Saturday Morning Wrestling VIII

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Dirty Dirty Sheets brings you another selection of some of the world’s finest wrestling, handpicked for your enjoyment on this wonderful Saturday morning.

NJPW: Prince Devitt vs. Pac

New Japan’s Best of the Super Junior’s tournament is in full swing now. Prince Devitt is killing it even more than usual, thanks to his attitude change and formation of the Bullet Club stable. Here’s a match from last year’s tourney with the Real Rock’n'Rolla versus Pac. Respect the shooter.

AAA: Hector Garza vs. El Brazo

Wrestling fans we were recently shocked by the passing of Lucha Libre standout Hector Garza. See a young Hector take on El Brazo in a Hair versus Hair match.

World Of Sport: Johnny Saint vs. Mick McManus

Also, British Wrestling legend Mick McManus passed away at the age of 93. Here, see “The man You Love To hate” against Johnny Saint. Also be sure to read The Guardian’s obituary for McManus, it’s in depth and incredibly informative.

Beyond Wrestling: Jarek 1:20 vs. Darius Carter

Back in America, Beyond Wrestling has been making a number of big moves from a partnership with Yahoo Sports, to a special name your own price show, and it’s upcoming massive Americana event. They’re bringing in Steen and Cabana but the heart of Beyond has always been the guys who hadn’t quite made a name for themselves nationally, yet. The Debonair Millionaire Darius Carter is just about to blow up to that level. See him against Jarek 1:20 (who is well on his way to being an international star, in magic). Continue reading →

Ultramantis Black: CHIKARA’s Tragic Hero

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Babs of AwesesomeWisdom.com has been writing a series articles analyzing the complex story lines and characters of CHIKARA. Given the promotion’s alleged impending Doom, we thought this piece by her was very timely. 

By Babs. Photo courtesy killswitched.

Wrestling is often compared to other forms and methods of art and entertainment, from popular culture, like sitcoms to sophisticated culture, like ballet. So why not compare it to Ancient Greek Theater? Today, those ancient works are perceived as the dry, boring domains of academics; however at the time the plays were a popular and enjoyable type of entertainment. The plays examined the human condition through entertaining tales of love, lust, friendship, betrayal, revenge, and violence. Sound familiar?

There were three types of Ancient Greek plays – comedic, satyr, and tragic, which is our focus here. In tragedies the protagonist is a man of importance and status who experiences some misfortune, usually caused by his own actions and behaviors. The hero’s suffering is attributed to a flaw in his character, most commonly hubris or an inability to cope with the consequences of his mistakes. Tragedies often invoke the concept of fate: the hero can’t prevent making the mistake that begins his misery, even if he tries. The aftermath of the hero’s mistake and it’s effect on everyone around him drive the plot of the tragedy to its conclusion. Most tragic plays end with the hero in pain and misery, but there are some that have happier endings.

Although Ultramantis Black often claims to be the most devious villain in pro wrestling, I view him as a tragic hero of CHIKARA. Consider his feud with Delirious. Mantis made two tragic mistakes that set the feud in motion. The first occurred when he decided to obtain the Eye of Tyr back in 2008. He gained the Eye of Tyr by nefariously learning to apply the technico-only CHIKARA Special and teaching it to Chris Hero, in exchange for him wrestling for Dr. Cube in Kaiju Big Battel. In return for Hero’s services, Dr. Cube gave Mantis the Eye.

Black’s second tragic mistake was using the Eye to control Delirious. He could have used it on anyone, but Black chose the violent and unpredictable Delirious in order to destroy the Incoherence faction, as it was led by his former partner Hallowicked. Using great power to exact petty, personal revenge is, of course, a recurring theme in Greek tragedy.

There are two caveats that come with using the Eye. If the user gains it by underhanded methods, like Mantis did, bad luck and tragedy will befall them. Those things will also occur to any user who does not give away the Eye of Tyr after using it. Mantis decided he didn’t believe in the curse and did both. He was smart enough to get the Eye, but foolish enough to ignore the dangers and consequences. This is Mantis’ tragic flaw, his hubris. Mantis’ stubbornness and overconfidence in his own cunning made him feel invincible. He was wrong and he wasn’t the only one to suffer because of it.

While Mantis eventually realized the error of his ways and turned technico,  his actions had already set a course of events in motion. Bringing the Eye to CHIKARA led to the BDK’s formation and invasion. Ares claimed that the Eye had been stolen from his family and vowed to get it back. When he did, the BDK used it to gain control over Delirious and turned him into a weapon. While the havoc wreaked by the BDK was not directly Mantis’ doing, but for his actions none of it would have happened.

Mantis made it his mission to fight the BDK, but those efforts brought more bad fortune, as it eventually unleashed the Dark Army. Mantis won the Eye back from Ares at High Noon. However when he destroyed it to give Delirious back his free will, Delirious vowed to make him suffer for two years for the abuse he experienced.

While Ultramantis Black and The Spectral Envoy were able to win King of Trios, they have spent much of the time since the first High Noon fighting Delirious’ army of The Batiri and Ophidian (it was Mantis’ staff that was The Catalyst for Ophidian’s transformation into The Serpent Spirit.)

Since destroying the Eye of Tyr, Ultramantis Black has been in multiple wars, almost de-masked, injured bad enough to miss the beginning of this Season. There still may be time for Delirious to gain more revenge against Mantis and make our tragic hero suffer further. Or maybe Mantis will be lucky one of those lucky heroes that gets a happy ending. Maybe he finally defeats Delirious and his army. But with the potential end of CHIKARA looming, maybe it’s already too late.

You can read more of Babs’ work on the CHIKARA101 Boards and AwesomeWisdom.com, and follow her on Twitter at @FemmeJoMo. See the end(?) of CHIKARA this Sunday by ordering the Never Compromise iPPV here on Smart Mark Video.

Music Friday: Disco Ensemble – Eartha Kitt

Finnish alt-rockers Disco Ensemble had the good taste to feature Starbuck and Jessica Love in the video for their “Eartha Kitt” track. The Falls Count Anywhere On The Planet Intergender Hardcore Match makes for a pretty stellar music video. It’s also going to be a documentary, according to the video’s description:

Spandex Sapiens is the story of Michael Majalahti aka Starbuck, a lonely son of a Canadian preacher man who becomes the striving pioneer of professional wrestling in faraway Finland, only to find himself contested both physically and ideologically by the young transsexual wrestler Jessica Love, who even follows him to Japan on her big break.

Rad. If you dig the song, be sure to download some more Disco Ensemble here. Below, the band’s 2010 tune “Headphones.”

Ryukyu Dragon Pro Wrestling: Debut

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Rising from the ashes of Okinawa Pro Wrestling comes Ryukyu Dragon Pro Wrestling. It is based in Okinawa, which is part of the Ryukyu Islands, the southern-most region of Japan. The company’s roots go back to Michinoku Pro Wrestling, which bred Osaka Pro Wrestling, and then Okinawa Pro Wrestling which closed its doors in November 2011. Ryukyu Dragon held its opening events during Golden Week, and we have a report for their shows on May 4th and 5th, 2013.

The main roster for Ryukyu Dragon Pro Wrestling consists of:

Gurukun Mask – Ryukyu Dragon’s ace, Gurukun Mask possesses great technical and aerial skills.

Hibiscus Mii – Usually known as Apple Miyuki, Hibiscus Mii is the Joshi  ace of Ryukyu Dragon.

Onihito Demon – A giant of a man, Onihito Demon uses his size and strength to brutalize opponents.

Shikwousa Kid – A shikwousa is a small type of orange that is local to Okinawa  while a Shikwousa Kid is a ring technician.

Super Mantaro – Super Mantaro is a Super Hero whose super powers don’t quite seem to work right during his matches and falter when he needs them the most.

Captain Eagle – When his entrance them “Real American” hits the arena, Captain Eagle storms to the ring full of energy and zest, and wearing a boa around his neck. When the match begins to get intense, he “eagles up” and unleashes his power onto his opponents.

Typhoon J. Ric – Speed and intensity best describe Typhoon J. Ric, who has a lucha libre inspired arsenal of moves.

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May 4, 2013

1. Shikwousa Kid defeated Super Mantaro - Good opening contest, in which Super Mantaro’s super powers failed to gain him the upper hand.

2. Hibiscus Mii defeated Aoi Ishibashi - You’ll recognize Ishibashi from the REINA*World promotion. She gave a good fight to Hibiscus, but Hibiscus Mii was able to pull out the victory after a top rope splash.

3. Onihito Demon, Chula Nekokagi, and Typhoon J. Ric defeated Gurukun Mask, Tomoka Nakagawa, and Captain Eagle - This was a wild brawl that took place all over the building, and ended with Onihito Demon pinning Captain Eagle. Continue reading →

SHIMMER: Volume 56 Gallery

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Volume 54 Gallery, Volume 55 Gallery

Photos 1-131 by Gregory Davis. Photos 132-143 by Christopher Codina.

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SHIMMER: Volume 55 Gallery

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Volume 54 Gallery

Photos 1-101 by Gregory Davis. Photos 102-108 by Christopher Codina.

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SHIMMER: Volume 54 Gallery

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At SHIMMER last month, we saw Evie and Kimber Lee earn their roster spots and Jessicka Havok take her spot, whether we liked it or not. We saw Serena Deeb and Madison Eagles make their first trip back to Berwyn after long absences due to injury, and they did not miss a beat. We saw Allysin Kay TwitPic mid-match. We saw Mercedes Martinez and Ayako Hamada try their absolute best to destroy each other. We saw one of the most wild, goofy, amazing spectacles of a four-way match that wrestling has seen. We saw Nicole Matthews and Portia Perez cheat and cheat and cheat and cheat and cheat and be dicks. We saw Cheerleader Melissa take a very dark turn as she began her second reign as champion. We saw that the Global Green Gangsters, Kellie Skater and Tomoka Nakagawa, truly “Got this.” We saw the end of an era as Allison Danger, one of the founders of the company and a pioneer in the world of “American joshi” wrestling, compete in the final match of her career.

This is the first of our four part gallery for the SHIMMER weekend, enjoy.

Photos 1-138 by Gregory Davis. Photos 139-150 by Christopher Codina.

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Wrestlers We Loved 2012

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And now, our favorite wrestlers from last year. Again we’re joined by our friends Thomas Holzerman from The Wrestling Blog, Jamie from Dramatic DDT, T.J. Hawke from Free Pro Wrestling,  Ciara Reid of Angry Marks, Jae of iheartDG, Alyssa, Alex, Benjamin, and Senor Lariato. By Leslie, Greg, Chris C., Chris J., Sonny, Aoikougei, Sarah (and her brother), Steph, and Martin.

Matches We Loved: Part I, Part II

ACH

ACW, AAW, SLA, ROH, DGUSA, CHIKARA, Resistance Pro

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Thomas: This man busted out of Austin in a big way this year. Dragon Gate USA only had the bright idea to book him at the end of the year. Ring of Honor had the chance to blow the doors off the arena in Chicago, but instead he was a sacrificial lamb for Kyle O’Reilly. I certainly didn’t love the treatment he got from promoters who apparently “know” wrestling, but this isn’t a gripe-fest. It’s a love-fest. What ACH was able to do this year was nothing short of revolutionize what wrestling was all about.

Whether as the standard bearer in ACW, a man who helped make Cleveland a destination for wrestling in AIW, or the forever-frustrated rival of Mark Angelosetti in Chikara, he did things only thought possible by dreamers who wrote matches for e-feds. Four-fifty splash from the second rope? Easy. Texas Cloverleaf big swing? Pfft, don’t trifle me with your doubts, son. He went 30 minutes with AR Fox, warred with Johnny Gargano, clashed with Willie Mack, and even helped put eyes on Kansas City through an excellent series with Jeremy Wyatt.

If ACH isn’t on your radar, you don’t watch enough wrestling, and if you watch enough wrestling and aren’t impressed by ACH, then good lord, man, you’re made of stone.

Photo Courtesy Joel Loeschman

Adam Cole

ROH, PWG

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Ciara: I can’t think of anyone else in Ring of Honor that has stood out for me in 2012 besides Adam Cole. Earlier last year, Future Shock disbanded with Kyle O’Reilly joining Davey Richards and Adam Cole aligning with Eddie Edwards. At ROH’s 10th Anniversary Show in March, Adam Cole scored an upset as he pinned then ROH World Champion Davey Richards with a Crossbody during a tag team match. Cole would go onto to defeat Kyle O’Reilly in a Hybrid Rules Match and defeat Roderick Strong for the ROH Television Championship in June. Cole has successfully retained his championship against Eddie Edwards and Mike Mondo and defeated Matt Hardy in a non-title match.

Adam continued his success over in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla as he won the 2012 Battle of Los Angeles Tournament to earn a shot at Kevin Steen’s PWG World Championship. In November, Cole defeated Caleb Konley for the Premiere Wrestling Xperience Heavyweight Championship. Adam has since won the PWG World Championship from Kevin Steen and formed the Dojo Brothers with Eddie Edwards and Roderick Strong. I was already aware of Adam Cole’s work in Combat Zone Wrestling, but this past year he has really stepped it up and became one of my favorites.

AR Fox

Dragon Gate, DGUSA, Evolve, CZW, Beyond Wrestling, AIW, ISW

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TJ Hawke: AR Fox is the surest bet in wrestling for getting an entertaining match right now. I’ve watched him in a variety of promotions, on tape and in person, and he always kills himself to put on the best match possible. Putting AR Fox on a card automatically makes me interested in said show.

In DGUSA and Evolve, Fox stepped up and delivered some of the best matches of the year with some of the best wrestlers in the world. In CZW, he became one of their best pushed talents, having a series of great matches with a variety of opponents. In Absolute Intense Wrestling, Fox had two thirty minute Iron Man matches with ACH. Both matches received rave reviews for their excitement and innovation.

In 2012, Fox became one of the most exciting wrestlers in all of wrestling. Over the next five years, I expect him to grow so much that people start referring to him as one of the best wrestlers in the world.

Photo courtesy Marvin Cespedes

Ayako Hamada

SHIMMER, WAVE

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Leslie: Ayako Hamada is Wrestler of the Year, Every Year. It’s redundant to talk about how great she is at this point, you just need to watch her. Watch her in Mexico. Watch her in Japan. Watch her in in the states (especially her SHIMMER match against Kana). Watch her, year after year, effortlessly put on amazing matches. Ayako Hamada is an international treasure and the best of her generation.

Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi

BJW, AJPW 

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Lariato: In the first half of 2012 especially, Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi marked themselves as one of the best tag teams on the planet with a series of amazing matches in AJPW and home promotion BJW. Both guys are freakishly strong and I never tire of watching them in matches against other heavy hitting teams like Get Wild of Manabu Soya & Takao Omori.

Click here to watch 5 hours of Sekimoto & Okabayashi matches.

Dash Chisako and Sendai Sachiko

Sendai Girls, JWP, CHIKARA

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Sonny: The Kanari sisters slowly emerged from the humongous shadow of Meiko Satomura in 2012, showcasing their great tag team skills versus a wide variety of opponents.

In May they debuted in CHIKARA, and defeated The Bravado Brothers. On June 25, they defeated Manami Toyota and Kyoko Inoue. In September they teamed with Meiko Satomura in CHIKARA’s King of Trios to defeat Green Ant, Red Ant and AssailAnt. In round 2 they defeated Jigsaw, Manami Toyota and Mike Quackenbush. In round 3 they lost to the team of The Young Bucks and Mike Bennett in what may have been the best match of the entire weekend.

Drake Younger

PWG, BJW, CZW

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Alex: Drake Younger’s 2012 has been a powerful journey to be able to watch, one that made him one of the best wrestlers of the year. A resolution to clean himself up led to him getting in the best shape of his life. That then led to a renaissance for Younger as a wrestler. In 2012 he delivered some of his strongest matches, including wars with Sami Callihan, B-Boy, Rickey Shane Page, Roderick Strong, and MASADA, peaking with an awe inspiring Iron Man with Sami Callihan.

Moving out to Los Angeles and finding another home with PWG turned out to be a great move for him, allowing him to show new audiences what the Combat Zone faithful already knew: Drake Younger is one of the most well rounded wrestlers in the world, able to deliver with a wide variety of opponents. An inspiration, in ring and out, making him a clear choice for this write up.

Ben: Forget the broken glass and death matches, Drake Younger can do it all, and regularly does. To me, he is the definition of a hybrid wrestler, and I love the diversity this brings.

Having changed his life this year (in more ways than one), and moved to California, a whole new horizon has opened up for him, including PWG, where he continues to have increasingly fantastic matches to sit alongside 2012 classics such as 60-minute Iron Man vs Callihan.

As I type this, he is completing his 4th tour of Japan, and has already signed a contract for his 5th tour. Every time he returns to the States following one of these tours, he seems to have grown again. It’s a pleasure to watch someone so humble, positive and joyful about their chosen craft, and long may it continue.

Leslie: I didn’t see any Drake Younger matches this year, but I saw this photo in a issue of Weekly Pro Wres. He’s earned a mention. Continue reading →

AAW: Point of No Return 2013 Gallery

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At AAW’s Point of No Return, we saw Silas Young and Jimmy Jacobs prove that even without titles they could still be at the forefront of the roster. We saw the AAW debut of Rich Swann, who seemed to find the Eagles Club a fine roost from which to perform his avian arsenal. We saw Truth Martini offer Saraya Knight a dollar to take out MsChif. We saw ACH and Kyle O’Reilly take things to another level in the Last Hero’s first defense of the AAW Heritage title. And we saw Michael Elgin and Davey Richards in a battle worthy of an early Match of the Year nod.

See the photos from the first AAWSHIM weekend show below from Gregory Davis (1-39) and Christopher Codina (40-54).

AAW: Point of No Return

April 12th, 2013 – Berwyn, IL

  1. Silas Young defeated Jimmy Jacobs
  2. Colt Cabana and Junthai Miller defeated Dan Lawrence and Markus Crane
  3. AAW Heritage Championship contender’s match: Lamar Titan w/ Kevin Harvey and Nikki Mayday defeated Rich Swann and Louis Lyndon
  4. Losing team must break up: Keith Walker and Tweek Phoenix w/ Kevin Harvey and Nikki Mayday def. The Northstache Express (Darin Corbin and Marion Fontaine)
  5. Shane Hollister w/ Markus Crane and Scarlett def. Sami Callihan
  6. MsChif, Christina Von Eerie, and Heidi Lovelace def. Saraya Knight, Miss Natural, and Taylor Made w/ Truth Martini
  7. AAW Heritage Championship match: ACH (c) def. Kyle O’Reilly
  8. AAW Tag Team Championship match: Irish Airborne (Jake Crist and Dave Crist) (c) def. Arik Cannon and Mat Fitchett
  9. AAW Heavyweight Championship: Michael Elgin (c) def. Davey Richards

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