Toward the end of 2012, things didn’t seem to be right with Wink Vavasseur. A video surfaced of his father Conrad berating his son for the use of Condor Security. Conrad’s employer, Titor Conglomerate, seemingly swooped in and saved Chikara from Die Bruderschaft des Kreuze and everyone was too relieved to bother to ask why. When Wink started tearing the company apart, everyone chalked it up to his naive inexperience. However, something more malevolent was at work. A blog called “No Private Army” emerged appearing to be your run-of-the-mill conspiracy theorist forum until it started making considerable mention of Titor. In early 2013, the guy who ran the NPA blog appeared at a Chikara event and handed an envelope to Mike Quackenbush. The next day, Quackenbush was no longer with the company and his existence was wiped off the website. Later, Derek Sabato (who was released from the company) emerged at Aniversario with the envelope and publicly released its contents (linking Titor to some shady dealings). Following this, Chikara was shut down during Icarus and Eddie Kingston’s match, so far as the ring even being torn down just after the pair was removed by Condor.
Fan backlash at the sudden end to Chikara was monumental. Chikara was a company growing steadily every year, its fanbase becoming more and more engrossed with the company’s unique level of storytelling. Many began to speculate the Titor storyline was somehow a plant to legitimately shutdown operations. People who followed Chikara just through the DVDs were heart broken, finding something they grew to love seemingly taken from them without warning. It seemed as many people who were tearing down the company for how it ended equaled those who rallied to try and bring it back. All the while, the “Wrestling Is” promotions continued. The majority of the Chikara cast performed at these shows. In fact, the Tag World Grand Prix was held at a series of Wrestling is Fun! events. Further, the performer who portrayed the various Archibald Pecks and R.D. Evans introduced a new character in Latvian Proud Oak at Wrestling in Fun! at one of their May programs. It would be at the “Wrestling Is” events another story element was introduced to the ongoing Chikara narrative.
During a Wrestling Is Intense show in September, the Gekido appeared and tore down the set. This was followed by the faux Dr. Cube killing Wrestling Is Awesome. Later, Sinn Bodhi, his new troops the Odditorium (Qefka the Quiet and Oliver Grimsley), and Dr. Cube’s forces shutdown Wrestling Is Art. Next at Wrestling Is Cool, Die Bruderschaft des Kreuze ended the program. Ugly sweater Dr. Cube, the Gekido, and a recent Rudo stable called the Wrecking Crew (who decapitated Dragon Dragon at a Wrestling Is Fun! event) finished Wrestling Is Respect. As all of this was going down, Icarus was trying to bring the band back together in a series of videos on YouTube called The Ashes of Chikara (elements of which compared to Watchmen by fans). In his quest, Icarus tried to recruit Mike Quackenbush who appeared to be a broken man unable to even help himself (watching old Max Moon matches). Hallowicked had taken over the Wrestle Factory while Quackenbush turned into a veritable hermit, pledging himself and his new students Private Eye Jr., Kid Cyclone, and Equinox III to Icarus’ cause. Chuck Taylor had no interest in returning, Tim Donst remains haunted by his actions and harm he did to Jakob Hammermeier (working for a furniture retailer, likely the one he tried to kill Hallowicked in), and Eddie Kingston was more interested in paying his bills than joining a cause.
Other Ashes videos revealed 3.0 seeking out Archibald Peck (who appeared briefly when Condor tore down the wrestling ring at Aniversario), finding him in Parts Unknown (with a room compared to Rip Hunter’s chalkboard in 52) where Peck revealed Chikara’s fate couldn’t be reversed due to the time/space effects of Parts Unknown (until he realized he possessed blueprints for a flux capacitor). Fire Ant and Green Ant desperately sought out Soldier Ant, crossing paths with UltraMantis Black who revealed they weren’t very good friends to either Soldier Ant or assailANT (the latter they abandoned, still unable to trust him). The Colony would also visit Worker Ant, now confined to a wheelchair, who gave them his uniform to pass it on to someone worthy. As for assailANT, he was training with Jervis Cottonbelly at the Factory when deviANT and the Colony XTREME Force attacked, kidnapping Cottonbelly and ordering assailANT to burn the building down. assailANT refused and was beaten for his troubles.
