Sunday, March 24, 2013

The Promise Land

   

        Welcome back to the Dark Match for your second dose of Chikara's February 2013 debut weekend. If you look directly below there will be a recap of the first show from this weekend. Coming into day two, there are two very important matches featuring defenses of the Grand Championship and the Campeonatos de Parejas. As well, Mr. Touchdown was defending his Young Lions Cup. It was a day full of action and so many matches had title implications on the line. Lets jump right into the fun that was Chikara's second show from season 12... 

While the Dawn is Breaking  February 10, 2013

“Mr. Touchdown” Mark Angelosetti vs Saturyne
        Mark had competed the night previous, losing to Archibald Peck, but this was Saturyne's first chance in a Chikara ring in 2013. This match proved the amazing improvements she has been making over the past several months. It is clear her time spent in Wrestling is Fun is paying dividends right now. Saturyne showed her tenacity, taking the fight to Mr. Touchdown for a majority of the match. She debuted a few new moves, including a mighty powerful axe kick. Mark's main offense came from his obvious size and strength advantage. Saturyne showed her grit and even kicked out of a vicious elevated spine buster. Another interesting note is that Veronica was nowhere to be seen. After watching her boyfriend lose, and spear her into the turnbuckle, it didn't appear she was very interested anymore. Mark won the match cleanly, simply proving to be too much of a challenge for the fledgling Saturyne. There will be a rematch, and when it comes we will probably be looking at our first Lioness.

Gran Akuma vs Jakob Hammermeier
        It was still hard to look at poor Jakob after Donst cut off his hair. He was also still wearing the cut up shirt from the previous day. Jakob looked tortured and rightfully so. I can only imagine how long this verbal, physical and psychological abuse can continue from Tim before Jakob snaps. Gran Akuma was in a particularly good mood, he clapped along with the fans and even partook in the “wrestling!” chants. I guess time spent with 3.0 after gaining his contract has lightened his heart. Jakob showed some real fortitude in this match. He became frustrated after receiving chest kicks and almost knocked Akuma out with a wild punch. There was a real fire in Jakob's eye during the match as he picked up the upset victory. His days of being kicked like a pound puppy are coming to a close. We could see a real blitzkrieg from him soon.


Wink Promo
        Wink comes out to address a problem that has persisted in Chikara since last summer: Soldier Ant's insubordination. Out of all the Ants, Soldier is the one who has come out with the lowest standing since Wink mixed up the Colony and Swarm. Wink came out to let Soldier Ant know that when Chikara makes their debut in Florida that he would be captaining his own team.


Tim Donst vs Archibald Peck
        Archie is coming off his monumental victory over Mr. Touchdown from the previous evening. Jakob still accompanies Donst out to the ring, even after being emotionally and literally cut down. Even though Tim clearly despises the praises that Jakob gives him, he doesn't mind having his help when it comes to winning matches. Speaking of low people, it didn't take long until Veronica made her way out to ringside. The temptress sure isn't very subtle about her ways, Archie is back on top and that is where she wants to be. She might think twice about being near the ring because she ended up taking a stiff elbow from Donst, albeit a accidental one. Jakob found it to be rather hilarious, probably because Tim hurt someone who wasn't him. After punting Peck between the legs and giving him the DQ win, Tim decides to lecture Archie about his poor character and how sweet and beautiful Veronica is. In a strange move Donst actually leaves with Veronica. Again, Tim's actions alienate Jakob.


The Colony (Fire Ant, Green Ant, assailANT) vs F.I.S.T (Sugar Dunkerton, Icarus, Chuck Taylor)
        If you are assailANT, your life is pretty great right now fitting into the Colony. If you happen to be Sugar Dunkerton on the other hand...not so much. It would appear that every member of Colony Classic sans Soldier Ant, for good reason, has accepted assailANT. Again, there are moments in this match where you would think that Sugar is part of F.I.S.T. There is almost a dynamic that has grown between Icarus and Sugar. Almost. They still can't seem to agree on the proper mentality to enter a match with but once the action begins, Icarus seems to get caught up in everything and works rather well with Sugar. This can be seen when they hit a assisted shiranui and elbow drop combination. Icarus and Taylor obviously continue to be the great partners they have been for years. The Colony also show signs of improved trust in assailANT. They no longer need to invite him into the triple team drop kick, it just happens. Also, Green Ant who hasn't been regularly tagging with assailANT like Fire Ant has, is showing signs of fluidity with him. To top it all off assailANT, ended up having quite the surprise for Sugar Dunkerton to end the match. I won't spoil it for you, you'll have to watch to see.
        Post match Sugar Dunkerton gets a hold of a microphone and he has a few words for Mr. Dasher Hatfield who was on commentary. He starts off by mentioning that he started off in Easton with his friend Dasher. Sugar says that Dasher owes him after all of the feuds that they survived together. He's put on a smile while in F.I.S.T but things are starting to fall through. Now it has been no secret that Sugar doesn't like Mr. Touchdown, the man who took his spot in the Throwbacks. However, Dasher wasn't going to let him run his family member into the ground. Dasher left Sugar standing in the ring, and was not going to be making any apologies.


Dasher Hatfield vs Kobald
        After having words with Sugar in the ring moments before this match Dasher was in a foul mood. I'd also like to point out that Dasher had stopped bringing his bat to the ring, but it was present again with him tonight. Kobald was ordered to come out in this match and avenge his overlord Delirious, who lost to Dasher the previous night in Reading. Dasher showed a heightened amount of aggression in the match. This isn't the type of aggression where he wanted to release his anger after falling out with Sugar, he was almost toying with and torturing Kobald. At one point Dasher was bouncing Kobald's head off a turnbuckle. Not a very Dasher like manoeuvre. Delirious came out to the ring part way through the match, but was shaken off the apron by Dasher. After skulking around the ring and biding his time, he helped Kobald pick up the victory. After pinning Dasher, Kobald leaped into Delirious' arms. It was rather father and son reminiscent. Sugar came back out to help Dasher after his loss, but he ended up on his rear end. Dasher doesn't seem to want to settle his Sugar issues publicly, but somehow I can't see it going any other way.


Gekido (Jigsaw, Shard & deviANT) vs Team Frightening (Mike Quackenbush, Frightmare & Hallowicked)
        Mike seems to have finally realized the error of his actions from the previous season. In a prematch promo he admits that he lost himself last year and that means that he has lost many things that were dear to him. Unfortunately for the Gekido, the master of a thousand holds has not lost his temper. As the match started off deviANT was showcasing some of his fine striking. At the Geikdo's genesis last season their purpose was to duplicate the Colony and their movesets. As they have moved forward, assailANT has developed the most personality of his own. Now deviANT is beginning to join his ex-Gekido member in emerging with his own talents and abilities. There was still a lot of sentimentality and hesitation from Mike to Jigsaw. The Master of a Thousand Holds still seems to believe that there are remnants of good left in Jig. It wouldn't appear as such, Jigsaw almost didn't take the match seriously. He often times was toying with his opponent in the ring, mocking and ridiculing them. Both factions worked well together, but the Gekido side proved that they are growing ever closer together under the tutelage of Jigsaw. Shard and Jigsaw along with deviANT picked up the win over Team Frightning and continue on their path towards supremacy as the “dream team.”


Eddie Kingston vs Kevin Steen
        Gavin wasn't even able to get his announcements off before Eddie and Steen came brawling out from the back. This match was different from the others that they have shared previously in Chikara. Steen has focused less on his matches and more on the antagonism of Chikara and the morals that it has stood for. Eddie has played more the role of the hero defending his company and the beliefs on which it was founded. Neither man was in this particular role this evening. Kevin wrestled a much smarter match, focusing on the knee of Eddie and looking for a technical victory instead of one based simply off brute strength. After so many back and forth moments between these two about the company, it was refreshing for the match to go in this direction. Wink came out part way through the match to watch the events unfold live in front of his eyes. After a brutal contest, our Grand Champ retained and Wink seemed a little less than pleased. I can only imagine the cruelty that Wink has planned for Eddie now. Green Ant came out after the match and asked Eddie for a title shot based off his win the prior night. Eddie agreed and set the date for the next set of shows in Florida.


Ophidian Promo
        Ophidian comes out to the ring to rant that he isn't crazy and is wise to the plans of Amasis. He says that he can summon Amasis to the ring and will do so. His methods were a little less mystical than expected as he proceeded to attack fans with Amasis masks until the true Amasis revealed himself in the ring. Amasis taunted Ophidian enraging him further until Delirious and Kobald came out and dragged Ophidian into the back avoiding a confrontation.


3.0 (Scott Parker and Shane Matthews) vs The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson)
        Scott and Shane understand that it is a rare opportunity to attempt to return to the Promise Land twice. They have beaten both of their rivals, the Bravado Brothers and F.I.S.T, on their way back to earning a tag opportunity. The typically fun loving and easy going duo, who have teamed together for ten years, were beyond serious about this match . Matt and Nick are the constant professionals and ambassadors for tag team wrestling and they are never interested in losing matches. Much like the last bout, there was little shenanigans to be had in this match. Both teams fought hard the first two falls and each team gained one pin. The third and final fall was the longest of the three and the hardest fought. During the third fall, the technico locker room came out to ringside, lead by Gran Akuma, to cheer on 3.0. After dealing their second Sweet Taste O' Professionalism to the Bucks, the entire building thought that Bryce counted three. This was not the fact, and was evident when watching the MP4 version. This mistake only fired 3.0 up more and lead them to a very emotional submission victory. The eccentric Canadian duo brought the gold back home to Chikara and became only the second tag team to hold the belts twice.

        This was such a fun show with so much action and drama. Chikara really outdid themselves this year with two awesome shows to kick off the year. I have only heard good things about the Florida weekend and I anticipate the release of those MP4s greatly. Thanks as always for reading The Dark Match, it is always my pleasure to bring you guys my best. Never forget to tell your friends about me and send them here if they need to catch up on their Chikara! Follow me on twitter @MurrayDarkMatch and let me know how you think I am doing. Until next time, taker easy out there CHIKArmy!

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

The Bird is the Word




         Hello, hello, hello my CHIKArmy friends it is fabulous to be back! It has been quite the past couple of weeks with February debut shows coming out. As I said last time, I will be recapping current story lines before I continue my work on 2012. I will finish 2012 however, I still want this blog to be a complete story compendium. It is important to keep the blog updated with prior shows for anyone who will be attending a current one, so my intent is to have blogs up before the next set of shows. This then will be supplemented with last years history. If all goes well everything should be cleaned up soon! Back to our true intent of the day, the February shows! I was so happy that Smart Mark Video got these  shows out. I was in a real need for my Chikara fix. So unlike my previous work, these blogs will be broken down match by match instead of as one massive text column. So without further adieu, let us break into 2013! First up was the fantastic event...


All the Agents and the Superhuman Crew  February 9, 2013


deviANT and Soldier Ant vs Fire Ant and assailANT
        DeviANT is still pretty impressed with himself for pinning assailANT last year at the finale event. He tells Soldier that if he listens, good things will come to the team. Someone aught to remind him that it was a Shard double stomp that put assailANT out, not a maneuver of his own. Soldier still isn't having any of this and tells him “Enough” and walks away. This is literally the only word I have heard him use that wasn't “Sir yes sir” or “Sir no Sir.” Unlike the odd Swarm pairing, Fire Ant and assailANT are getting along much better. There doesn't seem to be any animosity between the two and they're working well together. This didn't stop there from being a lot of tension in the match. Fire Ant and Soldier Ant still refuse to face each other. At one point they sat back to back in the centre of the ring in protest of the match. At certain points, when they did choose to engage with each other in the ring, they still worked like a tandem against their opponents. Finally Soldier became upset with deviANT who kept attempting to steal the win from him and put on his coat and left. Fire and assailANT put deviANT away with a Colony classic Ants Go Marching. Bryce was right, it as a good thing Soldier didn't see it. It's obvious Fire Ant hasn't moved on yet, he still remembers his old tag partner. He does accept assailANT though, and that will continue to cause tension.

Dasher Hatfield vs Delirious
        This match was over before Dasher or Delirious were able to get their full ring attire off! Dasher was still wearing his jersey when he scored a quick roll-up victory. Delirious is obviously distracted by his loss from last year, and his focus isn't on anyone else other than Ultramantis. Delirious' embarrassment caused him and Kobald, who joined him post match, to assault Dasher, finally being sent to the back. If he wants to win matches he is going to have to move past Ultramantis. Another fun note, this was the first time I can remember Dasher bringing his bat to ringside.

The Batiri (Kodama and Obariyon) vs Los Ice Creams (Ice Cream Jr and El Hijo del Ice Cream)
        Pure comedy enjoyment at its finest between these two teams aided by Kobald sticking around to do commentary. Something most people don't give the Batiri credit for is their comedy matches. These guys are more than blood thirst demons from the underworld, they've got a sense of humour too. Both sides showed off some new offence, proving their interest in gaining three points towards title contention. The Batiri picked up the win, but it easily could have gone to the cool duo of cones.

Ophidian vs Frightmare
        Ophidian is a man haunted by his past. Amasis revealing himself at Under the Hood has clearly rattled his old teammate. Ophidian spends his entrance screaming at fans, claiming that Amasis is dead and that he isn't crazy. He goes as far as to try and tear masks off of good paying CHIKArmy members, trying to prove that Amasis wasn't underneath. Once Ophidian stopped harassing fans and entered the ring to face Frightmare they had a very competitive and athletic contest. Ophidian lost however after being distracted by someone by the ring entrance. He starred and shook like he had seen a ghost. It would seem that Ophidian is starting to regret his decision to blast Amasis in the face with his poisonous mist.

Gekido (Jigsaw and Shard) vs F.I.S.T (Icarus and Sugar Dunkerton)
        Here we have a showdown between two relatively new teams. Jigsaw and Shard are choosing to team together, Jigsaw believing that the Shard needs his guidance. On the other side of the ring stood two men who are being forced to work together, but that doesn't stop Icarus from trying to work things out with Sugar. I know, I'm as shocked as you are. Icarus is taking his wrestling career more seriously as of late, explaining to Sugar that he hasn't been spending his time fooling around, but attending a clinic held by Marty Jannetty. Icarus seems to want to take his tag situation seriously. It isn't that strange since he has held the belts and knows what it takes to hold onto them. Jigsaw and the Shard too have been spending their off season training. Their moves are crisp and they work tags like a team who have been working together for years. JigShard worked together succinctly the entire match, but there were spots of glimmer for Sugar and Icarus. It would almost appear that they could have won the contest. That was until Icarus left Sugar to take a beating at the hands of JigShard. Icarus was trying to teach Sugar a lesson, to stop fooling around and wrestle. It will be interesting moving on to see if Sugar stops dancing, if Icarus will willingly tag with him. Jigsaw and the Shard took the victory and their first point. They are a dangerous team, who in a short time have gained a working knowledge of each other other tag teams have spent years developing.

Green Ant vs Eddie Kingston
        Green Ant is insulted that everyone would think that he would die and get pummelled by the Grand Champion. He isn't looking for any sympathy or pity, he just wants to prove that he is worthy of a title shot. From what he showed in this match, he fully well could deserve one. Green Ant wrestled a smart contest, he knows about Eddie's knee and focus on that area. It helps when you are a submission specialist like he is to be able to work over body parts. That being said, Eddie proved why his has held the champion's belt for well over a year. Eddie used his raw power to utilize a wide variety of suplexes and strikes to combat Green Ants submission techniques. At one point of the match Kevin Steen, who was to be Eddie's opponent the next night, came out for some pre-match antagonism. Caught in the cross fire was Wink Vavassuer, the Director of Fun. Eddie accidentally struck Wink while attempting to assault Steen. Wink's ire towards Eddie was already great, and his accidental attack only fuelled the hate. After the match Wink told Eddie he would be defending his title the next night against Steen, a match originally scheduled to be a non-title contest. Green Ant showed a lot of heart in the match and a lot of cunning. His improvements have been great and if he continues to mature as a wrestler there will be nothing stopping him from becoming a light weight power house fusion.

Kevin Steen and the Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson vs 3.0 (Scott Parker and Shane Matthews) and Gran Akuma
        This match would serve as a prelude to the two title contests to be contended the next afternoon. The anticipation for the next day would build, as neither the Young Bucks or 3.0 spent much time in the ring interacting. Instead the majority of the match was spent by the rudo squad working over Gran Akuma. I don't want to admit it, but the Wink select trio of 3.0 and Gran Akuma have began working as a efficient unit. Since Steen and the Bucks don't regularly tag, they were not using triple team offense the way 3.0 and Akuma did. The moments when 3.0 were in the ring with the Bucks were mainly dominated by the Chikara favorites, 3.0.

Chuck Taylor vs Hallowicked
        While there isn't a known feud between F.I.S.T and the Spectral Envoy there was a sense of a grudge match between these two, likely because of the loss F.I.S.T took at the hands of the Envoy in the semi finals of King of Trios 2012. Since the introduction of the Grand Championship belt singles matches of this variety help gauge the next contender for Eddie. Both of these men fought hard and utilized striking and throw offences to try and gain the win. Go back as far as the 12 Large Summit, it was evident that Hallowicked was a strong singles competitor. He continued to prove this advancing passed Chuck. As a side note, this match also featured a much more serious version of Taylor, which is a pleasure to see.

Tim Donst Promo
        Really have to appreciate the dig Gavin takes at Donst before he steals the microphone. Donst is clearly still upset about losing to Eddie in the main event of Under the Hood. He doesn't believe that wrestling is cool, fun or an art, just pain. Tim still believes that he could be the salvation of Chikara Pro, but people don't seem to get it. Jakob thinks he understands Tim though, and he still says he wants to be just like his BFF. Donst asks if he really wants to be like him, and Jakob answers yes. Tim took out a pair of scissors and cut Jakob's beautiful hair as Hammermeier begged him to stop! This was honestly uncomfortable to watch, more uncomfortable than Mr. Touchdown belly flopping on Sapphire. Donst destroyed Jakob here.

“Mr. Touchdown” Mark Angelosetti vs Archibald Peck
        This match is the culmination of everything terrible that Mr. Touchdown has ever done to Archie. Mark stole his girlfriend, his career and killed his best friend, Sapphire and Archie finally had his revenge here. Archie apparently doesn't blame Mark for taking Veronica from him, but he does call him out for being a bully and a coward. This match featured all of the different personas that Archie has been over the last year; Peck, Mixed Martial Archie and the Mysterious and Handsome Stranger.  Now it would have appeared a few months ago that things between Mr. T and Veronica were on slippery slopes because of Archie dumping the slop of her, but she still came out with her current boyfriend. Since the match was a non-disqualification bout, both men at different points used items that suit their particular character. Archie brought a marching drum with him to ringside, which he would later use to club Mr. T and at one point Mr. Touchdown hit a shoulder tackle while wearing shoulder pads. Despicably, Touchdown even attempted to use a fake pigeon to attack Archie. That was until the real and NOT dead Sapphire was brought to the ring by a very professional looking male nurse. Nobody could believe it, especially Mr. Touchdown. Man and bird united again and Mr. Touchdown would suffer their tandem offence. In the end we were able to see Archie reclaim some of his lost dignity and his best friend. At this point it would be unclear what Veronica, who had been accidentally speared by her boyfriend during the course of the match, would do after Mark's loss.

        This was a fantastic debut event! So many great stories were revisited as well as new ones beginning to develop. My next blog will cover the story progression from the next day, While the Dawn is Breaking. It will be after that in which I will go back to 2012 and recap the year for Jigsaw and Mike Quackenbush. Until then I hope you are enjoying your March, remember to visit me on twitter @MurrayDarkMatch, and spread the word to your friends. Until next time CHIKArmy!

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

You Guys Seem Familiar...

GEKIDO: 17, The Shard, CombatANT, DeviANT and AssailANT


         Hello and welcome back my beautiful CHIKArmy friends! I am so pleased to say that any day now the 2013 debut weekend will be coming from Smart Mark Video. There is nothing that gets me more excited than a DVD release. While it has taken me longer to work through the happenings of 2012 than I thought it would, worry not because I will complete them. My priority once the first shows come out will be to watch those and get the stories up online. However, in between my storyline blogs for 2013, I will do clean up work for 2012. I want this blog to become a place for you guys to be able to come and keep current. Say you're going to a show but hadn't seen the last two. I will have you covered! This week I bring you one of the most interesting stables in Chikara history, Gekido. These doppelgangers came into Chikara and made quite the impact. Their departures made quite the impact in their own way as well... 




Gekido
CHIKARA Debut - Caught In the Spider's Den  February 26th 2012
Affiliations: GEKIDO (17, The Shard, CombatANT, DeviANT, AssailANT)
                 The Swarm (CombatANT, DeviANT, AssailANT)
                 The New Swarm (CombatANT, DeviANT, Soldier Ant)
                 The New Colony (AssailANT, Fire Ant, Green Ant)


       Season 11 began with a air of hopefulness. The BDK had been thwarted and their reign of terror in Chikara ended. The debut show came and went with some great wrestling but little in the way of the typical evil that had been haunting the company. Something was amiss however when we arrived in Reading for A Death Worse than Fate. During the debut match of Mr. Touchdown as he and his step cousin in law, Dasher Hatfield took on the Colony, that Green Ant came out from the locker room and pushed Dasher off of the top turnbuckle. The Throwbacks were well in control of the Colony at that point in the match. It would seem that Green Ant was attempting to aid his comrades. Cheating wasn't part of the usual Colony repertoire however. Moving on to the next evening Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw, Fire Ant and Soldier Ant were dealing with the rather dastardly quartet of the Batiri, Tim Donst and Jakob Hammermeier. Again, Green Ant made his way out towards the ring. Then...Green Ant made his way out to the ring? Two Green Ants stood outside the ring on Long Island. One of them jumped in the ring and attacked Mike Quackenbush! He tore of his mask, revealing a blue and gold one underneath. Rushing the ring came four other individuals, three of which looked a lot like one of our favourite trios. Very off colour ants assaulted the technicos in the ring. They were chased off by the locker room, but had already made quite the first impression.
       March fast approached and so did two more Chikara shows. Taking a page out of the Batiri play book, these intruders utilized YouTube and social media. The first of these masked men was the yellow ant, unnamed at the time, but soon to be known as CombatANT. He claimed that he and the other members of the Gekido would unmask the Colony, exposing them for the frauds that they were. The next video featured the well muscled package, the Shard. He warned that he was aware of Jigsaw's knee problems. These guys seemed to know a lot about Chikara. Vaughn came and so did the Gekido. In the match that was supposed to feature Los Ice Creams, CombatANT and DeviANT took them out backstage and interjected themselves into the match in their place. Their move sets seemed rather familiar. Even more so after CombatANT devastated Soldier Ant with a TKO. Following this confrontation, Quack and Jigsaw entered the ring against 17 and the Shard. While it was evident the Shard was a distorted version of Jig, it would soon become evident how much like Mike 17 was. After dropping Quack with his own Quackendriver III, he used a move not seen in years to break the fingers of Mike! It is a good thing for free health care in Canada. These doppelgangers meant to eliminate their likenesses quickly. The next evening in Ottawa, the five members of the Gekido stood in the ring again with some of Chikara's finest technicos. Hallowicked and Ultramantis Black came out on the losing side against the Shard and 17. Shard utilized several of Jigsaw's moves in this bout, particularly his super kick. As their full units, the Swarm and Colony met for the first of many battles inside of a Chikara ring. It became apparent that the Gekido weren't interested in winning titles and belts like the BDK were. Instead, the Swarm were targeting the Colony's masks. Being pinned on his back, Green Ant had his mask torn from his head! This is a instant disqualification in Chikara, but that didn't matter to the sadistic and twisted counterparts of the Colony.

        After March, the Gekido had put the whole Chikara locker room on notice. Quack was now on the shelf after his first encounter with 17 who claimed that he knew submissions holds even the master Quackenbush did not. A bold statement by the masked man. Being injured, Mike chose the champ himself, Eddie Kingston, to take his place in a atomicos match in New Jersey. It was another brawl and, even with the added brawn of Eddie, the Colony were not able to overcome their adversaries. For a second time the victory came by TKO utilized by CombatANT. The war building between these two factions was quickly becoming very personal for Soldier Ant, as it was his patented finishing maneuver that was aiding the Swarm. In their next meeting at Synergy, Eddie Kingston was subbed out for the Soaring Jet of Lucha Libre, Jigsaw. Another brawl and well contested match. This time however the technico squad was able to overcome the Gekido via Chikara Special submission applied by Soldier Ant. It had taken nearly two months, but the Colony had taken a small portion of revenge on their colourful counterparts. As well that evening, 17 had a unscheduled match against the debuting Tianlong. We will never know his potential because minutes into the match his career was ended by another forgotten submission hold. Two months, two injuries...one career ending...caused by 17.

      Continuing his vendetta towards the Swarm, Soldier Ant took his aggression towards the rudo unit to the new level in Lafayette. During the Colony versus Swarm match, Soldier decided it was no longer necessary to play by the rules that had defined the Colony as a techico squad. He began to attempt to remove the mask from CombatANT. He was unsuccessful as the match was interrupted by Gekido influence. 17 suffered a loss to the Grand champion despite Shard attacking his leg prior to the match. Thankfully 17 was not able to place a submission hold on Eddie. If he had injured him, the champ might have had to vacate his title position.

        Anniversario had arrived in the Chikaraverse and everyone was abuzz for what would be a landmark match. The Gekido were set to step into the ring with some of Chikara's finest, past and present. Digging into their reserves Chikara called back Mr. Zero and Dragonfly to fight alongside Hallowicked, Ultramantis and Icarus. It would appear that the Night Shift were back together for one afternoon to defend the gates of Chikara. The technicos fought well and the match seemed to be evenly contested. This was until 17 placed another one of his holds onto the unsuspecting Dragonfly. Another match, another submission and another wrestler injured so severely his career was ended. 17's resume of lost submission holds was only growing and he hadn't even used ten of them yet. If some of the best from the past and present couldn't do it, maybe the Colony, Jigsaw and Kingston could rout the rudos at Chikara's first IPPV of the year, Chikarasaurus Rex. We wouldn't be able to find out if the original technico team could defeat the Gekido however, because during the pre-show festivities Fire Ant was assaulted and his ankle badly injured. That left the technico team a man short facing what has been one of the most destructive stables in Chikara history. Aid came in the form of the healing Mike Quackenbush, who blindsided 17 with a drop kick. He then delivered a palm strike to Derek Sabato, the social liason of Gekido. After a super anthill was used, Soldier Ant forced 17 to tap out to the Chikara Special. That move seemed to be the Achilles heel of the Gekido. Post match Quack whispered something in the ear of 17 before breaking his fingers, gaining his revenge.
      In Syracuse, Chikara fans were treated to the first singles competition faced by the Gekido. The purple DeviANT faced off against Green Ant, blue AssailANT faced Soldier Ant and Shard fought with his mirrored likeness Jigsaw. Victory came to the technicos in all matches but Soldier's. These bouts allowed for the Gekido's personalities to be seen for the first time in season 11. DeviANT was becoming a fast striker and AssailANT's strength was nearly as formidable as Eddie Kingston's.
        Midway through the summer Chikara took a turn down a very unfamiliar road, the directions coming from the less than competent Wink Vavasseur. Wink had devised a mathematical system he called Chikarabermetrics. Using wrestlers stats, he placed them into teams based on wins, losses and pinning combinations. He had decided that Soldier Ant, DeviANT and CombatANT would make a better team that the original Colony. As well he placed AssailANT with Colony classic. One of these trios would be tested in Portland by another Wink concoction, 3.0 and Gran Akuma. The new Swarm was felled by Booyakuma, and again the next day by the Spectral Envoy. The problem was simple: Soldier only takes his orders from the CHIKArmy. The Gekido were far too controlling over his actions and it was costing them wins.
        It was August when Fire Ant was able to return from his injuries sustained at C-Rex. Coincidentally, it was also the same time that 17 was able to return from injuries suffered on the same evening. For Fire Ant however his homecoming was not as sweet as anticipated. In Soldier Ant's place stood the blue bruiser of the Gekido, AssailANT. Unlike the way that DeviANT and CombatANT were trying to control Solider, AssailANT was excited to be a part of the Colony. His enthusiasm was visible in their first teaming together against the Batiri. Exuberance doesn't win matches though and their first  opportunity together was a loss. The Swarm still wasn't fairing any better and suffered losses to both the Batiri and F.I.S.T that month. Shard and 17 had an opportunity for their revenge in Indianapolis, a day after Shard nearly upset the Grand Champion. Quack was not going to allow for 17's return to be one of glory. He used all four Quackendrivers on him and ended 17's career the way 17 ended the careers of Dragonfly and Tianlong. Jigsaw took exception to this however, and was becoming increasingly frustrated with Mike's actions.
      Excitement was all around as King of Trios 2012 had come to Chikara. Both the new Swarm and Colony were to be a part of the tournament. The first to compete was the Colony against the fan favourite Sendai girls. AssailANT still seemed thrilled to be able to stand in the ring with Fire and Green Ant. They hadn't forgotten that AssailANT had torn Green Ants mask off in March however and disjunction cost them a first round loss. The Swarm stood across from Jigsaw, Quack and Manami Toyota in their first round match up. Wink's mash up team was far more interested in causing each other harm than actually wrestling the opposing trio though. While fun to watch Soldier use knife edge chops as tags, they don't really help you win. They were defeated by a flurry of offense and eliminated. Both of Wink's ant filled teams were defeated in the first round of King of Trios. After the Swarm match had concluded, Mike placed CombatANT in a precarious hold and jerked his body, snapping his neck. Two of the five members of Gekido had been eliminated by Quack now.
       Maybe October would be a more friendly month for Gekido and their mismatched teams. The always excited AssailANT was teaming with Fire Ant against the highly volatile Donst and meek Hammermeier. During their match, AssailANT in fact stepped in front of a blow that was meant for Fire Ant! He sacrificed himself for the sake of his team mate. This was not the type of action we were seeing from DeviANT. There was beginning to be more to AssailANT than anyone had first believed. On the very same evening, Shard had a outstanding match with Gran Akuma, coming out with his first win in some time. The confidence itprovided would be necessary, since Mike has promised that he would be added to his list of Gekido victims.
       If October wasn't the month of AssailANT, than November surely was. November afforded the big blue bruiser two opportunities to continue gaining the trust of Fire Ant and it finally paid off in Cleveland, Fire Ant actually invited AssailANT to be part of the Colony patented corner drop kick. Finally things were beginning to come together for Big Blue. This wasn't the case for Solider and DeviANT however as they still couldn't get along and suffered several more loses as a unit. Whatever Wink thought would happen between them, didn't. Shard continued to shine, putting on a excellent showing against El Generico. As well, Shard was the only member of Gekido to wrestle on season 11's Cibernetico show. His opponent was a familiar one, Fire Ant, who he had stood in the ring with numerous times over 2012. After being threatened by Quack for months, Shard decided to take his anger out on Fire Ant for his troubles. Trying to re-break Fire Ant's ankle, Shard won the match by submission but refused to release the hold. This caught the attention of the Master of a Thousand Holds. Mike and Jigsaw came out to help Fire Ant. After saving the Hot Property, Jigsaw and Quack tried to work out the tension that had been building between them for months. Mike asked Jig how they could stop what was happening to them. Jig put a stop to it alright as he blasted Mike with a super kick and left with Shard. The Gekido has effectively torn Chikara apart in a way that no other stable had previously.
        One final confrontation would take place for Gekido in 2012. Under the Hood, the finale showing for Chikara, would see Mike, Green, Fire and AssailANT square away against Soldier, DeviANT, Jigsaw and Shard. Each entered the ring for their own reasons, but it was clear that Mike wanted to bring a finality to the feud. This would not be the case. During the course of the contest, AssailANT solidified his new standing as a technico as he stepped in front of a Jigsaw super kick meant for Mike. If there was one bright spot in Gekido, it had been him. His good deed was wasted however, as DeviANT covered him winning the match.
       The Gekido were such a unique group in 2012. Unlike many stables, they were trying to devalue the Chikara mainstays instead of simply physically dominating. While many doors still remain open from their invasion, the lines have been clearly drawn. AssailANT now stands as a technico with the Colony, while DeviANT is still attempting to control Soldier. Jigsaw has taken Shard as his dark apprentice, to what ends we will only be able to discover in season 12. As always my friends, tell every one you can about The Dark Match. Give me a follow @MurrayDarkMatch on twitter. As well, I highly recommend heading over to the Chikaratorium and listening to AssailANT's interview with  them, it is a hour you will highly enjoy. Coming up next for The Dark Match will be the year of 2012 for Jigsaw and Lightning Mike Quackenbush.