St. Paul, MN – 10.23.2009

Commentary is provided by Mortimer Plumtree, Rob Page, Darin Corbin, and Ryan Cruz.

The show opens with the sixteen tournament competitors in the ring taking pictures. It ends with Yellow Dog chasing Lince Dorado around the ring, and they’ll be in the main event first round match.

Amasis cuts a promo about his history with Ryan Cruz and how he’s going to win the tournament. Ryan Cruz then gets a promo about how winning this match will allow him to break out as a singles wrestler.

Sweet Sixteen Tournament, Round One
Amasis vs. Ryan Cruz

Amasis immediately hits the floor as if he’s better than this match. Amasis comes back in locks up with Cruz. Cruz and Amasis trade wrist locks. Amasis breaks the chain with some dancing. Amasis applies a side headlock which Ryan reverses. Ryan takes Amasis leg down for a two count. Amasis pins Cruz for two and both men pop-up to a stalemate. Amasis throws Cruz to the mat with a waist lock. Cruz snapmares Amasis down and Amasis pops-up sending Cruz to the ropes. Cruz takes Amasis down with a trio of armdrags and then a dropkick. Amasis goes to the floor and Cruz dropkicks Amasis while holding on the ropes. Cruz comes off the apron with a standing moonsault. Cruz pins Amasis for two. Amasis slaps Cruz and hits the ropes. Cruz slaps Amasis right back and hits the ropes. Cruz takes Amasis over with a hurricanrana. Cruz goes to springboard off the second rope, and Amasis follows and takes Cruz down to the mat with a side Russian leg sweep. Amasis grinds his boot on the back of Cruz’s head. Amasis chokes Cruz on the middle rope before pinning him for two. Cruz fights up as Amasis tries to pick him up. Cruz and Amasis trade slaps and Amasis kicks Cruz in the back of the head then the groin. Amasis lands a basement clothesline for two. Amasis chokes Cruz in the corner. Amasis pushes Cruz to the mat and lazily pins him for two. Cruz fights up and punches Amasis. Cruz catches Amasis off the topes, but Amasis comes off again with a flying knee for two. Cruz drops Amasis gut first over his knee, knees him in the face, then legdrops Amasis for two. Amasis hops over Cruz’s back and sledges him in the back. Amasis looks for a reverse rana, but Cruz picks him up. Cruz hits the Finlay roll and then a moonsault off the second rope for two. Amasis flips over and plants Cruz with a chicken-wing facebuster for two. Amasis comes off the ropes and misses the elbow due to too much dancing. Cruz comes back with a flipping kick to the face and then hits the Boom-Shaka-Laka for the victory. Good opening contest with some cool stuff from Cruz. Amasis looked good too, but nothing out of the ordinary. **1/2

Pete Huge cuts a promo with Alison Wonderland talking about how he’s going to win the tournament. His opponent Venom then cuts a very strange promo with some masked guy.

Sweet Sixteen Tournament, Round One
“Playboy” Pete Huge vs. Venom

Venom brings Huge to the corner. They lock up and Venom throws Huge to the mat. Huge flexes and yells at Venom. Huge slaps Venom then bails to the apron. Huge hits the ropes and bear hugs Venom. Since Venom is fat it does nothing. Venom catches Huge off the ropes with a mighty bear hug. Huge goes to the eyes to escape and hits the ropes. Venom shoulder tackles Huge and then clotheslines him to the floor. Venom stalks Huge around the ring. Huge gets in the ring and kicks Venom as Venom follows. Huge kicks Venom while Venom’s on the mat. Huge delivers some shots to Venom. Alison Wonderland chokes Venom on the ropes as Huge distracts the ref. Venom comes back with shots to Huge’s stomach. Venom reverses an Irish whip and catches Huge with a Urinage for two. Venom brings Huge to the corner and whip shim across the ring. Venom misses a splash and Huge hits a spinwheel kick to take Venom off his feet. Huge chokes Venom with his black wrist tape. Huge and Venom get in a chop battle on their knees. On their feet, Venom splashes Huge in the corner then locks on a Cobra Clutch. Venom drops Huge across his knee. Venom misses a splash and Huge kicks Venom in the gut. Huge misses the G-Spot and Venom picks Huge on his shoulders. Alison hops on the apron to distract the ref. Venom comes over, and Huge low blows Venom behind his back. Huge hits the G-Spot for the win. One of the most basic wrestling matches I have ever seen, but also not very interesting. I’m glad it was short. Huge isn’t too bad but Venom is just rather immobile. *

In the ring Rob James cuts a babyface promo.

Sweet Sixteen Tournament, Round One
Rob James vs. STIGMA

STIGMA attacks Rob before the bell and chops him on the ropes. Rob comes off the ropes with a shiney hiney then takes STIGMA down again with a dropkick. STIGMA goes to the floor and Rob chases him. STIGMA tells Rob to wait when they’re back in the ring. STIGMA asks for a push-up contest. As Rob is distracted, STIGMA pops up and hits a back senton. STIGMA lays in the forearms and chops as Rob lay against the ropes. Rob hits the ropes and gets knocked down with a back elbow from STIGMA. STIGMA lays in the shots again and takes Rob over with a snapmare. STIGMA kicks Rob in the small of his back and pins Rob for two. Rob hops off the ropes into a sunset flip. STIGMA rolls through and dropkicks Rob in the face. STIGMA chops away at Rob in the corner and mares him down. STIGMA chops Rob in the back and pins Rob for two. Rob blocks STIGMA’s attack in the corner. Rob comes out of the corner with a clothesline. STIGMA and Rob trade forearms. STIGMA whips Rob to the ropes. Rob comes off with a crossbody which STIGMA catches. STIGMA tries the Stigmata and Rob escapes. Rob drops STIGMA head first onto his knee and pins him for two. STIGMA rakes Rob’s eyes and lays in more forearms. STIGMA hits the Command Seven (lung blower/neck breaker combination) on Rob. Rob fires back with a Manhattan Drop and gives STIGMA a backbreaker. Rob turns it into a facebuster. Rob goes up top and misses the whoopee cushion. STIGMA looks for the Stigmata and Rob escapes again. Rob drops STIGMA with the Here It Is Driver for the win. Solid match, with STIGMA looking better than his usual CHIKARA outings. Rob also looked pretty good but he seems like a less talented Cutler brother (in terms of his character). **1/4

Sweet Sixteen Tournament, Round One
Arik Cannon vs. Nate Bash

I could swear Nate Bash was the DJ from Incubus. A hand shake leads into a waist lock from Cannon. A wristlock exchange leads to Cannon school-boying Bash for two. Bash goes back to the wristlock and then a headlock. Bash takes Cannon over in a headlock. Cannon escapes with a headscissors and Bash goes back to a headlock.Bash runs up the ropes and goes back to a side headlock for two. Cannon rolls into a pin for two. Cannon gets to his feet and grabs a headlock of his own. Cannon gets pushed to the ropes but knocks Bash down with a shoulder tackle. Bash dropkicks Cannon as Cannon comes off the ropes. Bash chops Cannon against the ropes. Cannon delivers an armdrag and then a big back elbow to Bash. Cannon hops off the ropes into another armdrag. Cannon chops Bash as Bash leans on the ropes. Bash ducks the clothesline and takes Cannon over with a headscissors. Bash knocks Cannon down with an elbow for two. Bash brings Cannon to the corner and chops him Bash throws Cannon to the opposite corner and flies in with a forearm for two. Bash chops Cannon and sends him to the ropes. Cannon ducks a clothesline and turns it into a swinging neck breaker. Cannon snapmares Bash to the mat and follows with a dropkick to the back of his head. Cannon applies an Indian Deat Lock variation. Bash escapes and Cannon takes him over with a snap suplex for two. Cannon chops Bash in the ropes, and Bash whips Cannon in the ropes. Bash counters a swinging neck breaker with a DDT. Both men get to their feet and exchange forearms. Bash nails Cannon with an Enzugiri and follows with a clothesline. Bashs slingshots into a backsplash on Cannon for two. Cannon looks for a suplex but Bash hits the ropes. Cannon follows and takes him over with a hard clothesline. Cannon drills Bash with the Total Anarchy for two. Cannon calls for the brainbuster. Bash floats over into a snapmare driver and Cannon kicks out. Bash comes off the second rope. Cannon catches him in a crossbody and spins him out in a urinage. Cannon chops Bash in the corner. Bash whips Cannon to the corner. Cannon sends Bash to the apron. Bash comes back in with a springboard. Cannon catches him with a powerbomb and then this the brainbuster for the win. This match was fine, nothing special, but Arik Cannon is good with the right people. Bash isn’t necessarily bad, but he didn’t bring a lot to the table and the fans could’ve cared less. **1/2

Benjamin Sailer cuts a promo on Arya Daivari, followed by Arya cutting one back.

Sweet Sixteen Tournament, Round One
Benjamin Sailer vs. Arya Daivari

Sailer grab Daivari’s arm and takes him to the mat in an armbar. Daivari gets his feet on the ropes to escape. Sailer takes Daivari down his leg and twists his ankle. Sailer drops an elbow on Daivari’s leg, and hooks his knee. Sailer applies a side headlock. Sailertakes over Daivari with a snapmare and applies a chin lock. Daivari uses the ropes to escape again. Sailer and Daivari lock fingers for a test of strength. Daivari knees Sailer in the gut and applies a headlock. Daivari gets sent to the ropes and knocks Sailer down with a shoulder tackle. Sailer blocks a Boston Crab attempt, and takes Daivari to the mat in a side headlock. Daivari sends Sailer to the ropes. Sailer knocks Daivari down and locks for a cloverleaf. Daivari goes to the ropes and Sailer rolls to the apron. Daivari shoulder blocks Sailer in the gut. Daivari slams Sailer back first to the corner and applies a chin lock with Sailer across the runbuckles. Daivari brings Sailer back in and drops a pair of elbows on Sailer’s back. Daivari stretches Sailer’s body around the ring post. Daivari backdrops Sailer for two. Daivari works over the back of Sailer. Sailer blocks another Boston Crab by slapping Arya around and kicking him away. Daivari takes Sailer down with a great spinebuster for two. Arya grabs his racist carpet and heads up top. Arya misses the Magic Carpet Ride. Arya escapes the Cloverleaf attempt, and Benjamin cartwheels to his feet. Sailer looks for a hurricanrana, and Daivari catches Benjamin in the Boston Crab. Sailer grabs the bottom rope to escape. Daivari continues to target Sailer’s back. Sailer shoots of the ropes, and drops Daivari across his knee with a spinning back breaker. Sailer lands a high knee in the corner, then lands an Ace Crusher on Daivari’s leg. Sailer looks for the Cloverleaf, and Daivari small packages Sailer for two. Both men take each other down with stereo clotheslines. Sailer pops out of the corner over an attacking Daivari, and Daivari applies a Boston Crab. Sailer rolls back and applies the Cloverleaf. This was a great match, and my favorite thus far. The story of Daivari working on Sailer’s back and Sailer working on Daivari’s leg was excellent, and the fans got it as well. I was impressed with two guys I’d never seen before. ***

Claudio Castagnoli cuts a fantastic promo about how he’s always first. Get it?!

Sweet Sixteen Tournament, Round One
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Darin Corbin

Claudio powers Corbin to the corner. Corbin then powers Claudio to the corner. They get in a shoving match. Claudio slaps Corbin then takes him over in a side headlock. Corbin turns it into a headscissors. Claudio escapes then goes to Corbin’s arm. Corbin gets a waist lock applied. Claudio goes back to the arm and wrenches on it. Corbin goes to Claudio’s arm, and Claudio rolls Corbin up for two. Claudio applies a front chancery. Corbin gets a side headlock and Claudio pishes him back to the corner. Claudio elbows Corbin in the side of the head. Claudio continues to work on Corbin’s arm, and Corbin turns into a waistlock. Claudio wrenches on Corbin’s elbow, pulling Corbin to the mat by his hair. Corbin kips up and Claudio takes him right back down. Corbin rolls up into a side headlock which Claudio reverses. Claudio mows Corbin down with a shoulder block. Corbin comes back with a pair of armdrags and dropkick that sends Claudio to the floor. Corbin hits the ropes looking for a tope, and Claudio catches Corbin with an uppercut. Claudio picks up Corbin and runs him ribs first into the steel ring post! Claudio does it again and heads in the ring to pose. Corbin looks to come back in and is met with a baseball slides from Claudio. Claudio stomps on Corbin’s ribs, and then hotshots Corbin onto the ring apron. Claudio places Corbin on the apron and drops an elbow. Claudio slingshots Corbin throat first on the bottom rope. Claudio pins Corbin for two. Claudio stretches Corbin’s chest out on the mat while Claudio sledges his forearm into it. Claudio stomps on Corbin’s mid-section and twists his foot. Claudio tries again, and Corbin grabs his foot to fight back. Claudio knees Corbin in the gut and tosses him in the ropes. Claudio uses Corbin’s body force and rams his knee into Corbin’s ribs again. Claudio stretches Corbin out again, grabbing the top rope illegally for leverage. Claudio misses a few elbow drops as Corbin rolls out of the way. Claudio finally lands a pair of elbows and then stands on Corbin’s chest. Claudio cuts off Corbin’s attempt at a comeback with a knee to the abdomen. Claudio gets another shot in and then stretches Corbin out on the mat. Claudio wraps his legs around Corbin’s stomach in a body scissors. Claudio rolls over and furiously slams his forearm multiple times into Corbin’s face. Claudio applies a claw to Corbin’s mid-section, and misses an elbow. Corbin comes back with a flurry of forearms. Corbin hits the ropes and gets caught by Claudio in an abdominal stretch. Claudio rams his elbow a few times into Corbin’s ribs. Corbin fights back but gets right back in the abdominal stretch. Corbin hip tosses Claudio and hits a couple clotheslines on Claudio. Corbin comes off the ropes with a dropkick to Claudio. Corbin hits the face-eraser dropkick. Corbin comes back in flipping over Claudio, then comes off the ropes with a Tornado DDT for two. Corbin looks for an ace crusher, but Claudio turns it back into the abdominal stretch. Corbin gets to the ropes, so Claudio spins him out into an X-Factor for two. Corbin schoolboys Claudio for two. Corbin ducks an uppercut and again looks for an ace crusher. Claudio quickly reverses but Corbin jumps up into the ace crusher. Claudio kicks out at two. Claudio kicks Corbin in the stomach and blasts him with an uppercut for two. Claudio picks up Corbin and Corbin hits a jawbreaker. Corbin applies an abdominal stretch on Claudio. Corbin turns it into a sunset flip for two. Corbin ducks the Sweet Schwinn Music and rolls up Claudio for two. Corbin comes off the ropes and Claudio hits the pop-up European Uppercut for two! Claudio lifts Corbin into the abdominal stretch once more. Claudio slams Corbin for two. Claudio stretches Corbin on the mat and stands up with it. Claudio picks up Corbin in the U.F.O. and slams him for the three count. As usual, Claudio delivers in another match. Seriously, I find Claudio is sometimes taken for granted with how good he truly is. Corbin held his own as well, but with Corbin being stretched out the entire time it was like a one man show. I very much enjoyed this. ***1/4

Mike Quackenbush cuts a promo how two opponents like he and Ophidian are so familiar, which breeds contempt. Good stuff here.

Sweet Sixteen Tournament, Round One
Mike Quackenbush vs. Ophidian

Ophidian grabs a wristlock which Quack twits into a takeover. Ophidian applies a waist lock and takes Quack down to the mat. Ophidian wraps his legs around Quack’s mid-section. Quack moves Ophidian’s legs around and rolls to his knees. Quack picks up Ophidian and slams him down. A frustrated Ophidian asks for Quack to lock hands. Quack accepts and Ophidian pokes Quack in the eyes. Ophidian pulls on Quack’s arm. Quack steps on Ophidian’s foot, springboards off the ropes and trips Ophidian into a pin for two. Ophidian and Quack go back and forth for a bit with Quack landing a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Quack sends Ophidian to the floor with a monkey flip. Quack follows over to the ropes, and Ophidian snaps Quack’s arm on the top rope. Ophidian comes in and delivers a series of headbutts to Quack’s arm. Ophidian bites the arm and pins Quack for two. Ophidian locks Quack’s arm in a full nelson with his legs. Quack rolls back to pin Ophidian for two. Ophidian turns and headbutts Quack’s arm. Ophidian continues to target Quack’s arm. Quack grabs Ophidian and throws him off the ropes. Ophidian comes back with a rope-assisted headscissors takedown. Ophidian drops Quack with cross-arm breaker. Ophidian has Quack on the mat and keeps attacking the arm. Quack catches Ophidian with a chop, and Ophidian responds with a dropkick to Quack’s arm. Ophidian pins Quack for two. Quack gets sent to the corner and catches Ophidian with a dropkick. Ophidian evades a cross body and heads up top as Quack nurses his arm. Ophidian misses the double knees as Quack moves. Quack holds his arm as he gets to his feet. He chops Ophidian with his good arm into the corner. Quack clotheslines Ophidian a couple times. Ophidian sends Quack to the apron. Quack goes up top and Ophidian throws him off. Quack rolls through and backdrops Ophidian to the mat. Quack gets a dragon screw leg whip on Ophidian. Ophdiian kicks Quack off the ropes and hops up. Quack dropkicks Ophidian’s leg and pins him for two. Ophidian stands on the apron and tries to sunset flip in. Quack catches him and gives Ophidian the Alabama Slam. Quack applies a sharpshooter on Ophidian. Ophidian slithers to the ropes to break. Ophidian goes to Quack’s face and shoots him to the ropes. Ophidian wheelbarrows into a face plant for two. Ophidian rolls into an arm breaker. Quack lays in some chops. Ophidian crucifix pins Quack for two. Ophidian wheelbarrows up, but Quack turns it into a suplex. Quack locks in the Lightning Lock Beta. Ophidian crawls and grabs the ropes. Ophidian escapes the face palm but eats the super kick. Ophidian turns the Quackendriver I into a victory roll for two. Quack rolls back, and Ophidian rolls into the Ophidian Death Grip. Quack stands up and rams Ophidian head first into the corner. Quack comes out of the corner with a clothesline. Quackenbush slams Ophidian with the Quackendriver III to secure the win. Fantastic match here, with these guys showing what CHIKARA is all about. Quack also is known for delivering the goods, and Ophidian is just a stand out student of the Wrestle Factory. The two meshed very well, obviously. ***1/2

Lince cut a promo saying he takes offense to Yellow Dog sniffing his butt and trying to catch him.

Sweet Sixteen Tournament, Round One
Yellow Dog vs. Lince Dorado

Cat vs. Dog! They meow and woof back and forth. They lock up and Dog gets a wristlock. Lince rolls through to reverse. Lince bites Dog’s hand. Dog escapes and licks himself in the nether regions. Lince gets a headlock and licks Dog’s head. Dog takes Lince down with a waistlock and begins getting excited. Lince quickly grabs the ropes to escape. Lince trips Dog, hits the ropes and takes Dog over with a rana. Dog knocks Lince down with a shoulder tackle and lifts his leg to wiz on him. Dog and Lince go for double dropkicks, then go face to face on their knees. Lince chops at Dog and Dog comes back with one of his own. Dog gets a side headlock and hits the ropes. Dog ducks a clothesline and sunsets Lince. Lince tells Yellow Dog to stay and dropkicks him in the head for two. Lince snapmares Dog over and dropkicks him in the neck for two. Lince stretches Dog’s back out over his knee. Dog elbows Lince in the gut and hits the ropes. Lince hits a dropkick and pins Dog for two. Lince hits a standing senton splash for two. Lince applies pressure to Dog’s shoulder. Dog comes off the ropes and eats an elbow from Lince for two. Lince bites on Dog’s tail as he gets to the rope. Lince puts Dog in the tree of woe. Lince lands a basement dropkick for two. Lince picks up Dog who now has a chew toy in his mouth. Lince tosses the toy into the crowd, a fan throws it. The fans keep throwing it around the ring and to Lince. Yellow Dog keeps following it. Lince comes off the ropes with a tornado press onto Dog. Lince sends Dog into the ring. Dog pulls out a cat nip ouse and throws it. Lince is to smart to follow, but still eats the Pounce from Dog for two. Dog gives some JYD style headbutts to Lince. Lince fights back and headbutts Dog in the stomach. Lince comes off with the ropes with a backspring elbow. Lince chops Dog in the corner and shoots Dog across the ring. Lince gives him a clothesline and sends Dog across the ring. Lince gets popped to the apron and Dog gives him an enzugiri. Dog gives Lince a sloppy tornado DDT to the floor. Dog sends Lince back in the ring and follows with a slingshot senton for two. Dog chops Lince in the corner and then sends Lince across. Dog hits a bulldog. He goes up top. Lince catches Dog with knees to the gut. Lince and Dog trade shots in the middle of the ring. Dog sends Lince to the ropes and boots Lince down. Dog misses a legdrop and Lince comes with a kick and the Lynxsault for two. Lince gives Dog a solebutt and springboards into a backflip. Dog takes Lince over with a half-nelson suplex for two. Dog picks up Lince and hits him with a forearm. Lince blocks a spin-out from Dog. Lince kicks Dog in the side of the head and hits a standing Spanish Fly for two. Lince rams his shoulder into Dog’s stomach and places him up top. Lince follows and Dog blocks the hurricanrana attempt. Dog comes off the top with a spike DDT to Lince for two. Dog places Lince back on the top rope. Lince kicks Dog in the head and comes off with a dropkick. Lince places Dog on the top rope and brings him off with a snap hurricanrana. Lince goes up top and hits the Shooting Star Press for the win. This was a cute comedy match with plenty of good wrestling to boot. Aside from the sloppy tornado DDT, this was a solid match. I don’t necessarily think it should have ended the show, but the crowd got a kick out of it and so did I. **3/4

Overall: The show started off not so great, but then kicked off a nice second half. The show was good overall, but it never felt like an absolute necessity or anything I’d recommend going out of your way to see. Still, a good show overall.