Go West, Young Chikara

Coming soon to a Midwest locale near you... Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

The national expansion of Chikara will continue in October of this year, as the promotion will be hitting up three new locales in an ambitious four-day Midwest tour that will take it the furthest west it has ever been. The family-friendly brand of Americanized lucha libre will hit up Columbus, OH, the Louisville, KY area (right across the Ohio River in Indiana), and Minneapolis, MN for the first time in addition to making a return trip to Chicago, IL between October 22 and 25. Minneapolis will be the furthest point west Chikara has ever played, a city that's also notable because it was part of the dummy list of dates for the second half of 2013 for after the company voluntarily closed as part of the infamous Condor Security/Titor Conglomerate storyline.

The tour begins on a Thursday night, October 22, in Minneapolis. If I were a betting man, I would venture to place money on a certain amphibious farmer who may or may not have been a hammer-wielding electrical god-type in a former life playing a role in this show. Since, you know, the Estonian Farmer Frog has been haunting local Minnesota shows lately. From there, the road show moves into Chicago on Friday, October 23 back at the familiar Logan Square venue that the company has made a home of in recent years. IT will be a return trip, as Chikara plays the Windy City on June 13 for the Sword of Destiny, but that show is sold out. Saturday, October 24, Chikara will grace the Louisville metro area with its zaniness and fun as it will invade Jeffersonville, IN. Finally, Sunday, October 25, the promotion will break ground in Columbus. Chikara is no stranger to Ohio, having played Cleveland extensively, but this will be the first time it has ventured into Buckeye City.

Tickets for all four shows will go on sale a week from today at Chikara's website. I would suggest getting on that as soon as possible, especially for fans in the Chicago area. Those shows at Logan Square tend to sell out faster than any other venue, including the home territory of Philadelphia/Lehigh Valley. As for the future of the company, breaching new ground in the Twin Cities is exciting, and it makes me wonder which new cities are in store for Seasons 16 and beyond. The dummy dates for Season 12 included getting all the way to the West Coast for San Diego and Reseda shows. Might Chikara make it that far west next year? If it does, then its transformation from sleepy niche indie in the cradle of wrestling to national presence will be complete. And it'll be awesome.