DGUSA Mercury Rising

March 27, 2010 – Phoenix, Arizona | Aired May 14, 2010
The show starts showing the World-1 and WARRIORS’ locker rooms.
Shingo {K} vs. Genki Horiguchi {W5}
I hope this is better than their King of Gate match. Horiguchi has all of the WARRIORS with him. Last time we saw him he was a bad guy in Real Hazard teaming with Ryo Saito. Now he’s a colorful good guy with the WARRIORS. No explanation is given as to why for fans who don’t follow Dragon Gate in Japan. Shingo comes out alone. He puts on a headlock to start. He hits a shoulder tackle and blocks an armdrag. Horiguchi dropkicks the knee. He splashes the leg. He dropkicks the knee again. Shingo blocks a moonsault with his knees. He hits a gutbuster, a DDT and a senton for 2. He puts on a chinlock. He hits a vertical suplex. He avoids Horiguchi’s elbow by hitting an exploder for 2. He goes back to the chinlock. Horiguchi gets to the ropes. Shingo puts on a choke hold but Horiguchi hits an armdrag to escape. Shingo hits a powerslam for 2. He puts on the Manriki but Horiguchi gets to the ropes. Horiguchi hits a head scissor takedown. He hits a swinging DDT but Shingo pops up. Horiguchi hits a vertical suplex. Shingo pops up again so Horiguchi hits an inverted DDT for 2. Horiguchi hits a dropkick to the back. He hits a hurricanrana. Shingo hits a powerbomb. He hits a lariat and the STAY DREAM for 2. He hits another lariat. Horiguchi gets the Backslide from Heaven for 2. Shingo hits the DVD, the Pumping Bomber and MADE IN JAPAN for the win at 10:07. This was an extended showcase for Shingo, who got to do all his moves while treating Horiguchi like a persistent nuisance. I’m all for that given that Shingo is a featured guy in DGUSA and Horiguchi isn’t as much, but I don’t think this was the best choice for an opener. Still, it was better than the match they’d have in Japan a couple weeks later.
Rating: **¾
A video package explains why the next match has the stipulation it has. Brian Kendrick brought Lacey with him to screw with Jimmy Jacobs in their match at Fearless. This meaning something to you relied entirely on your having watched Jacobs’s heel run in Ring of Honor. Jacobs retaliated by recruiting Kendrick’s friend and former tag team partner Paul London on a house show the night before this show in Arizona. London turned on Jacobs on that show, so we get a loser leaves town tag team match in which former Dragon Gate gaijin Jack Evans has agreed to side with Jacobs.
Jimmy Jacobs & Jack Evans vs. Paul London & Brian Kendrick {TNA}
Loser of the fall leaves DGUSA. Based on faction identification, who do you think is going to drop the fall? London and Kendrick attack Jacobs before the bell. Evans runs out to even things up. He dives off the ramp to hit knee kicks on both opponents, and then comes off the ramp again to hit a head scissor takedown. That was awesome. In the ring Evans dropkicks London. He hits a standing SSP for 2. He hits another dropkick, using Kendrick as a base. That was less awesome. Jacobs goes for the End Times on London but Kendrick makes the save. London hits Jacobs with a back elbow for 1. He hits a double stomp. He hits a dropkick for 2. Jacobs hits a chinbreaker. London hits a legsweep and a standing SSP for 2. He hits a butterfly suplex for 2. He hits another double stomp. Evans tags in and cleans house with a back flip into a double back elbow. He hits dropkicks on both opponents. He dumps both opponents on the floor and hits the Space Flying Tiger Drop. Back in the ring Evans hits a springboard 450 splash on London for 2. London hits a superkick and Kendrick hits the Complete Shot for 2. Jacobs hits Kendrick with a spear. He hits London with a hurricanrana. London hits another double stomp for 2. Jacobs hits a huge DDT with Evans’s help. Evans hits a standing phoenix splash for 2. He sends Kendrick to the floor with a hurricanrana. London hits Jacobs with a facebuster. He punts his face. Evans kicks London up top and drags him to the mat. London blocks the 630 senton with his knees. Jacobs hits Kendrick with a lariat. Kendrick avoids the spear. Jacobs avoids Sliced Bread #2. Kenrick kicks his face and hits an enziguiri. He hits Slide Bread #2 for 2. Jacobs gets a roll up out of nowhere for 2. He puts on the End Times for the win at 10:44, knocking Kendrick out of DGUSA. The finish came out of nowhere, but up until that point this was an intense brawl with some flashes of the typical Dragon Gate style from Evans and London.
Rating: ***
Jon Moxley and Brian Kendrick got some promo time back at Fearless. Moxley was unhappy that Tommy Dreamer was in attendance at the show. Kendrick insists that beating Dreamer won’t do anything for Moxley because Dreamer is a loser and a coward. Moxley still wants to fight, so he tells Dreamer to come out and make him shut his mouth. Dreamer didn’t come out then, but tonight at Mercury Rising he comes out to the ring wearing MMA gloves. He thanks the fans for coming out to an indy show during WrestleMania weekend. He says he fought Tajiri the night before in SMASH in Japan and flew to America tonight to have a hardcore match. He calls out Moxley so that can happen now.
Jon Moxley vs. Tommy Dreamer [Hardcore Match]
Moxley has Christina Von Eerie with him that weirdo indy fans are into. They start their hardcore match by fighting over a waistlock. Lame. Even Lenny Leonard notes that chain wrestling doesn’t belong in this kind of match. Thankfully it’s short-lived, as Moxley starts slugging and chopping Dreamer. He hits a weird leg lariat for 2. He bites Dreamer for 2. Dreamer hits a bulldog. He clotheslines Moxley to the floor and hits a baseball slide. He dives off the ramp onto Moxley. He hits Moxley with the ring bell. He rings the bell against Moxley’s crotch. He spits water in Moxley’s face and hits him with a fan’s crutch. They brawl to the back where it’s too dark to see. He hits Moxley with a plastic cup. He hits a suplex on the ramp. That’s more like it. He brings out a trash can from the back and throws it at Moxley’s head. Moxley crotches Dreamer up top and hits him with the trash can. He chokes Dreamer on the turnbuckle before hitting a superplex. He hits a clothesline for 2. Dreamer is bleeding. Moxley puts on the STF. Dreamer comes back with a cloverleaf. He stomps on Moxley’s hand. He hits a clothesline for 2. He hits a chair shot to the back. Moxley hits a drop toehold onto the edge of the chair. Dreamer hits a Rydeen Bomb. He slams the back of Moxley’s head into the seat of the chair for 2 when Von Eerie makes the save. That was a SICK spot. Dreamer tries to hit her with a piledriver but the referee isn’t having it. Dreamer slugs the referee in response. Von Eerie slaps Dreamer so he hits the piledriver. Leonard makes oral sex jokes. YAMATO runs out and puts the sleeper hold on Dreamer. Dreamer sends him to the floor. Shingo runs out and hits Dreamer with the DVD. Moxley rolls into the ring and covers Dreamer for 2. He misses a chair shot. Dreamer hits a piledriver for 2. Moxley goes to the eyes and hits a DDT on the chair for the win at 12:30. This was a lot like an old ECW match, in that weapons that would hurt less than fists were used in abundance and there was plenty of interference. I actually don’t mind the interference because the match wasn’t amazing to begin with and it was a fine way to get Moxley into Kamikaze. Points for Moxley’s nasty spill onto the chair too.
Rating: **¼
YAMATO © {K} vs. Susumu Yokosuka [Open the Dream Gate Championship Match]
This is the first time the Open the Dream Gate title has ever been defended outside of Dragon Gate in Japan. It is YAMATO’s first defense, as he won the title five days earlier. This is a rare example of a match being booked before the title was put on the line. This is the second time that kind of booking has benefitted Yokosuka, as he was the first challenger for BxB Hulk’s Open the Freedom Gate title for the same reason. Leonard mentions all of this. I’m impressed. Yokosuka powers YAMATO to the ropes to start. They trade shoulder tackles. Yokosuka gets a roll up for 2. He clotheslines YAMATO to the floor. Back in the ring YAMATO goes to the eyes. Yokosuka hits a lariat. YAMATO goes for an armbar but Yokosuka gets to the ropes. The fight spills to the floor where YAMATO goes after the arm. Back in the ring YAMATO hits a backbreaker. He puts on an armbar. He hits a low blow. Yokosuka returns the favor. He hits the exploder. YAMATO returns the favor. Yokosuka pops up and hits another. YAMATO does the same. Both guys are down. Yokosuka hits a super exploder for 2. YAMATO goes back to the arm to keep Yokosuka from hitting the Jumbo no Kachi. Yokosuka dropkicks the leg. He hits the Ashi Yokosuka. He puts on a figure 4 leglock, which gets a bigger response in the States than I’m sure Yokosuka is used to. YAMATO gets to the ropes. He blocks a powerbomb and puts on an armbar. Yokosuka gets to the ropes. YAMATO hits a running elbow. Yokosuka comes back with an avalanche DVD. YAMATO pops up and trades elbows with Yokosuka. They up the ante with lariats and rolling elbows until Yokosuka lays YAMATO out for 2. YAMATO ducks the Jumbo no Kachi and puts on the sleeper hold. Yokosuka counters to the DVD. He hits the Jumbo no Kachi but there isn’t much behind it. He hits it again with even worse results. He hits a third crappy Jumbo no Kachi. YAMATO goes to town on the arm. Yokosuka hits a powerful lariat out of nowhere for 2. He hits the Jumbo no Kachi as hard as he can but his arm is too hurt to cover. Eventually he gets 2. He hits the Mugen for 2. He goes for another but YAMATO avoids it and puts on the sleeper. YAMATO hits a German suplex. He ducks a lariat and reapplies the sleeper. He hits a sleeper suplex for 2. He punts Yokosuka’s head and hits a brainbuster for 2. He hits the Galleria for the win at 21:42. This was just awesome. YAMATO completely neutralized the Jumbo no Kachi and then used his always awesome catch skills to counter everything Yokosuka had left down the stretch to pick up the win. It was great stuff that he’d use in later title matches, but so far this is the best example of it that I’ve seen.
Rating: ****
BxB Hulk {W1}, Masato Yoshino {W1} & Naruki Doi {W1} vs. CIMA {W5}, Gamma {W5} & Dragon Kid {W5}
Four of the six original participants from the 2006 version are in this match. Yoshino and Kid start. They move at an insane speed until Kid hits an armdrag. Gamma hits a shoulder tackle. He spits in Yoshino’s face. Hulk hits a dropkick. He armdrags CIMA but misses a dropkick. He hits a senton for 2. Kid works Doi’s arm. Yoshino hits a bodyslam. CIMA hits the Superdrol. He and Kid hit sentons for 2. CIMA and Yoshino fight over a surfboard stretch. CIMA hits Doi with a hiptoss. He and Gamma hit a double dropkick. They hit stereo back suplexes. Gamma spits in Hulk’s face. He gives Hulk the Sweet Angel’s Kiss. He hits a dropkick. CIMA swings Kid into Hulk. The WARRIORS hit a triple dropkick for 2. Gamma canes Hulk’s crotch. Hulk cleans house with kicks. He hits Gamma with the uranage. He hits Kid with a dropkick. Doi grabs the cane and bops Gamma on the head. He comically hits him a few more times before nailing a back suplex. Kid hits Yoshino with the Diamond Dust. He hits a stunner for 2. He hits a hurricanrana. Yoshino ducks the 619 and hits a powerbomb. Doi hits an elbow for 2. Yoshino hits a double stomp on the arm. Speed Muscle double-teams Kid. Hulk hits a roundhouse kick for 2. He puts on an abdominal stretch. He hits a senton for 2. Doi hits the hanging senton for 2. Yoshino hits an elevated double stomp for 2. Kid comes back with a head scissor takedown. CIMA hits a double stomp. He suplexes Doi while keeping Hulk in a toehold. Gamma hits a dropkick. Kid hits the Déjà Vu. He hits the Bermuda Triangle. Doi unloads elbows on Gamma. Gamma blocks the Doi 555 and hits a dropkick. He hits a powerbomb for 2. Yoshino hits an elevated facebuster for 2. He avoids the Venus and puts on the Coumori. CIMA hits a dropkick. Yoshino hits the Sling Blade for 2. He puts on From Jungle. Kid puts Hulk in the Christo and has a slap fight with Yoshino. He hits the Messiah on Hulk for 2. CIMA hits a baseball slide on Yoshino. He misses the Tokarev. Yoshino hits the shotgun senton combo. Doi hits Kid with a German superplex. Hulk botches a springboard leg lariat. He hits a Michinoku Driver for 2. Yoshino dropkicks Doi by mistake. CIMA and Gamma hit a double superkick. CIMA hits the Perfect Driver for 2. Kid and Gamma hit a double Tokarev while CIMA hits a dropkick. Gamma hits the…

CIMA misses the Meteora. Doi hits the Bakatare Sliding Kick. Yoshino rolls CIMA up for 2. CIMA hits a superkick. Hulk hits the Mouse and the EVO for 2. CIMA hits the Venus. Gamma canes Hulk and Kid hits a super reverse hurricanrana. Gamma hits a reverse hurricanrana. Kid hits the Ultra Hurricanrana for 2. Hulk avoids the Dragon Rana. Kid hits Yoshino with the Bible for 2. Yoshino hits the Lightning Spiral for 2. Speed Muscle double teams Gamma. They hit a Sling Blade Bomb for 2. Hulk hits the First Flash for 2. Doi hits the Doi 555 and the Bakatare Sliding Kick. Yoshino hits the Lightning Spiral for 2. Yoshino hits the Torbellino and puts on the Sol Naciente. Kid fails to make the save. Hulk stops CIMA from saving with a dropkick and Gamma passes out at 27:25. The second half of this match was as good as anything Dragon Gate has done in the States. Sure Hulk botched a spot, but the hurricanrana sequence and the way World-1 dominated down the final stretch both more than made up for it. Dragon Gate’s perfect record on WrestleMania weekend continues.
Rating: ****½
After the match we get the following, hilarious exchange, all in English:
Yoshino: Hulk, I want the title.
Hulk: Are you serious?!
Yoshino: Of course!
Hulk: OK OK OK OK OK, in Toronto. [In Japanese (subtitles available on DGUSA’s channel on YouTube): If it’s going to be a title match, it will be a different story. I won’t go easy on you. Get ready for it.]
Doi: Yoshino, are you sure?
Yoshino: Yes!
Doi: BxB, are you sure?
Hulk: Yes!
Doi: I wish for a good match! Title match, Freedom Gate! OKAY! Everybody, thank you for coming tonight! Did you enjoy the show? Hey one more time, DID YOU ENJOY THE SHOW? Okay, thank you, gracias! DRAGON GATE DRAGON GATE DRAGON GATE!
Japanenglish is my favorite.
In a hallway backstage Jon Moxley, Shingo and YAMATO are hanging out. Moxley lets us know he’s formally aligned with these men to create Kamikaze USA.