Through a fortunate confluence of events, the colorful, Lucha Libre-influenced South Philly indie wrestling promotion Chikara will host the biggest show of its eight-year existence this weekend, appropriately tagged “Chikarasaurus Rex.”
The card features female wrestlers Amazing Kong and Raisha Saeed and several Japanese wrestlers in town for Saturday night’s Dragon Gate USA event. But most notably, Tommy Dreamer, the “Innovator of Violence” and icon of ECW, returns to the arena he helped put on the map to be inducted into the Hardcore Hall of Fame and wrestle in a tag team match with some of Chikara’s finest.
“I don’t mean this in any kind of corny or cliched way, but I think there’s a real magic to that,” says Chikara founder and wrestler Mike Quackenbush of Dreamer’s appearance. “So many of the people who make up the Chikara roster are dyed-in-the-wool ECW fans, so just to see him walk into our locker room unleashes a bit of a fervor.”
With the added attention these guests can draw, Quackenbush looks forward to showcasing Chikara’s unique style.
“I think there’s such a monotony to what’s being presented by the major companies in the U.S. right now,”?he says. “We can best be summarized as a comic book come to life, and we want to make sure that the events that we’re putting on don’t insult the intelligence of the fans, but at the same time are entirely accessible for fans of all ages.”
