Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period.
Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period.
TIMESTAMPS
The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20120224202247/http://www.chikarapro.com:80/blog/12-10-2010.php
12/10/2010:
A few weeks ago, I got to see some old friends and familiar faces in Easton. And for the first time
in many, many years, an unusual quintet was back together - the first five graduates of Chikara Wrestle Factory
were under one roof. While some of those guys, like Hallowicked, I might see every week, there are others -
like Mister ZERO, for example - who I hadn't seen in years.
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This reunion of sorts reminded me of simpler times. When CHIKARA was much smaller, and was held together
simply by a desire to succeed, and not a whole lot else. It reminded me of St. John's Auditorium in Allentown,
and the halcyon days of our formative years. It reminded me of how far we've come since 2002. It reminded me of
how much time was invested, and how many miles we traveled, and how many careers we've launched (and those we've seen end, as well.) It
reminded me of everything we've sacrificed for, fought for, worked for all these years...in the days before
anyone ever heard of the Bruderschaft des Kreuzes.
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On this auspicious occasion, I had hoped to maybe kick back and tell some old stories - after all, I wasn't
even wrestling that night. I'd just get to sit around and enjoy the company of those I haven't had the chance
to see of late. Especially as it seemed clear that this might be the last time I'd see my first class of trainees all together,
I couldn't help but feel a tad...nostalgic. But the "good ol' days" never really came up.
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Instead, I was asked why we had allowed the BDK to run roughshod over us all season long. It was said that something
like this would have never happened back in 2003. We wouldn't have stood for it, I was told. Well things have changed.
The stakes, like our little wrestling organization, are much larger than they were in the Linden Street days. No
independent wrestling organization has the industry-wide influence that we do. Every corner of the wrestling world
sits up and watches what we do today. That wasn't true 7 or 8 years ago. Now, CHIKARA is synonymous with innovation and style. That's where stars are made.
That's where preconceived notions about what can and cannot happen in pro-wrestling are thrown out and the rules get rewritten. And the men that
wear our championship title belts - those men can be called the finest tag team walking the Earth. They should represent us - CHIKARA. Who we are, what we are in 2010.
Well Ares, Claudio...I hate to break it to you, but you are not the finest tag team at CHIKARA.
Just a few weekends ago, Jigsaw and I did what no other team has ever done - we accumulated all three points toward
a title shot in one match. And as you are going to find out, we are way past "tired" of seeing those belts around
your waists. This weekend - I have a date with destiny. To be fair...I have two dates.
Tomorrow afternoon, I am scheduled to stand across the ring from Jushin "Thunder" Liger. He's
the reason I wanted to pursue professional wrestling. The ring name "Lightning" was taken in tribute to him. I
can't express how surreal the idea of wrestling Liger is to me. And to be doing it now...of all times. I've
got a cracked rib. A messed up elbow. This is how I'll meet my wrestling idol?
What choice do I have though? An opportunity like this comes around just once in a lifetime -
or it doesn't come around at all. When I think back to those times that I have stood in the ring, heard
a familiar song, and looked back at the entranceway to see someone of incredible stature and legacy
walk the aisle toward me - Johnny Saint, CIMA, Eddie Guerrero, Tiger Mask IV, El
Hijo del Santo, Manami Toyota - it's like flashing back to a dream. And now, after all these years...Liger.
I can only imagine how I'm going to feel when I roll out of bed tomorrow. Or the condition I'll be in after going
toe-to-toe with Jushin Liger in Philly. But if you think for a second, BDKers, that's going to make me easy prey come
Sunday, or that I'm somehow going to be less than "on my game" in Reading, you don't know who I am. I'm the Master of a
Thousand Holds. I've won the Ted Petty Invitational, Best of the Best, and the inaugural
King of Trios. I've held 33 championships over the last 16 years. I'm never
the biggest dog in the fight...but ya know what? That's never stopped me.
When I get to Reading on Sunday, I might be hurting, but that's not the only thing I'll be. You may be crafty, Ares,
but I'll be faster than you could ever be. And you might be powerful Claudio, but I'll out-think you in that ring at
every turn. And I've got a promise I'll make you, Jushin Liger. I'll make this promise to every fan that comes
to support me this weekend, and to you, Jigsaw - the best tag team partner I've ever had: I will give you my all this weekend. No
matter what life throws at me, no matter how the deck is stacked against me, no matter what the odds...
12/10/2010:
A few weeks ago, I got to see some old friends and familiar faces in Easton. And for the first time
in many, many years, an unusual quintet was back together - the first five graduates of Chikara Wrestle Factory
were under one roof. While some of those guys, like Hallowicked, I might see every week, there are others -
like Mister ZERO, for example - who I hadn't seen in years.
