Kzy (c) vs. Akira Tozawa - Open The Brave Gate Championship Match - 2/28/15
Tozawa takes control of the champion early on with a variety of head/face locks. He wears him down on the mat then HITS A TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER. We're only minutes in, agh. I love Tozawa, but I didn't like that. Mainly, I guess, because being a long time WWE fan and wrestling fan in general, I see the piledriver as a move that damn near puts people out of commision and seeing Kzy roll out of the ring, start limping away, and then come back from it a minute or two later was eh for me. None the less, Kzy takes control when Tozawa misses a forearm smash into the ring post and starts working on the arm in pretty great fashion. Let's hope they do enough good stuff to make me ignore that aforementioned moment. Kzy is working over the right arm of Tozawa in persistent fashion here. He makes the mistake of letting up and slinging Tozawa in the corner. Tozawa rebounds with a huge kick before falling back to the mat and clinching his arm. Tozawa regains controls with a few dives that he follows up with a brainbuster in the ring, but Kzy would soon fire back with some fast paced offense of his own including a bridging northern lights suplex for a near fall. Kzy dishes out a swanton bomb followed by a frog splash, but he only gets two. The crowd is getting more vocally behind Tozawa at this point. Kzy messes himself up by going up top again as he is met by Tozawa springing up there right behind him and BRAINBUSTER OFF THE TOP ROPE! Tozawa keeps pounding away with more offense following this, but Kzy ends up finding himself in a position to capitalize and hits a canadian destroyer esque move out of the corner. He doesn't go for the cover and Tozawa crawls to his knees to trade shots with Kzy in the center of the ring. Nice exchange here with Tozawa losing the upperhand because of injured arm from earlier. Tozawa fires up and nails one big shot before an uppercut from Kzy floors him. The actions too damn fast to call here and oh boy, they're getting me into it at this point. A snap german from Tozawa for a nearfall after several cradle attempts by both men. Tozawa is trying to capture the arms, Kzy fights him off. Kzy has him over his shoulders, TOZAWA COUNTERS, he's trying to capture the arms again, Kzy fights, BUT NOOOO HE GRASPS IT! STRAIGHT JACKET GERMAN! 1...2...3 - AKIRA TOZAWA IS THE NEW OPEN THE BRAVE GATE CHAMPION! Good match and a sweet moment for Tozawa as we see his post-match crowning and celebration.
Match rating - ***3/4
Bxb Hulk (c) vs. Uhaa Nation - Open The Dream Gate Championship Match - Champion Gate in Osaka - Tag 2 - 3/1/15
It's Uhaa Nation's final match in Dragon Gate before heading to NXT and becoming Apollo Crews. His best friend Akira Tozawa is ringside with him for the match. THEY'RE TRYING TO MAKE ME CRY! DAMN YOU! Jk, love you guys anyway. None the less, introductions get done and the match is underway. I can immediately tell this is going to be your stereotypical DG match and while I like that, I'm curious to see how these two will pull it off. After a few stale mate exchanges, Uhaa pounces and goes straight for the kill by going after the back/mid section of the champion. He slams Hulk back first into the ring post several times and slams him around in the ring. Hulk is finally able to mount a bit of offense and officially turns the tide with a running flip off the ring apron. With Uhaa being the vastly bigger man, Bxb takes the logical route and begins targeting the legs. I like where this is going. Uhaa's left leg becomes the main target as Hulk works him over for several minutes. The champion looks to be in firm control until he hits the ropes and eats a NASTY clothesline for his troubles. Both guys end up on the apron and they are fighting. Some one is getting eat shit here, I can tell. Uhaa gets Bxb up and DEATH VALLEY DRIVER ON THE RING APRONNN! The first real holy shit moment of the match right there. The back of Hulk has to be ruined at this point. Uhaa starts mounting momentum here and damn near kills Bxb with a flurry of powerbombs. Two in the corner and one Liger-bomb esque slam that made Hulk bounce back up from the mat. This made for a HUGE nearfall. Things got pretty crazy in the final half including a german suplex off the rope that turned Bxb inside out, a number of sick but precise kicks from Hulk, basically they exhibited all the things you love about the Dragon Gate style with big moves & nearfalls while also continuing everything they started in the early going of the match. I admit, the first half wasn't the most intriguing. I mean, after all, neither of these guys are known for being technical wizards however it was solid work and the fact that it branched into the second half and final stretch of the match makes it satisfactory in my book. In the midst of the high impact stuff in the second half, Bxb hits a reverserana for a near fall and goes for another rana soon after. This one is of the step up variation and it allows him to get a two count. As soon as Uhaa kicks out, BXB LOCKS HIM BACK IN THE ANKLE LOCK! HE'S TORQUING THE LEG! YES! CALL BACKS! I LOVE! They do an awesome tease spot with Uhaa being in the center of the ring in pain only to desperately reach the ropes. Uhaa powers back around this time and goes for the standing moonsault, he nails it, and is in place for a second one, BUT HIS LEG! HE GRABS IT FOR A SECOND AND IT COSTS HIM! SECOND MOONSAULT IS MISSED! BXB IS UP! Uhaa is too AND BXB KICKS OUT THE LEG! UHAA IS DOWN TO HIS KNEES! ANOTHER KICK TO THE HEAD! 1..2..UHAA KICKS OUT! That was easily my favorite sequence of events in this entire match. Both men are completely exhausted at this point, but Bxb manages to nail a few more kicks and is able to pin Uhaa to the mat for the three count to retain his Dream Gate Championship. What a fucking match. I'm shocked that I didn't hear more about this or maybe it's just me, but I loved this. The complete opposite of what everyone stereotypes DG as and a damn fine display if I may say so myself. This could very well be my DG MOTY because I don't see anything beating it. What a way for Uhaa to go out. ITS JUST TOO EASY! Thank you Uhaa!
Match rating - ****1/2
DIA.HEARTS (Bxb Hulk, Kzy, & Big R Shizimu) vs. Monster Express (Akira Tozawa, Shingo Takagi, & Masato Yoshino) vs. MAD BLANKEY (Naruki Doi, YAMATO, & Cyber Kong) vs. Jimmyz (Jimmy Kageota, Jimmy Kando, & Jimmy Susumu) - Glorious Gate 2015 - 3/6/15
So, I watched this spectacle a few months prior to writing this and the fact that I decided not to rewatch it tells you how I felt about it. There's a TON of talent in this. 12 of Dragon Gate's finest in one match. So much talent that it came off as TOO much for me. I've heard some MOTY hype for this, but I just can't hop on that bandwagon. The action never slowed down and if you like exhibitions, you'll love this because that's essentially what it was. There was nothing wrong with it from a delivery aspect when it comes to the moves and how precise they were. Everyone here is pretty much ace in that department however there was just no flow in this that I can remember picking up on. So much so that even though the action was high energy the entire time, I zoned out on several occasions. It went 30 minutes, possibly more and it was just too much for this pro wres fan. Despite all that, I also realize that some will enjoy the hell out of this and that as I often say, this was what it was. I also need to take into account that I was not familiar with the backstory for all the units/stables heading into this, so that could have also contributed to my disinterest. None the less, it's still crazy stuff for like 30 minutes so I can't completely bag on it because this will be an entertaining watch for some.
Match rating - ***1/2
Masato Yoshino & Shachihoko Boy vs. Jimmy Susumu & Jimmy Kagetora - Open The Twin Gate Championship Match - Dragon Gate in Korakuen Hall - 4/9/15
One of the things that Dragon Gate is best known for is insane tag matches. I've seen a fair share of them myself, most notably the MOTY candidate from 2013 between Akira Tozawa & Bxb Hulk and Ricochet & Naruki Doi which I highly recommend checking out. After reading rave reviews of this being one of the best DG matches of the year so far, I had to see it for myself. I'm familiar with one member of each team here as I've seen both Masato Yoshino and Jimmy Susumu (formerly Susumu Yokosuka) in action. When I saw their two names on the billing, I knew this had potential live up to the hype. The match gets going and I'm soon first impressed by Shachihoko Boy, Masato Yoshino's partner, he's the only masked man in the bout which immediately made him stand out. It also became clear early on that he & Yoshino were the babyfaces here. The two duos traded momentum early on by taking turns isolating their opponents however it would be the Jimmy's that would get the first real advantage of the match up by working over Shachihoko. The wrestling & matwork here was superb, but pretty much just your basic Dragon Gate stuff. Speaking of that, this was formatted exactly like most blowaway DG tag matches which got me excited for the insane closing sequence that I was expecting to come after the heat segment. And while I was expecting it, when it came, it blew me away. Fast paced, crazy action with some awesome false finishes. They really did a phenomenal job of making Yoshino & Shachihoko look like the ultimate resilient underdogs here which set up perfectly for their eventual victory. The Jimmy's kept shutting down every flurry they would get. Each time Yoshin & Shachihoko would get closer & closer to victory only to get knocked back down again. The biggest factor was that despite getting knocked down, they were never down for the count. They took everything the Jimmy's had and then some. It was a spectacle to see. I also can't go without mentioning an epic sequence where Yoshino kept going for his signature headscissors into face plant/cross face only for Kagetora to respond immediately with a clothesline. This happened multiple times in a row which made for some epic fighting spirit action and created a huge roar from the audience when Yoshino won the battle and was able to get the best of Kagetora. This is one of the best tag matches I've seen this year without a doubt and I definitely recommend checking it out.
Match rating - ****1/2
Akira Tozawa (c) vs. Dragon Kid - Open The Brave Gate Championship Match - Dead or Alive - 5/5/15
This match happened around the same time as Tozawa/Shingo and in my opinion, it was a much better match. I got way more invested in it than I did the latter and the story was pretty great as well. Neither man are vast in the size department however Dragon Kid is definitely the smaller man and he played the roll of the underdog here. They ended up going the normal DG route with an awesome, crazy finishing sequence with big moves & near falls and it actually worked here for me because it was laid out extremely well plus there was a story behind it that I caught onto right away. One of Tozawa's most underrated title defense from this year. Great, great match.
Match rating - ****
Akira Tozawa vs. Shingo Takagi - First Round Match - King of Gate Day 1 - 5/8/15
I heard LOADS of MOTY talk about this match which got my hopes up for something amazing. To top it off, I'm already a big fan of both guys who are possibly my favorite of all the Dragon Gate talents. All of those things made me rush to check this contest out only to be, not disappointed, but underwhelmed. This was a damn good match however a MOTY candidate? I just don't see it. They did a bunch of big moves, no selling, & false finishes which were cool. It isn't epic though because we see that a lot in Dragon Gate. I'm not damning those things by the way because I love it. I even enjoyed it here, but to be expecting a MOTY candidate like many have talked it up to be definitely dampered my enjoyment of it. It's still worth checking out though because Tozawa & Shingo are two of the best DG has to offer and this is a very solid contest.
Match rating - ***3/4
Naruki Doi, YAMATO, & Masato Yoshino vs. Ricochet, Matt Sydal, & CIMA - Rainbow Gate 2015 - Tag 1 - 7/2/15
This was a ton of fun as you probably would expect. It's Ricochet & Matt Sydal's first appearances in DG in 2015 so the crowd was very receptive them for them. Especially Ricochet who got the loudest pop of all without a doubt. Despite being an irregular trio, Ricochet, Sydal, & CIMA put together a number of awesome combinations that had Doi/Yoshino/Yamato on the ropes a number of times. With the experience those three have together in one way or another, that's a strong feat. I watched this right after it happened and am writing this months later so I can't remember any specifics aside from the GIF's I have and the rating I gave it, but as I said before I really enjoyed this contest. It's everything you would want from a match involving these six and if you've never seen any of the men involved compete, do yourself a favor and watch this because it would be a grand introduction.
Match rating - ****1/4
Naruki Doi & YAMATO (c) vs. Ricochet & Matt Sydal - Open The Twin Gate Championship Match - Kobe World 2015 - 7/20/15
My breath was just taken away. I watched this match a couple of days after it happened without reviewing it or anything so I decided to give it another look when putting this article together and what the actual fuck?! It was so much better than I remember it being. The entire second half is must see stuff. Sydal & Doi have an awesome sequence of counters, Ricochet & YAMATO trade driver variations, Sydal hits a spanish fly off the top rope, Ricochet gets pushed off the top turnbuckle and backflips onto his feet, this was bonkers. Each near fall brought me to the edge of my seat. Sydal & Ricochet hit a double shooting star press only for Doi & YAMATO's handymen to pull the ref out of the ring at 2 and a half. LATE 90's WWF IS ROLLING HARD IN DG! As mentioned before, Ricochet & YAMATO planted each other's heads into the mat multiple times. Ricochet kicks out of the first driver, is able to recover and hit one of his own, followed by the BENADRYLAAAAAAA for a nearfall. After more action takes place, Doi & YAMATO look to be finishing off Ricochet. They set him up, running knee, and ANOTHER driver from YAMATO. 1..2..RICOCHET KICKS OUT! To quote Excalibur - UN-BE-LIEVABLEEEEE! Ricochet looked like a star here and everyone else was equally as fluent despite not being put in a place to showcase their resilience. Pretty awesome match if I may say so myself.
Match rating - ****1/4
Akira Tozawa (c) vs. EITA - Open The Brave Gate Championship Match - Kobe World 2015 - 7/20/15
Tozawa continues to bring the fire in 2015. Nobody lights up the DG crowd with their charisma like him so just about every match that he has is special. This was no different. The two men traded momentum throughout this contest with neither getting a definitive advantage despite EITA doing some decent work on Tozawa's shoulder. I was curious what that was building towards and it was for an arm bar where EITA trapped one arm with his leg and wrenched backward on the other similar to how Pentagon Jr applies his hold. Turns out, that's actually one of EITA's signature holds. I'm learning my DG, folks. The first false finish of the match came when EITA locked that hold in around the half-way point. The crowd really bought into it and I popped for it as well. Everything here was solid then the final fourth came in and took this match to the next level. The lightning quick pace that champion and challenger held for around a minute set this crowd ablaze. Tozawa hit one of the fastest snap bridging germans that I've ever seen for a nearfall. He sets EITA up for the stalling german, but his shoulder is giving him trouble so EITA is able to fight Tozawa off. The champion hits the ropes, superkick from EITA, and he gets him in position AND LOCKS THE ARMBAR BACK ON! Everything in this finishing run was great stuff and built well off the things that took place in the early going. Another noteworthy title defense for Tozawa who would win after hitting two consecutive bridging german suplexes.
Match rating - ****1/4
Masato Yoshino (c) vs. T-Hawk - Open The Dream Gate Championship Match - Kobe World 2015
On the same night that his stablemate Akira Tozawa defending the second highest prestiged singles title in DG against a newcomer, Masato Yoshino does the same. He & T-Hawk had one hell of a card to follow, but I'll be damned if they didn't find a way to follow it and produce quite possibly the match of the night. The contest begins with mat work and feeling out of sorts. The shoulder/arms become the target of Masato and he gets a nice period of working over those body parts. He would use this to soften up the up & comer for the Sol Naciente. After a few minutes, T-Hawk rebounds and begins targeting the neck & back of the champion. As you can see, the groundwork for this match was laid and made the first half very solid. Before I knew it, though, the level of intensity in this match took a turn and it turned into insanity. T-Hawk hits two Night Riders, his variation of a powerbomb, which made for an incredible set of nearfalls. He goes for a third and YOSHINO LANDS THE CRUCIFIX BOMB! I mark out for that every time and considering how it was built towards with Yoshino going for it several times prior, it made it even more crazy when he finally planted T-Hawk into the mat. It only gets a two count. Yoshino & T-Hawk continue battling in what can only be described as a jaw dropping closing sequence. I am a fan of fighting spirit spots when done right and they were done so here. T-Hawk came off as being bound & determined to win the title and he displayed it all match. Seeing him eat chops & head scissor face plants only to pound the mat and fire up for more near the end topped any of his antics from earlier on, though. The drama was high and the crowd hung on every move. So, in short, this was a fantastic main event in which Yoshino defeats T-Hawk to retain his Dream Gate Championship. This is the third singles loss for T-Hawk against Yoshino since 2013 and his second this year. I'm hoping for the fourth match in 2016 that sees Hawk emerge victorious and officially be crowned as the future of DG. He proved himself here and Yoshino also put in a performance that can attest to his greatness.
Match rating - ****1/2
UPDATE: NOVEMBER 2015
I'm back and I've got one hell of a haul of DG to get into, starting off with the big Dangerous Gate event that featured the much talked about Mad Blankey/Jimmys - losing unit disbands match!
DANGEROUS GATE 2015 - AUGUST 16TH, 2015
Bxb Hulk & Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Dragon Kid & Flamita
Right off the bat you can look at this on paper and know that DK & Flamita were gonna get beat up. And.. you'd be correct. Mochizuki laced Dragon Kid with a chop right after the opening bell that made me cringe. Dragon Kid took nearly a minute to compose myself after that. Hulk & Mochizuki basically bullied the smaller men for the first half. They isolated Dragon Kid which built to Flamita's hot tag. They went into a finishing run with several near falls & big moves. Kid got his avalanche hurricanrana spot in. Flamita flipped around non chalantly. It was quite fun, if I may say so myself. Dragon Kid & Flamita scoring the upset victory when Kid spring board hurricanrana'd Mochizuki into a pinning combo was just the icing on the cake.
Match rating - ***1/4
Akira Tozawa (c) vs. Super Shisa vs. Punch Tominanga - Elimination Match for the Open the Brave Gate Championship
YEE, Tozawa is style firing away here in August as the Brave Gate champ. This is an interesting mesh of characters as I would soon learn when Punch Tominanga made his presence. What a discovery I've made with this guy, I love good comedy wrestlers and he's just hysterical. So much so that I can't even describe the shit he does. It's just great fun. This was also my first time seeing Shisa and he was a solid addition to the match. Tominaga is eliminated first via a bridging german after bringing a tin box into play so Tozawa & Shisa get about five minutes to wrap things up. The champ made Shisa look pretty strong, even in defeat. There were a few nearfalls off two german suplexes before the eventual third would put Shisa away and allow Tozawa to retain.
Match rating - ***1/4
Jimmyz (Jimmy Susumu, Jimmy Kagetora, Jimmy Ryo Saito, Genki Horiguchi, & ?) vs. MAD BLANKEY (Naruki Doi, YAMATO, Cyber Kong, K-ness, & ?) - Losing Unit Disbands - Elimination Match
Match rating - ****3/4
Masato Yoshino (c) vs. Shingo Takagi - Open The Dream Gate Championship Match
Match rating - ***1/2
Shit gets real in the post-match happenings. Shingo powerbombs Shachihiko Boy as he was trying to check on Yoshino. Tozawa is in the corner trying to control himself. He finally pushes Shingo. They trade words on the mic. Tozawa gets emotional. I obviously have no clue what they were saying, but the emotion was there, that's for sure. Shingo looks to be done with Monster Express as Tozawa, Yoshino, & Shachihiko leave on their own.
As you may or may not know, Shingo would go on to form a stable with former MAD BLANKEY members, Naruki Doi & YAMATO, Cyber Kong, Kotoka, Tanizaki, & Mondai Ryu thus fully embracing himself as a villain. They are called VerserK.
Bxb Hulk vs. Eita - Summer Adventure World Tag League Day 12 - 9/26/15
This was a 7-8 minute undercard sprint, but it was loads of fun. I'm beginning to find these DG undercards to be pretty perfect. The case could be made that they do to much however they give the fans what they want. Action from start to finish and even several near falls. After the match, Kotoka runs down and attacks EITA setting up a match for the 27th.
Match rating - **3/4
Akira Tozawa & Masato Yoshino vs. Jimmy Susumu & Jimmy K-ness - Semi Final Round Tag League Match - Summer Adventure World Tag League Day 12 - 9/26/15
Around 10 minutes in, I thought this was going to turn out to be a flop. Boy, was I wrong! The Monster Express duo dominated the early going, isolating Susumu first then doing the same to JKS when he was tagged in. Soon after though, the finishing run began and it built up slowly to a huge explosion of awesomeness. I think I became to eager for it to happen which is why the first part of this match seemed to drag when really these guys were making me, as well as the audience in attendance, work for it. Now that all is said and done, I can definitely say it was worth it. Great match that sees JKS escape from a seconding bridging german from Tozawa by sliding under him and grabbing him in a pinning predicament for the win. THE JIMMYS are in the finals of SUMMER TAG LEAGUE 2015.
Match rating - ***3/4
Naruki Doi & YAMATO vs. Jimmy Susumu & Jimmy K-ness - Final Round Match in the 2015 Tag League - Summer Adventure Tag League Day 13 - 9/27/15
This was such a weird match. Coming off arguably the best DG match this year which saw K-ness turn on his Mad Blankey brethren Doi & YAMATO thus costing them the match that forced them to disband, I expected an amazing match. The backstory was there to compliment the talent of all four guys. The stakes were high with the Adventure Tag League trophy on the line. But it didn't deliver. There was no intensity and it was pretty much a sleeper until the final three minutes. And even in those three minutes, it took multiple near falls in the form of rolls ups and cradles to get the crowd into it. I don't know what happened, but this fell short of everything I expected. Susumu & K-ness pin the Twin Gate Champs to win the World Tag League.
Match rating - **1/2
Akira Tozawa, Masato Yoshino, & T-Hawk vs. Bxb Hulk, Kzy & Masaaki Mochizuki - Gate of Victory 2015 Day 2 - 10/4/15
Match rating - ***1/2
Naruki Doi & YAMATO vs. Jimmy Susumu & Jimmy K-ness - Open The Twin Gate Title Match - Gate of Victory 2015 Day 2 - 10/4/15
The Jimmys upset Doi & YAMATO in a lackluster match a month prior to this. Winning the World tag League earned them a Twin Gate title shot which leads us here. With all that being said, I didn't have much excitement heaed into this one. I just hoped they could produce something better than last time and thankfully they did. The heat segment didn't go on near as long and wasn't as boring. They DID have to resort to K-ness' pinning combination near falls to get the crowd really into it however unlike last time, they kept the momentum going and put together a great finishing run. Speaking of K'ness, he was most definitely the star here. He took YAMATO's signature driver variation, Gallaria, yet still managed to kick out. The crowd popped extremely hard for that so I'd say he left here looking pretty damn fantastic. The champions retain after a second Gallaria on K-ness.
Match rating - ***1/2
Naruki Doi & YAMATO vs. Dragon Kid & Flamita - Open The Twin Gate Title Match - 10/17/15
This was somehow better than both matches that YAMAdoi had with the Jimmys. You'd think it would be the other way around due to the backstory with K'ness after what happened in the disbandment match, but no. Dragon Kid & Flamita took the cake as the best opponents for Doi & YAMATO in the early fall season. The entire final half of this match is must see. DK & Flamita bust out some awesome offense including Dragon Kid's signature top turnbuckle hurricanrana followed up by a 450 splash off the top rope from Flamita. The near falls here became very believable down the stretch which is always a plus. Especially when I figured the challengers only had about a 10% chance of pulling out the win. Once these two teams started going at it, though, it felt like it could go either way. I loved the finish as well so this is definitely worth checking out. The champions retain yet again despite a valiant effort from Dragon Kid & Flamita.
Match rating - ***3/4
GATE OF DESTINY 2015
November 1st, 2015
CIMA, Don Fuji, & GAMMA (c) vs. Jimmy Susumu, Jimmy K'ness, & Jimmy Ryo Saito - Open The Triangle Gate Title Match - 11/1/15
Why have I not been watching CIMA/Fuji/Gamma matches before now? That's question I was left asking myself after this high impact match up. Despite CIMA being one of my first introductions to Dragon Gate thanks to his stays in the US and extensive history with the promotion, I had kind of put he, Fuji, & GAMMA in the veterans category. And for some reason, that went from veterans to veterans I wasn't interested in seeing compete anymore, but boy was that a mistake. They delivered a performance here that left me wanting more. A number of awesome triple team moves, fast paced, action packed. This was just so good. I'm not high on the Jimmys after the disappointing series with YAMADoi however they were solid here with CIMA, Fuji, & GAMMA leaving the biggest impression on me. Super fun match in which the aforementioned veteran trio retain their titles.
Match rating - ***3/4
Akira Tozawa (c) vs. Kotoka vs. - Open The Brave Gate Title Match - 11/1/15
Aye, aye, aye. There's a lot to say about this one. It was enjoyable and an easy watch, there were a number of things I questioned about it though. One thing I disliked was the extended ref distraction that led to the use of chairs. I felt so dumb watching it because what ref will leave his back turned for a minute or more at the time? To top it off, they actually did a ref bump later in the match which led to more disarray. Those were the main negatives. The positives include the fact that Tozawa is THE babyface of Dragon Gate and he's against two VerzerK stable members here so it's a good story. Tozawa fought back after being double teamed and eliminated TANKIZAN. Then after a few minutes, he would LOSE the title abruptly to Kotoka with a hurricanrana into a pinning combination. Considering all the shenanigans that got on my nerves, I wasn't a fan of this finish. Although, with a fan favorite as loved as Tozawa, you can rarely ever argue with a story where he's chasing a title. So, yeah, this was a weird one. Watch and decide for yourself!
Match rating - **3/4
Naruki Doi & YAMATO vs. Masato Yoshino & T-Hawk - Open The Twin Gate Title Match - 11/1/15
This was bound to be great, and it was. Best YAMADoi defense since their match with Sydal & Ricochet at Kobe. When they are on point, like they have been for most of this year, they are one of the best tag teams in the world, there's no doubt about that. They were on their game here and the result was a highly entertaining match. DG tags tend to stall for me in the early going because I'm waiting for that crazy, high gear finishing run. That was the case here although the calm before the storm was fine work as well. Nothing spectacular, but they didn't completely bore me by any means. The final 10 minutes or so is where the match defines itself and it's awesome because these guys know what they're doing. Yoshino has been my MVP in Dragon Gate this year and he gave another excellent performance here. He fought from under for a lot of this match as he got worked over early. T-Hawk & Tozawa on the outside got the crowd chanting his name. Yoshino fires up after eating kicks from YAMATO and takes him down. This led to the hot tag to T-Hawk where the match started picking up more steam. Slow build to the aforementioned finishing run of stuff. The Yoshino story from early on bridges to the final moments where Yoshino kicked out of YAMATO's finisher which made for a huge near fall. A second one would put him away, but damn if Yoshino didn't look awesome here.
Match rating - ****
Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Masaaki Mochizuki - Open The Dream Gate Title Match - 11/1/15
Hype has surrounded this contest since it happened with some even proclaiming MOTY praise for it. So, I was ready to finally behold it for myself and I have to say it was pretty awesome. We saw Mochizuki show fire from the start which foreshadowed how this match would go. He jumped the villainous champion from the bell and went after him with a moonsault to the outside that not only took out Shingo, but his VerserK stable mates as well. The entire match was really based around the fire of Mochizuki. With that in mind, it was entertaining the whole way through and it DID feature a number of fighting spirit / no selling spots. Some good, some eh, and some AMAZING ones. The crowd was really into it which made for several great near falls. I'm not as high on this match as others however it's still undoubtedly worth checking out and is one of the best Dragon Gate matches of the year. Shingo retains after nailing the Last Falconry for the second time.
Match rating - ****1/4
November 1st, 2015
CIMA, Don Fuji, & GAMMA (c) vs. Jimmy Susumu, Jimmy K'ness, & Jimmy Ryo Saito - Open The Triangle Gate Title Match - 11/1/15
Why have I not been watching CIMA/Fuji/Gamma matches before now? That's question I was left asking myself after this high impact match up. Despite CIMA being one of my first introductions to Dragon Gate thanks to his stays in the US and extensive history with the promotion, I had kind of put he, Fuji, & GAMMA in the veterans category. And for some reason, that went from veterans to veterans I wasn't interested in seeing compete anymore, but boy was that a mistake. They delivered a performance here that left me wanting more. A number of awesome triple team moves, fast paced, action packed. This was just so good. I'm not high on the Jimmys after the disappointing series with YAMADoi however they were solid here with CIMA, Fuji, & GAMMA leaving the biggest impression on me. Super fun match in which the aforementioned veteran trio retain their titles.
Match rating - ***3/4
Akira Tozawa (c) vs. Kotoka vs. - Open The Brave Gate Title Match - 11/1/15
Aye, aye, aye. There's a lot to say about this one. It was enjoyable and an easy watch, there were a number of things I questioned about it though. One thing I disliked was the extended ref distraction that led to the use of chairs. I felt so dumb watching it because what ref will leave his back turned for a minute or more at the time? To top it off, they actually did a ref bump later in the match which led to more disarray. Those were the main negatives. The positives include the fact that Tozawa is THE babyface of Dragon Gate and he's against two VerzerK stable members here so it's a good story. Tozawa fought back after being double teamed and eliminated TANKIZAN. Then after a few minutes, he would LOSE the title abruptly to Kotoka with a hurricanrana into a pinning combination. Considering all the shenanigans that got on my nerves, I wasn't a fan of this finish. Although, with a fan favorite as loved as Tozawa, you can rarely ever argue with a story where he's chasing a title. So, yeah, this was a weird one. Watch and decide for yourself!
Match rating - **3/4
Naruki Doi & YAMATO vs. Masato Yoshino & T-Hawk - Open The Twin Gate Title Match - 11/1/15
This was bound to be great, and it was. Best YAMADoi defense since their match with Sydal & Ricochet at Kobe. When they are on point, like they have been for most of this year, they are one of the best tag teams in the world, there's no doubt about that. They were on their game here and the result was a highly entertaining match. DG tags tend to stall for me in the early going because I'm waiting for that crazy, high gear finishing run. That was the case here although the calm before the storm was fine work as well. Nothing spectacular, but they didn't completely bore me by any means. The final 10 minutes or so is where the match defines itself and it's awesome because these guys know what they're doing. Yoshino has been my MVP in Dragon Gate this year and he gave another excellent performance here. He fought from under for a lot of this match as he got worked over early. T-Hawk & Tozawa on the outside got the crowd chanting his name. Yoshino fires up after eating kicks from YAMATO and takes him down. This led to the hot tag to T-Hawk where the match started picking up more steam. Slow build to the aforementioned finishing run of stuff. The Yoshino story from early on bridges to the final moments where Yoshino kicked out of YAMATO's finisher which made for a huge near fall. A second one would put him away, but damn if Yoshino didn't look awesome here.
Match rating - ****
Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Masaaki Mochizuki - Open The Dream Gate Title Match - 11/1/15
Hype has surrounded this contest since it happened with some even proclaiming MOTY praise for it. So, I was ready to finally behold it for myself and I have to say it was pretty awesome. We saw Mochizuki show fire from the start which foreshadowed how this match would go. He jumped the villainous champion from the bell and went after him with a moonsault to the outside that not only took out Shingo, but his VerserK stable mates as well. The entire match was really based around the fire of Mochizuki. With that in mind, it was entertaining the whole way through and it DID feature a number of fighting spirit / no selling spots. Some good, some eh, and some AMAZING ones. The crowd was really into it which made for several great near falls. I'm not as high on this match as others however it's still undoubtedly worth checking out and is one of the best Dragon Gate matches of the year. Shingo retains after nailing the Last Falconry for the second time.
Match rating - ****1/4
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