Almost one year ago this week, I was standing outside the Mirmar theater waiting for a ring to show up. Dragon Gate USA was trying to make its Milwaukee debut, but the wrestling Gods weren’t cooperating. Thankfully, a ring did show up, and the entire roster banded together to make sure the show went off without a hitch. In a show that didn’t even hit the 2 ½ hour mark, I had the chance to see one of the best DG USA shows I’ve seen to date. It was an opportunity to see Bryan Danielson one last time. The six man tag one more time. And a great midcard that showcased a number of guys throughout the card. Incredibly, after seeing six of these shows in 2010, I haven’t witnessed the stars of DG USA in action since that fateful day in September. That will all end with a three state, two time zone tripleshot weekend. It all starts in Indianapolis this very Friday night.
Oh Captain, My Captain!
The company breaks out a new type of match as Ricochet and PAC will each captain two teams in the main event. The rules are somehat muddled as this defies the typical rules of a captain’s match. Ricochet and PAC must pin each other for the contest to end. Ricochet is leading a team of fellow faction members Cima and Akira Tozawa while PAC’s team are a pair of high flyers in AR Fox and Rich Swann (each coming off extended tours of Japan). My hunch is that Ricochet’s Warriors team comes away with the win if for no other reason than they’re the more experienced team. However, this has a chance to steal with the weekend. Really, a lot of matches could potentially do that. But a lot of the matches on this Indianapolis show deserve to be talked about more than they are. That brings us to the next match.
Johnny Gargano and Chuck Taylor have become two of the improved workers in 2011, particularly Gargano. It’s obvious either Gargano or the Ronin team will be getting gold around their waist very soon, but they must continue putting together good showings. Wrestling against Open the Dream Gate Champion Yamato and Open the United Gate Champion Masato Yoshino will only further their credibility. Unlike so many Ring of Honor cards lately, I think a bunch of these matches have an unpredictability factor where I have no idea who’s going to win. This is definitely one of those matches. I could easily see Gargano and Taylor stamping their way to number one contendership for the United Gate belts by winning, or I could see them being taken down a peg by two of DG’s best.
I don’t have any expectations for Naruki Doi and Sami Calihan except to say I hope Doi goes over. Arik Cannon and Jon Davis is a match no one should sleep on. These are two guys who are being pushed and who are almost guaranteed to beat the bajesus out of each other. I expect a stiff, hard-hitting affair. The Open Invitational features a pair of guys making their company debuts but who are not unfamiliar to indy fans. BJ Whitmer was one of Gabe Sapolsky’s projects in Ring of Honor. I’ve heard nothing but good things about Whitmer since his return, so I’m hoping this is the first of many appearances for him. Sugar Dunkerton might not be the best worker, but he busts his ass every time out, and it’d be nice to see him go far in this match. Billy Roc is a local favorite, so he may have the crowd rooting for him. Based on this match being a part of the main show, I fully expect some sort of angle development to happen.
A cool part about the Indianapolis show is it’s only seven matches with five announced and a tag team discovery to be determined. Plus, Brodie Lee returns from injury to most likely kill someone in short order.
The main events of the other two shows notwithstanding, Indianapolis may be my favorite of the three cards simply because of how compact it is and some fresh match-ups being thrown in for good measure. I’m excited to see how the dynamic of the captain’s falls match comes across since it will be very different from the million false finishes we’ve come to expect from these six man tags. Even the bonus card featuring Irish Airborne will be nice to see since they’re such an underrated team who could easily fit within the style. Jesse Emerson is a guy I’ve seen on AAW shows, but his placement on even the bonus card of a DG USA show is just odd. His style does not jive with the high-flying insanity of the rest of the roster. Just 24 hours later, DG USA returns to Chicago for the first time in a year with an exciting double main event.
The Rivalries Explode!
Not so say anything else on the card won’t be good, but this Chicago DG USA show is built around two huge singles matches. Yamato and Cima will have a rematch of their 2010 Open the Dream gate match of the year contender. It’s the biggest match of the weekend because it’s also for the Open the Freedom Gate championship. These two have incredible chemistry together, and there’s no reason this can’t be as good as their 2010 match. Cima embraces his heel role in DG USA better than almost anyone else while Yamato has the ability to play babyface or heel quite well. My gut says Yamato retains based on the booking I think takes place the next night, but Cima absolutely could walk away with the belt here to assert Warrior’s dominance within DG USA. The other main event is of course Ricochet and PAC. Of course these two are going to deliver a spectacular high flying spectacle. But does Ricochet get the big singles win in the same building he became a star with one double moonsault. My gut says PAC evens the score up at one to set up events in Milwaukee.
A very interesting freestyle takes place with Doi, Yoshino, Calihan, and Taylor. Winner gets to book a match. I love these types of stipulations since they can go in a number of different directions. I’m hoping Taylor wins so he can book a title match for he and Gargano. Every freestyle to this point has either had some value to it or been a spectacular spotfest. With Doi and Yoshino, this should deliver. I think Calihan even works in this sort of an environment since he won’t have to worry as much about psychology or selling.
One of the more eclectic tag team matches you’ll ever see will likely happen to end the first half of the show as Pinkie Sanchez and Arik Cannon of the D.U.F. wrestle AR Fox and a guy you know Gabe has wanted to book for years in Sabu. I can’t see I’m a huge fan of Sabu in 2011 based on his AAW appearance, but this isn’t a main event. It’s something designed to perhaps get a few extra iPPV buys from casual ECW fans. I also think AR Fox gets a significant rub from winning this match. If this was Cannon and Calihan, no way do I think they lose. But I think Sabu and Fox come together for the victory, and some sort of passing of the torch takes place. Remember how Ricochet became a star in Chicago last year? I bet AR Fox does something similar this year.
Speaking of stars, Akira Tozawa and Johnny Gargano are booked against each other for the second time this year. Their first match happened in AIW and was very highly regarded. I’m trying to keep my expectations low since this isn’t a main event, but I’m genuinely interested to see who wins. Tozawa is a guy who’s impressed so many American fans, but he’s also not someone in any title contention right now. The right move might be to put Gargano over, especially if he challenges for the Open the Freedom Gate championship. The other undercard match seems designed to legally murder Rich Swann. Jon Davis has been booked and protected about as well as you can be. Expect him to go 2-0 as poor Swann loses again.
Brodie Lee is booked but again with no opponent. I expect him to kill someone a second straight night for the hell of it. The second tag team discovery match takes place, but nothing will be known until the event in Indianapolis ends. FRAY! takes place as part of the bonus card. Silas Young, Gregory Iron, and Sugar Dunkerton are three of the announced names I’m most interested in seeing. Chicago looks to be a very strong show with two huge main events that really do a great job focusing the show. Unfortunately, I’m still not a fan of the Congress Theater as a venue for a couple reasons. It’s way too large a venue and always looks empty even with a solid 500 folks in the building. The lighting is also not great since; therefore, a lot of shadows are created and the shows look dark. I’m ecstatic the venue is 15 minutes from my house, but I’d really like to see DG USA try out 115 Bourbon Street or even the Logan Square Auditorium. They might be smaller than Congress, but I think they’ll create a better atmosphere.
Due to a lack of internet capability in Indianapolis and Milwaukee, this will be the only iPPV of the weekend. Please consider ordering the show from the link on out front page since it will help support us here at Pro Wrestling Ponderings. It’s also a great chance to see the double main event, and DG USA actually has their top champion in attendance.
Title for Title!
Milwaukee is the weakest of the three cards, but it’s got an unforgettable main event where a title change is guaranteed. Masato Yoshino and PAC put the Open the United Gate titles on the line against Cima and Ricochet’s Open the Twin Gate titles. For whatever reason, Yoshino and PAC don’t seem to have great chemistry together. There’s just something about them together that doesn’t work. No disrespect to either, but I’m hoping for Cima and Ricochet to walk away with both belts. Cima and Ricochet are the opposite of their opponents in that they work great together and have a lot of chemistry. This has a lot of potential to be an incredible way to cap of the weekend.
Nothing catches my fancy as a for sure semi main event, but there are some solid contests up and down the card. The most interesting appears to be Johnny Gargano and Naruki Doi. If Gargano wins, I definitely think the Freedom Gate belt is his sooner rather than later. The oddball team of Yamato and AR Fox take on the original D.U.F. Cannon and Calihan will likely get some measure of revenge against Fox based on what I think will happen the previous night. I almost wish we could have seen Yamato defend the belt again instead of seemingly being slotted in a random tag team match. Akira Tozawa and Jon Davis will wrestle each other as well. Somehow I think Tozawa pulls it out, but Davis is going to be slotted in some faction on this weekend or in the northeast for the last tripleshot of the year. Whoever comes out of the tag team discovery faces the Ronin team of Chuck Taylor and Rich Swann. I think the idea of this match is similar to the first Briscoes/Steenerico match. The discoveries will put up a great fight but bow to Ronin the end. Pinkie Sanchez against Flip Kendrick should serve as a decent opener, but Kendrick has put forth the kind of performances that will make him a main stay of the promotion. I almost wish Louis Lyndon was in this spot instead. Brodie Lee is in the same position as the previous two nights. Silas Young is also announced since it’s his hometown. The freestyle might be the most wide open ever considering the individuals involved. Sugar Dunkerton would appear to be the favorite in a match that includes both members of Zero Gravity, Façade, Eric Ryan, and Louis Lyndon.
I think a lot of people have fallen asleep on this weekend for whatever reason. I know I’m excited for the shows, probably a good thing since I’ll be making the trips to Milwaukee and Indianapolis. If you’re within driving distance to these shows, it’s in your interest to check out what DG USA has to offer. I will be writing live reports for each show and will post them as soon as I can. Matt Waters will have all the iPPV coverage on Saturday. We may also try and get some sort of podcast done amidst the madness of the weekend. If you can’t make it to the shows, we here at PWP will have you covered in a couple places.
The PWP Twitter account will be your place to check out live results and thoughts from me on Friday and Sunday night. Matt will also update results while he reviews Untouchable 2011.
I will be updating my own twitter throughout the weekend concerning my travel adventures and whatever thoughts come to my head. I will also try and get some pictures up when I can.
Have a good weekend, and I hope to see some of you at the shows this weekend!
DGUSA is really burning up the weekend with these shows. I’m looking forward to checking them out on DVD and iPPV. Gotta say I am partial to Jon Davis 😉