Dragon Gate USA – United: NYC – 28th January 2011
It has been a seriously long time since I’ve reviewed any DGUSA. I have pretty much every 2011 and 2012 show sitting on my DVD shelves still shrink-wrapped, but I’ve not really found the time to check them out. However, with my indifference to Ring Of Honor’s current product growing…and considering the overwhelmingly positive feedback I got from releasing a whole bunch of random reviews (PWG, NXT, NJPW etc) recently I figured I’d go back and pick up where I left off in Dragon Gate’s United States expansion led by Gabe Sapolsky. At the end of 2010 Ronin had just formed, Jon Moxley’s Kamikaze USA were a force to be reckoned with, Austin Aries had debuted, Ricochet’s rise to prominence had begun and BxB Hulk’s Freedom Gate Title reign had finally started building some momentum. This weekend, over the course of three shows, we will crown the inaugural DGUSA Open The United Gate (Tag) Champions – with four teams contesting a round robin style tournament. We have two teams representing the new renegade Blood Warriors faction (CIMA/Dragon Kid and Doi/Ricochet), alongside World-1’s Yoshino and Pac and Ronin’s Gargano and Taylor. Tonight we’ll also see BxB Hulk defend the Freedom Gate against the uber-impressive YAMATO and Austin Aries look for revenge on the brash Rich Swann. Lenny Leonard and Leonard Chikarason are ready to call the action from Manhattan, NY.
It’s DGUSA’s debut at Time Square’s BB Kings restaurant and it certainly provides an intimate atmosphere for a wrestling show. Larry Legend (who would go on to work for ROH under what I presume is his real name of Larry Mercer) handles the ring announcing. He shows far more personality and is way less nerdy than he is in ROH too. Reby Sky brings out the United Gate title belts as we kick off United Weekend.
Akira Tozawa vs Sami Callihan
Kamikaze USA aren’t represented in the United Gate Title tournament, because they have their targets locked onto the Freedom Gate Champion BxB Hulk – who has to run a gauntlet of Kamikaze members this weekend. For now though we focus on the young firebrand of the Kamikaze stable in Akira Tozawa. He has produced a few outstanding performances in his short DGUSA career thus far and is now under the demented tutelage of Jon Moxley. His opponent this evening is Sami Callihan, who is starting to breakout in both WWNLive promotions after a number of impressive performances. Sami feels underappreciated in DGUSA thus far, so knows an eye catching win over a member of the top heel faction in the promotion will boost his career.
The venue is so small that the hardcam can’t actually get the entirety of the ring in shot. Callihan makes his play for respect by slapping Tozawa in the face…and since both guys are so fired up they promptly clothesline each other to the deck. STRIKE DUEL! They aren’t pulling any punches here. Apron Kara Tozawa misses, but so does Sami’s attempt at a diving headbutt too! The American flees the ring quite sensibly, then dodges the flying Akira on an elbow suicida causing him to collide with the guardrails. EXPLODER ON THE FLOOR! The Kamikaze representative is left reeling after that and has to endure several minutes of abuse after that. Finally he manages to knock Callihan off the top rope with a bicycle kick, then flies at him with a tope suicida flurry. Sami retorts with a missile dropkick to leave both men down on the mat. Palm strike flurry from Callihan, which Tozawa does well to withstand! BACK DROP DRIVER DUEL! DEAD-LIFT SAITO SUPLEX BY SAMI! DEAD-LIFT GERMAN BY TOZAWA! BOTH MEN DOWN! Tozawa is up first and does his best to straight up murder Sami with bicycle kicks. Callihan comes back at him with a running elbow strike for 2. Rolling knee strikes from Akira, into a bridging German suplex for the win at 12:00
Rating - *** - This was fun in an utterly mindless kind of way. Nobody sold a damn thing, but just as movies with lots of car chases and explosions are fun even if they have no plot – it was entertaining watching these two rising stars beat the hell out of each other. They are both rather off-the-wall characters too so actually had natural chemistry as opponents. Not one for the purists but it had plenty of violence to keep you entertained if that’s your thing.
Moxley gets in the ring to slag off New York City, and makes fun of Homicide who isn’t booked tonight. Reby Sky comes back and to defend NYC’s honour…so Mox orders Tozawa to hit her. Another New Yorker, Jigsaw, comes to her rescue.
Jon Moxley vs Jigsaw
Jig represents the Chikara Sekigun, who have issues with members of Kamikaze USA going all the way back to the beginning of DGUSA. He is the only Sekigun member here tonight so knows he needs to defend the honour of the group against the devious Kamikaze USA mastermind.
Hot start from Jigsaw, who takes to the air with a running suicide dive over the ropes to the floor. SOMERSAULT PLANCHA OFF THE STAGE! Moxley hits back with a Russian legsweep to the railings then starts to work on the masked man’s arm. To that end a kimura is applied then seamlessly floated into a superplex attempt. Jigsaw counters that with a double stomp TO THE NECK! Jig’n’Tonic blocked, so he hits a brainbuster instead (using the bad arm, urgh) for 2. Jon misses the Hook & Ladder and gets double stomped in the chest for another hot nearfall. ACE CRUSHER! That’s Homicide’s move remember, and it gets Mox a nearfall. Crossface Chickenwing briefly applied as Yamato sneaks out to ringside. When Jig escapes the Chickenwing Yamato drags him out of the ring then smashes his arm against the barrier. Crossface Chickenwing again forces Jigsaw to tap at 06:31
Rating - ** - An engaging heel performance from Moxley, who had a magnetic quality as a performer well before he ever stepped into a WWE ring as Dean Ambrose. Jigsaw rather let himself down with a spotty, selling-free offensive splurge though, and he is a far better wrestler than that. Had he bothered to even remotely sell the arm the finish would have been far more dramatic. Instead the outside interference was simply an annoyance.
BxB Hulk enters the arena to shut Moxley and YAMATO up…but walks straight into a cheap shot from his challenger. Jon demands their Open The Freedom Gate match happen right now…
BxB Hulk vs YAMATO – Open The Freedom Gate Title Match
This weekend BxB runs the gauntlet of Kamikaze USA members. He defends the Freedom Gate three times against three different Kamikaze opponents – beginning this evening against the most consistent performer in DGUSA history thus far. YAMATO has been outstanding on pretty much every card thus far and now looks to be rewarded for that form by claiming the top prize. This is actually a rematch from the first ever DGUSA match.
Yamato whips Hulk with his own ring jacket then throttles him against the ropes as Moxley taunts him from the floor. Julius Smokes, Homicide’s long-time corner man, hops the rails and starts fighting with Mox! He drives Kamikaze USA’s leader from ringside and also distracts Yamato, allowing Hulk to collect himself and mount some form of comeback. He quickens it to an almost ballistic pace, continually decking the challenger with kicks and armdrags. BxB Star Press scores for his first significant nearfall of the match. Everything he does targets the back and ribcage interestingly, prompting Yamato to grapevine his leg. Yamato actually dominated their 2009 match by working Hulk’s leg so now looks to that strategy once again. He is relentless in his assault on the leg and smiles mercilessly as he makes the champ scream in a Figure 4. Musha-Gaeshi into the ANKLELOCK! Yamato is such a pro when it comes to working submissions, and ducks an enzi attempt from his opponent before floating him into a half crab. The champion is now unable to walk…but apparently perfectly fine to CARTWHEEL into a spinning heel kick. BxB’s selling is the absolute pits. He lands a springboard dropkick next, leaving them both on the canvas. Hulk nips up (yep) then hammers the challenger with a kick flurry, followed by a standing corkscrew senton. EVO blocked, then countered into the HIGH ANGLE HALF CRAB! That’s what you get for selling like a retard Hulk! He escapes with another heel kick and chases Yamato up the ropes for a FLUX CAPACITOR! Knee strikes (using the bad leg) drive Yamato further into the ground, but he recovers strongly with a superplex after Hulk takes too long climbing the turnbuckles. STRIKE DUEL! EVO NAILED…YAMATO KICKS OUT! Hulk tries it a second time, and nearly gets countered into Galleria. FIRST FLASH…still 2! Yamato looks to be out on his feet, but profits from his earlier work as Hulk’s bad knee means he BOTCHES a Phoenix Star Press. He limps around the ring, then sees another EVO attempt countered to a SLEEPER SUPLEX! BRAINBUSTER…GETS 2! GALLERIA! Yamato wins the title at 21:32
Rating - *** - BxB Hulk can be infuriating to watch. His no selling in a match centred around working one of his body parts is mind-bogglingly annoying and, to cap it off, his execution was sloppy as hell in this one too. This is genuinely a good match, but totally dragged down by minor botches (including a woefully poorly executed finish) and Hulk’s bizarre selling of the leg. In truth Hulk has been an inconsistent performer as Freedom Gate Champion for some time, whilst YAMATO has been arguably the best Dragon Gate Japanese import. Putting the belt on him should immediately lead to an upturn in Freedom Gate match quality – albeit it leaves the plans for the Kamikaze USA/Hulk gauntlet over this weekend in disarray.
Jimmy Jacobs crashes YAMATO’s celebrations. He congratulates him on his victory, then informs him that he wants a shot at the Freedom Gate before offering him a handshake.
Jimmy Jacobs vs Brodie Lee
Former Age Of The Fall members collide. Jacobs demanded the ‘biggest and baddest’ DGUSA has to offer for this match, so he can defeat them and prove his worth for a Freedom Gate title shot. Brodie stands before him, now a member of the Blood Warriors and getting seriously over after a few tours of Dragon Gate in Japan.
All the Blood Warriors are at ringside with Brodie. It doesn’t stop Jimmy jumping him to get the fight started. Unfortunately his offence has little impact and he gets mowed down with a brutal dropkick from the big trucker. An effortless stalling vertical suplex scores for Lee who has barely broken sweat thus far. SUPERKICK nearly breaks Jimmy’s jaw, only for Jacobs to counter the Truck Stop into END TIME! Brodie is so big he simply walks into the ropes to break the hold though. BRODIE BOMB ON THE STAGE! Big Boot ducked by Jacobs though, into the rebound cutter then the senton bomb for 2. BIG BOOT counters the spear though, before another Brodie Bomb gives Lee the win at 06:15
Rating - ** - This probably went on a little long for a squash, but as a vehicle to get Lee over it was really strong. There were already rumours going round that Jacobs was returning to ROH by this point, so whilst on the surface he may have been angling for a Freedom Gate title shot, I suspect much of that was just posturing on Gabe’s part to make Brodie’s dominant victory all the more impressive. Having said that, Jimmy is still extremely experienced and skilful – and he did a great job tossing his body around to make Brodie look great.
Rich Swann raps Ronin to the ring, despite the vastly superior numbers of the Blood Warriors. Chucky T promises that they will all prove that they belong in Dragon Gate – and should be getting booked to go to Japan. He wants to get the United Gate tournament started right now…
Naruki Doi/Ricochet vs Johnny Gargano/Chuck Taylor
This is our first Open The United Gate Title tournament match. Four teams are competing, round robin style, to crown the first champions. A win earns 2 points, whilst a draw earns 1 – so the team with the most points accumulated after three days of competition leaves United weekend with the belts. Ronin only formed at the last DGUSA weekend, but Taylor and Gargano have teamed regularly in other promotions so they have plenty of experience as a duo. Their opponents are the impressive Blood Warrior duo of Doi and Ricochet. Naruki Doi is one of DG’s top workers so needs no introduction, whilst Ricochet was really starting to get over huge in Japan thanks to CIMA’s heavy endorsements.
Ronin had the ‘baybay’ gimmick well before Adam Cole. Gargano starts with Doi, intent on making a statement at his expense as he continues to try to prove his worth to the core Dragon Gate roster. Ricochet’s speed is too much for Taylor though – handing the Blood Warriors the advantage for the first time. Gargano comes to his rescue with a blind tag, lying on the deck waiting to double boot Rico in the face! Despite his obvious speed, Ronin decide that Ricochet is the weak link due to his lack of size and experience so set to work isolating him. Johnny kicks Rico in the back of the head as he tries an ill-advised standing moonsault, with Chuck on hand to further rub salt in the wounds with a rather satirical senton splash. BACK FLIP PELE KICK by Rico, and out of nowhere he makes a hot tag to Doi! DOUBLE DAI BOSOU from the Warriors, with Ricochet then flipping off his partner’s back into a Red Star Press for 2. Taylor can do that too – stepping off Gargano into a blockbuster! Doi 555 nailed, only for Gargano to counter the Baketore Sliding Kick with the slingshot spear. Chocolate Rain from Ricochet for 2! HANDSPRING MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR! DOOMSDAY DEVICE OFF THE STAGE BY RONIN! SPIKE DDT/HURTZ DONUT COMBO…but Doi breaks the count! Sole Food on him, before Chucky turns into the HANDSPRING REVERSE RANA from Ricochet! Baketore Sliding Kick nailed, and this time it’s Gargano making a last ditch save. Ricochet counters the slingshot spear, holding Johnny in position for the SOMERSAULT SENTON from Doi! Corkscrew senton missed by Rico, as Gargano murders Doi with an elbow suicida. AWFUL WAFFLE! RONIN WIN! Taylor pins Ricochet at 16:10
Rating - **** - The biggest compliment you can give this match is that it felt like a classic Dragon Gate tag match with all the thrills, spills, dives and elaborate combination sequences you come to expect from the genre. The fact, therefore, that it only actually contained one native DG wrestler tells you everything about how good the three Americans were even at this point. Ricochet was still green, but was getting to the point where he’d be making huge improvements with literally every match that goes by...and at times during this his work with Naruki Doi felt as seamless and engaging as the Doi/Yoshino ‘Speed Muscle’ team. Ronin, meanwhile, are all awesome in their role as goofball Americans with serious talent who want to make an impact. They have enough talent and charisma to credibly work the tweener gimmick – and this was an awesome way to establish them as a real threat.
Gargano once again demands a spot in Dragon Gate Japan, then gets sent to the back by Swann because he wants to face Austin Aries solo.
Rich Swann vs Austin Aries
At Bushido: Code Of The Warrior Aries made his DGUSA debut and offered Swann a spot as his protégé. Swann declined the opportunity, insulting A-Double in the process, before forming Ronin with Gargano and Taylor. Now Austin wants some payback…
Aries jumps Swann from behind, such is his determination to punish the kid. LAST CHANCERY! The rest of Ronin come back and pull Rich to safety to stop him losing the match in the first minute. SLAP TO THE FACE! Swann isn’t going to back down from the veteran apparently! He ducks under a crossbody attempt from Austin, but celebrates prematurely and eats a roaring elbow. Heat Seeking Missile blocked with a jumping enzi though. He then FLIPS onto the stage to attempt a seated senton…but gets caught and POWERBOMBED into Gargano and Taylor! HEAT SEEKING MISSILE wipes out all three Ronin members. Aries starts working over Swann’s neck to set up for all his finishing moves, but the youngster shows his resilience by absorbing some of his best shots before retaliating with the Leap From Swann Pond. Frog Splash misses for A-Double to leave both men on the ground. Aries gets to his feet and absolutely BATTERS the youngster into the corner with strikes but in doing so loses his cool with the kid and gets rolled into an inverted pendulum stretch. Red Star Press gets 2, only for Aries to counter the standing 450 with a Japanese armdrag into the turnbuckles. IED nailed, then Austin goes back to the Last Chancery. This time he can’t maintain the hold though, such is the damage done by Swann throughout the match. Brainbuster blocked, but as Rich sinks towards the ropes Aries drills him with a SLINGSHOT NECKBREAKER instead! 450 Splash misses, and Swann actually picks Aries up to give HIM a brainbuster! He just can’t hit the standing 450 though, and finds himself trapped for an AVALANCHE BRAINBUSTER! LAST CHANCERY! Aries wins at 15:31
Rating - *** - I really liked this, but it did expose how green Swann still was at this point. He probably wasn’t ready for a 15+ minute singles match with someone of Aries’ calibre. Although much of the action was pretty good - pitting Austin’s veteran skills against the tenacity, athleticism and speed of his much younger opponent - there were several miscommunications and moments of real sloppiness. Aries quite literally had to carry Swann at times (i.e. physically drag him into the correct position for certain exchanges, loudly calling spots at certain points etc) through this. I’m not pointing these things out to be overly critical, because it was still a strong bout, and it’s also one which Swann will learn a great deal from as his career progresses. I’m simply looking to justify not going higher on the rating for a match that on the whole was thoroughly enjoyable. A-Double is so damn good that any time you get to see him wrestle a match of this length you’re almost guaranteed to be entertained.
CIMA and Doi of the Blood Warriors come back to the ring to gloat at Ronin’s misfortune. Chuck thinks they have proven they belong in Japan…and CIMA doesn’t agree. Ronin promise to beat CIMA and Dragon Kid tomorrow night in Philadelphia to prove him wrong..
Masato Yoshino/Pac vs CIMA/Dragon Kid
This is our main event and the second United Gate tournament match of the night. Yoshino and Pac are the Open The Dream Gate and Open The Brave Gate Champions respectively, so can be considered the top singles wrestlers in Dragon Gate. Will that translate to success in the tag team arena as they take on two wily old pros in CIMA and Kid? Chikarason points out that this is Pac’s American debut for DGUSA having only previously appeared on the Canadian shows last year.
Pac and Ricochet have beef, and the Englishman seems completely distracted by Rico’s presence at ringside. Nevertheless he is still able to use his superior size to control Dragon Kid in the opening minutes. The problem Kid has that even if he tries to increase the pace, Pac is f*cking quick as well – and demonstrates it as he counters an attempted headscissors into a standing SSP across the back. World-1 are dominant, with back nailing Cima with a corkscrew senton off Yoshino’s back. Eventually the Warriors force their way into the match by slowing the pace and using a few double teams to isolate Pac. Cima, in particular, is noticeably more sour and aggressive to go along with his current character direction in Japan. With Dragon distracting the referee Cima sets up a chair on the stage then CATAPULTS Pac into it. Amusingly referee Bryce Remsburg then turns round, causing Cima to blame a fan for throwing the chair into the ring. Pac quickens the pace and lunges into the hot tag to Yoshino – who renews hostilities with his old rival Kid. Colmillo applied in the ropes, before shoving DK onto the stage. Springboard Dragon Stunner back in gets 2! Cima double stomps Pac in the face then gives him the ICONOCLASM! Yoshino enters to help his partner…but accidentally clocks him with his missile dropkick. Double stack bulldog from Cima to both World-1 members, followed by TANDEM MISSILE DROPKICKS! Ultra Hurricanrana blocked by Pac, so Cima escorts Yoshino up the ropes for the SPRINGBOARD SUPER RANA instead! PERFECT DRIVER for 2! Schwein blocked, so the Warriors nail a SUPERKICK/BIBLE COMBO! Pac flies in from absolutely nowhere to save the Dream Gate Champion! Dragonrana ducked into the LIGHTNING SPIRAL from Yoshino! Torbelino on Cima as Pac nails a SPRINGBOARD 450 SPLASH on Kid! DEAD-LIFT GERMAN SUPLEX! Pac pins DK and earns World-1 the victory at 20:19
Rating - **** - What a hell of a match this was. Not just for all the usual offensive pyrotechnics one comes to expect from the Dragon Gate crew, but also because of how much character work, back-story and depth we had to everything that came before the big spot splurge at the end. You had CIMA and Kid acting more heel, you had Pac’s tension with Ricochet, the presentation of Pac as a SUPERSTAR who is both too big to outwrestle and too quick to outpace, the lengthy feud between Yoshino and Kid etc. There were so many layers to this which, to me at least, actually made the first ten or so minutes as interesting (if not moreso) than all the moves in the second half. I loved watching them lay the groundwork and set the platform for the final chapter of the match…and if high spots and tandem moves are more your thing then there are plenty of those too. A fitting main event
As night one of United Weekend comes to an end Ronin and World-1 are tied on 2 points each, whilst both Blood Warriors team leave New York empty handed on 0 points so have everything to do tomorrow night in Philadelphia. Ronin make their way onto the stage to taunt CIMA and the Blood Warriors for their lack of success tonight. At ringside Ricochet and Pac continue to bicker too.
Tape Rating - *** - The quality of DGUSA’s shows at this point is such that, in truth this is actually one of the weaker events thus far. It’s not a bad show by any means, with two outstanding United Gate tournament matches, a Freedom Gate Title change featuring another stunning individual performance from YAMATO, and a gripping battle between veteran and rookie in Aries/Swann. However, a couple of the high profile bouts were weighed down by several instances of real sloppiness, there are a couple of pretty poor undercard matches and I’m not sure how ‘must see’ any of the DVD actually is. This was also one of those shows where Gabe booked every match and segment to flow seamlessly into the next. I know he likes that kind of thing and its fine in small doses, but I prefer to have the action broken up a little – particularly in a promotion so reliant on in-ring theatrics as Dragon Gate – so as to give the live audience (as well as those watching on ppv/DVD) a breather. Despite being a weaker show for Dragon Gate USA this is still miles better than most companies could even dream of though, so if you’re checking this out you definitely won’t be disappointed. This company just sets a damn high bar for itself
Top 3 Matches
3) BxB Hulk vs YAMATO (***)
2) Johnny Gargano/Chuck Taylor vs Naruki Doi/Ricochet (****)
1) Masato Yoshino/Pac vs CIMA/Dragon Kid (****)