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| Welcome. Oblivion. Photo Credit: Zia Hiltey |
What Happened in 2013: Hoo boy…
Everything seemingly started out alright in Chikara. As 2012 segued into 2013, things seemed like they would start normalizing. The final skirmishes in the ROH vs. Chikara feud would play out in the opening weekend. Delirious' greater forces fell at Under the Hood to the Spectral Envoy and friends, and his consigliere, Ophidian, was on a collision course with someone he thought a ghost. Even though Jigsaw had fallen to the dark side, the Gekido seemed to be a vanquished entity, and Soldier Ant would be released to his former troupe any day, right?
Well, as soon as the festivities started, the weirdness began to overtake the company. Sure, Kevin Steen's threat was finally put down, but Wink Vavasseur's increasing impatience and annoyance with Eddie Kingston caused him to throw challenger after challenger at the War King. Amazing Kong, Green Ant (who actually defeated Kingston in non-title action), Hallowicked, Mark Angelosetti… anyone and everyone got a shot at Kingston, who kept mowing down his challengers with increased efficiency.
Vavasseur's meddling wasn't limited to keeping Kingston busy. He blocked Soldier Ant's return to the Colony by giving him a new troop to command. The Colony: X-Treme Force debuted on Soldier's atomicos team in Florida, but they soon realized that they didn't need the Militant Mat Mite. Soldier soon after went AWOL, while the flashy new cadre of ants picked up a familiar yet inflammatory face in deviANT. Vavasseur's meddling continued by retroactively awarding the 2011 King of Trios to this anathema of a Colony by proclaiming them the real holders of the stable's name.
Tim Donst went from challenging Kingston at Under the Hood at the end of '12 to collecting any lost soul he could find to serve as his canvas for bullying. In addition to Jakob Hammermeier, Donst accumulated Steve "the Turtle" Weiner and Veronica Ticklefeather in his gang. Predictably, their attitudes went even sourer than they may have been before the New Year, and Ticklefeather ended her 2012 by getting slopped by one Archibald Peck. Donst didn't limit his bullying to his own cronies. He started picking fights with Gavin Loudspeaker, going to the point of cutting off locks of the ring announcer's flowing mane and EATING them.
Speaking of Peck, his sporadic appearances caused just as much concern than any time he was a regular on the roster. He'd been seen creeping around different places, almost like he was trying to hide something. Soldier going AWOL was just one of the weird occurrences happening during the first five months of the year. Partnerships started to deteriorate further. Team FIST absolutely fell apart to the point where Johnny Gargano was dropped from the roster page. Mike Quackenbush got a strange envelope from a man who presumably writes a blog called "No Private Army" at WrestleCon, and was nowhere to be seen afterwards.
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| It was only a dream... Photo Credit: Zia Hiltey |
Aniversario: Never Compromise, on June 2, was to be a day of reckoning for so many of these parties. For the second year in a row, Donst had his head shaved at the Trocadero in June, this time because his maltreatment of his charges, especially Hammermeier, caused his foolproof plan against Loudspeaker to backfire. Derek Sabato appeared with information about Vavasseur's father and his parent corporation, information that was quashed before he could reveal it by Condor Security. In the weirdest twist, Icarus challenged Kingston for the Grand Championship. The twist had Icarus, the man heralded as the "Worst in the World" at Chikara's first Internet pay-per-view had the vociferous support of the crowd, while the inspirational first Champion at that same event got jeered and catcalled. Icarus fought off Kingston's most brutal barrage, including a bevy of hellacious chairshots, and got him locked in the Chikara Special.
Then, when he was about ready to tap out, all hell broke loose.
Condor Security poured out from the back, chasing everyone from the ring, tearing down the set, shooing the fans, and disrupting the iPPV feed. Wink Vavasseur, looking disheveled and beaten up, sat on the stage, eating an apple. The next day, every show announced for the rest of the year was cancelled. The parent company, the Worldwide Media Development Corporation, started selling off all the assets.
Furthermore, bad guys from Chikara's past began to sprout back up and shut down various Wrestling Is promotions. The Gekido came back and shut down Intense. Dr. Cube bubbled to the surface and ended Awesome. Sinn Bodhi squelched Art, and Ares with some knockoff BDK members recently put the kibosh on Cool. Someone apparently doesn't want Chikara or anything associated with it to exist anymore.
One person bent on making sure the company stays not only in everyone's memories but in corporeal form is Icarus. Being robbed of his Championship was immaterial against losing his home. He went on a quest to find others who'd share his vision, but only found Hallowicked and a bunch of students to stand by his side. However, Quackenbush and Sabato met at a café, Vavasseur had a falling out with his father, and the Condors are growing more and more restless. Something is around the corner, but what it is still feels shrouded in mystery.
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| Coming for the rags 'n bones Photo Credit: @LolitaSinn |
What's Going to Happen in 2014: I find forecasting the coming year for a company that technically doesn't exist anymore to be quite difficult, especially when most of its outlets are also being picked off as well. Keeping with pattern, Wrestling Is Heart and Wrestling Is Respect can neither be too long for this world, but who will be the evil entity to take them out? Delirious killing his creation in Respect makes sense since he himself has been a Chikara big bad in the past. Heart is a different story. The ultimate choice to end Heart (or maybe even Fun! as a final boss battle) would be Chris Hero, given his palpable real life heat with Quackenbush. I feel like awaiting Hero's return as an instrument of the Titor Conglomerate is like hoping for the Empire to come out victorious in Return of the Jedi (although I'm sure if you give George Lucas enough time and money, he'll release a special edition to make it so.).
Other than waiting for each domino to fall, the two dates to keep on the calendar are National Pro Wrestling Day and WrestleCon. The former will be taking place on February 1, and it is very much a Chikara-centric deal, even down to the assumed venue, the Easton Funplex. The slogan is "Wrestling can change the world," which on the surface ties into the charity monies they're raising to treat malaria. However, since most of the last two years has been so wrapped in symbolism and double meanings, I wouldn't be surprised to see something go down here. WrestleCon is the other date where something could go down. While nothing has been announced for the WrestleMania weekend, I can't imagine the Chikaraverse not being involved in the weekend celebration of the art.
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| Big man, pig man, haha, charade you are Photo Credit: Zia Hiltey |
Private Eye, Jr. - Hallowicked was shown training a bunch of students in the Ashes video series, but the one who seems to have the most cache is Private Eye, Jr. His detective skills have set him apart of the rest of the trainees. Having him debut in the Chikara fabric by being an integral part in the company's return would be no bigger a shine to start out with.
Gekido - Their demise in late 2012 felt curiously incomplete within the narrative. They returned to end Wrestling Is Intense and seemingly disappeared afterwards, but then again, those minions Dr. Cube and Sinn Bodhi had with them didn't look like any cohorts they'd consorted with in the past. Could the bizarre world mirror images be working to undo the Chikaraverse behind several different masks?
Soldier Ant - His disappearance has been the most abrupt of the ones who left, and he's the only one whom anyone seems to care about finding. He more than anyone has felt the sting of the Vavasseur administration, and thus he has more motivation than just restoring his home. What kind of vindication will the Militant Mat Mite seek when he returns, if he even does?
Knight Eye for the Pirate Guy and Princess Kimber Lee - Not every thread within the Chikaraverse is full of doom and gloom. One of the most fun side effects of the expansion of the family of promotions has been the resurgence of pre-"modern" masked gimmicks and characters coming back to fill out spots. Jolly Roger and Lance Steel have been among the most successful of these returnees, but their alliance with the royal Kimber Lee has caused some tension between the normally fan favorite team and the crowd, whom Lee demeans at every turn.
Three Things I Want to See Happen in 2014:1. A satisfying resolution to this whole story - I can sympathize with all the folks out there who want their Chikara back. Heck, I want my Chikara back too. However, I've also been enjoying this alternate reality game stuff. It feels different in a good way for a wrestling company. However, an ARG can turn out good (Nine Inch Nails) or it can be a giant red herring (LOST). Which will it be for Chikara?
2. Restoration of all the Wrestlings Are - I honestly hope that when the timeline is set right that all the Wrestling Is… promotions are also restored. I've been to shows for Cool and Fun! and they provide a familiar yet unique atmosphere with more intimate crowds for less money than the big show. Chikara as an extended universe makes the most sense for any current indie promotion, so I would love to see them keep that ethos alive as much as they can.
3. California shows - The shows announced for Reseda and San Diego for this year were teases. I would have loved for Blog Bro Butch to get a chance to see Chikara live as well as having been able to see how the raucous West Coast crowds would have reacted to a brand of lucha libre that they weren't all that familiar with. When Chikara comes back, I would love to see them make good on those faux-shows and bring the Left Coast a dose of East Coast sensibility.