For Want of a Fork



 

This is "The Gimmick".   The illegal foreign object used by the Wrecking Crew in the opening match at Chikara's show "Out on a Limb".  Sidney Bakabella twice passed this fork back and forth with Flex Rumblecrunch during the match so that it could be used as a weapon against Worker Ant.   In the end, its absence proved The Wrecking Crew's undoing as their inability to find it distracted Rumblecrunch so much that he practically walked right into a prawn hold from Fire Ant and stayed down for a three count.

So why was it missing the third time they tried to use it during the match?  Anyone who has viewed the video of "Out on a Limb" and several who were in the crowd at the show will already be aware that it was picked up off the arena floor by a little girl.  Bakabella dropped it when he tried to put it back into his back pocket after its second use during the match, and a child in the audience took it upon herself to prevent further cheating in the match.  As I implied at the end of my last entry on this blog, the little girl in question is my little girl.  Kory picked up "The Gimmick" and sealed the fate of the Wrecking Crew.

I've been a wrestling fan for around 25 years now.  I know very well that there is a code of conduct for fans attending a wrestling show.

 

It's kind of like being The Watcher from Marvel Comics.  You are here only to observe and never to interfere.  So why did I allow Kory to take "The Gimmick"?

The obvious assumption is that it was out of sympathy for Worker Ant.  Longtime readers of the blog will already be aware that I'm a very big fan of his.  He is among my favorite wrestlers on the roster.  There is even some evidence to support this theory in the screenshot I posted from Chikara's video release of "Out on a Limb":

You can plainly see me in the chair next to Kory.  I'm the one wearing a pair of Colony gauntlets.  I bought those from Worker Ant.  They were part of his gear back when he went by AssailAnt.  In Kory's hand you can see a plush Pokemon that she brought to show Worker Ant because I have told her about how much he likes Pokemon.  It's a little clearer in this shot from intermission later that night:

Despite all of this, Occam's Razor is wrong this time.  While we have a great deal of love for The Colony in general and Worker Ant in particular, my decision to let her keep the gimmick was not out of sympathy for the ants.  The fact is that no matter how odds are stacked against them I trust in their ability to overcome them on their own.  That's also part of being a fan.

You might think (especially if you read my review of the match in the previous post) that I let her keep the fork as some measure of revenge for Sidney Bakabella trying to get Kory thrown out of the show when she stuck her tongue out at him.  During both the opener and the main event my little girl and the King of Manager had frequent shouting matches with one another.  The truth is that I wasn't mad at Bakabella for any of that.  I was proud of Kory for not being intimidated by his bluster.  Nothing Bakabella did raised my ire sufficiently to warrant violating my code of ethics as a fan.

The truth of the matter is simple.  I actually did tell Kory to put the fork down.  Then, as I looked up from saying that, I saw other fans in my row pointing something out to me.  On the ring apron (and you can spot this on the video of the show if you look) Jervis Cottonbelly was making hand-signals to us.  He wanted us to hide the fork.  A polite request was being made of us by the World's Sweetest Man.  Under the circumstances I took this as sufficient permission and told Kory to pick up the fork and hide it.  I think it is important to tell people about this part because I don't want to glorify the idea of fans taking matters into their own hands during a wrestling match.

I should clarify, I am not throwing Jervis under the bus here.  He clearly wanted us to hide it, but it was my decision that we keep "The Gimmick".  Had we returned it during intermission I have no doubt it would have been used against the Osirian Portal in the main event later that night.  Ophidian and Amasis have never been anything but wonderful to me and my friends and family that I have brought to Chikara shows.  I had no desire to improve Bakabella's chances of cheating them out of victory. I was also worried that Kory would feel responsible if we returned the fork and it was used against them.

Before the main event the crowd was addressed by Sidney Bakabella.  He claimed that the fork in question was invented by one of his ancestors and from the sound of it the "heirloom" had passed between 8 generations of his family (I counted the number of times he said it had been passed from Bakabella to Bakabella).  In the unlikely event that this is true, then I feel very sorry for the Bakabella who worked industriously to create it.  I would think that having Flex Rumblecrunch jab it into people is not the work they intended this tool to be used for.  As you can see from the photo at the top of this article, there is tape on both ends of it.  I have left that in place on the assumption that after 8 generations the tape may be what is holding it together.  Rest assured that while I don't believe Bakabella's story about it being passed down through his family, we are taking good care of it nonetheless.

The future of "The Gimmick" is uncertain.  Sidney Bakabella has demanded it be returned, but I wouldn't know how to go about that even if I wanted to.  I'm not sure where the Devastation Corporation keeps its offices, but I doubt it's in the territory where I live.  I also don't see a good reason to return it.  He's just going to have his boys jab it into tecnicos again if I do, and every match he is deprived of that feels like a moral victory for Kory over the King of Manager.

Chikara: Out on a Limb
Opening Match
The Colony (Fire Ant and Worker Ant)
vs
The BDK (Jakob Hammermeier and Pinkie Sanchez)
vs
Princess Kimberlee and Jervis Cottonbelly
vs
The Wrecking Crew (Jaka and Flex Rumblecrunch)

Kory and I were particularly excited for this match because it featured a lot of wrestlers we had only seen on video before.  Most notable among these would be the team of Princess Kimberlee and Jervis Cottonbelly.  For those unfamiliar, Jervis Cottonbelly is known as "The World's Sweetest Man" and is a true sportsman.  I wish I could give a more personal account, but we did not see him outside of his match.  His partner is Princess Kimberlee who is quickly making a name for herself in Chikara due to her fearlessness.  In the matches of hers I've watched it has seemed like she is eager to take on the toughest opponents available as she can frequently be observed trading shots with the biggest man in the match.   I'm sorry to say that I never got a clear picture of them.  My sub-par photography skills and the lighting in the New Mid-Atlantic Sportatorium are not a good mix.  I should also mention that we made a sign that I always said I'd make if I attended an event where Jervis Cottonbelly was competing.  

I figure it's a preferable alternative to "If Jervis loses we riot"

Jervis never saw the sign to my knowledge, but Flex Rumblecrunch, Jaka, and Sidney Bakabella certainly took an interest in it.  Jaka bit the corner off of it and ate it, but the text was still in tact.  Jaka is a savage employed by Sidney Bakabella because his viciousness can usually be pointed in the right direction to win matches. Jaka's accomplishments in the sport include being a former winner of Wrestling Is Fun's Championship Banana... which he promptly ate.  Bakabella's other client in this match, Flex Rumblecrunch, is one third of the current King of Trios team The Devastation Corporation.  His reaction to our sign was confusion:

I think his exact words were, "What does that even mean?"

Sidney Bakabella knew what umbrage meant because you don't get to be "King of Manager" without some  quality education.  I've discussed Bakabella and Flex Rumblecrunch before on the blog, but I will say that seeing Bakabella live was quite the experience for us.  I don't think the crowd would have cheered half as loudly if he hadn't been trying to silence us.  He quickly got on Kory's bad side with a comment that made her stick her tongue out at him.  I think his response was a little bit extreme:

Pictured here is Sidney Bakabella ordering a security guard to throw my little girl out of the building.

Referee Bryce Remsburg had to take a moment to explain to Bakabella that he couldn't have her ejected.

The other participant in this match that we had never seen live before was Pinkie Sanchez of the Bruderschaft Des Kreuzes, or BDK for short.  This team leaves me feeling a little conflicted as a fan.  As I've mentioned elsewhere in this blog I'm actually rather fond of Jakob Hammermeier.  He sold me a t-shirt through charm and persistence two years ago at "The Ghost of You Clings", and I gleefully watched him emancipate himself from Tim Donst's cruel form of friendship later that year at "Aniversario: Never Compromise".  His partner, Pinkie Sanchez is a similar soft spot for me, but for different reasons.  I have trouble thinking of either of them as truly evil, and it makes it difficult to boo them wholeheartedly.  I know the BDK once threatened to take over all of Chikara and that both these men were a part of that, but they weren't in charge of that BDK.  They've both spent much of their Chikara careers simply looking for respect.  I may not agree with the methods they are using to try to get it, but I can empathize with their complaint.  I may have to do a full entry about them at another time to get to the heart of what I'm trying to say.  For now, let's leave it at this: I'm not booing them, I'm just cheering for some of their opponents.

The final team in this contest are Fire Ant and Worker Ant of The Colony.  I've covered both of them for the blog before, but one of them has been through some changes since then.  Worker Ant used to be AssailAnt.  During a pivotal moment in the battle between The Flood (a group dedicated to destroying Chikara which included AssailAnt's old allies The Gekido) and Chikara AssailAnt had to choose a side.  By siding with Chikara he fully earned the trust of his fellow Colony members and he was given the Worker Ant name and the proud legacy that goes with it.  He and Fire Ant have been a great tag team ever since.

The match itself was a great contest.  Pinkie Sanchez started things off on a fun note with a little Ric Flair impression.  Early in the match Princess Kimberlee would live up to her reputation by trading shots with Flex Rumblecrunch.  The Wrecking Crew and the BDK would spend most of the match beating on Worker Ant, but not managing to put him away.  Occasionally, when Rumblecrunch was in the ring he would shout to Bakabella for "The Gimmick".  "The Gimmick" was a code word for a fork that Bakabella would sneak into the ring and then distract referee Bryce Remsburg while Rumblecrunch used it on Worker Ant.  It is a testament to the determination and conditioning of Worker Ant that he took as much punishment as he did and neither the BDK nor the Wrecking Crew could ever keep him down for a pinfall.  When he managed to tag Princess Kimberlee back into the match she tore into both members of the BDK with a great series of strikes followed by a pump kick to Flex Rumblecrunch before leaving the ring via a dive onto Pinkie Sanchez on the outside.  Fire Ant would take a turn trading blows with Jaka before knocking him out of the ring and then diving onto him and Pinkie with a flip that took him into the second row.

I got this blurry picture of him celebrating in the crowd.

When Fire Ant got back in the ring Flex Rumblecrunch would get frustrated by not being able to put him away with a terrific delayed vertical suplex.  He would then ask Bakabella for "The Gimmick".  Unfortunately for the Wrecking Crew, Sidney Bakabella reached into his pocket and found it to contain no silverware of any kind.  He frantically searched the ringside area for his fork (much to the delight of those of us in the audience who knew why he wouldn't find it.  More on that in my next blog post).  Rumblecrunch would be distracted by this and walked right into a prawn hold from Fire Ant.  Three seconds later the Wrecking Crew were out of the match.  For want of a fork the match was lost.  

The match continued.  Princess Kimberlee traded strikes with the BDK again, but Jervis was displeased when Pinkie Sanchez punched her right in the face (Jervis doesn't really seem to be a fan of the closed fist in any circumstances, but was particularly unhappy to see one wielded against a lady).  Jervis would find himself outnumbered against both Jakob and Pinkie, but not out-wrestled.  Pinkie held Jervis while Jakob prepared for his patented knockout punch.  Jervis slipped out of Pinkie's grip and Jakob knocked out his own partner.  This distracted Jakob long enough for Jervis to roll him up for a count of three.  This left only the Colony and Kimberlee and Jervis in the match.  Jervis and Worker Ant shook hands to show their respect for each other before they began fighting.  A short battle followed, but it ended when Fire Ant went for the Beach Break only to have Princess Kimberlee reverse it into a pinning combination that I believe is called the Alligator Clutch.  Princess Kimberlee and Jervis Cottonbelly leave the match with two points toward tag title contention.

Next time I'll give a little exclusive information as to the current status of "The Gimmick", why it went missing, and where it is now.  Why would I have exclusive information?  Well, to answer that I'll post a screencap of Kory taken from the Chikara video release of Out on a Limb

I feel I have some explaining to do

Knowwon Returns

I've been meaning to get back to writing my blog for some time now.  A lot has changed since I last updated, and well it should have as that was almost two years ago.  Chikara made its return last year, but my life grew busier and while I still found the time to enjoy the great wrestling shows they put on, I was unable to make time to write about them.  I've also been introducing a new fan to Chikara.  Last year I began dating a long-time friend of mine and helping her raise her children.  Her daughter is named Kory and I took her to her first Chikara event in October when we went to "Thunderball" in Gibsonville, NC.  We returned there when Chikara did earlier this month for "Out on a Limb".  Both events were wonderful bonding experiences for us, and it's because of her that I've decided to return to writing this blog.  To avoid reader confusion I should also mention that I may sometimes refer to Kory as "my little girl" or some other similar term of endearment even though she isn't technically my daughter. As for the blog; I can't promise it will update often, but when I'm able to find time it will happen.

I am Chikara: Ashes

Blog Entry

 

 

 

A few days ago a video started popping up around the internet of Lightning Mike Quackenbush talking to a construction worker.  It seems to be depicting the origins of Chikara in a way as what they are discussing is the work that needs to be done on the building that would become the Wrestle Factory and Quack is sporting the goatee I believe he had in 2002.

 

The video was (as far as I can tell) originally posted on the "Wrestling Is" subscription streaming video site.  It can now be viewed on Theashesof.com freely.  Also, if you click on the title word "Ashes" above the video it links to a couple of vine videos.  One just seems to be the footage showing Allentown from the full video posted to the site.  The other shows two members of the Colony (one of them is clearly Fire Ant, and I think the other is Green Ant but it is hard to tell him and Soldier Ant apart from behind).  They appear to be crossing a parking lot on a stormy night.  If it is Soldier who is with him then I speculate this is supposed to be around the time they first went to the Wrestle Factory to be trained.  The possibility I lean towards is that this is Fire Ant and Green Ant.  The title of the video is "The hunt is on...".  I think it is depicting them searching for Soldier Ant.  The main reason I say that is because on the main site it advertises the premiere of "Ashes - Man Down" on August 19.  I'm just speculating that this is about Soldier Ant based on the title though.  It could be anything.

 

All of this is, of course, just a few days after Icarus started his movement to save Chikara.  I was not in Easton on the 20th (sadly I was scheduled to work all weekend and couldn't make it), but I have heard from others that Icarus made a speech and handed out t-shirts that proclaim "I am Chikara" on them. 

 

Even though I'd prefer for them to be running shows like in the old days, I can't deny that this is still an exciting time to be a Chikara fan.  I'm looking forward to seeing where all this is going.  There won't be a "What Knowwon is thinking" section on this entry because I've made all the speculation I care to in the paragraphs above.

I Am Chikara

Blog Entry

  

 

I was originally going to do a post today about the contents of the Chikara prize pack that arrived for me yesterday, but something far more important has come up.  Last night on the Chikara 101 boards Icarus stated that he will be in Easton, PA on the 20th.  Specifically, he will be at the Palmer Center at 7 P.M.  For those who don't know, that is the day, location, and time that was listed for Chikara's next show before they all got listed as "Canceled".

 

His full statement can be found here:

http://chikara101.proboards.com/post/120219

 

It may require a sign-up for the Chikara101 boards to view it.  I'm not sure.  If it does, then let me summarize for anyone reading this who may not wish to sign up: Icarus tells about the first time Chikara "ended".  The Allentown, PA zoning board ruled that they could not continue operating shows out of the Wrestle Factory.  He talks about how they fought to turn their vision of pro wrestling into a reality.  He is disappointed that so many have chosen to accept that it's over and refuses to do so himself.  He says Chikara isn't some corporation.  Chikara is his family.  He is Chikara.  We are Chikara.  He wonders if we have forgotten that.

 

Easton, PA is a long way from where I live.  If I can find a way then I'll be there, but the odds of me being able to afford the trip lie somewhere between a longshot and a pipe dream.  Even if I can't be a part of it in person I'm very excited to hear that something is going down.  I've never given up hope that Never Compromise wasn't the end and it looks like that faith is about to be rewarded.  I don't know what will happen on the 20th, but knowing the Winged Ring Warrior, it's sure to be memorable. I encourage anyone who is capable of doing so to show up.

 

Another important piece of information I want to pass along for those who may not be aware of it.  The Titor Conglomerate has set about selling off the assets of Chikara for the last month.  A little tidbit of information that came up during that time is that they do not know the location of the Chikara Grand Championship. 

 

What Knowwon is thinking:

 

1. Knowwon owes any frequent readers an apology.  The last month has been sparse on updates.  I'll be making an announcement soon regarding the future of my writings about wrestling.

 

2. Knowwon should give Icarus an answer to his question:  He ended his post by saying "I am CHIKARA.  Are you?" Yes, Icarus.  Knowwon is CHIKARA, and proud of it.

 

3. Knowwon noticed that it has been a troubling year for championships in the world of professional wrestling.  I understand that at Wrestlecon, Kaiju Big Battel's Grand Championship also went missing.  I'm not saying these disappearances are in any way related, but you never know.

4. Knowwon wants to thank Icarus, and everyone who fought to make Chikara a reality.  Icarus said they fought to bring their "vision of pro wrestling to life".  After watching my first Chikara show I said "This is what pro wrestling should be".  So I want to thank everyone who was a part of it in the early days.  From the wrestlers to the referees to the fans who supported it in the early days, I thank all of you.

5. Knowwon knows that if he had been told a few months ago that he'd be rallying behind Icarus today he'd never have believed it.  Especially since behind Icarus is where his tattoo is most visible.

 

 

 

 



Sorry for my recent absence.  I've spent the last week working on a bio about Archibald Peck and focusing on the questions that arise from his travels through time.  Unfortunately, every time I read what I've written about that last part, it makes less and less sense.  I'm going to take a break from it and try to get something else written in the next couple of days.  Maybe a little time away from Peck will give me a chance to re-organize my thoughts on him.

Chikara Memories Blog Entry:

 

This one is a little more personal than what I've been writing so far.

 

 

I know I said earlier that I was going to do a profile piece on a wrestler tonight, but something else came up while I was on Twitter earlier.  Lots of people were sharing their favorite moments from their experiences as fans of Chikara and adding the hashtag #ChikaraMemories.  It was a moving thing to watch go through the feed.  Most of the tweets were from fans like me, but some of them were from the wrestlers themselves and commentator  Leonard F. Chikarason even joined in.  It was a wonderful feeling.  Everything that was tweeted was either something that made me go "I remember that.  It was great!" or "I wish I had seen that.  I'll have to look for the video of it" except the more personal experiences.  By personal experiences I mean that some of the tweets were about meeting the wrestlers during intermission or before or after the show. 

 

 I admit I haven't been to many indie wrestling shows and therefore don't know what the fan interaction is like in most promotions, but I can't imagine a more welcoming, fun, and friendly environment than the one created by the Chikara wrestlers, staff, and even fans.  I'm sorry to say I've only ever attended one Chikara event.  Most of them are several hundred miles from me.  That one event was the greatest experience I've ever had as a fan of professional wrestling.  I've been to WWE live shows.  I've even been to a WrestleMania, but nothing has ever matched the personal connection made by that Chikara show.  I'm going to share my most precious Chikara memories tonight.  The ones that don't fit in a 140 character limit.  I'm going to talk about my personal experience with the Chikara roster at "The Ghost of You Clings". 

 

I've talked on here before about Jakob Hammermeier greeting people at the door and joking and making conversation while we waited to get in.  That was the first moment that it felt real.  I was interacting with a wrestler I'd only ever seen on video.  It was one of those moments where I would have thought I'd be nervous, but I was having too much fun to be.  When the show started there was a match presented by Platinum Championship Wrestling (whose arena Chikara was borrowing for this show) as an opener.  Now I felt nervous.  I wasn't used to being only a few feet from the ring with no guardrail.

 

 

Pictured above: The view from my seat.

 

I was worried someone was going to fall over the top rope and land on me.  It was a silly thing to worry about (although I've seen it happen from time to time on videos), but these things cross your mind when you've got an anxiety disorder.  After the first match was over, Gavin Loudspeaker hit the ring to perform his protest song against Wink Vavasseur.  By the time he was done singing I had forgotten about being anxious.  Once again the fun had distracted me.  I was just excited about the show.

 

The night consisted of a lot of great matches that I'll have to do some sort of formal review of one day, and I'll save the great moments from the actual matches for that.  For now, I just want to share the personal experiences.  Sugar Dunkerton and I had met before, in fact if we hadn't I probably wouldn't have found Chikara.  I owe him a lot of thanks for that.

 

 

  

 

Why I gave him a copy of Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter is an inside joke that I won't go into here.

 

We talked a little during intermission before I made my way back over to Jakob.  Jakob had tried to sell me a t-shirt on the way in.  At the time I had said that I might get one later.  He had walked through between matches at one point and acted hurt when he saw I had found the time to buy an Ultramantis Black mask after blowing him off earlier.  I of course wound up buying a "Hairless Aggression" t-shirt from him.  I've given it to a good friend of mine who is bald and wasn't able go to the show.  I made my way over to ringside where I got a picture of Mark Angelosetti with the Young Lions Cup:

 

 

 

 

I went past Jigsaw without saying anything.  I was discovering that talking to people in masks was not something that came naturally to me.  I think it has something to do with not being able to see the other person's eyes.

 

I did go see Veronica Ticklefeather and had a good time talking to her for a few minutes.  She really is even more beautiful in person and was much more approachable than I expected.  I got an autograph and bought a couple of wrestling DVDs from her.

 

I regret not finding Gavin Loudspeaker during intermission.  I really should have thanked him for taking my mind off my nerves at the start of the show.  At the time I thought there would be a chance to talk to him later.

 

After intermission the second half of the show went on.  It was fantastic.  That's all I'll say until I review it.

 

The show ended and the handful of people who rushed out to get to their cars really missed out.  Some of the roster hadn't been around during intermission because they were getting ready for their matches.  At the end of the show nearly everybody was around.  3.0 had successfully defended the Campeonatos de Parejas in the main event and I walked up and shook their hands and told them it was great.  Then I suddenly felt anxious for the first time since Gavin's song at the start of the show.  Standing before me were several masked wrestlers.  that discomfort that had kept me from talking to Jigsaw earlier started to come back.  Then AssailAnt stepped forward, shook my hand and started talking with me.  My anxiety faded away again.  I've said before that he impressed me with his enthusiasm for the fans.  This was where he made a permanent impression on me.  I think the image of him standing there and eagerly talking to everyone he saw will always be the first thing I think about when I think about Chikara.

 

I spoke briefly again with Sugar Dunkerton before trying to make my way to my two final objectives for the night.  I thought about not telling this story because I'm worried it might be a violation of the promise I made to maintain Kayfabe in the first post of this blog but after due consideration I don't see the harm in sharing this. 

 

I made my way to a merchandise table that Kobald was standing behind.  I was there to deliver my tribute to the Batiri.  For anyone who doesn't know, there is a tradition of fans giving Pop Tarts to the Batiri as tribute.  I don't know how it started, but I decided I wanted to take part.  I approached Kobald and we started to talk.  I told him I had found some special tribute.  The Pop Tarts I had brought were a limited edition flavor.  I had only just got those words out of my mouth when a hand reached out from off to one side of me and grabbed the box.  I looked over and realized I had somehow not noticed Ophidian standing there.  He was staring at the box now in his hands (at least I think he was.  It's hard to tell with that mask of his).  I don't remember his exact words, but apparently what I brought was a very hard to find flavor that happened to be his favorite.  He proceeded to put the box on the table and reach out his arms.  Before I knew what was happening I was being hugged by a man with a cobra-head.  This may have been both the most awesome thing to happen to me that night and the scariest thing to happen to me that night.  On the one hand, I was receiving an unsolicited hug from a wrestler who has given me many hours of entertainment.  On the other hand, I am terrified of snakes.  Thankfully, the wrestling fan in me won out over the ophidiophobic in me.  I returned the hug and after talking to Ophidian and Kobald for a minute I moved on to my final goal.

 

I was nervous again, so nervous I nearly forgot how to speak.  I was about to meet my favorite wrestler.  I was about to meet The Great and Devious Ultramantis Black!  I didn't get to talk to him long (which may have been a blessing given my anxious state).  There was a line of people waiting to meet him and I didn't want to be rude.  We talked for a minute, I bought a shirt, and I got the guy in line behind me to take a picture:

 

My night felt complete, but it wasn't quite over.  On the way out the door I ran into Chikara's senior referee Bryce Remsburg and decided to congratulate him on doing a good job as ring announcer (he had to take over part way through the show when Tim Donst attacked Gavin).  I also asked him to pass along to Gavin that we all hoped he recovered soon.  I also shook hands with Frightmare before heading out the door.

Finally, just outside the arena I met Saturyne and got a picture with her:

   

What Knowwon is thinking:

 

1. Knowwon has had an epiphany.  I know I said I was going to look into more of the conspiracy stuff, but I think I've changed my mind.  There are others handling the Titor Conglomerate's dirty laundry and doing a better job than I ever could.  After tonight I've decided that what is more important is to do my part to keep the spirit of Chikara alive and fresh in people's minds.  I'll be writing about their previous events and about the wrestlers who have made up the roster.  I still don't believe the doors have shut for good, and that we members of the Chikarmy should stay positive and hopeful for now. 

 

2.  Knowwon intends to start covering other events featuring members of the Chikara roster.  Readers who are new to Chikara may not be aware, but Chikara actually has several sister organizations that feature many of the same wrestlers.  I made a few vague allusions to them in previous posts, but I plan to start with one called Wrestling is Fun! and go from there.

 

3. Knowwon encourages everyone who reads this to make their own Chikara memories.  While my favorite ones are of the show I attended, I've had several good ones from shows I've bought on smvod.com. Chikara's sister organizations (Wrestling is Fun!, Wrestling is Cool, Wrestling is Heart, Wrestling is Intense, Wrestling is Art, Wrestling is Respect, and Wrestling is Awesome) also have their shows available there.  And if, unlike me, you live close enough to go see one of those shows in person I can't recommend it enough.

 

4. Knowwon has a recommendation for new Chikara viewers.  If you want a good show to give you a feel for what Chikara is like, my favorite is Chikarasaurus Rex: How to Hatch a Dinosaur.  If anyone has a favorite they'd like to suggest to a new viewer please post it in the comments.