Date: January 16th, 2014
Location: Tokyo Korakuen Hall
Announced Attendance: 1,850 (Super No Vacancy Full House)
This is a pretty big card for Dragon Gate, as not only does it have an Open the Dream Gate Championship match, but the match is also Mochizuki’s 20th Anniversary Match. The rest of the card is your usual Dragon Gate affair, no outsiders as they tend to only bring in Freelancers on really rare occasions. Here is the full card:
– Don Fujii, Gamma, and Stalker Ichikawa vs. Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!, Kanda, and Kagetora
– Dragon Kid vs. Yosuke Santa Maria
– BxB Hulk, Kzy, and Mondai Ryu vs. K-ness, Super Shisa, and Kenichiro Arai
– 2-Count and 3-Rope Escapes Rules: CIMA and Chihiro Tominaga vs. Kotoka and Ryotsu Shimizu
– Shingo Takagi and Akira Tozawa vs. T-Hawk and U-T
– Susumu, Ryo “Jimmy” Saito, and Mr. Que Que Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin vs. Doi, YAMATO, and Cyber Kong
– Open the Dream Gate Championship: Masato Yoshino vs. Masaaki Mochizuki
Don Fujii, Gamma, and “Hollywood” Stalker Ichikawa vs. Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!, Jimmy Kanda, and Jimmy Kagetora
Ichikawa and Kagetora start things off. Punch by Kagetora, and he hits a Fireman’s Carry Hold for a three count! Your winners: Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!, Jimmy Kanda, and Jimmy Kagetora
They decide this match was too quick as Ichikawa asks for the match to re-start. So they do, Kagetora quickly goes for the same move again but this time Ichikawa kicks out. Kagetora charges Ichikawa in the corner but Ichikawa moves and hits a tornado DDT. Fujii and Kanda come in the ring and trade chops, Fujii pushes Kagetora to the ropes and lariats him over it. Ichikawa and Gamma get in the ring and sail out of the ring with tope suicidas onto Kagetora and Kanda. Horiguchi gets in the ring but Fujii side-steps his attack attempt. Gamma gets back in the ring, double Irish whip to Horiguchi and Gamma hits a back elbow. Superkick by Gamma to Horiguchi, Ichikawa hits a German suplex hold on him but it gets a two count. Kagetora picks up Ichikawa and drops him with a front slam, cover, but it is broken up. Horiguchi picks up Ichikawa now and hits a brainbuster, Kagetora goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving elbow drop, cover, but it only gets a two count. Kanda comes in the ring and elbows hits Ichikawa in the back, he goes off the ropes but Gamma hits him from the apron. Gamma then gets in the ring but Kanda catches him with an atomic drop. Gamma charges Kanda but Kanda hits a lariat. Gamma rolls out of the ring, Fujii comes in the ring and hits a German suplex onto Kanda. Ichikawa then comes in and goes for a suplex, but Kanda reverses it and hits a German suplex hold for the three count! Your winners again: Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!, Jimmy Kanda, and Jimmy Kagetora
Match Thoughts: Just a silly Dragon Gate opener, nothing more. A bit of a waste of some of these wrestlers but with Dragon Gate ya gotta take the good with the bad. Score: 2.5
Dragon Kid vs. Yosuke Santa Maria
Dragon Kid and Yosuke circle each other to start, kick by Dragon Kid, Irish whip by Yosuke but Dragon Kid kicks Yosuke in the stomach. Irish whip by Dragon Kid, Dragon Kid pancakes but Yosuke pancakes next to him and gives Dragon Kid a dreamy look. Club to the back by Yosuke, Irish whip, and Dragon Kid hits a spinning headscissors. Yosuke goes out to the apron, Dragon Kid goes for a 619 but Yosuke catches his legs and goes for a kiss. Dragon Kid quickly gets away and bails to ringside while Yosuke waits in the ring for him. Dragon Kid gets back in the ring, punches to the back by Yosuke, Irish whip, and Yosuke elbows Dragon Kid in the chest. Cover by Yosuke but it gets a two count. Back up, Yosuke charges Dragon Kid but Dragon Kid moves and Yosuke goes face-first into the corner. Dropkick by Dragon Kid and he hits a running dropkick to a seated Yosuke. Over, but it gets a two count.
Snapmare by Dragon Kid, he goes off the ropes and hits a jumping kneedrop. Dragon Kid goes for a handstand kneedrop but Yosuke sneaks in a kiss, naturally making Dragon Kid lose his concentration and fall over. Yosuke throws Dragon Kid into the ropes and goes for the Tiger Feint Kick, but Yosuke ducks it. Dragon Kid goes off the ropes and hits a tilt-a-whirl DDT. Cover, but it gets a two count. Dragon Kid goes out to the apron but Yosuke recovers and bear hugs him from behind. Dragon Kid elbows out of it, Dragon Kid goes for the Ultra Hurricanrana but Yosuke ducks it. Jumping back kick by Yosuke and he hits a leg lariat, cover, but it gets a two count. Yosuke waits for Dragon Kid to get up and goes for a kiss, Dragon Kid blocks it, kick by Yosuke and he goes off the ropes, and he is able to kiss Dragon Kid for a two count cover. Roll-up by Yosuke, but it gets another two count. Yosuke charges Dragon Kid but Dragon Kid hits the Bible for the three count. Your winner: Dragon Kid
Match Thoughts: I gotta admit, Yosuke does make me laugh. Something about his mannerisms are so realistic and yet over the top, it cracks me up. That being said I don’t really like when selling the persona comes across as more important than winning matches, which in theory is what they should all be going for. So I will give it marks for being funny but it wasn’t really a match in the traditional sense of the word. Score: 6.0
BxB Hulk, Kzy, and Mondai Ryu vs. K-ness, Super Shisa, and Kenichiro Arai
Hulk and company attack their opponents before the bell rings, and they start a brawl. They take it outside of the ring and beat on their opponents with a variety of weapons. Ryu slides Shisa back into the ring and celebrates. Double axe handle by Ryu, Irish whip, reversed, and Ryu grabs Shisa but Shisa shoves him off. Ryu goes off the ropes, drop toehold by Shisa and he applies a leg lock while messing with Ryu’s mask. Mexican Surfboard by Shisa but Hulk breaks it up. K-ness comes in the ring, double Irish whip to K-ness and he is hit with a double leg drop. Hulk and Kzy irish whip K-ness but he hits a headscissors/DDT combination and makes the tag to Arai. Arai goes off the ropes and hits Kzy, but Kzy doesn’t go down. Two more times has the same effect, Kzy and Arai jaw a bit, Kzy goes off the ropes but Arai hits a drop toehold. Arai picks up Kzy but Kzy grabs him by the nuts and pushes him into the corner. Ryu comes in the ring for Kzy, snapmare by Ryu and he blatantly chokes Arai. Cover by Ryu but it gets a two count. Ryu chokes Arai on the second rope, he goes off the ropes and jumps down onto Arai. Hulk hits Arai from the floor before coming into the ring. Stomp by Hulk, he picks up Arai and kicks him in the leg. High kick by Hulk and he applies a cobra clutch. Capture suplex by Hulk, cover, but Shisa breaks it up. Hulk grabs Arai and hits a scoop slam, Kzy then comes in the ring with a somersault slingshot elbow drop. Cover, but it gets two. Kzy picks up Arai, double Irish whip with Ryu and they hit a strike combination onto Arai. Hulk finishes things off by stomping Arai on the head. Kick combination by Hulk to Arai and he hits a jumping kick, Irish whip by Hulk, reversed, and Arai kicks Hulk to the mat.
Arai tags in Shisa, Shisa knocks down Hulk, Irish whip to Kzy and Shisa elbows Kzy out of the ring. Shisa then goes to the ropes and hits a backwards slingshot headscissors out to the floor onto Kzy. Ryu and K-ness are in the ring, atomic drop by Ryu and he hits a jumping lariat. Cover, but it gets a two count. Ryu waits for K-ness to get up but K-ness reverses the waistlock and K-ness hits an enzigieri. Irish whip by K-ness to the corner and he hits a jumping elbow followed by a face crusher. Cover, but it gets a two count. Shisa comes in the ring as does Arai, Irish whip to Ryu from the corner and they hit elbow strikes followed by a Shisa reverse splash. K-ness then helps Arai hit a diving doublestomp, cover, but it gets a two count. Kick to the head by K-ness to Ryu, cover, but it gets another two count. Shisa uppercuts Kzy into the corner, Irish whip, but Kzy kicks Shisa back. Kzy goes up to the top turnbuckle but Shisa catches him with a headscissors. Hulk runs in and kicks Shisa low, and Hulk and Kzy both hit strikes on Shisa in the corner. Side slam by Hulk to Shisa, and he hits an assisted face crusher. Cover, but Shisa barely kicks out. Hulk picks up Shisa, Kzy goes up to the top turnbuckle but K-ness grabs him from the apron. Kzy pushes away K-ness but Shisa hits a headscissors on Kzy while he is still on the top turnbuckle. Uppercut by Shisa to Kzy, he goes off the ropes and they trade moves until K-ness runs in out of nowhere and hits the Hiraki no Wa on K-ness for a two count when Hulk breaks it up. Hulk goes off the ropes but K-ness catches him with a kick. K-ness goes off the ropes but Ryu kicks him from the apron. Kzy gets a metal box and hits K-ness and then Shisa with it, he goes to hit Shisa again but Arai hits an uppercut onto Kzy. Arai sails out onto Ryu and Hulk with a tope suicida, while in the ring Shisa hits the Yoshi Tonic onto Kzy. Cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winners: K-ness, Super Shisa, and Kenichiro Arai
Match Thoughts: Not a bad match, but pretty average for six man Dragon Gate matches. I will always have a soft spot for K-ness since he was one of the first Dragon Gate wrestlers I ever saw and I like wrestlers in masks (at least I am honest). They kept the pace up as you’d expect and they worked together well, it just didn’t do anything to set it apart from any other mid-card Dragon Gate match. Solid, but not spectacular. Score: 5.5
CIMA and Chihiro Tominaga vs. Kotoka and Ryotsu Shimizu
This match has 2-Count and 3-Rope Escapes Rules. Shimizu and CIMA start things off. Tie-up, Shimizu pushes CIMA into the ropes and he gives a clean break. Tie-up again, wristlock by CIMA and he applies a side headlock, Shimizu Irish whips out of it and they collide with no result. Dropkick by CIMA but Shimizu shoulderblocks him down for a one count. CIMA applies a stretch submission hold by Shimizu gets a foot on the ropes. This uses one of his team’s rope escapes. Shimizu tags in Kotoka, and CIMA tags in Tominaga. Kotoka and Tominaga trade elbows, chop by Kotoka, Irish whip, and Kotoka rolls up Tominaga for a one count. Two more roll-ups by Kotoka but Tominaga applies a triangle choke. Kotoka has to use a rope break to break the hold, leading to his team losing another rope break. Tominaga and CIMA Irish whip Kotoka and hit a double dropkick, cover, but Kotoka kicks out in time. CIMA puts Kotoka in an arm submission hold but Shimizu breaks it up. Tominaga kicks Kotoka and clubs him in the back. Vertical suplex by Tominaga, cover, but Kotoka kicks out at one. Tominaga picks up Kotoka and throws him into the corner before kicking him in the back. Irish whip by Tominaga but Kotoka moves when Tominaga charges in. Kotoka flips himself up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Both wrestlers tag out, Shimizu pushes CIMA into the corner and hits a running splash. Irish whip, and Shimizu knocks CIMA out of the ring. Kotoka then sails out onto CIMA with a tope suicida, while in the ring Shimizu grabs Tominaga. Double Irish whip to Tominaga and Shimizu hits a powerbomb. Shimizu picks up Tominaga and gives him the Giant Swing. Crab hold by Shimizu but Tominaga gets to the ropes, costing his team a rope escape. Irish whip by Shimizu to Tominaga but Tominaga goes for an STO. Shimizu elbows out of it, Kotoka comes in to kick Tominaga but Tominaga ducks and Kotoka kicks Shimizu by accident. Tominaga goes off the ropes but Tominaga hits chokeslam. Cover, but CIMA breaks it up at one. Kotoka and Shimizu throw CIMA into the corner, Kotoka hits a running strike to CIMA but when Shimizu charges in, CIMA pulls Kotoka in front of him so that Kotoka gets hit. Tominaga puts Kotoka in a cross armbreaker and he submits. Your winners: CIMA and Chihiro Tominaga
Match Thoughts: I will be honest, I think these rules are a bit silly. The two count rule just makes the moves have less significance… if wrestlers can always kick out at one, why in normal matches do they always kick out at two? Then the ending didn’t really have any relation to the rules since either way Kotoka wasn’t going to be able to make it to the ropes since he was near the middle of the ring. The action really wasn’t bad, but it was short and the match rules didn’t enhance the match for me. Score: 4.0
Shingo Takagi and Akira Tozawa vs. T-Hawk and U-T
U-T and Tozawa start things off. They circle each other to start, takedown by U-T and he goes off the ropes and hits an armdrag. Another armdrag by U-T and he kicks Tozawa out of the ring. U-T goes off the ropes to do a dive but flips himself back into the ring. Tozawa tags in Takagi while T-Hawk is tagged in, and Takagi and T-Hawk run into each other. Kick to the stomach by Takagi, Irish whip by T-Hawk and they collide with no result. T-Hawk goes off the ropes and gets the same result, elbows by Takagi but T-Hawk chops him. Irish whip by T-Hawk, reversed, and Takagi hits a lariat. U-T comes in the ring and clubs Takagi in the back but Takagi shrugs it off. Elbows by U-T, kick to the stomach but Takagi hits a backdrop suplex. Takagi picks up U-T and hits a scoop slam before tagging in Tozawa. Tozawa picks up U-T, double Irish whip and he is hit by a double elbow. Takagi slams Tozawa onto U-T and then hits a senton. Senton by Tozawa, cover, but it gets a two count. Tozawa kicks U-T in the back and chops him in the chest, U-T returns fire and they trade chops. Tozawa gets the better of it and then punches T-Hawk out of the ring. Tozawa picks up U-T and slams him into Takagi’s boot before tagging in Takagi. Takagi kicks U-T in the corner and he hits a vertical suplex. Cover by Takagi, but it gets a two count. Takagi picks up U-T, U-T fights back but Takagi hits a hard elbow. Takagi picks up U-T and makes the tag to Tozawa. Club to the back by Tozawa, double Irish whip to the corner and Takagi puts U-T on his shoulders while Tozawa hits a springboard crossbody. Cover by Takagi but it gets a two count. Takagi knees U-T against the ropes and stomps on his stomach with both feet. Takagi knocks T-Hawk off the apron and waits for U-T to get up, knees by Takagi against the ropes as U-T tries to fight back. Irish whip by Takagi, U-T goes for a sunset flip but Takagi blocks it. Takagi charges U-T in the corner but U-T kicks him back. Takagi goes off the ropes but U-T catches him with a hurricanrana and makes the tag to T-Hawk.
Chops by T-Hawk to Takagi and Tozawa, he goes to slam Takagi but Takagi blocks it. T-Hawk hits a jumping shoulderblock onto Tozawa, kick by Takagi but T-Hawk delivers a vertical suplex. T-Hawk grabs Tozawa, Irish whip from the corner, reversed, T-Hawk kicks Tozawa back and goes off the ropes but T-Hawk hits a chop to the chest. Tozawa gets back up but T-Hawk ducks a kick. Tozawa goes off the ropes but T-Hawk throws Tozawa in the air and hits a knee to the face. Spinning slam by T-Hawk, cover, but Takagi breaks it up. U-T comes in, he throws Takagi into the corner, reversed, Takagi gets kicked back and U-T hits a missile dropkick off the top turnbuckle. U-T drop toeholds Takagi into the turnbuckles, he goes off the ropes and hits a cutter. T-Hawk comes in the ring, double Irish whip to Takagi to the corner and both wrestlers hit running strikes. T-Hawk grabs Takagi but Takagi hits a back bodydrop. Takagi goes off the ropes and hits an elbow but T-Hawk returns with a chop. U-T hits a missile dropkick from the top turnbuckle, T-Hawk picks up Takagi and hits a sit-down powerbomb. Cover, but it gets a two count. Tozawa comes in the ring and trades elbows with U-T, Irish whip by U-T to the corner but U-T kicks Tozawa back. U-T goes up to the top turnbuckle but Tozawa quickly joins him up there and hits a superplex. Running boot by Tozawa in the corner and he hits a backdrop suplex to U-T. Cover, but it gets a two count. Double Irish whip to U-T, Takagi gets U-T into his back and hits the Blood Fall. German suplex hold by Tozawa, cover, but it gets a two count. T-Hawk comes in the ring, he goes off the ropes but Tozawa elbows him out of the ring and sails out onto him with a tope suicida. Takagi charges U-T in the corner and hits a running lariat. He goes for a slam but U-T reverses it and rolls up Takagi for a two count. U-T goes off the ropes but Takagi catches him with a German suplex. Takagi goes off the ropes and nails a running lariat, cover, but it gets a two count. Takagi goes off the ropes again and hits the Pumping Bomber, cover, and he gets the three count. Your winners: Shingo Takagi and Akira Tozawa
Match Thoughts: Some parts of the match I quite enjoyed but others were a bit lacking. I liked that Takagi was the muscle that the two younger wrestlers tried to take down, and occasionally did but ultimately were not able to defeat. It was a solid arch to have throughout the match and it made sense that the young team would want to take down one of the more respected names in Dragon Gate. The loose tag rules do get in the way sometimes though, as when they finally got the advantage on Takagi and had him weakened, suddenly Tozawa came in the ring and just took over his battle. No fight for a tag, no desperate escape, nothing. So it was just a bit anticlimactic and hurt the flow of the match. Overall it was fun to watch though. Score: 6.0
Susumu, Ryo “Jimmy” Saito, and Naoki Tanizaki vs. Doi, YAMATO, and Cyber Kong
They brawl to start the match, taking it outside of the ring and up into the aisle. Doi throws Susumu into the crowd while YAMATO is paired up with Tanizaki. Cyber Kong and Susumu get into the ring, stomps by Cyber Kong and Doi comes in as well. Double Irish whip to Susumu and they hit a double elbow. Susumu rolls out of the ring, Saito comes in, Irish whip by Cyber Kong to Saito and they collide with neither man going down. They trade a few more times until Saito is able to hit a hurricanrana. Saito pushes Cyber Kong against the ropes but Cyber Kong hits a shoulderblock. Cyber Kong tags in YAMATO as Tanizaki is tagged in, side headlock by YAMATO to Tanizaki and he applies a wristlock. Irish whip by YAMATO, reversed, but YAMATO avoids the Tanizaki dropkick. Irish whip by YAMATO but this time Tanizaki avoids the dropkick. Jumping lariat by Tanizaki, he picks up YAMATO and slams him into his knee. Doi comes in the ring but he gets the same treatment, Cyber Kong comes in and Tanizaki goes for a Leg Sweep but Cyber Kong blocks it. Susumu comes in to help and they hit the Side Russian Leg Sweep together, cover, but Cyber Kong kicks out.
YAMATO comes in the ring, kick by Susumu to YAMATO, Irish whip, and Susumu knees YAMATO in the stomach. Double stomp by Susumu as Saito comes in the ring, Susumu picks up YAMATO, snapmare, and Saito stands on YAMATO’s stomach with Susumu on his shoulders. Tanizaki comes into the ring and stomps YAMATO, but YAMATO chops him back. They trade chops and then elbows, waistlock by YAMATO, reversed by Tanizaki but YAMATO hits a low blow. Doi and Cyber Kong come into the ring, kicks by Cyber Kong to Tanizaki and he rubs Tanizaki’s face against the top rope. Cyber Kong goes off the ropes and hits a body press, cover, but it gets a two count. Cyber Kong picks up Tanizaki, Irish whip, and Cyber Kong hits a press slam into a cutter. Cover, but Tanizaki kicks out at two. Cyber Kong kicks Tanizaki as Tanizaki gets up and they trade blows, Cyber Kong goes for a powerbomb but Tanizaki reverses it into a roll-up for a two count. Tanizaki goes off the ropes but YAMATO kicks him from the apron. Cyber Kong grabs Tanizaki, Tanizaki goes down his back, Cyber Kong throws Tanizaki into the corner but Tanizaki avoids the charge.
Tanizaki goes for a scoop slam onto Cyber Kong and finally is able to hit it. Tanizaki tags in Saito, YAMATO comes in as well, waistlock by Saito to YAMATO and then Susumu runs in the ring and does a sunset flip onto Saito, helping Saito suplex YAMATO. Doi comes in the ring, he goes off the ropes but Saito grabs him around the waist and Susumu hits a lariat. Tanizaki comes in the ring, he goes off the ropes and hits a tope con giro down onto Cyber Kong. Susumu and YAMATO are in the ring, and Susumu hits a running elbow on YAMATO in the corner. YAMATO elbows him back and goes off the ropes but Susumu catches him with a lariat. YAMATO doesn’t go down and the two trade chops and elbows, Susumu goes off the ropes but YAMATO blocks the lariat and throws Susumu into the corner. Dropkick by YAMATO, he goes off the ropes and hits a hard elbow. YAMATO goes off the ropes again but Susumu fires back with a lariat, cover, but Doi breaks it up. Doi stays in the ring as Saito comes in, Saito picks up Doi and goes off the ropes, elbow by Doi but Saito hits an overhead belly to belly suplex. YAMATO, Cyber Kong, Tanizaki, and Susumu all come into the ring, triple Irish whip by Cyber Kong and company, reversed, and all are drop toeholded. I know that isn’t a word. YAMATO and Cyber Kong get the better of things and they all hit strikes onto Saito. Powerbomb by Cyber Kong, cover, but Susumu breaks it up.
Doi goes up to the top turnbuckle but Susumu joins him, and Susumu hits the Spanish Fly. Running kick by Tanizaki, Saito comes off the top turnbuckle with a body press onto Doi, cover, but Doi kicks out. Tanizaki picks up Doi but Doi wiggles away. YAMATO runs in the ring and dropkicks Tanizaki, Cyber Kong comes in the ring too and all three men hit strikes on Tanizaki in the corner. Pump-handle slam by YAMATO to Tanizaki and Doi hits a diving elbow drop. Cyber Kong goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving elbow drop as well, cover, but Saito breaks it up. Saito hits Cyber Kong but Cyber Kong hits a splash followed by a lariat. Susumu comes in next to battle Cyber Kong, lariat by Susumu but Cyber Kong hits the Cyber Driver. Cover by Cyber Kong but it gets a two count. Doi runs in the ring and hits the Doi 555 on Susumu followed by the Bakatare Sliding Kick. Cover by Doi but Tanizaki breaks it up. Doi picks up Susumu, Susumu gets away and goes off the ropes but he is hit from the floor. Kanda runs in the ring and grabs the yellow box, and he hits Doi in the head with it. Susumu then goes off the ropes and drops Doi with the Jumbo no Kachi!gatame for the three count! Your winners: Jimmy Susumu, Ryo “Jimmy” Saito, and Naoki Tanizaki
Match Thoughts: Dragon Gate matches can be so spastic. On one hand, it is exciting and fast paced, and there is literally no down time. But on the other hand I don’t like the way they handle transitions, it kills a lot of suspense for me when a wrestler can just run in and replace their partner just about whenever they want to. A wrestler can hit a few big moves but it means nothing when their opponents can switch out at will without a tag, it really just becomes a “who can hit the biggest move last” contest. So for excitement they get an A, it is more the structure that takes me out of it a bit. Score: 6.5
(c) Masato Yoshino vs. Masaaki Mochizuki
This match is for the Open the Dream Gate Championship. Mochizuki offers his hand to start and Yoshino shakes it. Tie-up, Mochizuki pushes Yoshino into the ropes and he slaps Yoshino in the chest before backing off. Yoshino chops him back and they trade blows, Irish whip by Yoshino, reversed, and Yoshino dropkicks Mochizuki out of the ring. Yoshino gets a running start but Mochizuki kicks him in the head as he is set to dive through. Mochizuki pulls Yoshino out of the ring, he then goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a plancha down onto Yoshino. Mochizuki picks up Yoshino and slams his arm into the ring post. Kick to the arm by Mochizuki and he gets back into the ring. Yoshino comes back in as well after a moment, kick to the stomach by Mochizuki and he elbows Yoshino in the arm. Armbreaker by Mochizuki, he throws Yoshino into the corner and gives him the facewash before kicking Yoshino in the arm. Mochizuki picks up Yoshino and goes for a cross armbreaker, but Yoshino blocks it. Mochizuki finally gets it applied but Yoshino quickly gets a foot on the bottom rope. Mochizuki picks up Yoshino and hits an armbreaker, he pushes Yoshino into the ropes and gets a running start, but Yoshino moves out of the way of the big boot. Yoshino charges Mochizuki but Mochizuki back bodydrops him out onto the apron. Mochizuki goes off the side ropes and hits a springboard kick, he goes off the ropes but Yoshino pulls the rope down and Mochizuki spills out of the ring.
Yoshino then goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a moonsault down onto Mochizuki on the floor. Yoshino rolls Mochizuki back into the ring and gets in as well, kick to the arm by Yoshino and he dropkicks Mochizuki in the arm. Running dropkick to the arm by Yoshino and he hits a second one. Punch to the arm by Yoshino, he picks up Mochizuki and applies an arm wringer. Yoshino slams Mochizuki’s arm into the mat, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and jumps down onto Mochizuki’s arm. Hammerlock by Yoshino and he rolls Mochizuki onto the mat, using his leg for extra leverage. Kick to the arm by Yoshino but Mochizuki kicks him back. Irish whip by Mochizuki from the corner, reversed, but Mochizuki kicks Yoshino when he charges in. Running big boot by Mochizuki, Mochizuki goes off the ropes and kicks Yoshino in the chest. Another kick to the chest by Mochizuki, he goes off the ropes and delivers a jumping kick to the face. Mochizuki picks up Yoshino but Yoshino hits a Twister. Yoshino picks up Mochizuki, chops by Mochizuki but Yoshino returns fire. Kick to the stomach by Mochizuki and he goes off the ropes, but Yoshino catches him with an overhead belly to back suplex. Yoshino goes off the ropes but Mochizuki kicks him in the chest.
Yoshino grabs Mochizuki and hits the Lightning Spiral, but Mochizuki springs up and kicks Yoshino in the chest. Two more kicks to the head by Mochizuki, he picks up Yoshino and he goes for a Twister, but Yoshino lands on his feet. Running boot to the face by Mochizuki, he goes off the ropes and hits a second one by Yoshino is not phased. Another running kick by Mochizuki but Yoshino comes back with the Udo Yoshino. Kick to the chest by Mochizuki as they trade moves, knee by Mochizuki and he nails the Twister. Cover by Mochizuki, but it gets a two count. Mochizuki goes up to the top turnbuckle but Yoshino catches him and hits a springboard slam off the top rope. Yoshino is up first, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but Mochizuki avoids his attack, Mochizuki goes off the ropes but Yoshino hits a Torbellino. Lightning Spiral by Yoshino, cover, but it gets a two count. Yoshino waits for Mochizuki to get up but Mochizuki kicks him in the chest. Chop by Yoshino and he goes off the ropes, hitting another Udo Yoshino. Sol Naciente by Yoshino but Mochizuki makes it to the ropes. Yoshino puts Mochizuki onto the top turnbuckle and goes up top as well, but Mochizuki hits a superplex. High kick by Mochizuki and he hits a second one, but Yoshino hits the Udo Yoshino. Mochizuki rolls up Yoshino but it only gets a two count. Mochizuki charges Yoshino in the corner but Yoshino catches him and hits a powerbomb. Triangle choke by Mochizuki but Yoshino powerbombs out of it. Yoshino and Mochizuki both get up, Yoshino goes off the ropes but Mochizuki hits a trio of kicks. One final high kick by Mochizuki, cover, but Yoshino gets a shoulder up. Mochizuki waits for Yoshino to get up and runs to the corner, but Yoshino grabs him. German suplex by Mochizuki but Yoshino lands on his feet, high kick by Mochizuki, he runs up the corner and nails the Shankakugeri to the Face. Mochizuki covers Yoshino, but Yoshino kicks out.
Mochizuki picks up Yoshino, kicks to the chest by Mochizuki and they trade slams. Mochizuki goes off the ropes but Yoshino catches him with a lariat. Yoshino goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Yoshino goes up to the top turnbuckle again and hits a second missile dropkick to Mochizuki’s back. Yoshino picks up Mochizuki and puts him up on the top turnbuckle, he goes up top as well and hits an avalanche Lightning Spiral. Cover, but Mochizuki kicks out. Yoshino grabs Mochizuki and puts him in the Sol Naciente, he tries to kick Yoshino to get out of it but Yoshino reverts it into the Sol Naciente Kai. Completely trapped, Mochizuki has no choice but to submit. Your winner and still champion: Masato Yoshino
Match Thoughts: I thought this was a really good match, bordering on great except for some minor issues here and there. The arm work for the first third of the match was well done, but ultimately meaningless as it did not prevent any moves from being done nor did it really play into the end of the match. Old timers like Ultimo Dragon were always good at occasionally shaking the arm or having issues with a move to show the damage done but there was little effort here to do that. Yoshino tried his best to kill off a few of his biggest moves but not his big match finishers so it didn’t come across as burying them, although Yoshino has enough moves he didn’t need to keep doing the Lightning Spirals. The match was definitely exciting though and fast paced, no real downtime and the crowd really stayed into it. Mochizuki was a legitimate threat and was up to the challenge so it never felt like a lopsided match. Overall I enjoyed it, it was fun to watch even if it was a bit overkill at the end, I tend to be more forgiving of that in big main event title matches than I am in average mid-card matches. Definitely worth the watch. Score: 7.5
Final Thoughts:
Best Match: Masato Yoshino vs. Masaaki Mochizuki. It wasn’t perfect but it was an exciting fast paced match that had a lot of killer moves and a decisive ending. About all you can ask for from a Dragon Gate main event match, my favorite match from the promotion so far this year.
MVP: Masaaki Mochizuki. No one wrestler really set themselves apart since a lot of them looked good, but since it was Mochizuki’s Anniversary Match and he looked really good in the title match I figured he deserved the nod. Even at his age he never looked tired or winded even after a long fast paced match, which I give him a lot of credit for, and he hit all of his moves flawlessly. Good showing by one of the original guard of Dragon Gate.
Overall: This event was very…. Dragon Gate-y. I don’t know if that is a word, but what I mean is that it was about what you’d expect from the promotion – lots of fast paced action, crazy moves, and occasional overkill. Personally, I enjoy those types of matches in small doses spread throughout the card, and not the entire card, which is the reason in the past I didn’t really review full Dragon Gate events. Just not enough diversity for me. But if you aren’t overly concerned about things like ‘ring psychology’ and just want to relax to some crazy non-stop action, then I would definitely recommend it, but for other fans it may just all blend together into one big crazy blur of madness.
