The Colony was a professional wrestling stable, best known for performing for Chikara. As their name suggests, their gimmick is that of an ant colony, which is further reinforced with their names being based on particular ants (Fire Ant, Green Ant / Silver Ant, Carpenter Ant, and Thief Ant) and classes within an ant colony (Soldier Ant and the first and second Worker Ants).
Originally debuting at the 2006 Tag World Grand Prix as a tag team consisting of Fire Ant and Soldier Ant, The Colony later grew to include a number of new members. Since debuting, The Colony has seen championship success in singles, tag team and trios competition. In Chikara, Fire Ant and Soldier Ant are one time Campeones de Parejas, Fire Ant is a one time Young Lions Cup Champion, Fire Ant and Soldier Ant won the 2008 Tag World Grand Prix, Carpenter Ant won the 2009 Torneo Cibernetico and Fire Ant, Soldier Ant and Green Ant (now known as Silver Ant) won the 2011 King of Trios. The Colony disbanded in 2017 after all but Fire Ant and Worker Ant (II) left Chikara but reformed when the team of Fire Ant, and rookies Thief Ant, and the second Green Ant, previously known as The ResistANTce, won the 2018 King of Trios.
In addition to Chikara, the group has seen success in other promotions. Silver Ant is a one-time Wrestling is Fun! (WiF!) 24/7 Champion (as Green Ant) and won Chilanga Mask's 2015 Torneo de Parejas alongside Ophidian, the second Worker Ant (as assailAnt) is a one-time WiF! Banana Champion, and Fire Ant won the 2014 Forza Lucha Cup. Furthermore, Fire Ant (under his current ring name of "Freshly Squeezed" Orange Cassidy) has won several independent wrestling titles and is the longest-reigning AEW International Championship belt holder.
History Chikara Debut (2006–2007) After being trained by both Mike Quackenbush and Chris Hero, Fire Ant and Soldier Ant debuted as Team Colony at the 2006 Tag World Grand Prix, where they lost in the first round to Lancelot (Lance Steel and Lance Steel). Team Colony became technicos on the undercard and often teamed with fellow masked wrestler Equinox in trios matches. Later in the year, Fire Ant made a brief singles run as he participated in the fourth Young Lions Cup tournament, which he did not win. Near the end of the year, a third Ant known as Worker Ant, who was also trained by Quackenbush and Hero, joined Team Colony on November 17 to expand the tag team into a stable and thus resulting in the group's name being tweaked to The Colony. Soon after joining, Worker Ant became the group's mouthpiece, as he spoke for them in their promos.
The Colony would become one of the more prominent acts in Chikara in 2007 due to increasingly entertaining and innovative matches as a trio, and a heated feud with the rudo BLKOUT stable, a feud which the Colony would win in September with a decisive victory on the Cibernetico undercard.
Feud with The UnStable (2008–2009)
Beginning in 2008, Fire Ant once again began competing semi-regularly as a singles wrestler and began a heated feud with former ally Equinox, who had since unmasked himself and began competing under his real name (Vin Gerard). At the Young Lions Cup tournament on June 15, Fire Ant defeated Gerard for the Cup in a match that garnered significant praise from both the company and fans. However, the following month on July 13, Gerard gained revenge by defeating Fire Ant in a rematch for the Cup after utilizing the cup itself as a weapon, resulting in Fire Ant having the shortest title reign in Chikara history. Soon after the loss, Gerard successfully managed to manipulate technico Shane Storm into aligning with him, effectively renaming him STIGMA. Gerard and STIGMA would feud with The Colony until September 7, when the two aligned with the returning Colin Delaney to form the UnStable, and thus evening the numbers of both groups. At the 2008 Tag World Grand Prix, Fire Ant and Soldier Ant represented The Colony as the stable made its second appearance in the tournament. The Colony would go on to defeat the Fight Club in the opening round, their rivals the UnStable in the semi-finals and both The Osirian Portal and Martin Stone and Pac in the finals to win the tournament.
Now with a staggering seven points towards Campeonatos de Parejas contention, Fire Ant and Soldier Ant issued their challenge to the reigning Campeones The Osirian Portal for January 25, 2009. Owing to the number of points they accumulated, Director of Fun Leonard F. Chikarason allowed the Colony to choose their own stipulations for the match. They decreed that the match would be one fall instead of the conventional two-out-of-three falls, and the Portal's third member, Escorpion Egipcio, would be banned from ringside. Despite the stipulations, the Colony failed to win the title.
Rebuilding and Campeonatos de Parejas (2009–2010) On February 20, the Colony lost to Team F.I.S.T. (Icarus, Gran Akuma and Chuck Taylor) after Worker Ant was pinned by Icarus. After the match, Taylor performed his Awful Waffle on Worker Ant onto the floor outside the ring, resulting in Worker Ant suffering (kayfabe) cranial injuries. Soon after the attack, a fourth Ant, later identified as Green Ant, made his debut to help tend to the injured Worker Ant. It was then announced on Chikara's website that Worker Ant retired from wrestling due to the severity of his injuries and that Green Ant would fill in for his absence. On May 24, Fire Ant and Soldier Ant, with Green Ant in their corner, defeated Icarus and Chuck Taylor in a Mask vs. Hair match, resulting in Icarus and Taylor having their heads shaved. When Gran Akuma attempted to interfere in the closing moments of the match, a new brown-colored Ant, Carpenter Ant, ran out to ringside to fend off Akuma's attack. During Chikara's June tour of Big Japan Pro Wrestling, Kazuhiko Miyakami wore the costume of Green Ant after it was stolen by Chuck Taylor. The real Green Ant made his wrestling debut on July 31, 2009, in a six-man tag team match, where The Colony defeated The Order of the Neo-Solar Temple (UltraMantis Black, Delirious and Crossbones).
Fire Ant and Soldier Ant acquired two more points over the next few months and challenged the Osirian Portal for the Campeonatos de Parejas again on September 13 at Hiding in Plain Sight. This time around, the Colony was victorious, winning the title in two straight falls.
On October 18, Fire Ant and Soldier Ant captained their own teams for the annual torneo cibernetico. Green Ant and Carpenter Ant were brought into the mix, with Green Ant going on Fire's team while Carpenter went on Soldier's team. Soldier and Carpenter Ant ended up as the final two in the match, and Carpenter defeated his fellow Ant via submission after debuting the Inverted Chikara Special to win the cibernetico. On November 22, 2009, at Three-Fisted Tales, Carpenter Ant became a rudo and unmasked to reveal himself as Pinkie Sanchez, while also joining the Bruderschaft des Kreuzes (BDK). In a blog entry on the promotion's official website, Sanchez explained his decision to appear as Carpenter Ant was done after failing to secure a spot in Chikara and then seeing how easy it was for Green Ant to debut and be immediately accepted into the Chikara locker room. During the break between seasons eight and nine, Sanchez adopted the nickname "Pink Ant" and began wearing a pink and white ant mask, while also declaring a war on The Colony.
On March 20, 2010, at Wit, Verve, and a Bit o' Nerve, The Colony lost the Campeonatos de Parejas to Ares and Claudio Castagnoli of the BDK after BDK members Pinkie Sanchez, Lince Dorado and Tursas attacked them before the match and Tursas powerbombed Soldier Ant against a wall, rendering him unconscious for most of the match.
King of Trios (2010–2011) On April 23 The Colony entered the 2010 King of Trios tournament. After defeating the team of Flip Kendrick, Louis Lyndon and Johnny Gargano, The Colony handed BDK their first non-disqualification loss when they defeated the trio of Pinkie Sanchez, Tim Donst and Lince Dorado in the quarterfinals of the tournament. On April 25 The Colony defeated Team Osaka Pro (Atsushi Kotoge, Daisuke Harada and Tadasuke) to make their way to the finals of the tournament, where they were defeated by the BDK trio of Ares, Castagnoli and Tursas, when referee Derek Sabato turned rudo, revealed himself as being aligned with BDK and performed a fast count to end the match. On August 29, Green Ant broke his arm during a match with Keita Yano and upon his return in February 2011, Chikara started a storyline similar to that used by the World Wrestling Federation with Lex Luger in 1993, where it was claimed that Green Ant had a metal plate inserted into his arm, which resulted in strikes from that elbow being more powerful due to the plate. Also in February, The Colony of Fire Ant and Soldier Ant secured three points and challenged Mike Quackenbush and Jigsaw for the Campeonatos de Parejas on March 13, but were unsuccessful in regaining the title. On April 15, The Colony entered the 2011 King of Trios, defeating Sinn Bodhi, Kodama and Obariyon in their first round match. The following day during a fan conclave, Chikara held a contest to see if anyone could be able to body slam the BDK member Tursas. Green Ant entered the contest, once again copying a storyline the WWF had used with Lex Luger and Yokozuna in 1993, but before he could complete the body slam, he was tripped by BDK member Jakob Hammermeier. Later that day, The Colony advanced to the semifinals of the 2011 King of Trios by defeating BDK representatives Tim Donst, Delirious and Hammermeier, after Green Ant body slammed the interfering Tursas and then submitted Hammermeier with Luger's trademark finisher, the Torture Rack. The following day, The Colony defeated The Osirian Portal (Amasis, Hieracon and Ophidian) to advance to their second King of Trios final in a row. Later that same day, The Colony defeated F.I.S.T. (Chuck Taylor, Icarus and Johnny Gargano) in the finals to win the 2011 King of Trios. In July, Green Ant started a "Flex Express" bus tour that was featured on Chikara's video podcasts, in preparation for his singles match with Tursas, again imitating a similar tour Luger had done in 1993. One of the episodes even featured a cameo from Luger himself. The match took place on July 30 and saw Tursas defeat Green Ant following interference from Jakob Hammermeier. On August 27, Green Ant advanced to the finals of the ninth annual Young Lions Cup tournament, before losing to Osaka Pro Wrestling representative Tadasuke. The following month, Fire Ant and Green Ant made their first tour of Osaka Pro, which culminated on September 23 in a match, where they unsuccessfully challenged Atsushi Kotoge and Daisuke Harada for the Osaka Pro Wrestling Tag Team Championship. On November 13 at Chikara's first internet pay-per-view, High Noon, Fire Ant and Soldier Ant defeated The Young Bucks to once again earn the right to challenge for the Campeonatos de Parejas, while Green Ant ended his feud with Tursas by defeating him in a grudge match with a new submission maneuver, the Chikara Special: Green. The Colony cashed in their points on December 2, during Chikara's special post-season JoshiMania weekend, but were defeated by the defending Campeones de Parejas, F.I.S.T. (Chuck Taylor and Johnny Gargano).
The Swarm and Xtreme Force (2012–2014)