100 Percent Fordified: CHIKARA King of Trios 2011, Night One

Philadelphia, PA – 4.15.2011

Commentary is provided by Bryce Remsburg, Gavin Loudspeaker, Wink Vavasseur, Eddie Kingston, Mike Quackenbush, Leonard F. Chikarason, Tim Donst, and UltraMantis Black.

The DVD opens with a nice music video for Larry Sweeney, who sadly passed away just days before this weekend. We then cut to the arena, where the ring is surrounded by the wrestlers and crew from the locker room (noteable people include The Olsen Twins, Hydra, and Ring of Honor owner Cary Silken). There are few dry eyes in the building as the crowd chants “SWEENEY” and then “SWEET AND SOUR”. We then fade to black. An opening video plays for the tournament, showing clips from King of Trios past.

3.0. and El Generico are standing by. All three guys argue over who the team captain is. They never settle on who the captain is, but Jagged lets us know that they’re destined for victory tonight. Matthews punches Generico in the stomach as Jagged sends us off with a BOO YA!

King of Trios 2011 First Round Match
The Osirian Portal (Amasis, Ophidian & Hieracon) vs. ¡3.OLE! (Scott “Jagged” Parker, Shane Matthews & El Generico)

Matthews shows off his power against Ophidian. Ophidian does a handstand in the corner and Matthews seems apprehensive to attack. Ophidian rolls off the corner and does a bit of dancing. Ophidian sweeps his leg and headbutts Matthews in the stomach. Generico and Hieracon tag in. A Lucha sequence ends with Generico taking Hieracon down with a toreador. Hieracon tries a series of pin attempts but only gets two. He dropkicks Generico after avoiding a yakuza kick. 3.0. encourage Generico to cheat. Generico backs Hieracon to the corner and it looks like he’s going to poke Hieracon in the eyes. Generico instead shakes Hieracon’s hand, but then pokes Hieracon in the eyes. It was a set-up! Generico shamefully runs to the floor and hides under a table. Amasis and Jagged hop in as the legal men. Amasis does some dancing to escape Jagged’s arm wringer. Jagged gets mad because he knows what’s coming next. Sure enough, Amasis calls for some C&C Music Factory and the dance party commences. Generico gets in Ophidian’s face after doing the Macarena. Generico tries to hypnotize The Osirian Portal but it doesn’t work. Unfortunately, Generico hypnotized Shane Matthews accidentally. Matthews tags himself in and throws Generico and Ophidian to the floor. A chain of wristlocks is formed by all six participants, bleeding into the crowd as well. Matthews punches Amasis in the stomach to end the madness. The Portal wear down Generico in their corner. Generico hits Amasis with a chain breaker and avoids an attack from Ophidian. Matthews tags in and sends Amasis out with his patented headscissors. Matthews hits Hieracon with a back breaker and Jagged nails him with a running knee strike. Jagged hops off Matthews’ back into an elbow drop to Amasis. Jagged pops Ophidian up into a spear from Matthews for two. Generico gives Ophidian an exploder suplex in the corner. 3.0. give Ophidian the Sweet Taste of Professionalism and Hieracon breaks the pin. Hieracon hits Jagged with a standing moonsault for two. Generico and Matthews get taken out. Ophidian suplexes Jagged and then hits a top rope moonsault. Generico breaks the pin. Jagged drops Ophidian with the Gory Bomb. Hieracon double stomps Jagged, and Generico gives Hieracon a yakuza kick. Amasis drops Generico with That Move I Beat Moses With. Matthews breaks the pin and looks for a German suplex. Ophidian and Amasis take out Matthews with a string of strikes. Hieracon takes out Generico and Jagged with a moonsault to the floor. Matthews is nailed with the Osirian Sacrament for the pin at 18:12. A perfect opener to this show; action packed and an absolute thrill to watch. All six guys performed at a top-notch level and set the tone for the rest of the weekend. ***1/2

“Team Australia” is backstage. They come to us from New Horizons Pro Wrestling out of Perth, Australia. Tama Williams says that they’re ready to have the biggest upset of the first round as they take on F.I.S.T. Williams says they are prepared to win the entire tournament.

King of Trios 2011 First Round Match
F.I.S.T. (Icarus, Chuck Taylor & Johnny Gargano) vs. Team Australia (Percy T, Kabel, & Tama Williams)

Kabel is a very tall dude. Gargano brings Percy to the mat by his arm. Percy takes Gargano over in a headlock. Percy whips Gargano to the corner. Gargano boots him and stomps on his back. Percy monkey flips Gargano and connects with a crossbody and dropkick. Kabel and Icarus tag in. Icarus asks for a test of strength, but Kabel is too tall for Icarus to do so. Icarus goes for an atomic drop but falls short of hitting Kabel. Kabel holds up Icarus and slams him down with great power. Williams dropkicks Icarus off the apron. He takes Taylor over with a pair of armdrags. Williams hits a sick kick for two. Percy tags back in and helps Williams attack Taylor in the corner. Gargano hits Percy with a slingshot spear and Taylor flies in with a quebrada for two. F.I.S.T. take this opportunity to isolate Percy from the rest of his team. Percy catches Icarus with a neckbreaker to escape. Kabel tags in and takes out Gargano and Taylor with shoulder blocks. He boots Gargano as Williams gives him a Samoan Drop. Icarus breaks the pin. Williams blocks the Shiranui and Kabel puts Icarus on his shoulders. Percy hits a Polish hammer Doomsday Device. Williams hits a Snuka Splash. Taylor breaks the pin. Gargano chop blocks Kabel. Taylor pulls Percy into the trajectory of a second rope kick from Williams. F.I.S.T. hit a dropkick/double enzuigiri combo in the corner. Taylor gives Percy the Sole Food. Icarus pedigrees Percy into the Hurts Donut from Gargano. Gargano pins Percy for the win at 11:13. Team Australia were certainly not the disaster many people expected, with Williams being the best of the bunch. F.I.S.T. winning was the right call and they put in a good showing. I’d like to see Tama Williams back for the Young Lions Cup tournament. **1/2

Donst is backstage with a shirt that has C on the left breast. He says it stands for Captain, since Ares and Claudio appointed him the position. Donst says he could have recruited anyone, but kept it in the BDK family by picking the unpredictable Delirious and the one-win wonder Jakob Hammermeier. Donst says he will show the world why he’s the future of the BDK. In the arena, Jakob Hammermeier comes out in a disguise and does the ring announcing for his own team.

King of Trios 2011 First Round Match
Da Soul Touchaz (Marshe Rockett, Acid Jaz & Willie “da Bomb” Richardson) vs. Die Brüderschaft des Kreuzes (Tim Donst, Delirious & Jakob Hammermeier)

Tursas accompanies the BDK trio to the ring. Hammermeier talks trash to Richardson. Richardson chops him and cranks on his nose. Hammermeier retreats and tags in Delirious. Richardson won’t back down to Delirious’ antics. Richardson chops Delirious in the corner. He dropkicks Delirious as Delirious comes off the ropes for two. Richardson gives him the Manhattan Drop. Rockett hits a leg lariat and a legdrop for two. Hammermeier backrakes Rockett. Delirious knocks him down with an elbow. Donst tweets Rockett’s nipples as he’s trapped in the BDK corner. Rockett reverses a backdrop from Hammermeier. Rockett nails him with a yakuza kick and tags in Jaz. He hits Donst with a flurry of strikes. He gives Donst two legdrops and a spinaroonie fist drop. Delirious breaks the count. Delirious and Donst drop Jaz with a flapjack/bulldog combo. Jaz gets bullied by the BDK until he gives Donst the Swiss Mist. Richardson tags in and Donst is unaware. He goes for a suplex, but Richardson reverses the power and delays the attack. Rockett drops Delirious with a TKO right before Richardson drops Donst. Rockett brings Hammermeier into the ring. Jaz and Rockett send him into a second rope Rydeen Bomb from Richardson. Donst breaks the pin and gets sent back out. Rockett dives out onto Delirious. Donst brings a chair to the apron distracting the referee. Tursas comes in behind the refs back and gives Jaz a crossbody. He puts Hammermeier on top, and the BDK get the pin at 11:23. The finish here was a perfect way to get the BDK and Hammermeier specifically major heat (not to mention a great foreshadow to tomorrow night). Da Soul Touchaz put in another fantastic performance with the BDK and helped the tournament pick back up from the last match. ***

Delirious is met by UltraMantis Black, Hallowicked, & Frightmare in the aisle way. It has been their mission of late to save Delirious from the BDK’s mind control. Tursas attacks them and takes Delirious away. No such luck for The Spectral Envoy this time, but we’ll see how things work out in the future.

King of Trios 2011 First Round Match
Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw & Manami Toyota vs. The Amazing Red & The Maximos (Wil Maximo & Joel Maximo)

Jigsaw takes Joel down with a variety of armdrags. He gives Joel a falling kick, and Joel responds with a flying enzuigiri. Jigsaw sends him to the floor and suicide dives out into a DDT. Red and Quack engage in a Lucha sequence in a fun blast from the past. Red Magistral cradles Quack for two. Quack puts him in the Lightning Lock briefly before tagging in Toyota. She dropkicks Red in the back as he’s trapped in the ropes. She boots down Wil and puts him in a Muta Lock. Toyota hits him with a top rope dropkick for two. Quack tags in and hits a double shotei with Toyota on Wil. Jigsaw jackknife pins him for two. Wil slides to the floor to tag in Red, who comes in with a flying crossbody to Jigsaw. Red and The Maximos make some quick tags to keep fresh whilst wearing down Jigsaw. Jigsaw escapes by sending Joel to the floor with a headscissors. Quack and Red tag in. Quack gives Red a basement single leg dropkick. Red sole butts Quack on the apron. Quack DDT’s Red on the apron and comes in with a springboard splash. Wil breaks the pin. Quack gives him a palm strike. Toyota missile dropkicks Wil into a German suplex from Jigsaw. Red spikes Jigsaw with a tornado DDT. Quack ducks two kicks from Red. Wil monkey flips Quack into a Beach Break from Joel for two. Toyota suplexes Joel. Jigsaw double stomps him, Quack hits a top rope senton, and Toyota gives him a top rope moonsault. Wil and Red break the pin. Red and The Maximos triple team Jigsaw. Wil gives him a delayed German suplex for two. The Maximos look for the Spanish Fly. They get thwarted. Toyota flies to the floor with a moonsault onto Red and Wil. Quack does a little Sweeney strutting before giving Joel the ’68 Comeback Special. Jigsaw follows up with the 12 Large Elbow for the pin at 10:11. This match was an absolute sprint from bell to bell. You could have sworn this was 2001 with how awesome Red and The Maximos looked. Seriously, this may be the most underrated bout of the entire weekend and totally over-delivered. ***3/4

Team Dragon Gate are backstage. Akira Tozawa introduces them in English before Shisa and KAGETORA go off in Japanese.

King of Trios 2011 First Round Match
The Spectral Envoy (UltraMantis Black, Hallowicked & Frightmare) vs. Team Dragon Gate (Akira Tozawa, KAGETORA & Super Shisa)

In a throwback to the Young Lions Cup tournament, Tozawa and Frightmare feel each other out. Frightmare sends Tozawa to the floor with a Frakensteiner. Mantis and KAGETORA tag in. Mantis stands tall as KAGETORA tries a trifecta of shoulder blocks. Mantis knocks him down before KAGETORA hits an armdrag and a dropkick. Shisa and Hallowicked tag in. Unsurprisingly we get a little Lucha from both guys. Shisa connects with a rebound dropkick. Mantis forearms Shisa from behind and hits a Polish hammer/enzuigiri combo with Frightmare. Shisa puts them both in an abdominal stretch simultaneously. Tozawa dropkicks them free. The Dragon Gate triuumvirate target Frightmare’s leg as they cut the ring in half. Frightmare is able to free himself by taking Tozawa down with a tornado DDT. Hallowicked tags in and takes KAGETORA down with a Frankensteiner. He yakuza kicks him into a jump-up neckbreaker from Frightmare. Frightmare dives onto KAGETORA and Tozawa on the floor. In the ring, Hallowicked gives Shisa the Go Too Sleepy Hollow and a step-up enzuigiri. Shisa snapmares Hallowicked and follows up with a headstand splash. Hallowicked comes back with a Rydeen Bomb and KAGETORA breaks the pin. KAGETORA slugs Mantis with a right hand. KAGETORA nails Mantis with a spinwheel kick to the crown of the head. He unleashes a series of kicks but only gets a two count. Mantis drops KAGETORA with the Cosmic Disaster for two. Shisa and Tozawa attack Mantis in the corner. Tozawa drops him with a Saito suplex for two. Tozawa misses the Apron Kara Tozawa. Mantis catches Tozawa with his knees as Tozawa goes for a senton. Frightmare clotheslines Tozawa as Hallowicked and Mantis hold him up. KAGETORA and Shisa break the count. Shisa huracanrana’s Frightmare off the top. Tozawa hits the Apron Kara Tozawa. KAGETORA hits the Genkonettiki for two. KAGETORA and Tozawa batter Frightmare with various kicks. Tozawa hits a bridging German suplex before diving onto Mantis and Hallowicked. Shisa drops Frightmare with the Yoshi Tonic for the shocking victory at 13:34. The Dragon Gate guys brought all their top notch ability to this bout. It was truly shocking, yet great that they won this match. As sad as I am to see The Spectral Envoy lose in round one, I feel better considering how awesome their opponents are. ***1/4

King of Trios 2011 First Round Match
The Throwbacks (Dasher Hatfield & Sugar Dunkerton) & Matt Classic vs. Team Osaka Pro (Atsushi Kotoge, Daisuke Harada & Ultimate Spider Jr.)

THE OSAKA PRO THEME RETURNS! I’m easy to please. Dunkerton and Kotoge do a bit of goofiness till Classic sets Dunkerton straight. Kotoge’s incredible speed allows him to nail Dunkerton with a hard kick. Dunkerton foolishly challenges Kotoge to a running contest. Not only does Kotoge smoke Dunkerton in the speed department, but in the endurance one as well. Dunkerton knocks Kotoge down with a shoulder block. Bryce calls a foul and allows Kotoge two free throws. Classic demonstrates to Kotoge how to do so by making a “granny shot” through Dunkerton’s arms. Kotoge throws a basketball through a makeshift hoop that Dunkerton makes with his arms once, and hits Dunkerton in the head the second time. Kotoge superkicks Dunkerton. Hatfield and Spider tag in. Hatfield evades a dropkick and tells Spider not to do anymore. Spider uses the invisible spiderwebs shot from his hands to throw Hatfield and Dunkerton into each other. Classic comes in. He is too big for Spider to move with his spiderwebs. Classic pulls Spider into a Bear Hug. Harada runs in and gets put in the Bear Hug instead. He escapes but then gets put in the claw. Harada breaks free and fails to knock Classic down. Harada stomps on Classic as he does some puma push-ups. Classic shoulder blocks him down and attacks Harada in the corner. Dunkerton whips Classic to Harada. Harada evades the attack and suplexes Dunkerton into a seated Classic in the corner. Harada runs the corners and slides into the home plate that is Dunkerton and Classic in a pile. Hatfield comes in and throws Harada’s head into the corner. He dropkicks Harada’s head into the second turnbuckle. Harada and Kotoge team up against Dunkerton and Hatfield. They get sent to the floor as Classic comes in. Classic suplexes them both at the same time. Spider comes in with a top rope dropkick. He hits the Rolling Thunder for two. Hatfield and Dunkerton drop Spider with the Alley Oop. Harada and Kotoge break the pin. Kotoge and Harada dropkick them out to the floor. Harada pescado’s onto Dunkerton and Hatfield on the floor. Spider joins them as Kotoge dives out onto them. Classic looks like he’s going to dive, but instead falls onto Spider from the apron. In the ring, Hatfield, Kotoge, Dunkerton, and Harada start a circle of chops. Dunkerton knocks Kotoge and Harada down with a double clothesline. Dunkerton hits Kotoge with the Kiss My Converse kick. He drops Kotoge with a piledriver and Harada breaks the pin. Harada nails him with a hip toss knee strike. Hatfield breaks the pin. He drops Harada with the Suicide Squeeze and Spider breaks the pin. Hatfield gives Spider the Jackhammer for two. Spider sends Hatfield to the floor. Classic suplexes Spider and misses a first rope splash. Spider rolls him up in a Magistral cradle for the pin at 17:04. The Osaka team already looks stronger with Spider instead of Tadasuke from last year. The comedy hit the right chords and wasn’t overdone, and all the action was great. A perfect blend of the two. ***

King of Trios 2011 First Round Match
The Colony (Fire Ant, Soldier Ant, & Green Ant) vs. Sinn “Kizarny” Bodhi & The Batiri (Obariyon & Kodama)

Kobald is in the corner of his fellow Dark Army members. As he mentioned in a blog posted on the CHIKARA website, Wink Vavasseur makes Green Ant put an elbow pad on the arm that recently had surgery done to it. BDK referee Derek Sabato is the official for this match. If you recall the finals of last years King of Trios tournament, this could be bad for The Colony.

Soldier Ant wins the opening exchange with Obariyon by taking him down with a spinning headscissors. Fire Ant tags in and fireman carry’s Obariyon into a saluting headbutt from Soldier Ant. Fire Ant and Kodama go back and forth. Fire Ant gives him a backbreaker for two. Green Ant tags in and double teams Kodama with Fire Ant. Green Ant applies a modified Anaconda Vice. Kodama escapes and forearms Green Ant down. Kizarny tags in. Soldier Ant chop blocks him to avoid a chokeslam to Green Ant. Fire Ant does the same. Green Ant hits a wind-up punch and escapes a spin-out slam with a chinbreaker. The Colony nail Kizarny with a seated triple dropkick in the corner. Kodama and Obariyon send Fire Ant and Soldier Ant to the floor. Kobald spears Green Ant behind Sabato’s back. The Dark Army take the opportunity to single Green Ant out and dissect him in their corner. Green Ant evades a cannonball senton from Kodama. Kobald comes in but Green Ant side-steps a spear. He tags in both Fire and Soldier Ant who take down Obariyon and Kodama. Kizarny accidentally clotheslines his partners and gets dropkicked to the floor. The Colony send Fire Ant onto the Dark Army with the Antapult. Green Ant blocks a split-legged moonsault from Kodama back in the ringt. Green Ant drops him with an amateur throw and applies the Cloverleaf. Obariyon gives Green Ant the back cracker. Fire Ant nails Obariyon with the Yahtzee Kick. Obariyon turns a Beach Break into a sunset flip for two. Fire Ant and Obariyon fight in the ring while Kizarny chops Soldier Ant as he dangles from the ropes. Fire Ant dives onto Kizarny. Soldier Ant and Obariyon trade forearms. Soldier Ant drops him with a TKO for two. Obariyon and Soldier Ant fight on the top rope. Obariyon knocks him down. Soldier Ant blocks the Flying DDT. The Colony successfully pull off the Ant Hill, and Obariyon gets pinned at 16:32. Kizarny was the weak link here, but thankfully everyone else’s effort made up for him. The Batiri were their usual good selves while The Colony continue to look strong as the tournament crawls on. **3/4

King of Trios 2011 First Round Match
Team Michinoku Pro (The Great Sasuke, Jinsei Shinzaki & Dick Togo) vs. Team Minnesota (The 1-2-3 Kid, Arik Cannon, & Darin Corbin)

I was there live for this show, and seeing this collection of guys in the ring is still surreal. The 1-2-3 Kid and Shinzaki stand across from each other as the fans chant “1995” in reference to their match at Summerslam of that year. Kid gets on the microphone just to get the crowd going a little more. Cannon and Togo trade holds on the mat. They exchange deep armdrags and reach a stalemate after each trying a quick pinfall. Sasuke and Corbin tag in. THEY ENGAGE IN A SLOW MOTION SEQUENCE. THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING. I don’t even know how you would explain to Sasuke what this was. Once it’s over, Kid tags in. He wants Shinzaki, but Togo tags in instead. He and Kid trade forearms. Togo takes him over with a huracanrana. Shinzaki tags in and stands off with Kid. They exchange wristlocks. Kid armdrags Shinzaki and strikes his old 1-2-3 Kid karate pose. Kid asks for a handshake which Shinzaki turns down. Kid cranks on a headlock before knocking Shinzaki down with a shoulder block. He ducks a spinwheel kick and superkicks Kid down. Shinzaki grabs Kid’s arm and walks the top rope. He comes down with a hard chop to Kid’s head. Cannon claps Shinzaki as he hits the ropes. Shinzaki punches Cannon while Sasuke and Togo ram Kid crotch first into the ring post. Shinzaki disrespects Kid by using Kid’s own Bronco Buster. The M-Pro teams beats down Kid until Kid knocks Sasuke and Togo down with a clothesline at the same time. Corbin tags in, but gets trapped in the M-Pro corner immediately. Corbin uses Togo to give Sasuke a Shiranui. He tags in Cannon. He dropkicks Sasuke in the neck for two. Kid slams Sasuke and legdrops him for two. Kid misses a Bronco Buster. Cannon and Corbin both wear down Sasuke. Sasuke catches Corbin with an elbow and a spinwheel kick. Shinzaki tags in and takes down all three members of Team Minnesota. He hits Cannon with a super shoulder tackle for two. Togo and Cannon trade chops. Togo superkicks Cannon after a few right punches. Cannon punches Togo and superkicks him. Cannon follows with a brainbuster and Sasuke breaks the pin. Sasuke gives Corbin a Blockbuster for two. Sasuke sets up a chair in the ring. He and Corbin go slow motion once again. Sasuke sets up the chair and places Corbin on it. Corbin moves, and Sasuke comes off the top rope and crashes through the chair with a senton. Kid dropkicks Sasuke while Cannon knocks Shinzaki off the apron. Everyone fight on the floor while Kid goes up top. He wipes out the entire pile with a somersault senton. Kid brings in Sasuke and goes up top. He misses another senton and Sasuke rolls him up for two. Kid gives Sasuke the X-Factor and Shinzaki breaks the count. Shinzaki takes Kid down with a dragonscrew leg whip. Togo punches Cannon in the corner and comes down on Corbin with a crossbody. Togo drops Cannon and Corbin with a reverse STO/DDT combo. Sasuke does a senton to the concrete floor while Corbin catches Togo coming off the second rope with an ace crusher. Togo puts Corbin in a crossface. Shinzaki puts Kid in a straight-jacket choke. Cannon breaks both submissions. Sasuke sends Cannon to the floor and follows. Togo drops Corbin with a Pedigree. Dogo hits a top rope back senton on Corbin for the pin at 22:51. One heck of a way to end the show right here. Seeing The M-Pro team and the 1-2-3 Kid in the same ring is truly something special. When you consider how many years those guys have been in the business, they put on an incredible match. Cannon and Corbin never felt out of place and added to the overall specialness to the bout. Truly a one-of-a-kind match that you have to see to believe. ***3/4

Both teams embrace as the crowd chants “Thank You All”. Kid gets on the microphone and puts over M-Pro again. He says that Togo was his first match ever in Japan. He then thanks Shinzaki for their feud in the WWF and Sasuke for “starting it all”. The fans applaude as Kid thanks them again before leaving.

The 411: We're off to a magnificent start for the weekend. The majority of the card was excellent, providing hot action, wackiness, and terrific entertainment all around. Even the dark cloud of Sweeney's passing didn't bring down the mood. If nothing else, it brought the fans and wrestlers together. This set the stage for what was to come, and it would only get better from here. Be sure to check out all of my CHIKARA reviews at my CHIKARA blog; "The CHIKARA Special" and all the CHIKARA news over at "The CHIKARA Special" Tumblr.

Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]