Wrestling is Fun! "Peel Slowly and See" results and recap from November 23 in Reading

It was the last Wrestling is Fun! show of 2013 and the fans who turned out to the Goodwill Beneficial Association in Reading, PA on Saturday, November 23 were treated to some epic contests and a few surprises as well.

Frightmare vs. El Hijo Del Ice Cream

The show, titled “Peel Slowly and See” kicked off with a simple but fun battle between Frightmare and El Hijo Del Ice Cream, one half of the devious Los Ice Creams. There was a ton of great crowd interaction to start the match with the Hijo getting a Yes! chant going for a few kids wearing Ice Creams masks. Frightmare and Hijo joked around with two young fans wearing their respective masks, making like they were going to get in the ring and wrestle instead of Frightmare and the Ice Cream.

Ice Creams matches are great because they pretty much commentate themselves, with Hijo telling fans to how to cheer for him and calling his spots while Frightmare was his usual incoherent self. Frightmare nearly won at one point with a stiff looking DDT that stood Hijo up on his head. Later, Hijo caught Frightmare as he went for a diving cross body off the top rope but Frightmare rolled through, flipping Hijo over and pinning him with a crucifix.

The Baltic Siege vs. The Bloc Party

The next match was a tag team bout between the Baltic Siege’s Latvian Proud Oak and Lithuanian Snow Troll and the Brown Morning of Belarus and the Proletariat Boar of Moldova of the Bloc Party. I’m not too familiar with these Baltic-themed wrestlers, though I did talk to Estonian Thunderfrog at a Wrestling is Respect show in September and he told me that the Boar actually broke his mythical hammer at an earlier Wrestling is Fun! show and that he would have his revenge.

Green Ant checks on Latvian Proud Oak

Well Thunderfrog was with the other Baltic Siege members in Reading and made a bee-line for the Boar before the match started, pummeling him and forcing the officials to send him to the back. Once a measure of order was restored, Proud Oak (who was sporting an amazing “Thriller” style leather jacket) informed the crowd that due to the Brown Morning biting his leg and giving him “root rot,” he wouldn’t be able to take on the Bloc Party. The crowd was bummed until Proud Oak announced who would be taking his spot – none other than the Colony’s Green Ant!

The Bloc Party picked up the win when Brown Morning used a foreign object Proletariat Boar brought to the ring to get a three count on Snow Troll. The Baltic Siege was stunned by the loss but I’d bet that their clashes with the Bloc Party are far from over. It was a fun match but the Bloc Party could use a little more charisma or presence in the ring. The Baltic Siege are over-the-top and outspoken and the Bloc Party doesn’t have their ability to connect with the crowd yet.

Princess Kimber Lee vs. Portia Perez

The next match featured two female competitors squaring off. Princess Kimber Lee was accompanied to the ring by Lance Steel, who seems to be her protector of sorts – which makes sense being that he’s a chivalrous knight. Though, over the course of the evening, Kimber Lee acted in some ways very unbecoming of a princess. She was up to face Portia Perez, who I’m completely unfamiliar with.

This wasn’t a bad match overall but I couldn’t really tell who the heel was supposed to be and I think the crowd was a bit confused as to who they should be rooting for. Lance Steel is a good guy but Kimber Lee acted pretty arrogantly over the course of the match, talking down to Lance and even using him as a step stool to get in the ring. I guess Portia was supposed to be the good guy but it seemed like everyone else knew as much about her as I did and didn't know if they should cheer or boo her.

Lee hit Portia with a lot of stiff looking elbows and kicks over the course of the match which Perez countered by trying to work holds in a technical style. At one point, Lee even pulled out the old American Dragon “I’ve got til 5!” line when the ref was admonishing her. Lee scored the victory after faking a knee injury from an awkward landing and rolling up Perez for the three count.

Fire Ant vs. Kobald

The hot property Fire Ant and the goblin Kobald were up next and the two Chikara vets put on a wild, action-packed match. The match started with Kobald trying to get an early advantage, attacking Fire Ant before the bell. But the resilient Ant fought back quickly, turning the tide with a fireman’s carry and a tope to the outside. Later, Kobold countered a top rope dive by Fire Ant with a lungblower and nearly had the Colony member tapping with what looked like a Rings of Saturn variation.

As Fire Ant started to pick up steam, he backed Kobald into the ropes using a series palm strikes that Street Fighter’s E. Honda would’ve been proud of, following the strikes with a brainbuster but only got a two count. Kobald weathered the attack and hit numerous spears on Fire Ant, but Fire Ant battled back to score the win with a sort of Air Raid Crash variation. (Started as an Alabama slam but Fire Ant dropped down, slamming Kobald’s back to the mat.)

Intermission followed this match but even the break held something special in store for the fans. The consummate gentleman Jervis Cottonbelly was in attendance and led the crowd in a rousing rendition of the Monty Python classic “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.” However, as Jervis made his way around the arena, he ran across Oleg the Usurper, an associate of the dastardly Sidney Bakabella. Oleg was not impressed with Jervis’ musical stylings and belched loudly into the microphone and insulted the world’s sweetest man. And if that wasn’t enough, Oleg even threw a glass of water in the face of Jervis! Completely overwhelmed by this unbecoming, uncouth and all-around ungentlemanly behavior, Jervis cut his song short and stormed to the back.

Jervis Cottonbelly, with Gavin Loudspeaker, leads the crowd in a song

Shynron vs. Juan Francisco De Coronado

This was to be the final confrontation between “The Dragon of the Sky” Shynron and Juan Francisco De Coronado. De Coronado got a unique reaction from the crowd – namely making a majority of them walk out after taking the mic. Referee Dan Yost seemed to be falling asleep at ringside and announcer Gavin Loudspeaker also seemed to be having trouble keeping his eyes open as De Coronado spoke. Apparently the two have been at odds for several months and after some verbal sparring, a stipulation was added to the match – whoever lost would be forced to be the manservant for the winner!

Shynron possesses an amazing quickness and used his speed to hit big kicks and work a lucha-based offense against De Coronado, who countered with equally impressive power moves as well as trying to work the legs of Shyron to take the base away from the high flyer. It seemed Shyron was going to tap at one point when De Coronado locked in an inverted cloverleaf but the Dragon of the Sky fought to the ropes to break the hold. De Coronado used some impressive moves for a guy his  size, evidenced when he tossed Shyron into the corner with a German suplex. Shyron picked up the win in the end, pinning De Coronado with a springboard corkscrew moonsault off the ropes. Next time we see De Coronado at Wrestling is Fun, he’ll be carrying Shynron’s bags.

After the match, Jervis Cottonbelly came back out to the ring with a demeanor rarely seen from the gentleman. Jervis was furious with Oleg’s actions earlier, saying that Reading is known for three things – outlet shopping, soft pretzels and table manners, which brought on a “Table manners” chant from the crowd. Jervis demanded a match with Oleg, who seemed happy to oblige. It was long before Sidney Bakabella came out and put a stop to the confrontation, saying he won’t give away a match like that for free. Jervis challenged Oleg to a match for Wrestling is Fun’s return to Reading on February 22, adding that he would be delighted if fans brought him soft pretzels afterward.

Lance Steel vs. Kodama

Lance Steel is a Chikara vet and even though Kodama, representing the Batiri, is a much newer addition to the Chikara-verse, the Batiri are menacing demons not to be taken lightly. Steel was again accompanied by Princess Kimber Lee who was still beaming about her victory earlier in the night.

Steel started the match with a show of confidence, taking off his chest protecting armor, saying he didn’t need it to defeat Kodama. Steel got the upper hand early, taking the action to the outside where he got fans to hold Kodama for him while chopping the demon’s chest. Kodama eventually turned the tide, using big shots and impressive power moves to keep Steel at bay. Kodama even hit Steel with a big, overhead belly-to-belly suplex from the second rope.

Though Steel seemed to have the match in hand, Princess Kimber Lee eventually, one would hope, unintentionally, getting Steel disqualified. Lee jumped into the ring at one point, throwing her tiara to Steel, and promptly hit the mat hard causing the ref to check on her. Steel seemed unsure what to do with the tiara but while the ref was checking on Lee, Kodama feigned having been hit with the tiara. When the ref returned his eyes to the action, he saw Kodama on the ground, apparently having been hit with a foreign object, and had no choice but to DQ Steel. After the match, Steel still walked Lee to the back, kissing her hand much to the chagrin of the crowd.

The Throwbacks vs. the Devastation Corporation

The main even of the evening was a first time meeting between the Throwbacks, Dasher Hatfield and Mr. Touchdown, taking on Sidney Bakabella’s menacing Devastation Corporation, Blaster McMassive and Axe Smashmaster (possibly the best names of ever). Though the Throwbacks are universally loved by the fans, their foes on this night are two imposing giants not to be taken lightly.

Touchdown started the match against McMassive but tries to brawl with the much larger man and predictably, doesn’t end well. Touchdown eventually is able to take the big man off his feet and the Throwbacks take the momentum, taking the Corporation members to the outside and hitting big dives which took out the section of chairs I was in (Touchdown with a plancha and Dasher with a tope suicida). However, the size of the Corporation is too much for Touchdown to handle and needed to tag out, but Bakabella distracted the ref, causing him to miss a critical tag from Touchdown to Dasher.

The match neared the end with a series of impressive high-risk maneuvers. Touchdown crotched

Smashmaster on the top rope and the Throwbacks got a two count on McMassive after a double muscle buster from the corner. Touchdown superplexed McMassive and avoided a splash from Smashmaster then used him to try and keep McMassive down for the pin but still only got two. Bakabella eventually involved himself in the action but even that wasn’t enough as Touchdown eventually scored the pin on McMassive with an Ace Crusher from the top rope. 

Dasher Hatfield, Bryce Remsburg, Fire Ant and Green Ant pose for a photo at the merch table

After the match, the Throwbacks brought a loyal Chikara/Wrestling Is fan, known as Wrestle Granny, into the ring and thanked her for her years of supporting the company and the Throwbacks. She was very moved by the display and it was a great moment to see the Throwbacks personally thanking a die-hard fan for their support – a great ending to a spectacular show.

Wrestling is Fun! returns in 2014 with a show on January 22 at the Easton Funplex followed by a return to Reading on February 22. For directions to the venues and line ups for these upcoming shows, visit www.wrestlingisfun.org.