Kobe Sambo Hall, 17th of May 2013
We’re kicking off with another one of those supposed dark matches that totally isn’t a dark match since it made it to tv.
1) Jimmy Kagetora of the Jimmyz defeated Mondai Ryu of Mad Blankey (4:53, Ikkitousen)
Pretty much a standard squash. I was recently converted to Mondai Ryu fandom via Prime Zone, but his matches on Infinity evidently still do nothing for me. Kagetora is always fun to watch though, so this was still somewhat enjoyable.
2) Akira Tozawa, BxB Hulk & Uhaa Nation of Mad Blankey defeated Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee, Ryo “Jimmy” Saito & Mr Quu Quu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin of the Jimmyz (10:26, Uhaa Combination)
This was really good. Uhaa continued to look dominant while the Jimmyz and Tozawa brought the excitement. I’m getting back into Mad Blankey after falling out of love with them for a while, mainly due to the more light hearted-and-hopefully-soon-to-turn-babyface Tozawa.
Uhaa attacks Shimizu afterwards, a rookie who is set to debut against him in Osaka this saturday! Shimizu fights back and they end up being separated by the Jimmyz.
Next up is the -akatsuki- training match. YAMATO continues the recent abuse of his rookie stablemates by dragging them to ring, beating them on the way. Shingo doesn’t seem impressed.
3) Chihiro Tominaga and Super Shenlong of -akatsuki- defeated YAMATO & Shingo Takagi of -akatsuki- (9:25, roll up after accidental Pumping Bomber from Takagi to YAMATO)
The story of Akatsuki falling to pieces is one of the best things in Dragon Gate at the moment. YAMATO was vicious with the rookies throughout, with Shingo having to stop him using a chair on Tominaga at one point. YAMATO went ballistic after the match, storming out and believing Shingo hit him with the lariat on purpose, but not before finally cracking Tominaga with the chair. The match itself was very well done. At this point I may be the last Tominaga believer on the planet, but I was again impressed with the fire he showed here, and amazed that we actually got to hear his music play for the first time in…ever? Shenlong was good too. To say he’s progressed a lot since becoming Super Shenlong III (about a year ago) would perhaps be an overstatement, but I definitely think he’s settled into his role and is one of my favourite people to watch at the moment. Well, saying he’s one of my favourites may be an overstatement too, but you know what I mean.
Also, since they beat the Twin Gate champions, Tommy and Shenlong should totally get a title shot. Champion Gate in Hakata maybe?
4) Naruki Doi & Rich Swann of World-1 International defeated Kotoka of Windows & HUB of Team Veteran (10:13, Die Sky)
Decent tag match that was of course highlighted by Kotoka’s sheer awesomeness. Ok, so he didn’t get to do a whole lot here, but his challenging of Doi (at the beginning) and his comeback were great.
Next we have another non Korakuen appearance from K-ness! Awesome.
5) CIMA, Masaaki Mochizuki & Don Fujii of Team Veteran, defeated Cyber Kong*, K-ness & Super Shisa of Windows (14:48, Twister)
* Cyber Kong is not affiliated with any unit.
Totally forgot that this was Mochizuki’s 2500th match. Good opening and good Mocchy/Shisa finishing stretch, but there wasn’t much else going on here, notably a distinct lack of K-ness involvement (I recall like, one kick). This didn’t really compare to the awesome matches these guys had on last week’s episode.
Afterwards, Team Veteran bring out the returning Gamma! I’m pleased he isn’t injured anymore, but he’s my least favourite Dragon Gate wrestler so I’m not exactly excited at the prospect of seeing him wrestle again.
Susumu is interviewed backstage in preparation for the main event. Dude doesn’t have blonde in his hair anymore. Heel turn??? Ok, probably not, but it’s what happened to Doi a couple of years ago.
More inter-unit fighting next as we get onto the King Of Gate quarter finals! Swann is backing his fellow gaijin while Doi seconds his Speed Muscle partner.
6) King Of Gate B Block Quarter Final: Ricochet of World-1 International defeated Masato Yoshino of World-1 International (15:18, Shooting Star Press)
Ricochet is on god-like form right now, while Yoshino is rejuvenated following his recent Brave Gate win, so naturally this was a blast. Yoshino impressed with some excellent dropkick counters, but as you can imagine this was all about DGUSA’s finest export. It’s suspected that this will ultimately set up a Ricochet/Yoshino Brave Gate match at World, which I’d be all for. I imagine that would blow away their last PPV match (Final Gate 2011). Swann is next in line for a shot though, he challenged after this. World-1 love fighting each other this year.
Time for a rematch from last year’s tournament. It was also the Dream Gate match at Kobe World 2006.
7) King Of Gate B Block Quarter Final: Jimmy Susumu of the Jimmyz defeated Dragon Kid of Team Veteran (21:24, KneSuka Liner)
THAT FINISH. Wow. The regular World Liner bends physics enough as it is, but immediately transitioning into K-ness’s Hikari No Wa?! Susumu, you are awesome. Main body of the match was solid (I loved the comeback lariat after DK had been targeting the arm (in an attempt to neutralise the Jumbo No Kachi))), then they delivered a pretty mega finishing stretch.
So, this set up Ricochet vs Susumu as the King Of Gate B Block semi final, a rematch from Dead Or Alive. Over in the A block, YAMATO and Shingo emerged successfully from the untelevised quarter finals set up on Infinity 295 (beating Don Fujii & Genki Horiguchi respectively), so they will meet in the other semi. Both of those matches, as well as the final itself, will take place in Osaka on the 25th (tomorrow!), which will be aired as Infinity 297 in a couple of weeks. I’ve changed my pick to win it twice in the course of the tournament, jumping from YAMATO to Ricochet to Susumu. So basically anyone could take it.
Closing thoughts: Again, a solid Sambo Hall show that didn’t touch upon the greatness of the recent Korakuens. This show was pretty newsworthy though with the two King Of Gate matches, Gamma’s return, the further Akatsuki turmoil and a couple of title challenges (I forgot to mention that Mochifujii announced their desire for a shot at the Twin Gate, in what will be a rematch from their 2012 instant classic). Also, I mistook Tanizaki for YAMATO twice in this episode. He needs to put the red back in his hair so I can tell them apart again. Never even noticed they looked similar until today.
Match of the night: It’s a tough call between the two King Of Gate matches. The finishing stretch of Susumu vs Kid (KneSuka Liner!) took that one to a level beyond, but the early going of Yoshino vs Ricochet was more entertaining than that of the main event. Actually, it’s irrelevant which of those was better because I’m a mark for drama and therefore I’m giving match of the night honours to the Akatsuki turmoil-fest (Tominaga/Shenlong vs YAMATO/Shingo).
Thanks to IheartDG for the match times and various notes on the show (the upcoming cards too). Without that site I would be totally unaware of golden quotes like “YAMATO said that losing to a total loser like Tommy would bring eternal shame to the Onodera family.”
Want to discuss the potential growth prospects of Chihiro Tominaga, the multiple hair colours of Naoki Tanizaki or the mind bending greatness of the KnesSuka Liner? Follow me on Twitter @HellionLee