CHIKARA Operation: Big Freeze 2011: Random DVD Review Series #28

I know I don’t usually watch much Chikara, but me and my wrestling DVD buying buddy could not resist getting these pair of shows because of the Eddie Kingston/Claudio Castagnoli feud. Chikara’s booking of feuds is usually more comic book based (see Kizarney v Ultramantis Black) but the Kingston/Claudio feud feels a little more professional wrestling to me. The only downside of this DVD is that the crowd is only intermittently emotionally involved in the action, which causes most of matches to not seem that special. Also, the basketball gym looked very minor leagues compared to some of the buildings Chikara worked in 2010. Despite that however, as usual, Chikara produced another solid DVD with fun matches up and down the card.

Match Ratings:

BDK (Tim Donst & Pinkie Sanchez) vs. Da Soul Touchaz: **1/4…a very solid opener but with a “BDK” finish… Donst has excellent mannerisms and could be a great heel in the WWE if they get past his roundish look (or if he starts to work on his body)…Soul Touchaz’s undercard feud with the BDK has always led to fun matches from what I have seen

Madison Eagles vs. Toshie Uematsu: ***1/2…A surprising loss for Eagles but I guess they were trying to give Toshie some momentum for her match the next day with Death Ray… real good match, and probably the best women’s match I have seen in a while…Madison did have some selling issues though, and that may have harmed her connection with the crowd as they were not really involved in her comebacks

Eddie Kingston vs. Archibald Peck (w/ Random Chick Carrying a Baton): **…Claudio and the BDK attacked Eddie during his interview to set up their main event match for the next show…then the The Band came out to start a match…the Band consists of a bandleader and a random chick carrying a baton…Peck’s personality reminds me of the douchebag frat guys from Animal House…this was a fun match

3.0 & The Throwbacks vs. UnStable & Roughnecks: **1/2…3.0 came out dressed like the UnStable to further their feud…one of the 3.0 rolled up Gerard with a fistful of tights for the win, which was a strange way for a babyface to win a match…the match’s highlight was Sugar trying to get a 4v4 basketball going between the teams…then during the jumpball, Brodie Lee just punched Sugar in the face: awesome…match was fairly sloppy at points

Icarus vs. Fire Ant: **3/4…Icarus cut a pre-match promo reminding the audience that the Colony is the reason why he does not have his hair…apparently Icarus is suffering from Kurt Angle disaease, as his hair has not grown back since losing it in a hair match (in 2009!)…a good match here but nothing special…the commentators continue to hint at the future singles championship that is coming to CHIKARA, as means of trying to make every singles match in Chikara more meaningful…Icarus is a solid in-ring hand, but Chucky T and Gargano are clearly the standouts of FIST

Osirian Portal (Amasis, Ophidian, & Hieracon) vs. Kizarny & the Batari (Kodama & Obariyon) with Kobald): **1/4… The Portal used hypnosis and forced them to dance to Thriller; that greatly amused the crowd…Kobald interfered for the disqualification as the Portal was about to win…bad finish to an okay match…Kizarny then sat on some poor woman after the match…Kizarny makes for a good heel manager but they should probably limit his in-ring appearances to keep his weird style special…the Portal pointed to the King of Trios banner on the wall, a la the way people point to the Wrestlemania sign in the WWE…the Portal has been booked to look strong in Season 10

Tursas vs. Willie Richardson: *… Tursas caught him on a running cross body after the BDK announcer distracted big Willie…an okay segment (not much of a match)




Frightening (Mike Quackenbush & Incoherence [Hallowicked, & Frightmare]) vs. BDK (Claudio Castagnoli, Sara Del Ray & Tim Donst): ***1/2… Very good match here that ended when Wicked superplexed Donst…there was a lot of dissent within the BDK after the match…Quack, Wicked, & Frightmare were their usual great babyface selves during the match…I am very curious to see where the BDK angle goes from here, as they have been booked to lose a fair number of times now to start off the season…will they end the angle, or will they search for some new blood?

Overall show thoughts: not the strongest card from Chikara but the main event and the women’s match were both quite good…an enjoyable show for sure, but you won’t be missing anything special if you skip this show…the 2 hour running time of the show completely flew by

This DVD can be purchased here: http://www.smartmarkvideo.com/Chikara-DVD-March-12-2011-Operation-Big-Freeze-Williamsport-PA/