Hello one and all and thank you for returning to the Dark Match your premier source of Chikara story line news. In March Chikara continued their plan for world domination as they made their way down into Florida for the first time. The first show, titled Just Shadows in the Fog, presented itself as a bit of evening of redemption. Mike Quackenbush would be stepping into the ring with his once great protege Jigsaw and Gran Akuma would finally get his singles opportunity to face off with Johnny Gargano. There were also two championship matches on tap for what would make up a glorious evening of wrestling. So let us get right into the action!
Just Shadows In The Fog March 9, 2013
Mike Quackenbush and Green Ant vs the Batiri (Kobald and Kodama) vs JigShard vs F.I.S.T (Icarus and Sugar D.)
I was shocked that this match came first on the card, but when you want to start a show off right, there would be no better way. This match contained so many different fragments of stories. Mike was still hesitant towards his old partner who continues in his ruthless ways. As well, Sugar and Icarus were having their issues in February but they were beginning to show signs of progress. Icarus doesn't want to give the impression that Sugar is beginning to rub off on him so he takes as many opportunities to show his rudo under tones as often as possible. Last month, Mike teamed with Hallowicked and Frightmare in a losing endeavour against the Gekido. His continual partner roulette doesn't seem to be working for him. Green Ant is a fine mat technician but he and Mike have little chemistry together. Jigsaw and Shard are building momentum very quickly as a tag team. Any time Mike stepped into the ring Jigsaw was on his way out. Even though Jig wants to talk trash to Mike he isn't interested in besting him in wrestling contest but rather antagonizing him. At different points of the match Jig picked away at Green Ant between other teams tags, taunting Mike to enter into the ring. Only when Mike was completely vulnerable did Jigsaw give his attack. Despite being assaulted by Jigsaw and Shard, Green Ant continued his submission dominance forcing Kobald to tap out. Unfortunately for the makeshift technicos, Jigsaw, with the assistant from the ropes, pinned Mike. This would leave the Dream Team to possibly dispose of the confused duo of Icarus and Sugar. As many problems as F.I.S.T seem to have there are definite moments of great cohesion. Last month Icarus punished Sugar for fooling around too much. With a more composed Sugar, Icarus was a completely different tag partner. We saw both members in purple F.I.S.T tights attempting to rally the crowd. They even picked up the final fall with a tandem muscle buster. Things will be interesting moving forward.
Gran Akuma vs Johnny Gargano
This is Gran Akuma's first singles contest with Johnny after he was removed from F.I.S.T in 2010. Akuma had taken his revenge on Chuck Taylor and Icarus already so Gargano is his last member of F.I.S.T to conquer. Coming into the match, Johnny didn't seem to be very concerned with losing, in fact his main focus was how old Akuma is. Age aside, it didn't take Akuma long to remind Johnny that he has upped his power game recently and can throw vicious strikes as well as utilize high impact maneuvers. Gargano was not without his cunning though. He proved why F.I.S.T reached King of Trios 2012 final. It truly came down to who could out work the other man and could go deeper into their arsenal of devastating moves. At the end it was clear that Akuma was the ring veteran, being able to avoid more of Johnny's assault than vice-verse. This evening Akuma prevailed and took at least a small amount of revenge on Johnny Gargano.
Archibald Peck vs Obariyon
After last months monumental win for Archie he has finally been able to leave behind his past discretion with Mr. Touchdown. On the road to new singles accomplishments, he starts with the rather large test of Obariyon of the Batiri. Typically a tag team specialist with Kodama, this would stand as a opportunity for Obariyon to prove his singles worth as well. This must have been a first time encounter for these two as Archie was a little timid around the demon. It didn't take long however for him to get his heart into things. While comical, Archie showed a lot of cunning in the match. He used multiple tactics to wear Obariyon down instead of having to physically contend with him. Archie would need this because, as always, Obariyon was accompanied by Ophidian at ring side. The numbers game was against Archie, but he was able to overcome the obstacle. There was even a move debut for Archie you will have to check out the DVD or MP4 to see.
Ophidian Promo
Ophidian came back out to the ring after the previous match. Bringing the Batiri with him, he wasn't empty handed as along with him was a new serpent scepter and Amasis' old mask. Ophidian recapped his actions at High Noon against his former partner. He believed that by taking Amasis' mask as well as Heiracon's that he captured their souls. Using that power, he was brought to his present state of being. Ophidian believed that at Under the Hood the soul of Amasis reappeared and has been haunting him, and he would like this to end. Using his scepter and an incantation, Ophidian tried to rid himself again of Amasis. Instead the true Amasis rose to meet him in the ring. Leveling the Batiri, Amasis chased the cowering Ophidian from the building.
Sean Waltman vs Hallowicked
As of recently Hallowicked has been on the singles trail a bit as he bested Chuck Taylor in February. The way it appears to stand, Wink is looking for wrestlers who prove themselves as dominant singles wrestlers to challenge for the Grand Championship. Who better to prove your ability against than one part of the most popular stables in WWE history? That might have been Sean's greatest downfall. He hasn't been predominantly a singles wrestler. Knowing that a Grand Championship may be on the other side of a singles victory over his opponent Hallowicked put it all out there to down the still wily veteran.
Fire Ant, assailANT, Dasher Hatfield and Saturyne vs. Soldier Ant, Missile Assault Ant, Arctic Rescue Ant and Orbit Adventure Ant
Originally, everyone believed that after February Soldier would be able to choose his own partners for his upcoming confrontations in March. Well Wink put a damper on that idea and later changed his plan. So who were we as fans treated to in Tampa? Even more ants! Wink's plan culminated in the Colony Extreme Force of Missile Assault, Arctic Rescue and Orbit Adventure Ant. They most certainly looked like their larger than life titles with very elaborate ring gear. It would even appear as they fell in line for Soldier Ant that Wink may have indeed found Soldier Ant his army to command. If you thought you might forget which ant was which, well they certainly were a very vocal trio for their first match, constantly shouting their own names. As a trio they worked rather well together. With Soldier though they were less than a adequate team. The move sets of the new trio definitely suited their gimmick; Orbit Adventure Ant walks like he is in zero gravity, Missile Assault Ant runs with his arms like rockets and Arctic Rescue Ant does a snowboard stretch. Moving into the future, Soldier would have to take control of his team if he was going to succeed alongside them. New trio aside, Soldier Ant and Fire Ant are still unable to face each other in the ring. When they do decide to lock up, they know each other so well that most attempts at an advantage end in a stalemate. Wink should recognize they make better partners than adversaries.
Jakob Hammermeier vs Mr. Touchdown
Jakob really needs to get himself a new best,friend. With hopes of Disney World following his match, he still holds onto what shards of friendship he may still have with Tim. Tim still tries to further himself from Jakob, now having his newest follower Veronica cut up Jakob's ring attire. Veronica has even gone to the lengths of writing her own high school grade poetry for Donst. Pre-match angst aside, there still was the Young Lions Cup in contention this evening. In the ring it is becoming rather clear that Jakob's frustration with Tim is translating into a much more aggressive style. He has even began developing a rather powerful knockout punch. Tim's presence at ringside was more of a hindrance for Jakob than an aid as usual. Veronica's presence at ringside was more of a distraction for Steve “the Turtle” Weiner on commentary. There might be a budding romance there. In the end with an assist from Veronica and Donst, Mr. Touchdown retained his YLC over Jakob.
3.0 (Scott Parker and Shane Matthews) vs The Devastation Corporation (Max Smashmaster and Blaster McMassive)
This now counts as 3.0's second occupancy of the Promised Land. They have faced the Dev. Corp in the Wrestling is Awesome promotion and suffered a loss at the rather large hands of the brutes. Whether we are in the territories or not, the fact remains that 3.0 had two mountains to overcome. Smashmaster and McMassive are rudos to the absolute bone. The first fall came to these behemoths as Smashmaster held Matthews in the corner and had him watch as McMassive powerbombed Scott into a pin. That does not mean we need to count our newest champs out. Shane and Scott understood that to take down a mountain, you must first crumble the base. Their superior speed allowed for them to take the second fall away from the Dev. Corp when Smashmaster attempted a moonsault and Matthews capitalized quickly on his miss. As the match progressed, 3.0 wore down the monsters with continual kicks and knees to the head. In the end, it would be a mistake by Sidney Bakabella attempting to cheat using one of the tag belts that would propel 3.0 into their first successful defense of the titles.
Eddie Kingston vs Amazing Kong
If there is one aspect of Chikara that I love it is their ability to allow female wrestlers to work with the men to full capacity. Nobody holds the likes of Amazing Kong, Sara Del Rey or Saturyne back from showing their ability against male opponents. As well, they don't force the men to limit themselves while in the ring with the ladies. This is equality in wrestling at it's finest. Now that I am off my soap box, this is a non title match between two users of the back fist. Before the match began, you could sense some paranoia in the Grand Champ. With all that has happened between Eddie and Wink, Eddie has been holding onto his belt a little tighter lately. Early on, this agitation came through as Eddie began throwing chairs against the side of the ring and ricocheting them off the ropes. He also was fixated on his hand, constantly twisting his wrist and trying to adjust himself. Kong brought her set of striking abilities and Eddie his. The match came down to who could outlast the others massive blows. In this contest, it was Eddie. Post match, Eddie became perturbed by Gavin announcing his win and threw more chairs. His feud with Wink is beginning to affect him physically as well as psychologically.
This was quite the card from Chikara! We were introduced to three news ants as well as having two different title defenses. As always, I want to thank you for taking the time to visit the Dark Match and remember to tell your friends. The next blog will feature the happenings of the Orlando show from the next evening. After that, it is up to you guys who you want me to recap from 2012! Head down to the bottom of the page and check out the poll and make your voice heard. Follow me on twitter @MurrayDarkMatch and always remember to keep wrestling fun.
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