This idea came as a result of recent events. Colt Cabana's NWA World title reign was ended just a couple of months after he won it. This lead me to think about previous champions who have had short reigns but ultimately went on to become much bigger. So Here's 6 guys who have not had the best of luck with the big titles but were still big stars.
Ricky Steamboat
Steamboat had one reign as NWA World champion lasting just about 3 months. He defeated Ric Flair to become champion and would lose it too Flair as well, he would also seem to revolve around Flair during that time as he seemed to never defend the belt against anyone else. But in a sense that was a blessing. The series between the two for the belt has gone done as one of the greatest in wrestling history just making it look like Steamboat was a great champion. Why he never got it again is beyond me, he is know as one of the best workers ever and has had some of the greatest matches of all time. Maybe his lack of promo skills harmed him or the move to a new style and moving away from the NWA (the company became WCW) meant that Steamboat would only be a high mid-card and not main event. Regardless of that he is still on of the biggest legends going today and is in the Hall of Fame, which he truly deserves.
Kerry Von Erich
The story behind the match where he won the belt is legendary. Kerry's brother David had died in Japan, many believed David was going to be NWA world champion. The match took place in the biggest crowd the WCCW pulled and was for David's Memorial show. Kerry defeated Ric Flair and became champion. Many have said that it wasn't a surprise and it was done for the wrong reasons. Kerry's reign lasted less than 3 weeks. Sadly Kerry was a victim of the NWA curse (as I call it), while there have been many men to hold the belt multiple times and for a long time there are many guys who get a short reign and are forgotten (Tommy Rich & Ron Garvin). So how does this prove my point of this blog, simple. Who is the Von Erich you remember more? It's Kerry. While we may know of David and Kevin we think of Kerry first. Kerry would have a huge draw all over America and even became Intercontinental champion in WWE. Kerry was the biggest star in the Von Erich family, would David have been bigger probably but it was Kerry who went on to big things after his death and not any of the other 4 brothers.
Mankind
Mick Foley put it best "I'm the greatest transitional champion in WWE history". Mick had 3 reigns as WWE champion and in total it lasted all of 3 months at best. Mick was a victim of the Russo booking when he first gained the belt, him and The Rock traded it back and fourth through January to March of 1999. His third reign lasted all of a day, Mick beat Steve Austin at Summerslam 1999 and lost it to Triple H on Raw the next day, many have stated this was done because Austin refused to lose the title to Triple H who he didn't see as a big enough star at the time. While Mick's reigns as WWE champion came and went quickly we still remember him as a champion and to more of a point we still see him as a big superstar and not a flash in the pan champion.
Big Show
Show has the only honour on this list of not having great World title reigns in two companies. Show debuted as the Giant in WCW and in his first official match won the World title, that reign was quickly overturned as he won it by DQ. He would get a longer reign later on but it wouldn't be that much longer. Many forgot about these reigns as Show would become nothing of meaning in the company, sadly that's what WCW was like. He would debut as the Big Show in WWE in 1999, he became WWE champion in November of that year ending Triple H's reign. That reign lasted 2 months and he lost it back to Triple H, I think this was done because Triple was involved in a story with the McMahon's and they wanted the title to not be included in it. It was 3 years later that he won the title again, at Survivor Series again, this time beating Brock Lesnar. This reign lasted even shorted, just one month, and he lost it to Kurt Angle. I think this was done so that Kurt would be champion in the Kurt-Brock match they wanted at Mania and they didn't want that match to happen before the show. No matter which way you look at it Show has not had good luck with the big belts but that hasn't mattered, he is still seen as one of the biggest stars the company has ever had and that won't likely change.
Diamond Dallas Page
DDP is just one of the prime examples at how bad WCW was in 1999 and beyond. DDP had 3 reigns as WCW world champion lasting a total of just over a month. He won the title in a 4 way at Spring Stampede and would then go on to take part in one of the stupid bookings I've ever seen. In one episode of Nitro he lost the title to Sting and would later on go on to win it back in a 4 Way match. That reign ended at the next PPVArquette just days later in awful booking. With all this being said DDP is still one of the biggest stars that WCW ever had and is still a big name to this day, could he go in the Hall of Fame? I think so you just have to over look his WWE run.
Dusty Rhodes
This is the main guy I thought of when this subject popped up in my head. Dusty is a 3 time NWA World champion and one of the biggest legends ever in this business. He is regarded as one of the biggest stars of all time but when you look at his title reign when it came to the NWA World title that was not the case. What's funny is that WWE's DVD story about these reigns made it look like Rhodes was a fantastic champion!
Anyways Rhodes won the title from Harley Race and less than a week later lost it back to him. Race would have a long run and Rhodes would chase him finally beating him to regain the belt. He held it for just a few months and then lost it to Ric Flair. The two had a really long feud a few years later which saw Rhodes win his 3rd in a steel cage match but just like his 1st it lasted a little over a week. Rhodes wasn't as great as a champion as many would have you believe, when you consider many held it for years at a time back then. But that hasn't hurt his legacy and he is still one of the biggest legends ever.
What I'm trying to get at here is that the wrestling business is full of this crap, not giving guys a chance to truly show how good they are when they have the main belt (just look at Jack Swagger last year). However if you're any good you can move from it and make it look like it was greater than it actually was. Many have called Steamboat's reign as World champion a flop but he's still one of the greatest of all time. I guess time ultimately shows how we'll remember them and their reigns.
Friday 29 April 2011
Saturday 23 April 2011
IWA-MS RIP...Again...Probably for the final time
I've had this blog in my mind for a little while now. I was going to do a 2 part retrospective looking at the TPI and King of the Death tournaments. Instead I've decided to look at the entire companies which recently closed it's doors once again.
The earliest footage I saw of IWA Mid South was it's 2001 King of the Death Tournament. The building was a little dump to put it nicely. It looked awful. The company, which started in 1997, didn't really get noticed until the early 2000's. The company's shows were a mix, they had some of the best wrestling you could find, the feud between CM Punk and Chris Hero was talked about all over the place, but it's main focus was on hardcore deathmatches. To be fair it fitted the arena and the general look of the company.
The company would move from building to building each being a 'home' for a while for the company. Not a great deal would change in the company for a few years except new stars would come and go. It wasn't until 2004 that a major change would happen. They would join up with the NWA and would switch it's focus from deathmatches to more straight up wrestling. They got a building in Highland, Indiana which was a gym but it always looked good on camera and for all the shows I've seen from the company in the building was always full in terms of a crowd. That year the company would put on probably the greatest weekend of wrestling ever in the indy world, that being the Ted Petty Invitational 2004. It was a truly great series of shows and was a highlight for the company. The switch in focus resulted in good numbers in terms of crowds on a regular basis. It really looked like the company would be doing really well. It had one of the best rosters of any company going at the time which resulted in some of the best shows and some true dream matches.
With the switch in focus the company announced the last King of the Death in 2004. However that didn't happen as a year later the tournament returned. The found a new building, as the other one in Highland didn't allow a deathmatch style. The company seemed to switch back to it's old ways and put it's focus on deathmatches in the main events. And they also went back to getting a mixed crowd from show to show. Sometimes they would have a full crowd and others there would be very little. The company would expand in 2005 by putting a show in the old ECW arena. Gaining one of the biggest crowds they ever got and putting on one of the best shows ever, headlined by Samoa Joe vs. Necro Butcher which was a classic.
The company would keep moving forward and in 2006 they would pull another massive crowd for their We're No Joke show headlined by Necro Butcher vs. Low Ki. However the odd show here and there still did not establish a constant full time good crowd which the company needed. 2006 also marked the arrival of some new tournaments, the Queen of the Death (an all women's death match tournament) and the Double Death (tag team death match tournament), which I'll get to later. The company would bring stars in and have stars leave however they didn't really have a constant big name in the company. Fast forward to 2009 the company found another new building except this time it was a shit hole and that's putting it nicely. It was God awful and really made the company look like garbage.
By September 2009, just before the TPI, the company closed it's doors officially after many many years of will it won't it. A company that was one of my favourites had gone and I hated that fact. I like many others were happy when the company came back in 2010 however that was short lived after watching the 'new product'. They had no big name stars whatsoever and when reading the results of shows you ended up saying 'Who' to almost everyone who was on the show. The highlight of the return was the April Bloodshowers show which got the smallest crowd ever to a wrestling show, having seen highlights it was laughable. The show was the longest running named show the company had and always gained a big crowd so to pull such a bad number showed how bad the company had become. They went months and months with announcing shows, putting them off and cancelling them. A little while back they announced there closing once again this time I doubt it'll come back.
For me there are many possible reasons why the company closed twice within a couple of years. One thing I thought was a major thing for the closing in 2009 was the 2008 they had. They held a total of 8 tournaments, 3 of which were weekend shows. The big names needed to pull the crowd must of cost a lot and gained very little. The problem was the Queen and Double Death tournaments. While both were great ideas there was no reason for them, the Queen was built around Mickie Knuckles and all the other girls had no name and still have no name seriously look who won the 2008 and see if you know them. And the Double Death had no real tag teams to focus on, seriously Brain Damage & Deranged won the thing 2 years in a row and there were only 3 tournaments.
Another problem was while the company was highly praised for building stars and letting them shine it was a problem when it came to drawing a crowd. 2 of the longest reigning World champions were Chuck Taylor and Dingo. While Chuck Taylor is known now back then he was a up and comer who was just getting his name out there, not a great way to get a crowd when your main act is hard to recognise. The same goes for Dingo in 2008 he wasn't that much of a name and had done very little in the company before gaining the title. While the two did prove themselves in during their reigns it would of made more sense if they were bigger names and proved themselves before it.
The same quality, of building stars, was another problem as they were never really recognisable. While it is a good thing to build stars you need made stars to do so, the lack results in guys trying to make their names off each other which can work but takes longer. And near the later years of the company many of the guys who were made years before left the company for different reasons or another meant there were no guys who could make stars.
Now I can go on about the many different reason why it could of closed, the biggest is problem Ian Rotten (the owner) himself and the rumours of what he has done but I won't. I've just pointed out a couple of possible problems here.
Now I loved the company and I have many shows from around 2006-2008 which were awesome. However in 2009 and 2010 the company turned for the worse and in such a way that it couldn't recover. AJ Styles summed it up best in a shoot interview 'You knew the company was doomed when the boys in the back out numbered the crowd'.
With Ian's reputation being as bad as it is I doubt it can recover and the company will likely be gone for good which is probably for the best. The company was probably one of the biggest indy companies in America at one point and after a while it became one of the biggest jokes.
The earliest footage I saw of IWA Mid South was it's 2001 King of the Death Tournament. The building was a little dump to put it nicely. It looked awful. The company, which started in 1997, didn't really get noticed until the early 2000's. The company's shows were a mix, they had some of the best wrestling you could find, the feud between CM Punk and Chris Hero was talked about all over the place, but it's main focus was on hardcore deathmatches. To be fair it fitted the arena and the general look of the company.
The company would move from building to building each being a 'home' for a while for the company. Not a great deal would change in the company for a few years except new stars would come and go. It wasn't until 2004 that a major change would happen. They would join up with the NWA and would switch it's focus from deathmatches to more straight up wrestling. They got a building in Highland, Indiana which was a gym but it always looked good on camera and for all the shows I've seen from the company in the building was always full in terms of a crowd. That year the company would put on probably the greatest weekend of wrestling ever in the indy world, that being the Ted Petty Invitational 2004. It was a truly great series of shows and was a highlight for the company. The switch in focus resulted in good numbers in terms of crowds on a regular basis. It really looked like the company would be doing really well. It had one of the best rosters of any company going at the time which resulted in some of the best shows and some true dream matches.
With the switch in focus the company announced the last King of the Death in 2004. However that didn't happen as a year later the tournament returned. The found a new building, as the other one in Highland didn't allow a deathmatch style. The company seemed to switch back to it's old ways and put it's focus on deathmatches in the main events. And they also went back to getting a mixed crowd from show to show. Sometimes they would have a full crowd and others there would be very little. The company would expand in 2005 by putting a show in the old ECW arena. Gaining one of the biggest crowds they ever got and putting on one of the best shows ever, headlined by Samoa Joe vs. Necro Butcher which was a classic.
The company would keep moving forward and in 2006 they would pull another massive crowd for their We're No Joke show headlined by Necro Butcher vs. Low Ki. However the odd show here and there still did not establish a constant full time good crowd which the company needed. 2006 also marked the arrival of some new tournaments, the Queen of the Death (an all women's death match tournament) and the Double Death (tag team death match tournament), which I'll get to later. The company would bring stars in and have stars leave however they didn't really have a constant big name in the company. Fast forward to 2009 the company found another new building except this time it was a shit hole and that's putting it nicely. It was God awful and really made the company look like garbage.
By September 2009, just before the TPI, the company closed it's doors officially after many many years of will it won't it. A company that was one of my favourites had gone and I hated that fact. I like many others were happy when the company came back in 2010 however that was short lived after watching the 'new product'. They had no big name stars whatsoever and when reading the results of shows you ended up saying 'Who' to almost everyone who was on the show. The highlight of the return was the April Bloodshowers show which got the smallest crowd ever to a wrestling show, having seen highlights it was laughable. The show was the longest running named show the company had and always gained a big crowd so to pull such a bad number showed how bad the company had become. They went months and months with announcing shows, putting them off and cancelling them. A little while back they announced there closing once again this time I doubt it'll come back.
For me there are many possible reasons why the company closed twice within a couple of years. One thing I thought was a major thing for the closing in 2009 was the 2008 they had. They held a total of 8 tournaments, 3 of which were weekend shows. The big names needed to pull the crowd must of cost a lot and gained very little. The problem was the Queen and Double Death tournaments. While both were great ideas there was no reason for them, the Queen was built around Mickie Knuckles and all the other girls had no name and still have no name seriously look who won the 2008 and see if you know them. And the Double Death had no real tag teams to focus on, seriously Brain Damage & Deranged won the thing 2 years in a row and there were only 3 tournaments.
Another problem was while the company was highly praised for building stars and letting them shine it was a problem when it came to drawing a crowd. 2 of the longest reigning World champions were Chuck Taylor and Dingo. While Chuck Taylor is known now back then he was a up and comer who was just getting his name out there, not a great way to get a crowd when your main act is hard to recognise. The same goes for Dingo in 2008 he wasn't that much of a name and had done very little in the company before gaining the title. While the two did prove themselves in during their reigns it would of made more sense if they were bigger names and proved themselves before it.
The same quality, of building stars, was another problem as they were never really recognisable. While it is a good thing to build stars you need made stars to do so, the lack results in guys trying to make their names off each other which can work but takes longer. And near the later years of the company many of the guys who were made years before left the company for different reasons or another meant there were no guys who could make stars.
Now I can go on about the many different reason why it could of closed, the biggest is problem Ian Rotten (the owner) himself and the rumours of what he has done but I won't. I've just pointed out a couple of possible problems here.
Now I loved the company and I have many shows from around 2006-2008 which were awesome. However in 2009 and 2010 the company turned for the worse and in such a way that it couldn't recover. AJ Styles summed it up best in a shoot interview 'You knew the company was doomed when the boys in the back out numbered the crowd'.
With Ian's reputation being as bad as it is I doubt it can recover and the company will likely be gone for good which is probably for the best. The company was probably one of the biggest indy companies in America at one point and after a while it became one of the biggest jokes.
Saturday 16 April 2011
One bad week, Ain't No Doubt About!
This week in wrestling has been one very bad one. While it's ended on a high note, with Chikara's King of Trios happening. There's been some bad and I thought I'd share my view on them.
Now before I look at the bigger lose (in my view) I will look at the lesser. This week on Raw there was a surprise announcement and that was Edge, who was the current World champion, had to retire. Edge has been one of my favourites for years and is one of the biggest stars in the company and him leaving is a big lose to the company. He's been wrestling in the WWE for 13 years and I've seen everything. From his debut to his amazing tag team with Christian, to his break out into singles wrestling and finally to his push to the main event. I've witnessed it all. While this is a big shock and came from out of no where the fact is that it still wasn't that big of a surprise, the fact Edge was talking about retiring next year anyways, while we'll miss some potential feuds that could of happened the fact is there really not that much left to happen in that time.
The biggest problem is the gap that it's left in the company. Over the past 2 years WWE have lost many of there established main eventers and has left a huge gap. While there is very little doubt about Alberto Del Rio winning the World title soon, more likely at Extreme Rules, who can he feud with? Sure he can work with Christian and he may become the next main event babyface but there is still a big gap. It seems to be a case of wait and see.
Now to the bigger lose. At the beginning of the week I read that 'Sweet 'n Sour' Larry Sweeney was found dead at the age of 29. Sweeney was one of my favourite guys to watch and listen to. A big star on the indies and made a big splash in ROH as a manager. Sweeney showed how truly smart he was when it came to the wrestling business by doing something very few others could and that make himself a star while put as a manager, he reminded me of the old managers of the 80's like Bobby Heenan and Jimmy Hart, guys who nearly outshined the guys they worked with. I loved watching Sweeney wrestle and listening to him on commentary, he was so smart.
There are many things I remember about Sweeney. The numerous times he was ICW/ICWA Tex-Arkana Television champion, it was really his belt and it didn't look right with anyone else. Sweeney's promos were always amazing to listen to. But some of the biggest things I remember was his last year, he seemed to disappear from wrestling all together for years but he returned to AAW wrestling and I remember watching his promos and thinking this is a whole new Sweeney. But the biggest thing and the thing that will stick with me forever is Sweeney's shocking return to Chikara at the Dark Cibernetico match. The crowd exploded and continued to go crazy for seemingly forever.
Wrestling has had a bad week, in my view, but like any bad thing you have to get used to it and move forward. But not after reflecting on what they gave to the business. At last nights King of Trios Mike Quackenbush and Jigsaw gave a tribute in their match to Larry Sweeney and I expect to see some more from Chikara as Larry was one of their own.
I'll end this by saying that wrestling has had two big loses this week and it will take some time to get used to. Luckly Edge is fine and healthly, he'll be seen some more and that's for sure. But we've lost Sweet 'n Sour and he'll be missed, AIN'T NO DOUBT ABOUT! RIP Larry Sweeney
Now before I look at the bigger lose (in my view) I will look at the lesser. This week on Raw there was a surprise announcement and that was Edge, who was the current World champion, had to retire. Edge has been one of my favourites for years and is one of the biggest stars in the company and him leaving is a big lose to the company. He's been wrestling in the WWE for 13 years and I've seen everything. From his debut to his amazing tag team with Christian, to his break out into singles wrestling and finally to his push to the main event. I've witnessed it all. While this is a big shock and came from out of no where the fact is that it still wasn't that big of a surprise, the fact Edge was talking about retiring next year anyways, while we'll miss some potential feuds that could of happened the fact is there really not that much left to happen in that time.
The biggest problem is the gap that it's left in the company. Over the past 2 years WWE have lost many of there established main eventers and has left a huge gap. While there is very little doubt about Alberto Del Rio winning the World title soon, more likely at Extreme Rules, who can he feud with? Sure he can work with Christian and he may become the next main event babyface but there is still a big gap. It seems to be a case of wait and see.
Now to the bigger lose. At the beginning of the week I read that 'Sweet 'n Sour' Larry Sweeney was found dead at the age of 29. Sweeney was one of my favourite guys to watch and listen to. A big star on the indies and made a big splash in ROH as a manager. Sweeney showed how truly smart he was when it came to the wrestling business by doing something very few others could and that make himself a star while put as a manager, he reminded me of the old managers of the 80's like Bobby Heenan and Jimmy Hart, guys who nearly outshined the guys they worked with. I loved watching Sweeney wrestle and listening to him on commentary, he was so smart.
There are many things I remember about Sweeney. The numerous times he was ICW/ICWA Tex-Arkana Television champion, it was really his belt and it didn't look right with anyone else. Sweeney's promos were always amazing to listen to. But some of the biggest things I remember was his last year, he seemed to disappear from wrestling all together for years but he returned to AAW wrestling and I remember watching his promos and thinking this is a whole new Sweeney. But the biggest thing and the thing that will stick with me forever is Sweeney's shocking return to Chikara at the Dark Cibernetico match. The crowd exploded and continued to go crazy for seemingly forever.
Wrestling has had a bad week, in my view, but like any bad thing you have to get used to it and move forward. But not after reflecting on what they gave to the business. At last nights King of Trios Mike Quackenbush and Jigsaw gave a tribute in their match to Larry Sweeney and I expect to see some more from Chikara as Larry was one of their own.
I'll end this by saying that wrestling has had two big loses this week and it will take some time to get used to. Luckly Edge is fine and healthly, he'll be seen some more and that's for sure. But we've lost Sweet 'n Sour and he'll be missed, AIN'T NO DOUBT ABOUT! RIP Larry Sweeney
Friday 1 April 2011
Looking forward to King of Trios!
While it may be the 'biggest' weekend in wrestling I'm looking ahead to 2 weeks time and Chikara's King of Trios. April seems to always be a huge month for wrestling when you consider this weekend's multiple shows, next weekend's Best of the Best and wXw shows and then King of Trios one thing remains the same, Chikara's King or Trios goes down as one of the best weekends of wrestling all year. So with that said I'm going to look at the opening matches, predict who I think will win and who will win the overall tournament. I will also look at the mini Rey De Voladores tournament that occurs on Night 2 and 3 and possible other matches that might happen. So without further introduction let's begin.
Team Dragon Gate (Super Shisa, Akira Towaza & Kagetora) vs. The Spectral Envoy (Ultramantis Black, Frightmare & Hallowicked)
While Towaza is a regular in the US, Shisa and Kagetora are not and they will likely want to make an impact. But regardless of that fact I doubt they will beat the Spectral. There are several reasons for this. One is that the Spectral contains 3 of the biggest Chikara stars in the entire company who are probably one of the most over trios in the company, it's highly doubtful that a debuting trio will upset them. The other reason is that the Dragon Gate team would be perfect fits in the Rey De Voladores tournament, I could easily see Towaza winning it in fact. To me everything is pointing to the Spectral winning this one.
Winners: The Spectral Envoy
Team Australia (Percy, Kabel & Tama Williams) vs. FIST (Icarus, Chuck Taylor & Johnny Gargano)
Can't write a lot here as don't know a lot about Team Australia. Never heard of the guys before and seriously doubt they would beat one of Chikara's biggest trios. And since the tournament goes on for 3 nights you will very likely see members of Team Australia compete in the other 2 nights including the annual 12 team tag gauntlet. FIST have been one of the biggest heel groups that Chikara has had forever it seems and they really should advance here.
Winners: FIST
Michinoku Pro (Great Sasuke, Dick Togo & Jinsei Shinzaki) vs. Team Minnesota (Arik Cannon, Darin Corbin & 1-2-3 Kid)
The usual Team FIRST entrant had to be changed after Ryan Cruz retired so one of the biggest stars in wrestling got added but this being Chikara there was a funny twist and it will be the 1-2-3 Kid and not Sean Waltman. While this would be a big thing they have the tough task of facing 3 absolute legends in wrestling in Team Michinoku Pro. The team with the most hype heading towards the tournament and for good reason. I see team Michinoku doing several things over the weekend, they will either advance all the way to the semi's, go out in Night 2 to allow some dream matches on Night 3 (I'm thinking Dick Togo vs. Eddie Kingston) or they could very well win the whole thing. Either way I don't expect Team Minnesota beating them.
Winners: Michinoku Pro
The Colony (Fire, Solider & Green Ant) vs. Kizarny & The Batiri (Obariyan & Kodama)
The 2010 King or Trios finalist will face off with the new group that are quickly becoming the top Rudo team in Chikara, taking the BDK's spot in my view. The Colony remains one of the biggest Techinos team in Chikara and this should be one of the hottest matches on Night 1. While I haven't seen much of Kizarny to judge how good he is in the ring, I have to assume he's pretty good since Chikara are using him, I know the Batiri are an incredible tag team who will likely carry the load during the trio matches. While it would be easy to have the Colony move forward I think that the trios of Batiri & Kiznary could do with the win more and use it to establish themselves as top Rudos in Chikara.
Winners: Kizarny & The Batiri
BDK ( Jakob Hammermeier, Tim Donst & Delirious) vs. Da Soul Touchaz (Marshe Rockett, Acid Jazz & Willie Richardson)
Honestly this match was my pick for possible final round match. The feud between the 2 trios would have been the perfect fit to end the tournament and would of likely seen DST winning, the story for the match would have been epic. Sadly the BDK trio is a far cry from the best combination they could of got out of the group, while Donst is one of the best currently in the group Jakob has had all of one match and Delirious while good is just another cog in the BDK group. It's safe to say that my idea for the final round is gone to the waste side.
Winners: Da Soul Touchaz
Quackenbush, Jigsaw & Manami Toyota vs. The SAT (Amazing Red, Jose & Joel Maximo)
Not seen much of the Maximo's over the past few years so don't know what to expect from them. However they are not likely to beat the trio they are facing. Much like the Dragon Gate Trio, Red would be a perfect fit for the Rey De Voladores tournament. Quacksaw are the current tag champs and Toyota is a true legend who proved she can hang with the guys last time she was in Chikara. I expect that trio to get to the semi finals at the very least.
Winners: Quackenbush, Jigsaw & Toyota
3.Ole (Shane Matthews, Scott Parker & El Generico) vs. The Osirian Portal (Amasis, Ophidian & Hieracon)
An interesting trio will face off with an undefeated trio in Chikara. It seems that Chikara really wants to make the Portal a threat for this year's tournament and they sure have, since adding Hieracon they have gone from strength to strength. While it would be good to see 3.Ole advance they are better suited for other matches during the weekend, the Tag Gauntlet on night 3 and some potential dream matches in Generico's case, Generico could even be in the Rey De Voladores and win it. So I personally expect the Portal to advance.
Winners: The Osirian Portal
The Throwbacks (Matt Classic, Dasher Hatfield & Sugar Dunkerton) vs. Team Osaka Pro (Atsuhi Kotoge, Daisuke Harada & Ultimate Spider Jr.)
A trio consisting of 2 of the the current team Osaka Pro went all the way to the semi finals and made a memorable showing during the course. While there opponent were knocked out in the first round and it will likely happen again. While I like the Throwbacks this is a pure comedy team that really shouldn't advance unless they can be serious and while Dasher and Sugar can they have Matt Classic which means they will be more funny than anything else. If they were teaming with Colt Cabana instead of Matt Classic they could very well be a bit of a threat but that's not the case. Combine that with the fact Team Osaka Pro did so well last year they should advance again this year.
Winners: Team Osaka Pro
Overall Winners
I mentioned earlier the potential main event of Da Soul Touchaz vs. BDK and that not happening. My other potential main event I had thought of and could very well happen is the Spectral Envoy vs. Kizarny & The Batiri, the two trios have feud since the finale of the last season when Kizarny debuted. Ever since then Kizarny has had the upper hand in the feud, having the Spectral win the tournament by beating them would be a perfect ending for the tournament and while it may not end the feud it would advance it.
With that being said Chikara is never afraid to put over a trio for just those 3 nights, look back at the year Lince won it and the fact his 2 partners are never in Chikara any more. With that said I could easily see Team Michinoku Pro winning the entire tournament, possibly beating Quacksaw & Toyota in the finals.
Too me King of Trios is a special tournament as any trio can actually win it, with 3 nights to play with you can easily establish a new trio as the best in the world.
I love these 3 shows as not only do you get one of the best in ring tournaments all year but you get some true dream matches happen and some truly memorable moments. And while this upcoming weekend may be the 'Biggest' in wrestling to me it's just one of a few stops before King of Trios.
Team Dragon Gate (Super Shisa, Akira Towaza & Kagetora) vs. The Spectral Envoy (Ultramantis Black, Frightmare & Hallowicked)
While Towaza is a regular in the US, Shisa and Kagetora are not and they will likely want to make an impact. But regardless of that fact I doubt they will beat the Spectral. There are several reasons for this. One is that the Spectral contains 3 of the biggest Chikara stars in the entire company who are probably one of the most over trios in the company, it's highly doubtful that a debuting trio will upset them. The other reason is that the Dragon Gate team would be perfect fits in the Rey De Voladores tournament, I could easily see Towaza winning it in fact. To me everything is pointing to the Spectral winning this one.
Winners: The Spectral Envoy
Team Australia (Percy, Kabel & Tama Williams) vs. FIST (Icarus, Chuck Taylor & Johnny Gargano)
Can't write a lot here as don't know a lot about Team Australia. Never heard of the guys before and seriously doubt they would beat one of Chikara's biggest trios. And since the tournament goes on for 3 nights you will very likely see members of Team Australia compete in the other 2 nights including the annual 12 team tag gauntlet. FIST have been one of the biggest heel groups that Chikara has had forever it seems and they really should advance here.
Winners: FIST
Michinoku Pro (Great Sasuke, Dick Togo & Jinsei Shinzaki) vs. Team Minnesota (Arik Cannon, Darin Corbin & 1-2-3 Kid)
The usual Team FIRST entrant had to be changed after Ryan Cruz retired so one of the biggest stars in wrestling got added but this being Chikara there was a funny twist and it will be the 1-2-3 Kid and not Sean Waltman. While this would be a big thing they have the tough task of facing 3 absolute legends in wrestling in Team Michinoku Pro. The team with the most hype heading towards the tournament and for good reason. I see team Michinoku doing several things over the weekend, they will either advance all the way to the semi's, go out in Night 2 to allow some dream matches on Night 3 (I'm thinking Dick Togo vs. Eddie Kingston) or they could very well win the whole thing. Either way I don't expect Team Minnesota beating them.
Winners: Michinoku Pro
The Colony (Fire, Solider & Green Ant) vs. Kizarny & The Batiri (Obariyan & Kodama)
The 2010 King or Trios finalist will face off with the new group that are quickly becoming the top Rudo team in Chikara, taking the BDK's spot in my view. The Colony remains one of the biggest Techinos team in Chikara and this should be one of the hottest matches on Night 1. While I haven't seen much of Kizarny to judge how good he is in the ring, I have to assume he's pretty good since Chikara are using him, I know the Batiri are an incredible tag team who will likely carry the load during the trio matches. While it would be easy to have the Colony move forward I think that the trios of Batiri & Kiznary could do with the win more and use it to establish themselves as top Rudos in Chikara.
Winners: Kizarny & The Batiri
BDK ( Jakob Hammermeier, Tim Donst & Delirious) vs. Da Soul Touchaz (Marshe Rockett, Acid Jazz & Willie Richardson)
Honestly this match was my pick for possible final round match. The feud between the 2 trios would have been the perfect fit to end the tournament and would of likely seen DST winning, the story for the match would have been epic. Sadly the BDK trio is a far cry from the best combination they could of got out of the group, while Donst is one of the best currently in the group Jakob has had all of one match and Delirious while good is just another cog in the BDK group. It's safe to say that my idea for the final round is gone to the waste side.
Winners: Da Soul Touchaz
Quackenbush, Jigsaw & Manami Toyota vs. The SAT (Amazing Red, Jose & Joel Maximo)
Not seen much of the Maximo's over the past few years so don't know what to expect from them. However they are not likely to beat the trio they are facing. Much like the Dragon Gate Trio, Red would be a perfect fit for the Rey De Voladores tournament. Quacksaw are the current tag champs and Toyota is a true legend who proved she can hang with the guys last time she was in Chikara. I expect that trio to get to the semi finals at the very least.
Winners: Quackenbush, Jigsaw & Toyota
3.Ole (Shane Matthews, Scott Parker & El Generico) vs. The Osirian Portal (Amasis, Ophidian & Hieracon)
An interesting trio will face off with an undefeated trio in Chikara. It seems that Chikara really wants to make the Portal a threat for this year's tournament and they sure have, since adding Hieracon they have gone from strength to strength. While it would be good to see 3.Ole advance they are better suited for other matches during the weekend, the Tag Gauntlet on night 3 and some potential dream matches in Generico's case, Generico could even be in the Rey De Voladores and win it. So I personally expect the Portal to advance.
Winners: The Osirian Portal
The Throwbacks (Matt Classic, Dasher Hatfield & Sugar Dunkerton) vs. Team Osaka Pro (Atsuhi Kotoge, Daisuke Harada & Ultimate Spider Jr.)
A trio consisting of 2 of the the current team Osaka Pro went all the way to the semi finals and made a memorable showing during the course. While there opponent were knocked out in the first round and it will likely happen again. While I like the Throwbacks this is a pure comedy team that really shouldn't advance unless they can be serious and while Dasher and Sugar can they have Matt Classic which means they will be more funny than anything else. If they were teaming with Colt Cabana instead of Matt Classic they could very well be a bit of a threat but that's not the case. Combine that with the fact Team Osaka Pro did so well last year they should advance again this year.
Winners: Team Osaka Pro
Overall Winners
I mentioned earlier the potential main event of Da Soul Touchaz vs. BDK and that not happening. My other potential main event I had thought of and could very well happen is the Spectral Envoy vs. Kizarny & The Batiri, the two trios have feud since the finale of the last season when Kizarny debuted. Ever since then Kizarny has had the upper hand in the feud, having the Spectral win the tournament by beating them would be a perfect ending for the tournament and while it may not end the feud it would advance it.
With that being said Chikara is never afraid to put over a trio for just those 3 nights, look back at the year Lince won it and the fact his 2 partners are never in Chikara any more. With that said I could easily see Team Michinoku Pro winning the entire tournament, possibly beating Quacksaw & Toyota in the finals.
Too me King of Trios is a special tournament as any trio can actually win it, with 3 nights to play with you can easily establish a new trio as the best in the world.
I love these 3 shows as not only do you get one of the best in ring tournaments all year but you get some true dream matches happen and some truly memorable moments. And while this upcoming weekend may be the 'Biggest' in wrestling to me it's just one of a few stops before King of Trios.
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