King of Trios 2012 Night Three DVD Review

-Taped from Easton, PA

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

Match in Five Words or Less: Rock And Roll

Match Highlights: Maria looks a bit like a bumble bee. There’s a stinger joke to be made in there, but I’d like to think I’m above that sort of thing. There are three incredible female wrestlers in the ring, but a few choice individuals are chanting for the aforementioned Maria. Wrrrrrestling… yay! Nick crotches himself on the top rope even before the bell rings. LOL. Matt tosses his towel at Chisako. Pair of face washes. Headlock. Right hands out of it. Shoulder tackle by Matt. Boot by Chisako. Series of forearms. Sunset flip into a two count. More forearms and side headlock takeover. Running dropkick. Sachiko and Nick come in next. Pace picks up. Kick to the midsection. Headscissors sends Nick flying out of the ring. Satomura and Bennett… in the same ring together… this is earth. Bennett goes to his knee and poses. Satomura with a series of kicks. Bennett with a forearm right in the face. Low dropkick by Satomura. Spin kick and uppercut on Nick. Boot by Sachiko. Knee by Chisako. Bulldog by Sachiko. Dropkick by Chisako. Matt sent in the corner and the double teams continue. Bennett misses as well. Series of kicks. Nick knees Sachiko in the back. Forearm takes him off the apron. One for Bennett as well. Spear by Matt. Powerbomb. He lifts her for another one. Matt applies a chinlock. Stomp by Matt. Double hip toss, flip, and double dropkick. Bennett misses a clothesline. He catches her in a cross body and hits a backbreaker. Suplex position. The other Sendai Girls come in, as do the Bucks. Triple suplex reversal by the ladies. Boot by Bennett to Sachiko. Double drop toe hold by the Bucks. Bennett plays drums. Maria sings. HEAT! Satomura dropkicks Bennett from behind and gets Maria out of the ring. Rana by Chisako  on Bennett. Double dives. Satomura eats a back elbow from Nick. Go behind. Pele kick by Satomura. Death valley driver. Nick kicks out at two. Boot by Nick. Satomura boots him down. Matt superkicks Chisako. Double submissions by the sisters on Matt and Bennett. Bennett is visually tapping, but Maria has Jon Barber distracted. Nick superkicks Chisako and Sachiko. Satomura goes to work on all three members of Ring of Honor. Triple superkick. More Bang for your Buck! Team Ring of Honor goes to the finals.

Match Analysis: You could feel the hatred for the Ring of Honor team here. Brilliant finish here to get them even more heat. The Sendai Girls were spectacular performers and certainly deserve to be brought back in the near future, perhaps for Joshimania 2012. Great way to start the show. Considering one of these two teams have to wrestle again, it makes sense for this match to be just over 10 minutes as opposed to being closer to 20. Very good way to start the show.

Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Mike Bennett, Nick Jackson, and Matt Jackson/10:16/***1/2/***1/2

-Icarus says they’re not scared of their semifinal opponents and even calls Mantis the biggest loser in Chikara. He says they’re a dominant trio, not Sugar Dunkerton though.

Match in Five Words or Less: One Step Closer

Match Highlights: FIST has a meeting before the contest begins. Mantis wants them to come in the ring. Icarus asks Sugar Dunkerton where the fanny pack is since that played such an important role in the first round victory. Icarus has the jacket and shirt on of course. Wicked starts with Icarus. FIST attacks Frightmare instead and clear the ring of Wicked and Mantis. Taylor wraps the left knee up in a submission. Series of scoop slams. Frightmare sent into the boots of Gargano. Left knee placed along the middle rope. Gargano with a dropkick. Icarus places Frightmare in the tree of woe. Punches and a dropkick to the knee. Shirt comes off and he chokes Frightmare with it. Boots out of the corner. Taylor with an overhead throw. Double back elbows by Taylor and Gargano as Icarus clears the apron. Wicked has seen enough. Barber takes him back. Taylor goes to the announce table. Icarus with an elbow drop. Taunting slap. Blu ray turned into a crucifix bomb.Icarus tags Taylor. Wicked hot tag. Step-up boot on Taylor. Step-up boot on Gargano. Rydeen bomb. Rolling neck snap on Gargano right on top of Taylor. Icarus with a dropkick. Mantis hits a full nelson bomb. Into position. Taylor crotches Wicked. Forearms on Mantis. Series of chops. Whip reversed. Triple dropkicks. Icarus with a double stomp. DVD by Taylor. Low dropkick by Gargano. Mantis rolls outside. Wicked forearms Taylor. Gargano with a slingshot spear. Springboard moonsault by Taylor. Double team acecrusher. Icarus hits a frog splash. 1-2-NO! Frightmare comes back with forearms. Boot and clubbering blow by Icarus. Pele kicks for them. Slap by Taylor. Clothesline misses. Frightmare misses something. Half crab. Frightmare reaches the bottom rope. Taylor drags him to the middle. Boot followed by a dive on Icarus and Gargano. He holds them. Frightmare with a tope con helo. Mantis threatens to dive. Taylor hits an Omega driver. 1-2-NO! Huuuuuuuuuge kickout. Gargano distracts the referee. Taylor goes into his bag of tricks and pulls out the powder. Into icarus’s face. Icarus pedigrees Taylor. Spinebuster into the submission. Wicked hits the double stomp. Mantis covers. 1-2-no? Gargano pulled Barber out but it did not look in time. Another botched finish? Superkick blocked. Mantis goes for Cosmic Doom. Superkick. Hertz Doughnut countered. Cosmic Doom hits and the Envoy finally advance to the finals. What was the point of pulling out the referee?

Match Analysis: I don’t know about some of these endings, just some real sloppy execution. At least the match was something to look back on and enjoy. FIST are a really great trio, and the fans were definitely with the Spectral Envoy. Given a few more minutes, this could have been a truly epic tag team match. As is, it was just merely good.

Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Ultramantis Black, Hallowicked, and Frightmare/11:53/***1/4/***1/2

Match in Five Words or Less: Strike Fast Indeed

Match Highlights:  Saturyne hasn’t won very many matches this year, and I don’t see much changing here considering Ophidian is the new leader of a faction basically. Immediate double knees in the corner. A second charge. Slingshot double knees. Slap by Ophidian. They lock hands. Saturyne with an armdrag. Octopus. Headscissors and a dropkick. Dropkick sends Ophidian into the corner. Running leg lariat misses. Ophidian with elbow. Armcracker as Ophidian drives Saturyne into his knees. Choking with his sash.Tilt a whirl backbreaker. Ophidian continues attacking the left arm.  Into the Argentinean backbreaker. Saturyne gets a headscissors. Roll-up for two. Ophidian grabs an armbar. Forearm and leg kick by Saturyne. Enziguri in the back of the head by Ophidian. Saturyne with right hands and strikes. Ophidian taken into the middle turnbuckle. Prawn hold into the bridge and two. Chop in the corner. Saturyne with a series of chops. Ophidian sends her back down. Slap in the back. Saturyne catches herself on the apron. Cross body caught. Shoulder breaker. Double knees met with a boot. Kick. Spinning back kick. Big charge but Saturyne matrixes out. She slips off the top rope but gets a roll-up. Chop in the corner. Forearm. Leg kicks. Ophidian matrixes out but gets hit with a boot. Leaping enziguri. Reverse into a roll-up by Saturyne. Chop by Ophidian. Clothesline. Bulldog by Saturyne. 1-2-NO! Cross body to the floor. Back in the ring. Rana into the nearfall by Saturyne. Divorce court by Ophidian. Double knees across the neck sends Saturyne into the mat. Another set of double knees. 1-2-NO! Slap. Chop. Pair of kicks. Saturyne ducks. Roll-up for two. Ophidian with a flapjack. Death Clutch. Saturyne has no choice but to give.

Match Analysis: Saturyne’s strongest contest to date. The fact that she faced Ophidian was a huge benefit as she had one of Chikara’s best to match up with. Except for the one screw-up, she’s really coming into her own as a wrestler and I hope she can in a way take the place of Sara Del Rey. Ophidian is also looking strong after a rough start to the year. His character and moveset have gotten a lot less annoying since Chikarasaurus Rex.

Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Ophidian/10:12/**3/4/***

-Hammermeier says people don’t know how good they are as a tag team. Tim Donst talks some more trash about Eddie Kingston. He feels he’s everything right about Chikara. Donst says Hammermeier will one day realize why he did what he did. Donst says he has the truth and did something no one ever expected. Kingston is the worst person in the world. He reiterates the line he said last night about karma. The swagger is coming back.

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Match in Five Words or Less: Give’em The Axe… And Smash

Match Highlights: Wish me luck on this one folks. We start with the Colony of Green Ant and Fire Ant against Jakob Hammermeier and Tim Donst. Donst attacks Fire Ant from behind. He chokes Fire Ant with his boot as Hammermeier brings Green Ant in the ring. Clotheslines miss. Double armdrags and boots by the Colony.  Chop by Green Ant on Hammermeier. Another whip. Hammermeier sends Green Ant up and over. Enziguri. Double kicks from both members of the Colony. Brainbuster by Fire Ant. Hammermeier exits the ring. Double boots by Colony. Running knee by Green Ant. Enziguri by Fire Ant. Splash by Green Ant. Hammermeier with a knee and right hand. Chop in the corner. Green Ant begins no selling. Into the corner for a series of ridiculous chop. Donst attacks from behind once again. He tosses Green Ant down. Whip and clothesline. Choking by Hammermeier. Vertical suplex by Donst. Into a chinlock. Green Ant sends him off. Running uppercut by Donst. Back to the choking. Jawbreaker. Hammermeier tags from behind. He goes to work on the nipples like his partner. Headbutt by Green Ant. Dropkick by Hammermeier. Donst works the left arm. Donst with crossface elbows. Green Ant sent quickly out of the ropes. Green Ant kicks him away. Hammermeier elbows him. Donst tosses Hammermeier out hard. Green Ant clotheslines him and makes the tag. Cross body by Fire Ant. Acecrusher. Running boot. Donst clotheslines Fire Ant and both men end up outside. Green Ant knees Donst in the midsection. Dropkick to the side of the head. Donst sends him out. Fire Ant with a dropkick off the top rope. Green Ant with a knee strike to the outside. Bulldog by Hammermeier back in the ring. Hammermeier misses a charge. Fire Ant misses a dive. Tope suicida by Donst. Fire Ant sent back in the ring. Kicks from Green Ant on Hammermeier. Hammermeier tossed at Donst on the floor. Green cross bodies as Fire Ant dives between the ropes. Donst sent back in the ring. Chops to the side of the head by Green Ant. Series of slaps. Series of counters. Forearm and a Michinoku driver by Green Ant. Hammermeier makes the save. Boot by Fire Ant. Hammermeier with a backbreaker. Twisting fishermen’s suplex. Green Ant breaks the count and applies an ankle lock. Donst double axehandles him. Hammermeier begs off. Donst tosses him in the corner. Kicks by the Colony. Four feet of fury, Hammermeier jumps in front. Double clothesline by Donst on the ants. Green Ant placed in the tree of woe.Belly-to-belly suplex takes Fire Ant into Green Ant. Running forearm to the back of the head on Fire Ant. Donst with some sort of bulldog on the apron. Forearms on Green Ant. Green Ant placed on the top rope. Donst chokes Fire Ant. Superplex. Green Ant rolls him up and gets three. Colony get a point at 11:27.

The Devastation Incorporation come out as both Colony members are down. Sydney Bakabella takes their gear off before they go in the ring. Double clotheslines. Double press slams. Smashmaster tosses Green Ant to McMassive. McMassive tosses him toward the entrance. Death Blow and the Colony are out at 14:27, and the Devastation Corporation have two points.

Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon come out. They’re jobbers, so it doesn’t matter what their names are. They look absolutely petrified as the crowd chants “Feed me more.” LOL. “It’s not worth it.” Awesome. Boot by Smashmaster. The other one comes up. Top rope flapjack by McMassive after he jumps to the top rope. Death Blow and the Devastation Corporation have three points at 16:28.

Knight Eye for the Pirate Guy come out. It’s Jolly Roger and Lance Steel. They go on the offensive right away. The big men run into each other. Double dropkicks. Smashmaster ends up on the outside. Forearm by McMassive on Roger. Steel battles Smashmaster. They try working over the armor. That fails. Then they both chop Steel. Ouch. Roger with a springboard dropkick on both men. McMassive looks angry. Charge misses. Steel puts Roger on his back. Jousting no sold. McMassive is not impressed. Punches by Roger. Clothesline over the top rope. Steel with a dive but he gets caught and rammed into the post. Powerslam by Smashmaster as he catches Roger coming off the top rope. The Devastation Corporation now have four points at 19:41.

Johnny Miyagi and Ralph Macchio Jr. come in to get killed up next. They both get sent down face first. They’re not exactly the best around. Macchio whipped into the corner. Chop on Miyagi by Smashmaster. Into the corner. McMassive with a running splash. Smashmaster with one of his own. Death Blow gives the Devastation Corporation an unprecedented fifth point at 21:40.

Demolition!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, they have a point that they got for winning the 2008 version of this match. Demolition is as big as them. All four men in the ring. DC heads out and cowers for the first time. Ax and Smash meet them out there. The two bigger men sent into each other. Smashmaster sent back in the ring to face Smash. Right hands. They work over Smashmaster. McMassive tossed over the top rope by Axe. Good God. Double axehandles by Demolition. Smash holds Smashmaster up. Clothesline by Axe. Smash covers and gets three at 25:14 as they get their second point.

Of course the Powers of Pain are next. They met at another wrestling show two days earlier, but this time it actually matters. “This is awesome” chant. Bryce Remsburg looks so tiny. Barbarian and Smash begin. Right hand by Barbarian. Smash fires back. Punch exchange. Smash teases a test of strength but they kick other instead. Lock-up. Remsburg tries backing them off. Uhhhh okay. Axe and Warlord come in. Axe sent into the corner as Warlord asserts his strength advantage. Axe into the ropes. Shoulder tackles go nowhere. Right hands by Axe. All four men are in the ring. Powers of Pain sent into each other. Clotheline by Axe on Barbarian. They work over Warlord. Barbarian trips Axe. Smash with right hands on Warlord. Big boot. Warlord covers. Powers of Pain advance at 30:48 as they pick up two points.

My God it’s the 1-2-3 Kid and Marty Jannetty. They attack the Powers of Pain. They quickly get tossed. Warlord picks Kid up and powerslams him. Barbarian with a kick to the midsection. Headbutt. Heat segment on Kid. Kid rolls under and tags Jannetty. Punches for everyone. Powers of Pain get the advantage. Warlord clotheslines his own partner on accident. Warlord sends them into each other. Double superkicks. Spin kick by Kid leads to a Jannetty roll-up in 34:54 as they pick up their first point.

Los Ice Creams take advantage. If they win this match, they’ll get a third point. Jannetty’s shoulder gets posted and he’s sent outside. Another heat segment on Kid. Kid rolls Hijo up for two out of nowhere. Kid ducks a double clothesline and hits one of his own. Jannetty with right hands. Bodyslam on Hijo. One for Junior as well. Ice Creams sent in together head-to-head. Junior breaks up the count. Whip in the corner. Nice double teams by the Ice Creams. Hijo even mocks the bronco buster. Kid spin kicks him. Kick by Junior. Shot to the back. X-factor. 1-2-NO! Enziguri on Hijo. Plancha on Junior. Jannetty hits a DDT. Cross body right into the pinfall and the 1-2-3 Kid and Marty Jannetty get their second point. In addition, they win the gauntlet.

Match Analysis: It’s so tough to rate and assess this match because of everything that went down. I think it was really cool to see all these legends. Having Demolition and the Powers of Pain in the same ring was awesome, not from a match quality standpoint but because of their standing in wrestling and a representation of watching wrestling as a child. Liked the stuff with Hammermeier and Donst in the beginning. Devastation Corporation are not great workers, but they could work in a limited role within this promotion.  Now there’s the matter of Jannetty and Kid. They’ve got two points… can Chikara book them again, get them a third point, and have them wrestle the Young Bucks? That would be a dream match of sorts and a great homage to the past and present. This 40 minutes flew by, and I enjoy the gauntlet almost as much as any other match that happens during the year.

Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: 1-2-3 Kid and Marty Janetty/40:30/***1/4/***1/2

Match in Five Words or Less: Duck Duck… PAIN

Match Highlights: Chuck Taylor, Orange Cassidy, and Drew Gulak escort the Swamp Monster to the ring. I’ll tell you what. I get the feeling this won’t be a very serious affair. Just a hunch. Yoneru Sanders literally being dressed as the Colonel Sanders is the most random thing I’ve ever seen. Before the match begins though, a sterling rendition of “Oh Canada!” How do they follow this up? A USA chant. Cabana says Swamp Monster will sing the Japanese anthem. Taylor waves him off. Matthews wants Sanders. Cabana takes his rubber chicken. Sanders goes nowhere on a shoulder tackle and poses. Chop blocked. One by Matthews blocked…sort of. Chop connects again as Sanders has no hand-eye coordination. Sanders blocks in on a third try. Shoulder tackle and cartwheel. Armdrag. Flying posterior. SWAMP MONSTER TAGS IN!!!!!! Ebessan joins him. Monster misses a charge. Another one ducked. Ebessan trips him and holds his nose. Monster misses a clothesline. Jabs do nothing. Poke to the… eye? Low bridge. Cabana comes in to battle Takoyakida. Shoulder tackles but neither man goes anywhere. Cabana says he’s 350 pounds of chocolate. Takoyakida taps him on the shoulder and steps on his foot. Chop fails. Works for Cabana though. Another one. Chop as Takoyakida points to various sides. Now he’s sad.  Cabana shakes his hand and gets armdragged. Takoyakida with a series of chops. One more set sends Cabana into the corner. Now Cabana is crying. They hug. Shake of the heands. Armdrag fails. Series of covers. Cabana sends each of them outside. Remsburg even becomes involved. 3.0 and Osaka Pro convene on the outside. 3.0 charge. Cabana tells each of them to stop, but he gets slapped in the face. Cabana leaves the ring. Awesome. Crabtree comes in to wrestle Parker. Crabtree falls asleep in the lock-up. Another lock-up and a headlock by Crabtree. Parker out. Crabtree bounces off the ropes. Parker locks in a headlock of his own. Parker takes him over. Again, Crabtree falls asleep. Parker is met with a boot coming off the middle rope. Headscissors even as Crabtree is asleep. Everyone gets involved. Cabana takes them over with Billy Goat’s Curse. Ebessan walks across each man and stares at Cabana. He talks to him. Not sure what about. Cabana wants a kiss. Ebessan punches him in the face. Ebessan walks across and boots Sanders. Into all four corners. Everyone rams into each other. Remsburg counts everyone down for two. Cabana looks around. Wow. The fans are right on top of this. Remsburg sits down. DUCK DUCK GOOSE IS HAPPENING! No way am I offering a play-by-play for this. Swamp Monster clotheslines Parker to end the proceedings. Matthews says Monster cheated. Takoyakida and Swamp Monster are left in the ring. Takoyakida sunset flip. Cabana puts him on top. No one can keep their teammate in charge of the sunset flip. They dance around. I have no idea what’s coming on. Back elbow by Parker. Sanders with a boot. Lariat by Sanders. Michinoku driver as Matthews breaks it up. Ebessan with chops. Polish hammer. Side slam by Sanders. Cabana takes Ebessan in the corner. Flying apple. Elbow countered into a spinebuster. Ebessan Rock Bottoms Swamp Monster and Sanders. Crabtree climbs in the ring. Ebessan takes him down. Remsburg checks him and asks for a shirt. He covers Crabtree. Matthews brings a can of Red Bull in the ring. Oh no. Matthews pours it down his throat. Crabtree wakes up! Elbows for everyone! He points at Takoyakida. The Red Bull wears off and he falls. Takoyakida misses a splash badly. 3.0 put Takoyakida on top. Of course that’s the finish, the “dreaded lateral press,” according to Chikara’s website.

Match Analysis: This was pure comedy. You either liked it or you did not. Me? Nothing but pure joy.

Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Scott Parker, Shane Matthews, Ebessan, and Takoyakida/18:22/***1/2/****

-Swamp Monster is not happy with what happened. He shoves Remsburg and exits the building. Security grabs him and removes him from the building. Not sure if this is just a lark or if the start of some sort of angle. Crabtree is dead in the ring. Gavin Loudspeaker saves him. Crabtree rolls under the ring and finally leaves.

–Bolshot and Kuragaki say stuff in Japanese.

Match in Five Words or Less: Joshi Showcase

Match Highlights: The Joshis shake hands before the match. Yoneyama and Bolshoi start. They start on the mat. Double team Kuragaki lifts Bolshoi’s legs into Yoneyama. Yoneyama bounces off the ropes and armdrags them both. She and Toyota back bridge over in Indian deathlocks. Dropkick in the lower back by Toyota. Figure four leglock. Yoneyama hits a splash. Toyota maintains the hold. Yoneyama comes off with a second splash. Up for a third time with a splash. Toyota lets go of the hold. Royal octopus by Toyota. Roll-up on Kuragaki. Yoneyama hits a stomp. Kuragaki refuses to be whipped. Series of slaps. Up and over but Yoneyama stays on top for a body press. Suplex blocked. Double chops by Yoneyama. Kuragaki turns a suplex into a press slam. Bolshoi hits a springboard. Tarantula across the middle and bottom rope. That’s different. Bolshoi lets go. Yoneyama with right hands. Bolshoi keeps her down. Forearm exchange. Yoneyama gets fired up. Clothesline misses. Yoneyama hits a northern lights suplex into a bridge. Kuragaki knees Toyota and sends her into Yoneyama. Series of splashes. Bolshoi on her back. Double clothesline. Headscissors into the fujiwara armbar by Bolshoi. Toyota breaks up the submission. Bolshoi taken to the top rope. She walks across the top rope. Armdrag. Yoneyama nails her from behind. Toyota kicks her own partner. Rolling cradle. Toyota with an incredible amount of rotations. Ocean cyclone suplex but Bolshoi counters into a victory roll. 1-2-NO! German suplex blocked. Elbows by Toyota. Kick from Bolshoi. Forearm. Kuragaki with a suplex on Toyota. She knocks Yoneyama off the apron. Toyota boots Kuragaki off the rope into the floor. Cross body to the floor. Dropkick off the top rope. Dropkick to the back of the head of Kuragaki. 1-2-NO! Toyota lifts Kuragaki up. Series of counters. Kuragaki lifts her up and over. Clothesline. Toyota follows in with a boot. Kuragaki with a vicious clothesline. 6-1-9 by Bolshoi. Suplex into the bridge but Toyota kicks out. Kuragaki to the top rope. Dropkick of her own. NO SOLD! Clothesline misses. Toyota with a German suplex. 1-2-NO! Yoneyama and Bolshoi battle on the outside. Toyota with a moonsault. Bolshoi breaks the count. Yoneyama with a senton. 1-2-NO! Sliced bread but Kuragaki interrupts. Torture rack COUNTERED! O’Connor roll by Yoneyama. Into the German suplex! 1-2-NO! Yoneyama with a flying knee on Kuragaki. 1-2-NO! Clothesline by Kuragaki. Another one for Yoneyama. Toyota with boots on Kuragaki. Shot to the back of the head. Toyota and Yoneyama get stacked up. Kuragaki with a double stack torture rack! Sweet Jesus. Kuragaki tosses them. Double clotheslines. Splash mountain into the facebuster. 1-2-3!

Match Analysis: This was a top shelf showcase of the best of Joshi wrestling. If Chikara is considering running Joshimania, I hope they plan on bringing these women back. So much fantastic action from bell-to-bell. These teams really did bring it and showed why Japanese women’s wrestling is so much better than American women’s wrestling. The precision and execution of moves was outstanding, and I would genuinely be excited to see all of them come back.

Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Commando Bolshoi and Tsubasa Kuragaki/14:33/***3/4/****

Match in Five Words or Less: Getting Them On The Card

Match Highlights: Code of honor followed between these men as well. Shoulder tackles go nowhere. Both men have had losses to Eddie Kingston for the grand championship this year. Jigsaw with a spin kick and another kick. Shoulder tackle sends Tadasuke outside. He catches Jigsaw with a forearm on a dive attempt. Good God almighty. Jigsaw…dead. Well, he’s crawling back inside, but I don’t trust it. Headbutt in the back. Jigsaw with a chop. Tadasuke is not amused. Chop battle. Series of knee strikes while in the cravat by Tadasuke. Knee strike in the back and a chinlock. Chinbreaker but Tadasuke applies a headlock. He cranks the neck. Jigsaw with elbows. Punches by Tadasuke. Jigsaw low bridges. Sliding dropkick. Powerbomb into the apron. Double stomp. Tope suicida by Jigsaw. Tadasuke sent back in the ring. Dropkick by Jigsaw. Chop in the corner. Whip. Tadasuke lifts his knee. Big elbow off the ropes. Punch doesn’t hit. Jigsaw with a kick. German suplex. Jigsaw climbs up. Tadasuke boots him. Superplex blocked. Shots from Jigsaw. They clap the hands. Double stomp misses. Superkick to the midsection. LARIAT by Tadasuke. Another LARIAT! 1-2-NO! Right hands and a chop by Jigsaw. Tadasuke follows up. Extended strike exchange. Tadasuke chops him down. More strikes from Jigsaw. Forearms by Tadasuke. Superkick by Jigsaw. Piledriver spikes Jigsaw down. Pair of hard punches. Referee says Jigsaw is out. Match over. Tadasuke wins by knockout.

Match Analysis: Very good match given the time. Under different circumstances, this  could almost be a main event level match. Being sandwiched between the incredible Joshi showcase and the King of Trios finals were not ideal. They made it work and Tadasuke looked like a vicious monster.

Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: Tadasuke/8:55/***/***

-Mantis says his group is not all that unfamiliar with adversity. He runs down the many challenges they’ve had to deal with this weekend. Great promo from him before they go out for the biggest match of their careers. “This is our time. The time is now.”

Match in Five Words or Less: Finally!

Match Highlights: Wink Vavasseur gets booed upon entering the ring. Bennett and Maria color-coded. Personally, I think it would have been funny if they coordinated outfits for each match like Randy Savage and Elizabeth at Wrestlemania 4. Frightmare comes out limping pretty badly. Bucks taken out immediately. Triple team on Bennett. Bennett comes back with clotheslines on all of them. Mantis taken head first into the turnbuckle. Team ROH works over Mantis. Mantis ducks the charges. Cross body by Frightmare on Nick and Bennett. He sends them into each other. Whip by Matt. Boots on Nick and Bennett. He steps across and DDTs Matt. Frightmare climbs to the top rope. Bennett distracts the referee. Maria tears Frightmare down. Elbows to the knee as Frightmare is in the tree of woe. Team ROH works over Frightmare’s knee. Frightmare works out of the corner and even causes Nick to enziguri his own brother. Double axehandle by Matt on Bennett. Nick low bridged. Matt boots him in the midsection. Whip. Frightmare with a back elbow. He jumps. Mantis and Wicked get pulled off the apron. Spear by Matt. Back to focusing on the knees. Matt and Nick each miss moves off the top. Bennett holds onto Frightmare’s leg. Finally a double tag. Chops on Bennett. Bennett whipped. Sidewinder. Nick blocked. Double flatliner. Wicked hits a rydeen bomb on Matt. Mantis with a pumphandle slam. 1-2-NO! Bennett brings Wicked out. Mantis hits Cosmic Doom. 1-2-NO! Bennett prevents the Preying Mantis bomb. Punches by Bennett as Nick battles with Wicked. Forearms by the Envoy. Double superkicks. Nick hits a big dive on Wicked. Bennett hits the uranagi on Mantis for two. Mantis sent into the waiting boots of the Bucks. Spinebuster. 1-2-NO! Mantis battles all the members of Team ROH. He clears the Bucks. Bennett low bridges him onto the entrance ramp. Matt and Nick hit a tandem spike tombstone on the ramp! They roll Mantis into the ring. Bennett hits a TKO. 450 by Nick. 1-2-NO! Fans chant “You can’t beat him.” Wicked forearms Bennett. Step-up boot on Nick. Go 2 Sleepy Hollow on Matt. Wicked wakes Mantis up. Frightmare comes back in. Mantis sets him up. Double stomp by Frightmare and Wicked. Into the cover. 1-2-NOOOO! Here come Ophidian and the Batiri. Delirious is also walking out. From behind, CROSSBONES! Delirious sent into the post. Spectral Envoy go to work on the Batiri. Crossbones joins in on the fun. Mantis climbs to the top. Bennett catches him. Chop. Matt forearms him. MANTIS SUPLEXES MATT ONTO THE PILE ON THE FLOOR. SWEET JEBUS! Bennett is left in the ring alone. Of course. Wicked misses a step-up boot. Bennett with a whip. Boot by Wicked. CHIKARA SPECIAL! Bennett is tapping but the referee misses it. Nick superkicks Wicked. Maria takes one too on accident. Frightmare attacks Nick. THIS IS CRAZY! Bennett TKO countered. Sick kick by Wicked. Chikara Special! Bennett taps! SPECTRAL ENVOY WIN!

Match Analysis: This was one of the craziest matches of the year with a lot of drama. Most of this crowd wanted desperately to see the Spectral Envoy win. For Mantis, this is his crowning achievement as he has literally never won a single title within the promotion. For Wicked, this puts him in an elite class of Chikara wrestlers as he has won the YLC, Campeones de parejas, and now this King of Trios tournament. A perfect way to cap off the tournament if you ask me as this delivered in every conceivable way. Drama. Match quality. A feeling finality. You could not have predicted a better match to end King of Trios 2012. Congrats to the Spectral Envoy on a tournament. Props to the Bucks and Bennett for showing up and being perfect foils. It would not bother me at all to see Bennett back in Chikara. Never thought I’d hear myself say that.

On a completely random sidenote, based on the atmosphere of this match, someone really blew it when it came to a Ring of Honor versus Chikara feud.

Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating/Entertainment Rating: King of Trios 2012-The Spectral Envoy/20:28/****1/4/****1/2

The Verdict: King of Trios 2011 set the bar really high for any other version of this tournament that would take place after. Regardless of all that, the final night of King of Trios was outstanding. I can’t say for sure if this was the best considering night three last year had one of my favorite matches of the year and another very emotional final. This is definitely worth your 15 dollars for a great mixture of comedy, drama, match quality, and outstanding efforts from the men and women who helped put it altogether. Bravo Chikara.

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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