Hello everyone and welcome back to the Dark Match! I just want to tell you that if you missed it there is a interview from Gran Akuma just below this blog discussing his match with Johnny Gargano fromJust Shadows in the Fog. Thanks again to Akuma for being so kind and providing his thoughts on the match. Today's blog brings us to the recapping of the second March event, Watchmaker. This show brought us the fallout from the tag title affair, as well as placed Jigsaw in a match where it would be much more difficult to run away from Mr. Quackenbush. There were also a few surprises along the way that made this event quite the gem. In addition to all this was a QWEST showcase match between Eddie Graves and Oliver Grimsley. If you want more from Grimsley you can check out his work from National Pro Wrestling Day on the afternoon card. Now onto the first match from Watchmaker!
The Watchmaker March 10, 2013
Colony Extreme Force (Soldier Ant, Arctic Rescue Ant, Missile Assault Ant and Orbit Adventure Ant) versus The Batiri (Kodama, Obariyon, Kobald and Ophidian)
The previous event, Just Shadows in the Fog, was the debut of Soldier Ant's new teammates. Most people were under the impression of the team members would to be chosen by Soldier. That wasn't what came to be. Instead three new ants with quite flamboyant personalities and ring attire were assigned by the Director of Fun to be the new comrades of Soldier. What was witnessed the prior night however, demonstrated that his new ants were far more concerned with themselves than with Soldier. That was no different here. For much of the match Soldier Ant was left in the ring to attempt to defend himself, but the Dark Army would not be merciful simply based off of the incompetence of their opponents. While the Colony Extreme Force proved again that they are capable of triple team maneuverings, they completely disregarded Soldier Ant. These three characters, who look more like action figures than wrestlers, proved that it was their names that counted above all other things. If you have seen the match than you already know how often they say them. Attention seeking from the crowd with one another lead Soldier to be left in the ring with Ophidian and forced to tap out. The sweetness of the win was likely short lived for Ophidian as he was finally confronted by Amasis who did not waste his opportunity to punish the Snake and drove him into the mat. Ophidian attempted to mist Amasis with his venom, but was unsuccessful and chased from the ring.
Jakob Hammermeier versus Hallowicked
Hallowicked's singles success continued the evening prior, while Tim Donst continued to sabotage Jakob's chances at being Young Lions Cup champion. Jakob still wore his cut up tights, courtesy of Veronica from the night before. Notably, he was also alone at ringside tonight. It doesn't appear that Donst is interested in crossing Hallowicked again. This would also stand as a opportunity for Jakob to take revenge on Hallowicked the wrestler, the man who put Tim into the state that he is in currently. All Jakob simply wants is his trainer and best friend back. The same aggression witnessed during Jakob's match with Gram Akuma the month prior was on exhibition again. But even fueled by his hatred towards the Nightmare Warrior wasn't enough to capture a victory. Hallowicked bested Jakob, but the kid is beginning to stand firmly on his own.
Mr. Touchdown Mark Angelosseti versus assailANT
assailANT wanted this match to be for the Young Lions Cup, but his age exceeded the twenty-five year limit. It would then stand as a set up match from assailANT who would then go on to challenge Mr. Touchdown in Wrestling is Fun for the Banana Championship. Big Blue put his best antennae forward in this match showcasing his new repertoire of moves; the Rolling GTS and the Chikara Special: Blue. It wasn't Mr. Touchdown's love for cheating that cost him this encounter but instead his constant showboating. He physically could handle assailANT, but ultimately overconfidence caused him to be caught by a big knee and be forced into a submission.
Fire Ant and Mike Quackenbush versus Jigsaw and the Shard
With nowhere to run how would Jigsaw handle a much more intimate encounter with his mentor and old tag partner? By controlling the pace of the match. In Tampa, Jigsaw could manipulate his encounters with Mike because of his ability to tag out to another team besides Shard. With limited options, Jig decided his best bet would be to focus his attention on Fire Ant. Whenever Mike would get anywhere near the ring, Jigsaw would make sure that he was tossed to the outside. Mike and Fire Ant's game plan seemed pretty simple: hit The Pieces of Hate as quickly as they good from the opening bell. Mike pulled out a Quackendriver III before the match had even hit the one minute mark. Fire Ant, the Shard and Jigsaw have history dating back into last year. It was at Under the Hood that Jigsaw planted Fire Ant with a brainbuster but pulled him from the mat during the pin. As well Fire Ant had his ankle injured at the cruel hands of the Shard. This all came flooding back when Fire Ant dropped Shard with a Beach Breaker. He could have won the match for himself and Mike but instead pulled Shard from the mat. This lead to him being targeted again and forced to tap out. As it stands the dream team of Shard and Jigsaw have in one way or another bested Mike's ramshackle teams every time.
Archibald Peck versus Tim Donst
This rematch is due to Tim kicking Archie rather blatantly below the belt in February. As is the usual now Tim was accompanied to the ring by his ragtag band of misfits: Jakob and Veronica. There was a rather intense brawl that began outside of the ring and moved around the bleachers and crowd. Once in the ring, the action was quite back and forth. Also, mimicking the events on commentary the previous night, Steve Weiner was enamoured with Veronica. At one point in the match Veronica made her way into the ring to assist Tim. She was accidentally hit by her old partner Archie and collapsed to the mat. Steve rushed to Veronica's aid. Once ensuring that she was okay, he viciously assaulted Archie and thereby had Tim disqualified. It would seem that Tim is collecting a unusual following.
Green Ant, Gran Akuma, Scott Parker, Shane Matthews and Dasher Hatfield versus Max Smashmaster, Blaster McMassive, Icarus, Johnny Gargano and Sugar Dunkerton
Originally slated for this match was Saturyne but was replaced by Green Ant when his title shot was moved into May. So many of the participants of this are coming off of singles or tag matches with one or multiple members of the other team. The Devastation Corporation lost to 3.0 and Johnny Gargano lost to Gran Akuma. That would leave Green Ant, Sugar D, Dasher and Icarus to play the wild cards. The woes continued for F.I.S.T as there is a rift between Sugar D and Gargano. It has been proven that Icarus can work together with Chuck Taylor and Sugar. It would almost seem like Sugar and Chuck can maintain the same space without causing too much trouble despite Chuck's often colourful remarks. When Sugar and Johnny get together however, there is no chance of co-habitation. During a attempted dive Johnny actually tripped Sugar. Then later in the match, Sugar accidentally struck Johnny leading to the ultimate loss of their team. If Gargano didn't try and force Sugar to cheat he wouldn't be constantly in the compromising positions he is.
Well that wraps things up for the month of March. Two very enjoyable shows with bucket loads of action and all sorts of storyline development. I hope you enjoyed the read and I certainly know I enjoy bringing this stuff to you. Next blog with be a 2012 recap! Then I will move onto the Wrestlecon showing from April. All kinds of fun ahead so be sure to tell your friends all about me, give me a follow @MurrayDarkMatch on twitter and remember to keep wrestling fun.
Hello one and all and welcome back to The Dark Match! Today I bring you something very special and something that I am very excited to provide. Back in March, Gran Akuma had a amazing match with one Johnny Gargano. Now you may remember that it was Mr. Gargano who ousted Akuma from F.I.S.T. Well I was able to get a few comments from Gran Akuma about his match with Johnny from March! Enjoy...
1.How many hours of wrestling "tape" do you watch per week? In the weeks leading up to your encounter with Gargano how many matches of his did you study to analyse his in ring style?
It's funny, I actually have somewhat of a reputation as a borderline obsessive tape-watcher...to the point that even other wrestlers give me a hard time about it. I started following wrestling in Japan and Mexico seriously in 1998, so my collection is pretty big. I have literally hundreds of old VHS tapes, probably more DVDs, and with MP4s becoming the norm, I have a 2 TB external hard drive I'm filling up with stuff from SMV. I'd estimate that I watch upwards of 20 hours of wrestling per week. With Johnny, I watched more iPPVs than anything. Johnny's everywhere these days, and 2013 Johnny is a different animal than the Johnny I wrestled in DGUSA years ago.
2.I know you are a great student of the wrestling "game" so to speak, how to you evaluate yourself and decide what type of arsenal you want to take into the ring against a fairly versatile opponent like Johnny?
Like I said, Johnny has evolved (pun intended) quite a bit over the past few years. I've been able to make the comeback I have in the past year or so because I'm honest with myself, and I had to be willing to evolve too. I was able to do what I did in the match with Johnny because I stepped up my game. I filled in the gaps, got rid of the elements that didn't work, and made myself into a more complete wrestler. Johnny Gargano is arguably the top guy in the indies right now. To get in there and hang with the best, you have to rise to their level.
3.What were the last thoughts you had before your entrance music started and you walked out to the ring for your match?
Honestly, I wasn't nervous. I should have been, because everything I went through coming back was to get to that point. It was my chance to show I could still gang with the top guys. My confidence is at an all time high these days. I came through the curtain and tore my robe off ready to take on the world.
4.During the match you had taken a fair amount of punishment (a super-kick, cheetah swipe, lawn dart,) how do you keep yourself composed when you are beginning to feel the fatigue of a match?
By that point, it becomes very primal. Adrenalin takes over. When you're in the heat of battle, you feel indestructible. The next day is a whole other story...
5.How satisfying was it to bring Johnny's chest down onto your knees for the Tenchi Crash?
It was the exclamation point on the statement I wanted to make. After being labeled a weak link, after being written off by wrestlers, promoters, and even fans... I finally showed them all I was back and better than ever.
6.Now that you have exacted a small amount of revenge on Johnny what is your next step in your history with F.I.S.T?
I think that chapter of my life is over. F.I.S.T. seems to be a thing of the past. I'm excited to move on to bigger things.
I don't think I will be able to thank Gran Akuma enough for his insight into his match with Johnny Gargano! Thanks for stopping by The Dark Match to check this out and keep your eyes open because The Watchmaker recap is coming soon.
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.
