Pro Wrestling Chronicle

Brian Streleckis fills you in on what we’ll be seeing at Chikara’s third annual epic ode to the six-man tag next weekend. Who’s in it, how certain participants have fared in the past tournaments, and how they may fare against each other.

The tournament, to be held Friday the 27th, Saturday the 28th, and Sunday the 29th at The Arena in Philadelphia (with another edition of the fan conclave taking place Saturday afternoon, where fans can meet many of the wrestlers, cut promos with them, play Rock Band with them, and potentially get in the ring with them… no comment), is back down to sixteen trios like it was in 2007 (so forty-eight wrestlers in all). With the tournament field getting downsized from last year’s massive field of twenty-eight trios, Chikara looks to be going for quality over quantity. And what fine quality they have achieved, as several luminaries from ROH, PWG, DDT, and elsewhere will be in action alongside many of the Chikara regulars. With that here’s the skinny on all of this year’s trios and the eight First Round matches they’ll be involved in on Friday (Quarter-Finals take place Saturday, and the Semi-Finals and Finals occur on Sunday).

Team F1rst Wrestling (Arik Cannon & Darin Corbin & Ryan Cruz) vs. Team EPIC WAR (Austin Aries & Tony Kozina & Ryan Drago). Cannon and his two students, also referred to as The F1rst Family, make their return to King of Trios action after falling in the first round to El Generico & The Super Smash Bros., but impressing nonetheless in their high-octane match. These three have plenty of Chikara experience beyond King of Trios. Cannon has won both the Tag World Grand Prix (with Claudio Castagnoli) in 2005 and the Young Lions Cup in 2006, while Cruz & Corbin, The North Star Express, made it to the semi-finals of the 2006 TWGP. The members of Team EPIC WAR, representing the California indy promotion of the same name, are all making their Chikara debut. ROH vet Austin Aries is the obvious standout. Though largely included for his recognition elsewhere and his location in the northeast, he does lay claim to being the first man to hold the WAR title (’04-’05), so they have that going for him. Haven’t seen any of Drago outside of a rapid-fire squash on TNA Impact several years back, but I know Aries and northwest veteran Kozina should match up well with their opponents. Also of note is that Aries and Cannon have some history dating back to match the two had in IWA Mid-South in 2004 in which Aries broke Cannon’s collarbone. I’m thinking Cannon and company will advance based on how well they’ve worked together.

Team Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (El Generico & Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) vs. The Osirian Portal (Amasis & Ophidian & Escorpion Egipcio). Amasis and Ophidian teamed with Mecha Mummy in last year’s King of Trios, but were eliminated in the first round by Mike Quackenbush, Shane Storm, and Jorge Rivera. Now that they have traded in a Japanese visitor for their own muscle straight from Osirus himself and have become the Campeones de Parejas, they’re looking to go much further this year. They’ll have their hands full with the PWG squad. El Generico teamed with the Super Smash Bros. last year, representing the Montreal-based International Wrestling Syndicate, but fell in the second round to Team Mexico. This year, he’s representing his original home in the states, where he once held both the World Title and World Tag Team Titles. Matt and Nick Jackson, The Young Bucks, are the current PWG World Tag Team Champions (so we’ve got a Champions vs. Campeones situation with this match), and have spent some time in Dragon Gate, and they’ll be making their debuts here for not just Chikara, but possibly the east coast in general. Match should be quite fun, especially with El Generico interacting with the Portal again after the fun match he and Kevin Steen had with them back in October for ROH. No clue on who will take it, but I’m leaning towards the established heel trio.

Team Uppercut (Claudio Castagnoli & Dave Taylor & Bryan Danielson) vs. The Roughnecks (Eddie Kingston & Brodie Lee & Grizzly Redwood). Claudio Castagnoli missed last year’s tournament due to Japan commitments, but took part in first King of Trios as a secret third member of Los Ice Creams, attempting to get revenge on F.I.S.T. but ultimately losing to them in the Quarter-Finals. Now, he’s assembled a dream team with two debuting wrestlers – one a veteran of WCW, WWE, and European rings and the other the “best wrestler in the world” that myself, Steve Kriske, and John Philapavage gush over on a regular basis – that utilize the European Uppercut as well as he does. Claudio and Danielson’s feud from ROH has not been hidden by Chikara, as it’s been acknowledged that they’ll bury the hatchet out of respect to Taylor. The Roughnecks faction, which qualified for entry with a victory over Sami Callihan and the Order of the Neo Solar Temple (their were two qualifying matches due to so many teams wanting inclusion), came together late last year as they developed an issue with Incoherence (who they very well could meet up with again if they were to advance). Brodie Lee had a mess of a squad last year – a guidance-lacking Jimmy Olsen and a randomly-chosen Retail Dragon – and subsequently lost in the first round to Cheech & Cloudy & m.c. KZ. Eddie Kingston had better much better luck, making it all the way to the finals last year with his BLK OUT partners of Ruckus and Joker before losing to Team Mexico. He and Brodie make a very enticing (and intimidating) team, while Grizzly is stuck in the background while still trying to be all mean. Between the two teams, Kingston and Claudio have tangled quite a bit over the years, as recently as this past December, and the Claudio-Brodie feud, culminating in their big steel cage match in September, has been well-documented via live reports on this very site. Danielson potentially locking horns with Kingston is something we probably haven’t seen before (I sure haven’t) but should be quite awesome, while Danielson will also be faced by his lil’ buddy Grizzly on the opposite side of the ring. Taylor’s inclusion amongst this lot is the real wild card. I’d like to see Team Uppercut pull out the victory.

Da Soul Touchaz (Willie “Da Bomb” Richardson & Trauma & Marshe Rockett) vs. Team Combat Zone Wrestling (Pinkie Sanchez & Beef Wellington & Greg Excellent). YOOOOU! Of all of the teams that debuted at last year’s King of Trios, nobody left a bigger impression on the Philadelphia fans than Da Soul Touchaz out of the Chicago-area Elite Pro Wrestling. They took everyone by surprise with how well they worked and received a standing ovation and a “Please Come Back” chant following their second round lost to F.I.S.T. After coming back to Chikara for Young Lions Cup VI and the midwest weekend in September, they return to Philadelphia for another shot at becoming the King of Trios. The only difference is that Acid Jaz, part of the original trio last year, is currently sidelined with a leg injury, so fourth Toucha Trauma, who popped up on one of the midwest shows, is stepping in alongside Mr. M-80 and The Urban American Dream, C-Red once again accompanying them to ringside. On the CZW side, Sanchez has popped up a few times since debuting for Chikara at Young Lions Cup VI, while Wellington has only made a handful of appearances in ’05, including as part of the TWGP teaming up with a bear. I have seen none of Excellent, making his Chikara debut, though he and Wellington, under the team name of 2 Girls, 1 Cup, are former two-time CZW Tag Team Champions. Both teams look to be fan favorites in The Arena, but my money’s on the Touchaz, even if Team CZW puts up a good fight, good dance (from Pinkie) or good whatever it may be that may not be so family-friendly (by the other two).

The Death Match Kings (Necro Butcher & Toby Klein & Brain Damage) vs. F.I.S.T. (Icarus & Gran Akuma & Chuck Taylor). The trio of Icarus, Akuma, and Taylor (three of the more decorated men in Chikara with the Campeones de Parejas, the Young Lions Cup, two Torneo Ciberneticos and one Rey de Volidores to their credit) got their start teaming together at the first King of Trios, doing quite well the past two years before losing in the Semi-Finals to Team Japan in 2007 and in the Quarter-Finals to The Colony in 2008. This year, they won the other qualifying match by defeating The Colony, which also resulted in the retirement of poor Worker Ant at the hands of Taylor’s Awful Waffle on the floor. Because of this and other actions in the past (Icarus has forced a few men into retirement himself), F.I.S.T. has been labeled as the most dangerous trio in Chikara. However, the Death Match Kings, led by the Oscar-snubbed Necro Butcher, might take exception to such a moniker. “Mr. Insanity” Toby Klein and the cyborg-looking Brain Damage, established bruisers out of IWA-MS and CZW, are making their Chikara debuts. Necro, a regular in ROH and PWG rings in addition to those other promotions, has some history in Chikara as part of the TWGP in ’05 and ’06 (teaming with Mad Man Pondo and Joker, respectively), infamously putting former ROH students Anthony Franco and Matt Turner through his school of pain. This should be one of the more heated matches in the first round, and Necro and Klein are versatile enough to make it entertaining against the heels, but this is F.I.S.T.’s match to take; they’re out to make a statement.

The Future Is Now (Lince Dorado & Jimmy “Equinox” Olsen & Helios) vs. Team DDT (Kota Ibushi & KUDO & Michael Nakazawa). The newly-formed TFIN trio had varying degrees of success. I already mentioned how Olsen fared, though he’s certainly picked up his game since then in capturing the Young Lions Cup in January. Dorado, who made his Chikara debut in King of Trios ’07 – forming Team Mexico with El Pantera and Sicodelico, Jr., but losing in the semi-finals to Quakenbush, Storm, and Jigsaw – won the whole shebang last year as part of a new Team Mexico with Pantera and Incognito. Helios, the Young Lions Cup Champion this time last year, teamed with then-Campeones de Parejas Incoherence to form The Golden Trio (AKA IncoHelios to fans), making it to the Semi-Finals before losing to BLK OUT by way of a bullshit DQ. The three babyfaces just joined forces in the fall to some success, but appear to be pretty cohesive. They’ll need to be so when up against the Japanese contingent. KUDO has had a lot of experience the past three years in Chikara’s mega-tournaments, making it to the Quarter-Finals of the ’06 TWGP with MIKAMI (losing to the newly formed Incoherence), to the Finals of the ’07 King of Trios with MIYAWAKI and Yoshiaki Yago (losing to Quackenbush, Storm, and Jigsaw), and to the Quarter-Finals of last year’s King of Trios with MIYAWAKI and SUSUMU (losing to BLK OUT). Nakazawa, losing to The Colony in the first round last year as part of Team El Dorado, won over the fans with his baby oil-based antics, and he is a welcome return. Ibushi, amazing many fans with his matches in DDT, its sub-promotion BOYS, NOAH, and ROH, is finally making his Chikara debut after the original plans for his debut (teaming with Pac in Germany for the 2008 TWGP) fell through due to an injury. Myself and many other fans were happy to see this team announced and wish to see more of them by advancing, despite The Future Is Now having the home field advantage.

The Masters of a Thousand Holds (Mike Quakenbush & Jorge Rivera & Johnny Saint) vs. Incoherence (Hallowicked & Frightmare & Delirious). Oh yes. Earlier in the year, as teams for King of Trios were being unveiled, one of the earliest hooks for me to go and pray for nothing to conflict with the shows was the announced participation of Johnny Saint, the legendary British wrestler making his debut in the United States. John Philapavage might be able to say more, having seen more of Saint than I have (I got a small comp disc of his World of Sport days from John though), but what I can say of Saint is that he’s a veteran dating back a couple decades and has been very influential on a lot of current wrestlers (if you’ve seen any of Nigel McGuinness in 2004 or any of Colt Cabana in 2005 and on, a lot of their stuff was inspired by Mr. Saint. Saint hooked up with Quackenbush in the past year or so by having a pair of matches with him under World of Sport rules in Germany, for both wXw and Chikara’s TWGP last year. Now Quack has invited him over for their biggest weekend of the year. Quackenbush has the distinction, alongside of Jigsaw and Shane Storm, of winning the very first King of Trios in ’07. In last year’s tournament, when Rivera returned to team with Quack and Storm, they were upset by Team Mexico. It may only be a pipe dream, but I would really like to see the Finals be set between the Masters and Team Uppercut, two Chikara aces leading four other top- notch wrestlers. The Incoherence faction is nothing to sneeze at, based on how well Hallowicked and Delirious have worked as a unit in the 2006 TWGP (making it to the Semi-Finals before losing to Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli), during their run with the Campeones de Parejas, and their showing in last year’s King of Trios (Delirious was too busy in ROH to compete in the ’07 King of Trios, so Hallowicked teamed with Cheech & Cloudy, only to lose in the Quarter-Finals to Team Mexico). This will be the first time the two will be in trios action with the rookie Frightmare, and they should be pretty damn fun, even though I sadly don’t see them winning against the vastly more experienced opposing trio. Likely to be the match to top on first night.

The Cold Front (Al Snow & Iceberg & Glacier) vs. The UnStable (Vin Gerard & STIGMA & Colin Delaney). HUZZAH for a pun-based team; only Chikara could get away with such a thing. Glacier was the big surprise of last year’s tournament, being the mystery partner of Los Ice Creams and even utilizing their trademark sprinkles in the process, but they lost in the first round to Team Mexico. Al Snow’s story should be well known, from his stints in WWE and ECW to his training wrestlers in Tough Enough and OVW to that one weird, random TNA cameo. Iceberg, a super-heavyweight dude with death match tendencies, was more prominent earlier in the decade. He’s competed in the various NWA and IWA territories and even made brief appearances in the early days of TNA and ROH. Not sure what to expect from this team (anyone know if the Foreman Mills next to The Arena has a surplus of styrofoam heads?), though they’re looking to be the easy first round victims for the top heel faction. The only guy in The UnStable with King of Trios experience is STIGMA, back when he was Shane Storm, including the aforemention tournament victory in ’07. Colin was supposed to team with Jimmy Olsen and Brodie Lee last year, but he was signed by WWE at around the same time and couldn’t make it. Vin Gerard spent last year’s King of Trios stalking The Colony and costing them the tournament, and winning a four-way elimination match over, of all people, Glacier, so we get a little bit of back-story in this match as well.

To finish up, I have my tickets to King of Trios and am really looking forward to it. Certainly helps to talk about everyone who’s in it ahead of time so I don’t have to run down all of their names again when I provide some quick live reports. I’m hoping to make it the Fan Conclave as well after missing out on last year’s addition, which we only got a taste of in a Podcast-A-Go-Go. Should be another awesome weekend.