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The King of Trios Retrospective: Day 17

September 9th, 2012 by Gavok | Tags: Chikara, king of trios, wrestling

Prelude to King of Trios 2011

(Special thanks to Kung Fu Grip for helping with some of the profiles)

Previously on CHIKARA…

The BDK continued to dominate CHIKARA, but the CHIKARA roster slowly began to chip away at them. While Claudio and Ares held onto their Campeonatos de Parejas for most of the year and Tursas was just as unbeatable as ever, the rest of their members started to feel the effects. Pinkie Sanchez’s mentality was put into question when he claimed he kept seeing Tim Donst’s disguise gimmick Vokoder sneaking around. Lince Dorado competed for the new Young Lions Cup tournament and lost in the finals to Frightmare after Derek Sabato got knocked out and Bryce Remsburg left the commentary station to make the count.

Lince, by the way, ended up cutting ties with the company. He had shown up on a Scott Hall YouTube video without his mask on, identifying himself as Lince Dorado and rumor has it that got him in hot water due to the setting up of a match where his mask would be on the line. He no-showed a weekend of shows and that was that.

After UltraMantis’ failure to use the newcombers, the Batiri, as his soldiers, he became humble and practically begged Hallowicked to bury the hatchet with him and work together like the old days. It took time, but he gained Hallowicked’s trust with the mission to save Delirious from the BDK’s control. UltraMantis then put together a team for the annual Cibernetico match, featuring tecnicos and rudos alike. Then Vokoder — who was as real as Pinkie claimed he was — appeared as the final member and unmasked himself to reveal the long-missing “Sweet ‘n’ Sour” Larry Sweeney. In the end, it came down to Eddie Kingston and Tursas with Eddie knocking the big man down and putting him down with the Sliding D.

Another big hit to BDK came from the company being bought out by Worldwide Media Development Corporation. Part of this change came in the form of the doofy Wink Vavasseur being introduced as an auditor, keeping an eye on Dieter VonSteigerwalt and Derek Sabato. After Mike Quackenbush and Jigsaw defeated Claudio and Ares for the Campeonatos de Parejas, Dieter was removed from his position and the Director of Fun position went to Wink himself. Even though he has very little idea about anything wrestling-related.

At this point, the BDK is wounded, but not completely done.

As a sad sidenote, four days before the show began, Larry Sweeney had passed on. As you can guess, the show is extremely emotional at points and dedicated to his memory.

The Format

Same deal as the last one. One thing of note is that the winning BDK team from the previous year has chosen not to potentially sully their victory by losing this year, so none of those three members will compete in the tournament. In other words, Claudio and Ares are off wrestling elsewhere this weekend.

Our Combatants

Bruderschaft des Kreuzes
Members: Tim Donst, Jakob Hammermeier and Delirious
Alignment: BDK

Claudio Castagnoli placed Tim Donst in charge of the faction in his absence. Since Tursas is off limits, Donst has chosen their mind-controlled warrior slave Delirious and the newest competitor in the CHIKARA ring, Jakob Hammermeier. Yes, the announcer has been training to fight as well as announce. Although he isn’t much, he did win his debut match due to interference. The success of the BDK and his time as holder of the Young Lions Cup has gone to Donst’s head. Being given this power has pushed him a little over the top.

The Colony
Members: Fire Ant, Green Ant and Soldier Ant
Alignment: Tecnico

Ever since their defeat at last year’s finals, the Colony has had little success. Overall, they appeared in the sidelines of the feud against the BDK and didn’t get any major licks in. Once QuackSaw became tag champs, Fire Ant and Soldier Ant gained three points to challenge them and came short. The bigger story is that Green Ant horribly injured his arm back in August and spent quite a while on the shelf. He’s back with a metal rod in his arm and now he’s feeling better than ever. He’s stronger, more confident and just a little more patriotic.

Da Soul Touchaz
Members: Acid Jaz, Marshe Rockett and Willie Richardson
Alignment: Tecnico

Despite being outsiders, Da Soul Touchaz joined in on the war against the BDK and had some notable success. The three were able to defeat the reigning King of Trios winners just a couple months after last year’s tournament. They proceeded to win some and lose some against the monster faction, but took a major hit in preparation for the tournament. When boasting about how they have what it takes to eliminate the BDK, the trio was ambushed by the BDK with both of their managers C. Red and Dymond being taken out completely. Now the three want to help finish the job and get revenge on the BDK.

The Dark Army
Members: Sinn Bodhi, Kodama and Obariyon
Alignment: Rudo

In UltraMantis’ plan to get the Eye of Tyr back from Ares, he made a deal with a mysterious entity to lease out the demonic duo known as Kodama and Obariyon, also known as the Batiri. They failed to get the job done and soon their leader revealed himself as the “Warlord of Weird” Sinn Bodhi (otherwise known as Kizarny from WWE). He demanded the Eye of Tyr, as part of their agreement for Kodama and Obariyon’s services, but since UltraMantis couldn’t offer the treasure, the demonic three have become his enemies.

FIST
Members: Icarus, Chuck Taylor and Johnny Gargano
Alignment: Rudo

At the last King of Trios, newcomer Johnny Gargano was found watching FIST matches while wearing a FIST t-shirt. He later revealed on a blog that he was a huge fan, but felt that there was a weak link on the team. This led to Chuck Taylor and Icarus turning on Gran Akuma after he got pinned in a trios match and they brought in Gargano as his replacement. Since then, Akuma had gone missing. Gargano is ready to prove his worth and considering how well he and Chuck work together, it’s not unbelievable to suggest that FIST could win the tournament a second time.

The Osirian Portal
Members: Amasis, Ophidian and Hieracon
Alignment: Tecnico

As the Osirian Portal searched for a new member, Wink Vavasseur forced them to team up with fresh face Jonathan Gresham, who really didn’t have anything resembling a gimmick. Although they were reluctant, Amasis and Ophidian warmed up to him and saw his potential. They trained him in the art of Egyptian funk and recreated him as Hieracon. Now fully embraced as a unit, the three make a run to the top of the ladder.

The Spanish Announce Team
Members: Amazing Red, Joel Maximo and Wil Maximo
Alignment: Tecnico

The Maximos are a brother tag team with Wil replacing his recently-retired other brother Jose. Together, they’ve wrestled in CZW, ROH and many other promotions. TNA X Division star Amazing Red, while seeming like the odd man out, is actually their cousin, so we get another all-family trio. The family bond is what’s going to have to hold them together, as Wil and Red haven’t exactly wrestled as a tandem by this point.

The Spectral Envoy
Members: UltraMantis Black, Hallowicked and Frightmare
Alignment: Tecnico

Ever since the rise of the BDK, who had trumped him in his plans for domination, UltraMantis Black has fallen on hard times. He’s owned up to his mistakes and has finally reconnected with his longtime enemy Hallowicked. With Frightmare alongside them, the new trio plans to destroy the BDK, regain the Eye of Tyr, break the spell on Delirious and keep the Batiri off their backs.

Team Australia
Members: Tama Williams, Percy T and Kabel
Alignment: Tecnico

Here we have this year’s wildcard team. Hailing from New Horizon Pro Wrestling in Perth, Australia, the trio is led by recently-dethroned Art of Fighting Champion Tama Williams. With him is an odd assortment of partners. Percy T is a skinny nerd who heroically fights to stand up for those like him. Kabel, known as the largest wrestler in Australia, is basically Kane from Down Under. They seem a little too scattershot to work well enough together, but we’ll see if things go their way.

Team Dragon Gate
Members: Akira Tozawa, KAGETORA and Super Shisa
Alignment: Tecnico

These three have been working in the USA incarnation of Dragon Gate, so it’s convenient for them to be around to enter this tournament. It actually worked out quite well for Akira Tozawa, who didn’t have much of a name before leaving Japan, but through wrestling in PWG, he’s garnered quite the following. Meanwhile, his partners already have a reputation in hand from their years of experience. KAGETORA is a former student of Michinoku Pro and the older Super Shisa is an early student of the legendary Ultimo Dragon.

Team Michinoku Pro
Members: Dick Togo, Great Sasuke and Jinsei Shinzaki
Alignment: Tecnico

Great Sasuke is the founder of Michinoku Pro and is essentially going through a wrestler version of a mid-life crisis by taking part in too many death matches. Despite that, he can still go when needed. When he left the company so he could do government work, he temporarily left the company to Jinsei Shinzaki. Jinsei is better known in the US as Hakushi from mid-90’s WWF. Dick Togo also had a run in the WWF during the 90’s as one of the founding members of Kaientai. All three of these men are considered major icons in Japan.

It was put into question whether they’d make the show due to the massive earthquake in Japan around this time and how it had affected their lives, especially Jinsei. Interestingly enough, by making this show, King of Trios 2011 is the only one so far where everybody showed up as advertised without a hitch.

Team Minnesota
Members: Arik Cannon, Darin Corbin and the 1-2-3 Kid
Alignment: Tecnico

Not a dream! Not a hoax! Not an imaginary story! Sean Waltman shows his face in the world of CHIKARA, but not as Sean Waltman. Not as Syxx. Not even as X-Pac. For the first time in 15 years, he reprises his role as the 1-2-3 Kid, the WWF identity that got him to the dance. He teams up with the F1rst Family, taking the spot usually reserved for Ryan Cruz, who had retired from in-ring action. He may be a stranger to his partners, but the 1-2-3 Kid made his name through overcoming the odds.

Team Osaka Pro
Members: Atsushi Kotoge, Daisuke Harada and Ultimate Spider Jr.
Alignment: Tecnico

Celebrated tag team Kotoge and Harada make their return to King of Trios after a fine showing the year prior. Instead of trying to work with a rival to represent their promotion, they decided to replace him with someone a bit friendlier in Ultimate Spider Jr. The masked wrestler takes much inspiration from Spider-Man himself and even has webbing abilities. Well, mime webbing abilities. With great teamwork comes great victory, I suppose.

Team Quackenbush
Members: Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw and Manami Toyota
Alignment: Tecnico

The Campeones de Parejas “Lightning” Mike Quackenbush and Jigsaw have an ace in the hole with their partner. Manami Toyota, the legendary joshi veteran, made her first visit to US soil in September, where she defeated Daizee Haze and then teamed with Quack to defeat Claudio Castagnoli and Sara Del Rey. Since then, she’s been incredibly thankful for the opportunity, as she’s rarely allowed to test her mettle against male opponents. She keeps her bond with Quack going by teaming up with the tag champs in what appears to be a top tier alliance.

3.0le
Members: El Generico, Scott Parker and Shane Matthews
Alignment: Tecnico

El Generico is El Generico, so you know what to expect there, but his partners is where the real story is. Having lost nearly every match in their years in CHIKARA, Scott “Jagged” Parker and “Big Magic” Shane Matthews strayed from their path as 2.0 to become the Badd Boyz, two identical twin biker brothers in denim who looked suspiciously exactly like 2.0. After 2.0 strangely no-showed a planned match against the Badd Boyz (which is SO unprofessional) and lost by countout, the Badd Boyz revealed to a SHOCKED crowd that they are really Parker and Matthews. Having gained their confidence, they rechristen themselves 3.0. Now these two loveable goofballs are teaming together with the king of lovable goofballs and only good things can come from it.

The Throwbacks
Members: Dasher Hatfield, Sugar Dunkerton and Matt Classic
Alignment: Mixed

Matt Classic returns! Not much of note has happened with Dasher Hatfield and Sugar Dunkerton. The Throwbacks had a role in fighting the BDK army, but for the most part, it was Sugar dropping the ball when it came to taking on Daizee Haze. Rather than fighting her head-on, he was too taken in by her charms and fell for her tricks time and time again. It’s a good thing that she isn’t in the tournament then and even if she was, Matt Classic wouldn’t stand for it. As far as he’s concerned, broads shouldn’t be shooting with men anyway.

Let’s look at the tournament brackets to see who’s fighting who.