Infinity 187 or Summer Adventure Tag League IV, Part 3

August 14 & 15, 2010 – Kobe & Nagoya, Japan

Open the Dream Gate Champion: Masato Yoshino
Open the Triangle Gate Champions: CIMA, Gamma & Genki Horiguchi
Open the Brave Gate Champion: Tigers Mask
Open the Twin Gate Champions: Susumu Yokosuka & K-ness
Open the Freedom Gate Champion: BxB Hulk

Remember when Tigers Mask had a stranglehold on the Open the Brave Gate Championship for four months, going as far as to defeat CIMA in a Title vs. Title match for CIMA’s Osaka Pro Championship? Well Dragon Gate does and they want us to know all about it. Now the Open the Dream Gate Champion Masato Yoshino is all that stands between Tigers Mask and total domination over Dragon Gate. He’s not putting his belt on the line, but if he loses the soul of Dragon Gate could be lost forever.

Tigers Mask © {OP} vs. Masato Yoshino {W1} [Open the Brave Gate Championship Match]
They lock up intensely to start. Yoshino hits a dropkick so Mask takes a powder. Black Buffalo attacks Yoshino with a chair on the floor. Mask hits a snap suplex on the floor. Back in the ring they trade shots until Mask hits a low blow. Yoshino returns the favor, Blood Generation style. He hits a supercharged dropkick to the back. He hits a suicide dive. Mask comes back with a brainbuster. He hits a dropkick to the face. He pulls the referee into the path of the shotgun dropkick. Buffalo comes in and hits Yoshino with a lariat. Mask hits a German suplex and the buzzsaw kick. He hits a tiger suplex for 2. Yoshino hits the floating dropkick. He hits the shotgun dropkick for 2. Mask blocks the Lightning Spiral. Buffalo hits Yoshino with a chair. Naruki Doi finally has enough and beats the crap out of Buffalo. He hits Mask with a chair. Yoshino hits the Lightning Spiral for 2 when Buffalo distracts the referee. Mask blocks the Torbellino and hits a low blow. He hits a brainbuster for 2. He puts his nightstick in his boot. He kicks Yoshino’s arm with the loaded boot. He hits armbreakers and kicks the arm again. He puts on an armbar but Yoshino gets to the ropes. Mask hits a tiger suplex for 2. Yoshino gets a victory roll for 2. He gets a crucifix pin for 2. Mask hits a back heel kick. He hits a high kick. Yoshino hits the Ude Yoshino. He hits the Torbellino and puts on the Sol Naciente for the win and the title at 11:00 shown of 18:27. My favorite part of the match was when Mask was working Yoshino’s arm. I was pretty disappointed that that didn’t last longer. This was pretty solid as far as Tigers Mask matches go. I’d say it’s almost on the level of the Dragon Kid match and definitely better than the CIMA match.
Rating: ***¼

After the match Gamma comes out and challenges Yoshino for the belt. K-ness does the same, as do KAGETORA, Kzy and PAC. PAC and Gamma conversing in different languages is hilarious. Yoshino predictably vacates the title, so the five challengers and three others not in the ring get to fight it out in a tournament. Genki Horiguchi, Naoki Tanisaki and Super Shisa will join the other five on August 29th to see who the 20th Open the Brave Gate Champion will be.

The next night brings us the final tournament matches. Only one match remains in the A Block of the Summer Adventure Tag League. K-neSuka and Speed Muscle are tied for first place with six points apiece going into the final match. Osaka ’06 has four points. PAC and Mark Haskins have two points while KAGETORA and Cyber Kong lost all of their tournament matches. If Osaka ’06 wins their match tonight against K-neSuka then they’ll bring about a three-way tie and a tie-breaker will be necessary. If K-neSuka wins then they will move to the semifinals along with Speed Muscle. A draw will bring about the same result, so Osaka ’06 has to win to get out of the round robin portion of the tournament.

The B Block is a different story, as there are two matches still to be fought. Maraha Isappa leads the pack with five points. MochiFujii are in second place with four points. YAMATO & Shingo Takagi are in third with three points. BxB Hulk & Naoki Tanisaki are tied with Kzy & Yasushi Kanda for last place with two points each. The wildcard in this block with weather it will be BattleHawk beats World-1 they move on to the finals as long as MochiFujii is unable to beat Maraha Isappa. If MochiFujii win or tie Maraha Isappa they automatically get out of the round robin portion of the tournament. However, if BattleHawk wins AND MochiFujii go to a draw with Maraha Isappa then there will need to be a tiebreaker between BattleHawk and Maraha Isappa. I really hope that happens!

K-ness & Susumu Yokosuka vs. CIMA {W5} & Gamma {W5} [Round Robin Tournament Match]
CIMA and Gamma clear the ring with dropkicks and suicide dives to start. They hit Yokosuka with a double back elbow. CIMA kicks Yokosuka’s face. Gamma works the arm, spits in Yokosuka’s face and then changes things up and goes for the leg. K-ness dropkicks Gamma’s face for 2. He hits a leg lariat but Gamma no-sells it. Gamma hits a back suplex. CIMA hits a dropkick. He dropkicks Yokosuka off the apron and hits a suicide dive. He hits K-ness with the elevated double stomp for 2. K-ness and Gamma trade headbutts. CIMA and Gamma hit a double dropkick for 2. K-ness hits Gamma with a vertical suplex. He hits a high kick. Yokosuka cleans house with lariats. He hits Gamma with the Jumbo no Kachi. Gamma hits an enziguiri. Yokosuka hits an exploder. Gamma hits a back suplex. CIMA hits the Venus and Iconoclasm. Yokosuka hits the super exploder. K-ness hits an enziguiri. He hits a swinging DDT for 2. CIMA hits a baseball slide. He hits a double stomp. He gets a sunset flip for 2. He hits the Superdrol on both opponents. K-neSuka hit the SukaDora Knee for 2. K-ness hits the Shouryuukyaku and Yokosuka hits the Jumbo no Kachi for 2. They hit the Genkai for 2. CIMA hits the Perfect Driver for 2. He hits the Neji to Hashi with the help of Gamma’s cane. They hit the double Tokarev. Yokosuka gets a crucifix pin for 2. K-ness hits the Shouryuukyaku. Yokosuka hits the Jumbo no Kachigatame for 2. CIMA hits an enziguiri and the Schwein for 2. Yokosuka hits Gamma with a lariat for 2. He hits the Mugen for 2. The time limit runs out at 13:20 shown of 20:00. The inevitable result of the match hurt the flow, as the only exciting moments came in very short and infrequent bursts. I was disappointed in this, frankly.
Rating: **¾

Clips from Shingo Takagi {K} & YAMATO {K} vs. BxB Hulk {W1} & Naoki Tanisaki {W1} [Round Robin Tournament Match] see Tanisaki and Hulk in control for a good portion of the match. They’re also dressed alike! Hulk looks cool with no hair and Tanisaki’s gear. YAMATO retakes control with a spear on Hulk. Takagi and Hulk have an amazingly intense exchange, which comes as no surprise. YAMATO wins it for his team with the sleeper hold and Galleria on Tanisaki.

Ryo Saito {W5} & Genki Horiguchi {W5} vs. Masaaki Mochizuki {Z} & Don Fujii {Z} [Round Robin Tournament Match]
Saito is finally looking the part of a WARRIOR, with goofy tights and a new hairstyle. He and Fujii start. They trade shoulder tackles. Saito hits a hurricanrana. Fujii gets a takedown. Mochizuki hits Horiguchi with a chest kick. Horiguchi hits a dropkick. Mochizuki hits a back kick and a buzzsaw kick. Fujii puts on an abdominal stretch. Horiguchi escapes with a hiptoss. Mochizuki and Fujii hit a spike piledriver on the floor. That had better be the last we see of Horiguchi for a while. Mochizuki puts Saito in a leglock but Saito gets to the ropes. Saito powers through a few kicks and hits an overhead suplex. Horiguchi hits a missile dropkick. So much for that piledriver. He hits a head scissor takedown. He hits the topé con hilo. MARAHA! ISAPPA! Mochizuki hits Saito with a fisherman suplex. Saito blocks the Sankakugeri and hits a superplex. Mochizuki pops up and hits a chest kick. Saito pops up and hits a German suplex for 2. Fujii hits a lariat. Saito hits a dragon suplex for 2. Mochizuki hits a big boot. Fujii hits a lariat. He hits a chokeslam and Mochizuki hits a head kick. Fujii hits the Nice German for 2. Saito blocks the Twister III and hits a dragon suplex. Mochizuki blocks the Double Cross and hits the Twister III for 2. Fujii hits Horiguchi with a lariat. Horiguchi hits a swinging DDT. Fujii clotheslines Mochizuki by mistake. Horiguchi hits the Beach Break but his back is too hurt to capitalize. Mochizuki hits a chest kick and a sick back heel kick. He hits the SicK Kick for 2. He hits the Twister for 2. Horiguchi blocks a dragon suplex and gets the Backslide from Heaven for 2. Mochizuki returns the favor for 2. He hits a SicK Kick to the back of the head. Horiguchi comes back with another Backslide from Heaven for the win at 11:15 shown of 16:01. Mochizuki continues to rock every match he’s in, and Horiguchi was a perfect foe for him here. I love the roll the old man is on. And I’m not trying to take away from anyone in this match, because Saito and Fujii more than held their own.
Rating: ***¾

With no matches remaining K-neSuka and Speed Muscle move on to the semifinals from Block A, while BattleHawk and Maraha Isappa do the same in from Block B.

The show ends with clips from Cyber Kong {K} vs. Masato Yoshino {W1}. I love that this feud is back on, especially because Yoshino is champ now. Kong hits Yoshino with a powerbomb onto a chair pile on the floor. Yoshino is out cold, and Kong is too distracted by his carnage to get back in the ring so both guys get counted out. After the match Yoshino is still unable to regain consciousness. Kong wants a rematch! I want the rematch! I love the Cyber Bully!