The CHIKARA Special 05.01.10: King of Trios Retrospect

Hello everyone and welcome to another CHIKARA Special! I know, I know, you want to get straight to the King of Trios talk. So let’s do this!

King of Trios 2010 Live Report

Night One

The show opened with F.I.S.T. vs. The Throwbacks, which was a really fun match sprinkled with some great wrestling as well. Matt Classic was the star of the match, giving Icarus a claw to a huge pop. Dunkerton and Hatfield joined him in a triple claw as well. Icarus also had to be caught by Akuma so he wouldn’t fall off the mat. As Akuma grabbed Icarus’ wrists, R. Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly” hits and Dunkerton in slow motion hits a slam dunk between their arms. Icarus and Akuma then got into a shoving match with Dunkerton encouraging them to fight one another. Cooler heads prevailed and F.I.S.T beat on him, while Matt Classic did calisthenics on the stairs for the rest of the match. Classic did however take the fall with Icarus/Chuck’s boot/lungblower combo for the win. A much different match than F.I.S.T. had with any team last year, but a crazy fun match to open the show.

Team Frightning vs. Big Japan was what I called the “bracket buster” of Night One. Many, many people had Frightning going at least to the semi-finals and many predicted them winning the whole thing. When Frightmare tapped out in Okabayashi’s arm-capture Argentine backbreaker, many fans were surprised (but in a good way!) Big Japan really delivered the goods, and impressed the crowds with their size and ring prowess. Sekimoto giving Quack and Frightmare a German suplex at the same time was very impressive and cool. Both teams worked a great match and the fans were more than satisfied with Big Japan moving forward.

Since Team Mexico didn’t make the shows, they were replaced by The Osirian Portal who were drawn from a hat. Dieter Von Steigerwalt brought out a second hat, and Sara Del Rey was named their partner. They faced the BDK trio of Claudio Castagnoli, Ares, and Tursas meaning with Sara on the Portal’s team it was a huge advantage for them. This started off slow and burning, but by the end they were tearing it up. I couldn’t believe how many fans got into it by the end, thinking the Portal may actually pull out the victory. They didn’t, but the story they told with Sara trying to screw the Portal by laying down and the Portal pulling her out of the ring every time was a good one to tell, and got the Claudio team over as even bigger heels.

(On a side note, before each show, they’d play some of the recent Podcast’s on the big screen that had the KoT Updates. Whenever Team Mexico was mentioned, the crowd booed and it was great).

The UnStable vs. Team Osaka Pro fell into that position of the match on the card that was positioned in a place that I don’t remember too much about it. I do remember loving the Osaka Pro team all weekend long and being pleased as punch that they advanced. Their theme music was AWESOME! If anyone was there live and can tell me where I can get that song, you’ll be my favorite person this week. Atsushi Kotoge especially really impressed me. He had slick, cool looking moves and ran the ropes just as fast as Masato Yoshino. Osaka Pro was one of the more unique teams, and I mean that as an overall positive. Delaney and Gerard also showed hits of tension in the UnStable, so I feel that unit maybe on their last legs.

Right after intermission we had The Colony taking on the winners of the Jack of All Trios tournament, Aeroform (Louis Lyndon & Flip Kendrick) and Johnny Gargano. I don’t know what was up with this match. Aeroform and The Colony seemed to have an off match and some real awkward stuff. Green Ant and Gargano however looked great, and Green Ant was one of the most impressive guys of the weekend. It was interesting seeing the JOAT team playing the Rudo role, and it detracted from the match since Aeroform didn’t execute too many of their flippy moves, or of course the crowd would cheer them. It came natural for Gargano though, who of course is a Rudo most everywhere else he wrestles. Frankly this was alright, could’ve been a lot better, and the fans recovering from intermission didn’t help. Colony won, as expected.

The fans certainly got off their hands for The F1RST Family, who are certainly one of the most beloved non-CHIKARA regulars by the fans. They put on a great match with BDK “B Squad” of Tim Donst, Pinkie Sanchez, & Lince Dorado. You can tell these BDK guys absolutely LOVE being Rudo now. They’re all so good at it, and have a great time heckling the cat-callers in the crowd. They put on a good show with Cannon and The North Stars, and also did an effective job of making it seem like The FIRST team had a chance of advancing. Sanchez is doing a great job as a deranged character, painting his lips up with pink paint to mimic the Joker from The Dark Knight. He also got the privilege of making Ryan Cruz tap to the Inverted CHIKARA Special for the victory.

The most wacky and fun match of the weekend award goes to…Team Delicioso vs. Perros del Mal! As expected, Curry Man got a great ovation and even got Los Ice Creams to dance. Cuije though was the best Tecnico EVER. At an adorable 3 ft. 7 inches, I could not imagine how tiny he was in real life. When he jumped up and said “Hijo!”, the fans collectively awwwed at how cute he was. He had a really fun exchange with El Hijo de Ice Cream and Curry Man. Being small is the absolute easiest way to get heat, because everyone is a bully by comparison. When the fans are able to boo Curry Man and Los Ice Creams, you know you’re awesome. Oriental and Alebrije were kind of just there, and Oriental fudged a couple spots. I will say this though: of all the luchadores on the American independents this year, they are by far the best. Everyone was super happy that Perros del Mal won because it meant MOAR CUIJE! Seriously, Cuije rules.

The weekend of King of Trios, one of the Buy or Sell questions was asking if the writers believed The Jackson 3 vs. The Future Is Now would be the best match of the night. If you were like me and said it would be, congratulations! You were correct! Both these teams put on the high flying, hard hitting fun you’ve come to expect. The Bucks played the Rudos in this match, while Malachi played the spry new guy looking for a chance. Malachi took that ball and ran with it, putting on an impressive performance that could potentially earn him a spot in the Young Lions Cup. The Future Is Now busted out their usual antics (and I mean that in a positive way) to encorporate and envigorating, fun contest that was a great way to end the night. Malachi shook hands with TFIN, but the Bucks bailed, ditching their brother who was pinned by Helios’ 630 splash.

Night One ended on a high note and overall was a damn good show. I’d say it was one of the most solid nights of wrestling the entire weekend, with not on bad match (some better than others of course, but I digress). Night 2 had a lot of promise and intrigue, and a lot to live up to.

Fan Conclave

The Fan Conlave in 2009 was insanely fun. You could cut a promo with the wrestlers, meet anybody you wanted, and play Rock Band with the guys. It was such a great experience I was concerned that 2010 couldn’t reach that level.

Boy was I wrong! Kudos to Bryce Remsburg for putting together another spectacular edition of The Fan Conclave this year. This year’s main attraction were board games, awkward family photos, and CHIKARAoake, all of which I personally participated in. Nothing like Dasher Hatfield translating Incoherence’s “Guess Who?” questions, or playing Johnny Gargano who claimed he was undefeated all night (despite losing multiple times). As for the pictures and karaoke? Well, you’ll have to find me. Here’s a link to the awkward photos, and the podcast in which footage of CHIKARAoke and other such silliness is provided:

The video is pretty self-explanatory, so enjoy. Crossbones is an amazing singer, by the way.

Night Two

Brodie Lee’s open challenge was answered by none other than his former partner Grizzly Redwood. This got a great pop, because for those who don’t know, Brodie booted Grizzly out of CHIKARA in the Arena last October at the Cibernetico. Grizzly put up a hell of an effort, but Brodie caught him coming off the top rope into a Boss Man Slam. Brodie followed up with a big boot, and that was that.

For the sake of ease, I am going to talk about stuff out of order.

Quarter-Finals

The Big Japan vs. Future Is Now match may have been my favorite match of the entire weekend. Sekimoto giving a German to Equinox, Jigsaw, and Okabayashi at the same time was awe inspiring. My favorite moment of the weekend without a doubt is when Sekimoto ate Equinox’s big punch, Jigsaw’s superkick, and Helios’ 630 splash in a row and kicked out at ONE. I admit it, I popped huge. Sekimoto then caught Helios in a German suplex as he attempted the Sasuke Special. This ending sequence may have beat the Rey de Voladores match with Ibushi and Generico last year. I love, love, LOVED this match.

Speaking of love, F.I.S.T. vs. Osaka Pro was a heck of a match as well. Everyone went nuts whenever Osaka Pro would kick out of F.I.S.T’s nearfalls. Osaka Pro put on another fantastic performance, and this could be F.I.S.T.’s best match out of every King of Trios tournament. I believe it was Tadasuke who kicked out of the same kick/backcracker combination that defeated The Throwbacks on Night One. Needless to say, when Tadasuke rolled up Chucky T for the pin, the place roared with happiness and more people’s brackets were busted.

Team BDK Claudio vs. Perros del Mal. Well, there’s not a ton to say about this, except the story was easy here too. The brackets for this were kept secret till the end of Night One, so it’s plausible Dieter made it so the BDK team faced the smallest guy in the tournament in Cuije. With that said, Oriental and Alebrije tried their best to keep Cuije out of the match. They kept getting thwarted, and the BDK finally trapped Cujie. After a few maneuvers, Tursas splashed Cuije for the win in one of the biggest Rudo moves of the weekend. They even pulled a “stretcher” job with Cuije, meaning the ringside attendant carried him to the back in his arms. Awwww!

Pinkie, Donst, and Lince capped off the night with a stellar match with the Colony. This was all non-nonsense, hard hitting stuff. The Colony and the BDK brawled outside of the ring for a good majority of time. There was no stalling, no wasted time, and everyone was foaming at the mouth with anticipation for the Colony to win. Reverse and regular CHIKARA Specials had fans going nuts. When Soldier Ant forced Tim Donst to tap out, the fans went insane and the general consent was that the Colony HAD to win King of Trios. More on that later, but we were 2 for 2 in awesome main events.

Rey de Voladores

If you expected this year’s Rey de Voladores tournament to live up to last years, lower you expectations now. I certainly was not overly impressed with anyone in these two qualifying four-ways, although guys like Ophidian, Malachi Jackson, and Frightmare did perform quite well. Really there’s not too much else to say. This was far less crazy or exciting then last year, and the tournament finals of Ophidian vs. Matt Cross had many fans left in apathy.

The only other match on this show was Christopher Daniels defeating Hallowicked with the Best Moonsault Ever. Daniels still has his Rudo schtick down to a tee, and it was nice to see him back on the independents as I had never seen him wrestle live before this weekend. I also won’t be getting to an ROH show until late August (if that) and who knows where he’ll be by then. This was a good match to have after intermission to give the crowd a rest from all the craziness.

Night Three

For a high-fliers tournament, the Rey de Voladores final between Matt Cross and Ophidian was atrociously boring. Cross did not carry his weight, and it certainly was not worth the drive from Ohio to Philly for him to be here (especially in the finals). Thankfully Ophidian won, and worked hard for both guys. Still not a great overall match though, and potentially worse than the Helios/Incognito finals from 2008. Yeah, I said it!

The Tag Gauntlet delivered as usual, with some funny stuff from the Throwbacks, a slow-motion sequence between Equinox and Darin Corbin (mirroring the Northstar Express vs. Olsen Twins tag team match from 2007), and the one night return of DRAGON DRAGON! I can’t tell you how nuts the fans went when he came out. Ulrtamantis Black and Crossbones also got a great reaction, and one win, but the fans were a tad deflated when Incoherence beat them in roughly 18 seconds. The final two teams were Incoherence and Sara Del Rey and Daizee Haze in a rematch of sorts from “A World Of Comforting Illusions.” This time around the results were different, as Hallowicked pin Daizee Haze after a Rydeen Bomb. This, and the previous wins Incoherence received in the gauntlet, earned them a tag team title shot at Claudio and Ares during Aniversario weekend.

The Young Bucks faced Mike Quackenbush and Jigsaw in a rematch from Dragon Gate USA’s “Mercury Rising” taping during Wrestlemania weekend. This was a super fun tag team match, with the Bucks again using their heelish tactics as seen in PWG. These two put a great tag team clinic, topped off by a great superkick sequence from all four guys. In a slight variation of the usual, Quack hit the Jig N’ Tonic for the win with the top rope double stomp assist from Jigsaw. It will be interesting to compare this with their Wrestlemania weekend match, but this is also a strong contender for match of the weekend.

The other non-tournament matches were Chuck Taylor vs. El Oriental and Christopher Daniels vs. Eddie Kingston. There is very little to say about either match, except both were good. Not outstanding, but good. The one big thing to happen was Tommy Dreamer coming out after Kingston beat Daniels. Dreamer said he had been having a great time, and referred to Dragon Dragon saying “that shit was awesome”. The fans quickly got on his case in a tongue-in-cheek way, and Dreamer corrected himself by saying “that STUFF was awesome”. Dreamer then told Kingston he knew his backstory, as he grew up in Yonkers just like he did. Dreamer said he knew Kingston idolized him somewhat, much like Dreamer idolized Terry Funk. Dreamer told Kingston he was going to do what Funk did for him, and challenged him to a singles match at Aniversario Elf in New Jersey. Kingston accepted and Dreamer revealed he was wearing the CHIKARMY t-shirt.

King of Trios semi-final matches

Osaka Pro vs. The Colony was a match predicted to happen in the first round, as I didn’t expect Osaka Pro to make it that far. I was very happy to see this match occur, especially in the semi-final round! Much like their other matches, both teams tore it up and dazzled the crowd. For whatever reason, Soldier Ant brought out a bag of sugar which Tadasuke apprehended from them before the bell. The Colony busted out the Super Mega Antapult Splash from the top rope, landing it on Tadasuke for the win. Tadasuke gave the sugar back to Solider Ant after, and the fans gave Osaka Pro a standing ovation and a round of applause. These guys (Harada and Kotoge at least) better remerge in CHIKARA sooner rather than later.

Big Japan vs. The Claudio BDK team was a nice battle of large men (I do indeed join groups of large men, thank you for asking). Hard strikes and big throws were the name of the game, as you’d expect. Kankuro Hoshino was the target of the BDK’s attack being the smallest of the guys. Okabayashi and Sekimoto kept making the save, until Tursas and Claudio trapped them on the floor. This allowed Ares to hit Hoshino with the Tiger Driver and pick up the win for his team. Real good stuff, and I am so glad Big Japan answered the call for the Global Gauntlet back in 2008. This is another group of guys I’d love to see return. I think Sekimoto and Okabayashi vs. Quack and Jigsaw would be fantastic.

King of Trios 2010 Finals

The finals will of this tournament have produced some of the most polarizing reactions I have heard from a wrestling match.

Here’s how it went down. The finals were the BDK team of Claudio Castagnoli, Ares, and Tursas taking on The Colony of Fire Ant, Soldier Ant, and Green Ant. The Colony wasted no time taking it to the BDK and attacked them outside and inside the ring. They took everything the BDK dished out at them and threw it right back in their faces. They tried the giant antapult off the top rope on Ares (the one that gave them the win against Osaka Pro earlier in the night), but Claudio caught Green Ant with a European uppercut on his way down. The action went back and forth with the Colony giving the BDK the biggest fight of their life, including Fire Ant climbing up one of the arena’s support beams and diving off onto a pile of people (much like he did back at the 2006 Young Lions Cup tournament). There was lots of drama, such as the Colony and BDK have the CHIKARA Special and Inverted CHIKARA Special locked on simultaneously looking for the win. Claudio had Green Ant locked in the Inverted CHIKARA Special later on and even stepped on Green Ant’s hand so he couldn’t break. It was broken up causing a roar of cheers from the fans. Tursas gave referee Bryce Remsburg a big splash to knock him out of the match completely after giving a semi-slow count to Ares’ Tiger Driver. The Colony regained control while Bryce was out and hit Ares with the Ant Hill. Referee Derek Sabato (who’s last CHIKARA show was “Duel & Duality” in December 2008) came out, counted two, then stopped and held up his fingers to indicate it was only a two count. The Colony got in his face, and Fire Ant and Soldier Ant were low blowed by Claudio and Ares. They followed up by giving Fire Ant the Ragnarok, and Sabato made the fastest three count in wrestling history. As they celebrated, Sabato took off the traditional CHIKARA referee shirt to reveal a white one. With that, the BDK have their own referee and will go down in history as the 2010 King of Trios.

When this tournament started, my words were that any team but the BDK can win and I’d be fine with that. When Night 3 started, I was happy with any team BUT the BDK winning. To my surprise, I wasn’t too upset with them winning when it happened. This comes for a couple reasons. First, this weekend showed the beginning of the chinks in the BDK’s proverbial armor. Donst, Pinkie, and Lince were defeated on Night 2 by the Colony and Sara Del Rey and Daizee Haze were defeated in the Tag Gauntlet by Hallowicked and Frightmare, who now have a title shot against Claudio and Ares during Aniversario weekend. Second, The Colony looked like a fierce threat to the BDK during the finals. They gave it to the BDK and knocked out all three guys, including sending Tursas into the front row. They looked like the strongest trio of everyone, and it took a crooked referee, two low blows, and their intense finisher to get the win. Finally, I knew the storyline behind Derek Sabato and saw it coming the minute he ran out to the ring. With knowing Sabato’s back story (more on that later) all of what happened made perfect sense to me and I could accept it for what it was. It also helps that the team they lost to were the Campeones de Parejas and the largest, most unstoppable guy in the company at the moment.

However, I also realize that a very large amount of fans were not happy with this call. There was a noticeable sound of deflation from the crowd when the BDK won. Everyone there had such an awesome time all weekend and seen such great matches (including this very one) and the weekend ended with a B.S. finish in the finals of a tournament. For many fans, this is a huge no-no and almost makes the rest of the tournament inconsequential. There were plenty of people leaving the building groaning, sick of the BDK running roughshod over the entire company. Some even said they were done coming to CHIKARA shows out of principle. It’s very easy to see where they’re coming from, and quite frankly I can’t disagree with their point entirely. The comparisons to the nWo have been made many times, and now people are comparing Sabato to the referee the Muscle Outlawz had in Dragon Gate. It feels like CHIKARA’s attempting to reinvent the wheel with some of these ideas, but the fans aren’t digging it. I guarantee you if The Colony had won, most fans would have called it one of the best weekends CHIKARA has ever had. The sour ending to a great weekend will stick on their minds.

I also must point how much I HATE heel referee gimmicks. They never fail to annoy or anger me. For this night, in this particular circumstance, it worked like gold. But what about in the future? Why wouldn’t Sabato referee every single BDK match from now on? And why would he ever be honest? Wouldn’t he just lie every single match and reward it to the BDK? If he counts fast, but only gets two, why in God’s name wouldn’t he just tell the timekeeper that it was three and to reward the match to whichever BDK member(s) is/are wrestling? It’s going to bother me to no end when he’s refereeing the matches unless he screws the CHIKARA person every time. Even then, I don’t want to watch that. That’s tedious and boring. Everyone loses when a heel referee is involved.

For those who don’t know, Sabato posted a blog over a year ago explaining his (presumably) sudden departure from CHIKARA:

So I’ve Bitten My Tongue Long Enough…

So it seems people are beginning to notice that I’m no longer on the Chikara website. Surprised I was on there as long as I was to be honest. I never really fit into Chikara. I guess coming from CZW it was always like that but I was there and I did my job and I think I did it well.

Leaving a wrestling promotion is nothing new to me. I mean Chikara isn’t the first Philadelphia area promotion that I no longer work for. I’m sure anyone reading this knows everything I’ve gone through with Combat Zone Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Unplugged. There is a major difference though between what happened with those two companies and Chikara. I left CZW twice. Once under the unfair treatment of people (and myself) and the other time when I was carelessly injured for no reason whatsoever. Pro Wrestling Unplugged was a sinking ship and I got off as fast as I could. But no matter what was going on elsewhere I always stuck with Chikara through a lot. I worked the day after I was concussed and my neck severely sprained at CZW and was thrown into a No Disqualification match with Claudio Castagnoli and Brodie Lee by Leonard F. Chikarason, who decided to take the show off to meet with Dave Coulier instead. Why was I thrown into this match? Because Chikarason made the ruling that Bryce was in charge, and Bryce didn’t feel like getting kicked in the face again. Guess what? NEITHER DID I! Claudio had once already kicked me in the face and I received a huge amount of grief when I disqualified him back in April when HE kicked ME in the face. But there’s Bryce and Chikarason yelling at me telling me I’m wrong. The risk factor in putting me in that match was huge… especially considering the fact Mike Quackenbush had already threatened to palm strike me when I reversed the tapout decision on Shane Storm after he wouldn’t release the Chikara Special. With no Chikarason to do anything about THAT…what happens during the match between Brodie & Claudio? I get European Uppercutted. Next thing I know Nick Pappagiogiogiogo is referring matches and taking spots away from me. Was it a coincidence that I voiced my concern over my safety? I think not LFC. Where was I at La Latoria Letal? What about when Chikara made it’s trek Westward? Sitting at home. The Global Gauntlet? Too many refs I was told. Then when Bryce isn’t there who do they rely on to make sure the CHIKARA Campeonatos de Parejas Match is called right? Tag World? Trip to the Northeast? I mean really, I was only there for five Chikara shows since Triumph and Tragedy. 4 of these 5 shows were in Philadelphia. Another coincidence?

Why do I think it wasn’t a coincidence I was only scheduled to be in Philly after August? Well that’s simple. I can’t walk out of the curtain at the New Alhambra before all you fans boo me. I’ve asked this question many times. Why? Is it because I don’t buddy up to you? I don’t care what you think or the fact I don’t act goofy enough for you? Why should I? After 3 years of referring have I ever been cheered? Nope it’s the same thing every time I walk out there to the ring to do my job that I’m sure none of you appreciate. You know what I would enjoy? No reaction. I don’t care if you cheer or boo me. But what happens when a referee walks out of the curtain and gets one of the loudest reactions of the night when the arena full of the “Chikarmy” boos me? Jealousy. Leonard F Chikarason comes down and and it’s a groan. So what happens? I’m no longer part of the Chikara roster. Why is this? Because I steal too much attention according to LFC. Because you miserable Chikara fans want nothing more to do than torment me for no reason. I enjoyed the little thumb from the nose at the end of Duel and Duality. Quackenbush & Jigsaw reunited and it feels so good. I actually get to referee a main event for Chikara. I walk through the curtain and there’s LFC. “Sabato we’re letting you go, this is your last show.” Did I do something wrong? “You know what you did.” Yeah you ignorant little fans forced me out of Chikara. Are you happy? Are you happy Chikarason? “The Dictator of Fun” is what you are Chikarason. I’m not even going to bother going caring about this anymore. You’ll get yours eventually.

I did a lot for Chikara. I’ve done a lot for all the companies I work for. But I guess it’s just time to move on. To be honest… I’m not gonna miss it. I’m not gonna miss you miserable people. The egos that I used to have to deal with. The stress. It’s over and done with. Time to move on with another chapter in my life.

I don’t think this was ever posted on CHIKARA’s website. I am fairly certain it only surfaced on Sabato’s MySpace blog. On Tuesday of this week, they posted a new Sabato blog:

4/28/2010: Hello again CHIKARMY. It’s me, the one you hated so much you drove me out of CHIKARA. I was saddened to hear that Leonard F. Chikarason was recently demoted. I was not shocked, as you see, I pointed out over a year ago that LFC was nothing but a “Dictator of Fun,” and was going to kill CHIKARA from the inside. No one listened. Everyone just wrote me off. I was forgotten about. Let’s get real. No one cared when I was kicked in the face by Brodie, or when I was threatened with a Quackenbush palm strike.

Well back when I was a CHIKARA referee, there was an awkward young man just starting to train at the Wrestle Factory. He was born in Germany, but had been raised in the U.S. All the other trainees used to love making lame “Sprockets” jokes at his expense. They only gave him the most menial of responsibilities. Filling a hat with slips of paper? They degraded him!

Like me, he knew what it was like to be the outcast. I never forgot Dieter. And he never forgot me either.

When a referee has no power over the wrestlers in the ring, no power to preserve the sanctity of our sport, he loses the respect of the fans and his superiors. But I guess that will happen when all you do is buddy up to the fans and the wrestlers instead of keeping your eye on the ball. So when the once lowly trainee Dieter becomes Director of Fun and finds his referees have lost his respect, who does he call?

Isn’t it too bad Bryce, after ALL the abuse I endured back in Season 7, that this time it was you who took a little spill. Luckily I was there to make sure justice was done in the finals of the biggest pro-wrestling tournament of the year.

Im Namen der Bruderschaft,
DS

And a new Dieter VonSteigerwalt blog!

4/30/2010: Guten tag.

First, let me offer the warmest congratulations to Ares, Tursas and Claudio Castagnoli, your King of Trios. The Bruderschaft has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that they have the best trio in the world to offer. That is what the history books will show forevermore. There will never be another trio that could equal them, and so, there will never be need for another King of Trios tournament. The Bruderschaft are the final, and greatest King of Trios.

Like many of you, I was sorry to see Tursas trip and fall on top of Senior Referee Bryce Remsburg during the glorious tournament final at King of Trios. I understand he will be returning to work in a few weeks, and we wish him well. Accidents will happen.

Thankfully, an auxiliary official was standing by the entranceway, just in case an accident were to occur. As soon as word reached the back that he was needed, he raced into action to assure the finals would continue without further interruption. As you obviously know, no one on Earth could kick out from the BDK’s bone-shattering move the “Ragnarok.” It was clear to all in attendance that Fire Ant was not about to kick out.

Let it be said that VonSteigerwalt is nothing if not fair. I must call attention to the fact that Derek Sabato registered a 3-count in a rapid manner in the tournament final. There are some points that must be clear. First, no one is going to kick out after the Ragnarok, so the briskness of the count is irrelevant. Second, as we have recently established here, the referee’s rulings will stand, but I want all to know how seriously I take the integrity of our referees. Thus, to appease those that object to this swift count of the pin, I will suspend Derek Sabato from officiating matches for the next 14 days for this slight deviation from the referee guidelines.

Im Namen der Bruderschaft,
DVS

I’m sure glad they posted that Sabato blog, because if they expected the fans to know of this blog before hand then they would’ve been crazy. I watched this show with many people who follow CHIKARA almost as closely as I do, and zero of them had a clue as to why Sabato of all people was the heel BDK referee. This needed better explanation to people who aren’t freaks like me who remember super random blogs posted online. Unfortunately, those who watched the show live didn’t have the luxury of a reminder of who Sabato was.

CHIKARA needs to do what they can now to make the used-to-be-hardcore CHIKARA fans that now throw their hands in the air and roll their eyes at the antics of the BDK change their mind and prevent them from giving up on CHIKARA permanently. CHIKARA made some good moves with the BDK on this show which can only really be seen and not read. I’d like to see the difference of opinion from people before and after watching the shows. My feeling is that people who read the results and thought the finals were stupid or lame may feel differently when watching it and seeing how it unfolded. Perhaps not. The problem is many people may not feel inclined to give the show a chance based on the results of the finals.

Overall, this weekend was just as fun if not more fun than last year’s King of Trios and has so many good matches and moments to warrant your purchase. Not a single night is skippable and has something for everyone. The rise of the Osaka Pro team, Big Japan’s show stealing performances on all three nights, the adorable little Cuije, Malachi Jackson’s breakout performance on Night One, The Young Bucks awesome rematch with Quackenbush and Jigsaw, the antics of Matt Classic, Christopher Daniels CHIKARA debut, and many other wrestlers/matches make this a tournament that’s worth your time and money. Do not pass up on King of Trios 2010 when the DVD’s hit Smart Mark Video.

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Youtube Fun!

Played on Night 3 was this trailer for the upcoming CHIKARA video game entitled “Rudo Resurrection”. This looks awesome, and I was excited for it to be an angle. But the game looks cool too.

Here are three interviews with Bryce, Daizee Haze, and Ultramantis Black that look to be have conducted at “Wit, Verve, and a Bit O’ Nerve”.

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Shills (I wish) paid the bills

My CHIKARA blog, The CHIKARA Special, is still going strong. I have tons of new reviews of matches from 2002, and entire 2003 shows up there right now. Also, CHIKARA matches from Dragon Gate have been reviewed! Go there, subscribe to the blog (on the right) and continue reading my sweet CHIKARA related reviews. Subscriptions are good because: A) They let me know you’re reading and B) They get delivered right to your inbox. Its good times, so check it out and tell your friends about The CHIKARA Special.

I participate in this weeksBuy Or Sell as well as a review of the Dragon Gate “Open The Global Gate” DVD up for your viewing pleasure.

Check out all the new podcasts with myself and/or Jerome Cusson at Pro Wrestling Ponderings.

Brad Garoon’s blog, Open The Garoon Gate is all about Dragon Gate and Dragon Gate USA. He reviews every Infinity, PPV, appearance of a Dragon Gate wrestler in the U.S. and other Japanse promotion, etc. You owe it to yourself to check out that blog, as well as his Toryumon and dragondoor/El Dorado/Secret Base blogs which you can find links to on his Dragon Gate blog. Jake Ziegler also blog, JZ Says, which has WWE, TNA, ROH, and even film reviews. Make sure to check out and enjoy both!

If you have not begun listening, Mike Quackenbush and Clayton Morris (of FOX News & Friends) host a pop-culture podcast known as The Grizzly Bear Egg Cafe. Clayton and Mike talk about all things geek such as movies, music, television, comic books, tech stuff, and wrestling here and there. I find it wildly entertaining, as Clayton and Mike play off each other very well. It’s also really cool to hear Mike talk about non-wrestling stuff as well. So please, check out The Grizzly Bear Egg Cafe and subscribe to their podcast on iTunes.

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Thanks so much again for reading this weeks CHIKARA Special! Look out for previews of the upcoming Aniversario weekend. Until then, today is FREE COMIC BOOK DAY, sit your local comic stores and grab some free swag. Have a great week, and look out for more reviews from yours truly on 411!

Links!
The CHIKARA Home Page .
The brand spankin’ new official CHIKARA message board.
CHIKARA Fans
Buy CHIKARA DVD’s at Smart Mark Video
Follow CHIKARA on Facebook
Follow CHIKARA on Twitter
Follow CHIKARA Fans on Twitter.
CHIKARA on MySpace
CHIKARA on YouTube
CHIKARA 101 on YouTube