King of Trios Is bWo... FOR LIFE

bWo FOR LIFE Graphics via Chikara

The fifth team announced for King of Trios is not only filled with marquee name guest stars, but it is a blast from the past as well. Stevie Richards, Nova, and The Blue Meanie, known collectively as the Blue World Order, will don their shirts once more and invade the Easton Funplex. Like the Bullet Club, the bWo got its inspiration from the nWo, but unlike the Biz Cliz, they've always known they were a parody. However, even as a playful comedy act, the bWo got over huge to the point where Richards was a viable, over candidate to win the Extreme Championship Wrestling World Championship at its first pay-per-view, Barely Legal. Of course, neither hell nor high water was keeping Terry Funk (who turns 71 today, happy birthday!) from winning there, but hey, Richards may have been the next most over option.

Since the dissolution of ECW, the bWo has reformed a few times, but none for something as big as Trios. The group not only contains the perfect size for the tournament, but it may also have the perfect ethos for Chikara overall. Additionally, Richards still has "it" in the ring according to several people who have seen his barnstorming act around the indies lately. Whether as Extreme Rising Champion or emissary to Metro Pro Wrestling, he's made his rounds. And of course, if you want to show your support for the guys, then Meanie's got you covered via his PWTees shop. He has an assortment of shirts, but you can't go wrong with the classic, nWo-logo parody original bWo shirt.

As has been the theme with these first five announced trios, no native to the promotion (outside of the Young Bucks who haven't been booked regularly in Chikara since 2012) has been announced for the tournament yet. Front-loading the announcements seems curious to me, unless the Challenge of the Immortals is blatantly cutting off the number of native trios in the tourney. If that happens to be the case, then Kevin Condron may have a clear path to victory with whatever trio he puts together (Missile! Assault! Ant! and "Juke Joint" Luke Calhoun, maybe?). It also fits with my theory that Condron is the next Chikara big bad and will use the blowback from the COTI to garner influence and strike when the season's nearing its close.

Or maybe the native trios will start coming soon, and the company just wanted to front-load the announcement process this year to dispel criticism that plagued the tournament last year. Regardless of what some anonymous people on Twitter say, I have never worked for Chikara, so I can't tell you how the rest of the slate is going to turn out. But regardless, the freakin' bWo is gonna be there along with the Bullet Club, two premiere British scene teams, and a Lucha Underground squad that features a DRAGON. I think Trios might be an okay time this year, what do you think?