All Sports Room

Somehow, someway, Chikara’s brand of professional wrestling has remained one of the greatest secrets in all of wrestling.  Entering their 10th year of existence, they still have shows where they play to crowds sometimes smaller than 75 people.  I constantly ask myself, how is this possible?  Is the marketing not good enough?  Are the wrestlers not well known enough in the public eye?  It just doesn’t make sense.  So let this be considered my tip of the hat to Chikara, and let me try to explain why I believe that Chikara is the future of this industry.  First, some background, so you can fully understand how this promotion works.

Chikara, since day one has followed Lucha Libra rules while mixing in Japanese and American styles to make it one of the most diverse feds out there.  One could say that the main focus of Chikara is something that WWE is currently failing miserably at, TAG TEAM WRESTLING!  The tag titles, referred to as the Campeonatos de Parejas (cam-pee-oh-nah-tos day pah-ray-haas), are collectively not only the top title in the promotion, but for all intensive purposes are the ONLY title in the promotion.

There is another “title” that is fought for throughout the year and that is called the Young Lions Cup.  Each year Chikara has a tournament of the top “rookies” of independent pro wrestling.  This year featured ROH now-regulars, Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly, as well as Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s rookie of the year, Frightmare.  The winner of the cup (which is more like a trophy, but I digress) has to defend it through the year in which they hold it.  When the next years Young Lions Cup rolls around they relinquish the cup to the newcomer that wins the tournament.  Like I said, the Campeonatos De Parejas, is what really matters.

In order to challenge for the titles you must accumulate 3 points.  You gain a point by winning a tag match.  Say you have 2 points and your team is wrestling to get their 3rd point and you lose, you go back to 0.  In this way it makes the belts worth even more because of how difficult it is to even get a title shot.  In very rare occurrences  there are 3 way and 4 way elimination tag matches where each fall counts as a point and this could really help propel a team to get the necessary amount of points to challenge for the titles. Also, something very important about tag title matches, they are ALWAYS 2 out of 3 falls.

In Lieu of explaining everything going on storyline-wise I will pick out the very important story lines and the for the rest I will provide links to Chikara’s 4 part recap of what is currently going on.  A little background before you start watching these.  In Chikara the faces are referred to as Tecnicos and the heels are referred to as Rudos.  At the end of last year a new faction formed called the Bruderschaft Des Kreuzes, or BDK for short, that took the Chikara world by storm.  Led by European star Ares and Claudio Castagnoli, the BDK reeked havoc on Chikara.  The Tecnicos and Rudos were forced to form an alliance in order to rid Chikara of the evil BDK.  I guess it should also be pointed out that Chikara plays to a family environment and while there are some very un-pg wrestling moments, there is no profanity, no over the top sex references and even the crowd censors themselves by saying things like “Holy Poop” instead of Holy…well you know.  Also, Chikara sees men and women as equals, and they can face off against each other in matches.  Daizee Haze and Sara Del Rey run the show on the ladies side and have absolutely held their own while in the ring with men, it’s a wrinkle that only Chikara does and they do it very well.

Previously on Chikara Part 1

Previously on Chikara Part 2

Previously on Chikara Part 3

Previously on Chikara Part 4

Now that you have all the background information you could possibly need, I can explain why Chikara is on its way to greatness in the wrestling world.

Chikara has reinvented the storyline in professional wrestling.  They create story lines that draw the viewer in, that elicit a response from them, that make them wait on the edge of their seat to see what happens next.  Sure there have been story lines in WWE and TNA that have to do with an invasion angle, but the problem in TNA and WWE is that they take a good thing too far, too quickly, and wind up ruining it.  Chikara has a booking and writing style that has allowed them to continue an invasion angle for over a year and keep it as fresh as Day 1.  They have had angles with Heel turns and face turns that left the crowd stunned, angry, elated, and jumping up and down.  I have been watching wrestling, and I’m 25, for 20 years. I have watched pretty religiously except for a lull from 1999-2003 until ROH pulled me back in hook, line, and sinker.  The way that Chikara pulls you in and gets you immersed into a storyline is masterful.  They don’t over do it, they don’t over write it, they come up with a plan and they stick to it.  Does the Nexus angle excite me in WWE? Sure, but it already seems like it is being rushed and going in different directions instead of picking a focus and sticking with it.  In TNA, now that I have brought myself up to speed with the product, has a ton going on with faction warfare, but it’s forced and recycled ideas, that are moving along way too quickly to work.  Chikara does not have millions of viewers.  Chikara does not have a billionaire owner who makes the best business decisions.  Chikara does not have highly paid bookers and writers in high pressure situations trying to figure out how to make their boss happy.  You can tell the wrestlers enjoy every second of wrestling for Chikara and that is SO unbelievably important.

The titles.  The Campeonatos De Parejas.  I would be hard pressed to find titles that mean more.  The only title that is on it’s level is the ROH World Title, and even that has not been as strong (pun intended) as it was in the past.  In my eyes, long reigns, hard fought title defenses, and difficulty of working your way to a title shot are what makes a title worth more, what makes it feel more important in every defense.  Let me just throw out a couple numbers for you.  The Cameonatos De Parejas came into existance on February 26, 2006.  They are the top and only title in Chikara so I will be comparing it to the TNA, WWE, and ROH world titles.  Since their introduction there have only been 8 title holders.  ROH since February 26, 2006 has had 7 title changes.  WWE since February 2006 has had 24 title changes for the WWE Title and the World Heavyweight Championship has seen 28 title changes.  TNA with the NWA World Heavyweight/TNA World Champion has had 17 title changes since then.  Chikara has had 1/3 of the title changes of WWE and less than half of the title changes in TNA.  Every title match in Chikara is 2 out of 3 falls, with a team needing to earn a title shot by winning 3 consecutive matches.  There is no GM just giving out title shots, or money in the bank, or some other storyline crap.  YOU HAVE TO EARN IT.  This is why their titles may be the most meaningful in all of wrestling.

Talent.   With the exception of the introduction of Kizarny into Chikara, not a single wrestler on the roster has wrestled for TNA or WWE, and Kizary worked 2 televised matches I believe, maybe a few more, but it was VERY minimal.  Well I guess you could count Claudio Castagnoli filling in as a police officer on one episode of Raw.  My point is that the roster has a pack mentality, they have a we are all in this together mental state.  These guys don’t have ego clashing problems, they don’t have money demand issues, they don’t act like they are superstars.  These guys are all in the same boat.  Independent pro-wrestling has very little money to give out and these guys know that and still come out for every show like they are getting paid big bucks and that they belong.  Chikara is very much like Ring of Honor in its roster composition.  Chikara is made up of wrestlers that were either trained by the promotion or built up their career with them over the last 10 years.  Eddie Kingston, Jigsaw, Hallowicked, The Osirian Portal, the list goes on.  Sure, these are not household names for main stream wrestling fans, but any fan of independent wrestling knows these names and knows they have made their rounds, but Chikara is ultimately their home.  When you have homegrown talent that is willing to do anything to make sure the promotion succeeds and always puts the promotion before themselves, you have a wonderful recipe for success.

Wrestling.  The actual matches are for the most part very strong.  The matches always have a great story that the wrestlers are trying to tell and that always adds to a match.  These wrestlers are very talented and they all all can mat wrestle, fly, and use effective power moves.  The talent have very large movesets and are not limited to only doing certain moves.  Sure there are some sloppy matches as many of the wrestlers are VERY VERY young, but even with some sloppy spots, the story of the match stays in tact.  I know there’s no time constrain and I know there is not an immense travel schedule for these guys, but the beating they take is equal to the beating WWE and TNA stars would take in a month as they are very heavily protected.  I understand the business and it’s great to see these guys leaving it all out in the ring.

Chikara has a budding storyline, well I believe it to be a storyline, that they have been bought by a big media company, Worldwide Media Development Corporation.  As amazing as it would be for Chikara to be bought by a big media company and finally get some mainstream attention, I think they are happy right where they are, and this “storyline” will be focused on getting all of the independent fans in the country to learn about and begin to love Chikara.  This company is based in Reseda, Ca.  Strangely enough that is where PWG is based…make your own deductions.

Well I hope that I have covered everything here.  When my love of wrestling was slowing down again as WWE, TNA, and even my beloved ROH, had started becoming a little stale, Chikara has picked me up off the ground and shot me out of a cannon.  If you love pro wrestling as much as I do, do yourself a favor and give Chikara a chance, I promise your experience will end with a smile.