October 9, 2011 – Fukuoka, Japan
Open the Dream Gate Champion: Masaaki Mochizuki
Open the Triangle Gate Champions: Naruki Doi, Naoki Tanisaki & Kzy
Open the Brave Gate Champion: PAC
Open the Twin Gate Champions: CIMA & Ricochet
Open the Freedom Gate Champion: YAMATO
Open the United Gate Champions: CIMA & Ricochet
In an attempt to bring a little order to the Blood Warriors vs. Junction Three war, Referee Yagi announced a Tug of War challenge series. This was actually less a tug of war and more of a lottery. Five tangled ropes were stretched across the ring. Junction Three and the Blood Warriors stood on opposite sides of the ring and grabbed a rope, and whoever came up on a connected rope would wrestle the person on the other end. The matches were wrestled one immediately after the other, starting with…
Masaaki Mochizuki {J3} vs. CIMA {BW}
CIMA attacks before the bell. He chokes Mochizuki with his shirt. Mochizuki hits a chest kick. CIMA hits a dropkick. Mochizuki sweeps the leg and hits the apron kick and the Topé Masaaki. He hits another chest kick. CIMA hits the Superdrol. Mochizuki hits a pair of big boots. CIMA gets a schoolboy for 2. He gets the Dos Caras Clutch for 2. Mochizuki blocks a superkick. CIMA blocks the Sankakugeri. He hits three Venuses. He hits a superkick. He hits a modified Sankakugeri. Mochizuki gets a crucifix pin for 2. CIMA hits a high kick. Mochizuki hits the Illusion. CIMA hits a superkick. He hits a low blow and gets the Dos Caras Clutch for the win at 4:15. I dug the move stealing, though CIMA doesn’t have Mochizuki’s style when it comes to kicks. Given how much fun this was for four minutes though, the inevitable Dream Gate match between the two should be a ball.
Rating: **½
Akira Tozawa {BW} vs. Dragon Kid {J3}
Tozawa hits an enziguiri to start. He hits a shoulder tackle. Kid hits a head scissor takedown. He hits the 619. Tozawa avoids the Bermuda Triangle and hits a suicide dive. One of the commentators is a dude in rainbow suspenders, jorts and no shirt. I don’t know what to make of that. Tozawa hits Machine Gun chops in the corner. He hits a pair of sentons for 2. He bicycle kicks Kid off the top rope. Kid hits a head scissor takedown. He hits a stunner for 2. Tozawa hits the German suplex. He hits a side suplex for 2. Kid avoids the running knee and hits the Messiah for 2. He gets a roll up for 2. Tozawa hits the bicycle kick. Kid hits the Bible. Tozawa hits a German suplex for the win at 4:57 shown of 5:36. As exciting as the match that preceded it, with Tozawa and Kid doing things only when they made sense and not for the sake of it. I dig that kind of stuff.
Rating: **¾
Naruki Doi {BW} vs. Masato Yoshino {J3}
Yoshino hits a supercharged dropkick to start. He hits a dropkick to the arm. He rams Doi’s shoulder into the turnbuckle. Doi goes to the eyes and hits a dropkick. He hits a Tree of Woe Dai Bosou. Yoshino hits a back elbow. Doi blocks the Coumori and hits a Stun Gun. He hits a neckbreaker but misses a senton. Yoshino puts on From Jungle. Doi gets to the ropes. He uses Yagi as a human shield and drops Yoshino on the ropes. He hits the capture dropkick. Yoshino avoids a senton and hits the shotgun dropkick. Doi blocks the Sling Blade and they fight over a waistlock. Doi hits a tiger suplex for 2. He blocks the Torbellino to hit the Doi 555 and the Bakatare Sliding Kick. He calls for the Muscular Bomb but Yoshino blocks it. Doi gets a roll up for 2. Yoshino hits the Torbellino. He hits the Lightning Spiral for the win at 7:56 shown of 11:08. I didn’t like that finish at all, as Yoshino took a ton of punishment and bounced ba
ck to beat the fresher Doi with one finisher. This could have been a lot better.
Rating: **¼
YAMATO {J3} vs. BxB Hulk {BW}
They brawl to start. Hulk hits an enziguiri. YAMATO hits a big boot. Hulk hits the Mouse. He falls to the floor where YAMATO punts his face. Back in the ring they trade elbows until Hulk hits a low blow. He hits a dropkick to the head. He kicks the crap out of YAMATO. He sweeps the leg. YAMATO grabs a kick and hits a dropkick. He hits a dragon screw. Hulk hits an axe kick. YAMATO hits an elbow. He hits the spear for 2. He puts on a half crab. Hulk gets to the ropes. He blocks a German suplex and hits an enziguiri. YAMATO returns the favor. Hulk unloads kicks. He hits the axe kick for 2. They block each other’s finishers once, but Hulk connects with a second attempt at the EVO. He hits the axe kick but YAMATO ducks the First Flash and puts on the sleeper hold. He hits the sleeper suplex and the punt. He hits a brainbuster for 2. He hits the Galleria for the win at 7:36 shown of 8:35. This was a nice digest version of their longer matches. Here’s hoping they can bring this energy to their upcoming no-ropes match.
Rating: ***¼
Shingo Takagi {J3} vs. Ryo Saito {BW}
With the score tied at 2-2, the winner here wins the series for his team. Both guys go for shoulder tackles to start. Takagi comes up the winner on that exchange. Saito hits a hurricanrana. He hits an overhead suplex. On the floor Tozawa and Brodie Lee work over Takagi while Saito make a chair pile in the ring. Saito hits Takagi with a chair shot. He hits a fisherman suplex on the pile. He stands on Takagi’s neck. He puts on a nerve hold. He chokes Takagi with their tug of war rope. He hangs Takagi over the top rope and gets some murderous help from the Blood Warriors. That was downright psychotic. Takagi beats the count at 19. He hits a lariat before collapsing to the mat. Saito attacks his arm during a lariat attempt. He hits the Fisherman Express. He hits the Superfly Splash for 2. He puts on a cross armbreaker but Takagi gets to the ropes. Takagi’s lariat has nothing behind it. Saito punts the arm. Takagi hits the DVD. He hits a turnbuckle powerbomb. Saito blocks the STAY DREAM and smacks Takagi. He hits a fisherman superplex for 2. Takagi hits a lariat and the Last Falconry. He hits the Pumping Bomber for 2. He hits MADE IN JAPAN for 2. Tozawa hits a few cheap shots and Hulk mists Takagi. Saito hits a dragon suplex and the Premium Bridge for 2. Takagi tries one last flurry of offense but Saito catches him with another Premium Bridge for the win at 12:58 shown of 19:51. I can’t remember the last time Takagi won a singles match on TV. I liked that after his arm was abused all his power moves were an incredible struggle for him to hit. All Saito had to do was survive one flurry of signature moves and the match was his. At the end of the match things got a bit absurd with all the kick outs, reminiscent of Saito’s crappy Dream Gate challenge against CIMA a few years back. Still, there was more to like than dislike in this match, and it capped off the series well enough.
Rating: ***½
After the match Saito grabs the microphone. He runs down all the Dragon Gate titles and says the Blood Warriors will have them all soon. He says that if Horiguchi loses to PAC at the Gate of Destiny he’ll take the Brave Gate belt for the Warriors. Mochizuki grabs the microphone and blasts Saito for suggesting that his partner Horiguchi wouldn’t beat PAC, showing a lack of confidence in his supposed best friend. He also rips on him aiming at the Brave Gate title when he just won a main event match against a former Dream Gate Champion and is himself a former Dream Gate Champion. Tozawa attacks Mochizuki and tells him not to forget that he has the next Dream Gate title shot. That match will happen air next week on Infinity.
The show ends backstage, with CIMA getting the Blood Warriors motivated to take all of Junction Three’s titles.