Q: What is the name of the company: CHIKARA, Chikara Pro Wrestling or Chikara Wrestle Factory?
A: CHIKARA is the name of our wrestling company. The Wrestle Factory is the company-owned training center in Philadelphia, PA. But you'd be amazed how many people get that wrong.

Q: I thought the promotion was called Chikara Pro?
A: Nope. But there is a contingent of fans that liken us to groups such as Michinoku Pro and Osaka Pro, resulting in us often being given the "Pro" tag.

Q: Can I try out for CHIKARA?
A: Not really. However, you can apply to our wrestling school, which is Chikara Wrestle Factory (click here to read more.)

Q: Does CHIKARA only hold events in Pennsylvania?
A: Most of our events are in Pennsylvania, but not all. We have visited Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont a few times each. We've also been as far west as Illinois and Ohio, and as far east as Germany.

Q: I like pudding.
A: That's not a question.

Q: What are "Campeones de Parejas?"
A: That phrase is Spanish for "Tag Team Champions."

Q: What do "points" have to do with title shots?
A: In order to become challengers for CHIKARA's Campeonatos de Parejas (tag team championship), a team must accumulate 3 "points," that is to say, they must win 3 tag team matches governed by CHIKARA, in a row. If a tag team accrues, let's say two points, and then loses a match, they lose all their points and must start over again from zero.

Q: Why does the ref count to twenty when a wrestler is on the floor, instead of ten?
A: Because most CHIKARA matches are conducted under Lucha Libre rules, not Pro-Wrestling rules. The basics of Lucha rules are as follows: Count outs occur when a wrestler fails to return to the ring before a count of twenty. Disqualifications are rendered immediately for lowblows (fouls), or unmasking an opponent. An automatic tag is registered if the legal man in the ring touches the arena floor. These rules also provide for an unusual call named  "castigo excesivo" or "excessive punishment." That is to say, the referee can disqualify a wrestler or team that is not trying to win the match (not attempting any pins or submissions,) but is instead just beating up or attempting to otherwise injure an opponent. While rare, the referee does have the ability to disqualify for excessive punishment under this system of rules.

Q: Did Mike Quackenbush really write a book?
A: Yes, in fact, he's written several. "Fantastic Finishers" came out in 1998 as a special edition of Inside Wrestling magazine, and in 2001 he released "Headquarters." His latest, "Secret Identity" was released in September of 2004. For a period of about ten years, ending in 2008, he also had his work published in magazines like Pro Wrestling Illustrated and The Wrestler.

Q: How do I get on the CHIKARA e-mailing list?
A: Just send an e-mail to chikarawrestling@aol.com and type in the subject header: Add Me!

Q: Why are there so many CHIKARA 6-man (or 8-man) tag team matches?
A: Multiple-man tag matches are our specialty, an artform almost lost here in the United States, and it is an exciting type of match that allows for incredible action, creativity and zaniness. If you think of a wrestling match as a blank canvas, and each wrestler is a color in your paint palette, imagine how much more diverse a painting made with 6 or 8 colors can be than a painting made with just two.

Q: Some of the CHIKARA DVD's I bought came autographed, but not all of them. What's the deal?
A: Beginning with our DVD releases in September of 2008, randomly inserted discs purchased from Smart Mark Video's online store come autographed by the stars of CHIKARA. On average, there are 24 signed discs per event, although there have been instances where wrestlers have signed as many as 48, or as few as nine.

Q: Who can compete in the Young Lions Cup tournament?
A: The current set of regulations state that any wrestler, age 25 or younger at the start of the tournament, is eligible.

Q: Wasn't Colin Delaney once called Colin Olsen?
A: He sure was, back in 2007. Then he spent a large portion of 2008 wrestling for the WWE's ECW brand, and upon his return, for reasons dark and lawyery, he could no longer be called "Colin Olsen."

Q: Is Ichabod Slayne the guy that now wrestles as Icarus?
A: Yes. Ichabod Slayne lost his mask on December 7th, 2002 to Blind Rage, and has since been wrestling without a hood as Icarus.

Q: Didn't Gran Akuma wear a mask?
A: He did, but lost it on November 13th, 2005 to Shane Storm.

Q: I thought the guy that wrestled as Equinox was now called Vin Gerard. So who is this other Equinox?
A: The original Equinox, Vin Gerard, was unmasked on November 17th, 2007 in Hellertown, PA. Since then, Jimmy Olsen has been known to don the Equinox costume and mask, and is the man currently assuming that persona.

Q: May I have some pudding?
A: You didn't say "please."

Q: I want to collect all the songs the wrestlers use for entrances, what are they?
A: Not all of them are commercially available. Some that are include "Hey Sandy" by Polaris (Chuck Taylor theme), "God is God" by Laiboch (Hallowicked theme), "Ants Marching" by Dave Matthews Band (Colony theme), "Blue Monday" by Orgy (Icarus theme), "Tearing the Veil from Grace" by Cradle of Filth (Neo Solar Temple theme), "Octopus' Garden" by The Beatles (Sea Donsters theme), "Break it Down Again" by Tears for Fears (Mike Quackenbush theme), "Beat It" by Michael Jackson (2.0 theme), "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor (Lince Dorado theme) and "Migra" by Santana (Equinox theme).

Q: Some of the CHIKARA DVD covers look like comic book covers, is that a coincidence?
A: Absolutely not. In fact, several web pages discuss the numerous pop culture allusions found in CHIKARA. Our comic book homage DVD covers are the work of Marco D'Alfonso, a Canadian artist and lover of pudding.

Q: Why do the old CHIKARA videos have text bubbles instead of audio commentary?
A: CHIKARA videos are often enjoyed by the hearing-impaired or deaf, and the text bubbles are a way of making sure that even our hearing-impaired friends are included in the fun. Most of our DVD releases feature regular audio commentary.

Q: Whatever happened to Mister ZERO/Dragonfly/Don Montoya/Jolly Roger/BlackJack Marciano/Marshal Law/DJ Skittlez/Private Eye/Rorschach/Tom "Reckless Youth" Carter?
A: All of these wrestlers have left the business due to injury, personal committments and other whatnot. None of them are dead.

Q: Whatever happened to Shane Storm?
A: He is still active on the roster, under the name of STIGMA.

Q: I like the art used on the web page.Who makes all that stuff?
A: The illustrations used on our roster page were created by Marco D'Alfonso, Wiggly, and Shaun Ramkissoon. Artwork submitted to us for display in our gallery is credited as sent to us, and you can find that sort of information by holding your mouse over the image and/or looking in the caption box.

Q: Are there any pictures of the masked wrestlers without their masks on?
A: Of course. Their parents probably have several.