The best way to describe Chikara in 2012 is a mixed bag. There were of course a lot of great matches and shows. King of Trios, even with less stars and more comedy, delivered. Chikarasaurus Rex: How to Hatch a Dinosaur was an outstanding iPPV. They managed to sell out Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia three out of four autumn weekends. Yet there was something missing. The Gekido angle never materialized in the way the Kings of Wrestling or BDK angles did. Chikarabrmetrics led to more groans than boos as loveable groups were broken up expressly to try and get this angle over.
The best person to represent 2012 is indeed the Grand Champion Eddie Kingston. While he had some fantastic matches against Brodie Lee, Sara Del Rey, and Tadasuke, his title reign never felt like it was much more than a series of a great wrestling matches against opponents who may or may not have deserved title matches. Ironically, this was always the fear of a potential Chikara heavyweight title. 2012 ended in a most anti-climactic manner with Tim Donst jobbing out to Kingston in a match where again something was…missing.
Next year will be a huge year for Chikara as they expand their map even further. Trips to South Dakota, Minnesota, and California are on the docket. Through Smart Mark Video, they will be able to produce top notch iPPVs. Their tangential relationship with the “Wrestling is” franchises could lead to more stars and a chance for their students to improve. A more focused Chikara with easily understandable and identifiable storylines should be a top priority. 2012 was far from a failure, but there is certainly much to be improved upon.
MVP and Breakout Star of the year: “Mr. Touchdown” Mark Angelosetti
My interest in Chikara would be significantly lessened were not for Angelosetti. It’s one thing for a guy to be a really good in-ring competitor. It’s another to be able to get your personality over and have a character down within the first three months of your debut. Angelosetti didn’t just have a good to great matches, but he was involved in one of the best feuds in Chikara (and independent wrestling overall) with the various permutations of Archibald Peck. From the Heisman pose leapfrog to the three point stance to calling fans nerds to Tebowing, Angelosetti had one of the best first years ever in Chikara. He was rewarded with the Young Lions Cup. One of the darkest moments of the year came when Angelosetti literally murdered a competitor in the ring. Poor Sapphire the feral pigeon was brutally destroyed in Chicago back at Zelda the Great and received more heat for that than Jon Davis did in beating up Johnny Gargano three consecutive nights a week earlier. Because of his numerous singles matches with guys like ACH, his incredible feud with the many faces of Archibald Peck, and his personality, it’s an easy decision to define him as the breakout star of the year. Despite all of the other numerous other deserving wrestlers, I also give Angelosetti the nod for MVP based on his hard work and many of the attributes I mentioned before.
Tag Team of the Year: The Young Bucks
No, this isn’t the PWG awards. The Bucks held the campeonatos de parejas for much of the second half of the year and brought new life to the belts. Similar to the PWG titles, the Bucks add a level of importance because of their match quality and ability to get heat with any crowd. Their match with F.I.S.T was utterly fantastic and certainly should be on many lists for match of the year candidate. They also managed to steal the show with the Throwbacks and Spectral Envoy in individual title defenses. With Mike Bennett, they made King of Trios 2012 the sleeper pick for shows of the year. Because of the match quality alone, I’m inclined to give them the nod over 3.0, another team who certainly deserve credit for their own improvement and ability to connect with Chikara crowds nationwide. Still, the Bucks made 2012 a better year in the tag team division and it will no doubt be a special moment when they lose the championships in 2013.
Best Promo: Tim Donst
Disappointingly, we really didn’t get any epic Eddie Kingston promos as we did before High Noon in 2011. Donst’s characters went through a number of changes. You could almost divide his year up into two categories as he first was a cocky individual who believed it was his destiny to unmask Hallowicked. Then once he lost his hair, it was his destiny to defeat Eddie Kingston. I firmly believe the methodology behind the finishes of his matches, the shoelace and bag of whatever, hurt him tremendously this year. A more established character and better finishes would have made a different at Under the Hood. Still, Donst is working himself into tremendous shape and is also continuing to do his best work on the microphone. I loved his Cibernetico promo where he talked under the Chikara banner. Such a great idea and his delivery were top notch. Going into next year, I hope he can get a more focused character and be moved far away from Jakob Hammermeier.
Honorable Mention: Dasher Hatfield
When thinking about Dasher Hatfield, I had no real way to honor him. He wasn’t in a match of the year, the feud of the year, nor was he the best promo. But I had to find a way to mention him here. Because of him, I’m adding an “Honorable mention” award for all of the promotions I’m writing year end columns for. Hatfield has improved so much in the ring. He connects with crowds extremely well, can cut good promos, and is also a heck of a commentator. He’s the ultimate utility player (pun very much intended) for Chikara in 2013 as he can seemingly do it all and be a great fixture moving forward.
Wrestler to Watch in 2013: The Shard
The Shard had a fantastic second half of 2012 with very good show stealing efforts against Gran Akuma in Piedmont, Alabama and El Generico in Chicago. The follow-up will be crucial as he needs victories like the one he got against Fire Ant at Cibernetico Rises and an opportunity to differentiate himself from Jigsaw. In a way, the Jigsaw heel turn may benefit Shard most of all because he doesn’t have to focus on impersonating the person he’s feuding with but can now focus on being a good rudo.
Feud of the Year: Mark Angelosetti vs. Archibald Peck/Mixed Martial Archie/The Mysterious and Handsome Stranger
This was a feud with a number of twists and turns throughout the year. It all started so innocently with Veronica giving little looks to Angelosetti. Peck showed his ability to adapt by changing his character completely into a parody of an MMA fighter. This could very easily have been an old joke by the end of 2012, but Peck lost a “Loser Leaves Town” match and came back as a Mysterious and Handsome Stranger. This led to one of the most powerful moments in Chikara’s history as Stranger’s partner and inspiration was killed in the middle of the ring. Their one and only singles match came the next night in Cleveland where Stranger was disqualified for not trying to win against Angelosetti. At the season finale show, Stranger unmasked and slopped Veronica, the person for whom this feud would never have started without her presence. Easily the best rivalry in Chikara this year.
Match of the Year: Campeonatos de Parejas: F.I.S.T (Johnny Gargano and Chuck Taylor) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) (Chikarasaurus Rex: How to Hatch a Dinosaur (June 2, 2012)
This was teased at Chikara’s first iPPV, High Noon. However, due to DG USA contractual obligations, we had to wait eight months for one of the few tag team dream matches that still exists in independent wrestling. F.I.S.T had won the title a month previous in LaFayette Indiana against 3.0 to get the titles a second time. The Bucks accumulated their points in Chicago Ridge and LaFayette. This was an epic match that delivered in a manner very appropriate for the main event of Chikara’s second ever iPPV. From my review…
Match Highlights:Even though this is a championship match, I’m legitimately stunned this is the main event. Matt shoves Gargano. Slap in response. Shoulder tackle by Matt. Roll over. Gargano slides out of the ring. Dropkick by Matt. Nick sends Taylor in the corner. Moonsault misses. Overhead toss. Stomps by Taylor. Right hand. Nick up and over. Roll over and dropkick. A second dropkick as Matt locks in a headscissors. Gargano knocked off the apron. Stomps from Nick. Bucks work over Taylor’s arm. More double teams. Taylor takes Matt into the corner. Punches from Gargano. Assisted sunset flip. Nick hits a backbreaker out of the butterfly position. Matt comes in for a neckbreaker onto his brother’s knee. Ring my bell by Nick. Double axehandles from Matt. He blows a kiss directed at Taylor. Suplex by Matt. Springboard senton by Nick. Gordbuster blocked. Roll over and a kick to the head by Gargano. Taylor with a boot and a clubbering blow. Dropkick. Gargano hits another double axehandle. Back elbows and some dancing from F.I.S.T. Taylor chokes Matt with the Bucks own shirt. Into the boots of Gargano. Stomps by Gargano. Snapamare and dropkick to the back of the head. Axehandle by Taylor. Forearms by Matt. Boot by Taylor and he knocks Nick down. Big kick into a backcracker by Gargano. Double clotheslines miss. Matt rolls Taylor up, holds onto the tights, and gets three at 7:17.
F.I.S.T continues double teaming until Matt leaves the ring. Nick gets double cross bodies. Bulldog on Gargano as he dropkicks Taylor. Series of stomps. Snapmare and he rakes the eyes. Knee to the back. Choking by Nick. Nick chokes Gargano on the middle rope. Matt chokes away behind Remsburg’s back. Chinbreaker by Nick. Choking along the bottom turnbuckle. Hip toss by Gargano. Trip by Nick. Huge kick. Matt covers for two. Gargano sent into the corner. Nick sent up and over. Accidental kick to his own brother. Enziguri misses. DDT/flatliner combination. Taylor comes in. Shoulder tackle on Matt. Dropkick on Nick. Tope con helo. Taylor kisses a child. Matt sent in the ring. Nick waistlocks him. O’Connor roll. Handful of tights as he looks right at Nick. This is good enough to get fall number two at 12:41.
Fall three begins with Matt choking Taylor in the corner. Series of stomps. Nick helps his brother out. Double back elbows on each members of F.I.S.T. Spear back in the ring by Gargano. Dive as Taylor hits a springboard moonsault. Boots in the corner. Running knee in the corner by Nick. Acecrusher countered. Gargano enziguris. Nick. Taylor tosses Matt into a waiting Gargano for a neckbreaker. Wow. Matt whipped into the corner. Elbow by Gargano. Matt powerbombs Taylor into his partner as Nick enziguris Gargano. Worst Case Scenario. Nick moonsault Taylor as Matt hits a release German suplex. 1-2-NO! Gargano and Matt stare each other down. Forearm exchange. Kick by Matt. Superkick on Gargano. Discus forearm misses. Nick superkick. Taylor superkick. Gargano discus forearm. All four men are down. Nick stomps Taylor on the apron. Battle with Gargano on the apron. Superkick blocked. Soul food. MATT DDTS GARGANO ON THE APRON! SWEET JEBUS! Forearm exchange between Taylor and Matt. Eye rake by Matt. Clothesline misses. Taylor rolls him around and applies a half crab. Nick hits a spin kick. More B ang… no. Pair of superkicks by each F.I.S.T member. Gargano lawn darts Nick into Matt. Implant DDT into Hurts Doughnut. Gargano covers. 1-2-NO! Gargano goes for the Hurts Doughnut onto the ramp. Knee to the midsection by Nick. Spear by Gargano misses. The thud on the ramp was ugly. Matt nails Taylor with the belt. 1-2-NO! Tandem piledriver on Taylor. 1-2-NO! Gargano makes the save out of nowhere. Left hands from Gargano. Double superkick. More Bang for your Buck. NEW CHAMPIONS!
Match Analysis:Anyone who specifically bought this iPPV to see this match cannot have ended up disappointed. This was a spectacular, borderline match of the year candidate. Amazing back and forth action between these two teams. Despite the fact that it was heel versus heel, the crowd was into this the whole way. Credit to all four men for capping one of the best Chikara shows in history in such a way. It’ll be fascinating to see where the Bucks go from here as them being invaders is infinitely more interesting than whatever Gekido is doing. Oh, and unlike Taduske, I’m pretty sure the Bucks will defend their titles in the United States. I wonder how many fans even remember Taduske is the Young Lion’s Cup champion.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: NEW campeones de parejas-The Young Bucks/22:51/****1/4/****1/4
Show of the Year: King of Trios 2012, Night 3
Very tough choice between this, Chikarasaurus Rex, and Zelda the Great. What separates Trios is the historical significance of course. There was a wide variety of really awesome matches. There was the fast-paced opener involving the Sendai Girls wrestling against Ring of Honor. There was a comedy exhibition that needs to be seen to be believed. In the main event, one of the most emotional matches in Chikara history took place as Ultramantis Black finally won the big one. A great deal of credit must be given to Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis for helping to add to the emotion even more. I think it’s silly to only buy part of a tournament, but if you can only afford one night or even one Chikara show this year, make it this one.
To check out my full review, click here.
Three Positives of Chikara in 2012:
- The tag team division was as competitive as ever with F.I.S.T, 3.0, and the Young Bucks pacing things throughout and being the clear highlight of nearly every show where there was a title defense.
- The Young Lion’s Cup is back, as was a new format for the tournament. Instead of doing a YLC doubleshot, they incorporated tournament matches over six shows. The quality of the tournament was probably at its best, even with the presence of Jakob Hammermeier. ACH and Mark Angelosetti tore it up at Ring of Wax and Under the Hood. Contrary to popular belief, there are a number of excellent young wrestlers in North America, and the YLC is a great showcase for their skills. Chikara was a lesser company for not having the cup in the states. Hopefully, no one steals it any time soon.
- The ability to go across the nation and draw so well everywhere in the northeast and Midwest showed just how popular the Chikara brand has become. Super no vacancy signs could be seen in a number of places. For whatever legitimate critiques can be made about the product, Chikara no doubt has a tremendous year at the gate. With help from Smark Mark Video’s iPPV capabilities, Chikara could continue to expand its reach and generate more profits.
Three Negatives of Chikara in 2012:
- Grand Championship matches were plentiful in 2012, but there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to how people received title matches. The individual matches were fine or even great in some cases, but many matches lacked drama or purpose. This could best be exemplified in the Tim Donst/Eddie Kingston match. Donst received a title match out of nowhere after winning a few midcard matches by nefarious means. Many expected him to pull out the victory. Regardless, the match did not deliver in the way an iPPV main event should.
- Chikara’s top two storylines have to be considered failures. Many fans simply could not wrap their heads around the Gekido and Chikarabrmetrics storylines. There were some individually great performances from Shard and even assailANT, some great matches like the ten man tag at Chikarasaurus Rex, but this was a case of Chikara being very unfocused for much of the year. Gekido was yet another group trying to invade and take over Chikara. Worse, this was an unknown group of individuals who were almost parodies of other, better wrestlers. Instead of establishing individual characters, the rudos were boxed into being impersonators. Only in the waning months of the year did Shard and assailANT differentiate themselves. Chikarabrmetrics brought numbers into wrestling. Although Nate Silver and Billy Beane achieved a lot of success bringing numbers into politics and baseball, it didn’t work in wrestling at all. Wrestling is an art and as yet impossible to quantify. To run an angle parodying what’s been done in other sports came off as more self-indulgent than anything else.
- Related to number two, the three members of the Colony were stuck in horrible positions all year long. Ironically, they got off to a good start with Green Ant defeating Mike Quackenbush. Then it all went downhill. First, the Colony had to wrestle the Swarm a million times in various connotations. Then Fire Ant was injured and missed time. Finally, the Colony was broken up to serve the Chikarabrmetrics storyline. Instead of finding a creative way to break the trio up before Trios, we got a story whereby every Wink Vavasseur created team lost in the first round. Soldier Ant, Fire Ant, and Green Ant spent too much time losing and being thrown into submar midcard matches instead of being allowed to showcase why they’re an amazing trio.
Three Bold Predictions for Chikara in 2013:
- In a reunion of one of the best feuds in company history, Hallowicked will conquer Eddie Kingston and become the Chikara Grand Champion some time in the first half of 2013. Based on his skill set and being such a key member of the roster, it would be a nice story for Wicked to win the championship and be the first person to ever complete the “Chikara Slam” (Young Lion’s Cup, campeon de parejas, King of Trios, Grand Champion).
- Mike Quackenbush ‘s feud with Jigsaw will end with him exiting Chikara as a full-time roster member. He will not necessarily retire, but Quack will limit his in-ring time significantly after the season finale next year when he does the deed and figuratively passes the torch to Jigsaw.
- Wink Vavasseur will be relieved of his duties as Director of Fun midseason, and Derek Sabato will be inserted on an interim basis. His bias toward the rudos will lead to his release and a permanent director will be appointed at the season finale next year.
Here are Barry Murphy’s thoughts on Chikara in 2012:
Chikara will always have a soft spot in my heart for being the promotion that really made me fall in love with independent wrestling, but with that said, I’ve found their 2012 to be somewhat underwhelming.
Perhaps it’s just the overdone nature of the angle, but the group’s primary focus this year; the GEKIDO invasion, really does nothing for me. It’s not the talent’s fault, and it’s not that the booking hasn’t been competent – I’m just very numb to it all. The angle definitely had its moments though, with the eventual acceptance of AssailANT by the Chikara babyfaces at ‘Under The Hood’ being a highlight of storytelling on the independents this year.
Both ‘Under The Hood’ and ‘Chikarasaurus Rex’ were fun but flawed iPPV outings for Chikara this year, but despite its foibles the latter was still able to be wildly entertaining, with a stacked card and lots of variety. As is often the case though, the King of Trios weekend was the highlight of the promotion’s year, with the tournament’s third night offering several stellar matches and hugely entertaining comedy, rounded off by a dramatic must-see final. The easy-to-root-for Spectral Envoy team’s victory over the superlative heels of Team ROH made for a super climax to one of the year’s most entertaining shows.
The Young Bucks, both as members of Team ROH and also as Chikara’s tag team champions, impressed at every turn, delivering quality matches against top young stars like FIST, but also getting enjoyable matches out of much more limited teams like the Faces of Pain. For this reason, I feel like Chikara more than any other group really made the most of the Bucks this year, and let them put on a spread of quality matches that perfectly sums up why they are much more than just the spot-monkey team some might write them off as. They really are one of the best teams in all of wrestling, and their year in Chikara proves exactly why.
Here are some thoughts from Kevin Ford (I plug his crap at the bottom all the time and he is a co-founder of this website) on Chikara in 2012:
2012 was such a strange year for CHIKARA. I could not possibly sum up the year in one word for you, so here’s a lot of them.
I was very excited when 2011 ended. King of Trios weekend was possibly the best they ever had and the 12 Large Summit was an overwhelming success in terms of in ring quality. CHIKARA had just done their first iPPV and Eddie Kingston became the first Grand Champion in an incredible match with Mike Quackenbush. Not to mention the other matches which for the most part good in one way, whether it be in the ring or advancing a storyline. The calender showed them debuting in multiple new markets, including Canada. I’ll follow Jerome’s format and condense my thoughts into Positives and Negatives. Let’s start with the Negatives:
Negatives
– Failure to follow up large events. As I said, Season 10 (2011) ended in a big way and left me very excited for 2012. Instead of following the buzz from their first iPPV, Joshimania, and the crowning of their first Grand Champion with another must-see show, 2012 started off with a tremendous whimper. “The Thirteenth Hat” was incredibly forgettable aside from the opening match with Mike Quackenbush against Green Ant. The champion, Eddie Kingston, was on the show to further an angle with Vin Gerard but did not wrestle. Ophidian debuted his newest incarnation against fellow Osirian Portal member Hieracon in a match that was universally panned. The rest of the card? Nothing to speak of. When their second iPPV, “Chikarasaurus Rex: How to Hatch a Dinosaur” came around, it was heralded as much if not more than the first one. The shows that followed in Strathroy, ONT and Syracuse, NY respectively weren’t bad per se but certainly wouldn’t hold the attention of somebody who bought the shows due to interest gained from the iPPV. By and large the shows were fairly innocuous. King of Trios 2012 was another big time success and largely praised by the IWC as a whole. The Southern doubleshot that happened a few weeks later was another chance to make fans out of those who were reeled in by that tournament. Not to mention the fact that last year’s Southern doubleshot was excellent and raised people’s expectations of what to expect when they returned. The first show in Piedmont, AL was average at best and the second show in Gibsonville, NC was one of the worst events they put on this year. Instead of the shows feeling like a big deal, they felt like placeholders. CHIKARA had a few very good shows this year, but the ones after their big successes failed to deliver in a way to really grab ahold of those who were giving CHIKARA their first look.
– Storylines. When the GEKIDO first was introduced, I was all about it. Former students who dropped out stealing gimmicks and wreaking havoc? Sign me up. Show after show it felt like we were all waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop. “Surely this is the show where things get interesting!” While we got some nifty moments here and there, the phrase most uttered by CHIKARA fans in 2012 was “I just can’t get into the GEKIDO.” Just when you had hope for things to reach a boiling point, two members of the team dispersed and the others were shuffled into the roster. Granted, they seemed to have made things work by the end of the year, but was it worth all the months of waiting for something truly engaging to happen? I say no. How long did it take for Ophidian to do something of worth after his major heel turn? Was there anything remotely memorable in the Icarus/Gran Akuma/Gregory Iron feud aside from the final match? Was the Kevin Steen/Eddie Kingston story all we had hoped for? Who can truly pinpoint what Tim Donst’s character is supposed to be? In the past, CHIKARA storylines had nuances that caught you by surprise and made you want to see what happened next. At best, you NEEDED to see what happened next. This year moreso than ever it seemed like you could skip a large chunk of shows and not have missed anything.
– Wink Vavasseur being the company’s fall back for excuses. Why do Grand Championship title shots seem so random? How come we have heard nothing about the CHIKARA video game? CHIKARA has brilliantly decided that if fans decide to kvetch about something, Wink Vavasseur can be the kayfabe figure head to pinpoint the blame on if anything goes wrong. That’s all well and good, except for the part where wrestling fans aren’t total idiots. Nobody is going to accept that a storyline sucks or put up with something they don’t want to see no matter what lame excuse you want to give it. Can you imagine if another company had done this? Frankly it’s insulting that they would think we would be willing to accept that built-in excuse. Fans are too smart to buy that, and with the innumerable amount of alternatives out there, CHIKARA has to be smart about what fans are willing to accept from them. This is not one of those things.
Positives
– It is absolutely insane to me that Colt Cabana is not a full-timer in Ring of Honor. It’s also insane to me that El Generico and The Young Bucks weren’t used more often, not just when it was financially convenient or they were desperate. After their match with the Bucks in Chicago Ridge, I was CERTAIN the Bravado Brothers were in for something big in the company they trained in. Yet, those requests from the fans fell on deaf ears and none of those people made significant strides in ROH in 2012. Who listened to those pleas? CHIKARA! Although none of them become full time roster members, all the names listed above were featured more prominently in CHIKARA than they were in ROH because, well, that’s what the fans wanted to see. The best part? All of them delivered. The Bucks were staples in all three iPPV’s CHIKARA had and are their current Campeones de Parejas. Colt Cabana had his place in the best feud CHIKARA had this year. The Bravado Bros. got a chance to get embroiled in a feud, headline no less than three shows, and battle some of the top guys in the company. El Generico was his usual awesome self and had one of the best matches in CHIKARA this year. ACH was a guy who people wanted so desperately to see make it one of the top companies. While CZW, Dragon Gate USA and Ring of Honor all used him, CHIKARA is where he had the highest profile matches. Needless to say, it’s nice to know that one company at least hears the fans when it comes to what talent they want to see.
– Accessibility. CHIKARA has new content, whether it be a match announcement, blog, a new YouTube video, CHIKARA puts out something new to share or discuss on nearly a daily basis. They were also the first company to decrease the price of their DVD’s a couple of years ago from $20 to $15, and offer all of their shows on mp4 and VOD (with many following in their foot steps). The DVD turn around time for their bigger events is absolutely insane, and thanks to that has to go to Smart Mark Video. While they may not capitalize on the bigger shows by making the next shows just as good, they get the big shows in the hands of the consumer as quickly as possible. Not to mention that the “Under the Hood” release saw them tamper with a possibility of offering their shows on Blu-ray. Can’t afford to buy the shows? Between their own channel and the Wrestling Is channel, CHIKARA put out nearly a dozen free full-length matches for fans to watch and enjoy. The company always seem to be on the cusp of the newest trends in media and social networking, which is rare. It’s a breath of fresh air to see an independent company be on the cutting edge rather than months if not years behind.
– Fun. When it comes down to it, CHIKARA is the company I have the most fun watching. PWG is the only other company that even comes close. How great was the Archibald Peck/Mixed Martial Archie/Mysterious and Handsome Stranger vs. Mr. Touchdown feud? Super fun! And it had nothing to with match quality. It had everything to do with three well-defined characters playing their roles to perfection and getting the fans to care about them. Companies don’t have storylines like this either because it doesn’t fit the company line or they fear it won’t “get over” with their audience. For CHIKARA, this is right up their alley, and I for one have heard little to no negativity towards this storyline whatsoever. It’s not just stories like this that make CHIKARA fun, but also the live experience. I have told people many times that the live CHIKARA experience is addictive. Nowhere can you go where you feel like you are apart of the show. Before, during, and after the show the vast majority of the locker room makes themselves accessible for pictures, autographs, and just for general conversing. When they thank for you for coming to a show, you can tell they really mean it. Seeing the show live is a far different experience on DVD. Witnessing King of Trios this year in person was quite an emotional experience, one that could not possibly translate to DVD (that’s not to say you shouldn’t get the shows on DVD – you totally should). You can say a lot about match quality and storylines, but bar none, you won’t find a better live experience than what CHIKARA provides. With so much wrestling at our fingertips, it’s easy to ignore something or feel burdened by too much content. With CHIKARA, no more how much trepidation I may have had or how many other things needed to be watched, it was always something I looked forward to watching and would priortize.
As Jerome said, 2012 was a very frenetic year for CHIKARA. Some months looked promising while others looked bleak. Some shows blew people away while others disappointed. Certain storylines captured our imaginations while others had us scratching our heads or rolling our eyes. I can say that I think CHIKARA’s business model for getting their product into the viewers hands is top notch. They just need to focus on exactly what the viewers want and 2013 should be golden. Looking at the matches announced for their first 2 cards so far, I’m cautiously optimistic.
Top 5 Shows of the Year
1) King of Trios 2012 Night 3 – Easton, PA
2) The Great Escape – Portland, ME
3) Zelda The Great – Chicago, IL
4) Chikarasaurus Rex: How to Hatch a Dinosaur – Philadelphia, PA
5) Hot Off The Griddle – Chicago Ridge, IL
Top 5 Matches of the Year
1) King of Trios 2012 Finals: The Spectral Envoy (UltraMantis Black, Hallowicked & Frightmare) vs. Team Ring of Honor (The Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson) & Mike Bennett) (King of Trios 2012 Night 3 – Easton, PA)
2) Grand Championship: Eddie Kingston vs. Jigsaw (Aniversario: The Ogg and I – Manhattan, NY)
3) Grand Championship: Eddie Kingston vs. Sara Del Rey (The Great Escape – Portland, ME)
4) Campeonatos de Parejas: F.I.S.T. (Chuck Taylor & Johnny Gargano) vs. The Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson) (Chikarasaurus Rex: How to Hatch a Dinosaur – Philadelphia, PA)
5) El Generico vs. Sara Del Rey (Hot Off The Griddle – Chicago Ridge, IL)
Honorable Mentions: Both ACH vs. “Mr. Touchdown” Mark Angelosetti matches (The Ring of Wax – Indianapolis, IN) (Under The Hood – Philadelphia, PA)
For more information in CHIKARA Pro, including tickets and event information, please check their website. While you can purchase DVDs there as well, you can also purchase their DVDs on Smart Mark Video. Something relatively new to Smart Mark Video is video downloads. This is a great way to save on shipping and not have a DVD clogging your shelf (if that’s what you’re concerned about). It’s super easy to purchase and then download on your computer. I could not recommend this service strongly enough whether you’re buying CHIKARA or many other promotions.
To get a great sense of history and participate in discussion of the company, check out their official messageboard. One thing the promotion does really well? Videos. They have frequent (almost daily) updates on their YouTube channel.
As someone who is not nearly the CHIKARA fan as certain others, even I need to look up information and have a good CHIKARA resource. I can can think of no better place to do this and also read exclusive reviews of every CHIKARA show in history than at The CHIKARA Special. Kevin Ford maintains this little blog and also updates a CHIKARA Special Tumblr with news and videos nearly every day.
Contact Pro Wrestling Ponderings!
E-mail: prowrestlingponderings@gmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ProWrestlingPonderings
Twitter: www.twitter.com/pwponderings
Youtube: www.youtube.com/pwponderings
Contact ME!
E-mail: jcusson07@gmail.com
Twitter:www.twitter.com/jeromepwpeditor