Chikara King of Trios Night One DVD Review

-Taped from Easton, PA

-Your hosts are of numerous members of the Chikara roster and staff

Match in Five Words or Less: NEW ENTRANCE!

Match Highlights: Hey, the entranceway is different as we’ve got an old school WCW feel going. Colony have broken out new tights in honor of the tournament. You know it’s a special occasion because Jon Barber got a haircut. Get it? Barber… haircut. Green Ant holds his arms up. Quick kick by Chisako. Green Ant controls her on the mat. Chisako rolls her up. Waistlock but back elbows by Chisako. Headlock but Green Ant manages a crucifix pin. Back to the headlock goes Green Ant. Sweep of the leg by Chisako. Green Ant counters. Dropkick by Chisako. She hammers out of a bearhug. Dropkick by Chisako. Running blockbuster. Tag to Sachiko. Running kick on Fire Ant. Shoulder tackle by Fire Ant. Springboard out of the armdrag. Sachiko sends him out. assailANT sends her out. Satomura with a forearm. assailANT fires back. Turns into an exchange. Uppercut by Satomura. Tag back to Sachiko. Running boot and kicks to the back. Running headbutt by assailANT. Elbow into the knee bar. Fire Ant tags in. Whip in the corner. Snapmare and an elbow drop for two. Green Ant comes in for a double team. Green Ant twists Sachiko around. Snapmare followed by a running splash. Fire Ant hits a snap suplex. He kips up and hits a running senton. Headbutt but assailANT. He works the arm and the crowd is not impressed with his efforts. Series of shoulder blocks. Green Ant whips Sachiko. She ends up on the middle rope. Boot and rana. Satomura with a European uppercut. Chisako and Sachiko come in for a double team. Incredible combo of quickness. Green Ant breaks the count. assailANT comes in for a double team. Green Ant hits a running elbow. Satomura misses a kick. Fire Ant does not. Brainbuster. 1-2-NO! Satomura blocks a Beachbreak and suplexes him down. Kick to the head leads to a two count. Uranagi by assailANT. Sachiko tries a whip. Elbow by assailANT in the corner. Six feet of fury in the corner. Sachiko’s head did not look good. Green Ant with a cloverleaf. Chisako breaks the hold with a running acecrusher. Green Ant dropkicks both ladies. DOUBLE BODYSLAM! Cover on Chisako gets two. assailANT comes in. Green Ant doesn’t look happy. Shoving match. Green Ant headbutts his partner. Kicks from Satomura. One for assailANT as well. Green Ant left alone. Sachiko hits a moonsault. Chisako hits a frog splash. Sendai Girls pick up the victory and advance to the quarterfinals.

Match Analysis: Great way to kick off the tournament with a victory for the Sendai Girls in a fun match. There was a little bit of storyline with dissension contained in the Colony, but it was kept to a minimum, and we really just had a chance to focus on a fun match.

Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Satomura, DASH Chisako, and Sendai Sachiko/12:30/***1/4/***1/4

-Kobald says who they are and his screaming is still really annoying. They’re going to be the King of Trios this year. Kobald says Delirious is a genius and refers to Ophidian as a commander. Ophidian says their overlord’s orders are to make sure Ultramantis’s dreams are not executed. Ophidian says Mantis needs to beware. Kobald says the world will be destroyed in the most cartoony way possible.

Match in Five Words or Less: Chikarabrmetrics Fails Again

Match Highlights: Loving the toilet paper for the Batiri as it makes sense given Kobald’s finisher. Parker elbow drops a sign he’s so excited. Kobald has new gear. Less greminly and more menacing. A positive change in my opinion. Obaryion and Kodama attack 3.0. Double jabs from Parker and Matthews. Double elbows. Akuma clotheslines both men. Kick by Kobald on Matthews. Matthews reverses. Backbreaker and a running knee by Parker. Kodama whipped in the corner. Splash and double team back elbow by 3.0. Akuma springboards off Parker into a splash. Obaryion and Kodama attack again. They isolate Akuma. Kodama chokes Akuma along the middle rope. Kodama uses the toilet paper on Akuma. Boot from Obaryion. Elbow misses but a flying forearm doesn’t. Kobald bites Akuma’s back. Double chops and a seated senton. Kodama with a headbutt in the back. Back suplex. Series of headbutts and 3.0 get decked. Obaryion chokes Akuma with his foot. Snapmare into a chinlock. Akuma elbows out. Obaryion hits a knee to the midsection. Whip front first goes Akuma. Springboard rana by Kodama. Leg kicks by Akuma. To the body he goes. Whip. Release German suplex. Hot tag to Parker. Flying forearm on Kobald. Leg lariat on Kodama. Obaryion kicks him. Parker slides to the stage. Matthews hits a headscissors! Kodama gets one. Obaryion blocks one and sends Matthews to the outside. Akuma manages to get one though. Kobald gets blocked. Akuma drives his midsection into his knees. 1-2-NO! Kodama breaks the count. Headbutts and a strike. Leg kick by Akuma. Forearm by Kodama. Spin kick by Akuma. Duck of the clothesline. Drop toehold into the knee of Obaryion. Double dropkicks. They cover. 1-2-NO! 3.0 break the count. Obaryion tossed to the stage by Matthews. Boots from Kodama on Parker. Kobald follows up with a spear. Matthews can’t pull him away. Back kick. Obaryion hits a leaping DDT. 1-2-NO! Akuma breaks the count. Kick blocked. Obaryion with a kick to the head. Reverse Go 2 Sleep. Parker immediately breaks the count. Samoan drop. Matthews with a powerbomb. 1-2-NO! Into the Boston crab. Kodama with a running dropkick. He sends him down. Elbow by Kobald. Akuma drives Kobald front first into turnbuckle. He goes to the top rope. Kodama tosses Akuma into the waiting knee of Obaryion. Save made by 3.0. Parker dropkicks Kodama out. Double team work. Kobald is on the top rope. Kicks. Parker launches Kobald into the spear of Matthews. Not pretty but it almost worked. Parker tripped up. Matthews puts Kobald down. Obaryion with a running knee. Akuma lifts Kodama up. Ref gets take out. Running DVD. Ophidian hits a double knees, and the referee peeked too early. He clearly saw that. There’s your first clip Maffew. Kobald hits a Demon’s Toilet. Batiri win.

Match Analysis: Up until the finish, this was going along reasonably well. Then the referee saw the interference and completely took me out of the moment. On the plus side, Obaryion and Kodama are coming into their own as a team while Akuma seemed to have good chemistry with 3.0. As much as I dislike Chikarabrmetrics, I hope these three can stay together in some form or fashion. They actually match up better than you’d expect. Solid second match on the card.

Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Obaryion, Kodama, and Kobald/11:08/***/***

-Team Osaka pro introduces themselves. Kikutaro takes pictures.

Match in Five Words or Less: LOL

Match Highlights: This is actually the third version of Ebessan as Kikutaro was the original version. I’d expect a lot of shenanigans and a very different FIST/Osaka Pro match after the last two years of greatness. Sugar Dunkerton is at ringside in new FIST tights. Keep that in mind. Takoyakida introduces himself and starts the match with Taylor. He endears himself to the crowd and wants a good clean fight. He offers his hand. Taylor boots him. Gargano loves it. Whip across and an armdrag. Takoyakida fails on an armdrag. Chop exchange. Taylor cowers from a punch. Kick. Takoyakida tells him to kiss his butt. Dropkick sends Taylor out. Ebessan takes his turn as Taylor takes a seat. Icarus teases entering and taking his jacket off, but Gargano comes in to battle Ebessan. Ebessan talks garbage at Gargano. Gargano does not understand a word. Left hand. Ebessan is not impressed. Another one. Nothing. A third one. Ebessan hits himself and then cowers. Gargano covers and gets two. Whip to the corner. Cross body by Ebessan. Boot by Gargano. Flying shoulder tackle by Ebessan. Here comes the man of the hour, Kikutaro. And of course it’s Icarus to match up with him. Icarus plays with the crowd. Off comes the jacket and he’s wearing a shirt that says “Best in the World.” Amazing. Icarus is the best. And by best I mean worst. Shirt comes off and he tosses it at Kikutaro. Headlock. Off the ropes with a shoulder block. Apparently this DVD contains a gun show. POSEDOWN! Shoulder tackle sends Kikutaro into the ropes. He’s stuck. Taunting kick by Kikutaro. Icarus leapfrogs but Kikutaro doesn’t go under. Then they both leapfrog. Icarus isn’t happy. They’re calling spots in the ring. Icarus misses a dropkick. Triple team by Osaka Pro. Double drop toehold. Ebessan grabs a camel clutch. Takoyakida has a pair of glasses that he puts on Icarus’s head. Kikutaro goes in the ring and takes a picture. That’s his fault. He was sending a tweet. Ebessan shows Icarus to each side. Shot by Icarus. Taylor with a boot. Ebessan with a flying forearm. Elbow by Gargano. Forearm by Ebessan. Icarus yells at Sugar Dunkerton to trip Osaka Pro. Dunkerton trips Icarus. Of course that would happen. Kikutaro teases a dive. He slaps Icarus in the back, but he does it in a way that Icarus thinks Dunkerton did it. Icarus leaps into Dunkerton’s arms. Takoyakida actually does plancha on top of Icarus. Icarus sent in the ring. Double boots by Taylor and Gargano. Taylor bodyslams him. Elbow drop. Heat segment on Ebessan continues. Boots out of the corner by Ebessan. Back elbow to the chin. Kikutaro comes on and immediately gets bodyslammed. FIST takes turn slamming him, but Kikutaro no sells… and then collapses. Gargano covers for two. Whip to the corner. Charge misses. Chop by Kikutaro. Some Ric Flair strutting. Bulldog blocked as Kikutaro is sent knee first. Forearm and superkick by Gargano. 1-2-NO! Punch blocked. Slap by Kikuaro. He climbs the ropes and then crotches himself. Gargano is completely confused. Chop exchange. Taylor takes Icarus up and over. Drop toehold into the middle turnbuckle. Triple dropkick. Taylor covers. Osaka makes the save. Gargano sends Takoyakida out of the ring. Gargano chops Kikutaro in the corner and also does a strut. Powerslam by Kikutaro. Elbow drop by Taylor. Dragon screw legwhips for everyone! Shining wizard blocked by Gargano. Enziguri. Shining wizard! Ebessan with chops on Taylor. Chop off the ropes. Series of kicks. DDT but Taylor doesn’t go down. Soul Food. Taylor does the Tatanka call. Uranagi by Ebessan. Takoyakida has some fun with Icarus and steps on his toes. Double chops. Whip. Running clothesline by Takoyakida. Icarus has a punch blocked. Chop hits. Icarus with a forearm and slam off the top rope. Pedigree. Save by Kikutaro and Ebessan. Taylor and Gargano send them out. O’Connor roll. Icarus with a cheap shot with the comb of Dunkerton. Icarus rolls Takoyakida up and gets the victory.

Match Analysis: How do you even begin to rate a match like this? This was just great fun. Pure and simple. FIST winning was ultimately the right decision since they can have better matches moving forward, but if nothing else, we got a lot of yuks out of these six guys. Very different type of match but I couldn’t imagine Osaka Pro and FIST managing to have another match on the level of the ones the last two years without Atsushi Kotoge.

Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Icarus, Chuck Taylor, and Johnny Gargano/21:02/**1/2/***1/2

Match in Five Words or Less: combatANT… Done

Match Highlights: Quack took out 17 at the last show, and he vowed to end combatANT’s Chikara career in a three word blog. deviANT yells at Soldier Ant to stop saluting and being his usual jovial self. Shard is at ringside. The other Swarm members tell Soldier Ant to get in the ring. Jigsaw tells Quack to focus because of what happened in Indianapolis with 17. Soldier Ant starts Quack. Feeling out process. Soldier ANT salues while applying a headscissors. Quack grabs the saluting arm. Soldier Ant salutes even as Quack pulls his arm. Armdrag and a salute. Quack goes after deviANT and combatANT on the apron. Quack with an armdrag. STF attempt but Quack transitions into a roll-up. Takedown. Quack holds onto the left leg. Soldier Ant kicks away. Sweep and an armdrag. Into a roll-up. Quack goes for a choke. Soldier Ant puts his foot on the bottom rope. Quack takes him down. Leg sweep. Toyota hits a dropkick off the top rope. Axe kick on deviANT. Boot misses. Running knee. Senton misses. Toyota hits a German suplex. 1-2-NO! Jigsaw comes in. Rolling forearm by combatANT misses. Jigsaw hits a running rana. Back elbow. Leaping pele kick gets two. combatANT whipped in the corner. Running knee. Suplex. Quack with a springboard splash. Double stomp by Jigsaw. Quack goes for a submission. deviANT breaks that up. Boot and forearms from combatANT. Series of kicks by Quack. combatANT whipped. Toyota sent feet first. Quack hits a springboard double knee set. Cannonball senton. Jigsaw hits a double stomp as Quack holds combatANT. Kick to the upper body. Shard grabs Jigsaw’s leg. Bicycle kick combatANT. Swarm work over Jigsaw. Jigsaw gets into a forearm exchange by deviANT. Knee by deviANT as Jigsaw was about to make the tag. Soldier Ant hits a forearm… on deviANT. Roll-up on Jigsaw gets two. Series of nearfall exchanges. Soldier Ant grabs an ankle lock. Jigsaw counters. combatANT kicks him in the head. Soldier Ant is displeased. He leaves the ring. Jigsaw counters a suplex attempt. combatANT with back elbows. Off the ropes and a clothesline misses. Shard trips Jigsaw. Soldier Ant and he get into a shoving match. combatANT grabs Jigsaw’s ankle. Elbow drop to the back. Moonsault misses. Toyota tags. Quack doesn’t look happy. Toyota rolls combatANT around. 1-2-NO! Toyota ties combatANT up. Running dropkick in the lower back. deviANT attacks. Toyota with a boot out of the corner. Dropkick again hits off the top rope. Soldier Ant misses a clothesline. Pair of boots. Axe kick in the back of the head. German suplex. 1-2-NO! Quack tags. Soldier Ant whipped. Double palm strikes. Jigsaw hits a Michinoku driver. 1-2-NO! Swarm have a conference on the outside. Quack hits a springboard dive onto all four members of the Swarm. Toyota hits a pumphandle something or other. She drops him right on his head regardless. combatANT breaks the count. TKO. 1-2-NO! Jigsaw superkicks combatANT. deviANT kicks him in the back. Soldier Ant sends deviANT out of the ring. Burning hammer on Jigsaw. 1-2-NO! Soldier Ant climbs to the top rope. Toyota meets him. deviANT rips her off. Big boot. Quack hits Quackendriver 2. Jigsaw hits a double stomp. Quack hits a swanton. Moonsault by Toyota ends deviANT’s and the Swarm’s tournament hopes.

Quack chokes combatANT out immediately after the match. Jigsaw misses the choke, but combatANT is dead to rights in the ring. Jigsaw shoves Quack and confronts him. Quack says they’re protecting something. Jigsaw even shoves Soldier Ant and says it’s none of his business. DRAMA! CONFLICT!

Match Analysis: Well, judging by the dwindling numbers of Gekido members, it appears the storyline is going to be ending soon. The transition is fairly simple as Quack is delving deeply into insanity. His actions are that of the rudo. He’s embracing the darkside of himself, and we’re in for a big time storyline if Quack pulls the trigger and goes after someone like Soldier Ant or Jigsaw. The match itself was quite good. Ironically, just as they are seemingly being written out of storylines, that’s when we’re seeing the best of combatANT and deviANT. Good work out of both teams here.

Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw, and Manami Toyota/14:34/***1/4/***1/4

Match in Five Words or Less: Angelosetti = Jay Cutler

Match Highlights: Veronica is now dressed as a cheerleader as opposed to a majorette. Classic has been pinned in the first round of Trios the last two years. This time, Angelosetti is on the team and has already achieved success with the Young Lion’s Cup. Crowd chants for Archie before the match begins. Angelosetti warms Hatfield up as Classic is clearly disgusted. Hatfield shakes the hand of Yoneyama. Quick slam. Hatfield rolls behind her but won’t slap her in the butt. Hatfield catches Yoneyama and drops her. Yoneyama bridges out and ends up on top for two. Hatfield tells her to stop as he’s out of breath. He asks if she knows what baseball is. Classic walks to the back. Hatfield throws a pitch. Yoneyama misses. Well, Japan has better baseball fundamentals than Americans I’m told. Yoneyama swings and misses again. Yoneyama strikes out. Hatfield looks guilty. Hug turns into a roll-up by Yoneyama. She offers a hug again. Hatfield rolls her up for two. Shoving between the two. Third time is the charm. Classic comes back and isn’t happy. Angelosetti isn’t happy either. Angelosetti comes in to battle Bolshoi. He calls for a three point stance. He gives her a stiff arm. All around and a headscissors by Bolshoi. Boot. She ascends to the top rope and walks the ropes. Armdrag on Angelosetti and a headscissors on Hatfield. Kuragaki shoulder tackles Angelosetti down. Clothesline misses. Shoulder tackle on Hatfield. Classic comes in. Shoulder tackles go nowhere. Kuragaki finally knocks him down. Classic calls for a test of strength. Neither person can gain any sort of advantage. Classic leaves the ring. Angelosetti calls for a timeout. They huddle and meet about strategy. Hatfield and Yoneyama reenter. Cheap shot to the back by Angelosetti. Snap suplex. Boot to the head. Shoulder blocks in the corner. Tag to Classic. He crashes his posterior into Yoneyama. Hatfield swings for the fences. Grand slam. Shots by Yoneyama on Angelosetti. Angelosetti grabs her in a front facelock. Forearms by Yoneyama. Angelosetti holds her back and throws her down. Clothesline misses. O’Connor roll by Yoneyama nearly gets three. Forearms from Bolshoi. Angelosetti press slams her face first. Angelosetti drops her in another press slam. Crowd wants to see it one more time. Angelosetti one hands her but gets DDT’d. Bolshoi hits a 619. Into a nearfall off the roll-up. Boot by Angelosetti. Bolshoi ducks and exits. Yoneyama hits a dropkick off the top. Shoulder tackle on Classic doesn’t work. Clubbering blow to the back. He climbs to the top rope. Kuragaki joins them. Headbutts on Classic. He gets shoved down. Gordbuster on her down partner. Double stomp by Bolshoi. Big splash by Kuragaki on Classic gets two. All six people are battling. Double low brid ge. Classic shoulder blocks Yoneyama and Bolshoit. Claw on Kuragaki! Kuragaki lifts him up! After dropping him once he applies the torture rack a second time. Classic gives up.

Veronica is unhappy with her men losing the match. Angelosetti tries to console her. She holds the ropes for Angelosetti. Hatfield does the same. Angelosetti says he loves Veronica and goes out on her side with the cup. Hatfield looks perplexed.

Match Analysis: Fun match to come out of intermission. Angelosetti’s character matched up really well with the tone and pacing of the match. It also continued the pattern of certain teams not getting along in Trios and that being what ultimately costs them victory. Hatfield did not get as much of a chance to showcase himself save for the beginning. JWP deserved to win based on their chemistry and ability to have a dynamite match with one of the other trios the next night.

Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Commando Bolshoi, Tsubasa Kuragaki and Kaori Yoneyama /12:42/**3/4/***

-Mantis says Trios is where it all begins for the Spectral Envoy. He claims they will get the crown jewel. Mantis says it is their destiny and birth right. I don’t buy it.

-Hallowicked, Ultramantis Black, and Frightmare vs. The Mysterious and Handsome Stranger, Tito Santana, and Mihara

Match in Five Words or Less: A Very Odd Trio

Match Highlights: The Submission Squad was unable to make it tonight. That’s a shame. A real shame. Veronica sees the Mysterious and Handsome Stranger for the first time. Wonder what that’s all about. Veronica gives him the googly eyes. Mihara is a rather festively plump gentlemen… but seriously, TITO SANTANA? It’s amazing how small Santana was within the context of 1980s WWF and how much bigger he is than any of the other individuals in this ring. Mantis starts with Stranger. Mantis with double chops in the corner. Stranger puts his jacket on. Mantis calls him out for wearing an animal on his person. He puts on his robe. Stranger puts on his hat. Mantis grabs his staff. Stranger puts the hat on the staff. Immediate roll-up for two. Stalemate. Both men take their jackets off. Stranger with a shoulder tackle. Hip toss by Mantis. He holds onto the arm and tags Wicked. Full nelson blocked. Wicked grabs the arm. Stranger counters. Wicked grabs the arm. Wicked takes a bit to kip up. Wicked cartwheels. Stranger holds onto the armbar. Japanese armdrag. Step-up boot. Go 2 Sleepy Hollow blocked. Stranger kicks dirt on Wicked. Clothesline misses. Big right hand by Stranger. Frightmare comes in and promptly gets stuck up. Frightmare scares him out of the ring only for Mihara to come in. Mihara is not scared. Big clothesline. Shoulder tackle. Whip in the corner. Clothesline misses. Running boot by Frightmare. Step-up rana. Running dropkick. Here comes Mantis back. Double strikes from both men. Headlock by Mantis. Shoulder tackle by Mihara. Mantis poses a bit and calls for Mihara to come off the ropes. Armdrag, boot, double stomp, and senton. Shoulder tackle by Mihara. Whip in the corner. Running clothesline. A second one. Big spear. Wicked slaps Mihara in the back. Forearm and boot. Rolling snapmare and a chinlock. Ref taken into the corner. Uppercut by Mihara. Bodyslam. Big splash off the ropes. Vertical suplex. Frightmare hits a dropkick, so Mihara rolls out. Stranger catches Wicked with a double axehandle. He hits Frightmare with one. Mantis too. Stranger puts his hat on but Wicked connects on a rydeen bomb. Whip to the corner. Back elbow misses. Bulldog by Stranger. Stranger readies the lasso. Face first Russian legsweep. Mihara steals the tag from Santana. Elbow to the back of the neck. Back elbow off the ropes. Double axehandle to the back. Wicked fires back with elbows. Running boot. Boot blocked. Clothesline misses. Another boot misses. Mantis and Frightmare come in. Double team strikes. Stranger tags. Double sunset flip gets two. Frightmare hits a northern lights suplex across the knee of Mantis. Full nelson slam on Stranger. Frightmare hits a crucifix bomb but only gets two. Wicked hits Go 2 Sleepy Hollow on Stranger. Mihara breaks the count. Mantis punches him in the back and departs to continue battling. Frightmare with a dive off the apron. Stranger whipped. Step-up boot blocked. LARIAT! Santana finally gets in. Boots and punches on Wicked. Clothesline. Another one on Wicked. Bodyslam. Back elbow. Stranger wants a flying forearm. Santana with a back drop on Wicked. Santana hits a flying forearm on Wicked. Mantis rolls him up AND GETS THREE. Mantis’s reaction is utterly fantastic as he rotates between celebrating and apologizing. Wicked is pretty much out on the floor because of what he just had to endure. Great selling.

Match Analysis: Probably the weakest of the six Trios matches so far but there was a still a lot of value to it. What made this match special was seeing a guy in the WWE Hall of Fame match up against guys like Mantis and Wicked. This match also continued the evening long storyline of having one team get along and win while the other doesn’t and loses. It’s fairly simple storytelling, but Chikara has executed it to perfection on this night.

Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Hallowicked, Ultramantis Black, and Frightmare /16:28/**1/2/***

Match in Five Words or Less: It’s Raining Meng

Match Highlights: Has there ever been a more anticipated Mike Bennett match…ever? The Bucks are of course the Campeones de Parajas. The Warlord does not appear to have changed. The Submission Squad try making their way into the building, but their match just passed. The Squad sadly walk away. “Meng is going to kill you” chants. Of course. Bucks and Bennett attack Meng before the bell rings. Bennett with right hands in the corner. Meng fights out of the corner and chops the bajesus out of him. Bennett sends him into the corner. Meng sent into the top turnbuckle. He no sells. Team ROH continue triple teaming him. Meng sent into Nick’s boot. Frequent tags as they work over Meng’s arm. Chop on Matt. Shot to the throat. Matt with a clubbering blow to the back. Nick chokes Meng on the middle rope. Bennett with a cheap punch. Double dropkicks on Meng. Bennett joins in for a triple dropkick. Meng clotheslines the Bucks. Bennett taken out of the ring. Barbarian press slams Matt into Nick. Double headbutt by the Faces of Fear. They make a wish. Bennett nails Barbarian. Nick chopped away. Bennett evades Barbarian’s boot. Warlord with a kick. Nick powerslammed. Barbarian climbs to the top rope. Bennett holds his legs. Warlord chases him away. Nick Jackson rolls out. Team Ring of Honor gathers itself. Barbarian is in the ring with Nick. Nick wants… a test of strength. That goes well. He dominates Matt as well. Bennett cowers from Barbarian. Shoulder tackle sends Bennett out of the ring. Meng comes in smiling. Matt chop blocks Meng. Boots from Nick. They focus on Meng’s left knee. Meng rolls Matt up but quickly gets stopped. Back to the knee. Bennett and Nick Jackson have trouble moving Meng toward the center of the ring and to his back. Matt applies a figure four leglock. Barbarian kicks Matt to break the hold. Meng catches Matt with the tongan death grip. Nick superkicks Meng… BUT MENG WON’T LET GO. One for Nick too. Bennett dropkicks Meng. Nick tries lifting Meng for a firemen’s carry. Meng whips Matt into his brother and tags Warlord. Clotheslines for everyone. Bodyslams for everyone. Matt grabs a sleeper hold. Matt wants help from his brother with a whip. Warlord misses a clothesline. Superkicks. Warlord no sells and clotheslines them both. Powerslam on Bennett. Meng attacks Nick. Headbutt. Low kick on Bennett as the Powers of Pain take care of the Bucks. Bennett sunset flips Meng out of nowhere and gets the victory.

Match Analysis: This was probably the biggest disappointment of the evening. The finish came out of nowhere and didn’t seem to make all that much sense. I guess I wanted to see more of Meng beating people up and the Bucks bumping around for the Powers of Pain. I have absolutely no problem with the finish. Bennett pinning Meng is perfect to get him some immediate heat on Chikara without having to resort to Bob Evans or calling him the next Rock. I wasn’t expecting a match with a lot of movez per se, but I definitely was hoping to see Ring of Honor get theres a bit more.

Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Mike Bennett, Nick Jackson, and Matt Jackson/12:42/**/**3/4

Match in Five Words or Less: Like A Kid Again

Match Highlights: 1995 Paul Heyman is very angry at this match taking place. As much as we make fun of wrestlers for aging badly sometimes or accusing the road of owning them, Lynn, Tatanka, and Dreamer all look pretty darn good. Montoya not shaking Dreamer’s hand was incredibly subtle and brought back to mind the worst feud of 2000. I am both smiling and cringing at the same time. Tatanka and Scorpio begin. They go corners and dance. Code of honor followed. Tatanka with chops across the arm. Shoulder tackles go nowhere. Scorpio with a flying tackle, and he finally gets Tatanka down. O’Connor roll blocked. Chops from Tatanka. Off the ropes with a tomahawk chop. Scorpio tags Dreamer. Montoya wants in. Montoya off the ropes with an armdrag. Where did that come from? Back to the arm. Forearms. Dreamer with a cross body and a two count. You know what time it is. No. Not Vader time. Kid and Lynn. 20 years later. Quick series of armdrags take Kid out of the ring. Lynn up and over. Spin kick from Kid. Leg drop off the ropes. Chinlock. Lynn elbows out. Clothesline misses. Headscissors by Lynn. Kicks in the corner. Whip across. Charge misses. Kicks from Kid. Bronco buster… ehh, maybe not. He goes anyway but misses. Montoya clotheslines Lynn. Stomp. Whip in the corner by Lynn. Rolling poke to the eye. Back rake. Drop toehold and stomps by Montoya. Sitdown powerbomb out of the corner. Here comes Dreamer again. He calls out Montoya for being Justin Credible. Montoya says Dreamer is crazy. SLOW MO! I hope Darin Corbin gets royalties for this. Tatanka chopping in slow motion is literally worth 15 dollars. Dreamer pauses everyone with a remote control. Amazing. Right hand on Tatanka. He unpauses and Tatanka sells it. Montoya comes from behind and attacks Dreamer. Forearm and punches in the corner. Whip reversed. Dreamer meets the steel post. Dropkick to the corner. Team WWF works Dreamer over. Scorpio comes in with jabs on Montoya. Flying splash. One for the Kid. Tatanka clothesline Scorpio and takes him end over end. Montoya with right hands on Lynn. Dreamer sends him groin first into the post. Bearhug. Into the corner. Lynn with a forearm and side slam. Bodyslam. Slingshot corkscrew splash by Scorpio. To the chinlock. Montoya with elbows. Back elbow by Scorpio. Dreamer goes across the second rope but misses an elbow drop. Tatanka comes in with chops for everyone. Scorpio sent into his partner. War dance starts. Big overhead chop on Dreamer. Samoan drop. 1-2-NO! Scorpio breaks the count. Kid takes Dreamer out. All six men are in the outside brawling. It’s ECW. Of course. Kid hits an X Factor on Dreamer. Team WWF heads up top, but the Extreme Trio each make a comeback. Montoya and Kid put in the tree of woe. Dreamer and Lynn each hit dropkicks. Dreamer goes for a DDT on Kid. He turns it into a pumphandle. Kid hits another X Factor. Lynn breaks the count. Montoya superkicks Lynn. Forearm by Scorpio. Kid set up in the middle of the ring. 450 leg drop. 1-2-NO! Tatanka breaks the count. Samoan drop hits. Dreamer with a right hand. Whip in the corner. Back elbow by Tatanka. Chop hits. Scorpio dropkicks Tatanka. Montoya sends Scorpio flailing out of the ring. Snapmare. Lynn rolls under. Cradle piledriver. The Extreme Trio wins.

Match Analysis: I had really low expectations for this match considering some of the people involved, but these guys had their working boots on and had a solid main event. Not at the level of the top indy matches but entertaining. Was it main event caliber? Probably not. But the slow motion seemed to fit in with the theme of the evening of a more light King of Trios tournament.

Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Tommy Dreamer, Jerry Lynn, and 2 Cold Scorpio /20:50/***1/4/***3/4

-Scorpio says they had their work cut out for them. Dreamer says it was Aldo Montoya, not Justin Credible. Scorpio says he couldn’t have had better partners this weekend. Lynn says tonight was a family reunion. Dreamer compares Chikara to ECW and says this promotion is different. He calls Scorpio and Lynn the predecessors to some of the Chikara guys. He has some harsh words for Ring of Honor. Dreamer says he’s looking forward to tomorrow. Lynn and Dreamer tell Scorpio not to swear.

The Verdict: What this year’s King of Trios night one may have lacked in match quality, it made up for in fun. I’d be lying if I didn’t mention some pretty noticeable sloppiness in a number of matches, in particular a messed up finish involving the rookie referee in the second match of the show, but this was still worth spending 10, 12, or 15 dollars on. If you don’t have fun watching this show, then you’re probably not a Chikara fan. This felt appropriately like the first act of a three act play.

For more information in CHIKARA Pro, including tickets and event information, please check their website. While you can purchase DVDs there as well, you can also purchase their DVDs on Smart Mark Video. Something relatively new to Smart Mark Video is video downloads. This is a great way to save on shipping and not have a DVD clogging your shelf (if that’s what you’re concerned about). It’s super easy to purchase and then download on your computer. I could not recommend this service strongly enough whether you’re buying CHIKARA or many other promotions.

To get a great sense of history and participate in discussion of the company, check out their official messageboard. One thing the promotion does really well? Videos. They have frequent (almost daily) updates on their YouTube channel.

As someone who is not nearly the CHIKARA fan as certain others, even I need to look up information and have a good CHIKARA resource. I can can think of no better place to do this and also read exclusive reviews of every CHIKARA show in history than at The CHIKARA Special. Kevin Ford maintains this little blog and also updates a CHIKARA Special Tumblr with news and videos nearly every day.

In addition to wrestling podcasts, I am also a proud co-host of a show specifically geared toward Mad Men. Please check out all of our previous podcasts here. You can also download them off of iTunes.

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