April 14, 2010 – Tokyo, Japan
Championship rundown:
Open the Dream Gate Champion: YAMATO
Open the Twin Gate Champions: Shingo Takagi & Cyber Kong
Open the Triangle Gate Champions: Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii & Akebono
Open the Brave Gate Champion: Super Shisa
Open the Freedom Gate Champion: BxB Hulk
Dragon Kid {W5} vs. Masato Yoshino {W1} [Semifinal Match]
Yoshino puts on a headlock to start. He hits a dropkick. He puts on a chinlock. He hits a vertical suplex for 2. He hits the Sling Blade for 2. Kid dropkicks him in midair. He hits the Déjà Vu. Yoshino avoids the Bermuda Triangle and knocks Kid to the floor. Back in the ring Kid hits a head scissors takedown. Yoshino avoids the 619 and hits a powerbomb for 2. He blocks a super hurricanrana. Kid avoids the shotgun dropkick. He dropkicks Yoshino’s knee. Yoshino blocks the Jesus. He hits the shotgun dropkick for 2. They fight up top until Kid hit a super duper hurricanrana for 2. Yoshino hits another powerbomb. He hits the Torbellino. Kid gets a roll up for 2. Yoshino hits the Lightning Spiral for 2. Kid blocks a second attempt and hits the Bible for the win at 7:30 shown of 10:25. They didn’t go too far out of their comfort zone, but the way these two have gotten so good at countering and blocking each other’s signature holds is just beautiful. I have to be honest and say I’m much less interested in the tournament now that Yoshino is out of it.
Rating: ***
Shingo Takagi {K} vs. BxB Hulk {W1} [Semifinal Match]
They charge at each other to start. Hulk trades big boots for Takagi’s shoulder tackles. He hits a hurricanrana. He kicks Takagi to the floor. He hits a moonsault press to the floor. Back in the ring Hulk goes after Takagi’s arm. Takagi sets Hulk up top to escape a cross armbreaker. He hits a Cactus Clothesline. He launches Hulk into the post and then hits a powerbomb on the floor. Back in the ring Takagi ducks a high kick and hits a backdrop driver. He hits two more. Hulk hits a roundhouse kick and a leg lariat. Takagi blocks the Mouse but not the uranage. Hulk hits a standing SSP for 2. He hits an enziguiri. He hits the EVO for 2. Takagi slams him into the corner. He hits a lariat. Hulk hits a leg lariat. He hits the avalanche EVO for 2. Takagi pulls Hulk off the top but Hulk blocks the Blood Fall. He hits the First Flash for 2. He misses a phoenix splash. Takagi hits a lariat. He peppers Hulk with elbows. Hulk comes back with kicks. He kicks the arm. Takagi hits a lariat. He hits MADE IN JAPAN for 2. He hits a lariat in the corner. He hits a superplex and holds on to hit the EVO. What a jerk! He hits the Pumping Bomber for the win at 11:20 shown of 16:06. Hulk kicked out right after the pin and has a temper tantrum over losing. This was the good back-and-forth we’ve come to expect from these two, though they didn’t match the sense of urgency they created in their World main event, or in their sixty-minute Dream Key match.
Rating: ***¼
Shingo Takagi {K} vs. Dragon Kid {W5} [Tournament Finals]
Kid attacks with strikes to start. He hits a head scissors takedown. Takagi blocks the 619 and hits a powerslam on the apron. CIMA protests. Takagi drops Kid’s face on the apron. Back in the ring Kid hits a dropkick in the corner. Takagi hits a gutbuster and a DDT. He hits a senton. He hits a fistdrop. After absorbing a weak lariat Kid goes after the arm. He hits a DDT. Takagi avoids the 619 but Kid catches him with a head scissors takedown on the floor. Back in the ring Kid hits a leg lariat. He hits an armbreaker. He dropkicks the arm. He puts on the Christo. Takagi shrugs him off but can’t hit the power move he was looking for because of his arm. Kid hits the stunner. Takagi powers through and hits a German suplex. He hits a lariat in the corner. Kid hits the avalanche Ace Crusher for 2. He hits an inverted DDT. He hits the Ultra Hurricanrana for 2. He puts on an armbar. Takagi gets to the ropes. Takagi blocks a hurricanrana and hits the STAY DREAM for 2. Kid counters the Last Falconry to the Bible for 2. Takagi stops an Ultra Hurricanrana attempt with the DVD. He clotheslines Kid to the apron. That proves foolish when Kid hits him with the Ultra Hurricanrana for 2. Takagi hits a lariat for 2. Kid tries very hard to block it, but Takagi nails him with MADE IN JAPAN for 2. Takagi hits a lariat. He hits the Pumping Bomber to win the tournament at 12:06 shown of 15:52. Kid wrestled a very smart match, which is why I found it frustrating that Takagi won. At the very least I wish this had gone five minutes longer, because I think Kid worked a smart enough match to go longer with the big man. That aside, they rocked it here, putting on the best match of the tournament outside of the awesome first round.
Rating: ***½
After the match Takagi calls out his little buddy YAMATO. He wants his shot at the Open the Dream Gate Championship. YAMATO will give him his shot at Dead or Alive. Masaaki Mochizuki comes out and reminds YAMATO that he defeated him in the King of Gate tournament and Takagi in a singles match last year, so he wants a shot as well. Yagi grants him a shot at the title after Dead or Alive, on May 13th when Dragon Gate comes back to Korakuen Hall regardless of who is champion.
Earlier in the evening the battle between K-neSuka and the Deep Drunkers continued in a tag team gauntlet match.
K-ness & Susumu Yokosuka vs. Kenichiro Arai {DD} & Kzy {DD}
Kzy was talking trash, so Yokosuka attacked him before the bell. He and K-ness gang up on Arai in the corner. They hit the SukaDora Knee for 2. Yasushi Kanda trips Yokosuka. He accidentally hits Arai with the blue box. Yokosuka hits the Jumbo no Kachi for the win at 40 seconds shown of 3:03.
K-ness & Susumu Yokosuka vs. Takuya Sugawara {DD} & Yasushi Kanda {DD}
The Drunkers gang up on Yokosuka on the floor. Sugawara and Kanda hit red and blue box attacks. Yokosuka clotheslines the blue box into Kanda and hits Sugawara with the red box. Kanda hits a low blow and rolls Yokosuka up for the win at 40 seconds shown of 3:33. K-nesSuka aren’t satisfied, so a handicap elimination match is set up for April 25th.
Next up is a look at Dead or Alive. Akira Tozawa and KAGETORA are upset that Shingo Takagi selected non-Kamikaze member Cyber Kong to be his Twin Gate partner, so Tozawa and Kong will fight on PPV. The loser will go back to dark matches. The little skirmishes the two have had make it look like Tozawa is in a lot of trouble.
A few weeks ago Tigers Mask pinned Brave Gate Champion Super Shisa in a non-title match in Osaka Pro. A couple days after the King of Gate finals, Shisa brought CIMA and Genki Horiguchi to Osaka Pro to help him beat Tigers Mask and a couple of his buddies. Later that day Mask came to Dragon Gate and defeated Shisa for the Brave Gate title with a buzzsaw kick. Dragon Kid was as disgusted by the site of Mask wearing a Dragon Gate belt as I am, and challenges him for the belt at Dead or Alive.
As reported on Infinity last week, the Zetsurins successfully defended the Triangle Gate belts against the Kamikaze team of YAMATO, Tozawa and KAGETORA. The match was not without controversy because YAMATO made Fujii tap to the sleeper hold when the referee was unconscious. On April 25th YAMATO will lead that team into battle against CIMA, Gamma and Genki Horiguchi to see who will face the Triangle Gate Champions after Dead or Alive. That’s because the Deep Drunkers have staked a claim to the belts and will get their shot on the PPV in a no disqualification match.
As a good chunk of the roster was without a match for PPV, on April 16th CIMA issued a challenge to World-1 for an eight man tag elimination match at Dead or Alive against his WARRIORS. Ryo Saito’s injury from last year is shown, and it is announced that he’ll make his return at Dead or Alive as part of the WARRIORS.
And what would PPV be without a Dream Gate title match? It would be Final Gate 2009, but that’s beside the point. Shingo Takagi will take on YAMATO. These two always tear the house down against each other, and have a pretty even record against each other, so it could go either way and will probably rock.
Also on the show, Takuya Tomakomai makes his debut against Super Shisa, and K-neSuka takes on Tokyo Gurentai.
The show ends with Masato Yoshino and BxB Hulk challenging Shingo Takagi and Cyber Kong to a match for the Twin Gate belts on April 25th. While that match should have aired next week on Infinity, Gaora decided to take the week off. To make matters worse, the episode to air in two weeks will be the DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate PPV digest, so we don’t get to see any fresh Dragon Gate footage (save for the PPV after 5/5) for three weeks!
