CHIKARA Aniversario: Never Compromise Blu-Ray Review

Is this the end?

CHIKARA Aniversario: Never Compromise

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 6/2/13

Pre-Show

1.) Young Lion’s Cup – “Mr. Touchdown” Mark Angelosetti (with Dasher Hatfield) vs. Saturyne: ***1/4

These two had a match for the Young Lion's Cup on a CHIKARA Show earlier in the year, which Mr. Touchdown won. This was a very good match...so good that I actually questioned why it was given away for free on the Pre-Show, because it could have easily been on the iPPV. Still, I think it did a great job at convincing people to get the iPPV. Touchdown would end up retaining his cup. Fun match.

Main Show

1.) The Spectral Envoy (UltraMantis Black, Hallowicked & Frightmare) vs. The Colony: Xtreme Force (Missile Assault Ant, Orbit Adventure Ant & Arctic Rescue Ant): ***

I heard a lot of people say that they didn't enjoy this match, but I thought it was fine. The Xtreme Force are coming along (Their desire to repeatedly shout their names is very annoying), but I feel like The Envoy were definitely carrying them here, and the 2012 King of Trios Champions eventually prevailed.

2.) Dasher Hatfield vs. Delirious: **3/4

These two had a match on the first CHIKARA Show of 2013 which saw Dasher Hatfield pin Delirious in less than a minute. They had a fine match here. Solid action but nothing really special. Kobald of The Batiri provides a distraction which leads to Delirious picking up the win.

3.) The Devastation Corporation (Max Smashmaster, Blaster McMassive & Flex Rumblecrunch with Sidney Bakabella) vs. The Colony (Fire Ant, Green Ant & assailANT): ****

As duos, they fought to a draw in the second stage of the Tag World Grand Prix a month earlier in Chicago. With assailANT not in attendance, the Corporation laid out Fire Ant & Green Ant in a devastating Three-on-Two Beatdown, which led to this match. I may be slightly overrating this, but I really enjoyed it. The Colony & The Devastation Corporation just seem to have great chemistry and it showed in this match. Green Ant was definitely the MVP of this one. Not only did he dive off the second floor balcony, and secure the win for his team via submission, but he gave Bakabella a well deserved superkick to the face! Great Match.

4.) Sarcophagus Match – Ophidian vs. Amasis: ***1/2

A Sarcophagus Match is basically a Casket Match with an Egyptian Sarcophagus taking the place of the casket. This is also the first meeting between the two since the Osirian Portal broke up over a year and a half ago (They were supposed to have a match during WrestleMania Weekend but Ophidian was injured). I will say that the action in this was pretty solid. Ophidian & Amasis went out there and nearly killed each other. The big issue I have (and I think most who saw it would agree) is that I think the match went too long. It went just over 30 Minutes, and it didn't need to. The finish was strange as well, which Amasis breaking through Ophidian's hypnosis, and unmasking him, only to reveal that Ophidian was wearing the old mask of Amasis underneath. Ophidian pleads for Amasis to end him and the Funky Pharaoh places him in the sarcophagus and close the lid to take the win.

5.) Hair vs. Hair Match - Tim Donst (with Veronica Ticklefeather, Jakob Hammermeier & Steve “The Turtle” Weiner) vs. Gavin Loudspeaker: **1/2

This match had been building over a few months. Basically Gavin had been questioning why Jakob and the others were followers of Tim Donst when Donst continually treated them like garbage. Donst responded by attacking Gavin & cutting off bits of his hair on several occasions. Gavin pleaded with Director of Fun Wink Vavasseur to make a match and to let himself pick a representative, but Wink instead put Gavin in the match and made it Hair vs. Hair.

The match itself was fine but the important thing here was the story. Gavin came out in wrestling gear and did the best he could, even busting out a few wrestling moves that he learned at the Wrestle Factory in preparation for this match. Donst, however, gave Gavin a lot of abuse. They did a really good job selling the fact of Gavin not being a wrestler. During the match, Donst continued to abuse his "followers" and this eventually led to Jakob turning on Donst, striking him and leaving through the crowd, which responding loudly to Jakob finally standing up for himself. This was the only part that really bothered me, as I thought it was ridiculous that Donst stayed groggy on the top rope for so long after only taking one punch from Jakob. Gavin eventually made his way up & hit a superplex that looked like affect himself more than Donst, but was able to drape his arm over for the cover & the win.

Gavin laid in the ring, apparently knocked out from his own superplex. Veronica slaps Donst in the face and leaves with Steve "The Turtle" Weiner. Referee Bryce Remsburg begins to do the honors of cutting of Donst's hair, but Donst decides to do the honor himself. For the second year in a row, Tim Donst got his head shaved bald.

During the clean-up, former BDK Referee and GEKIDO liason Derek Sabato came down to the ring, and explains he was fired by Wink Vavsseur for getting too close to the truth. He spoke about a conversation he recently had with someone who was fired from CHIKARA by Wink for the same reason. Sabato pulls out a file that he says has information on Wink, as well as Wink's father Conrad W. Vavasseur and the Titor Conglomerate, the company that owns CHIKARA. He then tweets out this "incriminating" photo of the Titor's Board of Directors, which includes Conrad W. Vavasseur and three others, which I've posted below:

A visibly upset Wink Vavasseur comes out, talking to someone on a cell phone, while at the same time ordering referees to escort Sabato from the building.

6.) Campeonatos de Parejas: 3.0 vs. Pieces of Hate: ***3/4

Jigsaw & The Shard earned this opportunity by winning the Tag World Grand Prix in Chicago a month earlier. Being for the Campeonatos de Parejas, this match was contested as 2/3 Falls. This was another very good match. If there is one thing CHIKARA does right, it's tag team wrestling, and they proved that one again here. 3.0 put up a good fight, but in the end, Jigsaw & The Shard won 2 falls to 1 to become the new champions!

7.) CHIKARA Grand Championship – Eddie Kingston vs. Icarus: ***1/2

This match had a very interesting setup. Over the past few months, the once despised Icarus had slowly turned into a good guy, which the once beloved Grand Champion now was the who was despised by the fans. With the breakup of F.I.S.T., Icarus was on his own, and Kingston had become extremely hostile. Icarus came out wearing Marty Jannetty-esque attire circa 1993, and a seat for Jannetty, his idol, reserved at ringside (Jannetty never showed up). The match itself was pretty good. As the match wore on, Kingston got more & more boos while Icarus got more & more cheers. Icarus took punishment but never quit. He eventually got the advantage and was able to lock Kingston in the CHIKARA Special!!

Then chas erupted. Condor Security swept the ring, pulling out Icarus, Kingston, Referee Bryce Remsburg...dragging them off. A disheveled Wink Vavasseur comes out and declares the show to be over. Members of Condor Security start ordering fans to leave the building while simultaneously tearing down the set. Leonard F. Chikarason, who was on commentary, mentions seeing Archibald Peck before the show fades to black.

Overall: 8.0/10

From a wrestling standpoint, the show was pretty good. I wouldn't say there was one bad match on here, and everything delivered, and in some cases, over-delivered. The Colony/Devastation Corporation Trios Match and the Tag Title Match highlighted the things that made CHIKARA great, and the rest the show featured the conclusion of several stories. Of course the ending to the show (and the storyline implications) has been debated and talked about in extreme detail in various forms. I will say this...if this is the last CHIKARA show ever, they definitely went out on a high note in terms of the in-ring action. Do I personally think CHIKARA is done for good?....No, especially after recent developments (The Icarus #IAmCHIKARA Rally in Easton, the recent Ashes video, etc...). When will it come back if it does?...who knows. But regardless, this was a very good show, and definitely work picking up if you're a CHIKARA Fan....plus, it's the only CHIKARA Show to ever be released on Blu-Ray, so that's a plus!