Ford’s CHIKARA King of Trios 2017 Night 3 Review

Wolverhampton, England – 9.3.2017

Championship Rundown
Grand Champion: Juan Francisco de Coronado
Campeones de Parejas: Los Ice Creams (El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream Jr.)
Young Lions Cup Champion: Razerhawk

Commentary is provided by Mike Quackenbush.

King of Trios 2017 Semi-Final Round Match
House SENDAI Girls (Meiko Satomura, DASH Chisako & Cassandra Miyagi) vs. Casa Dorada (Juan Francisco de Coronado, Sonny Defarge & Cornelius Crummels)

Casea Dorada choke the SENDAI Girls on the ropes after baiting them in with a handshake offer. Chisako is left alone in the ring and gets the boots put to her (literally) by Coronado, Crummels, and Defarge. They each take turns distracting Bryce Remsburg so they can employ some tandem offense without worrying about a five count on all three members of the opposition. Coronado identifies Chisako as the prey, and Crummels and Defarge bring her in for him. Casa Dorada wear down the smallest member of the SENDAI Girls until Chisako avoids Oliver Twist, dropkicks Defarge, and takes down Crummels with a Frankensteiner and dropkick to the back. Miyagi knocks Defarge and Coronado to the floor, then wipes them out with an apron somersault senton after attacking Crummels. She comes back in with a top rope dropkick on Crummels. Satomura tags in. The three SENDAI Girls forearm strike their opponents in separate corners. Chisako bulldogs Crummels for two. Crummels and Defarge get sent outside as they charge at the SENDAI Girls, leaving Coronado alone. Miyagi dropkicks him and Satomura kicks him upside the head. She slams Coronado into a top rope double foot stomp from Chisako. Crummels breaks up the pin just in time. Satomura kicks away at Defarge’s chest before giving him a Death Valley Driver. Crummels is left alone to take a triple boot. Chisako and Satomura attack him in the corner, leaving him susceptible to a Cradle Shock from Miyagi for the pin at 7:38. This was a nice, quick match to give the SENDAI Girls some momentum heading into the finals. I really enjoy Coronado being paired with Crummels and Defarge, as it feels like a natural fit and they work well together. With Coronado no longer being affiliated with the United Nations, I think the three of them should continue to be affiliated going forward. **¾

King of Trios 2017 Semi-Final Round Match
House Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Trent Seven & Tyler Bate) vs. House Rot (Hallowicked, Frightmare & Kobald)

Two attending physicians have not cleared Frightmare to wrestle tonight after Fire Ant’s actions in the quarter-finals yesterday. Therefore, House Strong Style advances to the next round via forfeit from House Rot. Our finals will be House SENDAI Girls vs. House Strong Style.

Officer Warren Barksdale vs. Deputy Damian Dunne

Los Federales Santos Jr., the bodyguard for the Anti-Fun Police, is in Dunne’s corner. Dunne gives Barksdale an invite to join the Anti-Fun Police. The fans taunt Dunne by saying he is not a policeman. Barksdale asks about benefits. Dunne offers a “great wage” and free health care. Barksdale considers this a bribe and writes Dunne a ticket. Santos, Jr. hands Dunne his notepad where Dunne writes Barksdale a ticket that reads “NO FUN.” Their bickering leads to Dunne attempting an enzuigiri, but missing. Barksdale tries to cuff him, but Dunne slips between his legs and lands an enzuigiri. He grinds his foot into Barksdale’s face before delivering a knee drop. Dunne pummels on Barksdale’s back and does some damage to the face. Barksdale fights from beneath. He knee lifts Dunne in the stomach, following up with a running clothesline. Santos Jr. distracts referee Jon Barber so he can try to toss Barksdale’s helmet to Dunne. Barksdale is able to sidestep Dunne’s attack and send him into Santos Jr., knocking Santos to the floor. Barksdale uses his own helmet to block Dunne’s enzuigiri which also hurts Dunne’s foot. Barksdale hits a 2k1 Bomb, leading to Santos again distracting Barber. The Brothers of Obstruction enter the ring, attacking Barksdale. They’re about to headbutt his groin with their helmet, but Dez Peloton make the save and rid of Jim and Lee Obstruction. While Barber is dealing with that mess, Santos now has Dunne on his shoulders. Dunne grabs Barksdale for a chokeslam. Barksdale breaks free and dropkicks Dunne, causing Dunne to spike Santos Jr. with a reverse Frankensteiner! Barksdale puts away Dunne with Obey the Law for the pin at 8:13. Despite Dunne’s intent, this was very fun. Barksdale takes him away in handcuffs. **

Fire Ant vs. Kobald

Before the bell, Fire Ant side steps a spear and cracks Kobald with two kicks to the head. He further dazes Kobald with a knee to the face and another high kick. The Yahtzee Kick and a brainbuster follow. He hits the Beach Break. He does it again. Instead of going for a third like last night which led to a castigo excesivo call, he pins Kobald at 1:17, then immediately heads backstage with no fanfare or celebration. Who doesn’t love a good squash? *

CCK of Kid Lykos and Chris Brookes are backstage. Brookes tells Lykos to shut up when he messes up what night of King of Trios it is. Despite them being eliminated from the King of Trios tournament, they have their chance to get three points in tonight’s tag gauntlet. He may be lactose intolerant, but he will leave Los Ice Creams in milky puddles. Hermit Crab and Cajun Crawdad also say they’re going to win three points tonight. The Hunter Brothers of Jim and Lee Hunter talk about the tough competition in the tag gauntlet, but if they win three points, they have the chance to bring Los Campeones de Parejas back to England. Dez Peloton says it doesn’t matter how many teams are in the Gauntlet, they have the endurance to win. Travis Huckabee is excited Los Ice Creams are in the tag gauntlet, because he and Solo Darling will have the chance to get revenge for what they did to them in North Carolina. Darling says revenge will be sweet.

10-Team Gauntlet Match

Omari & Millie McKenzie vs. Hermit Crab & Cajun Crawdad

The Fight Club Pro tandem attack the crustaceans in opposite corners. McKenzie German suplexes Crab, then drives Omari onto him with a Duat Driver. Crawdad breaks the pin and rids the ring of Omari. She tornado DDT’s Crawdad before hitting him with a Canadian Destroyer. Omari goes for his Complete Shot variation on Crawdad. However, he escapes and schoolboys Omari (while Crab halts McKenzie on the top turnbuckle) for the pin at 1:25.

The Rumblebees (Solo Darling & Travis Huckabee) vs. Hermit Crab & Cajun Crawdad

The Rumblebees double snapmare the crustaceans to the apron, but miss a double hip attack. Crab digs his pincers into their backs, holding them still for a double dropkick from Crawdad. They double chokeslam Darling for two. Darling kicks away at their hamstrings. They dig their pincers into her shoulder blades. Huckabee stops Crab’s Naniwa walk and brings him down with a butterfly superplex! He swings around Crawdad in a Stretch Muffler. Darling then submits him to the Sharp Stinger in 3:48.

The Rumblebees (Solo Darling & Travis Huckabee) vs. Dez Peloton (Jasper Tippins & Donald Kluger)

After tripping Huckabee, Dez Peloton drill him with the Bike Rack for a two count. The Broken Arrow earns another two count. Huckabee uses a double neckbreaker to escape a double suplex. Huckabee makes a blind tag. He unwinds Darling into a back elbow on Kluger, then assists her with a Frankensteiner. She kicks at Tippins’ legs while ducking his clotheslines, ending the sequence with a Thesz Press. Tippins passes Darling into Kluger’s arms for the bike pedal kicks, but Darling ends up giving Kluger a bulldog onto Tippins’ upturned feet! Huckabee tornado snap suplexes Tippins and puts him in the Sharp Stinger. Kluger kicks Darling, but she refuses to relinquish the hold. Kluger bulldogs her to break it. After a headbutt to the chest, Huckabee Jon Woo dropkicks Kluger. Huckabee goes for the swinging Stretch Muffler. Tippins superkicks Huckabee to stop that, and kicks Darling to the floor. Kluger full nelson slams Huckabee. Tippins then Climbs the Summit onto Huckabee for the pin at 9:13.

Dez Peloton (Jasper Tippins & Donald Kluger) vs. Emeritus & Vasyl

The Danish team representing Bodyslam! Wrestling enter hot. Emeritus gets quickly disposed of. Tippins muscles up the larger Vasyl (holding his teddy bear) for a slam. Tippins Climbs the Summit again, but Vasyl stands up to escape. Emeritus chop blocks Tippins’ leg out. He and Vasyl wear down the leg in the corner, which Darling did damage to in the previous pairing. Tippins rolls to the floor after escaping a corner splash from Emeritus. Kluger high crossbody’s onto both Emeritus and Vasyl. He clothesline Vasyl to the floor and monkey flips Emeritus mid-ring for two. Vasyl grabs Kluger from the outside. Emeritus rolls up Kluger and puts his feet on the ropes, eliminating Dez Peloton at 11:26.

The Throwbacks (Dasher Hatfield & “Mr. Touchdown” Mark Angelosetti) vs. Emeritus & Vasyl

The Throwbacks throw forearms with the Emeritus and Vasyl. They send them to the apron with casadora armdrags. Emeritus climbs the ropes as the Throwbacks hit Vasyl with a 3D. Emeritus comes down with double axe handles to Hatfield and Angelosetti. Emeritus uses the teddy bear to coax Vasyl into a cannonball senton onto Hatfield. He tries again with Angelosetti but misses. Angelosetti punts the bear like a football! As Vasyl goes to retrieve it, Angelosetti delayed superplexes Emeritus for the pin at 14:12.

The Throwbacks (Dasher Hatfield & “Mr. Touchdown” Mark Angelosetti vs. CCK (Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos)

Brookes knee strikes Hatfield to the floor. CCK double hip toss Angelosetti into a double leg snap. Brookes uses his feet to elevate Lykos up into a splash for two. Angelosetti pops him up, but Lykos comes down with a dropkick. Hatfield overhead suplexes Lykos before hitting the cyclone neckbreaker. Brookes boots Hatfield to block a corner attack. He then launches Lykos onto Hatfield for a hard fought DDT. Angelosetti tackles Brookes several times in the corner. Lykos meets Angelosetti on the top turnbuckle. He tries a Frankensteiner, but Angelosetti powerbombs Lykos off the top onto Brookes! Lykos is able to trap Angelosetti in the corner for a boot to Angelosetti. The Sick F****n’ Tag Move gets Lykos the pin on Angelosetti at 17:06.

CCK (Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos) vs. Adam Chase & Zayas

Zayas takes Lykos outside while Chase Frankensteiner’s Brookes to the floor. In the ring, Zayas clobbers Lykos with a low flying clothesline. Brookes gives Zayas Total Anarchy. Chase maneuvers Brookes into a Shining Wizard. Lykos halts the pin, but Zayas and Chase nail him with a rapid succession of strikes. Zayas gets a very close nearfall after a Blue Thunder Bomb. Lykos evades an attack and slips to the floor. Brookes tosses Zayas out. Chase gives Brookes a neckbreaker. He goes up top and hits a flying Blockbuster. Zayas follows up with a frog splash for two, thanks to Lykos interjecting. Lykos Duat Driver’s Chase into a dropkick from Brookes. Zayas pulls Lykos off of Chase. Lykos hits an enzuigiri. The Sick F****n’ Tag Move gets Lykos the pin on Zayas at 20:37.

CCK (Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos) vs. The Hunter Brothers (Jim Hunter & Lee Hunter)

CCK attack the Hunters after a stare down. The Hunters duck stereo clothesline and deliver stereo dropkicks. They scoop Lykos into a backbreaker/elbow drop combination, then one Giant Swings Brookes into a dropkick from the other. With CCK on the floor, the Hunters follow with stereo Pescado’s. Brookes side steps an attack back in the ring, but takes an upturned boot. One Hunter gives Brookes a Blockbuster onto the knees of the other. Lykos re-enters the ring to interrupt the pin. He pitches one of the Hunter’s to the floor. The other uses the ropes for a DDT. Lykos enzuigiri’s him. They go for the Sick F****n’ Tag Move, but the other Hunter brother spears Brookes to stop his portion! He also drills Lykos with a Rikishi Driver. The Hunters use a super Frankensteiner/splash combo. However, Brookes gets his knees up on the splash, and small packages the Hunter brother to eliminate them at 23:46.

CCK (Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos) vs. Los Ice Creams (El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream Jr.)

If CCK can best Los Ice Creams, they will win the tag gauntlet and leave with a future Campeones de Parejas opportunity. They attack Los Ice Creams while Los Ice Creams are warming up the crowd. In the ring, Brookes and Lykos stand on their backs while mocking their dancing. Lykos trips Hijo into a Camel Clutch/dropkick combo, which makes Hijo cry. They double hip toss Jr. into a double leg snap. Brookes uses his feet to elevate Lykos up into a splash for two. Brookes turns his attention to the still crying Hijo. Brookes says he is not sorry. Hijo gives him the fanny pincher. He avoids an attack from Lykos and does the same to him. Hijo channels Kwang with several dozen throat thrusts to both CCK members. Jr. gives Brookes an X-Factor. Hijo throat thrusts Lykos so that he falls on top of Brookes. Jr. puts Brookes in a crab while Hijo stands on Lykos’ back. Hijo becomes distracted by getting the crowd to dance. Jr. tries to get his attention and ends up fighting off CCK himself with palm thrusts.Lykos brings Jr. down with the Lo Mein Pain. Brookes delivers a slingshot Ace Crusher. Hijo pulls Jr. to the floor to prevent a pin. Lykos avoids the Cold Stone Stunner, sending him into a strike from Brookes. CCK hit a Diamond Dust/Gory Stretch combo. This time, Jr. saves Hijo from being pinned. Jr. gives Lykos the Two Scoop Slam. Lykos escapes the Jack and Jill Hammer. CCK go for the Sick F****n’ Tag Move. Jr. catches Lykos, places him on Brookes shoulders, and Hijo knocks him down with a super Asesino! He gives Brookes the Cold Stone Stunner, leaving Lykos open to be pinned by Jr., winning Los Ice Creams the Gauntlet and wiping CCK off the board at 30:56.

This was easily the best Tag Gauntlet CHIKARA has done since relaunching, which isn’t high praise at all, but given the absolute dreadful last three years of Gauntlets it’s a borderline miracle this one didn’t anger, bore, or frustrate me at any point. It was relatively brisk, a lot of teams had the spotlight shone on them, and the Campeones de Parejas got to pin one of today’s top tag teams in all of pro wrestling. I typically encourage people to skip this match, but I think there’s plenty of worthwhile pairings here to make it worth your while. ***

Sylverhawk vs. Merlok

Sylverhawk superkicks a charging Merlok to the corner and comes in with a pair of Stinger splash. Merlok intercepts the third in mid-air, driving Sylverhawk back into his corner. Sylverhawk tries to outmaneuver Merlok, but gets caught against the ropes with several clotheslines. Sylverhawk enzuigiri’s Merlok before hitting a tiger feint kick to the stomach, then the head. He comes off the top with a springboard chop to Merlok’s head. Merlok tumbles to the floor. Sylverhawk attempts a suicide dive, but Merlok catches him and lawn darts him into the wall! Back in the ring, Merlok splashes Sylverhawk in the corner. He drives Sylverhawk into the mat with a full nelson slam. Sylverhawk uses a chinbreaker to give himself the opening for a violence party and a superkick. He leaps right into Merlok’s arms as he comes off the ropes. He slides off and comes off the top with a high crossbody for two. He comes off the top again, only for Merlok to tackle him mid-air. The Emerald Flowsion gets Merlok the win at 5:49. This was a fun power vs. speed match, and a nice way to give two of CHIKARA’s top prospects time to stand out on their biggest weekend of the year. **½

Rey de Voladores 2017 Finals
Jody Fleisch vs. Ophidian

After winning a wristlock exchange, Fleisch sweeps out Ophidian in a toe and ankle hold. Ophidian rolls Fleisch into a courting hold, maneuvering from that into a full nelson. Fleisch evades a lot of Ophidian’s offense. Ophidian lands on his feet out of Fleisch’s monkey flip, leading to a stalemate. Ophidian pump-handle suplexes Fleisch before stepping up into a legdrop to the back of Fleisch’s neck. Ophidian clotheslines Fleisch into the corner before clobbering him with double knees. He headstands up into a elbow drop off the top turnbuckle. Fleisch evades to the apron where he’s able to come back in with a springboard crossbody. Ophidian rolls to the floor. Fleisch tries to follow out with a dive, but Ophidian has him scouted. Fleisch lands on his feet, but Ophidian takes him down with a swinging Frankensteiner. Fleisch ducks a baseball slide and kicks Ophidian in the face. He springs up to the top rope for a moonsault to the floor. In the ring, Ophidian and Fleisch fight over a pin after Fleisch initially sunset flips him. They fight over a small package as well. They end up knocking each other down with simultaneous clotheslines. Ophidian ends a strike exchange with a corkscrew enzuigiri. Fleisch throws some forearms, but Ophidian hooks him up into a swing-out Blue Thunder Bomb for two. He hits a slingshot 450 splash, but doesn’t get all of it, and that difference helps Fleisch find the energy to kick out. Fleisch ducks a leg lariat. He misses a top rope shooting star press, but does connect with a standing shooting star press right after for two. He yakuza kicks Ophidian in the corner, then boots Ophidian as he tries to follow him to the opposite side of the ring. Ophidian trips Fleisch and comes off the ropes into a Code Red for two. Fleisch kicks Ophidian from the apron. He comes in with the Phoenix DDT, but upon landing, the impact takes Ophidian to the floor. Fleisch follows him outside. Ophidian is able to send Fleisch head first into the ring post! Ophidian brings a knocked out Fleisch back into the ring for the pin at 14:36. That ending left a lot to be desired for sure, and even before that, the action was very shaky. Some of it was very good, but enough of it was off to make me think too much of Ophidian’s offense is overly complex. Fleisch was a real pro in salvaging where he could but it ended up feeling a bit too contrived. I’m not terribly disappointed, but feel this could’ve gone so much better with some minor changes. **

King of Trios 2017 Final Round
House SENDAI Girls (Meiko Satomura, DASH Chisako & Cassandra Miyagi) vs. House Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Trent Seven & Tyler Bate)

Dunne tries to intimidate Satomura by throwing his towel at her before the bell, but she throws it right back. Dunne hooks her into a modified Trailer Hitch, converting into a potential cross armbreaker. Satomura grabs Dunne’s ankle and goes for an ankle lock. Dunne wastes no time getting to the bottom rope. He hammerlocks her one arm and snaps the fingers on the other. After switching headscissors and getting to their feet, Dunne offers a handshake. She knows not to fall for it, and bites Dunne’s fingers! Miyagi admires Seven’s mustache while he admires her hair before locking up. Miyagi ducks a chop but misses a dropkick. Bate resists Chisako’s shoulder block. She takes him down with a side headlock, which Bate turns into a headscissors. She pops up right away which Bate admires. Dunne comes in and cuts her off with a hard forearm strike! Miyagi and Satomura jump in. Seven and Bate cut them off and House Strong Style lay out all three SENDAI Girls with triple Pedigrees. Like all of SENDAI Girls’ other opponents this weekend, British Strong Style take turns bullying the smallest member of their team, DASH Chisako, especially targeting her hurt left shoulder. Despite all the damage she takes in this period, she finds a way to kick out of each pinfall, receiving help from Satomura on one occasion. Satomura holds Dunne as he crawls to the top rope, giving Chisako the opportunity to hit a super Frankensteiner and tag in Miyagi! She dropkicks Seven four times. Bate comes in with his own dropkick, which Miyagi avoids, causing Bate to dropkick Seven! Miyagi suplexes Bate. Miyagi charges but takes a double headbutt from Bate and Seven. She collides their two heads together, then headbutts them both at the same time. Seven drills her with a chop as she ascends the ropes. Miyagi slides out from underneath and powerbombs Seven. A succession of offense brings British strong Style to the floor. Satomura and Chisako hold them together for a suicide dive from Miyagi. Chisako climbs the entrance set as Satomura and Miyagi continue to do damage to Bate, Seven, and Dunne. Chisako dives off the entrance onto all three of them! Back in the ring, Chisako dropkicks Dunne in the corner before executing a top rope double stomp. Miyagi follows up with a super dropkick. Satomura drops Dunne with a Death Valley Driver for a close nearfall. Bate and Seven daze Satomura and Chisako with Bop and Bang. Miyagi punches them both. However, Seven gives her a piledriver and passes her off to Bate for Tyler Driver 97. Miyagi kicks out! Satomura kicks away at both members of Mustache Mountain. She wipes out Seven with a Pele kick. Bate goes for the Axe Bomber. Satomura ducks and gives him a Pele Kick! She then deposits Bate onto Seven with a Death Valley Driver. As soon as the move lands, Dunne sneaks in and goes for the Bitter End. Satomura counters with a DDT, but again Dunne kicks out! Satomura comes off the middle rope. Dunne catches her mid air with a forearm strike! He hits the Bitter End but Satomura kicks out! Bate and Seven quarantine Chisako and Miyagi as Dunne gives Satomura a piledriver. Satomura kicks out at one! Dunne looks stunned as she cracks him with Scorpio Rising. Bate and Seven have no choice but to break the pin. They hook Miyagi and Chisako for stereo Pedigrees on the apron. However, Miyagi backdrops Bate to counter and Chisako suplexes Seven! Mid-ring, Satomura enzuigiri’s Dunne. She jumps off the second turnbuckle for a forearm strike. She tries the Death Valley Driver. Dunne sneaks out from behind and hits the Bitter End a second time for the pin at 17:17.

This was absolutely brilliant. CHIKARA left the match the fans wanted most for the finals, and they were at a fever pitch for this contest. The crowd was roughly split to start, but everybody was behind the SENDAI Girls when all was said and done. You could pinpoint the exact moment when British Strong Style’s arrogance slipped away and they began doubting they could get the job done. In the end, they did, and when I went into the tournament I thought any other team winning would’ve been questionable, but the SENDAI Girls made me so badly want them to become the first two time Trios tournament winners. Like all the best tournaments, the finals were the best match, playing off the previous matches of both teams, and felt like a thrill ride from start to finish. This has cemented itself as the best match in CHIKARA for 2017 and will be tough to top. ****¼

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

The main event alone gives this show a recommendation. The rest of the show is a bit inconsistent, but overall very fun and a good way to end the weekend. Again, I cannot stress the need to watch the main event any way you can. This show is available to watch on CHIKARATopia, CHIKARA's streaming service which is $7.99 a month and comes with a free 7 day trial. You can purchase the show on DVD or Blu-Ray from CHIKARA's store and on mp4/VOD here, with options to purchase individual matches.