{"id":6026,"date":"2014-02-25T12:45:43","date_gmt":"2014-02-25T17:45:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/?p=6026"},"modified":"2014-02-25T12:45:43","modified_gmt":"2014-02-25T17:45:43","slug":"fighting-spirit-review-dragon-gate-open-the-new-year-gate-on-11614","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/reviews\/fighting-spirit-review-dragon-gate-open-the-new-year-gate-on-11614\/","title":{"rendered":"Fighting Spirit Review: Dragon Gate “Open the New Year Gate” on 1\/16\/14"},"content":{"rendered":"

Date: January 16th, 2014
\nLocation:\u00a0 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
\nAnnounced Attendance: 1,850 (Super No Vacancy Full House)<\/strong><\/p>\n

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:<\/p>\n

– Don Fujii, Gamma, and Stalker Ichikawa vs. Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!, Kanda, and Kagetora
\n– Dragon Kid vs. Yosuke Santa Maria
\n– BxB Hulk, Kzy, and Mondai Ryu vs. K-ness, Super Shisa, and Kenichiro Arai
\n– 2-Count and 3-Rope Escapes Rules: CIMA and Chihiro Tominaga vs. Kotoka and Ryotsu Shimizu
\n– Shingo Takagi and Akira Tozawa vs. T-Hawk and U-T
\n– Susumu, Ryo “Jimmy” Saito, and Mr. Que Que Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin vs. Doi, YAMATO, and Cyber Kong
\n–\u00a0Open the Dream Gate Championship:\u00a0<\/em>Masato Yoshino vs. Masaaki Mochizuki<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don Fujii, Gamma, and “Hollywood” Stalker Ichikawa vs. Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!, Jimmy Kanda, and Jimmy Kagetora<\/strong><\/h4>\n

<\/strong>Ichikawa and Kagetora start things off.\u00a0 Punch by Kagetora, and he hits a Fireman\u2019s Carry Hold for a three count!\u00a0 Your winners: Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!, Jimmy Kanda, and Jimmy Kagetora<\/p>\n

They decide this match was too quick as Ichikawa asks for the match to re-start.\u00a0 So they do, Kagetora quickly goes for the same move again but this time Ichikawa kicks out.\u00a0 Kagetora charges Ichikawa in the corner but Ichikawa moves and hits a tornado DDT.\u00a0 Fujii and Kanda come in the ring and trade chops, Fujii pushes Kagetora to the ropes and lariats him over it.\u00a0 Ichikawa and Gamma get in the ring and sail out of the ring with tope suicidas onto Kagetora and Kanda.\u00a0 Horiguchi gets in the ring but Fujii side-steps his attack attempt.\u00a0 Gamma gets back in the ring, double Irish whip to Horiguchi and Gamma hits a back elbow.\u00a0 Superkick by Gamma to Horiguchi, Ichikawa hits a German suplex hold on him but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Kagetora picks up Ichikawa and drops him with a front slam, cover, but it is broken up.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Kanda comes in the ring and elbows hits Ichikawa in the back, he goes off the ropes but Gamma hits him from the apron.\u00a0 Gamma then gets in the ring but Kanda catches him with an atomic drop.\u00a0 Gamma charges Kanda but Kanda hits a lariat.\u00a0 Gamma rolls out of the ring, Fujii comes in the ring and hits a German suplex onto Kanda.\u00a0 Ichikawa then comes in and goes for a suplex, but Kanda reverses it and hits a German suplex hold for the three count!\u00a0 Your winners again:\u00a0\u00a0 Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!, Jimmy Kanda, and Jimmy Kagetora<\/p>\n

Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0 Just a silly Dragon Gate opener, nothing more.\u00a0 A bit of a waste of some of these wrestlers but with Dragon Gate ya gotta take the good with the bad.\u00a0\u00a0Score:\u00a0 2.5<\/span><\/p>\n

Dragon Kid vs. Yosuke Santa Maria<\/strong><\/h4>\n

<\/strong>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.\u00a0 Irish whip by Dragon Kid, Dragon Kid pancakes but Yosuke pancakes next to him and gives Dragon Kid a dreamy look.\u00a0 Club to the back by Yosuke, Irish whip, and Dragon Kid hits a spinning headscissors.\u00a0 Yosuke goes out to the apron, Dragon Kid goes for a 619 but Yosuke catches his legs and goes for a kiss.\u00a0 Dragon Kid quickly gets away and bails to ringside while Yosuke waits in the ring for him.\u00a0 Dragon Kid gets back in the ring, punches to the back by Yosuke, Irish whip, and Yosuke elbows Dragon Kid in the chest.\u00a0 Cover by Yosuke but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Back up, Yosuke charges Dragon Kid but Dragon Kid moves and Yosuke goes face-first into the corner.\u00a0 Dropkick by Dragon Kid and he hits a running dropkick to a seated Yosuke.\u00a0 Over, but it gets a two count.<\/p>\n

Snapmare by Dragon Kid, he goes off the ropes and hits a jumping kneedrop.\u00a0 Dragon Kid goes for a handstand kneedrop but Yosuke sneaks in a kiss, naturally making Dragon Kid lose his concentration and fall over.\u00a0 Yosuke throws Dragon Kid into the ropes and goes for the Tiger Feint Kick, but Yosuke ducks it.\u00a0 Dragon Kid goes off the ropes and hits a tilt-a-whirl DDT.\u00a0 Cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Dragon Kid goes out to the apron but Yosuke recovers and bear hugs him from behind.\u00a0 Dragon Kid elbows out of it, Dragon Kid goes for the Ultra Hurricanrana but Yosuke ducks it.\u00a0 Jumping back kick by Yosuke and he hits a leg lariat, cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Roll-up by Yosuke, but it gets another two count.\u00a0 Yosuke charges Dragon Kid but Dragon Kid hits the Bible for the three count.\u00a0 Your winner:\u00a0 Dragon Kid<\/p>\n

Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0 I gotta admit, Yosuke does make me laugh.\u00a0 Something about his mannerisms are so realistic and yet over the top, it cracks me up.\u00a0 That being said I don\u2019t 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.\u00a0 So I will give it marks for being funny but it wasn\u2019t really a match in the traditional sense of the word.\u00a0\u00a0Score:\u00a0 6.0<\/span><\/p>\n

BxB Hulk, Kzy, and Mondai Ryu vs. K-ness, Super Shisa, and Kenichiro Arai<\/strong><\/h4>\n

<\/strong>Hulk and company attack their opponents before the bell rings, and they start a brawl.\u00a0 They take it outside of the ring and beat on their opponents with a variety of weapons.\u00a0 Ryu slides Shisa back into the ring and celebrates.\u00a0 Double axe handle by Ryu, Irish whip, reversed, and Ryu grabs Shisa but Shisa shoves him off.\u00a0 Ryu goes off the ropes, drop toehold by Shisa and he applies a leg lock while messing with Ryu\u2019s mask.\u00a0 Mexican Surfboard by Shisa but Hulk breaks it up.\u00a0 K-ness comes in the ring, double Irish whip to K-ness and he is hit with a double leg drop.\u00a0 Hulk and Kzy irish whip K-ness but he hits a headscissors\/DDT combination and makes the tag to Arai.\u00a0\u00a0 Arai goes off the ropes and hits Kzy, but Kzy doesn\u2019t go down.\u00a0 Two more times has the same effect, Kzy and Arai jaw a bit, Kzy goes off the ropes but Arai hits a drop toehold.\u00a0 Arai picks up Kzy but Kzy grabs him by the nuts and pushes him into the corner.\u00a0 Ryu comes in the ring for Kzy, snapmare by Ryu and he blatantly chokes Arai.\u00a0 Cover by Ryu but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Ryu chokes Arai on the second rope, he goes off the ropes and jumps down onto Arai.\u00a0 Hulk hits Arai from the floor before coming into the ring.\u00a0 Stomp by Hulk, he picks up Arai and kicks him in the leg.\u00a0 High kick by Hulk and he applies a cobra clutch.\u00a0 Capture suplex by Hulk, cover, but Shisa breaks it up.\u00a0 Hulk grabs Arai and hits a scoop slam, Kzy then comes in the ring with a somersault slingshot elbow drop.\u00a0 Cover, but it gets two. \u00a0Kzy picks up Arai, double Irish whip with Ryu and they hit a strike combination onto Arai.\u00a0 Hulk finishes things off by stomping Arai on the head.\u00a0 Kick combination by Hulk to Arai and he hits a jumping kick, Irish whip by Hulk, reversed, and Arai kicks Hulk to the mat.<\/p>\n

Arai tags in Shisa, Shisa knocks down Hulk, Irish whip to Kzy and Shisa elbows Kzy out of the ring.\u00a0 Shisa then goes to the ropes and hits a backwards slingshot headscissors out to the floor onto Kzy.\u00a0 Ryu and K-ness are in the ring, atomic drop by Ryu and he hits a jumping lariat.\u00a0 Cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Ryu waits for K-ness to get up but K-ness reverses the waistlock and K-ness hits an enzigieri.\u00a0 Irish whip by K-ness to the corner and he hits a jumping elbow followed by a face crusher.\u00a0 Cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 K-ness then helps Arai hit a diving doublestomp, cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Kick to the head by K-ness to Ryu, cover, but it gets another two count.\u00a0 Shisa uppercuts Kzy into the corner, Irish whip, but Kzy kicks Shisa back.\u00a0 Kzy goes up to the top turnbuckle but Shisa catches him with a headscissors.\u00a0 Hulk runs in and kicks Shisa low, and Hulk and Kzy both hit strikes on Shisa in the corner.\u00a0 Side slam by Hulk to Shisa, and he hits an assisted face crusher.\u00a0 Cover, but Shisa barely kicks out.\u00a0 Hulk picks up Shisa, Kzy goes up to the top turnbuckle but K-ness grabs him from the apron.\u00a0 Kzy pushes away K-ness but Shisa hits a headscissors on Kzy while he is still on the top turnbuckle.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Hulk goes off the ropes but K-ness catches him with a kick.\u00a0 K-ness goes off the ropes but Ryu kicks him from the apron.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Arai sails out onto Ryu and Hulk with a tope suicida, while in the ring Shisa hits the Yoshi Tonic onto Kzy.\u00a0 Cover, and he picks up the three count.\u00a0 Your winners: K-ness, Super Shisa, and Kenichiro Arai<\/p>\n

Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0 Not a bad match, but pretty average for six man Dragon Gate matches.\u00a0 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).\u00a0 They kept the pace up as you\u2019d expect and they worked together well, it just didn\u2019t do anything to set it apart from any other mid-card Dragon Gate match.\u00a0 Solid, but not spectacular.\u00a0\u00a0Score:\u00a0 5.5<\/span><\/p>\n

CIMA and Chihiro Tominaga vs. Kotoka and Ryotsu Shimizu<\/strong><\/h4>\n

<\/strong>This match has 2-Count and 3-Rope Escapes Rules.\u00a0 Shimizu and CIMA start things off.\u00a0 Tie-up, Shimizu pushes CIMA into the ropes and he gives a clean break.\u00a0 Tie-up again, wristlock by CIMA and he applies a side headlock, Shimizu Irish whips out of it and they collide with no result.\u00a0 Dropkick by CIMA but Shimizu shoulderblocks him down for a one count.\u00a0 CIMA applies a stretch submission hold by Shimizu gets a foot on the ropes.\u00a0 This uses one of his team\u2019s rope escapes.\u00a0 Shimizu tags in Kotoka, and CIMA tags in Tominaga.\u00a0 Kotoka and Tominaga trade elbows, chop by Kotoka, Irish whip, and Kotoka rolls up Tominaga for a one count.\u00a0 Two more roll-ups by Kotoka but Tominaga applies a triangle choke.\u00a0 Kotoka has to use a rope break to break the hold, leading to his team losing another rope break.\u00a0 Tominaga and CIMA Irish whip Kotoka and hit a double dropkick, cover, but Kotoka kicks out in time.\u00a0 CIMA puts Kotoka in an arm submission hold but Shimizu breaks it up.\u00a0 Tominaga kicks Kotoka and clubs him in the back.\u00a0 Vertical suplex by Tominaga, cover, but Kotoka kicks out at one.\u00a0 Tominaga picks up Kotoka and throws him into the corner before kicking him in the back.\u00a0 Irish whip by Tominaga but Kotoka moves when Tominaga charges in. Kotoka flips himself up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick.\u00a0 Both wrestlers tag out, Shimizu pushes CIMA into the corner and hits a running splash.\u00a0 Irish whip, and Shimizu knocks CIMA out of the ring.\u00a0 Kotoka then sails out onto CIMA with a tope suicida, while in the ring Shimizu grabs Tominaga.\u00a0 Double Irish whip to Tominaga and Shimizu hits a powerbomb.\u00a0 Shimizu picks up Tominaga and gives him the Giant Swing.\u00a0 Crab hold by Shimizu but Tominaga gets to the ropes, costing his team a rope escape.\u00a0 Irish whip by Shimizu to Tominaga but Tominaga goes for an STO.\u00a0 Shimizu elbows out of it, Kotoka comes in to kick Tominaga but Tominaga ducks and Kotoka kicks Shimizu by accident.\u00a0 Tominaga goes off the ropes but Tominaga hits chokeslam.\u00a0 Cover, but CIMA breaks it up at one.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Tominaga puts Kotoka in a cross armbreaker and he submits.\u00a0 Your winners:\u00a0 CIMA and Chihiro Tominaga<\/p>\n

Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I will be honest, I think these rules are a bit silly.\u00a0 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?\u00a0 Then the ending didn\u2019t really have any relation to the rules since either way Kotoka wasn\u2019t going to be able to make it to the ropes since he was near the middle of the ring.\u00a0 The action really wasn\u2019t bad, but it was short and the match rules didn\u2019t enhance the match for me.\u00a0\u00a0Score:\u00a0 4.0<\/span><\/p>\n

Shingo Takagi and Akira Tozawa vs. T-Hawk and U-T<\/strong><\/h4>\n

<\/strong>U-T and Tozawa start things off.\u00a0 They circle each other to start, takedown by U-T and he goes off the ropes and hits an armdrag.\u00a0 Another armdrag by U-T and he kicks Tozawa out of the ring.\u00a0 U-T goes off the ropes to do a dive but flips himself back into the ring.\u00a0 Tozawa tags in Takagi while T-Hawk is tagged in, and Takagi and T-Hawk run into each other.\u00a0 Kick to the stomach by Takagi, Irish whip by T-Hawk and they collide with no result.\u00a0 T-Hawk goes off the ropes and gets the same result, elbows by Takagi but T-Hawk chops him.\u00a0 Irish whip by T-Hawk, reversed, and Takagi hits a lariat.\u00a0 U-T comes in the\u00a0 ring and clubs Takagi in the back but Takagi shrugs it off.\u00a0 Elbows by U-T, kick to the stomach but Takagi hits a backdrop suplex.\u00a0 Takagi picks up U-T and hits a scoop slam before tagging in Tozawa.\u00a0 Tozawa picks up U-T, double Irish whip and he is hit by a double elbow.\u00a0 Takagi slams Tozawa onto U-T and then hits a senton.\u00a0 Senton by Tozawa, cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Tozawa kicks U-T in the back and chops him in the chest, U-T returns fire and they trade chops.\u00a0 Tozawa gets the better of it and then punches T-Hawk out of the ring.\u00a0 Tozawa picks up U-T and slams him into Takagi\u2019s boot before tagging in Takagi.\u00a0 Takagi kicks U-T in the corner and he hits a vertical suplex.\u00a0 Cover by Takagi, but it gets a two count. Takagi picks up U-T, U-T fights back but Takagi hits a hard elbow.\u00a0 Takagi picks up U-T and makes the tag to Tozawa.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Cover by Takagi but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Takagi knees U-T against the ropes and stomps on his stomach with both feet.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Irish whip by Takagi, U-T goes for a sunset flip but Takagi blocks it.\u00a0 Takagi charges U-T in the corner but U-T kicks him back.\u00a0 Takagi goes off the ropes but U-T catches him with a hurricanrana and makes the tag to T-Hawk.<\/p>\n

Chops by T-Hawk to Takagi and Tozawa, he goes to slam Takagi but Takagi blocks it.\u00a0 T-Hawk hits a jumping shoulderblock onto Tozawa, kick by Takagi but T-Hawk delivers a vertical suplex.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Tozawa gets back up but T-Hawk ducks a kick.\u00a0 Tozawa goes off the ropes\u00a0 but T-Hawk throws Tozawa in the air and hits a knee to the face.\u00a0 Spinning slam by T-Hawk, cover, but Takagi breaks it up.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 U-T drop toeholds Takagi into the turnbuckles, he goes off the ropes and hits a cutter.\u00a0 T-Hawk comes in the ring, double Irish whip to Takagi to the corner and both wrestlers hit running strikes.\u00a0 T-Hawk grabs Takagi but Takagi hits a back bodydrop.\u00a0 Takagi goes off the ropes and hits an elbow but T-Hawk returns with a chop.\u00a0 U-T hits a missile dropkick from the top turnbuckle, T-Hawk picks up Takagi and hits a sit-down powerbomb.\u00a0 Cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 U-T goes up to the top turnbuckle but Tozawa quickly joins him up there and hits a superplex.\u00a0 Running boot by Tozawa in the corner and he hits a backdrop suplex to U-T.\u00a0 Cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Double Irish whip to U-T, Takagi gets U-T into his back and hits the Blood Fall.\u00a0 German suplex hold by Tozawa, cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Takagi charges U-T in the corner and hits a running lariat.\u00a0 He goes for a slam but U-T reverses it and rolls up Takagi for a two count.\u00a0 U-T goes off the ropes but Takagi catches him with a German suplex.\u00a0 Takagi goes off the ropes and nails a running lariat, cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Takagi goes off the ropes again and hits the Pumping Bomber, cover, and he gets the three count.\u00a0 Your winners:\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Shingo Takagi and Akira Tozawa<\/p>\n

Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0 Some parts of the match I quite enjoyed but others were a bit lacking.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 No fight for a tag, no desperate escape, nothing.\u00a0 So it was just a bit anticlimactic and hurt the flow of the match.\u00a0 Overall it was fun to watch though.\u00a0\u00a0Score:\u00a0 6.0<\/span><\/p>\n

Susumu, Ryo “Jimmy” Saito, and Naoki Tanizaki vs. Doi, YAMATO, and Cyber Kong<\/strong><\/h4>\n

<\/strong>They brawl to start the match, taking it outside of the ring and up into the aisle.\u00a0 Doi throws Susumu into the crowd while YAMATO is paired up with Tanizaki.\u00a0 Cyber Kong and Susumu get into the ring, stomps by Cyber Kong and Doi comes in as well.\u00a0 Double Irish whip to Susumu and they hit a double elbow.\u00a0 Susumu rolls out of the ring, Saito comes in, Irish whip by Cyber Kong to Saito and they collide with neither man going down.\u00a0 They trade a few more times until Saito is able to hit a hurricanrana.\u00a0 Saito pushes Cyber Kong against the ropes but Cyber Kong hits a shoulderblock.\u00a0 Cyber Kong tags in YAMATO as Tanizaki is tagged in, side headlock by YAMATO to Tanizaki and he applies a wristlock.\u00a0 Irish whip by YAMATO, reversed, but YAMATO avoids the Tanizaki dropkick.\u00a0 Irish whip by YAMATO but this time Tanizaki avoids the dropkick.\u00a0 Jumping lariat by Tanizaki, he picks up YAMATO and slams him into his knee.\u00a0Doi 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.\u00a0 Susumu comes in to help and they hit the Side Russian Leg Sweep together, cover, but Cyber Kong kicks out.<\/p>\n

YAMATO comes in the ring, kick by Susumu to YAMATO, Irish whip, and Susumu knees YAMATO in the stomach.\u00a0 Double stomp by Susumu as Saito comes in the ring, Susumu picks up YAMATO, snapmare, and Saito stands on YAMATO\u2019s stomach with Susumu on his shoulders.\u00a0 Tanizaki comes into the ring and stomps YAMATO, but YAMATO chops him back.\u00a0 They trade chops and then elbows, waistlock by YAMATO, reversed by Tanizaki but YAMATO hits a low blow.\u00a0 Doi and Cyber Kong come into the ring, kicks by Cyber Kong to Tanizaki and he rubs Tanizaki\u2019s face against the top rope.\u00a0 Cyber Kong goes off the ropes and hits a body press, cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Cyber Kong picks up Tanizaki, Irish whip, and Cyber Kong hits a press slam into a cutter.\u00a0 Cover, but Tanizaki kicks out at two.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Tanizaki goes off the ropes but YAMATO kicks him from the apron.\u00a0 Cyber Kong grabs Tanizaki, Tanizaki goes down his back, Cyber Kong throws Tanizaki into the corner but Tanizaki avoids the charge.<\/p>\n

Tanizaki goes for a scoop slam onto Cyber Kong and finally is able to hit it.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Tanizaki comes in the ring, he goes off the ropes and hits a tope con giro down onto Cyber Kong.\u00a0 Susumu and YAMATO are in the ring, and Susumu hits a running elbow on YAMATO in the corner.\u00a0 YAMATO elbows him back and goes off the ropes but Susumu catches him with a lariat.\u00a0 YAMATO doesn\u2019t 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.\u00a0 Dropkick by YAMATO, he goes off the ropes and hits a hard elbow.\u00a0 YAMATO goes off the ropes again but Susumu fires back with a lariat, cover, but Doi breaks it up.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 I know that isn\u2019t a word.\u00a0 YAMATO and Cyber Kong get the better of things and they all hit strikes onto Saito.\u00a0 Powerbomb by Cyber Kong, cover, but Susumu breaks it up.<\/p>\n

Doi goes up to the top turnbuckle but Susumu joins him, and Susumu hits the Spanish Fly.\u00a0 Running kick by Tanizaki, Saito comes off the top turnbuckle with a body press onto Doi, cover, but Doi kicks out.\u00a0 Tanizaki picks up Doi but Doi wiggles away.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Pump-handle slam by YAMATO to Tanizaki and Doi hits a diving elbow drop.\u00a0 Cyber Kong goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving elbow drop as well, cover, but Saito breaks it up.\u00a0 Saito hits Cyber Kong but Cyber Kong hits a splash followed by a lariat.\u00a0 Susumu comes in next to battle Cyber Kong, lariat by Susumu but Cyber Kong hits the Cyber Driver.\u00a0 Cover by Cyber Kong but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Doi runs in the ring and hits the Doi 555 on Susumu followed by the Bakatare Sliding Kick.\u00a0 Cover by Doi but Tanizaki breaks it up.\u00a0 Doi picks up Susumu, Susumu gets away and goes off the ropes but he is hit from the floor.\u00a0 Kanda runs in the ring and grabs the yellow box, and he hits Doi in the head with it.\u00a0 Susumu then goes off the ropes and drops Doi with the Jumbo no Kachi!gatame for the three count!\u00a0 Your winners:\u00a0 Jimmy Susumu, Ryo “Jimmy” Saito, and Naoki Tanizaki<\/p>\n

Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Dragon Gate matches can be so spastic.\u00a0 On one hand, it is exciting and fast paced, and there is literally no down time.\u00a0 But on the other hand I don\u2019t 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.\u00a0 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 \u201cwho can hit the biggest move last\u201d contest.\u00a0 So for excitement they get an A, it is more the structure that takes me out of it a bit.\u00a0\u00a0Score:\u00a0 6.5<\/span><\/p>\n

(c) Masato Yoshino vs. Masaaki Mochizuki<\/strong><\/h4>\n

<\/strong>This match is for the Open the Dream Gate Championship.\u00a0 Mochizuki offers his hand to start and Yoshino shakes it.\u00a0 Tie-up, Mochizuki pushes Yoshino into the ropes and he slaps Yoshino in the chest before backing off.\u00a0 Yoshino chops him back and they trade blows, Irish whip by Yoshino, reversed, and Yoshino dropkicks Mochizuki out of the ring.\u00a0 Yoshino gets a running start but Mochizuki kicks him in the head as he is set to dive through.\u00a0 Mochizuki pulls Yoshino out of the ring, he then goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a plancha down onto Yoshino.\u00a0 Mochizuki picks up Yoshino and slams his arm into the ring post.\u00a0 Kick to the arm by Mochizuki and he gets back into the ring.\u00a0 Yoshino comes back in as well after a moment, kick to the stomach by Mochizuki and he elbows Yoshino in the arm.\u00a0 Armbreaker by Mochizuki, he throws Yoshino into the corner and gives him the facewash before kicking Yoshino in the arm.\u00a0 Mochizuki picks up Yoshino and goes for a cross armbreaker, but Yoshino blocks it.\u00a0 Mochizuki finally gets it applied but Yoshino quickly gets a foot on the bottom rope.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Yoshino charges Mochizuki but Mochizuki back bodydrops him out onto the apron.\u00a0Mochizuki 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.<\/p>\n

Yoshino then goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a moonsault down onto Mochizuki on the floor.\u00a0Yoshino rolls Mochizuki back into the ring and gets in as well, kick to the arm by Yoshino and he dropkicks Mochizuki in the arm.\u00a0 Running dropkick to the arm by Yoshino and he hits a second one.\u00a0 Punch to the arm by Yoshino, he picks up Mochizuki and applies an arm wringer.\u00a0 Yoshino slams Mochizuki\u2019s arm into the mat, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and jumps down onto Mochizuki\u2019s arm.\u00a0 Hammerlock by Yoshino and he rolls Mochizuki onto the mat, using his leg for extra leverage.\u00a0 Kick to the arm by Yoshino but Mochizuki kicks him back.\u00a0 Irish whip by Mochizuki from the corner, reversed, but Mochizuki kicks Yoshino when he charges in.\u00a0 Running big boot by Mochizuki, Mochizuki goes off the ropes and kicks Yoshino in the chest.\u00a0 Another kick to the chest by Mochizuki, he goes off the ropes and delivers a jumping kick to the face.\u00a0 Mochizuki picks up Yoshino but Yoshino hits a Twister.\u00a0 Yoshino picks up Mochizuki, chops by Mochizuki but Yoshino returns fire.\u00a0 Kick to the stomach by Mochizuki and he goes off the ropes, but Yoshino catches him with an overhead belly to back suplex.\u00a0 Yoshino goes off the ropes but Mochizuki kicks him in the chest.<\/p>\n

Yoshino grabs Mochizuki and hits the Lightning Spiral, but Mochizuki springs up and kicks Yoshino in the chest.\u00a0 Two more kicks to the head by Mochizuki, he picks up Yoshino and he goes for a Twister, but Yoshino lands on his feet.\u00a0 Running boot to the face by Mochizuki, he goes off the ropes and hits a second one by Yoshino is not phased.\u00a0 Another running kick by Mochizuki but Yoshino comes back with the Udo Yoshino.\u00a0 Kick to the chest by Mochizuki as they trade moves, knee by Mochizuki and he nails the Twister.\u00a0 Cover by Mochizuki, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Mochizuki goes up to the top turnbuckle but Yoshino catches him and hits a springboard slam off the top rope.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Lightning Spiral by Yoshino, cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Yoshino waits for Mochizuki to get up but Mochizuki kicks him in the chest.\u00a0 Chop by Yoshino and he goes off the ropes, hitting another Udo Yoshino.\u00a0 Sol Naciente by Yoshino but\u00a0 Mochizuki makes it to the ropes.\u00a0 Yoshino puts Mochizuki onto the top turnbuckle and goes up top as well, but Mochizuki hits a superplex.\u00a0 High kick by Mochizuki and he hits a second one, but Yoshino hits the Udo Yoshino.\u00a0 Mochizuki rolls up Yoshino but it only gets a two count.\u00a0 Mochizuki charges Yoshino in the corner but Yoshino catches him and hits a powerbomb.\u00a0 Triangle choke by Mochizuki but Yoshino powerbombs out of it.\u00a0 Yoshino and Mochizuki both get up, Yoshino goes off the ropes but Mochizuki hits a trio of kicks.\u00a0 One final high kick by Mochizuki, cover, but Yoshino gets a shoulder up.\u00a0 Mochizuki waits for Yoshino to get up and runs to the corner, but Yoshino grabs him.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Mochizuki covers Yoshino, but Yoshino kicks out.<\/p>\n

Mochizuki picks up Yoshino, kicks to the chest by Mochizuki and they trade slams.\u00a0 Mochizuki goes off the ropes but Yoshino catches him with a lariat.\u00a0 Yoshino goes up to the top turnbuckle\u00a0 and hits a missile dropkick.\u00a0 Yoshino goes up to the top turnbuckle again and hits a second missile dropkick to Mochizuki\u2019s back.\u00a0 Yoshino picks up Mochizuki and puts him up on the top turnbuckle, he goes up top as well and hits an avalanche Lightning Spiral.\u00a0 Cover, but Mochizuki kicks out.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Completely trapped, Mochizuki has no choice but to submit.\u00a0 Your winner and still champion:\u00a0 Masato Yoshino<\/p>\n

Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0 I thought this was a really good match, bordering on great except for some minor issues here and there.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Yoshino tried his best to kill off a few of his biggest moves but not his big match finishers so it didn\u2019t come across as burying them, although Yoshino has enough moves he didn\u2019t need to keep doing the Lightning Spirals.\u00a0 The match was definitely exciting though and fast paced, no real downtime and the crowd really stayed into it.\u00a0 Mochizuki was a legitimate threat and was up to the challenge so it never felt like a lopsided match.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Definitely worth the watch.\u00a0\u00a0Score:\u00a0 7.5<\/span><\/p>\n

Final Thoughts:<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Best Match<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Masato Yoshino vs. Masaaki Mochizuki.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>It wasn\u2019t perfect but it was an exciting fast paced match that had a lot of killer moves and a decisive ending.\u00a0 About all you can ask for from a Dragon Gate main event match, my favorite match from the promotion so far this year.<\/p>\n

MVP:<\/strong>\u00a0Masaaki Mochizuki.<\/strong>\u00a0No 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.<\/p>\n

Overall:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 This event was very\u2026. Dragon Gate-y.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if that is a word, but what I mean is that it was about what you\u2019d expect from the promotion \u2013 lots of fast paced action, crazy moves, and occasional overkill.\u00a0 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\u2019t really review full Dragon Gate events.\u00a0 Just not enough diversity for me.\u00a0 But if you aren\u2019t overly concerned about things like \u2018ring psychology\u2019 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.<\/p>\n

Grade: \u00a0\u00a0B-<\/strong>
\n<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Featuring Masato Yoshino vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, Susumu Saito & Tanizaki vs. Doi, YAMATO, & Cyber Kong, The Dragon Kid vs. Yosuke Santa Maria, and more<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":6054,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[399,40],"tags":[403,233],"class_list":["post-6026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fsreview","category-reviews","tag-dragon-gate","tag-puroresu"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6026"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6026\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6053,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6026\/revisions\/6053"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}