Action Arcade Episode 5: CHIKARA Action Arcade Review

By
Tiffany Merryhill

Episode 5 of the Action Arcade saw a few intriguing new faces in the CHIKARA ring. We present CHIKARA Action Arcade for Episode 5. The Red Queen and One-Eyed Jack made a most impressive debut. He’s not new to the promotion, but Australian wrestler Ricky South returned to this year’s Young Lions Cup tournament to make a bigger name for himself. In addition to this, we have a new stipulation laid down at the beginning of the show by Sidney Bakabella, who currently serves as a legal advisor to current Grand Champion Dasher Hatfield. The “Sword of Damocles” Amendment requires all potential challengers to first acquire three wins, or ‘points’. Also, every Grand Championship challenge is also a career vs. career match. This rather harsh amendment brings a new level of intensity to the Grand Champion title!

Action Arcade Episode 5: CHIKARA Action Arcade Review

Match 1: The Red Queen and One-Eyed Jack vs. Heidi Lee Morgan & Larry Samson

The Red Queen and her One-Eyed Jack fascinate me, they’ve got amazing ring gear but their ring presence is just as remarkable. These two made their CHIKARA debut on this episode, but you may recognize them as a ‘pretty’ formidable and ‘proper’-ly effective team elsewhere on the indie scene. Very good opening match that had the Queen and Jack using stylish tag team techniques to get the better of their opponents for the win. Under CHIKARA rules, this now means that Red Queen and One-Eyed Jack have earned a point towards being contenders for the Campeones de Parejas titles.

Match 2: Matt Makowski vs. Pete Christy

The next bout on this week’s Arcade was a Crucible rules match. Matt Makowski, representing Ophidian’s Crucible, would have a time limit of two minutes to put away his opponent. Maybe Pete Christy was there to show off his skills, but he gave Makowski a bit more fight than anyone expected. Makowski would not be embarrassed, however, and put Christy away after a minute and a half’s time.

Match 3: Tunku Amir vs. Lucas Calhoun

Lucas Calhoun is a pretty entertaining guy and very skilled in the ring. Having those qualities made this match better than what I initially thought it’d be. Tunku Amir seemed to need this win a little more than Calhoun, though. Ophidian and the rest of the Crucible were sure to be watching, but any loss or sign of weakness in Amir could lead to his banishment from the group. A win for Amir and a point towards the Grand Championship, however, could put him on the right path. Calhoun brought forth the better effort and got the victory as well as the point leading him towards contender status.

Match 4: Ricky South vs. Xavier Faraday vs. Molly McCoy vs. Frey Nassar (Young Lions Cup Quarter-Final Match)

This episode’s main event focused on the Young Lions Cup tournament. This quarter-final match featured four standout talents who all in their own ways deserved to advance. My personal favorite here was Xavier Faraday with Molly McCoy being a close second. Both are great examples of what current-day CHIKARA has to offer. Nassar put up a good showing in this match as well. Ricky South, though, had something to prove. He was able to make his way past all three outstanding competitors and get the victory. This put South in an excellent position as he advances in the tournament!

Another great show with more debuts and diverse matches! Be sure to check out each Action Arcade episode on IWTV.live to catch yourself up on events.

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