Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore is a diamond in the rough in the wrestling world. 100%. The Innovator of Violence could have easily built a cash grab promotion filled with wrestling has beens but House of Hardcore is anything but. Dreamer typically stacks the card with I-can’t-believe-my-eyes matches that you’d see no where else. Yes, there are Legends featured on most shows but they’re used in a such a way to entertain, celebrate history and contribute to the current landscape of professional wrestling. Here are just some matches put on by HOH in the past:
London & Kendrick vs The Young Bucks at HOH
John Morrison vs 2 Cold Scorpio at HOH 2
AJ Styles vs Kevin Steen at HOH V
The Young Bucks vs The Hardys at HOH VII
Sabu vs Abyss at HOH 11
RVD vs Chris Hero at HOH 12
Rhino vs Moose at HOH 14
Each of those matches was surrounded on the card by legends, TNA guys, NXT guys, former WWE guys and other independent wrestling stars. In 4 years, Dreamer has only done 16 of these shows with 17 and 18 happening this weekend in St. James, NY and Philadelphia, PA. The discipline required to go for quality over quantity is remarkable and infinitely respectable. Dreamer is more than likely breaking even on these super shows. But the fans are making out like bandits. See this weekend’s cards below.
Down the road, before House of Hardcore rocks Philly, Chikara is following up their annual King of Trios event with a gargantuan card of their own. Chikara Grand Champion Hallowicked defends his title against CWC star and Wrestle Factory trainer, Drew Gulak. Colony members Fire Ant and Silver take on Nazmaldun devotees Icarus and Mark Angelosetti. These four homegrown stars have had some of the best matches in Chikara history, so Saturday will be a treat for sure. Also in action are Princess Kimber Lee vs Solo Darling, Worker Ant & Bullet Ant vs Juan Francisco De Coronado and Wani and several other yet to be announced matches. Does all that sound like gibberish to you because you’re not familiar with Chikara? It’s ok, the shows are worth seeing no matter what. Seek out a member of the Chikarmy (a Chikara fan) on Saturday and they’ll fill you in!
Need more? Well good news Philadelphia, House of Hardcore is at 7pm. Chikara is at 3PM. And Icons of Wrestling has your morning handled from 9AM-3PM. The convention lineup of this year’s Icons is insane. Sting, Bret Hart, Terry Funk, Million Dollar Man, Steiners, Harlem Heat, Matt Hardy, Ricochet and about two dozen others! Full details below. Let’s recap your options!
Friday September 16th
House of Hardcore 17
8PM-11PM
The Sports Arena
620 Middle Country Road
St. James, NY 11780
GA Tickets starts at $30
Card
Rhino vs Dreamer
Matt Hardy vs Aaron Stevens (Sandow)
Tony Nese vs Ricochet
Pat Buck vs Brian Meyers
and much more!
Saturday September 17th
Icons of Wrestling
9AM-3PM
2300 Arena (fka ECW Arena)
2300 S. Swanson St.
Philadelphia, PA 19148
Entrance fee is $20
Each autograph is extra
(Usually $20-50)
See IoW site for details
Line-Up
Sting
Bret Hart
Terry Funk
Ryback
Santino
Ray Leppan (fka Adam Rose)
The Steiner Bros
Nasty Boys
Harlem Heat
Tully Blanchard
Tammy Sytch aka Sunny
Raven
and a lot more!
Chikara’s The Black Goodbye
3PM-5/5:30?
The Wrestle Factory
4711 Wingate St.
Philadelphia, PA 19136
Tickets are $20
Kids under 12 are free with paying adult
Featuring
Hallowicked vs Drew Gulak
Worker Ant/Bullet Ant vs De Coronado/Wani
Princess Kimberlee vs Solo Darling
Fire Ant/Silver Ant vs Icarus/Mark Angelosetti
House of Hardcore 18
7PM-11PM
2300 Arena
2300 S. Swanson St.
Philadelphia, PA 19148
GA Tickets start at $30
Card
Dreamer vs Hardy
Ricochet vs Sami Callahan
Chris Hero vs Tony Nese
Brian Myers (Final HOH Appearance before WWE return)
Many more surprises!
