Dragon Gate USA & EVOLVE Discussion/News/Review Thread

[neil's bitch]

Spoilers from Todays JIII Vs BW "Losing unit must disband match":

 

<-- click on 'spoiler' to show/hide the spoiler

JIII Lost, thus must now break up! Woo!

 

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[Dearly Devoted Dexter]

The main event went an hour and ten minutes apparently

[neil's bitch]

Also:

 

<-- click on 'spoiler' to show/hide the spoiler

Saito and Horiguchi have been kicked out of BW!

 

[close spoiler]

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[Dearly Devoted Dexter]

I tried to post the results, but I'm having trouble wrapping them in spoiler tags for some reason. Fuck it.

 

 

 

 

 

Spoilers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Truth Gate Results 9/2

 

 

2/9/2012 Tokyo, Korakuen Hall

1. Ryo Saito{W}, Genki Horiguchi (8:53 Double Cross) Eita Kobayashi, Yosuke Watanabe, Kotoka{L}

2. Chihiro Tominaga (1:16 Flying Cross Armbreaker) Super Shenlong

3. Jimmy Kagetora (8:27 Kagenui) Gamma

4. K-ness, Kenichiro Arai{W}, Super Shisa (15:06 Hanshin Tiger Suplex) CIMA, Don Fujii, Hollywood Stalker Ichikawa{L}

5. Blood Warriors vs. JUNCTION THREE Losing Unit Disbands Yoshida Style Elimination Match: Akira Tozawa, BxB Hulk, Cyber Kong, Naruki Doi, Kzy, "Naoki Tanizaki", Yasushi Kanda vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, YAMATO, Shingo Takagi, Masato Yoshino, Jimmy Susumu, Dragon Kid, Rich Swann

Order of Entry: Doi & Yoshino, Tanizaki, Kid, Kanda, Swann, Kzy, Susumu, Tozawa, YAMATO, Hulk, Takagi, Kong, Mochizuki

-Yoshino ( ) Tanizaki

-Kong (Cyber Bomb) Takagi

-Kong (Cyber Bomb) Swann

-Doi (Ultra Hurricanrana Cutback) Kid

-Susumu (Jumbo no Kachi!gatame) Doi

-Kzy (Skayde Schoolby) YAMATO

-Susumu (Mugen) Kzy

-Susumu (Jumbo no Kachi!) Kanda

-Hulk (First Flash) Susumu

-Yoshino (Speed Star) Kong

-Hulk (Top Rope E.V.O) Yoshino

-Mochizuki (Dragon Suplex Hold) Hulk

-Tozawa (71:53 Package German Suplex Hold) Mochizuki

*JUNCTION THREE have to disband

 

An arm wrestling contest was held to decide who would have the man advantage in the main event. Cyber handily defeated Takagi to give it to BW. Mochizuki proposed eliminating the over the top rope rules for the match, to ensure a decisive finish. Tozawa rejected it, but "Naoki" was quick to accept.

 

After the main event, BW celebrated their victory in the unit war by also banishing Saito & Horiguchi from the group. CIMA, Fujii & Stalker made the save.

 

CIMA then introduced the two friends he had promised to bring in to help him crush Hulk, Akira, & Kong. They ended up being K-Dojo owner TAKA Michinoku & DDT boss Sanshiro Takagi. CIMA & his buddies will face the BW trio on 3/1 in Korakuen.

 

During this ruckus, Doi & Kzy went backstage and assaulted K-ness & AraKen.

 

Before leaving, CIMA informed Yoshino that Ricochet wanted to team up with him soon.

 

The former JUNCTION THREE members closed the show by shaking hands, and doing a final meet & signing with fans.

 

Shingo announced that on 5/13, DG would venture to his hometown of Yamanashi. Their show at Ai Messe Yamanashi will be their first advance on the city. With it, they will have performed in every prefecture in Japan.

[Big Benny HG]

Dragon Gate USA 'Freedom Fight 2010' (30 October 2010)

 

 

We skip the 'Way of the Ronin' DVD taping and the Bushido: Code of the Warrior' iPPV to DGUSA's next nationally televised pay-per-view event. This one comes from the Recreation Centre in Rahway, NJ, a regular EVOLVE venue. The building is set up much better than EVOLVE, and the crowd seems a little bigger, but it hardly comes across as super-impressive to say it is going out across the nation.

 

First up, Gabe-fave Jimmy Jacobs takes on the walking bin bag Arik Cannon in what, after a rough start, eventually turns into a pretty decent little opener if you ignore it's complete overall pointlessness. Former sumo Akebono then returns to US PPV for the first time since his WrestleMania match with Big Show to face dirty trucker Brodie Lee. The handheld camera audio picks someone in the crowd proclaiming "OH GOD" as Akebono makes his entrance. Oh, how I laughed. I actually think Akebono can be quite enjoyable when used in comedy matches and freak show bouts but, to be fair, this was absolutely horrendous. Thankfully, it was kept to a couple of minutes. Indeed, the match was deemed so shite they actually removed it from the PPV version of the show when it aired on 7 January 2011.

 

Rebounding from that, BxB Hulk and Akira Tozawa collide for the second straight PPV, this time taking Homicide and Jon Moxley as their respective partners. Much better than the Hulk/Tozawa/Quack outing last time, this is a splendid bout. It's mainly kept to Jap vs. Jap and Yank vs. Yank, but that works really well over the course of the tag match and makes for an exciting affair. These guys have such interesting and entertaining personalities and it is such fun to watch. Mox and Tozawa's Kamikaze USA ally YAMATO gets involved afterwards, leading to a wicked out-of-control extended brawl between the 2 Americans long after the final bell. Interesting that they sort-of set up something between these 2 on the last EVOLVE show, also in this building. With the Jacobs feud finished, it looks like Moxley has a new hardcore rival.

 

CIMA vs. SHINGO is, in many ways, every Dragon Gate Japan main event singles match. It starts slow, with each man feeling each other out, then builds in both pace and intensity to a crazy finishing stretch where they go all-out against each other with signature spot after signature spot. A very strong effort, I enjoyed this.

 

After "The New Whore" Sami Callihan makes a brutally enjoyable and impressive impact against unknown jobber #56 (Shane Smalls, if anyone actually cares) in a non-PPV match, Chuck Taylor & Johnny Gargano & Rich Swann team as the Ronin faction for the first time, after forming in an angle on the iPPV show the day before this taping. This is mentioned in commentary, but there is no footage. It appears these national PPVs are becoming the secondary focus to DGUSA, then. They are faced with the trio of Austin Aries & Ricochet & Genki Horiguchi, who represent Warriors International. Seems so utterly bizarre to see Aries back in a babyface role here, after the last couple of years as the flamboyant schemer. It's interesting, however, that he has not reverted completely to his old SUPER SERIOUS ATHLETIC WORKER persona, and still retains elements of the fantastic 'A-Double' character. I also like how DGUSA now have a way to focus and direct the chosen US indie talent in a meaningful way in Ronin, as their involvement in the promotion prior to this has been somewhat random. They are established here as the arrogant young upstarts out to steal the DGUSA spotlight from the rest of the roster. The match itself is very good indeed. It doesn't rival the 6-man tag main event from 'Mercury Rising' earlier in the year, but still represents supreme entertainment. The sprint to the finish presents all kinds of high-impact, high-flying and high-octane craziness and can go either way. Brilliant stuff, and the best match on offer on this DVD.

 

The main event of this year's 'Freedom Fight' comes in the form of Masata Yoshino vs. YAMATO. Again, a very typical Dragon Gate Japanese singles match. Yoshino's Open the Dream Gate Championship isn't on the line here, and the first 10 minutes are inconsequential, but from there it's all good. When you consider the super-hot last few minutes, this is a pretty good show closer.

 

Included as an extra on the disc is a 6-way deal featuring Amasis, Opidian, Silas Young, Caleb Konley, Cheech Hernandez and Sami Callihan, which took place before the main PPV taping and is actually pretty good fun for this type of thing, whenever the abysmal Konley is nowhere near the ring. There's also an extended multi-angle highlight package of the main show.

 

Another enjoyable outing for the DGUSA crew. While there is nothing on here which is completely "blow away, must see", there is plenty on goodness for it to earn my recommendation. Check it out.

 

Full show results:

<-- click on 'spoiler' to show/hide the spoiler

Jimmy Jacobs beat Arik Cannon by submission to the End Time

 

Brodie Lee beat Akebono with a running big boot

 

BxB Hulk{W, FTX} & Homicide beat Akira Tozawa{L} & Jon Moxley

 

CIMA beat SHINGO with Meteora

 

Sami Callihan beat Shane Smalls by submission to the Stretch Muffler

 

Chuck Taylor & Johnny Gargano{W, Hurts, Don't It?!) & Rich Swann beat Austin Aries & Ricochet{L} & Genki Horiguchi

 

Masata Yoshino beat YAMATO by submission to Sol Naciente

 

[close spoiler]

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[Big Benny HG]

EVOLVE 6: Aries vs. Taylor (20 November 2010)

 

 

EVOLVE reaches the end of its first year by returning to the ACE Arena in Union City. On offer here is an 8-match card, topped off by the EVOLVE debut of former 2-time ROH World Champion Austin Aries. Right from the start, Aries is portrayed as a big deal here, as video packages throughout the DVD show him arriving in the locker room, roster members showing him teh respectz, and warming up with weights. Aries also joins Lenny Leonard in providing commentary on the first few bouts of the show.

 

Although wrestlers' records are constantly mentioned in commentary and promos, and they have now run enough shows for everyone to have a different record, there is still much to do before it plays a logical and meaningful part in match-making. For example, the opening bout on this DVD sees 3-0 Drake Younger, with one of the very best records in the organisation, facing Silas Young, whose only previous appearance was a loss way back at EVOLVE 1. The match itself isn't offensive but, like anything involving Younger, isn't too good either. Nothing Drake seems to do makes any sense, like a really bad create-a-wrestler.

 

The records do make sense for the next bout, however, as EVOLVE newcomers AR Fox, Tony Nese and Scott Reed take on 0-1 Rich Swann in a 4-way of dudes looking for their first win. Basically, this is just a collection of high-spots, some pretty good fun, some horrifically bad (such as Fox's hilariously botched running backflip from the apron to the floor). Nese and Reed don't really leave much of an impression, but the match is what it is. After this, Kyle O'Reilly takes on Bobby Fish in a rematch from the very first EVOLVE bout. Again, this makes a mockery of the whole concept, since if win-loss records really mattered 0-4 Fish wouldn't still be getting booked here. The early part of this one sees them display the same strike n' submissions style as their first bout, but this is much better in that it lasts about 4 times as long. This lets the pseudo-MMA develop logically into something more substantial, incorporating traditional pro wrestling elements. It really is quite enjoyable, but it has to be said that much of it comes over as two guys trying hard to imitate a Japanese match.

 

I normally hate Super Smash Bros bouts, as they are usually indie-riffically awful and don't connent with me in any way, but their effort here against Up In Smoke isn't half bad. EVOLVE's tag division is beyond worthless, but there is plenty of fun to be found in this little encounter. Following this is a "relaxed rules" match between Jon Moxley and Homicide. These two had a showdown at EVOLVE 5, but then went to war on the last Dragon Gate USA show, so it is interesting to see storylines developing across the 2 brands at the same time. This is probably twice as long as needs to be, and there are whole periods where not much of anything seems to be happening, but it's an adequate brawl. As with their recent DGUSA stuff, the closing bell is merely a side-note in the violence. In fact, the most brutal, graphic and interesting action actually takes place in a post-match angle which, if it were part of the bout itself, the whole thing would be a lot better.

 

After some bollocks with Larry Dallas, rising stars Ricochet and Adam Cole square off in a scrap which is entertaining, but falls short of expectations in that it never reaches top gear. This is another bout which suffers from going too long, which sounds bizarre when one of the criticisms of early EVOLVE was that matches were far too short to have any impact. The extended time doe help Johnny Gargano vs. Jimmy Jacobs, though, which is much better than their earlier EVOLVE match. Yes, it's pretty good, but you couldn't call it anything special.

 

The main event of Austin Aries vs. Chuck Taylor is a curious one. It's the best match on the DVD but, in many ways, it's also the most disappointing. Much of it is very good indeed, but a headline contest between these two should be so much better. It doesn't flow well and there are flat moments that are awkward. It picks up towards the end, though, when they start throwing all they have at each other. Good, but not great.

 

A pretty weak show from EVOLVE, overall. While the undercards have always been a bit poor, thee was usually 2-3 great matches on there to save things. This is different in that the undercard was a bit better, but nothing on the disc particularly stands out as amazing and nothing really warrants a repeat viewing. One to avoid.

 

Full show results:

<-- click on 'spoiler' to show/hide the spoiler

Silas Young (1-1) bt Drake Younger (3-1) with double-springboard moonsault

 

AR Fox (1-0) beat Scott Reed (0-1){L}, Rich Swann (0-1) and Tony Nese (0-0) in a 4-way

 

Bobby Fish (1-4) beat Kyle O'Reilly (2-3) with a spinning-kick

 

Up In Smoke (Cheech & Cloudy)(4-0) beat Super Smash Bros (Player Uno & Player Dos (0-1)

 

Jon Moxley (1-1) beat Homicide (0-1) by referee stoppage in a relaxed rules match

 

Ricochet (3-2) beat Adam Cole (1-3) with the Wonderwhirl

 

Johnny Gargano (4-2) beat Jimmy Jacobs (4-2), reversing the contra-code into a roll-up

 

Austin Aries (1-0) beat Chuck Taylor (4-2) by submission to the Last Chancery

 

[close spoiler]

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[rohpete]

From dg newsletter

Dragon Gate USA is going to make you an offer you can't refuse. The "Open The Ultimate Gate" iPPV on March 30th from Miami will be available for just $1.99 as a once-in-a-lifetime special promotion.

[DarloKid]

wow think that will be getting bought

[rohpete]

The press release for the ippv

 

 

Dragon Gate USA will offer it's "Open The Ultimate Gate 2012" live iPPV at www.WWNLive.com on March 30th for just $1.99. DGUSA Vice President Gabe Sapolsky writes this column explaining why this once-in-a-lifetime offer is being made.

 

We are very proud of our Dragon Gate USA brand. We want you to see it.

 

We know our in ring action and overall presentation have reached a new level. We are excited and confident. However, we have to admit that our iPPV buy rate has hit a plateau.

 

Don't get me wrong, we are very happy with our buys, and they have slowly increased over our first year at WWNLive.com. We have just hit a wall that we are looking to break through.

 

We don't have a TV station backing us or a corporation willing to dump millions of dollars into the product. We are a self-sufficient independent promotion.

 

This has a lot of advantages. We don't have corporate suits with no idea about wrestling telling us what we can or can't do. There are no politics. We don't have to cater the masses by bringing in washed up names to try to get ratings. Really, we don't have to answer to anyone. We can put out the product we want with the interest of best serving you.

 

However, the negative is that it's tough to gain exposure and get new eyeballs on DGUSA and EVOLVE without the backing of a TV network and/or major sponsorship.

 

So we have decided to take matters into our own hands.

 

We are going to take advantage of the fact that we produce iPPV in house at www.WWNLive.com. We are going to offer the March 30th "Open The Ultimate Gate 2012" live iPPV featuring PAC vs. Low Ki for just $1.99.

 

Yes, we will lose money on this and we are giving up one of our most important shows of the year for just $1.99. We know it will be worth it because you will be blown away when you see the current DGUSA brand.

 

I need to make it clear that the $1.99 price gets you the live showing only. This is a one-time-only very special offer. We can never make an offer like this again. We will also offer the March 30th iPPV at our regular price of $14.99, which will get you the live showing and then On Demand access.

 

As an added bonus, this isn't just a promotion to attract new fans. This is our way of thanking those of you who have supported us over our first year of iPPV at WWNLive.com.

 

This is as straight forward as I can get. We want you to see Dragon Gate USA and EVOLVE. We have hit a new peak with both brands. Now on March 30th you will get a chance to witness what it is all about for just $1.99.

[gadge]

I can't blame them for trying. Now, for the rest of my EVOLVE reviews including a brand new look at EVOLVE 9...

 

EVOLVE 7: Aries vs Moxley - Manhattan, NY - 19/4/11

 

Shiima Xion vs Jimmy Jacobs - We open EVOLVE's first ever iPPV with the first of three spoiler matches, as the three men tied on 4-2 records face EVOLVE debutants who are trying to spoil their records. There's no Lenny Leonard on commentary for this one, as instead Rob Naylor has Austin Aries as co-host. The crowd are into Jacobs in a big way, and therefore turn completely against Xion when he manages to be the spoiler with a La Magistral cradle at 7:19. The match itself was solid for an opener, but not long enough to be anything more. Hilariously, the crowd just keep on booing when Xion cuts a post match promo that was pretty nonsensical in places.

 

Tony Nese vs Silas Young - Short, but inoffensive filler. Silas wins with the headstand into Arabian Press in 5:39 to go 2-1.

 

Johnny Gargano vs Jon Davis - Simple storytelling executed well here. Jon Davis, the big tag team dude, tries to transfer to singles and relies on his power, while Gargano tries stick and move tactics and slick combinations to neutralise him and advance his 4-2 record. Crowd support is good for both men, though Gargano had the interminable Larry Dallas and Reby Sky cheering him on from a ringside table. Ugh. They really manage to turn things up a notch in the closing minutes, with Davis almost being the spoiler after a spinebuster/Jackhammer combo, before falling to a very neat counter into the Gargano Escape for the submission at 13:19. The first really enjoyable bout of the show. Gargano cuts a post-match promo about being wins leader at the end of the night, and doesn't seem happy when Larry Dallas says the plan is for him and Chuck Taylor to be sharing the wins leader position. Ooh, controversy is brewing...

 

Jigsaw & Frightmare vs Facade & Jason Gory - "Where do EVOLVE keep getting these crappy tag teams from?", I hear you ask. The team of Facade and Gory do indeed have a dreadful minor league look. It's really all about the CHIKARA duo here, who have a ton of crowd support and the majority of the cool spots, though Facade and Gory do have a couple of good moments as well as a couple of bad ones. Overall this is a pretty fun bout, though many will find it trash. Jigsaw puts Gory away with a twisting Jig 'n' Tonic at 8:35.

 

Sami Callihan vs Zack Sabre Jr - While I'm not usually a massive fan of Sami, I'm a huge fan of Zack and I saw these two guys have a match a month prior to this in IPW:UK which was really fun live, so I had pretty high hopes for this. I wasn't at all surprised then, when both guys started this one by going to war right from the opening bell and knocking seven bells of you know what out of each other. The hybrid of styles used generally works really well, with Zack getting in some small joint manipulation and a bunch of attempts at his flying armbar, though it's a bit of a shock when they break off from the hard hitting for an extended rollup reversal sequence in the closing minutes. Much like their bout in IPW:UK, Zack is defeated by the Stretch Muffler of Callihan, though this time Sami has to stomp Zack's head in as well for a KO victory at 11:45. It won't be to everyone's tastes, but personally I loved the hell out of this. I definitely need more of Zack's US (and NOAH) matches in my life...

 

AR Fox vs Rich Swann - Some of these lower card DGUSA/midcard EVOLVE guys sure can fly. The likes of Fox and Swann are a bit like the next generation of Jonny Storm, Jody Fleisch and Amazing Red, and while I wouldn't call this a wrestling match for the most part, it's impressive as a short but sweet acrobatics display. Fox wins to go 2-0 with an insane Arabian Press/C4 combo at 5:54.

 

Akira Tozawa vs Chuck Taylor - Your usual Tozawa match, albeit condensed into 10:54 which makes it really enjoyable, if no classic. Taylor survives the third spoiler match of the show, pinning Tozawa with the Awful Waffle. That brings Larry Dallas into the ring to celebrate, only referee Mike Kehner announces there WILL be a play-off to determine a clear wins leader. And so....

 

Chuck Taylor vs Johnny Gargano - This is more of an angle than a match. Gargano hits Taylor with the Hurts Donut at just 0:30, but Taylor kicks out. Taylor then hits the Awful Waffle at 1:00, but after Taylor takes time selling his own neck, Gargano is able to kick out. Gargano then hits Hurts Donut again, locks Taylor into the Gargano Escape, and Larry Dallas makes Reby Sky throw in the towel for him, making Gargano the wins leader at 6-2 in just 2:30. The crowd do not like that. I actually liked the angle, though it was very much like the Prophecy disrespecting the Code of Honor in early ROH in terms of exposing the "sport" concept of the promotion as a sham. I would say though, anyone expecting different from the booking must have been pretty short sighted.

 

Before the main event, Sami Callihan and Zack Sabre Jr show respect for each other backstage. Zack definitely fits in this promotion.

 

Austin Aries vs Jon Moxley - A decent, straight ahead effort from both guys here, but as with most matches when it's one guys last, it's not all out from an action standpoint. There's one weird moment when both guys tumble to the floor at about 6:00, and seem to take longer than expected to regroup. I liked a spot where Moxley goes and grabs the wrench used for ringing the bell and has an internal struggle as to whether to use it. The final sequences are plenty dramatic enough to make this feel like a worthy main event. As you could have predicted, Moxley is defeated on the way out, as Aries counters an attampted sunset flip for the winning pin at 15:14. Afterwards Aries lets Moxley have his leaving for the big time speech, which is as pro-indie wrestling as you'd expect. I noted that the wrestlers who came out from backstage here seemed genuinely very happy for him.

 

Overall - One of EVOLVE's best efforts, with several worthy matches. DVD run time is 2 hours, 8 minutes.

 

EVOLVE 8: Style Battle - Union City, NJ - 20/5/11

 

Without a clear main event to title the show after, EVOLVE goes for a new tournament concept. It clearly didn't draw, as the ACE Arena is half empty, with 100 or so people in, 120 tops. Lenny Leonard returns to commentary duty alongside Rob Naylor. This is also the same day as day Randy Savage died

 

Rich Swann (Rich Swann style) vs AR Fox (High-Flying) - The deal here is that Swann was selected to be in the tournament in a fan poll, as Fox already had the High-Flying spot. They should have called this rematch style, as they have a similar bout to EVOLVE 7. That is to say, it was short, at just over five minutes. Fox beats Swann again, this time with a flying Codebreaker, to advance to the semis. Swann pulls out of a handshake afterwards.

 

Tony Nese (Standing Combat) vs Jon Davis (Power) - I quite liked this, Nese is more than competent and will probably make a good fit for the X Division if his TNA stint lasts. Davis is good when doing his power stuff, but lacking when it comes to filling in the gaps in between. Some personality would fill said gap nicely. The crowd like the finish, as Davis chains a spinebuster, 'Buckle Bomb and Rack Bomb ("Three Seconds Around The World", which is a cool name) for the pinfall at 10:02.

 

Brodie Lee (Super Heavyweight) vs Sami Callihan (Hard-Hitting) - The small crowd are hot for this one and for Sami in particular, but I didn't like it much at all. Lots of chop exchanges and fake "Fighting Spirit" that I really didn't get into. Callihan then survives two Truckstops and a Liger Bomb, by which time I was tempted to throw things at the TV to make it stop. Callihan wins at 12:38 with a leg grapevine Horse Collar and stomps to the head combo for the submission.

 

Austin Aries (Hybrid) vs Bobby Fish (Puroresu Jr. Heavyweight) - Yes, they really did bill Bobby Fish as having that style. On paper I thought this was more my style of match than the one before, but they go way, way too long (22:31) and rarely get above a lethargic pace. Aries does the Power Drive elbow tease, then goes up top for a Macho Man elbow instead, which was nice. Fish hilariously overshoots a moonsault and almost lands on his face in addition to missing Aries completely. The finishing stretch then has similar problems to the previous match on the card, as Fish survives more then one brainbuster and several other Aries trademarks before getting a submission win with a heel hook.

 

With the quarter finals complete, it's really bad segment time. Lenny Leonard brings out the dreadful Larry Dallas, but reveals that after the events of EVOLVE 7, anyone inside the ringside barriers must be licensed, so Dallas can't be there or will be removed from the building. Here's hoping, eh? Dallas reveals he has a new charge however, who is the final entrant in tonight's FRAY! Did I mention that I hate the FRAY! concept? *sigh*

 

AR Fox vs Jon Davis - Semi-final #1 is High-Flying vs Power, then. You'd think this would be an easy enough formula, but the first five minutes are boring, trainee-level stuff. I'm always convinced AR Fox is going to land on his head when he goes for his moonsault off the ringpost. Davis then kicks out of Fox's springboard 450, Fox survives the Pounce of Davis, then scores a quick pin off the flying Codebreaker at 7:17. Not a good match.

 

Sami Callihan vs Bobby Fish - It's saying something that I enjoyed this more than either guys first round match even though this one only goes 4:10. Both guys just go after the other with everything they have, until Callihan grounds Fish and batters him (sorry) with forearms to the back of the head until the referee stops it. No Fox vs Fish final, then, but at least Fox and Callihan have a bit of crowd support.

 

The New Havana Pitbulls vs The SAT - What the hell kind of bizarro world have I fallen into here? Anyway: both teams have new members here on what you may remember. The SAT are now Joel and Will Maximo, while the New Havana Pitbulls are Ricky Reyes and Alex Colon. Execution isn't bad here, but seriously, why would anyone care? The SAT put away Colon with the Spanish Fly at 5:29.

 

FRAY! - We start this with Scott Reed and Cheech Hernandez, the latter of the two sadly hasn't done much since his team with Cloudy ended. 90 seconds elapse and Brian XL of all people enters, and promptly blows three big high flying moves in succession. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry by the third one. The procession of nobodies continues with Blain Rage at #4, who even the crowd can only respond to with a "Who Are You?" chant. Thankfully, entrant #5 is Kory Chavis, who quickly eliminates XL and Rage. Pinkie Sanchez brings some much needed momentum to the match as entrant #6, the crowd boo as Scott Reed eliminates Cheech, and entrant #7, Derek Ryze, soon follows Reed to the back as Chavis eliminates them both.

 

Despite 4 eliminations of his own, Chavis is then himself quickly ejected by entrant #8, Larry Dallas' mystery man Ahtu, after a big spear. That leaves Ahtu with Pinkie, who barely beats the 20-count on the floor after being military pressed over the top by the musclehead. Based on this, Ahtu's repertoire seems to involve standing around looking muscley, staring at the fans chanting "You Can't Wrestle", then occasionally moving to deliver something powerful. However, in a twist that was probably the best thing I've ever seen in one of these FRAY! matches, Pinkie finally blocks one of Ahtu's charges with a boot, leaps out of the corner, Ahtu takes a killer bump off a swinging DDT, and Sanchez gets the pin at 14:56 as the crowd go ever-so-slightly mental. Great stuff. The rest of the match wasn't up to much, though.

 

AR Fox vs Sami Callihan - A solid final to an underwhelming tournament, the best thing I can say about it as it shows the Style Battle concept better than any match so far. Fox avoids Callihan's opening charge and takes control with several big dives, then Callihan has a longer period in control where he does indeed hit Fox hard. A couple of moves off the ropes don't quite work for Callihan, though he does manage to nail Fox with a monster Saito suplex off the top, then he survives the flying Codebreaker that won Fox his first two matches. Instead, Fox busts out the insane Arabian Press C4 last seen as he beat Rich Swann at EVOLVE 7 to be crowned Style Battle winner at 10:13.

 

Overall - One of the low points for EVOLVE so far. It's certainly beginning to prove a trend that the odd numbered shows are the best. It'll be interesting to see if AR Fox can translate this tournament success to anything more, as his matches were only five, seven and ten minutes long. DVD run time is 2 hours and 15 minutes.

 

EVOLVE 9: Gargano vs Taylor - 26/7/11

 

EVOLVE's third and final show of 2011, at the ridiculously early stage of the year that is July, live from B.B. King's in New York City. Of course, the show title, is a little misleading when it comes to main attractions on this one. Our main eventers have a backstage confrontation to start us out, as Johnny Gargano and Chuck Taylor bring up teaming elsewhere and Larry Dallas not influencing the outcome of their match tonight (here's hoping!). Chucky T was sporting a top from PWG's 2008 Battle of Los Angeles, not the only time that promotion gets some pluggage on this show.

 

Bobby Beverly vs Eric Ryan - The show proper begins with two guys from the Midwest I've never even heard of, let alone seen before. We don't get the "these guys impressed at the seminar this afternoon" spiel to telegraph what's about to happen, but to regular watchers of Gabe's post-ROH booking it's still pretty obvious. There's some basics of an okay standard early on, though when they started no-selling suplexes at the 3:00 mark, I quit having even a pretence of concentrating on what they were doing. Thankfully it's only seconds after this when the double DQ comes at 3:42, courtesy of Kevin Steen coming out and destroying both guys, then getting some open mic time.

 

This is in the aftermath of Steen's "I'm Kevin Steen... and... FUCK RING OF HONOR!!" appearance at ROH Best in the World, so he gets some time to bitch about "Ring of Horseshit" and Jim Cornette, though his habit of dealing with hecklers takes the focus off the promo. Anyway, the bottom line is Steen also blames Gabe for making him team with El Generico in the first place (though neither Gabe nor Generico are mentioned by name...) and therefore Steen also wants to destroy EVOLVE. Bobby Fish comes out and sort-of-confronts him, but it's weirdly amicable.

 

Super Smash Brothers vs Facade & Jason Gory - A battle of two 0-1 teams looking for their first win. While SSB at least have some name value, the crowd are pretty quiet for both teams here, as they run through a series of spots, some of which flow better than others. There's a distinct lack of any reason for us to care about either team based on their presentation or performance here, though at least when the SSB pick up the win with a double team on Facade at 6:16, their interview with Lenny Leonard isn't bad. Overall, the EVOLVE tag division is still shit.

 

We then get a backstage look at Finlay giving Cheech, Cloudy and Jon Davis a dressing down/motivational speech combo. Finlay was brilliant here.

 

Silas Young vs Sugar Dunkerton - It's about time for some solid in-ring content, and Silas and the debuting Dunkerton provide it here. The pre-match confrontation between the two gives us a reason to care, and they assemble a decent bout with the story that Silas thinks Dunkerton is a joke, and Dunkerton has to prove himself as a viable member of the EVOLVE roster. This is competitive throughout, without resorting to moves overkill, before Silas picks up the win with his headstand Arabian press at 8:55. Silas then uses his winners promo to call out Johnny Gargano, who comes out and apologises for making him fall off the wagon way back in the aftermath of EVOLVE 1, though Silas shrugs off his apology. I quite like this angle, actually.

 

Lince Dorado vs Pinkie Sanchez - This is pretty good junior heavyweight undercard filler, with a particularly solid showing from Lince, but also one of those matches where neither guy has the look of a big league wrestler. There's also one of those moments where a single bit of information makes you look at a wrestler differently, and that's when Lenny Leonard and Rob Naylor discuss Pinkie Sanchez idolising The Great Muta, and you promptly watch him do all Muta's moves before getting a submission win with a figure four leg lock at 8:44. I should mention that Kevin Steen re-emerged here, joining the commentary team to make a three man booth. As with his matches, he's fine when he focuses on what he should be doing.

 

Up In Smoke vs The Scene - Despite not looking like tag partners, Scott Reed and Caleb Konley are bundled together as a new team here, as The Scene are the newest additions to the unnamed group managed by Larry Dallas. This is going to be even worse than when Gabe booked loads of guys under Dave Prazak's tutelage in FIP as DP Associates, as everyone in this group are nonentities. Anyway, that good old Dearly Devoted Dexter favourite, the Curate's Egg analogy, comes into effect here. There's enjoyable periods of offense from Cheech & Cloudy, plus a couple of notable bumps as they try to let the new duo get some heat, and even some decent flurries from Fake Spanky. However, you can just see that the 4-0 winning streak of Cheech & Cloudy is, erm, going up in smoke, and The Scene nail Cloudy with an elevated DDT into a German suplex for the pin at 11:44. The only team to have any connection with the fans in EVOLVE then implodes as Cheech turns on Cloudy afterwards. Fuck's sake.

 

Bobby Fish vs Jon Davis vs Kevin Steen - This starts out as Fish vs Davis, but Steen leaves the commentary table and causes a DQ after just 38 seconds, so they throw the EVOLVE rules out and have an unsanctioned three-way instead. The addition of Steen doesn't exactly set the world on fire, as most of this is about a three quarter pace brawl, though he takes a couple of nice bumps and sells for Fish's heel hook. It's Davis who gets the win though, as he nails Steen with the Pounce then pins Fish with the always cool Three Seconds Around The World at 7:22. That finish makes sense after his lecture from Finlay earlier.

 

Tony Nese vs John Silver - John Silver? As in, you know, 'Long' John Silver? Ridiculous name you have there, Silver. Nese has looked fairly good on previous EVOLVE events in losing efforts, and right away Leonard and Naylor mention that these guys are both Mikey Whipwreck trainees out of Long Island who have experience against each other. That storyline is almost good enough cover for some of the spots here straying into overkill territory - a Spider German suplex off the top by Nese that didn't even earn him a pinfall attempt being one that I particularly remember. Still, these guys get that rare thing for EVOLVE undercards, that being ring time, and make it work for them for the most part. Silver gets the win with double knees to the back of the head at 13:33.

 

Sami Callihan vs Dave Finlay - Hell. Yes. I've yet to hear anyone have anything negative to say about this, and I won't be the first. Just 23 minutes of absolute war. If you haven't already, go watch it now.

 

Johnny Gargano vs Chuck Taylor - Other than the fact there's no way this can follow the previous match, so the crowd are pretty quiet throughout, there's a couple of other things that make this good, but not great. They take a couple of minutes at the beginning to deal with the Larry Dallas situation, basically rejecting his managerial services, then because it's a main event they pace themselves in the early going, so it doesn't feel like they're going all out. The action starts to pick up just after the ten minute mark, though it takes a while longer than that to really get the crowd feeling it, and the reactions aren't as you'd expect when they start stealing each others finishers due to their familiarity with each other. In the end, I did like the fact that it was Chuck who got the victory, redeeming him after his screwy loss in the tiebreaker at EVOLVE 7, courtesy of an Awful Waffle at 20:18.

 

Overall - This is a must-see show for the one match in Finlay vs Callihan, and the main event is enjoyable and moves things on for Taylor and Gargano, but the undercard is absolutely lacking in dynamic or interesting storylines. Maybe on reflection the six month break to EVOLVE 10 will actually work in the promotions favour in the long run. DVD run time is 2 hours, 39 minutes.

[neil's bitch]

Announced this week:

 

3/4/2012 Osaka, Osaka Prefectural Gym #2

-Open the Dream Gate: CIMA vs. PAC

 

 

All the best to PAC in his challenge for the Dream Gate Title!

[Big Benny HG]

EVOLVE 7

[Big Benny HG]

EVOLVE 8

[Big Benny HG]

Dragon Gate USA United We Stand (30 January 2011)

 

 

DGUSA gets 2011 underway with its latest nationally televised PPV event, which aired on 11 March 2011. 'United We Stand' was filmed at the 'United: Finale' event, the third and final show in a triple-header featuring the tournament to crown the group's first ever US tag team champions. This show comes to us from the teeny, tiny ACE Arena in Union City, NJ, fast becoming a venue of choice for north-east US independent promotions. It's also a rip-off of the title of an ROH event from a few years ago...

 

One of the main problems facing the US offshoot of a Japanese organisation is that they need to fit in with the parent promotion's booking, which has the potential to throw its own plans up in the air. An example of this can be seen right away on this event, as the roster changes in the 'proper' Dragon Gate have seen the formation of the heel 'Blood Warriors' group since the last DGUSA PPV. Many of the guys who were key babyfaces from a US perspective are now heels or aligned to different factions, basically causing a full reset. The first bout on offer, pitting big bad Blood Warrior Brodie Lee against Ronin's Rich Swann, is basically a set-up to let US fans get up to date with the latest changes, establish the Blood Warriors group as the new top rudos in town and set up an 8-man tag team match for later on. Other than this, both the opener and a throwaway AR Fox vs. Cheech Hernandez bout which follows are weak efforts and offer little.

 

Another major change since the last 'proper' PPV is that BxB Hulk has lost the DGUSA Title on a DVD taping/iPPV held just a couple of days prior to this event, which is helpfully explained to us in a little clip. The fact this happened away from PPV is surely another sign that DGUSA are placing less emphasis on the proper PPVs, just merely fulfilling their PPV contract by providing them with anything, with their new model based firmly around live pay-per-stream internet cards. Hulk faces rival Akira Tozawa here in a contest that takes a while to get going, but evolves into a blistering battle, full of big exchanges and cool false-finishes. Tozawa clicks with US audiences just perfectly and this is yet another sterling stateside showing. Tremendous match. Jon Moxley vs. Homicide in a No Disqualification match is crap, however. They have been feuding in both DGUSA and EVOLVE, but this is a long, drawn-out and interminable brawl with a completely ridiculous finish. The idea is supposed to be that the win doesn't matter and they only care about hurting each other, but they manage to kill any interest you might have had in their situation with their dull and tedious 'action', meaning the ending comes over as stupid.

 

The Rexx Reed vs. Pinkie Sanchez match didn't feature on the the PPV broadcast, but that's no loss since it is just as pointless as the earlier Fox/Cheech bout. Far more worthy is the 8-man tag set up earlier, as the dastardly Blood Warriors quartet of CIMA, Naruki Doi, Dragon Kid & Ricochet take on the makeshift rebellion combination of Jimmy Jacobs, Austin Aries, Sami Callihan and new champion YAMATO. This isn't one of those spectacular all-action Dragon Gate multi-man tags, but it is an enjoyable, engaging and all-round solid offering nonetheless. After many a year following Toryumon and Dragon Gate it is strange watching Kid trying to be a heel, and you wouldn't immediately cast Ricochet in that role either, but it sort of works. Good fun from start to finish.

 

The bout taking the main event position on this card is to determine the first ever Open the United Gate Champions. Tag champs, in other words. After a nifty little video package recapping the tournament so far, the action is underway with Chuck Taylor & Johnny Gargano of Ronin/F.I.S.T. versus remaining World-1 members Masato Yoshino & Pac., who actually hold both of Dragon Gate Japan's singles belts. As you would expect, this bout is entirely driven by slick, athletic and exciting exchanges, with some impressive high-flying from the the Englishman. It can't be said to reach top gear, however, and those expecting a blow-away Dragon Gate sprint will be disappointed, but this is still a very good effort to end the show.

 

Before the DVD fades to black, there's a little backstage segment that sees YAMATO and Moxley continue the faction shake-up by kicking Tozawa out of Kamikaze, though why this was deemed so unimportant that it had to occur in a poorly produced backstage skit instead of in front of the audience (who LOVE Tozawa) is beyond me. Bonus content on the disc includes a PPV preview spot which focuses entirely on the Hulk vs. Tozawa match, pushing it as "the first must-see PPV match of 2011", which isn't far wrong. There's also an October 2009 Doi vs. Susumu Yokozuka title match from Japan thrown in there, which is a sweet addition.

 

In all, this is a transition show for DGUSA. It is clear that regular PPV is no longer their focus but, having said that, there is still plenty of good wrestling to be found here, particularly in the Hulk-Tozawa contest, the 8-man tag and the United Gate final. The event is more of an American-style storyline-driven show than the early DGUSA affairs, and seems to be based around establishing Blood Warriors as the main bad guys going forward. Not an essential release, but a solid one that should provide enjoyment.

 

Full show results:

<-- click on 'spoiler' to show/hide the spoiler

Brodie Lee beat Rich Swann with the Truck Stop

 

AR Fox beat Cheech Hernandez with a jumping code-breaker

 

Akira Tozawa beat BxB Hulk with an arm-capture bridging German suplex

 

No Disqualification Match: Jon Moxley beat Homicide. Homicide hit the Cop Killer on Moxley, but then pulled Moxley on top of himself to be pinned

 

Rexx Reed beat Pinkie Sanchez with a double-knee backbreaker

 

Blood Warriors (CIMA, Naruki Doi{W, Bakatari Sliding Kick}, Dragon Kid & Ricochet) beat YAMATO, Jimmy Jacobs{L}, Austin Aries & Sami Callihan

 

Masata Yoshino & Pac{W, German suplex} beat Johnny Gargano{L} & Chuck Taylor to become the first Open the United Gate Champions

 

[close spoiler]

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[Only_The_Strong_Survive]

El Generico is working EVOLVE 11 against Bobby Fish. Should be a great match!

 

*Correction. Boddy Fish is working Low Ki. I must of read it wrong. Dont really know who i would want him to face now, Ricochet?*