Contemplating CHIKARA 04.05.09: King of Trios 2009 From a Live Perspective

Posted by Kevin Ford on 04.05.2009

A brief summation of the best weekend I've ever experienced as a professional wrestling fan.

I sit here tired, mildly stressed out from work, on a cold, rainy day here in Virginia. Getting back to reality sucks.

I say reality, because CHIKARA's 2009 King of Trios weekend was unreal. It was like entering your own little world of joy, fun, and craziness. Never have I had a more fun pro wrestling experience than I did this past weekend. Three nights of fantastic wrestling, a fan conclave that did nothing but exceed all expectations I had, and the nicest most personable wrestlers and staff you'll ever meet made this a weekend I wish I could relive over and over again.


DVD cover for Night One, coming soon from Smart Mark Video!

Let's start off with Night One. I had been to the Arena back in September for ROH Glory By Honor VII, so being back wasn't a big deal. Two of my friends (CHIKARA and New Alhambra virgins) came in, and after seeing the wide array of merchandise and wrestlers said "I never want to leave." It's wild to see guys like El Generico, Stupefied, Player Uno, Beef Wellington, and countless others who were shilling their own merchandise, and those were just the guys on Night One! The matches on Night One were also incredible. My personal favorite was Team Uppercut vs. The Roughnecks, thanks in large part to Grizzly Redwood who stole the match. One match that didn't have a lot of high expectations from me was The Soul Touchaz vs. Team CZW, but man did those two teams tear it up. It was quite the scene when Beef Wellington rapped "Ice, Ice Baby" to Willie Richardson, and Trauma and Greg Excellent had a dance off to "Apache". Not to mention that the action itself was awesome. First timers like Aries, Danielson, and Johnny freakin' Saint got awesome reactions. Saint is insanely good by the way, in case you didn't know. Reaction of the night though had to go to D'LO BROWN being the replacement for the absent Iceberg. No one expected D'Lo and the fans could not have been happier to see him. Glacier also got a very receptive reaction for his return to CHIKARA in over a year. I remember leaving the Arena far more than satisfied and waiting for Night 2 in anticipation. The only negative was that the show went very long, but the good news is that the next two nights were considerably shorter shows.

Then we had the Fan Conclave. My God was this fun. Guys were walking about, shilling their stuff, willing to sign whatever you wanted or take pictures. Danielson, Claudio, the First Family, the Young Bucks, and many more were out there being extremely nice, personable people. Meeting guys like Johnny Saint, Dave Taylor, D'Lo Brown, Glacier, and Skayde was something I never thought I'd be able to do, especially not all in one place. Even the regulars like Bryce Remsburg and Leonard Chikarason were fun, good spirited, down to Earth, hilarious dudes. Props of the Conclave from me go to Lince Dorado and Helios, who I actually played Rock Band with at the Conclave, for being just awesome guys in general. Spent a fair bit of time talking to those two. Ultramantis Black was amazing as always, and a guy gave him a custom made skateboard deck! That was nuts. It was just insanity meeting everyone and seeing all the wrestlers walking about. It was such a treat for the fans, and it seems as if the wrestlers had a fun time also.

I don't even know what to say about Night 2 except that it was amazing. If you buy one night of the weekend, make it this one. The first Rey de Voladores qualifier with Aries, Fire Ant, Matt Jackson, and Player Dos was so great that when it was over I said aloud "Well, good luck following that one." I had no idea. The second Rey de Voladores qualifier with Generico, Ibushi, Nick Jackson, and Jigsaw was the match of the whole weekend. Everything that happened from when Generico dives to Nick Jackson till his elimination was the best action of the whole weekend. Everyone was going nuts as those four tore the place down. It was to the point where "FIVE STAR MATCH!" was echoed throughout the Arena. Finally, The Masters of 1000 Holds took on Team Uppercut in a literal dream match. I remember being in disbelief that these six men were all in a ring at the same time, and yet they were. Boy did they not disappoint. If memory serves me correctly, they had the longest match of the entire weekend; not once was I bored or did I want it to end. The ending with Claudio nailing a big time avalanche-style Ricola Bomb on Quackenbush was really unexpected and cool. IWS put on a great title match as well; I really hope Twiggy comes back more. The only stinker of the show was LWA's showcase, which was decent, but the crowd was never going to give it a chance. Still, buy this DVD.

Night 3 came and went with lots of the usual night 3 awesomeness. The Tag Guantlet did not disappoint. My favorite combos were The Young Bucks vs. The Soul Touchaz, the Young Bucks vs. Cheech & Cloudy, and The Roughnecks vs. QuackSaw closing it. Quack ducking down in the QD1 so Brodie would boot Grizzly's face off was an awesome moment. The two singles attractions with Cannon vs. Generico and Kingston vs. Aries were also great. Ibushi once again gets the match of the night, defeating Dos in a hell of a match to be crowned 2009 Rey de Voladores. Someone said Ibushi was CHIKARA's adopted son for the weekend, and I could not agree more. Ibushi is so impressive, and a real treat to see live. Ibushi also couldn't be more respectful and nice.

As much as Ibushi ruled this weekend, how could I not give the Trios M.V.P. award to our similarly outfitted overlords, F.I.S.T.?


Credit: Lyle C. Williams

All four matches they competed in were top notch. Chuck's Awful Waffle to Toby Klein in their match on Night One made me scream in horror. Chuck splatting on the concrete in their match against the First Family also terrified me. But they were able to recoup and take one of the most beloved and experienced teams. It was quite a sight to see when the fans chanted "THANK YOU F.I.S.T.!" when they eliminated The Future Is Now in the beginning of Night Three in a really great match. And finally, they proved their dominance and intelligence, as they immediately took to Bryan Danielson's previously hurt leg to win the whole shebang. No trio in the tournament was more deserving to win than these 3. The crowd knew it, and it's good to see that the staff felt the same. They also had AWESOME new gear that really brought them together as a whole.

And this column only scratches the surface of my personal experience. This weekend had it all; amazing matches, insane amounts of merchandise, wrestlers with their heads firmly placed on their shoulders, and an overall drive to put on the best shows possible. I strongly recommend you snatch up all 3 DVD's once they're available on Smart Mark Video. You're viewing pleasure will be immeasurable. My two friends came out even bigger CHIKARA fans and are planning on buying DVD's now. CHIKARA solidified themselves as the most fun, and the best overall independent company going with King of Trios 2009. Rest assured that I am already planning on making the pilgrimage again in 2010. Also, if you have any questions about the weekend, I am more than willing to answer whatever questions you have for me.

Thanks everyone for reading! Next week I'll catch you up on the most recent goings on, including cards for April's shows "Behind The 8 Ball" and "The Bobliographon."

Links!
CHIKARA Home Page: www.chikarapro.com
CHIKARA Fans!: www.chikarafans.com
Buy CHIKARA DVD's!: www.smartmarkvideo.com