So does anyone want to go into detail of how the Finale Went?
12/2 CHIKARA 'CLOSING TIME' REPORT FROM PHILADELPHIA
by Josua Higham @ 6:33 PM on 12/2/2017
Closing Time
Chikara Wrestle Factory
December 2, 2017
Season 18 Finale
Super No Vacancy
Before the show, Bryce Remsburg hosted a pre-show interviewing kids in the crowd, along with promos from Kobald (who said the best positive motivation for his partner, Oleg the Usurper, is the threat of physical violence), former Campeones de Parejas The Rumblebees (who want to end their feud with Crummels and Defarge), and Dasher Hatfield (thanking everyone for the support the last ten years as he challenges for the Grand Championship today).
There is a banner advertising the Chikara action arcade game coming in 2018. This was the video game they had successfully crowdfunded a year or so ago.
We start with Sidney Bakabella and Mike Quackenbush on commentary.
Before the first match, Sidney Bakabella apologized for his past actions, realizing that every person he’s managed in Chikara has punched him in the face. Now he wants the respect of his peers, instead of just the pay window.
Xyberhawx2000 (Sylverhawk and Razerhawk) defeated Cajun Crawdad and Hermit Crab. Los Ice Creams, the reigning Campeones de Parejas, hit the ring, trying to keep Cajun Crawdad and Hermit Crab from gaining their third point. Their attempted interference backfired, but Xyberhawks recovered and hit a splash/swanton combo for the win. So even though Los Ice Creams failed on their attempt, no team has three points.
“Amasis” (not the original one) came to the ring, accompanied by the Young Lions Cup Champion “Ophidian” (the wrestler once known as the Whisper who has stolen Ophidian’s identity). His match vs The Proletariat Boar of Moldova never got underway. 17 came to the ring and replaced the Boar, hitting “Amasis” with multiple palm strikes before severely injuring the shoulder of “Amasis.”
Mr. Touchdown Mark Angelosetti pinned Hallowicked after a Flea Flicker. While brawling on the floor, Hallowicked kicked the ring post, injuring his shin. This was a rematch from an event earlier this month in Haverhill, MA, where Hallowicked scored the pin (which would be his third point) with his feet in the ropes. Hallowicked loses his points towards title contention.
Dez Peloton defeated Oleg the Usurper and Kobald when Donald Kluger pinned Oleg with a backslide after Oleg broke a pipe that Kobald brought into the ring. Kobald berated Oleg, took off the Oleg shirt he was wearing and tried to hit Oleg with Off with Your Head, which didn’t affect Oleg much. Oleg responded with a chokeslam to Kobald, who scurried away.
Rory Gulak replaced Sidney Bakabella on commentary.
Gran Akuma defeated Officer Warren Barksdale after a Tenchi Crush. Gran Akuma gave Barksdale a look of derision before leaving, so it looks like Gran Akuma is settling into a grizzled veteran’s role.
Scott Holliday replaced Rory Gulak on commentary.
Ashley Vox, now called Oceania, defeated Merlok via tapout to the Reel Catch. The story here is that after a year of Merlok dominating Ashley Vox, Obariyon transferred his dark power to Vox, transforming her to Oceania. With her new strength, Merlok’s offense had much less effect on Vox as in their past bouts. Merlok lost his five points, bowed to Oceania after the match, then followed her out of the ringside area.
They showed action from the Johnny Kidd Invitational and Night 2 of the 2017 King of Trios during Intermission.
The Closers defeated “Those Guys” (two nondescript guys in masks) after a Deal Breaker. This was Rick Roland’s first match back after a knee injury suffered in the summer.
Hype Rockwell defeated “Young and Handsome” Race Jaxon in a Loser Will Be Masked Match after a Hyperwheel. Rockwell placed the mask on Jaxon’s head, who reacted in terror after seeing himself in a mask.
Sidney Bakabella is back on commentary with Quack.
Missile Assault Man defeated Jeremy Leary by countout. Leary retreated from the ring, sitting in the crowd accepting the countout, claiming he wanted a front row seat for what happens next. After the match, three large masked men surrounded the ring with Nicodemus, whom Bakabella claimed was from Titor Conglomerate. Nicodemus whispered something in Missile Assault Man’s ear, who left through the front door under a trance. (So I believe we have a Winter Soldier scenario happening.)
The Rumblebees defeated Cornelius Crummels and Sonny Defarge with Crummels tapped to Solo Darling’s Sharp Stinger while Travis Huckabee had Defarge trapped with a stretch muffler over the top rope. The Rumblebees now have one point towards a title challenge.
Juan Francisco de Coronado defeated Dasher Hatfield to retain the new Chikara Grand Championship in his eighth defense. JFdC tried to introduce a number of underhanded tactics: untying Hatfield’s mask, trying to get a double countout, bringing his flag and title into the ring, taking the pad off the turnbuckle. But all of those were thwarted. The loosened mask finally was too much to overcome for Dasher, as JFdC reversed a jackhammer into a small package after spinning the mask around.
Notes and Thoughts:
We didn’t get the satisfying ending of the babyface winner that I was expecting. I fully thought Dasher Hatfield would get the title after going through Impact Grand Champion Moose and independent standout Keith Lee on his way to challenging.
The long-term storytelling of Chikara is still a hallmark, as we get the next level of involvement of devious corporate overlord Titor Conglomerate and the recent return of 17 (who might not be the original 17).
Another fun story popping up is Los Ice Creams sabotaging any contenders from getting their third point, since it’s widely assumed Los Ice Creams would lose their titles in their first defense, whenever that may be.
Every Chikara event announced to take place at the Wrestle Factory next year will be live-streamed on Chikaratopia.com, starting with a matinee the day of the Royal Rumble.
