1. Icarus
Is there a stranger story in all of CHIKARA than that of Icarus? For the longest time he was one of CHIKARA's main rudos, a man despised by the crowd not for any of his actions, not even for any of his claims, but purely because of who he was. Sure, the tattoo on his back didn't help, but Icarus was a man who would receive 'Worst in the World' chants from crowds, without a hint of irony. Then, as CHIKARA began to unravel, something strange happened. Icarus became the flame keeping the promotion alive, the last hero of a seemingly lost cause. It was Icarus who was about to win the Grand Championship when Condor Security shut down the company indefinitely. It was Icarus who rallied the troops to return, Icarus who led the fight against The Flood at National Pro Wrestling Day in 2014. Somehow, the man who was never taken seriously, the man who was derided by all and sundry became the beloved conquering hero. Rags to riches indeed. Icarus is the most CHIKARA or all CHIKARA wrestlers. Along with Hallowicked and UltraMantis Black he was among the first graduates of the CHIKARA wrestling school. He has won everything except the Young Lions Cup. He has an absolutely terrible record in Luchas de Apuestats (Mask vs. Hair, Hair vs. Hair) matches, currently at 0-3, although he has been a heel on each occasion and that is how such matches should end. Still, Icarus is integral to the history of CHIKARA, integral to the present of CHIKARA and integral to the future of CHIKARA.
John Bills
Contributor
Born in the middle of Wales in the middle of the 1980's, John can't quite remember when he started watching wrestling but he has a terrible feeling that Dino Bravo was involved. Now living in Prague, John spends most of his time trying to work out how Tomohiro Ishii still stands upright. His favourite wrestler of all time is Dean Malenko, but really it is Repo Man. He is the author of 'An Illustrated History of Slavic Misery', the best book about the Slavic people that you haven't yet read. You can get that and others from www.poshlostbooks.com.
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