CHIKARA King of Trios 2011 Night Two (4/16/11)

CHIKARA King of Trios 2011 Night Two
April 16th, 2011
Asylum Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 700+

Less than 24 hours after the opening round of the 2011 King of Trios tournament, the action continues in the famous Asylum Arena in Philadelphia (or the ECW Arena if you want to harken back to the 90s). Tonight's big matches include the four quarter-finals matches of the Trios tournament, as well as two four-way elimination matches in the Rey de Voladores tournament, with the winners facing off in the finals the following night. Enough preambling, on to the show!


Your hosts are Ultramantis Black, Gavin Loudspeaker, Bryce Resmburg, and Leonard F. CHIKARAsan among others


Colt Cabana vs. Archibald Peck

Peck has the bizarre gimmick of a marching band-leader, but the guy's so good with his character that he never makes it seem that silly. As you might've guessed from the participants involved, this is a laid-back comedy match for all intents and purposes. Peck gets a few bits and pieces of offense in, but otherwise it's all Colt avoiding and countering everything the inept Peck throws at him. Peck tries his finisher three different times and each time Cabana counters. Peck gets crotched on the top rope but his valet hands him her baton and distracts the ref long enough for Peck to nail Colt with the baton and pin him with a flying headbutt off the top at 9:13. An entertaining opener that gives Peck a bit of heat, but nothing special. **


King of Trios 2011 Quarter-Finals Match
F.I.S.T. (Chuck Taylor/Johnny Gargano/Icarus) vs. Team Osaka Pro (Atsushi Kotoge/Daisuke Harada/Ultimate Spider Jr.)

Team Osaka Pro impressed again in their return to CHIKARA the night before with a victory against the Throwbacks in the first round, while FIST easily disposed the young Team Australia in the first round to get here. These two teams actually faced off in last year's tournament, but with slightly different line-ups. Crowd is solidly behind Team Osaka Pro here as Harada and Icarus start us off. Icarus continues to get X-Pac like heat from the CHIKARA fans. Harada nails him so hard with a forearm that he stumbles to the floor and into the front row. Gargano and Spider are in next, with Spider getting the better of him with a headscissors and spinkick. Taylor and Kotoge hop in next and Kotoge shows off his speed again by running the ropes. He locks on a leg vicegrip around Chuck's neck and Harada locks in a figure four for the double submission while Spider hits the Rolling Thunder in a neat spot. FIST takes back the upper hand by working over Spider in their corner and trading frequent tags. Icarus delivers a pair of snap suplexes to Spider and then transitions right into a guillotine choke. The fans rally behind Spider while he makes his comeback before he gets the hot tag to Harada. Gargano and Icarus hop in to interfere but Harada gives Icarus an overhead release belly-to-belly suplex right into Gargano in the corner! Harada nails Gargano with a big double-stomp off the second rope but only for two as he counters with a variation on the Sliced Bread. Kotoge misses a top-rope lionsault but nails Taylor with a kick anyways for two. Spider eats a sick Tiger suplex from Icarus that gets a very long two and the pace has noticeably picked up. Tags are out the window at this point as Harada and Kotoge hit a series of tandem moves on Gargano and Taylor. Double enziguri staggers Taylor and a snap suplex/frog-splash combo is just barely broken up by Gargano. Icarus looks done after a DVD/superkick combo but he manages to kick out and plant Harada with a DDT. Icarus eats a nasty knee but again Gargano is there for the save. Some absolutely crazy sequences of counters and reversals at this point, too fast for me to even call as the crowd chants "This is awesome!". Kotoge eats the assisted ace crusher from FIST but Spider makes the save only to eat the Sole Food from Taylor, followed by a crazy double-stomp/wheelbarrow suplex combo that has to be seen to be believed, but once again the save is made however. Everyone spills out to the floor and Spider goes for a big tope, but Taylor rolls him up from behind and pulls the tights for the cheap win at 19:15! Crowd is pissed about the finish, which means it accomplished exactly what it intended to. This was wall-to-wall action from these six men with some insane tandem offense and some of the craziest sequences of moves piled on top of each other that I've ever seen. Best match of the tournament to this point. ****


Backstage Zack Sabre Jr. promises to win his match tonight and rename the tournament the "King of the Armbars". Jericho might have you beat there Zack.


Rey de Voladores Qualifying Elimination Match
El Generico vs. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Pinkie Sanchez vs. Marshe Rockett

This is the first qualifying match in the Rey de Voldores tournament, which roughly translates to "King of the High Flyers". Elimination rules and the last man remaining goes onto the finals tomorrow night. The BDK referee Derek Sabato is the official here again, but he was fair and impartial the last night so maybe it won't matter, though with fellow BDK member Pinkie Sanchez involved it might be a different story tonight. Sabre showboats early on while putting the moves to Sanchez in the early going. Sabre locks on a nasty armbar but Pinkie gets the rope break. Generico and Rockett pop in next and feel each other out with wristlock exchanges. Fast paced stuff from these two until Pinkie tags himself back in. Rockett makes him regret that decision with stiff knife-edge chops almost immediately. Sabre hops back in he's met with the same chops from Rockett as well. Sabre grabs Generico's arm and bends each of his individual finger backwards like a pissed off loan-shark. Generico tumbles to the floor from a low bridge by Pinkie, who hops in the ring and begins choking Sabre. Sabre catches Pinkie in mid-air and delivers a nifty variation on the Tiger suplex and tags Rockett in, but Sabato refuses to acknowledge the tag. Pinkie goes for a springboard but Generico nails him with a dropkick in mid-air. He tries to follow it up but Sabato blocks off Generico. Rockett will have none of this though and destroys Pinkie with a suicide dive to the floor. Sabato distracts Rockett back in the ring long enough for Pinkie to nail him with a huge DDT, and Pinkie eliminates Rockett at 13:19.

Sabre tries a quick roll-up on Generico to no avail. Generico misses a Yakuza kick and eats a nasty jumping sidekick to the back of his head from Sabre for a close two count and the crowd begins to rally behind Generico with the "Ole" chants. Sabre goes back to the armwork on Generico but Pinkie springboards back in and hits a seated senton on Sabre to eliminate him as well at 15:59.

Pinkie works up a head of steam and hits a Shining Wizard on Generico to try and end this one quickly, but Generico kicks out. He goes for the top-rope brainbuster on Pinkie but Sabato pulls him off. Generico shoves him and tries it again but Pinkie hangs him in the tree of woe and hits a seated senton on Generico for a close near fall. Generico hits a sit-down Michinoku driver on Pinkie but Sabato counts so slow that a five count turns into a 2 count somehow and Pinkie gets the shoulder up. CHIKARA official Wink Vavasseur has seen enough at this point though and he comes out to...tell Sabato to change his shirt? Sabato reluctantly takes off the BDK shirt and throws on a CHIKARA referee's shirt, which freaks Pinkie out. He runs right into an exploder suplex into the turnbuckle from Generico though, and then gets absolutely nailed by a Yakuza kick and Generico nails him with the top-rope brainbuster for the win at 20:47! Lots to enjoy here, from the antics of the BDK ref to some great exchanges between Sabre and Generico and finally the super-hot finish, a good match that gives Generico momentum going into the finals tomorrow night. ***½


Backstage the Osirian Portal promise to become the 2011 King of Trios champion. There's something really weird about hearing Amasis and Hieracon speak as they both have the voices of inner-city thugs and they're all decked out in crazy Egyptian outfits. I kind of wish some of the masked men in CHIKARA would remain silent sometimes.


King of Trios 2011 Quarter-Finals Match
The Osirian Portal (Amasis/Ophidian/Hieracon) vs. Team Dragon Gate (Akira Tozawa/Super Shisa/KAGETORA)

This should be good, the Dragon Gate guys always seem to bring it when they come to CHIKARA. Both of these teams have very similar in-ring styles, and they mesh very well together in the early-going. Amasis and Tozawa trade big chops and Shisa tags himself in. The Portal try isolating Shisa in their corner for a bit until Tozawa gets fed up and he and KAGETORA interfere again. Tozawa plays the role of the isolated one now as the Portal gang up on him in their corner. Tozawa blocks a cross-body from Amasis with his knees and tags Shisa back in. Amasis takes an extended beatdown next as the Dragon Gate boys work him over with submission holds. Amasis gets the hot tag to Hieracon though who fights off both Tozawa and Shisa. He rolls up Tozawa while delivering a German suplex to Shisa at the same time in a cool spot, but KAGETORA hops in and nearly kicks his head off for a near fall. Amasis and Shisa trade nearfalls next until Shisa hits a big piledriver for a near fall. Shisa locks an STF onto Amasis who nearly taps before Ophidian can break things up. Tozawa nails Ophidian with a bicycle kick but Ophidian counters right back with a superkick. Ophidian takes out both Shisa and KAGETORA with a suicide dive on the floor and then springboards in with a senton for another extremely close two count. High angle Saito suplex gets another near fall on Amasis, but Hieracon breaks it up and DDTs Tozawa. The Portal triple team Shisa while his partners are down and Amasis finishes him off with the 450 splash for the win at 21:08. Another fun tournament match as all six men worked well together and the match just flew by as a result. ***¼


Eddie Kingston vs. Arik Cannon

We take a break from tournament action for a battle of two respected talents on the indies. Kingston comes out rocking a Sweet 'N' Sour t-shirt in honor of the late Larry Sweeney. Kingston nails Arik with a big Saito suplex early on and Cannon bails to take a breather, but Kingston dives out after him with a tope. Kingston's got some nice agility for having such a big gut. Both men try (and fail) to deliver a brainbuster on the concrete floor, and things break down into a brawl just like you'd expect from these guys. Cannon lays in some forearms on Kingston and then delivers Total Anarchy (snap twisting neckbreaker) to him while he's hung up on the guardrail, dropping him headfirst to the concrete floor! Back in the ring they trade some more stiff forearms and slaps and a t-bone suplex on Kingston gets two. Cannon throws everything he's got at Kingston: a brainbuster, Saito suplex, and a second Total Anarchy but Kingston kicks out of them all. Kingston avoids a moonsault attempt and backfists Cannon before hitting him with the Sliding D for the pin at 9:18. Fun stuff from these two, but I'm not a fan of that ending. Cannon throws all he's got at Kingston, who kicks out of it all, and then Kingston wins with a weak move like the Sliding D? **¾


After the match Kingston is visibly emotional as he and Cannon hang a Larry Sweeney shirt on the top rope and embrace. Touching moment.


Backstage The Colony promise that this will be their year to win the King of Trios.


The Colony (Fire Ant/Soldier Ant/Green Ant) vs. Bruderschaft des Kreuzes (Tim Donst/Delirious/Jakob Hammermeier)

BDK screwed the Colony out of the King of Trios in last year's finals (though that was a different BDK team), so they're looking for vengeance here tonight. It's worth nothing also that earlier in the day at the Fan Expo CHIKARA does each year for King of Trios, the BDK and Tursas held a bodyslam challenge, and Green Ant came out dressed exactly like Lex Luger was when he famously body-slammed Yokozuna on the USS Entrepid back in the summer of 1993, right down to the fanny pack. He nearly bodyslammed Tursas as well until Hammermeier attacked him from behind and the BDK ran off. Anyways, onto the match itself. Funny spot to start where all three of the BDK members get head-butted by the Ants in a circle with each BDK member stumbling from one headbutt to another from the Ants. The BDK bail to the floor but Fire Ant gets catapulted over the top and wipes them all out on the floor. Things settle down eventually as the BDK try isolating Fire Ant in their corner. Delirious gets some nice heat beating down on Fire Ant and then tags Hammermeier in to pick up the scraps. Donst hops in next and hits a gut-wrench suplex on Fire Ant for a near fall. Finally he tags out to Soldier Ant, who wipes out Delirious on the floor with a tope suicida! Green Ant jumps in next and counters a delayed vertical suplex from Donst into a near-fall. All six men are in the ring again as they all trade tandem forearms at the same time in a neat visual. Donst jumps onto the apron with a chair and distracts the ref so Tursas can come in to interfere, but instead Green Ant body-slams him! The crowd goes crazy for that as the commentators sell the slam like they just witnessed the 1980 US hockey team's "Miracle on Ice". He puts Hammermeier into the Torture Rack and that's enough for Jakob to submit and give The Colony the win at 13:05. Another really fun match in the tournament thus far, and one that showed the Colony getting a measure of revenge on the BDK for last year's defeat while also putting over Green Ant like a CHIKARA hero for slamming Tursas. ***


Rey de Voladores Qualifying Elimination Match
1-2-3 Kid vs. Amazing Red vs. Frightmare vs. Obariyon

This is the second qualifying match for the Rey de Voladores finals tomorrow night, and the same elimination rules apply. Obariyon, one half of the Batiri tag team, is definitely the odd man out here as all three of his opponents are far more accomplished. I'm still marking out over Waltman reprising the 1-2-3 Kid persona. Red and Frightmare start us off. Bryce Resmburg puts over how influential Waltman was for this kind of high-flying action as Red gets hit with an early hurricanrana. Frightmare bails to the floor and Red follows him out with a springboard somersault senton! Kid and Obariyon are in next and the veteran easily outwrestles him on the mat. Big clothesline takes Obariyon inside out but he moves out of the way to avoid the bronco-buster, so Kid takes him out on the floor with a slingshot splash instead. Obariyon gets some nice heat for blocking a suicide dive by Frightmare and he follows it up with a Shining Wizard for a two count. They do a triple sleeper spot and then Kid hits the bronco-buster on Obariyon. Obariyon blocks the Spanish Fly suplex attempt from Red on the top and then leaps off, planting him with a big DDT to eliminate Red at 13:59.

Kid works away at Obariyon in the corner almost immediately, and then nails him with the X-Factor, but Frightmare breaks it up so he can hit his finisher (the Kneecolepsy) and Obariyon is eliminated at 15:15.

Frightmare dives out to the floor and wipes out the Kid as soon as Obariyon is eliminated. He misses a somersault senton off the top and both men jockey for position on the top until Waltman delivers a Super X-Factor off the top rope to eliminate Frightmare and advance to the finals at 16:29! Great finish there. This took a few minutes to get going but once it did this was more fast-paced fun that did a great job of putting over Kid as still having a good bit left in the tank for his match with El Generico the following night. ***


After the match Waltman has two words for the fans---"Thank You!".


King of Trios 2011 Quarter-Finals Match
Team Michinoku Pro (Great Sasuke/Dick Togo/Jinsei Shinzaki) vs. Mike Quackenbush/Jigsaw/Manami Toyota

Good choice for the main event. Jigsaw and Sasuke start us off, and once again Sasuke is just wearing trunks, which just looks WRONG after so many years of rocking the awesome karate jumpsuit. They trade some basic holds and Quack and Shinzaki jump in to do the same. The fans call for Toyota and she tags in to face off with Dick Togo, which is quite the interesting match-up of Japanese legends. Toyota proves her toughness quickly though as she takes none of Togo's shit, nailing him with a missile dropkick and tagging Jigsaw back in. Shinzaki does his famous rope-walk spot and already things are starting to break down as everyone hits the ring and trades shots. Sasuke dropkicks the other four men on the floor and Manami Toyota flies off the top with a cross-body block to wipe out all 5 men! Back inside Jigsaw plays the man in peril as the M-Pro team works him over. Quack and Toyota team up on Sasuke for a bit and then Quack somersaults out of the ring to take out Shinzaki on the floor! Toyota rolls Sasuke around in the ring and gets a near fall. He blocks a lariat from Toyota though and just like last night he grabs a chair, and just like last night he swantons right onto the chair, crushing it! Moonsault from Toyota gets two. Jigsaw hits a brainbuster on Togo, but he gets the shoulder up as well. Togo rolls Jigsaw up for a near fall and then transitions right into his signature crossface, but Jigsaw gets the rope break. Togo delivers the pedigree to Jigsaw and goes to the top, but Jigsaw gets right back up and superkicks him stiff on the turnbuckle. Triple H would be so pissed if he saw that. Jigsaw goes coast-to-coast from one turnbuckle to another with a crazy missile dropkick, but Shinzaki breaks up the count. Quack locks Sasuke into the CHIKARA Special but Shinzaki breaks it up with a pair of vicious palm-strikes right to Quack's throat. Quack eats a chokeslam from Shinzaki, a pedigree from Togo, and a missile dropkick from Sasuke but somehow he STILL kicks out, so Sasuke nails him with a powerbomb for the win at 21:28. A few fans chant "Match of the Year!", which is being rather generous. This was still an excellent main event though and it was a lot of fun for longtime puro fans to see Toyota in the ring with the Michinoku Pro originals. Solid way to finish off Night Two. ***½


That does it for Night Two, stay tuned for Night Three.

Bottom Line: As much fun as the first night was, Night Two upped the ante considerably with a brilliant opening contest that's one of the better Trios matches I can remember seeing in a long time, and tons of fun and well-worked matches to round out the card. Not a bad match to be found here, and although it would have been nice to get a change of style in between all of the high-flying Trios matches, the whole show came off very entertaining and sets up the final night very well. Another easy Thumbs Up.


Score: 8/10