Sick of the Same Old WWE and TNA? Try Something New

With all the talk about Wrestlemania, WWE vs. TNA, and rumor after rumor about which superstar will be returning, I thought it would be nice to talk about something a bit fresh.

After all of the repeating comments about how the WWE is stale, TNA doesn’t know how to book, and “I hate John Cena,” I turned to look at the sources (including one of my personal favorites) of some of the most inspirational and outstanding wrestling performances as well as some solid storylines to boot; independent wrestling promotions.

The independent wrestling circuit relates back to the days of territorial professional wrestling.  In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, many promotions tried to regain the feel of the old territorial promotions by holding shows in local areas, with local wrestlers and feuds. 

The difference between the older territory based promotions and indy promotions today is primarily the exposure that they receive.  Old territories could fill small arenas and would frequently be shown on public television.  Today, most indy promotions rely on the internet, word of mouth, and merchandise sales for any of the success that they have, and are lucky to fill up a smaller gym.

While this situation tends to paint indy promotions in a negative light today, you have to realize that each and every person who helps with the production of an indy show does so because of their true love and dedication to the sport.  They’re not in it to make money, hell many wrestlers would be lucky to pull in $50 some nights, and they’re sure not doing it for the fame, as the most exposure most indy wrestlers will get is to see their face on a black and white flyer.  It’s all about the heart that each man and woman puts into every show.

I first found my love for indy wrestling last year when CHIKARA wrestling made their way up north from Philadelphia to Western Massachusetts, where I live.  Now CHIKARA is a rather large indy promotion, sporting a rather large website, an extensive podcast, as well as solid merchandise and DVD sales. 

That being said, they are still far from being a mainstream promotion like Ring of Honor.  Ask any casual WWE or TNA fan, even someone that might consider themselves to be a big wrestling fan, if they’ve ever heard of CHIKARA and they’ll likely say no.

CHIKARA is the creation of Mike Quackenbush, I know, great name, and “Reckless Youth” Tom Carter. In January 2002 Quack, as he is sometimes known, opened the Chikara Wrestle Factory in Allentown, PA.  Five moths later, the first ever CHIKARA event was held. 

In 2005, the Chikara Wrestle Factory moved from Allentown to the new Alhambra Arena in Philadelphia, also known as the former ECW Arena.  Currently, Claudio Castignoli also trains new wrestlers at the Wrestle Factory.

Since it’s opening, several big stars have started or passed through CHIKARA at one point or another, including Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, Al Snow, CM Punk, Necro Butcher, Bryan Danielson, Sonjay Dutt, Chris Hero, Delirious, and Colin Delaney.

CHIKARA’s wrestling style mixes everything from lucha libre styles to traditional mat techniques.  Matches can be a quick, high flying, and unpredictable or they can be 25 minute technical showcases.  Some wrestlers don Mexican wrestling masks (though most are not at all traditional); others just stick to tights and boots.  Whatever your personal taste may be, CHIKARA will have something to satisfy it, and I think that’s what makes it so appealing to me.

Up until my first CHIKARA show, I had never been to any other show aside from WWE and TNA.  I was instantly impressed with the level of intimacy that you get at an indy show.  I sat in the front row, right in front of the ring steps and shook hands with just about every wrestler who entered the ring that night, a huge difference from what I was used to with the big two. 

Halfway through the show, they stopped for an intermission, where the wrestlers came out to meet with the fans, sell merchandise, and take pictures.  Would I have ever been able to meet Colin Delaney at an ECW taping?  Hell no.  Sure, it was only Colin Delaney, but still, that’s not the point.  You get to meet the guys, let them know how you enjoyed their match and talk to them about whatever you want.  It’s an experience in itself.

More recently, I attended an event on Wrestlemania Sunday.  A new promotion in Western Massachusetts, Elite Wrestling Riot—also known as EWR—put on a show at 4 p.m. and showed Wrestlemania on a big projection screen afterwards.  For $19 I couldn’t go wrong.  Some of the wrestlers even hung out after the show and watched Wrestlemania with all of us.

It was even more refreshing to see the level of commitment that these guys put into their performances when they are yet to even be local celebrities, never mind have a small cult following like CHIKARA.  The amount of time, practice, and the level of athleticism of the wrestlers (some of which didn’t even look old enough to drink) again astounded me.  I easily saw several matches that topped some of the matches at Wrestlemania.

I suppose that the long, drawn-out point that I am trying to get at here is that instead of bitching and complaining every time John Cena wins another world title, or pulling your hair out because the combined ages of the two wrestlers on your television screen easily tops 100 years, why not try something new?  I’m sure there’s a local promotion somewhere nearby, no matter where you live. 

If you want to start off with baby steps, check out some information on your local indy promotions via the internet; download CHIKARA’s podcast and see what they’re all about, or just try YouTube if it boils down to it. 

I however, advise you to take the big leap, not only to go to help out local wrestlers who pour their heart and soul into the business for little to no recognition, but to go see something fresh, something new, something that will take your mind off of WWE vs. TNA for a day. 

Trust me, you’ll be glad you did it.