Show Date: 30/1/16

This is the first show of the new season of CHIKARA. I got very into the promotion during their down period but was completely turned off by the following season of shows and had next to no interest in the Challenge of the Immortals. I am not against the CHIKARA style of wrestling, they can be a lot of fun, I just can’t get interested in shows filled with Eastern European animals and a million different ants that are mediocre wrestlers. That said, I am going to give CHIKARA another try this season since there are some things going on that I am interested in and people involved I like.

The show starts with a promo by The Proletariat Boar of Moldova talking about how he wants to win the Young Lions Cup at National Pro Wrestling Day this year. It was actually a pretty decent promo.

The Proletariat Boar of Moldova vs. Arctic Rescue Ant

Well, why not immediately start with two of the things I dislike about CHIKARA? This was a fine match, although it felt like it went a little bit too long. It was basically an extended squash with The Boar getting the win. Boar seems very green still and looked like he was just going through the motions and doing moves for the sake of moves at times. Not the best way to start a new season from an in ring point of view, but if The Boar is going to be a major player, which is possible, this made sense. The Proletariat Boar of Moldova wins with a gore * ¼

Director of Fun Mike Quackenbush is out next. He is walking with a limp but no longer seems to have a cane, perhaps we could see Quack back in the ring at some point. Quack talks about the Challenge of the Immortals and hangs up a banner in honour of the winners, Crown and Court.

Lewis Ryan and Ben Macklemore vs. Rock Lobster and Hermit Crab

I appreciate the names of the two jobbers here. This was the debut of Hermit Crab and Rock Lobster who both looked great. Hermit seemed to be more comedic while Rock Lobster showed a lot of intensity that I liked. Hermit Crab wins with the Crab Walk Elbow Drop **

Amasis is backstage talking about his match with Jaka later tonight. Amasis is one of the reasons why I am even watching CHIKARA and this was a good reminder why.

Jakob Hammermeier and Pinkie Sanchez are out next, Jakob announces that Jaka is now joining the BDK. Pinkie and Jakob had some fun banter back and forth here about Eddie Kingston, good stuff.

Jaka (w/Jakob Hammermeier and Pinkie Sanchez) vs. Amasis

Jaka and Amasis are two guys I am a fan of so I was excited for this match. This was a fun match with Jaka going straight after Amasis and then being in control for much of the match which included a sweet powerbomb and a striking exchange that I was super into. These guys built a very good match, although the finish left me a little bit flat. Jaka wins with a Superfly Splash ** ¾

The United Nations (Juan Francisco de Coronado and Prakash Sabar w/The Proletariat Boar of Moldova) vs. Dasher’s Dugout (Dasher Hatfield and Heidi Lovelace w/Icarus)

The Boar and Icarus both came out in the middle of the match. I love Prakash’s gimmick of basically being a Pakistani X-Pac. Heidi is someone I have always heard good things about but have never really seen enough of and she looked alright here. This was a fun match on paper but something about it just didn’t connect with me, I didn’t buy into Heidi as the face in peril for some reason and Dasher’s hot tag was unexceptional. Mr Touchdown came out to counter Juan Fransico’s cheating, which Dasher misconstrued as Touchdown himself cheating, which lead to the finish. Prakash Sabar pinned Dasher Hatfield after a low blow **

Jakob is backstage talking about Soldier Ant’s betrayal of the BDK last season and their match next. Nothing special.

Jakob Hammermeier (w/Pinkie Sanchez) vs. Soldier Ant

Fine match, there’s not much I really have to say about this. This was Soldier Ant’s third point so he will challenge Princess Kimber Lee for the title next. Soldier Ant wins with a Trench Slam **

N_R_G talk about defending their titles against The Nightmare Warriors next, fine.

N_R_G (c) (Hype Rockwell and “The Generator” Race Jaxon) vs. The Nightmare Warriors (Frightmare and Hallowicked) (Best Two Out of Three Falls)(CHIKARA Campeonatos de Parejas Title)

N_R_G were loudly booed when they made their entrance, I don’t fully understand why CHIKARA fans seem to hate them. The first fall started with a lot of mat work and chain wrestling that, while not tremendous, was solidly worked. The pace quickened up towards the end of the fall, with Hallowicked picking up the pin for his team. The second fall was built around the Warriors working over Jaxon who took the first fall. The Nightmare Warriors worked very well as a team here and had a lot of cool looking double team moves, these are two guys I was never super familiar with and am a big fan of now. Hallowicked lost the second fall to a roll up. N_R_G got a chance to shine in the third fall and also looked very good, not quite as good as the Warriors but still very good. N_R_G might need some time to improve as a team but this was a good outing from both men, and both teams as well. N_R_G retain with the Hyper Wheel ***

Post-match Los Ice Creams tease cashing in their golden opportunities but change their minds.

Overall: 5.5

If you’re coming into this show expecting a high work rate and MOTYCs then you’ll hate this, but this was a fun, light hearted card with a couple of decent matches thrown in.