FINALLY, Chikara IS COMING BACK... to The Arena

For the first time since JoshiMania, Chikara's BACK at The Arena Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

For the first time since Aniversario: Never Compromise, Chikara will be returning to Philadelphia proper, and for the first time in 1100 days, since JoshiMania Night One, the promotion will make its grand return to the former ECW Arena. Tomorrow Never Dies, the Season 14 finale, will emanate from the newly-christened 2300 Arena on December 6. The Arena went on a break from hosting wrestling shows after EVOLVE 10, as the new buyers attempted at transforming the legendary wrestling venue into a concert hall. However, politics and institutional turmoil never let those plans come to fruition. Other wrestling promotions have run shows at the venue in the iconic arena, including House of Hardcore and Masked Republic, but Chikara's return is a homecoming at least and a hard grand reopening for wrestling at the arena at best.

The writing was on the wall for the promotion returning to Swanson and Ritner when it was announced that its wrestling school, the Chikara Wrestle Factory, would return to the building. Personally, I thought King of Trios would be the return event, but the big homecoming turned out to be saved for the final event of the return season. While the Easton Funplex is still the best place to see Chikara, the Arena remains a close second. Plus, it has the added benefit of being in the thick of South Philadelphia, and selfishly, it's only five minutes from my house. But my bet is none of you care about that.

Anyway, the show will get underway at 7PM local time, which is a much later than normal start time for a typical Chikara Sunday show. No matches have been announced yet, but at least four shows are on tap between now and then. I expect a fifth show, Cibernetico in Easton, to be announced for December 5, but that is just a guess. You can buy tickets now via the 2300 Arena's site. Get excited, because not only will this show be the end to one of the most tumultuous stretches in Chikara history, but it should be a grand return to one of indie wrestling's signature arenas.

ETA: December 6 is actually a Saturday. Your intrepid blogger sucks at calendars.