This week’s homework assignment from the At Odds with Wrestling podcast is the season 11 finale for Chikara. A lot of stories ended, some began, and some featured turning points. The event felt important, as a PPV should. 

3.0 vs FIST and the winning team will have three points! 

A great way to start the show. The live crowd is excited for this match and those at home know they’re going to get their money’s worth. I don’t look up the results ahead of time and I don’t remember enough of Chikara’s history so every match is a surprise to me. This match was full of near falls and I’m completely wrapped up in the excitement of the match. This could have main evented a show. It could be the main event today. 3.0 gets the win and I was shocked when it happened. Not because 3.0 won but because I was so wrapped up in near falls I didn’t expect the match to end here. 

Icarus (with Sugar Dunkerton) vs Dasher Hatfield. 

Spot of the match by far is the Blu Ray into the guardrail. The rest of the match was good but also a story we’ve seen before. Sugar is trying to help Dasher because he does not agree with Icarus’s methods. Icarus attempts to throw powder into Dasher’s face, but gets the referee instead. While the referee is out Icarus and Sugar argue some more. Icarus is about to hit Dasher with the loaded fanny pack but Sugar grabs it from him. During a tussle, Sugar hits Dasher with the loaded pack and Icarus gets the win. This story is not yet over and I’ll be curious who changes allegiances. 

assailANT, Fire Ant, Green Ant, and Mike Quackenbush vs deviANT, Shard, Jigsaw, and Soldier Ant. 

Three great stories happening here. assailANT wants to prove himself to now be on the side of angels. Quack and Jigsaw are in the middle of a battle of betrayal. Soldier Ant considers himself a POW but to paraphrase Brett Michaels, does his country even want him back? Quack holds back from hitting Jigsaw. assailANT takes bullets for his new teammates and earns their trust. Soldier Ant is an island unto himself. Shard hits a foot stomp on assailANT and deviANT dives in to pin his former partner. The heels leave together, assailANT is welcomed in, and Soldier Ant, much like a cheese stands alone. Really great turn in the story. 

“Mr. Touchdown” Mark Angelosetti (with Veronica) vs ACH. 

Really good back and forth match. Maybe the best match I’ve seen from Mr TD. Great wrestling, great fighting, and we all knew Veronica was going to get involved at some point. There is a tease over using Veronica’s baton as a weapon but instead it’s a tether. Mark hangs on to the baton as Veronica holds the other end for extra leverage and Mr TD gets the pin. 

Post match it’s time to crown the king and queen of Chikara. Of course Veronica is the queen. We haven’t seen another woman in Chikara in a while. Mark assumes he will be crowned king but in a swerve the fans have chosen someone else. The Mysterious and Handsome Stranger is now a mysterious and handsome king! Stranger comes out, and knocks TD out of the ring. Veronica seems a bit smitten with the Stranger as they have their first dance. Veronica tries to remove the mask for a kiss but the Stranger asks her to pause. She closes her eyes, believing he is carefully removing the mask for a kiss. Instead the Stranger dumps a giant bucket of slop all over her, the remnants of which stay in the ring the rest of the night. The Stranger removes his mask and its Archibald Peck! Who would have known? I never saw this coming! The most out of nowhere reveal in the history of wrestling. Peck is escorted away as Mark and Veronica scream in humiliation. 

Sidney Bakabella comes out and brings out Devastation Corporation as a surprise. They issue an open challenge which is answered by Los Ice Creams. This ends up being a quick squash match but it is also the third win for Devastation Corporation. Two teams earned their third point tonight. What will happen next? 

The Spectral Envoy (Blind Rage, Crossbones, Frightmare, Hallowicked, UltraMantis Black) vs Delirious, Kobald, Kodama, Obariyon and Ophidian.

It’s the Ultramantis vs Delirious story with all of their soldiers taking hits for their leaders. Non stop action and great booking. I had no idea who would win here and any of them could have been pinned at any time. Will this story end tonight or continue? We see fans in attendance wearing the mask of Ophidian’s former partner Amasis. Oh those silly Chikara fans. Mantis is taking a hell of a beating and this might be the end for him and maybe the entire Spectral Envoy. Those crazy fans are at it again but wait! That’s the actual Amasis. Ophidian is so distracted he forgets about Mantis, which allows the devious one to finally tag out of the match. Everyone else turns it up and we’re definitely heading towards the end. It’s down to Mantis and Delirious, as fate has decreed. Mantis barely kicks out and hangs on long enough to hit Cosmic Doom to finally pin Delirious. Loads of fun but I also hope that’s the end of this very long story. 

The Young Bucks vs the 1-2-3 Kid and Marty Jannety. 

I may not know the history of the Chikara titles but I am 99% sure that Kid and Jannety never won the tag titles. Also this is a two out of three falls match for the titles, so I knew how the first ⅔ of the match was going to play out. I kind of zoned out and just waited to see how the Bucks were going to win the third and final fall. Sure enough they hit More Bang for Your Buck and Kid and Jennety have to address the crowd before they leave. 

Eddie Kingston (Chikara Grand Champion) vs Tim Donst (with Jakob Hammermeir).

A good match but overshadowed by the Donst and Jakob story. The entire time I’m waiting for Jakob to turn and it takes focus away from the actual match. I’m so concerned over what Jakob is or isn’t doing I’m paying no attention to what Eddie is doing. Jakob and Wardlow have so much in common. It’s a good match but the focus is on the partners fighting, not on the title, so the outcome is expected. Eddie hits the Backfist to the Future twice on Donst for the pin. Donst leaves Jakob behind and Eddie spares his life. 

Really fun show and I think it puts everyone in a good spot. Feuds that should go on have some momentum and those that should have ended are almost definitely over. All we need is Under the Hood Backlash to tie it all up.