Welcome everyone to your near weekly time when I hand in my homework to the teachers of the At Odds with Wrestling podcast. Each and every week without a major wrestling PPV the hosts alternate assigning each other a classic wrestling show to watch. This week a mysterious co-host has assigned night two of Chikara’s 2015 event King of Trios for us all to watch. Over the past year of the show Joe has been assigning 2013 Chikara events so this time jump is confusing. Thankfully all of these events and so much more are available on IWTV. 

This is a huge crowd for the show and Chikara looks to have a jump in production quality as well. I did enjoy the Marvel and Harry Potter graphic homages. 

In 1994 four Image Comics titles jumped ahead from single digits to issue 25 and pretended that this is where the stories were going. We had a glimpse nearly two years into the future and now had to question everything. What happened to our current characters? Who are these new ones? How did we get from point A to point B? That is how I felt watching this show. Some faces were familiar but a lot has changed. How do we go from the latest Chikara show Joe assigned to this? I’m confused but interested and excited. This also meant that I couldn’t watch the show as I usually would, because my familiarity is now gone. I sat down without a notebook and just enjoyed the show. As if I was a fan who had nothing else to do one night and decided to go to the local indie show and just have fun. Fun was definitely had, and whatever future homeworks may be I need to plan on watching all of Chikara in order at some point in life. Along with the hundreds of other shows, movies, and books I want to check off that list. 

Jaka (w/Sidney Bakabella) [Wrecking Crew]  vs Ashley Remington [Battle Hive].

To paraphrase Eddie Izzard, apparently Chikara has been taken over through the cunning use of flags. This is a Challenge of the Immortals match and I have no idea what that means. Ashley comes out and I’m immediately thinking, is that? It is! Look at that peacock strut. I love Ashley’s character and damn he’s just so talented here. This is my first time seeing Jaka and it’s funny in Chikara of all places that he’s playing a savage but he’s not over the top and doesn’t understand society, culture, or language kind of savage. Which ironically would fit in with Chikara. Jaka wins which shocks me because I’m seeing Dalton not Ashley. 

King Of Trios 2015 Quarter Final Match

Team Fight Club: PRO (Daniel Moloney, Trent Seven & Tyler Bate) vs The United Nations (Juan Francisco de Coronado, Mr. Azerbaijan & The Proletariat Boar Of Moldova) (w/Prakash Sabar).

I’ve watched some of NXT UK and the new unified NXT yet this is the most I’ve enjoyed the Mustache Mountain guys. Great shows of strength. Lots of original, at least to me, spots. Look at the young Boar still figuring things out yet so much potential is there which we now see today. I can’t call the action in multi man matches at all and that’s the majority of matches on this show. Great spots, fun action, I’m completely lost, and Team Fight Club gets the win. Which unlike the previous match I’m sitting here thinking yeah, of course they win. 

Rey de Voladores 2015 Semi Final Four Way Elimination Match

Shynron vs Amasis vs Matt Cross vs Too Cold Scorpio.

I have no idea what this tournament is but there will be two matches for it on this card. Shynron eliminates Matt Cross. Too Cold Scorpio eliminates Amasis. Shynron eliminates Too Cold Scorpio. Spectacular match. As far as I know this is my first time seeing Shynron and I don’t know how I haven’t seen more of him. There seems to be a lot of these guys over the years with incredible talent that I don’t see cross over into the stratosphere. Maybe there’s reasons I’m unaware of for that. I remember seeing Blitzkrieg in WCW and Super Dragon everywhere and thinking these are the next mega superstars. I felt that way here with Snynron. Also due to injury maybe the most I’ve seen of Amasis. I love that the Chikara fans are more accepting and forgiving of high risk moves. WWE fans love to chant “you fucked up” and certain indie fans as well. Chikara fans are aware of the degree of difficulty for these moves and let it go when it’s not quite perfect. Once I’m caught up chronologically I might rewatch this show so the tournament makes more sense to me. 

King Of Trios 2015 Quarter Final Match

Team AAA (Aero Star, Drago & Fenix) vs The Nightmare Warriors (Frightmare, Hallowicked & Silver Ant).

I’ve seen Drago a lot recently. Fenix is well known. I’ve barely seen Aero Star but I’m up to speed on the Luchadores. I’ve seen Frightmare and Hallowicked numerous times in Chikara but it sounds like there’s a big story happening here with Silver Ant. He maybe wasn’t too keen on being part of this team but made a turn at last night’s show. Again, I can’t wait to watch this all in order and have it make more sense. Absolutely incredible zen level wrestling. Language barriers. Different experience levels. And despite all of that all six of these men just go. If IWTV had a AAA archive I would be deep diving on that too. I’m very interested in this Silver Ant story and love the gear changes as his character progresses. AAA with a hard fought win and what am I doing this weekend? I’m seriously debating watching night 3. 

3.0 (Scott Parker & Shane Matthews) & N_R_G (Hype Rockwell & Race Jaxon) vs The Flying Francis (Branden O’Connor & Matt Novak) & The Colony Xtreme Force (Arctic Rescue Ant & Orbit Adventure Ant).

There’s always a match. Everyone did well. I love 3.0. But this show is getting overwhelming and this is my zone out match of the night. Nothing against it at all but there’s just so much happening tonight and this isn’t a tournament match so I felt like I could take a break for the action. However, I did enjoy the hell out of Orbit Adventure Ant wrestling at a different speed because he’s not used to Earth’s gravity. Hell of a fun detail. 

BULLET CLUB (AJ Styles, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) vs Battleborn (Kevin Condron, Lucas Calhoun & Missile Assault Man).

I’m going to say it. I was more impressed with Missile Assault Man than I was with the Bullet Club. This is AJ Styles and the Young Bucks and yet I didn’t feel like I was watching international stars and best selling t-shirt hustlers. I felt like I was watching some dudes, not an exclusive club. Maybe I was still a little off from the previous match. Maybe they didn’t give it their all because they’re wrestling 3 matches in 3 days. Overall I felt like Chikara did not get their money’s worth out of these three guys in this match. In the aforementioned plan to watch this chronologically, I’ll be looking for Missile more than Bullet Club after this match. 

Rey de Voladores 2015 Semi Final Four Way Elimination Match

Mark Andrews vs Mascara Purpura vs Ophidian vs Pinkie Sanchez.

Mark Andrews eliminates Pinkie Sanchez. Ophidian eliminates Mascara Purpura. Mark Andrews eliminates Ophidian.

Not to sound like a broken record, but this one might be the biggest example that I need to become more familiar with these guys. Pinkie is a great character. Andrews seems so familiar and I can’t place him but he kept impressing and surprising me. I know nothing of Purpura but geez I should have heard this name before. Finally, I know. I know. But Ophidian had some amazing moves in this match that someone should steal. The way he contorded his body, the original pin attempts, there were just so many moves I had never seen before. The right up and coming wrestler with the right build and flexibility could go far ripping off things from this match. 

King Of Trios 2015 Quarter Final Match

The Devastation Corporation (Blaster McMassive, Flex Rumblecrunch & Max Smashmaster) (w/Sidney Bakabella) vs The Arcane Horde (Kodama, Obariyon & Oleg The Usurper) (w/UltraMantis Black).

Now this one was fascinating. How did Mantis and Batiri end up on the same side? What is the deal with Oleg? He’s a big dude with a ton of charisma. How did Devastation Corporation not catch on and win the AEW trios titles? Now they’re on the road to win Trios two years in a row? This wasn’t a great wrestling match but the story and crowd reaction was off the charts. I’m coming into this blind and yet fully invested. To tell a tale of my own, many years ago I watched the Buffy musical episode “Once More with Feeling” despite never watching a second of the show. I enjoyed it as its own thing. Then in the future when I watched the whole series and got to that episode, it meant so much. This Oleg story had so much energy I look forward to revisiting it. At the end Devastation Corporation attack Mantis’s knee and you don’t know what uncomfortable is until you hear the screams of a dark and devious one. 

Very interesting homework choice. I’ll be interested in listening to the show tonight to hear the reasons why this one was selected by the mysterious co-host.