The Eighth Trio Is the First to Reflect the Challenge of the Immortals

A successful team in the COTI, but can they win King of Trios? Graphics via ChikaraPro.com

In 2012, Chikarametrics rent teams asunder going into King of Trios. Wink Vavasseur's mathematical meddling served as a portent for the impending doom that was to follow on June 1, 2013. However, it would not be the last time that teams were disrupted going into wrestling's most-populated tournament. This time, the shake-up has not come from a monolithic tyrant using funny numbers, but from a season-long fantasy draft incarnate called the Challenge of the Immortals. Technically, it may have affected the first two native teams, but thankfully for the Devastation Corporation and the formerly Golden Trio, their COTI drafts kept them all on the same teams.

The same could not be said for the Osirian Portal. Ophidian and Amasis were both named captains of their separate teams. Ophidian's Snake Pit sopped up Shynron, Eddie Kingston, and the rookie Argus, while Amasis' Battle Hive garnered "Smooth Sailing" Ashley Remington and two-thirds of the Colony, Fire and Worker Ants. Of course, the Egyptian tag team's forays into triodom have been suboptimal to put it lightly. Neither Escorpion Egyptico nor Hieracon worked out in the long run, and their forced partnership in 2010 with Sara del Rey is something the two would like to forget about. In a somewhat related note, I have been having crazy nostalgia for the original incarnation of the Bruderschaft des Kreuzes lately. *sigh*

Anyway, Ophidian's Snake Pit was the first of the two trios to be announced, and for this run in the tournament, Argus has been left on the sidelines. Shynron and Kingston will stand guard with the Master of Snake Style as they try to take home the richest single-weekend prize in wrestling. The issue of chemistry has not been a hurdle for the team. They've competed in six matches in the COTI and come out victorious in four of them for an impressive 0.667 winning percentage. Will that carry over into the tournament against even more well-oiled units like the Bullet Club, Devastation Corporation, or even the Blue World Order? Time will tell.

As for the rest of the field, this announcement sheds some light on the staffing process, as it looks like tradition will be bucked in favor of temporary alliances. That means the Colony will not enter, and if what I'm hearing is correct, that might be better off for Fire and Worker Ants since Silver Ant seems to be falling under the spell of Hallowicked's master of rot, Nazmuldun. Still, I can't help but remember how none of the Chikarametrics-assembled teams in 2012 made it out of the first round. If the lack of longterm harmony among members of these trios is an issue three years later, things are setting up for a Devastation Corporation repeat, a win for Dasher's Dugout, or, God help us all, a surprise run to the medals from the freakin' Bullet Club. If that happens, then I may have to pony up for therapy. Hail Hydra.