Chikara: Tag Teams

Chikara gold

By Chad Smart
@ChadSmart on Twitter

One of the biggest complaints wrestling fans (or at least Kevin and I) have with the current wrestling scene is the lack of focus on tag team wrestling and the lack of tag teams in general. In WWE, the current tag team champions and challengers are two teams who were formed out of the need for there to be tag teams to hold and fight for the tag team titles. TNA recently broke up their biggest tag team and only have a handful of teams left to fight for the titles. Both companies also only seem to have one storyline going for tag teams at a time.

Over in Chikara it’s almost the exact opposite. Looking at the current roster section of Chikara’s website, I noticed there are only three competitors who do not have a full time tag team affiliation. Those three are Eddie Kingston, Gregory Iron, and Archibald Peck. The rest of the roster not only have standard tag team association but most also are part of a trios team. Chikara is known for their trios action including their annual King of Trios tournament, which takes place in March or April of each season.

The Kings of Wrestling

Tag team wrestling is such a major part of Chikara that until the first Grand Champion is crowned at High Noon on November 13 (available on Ippv), the only championship Chikara has had for the past six years is the Campeonatos de Parejas. Over the course of the past six seasons there have been nine sets of champions. The first champions the Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli) held the titles for almost 9 months before losing the belts to their proteges Team F.I.S.T. (Icarus and Gran Akuma).

One of the more interesting aspects to the Chikara tag team scene is how a team must acquire three points before being able to challenge for the tag titles. Each tag team victory counts as one point. Once a team reaches three points they are then able to request a title match. If at any time on their quest for three points a team suffers a loss, their points are lost as well. They go back to zero and must start again. I’m not sure but I think even if a team has three points and loses a match before getting a title shot, they still lose their points and their chance to challenge for the tag straps. The point-based system pretty much guarantees there are no random title matches thrown onto a show just for the sake of having a title match. You know, basically how most WWE tag team title matches end up on PPV.

In addition to needing three points, the other difference to Chikara tag title matches is how every match is contested under 2 out of 3 falls. I don’t know if that stipulation favors the champions or challengers but it usually guarantees the matches are not short contests with fluke victories.

F.I.S.T.

Heading into High Noon, the new incarnation of F.I.S.T. (Chuck Taylor and Johnny Gargano) are the current Campeones De Parejas. As of this writing, there is currently no tag title match scheduled for the Ippv, though I expect the champions to be on the show in some fashion.

While the current line up for High Noon only has one tag team match announced, the focus of tag team wrestling is such a pivotal aspect of the company that I can see either a couple more matches or a tag team gauntlet added in an attempt to showcase most of the Chikara roster to potentially new viewers.

High Noon is only $15 and can be ordered by clicking this link. For such a relatively cheap price I would be hard pressed to doubt the you won’t get your money’s worth out of the show. For more on Chikara check out, their website and keep up to date with their official YouTube channel.

And of course, follow My123Cents on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. I have 11 more days to persuade you to buy High Noon.

Rebuilding the Tag Team Ranks?

New champs!

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger on Twitter
All photos are courtesy WWE


So the WWE has new tag team champions in Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne.  Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't last week the first time these two teamed up?  Maybe they've had some other matches over time, but it seems like this pairing is just a couple of guys that creative has nothing for, so let's put them together.

Now please, don't get me wrong.  I am a big fan of each of these guys individually.  And honestly, I'm probably passing judgment too soon on how they'll gel as a tag team.  My frustrations with the tag team division or lack there of have been well documented on this blog and on YouTube.

That video is from about 9 months ago.  I still maintain the WWE has done very little to breath any life in the tag team ranks.  This makeshift team of Kingston and Bourne is a start in the right direction.  But in my opinion, the first thing they need to change is their separate entrances.  I never understood why any team enters the ring as individuals.

I really felt like Michael McGillicutty and David Otunga were finally coming into their own.  I really hope the WWE doesn't do the usual splitting of the former champs like they've done so many times before.  If you count Otunga and McGillicutty (they need a catchy name), and Kofi and Evan (again, another name), the Usos, and sometimes Santino and Zack Ryder are there any other regular tag teams on the roster?  Of course there's been speculation that the Kings of Wrestling (Claudio Castagnoli and Chris Hero) are WWE bound.  I hope this is true and I hope they keep this unit together.

Kings of Wrestling (photo from ROH)

If they are in fact bringing in the Kings, this could actually launch a rebirth of the tag team division.  I think Kofi and Evan would have a better feud with the KOW.  But I'm probably putting the cart way before the horse here.  Remember when the Legion of Doom arrived in WWF in 1990?  We all wanted to see them battle Demolition for the tag team titles (at least I did) and instead they ended up helping the Bushwhackers against the Natural Disasters while Demolition dropped the tag team titles to the Hart Foundation and Ax was soon out of the company.

Back then though there were plenty of tag teams that they could have different programs with different teams going on at the same time.  Now it's a week to week thing and sometimes we go several weeks without even seeing the tag team champions.

I know tag team wrestling will likely never boom like it did back in the 80's and 90's.  Teams like Demolition, the Hart Foundation, Rockers, Brain Busters, British Bulldogs, Killer Bees, Road Warriors, Steiners, etc.  I really think the attitude era and the Monday Night Wars lead to the demise of the tag team at least in WWE.

This blog is a lot of wishful thinking, but I'm hopeful this time that we may see something happening on the tag team scene.  I'm still disappointed they let David Hart Smith go and a Hart Dynasty reunion is no where on the horizon.  Again, I think the WWE needs to let some of these teams simmer for a bit.  Don't split them up after a run as champions.  Help keep the tradition of tag team wrestling alive.

What do you think?  Post your comments here or on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube.