Saturday morning wrestling was a big thing when I was a kid. Especially when I was a little older and cartoons didn’t do it for me anymore, there was Saturday morning wrestling to look forward to. CHIKARA has a pretty good grip on my nostalgia. Their Action Arcade series is a good time and a nice weekend escape that hits all the right buttons for me as a fan. We present CHIKARA Action Arcade Episode 1.
The Action Arcade airs every Saturday morning at 11 am on CHIKARAtopia and IWTV. Meant to be a project that helps keep the promotion available to fans during the pandemic, this savvy series of shows is actually something that I’d like to see CHIKARA produce for the long term. The initial episode aired at the end of March and has kept my attention for weeks on end. Here’s what went down on the premiere!
CHIKARA Action Arcade Episode 1
The Bird and the Bee (Solo Darling and Willow Nightingale) defeated The Colony (Green Ant and Thief Ant)
Fun opening match! #ArcadeWrestling pic.twitter.com/wFhvuL7uxV
— ?Tiffany Merryhill, Quarantined?? (@ThatRoseTattoo) March 28, 2020
The reigning CHIKARA Campeones de Parejas made an appearance on the premiere episode of Action Arcade! Solo Darling and Willow Nightingale took on Green Ant and Thief Ant. This was a fun opening match that saw the Campeones retain the gold after Thief Ant submitted to Solo Darling’s Sharp Stinger. It’s great to see the Bird and the Bee successfully defend the titles, but when will The Colony find their way back to the top of the hill?
Chuck West vs. The Spoiler
The iron claaawwwwww #ArcadeWrestling #WatchIWTV pic.twitter.com/bHqreBLPkC
— ?Tiffany Merryhill, Quarantined?? (@ThatRoseTattoo) March 28, 2020
The Spoiler has got to be one of the most annoying guys CHIKARA has ever come across. With that said, however, the guy can definitely go in the ring. He made short work of Chuck West in this match and dispatched him with the Iron Claw for the victory. Not many opponents care to bother with The Spoiler, but I’d like to see someone take him a few pegs down since he enjoys being so cocky.
CHIKARA Action Arcade Episode 1
Boomer Hatfield vs. Travis Huckabee
#ArcadeWrestling @BoomerHatfield vs @TravisHuckabee is a good'un, yall! #WatchIWTV pic.twitter.com/wdvLRUsM2c
— ?Tiffany Merryhill, Quarantined?? (@ThatRoseTattoo) March 28, 2020
If you’ve never seen Boomer Hatfield, you have to make sure to catch him (get it? he’s got a baseball head) next time he’s on the Action Arcade! All joking aside, Boomer’s one of the promotion’s most promising young talents. He’s also the son of CHIKARA legend Dasher Hatfield, so he’s got that going for him as well. Boomer faced off against Travis Huckabee, member of the dangerous F.I.S.T. faction. Great match and one of the highlights of the premiere episode!
Devantes vs. Tom Stone
#ArcadeWrestling @DevantesPW you BEAST! #WatchIWTV pic.twitter.com/2rDS0mqlcI
— ?Tiffany Merryhill, Quarantined?? (@ThatRoseTattoo) March 28, 2020
If you blinked, you would have missed this less-than-a-minute match. Devantes is one of CHIKARA’s newest monsters and this quick display of power was an example to all that he’s not to be played with. I’m intrigued as to how many on the current roster can really go toe to toe with Devantes…
CHIKARA Action Arcade Episode 1
Jigsaw vs. Matt Makowski
Excellent main event going on right now! @TheMattMakowski @JigsawWRESTLING #ArcadeWrestling #WatchIWTV pic.twitter.com/GXPYWDRQOa
— ?Tiffany Merryhill, Quarantined?? (@ThatRoseTattoo) March 28, 2020
The main event of the premiere episode was fantastic! Matt Makowski, who represents Ophidian’s Crucible faction, is one of the most underrated wrestlers on the independent wrestling scene and it’s great to see him get the attention he deserves with a match like this. It’s one thing to have a worthy opponent lined up for a competitor like Makowski, but when you put him up against Jigsaw you’ve got something special going on. Excellent main event that went at a great pace and saw Makowski get the submission win.
The first episode of Action Arcade will draw you in, but you don’t have to have a huge knowledge of CHIKARA history to stay invested! The commentary and promos deliver a nice history lesson, however. I give high praise to the promotion for providing this new entertainment for fans on Saturday morning; the Action Arcade has a distinct throwback vibe that old school fans will appreciate while keeping modern-day wrestling at the forefront.
