CHIKARA Season 19 Thread

[lildude8218]

Season 19

January 28, 2018 - Beware the Snowman
February 17, 2018 - National Pro Wrestling Day 2018
February 24, 2018 - Hour of Power
March 17, 2018 - Young Lions Cup XIV - 1st Stage
March 24, 2018 - Hour of Power
March 31, 2018 - Young Lions Cup XIV - 2nd Stage
April 14, 2018 - Tag World Grand Prix 2018
April 21, 2018 - Hour of Power
April 28, 2018 - Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes
May 5, 2018 - The Infinite Gauntlet
May 19, 2018 - Hour of Power
May 26, 2018 - Aniversario - Heroes Shed No Tears
June 9, 2018 - The Johnny Kidd Invitational
June 23, 2018 - Go Eat Worms!
July 13, 2018 - Live At First Energy Stadium '18
July 14, 2018 - Clan Feuds
July 28, 2018 - Egg Monsters from Mars
August 11, 2018 - Chikarasaurus Rex - A Deadly Secret
August 18, 2018 - Hour of Power
August 31, 2018 - King of Trios - Night One
September 1, 2018 - King of Trios - Fan Conclave
September 1, 2018 - King of Trios - Night Two
September 2, 2018 - King of Trios - Night Three
September 22, 2018 - It Came from Beneath the Sink!
October 13, 2018 - Piano Lessons Can Be Murder
October 27, 2018 - La Lotería Letal
November 10, 2018 - Don't Go to Sleep!
November 24, 2018 - Cibernetico - 7 Man Army
December 8, 2018 - Let's Get Invisible

[lildude8218]

[lokithemadtitan]

well real ophidian as 17 vs whisper as fake ophidian should be good. if the former can not get a good match out of the latter then no one can. the whole student vs trainer thing.

[theaman44]

Surprised this match is happening right at the start. Probably will end with a shmozz finish to continue the feud, but can't help but worry that one of the two are leaving Chikara and that's why it needs to be rushed.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

The graphics are a much needed upgrade honestly.

[2coldMack is even more baffled]

Jan 5, 2018 17:45:37 GMT -5 Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] said:

The graphics are a much needed upgrade honestly.

Yeah, that's an OLD problem that's needed fixing for a while now. Their match graphics have always been kind of crap, nice to see this upgrade.

[lildude8218]

What if the REAL 17 shows up and Kevin Condron shows up dressed as The Whisper?

[IgnahtaSempria]

Jan 5, 2018 18:26:07 GMT -5 lildude8218 said:

What if the REAL 17 shows up and Kevin Condron shows up dressed as The Whisper?

And then Chris Hero shows up as Spyrazul, just to make it the ultimate clusterf***.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

Jan 6, 2018 0:12:05 GMT -5 IgnahtaSempria said:

Jan 5, 2018 18:26:07 GMT -5 lildude8218 said:

What if the REAL 17 shows up and Kevin Condron shows up dressed as The Whisper?

And then Chris Hero shows up as Spyrazul, just to make it the ultimate clusterf***.

And then Tianlong will come back just to die again...

[lildude8218]

What was the deal with him anyway? A throwaway character played by someone on the roster or a student playing a character once before becoming someone else?

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

Jan 6, 2018 8:25:57 GMT -5 lildude8218 said:

What was the deal with him anyway? A throwaway character played by someone on the roster or a student playing a character once before becoming someone else?

That is what is assumed, he existed solely for 17 to cripple him and become an instant threat.

[lokithemadtitan]

fake chucky t's twitter is gone. also blind rage deleted all his tweets at some point and his description says this "Generation nONE Original. Not made in a Factory.." which made me chuckle.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

What a damn shame about Fake Chuck Taylor, the character was incredibly over at CHIKARA shows, he didn't need to be a flashy wrestler because he was funny and over, but his main storyline just seemed to be dropped like nothing and then he just disappeared

Yet ANOTHER victim to CHIKARA's brick wall booking.

[mattyy]

Jan 5, 2018 17:45:37 GMT -5 Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] said:

The graphics are a much needed upgrade honestly.

thank you. I've hated the graphics for Chikara since they came back. They need a complete overhaul of their look. Something I kinda wanna see them try is a reboot.. Similar to what they're doing now with Whisper playing Ophidian. Just say we're in a different timeline with new ants, maybe a new Ultramantis(Would have to be named just Ultramantis or Neomantis Black). Maybe a new Shane Storm. All these new characters are hard to get behind with everyone either getting signed to the PC or just leaving for unknown reason.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

Jan 8, 2018 2:38:11 GMT -5 mattyy said:

Jan 5, 2018 17:45:37 GMT -5 Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] said:

The graphics are a much needed upgrade honestly.

thank you. I've hated the graphics for Chikara since they came back. They need a complete overhaul of their look. Something I kinda wanna see them try is a reboot.. Similar to what they're doing now with Whisper playing Ophidian. Just say we're in a different timeline with new ants, maybe a new Ultramantis(Would have to be named just Ultramantis or Neomantis Black). Maybe a new Shane Storm. All these new characters are hard to get behind with everyone either getting signed to the PC or just leaving for unknown reason.

You know they had the right idea with this and I thought we were getting it with 3quinox and CAW II but they were both just fodder for Deucalion and it bugged me... 

And then when it looked like we got a new Colony, Bullet Ant dies almost immediately and so does Worker who in my opinion was a HUGE loss with how over he was and now Fire Ant is just "Colony of One" and it's depressing. 

I wish I could care about the new teams but I have nothing to attach to, The Hawks feel like pale imitations with even worse attires...

[2coldMack is even more baffled]

Jan 8, 2018 3:15:51 GMT -5 Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] said:

Jan 8, 2018 2:38:11 GMT -5 mattyy said:

thank you. I've hated the graphics for Chikara since they came back. They need a complete overhaul of their look. Something I kinda wanna see them try is a reboot.. Similar to what they're doing now with Whisper playing Ophidian. Just say we're in a different timeline with new ants, maybe a new Ultramantis(Would have to be named just Ultramantis or Neomantis Black). Maybe a new Shane Storm. All these new characters are hard to get behind with everyone either getting signed to the PC or just leaving for unknown reason.

You know they had the right idea with this and I thought we were getting it with 3quinox and CAW II but they were both just fodder for Deucalion and it bugged me... 

And then when it looked like we got a new Colony, Bullet Ant dies almost immediately and so does Worker who in my opinion was a HUGE loss with how over he was and now Fire Ant is just "Colony of One" and it's depressing. 

I wish I could care about the new teams but I have nothing to attach to, The Hawks feel like pale imitations with even worse attires...

I think that's the big problem I've had with Chikara over the past two or three years. The roster turned over so dramatically, so fast, I didn't have time to learn or care about all the new people coming in. It's not these news kids fault, of course, but still...it's just hard to get invested.

[The 1Watcher Experience]

Jan 8, 2018 5:08:24 GMT -5 2coldMack is even more baffled said:

Jan 8, 2018 3:15:51 GMT -5 Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] said:

You know they had the right idea with this and I thought we were getting it with 3quinox and CAW II but they were both just fodder for Deucalion and it bugged me... 

And then when it looked like we got a new Colony, Bullet Ant dies almost immediately and so does Worker who in my opinion was a HUGE loss with how over he was and now Fire Ant is just "Colony of One" and it's depressing. 

I wish I could care about the new teams but I have nothing to attach to, The Hawks feel like pale imitations with even worse attires...

I think that's the big problem I've had with Chikara over the past two or three years. The roster turned over so dramatically, so fast, I didn't have time to learn or care about all the new people coming in. It's not these news kids fault, of course, but still...it's just hard to get invested.

It feels like we got a reboot already. It kind of reminds me of when Crockett let go a lot of their most successful tag teams. The Road Warriors, The Midnight Express and The Horsemen were huge acts for the company. The Colony, The Osirian Portal and The Devastation Corporation were big in CHIKARA and now they’re all gone. WCW ended up pushing a lot of new tag teams that didn’t get over nearly as much. WCW added teams like The Master Blasters, The Royal Family and The Young Pistols to their roster. While CHIKARA has added The Closers, Crummels and DeFarge, and Dez Peloton to theirs. The reaction to each decision to do so feels similar too.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

Jan 8, 2018 5:08:24 GMT -5 2coldMack is even more baffled said:

Jan 8, 2018 3:15:51 GMT -5 Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] said:

You know they had the right idea with this and I thought we were getting it with 3quinox and CAW II but they were both just fodder for Deucalion and it bugged me... 

And then when it looked like we got a new Colony, Bullet Ant dies almost immediately and so does Worker who in my opinion was a HUGE loss with how over he was and now Fire Ant is just "Colony of One" and it's depressing. 

I wish I could care about the new teams but I have nothing to attach to, The Hawks feel like pale imitations with even worse attires...

I think that's the big problem I've had with Chikara over the past two or three years. The roster turned over so dramatically, so fast, I didn't have time to learn or care about all the new people coming in. It's not these news kids fault, of course, but still...it's just hard to get invested.

For real let me run down these new kids 

Crab and Crawdad- Used to have Rock Lobster but was yet another who mysteriously vanished. Crawdad was hurt out the gate and didn't debut for months. They aren't bad in ring in fact Crab may have funniest gimmick of the new blood, unfortunately their movesets are extremely bland as is their gear, and Crawdad's accent is terrible... like TERRIBLE, not even in a funny sense it makes Sarah Logan sound normal. 

Whisper- Has way too much shit going on and feels like a complete fill in for when Condron bailed and Quack wouldn't go through with his booking ideas. He basically took the mantle of "Huh?", Troll and all, screwing with MAM as well (Who also might be done so whoopie), and now he's seemingly Ophidian, which... it's really gonna suck if Ophidian is done as that gimmick he was one of the last few great CHIKARA gimmicks left. 

Oceana- Her Partner dies and in order to defeat Merlin she basically... absorbs the soul of the dead Obariyon and beats him in seconds?? Um... ok. CHIKARA has done weirder, but it's gonna be weird trying to take her seriously. Though this new blog has surfaced saying The Batiri aren't dead? Are we rebranding The Batiri as Exo and Vox? Because that sounds effing terrible... especially considering Exo and Vox are extremely by the numbers wrestlers, they definitely ain't Saturyne in there (Another missed boat btw)
 
Warren Barksdale- Boy this dude feels aimless. It felt like they had a legit team for a second but his partner seemingly left as soon as he arrived and took the dog with him who was the most over part of the act. 

Rumblebees- I like Solo Darling and Huckabee is cool and all but they also really don't give me much to go off of, it feels like Darling is doing the bulk of the character work and Huckabee is trying to become the next Green Ant with his chain wrestling, they're a solid by the books face team but they really don't stand out. Is it so hard to give them some Bee Half-Masks?? 

Caprice and Roland- WAY out of place nowadays. Their whole gimmick was around Swoggle and he bounced and Roland was hurt for what felt like the entire year so I really don't know what their purpose is anymore, they need a severe rebrand. 

Crummels and Defarge- Oh my god I wish I could muster up any feeling for these dudes but holy shit I don't care about them. They have a terrible finisher and they have a gimmick that goes nowhere. They sneeze and shit, they're unsanitary, that kind of gimmick doesn't get over it's just nasty. Them being more sinister and salesman like and more playing to the 1920s era would make them infinitely more interesting but they don't. 

Dez Pelotin- This is yet another team I just don't give a shit about. They're bikers, tandem bikers. Did Quack hit his head or something? This shit never used to be this hard for him. CHIKARA is supposed to be a company that prides itself on gimmicks and looks and the overall presentation of characters and you go with... Bikers. That's it, exuberant bikers. It's like Mumen Rider if you sucked out the charisma. Their neverending feud with Crummels and Defarge reminds me of Matt Bomboy vs Din Mak from the CHIKARA days of old, neverending and why the HELL should I care?? 

Merlok- The newest big man after Nokken Failed and Tursas wouldn't come anymore. He's decent enough as a big man but they've basically neutered him to try and build Oceana so he's basically just muscle now, which could work to try and make Oceana seem like a threat I guess but I liked it more when he was the muscle for the bumbling Crab and Crawdad, it felt more organic and he felt like the leader, but meh I guess this is what we got... 

Race Jaxon- Not on the roster anymore, I don't know if he's done or now that he's forced to wear a mask rebranding. If so make it like a Cody Rhodes gimmick and he might be decent, before then he seemed like a pretty generic pretty boy heel 

Hype Rockwell- I didn't care about NRG before and I really don't care about the one member of the group that seems to be keeping the NRG spirit alive. All NRG reminds me of is how much I miss 3.0 

Mortimer- I dont think this... thing, will ever wrestle, it's just there to be the "OMGWTF" of Whispers Artsy Edgegroup which I still don't understand and again, just feels like they're halfassing Condron's gimmick to spite him.

The Hawks- I don't hate them but holy shit do I not care. They're all very green, their attires are so uninspired compared to what they're obviously trying to be the successor to in the Ants, and I just don't care. When The Colony formed, they all had a distinct personality, Fire Ant was highly energetic, Soldier was the no nonsense warrior, Worker was the leader and the glue, Green was the up and comer thrust into the role when Worker went down who had to constantly prove himself, AssailAnt was the one who came in as the evil group member and slowly won over the fans and everyone else, changing his ways, even Arctic Rescue Ant found purpose, leaving Titor after being spared and becoming Bullet Ant... just to die... eff that booking by the way. Outside of Razerhawk the Hawk's feel generic, bland, and just have nothing behind them. And again I HATE their gear, all the ideas you could do with the Birds and you give them blank black faces and shit... just yuck man. 

Rory Gulak- #Amazing? I guess? He gives me nothing either outside of the fact he's Little Mondo and he's been a stalwart Indie Veteran for years wrestling in some of the most insane matches ever, and now I guess he's the clean cut sportsman of technical prowess? Honestly all I get from Rory is "He technical wrestles good... ok.", just once again a cookie cutter sort of gimmick with no spice or flavor. I'd rather he just be Little Mondo...

That is CHIKARA's problem as some have pointed out here, the gimmicks seem to have lost their spice, their looks, gimmicks, movesets, almost all have fallen flat, their promo ability is also pretty suspect for the most part, and they give off a major vibe of "Why should I care, exactly?", and as you said it's happened INCREDIBLY quickly, like within three years, and it's not enough time to get over the fact we lost three quarters of the roster we cared about and these kids are being thrown into a frying pan with people expecting to care, and aside from the deeply hardcore fans of the product, they haven't really connected to anyone to say "CHIKARA is worth watching again, look at this roster! Look at these stories!", instead a lot of feedback CHIKARA gets anymore is "Man remember how amazing this company was before that Shutdown angle?", and it's just been a slope ever since... 

Believe me, I wanna care, but I'm not gonna act like I do when a lot of these characters are paper thin as shit and deserve to be called out for it...

[Apricots And A Pear Tree]

Surprised you guys bothered to make a new thread.

[sushiburrito]

Jan 8, 2018 5:43:19 GMT -5 Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] said:

Warren Barksdale- Boy this dude feels aimless. It felt like they had a legit team for a second but his partner seemingly left as soon as he arrived and took the dog with him who was the most over part of the act. 

Dog hasn't gone anywhere. Has made an appearance whenever Barksdale has been on a show.