CHIKARA Review: King of Trios 2009, Night Two

Philadelphia, PA – 3.28.2009

Coverage of King of Trios 2009 continues! In late March, 48 men converged into 16 teams in South Philadelphia for CHIKARA’s 2009 King of Trios tournament. These 16 teams will compete over the next three nights with on goal in mind: to be crowned the 2009 King of Trios. Tonight, we’re down to 8 teams paired off into four quarter-final matches. In addition, the 2009 Rey de Voladores tournament begins with two four-way qualifying matches. Two other organizations are represented tonight: Inter Species Wrestling and the Lethal Wrestling Alliance, who will both put on showcase matches. Let’s get down to business!

Commentary is provided by Bryce Remsburg, Louden Noxious, Mike Quackenbush, Bryce Remsburg, Leonard F. Chikarason, Ultramantis Black, Colin Delaney, Jimmy “Equinox” Olsen, and Chuck Taylor.

Rey de Voladores Qualifier
Matt Jackson vs. Player Dos vs. Austin Aries vs. Fire Ant

Only two men are legal at a time. Matt and Dos lock up, and look for the advantage. Matt takes out Dos with a dropkick, then a backflip into a headscissors. Aries gets sent outside with a hip toss, then Fire Ant jumps in. He lands some moves into a pin for two. Fire Ant headscissors Matt out of the corner then lands a fireman’s carry takedown. Fire Ant hits one on Aries as well, and they recoup into a headlock. Aries and Fire Ant trade the advantage on a wrist lock. Aries applies a side headlock and cranks on it. Aries gets tossed to the ropes and hits a shoulder tackle. Aries sends Fire Ant to the floor which tags in Dos. Aries takes Dos down in a side headlock. Dos turns it into a headscissors, and of course Aries pops up into a dropkick. Matt comes in and gets taken down with a series of Japanese armdrags. Matt puts on a headscissors. Aries pops up, and Matt ducks the dropkick attempt. Aries goes for a handshake but knees Matt in the stomach instead. Aries hits the ropes and gets tripped by Dos. Aries knocks Dos off the apron. Aries hits the ropes and gets tripped by Matt Jackson. Matt snaps Aries’ neck on the ropes. Aries turns into Fire Ant who hopes off the top into a cross body. Dos comes in and lands a moonsault on Fire Ant, and Matt comes in with a missile dropkick to Dos. Matt hits the ropes. Aries runs in and clotheslines Matt down. Aries hits his leaping elbow for the two count. Aries grounds Matt and works his back. Matt tries to fight back, only to be taken over with a gut buster and an STO. Aries sets up for the pendulum elbow drop, with one side of the arena booing and the other cheering. Aries takes too much time and Matt gets up fighting back. Aries grabs his hair and throws him down. Aries misses the pendulum elbow. Matt hits a float over inverted DDT on Aries. Fire Ant and Dos run in and are both taken out. Aries comes in and hits Matt, but gets thrown out. Aries skins the bat back in, yet is clotheslined out with Dos and Fire Ant. Matt dropkicks all three then ascends up top with a moonsault to the floor! Matt brings Dos back in the ring. Matt hits a springboard tumbleweed Ace Crusher on Dos for the two! Matt places Dos up top. Aries comes from behind and backrakes him. Aries throws him down, and Aries heads up top himself. Fire Ant pushes him off. Fire Ant hits the Antzugiri off the top rope onto Matt Jackson and follows up with the wheelbarrow Ace Crusher. Fire Ant hits Matt with the Beach Break, and that’s enough to eliminate Matt Jackson from the match.

Dos, still up top, gets attacked by Fire Ant. Aries dives at Fire Ant, who ducks. Aries hits Dos and then tosses Fire Ant in the corner. Aries goes for the dropkick and hits Dos. Fire Ant gets bandera’d do the floor, and Aries tries to bring him back in. Fire Ant hits the Antzugiri from the top. Fire Ant tries the wheelbarrow, but Austin doesn’t grab his legs. Fire Ant is pulled up by his mask and catches Aries with the Ace Crusher anyway. Fire Ant then heads up top and misses a Senton. Dos finally comes off the top rope with a frog splash onto Fire Ant, eliminating him from the match.

Aries tosses Dos outside then heats the torpedo clothesline through the middle and bottom rope. Dos hits the Slop Drop and a standing moonsault for a two count. Aries gets placed up top, and Dos goes for the B-13. Aries counters with a bulldog off the top rope, then hooks Dos in the Last Chancery! Dos gets his foot on the ropes forcing Aries to release. Aries puts Dos on top and lands a big chop across his chest. Aries follows and sets up for superplex. Dos fights out and goes for a frog splash. Aries moves out of the way. Aries picks up Dos and lands a rolling fireman’s carry. Aries signals for the 450 and heads up top. Dos catches him with a kick to the head and follows up top. Aries rakes the eyes. Dos hits a jumping Enzugiri, then hits the B-13 to score the victory! Dos advances to the finals on Night 3. This was a super fun opening contest. Lots of cool, crisp spots, and Aries played the heel roll very well and was a nice antagonist for this match. Dos winning I think was the right move too, and he came off looking fantastic. ***1/4

King of Trios Quarter-Finals Match
The F1RST Family (The North Star Express (Darin Corbin & Ryan Cruz) and Arik Cannon) vs. F.I.S.T. (Icarus, Gran Akuma, & Chuck Taylor)

Icarus and Corbin start this one off. They stare one another down and Icarus shoves Corbin. Corbin puts on a front facelock. Akuma makes the blind tag, and he and Icarus take down Corbin with some tandem offense. Chuck then tags in and stomps away at Corbin in the corner. Chuck butterflies the arms and lets Akuma to kick him in the stomach. Corbin sends Icarus to the floor and then gets kicked out of the ring by Corbin. Arik comes in, and takes Icarus out with a slap to the face. Arik takes over Chuck with a couple of armdrag variations, then chops Chuck in the corner. Arik ducks a backflip from Chuck and a monkey flip. Each man sweeps the other looking for a pin to no avail. Bryce gets swept up by accident and gets pinned and attempts a pin! The fans go nuts for Bryce’s involvement and the wrestlers question what the hell he was doing. This was a fabulous moment. Akuma and Cruz get tagged in by their partners and lock up. Akuma rolls through a wrist lock into a hammerlock. Cruz gets the wristlock back on and tags in Corbin. The NSE hit a tandem gutbuster and sandwich dropkick on Akuma. Icarus comes in as Akuma rolls to the floor. The NSE continue their offense with a sandwich lariat and Shellshock (not Shelley’s move) for the two count. All six participants run and apply a chain of headscissors! No one submits, so they agree to break it up. Akuma and Arik exchange shots in the middle of the ring. Arik and Akuma roll to the floor still fighting. Cruz holds the top and middle ropes opening a gap between the two. Corbin and Icarus take advantage, diving through onto Cannon and Akuma, respectively. Chuck suoplexes Cruz back in, and Cruz dives over Chuck with a dive on the four men on the floor. Chuck hits the ropes and dives, but everyone moves causing him to smack against the concrete floor! Cruz and Icarus come back in first, making them the legal men. F.I.S.T. now decides to isolate Cruz in their corner. F.I.S.T. utilizes their advantage with a myriad of frequent tags, double teams, and triple teams. Arik inserted himself to break up a pin, but even with that Cruz was still trapped in F.I.S.T’s corner. Cruz comes back after ducking a clothesline from Akuma and hitting a springboard dropkick. Corbin gets the hot tag and takes down Icarus and Chuck by himself. Chuck and Icarus come back with a big kick/lungblower combination. Cannon tages in when Corbin runs out, missing a moonsault on Chuck. Akuma hits a pair of hard kicks to Arik’s head followed by a sweeping kick. Chuck comes in with a springboard dropkick and Akums goes up top. Akuma his the frogsplash, and the NSE break up the pinfall attempt. The NSE trap Icarus in the corner hitting some of their cool offense, including Cruz monkey flipping Corbin into Icarus. They set up for the Cruz Control. Chuck kicks Corbin down, then F.I.S.T hits a double Enzugiri/dropkick combo. Cruz gets put up top with Akuma. Akuma hits the top rope Spider Exploding suplex. Akuma goes for the moonsault, and Corbin catches him with an Ace Crusher! Arik follows up with the Glimmering Warlock but Chuck breaks up the pin. Icarus grabs Corbin and looks for the Shiranui. Corbin counters and lands a backpack Ace Crusher. Chuck hits the Sole Food onto Corbin. Corbin turns into Icarus. Icarus lands the Pedigree and scores the pin on Corbin. Great match from two great teams who really worked hard. F1RST needs to come back more often, those three guys are so good. ***1/4

Lethal Wrestling Alliance Showcase Match
Davey Vega & Gary The Barn Owl vs. The Submission Squad (Evan Gelistico & Pierre Abernathy)

Jesus Christ is Pierre ugly. Him and Evan have absurd looking gear also. The Submission Squad attack Gary and Davey from behind but they come back with some forearms. The Sbumission Squad try a comeback but get foiled. Davey makes it so Pierre DDT’s Evan. Gary rolls into a double slap in the corner on Pierre, and Davey follows with a jump up kick to the chest. The Squad heads to the floor, and the babyfaces look for dives. The Squad trip them on the mat slamming their faces into the apron. The Squad hit some offense on Gary, not allowing him to make a tag. Gary comes back with an ace crusher then wheelbarrows through for a pin attempt. Evan spins Gary around into a slam and stretches his back against his knee. More double teaming from the Squad. The fans chant BABA BOOEY at Pierre and rightfully so. He applies a sleeper hold, and I am falling asleep myself. The coldest hot tag in the history of wrestling is made to Davey as he fights off both Pierre and Evan. Tandem dives by the babyfaces to the Squad to the floor. Evan catches Davey with a jump up Ace Crusher for a two count. Gary comes in with a swinging flatliner for the two count. Evan drops Gary on his head sending him to the floor. Davey ducks a clotheslines and takes down Pierre with a clotheslines. Evan blocks a clothesline and hits with a “Here It Is Driver” for the win.

Okay, this match was eighteen kinds of terrible. The wrestling looked sloppy, incredibly choreographed, and was plain uninteresting. The fans didn’t give two shits about any of the participants, and I am sure many people say that this is why the match was so bad. Isn’t the point of wrestling to make the fans care about what you’re doing? As someone who was in attendance for this match, I can straight up tell you they didn’t. The fans chanted “Don’t Come Back” and booed them mercifully as they left. Both teams had kick ass theme music, and that’s the only positive I have about the entire match. Even with that though, their entrances (and exits) went WAY too long. One fan screamed and begged for them to go away. Yep, it was that bad. It also doesn’t help that the team advertised as “The Submission Squad” didn’t do a single submission. Supposedly, there’s some storyline involving this in the LWA, but we don’t know that. I equate it to why Vin Gerard didn’t get over in PWG; fans didn’t know the backstory, and that is very important to know when it comes to a character. It’s makes far more sense and is far more rewarding if you know these guys’ backstory. The fans didn’t, the commentators didn’t. Don’t advertise the team that way if you’re not going to explain them to us. The LWA had a shot on the absolute biggest tournament of the year, and this, THIS was the effort they gave. The chance to turn CHIKARA fans into LWA fans was now. Plenty of wrestlers and companies have opened the eyes of CHIKARA fans, so it’s not as if doing this difficult or unprecedented. I was going to give this match a DUD, but that’s for 20 second matches where guys like Alex Payne get squashed. Those are much better than this. There’s only one proper rating for this match; FAIL.

King of Trios Quarter-Finals Match
The Future Is Now (Lince Dorado, Equinox, & Helios) vs. The Osirian Portal (Amasis, Ophidian, & Escorpion Egipcio)

Helios and Amasis start. They lock up and Helios works over Amasis’ left arm. Amasis does some shuckin’ and jivin’, but Helios is right with him and keeps on the arm. Amasis switches out, but Helios dances right back into it. They switch a couple young times, using the art of dance. Helios snapmares Amasis over into a chinlock. Amasis rolls up and takes over Helios with a headscissors. They trade some kicks, leading into them kicking each other into the Kid N’ Play dance routine! This also ruled. Amasis blocks an O’Conner Roll and three clothesline attempts. Helios catches him with a kick to the chest and fakes out a dive to the floor. Equinox and Escorpion tag in. Equinox pulls up his straps to show he means business and to mimic Egipcio’s gear. They lock up and Equinox blocks some attacks from Escorpion. Escorpion gets monkey flipped, and banderas Equinox to the apron. Equinox comes back with a headscissors takedown and tope’s into an armdrag to the floor. Lince and Ophidian come in as the legal combatants. They roll around on the mat looking for the advantage. Lince victory rolls Ophidian for a two. They two engage in a chop battle. Ophidian gets out of a cabrada. Lince tries for the flipping Urinage. Ophidian slips out and takes Lince out with a double rotation headscissors takedown! Lince springboards into a whoopee cushion, then a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Helios gets tagged in. They look for the tandem Hero’s Welcome, but Escorpion comes in. Helios and Lince duck which sends Escorpion to the floor. Amasis comes in and is cut off by TFIN. All three members hit low dropkicks on Amasis and Helios. Escorpion comes in and dropkicks Equinox and Lince to the floor. Helios, crotched up top, gets treated to a stacked-up fisherman’s superplex by Ophidian and Amasis. Helios, now trapped in the corner of the Portal, gets the brunt of their offense. Of course, Amasis can’t help but showboat a little while beating on Helios. The Portal has to remind Escorpion not to remove Helios’ mask, because that of course is an instant disqualification. While this is going on, Helios is able to tag in Lince. Lince is able to hang with all three till Escorpion RIPS LINCE’S EAR OFF HIS MASK. Thrown off his game, Lince is easily able to be isolated. The Portal continues to rip away at Lince’s mask, which is weird since…well, read a few sentences back, and you tell me what’s wrong. Lince comes back with an Enzugiri and tags in Equinox. He hits his signature top rope dropkick on Escorpion, and takes all three men down. Amasis ducks an attack from Equinox, then turns around to eat a superkick. Lince and Equinox double team Escorpion who broke up the previous two count. Helios follows up with a twisting splash, which misses. All three cover Escorpion, and Amasis breaks up the pile. All the members go to the floor, showing that things have broken down. In the ring, Amasis slams Helios face first hard to the mat. Ophidian and Amasis go up top for the Osirian Sacrament and nail it. Equinox and Lince both break up the count. Lince and Equinox are both picked up by Escorpion, and Amasis and Ophidian come off the top rope with dropkicks to them. Helios breaks up the pin and attacks Ophidian. Helios brings Amasis back in the ring as Escorpion comes back in. Escorpion gets sent to the floor. Lince dives onto Escorpion and into the crowd! Equinox dives onto Amasis. Helios looks to follow Equinox, but Ophidian comes from behind and locks on the Ophidian Death Grip! Helios breaks it up by ramming him in the corner. Helios puts Ophidian on his shoulders and hits the Burning Star Driver for the three count! The Future Is Now advance to the semi-finals. This was pretty good. Some botches and such kept this being something special, and the hypocrisy with the mask thing really bugged me. However, there was a still enough decent stuff for this to be good. Following that atrocious LWA match doesn’t help either. **1/2

Rey de Voladores Qualifier
El Generico vs. Jigsaw vs. Kota Ibushi vs. Nick Jackson

Kota and Jigsaw begin the match with a handshake. They tease locking up, but each take turns kicking each other instead. Kota takes down Jigsaw, and the two each look for the advantage on the mat. Jigsaw hammerlocks the arm into a full nelson. They exchange wristlocks, and Jigsaw stretches Kota with the Gory Gallows. Jigsaw gets taken to the floor with a spinning heel kick. Generico comes in as the new legal man with Kota. Generico and Kota go back and forth with Generico catching him with a leg lariat. Nick Jackson comes in with a headscissors take down to Generico. Nick goes to the apron, hops in and comes in with a corkscrew armdrag to the floor. Jigsaw hops in takeing down Nick with a leg lariat. Kota comes in, caught by Jigsaw. Kots kicks Jigsaw to the floor and Nick comes back in. Nick mares Kota over and applies a front facelock. Nick suplexes Kota for the two. Generico comes in, and he and Nick agree to be partners. The makeshift team works well, with Generico leapfrogging Nick into a dropkick on Ibushi. Jigsaw comes in and also gets double teamed. Ibushi comes back in and thwarts both men. Generico hits a Blue Thunder Bomb on Ibushi, and Nick breaks it up. Nick and Generico shove each other and begin to fight amongst themselves. Generico catches Nick with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. He heads to the top rope, but Ibushi cartwheels into a double Pele kick! Jigsaw topes onto Generico. Ibushi hits a standing moonsault on Nick for the two. They exchange waistlocks and Ibushi kicks Nick to the floor. Ibushi hopes on the corner and moonsaults onto Nick! Jigsaw catches a Yakuza kick from Generico into a powerbomb for the two count. Nick throws Ibushi into the barricade then comes back in the ring. Nick eats an elbow from Jigsaw. Jigsaw double stomps Nick into a hurricanrana on Generico! Jigsaw DDT’s Nick for a two count. Ibushi dropkicks Jigsaw to the floor. Nick gets sent to the apron. Nick hops back in with an X-Factor to Ibushi. Nick moonsaults to the floor on Jig and Generico, then comes back with a 450 Splash on Ibushi! Generico breaks up the pin. Why? Who knows. Generico and Nick fight in the middle of the ring. Generico low bridges sending Nick to the floor. Generico hits the Fozberry Flop onto Nick! Generico then runs, dives through the middle and bottom rope corner, and lands a spinning DDT on Jigsaw! Generico slides into the ring and nails Ibushi with the Yakuza Kick and a suplex onto his head! Ibushi kicks out at two, and the fans are going apeshit. Generico hits the ropes for a kick and Ibushi blocks. Ibushi kicks Generico in the head, hits the ropes and gets caught with a Yakuza Kick! Each men fire up and stand face to face! Ibushi ducks a kick, kicks Generico, and German suplexes Generico for two! Kota heads up top. Ibushi hits the double moonsault for the two count! Ibushi once again goes up top. Generico comes up and stops him with a forearm. Generico looks for the top rope Brainbuster. Ibushi knees him on the way down. Ibushi comes back with a super reverse Frankensteiner off the top rope for the three count! Generico has been eliminated!

Nick Jackson crawls in and clotheslines Ibushi to the floor. Jigsaw comes in and hits the Jig N’ Tonic on Nick. He gets the three count, and just like that Nick Jackson has been eliminated.

Jigsaw and Ibushi trade kicks. Ibushi heads up to the top rope, and gets caught with a superkick from Jigsaw. Jigsaw DDT’s Ibushi from the top for the two count only. Jigsaw looks for the Jig N’ Tonic and Ibushi fights out into a German Suplex. Ibushi then hits a Full Nelson Slam for the two count. Ibushi slams Jigsaw and heads up top. Ibushi lands the Golden Star Press onto Jigsaw for the three and the win! Ibushi will face Player Dos in the Rey de Voladores finals on Night Two. Man oh man oh man; this match was absolutely incredible. The fans went absolutely crazy for the match, and were on their feet for the vast majority of it. All four of these men looked astonishing, and the sequence from Generico hitting the Fozberry Flop to his elimination was one of the best I have ever seen. This ruled, and you should go out of your way to see it. ****

King of Trios Quarter-Finals Match
The Soul Touchaz (Marshe Rockett, Trauma, & Willie “da Bomb” Richardson) vs. The UnStable (Vin Gerard, STIGMA, & Colin Delaney)

Colin and Willie are the first two to begin. Colin tries to suplex Willie, but the size difference is laughable. Willie responds by giving Colin a reverse atomic drop. Colin tries for a hip toss, of course failing. Willie throws Colin to the ropes and gives him a big hiptoss to show him how it’s done. Colin says “sorry” and tags in Vin Gerard. Willie picks up Vin and slams him down. Trauma tags in, and he and Willie mow down Vin with a pair of shoulder tackles. Trauma hits Vin with a knee then a series of forearms in the corner. Marshe tags in and hits a double flapjack with Trauma. Both of them yell “YOU!” into Vin’s face, startling him. Vin rolls to the floor to tag in STIGMA. STIGMA chops Marshe. Marshe ducks STIGMA off the ropes and dropkicks him down. Colin comes in, gets taken down with a drop toehold, and Willie tags in. Willie picks up Colin in a slam position, and holds him in place. The other Soul Touchaz stop the UnStable, suplexing Vin and STIGMA. Marshe follows up with a dive to both men on the floor. Trauma assists Willie with his slam to Colin. Marshe comes in and hits a big legdrop on Colin for the two. STIGMA grabs Marshe’s leg as he hits the ropes. Vin nails him with a jumping clothesline, and drags Marshe back to the corner of the UnStable. The UnStable tag in and out, capitalizing on young Marshe. Marshe hits a douple dropkick on STIGMA and Vin. He rolls to the floor to tag in Trauma. Trauma brings in Colin the hard way, making Colin legal. Willie comes in with the Dusty elbow. Colin tries to trade punches, but Willie’s are far more effective. Colin rolls out to the apron, and as Willie tries to attack, STIGMA comes in and attacks him from behind. STIGMA and the rest of UnStable attack Willie on their side of the ring. Willie catches Vin Gerard with a leg lariat. Colin comes off the top rope. Willie catches him, places him on top of Vin, and hooks them both in a Boston Crab! STIGMA breaks up the submission, much to the fans dismay. Colin gets tossed to the floor, and Willie tags in Trauma. Trauma splashes Vin in the corner. Willie sets himself on the second rope. Trauma throws Vin to Willie, and Willie picks up Vin for a Rydeen Bomb off the second rope to the mat! STIGMA and Vin break up the pinfall attempt. Trauma takes on the entire UnStable. Vin drops the top rope sending Trauma to the floor. Marshe catches Vin with the M-80, and STIGMA and Colin break up that pin. Willie comes in with STIGMA and nails him with the Pounce! Colin leapfrogs Willie, and Willie falls to the floor. Colin comes after him with a Senton to the floor. Trauma picks up Vin in a lateral press position. STIGMA clips the leg, and Vin falls on top of Trauma. STIGMA holds down Trauma’s leg where the referee can not see, and counts three! The UnStable have won and head on to the semi-finals on Night 3. A very short match, but good. The Soul Touchaz continue to get an awesome reaction from the crowd and got to show off their skills. The UnStable didn’t do too much, and it seemed like Colin got his ass kicked for the vast majority of it. Still though, this was pretty good. **1/2

Inter-Species Wrestling Championship
Player Uno vs. Twiggy

The fans get a nice sing along, because Twiggy comes out to Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On A Prayer”. I wonder if anyone did the “white person point” while singing this song. If you’ve ever been to a college party, you know what I mean. All the white people point in the air and sing to the chorus of the song. White people love pointing when they sing. Yes, I am white. Chuck Taylor and Bryce Remsburg were the commentators for this particular match and made tons of references to the song. Twiggy wearing Randy Savage’s WCW pants also makes me a happy camper.

A lock up starts this one off. Twiggy gets a wrist lock into a hammerlock. Uno turns into a waistlock. Twiggy gets back on the wrist lock and plays air guitar with the arm. Ring Crew Express much? I miss those guys. OK not really. Uno mocks Twiggy playing his arm like a guitar also. Wiggy tries to take Uno over with a shoulder block, but Uno is much bigger than the very skinny Twiggy. His name matches his physique, I guess that is the point. Uno drops down as Twiggy hits the ropes. Twiggy catches Uno with a twisting armdrag. He is popped up and lands a hurricanrana on Uno. Uno and Twiggy shake hands. Uno takes down Twiggy with a waistlock into a front face lock. Back on their feet, Twiggy gets the advantage. He hits the Dusty punches and elbow. Uno captures Twiggy’s arm and hits the arm-capture stunner. Uno drops the leg for a two count. Uno hits a snap suplex and gets another two. Uno punches Twiggy right in the face. Uno stole Twiggy’s headband. Twiggy comes back with some punches to the bread basket of Uno. Uno mares Twiggy into a headlock. Twiggy works up out of it and lands a tilt-a-whirl DDT on Player Uno. A slug fest occurs between these two with Twiggy firing back with many shots. He ends it with a dropkick. Twiggy hits a big bulldog on Uno for the two count. Twiggy gets tossed to the corner. Twiggy catches Uno with a boot, then a flying crossbody for the two. Apparently Twiggy calls that “The Church of Al Bundy.” Alllllright. Uno catches a superkick from Twiggy and hooks him in the Gory Special. Uno sits down with it, snapping Twiggy’s neck. Uno turns him over and a folding press pin for the two. Uno tries for the Bubble Bobble Buster. Twiggy knees to stop it. Twiggy backslides Uno for the two count. Twiggy then tries a schoolboy and again gets two. Uno takes down Twiggy with a big Urinage, and Twiggy kicks out of that at two. Uno heads up top. He lands a bulldog, but Twiggy moves out of the way so Uno hits the mat. Twiggy capitalizes heading up top for a big Senton on Uno. Uno rolls forward into a crucifix pin for the two count. Twiggy superkicks Uno and calls for a DDT. Uno counters it into a backbreaker. Uno then lands the Bubble Bobble Buster 2K9 to get the win and retain the title. This was a great showing for ISW, with the fans chanting the promotions name at the end. See LWA, THIS is how you showcase your company, with a simple, effective match with two skilled workers. This wasn’t absolutely amazing or anything, but very fun and easy to watch. **1/2

King of Trios Quarter-Finals Match
Team Uppercut (Claudio Castagnoli, Dave Taylor, & Bryan Danielson) vs. The Masters Of A Thousand Holds (Mike Quackenbush, Jorge “Skayde” Rivera, & Johnny Saint)

Dave Taylor and Johnny Saint kick off this astonishing, one-of-a-kind trios match off. The two masters of the Lancashire style trade wrist locks. Saint takes Dave to his back, but he hops up and reverses the wrist lock. Dave takes out Johnny by his leg and pulls on the heel. Johnny pushes Dave’s leg away with his foot, and trips Dave down to the mat. Dave and Saint shake hands, and Bryan Danielson comes in. Wow, who would’ve thought we’d ever see this pairing? Saint puts Bryan down in a nerve pinch. Bryan turns out and cranks the arm. Johnny twists around into a wrist lock, bringing Danielson down to the canvas. Danielson rolls around and manages to escape, grabbing Saint’s arm. Saint uses his legs to bring Danielson’s shoulders down to the mat in a grounded headscissors. Bryan escapes and locks Saint’s legs. Saint monkey flips Bryan over to the delight of the crowd. Bryan grabs the arm, but Saint breaks the hold with his foot and brings Danielson down into a chinlock. Bryan works on the shoulder, but Saint will have none of that and walks right out of the hold. Saint applies a full nelson, Bryan reverses, and Saint steps up and uses his knees to escape. Saint gets Bryan in a wristlock, brings down, and snaps the leg. Quackenbush tags in, as does Claudio. These two perennial rivals will square off once again. Claudio looks for a test of strength, fooling the crowd to scream “HEY!” Mike and Claudio lock their hands, with Claudio bringing Quack down to a knee. Quack buries head in Claudio’s chest, flips over and is taken down by Claudio. Claudio tries to knuckle Quack down, but Quack pops up over into a sunset flip. Claudio sets up for the Big Swing. Quack holds on to Claudio’s ankles to prevent this. Quack wraps his legs around Claudio’s head, and uses his neck strength to turn Claudio over. Claudio works up to a vertical base with Quack’s legs still wrapped around his neck. Claudio powers out of the hold and again tries for the Big Swing. Quack again grabs the ankles and gets popped up to the ropes with a seesaw. Quack jumps off into Claudio. Claudio applies a standing submission which applies lots of pressure to Quack’s shoulders and arms. Quack rolls forward in a prawn hold for a two count. Quack monkey flips Claudio out of the corner.

Skayde and Dave Taylor tag in. Dave takes down Skayde with a cravate, and headscissors takedown! The fans cheer for Dave after he sends Skayde to the floor. Saint and Danielson come in as the legal men once more. Bryan cranks Johnny’s arm, and Johnny returns in kind by cranking Danielson’s. Saint and Bryan lock up, with Bryan of course going back to the arm in a hammerlock. Danielson steps on Saint’s arm, stretching out both his arms. Keeping on the hammerlock both men get back to their vertical base. Johnny runs and sends Danielson to the outside with his momentum. Dave comes and takes out the leg of Saint, but Saint turns over causing Dave Taylor spinning to the mat. Claudio comes in and the exact same thing occurs; same with Bryan. Claudio holds down both legs of Saint to successfully get a grip. Saint wraps his legs around Claudio’s neck, but Claudio pushes them away. Saint rolls up, shakes out the leg, then puts Claudio in an abdominal stretch. Claudio takes Saint down, but Saint uses his legs to break away. They exchange waist locks. Claudio wrings Saint’s arm that Bryan was working on earlier. Claudio applies a headlock which Saint rolls into a pin for a two. Saint wiggles out of the headlock back to his feet. Skayde tags in to the match. Skayde waist locks Claudio into a schoolboy for the two. Claudio rolls Skayde down. Skayde rolls onto the back of Claudio, holding the arm into a crucifix pin for a two. Claudio crosses the legs of Skayde and pulls back on his right arm. Claudio uppercuts Skayde and tosses him to the corner. Skayde pops off the ropes into a headscissors takedown. Skayde cartwheels off the ropes into an armdrag. He crucifixes Claudio again for the two count! Claudio heads to the floor. Quack and Dave Taylor are now the legal men. Dave grabs the shoulder of Quack and rolls down with it as Quack hits the ropes. Quack jumps up in a headscissors, but Dave throws him off. Dave uppercuts Quack down to the mat. Dave hits another and tags in Bryan.

Bryan and Quackenbush stand across from each other once more. Mike applies a fullnelson. Bryan rolls out into a wrist lock. Quack takes out Bryan’s leg and stretches Bryan out in a bow and arrow. Quack stomps on Danielson’s knee, on the leg which the Roughnecks worked on. This pisses Bryan off, and he comes back with an uppercut, headbutt, and hard forearm shots in the corner! Quack comes back with some very hard chops. Danielson tries to whip Quack, but Quack sits down on the mat and says “No.” Great. Quack pops up with a forearm to Danielson. He monkey flips Bryan who lands on his feet. Bryan hip tosses Quack to the mat and applies a cross arm breaker. Danielson reminds Bryce that he has till five to break submission. Skayde hops in when Quack rolls to the floor. Bryan shakes the hand, but then heabdutts Skayde right after. Claudio jumps in. Skayde takes out both Claudio and Danielson, thwarting their plans to double team him. Claudio stays in as the legal man, being sent outside with Bryan. They run as Skayde rolls out to the floor. Saint and Dave come in as the legal men once again. Saint takes Dave down and then clutches the wrists. Saint rolls back applying pressure to Dave. Dave drops to his knees in pain. Dave gets up and breaks the clutch. He uppercuts and kicks Saint down to the mat. Dave puts Johnny in the straightjacket choke. Saint gets to his feet, a wiggles it so Dave’s arm go around Saint’s legs. Saint steps out of it and puts the straightjacket choke on Dave! They reach a stalemate, and Dave tags in Claudio. The fans chant “THIS IS WRESTLING!” and holy shit I couldn’t agree more. Claudio applies a cravate to Johnny Saint. Saint rolls into a wrist lock, then mares Claudio down. Saint drops the leg on his elbow and works it over with his arm. Claudio makes the cover and Saint gets his shoulder up all four times Claudio tries. Quackenbush tags in.

Quack and Claudio lock up, with Quack applying a full nelson. Claudio gets a wristlock and Danielson tags in. Bryan uppercuts Quack, and Quack immediately kicks out Bryan’s knee. Quack swats Danielson’s hand away, and tags in Skayde. Skayde continues to apply pressure to Bryan’s knee as he stretches it out. Danielson chops at Skayde to no avail. Saint comes in and he too attacks the leg. An angry Danielson tries to attack Saint, but is easily tripped up. Bryan, pissed that he is being shown up, hops up once more and again is taken out. Quack comes back in and immediately kicks out the leg as Bryan tries to come back to a vertical base. Danielson is able to land an Enzugiri, and knocks Skayde and Saint off the apron. Claudio tags in and lands a number of backbreakers on Quack before stretching Quack’s back out over his knee. Dave gets tagged in and he targets Quack’s shoulders and back with uppercuts, slams, and other assorted maneuvers. Claudio tags in and digs his knee into Quackenbush’s back. Quack hits the ropes, but is caught with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Claudio and Quack exchange blows. Quack escapes with a cascading Yoshi Tonic on Claudio for the two count. Danielson breaks up the pin, allowing Claudio to roll to the floor. Quack takes Bryan down with an armdrag. Quack rolls through and locks on Bryan’s very own Cattle Mutilation! He then rolls into the elbow strikes! Quack locks on the CHIKARA Special, so Dave Taylor makes the save and throws Quack to the floor. Saint leapfrogs Dave and then rolls on the floor into the Saint Special. A confused Dave Taylor rolls him around. Dave rolls out taking Dave down. Dave kicks Saint over the top rope to the arena floor. Skayde and Danielson jump in. Bryan uppercuts Skayde, then tilt-a-whirl slams him to the mat. Skayde stomps on Danielson’s knee and applies a half nelson/hammerlock combo. Danielson kicks Skayde in the kidney and then locks on the Cattle Mutilation. Skayde gets his foot on the ropes forcing Bryan to break the hold. Skayde dropkicks Bryan to the floor and follows up with a dive! Claudio and Quack come in. Quack moonsaults onto Claudio’s shoulder, and swings into a DDT! Quack chops Claudio and sets him up top. Quack palm strikes him and looks for a hurricanrana. Claudio blocks it, locks the arm, and hits a super Ricola Bomb off the top rope for the victory! Team Uppercut wins and is the fourth and final team to advance to the quarter finals.

My God did I love this match. All six men looked amazing, and really showed everyone how professional wrestling should be done. The match built really well, from a “Can you top this” type competition, to the Masters all of a sudden pissing off Team Uppercut by targeting Danielson’s bad knee. After that, there was no more bullshit, and the two teams really took it to one another. Everything looked great, everything made sense. In a way, this was perfect professional wrestling. Some people may say I am rating this the way I choose because I am “marking out” or whatever, but god damn it, I say this match is worth ****1/2. I have zero issues giving this match that kind of rating. I was so honored to have witnessed this match in person, and think that everyone should see this to see the best of professional wrestling.

The 411: The two Rey de Voladores matches, F.I.S.T. vs. F1RST, and Uppercut vs. Masters give this such an easy recommendation. The LWA match is horrid, but it’s very short and can easily be skipped. I think everyone needs to see the Ibushi/Generico/Nick Jackson/Jigsaw four way and the Uppercut vs. Masters trios match. If you like professional wrestling, I say you owe it to yourself to snag this DVD. The rating reflects the show as a whole, but I still say to pick up this sumbitch.

Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]