH! 1…2…3! Player Dos is in the finals! This was fun, but like the Night 1 match, I really didn’t like the story. Unlike the Night 1 main event though, this wasn’t completely stupid. The eliminations were good, and Vökoder’s an interesting gimmick. Probably the third best match after Uno/Dos and Jigsaw/Cannon

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Overall - 7 / 10

This was a huge step-up from the previous night, which would probably go down as my least favorite Chikara show I’ve seen were I making such a list. Dos/Uno, Cruz/Corbin, Jigsaw/Cannon, Dorada/Pierrothito, and the main event are all worth a watch. I enjoyed Davis/Hollister and Soldier/Carpenter as well. The whole show outside of the Leonino/Redwood match was very enjoyable. Nothing was blow-you-away amazing, but the show is very strong as a whole, which is exactly what you want in a tournament like this. Recommended for hardcore and casual fans alike if you’re looking for a fun top-to-bottom DVD.

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The All-Important M’s

Match: The Super Smash Brothers squaring off. It was perfect: Dos simply knew more counters than Uno, probably because Uno spends more time on video games. The action was great, and the little things they yelled at each other and the crowd had me rolling. Dos has become a dependable high flyer, and Uno is massively underrated. I hope the Super Smash Brother aren’t done or something, because as much as I like them in singles competition, they are at their best as a team.

Move: The SDT, for sure. It straight killed Yellow Dog, Trik Davis, and Ryan Cruz. Due to some unfortunate circumstances, and a very wise decision by Chikara’s booker, the move might never be seen in Chikara again. Or I’m completely wrong. In a totally unrelated matter, Sami Callahan is a terrible wrestler. In-ring, promos, character…you want them, Sami doesn’t have them.

Moment: The Slow Motion from Cruz vs. Corbin. The North Star Express seems to have this mastered, and the crowd ate it up with a spoon. Also, it felt like a nose thumbing at Les Thatcher’s blatantly ignorant and disparaging comments about Chikara’s perceived silliness. With respect, never confuse silliness with frivolousness, Mr. Thatcher. Silliness, with proper context, is much more interesting than blind boorishness.

MVP: Player Dos. While he didn’t exactly look like a world beater in his matches, he wasn’t really booked to be. He’s a guy who is getting more comfortable under a mask and in his character. He wrestled two ***+ matches, including the best match of the show, so he gets the nod over the very intriguing Vökoder.

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So, this is kind of a…DVD Review Extra. When I originally started the Dos/Uno write up, I was having trouble stopping the video to write because I was enjoying it so much, despite it being my third watch. Once I finished, I was horrified to learn that, perhaps due to some terrible Freudian Vortex, I had never written Player Uno’s name down in any form: I wrote Player Dos every time, for both guys.  It read as if Dos wrestled himself for fifteen minutes. I laughed so hard, I thought I was going to choke to death. I deal with some issues involving typing and dyslexia-esqe conditions, but this was a first. I seriously debated leaving the review that way as a joke, but in the end I decided to edit it to a (more) legible state. I’m still not sure if I fixed everything, but at least I tried. Enjoy your weekend…indoors. I know I will; we Georgians aren’t accustomed to snow. We go crazy. Soup doesn’t even make it to the shelves.

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