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As some of you may remember, I love Chikara and will tell anyone about it whether they’re willing to listen or not. Last week I somehow managed to sneak a Chikara show into my boyfriend’s vacation plans, so if you would like to remain spoiler-free for the Boston (and a little bit of the New York) show, I suggest you bookmark this for when you get caught up, or whenever people get tired of talking about The Rock’s fanny pack.
As always, a friendly reminder to follow With Spandex here, the UPROXX mothership here, and me here if you’re so inclined. Show photos were provided by the incomparable Zia Hiltey, who is sincerely one of the nicest, most talented people you could hope to know. We like comments (in theory), and we definitely love when you share stuff around. It keeps With Spandex as a real thing, and I’d like it to stay that way for as long as possible.
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Not to be outdone by KENTA signing with wwe chikara has signed Kinnikuman
The crowd in Chicago for Diamonds are Forever didn’t quite know what to do with the Eddie Kingston stuff either. The match was supposed to be Kingston v Jimmy Jacobs, but what we got was that groovy promo from Jacobs about how he could help Kingston get Her back. I was sitting next to a few people who seemed like they really didn’t want to be there, who kept complaining about how nothing was happening and wondering who the woman Jacobs kept mentioning was.
I get that Kingston’s struggles might not be for everybody, but I’m really interested to see where the story goes.
Other fun story, I was watching Battleground Sunday night with the Hubs and terrified him with my shriek when I read that Thunderfrog was gone. I really should have taken that picture with him when I saw him at the Chicago shows : (
New to Chikara (your first article got me learning all about it) so I like reading about whats happening currently since I cant make it to the shows. I also like the idea that I can come here to learn more about the promotion in general. That said, I think these articles could do with a little less discussion about the efficiency of roundabouts and a little more background/thoughts about the actual wrestling.
Just one dude’s opinion, though!
Nope. At least two dudes. The first mention of wrestling was page 3.
Make that three. No offence but I read With Spandex articles for Wrestling and not for your autobiography, so if you could cut down with the selfies and the Oh Woe Befell Me with page two that’d be much obliged. (Also are all With Spandex writers Vegan?)
Oh no, a writer tried to make a connection with the audience! On a sports site!
Seriously, I was confused when I started reading this. You have to wade through two pages of how she hates tourists, is a vegan, and has body dysmorphia before she even gets to the show (late).
Also she hates Traffic. Goddamn she hates everything except for Chikara and Matthew. Also Sorcery Police it’s not that, it’s just that 50% of it is just pure filler and nothingness it’s like Eliot Rogers’ manifesto (which I’m reading on my Dailymotion Page RealArmandoPayne, go follow it, and watch my videos.) it’s just blergh this is not good, it is boring. We do not care.
We have a lot of different kinds of writing for a lot of different kinds of people, meant to be enjoyed in different ways. If you want a “what happened on the wrestling show” recap there are about a billion of those on the site every day.
I get where you guys are coming from, but I also enjoyed the journey. Maybe Stroud can get someone to just do straight up Best & Worsts of Chikara (or indies in general) alongside Diamante Danielle’s flights of fancy.
Really wasn’t trying to crap over the article- like I said, Danielle’s first article got me into following/watching Chikara in the first place. I was just trying to provide some feedback. Chikara’s a different kind of show and deserves a different type of commentary so I appreciate the direction taken. That said, I just think it could be tightened up a little bit.
Regardless, keep the Chikara columns coming
I have to disagree, though in fairness this may be because I am from Nova Scotia and I marked out to see so many places I know mentioned. But still, one of the things I really like about the coverage here is that everyone has a distinctive voice, so I feel less like I am reading cut and paste show reviews and more like I’m hearing from a friend about how a show went. Honestly it’s one of the few things still keeping me invested in the wrestling world at this point.
I feel the exact opposite, I really enjoyed all of her story. Danielle, this piece was fucking great, thanks for writing it.
There’s a “Next” button at the bottom. You can use that while I love the shit out of brilliantly written long-form journalism.
That was supposed to be this:
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I do sympathize with poor Thunderfrog, but as they say, mess with the giant Nordic huskarl, get the… horned helmet I guess?
Seriously, Tursas occupies the same place in my heart that Shard occupies in yours because he combines my love of hastily thrown together Norse mythology with my love of fat guy splashes.
Articles like this make me wish I could watch wrestling with you and the rest of the With Spandex crew.
You can and should!
It’d be nice to just chill with them and watch, wouldn’t it? Watch them groan or light up with joy and hear them have these thoughts out loud.
Ditto x1000000
ditto times a million. you guys are just so darn awesome!
Hey, if you take this and make it the first few chapters of your wrestling-themed version of “On the Road”, I’ll buy a copy. Probably two, if it’s available in print media and electronically.
What I’m saying is that I like your writing lots, especially when it doesn’t deal with Impact.
This was a delight to read. I always appreciate hearing more about Chikara, really sounds like the kind of environment I’d enjoy compared to the few other indy shows I’ve been to.
I follow Zia on Facebok and her pictures are *fantastic*. Keep up the great work.
Also, cheap pop for the Jervis Cottonbelly picture.
How do you know someone is vegan? Their road diaries will tell you,
Great write up. I missed the shows due to work.
Hopefully will make my first KoT this year to give Brandon and you shit to your faces with some good natured vegan ribbing.
hopefully you can be good natured enough to know vegans get good natured ribbing 24/7 from everyone on earth, which is probably why we’re such assholes
Oh man, Boston was my first Chikara show, and I had a super rad time. I was one of the doofuses sitting on the couch by the stage!
Unfortunately, being an idiot, I didn’t bring any cash (someone spotted me 20 bucks to get in. Human kindness, folks!) so I couldn’t buy any merch. It likely wouldn’t have fit me anyways.
I’m definitely thinking about going to the Haverhill show in November, but that’s considerably harder to get to as it’s not on the T.
Also, my highlight of the night was as Ashley was leaving he gave me the finger gun.
“One of the worst parts of being an adult with a broken brain is that when you’re not focused on fixing things or doing things or dealing with something completely catastrophic, your brain decides to create things to be sad about, so you end up not being able to fall asleep because you’re too busy dwelling on that one embarrassing thing you did when you were six years old and it is the worst thing to ever happen to a human being ever. Sitting on a sunny beach doing nothing sounds like heaven to most people, but the thought is anathema to people like me.”
I am EXACTLY the same way, and it is hell. I feel your pain. SOLIDARITY SISTAH!
Also, I’ve lived in Revere my whole life (I’m 31), and I can tell you your assessment of the traffic is correct.
And to think that Mohegan Sun may be building a casino in revere in the not-so-distant future….ugh
All of the this forever and ever…
<3
That paragraph… That feel, I knows it. :/
Are you guys hugging your computer right now?
No?
Yeah, me neither…
I had that same problem for a long time. Meds and therapy did a LOT to help that. It still happens (I have made more than a few, “I’m really sorry I was an asshole bully in middle school” messages on Facebook at 3:00 AM) but by and large I’m either able to remember: “can’t change the past, can only control the future” (it’s why repeating the serenity prayer was one of my compulsions to deal with intrusive thoughts) and that the best thing I could do was make amends if I did something wrong and hold on to that shitty feeling to try to be a better person.
If only there were some way people could pay small amounts of money to help you write full-time and escape the hell of retail.
I too am an overly anxious, easily sunburned non-swimmer with an irrational fear of getting water in my ears, eyes, nose and throat. Fun times! I kind of like being in the water as long as A. it’s no colder than 80 degrees F, B. I have at least one secure flotation device and C. NOBODY SPLASH WATER IN MY FACE YOU DICKS. In summary, I relate to this post.
This was also my first Chikara show. we sat right near the merch table in the center of the ring (a drunk guy behind us was screaming obscenities at Ashley Remington for not doing the moves he taught him I actually liked how staff asked him to relax, and I liked that its a kid friendly show).
I thought everyone did a good job with only like two feet of clearance above the ring. Revere rotaries are atrocious. When I was younger the hot move would be to basically cruise up and down the strip blaring garbage music.
I thought Max Smasmaster was rad. I just like to see Dr. Cube anywhere. Also would like to point the commitment to kayfabe. After the last match Chikara staff made a big show of tryingand failing to pick up thunderfrog’s hammer thor-style hammer and couldn’t do it. I thought that was smart.
I hate living in England.
Great write-up.
Heeeyyyy I got a mention! That really was a fun show. Definitely not my last. I’ll be at the Haverhill show and I’ll try to make it to the CT show they mentioned for November.
BTW about that traffic. It’s not usually THAT bad. It was day 3 of the sand castle competition and accompanying festival so it just so happened to be a bit much that day.
I don’t know or fully understand these words you speak, but I appreciate and enjoyed them nonetheless.
Danielle, in terms of Chikara kayfabe and pretending everything is “real”, from trolls to trees to frogs and etc., what do you think about the Colony? I get that they’re supposed to be fighting ants, or something, but they need to meet me halfway on this. They’re in Chuckie T’s Instagram videos wearing basketball shorts and t-shirts and sneakers and clearly being two 20-30 something year old white dudes in goofy ant masks. At the NYC show I was at, during intermission, I saw Green/Silver Ant coming to the merch table, putting on and zipping up a pretty snazzy silver/green hoodie. But he’s an ant! Why is he wearing a hoodie like he’s not an ant but instead a human man who just finished an intense physical activity, like say a wrestling match, several minutes earlier?
Note: At the NYC show, Sidney Bakabella was selling photos of himself and Vince McMahon, and was giggling with people as they stopped him to look at the photo quality (it was quite poorly photoshopped. Some guy bought 1) as he sold people on these “authentic photos” of himself and the Boss. I’m not familiar enough with Chikara to know Sidney’s backstory, but was this a momentary lapse in character?
I always think it is so funny that tourists end up in Old Orchard Beach — the least Maine place in all of Maine. The beauty of Maine is that it has on of the single largest uninhabited stretches of land in the flat-fifty and 83% of the state is forrest. Yet, where do people invariably vacation? The most populated areas at the bottom of the map.
that feeling is what’s making me really consider checking out chikara or (more likely) New Japan. I always thought the lowest point of my emotions as a fan (caused by in-ring stuff) would be the Rock beating Punk at The Rumble in 2013. But at least I cared then.
I love that WithSpandex exists. On WithLeather, I know that Danielle loves Chikara will all of her heart because she writes it in as many words, but I’m not sure she would have really been able to open up that part of her life to us WithSpandexians(?) without this. Between this and the Chikara Primer, there’s literally no reason why people shouldn’t at least give it a try.
PALE BLUE COLORED IRIS!
But seriously, these things:
1) Your writing is a damn pleasure to read, even/especially/also when it’s not about wrestling.
2) I finally got to a Chikara show last month for “Quantum of Solace.” I don’t use the word “bliss” liberally, but it’s the most accurate for my experience.
3) Totally agree on the Shard, and Jigsaw is probably my favorite guy in Chikara right now. The Throwbacks totally deserve the belts, but I am sort of sorry that Pieces of Hate didn’t get a chance to blow roofs off with a bunch of title defenses before dropping them.
4) I may have cried at the end of this show for the obvious reasons.
5) You’re the best. Keep writing these and I’ll keep enjoying them several weeks later when SmartMark cranks out the downloads.