Kevin Ford and I recorded English commentary over Dead or Alive 2011! Get it here! More to come in the coming weeks and months!

The Top 10 DG matches of 2011 are now on the Lists page. DGUSA list will be up soonish… probably.

DGUSA Freedom Fight 2011! New Infinity Review!

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January 15, 2012 – Osaka, Japan

Open the Dream Gate Champion: CIMA
Open the Triangle Gate Champions: Naruki Doi, Naoki Tanisaki & Kzy
Open the Brave Gate Champion: Ricochet
Open the Twin Gate Champions: BxB Hulk & Akira Tozawa
Open the Freedom Gate Champion: Johnny Gargano
Open the United Gate Champions: CIMA & Ricochet

The show starts by recapping how Akira Tozawa has been running down Maraha Isappa for being losers. On the Junction Three side, Masato Yoshino is mad at Masaaki Mochizuki for handing the Dream Gate belt over to CIMA, and for taking Cyber Kong under his wing.

They finally show a clip of the Doi Darts defending the Triangle Gate title against Shingo Takagi, Gamma & Super Shenlong. We get a good long look at Shenlong’s face after the match (not that we haven’t seen plenty of medium sized glimpses before) and he is indeed an ugly gentleman. Shenlong blames the loss on his partners, even though they lost after Tanisaki pinned him with the Implant.

[Dream Key Battle Royal]
For the first ten minutes of the match, eliminations will occur after a two-count, submission or ring-out. After ten minutes three-count rules are in effect. CIMA put this in place so the jobbers would have a better chance at winning the thing. Kong is lumped in with the jobbers in the pre-match graphic. That’s got to hurt. Takagi and Jimmy Susumu start. They trade lariats. Susumu hits a vertical suplex. He puts on a chinlock. Doi and Kong are out next. Doi rolls Kong up for 1. Tominaga and Ichikawa are out next. Tominaga dropkicks and armdrags Takagi. Doi rolls Tominaga up for 1. Shenlong and Gamma are out next. Gamma ignores Shenlong and no-sells his offense. Kid and Kzy are out last. Kzy takes his sweet time getting to the ring. Kid hits Shenlong with the Bible to eliminate him. Takagi and Gamma try throwing Doi over the top to the floor but fail. Takagi hits Ichikawa with a back bodydrop. Everyone goes for quick schoolboys while 2-count rules are still in effect and Ichikawa pays the spot off by pinning Gamma with la magistral just before the ten-minute mark hits. Kzy shoves Ichikawa into Takagi to upset the big man. The Blood Warriors feed Ichikawa to Takagi. Takagi goes for the STAY DREAM but Ichikawa blocks that. Takagi blocks Ichikawa’s attempt at the Gyrating Frankensteiner, but falls to the floor after a Pineapple Bomber and a projectile Ichikawa. Ichikawa hits the Koncho on Kong. He gets la magistral and everyone helps him pin and eliminate Kong. He gets la magistral on Kzy to eliminate him too. Doi counters la magistral on Ichikawa to pin him. That’s probably the winningest Ichikawa has ever been. Tominaga decides to align with Doi against Junction Three. They hit stereo dropkicks. The alliance blows up in Tominaga’s face when he ends up alone with Susumu. A ray of hope sees Tominaga put on the cross armbreaker (Takagi offers to throw in the towel) but Susumu gets to the ropes. Doi turns on Tominaga and hits him with a powerbomb. He hits the Doi 555 and the Bakatare Sliding Kick to eliminate Tominaga. Kind of serves Tominaga right. Doi almost gets Kid over and out but Kid low bridges him. They fight on the apron until Susumu accidentally hits Kid with a lariat. Doi hits Susumu with the Bakatare Sliding Kick. Susumu hits the Jumbo no Kachi. Kid counters the Muscular Bomb to the Bible to eliminate Doi. Susumu hits Kid with a lariat for 2. Kid hits the Messiah. He hits the Ultra Hurricanrana for 2. He misses a Dragon Rana. Susumu rolls through the Bible and hits the Jumbo no Kachi. He hits it again for 2. He dusts off the World Liner for the win at 15:24 shown of 18:38. CIMA looks concerned. This was pretty damn awesome for a battle royal. The Ichikawa stuff, the Tominaga stuff, the Doi stuff and the Kobe World 2006 rematch stuff were all entertaining as hell. You can’t ask for more from a battle royal.
Rating: ***¾

Shingo Takagi {J3} & YAMATO {J3} vs. Cyber Kong & Dragon Kid {J3} ended when Takagi pinned Kong after a Pumping Bomber and a punt-assisted powerbomb. Takagi and YAMATO show Kong no love after the match.

CIMA {BW}, Kzy {BW} & Naruki Doi {BW} vs. Jimmy Kagetora {J3}, Jimmy Susumu {J3} & Gamma {J3} ended when Kagetora pinned Kzy with the Kuruma Gakari. After the match Kagetora promised that the Jimmyz would do big things in 2012.

BxB Hulk © {BW} & Akira Tozawa © {BW} vs. Masaaki Mochizuki {J3} & Masato Yoshino {J3} [Open the Twin Gate Championship Match]
Hulk and Tozawa attack before the bell. They beat the challengers around the building. In the ring they sandwich Yoshino with dropkicks. Yoshino hits Tozawa with a supercharged dropkick. Mochizuki hits the apron kick. Hulk hits a big boot. Yoshino hits a head scissor takedown and a suicide dive. Mochizuki gives back kicks to both opponents. Hulk hits Yoshino with a spin kick for 2. He hits the axe kick for 2. Yoshino powerbombs Tozawa. He hits Hulk with the Sling Blade. Mochizuki cleans house with chest kicks. He boots Hulk over the turnbuckle. He blocks the axe kick and puts on the anklelock. Yoshino puts Tozawa in From Jungle. Kzy interferes to save his boys. Gamma canes him because Rich Swann is in the States. Hulk hits Yoshino with the Complete Shot for 2. He hits an enziguiri. Yoshino blocks a dropkick. Mochizuki hits a capture suplex. Yoshino hits a swinging DDT for 2. Hulk and Mochizuki daze each other with high kicks. Tozawa and Hulk hit the Darkside Tension Combo for 2. Mochizuki counters the First Flash to a legsweep. Hulk hits the Mouse. He hits the axe kick. Tozawa hits the running knee and Hulk hits the First Flash for 2 when Yoshino makes the save. Hulk and Tozawa sandwich Yoshino with kicks. Mochizuki fights back with chest kicks. He hits Tozawa with the Ikkakugeri. Yoshino hits the shotgun senton for 2. Tozawa blocks the Lightning Spiral and hits the bicycle kick. Yoshino hits the Ude Yoshino and the Lightning Spiral for 2. He hits the Torbellino. Mochizuki hits the Illusion and the Shin Saikyou High Kick for 2 when Hulk makes the save. Tozawa has the Sankakugeri scouted. Mochizuki boots Yoshino by mistake. Hulk dropkicks Mochizuki and hits Yoshino with the axe kick. Tozawa hits a German suplex for 2. He hits the High Tension Suplex for the win at 15:17 shown of 20:13. This made the tag champs look like world murderers, which was sorely needed after they backed into their title win. I actually really loved this, for the reasons I just mentioned and because it gave Yoshino something to do for the first time in forever (be a frustrated weak link in a tag team).
Rating: ****

Kzy jumps on the microphone and suggests they have another Loser Leaves Unit match. It’s going to be Mochizuki, Yoshino & Gamma vs. Doi, Yasushi Kanda & Kzy in six days in Kyoto. That’s in addition to the Loser Leaves Unit match that’s already booked for three days from this show in Tokyo, where ten men from Junction Three and the Blood Warriors will fight to keep their spots.

January 14, 2012 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Johnny Gargano © {R} vs. Ricochet {BW} [Open the Freedom Gate Championship Match]
If Ricochet wins this then the Blood Warriors will have all of the belts in Japan and the States. Gargano seems fine at the opening bell, but knowing how injured he was going into this match makes me very nervous. Ricochet has Uhaa Nation in his corner. Gargano has Rich Swann and Chuck Taylor. Ricochet stomps on Gargano’s hand. Gargano goes after the arm. Ricochet returns the favor. They do some action movie juking and jiving until Ricochet hits a big boot. Ricochet hits a dropkick. Gargano hits the Complete Shot into the corner. They avoid each other’s offense until Gargano hits a neckbreaker. He puts on a leglock. Ricochet blocks a crossbody with his knees. He hits the Rickrack for 2. He works the back and slams Gargano’s head into the corner before slamming him. That gets 2. Now Gargano looks hurt. He hits the head kick. He clotheslines Ricochet to the floor. Ricochet avoids the spear. Gargano avoids a moonsault and hits a suicide dive. They botch a spot on the floor, but distract the crowd when Gargano powerbombs Ricochet into the barricade. That gets 2. Ricochet hits an enziguiri. Gargano dropkicks him in midair. He hits a very cool Ace Crusher for 2. Ricochet returns the favor for 2. Gargano looks like he’s been wrestling for an hour. Ricochet hits the Regalplex into the corner. He hits a running SSP for 2. Gargano hits an enziguiri. Ricochet returns the favor. Gargano hits the Lawn Dart. Ricochet his a back flip kick. Gargano hits a superkick and collapses. He hits a dropkick. Ricochet returns the favor. Gargano blocks a Frankensteiner and gets a schoolboy for 2. He puts on the GargaNo Escape but Ricochet escapes. Gargano reapplies the hold and looks like he’s in more pain than Ricochet. Ricochet gets to the ropes. He hits a DDT on the apron… sort of. Gargano couldn’t really sell it. He hits a German suplex on the apron too. He hits the Sasuke Special. He hits a Shooting Star Press for 2. A weird spot leads to Gargano hitting the Hurts Donut for 2. The crowd turns on the match completely after that. Ricochet hits a head scissor takedown. He hits a reverse hurricanrana. He hits a high kick for 2. He hits the 630 senton for 2. He goes for another but Gargano avoids it. Gargano hits the Hurts Donut and puts on the GargaNo Escape for the win at 24:26.

Ten minutes into the match Gargano wasn’t really able to continue, but he went fifteen more minutes anyway. Rough spots on the floor and out of the corner ruined any goodwill with the crowd. It was scary seeing Gargano take some of those bumps knowing how bad off he was. The match was actually serviceable, which is something of a testament to both guys, but they should have cut it short for the sake of Gargano’s health.
Rating: ***

January 9, 2012 – Kobe, Japan

Open the Dream Gate Champion: CIMA
Open the Triangle Gate Champions: Naruki Doi, Naoki Tanisaki & Kzy
Open the Brave Gate Champion: Ricochet
Open the Twin Gate Champions: BxB Hulk & Akira Tozawa
Open the Freedom Gate Champion: Johnny Gargano
Open the United Gate Champions: CIMA & Ricochet

The show starts backstage at Final Gate, with Masato Yoshino grilling Masaaki Mochizuki about why he handed the title belt over to CIMA after losing the main event Open the Dream Gate Championship Match.

Next up they show a match between Mochizuki and the faction-less Cyber Kong from January 7th. Mochizuki won that with a victory roll. After the match Kong asked Mochizuki if he could join Junction Three. Mochizuki said he would think about it. They shake hands before going their separate ways.

Masaaki Mochizuki {J3} & Gamma {J3} vs. Cyber Kong & Don Fujii
Mochizuki and Fujii start. Umm, awesome. Fujii hits a shoulder tackle. Mochizuki hits a back kick. Fujii absorbs chest kicks and hits a bodyslam. Gamma foolishly trades shoulder tackles with Kong. Kong absorbs a dropkick but eats a back elbow. Mochizuki works Kong’s arm. Gamma gives Kong AND Mochizuki the Osuikougeki, and gets a bit of a kick out of dousing his partner. Kong hits a lariat on Gamma. He hits a powerslam on Mochizuki. Gamma takes a couple goofy front bumps off of Fujii’s chops. Kong puts on a headlock. He and Fujii go to town with elbows. Gamma goes for a suplex and eventually gets up the strength for it. Mochizuki tags in and goes after Fujii. He hits Kong with a big boot. He hits a chest kick but Kong absorbs it and hits a lariat to the leg. Mochizuki hits another big boot. Kong and Fujii hit a suplex on Mochizuki. Fujii hits a lariat and a chokeslam for 2. Kong misses a butt splash and eats a kick to the face. Gamma hits a clothesline for 2. He hits a superkick and goes for the Gamma Special. Kong blocks it and hits a powerbomb. Mochizuki hits a missile dropkick on Fujii. Gamma fails to connect with a clothesline on Kong, but catches him with the Gammasuke Clutch for the win at 9:40 shown of 11:08. Kong is being knocked down pretty low here. The match was solid, alternating between amusing comedy and decent if not-flashy action.
Rating: **½

After the match Mochizuki shakes Kong’s hand again and has Gamma do the same. Yoshino, who is not happy at all about the prospect of Kong joining Junction Three, will team with Mochizuki to take on BxB Hulk & Akira Tozawa in an Open the Twin Gate Championship Match in a few days.

Ryo Saito {BW} & Genki Horiguchi {BW} vs. Super Shisa {J3} & Chihiro Tominaga ends after Saito hits Shisa with the Double Cross.

Kzy {BW} vs. Super Shenlong saw Shenlong almost win with a roll up, but Kzy come back with the Skayde School Boy for the win.

Naruki Doi {BW} vs. Dragon Kid {J3} ended after Kid caught Doi with the Ultra Hurricanrana. I’ve always liked the chemistry these two have had, and I’m disappointed this was part of the digest.

Next up we get a recap of some recent goings-on. Like the previous match, Dragon Kid pinned Doi with the Ultra Hurricanrana in the trios main event of the January 7th show, thus putting Doi in a weak place. Akira Tozawa also ragged on Saito for recently losses. The bottom line is that there’s dissention in both factions.

CIMA {BW}, BxB Hulk {BW}, Akira Tozawa {BW} & Yasushi Kanda {BW} vs. Shingo Takagi {J3}, YAMATO {J3}, Jimmy Susumu {J3} & Jimmy Kagetora {J3}
Winners of the match get to book upcoming matches. The Blood Warriors sneak attack to start. Everyone brawls around the building. Kagetora hits Kanda with a hurricanrana. Tozawa and Kanda hit a double back elbow. YAMATO punts and dropkicks Tozawa. Hulk hits a missile dropkick. Takagi hits a shoulder tackle. He hits the Complete DDT on Hulk and Kanda. Susumu catches CIMA in an abdominal stretch and rolls him up for 2. Tozawa and CIMA hit a double dropkick on Kagetora. Everyone slams Tozawa. All of the Blood Warriors slams Susumu. Susumu blocks Tozawa’s attempt and slams him again. CIMA hits Takagi with the Shattered Dreams. YAMATO, who looks to finally be letting his hair grow back a bit, hits Kanda with a vertical suplex. Kanda goes to the eyes. CIMA hits the elevated double stomp. YAMATO counters a leg lock to the anklelock but Tozawa makes the save. Hulk hits the axe kick for 2. ¬Tozawa hits the Superdrol and a senton. Hulk hits a senton for 2. He hits the Mouse. YAMATO hits a dragon screw. He hits them on Kanda and Tozawa as well. Takagi cleans house. Kagetora hits the leaping lariat on Tozawa. Tozawa slugs him. He hits a gutbuster for 2. The Jimmyz double-team Tozawa for 2. Susumu hits CIMA with an exploder for 2. CIMA hits the Superdrol. He, Hulk and Tozawa triple-team Susumu in the corner. CIMA hits a superkick. Susumu hits a lariat for 2. Takagi hits a suplex on Kanda. Kanda hits an exploder. The Blood Warriors work Takagi over in the corner. CIMA hits the Venus and Iconoclasm. Hulk and Tozawa unload kicks and Kanda hits the flying elbowdrop for 2. Takagi throws Hulk clear across the ring. Our heroes work over Hulk in the corner. Susumu hits a super exploder. Kagetora hits a flying elbowdrop and YAMATO hits the Frog Splash for 2. Tozawa and CIMA hit the dropkick/suplex combo on Kagetora for 2. I wonder if Hulk is jealous. Tozawa and Kanda hit a double flapjack. CIMA hits the Tokarev and Tozawa hits a German suplex for 2. Tozawa hits Takagi with the Ganki for 2. Hulk hits a big boot on YAMATO. Susumu hits a lariat. CIMA hits the Nakayubi. Kagetora hits an enziguiri. Kanda hits the John Woo. Takagi hits a lariat. He hits the Pumping Bomber for 2. He hits MADE IN JAPAN for the win at 19:12 shown of 23:14. The finish came from nowhere, but fit the frantic pace of the match. I really felt like I might have a seizure trying to keep up with everything that was going on here. A couple slow spots bring it down a bit, but overall this was a fantastic inaugural main event for Infinity in 2012.
Rating: ***¾

After the match Takagi books himself into a match against Tozawa, and YAMATO does the same with Hulk in a no-rope match. Both matches will happen on February 20th. CIMA then gets on the microphone and reveals how his first challenger will be decided. The inaugural CIMA Royale will be your typical multi-man elimination match, but for the first ten minutes wrestlers will only need a two-count to eliminate their opponents, so that the jobberish guys in the match will have a fighting chance at being in there at the end. After ten minutes regular rules take effect. Susumu, Takagi, Kzy, Tominaga, Shenlong, Kong, Gamma, Kid, Stalker Ichikawa, Doi and Kzy all put bids in to be in the match.

The show ends with Mochizuki being awarded his Fighting Spirit Award from Tokyo Sports. He shared it with Yuji Nagata. If you pause the screen quickly enough you can see the other award winners: Hiroshi Tanahashi (Wrestler of the Year), Keiji Mutoh, Kenta Kobashi, Takashi Iizuka & Toru Yano (Match of the Year), Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (Tag Team of the Year), Jun Akiyama (Distinguished Service), KENTA (Technician of the Year), Shinichi Suzukawa (Rookie of the Year), Yuzuki Aikawa (Joshi Wrestler of the Year).

December 25, 2011 – Fukuoka, Japan

Open the Dream Gate Champion: Masaaki Mochizuki
Open the Triangle Gate Champions: Naruki Doi, Naoki Tanisaki & Kzy
Open the Brave Gate Champion: Ricochet
Open the Twin Gate Champions: BxB Hulk & Akira Tozawa
Open the Freedom Gate Champion: Johnny Gargano
Open the United Gate Champions: CIMA & Ricochet

The Blood Warriors start the show with a promo boasting how powerful they will be after they leave this show with all of the titles. Super Shenlong, Don Fujii & Kotoka come out for a match.

Yasushi Kanda {BW}, Uhaa Nation {BW} & Tomahawk TT {BW} vs. Don Fujii, Kotoka & Super Shenlong
Kotoka’s head is shaved again. Shenlong and Nation start. Nation throws Shenlong across the ring. He hits a shoulder tackle. He hits a dropkick. Fujii can’t connect with a shoulder tackle so he tags out. Nation hits Shenlong and Kotoka with a leaping double lariat. He hits a topé con hilo. Fujii dives onto Kanda from the apron. They fight up to the balcony and try to throw each other off but that of course goes nowhere. Nation hits Kotoka with a back elbow for 2. He hits a delayed vertical suplex. TT stands on his stomach. Shenlong hits a dropkick. Fujii hits a lariat. He hits one on Kanda. He slams Nation. Kotoka dropkicks TT. TT hits a Manhattan drop and Kanda hits the Jon Woo. Nation hits an avalanche for 2. He hits a fall away slam. He hits a press slam and the Uhaa CombiNATION for the win at 6:28. This was just there to make Nation look good, and it did that job and nothing else.
Rating: *

CIMA continues the earlier promo as if the match never happened. Junction Three comes out to rebut. Naruki Doi takes the microphone to talk about the Doi Darts. Naoki Tanisaki has Rich Swann’s Open the Owarai Gate title belt, and Swann has Tanisaki’s Triangle Gate belt. Not sure when that happened. The Doi Darts Second Christmas Version is brought to the ring. It will decide whether the Triangle Gate match will be decided by 1, 2 or 3 count rules for the champions. 2-count takes up half the wheel, a mystery number takes up about a third and 3-count takes up only about a sixth of the wheel, if that. The mystery number is revealed to be a 1-count possibility. A kid comes into the ring to throw the dart. It lands on 2-count. Gamma is upset, but it could have been a lot worse. The MarahaIsappa vs. Jimmies match starts straight away.

Ryo Saito {BW} & Genki Horiguchi {BW} vs. Jimmy Susumu {J3} & Jimmy Kagetora {J3}
The Jimmies start in control. Kagetora hits a hurricanrana on Saito. Horiguchi elbows Kagetora. He hits Susumu with a head scissor takedown. Saito hits a legdrop on Kagetora for 2. MARAHA! ISAPPA! Horiguchi hits a back suplex for 2. Saito hits a double stomp. He hits a bodyslam. Horiguchi hits the swinging DDT for 2. Kagetora hits a dropkick. He hits the leaping lariat. Susumu cleans house with exploders. He gets a sunset flip for 2. Saito hits the Fisherman Express for 2. Horiguchi hits a dropkick. Saito hits the super exploder. Kagetora misses the flying elbowdrop and Saito hits a Superfly Splash for 2. He hits a German suplex. He hits another with Horiguchi’s help for 2. Kagetora gets the Kagenui for 2. Susumu hits the Jumbo no Kachi. Horiguchi gets the Backslide from heaven for 2. Saito hits a dragon suplex. Susumu hits the DVD. Saito hits another dragon suplex for 2. Susumu avoids the Double Cross and hits two Jumbo no Kachis and the Jumbo no Kachigamate for the win at 9:49. If ever there was a defense that the Jimmies weren’t dull, this match sure wasn’t it. Given the way the Jimmies played up their jiminess after the match by putting on their glasses, I’m wondering if the average structure of the match wasn’t completely deliberate.
Rating: **

Cyber Kong vs. Kensuke Sasaki {KO}
They trade shoulder tackles to start. Sasaki hits a clubbing lariat. He hits a piledriver for 2. He controls with chops. Kong is being treated like a child here. He gets some measure of control with a vertical suplex. He hits a lariat and a double kneedrop, which I am now officially dubbing the Kong Bak. He hits the flying elbowdrop for 2. Sasaki hits a lariat. He hits a facebuster. He hits the Tornado Bomb but Kong pops up and hits a lariat. Subsequent lariats are less effective. Sasaki levels Kong with a lariat. He hits the Ipponzeoi. He hits a lariat for 2. He hits the Northern Lights Bomb for the win at 5:25. Well, I wouldn’t say that Kong got squashed, but he sure did look like he was way out of his league. I’m not sure where he goes from here.
Rating: *

Naruki Doi © {BW}, Naoki Tanisaki © {BW} & Kzy © {BW} vs. Gamma {J3}. Dragon Kid {J3} & Rich Swann {J3} [Open the Triangle Gate Championship Match]
As decided by the game earlier, the champions only need a 2-count to win. Gamma and Tanisaki start. Tanisaki gets a few roll u ps for 1. Kid hits Doi with a head scissor takedown. Swann dropkicks Kzy and follows him to the floor with a dive. He and Gamma hit Tanisaki with a double dropkick. Kid hits Doi with a double kneedrop. Gamma gives Doi the Osuikougeki. Tanisaki hits Kid with the elevated kneedrop for 1. He puts on an abdominal stretch. Kzy hits the B-Boy for 1. Doi hits the elevated senton for 1. Tanisaki hits the DH. Kid catches Doi with a Frankensteiner. Gamma hits a dropkick on Kzy. He hits Tanisaki with a back suplex. He hits Doi with a quebrada. Our heroes get a triple sunset flip for 2, and kick out of the triple reversal at 1. Gamma avoids the B-Boy. He hits a superkick. Kzy gets a schoolboy for 1. He gets a sunset flip for 1. Gamma hits a clothesline. Swann hits a handspring splash for 2. He hits Doi with a Frankensteiner for 2. Doi blocks the Rolling Thunder. Swann hits a high kick. Swann is awesome. Doi hangs him in the Tree of Woe and hits a neckbreaker. Kid hits a head scissor takedown. Doi hits Swann with a powerbomb and Kzy hits KZ Time for 1. Kid hits the skyscraper hurricanrana on Tanisaki. Swann hits something off camera for 2. Kzy hits the Beat Bomb and Doi hits the Bosou Elbow for 2. He hits the Doi 555 and the Bakatare Sliding Kick for 1. Kid blocks Kzy’s Impact and pushes him into Tanisaki’s powder. He hits the Messiah. Gamma hits the Gamma Special and Swann hits the FIREBIRD for 2. Tanisaki hits a kneelift on Gamma. Kid hits the stunner. Doi hits the Blue Thunder Bomb. Gamma cleans house with clotheslines. Swann hits the Ace Crusher. Kid hits the Ultra Hurricanrana for 2. Tanisaki hits the Casanova for 1. Swann hits a pair of superkicks. Tanisaki hits the Libido and the reverse Implant for 2. Now he just looks weak. He hits the regular Implant for the win at 15:27. The 2-count gimmick has run its course. The Doi Darts have been champions long enough that they shouldn’t need the 2-count rule to win. Whereas in the past that rule has added drama to the match, here it felt really gimmicky.
Rating: **¾

Ricochet © {BW} vs. Masato Yoshino [Open the Brave Gate Championship Match]
Yoshino beat Dragon Kid in an untelevised match to win this title shot. For his part, Ricochet beat PAC in his fifth match against the man, third for the title, to win the Brave Gate belt. Yoshino hits an armdrag to start and Ricochet begs off. Ricochet stomps on his hand. Yoshino hits a supercharged dropkick. He hits a head scissor takedown. He hits a neckbreaker. He hits a legdrop. He hits a DDT. The crowd cares about nothing in this match. Ricochet hits a clothesline and the Sasuke Special, but the crowd doesn’t make a peep. Ricochet works the back. He hits a head kick for 2. Yoshino puts on the Coumori. He hits the Track and Field Dropkick. He hits the Sling Blade for 2. Ricochet misses a dropkick and Yoshino puts on From Jungle. He gets a roll up for 2. Ricochet comes back with the Ace Crusher. He hits a standing moonsault for 2. Yoshino flips him onto his back. He hits a wild swinging DDT for 2. Ricochet hits an enziguiri and the Zig Zag. He hits a standing SSP for 2. He hits a corkscrew moonsault for 2. Yoshino blocks the Shooting Star Press with his knees. He hits the shotgun dropkick for 2. Ricochet hits an enziguiri and a Regalplex. He hits the 630 senton for 2. Yoshino hits an avalanche Sling Blade. Ricochet hits a low blow and gets a roll up for 2. He hits a superkick. Yoshino hits the Ude Yoshino for 2. He hits the Torbellino and the Lightning Spiral for 2. He goes for the avalanche Lightning Spiral but Ricochet saves his life by countering to the Spanish Fly for 2. He hits the double moonsault for the win at 18:26. The finish fell kind of flat, but worked logically, as Yoshino tried to unleash his most dangerous move, leaving himself open to have it blocked and get hit with Ricochet’s world-beater finisher. The match was unfairly ignored by the crowd, as these two meshed well together and kept things going at a fun pace. With some crowd heat this probably would have been pretty special.
Rating: ***

The intermission match is Mochizuki vs. CIMA from Gate of Legend in December of 2004, in which Mochizuki defeated CIMA to become the second open the Dream Gate Champion. That match was decidedly average, so I’m hoping with seven more years experience under their belts they can improve upon it.

Akira Tozawa © {BW} & BxB Hulk © {BW} vs. Shingo Takagi {J3} & YAMATO {J3} [Open the Twin Gate Championship Match]
I’ve been more looking forward to this match than pretty much anything else in 2011, as it’s the culmination of Hulk and Tozawa’s heel turn, an angle that has delivered at almost every turn. The story, in a nutshell, is that Takagi and YAMATO treated Hulk and Tozawa as second-class citizens when they were allies, and continued to do so as enemies. To date the casualties of this feud include but are not limited to: YAMATO’s hair, Cyber Kong’s spot in the Blood Warriors, KAGETORA and Susumu Yokosuka’s names. Everyone hates everyone… a lot. Takagi, Hulk and Tozawa are unscathed to this point, but this match might change that because everyone hates everyone… a lot. In an awesome touch, YAMATO is wearing Kamikaze/New Hazard red with his Junction Three green in an effort possibly to remind Hulk and Tozawa what they turned their back on and to match Takagi, who wears always wears that color scheme. I love this and it hasn’t even started yet.

YAMATO and Tozawa start. YAMATO controls on the mat. He hits a dropkick. Hulk hits a missile dropkick. Takagi hits a shoulder tackle. Hulk comes back with kicks. Takagi hits a back bodydrop. He and YAMATO focus on Tozawa. Takagi immediately exposes his knee for a kneedrop and gets 2. Tozawa throws YAMATO to the floor. He dropkicks Takagi’s knee and hits the running knee. He hits YAMATO and Takagi with suicide dives. He throws a chair at YAMATO. He hits a senton. Doi distracts the referee as Tozawa hits another senton, chair-assisted. He hits Takagi with a chair shot. He and Hulk sandwich YAMATO with kicks for 2. YAMATO tries to regain control with a headbutt to Tozawa but Hulk rushes in. Tozawa hits an elbowdrop and Hulk hits a NASTY axe kick. YAMATO’s brains are scrambled and he seemingly can’t regain his composure. But then he hits Tozawa with a spear and Hulk with a dragon screw. Takagi cleans house. Hulk hits a roundhouse kick. He sweeps the leg and hits a senton for 2. Takagi throws him off the top rope for 2. He hits a side suplex. He clotheslines Hulk to the floor. YAMATO elbows Tozawa for 2. Tozawa returns the favor. Our heroes hit stereo dragon screws and put on Sharpshooters. Hulk and Tozawa get to the ropes. Takagi hits Tozawa with the Pumping Bomber for 2. He hits a powerbomb for 2. He hits a gutbuster. Tozawa hits a bicycle kick on Takagi. Hulk does the same to YAMATO. Tozawa hits the superplex and Hulk hits the avalanche EVO for 2. Hulk hits the Complete Shot. He and Tozawa hit their dropkick/side suplex combo for 2. Tozawa hits a German suplex. Hulk hits the EVOPlex for 2. He hits the axe kick. Takagi hits a lariat. Tozawa hits a side suplex. YAMATO hits an exploder. Hulk hits another axe kick. He and Takagi go at it until Takagi hits MADE IN JAPAN for 2. YAMATO hits a dropkick. Takagi hits a turnbuckle powerbomb and the Gallon Throw. YAMATO hits the Frog Splash for 2. He hits the brainbuster for 2. He hits the Galleria for 2 when Tozawa makes the save. Tozawa hits the bicycle kick. Kanda hits a blue box attack on Takagi. Hulk spits wine and Tozawa hits the Ganki for 2. Tozawa hits a German suplex for 2. He hits the High Tension Suplex for 2 when YAMATO makes the save. Tozawa hits YAMATO with the German suplex on the apron. Off camera Takagi hits Hulk with what I assume was MADE IN JAPAN for 2. Hulk hits a thrust kick before collapsing. What a crappy time for the camera to miss the action. Hulk hits the FTX. He hits the First Flash for 2. He crosses Takagi’s neck and hits the H Thunder for the win at 25:00. I love the finish, as Hulk has totally turned around his legacy against Takagi, becoming the aggressor and a constant thorn in the Pumping Hawk’s side. The match was full of the hate-filled action that I expected and that deserved better treatment from the crowd.
Rating: ****

Masaaki Mochizuki © {J3} vs. CIMA {BW} [Open the Dream Gate Championship Match]
It doesn’t really get bigger than this, but you wouldn’t know it based on the near silent crowd. Mochizuki hits a chest kick to start. CIMA hits a dropkick. He hits a few chest kicks. He hits the Superdrol after Mochizuki turns his back for no reason. Well that looked terrible. CIMA does the same stupid garbage for Mochizuki’s apron Sankakugeri. Mochizuki hits the Topé Masaaki. They’re not off to a great start. Mochizuki hits a shinbreaker on the apron. He works the leg. CIMA eventually gets to the ropes. Mochizuki puts on the anklelock. CIMA gets to the ropes. He dropkicks Mochizuki’s legs. He hits a pair of dragon screws, on in the ropes. Doi distracts the referee while CIMA uses a chair to hit a dragon screw. He wraps Mochizuki’s leg around the post. He puts on a leglock. They trade chest kicks in an exchange that CIMA wins. Mochizuki does his Indian style power-up before hitting a high kick. He hits a capture suplex. He hits a chest kick. CIMA avoids the Ikkakugeri but eats a big boot. Mochizuki hits the Ikkakugeri. He hits a superplex for 2. He hits the Illusion. CIMA absorbs a chest kick. He takes a few more but a back heel kick dazes him. Mochizuki hits the Twister. CIMA pops up and hits the Schwein and a head kick before collapsing. He hits the Tokarev. He hits his version of the Ikkakugeri. He hits another Schweinand the Meteora for 2, because he couldn’t cover immediately. He hits a superkick and the Goriconclasm. Mochizuki blocks the Mad Splash but gets caught with a high kick. CIMA hits a tope. Mochizuki beats the count at 17. They trade high kicks until Mochizuki hits the Illusion and Shin Saikyou High Kick for 2. CIMA counters the Sankakugeri to a Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex and gets 2. Mochizuki hits the Shin Saikyou High Kick for 2. He hits the Sankakugeri for 2. He goes for another but CIMA blocks it and hits an elevated Nakayubi. He hits the Meteora for 2. He hits it again for the win and the title at 24:55. At the end this became the same lame finisher fest that their 2004 match was. I’ll give them points for fighting hard and keeping it interesting for the last fifteen minutes (the first ten were dull at best, ridiculous at worst) but this failed to deliver. The Blood Warriors now hold every title in Dragon Gate.
Rating: ***

Mochizuki hands the belt over to CIMA before leaving the ring. The Blood Warriors line up all of their title belts, including the Owarai Gate belt that Tanisaki stole from Swann. CIMA promises to have destroyed Junction Three completely by February. He will also make his first title defense in February in Hakata Star Lanes.

December 20, 2011 – Tokyo, Japan

Open the Dream Gate Champion: Masaaki Mochizuki
Open the Triangle Gate Champions: Naruki Doi, Kzy & Naoki Tanisaki
Open the Brave Gate Champion: Ricochet
Open the Twin Gate Champions: Akira Tozawa & BxB Hulk
Open the Freedom Gate Champion: Johnny Gargano
Open the United Gate Champions: CIMA & Ricochet

Gamma {J3} & Rich Swann {J3} vs. Karaoke Machine & Stalker Ichikawa
Swann and Ichikawa start. Swann rips off Ichikawa’s antennae. He hits a shoulder tackle. He hits a dropkick. Machine hits a shoulder tackle. He slams Gamma. Swann saves Gamma from the Koncho. Machine lariats Ichikawa for reasons unknown. Ichikawa retaliates. Gamma and Machine hit a double lariat. Machine chokeslams Ichikawa and Swanna finishes him with the FIREBIRD at 2:41. Whatever, this was nothing. After the matches the two teams have a song battle. Gamma and Swann do an amazingly entertaining dance along with theirs, and Swann sings in Japanese. The crowd eats it up and Junction Three wins that too.
Rating: ½*

Uhaa Nation {BW} vs. Cyber Kong
A test of strength starts the match, but goes to a stalemate. They trade shoulder tackles until Nation falls. Nation hits a dropkick. He hits a topé con hilo. Back in the ring Nation hits a double backbreaker for 2. He puts on a chinlock. Kong gets to the ropes. Nation hits a kneedrop for 1 and then stops to do some pushups. They trade slaps. Kong hits a bodyslam. He hits a lariat and a double kneedrop for 2. Nation hits a delayed vertical suplex. He hits an avalanche. They trade lariats until Kong hits the mat. Nation hits a bicycle kick. He hits a press slam. He hits the Uhaa Combination for the win at 4:41. There wasn’t much rhyme or reason to what happened here, but Kong pretty much got owned. I wonder how he’ll fare against Kensuke Sasaki five days from now given his crap performance here.
Rating: *

[Survival Gate Battle Royal]
Tomahawk TT and Shachihoko Machine start. I went back and watched Kobe World the other day, and TT’s hair was much less lame then than it is now. TT hits a shoulder tackle. Kotoka and Eita Kobayashi come out next. Kotoka hits Kobayashi with a shoulder tackle. Kobayashi hits a dropkick. Machine rolls Kotoka up for 2. Kotoka hits a facebuster to eliminate Machine. Super Shenlong and Jackson Florida are out next. Florida flounders around the ring on his crutch. Super Shisa and Don Fujii are out next. Everyone beats on Florida. Florida misses a charge and falls to the floor. Keirin Man (on a bicycle) and Yasushi Kanda are out next. Kanda knocks Man off of his bike with the blue box. TT shoulder tackles Florida over the top rope to the floor, eliminating him. Shisa BOY is out next, with his BOY mask and Machine jumpsuit on. Katsuo comes out with him, sadly wearing his Metabolic Brothers gear. BOY does his Machine pose, then realizes which mask he’s wearing. He hits Kotoka with a missile dropkick and gets into the right character. Shisa locks Kanda and TT in his double abdominal stretch. They dust off the Fujii vs. The World chop spot. I guess Keirin Man quit after getting hit with the blue box. Kanda shoves Shisa over the top to the floor, eliminating him. Kobayashi and Kotoka distract Kanda and TT for schoolboys from Shenlong and BOY. The Blood Warriors hit Kotoka and Kobayashi with stereo finishers to eliminate them. Katsuo hits Shenlong with crotch thrusts in the corner. He hits the Metabolic Stomp on BOY to eliminate him. Kanda hits TT with the Jon Woo by mistake and Katsuo splashes him to eliminate him. Shenlong smacks the crap out of TT. Fujii shoves TT over the top to the floor. Fujii gets the Gedo Clutch on Katsuo to eliminate him. Shenlong goes for la magistral but only gets 2. He and Fujii argue until Fujii decides to forfeit the match by going over the top. Shenlong stops him because he doesn’t want to win that way. Fujii chops his throat. He shoves Shenlong into the post. He hits a lariat. He shoves him to the floor but then goes over the top to dive onto him, eliminating himself and giving Shenlong the win at 13:56. After the match Shenlong says he’s going to use the momentum to win the Dream Gate title, so Fujii chokeslams him. This was silly but not enough so to be memorable in any way.
Rating: *

Ryo Saito {BW} & Genki Horiguchi {BW} vs. Yosuke Watanabe & Chihiro Tominaga
The rookies attack before the bell. Watanabe hits Saito with a dropkick. Saito and Horiguchi hit stereo bodyslams. Saito hits Watanabe with a double stomp. He hits another to the floor from the apron. Saito hits Tominaga with a legdrop. Horiguchi puts on a leglock. MARAHA! ISAPPA! Horiguchi hits a back suplex for 2. Saito hits a double stomp. TT interferes with a chop. Saito hits a Tree of Woe dropkick. There is so little happening in this match. Horiguchi hits a funky piledriver. Tominaga hits Saito with a dropkick but quickly Saito regains control. Tominaga hits an elbow with Watanabe’s help. Watanabe hits Horiguchi with a dropkick. They hit a double dropkick. Watanabe hits a vertical suplex. Watanabe hits a triple jump moonsault for 2. Watanabe unloads on Saito with elbows. Saito responds in kind before hitting a fisherman suplex. Horiguchi hits a German suplex. Saito hits the Superfly Splash for 2. He hits a dragon suplex. Tominaga pops up and locks Horiguchi in the cross armbreaker. Saito makes the save. The crowd popped for the move, showing how effective it was in Tominaga’s Triangle Gate match. He gets a pair of roll ups for 2. They also get good pops. Saito hits a German suplex for 2. He hits the Double Cross for the win at 12:18. Points for Tominaga being over and knowing how to work it, but the first half of the match was so boring I almost took a nap.
Rating: *½

Naruki Doi {BW}, Kzy {BW} & Naoki Tanisaki {BW} vs. Kenichiro Arai, Taku Iwasa & K-ness
The Doi Darts attack before the bell. Iwasa hits Kzy with the Gouwan. Arai hits Tanisaki with a DDT. K-ness puts on a chinlock. K-nesAraIwa do their triple-team spot on Kzy. Arai hits a headbutt. Doi and Kzy hit a double vertical suplex on Arai. Doi puts on a chinlock. Tanisaki hits the elevated kneedrop for 2. Doi hits the elevated senton. Kzy hits a legdrop. Arai hits a big boot. Iwasa cleans house. K-ness hits an enziguiri. He hits a vertical suplex for 2. Tanisaki puts him in an abdominal stretch. Iwasa hits Doi with the Gouwan. Doi hits a dropkick for 2. Arai hits a kneedrop and K-ness hits a dropkick. Iwasa hits a splash for 2. K-ness hits the Kaishaku for 2. Kzy hits the B-Boy. Tanisaki hits a kneelift and Doi hits the Doi 555. He hits the Bakatare Sliding Kick for 2. K-ness gets the rolling cradle on Tanisaki for 2. Tanisaki hits the DH. Kzy hits KZ TIME for 2. Arai hits a double stomp. Arai hits the skyscraper double stomp. He hits a diving headbutt for 2. Iwasa hits a backbreaker. Arai hits the Hanshin Tiger Suplex for 2. He sends Doi to the floor and hits a suicide dive. K-ness hits the Darkness Driver and Arai hits a kneedrop for 2. Iwasa and Arai hit Tanisaki with the Doomsday Device. Kzy rolls K-ness up for 2. He hits the Shouryuukyaku for 2. Arai hits the Hanshin Tiger Suplex and Iwasa hits the Noshigami. K-ness hits the Darkness Buster for the win at 14:28. The babyface team looked like straight up thugs down the stretch, of which I approve. They just had the Doi Darts unmatched. This wasn’t as exciting as some of the other recent Doi Darts matches, but it did the job of making the unaffiliated team look like contenders.
Rating: ***

In a backstage interview Doi says that a Christmas version of the Doi Darts Second will debut at Final Gate. Gamma, Rich Swann and Dragon Kid don’t know what’s coming.

PAC {J3} & Dragon Kid {J3} vs. Jimmy Susumu {J3} & Jimmy Kagetora {J3}
Kid breakdances as he’s covered in streamers, making for a pretty cool visual. He and Kagetora start. Kagetora hits a dropkick. PAC hits a dropkick. He hits Susumu with a hurricanrana. Kid hits a double kneedrop. He hits a senton and PAC hits a standing SSP for 2. Kid hits a dropkick. Kagetora hits a dropkick. He puts on the Mark Nulty Special. He hits a dropkick to the face. Susumu hits a delayed vertical suplex for 2. Kagetora puts on an abdominal stretch and gets some help from Susumu. Susumu hits a backbreaker for 2. Kid hits the Déjà Vu. PAC hits a dropkick. He hits the corkscrew quebrada. Kagetora hits the leaping lariat. PAC hits an enziguiri and the northern lights suplex for 2. Kagetora hits the Ace Crusher for 2. Susumu hits a lariat. Kid hits a stunner for 2. Susumu blocks the Messiah and hits a Muscle Buster for 2. Kagetora hits a dropkick and the Hangetsu and Susumu hits a DVD. Kagetora hits the Hangetsu again and the Genkonitekki for 2 when PAC makes the save. PAC hits a high kick. Susumu hits the super exploder. Kagetora hits the flying elbowdrop for 2. Kid hits the skyscraper hurricanrana for 2. PAC hits the springboard 450 splash for 2. He hits the Ace Crusher. He hits Susumu with the German suplex. Kid hits the Ultra Hurricanrana for 2. Susumu blocks the 360 Shooting Star Press with his knees. Kagetora hits the wheelbarrow piledriver for 2. PAC gets a roll up for 2. Susumu hits a lariat. He hits the Jumbo no Kachi for 2. He hits the Mugen for the win at 16:52. I love watching two regular tag teams do their thing against each other, and since both of these teams were babyface tandems we didn’t see any cheating (except for that abdominal stretch spot). I dug this a lot, though I think Kid should have taken the fall instead of PAC.
Rating: ***½

Masaaki Mochizuki {J3}, Shingo Takagi {J3}, YAMATO {J3} & Masato Yoshino {J3} vs. CIMA {BW}, Akira Tozawa {BW}, BxB Hulk {BW} & Ricochet {BW}
This is a very WWE-style concept match that Dragon Gate really doesn’t do very often, with all the champions and their challengers squaring off in one match. Everyone brawls to start. Hulk and Tozawa hit YAMATO with a dropkick sandwich. YAMATO and Takagi double-team Tozawa. Ricochet hits Takagi with a missile dropkick. Yoshino hits a supercharged dropkick. Ricochet hits a dropkick. Mochizuki hits CIMA with a chest kick. CIMA hits a dropkick. Mochizuki sweeps the leg but CIMA blocks the apron kick. Mochizuki hits a chest kick. He hits back kicks on the rest of the Blood Warriors, except for Ricochet who knows better than to get in the ring. YAMATO elbows Tozawa for 1. Yoshino hits a double stomp on Hulk’s arm. Tozawa slugs Takagi. Takagi hits the DVD. Everyone chops Tozawa. Tozawa regains control with a side suplex to YAMATO. CIMA hits a chest kick. He suplexes Yoshino while holding YAMATO in a leglock. Ricochet leg lariats YAMATO for 2. After much Blood Warrior abuse, Hulk hits an axe kick on YAMATO. He hits a dropkick for 2. CIMA and Hulk dropkick YAMATO into Tozawa’s side suplex for 2. YAMATO hits Hulk with a dragon screw. He does the same to Ricochet and Tozawa. Ricochet blocks Mochizuki’s dropkick with one of his own. Mochizuki hits CIMA with the Sankakugeri. Yoshino hits the Bermuda Triangle. Mochizuki hits the Topé Masaaki. Gamma stops Tanisaki from interfering and helps his teammates suplex the Blood Warriors. Hulk hits Takagi with a roundhouse kick. He hits a senton for 2. Takagi throws him across the ring. He hits a backdrop driver for 2. He lariats Hulk to the floor. Tozawa hits a low blow on YAMATO.

YAMATO hits an enziguiri. He puts on the Samoan Crab. Takagi and Mochizuki put Hulk and CIMA in Sharpshooters while Yoshino puts Ricochet in From Jungle. Tanisaki runs in to make the save so Swann hits him with a missile dropkick. Takagi throws Ricochet into the air. Yoshino hits the shotgun dropkick on YAMATO and Takagi by mistake. CIMA and Ricochet hits Superdrols. Ricochet hits the running SSP for 2. He, CIMA and Tozawa hit a triple suicide dive. Hulk hits the Mouse on Mochizuki. Mochizuki kicks his head off. He hits the best chest kick EVER! YAMATO hits a dropkick. Takagi hits the Gallon Throw. Yoshino hits a DDT for 2. Mochizuki hits a superkick and the Schwein for 2. CIMA hits a superkick. Tozawa and Hulk stop Mochizuki’s momentum and CIMA hits his version of the Ikkakugeri. Hulk hits the EVO and Ricochet hits a 630 senton for 2. He FLATTENED YAMATO with that one. CIMA hits the Schwein on Mochizuki. He hits the Meteora. Tozawa hits the High Tension Suplex for 2 when Yoshino makes the save. Takagi lariats Hulk. CIMA suplexes him. Yoshino hits the Sling Blade. Ricochet hits he Ace Crusher. YAMATO hits the spear. Tozawa hits the running knee. Takagi hits MADE IN JAPAN for 2. Yoshino hits Tozawa with the Torbellino and Lightning Spiral for 2. Takagi hits the Pumping Bomber for 2. He hits the Last Falconry for the win at 32:26 and then talks smack to Tozawa before letting go. This was like one of those insane go-home RAW main events from late 2000/early 2001, and it rocked just as hard as those used to. I say that because the whole thing was a freaky finisher fest with everyone hitting all of their own and stealing each other’s. Great stuff to hype the Final Gate.
Rating: ****¼

December 1, 2011 – Tokyo, Japan

Open the Dream Gate Champion: Masaaki Mochizuki
Open the Triangle Gate Champions: Naruki Doi, Kzy & Naoki Tanisaki
Open the Brave Gate Champion: Ricochet
Open the Twin Gate Champions: Vacant
Open the Freedom Gate Champion: Johnny Gargano
Open the United Gate Champions: CIMA & Ricochet

PAC {J3} & Prince Devitt {NJ} vs. Genki Horiguchi {BW} & Ryo Saito {BW}
PAC brought in the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion to help bridge the gap from the midcard to the main event. Devitt & Horiguchi start. They trade holds on the mat. PAC hits Saito with a basement dropkick. Devitt follows suit. PAC hits Horiguchi with a standing SSP. He hits a corkscrew moonsault off of Devitt’s back for 2. Horiguchi and Devitt brawl through the crowd as Saito chokes PAC in the ring. Horiguchi suplexes Devitt on the floor. PAC hits Horiguchi with a springboard dropkick. Devitt dropkicks Saito and clotheslines Horiguchi. He dropkicks Horiguchi to the floor. PAC dives onto Horiguchi. Devitt hits Saito with a double stomp off the top for 2. Saito hits PAC with a German suplex. He hits one on Devitt. Horiguchi hits PAC with the brainbuster for 2. PAC blocks the Beach Break and hits a German suplex. Devitt gets caught with the Backslide from Heaven but PAC makes the save. PAC hits Saito with the Ace Crusher. Devitt hits the Bloody Sunday. He hits Horiguchi with one as well. He hits Saito with a topé con hilo. PAC finishes Horiguchi with the 360 Shooting Star Press for the win at 7:37 shown of 13:02. Devitt really didn’t get to do much here. The match was about as bad as could be expected, which is to say they just went out and had a standard good match and not a mind-blowing one. Here’s hoping that’s not the last we’ve seen of Devitt in Dragon Gate.
Rating: ***

Naoki Tanisaki {BW}, & Uhaa Nation {BW} & Yasushi Kanda {BW} vs. Rich Swann {J3}, Don Fujii & Gamma {J3} ends when Nation nails Swann with the Uhaa CombiNATION.

Shingo Takagi {J3} & Dragon Kid {J3} vs. Kzy {BW} & Naruki Doi {BW} ends when Takagi murders Kzy with the DVD and the Pumping Bomber. After the match Doi gets on the microphone and runs down Kenichiro Arai, K-ness & Taku Iwasa. They come out to the ring. After some back and forth a match is made between the Doi Darts and Arai’s trio on the December 20th live show.

Masaaki Mochizuki {J3} & Masato Yoshino {J3} vs. CIMA {BW} & Ricochet {BW} gives us a preview of the Final Gate main event. CIMA controls with kicks for a minute. Mochizuki shows him how it’s done. Ricochet picks up the win by rolling through the Torbellino to pin Yoshino.

YAMATO {J3} vs. Cyber Kong
Kong shaved YAMATO’s head. YAMATO got Kong kicked out of the Blood Warriors. This will settle things once and for all. Simple, effective, awesome storytelling is what makes Dragon Gate the best. YAMATO grabs a headlock to start. He sends Kong to the floor and hits a suicide dive. Back in the ring YAMATO works the arm. They trade strikes in an exchange that Kong easily wins. YAMATO’s selling here is unparalleled. Kong stands on his stomach. He puts on the sleeper hold. YAMATO gets to the ropes. YAMATO hits the spear but Kong is too strong to go down. Amazing. YAMATO sneaks away and a second spear puts Kong on his back. He hits a dropkick. He slams Kong for 2. Kong crotches YAMATO up top and clotheslines him to the floor. He brings YAMATO back into the ring with a side suplex. YAMATO hits a dropkick but Kong rebounds with the Pineapple Bomber for 2. Kong hits the flying elbowdrop for 2. YAMATO puts on a guillotine choke. He hits a vertical suplex. He hits a powerbomb and a frog splash for 2. Can’t think of another time he’s used that move. They trade strikes until YAMATO dropkicks the knee. He hits the brainbuster for 2. He hits the Galleria for the win at 10:50 shown of 15:22. A lot of this match was Kong trying all his old tricks, realizing they weren’t working and quickly losing his confidence and edge. I dug the story, dug the finish, and loved the aftermath.
Rating: ***½

After the match Nation runs out and attacks Kong. He finishes the masked man off with a press slam. In the back Kong announces his Final Battle match against Kensuke Sasaki. Also announced is the match between Kong and Nation at the December 20th live show.

BxB Hulk {BW} & Akira Tozawa {BW} vs. KAGETORA {J3} & Susumu Yokosuka {BW} [Open the Twin Gate Championship Match]
If KAGETORA & Yokosuka lose they have to change their names to Jimmy Kagetora & Jimmy Susumu, an homage to the vanilla insults that the Blood Warriors constantly hurl at them. Tozawa and Yokosuka avoid each other’s signature strikes to start. Yokosuka cleans house with lariats. He hits Hulk with an exploder. KAGETORA hits a basement dropkick. He smacks the crap out of Tozawa. Yokosuka hits a back kick. Tozawa comes back with the double suicide dive and somersault off the apron. Hulk dropkicks KAGETORA for 2. He and Tozawa hit a dropkick sandwich for 2. Tozawa hits another dropkick for 2. He and Hulk pepper KAGETORA with kicks for 2. KAGETORA hits Hulk with an enziguiri. He hits Tozawa with the leaping lariat. Yokosuka hits Tozawa with an exploder into the corner. He hits Hulk with a lariat. KAGETORA hits a DDT for 2. He smacks Tozawa’s face off. He hits an enziguiri. Tozawa elbows him to the mat. He blocks a crossbody with his knees. He hits the bicycle kick and Hulk hits the Complete Shot for 2. Yokosuka hits Tozawa with the half nelson suplex. He hits Hulk with a super exploder and KAGETORA hits the flying elbowdrop for 2. Hulk blocks the Hangetsu and hits an enziguiri. Tozawa suplexes KAGETORA after a dropkick from Hulk for 2. Hulk hits the axe kick and Tozawa hits the German suplex for 2. Hulk hits Yokosuka with the EVO for 2. Tozawa hits a bicycle kick and a superplex for 2. KAGETORA hits an enziguiri and Yokosuka hits the DVD. Yokosuka hits the Jumbo no Kachi for 2. KAGETORA hits the Hangetsu and the Ikkitousen for 2. Yokosuka hits a cross-armed Mugen for 2. Hulk hits KAGETORA with the EVOplex for 2. Tozawa hits Yokosuka with a side suplex. KAGETORA counters the First Flash to the Kagenui for 2. He gets it again for 2. Tozawa and Yokosuka trade strikes. Yokosuka hits the Jumbo no Kachi. Tozawa hits a German suplex. Hulk hits the First Flash. Tozawa hits another German suplex for 2. He hits the High Tension Suplex for the win and the titles at 16:45 shown of 23:46, giving Tozawa his first title ever. No, I’m not counting his nonsense Texas title run, even if a couple of the matches were quite good. As for the match, some of it was just absurd, with Tozawa kicking out of finisher strings he had no business being able to beat. The finish was outstanding however, and made me want to see a Tozawa vs. Yokosuka singles match in a big way.
Rating: ***½

Tozawa makes fun of the newly dubbed Jimmy Susumu & Jimmy Kagetora after the match. Takagi gets frustrated and lays Tozawa out with a lariat. YAMATO chokes out Hulk, because he’s a thug. The two of them lay out a Twin Gate challenge for Final Gate, in case anyone didn’t know who the real tough bastards in Junction Three are.

November 30, 2011 – Tokyo, Japan

Open the Dream Gate Champion: Masaaki Mochizuki
Open the Triangle Gate Champions: Naruki Doi, Kzy & Naoki Tanisaki
Open the Brave Gate Champion: Ricochet
Open the Twin Gate Champions: CIMA & Ricochet
Open the Freedom Gate Champion: Johnny Gargano
Open the United Gate Champions: CIMA & Ricochet

The production for this show is significantly less polished than a typical episode of Infinity. That, combined with the show taking place in Shin-Kiba First Ring, the random black ring and the fact that it’s being broadcast on Infinity really makes it feel like Blood Warriors is a separate brand altogether. It reminds me a lot of the Muscle Outlaw’z produce show from a few years back.

The Blood Warriors come to the ring and introduce themselves one by one. Ricochet, who is very over, cuts his promo in Japanese. The crowd and the rest of the Warriors mark out when TT starts cutting a promo, as he hadn’t spoken since turning heel. CIMA calls out Ricky Fuji so he can sing a song for them, but Metal Warrior attacks him and they have a match.

Metal Warrior {BW} vs. Ricky Fuji
I think Randy the Ram was really inspired by Fuji. Warrior attacks for a while before the match officially begins. Warrior puts on the Iron Claw and gets 2. Fuji hits a chop. He hits a Finlay Roll. He hits the 999 for the win in 59 seconds. Nothing doing here, and not really sure what the point of this was.
Rating: ¼*

Tokyo Gurentai comes out and they tell Naruki Doi that they want their match tonight to be for the Open the Triangle Gate Championships. Kikutaro looks so weird to me without a mask in his Gurentai gimmick. Doi brings out the Doi Darts Second to decide whether or not to grant the match. Most of the board says no, and a small sliver says yes. A boy from the crowd throws the dart, and though it’s close the dart lands on non-title. Fuji grabs the microphone and tells the Doi Darts that they’re not being very rock n’ role, so he debuts the fancy (relatively) Ricky Darts. Most of this board calls for a title match, with a small sliver calling for a non-title match (and another small sliver calling for something else). The kid throws the dart at the title match section and the match is granted. Naoki Tanisaki makes sure his two-count rules are in effect.

El Samurai © vs. Tomahawk TT {BW} [X-LAW International Championship
Match]
TT works the arm to start. Samurai returns the favor. TT hits a shoulder tackle, sending Samurai to the floor. Samurai whips TT into the post. Back in the ring Samurai puts on a chinlock. Holy crap this match is already so boring. TT bites Samurai’s hand to escape. Samurai bites him back. TT hits a deadlift suplex. He hits a powerslam for 2. Samurai hits a crappy reverse DDT. He hits a diving headbutt for 2. He puts on the chickenwing armbar but TT escapes. TT hits a chop but Samurai reapplies the armbar for the win at 7:09. This was boring and sloppy. If this is an indication of how TT is developing as a heel he’s in for a long wait before he gets a real push.
Rating: ¾*

Uhaa Nation {BW} vs. Kotoka
Kotoka challenged Nation to this match, sight unseen, when he heard another American was coming to Dragon Gate. He looks horrified before the bell. He tries chops and elbows but they don’t work. Shoulder tackles are failures as well. Nation tackles Kotoka into the ropes. He hits a back elbow. He hits a delayed vertical suplex. Kotoka dropkicks the leg. He hits a second rope dropkick for 1. Nation hits a lariat. He hits a press slam and the Uhaa Combination for the win at 1:39. That’s about as good a debut for Nation in Dragon Gate as they could book.
Rating: *½

Genki Horiguchi {BW} & Ryo Saito {BW} vs. Yasushi Kanda {BW} & Takuya Sugawara
The most evil thing the Blood Warriors have done to date is bringing Sugawara back to my screen. Kanda and Saito start. Saito is very over. Horiguchi is equally over while fighting Sugawara. They play with the H-A-G-E gimmick a bit. MARAHA! ISAPPA! Kanda and Sugawara isolate Saito with boring offense. Horiguchi dropkicks Sugawara. Sugawara and Kanda target the hair. Horiguchi almost cries. A double back elbow leads to more near-tears for Horiguchi. Kanda puts on an abdominal stretch. Saito gets in the ring and tries to get Horiguchi motivated. H-A-G-E frees Horiguchi and helps him hit a head scissor takedown. He and Saito are totally playing babyface here. Saito hits Sugawara with the Fisherman Express. Sugawara hits an enziguiri and a DDT for 2. Kanda hits Horiguchi with a powerslam for 2. The Jon Woo gets blocked three times before Saito hits Kanda with a German suplex. He hits the Superfly Splash for 2. Kanda and Sugawara hit a double flapjack. Sugawara hits TCO and Kanda hits the flying elbowdrop on Horiguchi for 2. Kanda hits the side slam for 2. Horiguchi counters the Ryus to the Backslide from Heaven for the win at 12:35. Maraha Isappa playing babyface (and the announcers focusing on Horiguchi using the Backslide from Heaven instead of the Backslide from Hell) had me feeling good, but the match was nothing outside of that. After the match Horiguchi says that he and Saito will give PAC and Prince Devitt hell tomorrow night.
Rating: **¼

Naruki Doi © {BW}, Kzy © {BW} & Naoki Tanisaki © {BW} vs. NOSAWA Rongai {TG}, KIKUZAWA {TG} & FUJITA {TG} [Open the Triangle Gate Championship Match]
The Gurentai team is so shlubby they make Kzy look like CIMA by comparison. Gurentai attacks before the bell. Everyone brawls around ringside. In the ring Doi goes after KIKUZAWA’s heavily protected knee. Kzy, who has been wearing short tights lately and is a t-shirt away from looking like a real Dragon Gate wrestler, keeps pressure on the knee. Tanisaki goes after the leg with a cane. KIKUZAWA hits Doi with a dropkick. Kzy hits FUJITA with a leg lariat. FUJITA hits a baby DDT for 2. Rongai hits a head kick for 2. The referee inadvertently helps Rongai work Kzy’s hair. KIKUZAWA hits a vertical suplex for 2. He hits an elbowdrop. He and Rongai hit a double flapjack for 2. FUJITA hits a basement dropkick for 2. He pulls on Kzy’s goatee and hits another dropkick for 2. Rongai goes to the eyes for 1, screwing with the referee. Kzy finally hits KIKUZAWA with the B-Boy. Doi cleans house and forces FUJITA and Rongai dropkick KIKUZAWA’s knee. He hits a dragon screw. Tanisaki hits the DH. KIKUZAWA blocks the Casanova so Tanisaki attacks the knee. KIKUZAWA hits a powerslam. Tanisaki hits FUJITA with an elevated kneedrop. Kzy puts on the Testicular Claw. FUJITA hits an exploder for 2. Kzy hits the Beat Bomb for 2. KIKUZAWA hits a Superbomb. FUJITA hits a Tombstone Piledriver. Rongai and KIKUZAWA hit a Shining Wizard sandwich for 2. Rongai hits a low blow and gets a small package. Tanisaki hits the DH. Kzy hits KZ TIME for 1. Kzy powders Rongai and Doi gets a roll up for 1. Tanisaki hits the Casanova for 1. Doi and Rongai trade quick roll ups. Doi hits the Doi 555 and the Bakatare Sliding Kick for the win at 16:07. The heat on Kzy went on longer than I’d have liked. Also the 2-count rule never really came into play, which made the Doi Darts just look lazy. The only bright spot was the work on KIKUZAWA’s knee, and that was not a significant enough portion of the match.
Rating: *¾

CIMA © {BW} & Ricochet © {BW} vs. BxB Hulk {BW} & Akira Tozawa {BW} [Open the Twin Gate Championship Match]
Finally, months after they had the momentum, Hulk and Tozawa cash in their Summer Adventure Tag Tournament title shot. If the Spiked Mohicans lose they’re going to vacate the titles to focus on their upcoming singles aspirations. CIMA and Tozawa start. Here’s a singles match I’d like to see happen NOW. They trade holds for a bit. Hulk and Ricochet speed things up a bit, with some kicking and some flipping. CIMA works Tozawa’s arm. Ricochet hits a senton for 2. Hulk hits a dropkick to the face for 2. CIMA works Hulk’s leg. He hits Tozawa with a snap suplex. Tozawa blocks Ricochet’s crossbody with his knees. He and Hulk hit a dropkick sandwich for 2. Tozawa hits a senton for 2. He and Hulk pepper Ricochet with kicks for 2. Hulk hits an axe kick. Ricochet hits a head scissor takedown out of nowhere. He hits Tozawa with a springboard elbow. CIMA cleans house. He suplexes Tozawa while holding Hulk in a leglock. Ricochet hits a beautiful dive on Tozawa. He hits a double stomp extra hard to punish Hulk for goofing the preceding spot. Hulk hits a senton for 2. He hits the Complete Shot for 2. Ricochet hits Tozawa with the Ace Crusher. He and CIMA destroy Tozawa with one of the coolest sequences I’ve seen in a while. Tozawa hits CIMA with the running knee. He hits the back suplex after Hulk’s dropkick for 2. CIMA blocks the EVO. Tozawa hits the Ganki, which CIMA sells like poop. Hulk hits Ricochet with the Mouse and an EVOplex for 2. Tozawa hits a bicycle kick and a superplex for 2. Hulk hits the axe kick and Tozawa hits the deadlift German suplex for 2. Ricochet knows the High Tension Suplex is coming and is able to block it long enough for CIMA to hit a superkick. CIMA hits his tribute to the Ikkakugeri. He hits Hulk with the Schwein. Ricochet hits the 630 senton. CIMA hits Tozawa with the Schwein for 2. Tozawa hits the bicycle kick. CIMA hits the superkick, the Nakayubi and the Meteora for the win at 19:40. The crowd didn’t get into any of this but it was pretty solid without them. There were a couple of awkward spots, but it didn’t change the fact that this was leagues beyond everything else on the show. The reason this match doesn’t get higher marks than it has is because the Mohicans left Hulk and Tozawa looking like they weren’t in their league, which wouldn’t be such a big deal if they weren’t getting ANOTHER title shot at the now vacant Twin Gate belts the next night. If they win them the whole division looks inferior.
Rating: ***½

CIMA announces that he and Ricochet are making good on their promise to vacate the titles. KAGETORA and Susumu Yokosuka come out of the crowd and jump on the ramp. Yokosuka says they want a match for the belts. CIMA starts to respond, and Tozawa uses the distraction to hit Yokosuka with the bicycle kick. He says that he and Hulk will face them for the vacant belts tomorrow night. He calls them jimi again. KAGETORA takes offense. He and Yokosuka leave. Tozawa wraps the show up by singing for the crowd. For a guy who screams all the time he has an amazing voice.

November 23, 2011 – Osaka, Japan

K-ness, Magnitude Kishiwada & NOSAWA Rongai vs. Daisuke Ikeda, Satoshi Kajiwara & Go
Rongai and Ikeda start. Ikeda wins a test of strength and stomps on Rongai’s hands. Rongai’s masked partners aren’t ready to tag in. Ikeda peppers Rongai with kicks for 2. He and Go hit a double chest kick for 2. Kajiwara hits a standing moonsault for 2. Rongai gets into an argument with Kensuke Sasaki’s wife at ringside. K-ness hits an elbowdrop on Kajiwara for 2. Kishiwada hits an avalanche. He hits a butterfly suplex for 2. Rongai gets a crucifix pin for 2. He puts on a crossface. Go makes the save. Kishiwada hits a back bodydrop and a senton for 2. Rongai sidesteps a dropkick and gets 2. Kajiwara hits a dropkick. Ikeda hits the Dai-Chan Bomber. Rongai hits a terrible DDT. K-ness shows him how it’s done for 2. Ikeda hits a vertical suplex. Go hits a chest kick for 2. He hits a clothesline. This guy throws the weakest crap I’ve ever seen. This is wrestling, nobody is going to be mad at you if you put something behind your strikes. He hits a vertical suplex for 2. K-ness hits the Shouryuukyaku. Kajiwara hits Kishiwada with a head scissor takedown. He hits a missile dropkick for 2. Kishiwada blocks a Frog Splash and hits a dropkick. He “hits” a moonsault for 2. Kajiwara hits a hurricanrana. Go hits a pair of clotheslines so weak that I actually thought he was the one hurt by them. K-ness and Rongai hit a double flapjack. Rongai hits the Shining Wizard. Kishiwada hits a brainbuster. He hits the Superfly Splash for 2. Go gets a roll up for 2. Kishiwada hits a lariat for 2. He hits another to finally end this farse of a match at 16:47. Go sold that last lariat like doodie also. Everyone was off their marks here. I don’t know what happened, but spots were missed and strikes looked weak. I have now decided to bear a permanent grudge against Go.
Rating: DUD

Kenichiro Arai & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Mitsuhiro Kitanomiya
Arai and Kitanomiya start. They do the usual, but with good energy. Kitanomiya works the arm. Arai takes a moment away from getting beaten on to take a cheap shot at Sasaki. Sasaki tags in and chops Arai around the ring. He hits a vertical suplex for 2. Arai hits a low blow. Tenryu, who looked old in 2006 and looks downright ancient now, loses a chop battle to Sasaki. Sasaki slams Arai. Kitanomiya takes a cheap shot at Tenryu. He puts Arai in a chinlock. This match is incredibly boring. Sasaki clotheslines Tenryu off the apron and sends Kitanomiya after him. Tenryu has to rest one arm on the apron while fighting with Kitanomiya because his balance is so bad. In the ring Tenryu continues to beat on Kitanomiya, busting his lip. Kitanomiya gets in a few good shots, but Tenryu keeps knocking him down. Things start getting hard to watch as they stop pulling their punches and Kitanomiya’s mouth turns into a total mess. Tenryu hits a lariat for 2. Arai tags in, and now his gimmicked mounted punches look absurd. Kitanomiya hits a dropkick. Sasaki tags in and beats the crap out of Arai. He hits the Ipponzeoi and puts on the Stranglehold Gamma. Arai blocks a lariat with his head, but Sasaki catches him with a powerbomb. Kitanomiya hits a spear. He hits a suplex for 2. Arai hits a DDT. He hits a headbutt. Tenryu tags in and goes back to brutalizing Kitanomiya’s face. He hits a lariat for 2. He hits Sasaki with the weakest koppo kick in the history of the move. Sasaki hits a crappy lariat. They trade chops, because that’s all Tenryu can do competently. Sasaki hits a lariat for 2. They go back to chopping. This time the exchange goes on entirely too long. Finally Sasaki hits a vertical suplex which was obviously meant to be a Northern Light’s Bomb, but Tenryu couldn’t get up for the move. Sasaki hits a lariat a few moments later for the win at 22:32. Tenryu had no business being in the ring, as all he can do anymore is bust lips and fall over like an old man. I’ll give this points for being something of a spectacle, and because Kitanomiya has balls, but I was disturbed more than once watching this.
Rating: *½

November 19, 2011 – Osaka, Japan

Open the Dream Gate Champion: Masaaki Mochizuki
Open the Triangle Gate Champions: Naruki Doi, Kzy & Naoki Tanisaki
Open the Brave Gate Champion: PAC
Open the Twin Gate Champions: CIMA & Ricochet
Open the Freedom Gate Champion: Johnny Gargano
Open the United Gate Champions: CIMA & Ricochet

Naruki Doi © {BW}, Kzy © {BW} & Naoki Tanisaki © {BW} vs. Gamma {J3}, Shachihoko Machine & Chihiro Tominaga [Open the Triangle Gate Championship Match]
Gamma got saddled with these jokers because of the Doi Darts Second game. Tominaga is over like CRAZY as the underdog of all underdogs. Our heroes attack before the bell. Everyone brawls around the building. Kzy and Machine slug it out. Machine hits a head scissor takedown. The commentators make note of Machine’s uncharacteristically serious behavior. Tominaga misses a dropkick on Tanisaki. Gamma saves Tominaga and gives Tanisaki the Osuikougeki. Doi hits Machine with a back elbow for 2. Doi hits a senton for 2. Tanisaki hits an elevated kneedrop. Kzy wants Machine’s mask and rips it clean off of his face. Super Shelong covers Machine’s face with a towel and takes him to the back. The Junction Three leadership wants Yagi to disqualify the Doi Darts, but Yagi didn’t see the unmasking. Doi hits Tominaga with an elbowdrop. Kzy hits a dropkick. Tominaga hits a dropkick. Gamma hits a dropkick off the top. He spits in everyone’s faces. Shisa BOY’s music plays and Machine runs down wearing his BOY mask to clean house. Our heroes hit a triple quebrada. The crowd is eating this up. BOY Machine hits Tanisaki with a crossbody. He hits a missile dropkick for 2. He hits a facebuster and a roundhouse kick for 2. He misses a moonsault and eats the DH. Doi hits the Dai Bosou. Tanisaki hits the cross-legged suplex and Kzy hits KZ Time for 2. Gamma cleans house with clotheslines. He hits Kzy with the Gamma Special. BOY Machine hits the moonsault for 2. Tominaga misses a triple jump moonsault. He locks in a cross armbreaker and the crowd flips out. He keeps it on for a good long time before Doi makes the save. Tanisaki hits the FH. Doi hits the Doi 555 and the Bakatare Sliding Kick for 2. Tanisaki hits a kneelift and the reverse Implant for 2. He goes for the real Implant but Gamma blocks it with a cane shot and Tominaga and BOY Machine get the Shachihoko Clutch for 2. Tanisaki comes back with the Implant out of nowhere for the win at 14:00 shown of 15:59. The finish was appropriate because Tominaga was only nine real matches into his career, so he would be caught unprepared by a guy like Tanisaki. The rest of the match was a mix of good action and brilliant meta-wrestling. I loved it and I hope this isn’t the end of the angle.
Rating: ***¾

Shingo Takagi {J3} & YAMATO {J3} vs. Ryo Saito {BW} & Genki Horiguchi {BW} ended when YAMATO sent Saito back to the midcard with the Galleria. BattleHawk is looking strong again.

CIMA {BW}, BxB Hulk {BW} & Akira Tozawa {BW} vs. Masaaki Mochizuki {J3}, KAGETORA {J3} & Masato Yoshino {J3} ended after CIMA stole a bunch of Mochizuki ‘s moves and then pinned KAGETORA with the Shin Saikyou High Kick and a Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex. One has to assume CIMA is baiting Mochizuki into a title match.

PAC © {J3} vs. Ricochet {BW} [Open the Brave Gate Championship Match]
For those of you good enough to be surfing the archives and wondering where PAC vs. Ricochet III & IV are, they took place on DGUSA shows. I’m fresh off of watching the most recent match from six days before this, in which Ricochet got his first win over PAC after taking three losses in the series. PAC gets a takedown and Ricochet bails. Ricochet works the arm. He stomps on PAC’s hand. PAC returns the favor. PAC hits a shoulder tackle. Ricochet hits a dropkick. So far this is move-for-move the same match they had in New York. PAC hits a springboard dropkick. Ricochet baits PAC to the floor and hits him with a suicide DDT there. That gets 2. Ricochet dangles his trunk tassels in PAC’s face. He hits a crossbody and a Lionsault for 2. PAC hits the Ace Crusher. He clotheslines Ricochet to the floor and dives out after him. He hits an enziguiri and a northern lights suplex for 2. Ricochet hits the Zig Zag and a running SSP for 2. He hits a hurricanrana to the floor. PAC hits a reverse hurricanrana on the floor. Ricochet beats the count at 19. PAC hits the German suplex immediately, but only gets 2. He hits a high kick. He misses the Phoenix Splash but Ricochet hits it for 2. PAC blocks a crossbody with his knees. He blocks the Spanish Fly and goes for the Shooting Star Press but it hits Ricochet’s knees. Ricochet hits the Backslide Driver for 2. He misses a corkscrew senton. PAC blocks a low blow and flips Ricochet onto his back. He hits the sit-out powerbomb for 2. He misses the 360 Shooting Star Press. Ricochet hits a pair of enziguiris and a pair of reverse hurricanranas. He hits the Regalplex into the corner for 2. He hits the 630 senton for 2. He hits a high kick and the double moonsault for the win and the title at 19:10 shown of 22:40. It’s pretty insane that two non-Japanese wrestler’s just headlined a Dragon Gate show for a Dragon Gate title. I don’t think that’s ever happened before. This was almost exactly the same as the match they had six days earlier, which took me out of things a bit. On the other hand this was more crisply executed than the New York match and the finish was better, so I’ll give this the edge by a little bit. PAC has nothing to be ashamed of, as his Brave Gate run was unbelievable.
Rating: ****

After the match Ricochet asks PAC for a handshake. PAC obliges him, but Ricochet predictably attacks. Dragon Kid and Yoshino make the save. They both challenge Ricochet for his newly won title. Ricochet tells them to fight it out between themselves to decide who will face him for the belt. They agree to renew their rivalry for one night to figure out who would be best to take the belt back from Ricochet. CIMA points out that the Blood Warriors hold all the titles except for one, the Dream Gate Championship. He wraps things up by saying he’s going to replace the Dragon Gate logo with the Blood Warrior logo.

PAC says it’s time for him to move on to the next level. He invites Prince Devitt to Dragon Gate to form a dream team with him. They’ll fight Maraha Isappa in a few weeks.

In a rundown of upcoming matches, Mochizuki vs. CIMA for the Dream Gate title at Final Gate is announced. That’s pretty damn huge. And don’t forget about the live show on December 20th!