As always make sure you check out the Grapefruit Chronicles. Season 2 is underway and the episodes now feature voiceovers!
December 26, 2010 – Fukuoka, Japan
Open the Dream Gate Champion: Masato Yoshino
Open the Triangle Gate Champions: Naoki Tanisaki, Yasushi Kanda & Takuya Sugawara
Open the Brave Gate Champion: PAC
Open the Twin Gate Champions: Naruki Doi & Gamma
Open the Freedom Gate Champion: BxB Hulk
Super Shisa {Z} & Kotoka {W1} vs. NOSAWA Rongai {TG} & Kenichiro Arai {Z}
Kotoka shows confidence in his new haircut during his entrance. Shisa and Arai start. Arai gets a takedown for 2. They trade monkey flips. Kotoka has trouble making his offence effective on Rongai. He hits a head scissor takedown and a dropkick. Rongai hits a back bodydrop. He hits a head kick for 2. He puts on an armbar. Shisa makes the save. Arai hits Kotoka with a delayed vertical suplex for 2. He hits a giant swing. That gets 2 for Rongai. Kotoka hits Arai with a missile dropkick to the face. He hits Rongai with a vertical suplex. Arai clocks Rongai by mistake. Shisa hits Arai with an armdrag. Rongai misses a knee strike and falls to the floor. Shisa hits Arai with a suicide dive. He puts both opponents in an abdominal stretch. Kotoka hits Rongai with a bulldog. He hits Arai with a DDT, impressing the crowd. Shisa hits a splash. Kotoka hits a double stomp. Rongai hits the Shining Wizard on Shisa. Arai hits Kotoka with a big boot. He hits the Alabamaslam for 2. He and Rongai hit a double flapjack. Rongai hits the Michinoku Driver and Arai hits a diving headbutt for the win at 9:00. Kotoka does some really cool stuff. I hope they start to push him a bit in 2011. This was pretty decent, the best performance from Arai in months and a nice showing by Rongai. The babyfaces also did well, as expected.
Rating: **½
Susumu Yokosuka {W1} vs. KAGETORA {K}
There’s really no reason for this match to be taking place. I thought they’d do KAGETORA & Arai v. Yokosuka & Kotoka in the opener, which would have made a lot more sense. Yokosuka hits a shoulder tackle. KAGETORA hits a rebound dropkick. He hits an enziguiri. He hits a suicide dive. He hits an elbowdrop for 2. Yokosuka misses the Jumbo no Kachi. He hits an exploder into the corner. He hits a lariat. KAGETORA hits the leaping lariat. He misses the enziguiri but hits it on the second try. He gets a roll up for 2. Yokosuka hits the DVD. KAGETORA hits a backdrop. He hits the flying elbowdrop for 2. Yokosuka hits a lariat and the super exploder. KAGETORA blocks the Jumbo no Kachi and hits that flipping suplex he does. Does anyone know what that’s called? Yokosuka hits a half nelson suplex. KAGETORA gets the Kagenui for 2. He gets another for 2. He hits the Hangetsu, twice. He hits the Genkonitekki for 2. Yokosuka counters the Ikkitousen to an inverted brainbuster. Well that was awesome. He hits the Jumbo no Kachi. He hits it a second and third time for 2. He hits the Mugen for the win at 9:01. I’m not sure why they unloaded on each other so much for a short undercard match, as it did more to devalue the moves than make them feel special. That Ikkitousen spot sure was cool, though.
Rating: **¾
Darkness Dragon {W1} vs. Gamma Daiou [No Disqualification Match]
For those new to Dragon Gate fandom, these are the dark side alter-egos of K-ness and Gamma. Technically K-ness isn’t allowed to be Darkness Dragon because of an old match stipulation dating back to the Toryumon days, but this isn’t the first time he’s donned the mask since losing it to Dragon Kid years ago, so I guess the damage had already been done. He comes out with a chain. Daiou has a foreign object too, but before I can figure out what it is Dragon attacks him with the chain. He hits Daiou with the guardrail. He piles guardrails and chairs on top of Daiou. He chokes Daiou with the chain. He punches Daiou’s stomach with his hand wrapped in the chain. He hits the Kaishaku. Daiou pops up so Dragon hits it again. Daiou pops up again so Dragon hits it a third time. Now Daiou stands up and spills black goo from his mouth. He hits an enziguiri and finally takes off his jacket. He hits the Flashback. He slams chairs onto Dragon. He jumps off the top rope, slamming a table onto Dragon. He exposes the concrete floor and sets up a table on it. He goes for a piledriver through the table but Dragon blocks it with a DDT on the apron. Dragon pulls Daiou onto the table and hits a piledriver. Back in the ring Dragon puts Daiou in the Tree of Woe, puts a chair in front of his face and hits a dropkick. He makes a chair pile. He goes for a back superplex on the pile but Daiou knocks him onto it. Dragon baits Daiou into hitting a senton on the pile. He gets a hold of Daiou’s foreign object, which turns out to be a gurney. Daiou hits him with a superkick. Dragon blocks the red mist with a piece of the table. Daiou goes for another mist attack and connects. He smacks Dragon with the table piece. He hits the Blitzen on the chair pile for 2. He piledrives Dragon onto the gurney and hits him with the Sky Twister Press for the win at 11:58. Like all dark side matches, this was slow and pretty boring. This could not have been more disappointing, given how much build went into it.
Rating: *¼
After the match Brodie Lee comes out and hits Darkness Dragon and Gamma Daiou with big boots. The rest of the WARRIORS are with him. CIMA introduces Lee and Ricochet to the crowd as the newest WARRIORS, saying that WARRIORS International has come to Japan. CIMA hypes Ricochet’s double moonsault. My favorite part of the segment is that Ricochet is wearing the polka dot pants. Lee carries Kid on his shoulders, foreshadowing what will no doubt be a new tag team.
Ryo Saito {W5} & Genki Horiguchi {W5} vs. Shingo Takagi {K} & Cyber Kong {K} vs. Masaaki Mochizuki {Z} & Don Fujii {Z} [Number One Contenders Match]
I love Kong’s PPV mask. Takagi, Mochizuki and Saito start. Takagi overpowers both opponents. He cleans house with shoulder tackles. Saito hits a hurricanrana. Mochizuki hits a back kick. MARAHA! ISAPPA! Kong tears through the WARRIORS with shoulder tackles and tells Fujii to bring it. Fujii’s shoulder tackles do nothing until he gets some help from a Mochizuki kick. Takagi slams the WARRIORS and hits a senton on Horiguchi. Kong hits a splash for 2. I’m having a hard time keeping up with this. Kong hits the Zetsurins with an avalanche. He works Horiguchi’s hair. Takagi hits a backbreaker. Kong hits the elevated elbowdrop for 2. Takagi puts on an abdominal stretch. Horiguchi dropkicks his leg. He tags out so dramatically that the commentators call it a jumping high touch. I love it. Saito fails to slam Kong. Mochizuki hits Kong with the apron kick. Saito hits Takagi with a hurricanrana. He hits an armbreaker on the apron. Mochizuki kicks Takagi’s arm. He baits Takagi into clotheslining the post and then kicks the arm again. Horiguchi hits the topé con hilo. Fujii chops Takagi’s arm. He hits an armbreaker. Mochizuki and the WARRIORS join in on the arm abuse. Fujii and Takagi start stiffing each other. Fujii hits a lariat so Takagi returns fire. Mochizuki kicks the arm. He puts on an armbar. Takagi hits a powerbomb to escape. Kong tags in and cleans house with shoulder tackles and lariats. He and Takagi suplex both WARRIORS and Fujii. Takagi hits a topé con hilo on the WARRIORS. Kong no-sells Fujii’s sumo chops. Fujii connects with a back suplex. Kong pops up and hits a lariat. Fujii hits Saito with a lariat and rolls him up for 2. Kong hits Fujii with the Pineapple Bomber and hits a little swing on Saito. Mochizuki hits a missile dropkick. Saito hits a fisherman suplex. Fujii hits a shoulder tackle. Takagi hits a shoulder tackle. Horiguchi hits a reverse DDT. Kong hits an avalanche. Takagi hits MADE IN JAPAN for 2. He and Kong hit lariats and the Doomsday Device for 2. Everyone starts striking everyone else in a segment that ends with Kong hitting an errant lariat on Takagi. Fujii hits a German suplex on Takagi. Mochizuki hits a head kick for 2. Takagi chokeslams Fujii and hits Mochizuki with the Twister. He hits Horiguchi with a DVD. Horiguchi gets the Backslide from Heaven for 2. Takagi hits Saito with a lariat. Saito hits a pair of German suplexes for 2. Mochizuki hits the Sankakugeri and Horiguchi hits the Beach Break to eliminate Kamikaze at 17:15. Fujii gets a backslide on Horiguchi for 2. He hits a lariat. Mochizuki hits a chest kick for 2. He hits the Kenka Kick. Horiguchi and Saito get the Shachihoko Clutch on Fujii for 2. Horiguchi dropkicks Mochizuki’s leg. Saito hits a fisherman superplex. He hits a dragon suplex for 2. Mochizuki blocks the Premium Bridge and hits a chest kick. He hits a back heel kick to the face. He hits the Ikkakugeri. Fujii hits the Nice German for 2. Mochizuki hits the Illusion. He hits an ax kick and the Shin Saikyou High Kick for the win at 20:43. Great sequences, non-stop action and a few stiff exchanges make this a match worth going out of your way to see. If only the finish had been a bit more exciting.
Rating: ***¾
The intermission match is the awesome Doi vs. Yoshino Dream Gate title match from 2009 when Doi was champion. You can read my review here.
YAMATO {K} vs. BxB Hulk {W1}
The build for this match was kind of strange. Hulk, having defeated Takagi in the United States in defense of his Freedom Gate title, now holds a mental edge over him and has pinned him twice in tag matches. YAMATO, who has been on a losing streak, has taken offense and attacked Hulk after those matches. That brings us to this. They fight it out on the mat to start. YAMATO hits a shoulder tackle and a dropkick. Hulk plays possum to hit a dropkick of his own. He hits the BxB Star Press. He hits a roundhouse kick and clotheslines YAMATO to the floor. YAMATO comes from behind to dropkick Hulk’s knee. He works the knee in the corner. He hits a dropkick to the back. He puts on a half crab. Hulk gets to the ropes. He hits a roundhouse kick but can’t capitalize. YAMATO grabs a leglock. Hulk gets to the ropes. YAMATO hits the spear for 2. He puts on an anklelock and turns it into a cloverleaf. Hulk gets to the ropes. His leg is too hurt to run. He squeezes out a back heel kick but it only takes a second for YAMATO to regain control. Hulk hits a springboard dropkick to the face. He opens up with kicks, sweeps the leg and hits a senton. Then he grabs his leg, because that’s how he sells. He stuffs YAMATO with a weird backdrop. That was nuts. YAMATO goes back to the half crab. Hulk gets to the ropes. YAMATO hits an enziguiri. He hits a German suplex. Hulk hits a leg lariat. Stop doing that crap dude! He hits an avalanche powerslam. He hits a big boot. I’ve lost faith in his performance. He hits an axe kick for 2. YAMATO hits a Kenka Kick. He hits a pumping superplex for 2. That scared the crap out of me! They trade big strikes until Hulk hits the Mouse and a lariat. He hits an enziguiri because he sucks tonight. He hits the EVO for 2. YAMATO puts on the sleeper hold. He hits the punt and a brainbuster for 2. Hulk blocks the Galleria and hits the FTX for 2. He hits the First Flash and a buzzsaw kick. He hits the H Thunder for 2. He hits another axe kick and a Phoenix Splash for the win at 19:51. Hulk’s selling was trash as usual, and because YAMATO was trying so hard and Hulk wasn’t I was legitimately pissed when Hulk won the match.
Rating: ***
After the match Kong and Hulk fight and Kong slams the crap out of Hulk. That actually made me feel a lot better.
Takuya Sugawara ©, Naoki Tanisaki © & Yasushi Kanda © vs. CIMA {W5}, Dragon Kid {W5} & Ricochet {W5} [Open the Triangle Gate Championship Match]
Everyone brawls to start. The camera misses Ricochet bouncing off of a wall to do something cool. Kanda and Tanisaki mock the WARRIOR’s call. Kid hits Kanda with a head scissor takedown. The WARRIORS hit a triple dropkick. Ricochet hits a topé con hilo. CIMA hits Tanisaki with a shoulder tackle and a chest kick. He hits a dropkick. Kid hits a pair of kneedrops for 1. Ricochet hits a head scissor takedown. Sugawara hits Kid with a fistdrop. CIMA hits him with a senton. He gets a roll up for 2. Gamma hops on the apron to help choke CIMA with the rest of the Nudniks. Ricochet hits Kanda with an elbowdrop. Sugawara puts on a chinlock. CIMA helps Ricochet and Kid hit flippy moves and then hits a senton of his own. Kid hits a back heel kick. Sugawara hits a backbreaker. Tanisaki hits a diving kneedrop. Gamma comes in to help hit a quadruple dropkick. Lee chases Gamma away from the ring. Tanisaki puts Kid in an abdominal stretch. Kid gets to the ropes. Kanda hits a hammerlock suplex for 2. Sugawara and Tanisaki hit a double facebuster. Kid hits Kanda with the 619. He hits Sugawara with a head scissor takedown. CIMA dropkicks Tanisaki to the floor. He hits Kanda with a dropkick. Kid hits Kanda with another 619. He hits the Bermuda Triangle. CIMA kicks Sugawara’s face. He and Ricochet hit a suplex/dropkick combo. Ricochet hits the Sasuke Special. CIMA hits a double stomp on Kanda. Kanda hits a Manhattan drop. CIMA blocks the Jon Woo so Kanda hits another Manhattan drop. CIMA hits an enziguiri to block another Jon Woo attempt. Ricochet hits a 619. He hits a running SSP for 2. He hits a weird slam and a standing back flip senton for 2. Sugawara hits a low blow. Tanisaki hits the DH. Kanda hits an exploder. Tanisaki hits the Casanova for 2. Kanda and Sugawara hit a double flapjack for 2. CIMA hits Tanisaki with the Venus. Kid hits the stack hurricanrana. Ricochet hits a Regalplex for 2. Gamma stops him from hitting the double moonsault. Lee takes care of Gamma. He hits Tanisaki with a lariat. Ricochet hits a 630 senton for 2. Kanda hits Kid with a side slam. Sugawara hits an enziguiri. He hits a brainbuster for 2. Kanda hits the flying elbowdrop for 2. The Nudniks hit CIMA and Ricochet with a triple Jon Woo. Kid blocks the Implant so Kanda abuses him with the blue box. He hits the Ryus on the box. Tanisaki hits the Implant for 2. CIMA saves Kid from the Shiisanpuuta. Kid hits the Ultra Hurricanrana for 2. CIMA steals Tanisaki’s powder but accidentally hits Yagi with it. Sugawara hits Kid with TCO. The Nudniks gang up on Kid in the corner. The WARRIORS do the same to Kanda. They hit a triple Tokarev. Ricochet finishes things off with the double moonsault, giving the WARRIORS the titles at 19:40. These belts only seem to trade between a CIMA led team and a Tanisaki led team. This took a good long while to get going, but once it did even the Nudniks pulled their weight to make this fun. That’s always a pleasant surprise.
Rating: ***½
After the match the WARRIORS start a Ricochet chant. He does some flips to show his thanks.
Masato Yoshino © {W1} vs. Naruki Doi [Open the Dream Gate Championship Match]
Yoshino and Doi are hesitant to make first contact. This is their first singles match against each other as enemies since Yoshino joined Blood Generation in 2005. They lock up. Doi goes after the leg. He hits a shoulder tackle and smacks Yoshino across the face. Yoshino hits a supercharged dropkick and a suicide dive. He hits another dropkick. He goes after the arm. He hits a splash to the arm. He gets a crucifix pin for 2. Doi hits an electric chair drop to block the Coumori after his arm proves unable to execute the corner maneuver he was looking for. He hits a Blue Thunder Bomb for 2. He hits a Stun Gun. He hits a neckbreaker for 2. Yoshino comes back with the Coumori. He hits the Hundred Yard Dropkick. Doi misses a dropkick. Yoshino hits a dropkick. Doi hits a crossbody to the back. Yoshino hits the Sling Blade for 2. Doi catches him in midair with a dropkick. Yoshino kicks the arm to regain control. He hits an armbreaker. They avoid each other’s signature moves until Yoshino locks in From Jungle. Doi gets a roll up for 2. Doi hits a spinebuster for 2. He hits a dropkick but misses the hanging senton. Yoshino hits the shotgun dropkick. Doi blocks the floating dropkick and hits the Dai Bosou. He hits a reverse DDT. He hits the Bosou Elbow for 2. He hits the Bakatare Sliding Kick and calls for the Muscular Bomb. Yoshino blocks that and hits the Ude Yoshino. He hits a shotgun dropkick to the back. He hits the Lightning Spiral for 2. Yoshino goes for an avalanche Sling Blade but gets caught with Doi’s Avalanche 555. That gets 2. Yoshino hits the Torbellino. Doi counters the Sol Naciente to a roll up for 2. Yoshino locks in the hold on the second try. Doi starts to fade but then gets to the ropes. He blocks the avalanche Lightning Spiral and hits a tiger superplex. He hits the Doi 555 and the Bakatare Sliding Kick for 2. They block each other’s finishers until Yoshino hits the Ude Yoshino. He hits the Torbellino. He hits it again and puts on the Sol Naciente. Doi powers up and hits the Muscular Bomb. It’s not a very strong one and Doi clutches his arm before covering, so it only gets 2. Yoshino counters a second attempt to the Riverina Special for 2. Doi hits a tiger suplex for 2. Yoshino hits the Lightning Spiral. He hits it again for 2. He hits the avalanche Lightning Spiral for the win at 28:53. Too many false shifts out of first gear to really get me excited. Doi’s selling was everything Hulk’s should have been, but the match was ten minutes too long without the content to fill it.
Rating: ***¼
After the match the Immortal Masks come out to the ring and attack World-1. Hulk and Yoshino fight them off. They unmask two of them but they have ski masks on underneath. They leave without any further trouble. Yoshino closes out the disappointing show with a promo. What a bummer of a way to end one of Dragon Gate’s best years.
