June 8, 2011 – Tokyo, Japan
Open the Dream Gate Champion: Masaaki Mochizuki
Open the Triangle Gate Champions: Vacant
Open the Brave Gate Champion: PAC
Open the Twin Gate Champions: Ryo Saito & Genki Horiguchi
Open the Freedom Gate Champion: YAMATO
Open the United Gate Champions: Masato Yoshino & PAC
The show opens with a long video recap. Here are the highlights:
-The video showed BxB Hulk winning the King of Gate tournament, but getting his title shot pushed back to after Yasushi Kanda’s, because champion Masaaki Mochizuki was impressed that Kanda defeated him in the tournament.
-They also show the Blood Warriors ejecting Gamma from the group and attacking him while welcoming Kzy back to Dragon Gate and accepting him into the fold.
-Next up, Mochizuki reveals that his stable will be called Junction Three, because it is essentially the combination of the Zetsurins, Kamikaze and World-1. They will wear green and silver. Later on YAMATO tells Gamma that he needs to prove he’s a man if he wants Junction Three to support him.
-Later still, just before his scheduled match with Hulk against MarahaIsappa, Takagi blasted Hulk with a seemingly errant lariat during a brawl, but then seemed to be buddy-buddy with Genki Horiguchi. Luckily for us, we don’t have to wait to see the fallout from that brawl.
Genki Horiguchi {BW} & Ryo Saito {BW} vs. Shingo Takagi {J3} & BxB Hulk {J3}
Before the match begins, Hulk’s music stops and his Darkside Hulk music plays. The lights go out and Darkside Hulk appears on the ramp. Only it’s not Hulk at all and the real Hulk runs into the ring to attack Takagi! The rest of the Blood Warriors swarm in as well as it is revealed that Naoki Tanisaki was the decoy in the Darkside Hulk outfit. A lot happens from here on out, so I’ll go back to the highlights:
-Hulk hits Takagi with a chair-assisted First Flash. Takagi bleeds a lot as the Warriors keep the young boys from making the save. Hulk gets Takagi’s blood all over himself. He spits Takagi’s blood into the air while announcing that he is now a Blood Warrior. Now THAT’S a much overdo heel turn. He tries to shave Takagi’s head (I love how ALL of this goes back three years to Takagi’s betrayal of Hulk) but Junction Three makes the save. They tape up Takagi’s wound as Hulk jaw jacks with YAMATO, already rocking it with the heel mannerisms.
-A brawl is about to break out, but first Yoshino grabs the microphone and calls out a surprise Junction Three supporter. It turns out to be Dr. Muscle. YAMATO is as confused as the rest of us. That is until Muscle unmasks, revealing Gamma! Gamma tells YAMATO that he is a man and that he’s a man in Junction Three. Mochizuki accepts his membership and YAMATO hugs him.
-Naruki Doi lets them know that the Warriors have ANOTHER surprise for Junction Three. Hulk gets to do the honors of calling out the final member of the team… AKIRA TOZAWA!!! Rocking Blood Warrior gear and a massive blonde goatee, Tozawa looks entirely more legitimate than he did when he left for America. Tozawa explains that he’s joined the Blood Warriors because of how poorly Takagi and YAMATO treated him in Kamikaze. He also runs down Mochizuki as champion, calling it a joke and spitting in the champion’s face.
-Mochizuki responds by summoning Referee Yagi to officially sanction a 5 on 5 match between Junction Three and the Blood Warriors, now that their stables are more… stable. Sorry about that.
Masaaki Mochizuki {J3}, Masato Yoshino {J3}, Shingo Takagi {J3}, YAMATO {J3} & Gamma {J3} vs. CIMA {BW}, BxB Hulk {BW}, Naruki Doi {BW}, Akira Tozawa {BW} & Yasushi Kanda {BW}
Everyone brawls to start. Takagi pairs off with Hulk while Tozawa does the same with YAMATO. In the ring CIMA and Doi hit a double elbow on Gamma. Gamma hits CIMA with a shoulder tackle. He hits a dropkick and does the Warrior
Uuuu. Mochizuki and Kanda trade strikes. Kanda hits a dragon screw. Mochizuki hits the apron kick and the Topé Masaaki. YAMATO dropkicks Tozawa. Takagi hits the bicycle kick. He hits the running knee. Yoshino hits Doi with an elbow. CIMA stretches Yoshino. Yoshino hits a double stomp to the arm. Gamma tries to give CIMA the Sweet Angel’s Kiss but CIMA hits him with a low blow to block. Tozawa beats on Gamma in the corner. Doi and CIMA crotch him on the post. They hit a pair of double Curb Stomps. Then they hit one on a chair. CIMA spits water in Gamma’s face. Gamma hits a back suplex and an enziguiri. Takagi finally tags in and beats the crap out of CIMA. He’s still woozy but cleans house anyway. He’s an ANIMAL! YAMATO hits Doi with a big boot and an exploder for 2. Doi hits the Stun Gun and a neckbreaker for 2. YAMATO hits a spear for 2. He puts on the anklelock. Tozawa makes the save with the bicycle kick. He hits one on Yoshino and follows it up with a side suplex. Yoshino hits a powerbomb. Tozawa dropkicks the leg and hits a running knee. The Warriors hit an insane mosaic quadruple suicide dive. Hulk and Takagi are left alone in the ring. Hulk sweeps the leg and hits a senton. He hit a dropkick to the face for 2. Takagi hits a lariat. Hulk trades kicks for lariats and in his weakened state Takagi goes down.
Mochizuki saves Takagi from the First Flash with a missile dropkick. Kanda hits the Manhattan drop but Mochizuki avoids the Jon Woo and hits the SicK Kick. YAMATO hits a brainbuster for 2. Kanda hits an exploder. He hits another. He misses a German suplex but CIMA hits the Superdrol. Okay this match is amazing. Kanda and Doi hit a double flapjack for 2. Mochizuki blocks the Doi 555 and kicks Doi’s head off. The Blood Warriors attack Takagi in the corner en masse. Takagi still sneaks in a lariat on Doi. Yoshino hits the Torbellino. YAMATO hits the punt. Takagi hits MADE IN JAPAN for 2. Doi dropkicks Mochizuki into the corner. Boo on this no-selling. Mochizuki comes back with the Twister III for 2. Gamma hits the Gamma Special. He goes up for the Sky Twister Press but CIMA brings him down with a chair shot. He beats on Gamma with a wrench. Gamma hits a clothesline. Hulk spits in Gamma’s face. CIMA hits a superkick and the Schwein. Kanda hits the flying elbowdrop for 2. Tozawa hits a bicycle kick and a German suplex for 2. He hits the arm-trap German suplex for the win at 21:17 shown of 23:43. The first amazing thing about this match was that everyone had a natural rival to pair off against. Takagi had Hulk, YAMATO had Tozawa, Yoshino had Doi, Mochizuki had Kanda and CIMA had Gamma. That’s just fantastic for storytelling purposes. They way they kept Hulk and Takagi separate for as long as they did was also a stroke of brilliance. This was balls to the wall action, with everyone getting a chance to shine and my boy Takagi looking like a monster again.
Rating: ****¼
After the match Tozawa runs down Takagi and YAMATO again. They both respond by challenging him to singles matches. Hulk also challenges Takagi to a singles match after booting him in the face. All three matches are made. Hulk vs. Takagi and Tozawa vs. YAMATO for the next Korakuen Hall show, and Takagi vs. Tozawa for a later date.
Four days later Akira Tozawa {BW} & Yasushi Kanda {BW} vs. Shingo Takagi {J3} & Masaaki Mochizuki ended with Takagi falling to Tozawa after two German suplexes and the arm-trap German suplex. After the match Takagi sets a date for his singles match against Tozawa… at the Kobe World Hall show!
I’ll tell you what’s great about all of the developments on this show… they all had strong motivation behind them. Hulk defected because Mochizuki passed him over for the Dream Gate title shot and because Mochizuki forced him to team with his enemy for life, Takagi. Tozawa defected because he was replaced by Cyber Kong in Kamikaze with the blessing of Takagi and YAMATO. Granted the Gamma turn seems a little impulsive, but I guess that’s just how they decided to balance things out. Not forgiving it, but I am choosing to ignore it.
All that said, a LOT happened on this episode, so it’s a good starting point to watch Dragon Gate from, if you a modern need one. After months of the promotion floating around in limbo we finally have some serious direction, and I am EXCITED!