Crown Gate 2005

November 2, 2005 – Tokyo, Japan

Championship Rundown:
Open the Dream Gate Champion: Masaaki Mochizuki
Open the Triangle Gate Champions: CIMA, Magnitude Kishiwada & Masato Yoshino
Open the Brave Gate Champion: Naruki Doi

CIMA and Magnitude Kishiwada come out to start the show. They unroll a poster that must say something offensive on it, because it prompts Final M2K to come to the ring. Masaaki Mochizuki and TAKA Michinoku have a few things to say on the microphone. Somewhere along the way the stipulation for the main event turns into “losing team faces each other in a singles match immediately following the decision. Naruki Doi comes out in a referee shirt and says he’ll be officiating the match between Michinoku and Mochizuki should they lose the main event.

Genki Horiguchi {DF} & Tozawa vs. BxB Hulk {PH} & Katsuo
Katsuo and Tozawa start. Tozawa puts on the head scissors. Horiguchi and Hulk tag in. Horiguchi isn’t pleased with the crowd’s H-A-G-E chant, so he leaves the ring to help them get louder. Back inside Hulk hits an armdrag and a dropkick. He hits Tozawa with a back bodydrop. He hits a legdrop, though it was meant to be a senton, for 2. Tozawa and Horiguchi hit Katsuo with a double back elbow. Horiguchi hits a moonsault for 2. He hits a vertical suplex for 2. He puts on a half crab. Katsuo gets to the ropes. He and Tozawa trade strikes until Katsuo hits a slam. Hulk hits a leg lariat. He hits Horiguchi with a missile dropkick for 2. Horiguchi hits a DDT and Tozawa hits the Apron Kara Tozawa for 2. Horiguchi calls for the Beach Break but Tozawa has other plans. He asks Horiguchi to slam him onto Hulk, but Hulk avoids it. Hulk puts Tozawa in a Boston crab. Horiguchi makes the save. Hulk hits the Mouse and the Ace Crusher. Katsuo gets a roll up for 2. Horiguchi smacks him around and hits a missile dropkick. He hits an arm-capture half nelson suplex for the win at 8:16. Why doesn’t he use that as his finisher more often? Katsuo didn’t get to show anything here, but Tozawa got to show some personality. Speaking of which, after the match he smacks Horiguchi and runs to the back.
Rating: **

Michael Iwasa {FB} & Daniel Mishima {FB} vs. Naoki Tanisaki {DF} [Handicap Match]
Iwasa starts with Tanisaki. Tanisaki dodges an eye poke. Iwasa’s face after missing is priceless. Tanisaki trips Mishima. He hits Iwasa with a dropkick. He kicks Mishima again. The wristlock chain breaks out, so Referee Yagi gets involved. Nothing new here. The Floridas and Yagi triple-team Tanisaki. Yagi hits an avalanche. He goes for a second but misses. Iwasa and Mishima “accidentally” hit Yagi in the corner. Tanisaki forces Yagi to dropkick the Florida Brothers. He hits Mishima with the DH for 2. Iwasa throws a chair at Tanisaki’s face, then puts the chair on his own face and puts the pained Tanisaki on top of him to get the disqualification win at 5:54. Sure the finish was a bit different, as were a couple of the spots in the match, but at this point I can’t believe they’re still beating this dead horse.
Rating: *½

Magnum TOKYO & Anthony W. Mori {PH} vs. Ryo Saito {DF} & Dragon Kid {DF}
I’m a big confused by TOKYO’s status. It used to be that he’d bounce between Do Fixer and the HEARTS. Then he said he wouldn’t be a part of any team officially but would bounce amongst those two teams and Final M2K at will. Then he was billed as being in Do Fixer against Genichiro Tenryu on October, but now he’s teaming with Mori but billed as being unaligned. Hopefully something will stick soon. Saito attacks before the bell. TOKYO elbows Mori by mistake. Kid hits TOKYO with the Déjà vu. He hits the Messiah on Mori for 2. Saito hits a fisherman suplex for 2. TOKYO elbows and kicks Kid. Mori hits a neckbreaker and a legdrop for 2. TOKYO comes back in for more ass kickery. He hits a facebuster. He hits a brainbuster for 2. Mori dropkicks Saito’s leg. TOKYO kicks the leg and puts on a figure 4 leglock. He keeps it on for a long time before Saito gets to the ropes. Saito tries to fight back with chops but he’s hurting. TOKYO hits a big boot. Saito gets desperate with an overhead suplex. Kid hits Mori with a hurricanrana. He hits a pair of stunners for 2. Saito hits the Superfly Splash for 2. TOKYO intercepts the Ultra Hurricanrana in midair. Awesome. Mori hits Saito with the X Factor and catches Kid with a dropkick. He hits a northern lights suplex for 2. He hits a back suplex for 2. TOKYO hits a missile dropkick. Kid looked like a dope standing around forever waiting to get hit. He smartens up and avoids the Eleganton. Mori hits a DDT for 2. Saito hits TOKYO with a German suplex for 2. TOKYO hits Kid with a powerbomb and Mori hits the Eleganton for 2. TOKYO hits the Erect Smash for 2. He hits a lariat for 2. He hits another lariat for the win at 11:15. I wasn’t expecting much going into this given its place on the card, but they pulled out some cool tricks. Apparently TOKYO decided he wanted to be a badass again after looking like a punching bag against Tenryu for weeks.
Rating: ***¼

And now it’s time for the intermission flashback match. No surprise that it’s another in the seemingly endless M-Pro series between CIMA and Michinoku.

Shiima Nobunaga {CM} & Sumo Fuji {CM} vs. TAKA Michinoku {KDX} & Minoru Fujita [Michinoku Pro – July 17, 1999]
There’s no timestamp on the match like there usually is, so I had to go out of my way to figure out when it took place. You’re welcome. Crazy Max attacks before the bell. Everyone brawls around the building. Michinoku dives off of a stage to hit Nobunaga with a plancha. In the ring Fujita and Michinoku double-team Nobunaga. We flash forsard to Michinoku working Nobunaga’s arm. Fuji makes the save. Michinoku hits Fuji with a shoulder tackle. Nobunaga hits a lariat. He misses a dropkick. We flash forward to Fuji hitting Nobunaga with a clothesline by mistake. Michinoku and Fujita hit stereo dives. They double-team Nobunaga. Fujita dropkicks Michinoku by mistake. Nobunaga hits a superkick. He hits Michinoku with a sit-out powerbomb for 2. Michinoku hits a clothesline. He misses a flying elbowdrop. Nobunaga hits the Venus and Iconoclasm. Michinoku dropkicks him to the floor. Nobunaga blocks the quebrada. Fuji absorbs Fujita’s offense. Fujita avoids a low blow and puts on the STF. Fuji gets to the ropes. Fujita hits a northern lights suplex for 2. Fuji hits a powerslam for 2. Michinoku hits a missile dropkick. Nobunaga hits a corkscrew plancha. Fuji hits Fujita with a chokeslam. He hits two lariats for the win at 8:27 shown of 17:11. They showed more of this than most intermission matches, and it was a solid good time. After the match Nobunaga drops the F bomb about a dozen times.
Rating: **¾

Shingo Takagi {BG} vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima {FM}
They trade holds to start. Takagi chops Nakajima against the ropes. Nakajima returns the favor and a nasty chop/kick exchange breaks out. Takagi hits a shoulder tackle. Nakajima hits a dropkick. He unloads a series of chest kicks. He puts on a chinlock. He hits a back kick and puts on a Boston crab. Takagi gets to the ropes. He hits the dead lift suplex. He hits a kneedrop for 2. He hits a gutbuster and a DDT for 2. He hits the STO and puts on the Manriki. Nakajima gets to the ropes. He hits a dropkick. He hits a knee kick in the corner. He hits a vertical suplex. He hits a dropkick off the top for 2. Takagi hits a side slam. Nakajima blocks the Pumping Bomber and hits a pair of high kicks for 2. Takagi hits a backdrop driver out of nowhere. He hits a lariat in the corner. He hits a sit-out powerbomb for 2. Nakajima blocks another Pumping Bomber with a kick. Takagi hits a lariat. He hits the Last (Original) Falconry for 2. Nakajima avoids the Blood Fall. He trades kicks for Takagi’s lariats. Don Fujii tries to interfere but clotheslines Takagi by mistake. Nakajima hits a German suplex for the win at 12:42. The finish was terrible, but most of the match was pretty solid. Both guys had better in 2005, but they beat each other up enough to entertain me.
Rating: ***

Masato Yoshino {BG}, Naruki Doi {BG} & Don Fujii {BG} vs. K-ness {FM}, Susumu Yokosuka {FM} & Kenichiro Arai {FM}
Yamato Onodera (!) can be spotted doing crowd control for Blood Generation before the match. Final M2K rushes the ring to attack before the bell. Everyone brawls around the building. Fujii tries to throw Yokosuka over the balcony but fails. Yokosuka tries too and the fans flip out when Fujii almost falls over. In the ring Doi hits Arai with a shoulder tackle. Arai holds Doi for a dropkick from K-ness. Yokosuka hits a dropkick too. K-ness and Yokosuka help Arai hit a big headbutt. Arai misses a charge and hits the post. Yoshino hits a supercharged dropkick. Yokosuka hits a knee to the gut. He puts on the Mark Nulty Special. Yoshino gets to the ropes. Arai works him over with headbutts. Doi hits Arai with a chair. He and Fujii chop Arai around the ring. He hits the Dai Bosou. Yoshino stretches him out. Arai gets to the ropes. Doi and Yoshino hits Superdrols and a dropkick sandwich for 2. Yoshino puts on an abdominal stretch. Arai hits a hiptoss to escape. He shoves Doi into Fujii and hits a dropkick. K-ness hits a DDT and Yokosuka hits a back suplex. Doi comes back with a dropkick. He hits a Manhattan drop and a low blow. Yokosuka hits a backbreaker and a low blow. Fujii hits the palm slaps but Arai responds with a backdrop. Doi hits the running elbow. Arai hits Fujii with a DDT. Fujii hits a low blow. Arai returns the favor with a headbutt. Yoshino and K-ness trade roll ups in an awesome exchange until K-ness comes up with the Aoki Hikari. Doi makes the save. K-ness hits an elevated kneedrop for 2. Arai hits a diving headbutt for 2. Doi hits Yokosuka with a chair shot. Fujii hits a powerbomb and Doi hits a flying elbowdrop for 2. Yoshino hits the shotgun dropkick for 2. Fujii hits a huge chokeslam for 2. He clotheslines Doi by mistake and Arai hits him with a dropkick. Yokosuka hits the Jumbo no Kachi for 2. K-ness hits the Kaishaku. He and Yokosuka put on the double Aoki Hikari. Doi makes the save. Yokosuka hits the Jumbo no Kachi to the back. He hits another to the front. Arai accidentally spits water in Yokosuka’s face and Fujii hits the Nice German for the win at 15:50. They rocked it here. Everything moved a mile a minute, and only the two instances of friendly fire seemed out of place. Fujii really shines when he doesn’t have to carry the entire load.
Rating: ***¾

Masaaki Mochizuki {FM} & TAKA Michinoku {KD} vs. CIMA {BG} & Magnitude Kishiwada {BG}
The bad guys attack before the bell. Mochizuki hits a shoulder tackle on Kishiwada. Kishiwada is shocked. CIMA and Michinoku trade chops. That goes on until CIMA slugs Michinoku with a closed fist. Michinoku goes to the eyes. CIMA hits a dropkick. He hits a plancha. Kishiwada throws Mochizuki into the crowd. CIMA hits a pair of double stomps. Kishiwada absorbs Mochizuki’s kicks and hits a roundhouse kick of his own. CIMA’s reaction is hilarious. Kishiwada hits an avalanche. He hits a standing moonsault for 2. CIMA hits a senton. Mochizuki hits a chest kick. Michinoku hits a wimpy back kick. He puts on a chinlock. CIMA tugs on his stupid bangs to escape. Kishiwada punts the bangs. He hits a dropkick out of the corner and a senton for 2. He and CIMA hit a double shoulder tackle for 2. We get a close-up of the Final M2K logo printed on TAKA’s bum. CIMA puts on an abdominal stretch but Michinoku hits a hiptoss to escape. CIMA hits the Superdrol. Twice. He goes for a third but Mochizuki makes the save. He hits the Sankakugeri on Mochizuki. He and Michinoku hit stereo quebradas for 2. Mochizuki hits Kishiwada with a miracle bodyslam. Kishiwada comes back with clotheslines to both opponents. Michinoku dropkicks CIMA. CIMA blocks the superkick so Michinoku goes for the crossface. CIMA scrambles to the ropes. He hits a stunner over the top rope and a double stomp. He hits the Venus and a bulldog while hitting a clothesline on Mochizuki. Kishiwada hits a handspring elbow. He and CIMA hit the Doomsday Device for 2. Kishiwada hits a moonsault for 2. Mochizuki trades kicks for clotheslines in an exchange that he wins for 2. He hits the Twister for 2. Michinoku hits a superkick for 2 on CIMA. He puts on the Dick Killer but Kishiwada makes the save. Mochizuki accidentally hits Michinoku with the Sankakugeri. Doi (in his referee outfit) throws powder in Michinoku’s face and CIMA rolls him up for the win at 17:39. Unfortunately for Blood Generation, Yasushi Kanda saw everything and reverses the decision. The terrible finish marred an otherwise entertaining match. It’s too bad really.
Rating: ***¼

With the decision reversed CIMA is now compelled to face Kishiwada. CIMA threatens Doi. Doi is obviously embarrassed, and he wipes the powder off of his and Kishiwada’s pants. CIMA finds the powder under the ring and then tears into Doi. He shows Doi that it’s his powder, though he spelled his name CYMA on the bag. Doi leaves the officiating in this match to Kinta.

Magnitude Kishiwada {BG} vs. CIMA {BG}
Kishiwada hits a dropkick to start. He hits a shoulder tackle. They trade chops in an exchange that Kishiwada wins. CIMA hits a vertical suplex. He hits a huge plancha. Kishiwada throws him a chair so they can fence. CIMA loses his chair and Kishiwada goes for a shot to the head. CIMA blocks it and breaks the chair over Kishiwada’s head. Kishiwada no-sells it and hits a lariat for 2. He goes for a moonsault but CIMA blocks it with his knees. That messes up CIMA’s knees, as it should give Kishiwada’s size. Kishiwada hits the Mandriller. He hits a powerbomb for 2. He hits the Squish Splash for 2. CIMA hits a hurricanrana. He hits a superkick and the Perfect Driver for 2. Kishiwada blocks the Schwein and hits a German suplex. CIMA pops up and hits a superkick. Kishiwada hits a lariat for 2. He hits two German suplex and a dragon suplex for the win at 8:07. They had to sell the exhaustion from the previous match, so while this was quite hard-hitting, it was also very, very slow.
Rating: **¾

After the match CIMA wishes Kishiwada well in his Dream Gate match against Mochizuki coming up in a couple days. Kishiwada assures Mochizuki he’ll win the belt. TOKYO comes out to talk about his King of Gate match against Mochizuki. He and Mochizuki send the fans home happy.