CHIKARA “High Noon” Review

Like This Video 937 Kevin Ford
Added by December 30, 2011

Philadelphia, PA – 11.13.2011

NOTE: This is a review of the DVD copy of High Noon

Commentary is provided by Bryce Remsburg, Leonard F. Chikarason, and Gavin Loudspeaker.

Pre-Show Match
Jigsaw vs. El Generico

This match took place before “High Noon” and was aired on CHIKARA’s UStream channel during their Pre-Show-A-Go-Go. Jigsaw wrenches on Generico’s wrist. Generico takes him over with a headlock. Jigsaw reverses it with a headscissors, but Generico pops out of it and reapplies the headlock. Jigsaw puts Generico in the Gory Gallows back on their feet. Jigsaw takes him over with a wheelbarrow armdrag, a regular armdrag and a dropkick. Generico hops over Jigsaw and takes him down with a pair of armdrags and a toreador. Generico punches Jigsaw ten times in the corner with the crowd counting along in Spanish. Generico snapmares him for two. Jigsaw slams Generico on his stomach and knees him right in the chin. Generico bails to the floor, so Jigsaw follows him with a suicide dive. Generico sends Jigsaw to the floor to evade an attack. Generico gets revenge for Jigsaw’s previous dive with a tope con hilo. Back in the ring he delivers a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Jigsaw blocks a yakuza kick. He cracks Generico with a back elbow and enzuigiri. He gets a two count with a bridging German suplex. Generico catches Jigsaw with a yakuza kick when Jigsaw runs to the corner. Jigsaw blocks the split-legged moonsault and puts Generico in the tree of woe. He hits a coast-to-coast dropkick for two. Generico blocks Jigsaw’s running attack with an exploder suplex in the corner. Jigsaw blocks Generico’s yakuza kick with a superkick. He follows up with a double stomp for the pin at 7:58. That was a great match to get the crowd’s blood flowing. It wasn’t the best these two have done, but they shouldn’t blow their wad in a pre-show match. This was good, exciting action to warm up the fans and it did so effectively. **3/4

The Colony (Fire Ant & Soldier Ant) vs. The Young Bucks (Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson)

Marty Jannetty brings The Young Bucks out to the ring. That is pretty damn cool. Both of these teams have two points, meaning the winning team will have earned a third point and thus a shot at Los Campeonatos de Parejas. Matt gets the ropes to break Soldier Ant’s neck hold. Matt fails to stop Soldier Ant from saluting him. Soldier Ant takes him to the corner with a couple armdrags and salutes the crowd. Nick kicks him, but then gets met with a pair of sentons from Fire Ant and a falling headbutt from Soldier Ant. The Colony drop Matt with a tandem flapjack for two. Soldier Ant sends Nick to the floor with a saluting headscissors. Matt comes back in and sends Soldier Ant to the floor with a flying back elbow. Fire Ant delivers the Stop, Drop and Roll to Matt. Nick sends Fire Ant to the floor with an armdrag and then suicide dives onto him. Nick trips Soldier Ant and kicks him from the floor. Nick hits a slingshot X-Factor on Soldier Ant, then moonsaults off the apron onto Fire Ant. The Bucks isolate and wear down Soldier Ant in their corner. Fire Ant tries to save him, but a superkick from Matt keeps him at bay. Soldier Ant finally escapes their grasp when Matt kicks Soldier Ant out of an O’Conner Roll. Fire Ant comes in with a crossbody to Matt. He avoids a springboard splash from Nick. He hops off of Nick’s back to headscissors Matt, then DDT’s Nick while Nick is still laying on the mat. Soldier Ant baseball slides the Bucks, allowing Fire Ant to jump to the floor with a springboard somersault senton. In the ring, Soldier Ant avoids a splash from Matt and elbows him in the corner. The Colony deliver the Revenge of the Ants to him. They take over Nick with a double suplex for two. Fire Ant misses the Yahtzee Kick. Nick nails him with an enzuigiri. Soldier Ant forearms Matt and Nick back elbows Soldier Ant in response. Soldier Ant German suplexes Nick to block a superkick. Matt takes Soldier Ant out with a tumbleweed ace crusher. Fire Ant drops Matt by Burning Down the House (stunner). He follows up with the Yahtzee kick and a brainbuster for two. Matt blocks the Beach Break. Fire Ant kicks him in the head. He and Soldier Ant set up Matt, but Nick superkicks Soldier Ant to free his brother. Matt powerbombs Fire Ant twice, then buckle bombs him. The Bucks drop him with a tandem tombstone piledriver for two. The Bucks double superkick Soldier Ant and then Fire Ant. Matt puts both Colony members on his shoulders while Nick heads up top. Nick dropkicks Fire Ant off Matt’s shoulders. Soldier Ant avoids More Bang For Your Buck. He catches Matt with a Folding Press for the pin at 13:32. This was the best possible match these two teams could have without stealing the show. Much like Jigsaw and Generico, this was a fast-paced energetic bout to get the crowd’s energy up and it worked. The Bucks are such good heels and I’m glad they got to play that part in this match with one of CHIKARA’s most beloved teams. ***

Sara Del Rey vs. Jakob Hammermeier

Sara twists Hammermeier’s arm and the fans yell for him to tap out. Sara instead snapmares him out a cravat. Hammermeier shoves Sara, so she kicks the snot out of him. She traps him in the ropes and kicks him multiple times in the chest. Once he’s released, Hammermeier throws Sara to the mat by her head and chokes her. Hammermeier elbows her in the head a few times. Sara chops him in the corner. She hairmares Hammermeier across the ring and places him on her shoulders. Hammermeier rakes her eyes to escape and chokes her on the mat with his tie. Sara grabs Hammermeier’s arm and violently twists his fingers. She whips him to the corner, following up with a Koppu Kick and a running boot. She delivers a couple kicks before German suplexing him. She axe kicks Hammermeier for two. Hammermeier counters the Royal Butterfly with a backslide for two. Sara manages to successfully hit the Royal Butterfly suplex for the pin at 5:21. If this win and her winning the Cibernetico won’t propel her to the upper echelon of CHIKARA, I don’t know what will. The crowd responded to her very well and she came off like a complete ass kicker. I expect big things for her in the coming year. *1/2

The Osirian Portal, Amasis and Ophidian make their way to the ring. Amasis suffered a severe neck injury in a car crash roughly six months ago. That injury the doctors told him would keep him out of wrestling for good. Unfortunately, Amasis confirms that to be true and states that his wrestling career is over. Were he to continue, he could risk being a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Amasis tells Ophidian to remember all the things they accomplished as a team, such as wrestling in multiple countries and winning Los Campeones de Parejas. Ophidian grabs the microphone but can’t bring himself to speak. Amasis says he and Ophidian should dance in order to alleviate the emotion in the building. The Portal do just that, until Ophidian lifts his mask and spits mist into Amasis’ face! Multiple officials run out to the ring to calm Ophidian down and check on Amasis. Ophidian however attacks Amasis on the mat, looking to put on his Death Grip. The officials fight him off and send him out. Ophidian however sneaks back in and takes off Amasis’ mask! In the aisle way, Ophidian holds up Amasis’ mask and says “Amasis…problem solved.” This was brilliant, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for Ophidian now.

Green Ant vs. Tursas

Referee Derek Sabato is the official for this match. Green Ant immediately dropkicks Tursas at the sound of the bell. Tursas knees him in the stomach and forearms him in the back. Green Ant gets up right away after being bodyslammed. Green Ant ducks a few clotheslines. Tursas accidentally splashes Derek Sabato in the corner when going for Green Ant. Green Ant drops Tursas with a neckbreaker and covers him. Referee Nick Papagiorgio runs in to count two. Fire Ant and Soldier Ant come out and take Sabato away. Green Ant baits Tursas to the corner where he goes for a choke. Tursas brings him off the top onto his shoulders and drops him with a very large Finlay Roll. An elbow drop gets him two. Tursas splashes Green Ant in the corner. He misses a butt bump. Green Ant capitalizes and is able to drop Tursas with a tornado DDT. Tursas backdrops Green Ant and chokes him on the middle rope. Tursas suplexes Green Ant, then kneels on his chest for a two count. Green Ant rolls out of the way of a running crossbody. Green Ant fires up but then turns into a running dropkick. Tursas gets two with a suplex. Green Ant attacks Tursas as Tursas climbs the ropes. Green Ant brings Tursas down with an Angle Slam. Green Ant trips Tursas across the middle rope and dropkicks him in the side of the head. He shoves Tursas to the floor and comes off the top with a crossbody. Tursas catches him. He throws Green Ant, but Green Ant lands on the apron. Green Ant knocks him with a knee strike and bodyslams him on the floor. Green Ant then hits a splash off the top rope onto the floor! Back in the ring, Green Ant lights Tursas up with headbutts and strikes. Tursas hits his running crossbody to stop Green Ant’s momentum. He throws him with the Kreuz Bomb for a two count. They fight on the top rope. Green Ant wins a super-duperplex. Green Ant puts Tursas in the Cloverleaf. Tursas escapes, so Green Ant puts Tursas in a new variation of the CHIKARA Special. Tursas taps out to what is known as CHIKARA Special: Green at 12:27! This was a lot better on DVD than it was in person; the crowd seemed much quieter in the arena than it did here. This was a tremendous way to end the feud, and it makes total sense that Green Ant wouldn’t be able to pin the much larger Tursas but would be able to twist him to the point of submission. While this wasn’t as good as their Chikarasaurus Rex match, it was a great way to put the feud to rest. ***

Colt Cabana vs. Archibald Peck

Peck is accompanied by Veronica and Colt Cabunny, who now has green ears and beard as a side effect from Peck’s hair tonic that he used on him. Peck treats Cabunny like dirt before getting in the ring. Peck tries to sneak attack Cabana a few times as he’s getting ready, but Cabana always manages to unintentionally evade him. Peck is so upset that he pouts on the mat when the bell rings. Cabana takes Peck over with a headlock. Peck reverses into a headscissors, which Cabana maneuvers his way out of. Peck overly celebrates a single leg takedown. Cabana trips Peck while he stomps around the ring. Cabana takes Peck down and does some marching of his own. Cabana throws Peck’s own knee into his head. Cabana widens Peck’s legs from each other and shoves him to the mat. Cabana trips Peck into a couple pin attempts for two. Peck snaps Cabana’s neck against the top rope. Peck flies back in the ring with a shoulder block for two. Cabana whips Peck to the ropes. Peck comes back with a flipping DDT for two. Cabana chops Peck in the corner and whips him across the ring. Peck puts his boot up to block an attack an asks for Cabunny to choke Cabana behind the referee’s back. Cabunny refuses to do. Peck accidentally crotches himself on the middle rope. He does however knock Cabana down with a leg lariat for two. Peck catches Cabana coming off the ropes with a sleeper. This hold legitimately puts Cabana to sleep on the mat. Like, thumb in his mouth sleep. Peck quiets the crowd and heads up top for the Cranial Crescendo. Just as he’s flying off, Cabana wakes up and sits up to yawn. Peck whips Cabana to the ropes and Cabana counters with a quebrada. Each guy delivers a string of punches but it is Cabana who takes Peck down with a Bionic Elbow. He misses the Flying Asshole, but catches Peck with a flying hip attack for two. Peck throws Cabana off the top rope. Peck hits the Cranial Crescendo for two. Peck throws Cabunny in the ring. Cabunny refuses to hit Cabana. Peck boots Cabana. Veronica slides her baton in the ring and distracts referee Bryce Remsburg. Cabana palm strikes Peck, causing the baton in Peck’s hand to fly towards Cabunny. Cabunny picks up the baton and debates with himself as to who to hit with it. Cabunny ends up clocking Peck. Cabana turns Bryce around and pins Peck at 11:34. Words do not describe my love for everyone involved in this match. This was comedic wrestling done right, with just enough action to not make the comedy overbearing. This was a lot of fun and definitely a great showcase of how CHIKARA embraces the different. **3/4

Gregory Iron vs. Icarus

Iron nails Icarus with a clothesline once Icarus finally takes off his ring jacket. Icarus knees Iron in a test of strength. Iron hip tosses Icarus to the corner and monkey flips him out. He delivers a single knee facebreaker for two. Icarus decides to leave the ring. Iron of course goes after him and throws him back in the ring. Icarus snaps Iron’s neck on the top rope and suplexes hm in from the apron for two. He gets two after a dropkick. Icarus cranks on Iron’s neck. He chokes Iron on the middle rope and follows with a suplex. Iron comes back with a bulldog. Iron blocks a clothesline but takes a back elbow. Icarus picks up Iron after a kneeDT. Iron turns Icarus’ fallaway slam attempt into a DDT. Iron slaps Icarus silly. He boots Icarus to block a corner attack. He knocks down Icarus with an axe handle and a jumping back elbow for two. Icarus sends Iron to the floor. He follows but Iron is the one who gets in the barrage of strikes. Icarus sends Iron into the ring steps shoulder first. Icarus picks up a chair which gets taken away by referee Jonathan Barber. While Barber is putting the chair down, Icarus nails Iron with a loaded fanny pack. Iron manages to get back in the ring before the twenty count. Icarus immediately drops him with the Wings of Icarus for two. Iron goes for the Gimp Slap. He misses, but still brings Icarus to the corner with a flurry of forearm strikes. Iron knocks him down with the Gimp Slap for two. Iron puts on the Crippled Crossface. Icarus breaks free and evades the Handicap Parking. He grabs the referee and low blows Iron from behind. He then follows up with the Blu-ray for the pin at 12:19. This was just about as average as any of their other three encounters this year. I was expecting something more from them in their final encounter, but it ended up being just as average as all the rest. **

Icarus continues to assault Iron after the match. That is until Gran Akuma sneaks into the ring. Icarus tries to calm him down, but it’s no use. Akuma throws a kick, but Icarus bails causing the kick to hit Iron instead. Akuma is angry at his action and asks for the officials to tend to Iron.

I usually don’t mention hype videos and other trivial things in my reviews, but I had to mention the hype video for the next match because it used Kanye West’s song “Blame Game”. If you have not heard that song, go and find it now. In fact, listen to all of “My Dark Twisted Fantasy”. You will thank me later. We then see Ares and Tim Donst backstage. Ares says there’s no way he will lose the Eye of Tyr tonight. Donst says more importantly, he won’t lose his hair. Donst pulls out his Young Lions Cup from when he was champion and says the world will watch as he humiliates and unmasks Hallowicked. Ares corrects Donst and says they agreed to concentrate on pinning Mantis. Donst sarcastically remarks that Ares is the leader and walks away.

Lucha de Apuesta – No Disqualification
The Spectral Envoy (UltraMantis Black & Hallowicked) vs. Die Brüderschaft des Kreuzes (Ares & Tim Donst)

If UltraMantis Black loses, he must unmask. If Hallowicked loses, he must unmask. If Tim Donst loses, he will have his head shaved. If Ares loses, he must forfeit the Eye of Tyr to UltraMantis Black

The BDK attack the Envoy as they’re making their entrance. As you would expect, Ares pairs off with mantis while Donst pairs off with Hallowicked. The Envoy take control early and isolate Ares in the ring. They each keep knocking Donst off the apron to prevent him from getting involved. Hallowicked ends up suicide diving onto all of him. Back in the ring, Ares assists Donst with an STO on Mantis. They trap Mantis in the ropes and stretch his back out. Like the Envoy did, Donst and Ares keep Hallowicked at bay while wearing down Mantis. Hallowicked however brings Donst to the floor and gives him Go 2 Sleepy Hollow on the barricade. Hallowicked sends Ares out and suicide dives onto both him and Donst. All four men brawl around ringside. The BDK throws the Envoy into chairs that fans have vacated. They double suplex them onto the chairs as well. Donst sets up some chairs ringside. He looks for the Donstitution onto them, but Hallowicked fights Donst off. Ares brings Mantis back to ringside as well and positions the steps. He looks for the Toblerone Driver on the steps, but Mantis backdrops Ares onto the chairs Donst had set up instead! The chairs part in a way that they did Ares no favors whatsoever. It looked nasty. Donst checks on Ares and gets met with a step-up enzuigiri. Hallowicked throws super snapmares Donst through a chair. Jakob Hammermeier runs out to attack Hallowicked. Crossbones runs out and gives Jakob the Friggin’ Sweet Driver. He takes Jakob to the back while Donst clocks Hallowicked with a ring bell. He arrogantly covers Hallowicked for two. Donst hits the ring bell into Hallowicked’s groin area. Mantis throws Donst head first into a steel chair in the corner. He drops him with the Praying Mantis Bomb and Ares breaks the pinfall. Ares delivers a low blow to Mantis. He drops him with the Toblerone Driver for two. Ares sets up a chair mid-ring and sets up for another Toblerone Driver. Hallowicked blasts Ares with a yakuza kick. Donst almost reenters the ring, but instead backs away and leaves Ares by himself. Mantis gives Ares the Cosmic Disaster through the chair for the pin at 12:47. This was quite the brawl, a type you don’t see from CHIKARA often. The stakes were high and the result was quite obvious, but it was an incredibly satisfying conclusion to a nearly two year feud and is a must watch for anyone who’s followed any part of the story. Kudos to all four guys for busting their humps and doing some crazy stuff. ***1/2

Mantis is given the Eye of Tyr, as per the stipulation. Hallowicked also takes Donst’s Young Lions Cup trophy with him.

CHIKARA Grand Championship; “12 Large: Summit” Finals
Mike Quackenbush (Block A Winner) vs. Eddie Kingston (Block B Winner)

Jigsaw is in Quack’s corner while Tommy Dreamer is in Kingston’s. Kingston has a noticeable limp from the get-go due to months of opponents damaging his knee. This is the first time these two have ever faced one another in a singles contest, and to say that this match has a big fight atmosphere would be a severe understatement.

The inaugural lock-up is broken cleanly in the corner. Kingston shoves Quack away as he goes for his arms. Quack ends up twisting Kingston’s arms anyways, with Kingston having to forearm Quack to free himself. Kingston chops Quack to the mat, and pulls him up to chop him twice more. He stops Quack’s momentum off the ropes with a spinebuster for two. Quack trips Kingston and slams his bad knee against the ring apron. Quack flips over the ropes to counter an Irish whip, but Kingston clotheslines him on the apron. Once again, Quack trips Kingston and slams his knee into the apron. Quack sweeps his legs and drives his knees into Kingston’s chest for one. Quack of course goes for Kingston’s knee. Kingston chops Quack, so Quack kicks him in the head twice so he can go back to work on the knee. Kingston puts Quack in a rear-naked choke. Quack drives his elbow into Kingston’s knee so that Kingston has to release the hold and grab the ropes. Quack stomps on Kingston’s knee to prevent him from standing up. Kingston tells Quack that he will have to break his leg off to win as Quacks its down on a spinning toe hold. Kingston kicks Quack away and gets to his feet. Kingston elbows Quack and sunset flips him. Quack rolls through and applies a tight grapevine stretch. Kingston is close enough to the bottom ropes to grab them. Quack stops Kingston’s chops by poking him in the eyes. Quack kneeDT’s Kingston as the locker room empties and surrounds the ringside area. Quack applies an arm-capture leg stretch. Kingston claws Quack’s face to escape. Kingston gives Quack a Manhattan drop and a big boot for two. Quack kicks out Kingston’s leg to bring him back to the mat. Kingston fires up as Quack puts him in a cross-legged submission. They begin to slap and forearm each other until the submission breaks. Quack palm strikes Kingston, but Kingston takes him overhead with a belly-to-back suplex. He delivers a lariat for two. Quack blocks the Backfist and drops him with the Black Tornado Slam for two. Quack hits a super somersault senton for two. Quack rolls Kingston into Lightning Lock Beta. Kingston again gets the ropes. They each block some of each others’ bigger moves. Quack delivers the Quackendriver III and Kingston kicks out right away! Quack heads up top. Quack misses double knees from the top rope and is wobbly when he gets up. Kingston now kicks out Quack’s knee multiple times. Kingston fights Quack on the top rope. Kingston backfists Quack’s knee, causing him to crash to the mat. Kingston turns him into Kondo Clutch. Quack gets the ropes to escape. They trade blows on their knees. Kingston fires up from a pair of palm strikes. Kingston nails a lariat and a Saito suplex. He drops him on his head with a Dragon suplex. He hits two Backfists to the Future to get the pin at 17:52.

I absolutely loved this. Kingston came in damaged and Quackenbush knew it. Kingston showed much more perseverance than Quack thought, so he changed up his game plan and utilized different tactics and a different strategy than usual. Kingston ended up getting payback by taking out Quack’s knee and ultimately finishing him off. Kingston wrestled a smarter game than Quackenbush did, which is such a role reversal and a betrayal of what they’re used to. All the little things, such as Quack shooing Kingston away after the initial lock-up, or Quack grabbing a leg for the CHIKARA Special and Kingston shoving him away immediately made this a work of art. Seeing the entire locker room and people from CHIKARA’s past (especially Reckless Youth, who literally made my jaw drop when I saw him) added an atmosphere that you rarely see in wrestling nowadays. I honestly think a lot of people don’t give this match enough credit, mostly those who just saw “High Noon” at not the entire 12 Large: Summit. This to me was an incredible match to crown the first champion, an amazing ending to a tournament and made for a triumphant and memorable moment. I could not think of a better way for CHIKARA to cap off their first PPV. ****1/4

Larry Sweeney’s brother and Sweeney’s friend Amy present Kingston with the title belt. Kingston puts over CHIKARA bigger than I have ever heard anyone do so. Kingston challenges anyone from New York or Florida to come to CHIKARA and face him. He reiterates that no one touches CHIKARA and embraces with some of the CHIKARA originals.

After the DVD credits, we see Hallowicked holding Sinn “Kizarny” Bodhi so he can face UltraMantis Black. Mantis tells Kizarny that he’s a man of his word and adheres to deals when he makes them. He hands Kizarny the Eye of Tyr, just like he promised him last year. For those who don’t remember, Mantis made an arrangement with Kizarny that if Kizarny trained the members of the Batiri in private to be a part of Mantis’ army that he would give Kizarny the Eye of Tyr. When it came time to pay up, Ares had already taken possession of the Eye so Mantis could not make payment. Kizarny kept the Batiri for himself and feuded with Mantis for the better part of 2011. Now that Mantis had the Eye once again he could put this transaction to rest once and for all. Kizarny says now that he has the Eye of Tyr, he can be done with CHIKARA. After he leaves though, Mantis laughs whilst holding the real Eye of Tyr in his hands.

Overall: I attended High Noon live, and while I really enjoyed it then I think it came off MUCH better on DVD. I think a lot of other websites who reviewed the iPPV didn’t give the show enough credit. Maybe it’s because it was the only CHIKARA show they had seen, which to be fair could be a discredit to CHIKARA, I honestly believe as a culmination of their year long storylines that this show did a great job of tying up loose ends while also leading into 2011. For me, Kingston vs. Quackenbush is the best match CHIKARA has had all year due to the nuances and atmosphere on top of the action itself. That match alone is worth the $15 price tag, but when you throw in everything else, this is a no brainer. This may be the most well-rounded CHIKARA show ever in terms of all the different styles it provided. I think whether or not you’re a first time CHIKARA viewer or a long time fan like myself, you will definitely enjoy “High Noon” if you give it a shot.

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