Following Eddie Kingston’s challenge on the CHIKARA Podcast-A-Go-Go Update just a few days ago, Claudio Castagnoli has accepted and the two men will meet in one of the highlight matches on the upcoming Philadelphia card. Both men are among the top singles wrestlers in all of CHIKARA and both trained at the Chikara Wrestle Factory but this grudge apparently only really developed at King of Trios when Claudio’s Team Uppercut overcame Kingston’s Roughnecks in a match deemed to be “embarassing” by Kingston. However, the two have actually had issues for many years, dating back to the early days of the Eddie Kingston vs. Chris Hero feud in CHIKARA and CZW. Their first singles match in CHIKARA occurred in late March of 2007 in Kingston’s comeback match from a broken ankle, and Claudio came out on top of that by going after the injury and using a heel hook for the submission. More recently, they wrestled last November in Wallingford in a match again won by Castagnoli. “The King of Diamonds” has often been called “a man who wears his hear on his sleeve” and he is not a man who takes losses easily, so he will be well aware of Castagnoli’s record against him, so he’ll be out to “right that wrong” in Philly.

Meanwhile, finishing up the weekend is another singles match for Easton between “The Anarchist” Arik Cannon and Incoherence member Delirious. Both of these men really made their names at the same time, coming into some success in 2004/2005 in IWA Mid-South, where Cannon won the Heavyweight Title and Delirious won the Light-Heavyweight Title on multiple occasions. Both have also achieved a lot in CHIKARA, Cannon holding the Young Lions Cup in 2006 while Delirious held Los Campeonatos de Parejas last year with Hallowicked. Cannon is returning to CHIKARA after a massively impressive weekend at King of Trios where he dropped El Generico in singles competition, while nobody really knows where Delirious is at – quite literally – following his apparent kidnapping at the hands of the Order of the Neo-Solar Temple last month.

The second participant has been added to the Dragon Gate USA atomico showcase match and it is another member of the tecnico squad. With the addition of Fire Ant to the 8-man match, his tag team partner in The Colony, Soldier Ant, has also been added. Soldier brings a lot to the table, having teamed with Fire Ant to win Tag World Grand Prix 2008 and challenge for Los Campeonatos de Parejas in January. While his singles credentials are not quite as decorated as those of his tag team partner, Soldier has challenged for the Young Lions Cup in the past as well as going toe-to-toe with the likes of Eddie Kingston, so his ability should not be doubted by anyone.

Chuck Taylor has a new blog on the CHIKARA site addressing the upcoming F.I.S.T. vs. Colony match.

- CHIKARA “Aniversario Yin”
May 23, 2009 ~ Palmer Community Center, Easton, PA
1. Hydra vs. Grizzly Redwood
2. Eddie Kingston vs. Create-A-Wrestler
3. Arik Cannon vs. Delirious
4. Player Uno & Player Dos [Super Smash Bros.] & Fire Ant & Soldier Ant [The Colony] vs. Ophidian & Amasis [The Osirian Portal] & El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream Jr. [Los Ice Creams]
5. Jagged & Shane Matthews [2.0] vs. Hallowicked & Frightmare [Incoherence]
6. STIGMA vs. Tim Donst
7. Helios & Lince Dorado [The Future Is Now] & Jigsaw vs. Chuck Taylor, Icarus & Gran Akuma [F.I.S.T.]
8. Vin Gerard vs. Claudio Castagnoli

- CHIKARA “Aniversario Yang”
May 24, 2009 ~ The Arena, Philadelphia, PA
1. Arik Cannon vs. Ophidian
2. Tim Donst & Hydra [The Sea Donsters] vs. Jagged & Shane Matthews [2.0]
3. El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream Jr. [Los Ice Creams] vs. Brodie Lee & Grizzly Redwood [The Roughnecks]
4. Vin Gerard & Colin Delaney [The UnStable] vs. D’Lo Brown & Glacier
5. Lince Dorado, Helios & Jimmy “Equinox” Olsen [The Future Is Now] & Jigsaw vs. Hallowicked & Frightmare [Incoherence] & KC “Cloudy” Day & Cheech Hernandez
6. UltraMantis Black & Crossbones [The Order of the Neo-Solar Temple] vs. Player Uno & Player Dos [Super Smash Bros.]
7. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Eddie Kingston
8. Lucha de Apuestas ~ Double Hair vs. Double Mask Match: Icarus & Chuck Taylor [F.I.S.T.] vs. Fire Ant & Soldier Ant [The Colony]

- Dragon Gate USA Debut Show
July 25, 2009 ~ The Arena, Philadelphia, PA
1. CHIKARA Showcase Match: Fire Ant & Soldier Ant [The Colony] & X & X [CHIKARA Tecnicos] vs. X, X, X & X [CHIKARA Rudos]

Also scheduled to appear: Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, YAMATO, CIMA, BxB Hulk, Susumu Yokosuka, Shingo Takagi, Matt & Nick Jackson: The Young Bucks, 2 Cold Scorpio and more!

The Philadelphia card for May 24th is coming together, and hot off the announcement of the Incoherence vs. 2.0 rematch in Easton, the Canadian duo of Jagged and Shane Matthews will be in Philly too. Their opponents on this occasion will be Tim Donst and Hydra, collectively known as the Sea Donsters. While the Donsters and 2.0 are among CHIKARA’s more comedic teams, the Donsters have done the one thing that 2.0 have not: Challenged for Los Campeonatos de Parejas. If 2.0 can win both of their matches over Aniversario weekend they would be well on the way towards amending that. Lose and it’s right back to the drawing board.

Apparently a new video update is coming up on the podcast feed. Check back as I’ll edit that in when it turns up.

UPDATE: Eddie Kingston wants Claudio, presumably in Philly!

- CHIKARA “Aniversario Yang”
May 24, 2009 ~ The Arena, Philadelphia, PA
1. Arik Cannon vs. Ophidian
2. Tim Donst & Hydra [The Sea Donsters] vs. Jagged & Shane Matthews [2.0]
3. El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream Jr. [Los Ice Creams] vs. Brodie Lee & Grizzly Redwood [The Roughnecks]
4. Vin Gerard & Colin Delaney [The UnStable] vs. D’Lo Brown & Glacier
5. Lince Dorado, Helios & Jimmy “Equinox” Olsen [The Future Is Now] & Jigsaw vs. Hallowicked & Frightmare [Incoherence] & KC “Cloudy” Day & Cheech Hernandez
6. UltraMantis Black & Crossbones [The Order of the Neo-Solar Temple] vs. Player Uno & Player Dos [Super Smash Bros.]
7. Lucha de Apuestas ~ Double Hair vs. Double Mask Match: Icarus & Chuck Taylor [F.I.S.T.] vs. Fire Ant & Soldier Ant [The Colony]

The main event for the upcoming Easton show has been confirmed, pitting one of the co-trainers of the Chikara Wrestle Factory up against a former friend and a disowned former student of the school. Since Chris Hero was vanquished from CHIKARA at the end of 2007, Claudio Castagnoli has been teaching at the Wrestle Factory alongside Mike Quackenbush, assisting in the training of many current CHIKARA stars along the way, most recently Frightmare. However, around the same time that Hero was run out of the promotion by Claudio, Vin Gerard hit the scene having just previously lost his mask and his place in the locker room in the process. Following this loss, Vin proceeded to hit out at the Wrestle Factory, directing much criticism at both Quackenbush and “Reckless Youth” Tom Carter (and to this day Vin still uses Carter’s 2K1 Bomb), none of which can sit too well with “Double C”, who himself trained at the school when he first came to America. What is quite amusing is that Vin and Claudio actually hold one point as a team, having defeated Chris Hero and Shayne Hawke when Gerard was Equinox. Nevertheless, those days are long gone and Vin will consider a win over arguably the CHIKARA “ace” crucial to retain the singles momentum many feel he has lost since he failed to win back the Young Lions Cup in January.

This past month in Easton 2.0 picked up a rare tag team point, overcoming Incoherence of Frightmare and Delirious thanks to the interference of Brodie Lee, despite Shane Matthews insisting otherwise in a new CHIKARA blog. Clearly slightly miffed by this “excuse” given to Incoherence, Matthews has set down a challenge for a rematch in Easton, which has been accepted by “The Nightmare Warrior” and his tiny terror of a friend, so in Easton it will be the newly-dubbed “Big Magic” and the “Wet Bandit” Jagged going up against Incoherence once again. Will Brodie decide to stick his nose into things again, will Incoherence back up their impressive performances with a win, or will 2.0 start to mount a serious challenge for Los Campeonatos?

The CHIKARA Podcast-A-Go-Go has a new opening to mark its fourth year. Featured this week are Claudio Castagnoli vs. Mike Quackenbush and the Tag World Grand Prix final from Germany.

- CHIKARA “Aniversario Yin”
May 23, 2009 ~ Palmer Community Center, Easton, PA
1. Hydra vs. Grizzly Redwood
2. Eddie Kingston vs. Create-A-Wrestler
3. Player Uno & Player Dos [Super Smash Bros.] & Fire Ant & Soldier Ant [The Colony] vs. Ophidian & Amasis [The Osirian Portal] & El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream Jr. [Los Ice Creams]
4. Jagged & Shane Matthews [2.0] vs. Hallowicked & Frightmare [Incoherence]
5. STIGMA vs. Tim Donst
6. Helios & Lince Dorado [The Future Is Now] & Jigsaw vs. Chuck Taylor, Icarus & Gran Akuma [F.I.S.T.]
7. Vin Gerard vs. Claudio Castagnoli

A news roundup from the past few days after not updated yesterday!

Easton will play host to the grudge match between CHIKARA Sekigun and Sea Donsters member Tim Donst and UnStable member STIGMA. Donst is out for revenge after STIGMA booted him off the apron and injured his neck back in December (the match that saw Jigsaw and Mike Quackenbush formally reunite their tag team) and since then Donst has not been able to get back at the former Shane Storm. On the last show in Reading it was STIGMA pinning Donst with his signature tombstone piledriver, and all other Sea Donsters vs. UnStable battles have gone in favour of the rudos. Donst laid down the challenge in a Podcast-A-Go-Go update, but will he be able to back up his words and finally score a decisive win over his fellow Wrestle Factory graduate?

An Atomico comes to Philly as Jigsaw leads a foursome with The Future Is Now (Jimmy “Equinox” Olsen, Helios & Lince Dorado) as they will be going head-to-head with Incoherence (Hallowicked & Frightmare), Cheech & Cloudy. The latter four do have some history, as Cheech & Cloudy have teamed with Hallowicked & Delirious in several memorable matches, and they’ve also fought many times in the past, so they would have to be considered the slight favourites. However, Jigsaw was a member of the first King of Trios-winning team and The Future Is Now had a very strong showing in this year’s tournament, so they must not be underestimated in any multi-man matches.

Smart Mark Video has released the April events, “The Bobliographon” and “Beyond the 8 Ball”. The cover for the latter is an original photograph featuring Fire Ant whereas the former is a comic book adaptation actually suggested on the board. The original cover is from “Deadpool #32″ which can be viewed here.

In a quick Dragon Gate USA-related update, WORLD-1 member BxB Hulk and Real Hazard leader YAMATO will also be participating on the July card. CHIKARA announced on their Twitter account that a DGUSA announcement will be coming up soon, which will almost certainly be an announcement regarding the participants in the CHIKARA showcase match.

- CHIKARA “Aniversario Yin”
May 23, 2009 ~ Palmer Community Center, Easton, PA
1. Hydra vs. Grizzly Redwood
2. Eddie Kingston vs. Create-A-Wrestler
3. Player Uno & Player Dos [Super Smash Bros.] & Fire Ant & Soldier Ant [The Colony] vs. Ophidian & Amasis [The Osirian Portal] & El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream Jr. [Los Ice Creams]
4. STIGMA vs. Tim Donst
5. Helios & Lince Dorado [The Future Is Now] & Jigsaw vs. Chuck Taylor, Icarus & Gran Akuma [F.I.S.T.]

- CHIKARA “Aniversario Yang”
May 24, 2009 ~ The Arena, Philadelphia, PA
1. Arik Cannon vs. Ophidian
2. El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream Jr. [Los Ice Creams] vs. Brodie Lee & Grizzly Redwood [The Roughnecks]
3. Vin Gerard & Colin Delaney [The UnStable] vs. D’Lo Brown & Glacier
4. Lince Dorado, Helios & Jimmy “Equinox” Olsen [The Future Is Now] & Jigsaw vs. Hallowicked & Frightmare [Incoherence] & KC “Cloudy” Day & Cheech Hernandez
5. UltraMantis Black & Crossbones [The Order of the Neo-Solar Temple] vs. Player Uno & Player Dos [Super Smash Bros.]
6. Lucha de Apuestas ~ Double Hair vs. Double Mask Match: Icarus & Chuck Taylor [F.I.S.T.] vs. Fire Ant & Soldier Ant [The Colony]

Two teams looking to start from scratch in the CHIKARA tag scene will clash in Philadelphia, as the Super Smash Bros. of Player Uno and Player Dos will tackle the Order of the Neo-Solar Temple’s UltraMantis Black and Crossbones. The former failed to win a 4-way tag match on the last show in Philadelphia while the Order fell in the 2009 King of Trios tag team gauntlet match. One factor that must be considered is Delirious, who the Order kidnapped last month and no word on his status has been given since. Will Delirious make his presence felt in Philly? And regardless of that, will his Incoherence buddies Hallowicked and Frightmare be looking to gain some vengeance on Mantis and Crossbones for their sneak attack in Philly?

- CHIKARA “Aniversario Yang”
May 24, 2009 ~ The Arena, Philadelphia, PA
1. Arik Cannon vs. Ophidian
2. El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream Jr. [Los Ice Creams] vs. Brodie Lee & Grizzly Redwood [The Roughnecks]
3. Vin Gerard & Colin Delaney [The UnStable] vs. D’Lo Brown & Glacier
4. UltraMantis Black & Crossbones [The Order of the Neo-Solar Temple] vs. Player Uno & Player Dos [Super Smash Bros.]
5. Lucha de Apuestas ~ Double Hair vs. Double Mask Match: Icarus & Chuck Taylor [F.I.S.T.] vs. Fire Ant & Soldier Ant [The Colony]

A few days ago “Lightning” Mike Quackenbush announced in a blog on the CHIKARA website that he would be out of action for a period of time due to surgery on his back. In his final wish before leaving, Quack elevated his frequent sidekick from the student to the teacher and asked “The Wrestling Riddle” known as Jigsaw to act as a “mentor” figure to The Future Is Now: Jimmy “Equinox” Olsen, Lince Dorado and Helios. The third Young Lions Cup Champion has clearly accepted this challenge, as the upcoming Easton show on May 23rd will see Jig join forces with TFIN’s Dorado and Helios in a trios match. Unfortunately, their opponents will not be pushovers, as they will be up against F.I.S.T. of Gran Akuma, Icarus and Chuck Taylor, the 2009 King of Trios winners. The three will be in quite the vile zone one night prior to the big hair vs. mask match against The Colony in Philly, which could work in the favour of the tecnico trio. Will F.I.S.T.’s focus on the ants cause an upset in this match, or will CHIKARA’s most dangerous trio continue to destroy all comers en route to The Arena?

CHIKARA Podcast-A-Go-Go #160, featuring Chuck Taylor & Icarus vs. Martin Stone & PAC and Johnny Saint vs. Mike Quackenbush.

Shingo Takagi and Susumu Yokosuka will be wrestling on the DGUSA debut show.

- CHIKARA “Aniversario Yin”
May 23, 2009 ~ Palmer Community Center, Easton, PA
1. Hydra vs. Grizzly Redwood
2. Eddie Kingston vs. Create-A-Wrestler
3. Player Uno & Player Dos [Super Smash Bros.] & Fire Ant & Soldier Ant [The Colony] vs. Ophidian & Amasis [The Osirian Portal] & El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream Jr. [Los Ice Creams]
4. Helios & Lince Dorado [The Future Is Now] & Jigsaw vs. Chuck Taylor, Icarus & Gran Akuma [F.I.S.T.]

In one of the more bizarre matchups in recent CHIKARA history, Los Ice Creams are making their presence felt in Philadelphia on May 24th, taking on Brodie Lee and Grizzly Redwood of the Roughnecks. It should be quite the spectacle to see the deadly Big Rig face to face with the light hearted rudos; how will Brodie react to the fun and games of Los Ice Creams? Be sure to get your advance tickets now at CHIKARAPro.com!

Also of note was yesterday’s Lucha Libre en Delaware event in Bear, DE, featuring numerous CHIKARA talents in fun showcase matches for the fans that turned out at El Nuevo Rodeo. The main event saw a two of three falls trios showdown where Halcon Guerrero teamed up with The Colony to take down Claudio Castagnoli and the aforementioned Los Ice Creams, two falls to one. Looked to be a fun show overall; full results are at the end of this post.

- CHIKARA “Aniversario Yang”
May 24, 2009 ~ The Arena, Philadelphia, PA
1. Arik Cannon vs. Ophidian
2. El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream Jr. [Los Ice Creams] vs. Brodie Lee & Grizzly Redwood [The Roughnecks]
3. Vin Gerard & Colin Delaney [The UnStable] vs. D’Lo Brown & Glacier
4. Lucha de Apuestas ~ Double Hair vs. Double Mask Match: Icarus & Chuck Taylor [F.I.S.T.] vs. Fire Ant & Soldier Ant [The Colony]

- “Lucha Libre en Delaware!”
May 3, 2009 ~ El Nuevo Rodeo, Bear, DE
1. Hallowicked {W} & Frightmare [Incoherence] (Rydeen Bomb) Mike Quackenbush {L} & Jigsaw
2. Grizzly Redwood (Schoolboy) Klondike Kremlin
3. Vin Gerard, STIGMA {W} & Colin Delaney [The UnStable] (Tombstone Piledriver) Create-A-Wrestler, Green Ant {L} & Atomico
4. Chiva IV (Moonsault Press) Rhett Titus
5. Icarus {W} & Gran Akuma [F.I.S.T.] (Frog Splash) Cheech Hernandez {L} & K.C. “Cloudy” Day
6. Halcon Guerrero, Fire Ant & Soldier Ant (2-1) Claudio Castagnoli, El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream Jr.
6a. Claudio Castagnoli {W}, El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream Jr. () Halcon Guerrero {L}, Fire Ant & Soldier Ant
6b. Halcon Guerrero {W}, Fire Ant & Soldier Ant (Top Rope Huracanrana) Claudio Castagnoli {L}, El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream Jr.
6c. Halcon Guerrero, Fire Ant {W} & Soldier Ant {W} (Double Wheelbarrow Cradles) Claudio Castagnoli, El Hijo del Ice Cream {L} & Ice Cream Jr. {L}

The latest match for Easton’s “Aniversario Yin” has been confirmed, and it’s quite the special atomico – in their last match before their huge mask vs. hair match, Fire Ant and Soldier Ant align with former Campeones de Parejas The Super Smash Bros. to square off against The Osirian Portal and returning beloved rudos Los Ice Creams. There’s a ton of history here between these squads: the Osirian Portal were the team that snuck the belts away from the Super Smash Bros. last October at second night of “The Global Gauntlet”; the Colony were the team that came inches away from taking those belts for themselves back at “Revelation X” in January. Also notable is Player Dos’ recent success in last month’s Atomico match, defeating Buck Hawke at “Behind the 8 Ball”. Will he fly high and take home the win for the tecnicos? Find out on May 23rd when Aniversario Weekend 2009 takes off!

Also, last second addition – are you in the NYC metro area and interested in attending “Aniversario Yin”? Hit up Richard Parker, the head of the CHIKARA Fans Bus Trips, for info on the bus trip to this event and the DGUSA event on 7/25 in Philly! All info can be found here.

- CHIKARA “Aniversario Yin”
May 23, 2009 ~ Palmer Community Center, Easton, PA
1. Hydra vs. Grizzly Redwood
2. Eddie Kingston vs. Create-A-Wrestler
3. Player Uno & Player Dos [Super Smash Bros.] & Fire Ant & Soldier Ant [The Colony] vs. Ophidian & Amasis [The Osirian Portal] & El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream Jr. [Los Ice Creams]

Just moments after suffering a loss to Vin Gerard at “The Bobliographon”, former WCW star Glacier set down a challenge for the Gerard and his UnStable cronies, which can be viewed here. Today, that challenge has been made official. One month after that match in Philly, Glacier and Gerard will clash again, this time in a tag team match. Gerard will team with his UnStable mate “The Big League Superstar” Colin Delaney, while Glacier has made the call. On May 24th, former WWF Eurocontinental Champion D’Lo Brown will return to CHIKARA after getting quite the reaction in his debut at King of Trios! The entire UnStable has continued to mock D’Lo even after Trios weekend has been and gone, with STIGMA most notably shaking his head frequently this past weekend. D’Lo will be coming off yet another intense tour of Pro Wrestling NOAH where he has been wrestling in the Global Tag League, and he will not be willing to take any more disrespect upon his return to the States.

- CHIKARA “Aniversario Yang”
May 24, 2009 ~ The Arena, Philadelphia, PA
1. Arik Cannon vs. Ophidian
2. Vin Gerard & Colin Delaney [The UnStable] vs. D’Lo Brown & Glacier
3. Lucha de Apuestas ~ Double Hair vs. Double Mask Match: Icarus & Chuck Taylor [F.I.S.T.] vs. Fire Ant & Soldier Ant [The Colony]

In recent times CHIKARA fans have not seen as much of “The Anarchist” Arik Cannon as they may have in years past. However, following an extremely impressive showing alongside the North Star Express at King of Trios 2009, Cannon will indeed be making another appearance in the CHIKARA ring on May 24th in Philadelphia. His opponent on this occasion will be one half of the current CHIKARA Campeones de Parejas, Ophidian. Both men made it to the second night of King of Trios and both men were victorious on night 3. Both men have also won titles in the Arena in Philadelphia. In 2006 Arik Cannon defeated Cheech to become the Young Lions Cup Champion, and late last year the Osirian Portal overcame the Super Smash Bros. to become the Campeones. However, Cannon lost that cup in the same building to another up-and-comer, Max Boyer, basically marking the end of Cannon’s regularity in CHIKARA. One thing is for sure – “The Anarchist” will not want history to repeat itself and he’ll want to underline his CHIKARA return by dropping one of the top young lions on the roster.

Tickets are now on sale for the DGUSA debut show here. Front row sold out in under 2 minutes, but there’s still other tickets available!

- CHIKARA “Aniversario Yang”
May 24, 2009 ~ The Arena, Philadelphia, PA
1. Arik Cannon vs. Ophidian
2. Lucha de Apuestas ~ Double Hair vs. Double Mask Match: Icarus & Chuck Taylor [F.I.S.T.] vs. Fire Ant & Soldier Ant [The Colony]