RADICAN’S CHIKARA “King of Trios: Night 1” review
April 15, 2010
Philadelphia, Pa.

The show started with an awesome Larry Sweeney tribute video. It was very emotional watching the video. They blended in a 10 bell salute and went live to the ring. All of the wrestlers were out standing around the ring banging the ring in tribute. The crowd was going absolutely ballistic. Some of the wrestlers looked really emotional. The crowd started chanting Sweeney’s name. A “Sweet & Sour” chant then broke out.

An absolutely incredible highlight package played introducing the King of Trios 2011 tournament. I can’t put over how cool this Transformer themed package was. It followed a path of tall buildings and showed a shot of the Asylum Arena.

Each match also has really cool Transformer themed graphics that rotate and show each wrestler from each team on opposite sides.

Matthews cut a promo backstage with Generico and Parker. Matthews said he was the captain. Generico and Parker argued with him. Parker said America was calling him and he was the captain. Generico said Mexico had called and said he was the captain. Parker said they were going to win the match.

(1) El Generico & Scott Parker & Shane Matthews vs. The Osirian Portal (Hieracon & Amasis & Ophidian) in a KOT 2011 First Round match. Matthews and Generico encouraged Generico to poke Hieracon in the eyes. He finally did it, as the heels Parker and Matthews celebrated. Generico was ashamed and went and hid under the timekeeper’s table. Amasis started dancing and called for music. He began breakdancing in the ring and somewhere Bruce Mitchell is pulling his hair out. Ophidian came into the ring and danced. Parker was going to do the spinaroonie, but Generico interrupted him and they danced together in unison rather poorly. Generico indicated to Ophidian that he had gotten served. Ophidian got upset and they cut the music. Generico teased “charming” the Portal, but he ended up putting Parker in a trance.

Parker ended up tagging in after taking down Matthews. He tossed Ophidian out of the ring as well. The used the audience to pull Parker out of the trance. Everyone waved their arms together back and forth from the ring to the audience. This is hilarious. The wave then broke out in the arena. Parker appeared to break out of the trance and he kicked Amasis low. A “3.0” chant broke out. The Portal isolated Generico and began working him over. Matthews came in and ran wild before the action broke down. Both teams had a chance to win, but the pins were broken up. The Portal hit the Osirian Sacrament on Matthews for the pin. Fantastic opener. (***1/2)

Team Australia cut a promo backstage. Williams said they had watched a lot of F.I.S.T. matches and they would go on to win KOT 2011.

(2) Team Australia (Tama Williams & Percy T. & Kabel) vs. F.I.S.T. (Chuck Taylor & Johnny Gargano & Icarus) in a KOT 2011 First Round match. Percy dominated Gargano early. Percy did not look good at all. Icarus tagged in against the huge Kabel, who overpowered him with a shoulder tackle. Williams tagged in and went at it with Taylor. He looked pretty darn good compared to his partners. F.I.S.T. got the heat on Percy. Percy finally cut off Icarus with a neck breaker and tagged in Kabel, who ran mild. Kabel and Percy hit a doomsday device variation on Icarus. Williams then nailed him with a nice dive off the top, but Taylor broke up the pin. Gargano got the pin on Percy with a face buster after a combination of moves. (*1/2)

Tim Donst cut a promo backstage. He said the C on his shirt stood for captain. Thanks Tim! He said he could have anybody on his team, but he chose Delirious and Hammermeier. Donst said some said it would be impossible for his team to win the KOT this year. Donst said after tonight, BDK would be one more step closer to a KOT victory. He said he would show Castagnoli and Ares he was the future of BDK.

Hammermeier came out dressed like Willie Richardson and mocked his dancing. He proceeded to introduce his partners. He then ran backstage to come out with BDK to their music. When he came back out, he had dropped his red jacket and hat. That was funny.

(3) BDK (Tim Donst & Jacob Hammermeier & Delirious w/Tursas) vs. The Soul Touchaz (Marche Rockett & Willie Richardson & Acid Jaz) in a KOT 2011 First Round match. Delirious tried to chop down Richardson early, but didn’t even make him flinch. Jaz tagged in, but Hammermeier distracted him, which allowed Delirious to tag in Donst, who went after Jaz’s nipples. Hammermeier tagged in and teased a razor’s edge, but got backdropped. Jaz tagged in and ran wild on Donst with a spinaroonie into a punch. Jaz got cut off and Delirious began working him over. Jaz sprayed mist in Donst’s face and tagged in Richardson. Richardson faked like he was Jaz and Donst tried to attack him. He couldn’t lift Richardson, who ended up nailing him with a delayed suplex. Hammermeier begged off from the apron, but Rockett dragged him into the ring. The Touchaz ran wild and Richardson nailed Jacob with a super spine buster, but Donst broke up the pin. The ref got distracted and Tursas nailed Jaz with a flying body press. Hammermeier then covered Jaz for the win. (**1/2)

Hallowicked and Frightmare came out and tried to plead with Delirious after the match. BDK ended up chasing them away.

(4) The SAT’s (Amazing Red & Joel Maximo & Wil Maximo) vs. Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw & Manami Toyota in a KOT 2011 First Round match. Toyota got a huge ovation coming out for the match. Jigsaw hit a DDT through the ropes on Joel. Red and Quack ran into the ring and went at it full-tilt. Toyota tagged in to a big ovation and booted Red to the outside. She then tied up Wil in a leg submission as the crowd went wild. She transitioned the hold into a chinlock with a bridge and the crowd went nuts. Toyota nailed Wil with two missile dropkicks, but he kicked out. Wil slid to the outside, which allowed Red to run wild on Jigsaw. Jigsaw finally made the tag to Quack, who ran wild. The action broke down and Red hit an insane spinning DDT on Jigsaw. Manami had a pin after a combination of moves on Joel, but Red made the save. This is insane! Jigsaw took a sequence of triple team moves capped by a German with a bridge from Wil, but he kicked out! The Maximos went for the Spanish fly, but Jigsaw fought them off. Toyota took out Red and Joel with a dive to the outside. Jigsaw finished off Wil with Sweeny’s “12 large” elbow off the top for the win. What a match! The crowd chanted “Sweet & Sour” after the match. (****)

Akira Tozawa cut a promo introducing Team Dragon Gate. Shisa and Kagetora spoke in Japanese and Tozawa nodded and pointed towards the camera. Tozawa is so great.

UltraMantis Black got a huge ovation coming out with the Envoy. The crowd was also hot for Tozawa and the Dragon Gate crew.

(5)Team Dragon Gate (Super Shisa & Akira Tozawa & Kagetora) vs. The Spectral Envoy (UltraMantis Black & Hallowicked & Frightmare) in a KOT 2011 First Round match. Frightmare got the better of Tozawa early on and sent him to the floor. Shisa tagged in to a big ovation and locked Mantis and Frightmare in a double abdominal stretch. Kagetora tagged in and went tom work on Frightmare’s leg. Frightmare tried to fire back and come off the top, but Tozawa nailed him with the double knees. Frightmare finally hit a DDT on Tozawa and tagged in Hallowicked, who ran wild. The action broke down with Frightmare taking out Tozawa and Kagetora with a flip dive to the outside.

Kagetora tagged in and took out Mantis with a series of kicks for a nearfall. Mantis fired back with cosmic doom on Kagetora for a nearfall. Tozawa ran into the ring and hit a high-end suplex on Mantis for a 2 count. Team Dragon Gate hit a combination of moves on Frightmare, but he kicked out. Kagetora and Tozawa obliterated Frightmare with kicks. Tozawa then nailed him with a German and took out Mantis and Hallowicked with a dive through the ropes. Shisa finished off Frightmare with the Yoshi Tonic for the pin. (***3/4)

Team Osaka Pro got a nice “welcome back” chant during their entrance. Matt Classic warmed up his team before the match. He got mad at Dunkerton and made him do 20 pushups.

(6) The Throwbacks (Dasher Hatfield & Sugar Dunkerton & Matt Classic) vs. Team Osaka Pro (Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada & Ultimate Spider Jr.) in a KOT 2011 First Round match. Classic got mad at Dunkerton for playing to the crowd before he locked up with Kotoge. Dunkerton challenged Kotoge to a race. Katoge was clearly winning the race and Dunkerton got winded. The crowd cheered Kotoge for winning the race. Dunkerton taunted Kotoge and the ref called a foul on him. Classic told him to shoot his free throw underhanded. Dunkerton made a basket with his arms and Classic hit a free throw. The crowd tried to distract Kotoge, who made his three throw. The ref said he had another shot as Hatfield tried to distract him. Kotoge shot it right into Dunkerton’s head. He got mad and took a superkick from Kotoge. Spider tagged in and said he wanted to dropkick Hatfield. Hatfield said no and Spider got very mad. Quackenbush said it’s rude in Japan to say no. Spider did Scorpions spear chain from Mortal Kombat and used it to drive the Throwbacks together.

Classic came into the ring and shook his head in disappointment. Spider tried to capture Classic, who countered it and dragged Spider right into a bear hug. Harada also got a bear hug for his troubles followed by an iron claw. Harada kicked Classic while he was doing puma pushups. Harada fired back and suplexed Dunkerton into Classic in the corner. Harada then hit a home run, ran the bases, and hit a dropkick into Dunkerton and Classic. Hatfield got mad and exchanged strikes with Harada. Harada and Kotoge worked together and took out Dunkerton and Hatfield with a combination of moves at rapid speed. Classic came into the ring and suplexed Harada and Kotoge, but Spider caught him with a missile dropkick. The Throwbacks ran into the ring and hit a double team move on Spider, but the pin got broken up.

They did a sequence of dives. Classic was left alone in the ring. He asked the ref to help him up top. Classic climbed down to the apron and hit a very slow splash on Spider and the crowd went nuts. Dunkerton hit a piledriver on Kotoga, but Harada broke up the pin. Hatfield hit the suicide squeeze on Harada, but Spider broke up the pin. Spider tried to lift Hatfield, but Hatfield countered it into the jack hammer for a nearfall. Classic came in and hit a suplex on Spider. He went up top very gingerly, but crawled to the first rope and missed a splash. Spider then pinned him with a cradle. The comedy was funny, but the crowd wasn’t really into the last few minutes. This was a solid match. (**1/2)

(7) The Dark Army (Sinn Bodhi & Obariyon & Kodama w/Kobalt) vs. The Colony (Fire Ant & Green Ant & Solider Ant) in a KOT 2011 First Round match. The Colony dominated the action during the early stages of the match as Green Ant worked over Kodama with a stretch on the mat. Bodhi tagged into the match to a round of boos. The Colony hit a triple dropkick on Bodhi in the corner and the action broke down. Kobalt ran in from the outside and nailed Green Ant with a spear behind the ref’s back. The Dark Army began working over Green Ant, as Kodama locked in an abdominal scissors. The Dark Army continued to work over Green Ant, but the crowd wasn’t into the match at all. Bodhi seemed to have go away heat with the crowd when he was in the ring.

Kobalt tried to interfere again, but Green Ant got out of the way. Fire Ant and Soldier Ant ran into the ring and wiped out Kodama and Obariyon. Bodhi accidentally clotheslined both of his partners. Green Ant & Soldier Ant then launched Fire Ant over the top to the outside to take out all of the members of The Dark Army. Green Ant locked in a clover leaf on Kodama, but the heel ref turned away and tied his shoes while Kodama tapped. Obariyon pinned Fire Ant with his feet on the ropes, but he kicked out. The Colony finally finished off Obariyon with the Ant Hill. Why did the ref count the three after avoiding the submission earlier? (**)

After the match, the ref reluctantly raised the hands of the Colony quickly before making a quick exit.

They did a big introduction to introduce the main event as the fans cheered.

Team Minnesota came out to a big ovation. 1-2-3 Kid came out separately to a huge ovation as the crowd chanted “1-2-3.” Team Michinoku Pro also came out to a big ovation. A “this is awesome” chant broke out for both teams shaking hands. Kid got on the mic and asked the crowd if this is what it’s all about. The crowd roared. Kid apologized for not cutting his hair into a mullet. He was clean shaven for the occasion and wearing 1-2-3 Kid tights.

(8) Team Michinoku Pro(Great Sasuke & Dick Togo & Jisei Shinzaki) vs. Team Minnesota (1-2-3 Kid & Arik Cannon & Darin Corbin) in a KOT 2011 First Round match. Togo and Cannon went at it during the early stages of the match and came to a stalemate. Corbin and Sasuke did some slow motion wrestling and the crowd went nuts. The crowd did a slow motion “this is awesome” chant. Corbin got a rollup for a slow motion three count. The crowd chanted “that was three” in slow motion. They exchanged 1 counts in slow motion and came to a stalemate and the crowd went ballistic as we came back to real time. The crowd broke into a “CHIKARA” chant. Kid tagged in and asked for Shinzaki, but got Togo instead. Shinzaki was Hakushi in WWE. Togo cut off Kid and Shinsaki tagged into the match.

The crowd chanted “1995” as Kid and Shinzaki squared off. Kid took down Shinzaki and the crowd went nuts. He offered a handshake, but Shinzaki refused. Shinzaki grabbed Kid’s arm and walked halfway across the ropes before coming down with a strike as the crowd went nuts. Sasuke and Togo dragged Kid to the floor before tossing him back in the ring. Shinsaki hit a bronco buster on Kid and the crowd popped. Team Michinoku continued to work over Kid. Kid tried to fire back on Togo, but got cut off with a clothesline. Kid finally took out Togo and Sasuke with a double clothesline and Corbin tagged in, but got cut off by Shinzaki. Corbin fired back on Sasuke and tagged in Cannon. Kid went for the bronco buster on Sasuke, but he got out of the way. Corbin took out Sasuke with a clothesline form the outside and Cannon tagged into the match. Sasuke fired back on Corbin and tagged in Shinzaki, who ran wild.

Sasuke left the ring and got a chair, but Corbin nailed him from behind. Corbin and Sasuke did more slow motion wrestling. They exchanged blows in slow motion. Sasuke got the chair in slow motion and placed Corbin on it in the seated position. Sasuke went up top, but Corbin got out of the way and we’re back in real time. Kid and Cannon ran into the ring as the action broke down. Kid went up and wiped out Team Michinoku with a dive off the top and the crowd went nuts. Kid missed a senton on Sasuke, who rolled him up for a nearfall. Togo came off the top, but Corbin caught him with an ace crusher for a nearfall. Togo countered Corbin and applied the crossface. Shinsaki got Kid in a straightjacket submission. Cannon ran in and broke up both submissions. Togo finally hit a huge senton off the top for the pin. This was slow in spots, but overall a really good match. (***3/4)

All six men raised their hands for the crowd after the match. Kid got on the mic and said to give it up for Michinoku Pro. He said his first match in Japan was against Dick Togo. He said everyone knew what he did with Shinzaki. Kid then put over Sasuke as the crowd went nuts. The crowd chanted “1-2-3.” Kid came into the ring and kneeled in the center as the crowd applauded.

Overall thoughts: (8.0) The major league feel of this show alone makes this an outstanding release. The opening video package and tribute to Larry Sweeney were both outstanding and set the tone for the rest of the event. Smart Mark Video being able to put together a show like this and release it the day after the tournament concluded is impressive.

The crowd for this show has to be seen to be believed. They were red hot throughout the night and really added a feeling of importance to this show. There was a lot of comedy mixed with some great in-ring action featuring teams of wrestlers from all over the world. Some of the comedy might not be for everyone, but I enjoyed it and it fits in with the spirit of CHIKARA.

The SAT’s vs. Quackenbush & Jigsaw & Toyota match was the highlight of the show. It featured some incredible action with a red hot crowd that was into everything. Toyota was simply incredible to watch going at it with the guys in Six Person tag action.

The main event had an awesome atmosphere, although the Corbin slow motion spot should have only been done once. Seeing the 1-2-3 Kid and Team Michinoku Pro set the crowd on fire. Kid was awesome here and went at it full tilt much to the delight of the crowd. This match more than held down the main event spot given how hot the crowd was at times.

Some of the matches weren’t great, but as an overall package this show is well-worth picking up. This is CHIKARA’s WrestleMania and it felt like a special show with the production values, but 1-2-3 Kid’s presence on the show put it over the top. To see him wrestle Hakushi again was awesome. I can’t wait to see the next two nights of this tournament.

You can purchase this DVD at SmartMarkVideo.com

Torch VIP members will be getting exclusive access to Radican Wrestling Community Audio podcast reviews of all three CHIKARA KOT 2011 DVDs beginning Friday. Also look out for Torch rountable reviews on all three shows in the coming weeks.

Contact Sean at PWTorchSean@gmail.com

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