CHIKARA kicked off their 16th season at the newly built "Wrestle Factory". They held two shows, but it is actually feels like one show that divided into two parts in the way that this was doubleheader and each wrestler wrestled only one match. First show of this doubleheader was "The Days of the Phoenix". This show was decent and nothing was blow away. First two matches on this show were squash matches. The Proletariat Boar of Moldova got extend squash against Arctic Resque Ant. Hermit Crab & Rock Lobster squashed Wrestlefactory students.
Jaka and Mr.Touchdown finally hitched up the quailty of wrestling for this night. Even it wasn't fast-paced and Jaka is way more dominated than I expected to be. At least it was not really squash match. Jaka's aggressive offence was really fun to watch.
At this show, we have the only two grudge matches of this night. First one was Dahser Hatfield & Heide Lovelace vs. Juan Francisco de Coronado & Prakash Sabar. It was nice tag match. It had purpose for storyline more than actual match. Dasher's Dugout and United Nations heated up their hostility and the tension between Mr.Touchdown and Dahser Hatfield continues to develop. Second match was Solider Ant vs. Jakob Hammermier. Not much I can say about this match. The match was just okay. Solider Ant finally not only got his hands on Jakob, but he gets 3 points to challenge Grand Championship.
Main Event was pretty good title match. This was feel like their first title defense because their first title defense was way too short and their opponents were not CHIKARA regular guys. They told good story in a simple way. Execution of moves were sometimes sloppy particularly at big spots, though. NRG isn't charismatic as champion. I hope The Colony becomes Campeonatos de Parejas again to revive the quality of this championship.
Night show "5 Senses" was definitely way better than first one in both wrestling and storyline wise. Pinkie Sanchez and Frightmare had hell of an opener. These two comparable sized wrestlers were showing great performance with no limitation of their arsenals. Even it was just opening match, they got first and only "This is awesome" chant of the night. Pinkine Sanchez has been one of the best acts in the scene. But, He has been under-estimated as a "wrestler" because of his unathletic skinny shape and such a silly, stupid and sidekick gimmick. He always able to have good matches when he got the opportunity. He should get more important role in any other promotion.
Night show "5 Senses" was definitely way better than first one in both wrestling and storyline wise. Pinkie Sanchez and Frightmare had hell of an opener. These two comparable sized wrestlers were showing great performance with no limitation of their arsenals. Even it was just opening match, they got first and only "This is awesome" chant of the night. Pinkine Sanchez has been one of the best acts in the scene. But, He has been under-estimated as a "wrestler" because of his unathletic skinny shape and such a silly, stupid and sidekick gimmick. He always able to have good matches when he got the opportunity. He should get more important role in any other promotion.
Both Touchdown vs. Wani and Battleborn vs. Batiri matches were good. Touchdown and Wani exchanged high impact moves with high-level of execution. Crowds were really into this match. Wani eventually gets the win with help from Juancisco de Coronado. It was Wani's second match in CHIKARA and he just already impressed me. Battleborn and Bariti did modern version of classic southern style tag match. Obaryion did great job in the ricky morton role. His babyface selling of his leg was brilliant. Battleborn also did great job to build a drama. They get 3 points by winning this contest. They are either not bad or not a good team. So, I don't anticipated upcoming Parejas title match.
Trios match between The Colony and The Snake's Pit is definitely my match of the night. Easily this is sure-fire MOTYC. Fantastic return match of The Colony! This is the kind of match that I would like to chant "Please don't stop!". Everyone shined. They hitched up the momentum again and again with excellent counters and a collection of great spots besides some sloppy moves from Worker Ant. Shynron was awesome as usual. Ophidian proved why he is the leader of his team. The Colony maintain their fantastic teamwork even though it was their's first match for a while. All of that is no surprise. But, Argus had a good performance again in this match. He nearly botched suicide dive and exposed his lack of experience. Nevertheless, I'm really into him. I don't know why. He played his underdog role really well again even with no facial expression. He has something which can attract fans.
Main Event Grand championship was pretty good. It is not good result for Kimber Lee's "first" title defense. It is about the storyline more than big-time championship. They proceeded Devastion Corporation vs. Crown and Court feud so hard in this show. Los Ice Creams was beaten by Dev Corp earlier on this show. McMassive's cosplay was nice little swerve. Both segments were great way to get more heat on this feud. It will continue to be part of major story with addition of Oleg The Userper in 2016. I think Oleg The Userper will get his moment like Kimber Lee did last season's finale show someday. In fact, Oleg the Userper has real motive for revenge to Devastion Corporation since he was betrayed by them. Oleg never got his own hands on Devastion Corporation. If Oleg the Userper get his genuine revenge on Dev Corp at Season Finale Show or the other big show, that will be emotional.
All in All, Days of the phenoix was feel like appetizer and 5 senses was main dish.
