{"id":65,"date":"2016-08-30T07:30:56","date_gmt":"2016-08-30T11:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/?p=65"},"modified":"2016-08-30T12:22:10","modified_gmt":"2016-08-30T16:22:10","slug":"king-of-trios","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2016\/08\/30\/king-of-trios\/","title":{"rendered":"Preview: CHIKARA King of Trios &#8217;16"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In an alternate universe timeline, all of the WWF&#8217;s cheesiest gimmicks &#8211; from <strong>Mantaur<\/strong> to the <strong>Brooklyn Brawler<\/strong> to the <strong>Goon<\/strong> &#8211; left the company and started their own bizarro world of professional wrestling, adding in cartoon and video games characters, who pull off insanely impossible moves with an unrelenting dedication to the kayfabe and absurdity of professional wrestling.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"CHIKARA: Dasher Hatfield vs. Ophidian (PCAGG 447)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RFrWy4jLeTE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>But here in our own world, the closest we can get to that is <strong>CHIKARA<\/strong>. Recently featured in a great piece <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/sports\/features\/chikara-pro-wrestlings-comic-book-turns-the-page-20160204\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">by\u00a0<strong><em>Rolling Stone<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, CHIKARA is one of the professional wrestling&#8217;s greatest underdog cult phenomena. CHIKARA was founded in Philadelphia in 2002 by two of the late 90&#8217;s biggest indie\u00a0wrestlers,\u00a0&#8220;Lightning&#8221; <strong>Mike Quackenbush<\/strong> and <strong>Reckless Youth<\/strong>. Ironically, despite competing in some\u00a0of North America&#8217;s most violent and bloody promotions, CHIKARA is perhaps the most kid friendly and PG promotion you&#8217;ll find. Their effective use of humour, off the wall characters, and stunning American indie and lucha libre\u00a0wrestling feels like if <strong>Robert Crumb<\/strong> and <strong>Hunter S. Thompson<\/strong> got together after a long night of hallucinogenic binge partying and decided to write a legitimate kids story about wrestling. Quackenbush is one of the world&#8217;s most respected trainers and industry minds &#8211; earlier this year, he was\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.wwe.com\/article\/mike-quackenbush-exclusive-interview\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">invited to be a guest speaker at the WWE Performance Center<\/a> to talk to the new recruits. <strong>Ricochet<\/strong>, arguably one of the best wrestlers on the planet right now (who also performs as Prince Puma in Lucha Underground),\u00a0was trained by CHIKARA legend (and current <strong>Evolve<\/strong> Tag Team Champion) <strong>DUSTIN<\/strong> (aka\u00a0<strong>Chuck Taylor <\/strong>&#8211; don&#8217;t ask. It&#8217;s a <em>long\u00a0<\/em>story.), and earned his early dues in the promotion before emerging as a bona fide megastar.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Best of Chuck Taylor vs. Ricochet\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/a793MPD3wIw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In 2007, CHIKARA presented the 3-day event known as\u00a0<em><strong>King of Trios<\/strong><\/em><strong>.\u00a0<\/strong>The premise was simple. For three days at the end of the summer, they would host a trios team tournament featuring 3-people units from CHIKARA&#8217;s roster, plus guest squads featuring some of the best independent talent from around the world. Over the years,\u00a0<em>King of Trios<\/em> have attracted\u00a0an impressive list of both indie and former WWE Superstars to the tournament, such as\u00a0<strong>AJ Styles, The Young Bucks, Motor City Machine Guns, Tommy Dreamer, X-Pac, Jerry Lynn, Sami Zayn, Daniel Bryan,\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0<strong>Haku<\/strong>, amongst others. And don&#8217;t think that CHIKARA\u00a0<em>relies\u00a0<\/em>on this outside talent. They&#8217;re merely bonuses for one of the most entertaining roster of characters on any show\u00a0<em>period.\u00a0<\/em>From the mesmerizing malleability\u00a0of <strong>Ophidian<\/strong>, to the years long saga of <strong>The Colony<\/strong> (a collective of wrestlers dressed as ants), to Mantaur&#8217;s distant relative <strong>The Proletariat Boar of Moldova<\/strong>, to <strong>Los Ice Creams<\/strong> (a team of ice cream cone enthusiasts, that once harboured a young\u00a0<strong>Cesaro<\/strong>). In CHIKARA, there isn&#8217;t a women&#8217;s division because the women wrestle right alongside the men, long before <strong>Lucha Underground<\/strong> did it. In December of 2015, CHIKARA became the first major (non-female only) promotion in the world to crown a woman it&#8217;s highest championship, when\u00a0<strong>Princess KimberLee<\/strong>\u00a0(an indie star who cut her teeth in CZW, <strong>Shine\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0<strong>Shimmer<\/strong>)\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/sports\/features\/chikara-grand-champion-kimberlee-this-is-the-real-divas-revolution-20151210\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">beat CHIKARA Grand Champion\u00a0<strong>Hallowicked<\/strong> for CHIKARA&#8217;s top prize<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_72\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-72\" style=\"width: 462px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-72\" src=\"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/08\/web1_kimberlee-celebrates-win2.jpg\" alt=\"Photo: Zia Hiltey\/theweekender.com\" width=\"462\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/08\/web1_kimberlee-celebrates-win2.jpg 462w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/08\/web1_kimberlee-celebrates-win2-217x300.jpg 217w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/08\/web1_kimberlee-celebrates-win2-303x420.jpg 303w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-72\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: Zia Hiltey\/theweekender.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This year&#8217;s\u00a0<em>King of Trios<\/em> once again promises three days of mirthful mayhem, when KoT returns to Easton, Pennsylvania this weekend, kicking off on Friday September 2 with Night One. Lots of great CHIKARA match-ups (or is it mismatch-ups?) as the opening night throws all 16 trios teams into the first round of the tournament.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_67\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-67\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-67\" src=\"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/08\/O1.jpg\" alt=\"Photo: chikarapro.com\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/08\/O1.jpg 640w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/08\/O1-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-67\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: chikarapro.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>One opening round match-up features former CHIKARA Grand Champion Princess KimberLee teaming with <strong>Oleg the Usurper<\/strong> and <strong>ThunderFrog<\/strong> against <strong>Team CWC<\/strong>, a solid trio featuring recent WWE <strong>Cruiserweight Classic<\/strong> standouts <strong>Johnny Gargano<\/strong> (<strong>NXT<\/strong>, <strong>Evolve<\/strong>, <strong>PWG<\/strong>), <strong>Cedric Alexander<\/strong> (Evolve, <strong>Ring of Honor<\/strong>), and <strong>Drew Gulak<\/strong> (Evolve, PWG). One of Johnny Gargano and Cedric Alexander&#8217;s final indie appearances, as they&#8217;re both\u00a0now heading to WWE and\u00a0<em><strong>Raw<\/strong><\/em>&#8216;s new Cruiserweight Division,\u00a0as announced on last night&#8217;s edition of\u00a0<em>Raw<\/em>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_66\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-66\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-66\" src=\"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/08\/O2.jpg\" alt=\"Photo: chikarapro.com\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/08\/O2.jpg 640w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/08\/O2-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-66\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: chikarapro.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In a test of New Era vs. Old School in\u00a0women&#8217;s revolutions, Shimmer sends a trio featuring <strong>Crazy Mary Dobson<\/strong> (who is also now NXT bound), <strong>Candice LeRae<\/strong> (the vagina plex partner of <strong>Joey Ryan<\/strong>) and <strong>Solo Darling<\/strong> to face a unit of former WWE Women&#8217;s Champions <strong>Mickie James<\/strong>, <strong>Victoria<\/strong> and <strong>Jazz<\/strong>. This has all the potential to be the sleeper match of the first round.<\/p>\n<p>Night Two continues Saturday September 3 with the trios tournament as well as kicks off the <strong>Rey de Voladores<\/strong> tournament, a singles competition that begins with two 4-Way Eliminator matches. While all 8 entrants haven&#8217;t been fully revealed yet, they do include some exciting names.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_69\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-69\" style=\"width: 520px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-69\" src=\"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/08\/CoZZQIWWEAAUEOi.jpg\" alt=\"Photo: chikarapro.com\" width=\"520\" height=\"293\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/08\/CoZZQIWWEAAUEOi.jpg 520w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/08\/CoZZQIWWEAAUEOi-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 520px) 100vw, 520px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-69\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: chikarapro.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_71\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-71\" style=\"width: 520px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-71\" src=\"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/08\/CqLaLmtXgAECBWr.jpg\" alt=\"Photo: chikarapro.com\" width=\"520\" height=\"293\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/08\/CqLaLmtXgAECBWr.jpg 520w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/08\/CqLaLmtXgAECBWr-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 520px) 100vw, 520px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-71\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: chikarapro.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>One of Lucha Underground and <strong>AAA<\/strong>&#8216;s most sensational aerialists,\u00a0<strong>Aerostar<\/strong>, as well as another WWE Cruiserweight Classic stand-out, current Evolve\u00a0star\u00a0<strong>Anthony Nese<\/strong>. Oh, and this guy.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_70\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-70\" style=\"width: 520px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-70\" src=\"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/08\/CpqgZQ0WcAAHakG.jpg\" alt=\"Photo: chikarapro.com\" width=\"520\" height=\"293\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/08\/CpqgZQ0WcAAHakG.jpg 520w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/08\/CpqgZQ0WcAAHakG-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 520px) 100vw, 520px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-70\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: chikarapro.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Third night wraps up the tournament on Sunday September 4 with the crowning of the 2016 King of Trios Champions.<\/p>\n<p>WWE has it&#8217;s <em><strong>Wrestlemania<\/strong><\/em>, <strong>NJPW<\/strong> has <em><strong>Wrestle Kingdom<\/strong><\/em>, PWG has <strong>Battle of Los Angeles<\/strong>, and CHIKARA has King of Trios. If you&#8217;ve never experienced CHIKARA before, this is the perfect weekend to get on board.<\/p>\n<p><em>Main Photo: chikarapro.com<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In an alternate universe timeline, all of the WWF&#8217;s cheesiest gimmicks &#8211; from Mantaur to the Brooklyn Brawler to the Goon &#8211; left the company and started their own bizarro world of professional wrestling, adding in cartoon and video games characters, who pull off insanely impossible moves with an unrelenting dedication to the kayfabe and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":649,"featured_media":68,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,2,6],"tags":[69,66,71,68,67,72,70],"class_list":["post-65","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chikara","category-featured","category-north-america","tag-cedric-alexander","tag-chikara","tag-chuck-taylor","tag-johnny-gargano","tag-king-of-trios","tag-princess-kimberlee","tag-ricochet"],"modified_by":"Jamie Greer","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/649"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}