Three wrestlers representing the EPIC WAR promotion from California will be making their CHIKARA debuts over the course of the King of Trios 2009 tournament. The “captain” of the team is a man well known to any self-respecting independent wrestling fan, the one and only Austin Aries. This is an interesting choice for the WAR team, as Aries has not actually wrestled for the group since 2005. However, he is an East Coast regular and, as a former WAR champion, he’s a wise choice. Also in question is which Austin Aries the CHIKARA faithful will see, as recent Ring Of Honor developments have lead to Aries ditching his flashy style and resorting to more basic wrestling. Whether that will carry on into King of Trios, time will only tell. Teaming with Aries is the Pacific North-West’s “Tornado” Tony Kozina, who some of you may know from his brief spells in ROH and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. A veteran of the indy circuit, the 38-year old Kozina will be looking to make a major splash on the East Coast with a good showing here, and those of you familiar with Kozina’s style know just how much he’ll do to achieve that. Rounding off the trio is a relative unknown in the form of Ryan Drago. Drago’s training resume is formidable, having spent time learning his trade alongside the likes of “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson, former NOAH stars Michael Modest and Donovan Morgan and current NOAH and ROH wrestler Bison Smith. Not only that, but he has also wrestled the Japanese legend Mitsuharu Misawa. Much of his style is similar to the aforementioned Danielson, using a variety of strikes and submissions in his arsenal, and these are skills he’ll be looking to use to bring the King of Trios home for EPIC WAR.
- Tony Kozina
Height: 5′6” ~ 170 cm
Weight: 174 lbs ~ 79 kg
Hometown: Portland, Oregon
Promotions: EPIC WAR, Championship Wrestling USA, Pro Wrestling WAR
Titles Held: NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship (2), NWA Canadian Junior Heavyweight Championship (2), AWA Pinnacle Light Heavyweight Championship
- Austin Aries
Height: 5′9” ~ 178 cm
Weight: 205 lbs ~ 93 kg
Hometown: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Promotions: EPIC WAR, ROH
Signature Moves: 450 Splash, Brainbuster, Last Chancery
Titles Held: ROH World Championship, ROH World Tag Team Championship, NWA Midwest X Division Championship
- Ryan Drago
Height: 6′1” ~ 186 cm
Weight: 215 lbs ~ 96 kg
Hometown: Tromaville, New Jersey
Promotions: EPIC WAR
Signature Moves: Blue Monster Driver, Shining Wizard, Shonan Bat, Brainbuster
Titles Held: None