Date: January 12th, 2014
Location: Kobe Sambo Hall
Announced Attendance: 1,100 (Super No Vacancy Full House)
This was the first taped event of Dragon Gate in 2014. I am way behind in my Dragon Gate watching, in fact I don’t think I have seen an event in several years. So I am way behind on what the factions are and things like that. But I will just learn as I go along, I do recognize most of the players so it doesn’t look like much has changed. The full card is:
– Naruki Doi and BxB Hulk vs. Ryo “Jimmy” Saito and Jimmy Kanda
– YAMATO and Cyber Kong vs. Yosuke Santa Maria and U-T
– Don Fujii vs. Kotoka
– Jimmy Susumu and Jimmy Kagetora vs. K-ness and Ryotsu Shimizu
– Open the Brave Gate Championship: Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! vs. Super Shisa
– Masaaki Mochizuki vs. T-Hawk
– CIMA, Dragon Kid, and Gamma vs. Yoshino, Takagi, and Akira Tozawa
On to the matches!
Naruki Doi and BxB Hulk vs. Ryo “Jimmy” Saito and Jimmy Kanda
Kanda is attacked by Doi and Hulk before the bell rings. Doi kicks Kanda out of the ring and takes him through the crowd, throwing him into a row of chairs. Doi picks up Kanda and takes him further around the ring, while in the ring Hulk has Saito in a side headlock. Saito Irish whips out of it and shoulderblocks Hulk to the mat. Hulk doe a kip-up, Saito goes off the ropes but Hulk catches him with a kick. Hulk goes off the ropes but Saito delivers a shoulder to the face. Doi and Kanda get into the ring and trade chops, but Doi throws Kanda back out. Hulk attacks Saito from behind with a bouquet of flowers and kicks him out of the ring. Hulk goes out after Saito while Doi throws a chair at Kanda. Doi brings Kanda back towards the ring and throws him into the ring post. Doi slams Kanda’s head into the announcer’s table and punches him in the back of the head.
Back in the ring Hulk has a side headlock on Saito, Saito struggles to his feet but Hulk delivers a high kick which sends Saito back to the mat. Hulk applies a single leg crab hold while outside the ring Kanda throws Doi into the ring post. Saito makes it to the ropes to force a break; Hulk picks up Saito and slams him to the mat. Hulk goes out to the apron and hits a slingshot doublestomp while Doi runs across the ring and knocks Kanda off the apron. Hulk applies a stretch hold to Saito while Doi rubs his boot into Saito’s face; Hulk picks up Saito while Kanda charges across the ring and starts fighting with Doi again. Hulk picks up Saito and throws him into the corner, kicks by Hulk in the corner as Doi comes in, double Irish whip and they hit a drop toehold, elbow drop combination.
Kick by Hulk and Doi covers, but it gets a two count. Hulk toys with Saito and chops him in the chest, but Saito returns fire. Hulk hits the Mouse and goes off the ropes, but Saito catches him with an overhead belly to belly suplex. Saito tags in Kanda, Kanda knocks Doi off the apron and then sails out onto Doi with a tope suicida. Kanda throws Doi into the ring, he goes in the ring as well, Irish whip by Kanda and he hits an atomic drop. Kanda goes off the ropes and hits a powerslam, cover, but Hulk breaks it up. Drop toehold by Saito to Hulk but he has to hold back Kanda who keeps going after Doi. Double Irish whip to Hulk but Hulk kicks them both, he goes off the ropes but is catch with an atomic drop. Kanda dropkicks Hulk into Saito, who drops him with a release German suplex.
Double Irish whip to Doi when he crawls into the ring, Kanda hits a running elbow and Saito follows with a strike of his own. Diving elbow drop by Kanda to Doi, cover, but it gets two. Kanda picks up Doi and goes for the Ryu’s, but Doi blocks it. Kanda goes off the ropes but he is hit from the apron with a yellow container and Doi delivers the Doi 555. Doi gets the yellow box and hits Kanda with it, he then goes off the ropes and hits the Bakatare Sliding Kick with the box. He keeps hitting Kanda repeatedly with the box, the referee tries to stop him but Doi pushes the referee down. The referee doesn’t appreciate this and calls for the bell. Your winners by DQ: Ryo “Jimmy” Saito and Jimmy Kanda
Match Thoughts: I haven’t watched Dragon Gate in years and even I could figure out pretty easily from this match that Doi really really doesn’t like Kanda. I don’t know why he doesn’t like him, but the two clearly have a strong dislike for each other. That obviously dominated the match and led to the DQ, but it was a crazy way to start out the event and get the crowd into it. Good job at showing emotion in this match and further a storyline by all the wrestlers. Score: 6.5
YAMATO and Cyber Kong vs. Yosuke Santa Maria and U-T
YAMATO and Maria start things off. Irish whip by Maria but YAMATO shoulderblocks him down. YAMATO goes off the ropes, kick by Maria, Irish whip, reversed, and both wrestlers pancake. Dropkick by Maria which sends YAMATO out of the ring, Kong comes in the ring and shoulderblocks Maria into his own corner. U-T comes in the ring to take his place, tie-up, but Kong throws him to the mat. Another tie-up but Kong scoop slam U-T to the mat. U-T quickly applies a triangle choke but Kong powerbombs out of it. Kong picks up U-T and press slams him out of the ring. He goes out of the ring as YAMATO slides U-T back into the ring, and YAMATO stomps U-T in the chest. Chops and kicks by YAMATO in the corner and he tags in Kong. Kong picks up U-T and punches him in the face. Another punch by Kong and the pair trade blows.
Scoop slam by Kong in front of his corner and YAMATO hits a springboard doublestomp to U-T. YAMATO and Kong both stand on U-T’s chest, using the ropes for leverage. Kong picks up U-T, scoop slam, he goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving elbow drop for a two count. Kicks by YAMATO but U-T fires back with elbows. A hard elbow by YAMATO sends U-T back to the mat, YAMATO picks up U-T and goes for a suplex, but U-T blocks it and slides down YAMATO’s back. YAMATO goes off the ropes but U-T ducks the lariat attempt and hits a spinning headscissors. YAMATO tags in Kong but U-T tags in Maria, jumping heel kick by Maria and he hits a series of elbows.
Kong comes back with his own elbow, U-T runs in the ring to help, double Irish whip and they deliver a double dropkick. Kong doesn’t go down, they go for a double vertical suplex and finally are able to hit it. YAMATO comes in the ring, Irish whip by Maria from the corner, reversed, Maria jumps up to the top turnbuckle and dives out of the ring onto Kong. Back in the ring, U-T hits a swandive dropkick onto YAMATO. Irish whip by U-T from the corner, reversed, U-T kicks YAMATO when he charges in and kicks YAMATO back. U-T goes for a missile dropkick but YAMATO sidesteps it. Irish whip by YAMATO but U-T avoids the dropkick, he goes off the ropes and ties up YAMATO with a modified reverse figure four. YAMATO inches to the ropes and is able to force the break.
Maria is back in the ring, double Irish whip to YAMATO but YAMATO reverses it, YAMATO avoids U-T’s charge and Maria hits a dropkick in the corner. Bodyscissors into a bulldog by U-T, then Maria hits a jumping leg lariat. Cover, but YAMATO kicks out. Maria charges YAMATO in the corner but YAMATO moves, Kong hits Maria with a lariat in the corner but misses on the second attempt. U-T then charges Kong in the corner, but he moves and YAMATO delivers a dropkick to U-T. YAMATO slams U-T in front of the corner, Kong goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving elbow drop. Cover, but Maria breaks it up. Kong kicks down Maria, he picks up U-T but U-T rolls him up for a two count. Kong grabs U-T around the waist and hits a suplex, he then follows with a Pineapple Bomber. Kong picks up U-T and nails the Cyber Bomb, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winners: YAMATO and Cyber Kong
Match Thoughts: So to me, Maria is a ‘feminine’ character done right as he made me laugh a few times but in terms of in-ring ability didn’t act any differently than the other wrestlers. Its ok to have some comedy, just don’t let it dominate every match you are in unless it’s booked as a comedy match. Anyway, I thought this match was really good. U-T is young but shows a lot of promise, Maria was very on-point with his moves and the veteran team did a good job at looking strong but still giving the young guys plenty of offense. The action stayed at a very quick pace, which isn’t unusual of course for Dragon Gate. There was nothing really wrong with the match, it was entertaining from start to finish and as far as veteran vs. young stars tag team matches go it was about as good as it gets. Score: 7.0
Don Fujii vs. Kotoka
Kotoka kicks Fujii in the leg to start the match, tie-up, Fujii pushes Kotoka into the ropes and goes for a chop but Kotoka ducks it. Chops by Kotoka but Fujii chops him back and give him a quick jab to the face. Irish whip by Fujii but Kotoka hits a jumping elbow. Dropkick by Kotoka but Fujii doesn’t go down and shoulderblocks Kotoka to the mat. Stomp by Fujii, he picks up Kotoka and hits a scoop slam. Fujii picks up Kotoka and tosses him back down to the mat. Fujii punches Kotoka in the face as he gets up and follows with a few boots. Fujii picks up Kotoka in the corner and chops him in the chest. Another chop by Fujii but Kotoka switches positions with him and gives Fujii a few chops of his own. Fujii eventually has enough and punches Kotoka back into the opposite corner. Chops to the throat by Fujii and he kicks Kotoka in the face. Fujii picks up Kotoka, Irish whip from the corner but Kotoka ducks down when Fujii charges in and hits a missile dropkick.
This sends Fujii into the opposite corner, Kotoka charges him but Fujii moves out of the way and Kotoka goes shoulder-first into the ring post. Lariat by Fujii, he picks up Kotoka and goes for a chokeslam but Kotoka gets out of it. Dropkick to the knee by Kotoka and he hits a dropkick. Kotoka goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a double stomp, he then goes up to the top turnbuckle but Fujii rolls out of the way of the second one and hits a chop block. Cover by Fujii, but it gets a two count. Kotoka gets back up and chops Fujii into the corner, slaps by Kotoka and he kicks Fujii in the legs. Cover by Kotoka, but it gets a two count. Fujii gets back up, slaps by Fujii and he hits the Nodowa Otoshi. Cover, but Kotoka kicks out. Fujii goes for the HIMEI but Kotoka rolls him up for a two count. Fujii goes for it again but Kotoka kicks him back. Kotoka charges Fujii but Fujii levels him with a lariat. Fujii goes for the HIMEI again and this time he gets it locked in, forcing Kotoka to submit. Your winner: Don Fujii
Match Thoughts: Not a whole lot to this match. Kotoka isn’t really a rookie so not sure why he was being treated like one here, but it was a typical veteran vs. young wrestler match. Even though Kotoka got a few near falls I never brought the idea that he could win the match. Fujii is different than other Dragon Gate wrestlers, which is fine of course but he just doesn’t have the fire or urgency that the other wrestlers show. Pretty average and uninspired match overall. Score: 4.0
Jimmy Susumu and Jimmy Kagetora vs. K-ness and Ryotsu Shimizu
K-ness and Susumu start things off. Tie-up, Susumu pushes K-ness into the ropes but he gives a clean break. Chop by K-ness but Susumu returns fire. Irish whip by K-ness, but Susumu shoulderblocks him down. Susumu goes off the ropes but K-ness catches him with an armdrag. Susumu trips K-ness and both men return to their feet. They tag out as Kagetora and Shimizu come in the ring. They take turns running into each other with neither man going down. Jumping lariat by Kagetora and he knocks K-ness off the apron. Kagetora stomps on Ryotsu Shimizu and tags in K-ness. Snapmare by K-ness to Shimizu and he rakes him in the eyes/tries to take off his fake eyebrows. K-ness picks up Shimizu, snapmare, and Kagetora comes in the ring with a slingshot elbow drop. Cover by Kagetora, but it gets a two count. Susumu picks up Shimizu but Shimizu chops him back. They trade blows, Shimizu goes off the ropes but Kagetora comes in the ring and kicks him in the head. Death Valley Driver by Susumu, cover, but it gets a two count. Kagetora is tagged in and he elbows Shimizu in the corner.
Irish whip by Kagetora but Shimizu comes out of the corner with a shoulderblock. Susumu comes in the ring but he is dropped with a brainbuster by Shimizu. Shimizu tags in K-ness, K-ness is sent off the ropes but he hits a kick/DDT combination on Susumu and Kagetora. K-ness kicks Susumu hard in the head, sending him out of the ring. He then throws Kagetora into the corner and both K-ness and Shimizu hit running strikes in the corner. Shimizu flips Kagetora out to the apron, but Kagetora jumps up on the top turnbuckle, slides back into the ring and kicks Shimizu in the head. Susumu returns and hits a lariat onto Shimizu in the corner, Susumu puts Shimizu onto the top turnbuckle and hits an superplex. Kagetora then comes off the top turnbuckle with a diving elbow drop, cover, but K-ness breaks it up. Kagetora picks up Shimizu but Shimizu slides off his back, Kagetora goes off the ropes but K-ness kicks him in the head. Fireman’s carry pin by Kagetora but it gets a two count. Kagetora goes off the ropes but K-ness slides between his legs and hits Hiraki no Wa for the three count! Your winners: K-ness and Ryotsu Shimizu
Match Thoughts: Short match but they packed a lot into it. Any time a tag match is under five minutes it is going to hurt the overall quality, it just doesn’t provide enough time for all the wrestlers to make an impact and lead to a satisfactory ending. K-ness beating Kagetora seemed to come out of nowhere as Susumu had been hurt more than he had during the match. It wasn’t bad, it just needed more time to really tell a story. Score: 5.0
(c) Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! vs. Super Shisa
This match is for the Open the Brave Gate Championship. They circle each other to start, tie-up, wristlock by Horiguchi but Shisa reverses it. Side headlock by Shisa, Horiguchi tries to Irish whip out of it but Shisa keeps the hold applied. Side headlock takedown by Shisa, Horiguchi struggles back to his feet and elbows out of it. Shoulderblock by Shisa, he goes off the ropes but Horiguchi hits an armdrag. They trade holds on the mat, Shisa gets the side headlock back on, Horiguchi gets back to his feet and pushes Shisa to the mat. Horiguchi tries to pin down Shisa’s arms but Shisa bridges up. Monkey flip by Shisa and he re-applies the side headlock. Horiguchi returns to his feet and rolls out of the hold, they trade holds until Horiguchi hits a backdrop suplex. Horiguchi picks up Shisa, snapmare, and he applies a headscissors. Shisa gets a foot on the ropes to break the hold, Horiguchi picks up Shisa and hits a neckbreaker. Horiguchi picks up Shisa again and hits a double underhook piledriver, cover, but Shisa kicks out. Strikes by Horiguchi but Shisa gets up and returns fire with uppercuts, Shisa goes off the ropes but Horiguchi catches him with elbow.
Shisa retorts with a dropkick, that sends Horiguchi out of the ring. Shisa then bounces off the far ropes and sails out onto Horiguchi with a tope suicida. Shisa rolls Horiguchi back into the ring and hits a missile dropkick off the top rope. Irish whip by Shisa but Horiguchi kicks him when he charges in. Horiguchi goes up top, Shisa joins him but Horiguchi pushes him onto the ropes and hits a running knee to Shisa’s head. Shisa rolls out of the ring but quickly rolls back in and surprises Horiguchi with the Alejandro Lock. Horiguchi gets to the ropes to force a break, Shisa picks up Horiguchi and does a handstand in the corner, but Horiguchi gets his knees up when he goes for a splash. Tornado DDT by Horiguchi and he drop Shisa with a brainbuster. Cover, but Shisa gets a shoulder up. Horiguchi picks up Shisa and goes for the Beach Break, but Shisa reverses it into a sunset flip for a two count. The two trade pin attempts then piledriver attempts, until Shisa drops Horiguchi with a piledriver. Backslide by Horiguchi, Shisa gets out of it and delivers the Yoshi Tonic, but Horiguchi kicks out. Another backslide by Horiguchi but Shisa kicks out and rolls up Horiguchi for a two count. Shisa goes off the ropes but Horiguchi catches him and nails the Beach Break. Cover, and Horiguchi picks up the three count. Your winner and still champion: Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!
Match Thoughts: Even though the ending was sudden, I love the Beach Break so I will give them a pass on that one. Pretty good match, as Shisa played to his strengths (submission holds, keeping things grounded) while Horiguchi focused on his big moves to pick up the win. Shisa has lost a step, which isn’t surprising considering his age, but he held his own here as he worked at a more methodical pace. I wish the finishing run was a bit more fleshed out (odd saying that about a Dragon Gate match) and it didn’t really feel like a title match, but other than that it was solid. Score: 6.0
Masaaki Mochizuki vs. T-Hawk
They circle each other to start, tie-up, T-Hawk pushes Mochizuki into the ropes but Mochizuki switches positions with him. Mochizuki pushes T-Hawk in the face before backing off to give a mostly clean break. Tie-up again, T-Hawk pushes Mochizuki into the ropes and he slaps Mochizuki before backing off. Mochizuki slaps him back and T-Hawk returns fire with a chop. Kick to the chest by Mochizuki and they trade chops/kicks. Jumping back kick by Mochizuki, he goes off the ropes and shoulderblocks T-Hawk to the mat. Mochizuki suplexes T-Hawk out to the apron, leg sweep by Mochizuki and he charges T-Hawk, but T-Hawk moves and Mochizuki falls out of the ring. T-Hawk charges the ropes to do a dive but Mochizuki kicks him through the ropes. Mochizuki then pulls T-Hawk outside the ring and drops him with a brainbuster. T-Hawk is quite hurt and it takes him awhile to get back in the ring, so Mochizuki comes out after him.
Mochizuki snapmares T-Hawk out on the floor and kicks him hard in the back. Mochizuki picks up T-Hawk and slams his arm in the ring post before kicking it. Back up Mochizuki slides T-Hawk back into the ring, he goes in after him and steps on his hand. Kick to the back by Mochizuki and he throws T-Hawk into the corner. Facewash by Mochizuki in the corner but T-Hawk switches positions with him and gives him the same. T-Hawk goes for a running version but Mochizuki moves, then Mochizuki gets a running start and kicks T-Hawk in the arm. Mochizuki picks up T-Hawk and hits a pair of armbreakers, T-Hawk goes for a sleeper but Mochizuki slams him back into the corner. Mochizuki wraps T-Hawk’s arm in the top rope and twists it before giving the arm a kick. Slaps by Mochizuki, he drags T-Hawk back to the middle of the ring but T-Hawk blocks the suplex attempt. Fujiwara Armbar by Mochizuki into a seated armbar, but T-Hawk gets a foot on the ropes. Mochizuki picks up T-Hawk, Irish whip from the corner, reversed, Mochizuki kicks T-Hawk when he charges in and he gives T-Hawk another kick. A third kick by Mochizuki but T-Hawk won’t go down, he asks for another one so Mochizuki kicks him again.
Another kick by Mochizuki, he goes off the ropes but T-Hawk catches the next kick and chops Mochizuki in the chest. This also hurts T-Hawk since it is his injured arm and the chops have little effect on Mochizuki. Armbreaker by Mochizuki and he goes off the ropes but T-Hawk catches him with a double chop to the face. Mounted elbows by T-Hawk, cover, but it barely gets two. From the pin attempt Mochizuki applies an armbar and twists on T-Hawk’s fingers. T-Hawk gets a foot on the ropes, T-Hawk gets back up and Mochizuki pushes T-Hawk in the face. T-Hawk returns with chops but Mochizuki chops him back. Finally a chop knocks down Mochizuki, T-Hawk picks him up and gets Mochizuki up for a vertical suplex. Back up they trade strikes, kicks by Mochizuki and he goes off the ropes but T-Hawk catches him with a superkick.
Vertical suplex into a slam by T-Hawk, cover, but it gets a two count. T-Hawk throws Mochizuki into the corner and chops him in the chest, Mochizuki fires back with punches, Mochizuki goes off the ropes and hits a big boot. Mochizuki goes off the ropes again and hits another big boot, but T-Hawk catches the third. Chop by T-Hawk and he elbows Mochizuki, but Mochizuki kicks him and tries to apply the armbar. T-Hawk reverses the armbar attempt with a backbreaker. T-Hawk kicks Mochizuki in the head a few times, Mochizuki returns to his feet and kicks T-Hawk to the mat. Irish whip by Mochizuki from the corner, reversed, T-Hawk blocks Mochizuki’s kick attempt and runs to the other corner, but Mochizuki charges him and hits a boot to the face. Mochizuki puts T-Hawk on the top turnbuckle and hits an armbreaker down to the mat. Cross armbreaker by Mochizuki but T-Hawk gets a foot on the bottom rope. Kicks to the arm by Mochizuki and he kicks T-Hawk in the chest. Mochizuki picks up T-Hawk but T-Hawk hits a vertical suplex.
Mochizuki rolls out to the apron but T-Hawk chops him off of it down to the floor. T-Hawk then gets a running start and sails out onto Mochizuki with a tope suicida. T-Hawk slides Mochizuki back into the ring and gets back in himself as well, T-Hawk charges Mochizuki in the corner and hits a running chop to the chest. More chops by T-Hawk, Mochizuki goes off the ropes but T-Hawk catches him with a tombstone piledriver. Cover, but it gets a two count. Rojo by T-Hawk but Mochizuki gets a hand on the bottom rope. T-Hawk picks up Mochizuki but Mochizuki slides down his back, T-Hawk goes off the ropes and hits a running chop followed by several more chops. Mochizuki punches T-Hawk hard in the face and goes for a kick, T-Hawk catches it but Mochizuki gets his leg free and kicks T-Hawk repeatedly in the chest. Kick to the head by Mochizuki, cover, but T-Hawk gets a shoulder up. Mochizuki sets up T-Hawk in the corner and hits the Ikkakugeri.
Twister by Mochizuki, cover, but T-Hawk kicks out again. Mochizuki sets up T-Hawk and runs up the corner, but T-Hawk grabs him from behind and hits the Outsider Edge. Cover, but it gets a two count. Mochizuki applies a triangle choke out of the pin attempt but T-Hawk powerbombs out of it. Both wrestlers slowly get up, T-Hawk gets Mochizuki to his feet and nails the Night Ride, but Mochizuki gets right back to his feet. Chop by T-Hawk, kick to the face by Mochizuki but T-Hawk hits a second Night Ride. Cover, but it only gets a two count. Both wrestlers charge each other, high kick by Mochizuki but T-Hawk returns with a chop and both wrestlers fall to the mat. They get on their needs and trade slaps and headbutts, Mochizuki gets T-Hawk to the mat and quickly covers him but it barely gets two. They struggle to their feet but the bell rings. This match is a Draw (30:00).
Match Thoughts: Some good and some bad here, but overall an enjoyable match. Obviously this match was very strike-based, for better or worse, as that is both wrestler’s general style. I did not like the no-sell of the Night Ride, I really think no-selling a wrestler’s primary finishing move is never a good idea. In general a “fighting spirit” spot doesn’t bother me but if you treat your opponent’s finisher that way you’re basically confirming there is nothing your opponent can do to beat you. At least they were given time to structure the match the way they wanted to, and the arm work but Mochizuki was really good during the match. A really good match, it was just a little too strike-centric for my tastes and the no selling of the Night Ride made me shake my head. Score: 7.0
CIMA, Dragon Kid, and Gamma vs. Yoshino, Takagi, and Akira Tozawa
Takagi and Dragon Kid start things off. Takagi shoves Dragon Kid down to the mat, he picks him up but Dragon Kid cartwheels away from him. Dragon Kid goes off the ropes and kicks Takagi, he goes off the ropes again but Takagi hits a shoulderblock. Takagi lands in the corner, Dragon Kid charges him but Takagi drops him onto the apron. Dragon Kid comes back into the ring with a swandive hurricanrana, Takagi falls out of the ring but Dragon Kid fakes a dive and swings back into the ring. Dragon Kid tags in Gamma as Tozawa comes in the ring. Gamma and Tozawa both play to the crowd but Gamma attacks Tozawa from behind, Irish whip by Tozawa but Gamma shoulderblocks him down. Tozawa returns to his feet, Irish whip by Gamma but Tozawa kicks Gamma out of the ring. Tozawa then gets a running start in the ring but fakes the dive before tagging in Yoshino. CIMA comes in the ring as well, CIMA and Yoshino circle each other before tying up, armdrag by Yoshino but CIMA returns the favor.
CIMA goes off the ropes but Yoshino hits an armdrag. CIMA hits an armdrag of his own and trips Yoshino before applying a leg submission hold. CIMA tags in Gamma, and with CIMA they pull on Yoshino’s legs. Gamma pushes Yoshino into the corner and licks his face. Which apparently hurts Yoshino. Gamma grabs Yoshino but Yoshino pushes him back and tags in Takagi. Takagi stomps Gamma down in the corner and hits a scoop slam. Elbow drop by Takagi, cover, but it gets a two count. Gamma runs to his corner and tags in Dragon Kid, Dragon Kid and Takagi lick knuckles but CIMA comes in to help. Gamma comes in too, Irish whip to Takagi and they hit a triple dropkick. Dragon Kid chops Takagi in the corner and delivers a dropkick. Takagi falls to a seated position and Dragon Kid hits another running dropkick, then Gamma hits a slingshot dropkick from the apron. Gamma stomps on Takagi and hits a headbutt. More headbutts by Gamma but Takagi chops him to the mat. Vertical suplex by Takagi and he tags in Yoshino. Kick to the stomach by Yoshino to Gamma but Gamma picks him up and tags in Dragon Kid.
Dragon Kid kicks Yoshino in the corner, snapmare, and CIMA hits a slingshot corkscrew senton. Arm submission hold by CIMA but Yoshino gets a hand on the ropes. Another submission by CIMA but this one is broken up. CIMA tags in Dragon Kid, Dragon Kid picks up Yoshino, snapmare, and he hits a jumping kneedrop. Handstand by Dragon Kid but Tozawa runs in and dropkicks him. Takagi comes in the ring also and he spins Dragon Kid before tossing him to the mat. Tozawa comes in the ring again, he picks up Dragon Kid, double Irish whip to Dragon Kid and they hit a double elbow. Takagi then slams Tozawa onto Dragon Kid and both wrestlers hit sentons. Cover, but CIMA breaks it up. Tozawa tags in Yoshino, and Yoshino kicks Dragon Kid in the head. Double Irish whip with Takagi and they shoulderblock Dragon Kid down. Yoshino circles Dragon Kid and kicks him in the head. Yoshino throws Dragon Kid in the corner and tags in Takagi, and Takagi punches Dragon Kid to the mat. Takagi picks up Dragon Kid, Irish whip attempt but Dragon Kid blocks it.
Knee by Takagi, Irish whip, reversed, but Takagi avoids Dragon Kid’s dropkick and hits a lariat. Cover, but Gamma breaks it up. Tozawa throws Gamma out of the ring, Tozawa picks up Dragon Kid and goes for a suplex but Dragon Kid lands on his feet. Tozawa tries to throw Dragon Kid out of the ring but he lands on the apron, CIMA then comes in the ring and hits the Superdrol. Dragon Kid tags in Gamma while Takagi is also tagged in, Gamma goes off the ropes and both men hit lariats. Irish whip by Gamma but Takagi catches him. Takagi goes for a suplex but Gamma reverses it. Yoshino comes in the ring and goes for a headscissors but Gamma catches him and hits a front suplex. Gamma falls out of the ring, CIMA and Dragon Kid come into the ring and they all hit tope suicidas out of the ring onto their opponents. CIMA and Takagi get back into the ring, Irish whip by cc, reversed, and CIMA hits a sunset flip for a two count. CIMA goes off the ropes but Takagi catches him with a powerslam, cover, but it gets a two count.
Takagi goes off the ropes again but CIMA rolls up Takagi and applies a stretch hold. Yoshino breaks that up, Gamma comes in the ring as well and the two trade chops. Enzigieri by Gamma, Irish whip, but Yoshino dropkicks him when he goes for a leapfrog. Tozawa comes in the ring, Irish whip to Gamma in the corner and they both hit running elbows. Tozawa slams Gamma in front of the corner, CIMA runs in the ring but Tozawa holds him so that Yoshino can hit a dropkick/senton. Takagi then goes up top and hits an elbow drop on Gamma, cover, but he gets a shoulder up. Tozawa stomps Gamma, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but Gamma is up in time. CIMA then comes in the ring, he climbs the top turnbuckle and puts Tozawa on his shoulders. Dragon Kid then from the apron jumps on the top rope and hits a Frankensteiner onto Tozawa. Gamma dropkicks Tozawa, CIMA rolls him up but it gets a two count. Takagi comes in to the ring but Gamma gets rid of him, as CIMA hits a pump handle slam into a gutbuster onto Tozawa. Dragon Kid then comes in the ring with a springboard move which Tozawa ducks, German suplex by Tozawa to Dragon Kid as Takagi and Yoshino join him in the ring.
Takagi hits a running lariat onto Dragon Kid in the corner, then Yoshino hits a running elbow. Tozawa goes last and hits a running elbow as well, Takagi goes for a lariat, Dragon Kid blocks it but Takagi powerbombs him. German suplex hold by Tozawa to Dragon Kid, but it is broken up. Takagi goes off the ropes and levels Dragon Kid with a lariat, cover, but Dragon Kid barely gets a shoulder up. Tozawa picks up Dragon Kid, he traps Dragon Kid’s arms but Dragon Kid breaks free. Tozawa goes off the ropes but Dragon Kid catches him with the Bible for a two count. Dragon Kid goes off the ropes but Tozawa kicks him back onto the apron. Tozawa goes off the ropes but CIMA catches him with a kick. Dragon Kid then comes back in the ring from the apron with the Ultra Hurricanrana, and he picks up the three count! Your winners: CIMA, Dragon Kid, and Gamma
Match Thoughts: A hot finish but the match was a bit bland up to that point. In a Dragon Gate main event I expect more craziness but some chunks of this match were just punches, kicks, and tag outs like I was watching a bad beatdown segment from the 80s. Once they finally got rolling things did get really good, it just took them longer to get there than I was expecting. If the heel beatdown was more entertaining then it may have been different, but as it was I was starting getting antsy before the last five minutes or so of the match. So it ended well, but as a whole it was disappointing in comparison to what I was expecting. Score: 6.0
Final Thoughts:
Best Match: Masaaki Mochizuki vs. T-Hawk. It was a few ticks below being a ‘great’ match but it still was very good. The arm work by Mochizuki was very well done and T-Hawk did a good job selling it. It also held everyone’s attention which sometimes can be hard during a 30 minute draw, it never really slowed down. A bit too many strike exchanges but overall a great effort by both men.
MVP: T-Hawk. I know I should say Mochizuki, but Mochizuki is a very seasoned veteran and I knew what to expect of him. I hadn’t really seen T-Hawk before but he really impressed me with his selling and ability to take pain as Mochizuki’s kicks are not soft. He really stood toe to toe with one of the main players of Dragon Gate and did not seem out of place in any way. A memorable showing by the youngster.
Overall: Definitely some good and some disappointing. The big singles match I can definitely recommend, and the title match was good even if it didn’t really feel like a title match. The main event was disappointing though, I expected more out of a six man DG main event and until the last few minutes it just felt flat. The rest of the matches were generally above average but nothing that will blow you away. So overall it was a solid event, I just wish the main had delivered.
