The CHIKARA Special

Mike and Clayton talk the WWF’s “New Generation” era, the Ghostbusters reboot, John Oliver, Batman v Superman and more.

While the crux of the weekend will involve King of Trios and Rey de Voladores tournament action, some other news has been announced!

- Sean Waltman will be in attendance on Night 1! His role is undefined, but last year he lent his voice to commentary during the entire evening.

- N_R_G will be in action on Night 2.

- Jervis Cottonbelly will be in action on Night 3.

- 3.0 make their triumphant return to CHIKARA in the annual Tag Team Gauntlet!

It was the 2011 King of Trios tournament when Sean Waltman donned the 1-2-3 Kid gear for what we were told was one last time. Nobody could have expected the incredible re-birth Kid experienced that weekend. After an incredible first round match teaming with Arik Cannon and Darin Corbin to take on some luminaries from Michinoku Pro, he made it to the finals of the Rey de Voladores tournament where he lost to El Generico. To this day that match receives universal praise. Waltman went from being a special attraction to being THE topic of conversation from the weekend. Needless to say, it was a welcome surprise when Waltman returned to CHIKARA for the 2012 King of Trios tournament. After losing in the first round to the Extreme Trio on Night 1 and "Mr. Touchdown" Mark Angelosetti on Night 2, Waltman entered the Tag Team Gauntlet and walked away with two points towards a shot at Los Campeonatos de Parejas. His partner? None other than the man he won the WWF tag team titles with in 1995: Marty Jannetty. After making his CHIKARA debut the month before, Jannetty returned to team with his partner not only to defeat the Powers of Pain, but Los Ice Creams who had defeated Jannetty and Green Ant the month prior. Kid and Jannetty reunited this past Sunday to defeat The Heart Throbs, thus securing a third points and a title shot against current Campeones de Parejas The Young Bucks. The Bucks are considered by many to be the best tag team in the world today. Jannetty and Kid have years of experience and praise behind them and we will see if they have the ability to "hang" with the best team going today. Can the Bucks put down two bonafide superstars, or will we see that King of Trios 2011 was just the beginning of Waltman's career resurgence?

A generation divides the two tag teams listed above, but they will encounter one another at "The Cibernetico Rises" and points are in play. Speaking of points, The 1-2-3 Kid and Marty Jannetty currently have two after defeating The Powers of Pain and Los Ice Creams in the Tag Team Gauntlet during King of Trios weekend. If they score the win here, they will have earned themselves a Campeonatos de Parejas title shot. The Heart Throbs made their CHIKARA debut in an Atomico with the Young Bucks in July where Antonio Thomas fell to Hallowicked's Go 2 Sleepy Hollow. Now, they make their tag team debut and you know they would love to get a point under their proverbial belts as well. Will the former WWF tag team champs leave with a title shot in their back pocket, or will the Pelvic Thrustin' no-gooders be their road block to glory?

Complete Match: Rey de Voladores elimination match from King of Trios 2011 - The 123 Kid vs. The Amazing Red vs. Obariyon vs. Frightmare.

The final two first round matches in the 2012 King of Trios tournament have been set in stone. First up is Team Ring of Honor (The Young Bucks & Mike Bennett) taking on the Faces of Pain (The Warlord, The Barbarian & Meng). The Young Bucks may be the current Campeonatos de Parejas, and Mike Bennett may consider himself wrestling’s “prodigy”, but never has a triuumvirate more feared existed until the Faces of Pain assembled. Seriously, would YOU cross those men? The Ring of Honor team will have no choice but to come face to face with them. Although the sheer size of the Faces of Pain is enough to give them the easy win and entry into Round 2, we have seen in the past that the ROH team is not above cheating and backdoor chicanery to pick up the W. Will the Ring of Honor team be able to defy the odds and make it past the imposing Faces of Pain? Maybe, but if nothing else, they’re in store for a serious beating. The final match in Round 1 is the most star-studded of all. A trio representing ECW (Tommy Dreamer, 2 Cold Scorpio & Jerry Lynn) face a trio representing WWF in the mid-90s (The 1-2-3 Kid, Aldo Montoya & Tatanka). Forget ECW and WWF, let us talk about the dying days of the GWF where 1-2-3 Kid (then known as the Lightning Kid) and Jerry Lynn cut their teeth. Their matches still are discussed today, and many consider the two of them part of the reason Cruiserweight wrestling was such a big deal in wrestling’s “boom” period of the 90s. Lest we forget that not only was Aldo Montoya a big part of ECW (as Justin Credible), but that every member of the Extreme Trio also served time in the WWF. Scorpio came in as “Flash Funk” in the mid-90s and even competed as 2 Cold Scorpio before leaving the company altogether. Lynn had a short stay in the early 2000s, but Dreamer enjoyed an extended stay as both an in ring competitor and talent agent for the better part of a decade. He even won WWE’s version of the ECW championship during his tenure. Put these six men together, and you’re looking at what could be the main event of Night 1. Now that all the first round matches have been announced, who do you see going forward?

Words fail me. (Yes, that is a real picture.)