Nowhere Man
08-11-2014, 02:32 AM
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I'm not gonna lie, I think Chikara might be my favorite thing in all of wrestling these days.
Yes, it's an indy promotion with lots of emphasis on skinny white dudes doing lucha-style wrestling, so, y'know, "lol vanilla midgets" and all that. But Chikara's in-ring stuff is usually better than, say, Ring of Honor or Dragon Gate/Evolve or whatever, since there's not as much no-selling of repeated finishers and that sort of nonsense. There's generally a really good mix of crazy innovative maneuvers, but staying in character while doing so, which IMO makes it more fun to watch than the typical indy "let's see how many convoluted ways we can drop each other on our heads before losing to a plain old superkick" routine.
They've got a really fun talent pool to pull from, too. They've used a lot of folks who either went on to WWE-- Daniel Bryan, Cesaro, Luke Harper, and Sami Zayn all spent some time there (CM Punk also wrestled there twice, but then left and apparently hates them because they made a goofy parody character named 'CP Munk' and he's an egotistical bitch who takes himself too seriously). But they've got a really good crop of loyal home-grown wrestlers too. Yeah, a lot of folks apparently don't like Quackenbush, but Hallowicked, Dasher Hatfield, Jigsaw, the Colony, etc, are all really fun to watch.
And you want wrestling that "tells a story?" Fucking hell, Chikara's all about some story. They've been able to keep consistent long-running narratives going for years at a time, and unlike WWE or TNA who expect you to just forget the last angle the second a new one starts, they actually reward fans for paying attention. It can be kinda hard to follow if you're just getting into it, but thankfully it's not too difficult to find guides (like this one (http://www.denofgeek.us/other/chikara/233121/the-death-and-return-of-chikara-a-comprehensive-guide), f'rinstance) to make it easier.
All of that, though, pales in comparison to the best part about Chikara. Namely that it's fun as hell, and often downright hilarious.
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Most wrestling shows try to downplay the fact that it's all a work, but Chikara not only embraces that, but goes bat-shit crazy with it. The gimmicks are often weird to the point of outright absurd, and the storylines reflect it too. They've had angles based on fighting over ancient Norse mind-control artifacts, elaborate conspiracy theories involving private military companies and Elohim City, a whole stable of dopplegangers (and three different stables of ant-people), and multiple wrestlers engaging in time travel. It's like a wrestling show written by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and I fucking love it.
TL;DR- Chikara is awesome because it's basically a big live-action comic book.
Is anyone else out there into it-- or their sort of 'gonzo-style' wrestling? Or is it just me?
I'm not gonna lie, I think Chikara might be my favorite thing in all of wrestling these days.
Yes, it's an indy promotion with lots of emphasis on skinny white dudes doing lucha-style wrestling, so, y'know, "lol vanilla midgets" and all that. But Chikara's in-ring stuff is usually better than, say, Ring of Honor or Dragon Gate/Evolve or whatever, since there's not as much no-selling of repeated finishers and that sort of nonsense. There's generally a really good mix of crazy innovative maneuvers, but staying in character while doing so, which IMO makes it more fun to watch than the typical indy "let's see how many convoluted ways we can drop each other on our heads before losing to a plain old superkick" routine.
They've got a really fun talent pool to pull from, too. They've used a lot of folks who either went on to WWE-- Daniel Bryan, Cesaro, Luke Harper, and Sami Zayn all spent some time there (CM Punk also wrestled there twice, but then left and apparently hates them because they made a goofy parody character named 'CP Munk' and he's an egotistical bitch who takes himself too seriously). But they've got a really good crop of loyal home-grown wrestlers too. Yeah, a lot of folks apparently don't like Quackenbush, but Hallowicked, Dasher Hatfield, Jigsaw, the Colony, etc, are all really fun to watch.
And you want wrestling that "tells a story?" Fucking hell, Chikara's all about some story. They've been able to keep consistent long-running narratives going for years at a time, and unlike WWE or TNA who expect you to just forget the last angle the second a new one starts, they actually reward fans for paying attention. It can be kinda hard to follow if you're just getting into it, but thankfully it's not too difficult to find guides (like this one (http://www.denofgeek.us/other/chikara/233121/the-death-and-return-of-chikara-a-comprehensive-guide), f'rinstance) to make it easier.
All of that, though, pales in comparison to the best part about Chikara. Namely that it's fun as hell, and often downright hilarious.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/iQV71rPdZ70" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Most wrestling shows try to downplay the fact that it's all a work, but Chikara not only embraces that, but goes bat-shit crazy with it. The gimmicks are often weird to the point of outright absurd, and the storylines reflect it too. They've had angles based on fighting over ancient Norse mind-control artifacts, elaborate conspiracy theories involving private military companies and Elohim City, a whole stable of dopplegangers (and three different stables of ant-people), and multiple wrestlers engaging in time travel. It's like a wrestling show written by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and I fucking love it.
TL;DR- Chikara is awesome because it's basically a big live-action comic book.
Is anyone else out there into it-- or their sort of 'gonzo-style' wrestling? Or is it just me?