AS I SEE IT 4/26

AS I SEE IT
Bob Magee
Pro Wrestling: Between the Sheets
PWBTS.com

CHIKARA's King of Trios returned this past weekend to the ECW Arena, with things beginning with a bang,...before the doors even opened.

Things got interesting just before the tournament hours before the start of King of Trios started as one of the star attractions, Team Mexico with Valiente and Turbo, suddenly were announced as not coming.

CHIKARMY (CHIKARA fan club members) were informed of the "cancellation", but no mention was made on the CHIKARA website of Team Mexico, Their match with one of the BDK trios was simply removed from the website.

The official story is that Jorge "Skayde" Rivera demanded more money for coming in. Rivera got what he wanted given that he was the connection for this talent (and since their airfare was non-refundable) source. Something else went down, because Rivera told Turbo and Valiente to not get on the flight to Philadelphia and to take other bookings. He then went to the airport to convince Oriental not to get on the plane, which failed either. Oriental did get on that plane .

Its also interesting to note than a relative of Jorge Rivera is involved with the Mexican wrestling "syndicate" (similar to a union)...and that relations between CMLL/EMLL and Perros Del Mal are strained, to put it mildly. EMLL wrestlers have been threatened with being fired if they even appear on a Mexico containing Perros Del Mal talent.

Finally...to the first night's action...

  • First Round Match: F.I.S.T. (Icarus/Chuck Taylor/Gran Akuma) defeated The Throwbacks (Dasher Hatfield, Sugar Dunkerton, and Matt Classic) after Matt Classic got a combo kick from Gran Akuma and Chuck Taylor and a lung-blower from Icarus. During the match...when he wasn't in the ring, Classic was doing the Harvard Step Test the entire match

  • Team Big Japan Wrestling (Daisuke Sekimoto/Kankuro Hoshino/Yuji Okabayashi) defeated Team Frightning (Hallowicked, Mike Quackenbush, and Frightmare) after Yuji Okabayashi made Frightmare tap to a cross-armed torture rack submission

  • Bruderschaft des Kreuzes Team 1 (Claudio Castagnoli/Ares/Tursas) defeated The Osirian Portal and Sara Del Ray. The Osirian Portal and Sara Del Ray were thrown in as replacement for Team Mexico per CHIKARA "tradition" for no-shows when they were drawn out of a hat (not the best thing when you have a tradition for no-shows), About the only notable things about this match was the finish when Ophidian was the victim of a killer-looking triple-team move called Ragnarok (Norse for "doom of the gods") aka a double-team iconoclasm.

  • Team Osaka Pro (Atsushi Kotoge/Daisuke Harada/Tadasuke) defeated The UnStable (Colin Delaney, Vin Gerard, and STIGMA) after Daisuke Harada nailed Colin Delaney with a knee to the face from a hip toss position and a German suplex 9kind of like a GTS)

  • The Colony (Fire Ant/Soldier Ant/Green Ant) defeated the team of Johnny Gargano/Flip Kendrick/Louis Lyndon after
    Fire Ant hit the Beach Break on Flip Kendrick for the finish. The match features lots of Flip kendrick well...flips.

  • Bruderschaft des Kreuzes Team 2 (Lince Dorado/Tim Donst/Pinkie "Pink Ant" Sanchez) defeated F1rst Family (Arik Cannon, Ryan Cruz, and Darin Corbin) Sanchez submitted Ryan Cruz to the inverted Chikara Special.

  • Team Perros Del Mal (Alebrije/Cuije/El Oriental) defeated Team Delicioso (Ice Cream Jr., El Hijo del Ice Cream, and Curry Man) after Cuije nailed El Hijo del Ice Cream with a Alebrije-assisted splash. It's always fun to watch Christopher Daniels do Curry Man and he looked like he was having a blast out there. Lots of comedy spots when Alebrije would do nail El Hijo del Ice Cream with a kick, then turn around and see Cuije pretending he did it.

  • The first night finished after The Future Is Now (Jigsaw/Equinox/Helios) defeated The Jackson 3 (Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson/Malachi Jackson) after Malachi Jackson got nailed by a Helios 630. High spot after high spot through the match to close the night. Post-match, The Young Buc..er..Matt and Nick heelsed out brother Malachi.

    On day two, things started with the "Brodie Lee Challenge", Brodie Lee defeats Grizzly Redwood via Big Boot. Pretty much looked like little more than to give both something to do. This match was the only disappointment of the entire day, which is a pretty good thing to say after the week's talent dramas.

  • Team Big Japan (Daisuke Sekimoto/Kankuro Hoshino/Yuji Okabayashi) defeated The Future is Now (Jigsaw/Equinox/Helios) when Daisuke Sekimoto countered a Heliss sky twister attempt by into a German suplex. The killer spot of the match was when Hoshino was attempting to give a back superplex to Helios, Jigsaw joined in to pull Hoshino off the turnbuckle. This was followed by Sekimoto coming in, German suplexing Jigsaw and causing the back superplex .

  • In Rey de Voladores Eliminator 1, Matt Cross defeated Amasis, Flip Kendrick and Malachi Jackson. Cross worked with what looked like broken fingers. The first elimination (s) happened when Cross pinned Jackson with a shooting star press and Amasis pinned Kendrick after a 450. The finish saw Cross pin Amasis after a moonsault double stomp and a standing shooting star press.

  • Bruderschaft des Kreuzes Team 1 (Ares/Turas/Claudio Castagnoli) defeat Perros Del Mal (Alebrije/Cuije/Oriental) after Tursas splattered Cuije with a 747 splash (somehow I heard Jim Ross screaming about One Man Gang getting ready to splatter someone on a Mid-South/UWF taping). Cuije got over like crazy on the first and second night. The finish saw Tursas press Cujie over his head (scary looking by itself) and threatening to press leam him to the floor. Tursas put him down, gave him the big boot for a second time, and nailed him with the 747. They sold the splash on Cujie like crazy, complete with ring doctor coming out and them picking up Cujie' arm and flopping it down. After he was carried to the back, Oriental and Alebrije each held up one of Cuije's boots, both looking very upset.

  • In a unannounced "showcase match", Christopher Daniels defeats Hallowicked after a Best Moonsault Ever. Crowd popped like crazy for "Disposable Teens" and Daniels entrance. it was funny how when the competing chants started the chant for Hallowicked was actually louder than for Daniels. Guess a new keg of Kool-Aid just came in for the CHIKARMY

  • Team Osaka Pro (Atsushi Kotoge/Daisuke Harada/Tadasuke) advances over FIST (Gran Akuma/Icarus/Chuck Taylor). Big surprise and perhaps best match of the evening with Team Osaka Pro going over after Tadasuke countered Chuck Taylor's Awful Waffle into a cradle with a fistful of tights for the finish. Kotoge hit a killer looking one-man Spanish Fly

  • In Rey de Voladores Eliminator 2, Ophidian defeated Rich Swann, Cheech and Frightmare. Frightmare elimated Rich Swann with the double knees moonsault. Ophidian then eliminated Cheech after a Deja Vu headscissors into a reverse rolling prawn hold. The finish happened when Ophidian hit Frightmare with a cool-looking Egyptian Destroyer (flipping piledriver off the top)

  • The Colony (Soldier Ant/Green Ant/Fire Ant) defeated Bruderschaft des Kreuzes Team 2 (Lince Dorado/Pinkie Sanchez/ Tim Donst) via a Chikara Special submission. Great back-and-forth action, includinhg an impressive looking top rope fireman's carry by Donst.

    The final night, or rather afternoon, saw:

  • King of Trios Semifinals Match 1: The Colony (Fire Ant, Soldier Ant, and Green Ant) defeated Team Osaka Pro (Atsushi Kotoge, Daisuke Harada, and Tadasuke) after Green Ant jumped off the bridged arms of his partners (standing on the top turnbuckle) and hit a massive splash onto Tadasuke.

  • King of Trios Semifinals Match 2: Bruderschaft des Kreuzes (Claudio Castagnoli, Ares, and Tursas) defeated Team Big Japan Wrestling (Sekimoto, Hoshino, and Okabayashi) defeated The Future Is Now (Jigsaw, Helios, and Equinox) when Ares pinned Kankuro Hoshino after a Tiger Driver. Best teased spot that almost was happened when Daisuke Sekimoto teased giving the giant Tursas a deadlift German.

  • Chuck Taylor defeated El Oriental in a match, that was sort of OK. Nothing wrong with it. It just suffered from being on a show with such killer tournament matches, Daniels-Kingston and the tag match later,.

  • Tag Team Gauntlet: Incoherence (Hallowicked and Frightmare) win, last eliminating the Bruderschaft des Kreuzes team of Sara Del Ray and Daizee Haze. Also competing in the gauntlet were The UnStable (Vin Gerard and STIGMA), The Throwbacks (Dasher Hatfield and Sugar Dunkerton), Steve "The Turtle" Weiner and Dragon Dragon, The Future Is Now (Helios and Equinox), North Star Express (Darin Corbin and Ryan Cruz), and The Order of the Neo Solar Temple (UltraMantis Black and Crossbones) . Old CHIKARA acts Dragon Dragon and the Order of the Neo Solar Temple coming out actually got one of the bigger pops of the evening.

  • . Eddie Kingston defeated Christopher Daniels after a backfrst in a match that Kingston more that kept up with Daniels in.

    Post-match, an unannounced Tommy Dreamer came out to a giant pop to put over CHIKARA, King of Trios, and Eddie Kingston, and announced that he'd be a part of the May 23rd show in Union City, New Jersey

  • Mike Quackenbush and Jigsaw defeated The Young Bucks with a double stomp assist from Jigsaw in a unannounced match that nearly stole the show, if not the weekend

  • . In the Rey de Voladores Finals: Ophidian defeated Matt Cross in a match that simply didn't work. The two didn't click from the beginning.

  • King of Trios 2010 Finals Match: Bruderschaft des Kreuzes (Claudio Castagnoli, Ares, and Tursas) defeated The Colony (Fire Ant, Soldier Ant, and Green Ant) after referee Derek Sabato went with Bruderschaft des Kreuzes. Multiple false finish after false finish created a great dramatic match. The finish saw referee Derek Sabato (who refereed in Chikara back in 2008). come out after a Remsberg ref bump. Ares was down on a pjnfall for three, but Sabato cut off his pinfall count short and claimed it a two. Bruderschaft des Kreuzes too over, hit their Ragnarok finisher on Fire Ant, and Sabato quick counted and called for the bell.

    Until next time...

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