As the field for King of Trios has unfolded, we’ve noticed one thing is clear so far – with five of the sixteen teams announced, there is not team representing anyone but CHIKARA in the tournament so far. While we don’t exactly know who yet, we can reveal some world-exclusive news – one of the trios in KOT 2010 will be representing Absolute Intense Wrestling out of Ohio. What remains to be seen is who…so AIW has decided to leave that up to the wrestlers themselves. Check the press release below to find out all the details on the huge “Jack of All Trios” tournament!

The AIW “Jack Of All Trios” Tournament is coming to the West Park Party Center, located at 3556 West 130th Street in Cleveland, Ohio on Friday, April 9th and Saturday, April 10th. Let’s cut to the chase – the stakes of AIW’s first ever trios tournament couldn’t be higher, as the winning trio will be entered into the 2010 CHIKARA King Of Trios tournament. Now, the Absolute Intense Wrestling roster is comprised of less than 48 wrestlers, so we’ve turned to some familiar faces from around the country to see if they’ve got what it takes for another shot at glory. All of the teams and the full lineup will be announced over the next 8 weeks via the AIW Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/aiwrestling) every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

- AIW “Jack of All Trios”
April 9th and 10th, 2010 ~ West Park Party Center, Cleveland, OH

Welcome to the live results for “A Touch of Class”, the CHIKARA season nine premiere. As a wise, but sometimes childish man once said, “this one needs no hype.” The world’s waiting to see what’s going to happen in the first CHIKARA action since the Bruderschaft formed. What’ll happen? Find out when “A Touch of Class” starts up at approx. 4:00 PM EST.

Preshow Notes: Really strong attendance; probably around 300. Chikarason’s your new ticket ripper, shoved down the chain of command to the rock bottom. Show started late, new host is “Gavin Loudspeaker”…oh wait.

1. Pink Ant vs. Green Ant: New Bruderschaft ring announcer in German just for the BDK guys. Pinkie takes off his mask to reveal a bright head of pink hair. Green Ant coming out strong, but Pinkie’s keeping up with him. Both guys look pretty impressive. Green Ant comes close to a win with a Texas cloverleaf but Pinkie grabs the ropes. Pinkie gets the win with some crazy Burning Hammer variation that killed Green dead. Good opener.

Apologies, but phone errors have put an end to today’s live results. Check our buddy Whittle – over at twitter.com/dlomyhero for official results! Again, we apologize!

…now, for the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the 2009 CHIKARA Fans Awards!

After months of debate, nomination, voting, etc., we’ve finally reached the big day. The 2009 CHIKARA Fans Awards voting has completed, and we have the winners below. Enjoy!

MATCH OF THE YEAR: Kota Ibushi vs. Nick Jackson vs. El Generico vs. Jigsaw, “King of Trios 2009: Night Two” – 36%
Second Place: Chuck Taylor & Icarus [F.I.S.T.] vs. Fire Ant & Soldier Ant [The Colony] (Lucha de Apuestas), “Aniversario Yang” – 32%
Third Place: Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw vs. Claudio Castagnoli & Bryan Danielson, “Hiding in Plain Sight” – 15%

Rey de Voladores has always been a tournament that provided for some spectacular matches in the opening rounds. Four way flyer exhibitions have their ways of mystifying the crowds. But when the CHIKARA office made the call to move the tournament to King of Trios weekend to take advantage of the sheer talent that would be available after the first round of the Trios tournament ended, no one could’ve seen a match like this coming. Four of the best junior heavyweights in the world today squared off and lit the ECW Arena on fire, not only giving every single person in the match a bit more exposure, but setting the standard that every CHIKARA multi-man match had to live up to for the rest of the year.
2008 Winner: Fire Ant vs Vin Gerard, “Young Lions Cup VI: Night Three”
2007 Winner: Chris Hero vs Mike Quackenbush, “Aniversario?”

SHOW OF THE YEAR: “King of Trios 2009: Night Two” – 39%
Second Place: “Aniversario Yang” – 24%
Third Place: “Hiding in Plain Sight” – 18%

For the second year in a row, the show with the Match of the Year also wins Show of the Year. You’d be hard pressed to find a better show in CHIKARA’s history than the second night of this year’s King of Trios tournament. The Rey de Voladores four-way matches. The epic rematch between F.I.S.T. and The F1RST Family. An awesome Inter Species Wrestling title match that saw the return of Twiggy to CHIKARA rings. Oh, and some match with some guys that did uppercuts against a trio of dudes that know a few holds. You might’ve heard of it.
2008 Winner: “Young Lions Cup VI: Night Three”
2007 Winner: “Cibernetico and Robin”

WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: Player Dos – 31%, 85 votes
Second Place: Claudio Castagnoli – 31%, 84 votes
Third Place: Fire Ant – 19%

TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR: Fire Ant and Soldier Ant [The Colony]
Second Place: Ophidian & Amasis [The Osirian Portal] – 24%
Third Place: UltraMantis Black & Delirious [The Order of the Neo-Solar Temple] – 11%

This year was undoubtedly the Year of the Ant. Overcoming incredible adversity – losing a comrade in Worker Ant, being misled by both Pinkie “Carpenter ‘Pink’ Ant” Sanchez and a Big Japan trainee, facing the challenges that both F.I.S.T. and the Osirian Portal gave – The Colony had their strongest year yet, running through the ranks of the CHIKARA tag division to win the Campeonatos de Parejas. No one else could’ve deserved this award, and we’re glad it went to the right team.
2008 Winners: Ophidian and Amasis [The Osirian Portal]
2007 Winners: Cheech and Cloudy

TRIO OF THE YEAR: Icarus, Gran Akuma & Chuck Taylor [F.I.S.T.] – 70%
Second Place: UltraMantis Black, Crossbones & Delirious [The Order of the Neo-Solar Temple] – 12%
Third Place: Fire Ant, Soldier Ant & Worker/Green Ant [The Colony] – 11%

Likewise, no trio deserved to win this award more than F.I.S.T. While they had their drawbacks in straight tag team action, with Chuck Taylor and Icarus losing their hair to the Colony, no other team competed better in Trios action than F.I.S.T. It’s fitting that the team that won King of Trios, making current WWE prospect Bryan Danielson tap out in the process, wins this award. Congrats to the friends in similar tights!
2008 and 2007 Winners: Fire Ant, Soldier Ant & Worker Ant [The Colony]

MOMENT OF THE YEAR: Das Brüderschaft Form, “Three-Fisted Tales” – 61%
Second Place: F.I.S.T. Wins KOT as Danielson Taps, “King of Trios 2009: Night Three” – 14%
Third Place:Hydra Says Goodbye, “Throwing Life’s Instructions Away” – 13%

The final moment of the year was certainly the biggest, as it was the climax to a whole year of speculation. Who were these men in white? What is this “war” that they’ve promised is coming? What is their reason for invading CHIKARA? What’s up with all of the weird events in CHIKARA with characters from “the future”? All the questions were answered, and newer ones were created, in just the blink of an eye, setting up what’s sure to be the focus of 2010.
2008 Winner: Fire Ant Wins the YLC, “Young Lions Cup VI: Night Three”
2007 Winner: Mike Quackenbush finally defeats Chris Hero, “Aniversario?”

PROMO OF THE YEAR: “I don’t respect you!” – Eddie Kingston, “Three-Fisted Tales” – 29%
Second Place: “I’m the luckiest man on the face of this earth.” – Hydra, “Throwing Life’s Instructions Away” – 27%
Third Place: “…” – 2.0, “Aniversario Yin” – 23%

It wasn’t a very notable year for promos in CHIKARA, despite it being arguably the best year when it comes to sheer storytelling. However, if you’re going to depend on anyone to cut a scathing promo that just about anyone can be riled up by, it’s Eddie Kingston. He delivered in a huge way at the end of the year, providing incredible foreshadowing into the moment of the year, and proved that he was the one that was right about everything in CHIKARA all along…that Claudio Castagnoli didn’t deserve the respect he got.
2008 Winner: “The world is cold…bundle up.” by Eddie Kingston, “Tragedy and Triumph”
2007 Winner: Eddie Kingston, “Maximum Overdraft”

“OUCH!” OF THE YEAR: Player Dos German Suplexes Lince Into the Steps, “Three-Fisted Tales” – 32%
Second Place: Chuck Taylor Retires Worker Ant, “If The Airplane is Snowed In…” – 25%
Third Place: Chuck Taylor’s Omega Driver Through a Table on Soldier Ant, “Aniversario Yang” – 20%

No words can describe it. Just read the description, man. Come on. You wanna take that bump? Didn’t think so.
2008 Winner: Shane Storm’s Nose Broken…Again, “Two Eyebrows are Better Than One”

…see the rest after the jump!

Read the rest of the entry »

Back in October, Sara del Rey and Daizee Haze came to the conclusion that they are the best female wrestlers in the world, and that perhaps they were the best wrestlers in the world regardless of gender. It’s hard to disagree; any challenge they’ve faced in CHIKARA, they’ve walked out on top. However, it’s not as if they had their chance at facing off against the men of the locker room in the ring. When they joined Die Brüderschaft, they sent a message to CHIKARA – Sara del Rey and Daizee Haze are ready to take on anyone that is put in front of them. On January 31st at “A Touch of Class”, they’ll get a chance to prove their point against some top competition – former Campeones de Parejas Ophidian and Amasis – The Osirian Portal. Will Sara and Daizee begin their steamroll over the competition and to the Campeonatos de Parejas? The road starts in Philadelphia in a little under four weeks.

- CHIKARA “A Touch of Class”
January 31, 2010 ~ The Arena, Philadelphia, PA
1. CHIKARA Campeonatos de Parejas ~ V3: Fire Ant & Soldier Ant [The Colony] (c) vs. Icarus & Gran Akuma [Team F.I.S.T.]
2. UltraMantis Black, Delirious & Crossbones [The Order of the Neo-Solar Temple] vs. Pelle Primeau, Grizzly Redwood & Andy Ridge
3. Sara del Rey & Daizee Haze [Das Brüderschaft] vs. Ophidian & Amasis [Osirian Portal]

…and so it begins, the voting for the 2009 CHIKARA Fans Awards! We’re rolling out EVERYTHING today, so the ballot will be freakin’ stacked. Be prepared to get your votes in for every category. Get your votes in now; voting for the Awards wraps up on January 14th. We’ll be announcing the award winners soon after that in a huge special 2009 CHIKARA Fans Awards celebration post of honor and special stuff!

Hit the jump and start voting now!

Read the rest of the entry »

Just a few days ago, UltraMantis Black wrote a blog where he mentioned that him and his cronies in the Order of the Neo-Solar Temple were all set to face top competition come January’s “A Touch of Class”, and that’s what was going to prevent them from squaring off with any Brüderschaft der Kreuzes members. This was promised to be some of the stiffest competition that the Temple had ever seen, a match that was going to truly test their limits and put them in prime condition for King of Trios, whether they walked out on top or were humbled in defeat.

When we fired up the ol’ CHIKARA Fans computers today and saw the match…needless to say, we were a bit underwhelmed by the promise that Mantis had made. The return of Pelle Primeau for the first time since Young Lions Cup VI and the concussions that put him out of wrestling soon after? Surely something to be excited about. The return of Grizzly Redwood after Brodie Lee’s big boot took him out last October? Fun times. The debut of “Right Leg” Andy Ridge, who is supposed to be one of the ROH Academy’s top students in recent years? Cool! But to say this trio is one of the strongest teams that the independent scene could muster up to face the Neo-Solar Temple? A ridiculous claim. It’s clear to us that UltraMantis Black is running scared from the Brüderschaft, and it’s only a matter of time until they catch up to him.

- CHIKARA “A Touch of Class”
January 31, 2009 ~ The Arena, Philadelphia, PA
1. CHIKARA Campeonatos de Parejas ~ V3: Fire Ant & Soldier Ant [The Colony] (c) vs. Icarus & Gran Akuma [Team F.I.S.T.]
2. UltraMantis Black, Delirious & Crossbones [The Order of the Neo-Solar Temple] vs. Pelle Primeau, Grizzly Redwood & Andy Ridge

The first main event of season nine has been signed, sealed and delivered to the fans, and while CHIKARA’s management may be more corrupt than Congress, they surely haven’t given up on giving the fans quality wrestling matches.

Team F.I.S.T. – Icarus and Gran Akuma – have been sitting on three points for quite a while, dating back to September when they were originally scheduled to get a title shot against former champions the Osirian Portal in West Springfield, Massachusetts. Unfortunately, fate had its way with Gran Akuma’s physical well-being and put a delay to F.I.S.T.’s hopes of regaining the Campeonatos de Parejas. In that time? Fire Ant and Soldier Ant capitalized on F.I.S.T.’s delays and the Portal’s injuries and grabbed up the belts for themselves.

Now, these two duos face off again, adding yet another chapter to their storied rivalry. We all know the history between these two squads is deep. F.I.S.T. are the most dangerous duo in all of CHIKARA, and The Colony know this better than anyone. They took out their partner Worker Ant with one quick move on the outside. They won King of Trios, a tournament that The Colony were heavy favorites to take home. Even though they didn’t win the match and eventually lost their hair, F.I.S.T. even took The Colony to limits they had never reached before in a lucha de apuestas. Now, they look to take home the belts one more time.

January 31st. Philadelphia. Team F.I.S.T. vs. The Colony. One more time.

- CHIKARA “A Touch of Class”
January 31, 2009 ~ The Arena, Philadelphia, PA
1. CHIKARA Campeonatos de Parejas ~ V3: Fire Ant & Soldier Ant [The Colony] (c) vs. Icarus & Gran Akuma [Team F.I.S.T.]

CHIKARA and CLASH come together for “We Must Eat Michigan’s Brain”!

Yesterday, we talked about “We Must Eat Michigan’s Brain”, CHIKARA’s return to the midwest after nearly two years and the debut in Michigan. Today, we learned some more details on the midwest swing, including the second date of the convoy’s stop. Saturday, June 26th sees the Michigan date, which was announced today by CLASH Wrestling (one of Michigan’s finest independents) to be a collaborative event that will see talent from both promotions on the card. CLASH will offer up some of its best competition such as H3RD, Cameron Skyy, and GQ for this special event. The following afternoon sees the much-anticipated CHIKARA return to Cleveland with “Faded Scars and Lines”. We know that fans on our boards have been petitioning for a Cleveland return, so let’s hope that the attendance shows that they deserve such a stop on the CHIKARA schedule! Get out there and support CHIKARA, folks!

Also announced today was the return of Claudio Castagnoli to Japan, as he’ll be teaming up with former tag team partner Chris Hero in Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Global Tag League. They’ll be squared off to face such duos as Kensuke Sasaki & Takeshi Morishima, current GHC Tag Champs Mohammed Yone & Takeshi Rikio and more. The tour starts on January 9th in Differ Ariake, going on through January 24th where the Tag League wraps up in Korakuen Hall.

- CHIKARA presents “We Must Eat Michigan’s Brain”
June 26, 2009 ~ Taylortown Trade Center, Taylor, MI

- CHIKARA presents “Faded Scars and Lines”
June 27, 2009 ~ Cleveland, OH

It’s no secret that CHIKARA keeps getting bigger and bigger. 2005, it was shows in the ECW Arena. 2006, the addition of the Campeonatos de Parejas. 2007, running outside of Pennsylvania for the first time and the beginning of the CHIKARA Podcast-a-Go-Go. 2008, stepping off of the east coast states for the first time for the Midwest tour, along with the biggest tournament in wrestling history. 2009 saw attendance records broken, shows in Japan, and incredible growth both in the company and reaching outwards in alliances with Big Japan and Dragon Gate USA.

What does 2010 hold in store? If there’s one thing we know, it’s a schedule that sees nearly national expansion. When we last talked the schedule, it was mostly expansion to familiar areas – a new venue in Reading, a show in March right outside Philadelphia over the Whitman in Jersey, the long-awaited return to Schuylkill County, et cetera. Since then, it’s busted open huge, and with almost half of 2010’s schedule announced, the plans are quite interesting. Traditionally, after King of Trios comes Aniversario, and this year’s mimics 2008’s shows as they’re not going to take place inside of the confines of Pennsylvania. “Aniversario Zehn” sees CHIKARA make its return to Massachusetts and the Nashua area for the first time since this past September’s shows on May 22nd. The next day will see CHIKARA make its debut in North Jersey, a quick shuttle ride from New York City, as the ACE Arena in Union City, NJ presents “Aniversario Elf”. The month after that sees the CHIKARA debut in Michigan, as the city of Taylor gets the awesomely named “We Must Eat Michigan’s Brain”. It’ll be interesting to see if that gets followed up with a Sunday show as the CHIKaravan brings its way back to Pennsylvania, and if there’s an announcement of such a show, we’ll be sure to let you know!

Now for some site news. Please check out our CHIKARA Fans Wiki, a work-in-progress that you can assist with! Check out our message board for more information on it, but feel free to dive right in and check it out.

Nominations on the 2009 CHIKARA Fans Awards rolls on with Class A nominations opening today. Click here to get to nominating!

See you as soon as we’ve got more news!

- CHIKARA presents “Aniversario Zehn”
May 22, 2010 ~ Tyngsboro, MA

- CHIKARA presents “Aniversario Elf”
May 23, 2010 ~ The ACE Arena, Union City, NJ

- CHIKARA presents “We Must Eat Michigan’s Brain”
June 26, 2010 ~ Taylor, MI

The promos from “Three-Fisted Tales” are here, including a confrontation between Mike Quackenbush and Tim Donst, along with an emotional speech from Eddie Kingston. Check the playlist below to view them, and be sure to buy the DVD from SmartMarkVideo.com.