Chikara King of Trios Part 2 Preview

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The other day, I previewed Chikara's King of Trios tournament in detail. However, the weekend entails way more than just the tournament itself. After night 1 is over, the tournament itself will share the spotlight with several other events, all of which come together to make this the most must-attend indie weekend of the year. Here's a breakdown of what else to expect:

Rey de Voladores

Rey de Voladores literally translates to "King of the Flyers". No, this is not a battle royale of Broad Street Bullies, past and present, but it's a mini-tournament showcasing the best in high-flying wrestlers that Chikara and elsewhere have to offer. The tourney is usually a mix of roster members who aren't booked for the Trios tournament, special guests for the weekend and competitors from trios who lost the night before. It's an eight-man tournament featuring two four-way eliminator matches on night 2 and the finals between the two winners on night 3.

Two years ago, the tournament produced the match which many consider the finest in the company's history, Jigsaw vs. Nick Jackson (Jeremy Buck of Generation Me) vs. Kota Ibushi vs. El Generico. I didn't go to all three nights that year, but this match was on the 2009 sampler disc, and WOW, it lived up to the hype in terms of fireworks. It was just spot after spot of mind-blowing acrobatics, and for someone who's very hard on his spotfests, well, that's high praise. Last year featured Rich Swann and Matt Cross, both of whom have moved onto bigger things. Swann caught fire under Gabe Sapolsky's umbrella of feds, while Cross got himself a tryout on Tough Enough and made it through two weeks of the process before being eliminated this past week. It also featured two-thirds of the Osirian Portal, Flip Kendrick of Aeroform, Malachi Jackson and Frightmare.

This year, only two of the eight competitors have been announced thus far. The first is Zach Sabre, Jr., a standout from Europe who has matches with Bryan "Daniel Bryan" Danielson and Colt Cabana on his resume, presumably from the WXW promotion that is based in Germany. The second is none other than Pinkie Sanchez. The malevolent interloper of the Colony and BDK foot soldier will look to bring home this year's RdV to the Germanic stable after they were unceremoniously shut out of last year's proceedings. Who else might participate this year? Well, I'm guessing that there'll be some spillover from the lineup of the tournament itself, but it all depends on who wins and who loses. For example, if the Spectral Envoy doesn't advance past night 1, then I can see Frightmare entering again to try and claim what he couldn't last year. One of the three from Osaka Pro would fit perfectly in this tourney. Could Swann even return this year? Maybe The Great Sasuke? The 1-2-3 Kid? El Generico? STEVE THE TURTLE WEINER? There are plenty of options in tow, and we have the makings for an incredible mini-tournament this year.

The Annual Tag Team Gauntlet

Returning again this year is the Tag Team Gauntlet, which will happen on night 3 as it always does. It is exactly what the title says it is - a gauntlet of teams that go through each other until there's one team left standing. This year, there will be 10 teams in the gauntlet, just as there were last year. There are points in play here (for those who don't remember, refer back to the Chikara primer for how the points system and the Campeonatos de Parejas contenders are decided), so expect most of the teams in play to be Chikara regulars. I fully expect The UnStable (Vin Gerard and STIGMA), the Roughnecks (Brodie Lee and Grizzly Redwood), an offering from the BDK (possibly Ares and Tursas since Claudio Castagnoli will be in Japan this weekend) and maybe even Los Ice Creams to participate. Other than that, again, we'd have to wait and see how things would shake out from the first two nights.

Last year, the gauntlet was notable for two things. First, it was the grand return of DRAGON DRAGON to a Chikara ring, as he and Weiner entered with grand fanfare but ended up falling victim to Gerard's STF. Second, it saw Hallowicked and Frightmare earn three points with an emphatic three-fall streak to end the gauntlet over the Neo Solar Temple (UltraMantis Black and Crossbones), Team FIST (Icarus and Gran Akuma) and the Ladies of the BDK (Sara del Rey and Daizee Haze). Even with all the mystery surrounding things, I can guarantee that the gauntlet will provide a solid half-hour of tag team goodness on the last day of proceedings.

Fan Conclave

If you thought only wrestling was the draw to King of Trios, well, you're a little mistaken. Before the matches begin on night 2, Chikara opens up The Arena and throws a good, old fashioned hootenanny with roster, officials, referees (BRYCE!) and all the fans who care to show up. Admission gets you the run of the floor, and there's a lot to do. There'll be board games against Chikara wrestlers, karaoke and pictures. You'll get to sit at the Commentation Station and call matches. Tursas will be in the ring for a body slam challenge which I fully intend on participating in and WINNING. The big draw of this year's conclave though comes from Stan Bush. Yes, the same Stan Bush who sings "The Touch", which is the song that allows Optimus Prime to be INVINCIBLE while it's playing. He'll be playing a mini-concert live. As you can tell, Conclave is going to be as must-attend as the cards themselves are.

Dream Matches, Special Appearances Et Cetera

Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the other matches and such that could happen on the second two nights of action. Obviously, there needs to be other wrestling matches to happen to fill out the other nights. Last year, we got some pretty neat special attraction bouts as side dishes to the other stuff going on. Night 2 saw Hallowicked battle Christopher Daniels and Brodie Lee killify Grizzly Redwood. Night 3 had Daniels clashing with Eddie Kingston, El Oriental taking on Chuck Taylor and an epic tag encounter between the Young Bucks/Generation Me and the current Campeones de Parejas, Mike Quackenbush and Jigsaw. In addition, Tommy Dreamer showed up after the Daniels/Kingston match and cut a promo.

This year, we'll be seeing Eddie Kingston throwing down on night 3 again, only the opponent is unknown. In what has become a tradition, the open challenge by Kingston is thrown, and who knows who'll answer it. There are plenty of choices, but my guess is that it'll be someone from the loser of night 1's probable main event, Team M-Pro vs. Team Minnesota. The most intriguing option from a star-power standpoint would be the 1-2-3 Kid, but I think the best match would be Kingston vs. Dick Togo.

Also, Madison Eagles will be in the area for an IndyGurlz show in Bayonne, NJ Saturday. Maybe we'll see her come into town for a dream match against Manami Toyota on Sunday? I know I'd mark if that happened. However, the fun about the unannounced filler matches on the second two nights is just that, their unannounced nature. I have full faith that whatever Chikara gives us for those two nights will be pretty freaking sweet.

So, there you have it, a full, two-part preview for King of Trios. When I tell you this will most likely be the indie wrestling event of the year, I mean it more than I've meant anything else I've said on this blog. If you're in the area, you've got to check at least one of the cards out if not all three. If you're not, then it's well worth the road trip. If you can't make it at all, plan to get the DVDs. This is one event that any wrestling fan should want to take part in.