Well, there was a controversial ending to one of the most anticipated iPPVs of the summer when CHIKARA decided to pull a Sopranos and went dark. Literally. So Senior Editor Jerome Cusson called upon CHIKARA specialist Justin Houston, former booker Adam Testa, and web admin Chris GST to discuss the situation, what may or may not be the future of CHIKARA, and we answer your emails and tweets. Thanks again for all the responses, honestly one of the most asked about situations and I’m sure we’ll be getting more emails from you guys after this podcast. Mailbag@PWPonderings.com is where you can reach us or follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/PWPonderings or at http://Facebook.com/ProWrestlingPonderings
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Jerome Cusson on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeromepwpeditor
Chris GST on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cgstong or email cgstong@pwponderings.com
Justin Houston on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JustinJHouston
Adam Testa on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AdamJTesta
Today (06/03) PWInsider posted this information:
CHIKARA the brand, as it stands, has run its last event, at least for some time. No whether that’s the end of the promotion or some really intricate angle and storyline remains to be seen. Josh Higham has a great write-up detailing all the background of what led into the show closing moments last night.
There was no official announcement as to what was going on in the locker room, although I am told small groups of wrestlers were spoken to over the course of the night. We were also told that the roster was asked to signed non-disclosure agreements before last night’s event. Given how secretive CHIKARA is usually with all their plans, I’m not surprised to hear that.
I do know that A number of CHIKARA performers have started reaching out to independent promoters looking for work to replace what were originally CHIKARA dates this summer.
I very much enjoyed your podcast, mainly because it helped to give me insight into how (I am assuming) many fans feel about the ending of the ippv. It seems that many people felt ripped off by the ending, with many being fans that do not follow the stories-lines outside of the dvds, i.e., NPA blogs, titor conglomerate website, researching pink floyd albums and so on. I want to add my two cents.
Like Alan Moore did with the Watchmen graph novels, Chikara is being bold and creating a story which could revolutionize (or revitalize) the story-telling capacities of an artistic medium stuck in a rut. Now, this doesn’t mean great wrestling is not available. It just means very few promoters take chances, and with good reason, as there seems to be quite a bit of backlash. Indie wrestling companies need every fan and every dollar, risking the alienation of fans is risking the death of a company, more than in the kayfabe.
Personally, I was hoping that Quack, Solider, Sugar, and Gargano would form a superhero team and arrive at the end of the ippv to battle Wink’s forces and explicitly spell out some of the major story-line points, all while moving things along. This did not happen. While the non-appearance of my super team isn’t a big deal, Chikara doing a poor job at explicitly filling in a number of fans to the important aspect of their story (NPA blog and so on) is a big deal.
In closing, we got a night of superlative wrestling. Chikara is top of the line for wrestling companies, pro or indie. I believe they deserve a second chance from hurt fans and that their indepth story telling is overall healthy for the future of the industry. But, Chikara needs to remember they produce entertainment/escapism, and need to make their stories more accessible and explicit. Many fans work 40+ hours a week and have families/lives. They want wrestling with deep stories, not political blogs and overly complex contests based off Pink Floyd.
Sorry this is so long! I really like the site and wanted to give feedback. And if anyone from Chikara reads this, you guys are doing great, you just need a few tweaks to include the more causal fans! Or I am just wrong. I hope you guys are successful.
Thank you for your response, never worry about the length. The more, the merrier.
I personally thought the ending and this whole thing is brilliant. I trust the hands at control. I’ve never felt this engaged in a wrestling storyline. I love it.
I don’t get the anger during certain parts of the podcast. Granted, nobody knows anything yet…but to get pissed because Chikara is (apparently) starting some long-term storyline? C’mon.
Personally I enjoyed the show and thought the ending was interesting.
As a brand, CHIKARA cares about its fans, providing satisfactory outcomes to its shows. But if we are to believe that the Titor Conglomerate, a corporation with a supposedly murky past, then why would they care about leaving the fans happy? When corporations take acquire new companies, they’ll sometimes let the company continue in its present form before the brand is eventually absorbed and presented in its new unified corporate colours. Maybe this was what the attending was attempting to signify: out with old (CHIKARA) and in with the new (TITOR CONGLOMERATE). Wink had tried his best to make the CHIKARA brand stand out, but to his father and his associates, he had failed to make CHIKARA interesting or profitable on its own thereby needing a corporate branding to applied.
i legitimately had no idea what was going on with chikara. not just the iPPV stuff but in general. looks like i have quite a bit of chikara to watch and catch up on whether this is the end of the promotion or not.
i legitimately had no idea what was going on with chikara. not just the iPPV stuff but in general. looks like i have quite a bit of chikara to watch and catch up on whether this is the end of the promotion or not.
I think you guys are looking at the iPPV wrong, in that it is a complete “finale”. It’s clear this is all a continuation of a long term angle they’ve been building up to, and the resentment towards CHIKARA is NOWHERE near what you think.
Unfortunately we can’t argue with all the other evidence that it isn’t either. I get your passion for it Scott, but man… hard to fight all of the actual real life stuff going on.