Infinity 189 or The 20th Open the Brave Gate Tournament

August 29, 2010 – Fukuoka, Japan

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

Just like last year when Dream Gate Champion Naruki Doi beat Brave Gate Champion CIMA for his title, Dream Gate Champion Masato Yoshino beat Brave Gate Champion Tigers Mask for his belt and mucked up the entire Brave Gate division. Also like last year a title tournament will be held to crowd a new champion. Last year’s finals produced the Dragon Gate match of the year. Can this year’s tournament measure up?

The quarterfinals are all clipped up, but we still see some of PAC {W1} vs. Genki Horiguchi {W5} [Quarterfinal Match]. Horiguchi sends PAC to the floor and hits the topé con hilo. PAC gets a backslide for 2. He hits an enziguiri. Horiguchi gets the Backslide from Heaven for 2. PAC hits a springboard 450 splash and a standing SSP for the win. I think they missed the boat knocking out Horiguchi in the first round given how incredibly popular and spot-on he’s been in the ring lately.

Gamma {W5} vs. KAGETORA {K} [Quarterfinal Match] sees Gamma in control with a lariat. He hits the Gamma Special for 2. KAGETORA gets the Kagenui for the win. Here’s hoping he gets to the finals. I wouldn’t mind a big rematch between him and Tanisaki.

Speaking of Tanisaki, Naoki Tanisaki {W1} vs. Kzy {DD} [Quarterfinal Match] sees my dreams for that rematch get destroyed. This neverending rivalry sees Kzy take things to the floor, only to get piledriven on a pile of chairs. In the ring Kzy throws the referee into the Casanova. Yasushi Kanda hits Tanisaki with the blue box. Kzy hits Tanisaki with the chair explosion. He hits a low blow and the Impact for the win.

Susumu Yokosuka is replacing his partner K-ness, who was injured shortly before the tournament. In Susumu Yokosuka vs. Super Shisa {Z} [Quarterfinal Match], Shisa almost catches Yokosuka with a quick roll up. Yokosuka hits the Jumbo no Kachi for 2. Yokosuka blocks the Yoshi Tonic and hits the Mugen for the win.

PAC {W1} vs. KAGETORA {K} [Semifinal Match]
KAGETORA hits a shoulder tackle to start. They trade armdrags. KAGETORA hits a dropkick. He dropkicks the knee. He does it again on the apron. He puts on a leglock. PAC gets to the ropes. They trade elbows. PAC hits a dropkick to the back. KAGETORA misses a charge and hits the post. PAC hits a topé. He hits a crossbody for 2. KAGETORA misses a dropkick. PAC misses a 450 splash. KAGETORA hits an enziguiri for 2. He hits a head kick and a brainbuster. He hits the flying elbowdrop for 2. PAC avoids the Hangetsu. KAGETORA hits a sick suplex and the Last Falconry for 2. PAC handsprings into a victory roll for 2. KAGETORA hits the Ikkitousen for 2. PAC hits a sunset bomb and the shooting star press for the win at 8:03 shown of 12:20. This was a fun back and forth match that I’m sure will serve to make PAC seem worn out in the finals.
Rating: **¾

Kzy {DD} vs. Susumu Yokosuka [Semifinal Match]
Kzy runs his mouth before the match so Yokosuka lariats the microphone into his face. Yasushi Kanda and Kenichiro Arai pull Yokosuka to the floor and beat him up. Yokosuka misses a lariat and hits the post. Kzy rams his arm against the post and hits it with the red box. He stays on the arm in the ring. Yokosuka decides to stop selling so Kzy goes to the eyes. Yokosuka hits an exploder. He hits a lariat in the corner. He hits a topé con hilo onto Kanda and Arai. Kzy hits the B-Boy for 2. He hits the Beat Bomb for 2. Yokosuka hits the super exploder for 2. Kzy hits a backdrop. Yokosuka blocks a low blow and hits one of his own. Arai hits a cheap shot so Yokosuka hits him with a lariat. Kanda hits a red box attack and Kzy gets a roll up for 2. Kanda and Arai hit a double flapjack. Kzy hits KZ Time for 2. K-ness runs out and stops Arai from smacking Yokosuka with the bottle. He takes out Kanda as well. He and Yokosuka double-team Kzy. Yokosuka hits the Jumbo no Kachi for the win at 7:44 shown of 9:48. Not much to see here. Kzy got to dominate most of the match so you knew he wasn’t winning. Down the stretch he needed his buddies to keep control.
Rating: **¼

PAC {W1} vs. Susumu Yokosuka [Tournament Finals/Open the Brave Gate Championship Match]
Something tells me the finals were originally supposed to be PAC vs. K-ness so that Gaora could make up for the botched edit-job they did on the last Brave Gate title match the two had. Yokosuka wears a mask to the ring in support of his partner. PAC hits a dropkick after some chain wrestling. He hits a head scissor takedown. He goes for a plancha but Yokosuka dodges it. That buggers up PAC’s leg something awful. In the ring Yokosuka zeroes in on the injury. He hits the Ashi Yokosuka. He hits it again. He hits a third and puts on a figure 4 leglock. PAC gets to the ropes. PAC hits another head scissor takedown. He hits a corkscrew plancha. He hits a slingshot neckbreaker and a standing British Airways for 2. He blocks the super exploder. He misses the shooting star press and hurts his leg. Yokosuka hits a turnbuckle exploder. He hits the super exploder for 2. PAC hits a backdrop. Yokosuka hits a lariat. PAC hits an awesome German suplex for 2. He goes for a super hurricanrana but Yokosuka blocks it. He goes for an avalanche Ashi Yokosuka but PAC avoids that and hits a head kick (so long leg selling). He misses a phoenix splash and Yokosuka hits the Mugen for 2. PAC blocks the Jumbo no Kachi and hits an enziguiri. Yokosuka hits the Jumbo no Kachi for 2. He hits a lariat in the corner. PAC hits a super hurricanrana and the shooting star press for 2. Yokosuka hits an avalanche Aikata. PAC gets a roll up for 2. Yokosuka hits the Jumbo no Kachi. He hits it again for 2. He hits a northern lights driver for 2. PAC blocks the Mugen. He blocks dragon suplex but hurts his leg. He hits a superkick, so I guess his leg is actually fine. He hits the shooting star knee and the floating 450 splash for 2. He hits British Airways for the win at 16:46 shown of 22:15. I didn’t like how the leg stuff went out the window, especially because it was built over the course of two matches. That aside they had fun outmaneuvering each other out there, and it was good to see PAC get to play the Dragon Gate main event game.
Rating: ***½

The show ends with clips of a few other matches from the show. Don Fujii {Z} & Kotoka {W1} vs. Shingo Takagi {K} & Mark Haskins ends when Fujii hits Haskins with a lariat and Kotoka gets a roll up for the win. That would be Kotoka’s first pinfall victory, and he celebrates as such. Too bad the pairings were so odd in the match.

In Yasushi Kanda {DD} & Kenichiro Arai {DD} vs. YAMATO {K} & Cyber Kong {K}, the Drunkers try to use the red box to win but that backfires because of friendly fire. Kong hits the Pineapple Bomber and YAMATO hits the Galleria on Kanda for the win. After the match Dr. Muscle reappears to make sure Kanda and Arai remain drunken friends. If you can’t figure out whose under the mask from a mile away you haven’t been paying close enough attention to Infinity.

Masato Yoshino {W1}, Naruki Doi {W1} & BxB Hulk {W1} vs. CIMA {W5}, Ryo Saito {W5} & Masaaki Mochizuki {Z} sees Yoshino dominating CIMA with the Torbellino and the Sol Naciente. Hulk throws in a First Flash and CIMA taps out to the Dream Gate Champion. After the match Yoshino decides to give a member of the Veteran Army the first shot at the Dream Gate title. He picks a name out of a box to decide and Ryo Saito gets the honor. The match will happen on October 10th.

In the back Gamma attacks K-neSuka with a cane. He runs down K-ness especially. Not totally sure what that was about, as the only upcoming match that reflects this segment is one between K-nesSuka and Gamma & Mochizuki which I’m fairly certain won’t be on Infinity. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.