Chikara Pro Wrestling

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please discuss this issue on the talk page or replace this tag with a more specific message.
This article has been tagged since September 2006.

CHIKARA (also known as Chikara Pro) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They utilize an array of progressive concepts that have garnered them critical acclaim and a solid cult following, although virtually no commercial success along the way. The promotion's use of wacky, over the top gimmicks while utilizing a pure wrestling mentality has given the promotion some allusions to being the American equivelent of the Japanese HUSTLE promotion.


Contents

[edit] History

Chikara Wrestle Factory was founded as a wrestling school in January of 2002 in Allentown, Pennsylvania by Mike Quackenbush and Tom "Reckless Youth" Carter. After five months, the school started CHIKARA, the wrestling promotion. The name CHIKARA is actually the Japanese word for "strength" or "power."

The first class of students featured Mister ZERO, UltraMantis, Hallowicked, Ichabod Slayne (now known as Icarus), and Dragonfly. Shortly after the debut of their first class, Carter parted ways with the company.

In 2004, Chris Hero became a co-trainer at the Wrestle Factory. In 2005, he was joined by Jorge "Skayde" Rivera as the third trainer (along with Quackenbush). In March of 2005, the school moved from Allentown to the New Alhambra Arena, better known as "The ECW Arena", in Philadelphia. They have since taken over the training for Combat Zone Wrestling, leading to the school's new name of "CZW/Chikara Wrestle Factory."

The promotion has produced a large catalog of DVD and VHS titles through Smart Mark Video, as well as countless other bits of collectible merchandise since its inception. Shirts, buttons, books, masks, hats, and posters are regularly available through their website. It also has a weekly podcast entitled "CHIKARA Podcast-A-Go-Go" which serves as sort of a recap show. The show is hosted by "Lightning" Mike Quackenbush and Wiggly, sometimes with special guest hosts joining Quackenbush. The podcast also shows clips of CHIKARA matches.

CHIKARA events are reminiscent of several other promotions, notably CMLL, Michinoku Pro, Japan's Big Battle, and Toryumon 2000 Project (Japan) and the classic British "World of Sport" program. Live events are geared toward fans of all ages, and often feature wrestlers from other countries. Their signpost events each year include the "Tag World Grand Prix" in February, "Aniversario Weekend" in May, "Young Lions Cup" in July and the "Torneo de Cibernetico" in October.

CHIKARA marked their 2007 premiere with King of Trios, a three-night tournament featuring sixteen three-man teams. Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw, & Shane Storm defeated MIYAWAKI, Yoshiaki Yago, & Kudo to win.

On Sunday, February 18th, 2007 CHIKARA drew their biggest crowd ever of 275 at the New Alhambra/ECW Arena in Philadelphia, PA to see the "King of Trios" finals.

[edit] Roster

The CHIKARA Roster of 2005
The CHIKARA Roster of 2005

[edit] Teams and stables

[edit] CHIKARA Alumni

[edit] Tournament Winners

  • Young Lions Cup I - Hallowicked
  • Young Lions Cup II - Larry Sweeney
  • Young Lions Cup III - Shane Storm
  • Young Lions Cup IV - Arik Cannon
  • Tag World Grand Prix 2003 - Hallowicked & Blind Rage
  • Tag World Grand Prix 2005 - Claudio Castagnoli & Arik Cannon
  • Tag World Grand Prix 2006 - Claudio Castagnoli & Chris Hero
  • Torneo Cibernetico 2004 - Jigsaw
  • Torneo Cibernetico 2005 - Gran Akuma
  • Torneo Cibernetico 2006 - Icarus
  • Nov. 12, 2006 Tag Tournament - F.I.S.T (Icarus and Gran Akuma)
  • King of Trios 2007 - Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw & Shane Storm

[edit] Current Champions

[edit] Authority figureheads

  • Commissioner - Bob Saget
  • Director Of Fun - Leonard F. Chikarason
  • Senior Referee - Bryce Remsburg
  • Referee - Matt Dillon
  • Referee - Derek Sabato
  • Referee - PJ Drummond
  • Czar of Security- Crazy Frank

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../c/h/i/Chikara_Pro_Wrestling_2a87.html"