What a long, strange ride it’s been for DG USA/Evolve. Go to their roster page, and you’ll see some of the greatest professional wrestlers in the world. This is a promotion that features top tier talent like CIMA, Sami Callihan, El Generico, and Johnny Gargano. Then there are two guys who have improved or broken out more than any wrestlers across the independent wrestling scene. AR Fox established himself as a top tier high flyer thanks to his work throughout DG USA and Evolve. Samuray Del Sol came out of nowhere and proved to be so good, he’s receiving international opportunites.
When watching individual shows, you’d think DG USA was doing exceedingly well artistically. Unfortunately, the standard of success in wrestling is butts in the seats. For DG USA and Evolve, this has been a huge issue. They drew poorly in nearly every part of the country, even in stalwart northeast areas. Attendance was an issue; thankfully iPPVs weren’t. The quality of DG USA streams improved throughout 2012 and will get even better with a widescreen presentation and Roku channel. While iPPV is a source of pride for the WWN universe, the length everyone has to wait for DVDs continues to be unacceptable. I can get a Chikara or AAW DVD two or three weeks after the show has taken place. For major Chikara shows, I may only need to wait 24 hours. PWG and Ring of Honor have gotten their wait times down to about a month. Waiting six months for a show to come out is ridiculous. Excuses can be made, but until changes are made, DG USA/Evolve will continue to be the butt of jokes.
Attendance and production issues have led to storyline problems. Jon Davis cannot get over as a heel even though he’s extremely talented and deserves to be placed right at the top of the card. Johnny Gargano has been the Open the Freedom Gate for over a year, but he can’t get the traction of being a top indy star because of the promotion he’s affiliated with. DG USA’s in-ring work was as good as any wrestling company around the world. The ancillary aspects of the promotion are what’s holding DG USA back from being called the top promotion in North America.
MVP: Johnny Gargano
After an injury scare nearly ended his Open the Freedom Gate title reign prematurely, Gargano was the best wrestler in DG USA/Evolve. There should be no argument on this point. Look at all of his matches. Four star matches throughout. He wrestled in great tag matches like the one at Open the Ultimate Gate 2012, an epic, violent brawl with Chuck Taylor at Enter the Dragon 2012, and a car crash with three other challengers at Freedom Fight 2012. Despite the degradation of his own championship to try and put over a potential Evolve title, Gargano powered through with great performance after great performance. Also, of all the champions across the independent scene, it’s hard to come with someone who’s a better ambassador for indy wrestling than Gargano. This isn’t someone who’s going to get into stupid Twitter feuds or verbally abuse fans for no reason. Because of his effort and abilities, the choice to make Gargano MVP was a no brainer.
Tag Team of the Year: CIMA and AR Fox
CIMA and AR Fox almost win this by default. The Super Smash Brothers didn’t even become full-time until June and didn’t have the win-loss record to overcome not being around the first half of the year. CIMA and Fox won the tag team titles at Enter the Dragon and successfully defended them at Uprising. All of the matches they wrestled were very good to excellent. The fact is the Scene were the only team who wrestled together for the whole year, but their highest rated match based on my star ratings was **1/2. Not exactly scintillating stuff. If nothing else, the Young Bucks and more potential matches from Generico/Del Sol will inject some life into a tag team division that needs a great deal of help.
Breakout Star of the Year: Samuray Del Sol
I’ll never forget reading about Del Sol defeating Masato Yoshino and thinking it was some sort of joke. It was improbable that someone making his debut would defeat a former Open the Dream Gate champion and top level star in Japan. This was someone who I thought of as a sloppy high flyer and not much else. No wrestler changed my perception more than Del Sol. His improvement could be seen in matches through the rest of the year. It helps Del Sol wrestled El Generico three times and teamed up with him on a couple of other occasions. Because of his improvement, Del Sol will be a regular for the AAA promotion and wrestling as Octagon Jr. I certainly hope we can see Del Sol a great deal next year but if not, he’s certainly earned every opportunity based on his 2012 body of work.
Best Promo: Johnny Gargano
Another default award. Jon Davis could not effectively get himself over as a babyface or heel. The Japanese wrestlers are at a disadvantage because of the language barrier. Sami Callihan couldn’t decide whether he wanted to be a babyface or heel half the time. Chuck Taylor was more focused on being funny than being taken seriously. Gargano always came across as authentic in everything he said. His mic work has gotten a great deal better in recent years as he transitions from being goofy to being a more dignified babyface ambassador. His speech after Untouchable 2012 may have been a bit eye-rolling, but he’s extremely believable in his role.
Honorable Mention: AR Fox
He improved a great deal in 2012. Unlike Del Sol, he went from point B (solid midcard worker) to point C (borderline main eventer). He ended the year as one half of the United Gate champions and protégé of CIMA. His ability to cut a promo has a lot to be desired, but in a promotion that isn’t as storyline focused, Fox can get away with not talking. He had too many outstanding matches to name in one column, but his match with Gargano at Evolve 13 likely set him on his path toward main event status. It’s an underrated classic and should be seen by more people considering who’s involved.
Wrestler to Watch in 2013: Jon Davis
I think next year, particularly the first half, is crucial for Jon Davis. I’ve tried to reserve this space for some of the newer talent, but in this case, Davis is the key guy to watch. As talented as he is and as hard as he’d worked, the reality is fans are not responding to him. Babyface. Heel. Some tough decisions may have to be made about Davis moving forward, but I’m hoping this lull between shows can provide fresh insight as to what can finally get Davis over the hump and into the main event scene of the WWN Universe.
Feud of the Year: Johnny Gargano vs. Chuck Taylor
My inclination to give this feud of the year comes from one match, the “I Quit” contest from Enter the Dragon 2012. Seriously an epic brawl. I was stunned by seeing Gargano go through a guard rail and Taylor taking a superkick to the mouth when he was chomping down on some thumbtacks. There aren’ t a lot of blood feuds in the WWN universe, so this is again a tough call to make. At least Gargano and Taylor produced a pair of quality matches and had a reason for their feud to take place.
Match of the Year: Open the Freedom Gate Championship: Johnny Gargano (champion) vs. AR Fox (Open the United Gate Champion) vs. Ricochet vs. Akira Tozawa
Fox, Ricochet, and Tozawa all challenged Gargano in individual competition at various points throughout the year. This put some of the best workers of 2012 all in the ring together for an insane, PWG style wrestling match. This was not a technical classic but pure craziness from bell-to-bell. This was the final DG USA match of the year. Fitting way to end things.
From my review…
Match Highlights: Jon Davis attacks Gargano for the third straight night before the bell rings. Of course he focuses on his back. Ricochet steps out briefly. Tozawa and Ricochet double team Fox. Double stomps. Vertical suplex from both men. Taunting boots. So Tozawa is a heel for those keeping track at home. Fox comes back. Back elbow on Ricochet. Springboard tumbleweed hits. Gargano is left injured on the outside. Fox with a kick to the midsection. Tozawa with right hands. Fox with a running clothesline on Tozawa. Back elbows. Tozawa sits Fox down. Series of kicks. Shining wizard. Ricochet hits an acecrusher on Tozawa. Ricochet takes turns kicking both men. Clubbering blows. Stomp on Fox’s knee. Tozawa taken in the corner. Fox taken in the corner. European uppercut. Twisting forearms. Rolling snapmare and kick to the back of Tozawa’s head. Ricochet calls Gargano out. Ricochet goes to the announce booth and provides some commentary. He really is becoming the Rock. Kick to Fox. Scoop slam. Gargano shoves Ricochet. Forearm by Tozawa. Superman spear by Gargano. Fox whips him in. Gargano takes Fox up and over. Enziguri. Ricochet with a kick to the back. Boot by Tozawa. Twisting suplex by Fox. Ricochet hits a standing shooting star press. Shooting star press from the top rope. Fox pulls him out. Tozawa covers and gets two. Gargano rammed had first into the turnbuckle. Choking. Ricochet and Fox brawl on the outside. Choking along the bottom turnbuckle. Chops by Tozawa on the champion. Ricochet misses Tozawa. Tozawa with Kawada chops. Fox meets the same fate. Tozawa with punches for Fox and Ricochet. Gargano is smart enough to punch him right back. Champions continues holding his back. Fox leaps over. Forearm. Gargano enziguri. Dive as Fox is on Ricochet’s shoulders. Jesus. Tozawa dives on all three men. All four men are on the outside. Fox uses the beam to connect on a dive. Charging forearm and brainbuster by Tozawa on Fox. Springboard clothesline by Ricochet on Tozawa. Slam by Ricochet. Gargano knocks him off the top rope. Fox hits rolling thunder but misses a charge. Gargano with a slingshot DDT. 1-2-NO! Forearms by Gargano. Boot by Fox. Matrix duck. Spin kick. Tozawa with a discus forearm. Ricochet spin kick. Gargano clothesline. Everyone is down again. Tozawa placed on the top rope. Ricochet pulls Gargano down. Forearm battle on the top rope. Headbutt by Tozawa. Superplex blocked. Gargano climbs. Sunset bomb by Fox brings everyone down yet again. Fox covers but gets only two. Ricochet blocks a boot by Fox and shoves him. Fox hits a sliced bread on Gargano. Springboard lungblower on Ricochet. 1-2-NO! Series of counters. Fox hits a springboard acecrusher on Gargano. Stomp. Whip across. Gargano takes him up and over. Dropkick to the corner by Ricochet. Leg sweep. Gargano kicks him away. Fox hits a springboard 450. Cannonball hits on Ricochet in the corner. Tozawa grabs Fox from behind and hits a German suplex. Ricochet hits a 450 on Tozawa. 1-2-NO! Kick to the back by Ricochet on Fox. Fox taken up and over. Forearm. Tozawa from behind. Boot by Fox on Gargano. Ricochet superkicks Fox. Kick exchange by Tozawa and Gargano. They duck a diving Ricochet. Tozawa catches Gargano coming in. Enziguri by Gargano. Shining wizard by Tozawa. Good God. This is an incredible pace. Ricochet traps Fox’s knee in the ladder and then hits it with a chair twice. Tozawa recovers on the outside. Ricochet covers Fox. 1-2-NO! Slaps in the corner. Fox’s knee gives way. Fox catches Ricochet with a boot. Lungblower. Texas cloverleaf by Ricochet. He punches the knee. Fox can’t make it to the ropes and finally taps. AR Fox is eliminated. The final three men stand in respective corners and slowly come together. Exchange of strikes amongst the three men. Tozawa and Ricochet double team Gargano. Whip across. Gargano ducks. Forearm on Ricochet. Tozawa misses. 619 by Ricochet. Back drop driver by Tozawa. Ricochet chokes Gargano with his own tape. Tozawa distracts the referee. Ricochet rakes Gargano’s back. Taunting kicks from Ricochet. They take turns kicking the champion. Gargano sends Ricochet into Tozawa. Tozawa accidentally kicks Ricochet. Boot by Gargano. Flatliner/DDT combination. Gargano tries to suplex Tozawa into the corner. Whip and charging forearm by Tozawa. Snap suplex by Gargano in the corner. Ricochet suplexes Gargano into the corner. Phoenix splash misses. Double pele on Tozawa and Gargano. Gargano puts Tozawa and Gargano together. Phoenix splash on both men. Cover. 1-2-NO! Ricochet goes up again. Gargano grabs his leg. Tozawa hits a release German suplex. Hurts Doughnut. Delayed German suplex by Tozawa eliminates Ricochet. Crowd is actually pretty split between these two men. Series of kicks miss. Forearms by both men. Gargano comes out on top. Spinning clothesline misses. Lawn dart. Low superkick. 1-2-NO! More counters as they each go for finishers. Hurts Doughnut. Tozawa rolls through with a German suplex. Another one. Gargano hits a superkick. German suplex by Tozawa! 1-2-NO! Gargano goes for the ropes. Tozawa pulls him away. Bicycle kick to the back of the head. Gargano hits a twisting flatliner. Hurts Doughnut. 1-2-NO! GargaNo Escape! Gargano breaks. Tozawa roll-up for two. Back to the GargaNo Escape. Tozawa taps. Match Analysis: if not for the effort put by these men throughout the year in the various titles defenses, I cannot imagine what the value of the Open the Freedom Gate would be. This was easily the best match of the weekend. Because no other match was an crazy, this was far more effective. The nearfalls did not come off as ridiculous as one might think. I loved the story being told throughout as Ricochet had to resort to low tactics in order to pin Fox. The Ricochet’s cockiness led to him being pinned. Garg: -Open the Freedom Gate Championship: Johnny Gargano (champion) vs. AR Fox (Open the United Gate Champion) vs. Ricochet vs. Akira Tozawa Match in Five Words or Less: Happy Anniversary Match Highlights: Jon Davis attacks Gargano for the third straight night before the bell rings. Of course he focuses on his back. Ricochet steps out briefly. Tozawa and Ricochet double team Fox. Double stomps. Vertical suplex from both men. Taunting boots. So Tozawa is a heel for those keeping track at home. Fox comes back. Back elbow on Ricochet. Springboard tumbleweed hits. Gargano is left injured on the outside. Fox with a kick to the midsection. Tozawa with right hands. Fox with a running clothesline on Tozawa. Back elbows. Tozawa sits Fox down. Series of kicks. Shining wizard. Ricochet hits an acecrusher on Tozawa. Ricochet takes turns kicking both men. Clubbering blows. Stomp on Fox’s knee. Tozawa taken in the corner. Fox taken in the corner. European uppercut. Twisting forearms. Rolling snapmare and kick to the back of Tozawa’s head. Ricochet calls Gargano out. Ricochet goes to the announce booth and provides some commentary. He really is becoming the Rock. Kick to Fox. Scoop slam. Gargano shoves Ricochet. Forearm by Tozawa. Superman spear by Gargano. Fox whips him in. Gargano takes Fox up and over. Enziguri. Ricochet with a kick to the back. Boot by Tozawa. Twisting suplex by Fox. Ricochet hits a standing shooting star press. Shooting star press from the top rope. Fox pulls him out. Tozawa covers and gets two. Gargano rammed had first into the turnbuckle. Choking. Ricochet and Fox brawl on the outside. Choking along the bottom turnbuckle. Chops by Tozawa on the champion. Ricochet misses Tozawa. Tozawa with Kawada chops. Fox meets the same fate. Tozawa with punches for Fox and Ricochet. Gargano is smart enough to punch him right back. Champions continues holding his back. Fox leaps over. Forearm. Gargano enziguri. Dive as Fox is on Ricochet’s shoulders. Jesus. Tozawa dives on all three men. All four men are on the outside. Fox uses the beam to connect on a dive. Charging forearm and brainbuster by Tozawa on Fox. Springboard clothesline by Ricochet on Tozawa. Slam by Ricochet. Gargano knocks him off the top rope. Fox hits rolling thunder but misses a charge. Gargano with a slingshot DDT. 1-2-NO! Forearms by Gargano. Boot by Fox. Matrix duck. Spin kick. Tozawa with a discus forearm. Ricochet spin kick. Gargano clothesline. Everyone is down again. Tozawa placed on the top rope. Ricochet pulls Gargano down. Forearm battle on the top rope. Headbutt by Tozawa. Superplex blocked. Gargano climbs. Sunset bomb by Fox brings everyone down yet again. Fox covers but gets only two. Ricochet blocks a boot by Fox and shoves him. Fox hits a sliced bread on Gargano. Springboard lungblower on Ricochet. 1-2-NO! Series of counters. Fox hits a springboard acecrusher on Gargano. Stomp. Whip across. Gargano takes him up and over. Dropkick to the corner by Ricochet. Leg sweep. Gargano kicks him away. Fox hits a springboard 450. Cannonball hits on Ricochet in the corner. Tozawa grabs Fox from behind and hits a German suplex. Ricochet hits a 450 on Tozawa. 1-2-NO! Kick to the back by Ricochet on Fox. Fox taken up and over. Forearm. Tozawa from behind. Boot by Fox on Gargano. Ricochet superkicks Fox. Kick exchange by Tozawa and Gargano. They duck a diving Ricochet. Tozawa catches Gargano coming in. Enziguri by Gargano. Shining wizard by Tozawa. Good God. This is an incredible pace. Ricochet traps Fox’s knee in the ladder and then hits it with a chair twice. Tozawa recovers on the outside. Ricochet covers Fox. 1-2-NO! Slaps in the corner. Fox’s knee gives way. Fox catches Ricochet with a boot. Lungblower. Texas cloverleaf by Ricochet. He punches the knee. Fox can’t make it to the ropes and finally taps. AR Fox is eliminated. The final three men stand in respective corners and slowly come together. Exchange of strikes amongst the three men. Tozawa and Ricochet double team Gargano. Whip across. Gargano ducks. Forearm on Ricochet. Tozawa misses. 619 by Ricochet. Back drop driver by Tozawa. Ricochet chokes Gargano with his own tape. Tozawa distracts the referee. Ricochet rakes Gargano’s back. Taunting kicks from Ricochet. They take turns kicking the champion. Gargano sends Ricochet into Tozawa. Tozawa accidentally kicks Ricochet. Boot by Gargano. Flatliner/DDT combination. Gargano tries to suplex Tozawa into the corner. Whip and charging forearm by Tozawa. Snap suplex by Gargano in the corner. Ricochet suplexes Gargano into the corner. Phoenix splash misses. Double pele on Tozawa and Gargano. Gargano puts Tozawa and Gargano together. Phoenix splash on both men. Cover. 1-2-NO! Ricochet goes up again. Gargano grabs his leg. Tozawa hits a release German suplex. Hurts Doughnut. Delayed German suplex by Tozawa eliminates Ricochet. Crowd is actually pretty split between these two men. Series of kicks miss. Forearms by both men. Gargano comes out on top. Spinning clothesline misses. Lawn dart. Low superkick. 1-2-NO! More counters as they each go for finishers. Hurts Doughnut. Tozawa rolls through with a German suplex. Another one. Gargano hits a superkick. German suplex by Tozawa! 1-2-NO! Gargano goes for the ropes. Tozawa pulls him away. Bicycle kick to the back of the head. Gargano hits a twisting flatliner. Hurts Doughnut. 1-2-NO! GargaNo Escape! Gargano breaks. Tozawa roll-up for two. Back to the GargaNo Escape. Tozawa taps.
Match Analysis:If not for the effort put by these men throughout the year in the various titles defenses, I cannot imagine what the value of the Open the Freedom Gate would be. This was easily the best match of the weekend. Because no other match was an crazy, this was far more effective. The nearfalls did not come off as ridiculous as one might think. I loved the story being told throughout as Ricochet had to resort to low tactics in order to pin Fox. The Ricochet’s cockiness led to him being pinned. Gargano finally conquered Tozawa with heart and determinination. Outstanding stuff throughout.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: STILL Open the Freedom Gate Champion-Johnny Gargano/30:28/****1/2
Show of the Year: Mercury Rising 2012
Oddly enough, this is basically a three match card with a couple of pretty bad matches contained on the card. The three matches are doozies though. El Generico became the first wrestler to work two iPPVs on the same day as he made a spectacular debut and was victorious over five other wrestlers. Gargano had an epic title defense over Masato Yoshino. Then there was the traditional six man tag that has now become a Wrestlemania weekend staple.
To read the full review, click here.
Three Positives of DG USA/Evolve in 2012:
- From a wrestling standpoint, no company put on as many good to great matches as DG USA/Evolve. They have as many four star matches as anyone if not moreso. No promotion allows the talent to showcase themselves regardless of their status or spot on the card better than DG USA.
- One of the biggest legitimate criticisms about Gabe Sapolosky during his time in Ring of Honor was the pacing of shows. We’re talking about four and five hours here. This year, I can’t think of a single Evolve or DG USA show where I felt burned out at the end. This is a major improvement and one well worth pointing out. Running seven to eight match cards serves everyone’s best interests, and Sapolsky gets a lot of credit for adapting his own booking style toward this more efficient way of running shows.
- Bringing in guys like El Generico, Super Smash Brothers, and the Young Bucks show DG USA and Evolve are willing to try and bring in the best talent to make their roster better… at least at the top of the card. The midcard and undercards have had something to be desired, but I’m very pleased to see the five aforementioned wrestlers become a major part of this roster. Hopefully, ACH can also be added to this list too.
Three Negatives of DG USA/Evolve in 2012:
- Promoting shows. It’s simply not being done outside of Internet world. The ability to use social networking and e-mail blasts gives every indy a great head start in promoting shows. However, the ground work still needs to be done. Appearances on local radio shows, flyering areas around the building they’re running, and some real grunt work on the ground are the only ways to rectify the attendance issues plaguing this company. I look at promotions like AAPW and SOR this year. They were able to draw 400-500 people in small towns BECAUSE they did the work on the ground to have successful shows. These aren’t big companies either. If they’re able to do it, there’s no excuses for DG USA and Evolve.
- DVD production. Enough has been said about this, but if you want to help prevent piracy, make owning the shows easier through DVDs or mp4 downloads.
- The Scene. I don’t even want to dignify this column by using any of the individuals attached to this group. They don’t deserve it. The Scene have become the most eye-rolling act in indy wrestling. They put on nothing but two star matches and hamper any card they wrestle on. I am baffled by the continued pushing of this group and would boycott their matches if I didn’t have to actually review the shows.
Three Bold Predictions for Evolve/DG USA:
- The Super Smash Brothers come through and win the Open the United Gate championships Wrestlemania weekend before losing to the Young Bucks in the summer. These two teams brings their feud east and have some incredible matches throughout 2013. This becomes one of the best feuds in the history of the promotion.
- AR Fox shocks the IWC by defeating Jon Davis to win the first ever Evolve title over Wrestlemania weekend.
- Samuray Del Sol becomes the fourth ever Open the Freedom Gate champion by defeating Gargano in the summer.
Here are Barry Murphy’s thoughts on DG USA and Evolve:
Despite still missing a crucial X-factor, I’ve been thoroughly entertained by Gabe Sapolsky’s shows this year. Evolve in particular had some great cards and always felt like value for money, despite lacking in terms of crowd atmosphere and buzz.
Consistently good wrestling isn’t enough to stand out though, and heading into 2013 I don’t feel as though the company is taking any more strides into providing a unique selling point for fans. It feels as though the one thing Gabe is missing is the very thing that earned him such notoriety in ROH; properly gripping storylines and engaging characters. That’s fine if they want to go in a different direction, but a stronger emphasis on wins and losses is not a concrete enough gimmick for fans to sink their teeth into.
The introduction of an Evolve championship is wise, in my opinion, as it feels as though there is finally a point to the promotion – I found myself wondering if there was one earlier this year, when I had no clue what Chuck Taylor got by being the “wins leader” other than a shot at the DGUSA title… which was subsequently not counted towards his Evolve wins record.
The Generico/Del Sol trilogy was the easy highlight of the year, and Del Sol’s presence as a main event player is definitely a quality the group should pride themselves on. I’m certain 2013 is going to be a big year for the luchador, and being one of the first groups to really showcase him would be a great feather in their cap.
For more information on Dragon Gate USA, please check out their website. To purchase all shows from DG USA and Evolve check out WWN’s website.
For supplemental information on DG USA, including reviews and the chance to watch episodes of Infinity, check out these great resources: Open the Garoon Gate, Open the Tumblr Gate, and Open the Dragon Gate.
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