You Only Live Twice was a
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
pay-per-view
Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast.
Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...
(iPPV) event produced by the
Chikara promotion
Promotion may refer to:
Marketing
* Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...
, that took place on May 25, 2014, at the Palmer Center in
Easton,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. The event marked Chikara's fifth iPPV and first event since
Aniversario: Never Compromise in June 2013.
Background
You Only Live Twice featured eight
professional wrestling matches
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
involving different wrestlers from pre-existing
scripted
''Scripted'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Icon for Hire. It was released on Tooth & Nail Records on August 23, 2011, and went on to break the label's new artist record for albums sold during the first week of release.
Backgr ...
feuds
A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one par ...
,
plots, and
storylines that will be played out on
Chikara's monthly
house show
A house show or live event is a professional wrestling event produced by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive du ...
s and on blog entries written on the promotion's official website. Wrestlers will portray
villains
A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...
(''rudos'' in Chikara) or
heroes
Heroes or Héroes may refer to:
* Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good
Film
* ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama
* ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film
Gaming
* ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...
(''tecnicos'' in Chikara) as they follow a series of events that build tension, and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches. Chikara follows ''
lucha libre
Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...
'' traditions and is known for its colorful characters and
gimmicks
A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...
and family-friendly content.
Following June 2, 2013, and the
Aniversario: Never Compromise internet pay-per-view (iPPV), Chikara went inactive for a full year, following a storyline development, where the Titor Conglomerate, the storyline owners of the promotion, shut it down in order to cover their tracks regarding their dark past involving a paramilitary group named Condor Security.
The Titor Conglomerate then supposedly put the Chikara brand, its related intellectual properties and remaining physical assets on sale, reducing the promotion to ashes.
[ During the rest of the year, a group of Chikara wrestlers, led by ]Icarus
In Greek mythology, Icarus (; grc, Ἴκαρος, Íkaros, ) was the son of the master craftsman Daedalus, the architect of the labyrinth of Crete. After Theseus, king of Athens and enemy of Minos, escaped from the labyrinth, King Minos suspe ...
, began holding fan gatherings and "guerrilla events", trying to revive the promotion. This led to the Flood, a group of ''rudos'' from Chikara's past, coming together and starting to shut down Chikara's several smaller sister promotions in order to destroy its final remnants. The storyline culminated on February 1, 2014, during the National Pro Wrestling Day, when the two groups collided. After the Chikara wrestlers had prevailed, Icarus announced that Chikara was coming back on May 25, ending the promotion's one-year-long hiatus. In storyline, the return was made possible by former Chikara wrestler Robbie Ellis
Rob Elowitch (born April 8, 1943), better known by his ring name, Robbie Ellis, is an American professional wrestler who has competed in New England and Mid-Atlantic independent circuit as well as international promotions in Europe. The co-owne ...
winning an auction and becoming the promotion's new owner.[ The name of the return event was later revealed as "You Only Live Twice",] making it one of several Chikara shows to be held in 2014 named after James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
films. Tickets for the event were sold out within days with no roster or matches announced. On April 1, Chikara announced that You Only Live Twice would be broadcast live on iPPV through Smart Mark Video. As part of Chikara's return weekend, the promotion presented "LuchaBowl", a fundraiser for a local chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation
The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in the United States that helps fulfill the wishes of children with a critical illness between the ages of and 18 years old.
Make-A-Wish was founded in 1980 and headqua ...
, on May 24 and "Expansion Pack", an interactive fan fest, before the iPPV on May 25. Also on May 24, Chikara's sister promotion Wrestling is Fun! (WiF!) presented the finals of the 2014 Tag World Grand Prix, a tournament held by Chikara from 2003 to 2013.
On May 5, Chikara announced the first match for the iPPV, which would see The Batiri
The Batiri is a professional wrestling alliance in the Chikara promotion. The team includes Kodama and Obariyon, who work under face paint with the wrestling characters of demons, and Kobald, who performs under a goblin mask. Both Kodama's and ...
of Kobald, Kodama and Obariyon take on Sinn Bodhi
Nicholas Cvjetkovich (; born August 29, 1973) is a Serbo-Canadian professional wrestler, best known for his stint in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he worked on its SmackDown brand as Kizarny. He currently works the independents as ...
and the Odditorium of Oliver Grimsly and Qefka the Quiet in a six-man tag team match
Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder m ...
. The match is part of the big return storyline with The Batiri, longtime ''rudos'' turning ''tecnicos'' to represent Chikara,[ while Sinn Bodhi returned as part of the Flood.][ As part of the storyline, Bodhi successfully took over Wrestling is Art in November 2013 and promptly shut it down.][ The Batiri have a long history with Bodhi with them being introduced to Chikara in late 2010 as Bodhi's minions. In storyline, ]UltraMantis Black
UltraMantis Black (born July 17, 1975) is a professional wrestler and musician, who performs primarily in the Chikara professional wrestling promotion. He is a former one-time Chikara Grand Champion and winner of the 2012 King of Trios tournamen ...
hired Bodhi to train him three minions, but when the time came, he could not produce payment, which led to Bodhi turning on him and taking control of The Batiri himself. Bodhi and The Batiri remained together as the Dark Army until Bodhi left Chikara at the end of 2011, after finally getting his payment. You Only Live Twice marks the Odditorium's debut in Chikara.
On May 8, Chikara announced the first title match for the iPPV, where Eddie Kingston
Edward Moore (born December 12, 1981), better known by his ring name Eddie Kingston, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
Kingston started his wrestling career in 2002, and has wrestled for numerous ...
would defend the Chikara Grand Championship
The Chikara Grand Championship was a professional wrestling championship owned by the Chikara promotion. The first champion was crowned on November 13, 2011, at the High Noon pay-per-view, when Eddie Kingston defeated Mike Quackenbush at the conc ...
against Icarus in a match "one year in the making".[ On June 2, 2013, Kingston and Icarus faced off in the main event of Aniversario: Never Compromise. In the weeks leading to the event, Icarus, once known as one of the most hated wrestlers in Chikara, turned ''tecnico'' and, following the implosion of his F.I.S.T. ]stable
A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...
, began chasing the promotion's top title, held by Kingston, who in turn had begun showing signs of a ''rudo'' turn. At the iPPV, Icarus had the match won, when Condor Security interrupted the match and shut down the event, leading to the one-year long hiatus. During the hiatus, Icarus was the leader of the group of wrestlers trying to bring Chikara back,[ while Kingston was one of the few Chikara wrestlers not to align with the group. During the National Pro Wrestling Day, when he was met with chants of "Chikara", Kingston even proclaimed that the promotion was dead. Kingston and Icarus are both Chikara originals, with Icarus graduating from the promotion's first group of trainees and Kingston from the second in 2002.
]
During Chikara's one-year hiatus, the promotion chronicled various storylines in a YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
series titled ''Ashes''. One of these storylines involved the tag team 3.0 (Scott Parker and Shane Matthews) going on a road trip to find Archibald Peck, who, after taking a '' Backfist to the Future'' from Eddie Kingston in May 2013, had supposedly been sent back in time to June 2012 to close a time paradox his earlier time traveling had caused. During the National Pro Wrestling Day, Jimmy Jacobs
Christopher Scoville (born February 17, 1984) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Jimmy Jacobs. He was recently signed to Impact Wrestling as a member of the creative team and producer. He is best known for his 1 ...
, who had made some appearances for Chikara in the past, but was not a regular member of the promotion's roster, revealed himself as the leader of the Flood.[ The Chikara side eventually prevailed in the brawl between the two groups, but only after 3.0 brought Peck to the scene in a DeLorean.][ On May 12, Chikara announced a singles match between Peck and Jacobs for You Only Live Twice.][
One stable from Chikara's past included in the Flood was ]Bruderschaft des Kreuzes
Bruderschaft des Kreuzes (German for "Brotherhood of the Cross", commonly abbreviated to BDK) was a professional wrestling stable in the Chikara promotion.
History
Chikara
Background (2007–2009)
On May 27, 2007, at ''Aniversario?'' Mike Quac ...
(BDK), who had dominated Chikara after forming in November 2009, winning all of its major accomplishments. In storyline, BDK's formation was a direct result of ''rudo'' UltraMantis Black trying to use "black arts" to elevate his Order of the Neo-Solar Temple to new heights. After originally trying to avoid BDK, UltraMantis was finally pulled into a feud with the stable in early 2010, after BDK dissolved the Order of the Neo-Solar Temple.[ After Sinn Bodhi also took The Batiri away from UltraMantis, he finally found himself new allies in longtime ''tecnicos'' Frightmare and ]Hallowicked
Robert Goodwin (born November 1, 1981) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Hallowicked. He performs primarily in the Chikara professional wrestling promotion, where he started his career in May 2002. His accomplis ...
, with the three coming together to form the Spectral Envoy stable. In exchange for the help, UltraMantis vowed to right his past wrongs, which included both the Dark Army and BDK. The Spectral Envoy's feud with BDK lasted until Chikara's first iPPV, High Noon
''High Noon'' is a 1952 American Western film produced by Stanley Kramer from a screenplay by Carl Foreman, directed by Fred Zinnemann, and starring Gary Cooper. The plot, which occurs in real time, centers on a town marshal whose sense of ...
in November 2011, where BDK was defeated and effectively dissolved. Two years later, BDK returned to destroy Chikara's sister promotions and successfully shut down Wrestling is Cool in December 2013, when the promotion's owner Milo Schnitzler revealed himself a BDK sleeper agent and showed his allegiance to the stable's leader Ares
Ares (; grc, Ἄρης, ''Árēs'' ) is the Greek god of war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for success in war b ...
by ending the company.[ On May 14, Chikara announced that at You Only Live Twice, the Spectral Envoy would take on BDK, represented by Ares and the debuting duo of Schnitzler and Nøkken.][
Also announced for the event is a singles match between ]Jervis Cottonbelly
Jervis Cottonbelly is a professional wrestling gimmick that originates from Chikara. He has appeared in several independent promotions including Championship Wrestling from Hollywood. The masked persona was originally portrayed in the 2000s by T ...
and the debuting Juan Francisco de Coronado, better known from WiF!, and a four-way elimination tag team match between 3.0 (Scott Parker and Shane Matthews), Gekido (17 and deviAnt), Pieces of Hate (Jigsaw
Jigsaw may refer to:
* Jigsaw (tool), a tool used for cutting arbitrary curves
* Jigsaw puzzle, a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of interlocking pieces
Arts and media Comics
* Jigsaw (Marvel Comics), a supervillain and arch-enemy of ...
and The Shard) and the Throwbacks (Dasher Hatfield
A Very Good Professional Wrestler (born 1983 or 1982), formerly known by his ring name Dasher Hatfield, is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Chikara and its sister promotion Wrestling is Fun!.
Professional wrest ...
and Mark Angelosetti
Mark Angelosetti (born July 9, 1988) is an American retired professional wrestler, also known by the ring name Mr. Touchdown. Angelosetti primarily worked for Chikara, where he is a former Grand Champion, a former one-time Campeon de Parejas a ...
).[ In Chikara, teams need three points, or three back-to-back wins, in order to be eligible to challenge for the promotion's tag team championship, the Campeonatos de Parejas. A team could earn all three points in this match by scoring all three eliminations. Pieces of Hate were the reigning Campeones de Parejas, while the other three teams in the match stood at zero points. 3.0 lost the title to Pieces of Hate at Chikara's previous event, Aniversario: Never Compromise,][ while 17 and deviAnt, though Gekido stablemates, had not wrestled a regular tag team match together prior to You Only Live Twice.] The Throwbacks, who earned a spot in the match by winning WiF!'s 2014 Tag World Grand Prix the day before You Only Live Twice, had previously challenged for the Campeonatos de Parejas on July 29, 2012, but heading into the iPPV stood at zero points after losing another four-way elimination match on April 6, 2013.[ Gekido and Pieces of Hate were both also affiliated with the Flood.
]
On May 19, Chikara announced the seventh and final match for the event, where The Colony (assailAnt, Fire Ant and Green Ant) faces The Colony: Xtreme Force (Arctic Rescue Ant, Missile Assault Ant and Orbit Adventure Ant).[ The storyline behind the match started in July 2012, when then- Director of Fun Wink Vavasseur broke up one of Chikara's most popular acts, The Colony of Fire Ant, Green Ant and Soldier Ant, by moving Soldier Ant to The Swarm, a sub-group within Gekido, while replacing him in The Colony with Swarm member assailAnt.] At the end of the year, assailAnt changed his ''rudo'' ways and was accepted as a member of The Colony, while Soldier Ant refused to change his ways and was left outside of Gekido and The Swarm, now without any partners. Vavasseur promised Soldier Ant a new team to lead and in March 2013 introduced The Colony: Xtreme Force of Arctic Rescue Ant, Missile Assault Ant and Orbit Adventure Ant.[ The move was portrayed as simply a marketing ploy by Vavasseur, who even stripped the original Colony of their 2011 King of Trios win and awarded it to his new trio. After only a month of teaming with his new ''rudo'' partners, Soldier Ant handed in his resignation to Vavasseur and left Chikara. Afterwards, Gekido and Swarm member deviAnt took over as Xtreme Force's new leader.] During the one-year hiatus, The Colony and Xtreme Force were on opposing sides, with The Colony fighting for Chikara and Xtreme Force for the Flood.[
]
Results
References
External links
You Only Live Twice on ChikaraPro.com
You Only Live Twice on SmartMarkVideo.com
{{Chikara
2014 in professional wrestling
Chikara (professional wrestling) events
Events in Pennsylvania
2014 in Pennsylvania
Professional wrestling in Pennsylvania