Pro Wrestling Chronicle

Chikara’s biggest event of the year is set in motion, and Brian Streleckis provides the details on the teams and what we could expect over the weekend.

This year’s King of Trios weekend will follow the same format as last year’s King of Trios, which proved to be most ideal. Sixteen 3-man tandems will take part in the three-night tournament. The first night, Friday the 23rd, will consist entirely of the eight First Round matches. Saturday night the 24th will have the four Quarter-Final matches. Plus the Rey de Voladores tournament will be held again during the same weekend with two four-way elimination matches on Saturday consisting of both wrestlers eliminated from King of Trios and wrestlers who are just there for RdV. Sunday the 25th in the afternoon will see the culmination of King of Trios with the Semi-Finals and Finals, the RdV Finals with the two winners from Saturday, and the ever-popular tag team elimination gauntlet. I’d expect maybe two additional matches added to both Saturday and Sunday, once again giving each night a sturdy 8-match card. Also, the Fan Conclave returns Saturday afternoon, with some karaoke included this time.

All that said, the first round of King of Trios has been announced, though the bracketing will remain a secret until after the first round has completed.

Team Perros del Mal (El Oriental & Alebrije & Cuije) vs. Team Delicioso (Curry Man & Los Ice Creams). Two of the more unique teams in the tournament could very well provide the most entertaining match in the first round. Ice Cream, Jr. and El Hijo del Ice Cream previously teamed with Claudio Castagnoli in 2007 and Glacier in 2008, but both pairings ended in early eliminations. Originally, they were to team with the popular exotico Cassandro, but after he broke his tibia at ROH’s Big Bang iPPV, Cassandro selected a new team captain, the ever popular Curry Man! God help us, I hope Chikara doesn’t play that music that Mike Tenay, for so many weeks, claimed we couldn’t resist dancing to. On the opposite side, El Oriental is making his return to Chikara after an absence of several years (he was supposed to compete on the two midwest shows in September 2008, but pulled out due to other bookings), while the monster pairing of Alebrije and Cuije will make their debut. The uniqueness of this team is that, while Alebrije may be a legit monster, Cuije is a much smaller one a 3 feet, seven inches. I expect a good amount of humor, but I don’t know who could advance. Both teams could provide some good fodder for Rey de Voladores.

Team Osaka Pro (Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada & Tadasuke) vs. The UnStable (Vin Gerard & STIGMA & Colin Delaney). As taught to us by the Chikara folk, Kotoge & Harada are currently the Osaka Pro Tag Team Champions, and have previously teamed with Tadasuke before in a faction called “Blood & Guts.” I haven’t seen anything from these three, but Osaka Pro talent that has come to Chikara in the past (from Ebessan & Billy Ken Kid to Masamune) has usually been dependable. The veteran UnStable team made it all the way to the Semi-Finals last year before getting eliminated by Team Uppercut (Claudio Castagnoli, Dave Taylor, and Bryan Danielson), plus STIGMA was part of the winning trio in 2007 when he was Shane Storm. They’ve been kind of on a downswing since last year’s King of Trios while other mega-heels emerged, but I can see them advancing here.

The F1rst Family (Arik Cannon & Darin Corbin & Ryan Cruz) vs. Bruderschaft des Kreuzes (Tim Donst & Lince Dorado & Pinkie “Pink Ant” Sanchez). The contingent from Minnesota’s F1rst Wrestling return for a third year, after getting ousted in Quarter-Finals last year by F.I.S.T. and in the first round the year before that by El Generico and the Super Smash Bros. Their matches have always been fun to watch regardless. The BDK team of junior heavyweights benefits from having Dorado, who won the 2008 tournament for Team Mexico (himself, El Pantera, and Incognito) and made it to the Semi-Finals as part of the Future is Now. Sanchez, as part of Team CZW, was eliminated by Da Soul Touchaz in last year’s tournament, and Donst didn’t even get to compete in last year’s tournament. Since then, they’ve claimed a Torneo Cibernetico victory and the Young Lions Cup respectively, and just about any BDK team can be formidable. At first, I would expect the visiting team to lose, but Cannon and the North Star Express are always good for multiple matches in this tournament. Plus, with another, stronger BDK trio in the tournament, I could see this trio getting ousted and relegated to heeling it up in Rey de Voladores.

Team Big Japan Wrestling (Daisuke Sekimoto & Kankuro Hoshino & Yuji Okabayashi) vs. Team Frightning (Mike Quackenbush & Hallowicked & Incoherence). Quack was part of the winning team in 2007, but his team has fallen in the Semi-Finals the past two years. The trio that his team last year (with Jorge Rivera and Johnny Saint) eliminated in the first round was the Incoherence faction of Delirious, Hallowicked, and Frightmare. Now, Quack has found himself teaming with two-thirds of that faction after a successful venture teaming up on the first EVOLVE show (and because all of his previous partners are busy). The Big Japan trio marks the return to Chikara for powerhouses Sekimoto Okabayashi since the Global Gauntlet in October 2008, where they both tangled with Quack. Hoshino, a relative newcomer to Big Japan, makes his Chikara debut. Very cool to see Sekimoto come back after his very impressive display last year. I could see this going either way.

F.I.S.T. (Gran Akuma & Icarus & Chuck Taylor) vs. The Throwbacks (Dasher Hatfield & Sugar Dunkerton & Matt Classic). F.I.S.T. are reigning King of Trios from last year, going through everybody from Necro Butcher to Bryan Danielson to win the medals. To kick off their quest for a repeat this year, they’re taking on the beloved Dasher & Sugar and honorary (and ornery) Throwback Matt Classic, all of whom will be competing in their first King of Trios. Again, there should be some very entertaining stuff here, but also some serious competition seeing how (A) Classic is a serious competitor (dag nabbit!), and (B) the Throwbacks have gotten the better of F.I.S.T. (Icarus & Taylor specifically) in traditional tag team action back in the fall on two occasions. I don’t see them having similar luck here.

The Future is Now (Jigsaw & Jimmy “Equinox” Olsen & Helios) vs. The Jackson 3 (Nick & Matt & Malachi Jackson). Flippity-do. After making it to the Semi-Finals with Dorado, Olsen and Helios will now team up with Jigsaw, who has been absent from the past two tournaments since winning the inaugural 2007 tournament with Quack and Shane Storm. Nick & Matt Jackson (or Jeremy & Max Buck if you please, but please don’t), made their Chikara and east coast debuts at last year’s tournament, forming Team PWG with El Generico, but falling in the first round and left to do other stuff. Now, the Youngest Buck Malachi will follow in his brothers’ footsteps. Kind of a tossup again, but I’ll give the advantage to the home team.

The Colony (Fire Ant & Soldier Ant & Green Ant) vs. Johnny Gargano & Aeroform (Flip Kendrick & Louis Lyndon). Gargano & Aeroform, all regulars in EVOLVE and to an extent Dragon Gate USA, gained entry into King of Trios after winning the Jack of All Trios tournament put on by Absolute Intense Wrestling in Ohio last weekend. The unit that was dubbed “Team Oreo” by AIW’s fans made it through 15 other trios of midwest wrestlers, including Da Soul Touchaz, and look to proudly represent AIW against an additional, more eclectic 15 trios. Gargano made a few Chikara appearances before in 2008, including Young Lions Cup VI, but Aeroform are making their Chikara debuts. The Colony last competed in the tournament in 2008, back when it included Worker Ant, but they fell in the Semi-Finals to Team Mexico. They were boxed out of the tournament last year by F.I.S.T., also marking Worker Ant’s farewell. This year, with Green Ant doing his damnedest as part of the trio, I’m officially predicting that the Colony takes it this year. After months of BDK’s tyranny, it’ll be a nice feather in Chikara’s cap in the war.

Bruderschaft des Kreuzes (Claudio Castagnoli & Ares & Tursas) vs. Team Mexico (Jorge “Skayde” Rivera & Turbo & El Valiente). If the Colony doesn’t win the tournament, than the most obvious alternative would be the BDK heavyweight trio. This particular trio has been on a tear since January, highlighted by Claudio & Ares winning Los Campeonatos de Parejas from the Colony last month. Tournament-wise, Claudio made it to the Finals of last year’s King of Trios, where he and Team Uppercut lost to F.I.S.T. Rivera takes the Team Mexico mantle after taking part in a team with Quack the last two years but falling in the Semi-Finals both times. This year, he teams with his protege Turbo, who debuted in 2008 and has some scant Dragon Gate experience, and CMLL’s El Valiente. For a sample of what El Valiente could bring to the proceedings, get a load of this highlight video and salivate. Makes the similarly-shaped Super Crazy look like a punk. Again, guys like him and Turbo could still serve well in Rey de Voladores, so more than ever I see Claudio and company taking this match.

4/23 AM Update: Well, this match isn’t happening. El Valiente has another booking tonight with CMLL. Obviously steamed with the situation and likely tired of getting burned by lucha talent, Chikara has severed all ties with Jorge Rivera, so he, Valiente, and Turbo, are out of the tournament. Rough goings. Time to break out the hat again! Furthermore, Claudio & Ares are stuck in Europe due to the volcano in Iceland and are expected to fly back this morning. I don’t see them making it in time, so either they get a bye into the next round (they have the stroke), or Daizee Haze & Sara Del Rey (if available) are plugged into the team with Tursas.

I’ve purchased my tickets for all three nights long beforehand, plus I’ll check out the Conclave. I will provide results on the site, and I hope to take a bunch of pictures to put up on the site separately.