Chikara King of Trios, Easton, PA
A request! It is the semifinals of the 2012 King of Trios, and we’ve got Team ROH, the obvious pairing of Mike Bennett and the Young Bucks, against Team Sendai Girls, the crew of Meiko Satomura, DASH Chisako, and Sendai Sachiko.
(Requests open and tips always appreciated!)
The ROH side have Maria Kanellis in their corner thanks to Bennett. The Bucks hold whatever belts those are and they are just a couple of real goofy boy dipshits. Bennett is, you know, Arrogant or whatever. Hot wife. (Were they married yet?) So they’re all leaning into being the dicks here and giving a clear face/heel line.
Nick Jackson gets on the crowd’s case for chanting “Sendai’s gonna kill you,” but then he falls on the ropes and nuts himself to get us going with some comedy.
Match starts proper with Matt Jackson and DASH Chisako. Matt all disrespectful! I tell you, this guy is not friendly. DASH with some forearms, Matt trying to throw her around but it’s not working like he wants. More forearms. Basement dropkick from DASH, and then tags to Nick and Sendai Sachiko, DASH’s sister. Quick-paced exchange where Nick takes a killer bump out to the floor that reminds me of Matt Borne and/or Chris Hamrick.
Meiko gets the tag and she wants Bennett. An “overrated” chant for Bennett, who drops to his knees and flexes. So Meiko kicks him in the chest a few times. When he gets up, the commentary goes absolutely bizarre after he one-shots her down with an open hand slap to the face. “How dare he!” they ask, and then question how Maria Kanellis can support him slapping a woman in the face. Like, dog, it’s a legal move in this wrestling match they’re having. Genuinely weird reaction.
The sisters get in and kick Nick’s ass with some double teaming after Meiko knocks Bennett out of the ring, and then Matt takes some stuff, and then they all triple on Bennett. So it’s all Sendai Girls early, but Matt eats some shots from Sachiko, and then nails Nick and Bennett, but that distraction gives Matt the opening. A double power bomb gets a two count.
Matt grabs a camel clutch sorta, a knee into the back instead of him squatting over the back. It’s more a Chinlock+ than a camel clutch, maybe, but it works for me. Nick gets a tag in as Team ROH look to slow this down, use their size advantage to take over the match.
Bennett in as they discuss him likely having a lot of “No Fear” shirts in school. Bennett holds Sachiko up in a suplay for a while, so Meiko and DASH come in, but the Bucks cut them off. Sendai Girls reverse the triple suplay attempt, but they don’t take the momentum back.
Maria gets in to do an air band deal with the lads, and then winds up the only one standing when Meiko comes into the ring to break that up. Sendai triple-team on Bennett again, Maria doesn’t have to take a bump.
Dives from Sachiko and Chisako! Nick in the ring with Meiko, and Nick rocks Satomura with a back elbow, but she nails a Pele kick in return, and a Death Valley Driver for two! Big foot from Nick, but Meiko knocks him off the apron, Matt in with a superkick, Sachiko gets Matt in a submission, Chisako gets Bennett in one, and Bennett’s tapping but Maria has the ref distracted.
Nick back in with superkicks, and now it’s Meiko against all three and she is BEATING THEIR ASSES. Triple superkick, though! More Bang For Your Buck! And that’s the three count.
A really fun sprint, they go about 10 minutes and it’s mostly just action, and a lot of it really is the Sendai Girls team dominating the match. The ROH squad have their advantages but mostly ignore them in favor of arrogance, and it takes Maria Kanellis to win them the match, or else cowardly Mike Bennett was dunzo in there.
No one person gets enough time to really shine; instead, it’s a true collaboration where everyone does the exact job assigned and gets their traits across even with limited spotlight.
Tape Machines Are Rolling 