By Chris Vetter, Torch Contributor

Chikara Pro, based in Pennsylvania, stresses fun & silliness, lucha action and colorful characters. It is not for everyone, but I am a fan. The promotion generally runs one weekend a month, often running three shows that weekend.

The tape “Remain in Light” picks up right after the Grand Prix Tag Tournament in February. The show opens with promos in the back by Mike Quackenbush, then Crossbones, giving viewers a feel for these two wrestlers.

Crowd in Reading, Penn., is small here, with maybe 70 fans. Smart Mark Video filmed the event with two cameras, and lighting is always good on SMV releases. On commentary tonight are heels Eddie Kingston and Larry “Sweet n’ Sour” Sweeney. I enjoy both on commentary – I prefer Kingston – but two heels, and no straight men or faces hurts the overall announcing.

(1) Hallowicked (w/Ultramantis Black) defeats Delirious at 10:26. A really fun match. This is Delirious’ debut in Chikara Pro. Delirious and Hallowicked (both masked, crazy wrestlers) actually seem to understand each other! Funny. They opened with some nice armdrags. Ultramantis Black cheated and choked Delirious, allowing Hallowicked to take over on offense.

Hallowicked hit a painful-looking backbreaker over his knee. Delirious came back with a nice enziguri at 7:00, and both are down. They trade stiff forearms, and Delirious hit a headscissors takedown and a Panic Attack/running knee for a nearfall. Hallowicked hit a Michinoku Driver for a believable nearfall. Black interfered again, and Hallowicked won it after a top-rope superplex for the pin. Good match.

Chris Hero, Arik Cannon and Claudio Castognoli enter the ring to cut a promo. Cannon & Castognoli wore goofy crowns to celebrate their victory in the tag tournament last month. Hero (a heel here) complains that Mike Quackenbush is too focused on himself. Solid promo.

(2) USApe defeats Darkness Crabtree at 1:53. Silly stuff, and too campy for me. Darkness Crabtree wears a mask, and pretends to be quite old… 70s or 80s perhaps, as he is hunched over on his way to the ring. USApe is a guy in a full gorilla costume, wearing a red, white & blue singlet, a la Kurt Angle. USApe hits a big boot to the face and a Hogan Legdrop, then wins it with a Monkey Flip for the pin.

(3) Daizee Haze defeats Allison Danger at 7:47. Danger is a face here, and Haze is a heel, which was really weird to see. Danger hit a shoulder tackle. Haze hit some hard chops, a dropkick to the face, a snap suplex, and she works over Danger’s lower back. Danger came back with a Russian Leg Sweep, some clotheslines and a sidewalk slam.

Daizee hit a missile dropkick for a nearfall and a Daizee Cutter/stunner. Danger hit a neckbreaker over her knee for a nearfall. Daizee won it with a rollup while grabbing the ropes for leverage. Good women’s match.

(4) Icarus & Gran Akuma vs. Shane Storm & Mr. Zero went to a time limit draw at 15:07. Icarus has long, stringy hair; the other three wrestlers wear masks. These four are all faces, and they start with standing switches and headlocks and a methodical pace. “Keeping it clean,” Kingston says on commentary. Zero hit Icarus with a backbreaker over his knee and a second-rope missile dropkick. Storm hit a sloppy headscissors takedown on Gran Akuma. Icarus hit a lungblower on Storm. Akuma hit some nice kicks to Storm’s stomach and thighs, then a dropkick on the back of Storm’s head.

Akuma is my favorite in this match, and he goes through a nice series of hard kicks. Storm dove through the ropes on Akuma at 11:00. Storm and Icarus hit simultaneous clotheslines, and both men are down. Storm hit a German Suplex with a bridge on Gran Akuma for a nearfall. Zero hit a Stinger Splash and a bulldog for a nearfall. Icarus hit Zero with a Diamondust for a nearfall. Suddenly the bell rings, and we have a 15-minute draw. Crowd is a bit disappointed there isn’t a clear winner. Ok match, but Storm & Zero have a way to go.

(5) Rorschach defeats Niles Young at 7:04. Rorschach is masked, and he hits a hurricanrana over the top rope to the floor, then a catapult elbow drop for a nearfall. Rorschach stayed on offense with some chops and chokes. Young came back with a Mafia Kick at 5:00, and both men were down. They traded punches, and Young hit a backbreaker over his knee, then a hard clothesline. Rorschach tied Young in a pretzel, putting Young in a double armbar while pulling on the head, and Young submitted. I didn’t see that finish coming. Basic match.

(6) Jolly Roger & Lance Storm defeat Larry “Sweet N’ Sour” Sweeney & Mano Metallico at 11:22. Solid match. I think Sweeney – who has a 1970s Hugh Hefner type gimmick going – is hilarious. Sweeney and Storm start, and Sweeney immediately complains to the ref that Storm is cheating, pulling his hair and tights. Roger gets in and chops Metallico, then he hits a nice spin kick. The heels took turns beating up Roger.

Metallico hit a TKO on Roger. Each time it appears that Metallico – who is the largest man in the match – is about to get the pin on Roger, Sweeney demands to get in the ring to make the cover; when Roger starts to come back, Sweeney bails from the ring. Steel finally hit the hot tag at 9:00. Metallico and Sweeney begin to argue. Roger scores the pin on Sweeney with a rollup out of nowhere. Solid, average stuff.

(7) Emil Sitoci defeats Crossbones at 10:22. Good match. Crossbones, another masked wrestler, really likes to talk a lot in his matches. Sitoci, a European, is here for a short stint; he’s thin and a good high-flyer. Emil hit some stiff forearms and a nice dropkick. Crossbones hit a backbreaker over his knee, some kicks to the back, and a Japanese Stranglehold.

Crossbones stayed on offense with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker then a Tequila Sunrise/leghold, and Kingston says on commentary “Somewhere, Konnan is crying.” Funny. Sitoci came back with a Snapmare Driver, a headscissors takedown, then won it by turning a wheelbarrow into a Diamond Cutter for the pin.

(8) Chris Hero & Arik Cannon & Claudio Castognoli defeat Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw & Sabian at 18:46. All six immediately brawl on the floor. In the ring, Sabian hit some nice armdrags on Cannon. The faces do three simultaneous dives to the floor on the three heels. Cool. Jigsaw hit a headscissors takedown and a running knee on Hero.

Claudio picks up one of the faces and does a Giant Swing, and Cannon dropkicks the wrestler in the face. Hero hit a senton on Sabian. The heels take turns working over Sabian, with Claudio throwing some stiff European Uppercuts and Cannon nailing a brainbuster for a nearfall at 9:00. Quackenbush eventually makes the hot tag.

Quackenbush hit some repeated, hard chops on Hero. Cannon hit a German Suplex on Quackenbush. Claudio threw Jigsaw in the air and hit him with a European Uppercut on the way down. Awesome. Jigsaw & Sabian hit a double enziguri on Hero. Quackenbush hit a cool-looking jumping Curbstomp on Hero. However, Hero put Jigsaw in the Hangman’s Clutch/modified STF, and Jigsaw passed out (he didn’t tap out). Wow, that was really good action.

After the match, the heels continued to beat down the faces, until Shane Storm & Mr. Zero came down to make the save, setting up a match for the next night.

Final thoughts: Show runs just 2 hours, 19 minutes on tape; much shorter than I expected. This was just an ok show with thumbs in the middle. There are so many masked wrestlers here, it is really hard to get into anyone’s characters. The main event was really good, and the opener was strong. I’m a fan of Gran Akuma, Delirious, Larry Sweeney, and the six guys in the main event. Much of the rest of the roster – Lance Steel, Jolly Roger, Shane Storm and Mr. Zero – still must improve. If you are considering trying a Chikara show, I would suggest the 2/20 tag tournament finals over this event.

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