King of Trios 2011
The Asylum Arena
South Philadelphia, PA
April 15, 16, and 17, 2011
Friday and Saturday belltimes are 7:30 pm. Sunday belltime is 4 pm.
Saturday afternoon will feature the 4th Annual Fan Conclave starting at 2:30pm with a performance from Stan Bush, who provides the official theme song for the event, “The Touch.”
Teams announced so far:
Team FIST (Chuck Taylor, Icarus, and Johnny Gargano)
Team FIST won this tournament in 2009, but that was a different team. Icarus and Chuck Taylor turned on Gran Akuma last July at Chikarasaurus Rex and replaced him with Johnny Gargano. They don’t have much experience as a trio, but they’ve had success in trios action, defeating 3.0 and Soldier Ant in Brooklyn and Da Soul Touchaz in Baltimore before getting their first loss to the new Osirian Portal in Philly. Taylor and Icarus are an experienced duo, and Taylor and Gargano are gaining experience as a duo in other companies. Can this team continue to gel and go far in the tournament, especially after Chuck Taylor and Johnny Gargano spend most of March in Japan?
The Colony (Fire Ant, Soldier Ant, and Green Ant)
Last year’s finalists return to the King of Trios. It’s been a tough year for the Colony with Fire Ant and Green Ant both spending some time on the sidelines with injuries. They were close to winning last year’s tournament before succumbing to the BDK’s Ragnarok and a crooked referee. The fan-favorites actually haven’t won a match as a trio since advancing to the finals last year. Fire Ant and Soldier Ant have three points as I write this, so they will be challenging for the Campeonatos de Parejas soon, and regaining the belts could be a big boost in momentum for the entire Colony.
The Osirian Portal (Amasis, Ophidian, and Hieracon)
The Osirian Portal has finally found their third for the team. Jonathan Gresham has transformed into Hieracon in January after first teaming with Amasis and Ophidian in December. The search for a third lasted for months including teaming with Drake Younger last July. The Osirian Portal, the original duo, was the pick to replace Skayde’s team last year at King of Trios with Sara Del Rey as their randomly selected third. Del Rey was no help as that paired trio fell in the first round to the eventual winners. The Portal hasn’t had much success in their King of Trios history, never getting out of the second round. But this new trio is so far undefeated and could have momentum on their side.
Da Soul Touchaz (Acid Jaz, Willie Richardson, and Marshe Rockett)
Da Soul Touchaz were held out of the tournament last year by the previous Director of Fun. In trios action later in the year, however, Da Soul Touchaz was defeated multiple versions on BDK, including the reigning King of Trios, before being laid out by the BDK in November and losing by DQ in January when Lince Dorado unmasked and threw it to Willie “Da Bomb” Richardson. Their sights are on the BDK after the assault in November put their manager, C-Red, and valet, Dymond, out of wrestling. Da Soul Touchaz made it to the Second Round in their previous tournament action in 2008 and 2009. Interesting history: Da Soul Touchaz have had zero success in trios action against Team FIST.
The Throwbacks (Sugar Dunkerton, Dasher Hatfield, and Matt Classic)
Sugar Dunkerton and Dasher Hatfield again join with Matt Classic to enter the tournament. This same threesome lost to FIST in the first round in 2010. The Throwbacks, as a tag team, has been gaining some steam in 2010, feuding with the Roughnecks recently. Both members have toured internationally, with Dasher going to Japan and Sugar going to Ireland. Success in the tournament would be a huge feather in the caps (or afros), but they must still be viewed as underdogs. But they’ve had success in matches where they were considered underdogs.
Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw, and Manami Toyota
Manami Toyota, arguably the greatest female wrestler ever, will team with the current (as of this writing) Campeonatos de Parejas in her second trip to the United States for Chikara. Of course, this means Toyota will be competing in her first King of Trios, but her teammates have had success. The last time Quack and Jigsaw teamed together for the tournament was the inaugural tournament in 2007 when they won with Shane Storm (now Stigma) completing the trio. Jigsaw has been in one other tournament, teaming with his former The Future is Now mates, Jimmy “Equinox” Olsen and Helios. Quackenbush has had a variety of different teammates with varying levels of success: Shane Storm (twice), Jorge “Skayde” Rivera (twice), Johnny Saint, Hallowicked, and Frightmare have all shared the apron with Quack. Good news for Quack and Jigsaw: only once has the reigning Campeones de Parejas failed to reach the semifinals.
Sinn Bodhi and the Batiri (Obariyon and Kodama)
The newest trio formed in Chikara has entered the tournament. “Kizarny” Sinn Bodhi is embroiled in a war with Ultramantis Black over a bad business deal. Bodhi was hired to train new minions for Ultramantis, but when Ultramantis couldn’t produce payment (in the form of the Eye of Tyr), Kizarny took back the henchmen, known as the Batiri. Obariyon and Kodama have been impressive in their short time in Chikara, defeating Super Smash Brothers and Osirian Portal, both former Campeones de Parejas, as well as Incoherence. They even challenged for the Campeonatos de Parejas in just their fifth match as a tag team in Chikara. Obariyon’s Flying DDT is as devastating as any move in Chikara today. Just ask Player Dos.
Bruderschaft des Kreuzes (Tim Donst and 2 others)
Last year, a team representing the BDK (Claudio Castagnoli, Ares, and Tursas) won the tournament. We’ve already know that specific trio will not enter this year’s tournament and that the BDK will be represented by a single team, unlike the 2 1/3 of last year. So, this year, Tim Donst has taken it upon himself to captain the BDK team and “find the top tier choices.” Donst has had quite a bit of success on his quest to prove he’s not just a self-proclaimed “Greatest Young Lions Cup Champion Ever.”
and 8 more teams still to be announced.
I’ll be back with another preview of the teams heading into King of Trios after the March events. And of course, you can get your tickets at chikarapro.com.
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