CHIKARA will be returning to The Wrestle Factory in Philadelphia on May 11th! They will present what is an annual event, The Infinite Gauntlet. We also have several other matches in store. Still Life With Apricots and Pears will defend his Young Lions Cup and Der Wildebeest will make his official CHIKARA debut.
The Infinite Gauntlet
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The Infinite Gauntlet is a CHIKARA institution. It is a massive 33 person battle royal. Every 88 seconds a new entrant is introduced into the fray. Whoever is left standing wins the coveted Golden Opportunity. They can cash this in whenever they would like for whatever championship they would like. There are regulars such as El Hijo del Ice Cream, Ice Cream Jr., Ophidian, Officer Warren Barksdale and Hermit Crab. It also is set to include former winners such as Hallowicked and Solo Darling. Other members of the CHIKARA involved are Kobald, Boomer and Dasher Hatfield, Worker Ant, John Francis of Coronado, Rick Roland, Razerhawk, The Whisper, Oleg the Usurper, Volgar and Frantik. Enzuigiri Evan and Ambreaker Amir we first saw at the Young Lions Cup XV. Also joining the Infinite Gauntlet are two extended CHIKARA family members, Penelope Ford, and Shazza McKenzie.
Another member of the expansive Hatfield family is Molly McCoy. She is a student of the Wrestle Factory and is the niece of Dasher Hatfield and therefore the cousin of Boomer. There are also several debuts slated for this huge battle royal as well. Unsocial Jordan will be joining his fellow Aussie Shazza. Former NXT Superstar Bull James will be making his CHIKARA debut. Also, in a throwback, we have Duke “The Dumpster” Droese debuting. Droese is best known for his time in the WWE in the early 1990s. Every 88 seconds, someone new will enter the match. There are a few spots left for surprise entrants, which means you never know who might show up!
Lucas Calhoun & Stray Kat vs. F.I.S.T. (Icarus & Travis Huckabee)
The newfound team of Lucas Calhoun and Stray Kat struck success in their first outing. The duo seemed unlikely to succeed but clearly, looks were deceiving. They took down Oceanea and Merlok and gained their first point. Now they will take on two members of F.I.S.T., Travis Huckabee and Icarus. Huckabee is one half of the current Campeones de Parejas with the third member of F.I.S.T., Tony Deppen. What better way to get the ball really rolling than to defeat one-half of the current Campeones?! Both teams have also taken to scratching at each other online, so this could also break down in a hurry.
The Colony (Fire Ant & Green Ant) vs. The Creatures of the Deep (Merlok & Cajun Crawdad)
The Creatures of the Deep are still on the hunt for a title shot. Merlok and his mistress, Oceanea, were unsuccessful at Fright Knight. This means that they lost the two points they had acquired. Now Merlok will team with the spiciest member of the Creatures in Cajun Crawdad. They will attempt to start the ascension to the top of the contender’s heap once again. The last time the Creatures clashed with The Colony, it was at season 19’s King of Trios. Things didn’t exactly go the Creatures’ way, and The Colony went on to win the tournament. Fire Ant and Green Ant are in the same spot as the Creatures, they have no points on the board. Whoever is successful at The Infinite Gauntlet will get a leg up on other teams stuck at zero.
Missile Assault Man vs. Der Wildebeest (w/Jakob Hammermeir)
We first met Der Wildebeest at Fright Knight, when he was introduced by Jakob Hammermeir. They turned Jakob’s scheduled singles contest with The Patriot into a tag team bout. While the team of The Patriot and John Francis of Coronado were successful, it’s clear Jakob and his beast is here to stay. Missile Assault Man (MAM) is also looking to rebound after Fright Knight. He lost his Grand Championship bout against Dasher Hatfield. Despite this blip, MAM has been having a banner year in CHIKARA and looks to continue that at The Infinite Gauntlet.
Young Lions Cup: Still Life With Apricots and Pears (c) vs. Thief Ant
Lastly known for The Infinite Gauntlet will be a match for the Young Lions Cup. Still Life With Apricots and Pears has been on a fascinating exhibition since winning the cup in March. They have successfully turned back the challenges of both Carlos Romo and Brayden Lee. They will now defend the Cup against Thief Ant. Thief Ant participated in the Young Lions Cup XV tournament but was eliminated early on. He will now have a second opportunity to earn the Young Lions Cup. Still Life With Apricots and Pears has made his two prior challengers tap out. Will Thief Ant suffer the same fate?
There’s only one way to find out the answer to that question! That’s either attend The Infinite Gauntlet in person or enjoy it online. There is more than one option for optimal CHIKARA event viewing. You can subscribe to or purchase the event from CHIKARAtopia. CHIKARAtopia has a monthly subscription which is $7.99 a month for access to ALL of CHIKARA’s content. You can also subscribe to IndependentWrestling.TV; they have been working diligently on adding new events as soon as possible. They also have been steadily working on uploading all of the past 19 seasons of CHIKARA. That service is just $10 per month or pre-pay for an entire year for $100.
