DG USA Enter the Dragon 2011 Second Anniversary Celebration iPPV Review

-Live from New York City

-Your hosts are Lenny Leonard and Rob Naylor

-I tried doing the live coverage of this event, but I was sabotaged by the hamsters not doing their job at B.B. King’s to keep the internet connection up. Thankfully, I got to enjoy this show on demand as well as Open the Southern Gate. And hey, the house lights are on. Meaning I don’t have to watch the show in the dark. Blood Warriors come out to start the show. Cima uses broken English, but it’s not as funny when he’s a heel, and you can barely understand what he’s saying.

Ricochet vs. Masato Yoshino (Open the United Gate Tag Team Champion)

Match in Five Words or Less: Crisp

Match Summary/Analysis: Not why Ricochet decided on a Mohawk since that’s Arik Cannon’s gimmick. Feeling out process between the two high flyers. Seated dropkick by Yoshino. Pair of armdrags and a dropkick by Ricochet. He fakes on a dive. Stomps and choking in the corner by Yoshino. Cima tries to introduce a chair into the match. Yoshino maintains the advantage and focuses on Ricochet’s arm. Flatliner by Ricochet gets him back in the match. Blood Warriors assist their comrade outside the ring. Dropkick gets two. Back outside for more damage by Cima, Austin Aries, and Brodie Lee. Snapmare/enziguri combination for two. Ricochet with some strikes, but Yoshino only gets angry. Back elbow and both men are down. Ricochet avoids a double stomp but gets sent down face first anyway. Ricochet sent over. He misses a moonsault off the second rope, then misses a springboard acecrusher. Ricochet does manage to execute it properly a second time. Standing moonsault met with knees. From Jungle  but Ricochet barely reaches the ropes. Double stomp on Ricochet’s hand. Ricochet blocks torbelino and hits a standing shooting star press. Crossbody met with a dropkick. Yoshino walks along the ropes before hitting a dropkick off the top rope. Crowd can actually be heard quite well. Ricochet flips him over on a suplex for two. 818 and a second rope shooting star press only get two. Yoshino crotches Ricochet on the top rope. Sling blade takes both men down hard. Slap exchange. Series of counters. Ridiculous lightning spiral for two. Step-up enziguri by Ricochet. Torbelino that also looks incredible. Sol Naciante and Ricochet finally taps. Blood Warriors immediately beat Yoshino down. Pac comes out for the save but he also gets beaten down. Yamato comes down as well. Everyone is just battling with each other. Finally, Pac, Yoshino, and Yamato stand tall. I was worried that because this was the opener, this would either not get the time it needed to develop or they wouldn’t go as hard. Thankfully, this match turned out amazing, and Ricochet took Yoshino’s offense like a champ.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Masato Yoshino/16:54/***3/4

-Johnny Gargano and Rich Swann discuss who their partner is going to be for later tonight in the six man tag. Swann appears to have an idea.

A.R  Fox vs. Pinkie Sanchez

Match in Five Words or Less: Ass Based Offense

Match Summary/Analysis: Sanchez walks around the building like a mad man. Crowd is deeply into Fox.  Some basic wrestling between these two men. Fox springboards and hits a back elbow. Sanchez tries to powder but gets caught cause Fox is… you know… FAST. Wackiness abounds on the outside. Knee strike and huge spike DDT off the second rope. Crowd begins cheering for Fox again. I’m glad the crowd is really getting behind someone instead of cheering for both men. There are still some cheering for Pinkie, but it’s the minority. Poke to the eyes and a butterfly suplex. Sunset flip. Pinkie takes his pants off and drops his ass right on Fox. It’s a sexy part. Snapmare and an ass to the face. All with the pants still down. The man is wearing a speedo thankfully. Stink face. European uppercut. Hard left-armed lariat. Sanchez misses something off the top rope. Fox picks the man’s pants up and hits a spinning suplex. Pair of strikes. Sanchez laid down on the second rope. Fox charges and hits a springboard suplex. Springboard 450 TO THE OUTSIDE! He places Sanchez on the top. Spinning kick. Fox goes for his finisher, but Sanchez spits in his face. Flying ass to the face. 1-2-NO! Fox placed on the top rope. Another flying ass to Fox. 1-2-NO! Sanchez calls it Booties for Breakfast. Kick to the face. Fox atomic drops him. Airplane spin into a death valley driver. SWANTON BOMB! 1-2-NO! Roll-up exchange. Flying spin kick by Sanchez. Fox with a kick. STUNNER! Stomps on the corner. Umm, has he been watching Steve Austin lately or what? Sanchez placed on the top rope. Split-Legged Moonsault Side Slam. Pinkie Sanchez took another incredible beating, and Fox got to be the benefactor of looking strong. Two good matches to start the show.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: A.R. FOX/13:06/***1/4

-Sami Calihan pays respect to A.R. Fox at first but then asks Fox what makes him better than D.U.F. Easy question to answer if he let him. Cannon punches Fox right in the face before putting the boots to him. They put a keg on Fox’s face and slam another object into the keg into his face. Well, that’s one way to make a statement. The beating continues as they deliver another shot to Fox’s face. While it’s never said, Sanchez’s inclusion into the group was heavily implied here.

FRAY! Cedric Alexander vs. Ahtu vs. Job Davis vs. Tony Nese vs. Sugar Dunkerton vs. Flip Kendrick vs. Louis Lyndon vs. Caleb Konley

Match in Five Words or Less: Davis Is A Beast

Match Summary/Analysis: Larry Dallas, the best sponsor in wrestling history, brings out Ahtu to start with Alexander. If Ahtu loses, Dallas will never step foot in DG USA again. That’s a shame. Ahtu is HUGE. I expect WWE to sign him by the time you read this. Alexander doesn’t have much luck against him. Ahtu with a SPEAR. Pumphandle something or other gets him the win. Jon Davis is in, and we have a battle of the big men. They take turns shoulder tackling each other. POUNCE SENDS AHTU FLYING. AHTU IS ELIMINATED! LARRY DALLAS IS OUT OF DG USA! Tony Nese enters the fray. Get it? Neckbreaker, kick to the face, and spinning kick. Davis tilt a whirl slam gets two. Hard strikes by both men. Sugar Dunkerton comes into a big pop. Ex factor off the top  rope on Davis. Lariats in the corner on Nese. One more puts him down. Davis gets dropkicked in the face while trying to come back in the ring. Vertical suplex by Dunkerton on Nese. Flip Kendrick in and a quick headscissors. Dunkerton guillotined. Standing cannonball by Kendrick on Dunkerton. Enziguri. Davis release suplexes him high. Louis Lyndon makes his way to the ring. Lyndon crossbodies Davis. High knee. Toehold into the middle rope. Boot sends him out. Right hand by Dunkerton on Lyndon. Lyndon brings Dunkerton down. Atomic drop and kick to the butt. Kick to the back by Lyndon. Caleb Konley comes in with a shoulder tackle and axe kick on Dunkerton. Regalplex for two. Nese goes to work on Konley. They battle on the apron. Chop off the top rope. Façade enters as Lyndon hits a tope. Kendrick with a dive of his own. Façade with a spinning leg lariat on Konley. Façade with a dive to the other side of the ring. Springboard missile dropkick on Dunkerton. Ridiculously dangerous dive again. Neckbreaker into a cattle mutilation. Dunkerton taps. Crowd didn’t like that. Façade and Lyndon try double teaming Davis. Double DVD. Lyndon gets eliminated, but Façade manages to kick out. Series of kicks by Façade. Spinebuster and rolling elbow. Blue thunder powerbomb and Façade is finally gone. Nese hits a springboard legdrop as the crowd gets behind the guy who’s been dominating this entire match. Kendrick turns Nese inside out and nails a corkscrew press for two. Konley nails Kendrick on the top rope. Konley palm strikes him. Stalling superplex as Nese powerbombs them. This is ridiculous. Nese drives Kendrick down hard. Jig and tonic for sends Kendrick home packing. Konley takes advantage. Knee strike and a kick to Davis. Uh oh. BUCKLEBOMB! Boots, a superkick, and a German suplex by Nese sends Konley out. Down to the two big men. Elbow and a running knee to Davis’s face. Hey everyone, a fire alarm is going off in the background. Spinebuster by Davis. Nese ranas him. Powerslam by Davis gets two. Davis has been so awesome that the NYC fire department is literally scared of what might happen to those in the restaurant. That’s how you can tell the man is over. Nese hits a hurancanrana off the top rope. Exchange of hard shots. LARIAT! Three Seconds Around the World, and Davis wins in one of the most dominant FRAY performances over. DG USA did a great job feeding guys to him and focusing all their efforts on getting him over. This company needs to build a solid roster of American guys with so many guys coming in and out. Having Fox go over in the previous match and getting Davis a win here were the right booking decisions and will pay dividends for the company. This was definitely better than any of the prior FRAYS I’ve seen. There seemed to be a real purpose to push Davis. Everyone else involved also stepped to have an entertaining match.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Jon Davis/19:07/***1/4

-The plan worked for Ronin as Rich Swann found a third man.

Susumu Yokosuka and Masaaki Mochizuki (Open the Dream Gate Champion) vs. D.U.F. (Sami Callihan and Arik Cannon)

Match in Five Words or Less: Sell The Leg

Match Summary/Analysis: Things get started quickly as all four men brawl in and around ringside. Yokosuka and Cannon battle in the ring. Lariat sends Cannon off the apron. Mochizuki with his vicious kick to the back. Callihan is the victim of one inside the ring. Double team by Mochizuki and Yokosuka as they focus on his left arm. There’s even some biting involved. Charge to the corner misses, and Callihan executes a dragon screw leg whip. Cannon tags and goes right to work on the right knee. Yokosuka tries reversing a suplex but is forced to block a back drop driver. Whip to the corner and Mochizuki makes the tag in. Immediate missile dropkick. Kick to the back by Callihan. Mochizuki comes back with a springboard kick. Yakuza in the corner on Cannon. Kicks to Cannon’s elbow and then into the cross armbreaker. Yokosuka drops Callihan on his knees. Figure four leglock. D.U.F in double submissions. They each get to the ropes. Double team on Cannon. Stiff kick to the chest gets a two count for Mochizuki. Right hand, superkick, and BRAINBUSTAH get two for Cannon. Double team by the D.U.F now. Second rope moonsault misses for Cannon. JUMBO NO KACHI! Forearm battle with Callihan. JUMBO NO KACHI! Running knee into the corner   by Mochizuki. Exploder off the top by Yokosuka. Kick combination by Mochizuki.  Sitting lariat by Yokosuka leads to a two count as Cannon just barely breaks the count. Callihan appears to be dead. D.U.F go to work and nearly get a three count. Stretch muffler. Mochizuki tries to save his partner, but Cannon sends him out. YOKOSUKA TAPS! I liked how they tried incorporating psychology into the match, but it would have helped significantly if Yokosuka had sold his leg throughout the second half of the match. I think the impact would have been even greater and would have made D.U.F look even more cerebral and showed what they could do against Dragon Gate mainstays. Despite that complaint, this was a solid tag team match with good action throughout.

Winner(s)/Time/Rating: D.U.F/16:50/***1/4

Elimination Match: Blood Warriors (Austin Aries, Brodie Lee, and Cima) vs. Ronin (Rich Swann, Johnny Gargano, and Masato Yoshino [Open the United Gate Tag Team Champion])

Match in Five Words or Less: Gargano- Most Improved Of 2011

Match Summary/Analysis: Warriors attack before the bell even rings, and Yoshino makes the save. This is the second straight year he’s helped out an American faction in an elimination match. Aries powerbombs Swann on the apron in the safest way possible. All six man battle all over the ring. Cima focuses on Swann back in the ring as Lee joins him. Continued double team by the Blood Warriors. Austin Aries gets in on the fun. I’d like to point out this is the second straight tag team match with an immediate heat segment on the babyfaces. Dropkicks from Swann on everyone. Brodie Lee comes back with three of his own! He drives Swann’s knee into the mat hard. Swann finally takes Cima into the corner, and Ronin works him over briefly. Aries takes a cheap shot, and they work over Gargano. Aries taken to the corner. Yoshino helps his partners for the night. Work on Aries’ arm from Team Ronin. They get Aries stuck in the ropes and have some fun at his expense. Another heat segment on Swann. He’s just so small and easily beat upable. Gargano and Yoshino pull out an old Speed Muscle double team spot. All six men in the ring. Blood Warriors reverse whips and take control. They clear the ring in dominant fashion. Lee holds Swann up for 20 seconds… and then punches him in the face. Great spot there. Aries teases Hurtz Doughnut to be a dick. STO and pendulum elbow for two by Aries. And I thought Pinkie took some bad beatings. Cima teases Sol Naciante. Gotta give BW credit for being the best heels ever. Huge running splash by Lee gets two. Swann with a jumping kick and rana. Tags to Lee and Gargano. Lee goes for a double chokeslam. Swann dropkicks him and Gargano schoolboys for two.  Charging boot misses. Gargano is caught in a dive. Aries clotheslines Swann. Brainbuster for two. Last Chancery. Yoshino breaks the submission. Cima in to stop him. Double stomp, kick, and rolling senton. That was an amazing sequence. Boot by Yoshino into a submission. Swann hits a leaping fameasser. Triple team by Ronin. Torbelino. Lightning Spiral. Cima quickly rolls Yoshino up… AND GETS THREE! We’re 20 minutes into the contest, and we’ve only had one elimination. Swann and Gargano go after Cima. Swann sunset flip on Aries nearly gets three. Double enziguris on Aries. Lee goes to work on both members of Ronin. Big boot on Swann in the corner. He crumbles to the mat. It sounded like his knee popped, even on the broadcast. Aries with a shinbreaker and a belly-to-back suplex. Swann quickly covers Lee and eliminates him. They had to get him out of the ring. A bit awkward but understandable under the circumstances. Some meandering takes place as Gargano goes at it against Aries on the outside of the ring. Double axehandle by Aries. Cima continues working Gargano over. Swann comes back in the ring on Cima with kicks. Nagasaki roll. Swann misses the jumping 450. Swann placed on the top rope. Northern lights bomb for two. Meteora and Swann is done.  Palm strike and iconoclasm on Gargano. Frog splash. 1-2-NO! Aries and Cima stretch out Gargano. Cima mocks Gargano as a baby and even sucks his thumb. Double team goes awry. Whip by Cima misses and he ends up on the floor. Gargano goes for a dive but is tripped up. Aries holds Gargano, but Cima knees him. Gargano dives on each men. Senton off the apron onto Cima. Crowd gets firmly behind him. Kick to the gut and double stomp. Series of counters. Gargano hits Hurtz Doughnut and applies the Gargano Escape. Aries tries to break it up and is successful. Gargano applies it a second time. CIMA TAPS! It’s down to Aries and Gargano. These two just had a singles match two days prior. Slap to the face by Aries. Gargano responds with one of his own. Immediate Hurtz Doughnut for two. Gargano Escape. Aries sends him out. Gargano goes for the spear back in the ring, but The Last Chancery is locked in. Gargano gets to the bottom rope. Battle for a vertical suplex and beyond. Guillotine on the top rope. Spear countered again. Hangman’s neckbreaker into the double axehandle. Missile dive. Back in the ring for a two count. Gargano reverses into a brainbuster of his own for two. Strike exchange. Superkick blocked and Aries hits his shinbreaker right into the back suplex. Dropkick in the corner. Brainbuster. 1-2-NO! Into the corner. Aries NAILS the 450 splash. 1-2-FOOT ON THE ROPES! Kick to the back of Aries’ head. Kick to the face as Aries escapes Gargano’s submission move. Boot as Aries goes for the dropkick. Hurtz Doughnut into the Gargano Escape. ARIES TAPS! An amazing six man tag this was. I know there have been a lot of these in the company, but what made this one so awesome was the defined roles everyone had to play. There were clear heels and babyfaces, so the crowd could actually cheer for wrestlers and not just moves. This is the biggest win of Johnny Gargano’s career as he made Cima and Austin Aries tap to the same move on the same night. Two years ago he was a goof in FRAY! Now he might be the top American wrestler for the company. What an incredible two year ride.  This was a long match that got 35 minutes, and it made sense. This wasn’t long for the sake of being long but an epic match that helped get someone over. A great great contest.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Johnny Gargano/35:18/****1/4

-Tony Nese is a fighter but not every good at promos. I’m going to call him Mr. Monotone from now on.

-Open the Freedom Gate Championship: Yamato (champion) vs. PAC (Open the Brave Gate Champion and Open the United Gate Tag Team Champion)

Match in Five Words or Less: Yamato Is Awesome

Match Summary/Analysis: This is PAC’s chance to become the holder of three title belts in Dragon Gate and Dragon Gate USA. These two had a solid match for the Brave Gate title toward the end of last year. Feeling out process to start. PAC hits a standing dropkick and stomps him in the corner. Yamato misses a dropkick and gets hit with an enziguri. Belly-to-back suplex for two. PAC maintains a headscissors for an extended period of time until Yamato reaches the ropes. Yamato catches PAC with a boot out of the corner. Overhead suplex sends PAC hard in the corner. Wow. Immediately application of the single leg crab. Yamato even wrenches at the knee for good measure. It’s those small details that make Yamato so amazing. Continued work on PAC’s left leg. Chops in corner. Yamato takes the battle to the floor by continuing to attack PAC’s knee. Anklelock applied. Turned into a leg lace. PAC to the ropes. Boots lead to PAC firing up and coming back with forearms. Yamato teases walking out of the ring but comes back. Sleeper hold but PAC hits a chinbreaker. Charge misses and Yamato ends up on the floor. Uh oh. PAC dives…corkscrew style. Shoulder block and slingshot acecrusher in the ring. Standing corkscrew press gets two. Seriously, how does PAC do this?! Northern lights suplex blocked. Sunset flip by Yamato into the half crab once again. Pac once again barely makes the ropes. Spin kick by PAC but he has to sell the leg. Leaping enziguri. PAC heads to the top. Yamato grabs him. Pac gets a springboard sunset bomb after an extended battle. Springboard 450 gets 2.9. Enziguri by Yamato. PAC’s leg buckles but he still manages a springboard dropkick. A second springboard dropkick gets two. Forearm battle. Hard exchange of moves leads to PAC hitting a German suplex and almost getting three. Wow, was that close. Enziguri misses. Yamato rolls through for the anklelock. PAC put of it. Choke sleeper. Pac grabs the rope, so Yamato takes him over. Running forearm. German suplex. Clothesline misses and Yamato gets another German suplex for two. Once again to the sleeper. It’s interesting to see the reaction of American fans to the sleeper because it really hasn’t been an actual finisher for a number of years anywhere. It’s typically been an excuse for cheap heat, but Yamato has actually won a number of matches with this hold. PAC carries Yamato backpack style and drops down. THAT was a unique counter. Phoenix splash. 1-2-NO! PAC heads up top. He hesitates while gaining his balace. Yamato takes advantage. Yakuza. Kick to the head. Two brainbusters in a row. Galleria and Yamato finally picks up the win. Yamato did an amazing job in this match. B.B. King’s is not a great place for PAC to win since his diving ability is restricted, but Yamato showed once again why he might be the best wrestler in the first of 2011 with this main event performance against PAC. This was much better than the Brave Gate title match, and I think a lot of the reason is because Yamato controlled a good deal of it.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: STILL Open the Freedom Gate Champion Yamato/22:30/****

-Yamato thanks the crowd and gives PAC props. Cima comes out and based on his victory over Yamato in Long Island would be the next logical challenger for the title. An attack ensues from Cima and Ricochet. They also go after PAC. Gargano and Swann make the save. Gargano puts the anniversary aspect of the show and talks about how much the company has grown in two years. He even puts himself over. Justified considering how much he’s changed in two years. He calls Ronin the best stable in the company and talks about feeling something when he held the DG USA belt. Well, that’s just weird.

Line of the Night: Some random fan during the FRAY made a hilarious comment directed at Tony Nese. I only wish I could properly identify the man by name, “Come on Chris Masters. Finish him off.”

Finish of the Night: Johnny Gargano got to make two top stars tap out clean in the middle of the ring. That’s something you don’t see a lot of in professional wrestling. Props to the bookers for putting Gargano over big time and showing some conviction. Honorable mention to FRAY for putting Davis over so strong as well.

MVP: The rumor going around is that Austin Aries wanted to make Johnny Gargano on his way out the door. I’d say he was successful. He did an incredible job this weekend, and DG USA is going to miss him based on his recent matches for the company.

The Verdict: Despite all the adversity and problems related to the iPPV aspect of the show, this was another home run for Dragon Gate USA. This was the second show of the weekend to feature two four star matches ending the show. Yamato’s title reign has greatly improved the in-ring quality of the Freedom Gate title matches. The company also did a tremendous job honing in on certain figures to get them over. This weekend was really about Johnny Gargano, Jon Davis, an D.U.F to an extent. This is an easy thumbs up, and this company definitely has a lot of momentum going into the rest of 2011.

To order a replay of this show or establish a free account with World Wrestling Network, go to their website (and help support Pro Wrestling Ponderings in the process). For more information on Dragon Gate USA in general, check out their website.

Brad Garoon is a bigger Dragon Gate fan than anyone I know. To learn more about the company and see reviews of every other DG USA show, check out what he has to say on his blog.

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