Infinity 2 or Every Day Pro Wrestling

All matches occur between August 3 and August 14, 2004

At the PPV a week before this Final M2K met Aagan Iisou in a main event elimination match. Kenichiro Arai was nowhere to be found so Iisou had the numbers advantage. A hilarious video showed Arai running down the street from the Dragon Gate dojo to the arena in full wrestling gear. He helped even the score for a while, but in the end was the final wrestler to fall for his team when he was pinned by Touru Owashi.

Also at the PPV the Florida Brothers used ketchup to make it seem like Crazy Max was cheating, and eventually won by disqualification. That brings us to today.

Daniel Mishima {FB} & Michael Iwasa {FB} vs. Naoki Tanisaki & Genki Horiguchi {DF}
Horiguchi flips out on Iwasa to start for making a hair joke. Referee Yagi hits everyone with armdrags and actually tries to pin Horiguchi. A big armbar chain involving Yagi ensues. This goes on for a while and ends with a quadruple big boot on Tanisaki. Tanisaki helps the Florida Brothers drop toehold Horiguchi onto Mishima’s boots. Yagi dances while more goofiness happens in the match. Iwasa chops Mishima by mistake. Mishima chops Iwasa on purpose. He hits a kneelift on Iwasa. Everyone passes out before Tanisaki can hit his ropewalk armdrag. Iwasa hits a DDT on Tanisaki for 2. Iwasa forces Tanisaki to dropkick Yagi, drawing a disqualification at 6:03 shown of 8:29. I have no clue what happened here, but everyone looked like they were having a lot of fun. In a sleeveless shirt with his weird bleach blonde hair Tanisaki looked like a lesbian woman here.
Rating: **

Shogo Takagi {AI} vs. TARU {CM} [Glove Match]
Takagi always wears gloves, but in this match both he and TARU have to wear oversized boxing gloves. Takagi hits a shoulder tackle to start. He slugs TARU to the mat. They trade punches to the gut. TARU hits a chest kick. He hits an ax kick, rips off his gloves, and hits the TARU Driller for the win at 1:57. Not sure what that was supposed to prove.
Rating: ½*

We take a look at Naoki Tanisaki’s trial series. He lost all ten matches, and considering he wasn’t listed as a Do Fixer member in this episode of Infinity’s opening match I’m guessing he hasn’t gained entrance to the group yet. We get a clip from August 3rd and Tanisaki’s match against TARU from the Every Day Pro Wrestling show. TARU wins after hitting the T-Crush and TARU Driller. The next week, also at an Every Day Pro Wrestling show, Tanisaki fell to Susumu Yokosuka after the Yokosuka Cutter.

The story about Every Day Pro Wrestling, which I’ve learned largely from this article, is that Dragon Gate ran two to three-match shows twice a day in a television studio for two months, and once a week would hold a “premium show” with more (and more important) matches. The following elimination match is from the first premium show.

Milano Collection AT {IC}, YOSSINO {IC} & Anthony W. Mori {IC} vs. Magnum TOKYO {DF}, Dragon Kid {DF} & Genki Horiguchi {DF} vs. CIMA {CM}, SUWA {CM} & Don Fujii {CM} [Elimination Match]
AT and YOSSINO stretch out Kid to start. YOSSINO slams Kid and then a giant headlock chain begins. CIMA holds an elastic band in Horiguchi’s mouth and TARU snaps it from the ramp, destroying the chain. That was cool. CIMA puts Horiguchi in a leglock, so Ryo Saito whips the crowd into a frenzy with a H-A-G-E chant. Horiguchi gets to the ropes. Fujii throws Horiguchi across the ring by his hair. All of Do Fixer and the Italian Connection try to out-chop Fujii, but he gets through the pain and takes on them all. They hit him with two sextuple dropkicks. Milano puts on the Italian Stretch #8, Mori puts on an abdominal stretch, YOSSINO puts on the From Jungle and Kid puts on the Christo. TOKYO breaks all of that up, so everyone, including his partners gangs up on him in the corner. Do Fixer, CIMA and SUWA hit a massive suplex on Fujii and the Italian Connection. This is getting a bit confusing. YOSSINO and Kid hit stereo dropkicks and suicide dives. Horiguchi hits a topé con hilo. Mori hits TOKYO with a DDT. He hits a dropkick and an over-the-corner dive. The Italians hit a triple sunset flip for 2. Crazy Max hits a triple back suplex for 2. Do Fixer gets a triple victory roll for 2. YOSSINO hits Kid with the Sling Blade. Kid hits a dropkick. He hits the Déjà Vu for 2. SUWA hits a backbreaker. Mori this a DDT. Fujii hits a lariat. TOKYO hits a bulldog. CIMA hits a crossbody. Milano hits an enziguiri. Horiguchi hits a missile dropkick. YOSSINO hits the Torbellino. The Italians triple-team Horiguchi for 2. Horiguchi catches Mori with the Backslide from Heaven to eliminate the Italians at 10:20 shown of 20:10. Crazy Max hits a stacked back suplex on Horiguchi for 2. TOKYO hits Fujii with a missile dropkick for 2. Fujii hits a powerslam for 2. Kid hits a hurricanrana. He hits SUWA with a stunner. SUWA hits a flapjack for 2. Kid hits a hurricanrana for 2. CIMA hits the Venus and Iconoclasm. TOKYO hits a super hurricanrana. Kid hits a DDT for 2. SUWA hits the Jon Woo. Fujii hits a chokeslam for 2. He hits a lariat on Kid. CIMA hits a superkick but Horiguchi blocks the Schwein and gets the Backslide from Heaven for the win at 13:57 shown of 24:01. This started out goofy but turned into an awesome match down the stretch just before the first elimination.
Rating: ***½

After the match Horiguchi challenges CIMA to a singles match at the following week’s Every Day Pro Wrestling Premium show. He says he read in a wrestling magazine that CIMA is going to be crowned the first Open the Dream Gate Champion on the strength of being the last Ultimo Dragon Gym Champion. He calls out referee Yasushi Kanda to make the match, and Kanda does. What effect will this have on the Open the Dream Gate title?

After the commercial we get a glimpse at the new title belt, which has CIMA’s name inside of it. The belt is quite literally a gate. When you are the champion a plate with your name on it goes inside. To get a shot at the title you must have a Dream Key, which can be used to open the gate and put your own nameplate inside. If you lose your challenge the champion keeps your key on a bar on the belt to show how many defenses he’s had. Horiguchi wants a shot at the title, so his match against CIMA will be a test to see if he deserves it.

CIMA {CM} vs. Genki Horiguchi {DF}
Horiguchi fakes a topé con hilo to start. He misses a headbutt. CIMA hits a backbreaker. He stays on the back for a while. He hits a vertical suplex for 2. Horiguchi hits an elbow. He hits a head scissors takedown and the topé con hilo. Back in the ring Horiguchi misses a moonsault. CIMA hits a facebuster for 2. Horiguchi dodges the Venus and hits a missile dropkick. CIMA hits the Venus and Iconoclasm. Horiguchi blocks the Mad Splash with his knees. He hits a DDT for 2. CIMA hits a superkick and the Perfect Driver for 2. He hits another for 2. He hits the Neji to Hashi for 2. Horiguchi hits a DDT. They block each other’s finishers until Horiguchi connects with the Beach Break. He’s slow to cover and it only gets 2. He goes for another but CIMA counters to a DDT. CIMA hits the Schwein for 2. He hits it again for the win at 8:54 shown of 18:25. It’s probably best that the first match for the Open the Dream Gate Championship won’t be the same as the first match for the UDG title. This wasn’t on the level of their PPV main event, but then the stakes weren’t as high. This was still a quality back-and-forth contest, and the crowd still loves Horiguchi.
Rating: ***

After the match Horiguchi says he still wants to face CIMA on PPV, so the two will meet on opposite ends of a tag match also involving TARU and Saito.

CIMA {CM}, SUWA {CM} & Catcher Fujii {CM} vs. Susumu Yokosuka {FM}, Masaaki Mochizuki {FM} & Second Doi {FM}
At the PPV Doi was attacked by Don Fujii, wearing a baseball getup and calling himself Catcher Fujii. That’s where this match is coming from. This match does not take place in the studio. Fujii and Yokosuka trade holds to start. CIMA and Mochizuki come in and trade strikes. Fujii hits a bodyslam. SUWA eats a Yokosuka elbow. He comes back with a catapult. Yokosuka hits a head scissors takedown. Mochizuki hits a bodyslam. Yokosuka hits CIMA with a neckbreaker. Fujii slams everyone. He hits a plancha on Doi. SUWA hits Mochizuki with the flapjack for 2. Mochizuki hits a Yakuza kick for 2. Yokosuka dodges the Venus to hit an exploder for 2. He gets a victory roll but CIMA rolls him to the floor and dives out after him. Crazy Max works over Doi’s back for 2. Mochizuki tags in and cleans house. Doi hits a suicide dive. Mochizuki hits CIMA with the Venus. CIMA returns the favor and hits the Iconoclasm. Yokosuka hits SUWA with a DDT for 2. SUWA comes back with a facebuster. Doi puts on an inverted crab. Fujii hits him with a powerslam for 2. Doi hits a hurricanrana for 2. He hits the Doi 555. SUWA hits a flying clothesline. Yokosuka hits an exploder. CIMA hits a crossbody. Mochizuki hits the Sankakugeri. Fujii hits a lariat. Mochizuki hits the Twister for 2. Fujii gets a roll up for 2. Doi hits the Bakatare Sliding Kick for 2. CIMA hits the Perfect Driver for 2. He hits it again for 2. He hits a backbreaker and Fujii hits a kneedrop to the back. Mochizuki kicks the crap out of Fujii for 2. CIMA hits a hurricanrana into the corner. He hits a superkick. Yokosuka hits a weird lariat. He hits the Jumbo no Kachi for 2. CIMA hits the Schwein for 2. SUWA hits the John Woo. SUWA gets a roll up for 2. He hits the Jumbo no Kachi on CIMA for the win at 13:42 shown of 31:36. Amazingly everyone in this match would go on to be a Dream Gate Champion, except SUWA who would retire instead. This was just an absurdly awesome spotfest. Who knew Don Fujii could rock so hard? I actually forgot the issue was between Fujii and Doi because I got so wrapped up in how manic the action was.
Rating: ****

After the match Fujii and Doi are both interviewed. The two will meet on PPV, with Second Doi’s bat and Don Fujii’s hair on the line.

Magnum TOKYO {DF} & Dragon Kid {DF} vs. Milano Collection AT {IC} & YOSSINO {IC}
We’re back in the studio for this match. Before the match they show TOKYO performing austerities underneath a waterfall. That’s pretty intense. The match never gets going as Aagan Iisou attacks en masse and challenges all four to a match.

Magnum TOKYO {DF}, Dragon Kid {DF}, Milano Collection AT {IC} & YOSSINO {IC} vs. Shuji Kondo {AI}, “brother” YASSHI {AI}, Takuya Sugawara {AI} & Touru Owashi {AI}
Everyone brawls to start. Sugawara hits YASSHI by mistake. TOKYO hits a hurricanrana. YASSHI and Kondo sandwich TOKYO’s face with dropkicks. YOSSINO and AT hit stereo monkey flips. Sugawara hits Kid with a fall away slam. Kid hits a hurricanrana. Owashi hits a huge shoulder tackle. Kondo swings Kid around by his mask. He hits a press slam gutbuster. Owashi hits a vertical suplex and a legdrop for 2. Sugawara hits a bodyslam. Shogo Takagi hits his punch combo from the floor. Owashi stands on Kid’s stomach. Sugawara puts on an abdominal stretch but Kid gets to the ropes. Kid hits Kondo with the Déjà Vu. YOSSINO hits a suicide dive. AT hits a handspring elbow. He and TOKYO hit a double vertical suplex. TOKYO wants a superplex on Owashi but he’s just too fat. Owashi hits a big boot for 2. TOKYO goes for a bodyslam but Owashi falls on top for 2. YOSSINO hits the Sling Blade. Kondo hits The Original for 2. YASSHI hits the Bad Boy on Milano for 2. Milano hits a stunner and Kid hits a DDT for 2. TOKYO hits the Erect Smash and Milano hits the Emporio Armani Shoe for 2. Aagan Iisou gangs up on Kid in the corner. Owashi and Kondo double-team him. Owashi hits a chokeslam for 2. Kondo hits TOKYO with the Lanzarse and Owashi hits a running chokeslam on Kid for 2. YASSHI hits a red box attack. YOSSINO hits Sugawara with the Torbellino. Kid hits the Ultra Hurricanrana for the win at 10:54. This was a little more traditionally structured, with Kid playing face-in-peril and Aagan Iisou actually slowing things down for a while. I appreciated the change of pace.
Rating: ***¼

Milano Collection AT {IC} & YOSSINO {IC} vs. Touru Owashi {AI} & “brother” YASSHI {AI}
We leave the television studio again so that the ongoing war between Aagan Iisou and its predecessor the Italian Connection can continue. YASSHI and Owashi attack during introductions. YOSSINO hits YASSHI with a supercharged dropkick. He and AT hit a double back elbow for 2. AT puts on a leglock. He slaps it on an interfering Takagi as well. He and YOSSINO make a wish on YASSHI. YOSSINO hits a double stomp to YASSHI’s hair. YASSHI puts both opponents in the testicular claw. Owashi hits a vertical suplex and a legdrop for 2. He puts on a double chicken wing but YOSSINO gets to the ropes. YOSSINO hits the Sling Blade. He puts on the From Jungle but Owashi makes the save. AT hits a miracle bodyslam. YOSSINO hits a snap suplex for 2. He hits the shotgun dropkick. AT hits the Armani Shoe Exchange. He puts on the AT Lock but the referee is too distracted to see YASSHI tap out. Owashi hits a chokeslam for 2. YOSSINO hits a miracle back suplex. He hits a Torbellino and puts on the Sol Naciente but Owashi hits a powerbomb to escape. Owashi hits a splash off the top for 2. He hits a powerbomb for the win at 9:29 shown of 13:12. This was basically a cookie cutter version of the match that preceded it, though AT got more time to shine here.
Rating: **¾

An argument between the four stables (not including Crazy Max for obvious reasons) leads to one representative from each entering the upcoming PPV’s main event to decide who the first challenger for CIMA’s Open the Dream Gate Championship will be. It will be Aagan Iisou’s Touru Owashi, Do Fixer’s Dragon Kid, Final M2K’s Susumu Yokosuka and the Italian Connection’s Milano Collection AT in an elimination match!