Dragon Gate 2014 UK Tour 25th & 26th July : Both DVDs released&#33

[Road Warrior]

Those canvases are really awesome. As I couldn't take one back on the flight home with me kindly agreed to get one posted to me. The fantastic looking Tozawa/Genki German suplex one. She said they are just a trial to see how they are received but I really hope they become a regular DG:UK/wrestling.co.uk thing.

[Y2Jabba]

Yeah I had my eye on that tozawa / genki German suplex one myself I just didn't have the cash spare at the time but they were all fantastic great photography! Maybe next time!

 

Also I think lion kids getting a bit of an unfair bashing here. I'd love to see anyone on here try and do the stuff he does in the ring, sure a few blips here and there but who are we to say someone useless because there foot slipped? the truth is if he wasn't any good he wouldn't be getting picked every tour.

One thing I do agree with is with Marty gone (ps i loved the in-fighting story that started last year developed on these shows) I'd love to see Ligero make his debut soon.

Anyone else fantasy booking next yer yet? With tozawa and Shingo surely being a lock I'd love to see guys like dragon kid, genki and saito return along with some mellenials debuting. Roll on 2015!

[Carbs]

Any info/results from the London show with the DG guys yesterday?

I think apart from a Japanese lady in a Mad Blanket top I was the only other wrestling fan at the 11am show. There were 150-200 watching and a large majority were kids and families. Really felt for Wild Boar, Lion Kid, Haskins and Kirby who were the de-facto faces trying to motivate the crowd but getting very little back.

 

Anyways both matches were filmed and the results for 11am were as follows:

 

1. Naruki Doi and Yamato defeated Wild Boar and Lion Kid. After the match Lion Kid and Yamato had a little tet-a-tet and Lion Kid challenged Yamato to a match in the afternoon.

 

2. Susumu Yokosuka and Marty Scurll downed Mark Haskins and Martin Kirby.

 

Both matches went around 15 minutes and Lion Kid and Wild Boar made quite a good tag team. Was an interesting dynamic seeing Boar as a face.

[Carbs]

Oh and one other thing, I would love to see Mr. Sloan make his return in a Dragon Gate ring now Marty's gone.

 

If there's still petrol in the tank Mark, I think good matches could be had with Doi, CIMA, Tozawa, Shingo, Osperay, Haskins and Lion Kid amongst others.

 

It's a shame that we don't see your talents in the DGUK ring.

[truthofsin]

I think apart from a Japanese lady in a Mad Blanket top I was the only other wrestling fan at the 11am show. There were 150-200 watching and a large majority were kids and families. Really felt for Wild Boar, Lion Kid, Haskins and Kirby who were the de-facto faces trying to motivate the crowd but getting very little back.

 

We were there for the first show, and the Mrs was at the second show also. The venue staff weren't any help when it came to finding the ring, so we had to resort to walking around until we spotted it at the back of the hall. But made it in plenty of time for the first match.

[stadhart]

The canvases were brilliant and bought a Tozawa one which they kindly said they would get signed before shipping to me. Will bring spare cash next year to get another one next year 

[Ironic Indie Lad]

Also I think lion kids getting a bit of an unfair bashing here. I'd love to see anyone on here try and do the stuff he does in the ring, sure a few blips here and there but who are we to say someone useless because there foot slipped? the truth is if he wasn't any good he wouldn't be getting picked every tour.

 

Moronic statement. We cant criticise him because we cant do what he does in the ring? Do you honestly expect me to attempt a shooting star press, botch it and then go "actually he's WELL good! How effing stupid of me" ?

 

I dont think anyone is suggesting he is terrible. He just looks way, way out of his depth when on a roster with some of the best wrestlers in the world.

[air_raid]

Briefest of brief opinions :

 

 

• Hulk v YAMATO was the match of the weekend for me and quite possibly my favourite DG:UK match of all time because of both the action and the fact I was invested in the result, which I wasn't 100% certain on. Hulk's selling was the best I've seen from him for a long time.

   

   

• The stars of the shows were obviously Monster Express. Historically in Dragon Gate it's natives that I have been most interested in but Uhaa is simply amazing and Ricochet is so smooth and times everything to perfection - I may even like him more than I did Pac in his Dragon Gate prime.

   

   

• Switching the three-team match to the Haskins/Scurll grudge match and the opening four-way on Saturday was inspired. The opener was fun and frenetic and would have been too busy with two more men in the ring. Everyone got to shine. I was nearly burned out for the rest of the card from singing for the competitors. My only slight criticism was the win/loss mechanism kind of gave it away that Lion Kid would win, not that I begrudged him doing so in the end. Conversely though, I wasn't sure of the result of Haskins/Scurll as I was perfectly prepared to accept that either the right ending in story terms (Marty getting his comeuppance) would occur, or that Scurll would continue to be booked because he's such a cracking heel. I enjoyed the match more than I ever thought I could enjoy a Haskins match.

   

   

• I can honestly say that bell-to-bell bottom to top, the DG:UK shows are the best live shows I go to for match quality and sheer excitement. Yes, that includes New Japan.

   

   

• Not appropos to the cards themselves... I never thought I'd stay in a pub singing "Knowing Me Knowing You" until 1:30AM before Saturday, but there really is a first time for everything.

   

   

 

 

Also I think lion kids getting a bit of an unfair bashing here. I'd love to see anyone on here try and do the stuff he does in the ring

 

So, fans of an entertainment medium have no right to criticize anyone's performance in that medium if they don't do it? Have a think about how stupid that sounds for a minute.

[Ironic Indie Lad]

I think Steve Vai is an indulgent bell but I keep it to myself because I cant shred on the axe

[Mr.E]

Just about recovered enough to post some thoughts from the Saturday. I went with 5 other friends who had never been to and/or seen dragongate before, and the show totally blew them away! I mentioned after the show that sometimes you go to a place you've never been to watch a wrestling show, and the whole feeling of "Where am I? I dont know anything in the area. Was it worth the 3 hour drive?" gives you a feeling of impending doom, like you may have made the wrong choice, but as soon as those lights go down and the show begins, you suddenly realise thats its the best thing ever! I've been to every tour since the first, and each one of my friends, some of who I'd had to lay the foundation for them  to come since the last tour, have been totally blown away by it. Having asked them after the show, they all said they are 100% back for the next tour!

 

Onto the matches:

 

Bonus: Wild Boar Vs Kirby

My thoughts on this are that it was a good match, but felt a bit "flat" at times. I was impressed with Boar who I can see has potential, and Kirby of course is crazy good at times, although I did feel he didn't give 100% in this particular match. The finish was much more in the pace of the regular DG:UK standard, seeing a brutal looking Package Piledriver from Boar. 

 

Fatal Four Way: Lion Kid Vs Will Osprey Vs Uhaa Nation Vs Rich Swan

Now this was more like it! A crazy match to kick everything off, and I must say, Uhaa nation is amazing! The first time i'd had chance to see him live and I wasn't disappointed! (Speaking of which, does anybody know where I can obtain a copy of his crazy theme song?). Osprey impressed me a lot, and i would love to see him on future tours as I imagine we have yet to see the full potential of Mr Osprey. Swan was just great fun, and having seen him via some PWG stuff, there was a few more in his repertoire that we didn't get to see, but maybe next time I think. I will mention that upon his amazing entrance, Mrs.E did ask if he was on some form of crack or something, although I did mention he was very excited to be there. Finish saw a "Mis-timed" SSP from Lion Kid for the win, which looked very bad for a split second, so heres hoping he is ok following that. Despite my attempts of pushing my friends into doing so, [and due to my own lack of funding], we did not grab a lion kid mask, much to my dismay.

 

Also on another note, Kid is a fantastic talent and deserves a lot of recognition for his work in the ring. Is he better than other talents that are out there? Honestly, I would say there are much better talents in the UK, but I also think we haven't seen the best of Lion Kid in DG:UK yet.

 

BxB Hulk Vs Yoshino

I'm in two minds over this match, as the participants are of course amazing talents and always deliver good matches, and the match itself was very good. I can only say that BxB seemed a bit "off" on the night, and as such [for me personally at least] that affected my view of the match. It had some great moments, and the finish itself was again also very good, but I think we have seen better from Hulk during his time in DG:UK. Also no belt with BxB this time around? A little gripe from me as I'm a bit of a belt mark, plus its been on the previous tours, but again maybe next time.

 

 

Cima Vs Naruki Doi

Another fun match with some submission maneuvers from CIMA that I'd honestly never seen before. With Mrs.E being a huge fan of Doi, we were split from the start, but it was a fantastic match with the finishing sequence again really picking up the pace. Not just with this match, but I really love how all the DG guys are really into the crowds and interact with them during the matches. Naruki saying "Boo? Boo you!!" really cracked me up at one point. One of my friends was lucky to sit next to CIMA in the stands when he wondered up our way, and was really into CIMA during the match.

 

Haskins Vs Scurll

Having been set up earlier in the night, [Which was a great idea, although some sort of authority figure may have been needed to "OK" some of these decisions as at times the Ref/Andy looked befuddled in a "OK then, why not?" not sort of way.], this looked to be the ultimate grudge match for DG:UK. I was at the previous tour where Marty had turned on Haskins to steal the win, so i was all up for this one. I had presumed Haskins was working heel on the uk scene at the moment, but whether or not that comes into DG:UK I couldn't say. It was also touching to see Haskins partner and little one on the outskirts of the arena, with Haskins Jr having the biggest smile on their face during his entrance. The match itself was what you would expect from a no DQ style match up, with a few edge-of-you-seat style near fall's, and a triangle choke from Haskins for the finish. My only criticism was that i was not aware that was Haskins finish these days, so once Marty tapped out, I was taken by surprise as expected it to go maybe another ten mins, maybe to finish with a big impactful move, but thats just my opinion.

 

Yamato Vs Susumu Yokosuka

Fantastic match, which was the titular match for this show. I did not get to see the match from the previous year, so this was a real treat for me. I will echo previous comments I have read on here which it that Susumu didn't seem to get the full backing of the crowd as he normally does, but in saying that he soon got some admiration following some crazy stiff lariats. Yamato picked up the win following the Gallaria in a fantastic match up. I will say some words won't do this justice, so go pick it up on DVD.

 

Tozawa Vs Ricochet

Main event time, and with Ricochet being the total selling point to said friends who had come down with me on this 3 hour road trip, it couldn't be more fitting he was in the main event. After a bit of a friendly start, the match soon picked up pace, with a bit of a friendly competition that soon escalated in many chops/dives/nipple pinches (Did anybody else notice that during that match, or was I seeing things?) that was absolutely crazy! Tozawa hit a 3 consecutive dive sequence, in which Ricochet put on somebody's bag  during it all. To finish we also had the ever crazy straight jacket german suplex from Tozawa, which was a fitting end, although i did expect a kick out and some sort of crazy high flying spot from Ricochet, but either way the match was fantastic. Following to show one of my travel partners went straight out and purchased a Ricochet T-Shirt, and a managed to get a picture with the good man also. 

 

All in all, a crazy show, and as always many matches/segments/wrestlers that are worth the admission price alone. I will always continue to support DG:UK and cannot wait for the next tour which I hear will feature Shingo Vs Tozawa for the DG:UK championship! I keep up with DG on twitter and echo the support for all the staff at the venue as well the photographer(s) etc, and have to say thank you to everybody involved. Will also say I saw Danny Burch/Martin Stone at the Venue as well, which was very cool. Not that it may happen, but Martin Stone Vs Shingo would be just flat out crazy in my eyes!

 

Cannot wait the return next time around, and it looks like i'll have the same small army travelling with me as well!

[air_raid]

Something I forgot to mention was that the psychology in the Scurll/Haskins match was really good with Scurll using the same low blow/Tombstone combo that won him their match in Castleford, and then Haskins performing the same, which would have been poetic justice for the finish and thus was a really convincing nearfall. Great work.

[Big Benny HG]

Uhaa nation is amazing! The first time i'd had chance to see him live and I wasn't disappointed! (Speaking of which, does anybody know where I can obtain a copy of his crazy theme song?).

 

It's 'Dschinghis Khan' by, yep, Dschinghis Khan.  It was the German Eurovision Song Contest entry in 1979.

[Mr.E]

That is amazing, thank you! Just downloaded that from iTunes

[Y2Jabba]

Ahh ill be downloading it myself I think. On the subject of Uhaa what a nice approachable friendly guy! Like someone mentioned earlier I'm more often than not more interested in the natives as someone put it, but Uhaa was a great addition.

In regards to my lion kid comments, woah calm down, I wasn't taking a personal shot at anyone, the point I think most people know I was trying to make as that one half botched shooting star press and ring apron flip does not make lion kid a poor performer in my personal opinion.

Hyper Japan was fun, saw the cameras following lion kid around, a nice little DVD extra too look forward to on the future maybe?

[Carbs]

Ahh ill be downloading it myself I think. On the subject of Uhaa what a nice approachable friendly guy! Like someone mentioned earlier I'm more often than not more interested in the natives as someone put it, but Uhaa was a great addition.

In regards to my lion kid comments, woah calm down, I wasn't taking a personal shot at anyone, the point I think most people know I was trying to make as that one half botched shooting star press and ring apron flip does not make lion kid a poor performer in my personal opinion.

Hyper Japan was fun, saw the cameras following lion kid around, a nice little DVD extra too look forward to on the future maybe?

 

Everyone's entitled to their own opinions on the Dragon Gate Shows and Dragon Gate performers but for me I enjoy seeing Lion Kid wrestle on the DGUK shows and I would be disappointed to see him leave the promotion. 

 

Unlike other British performers like Haskins, Scurll, Kirby and Boar who i've seen wrestle in other promotions like Progress and Rev:Pro over the last year I rarely get to see Lion Kid wrestle on other promotions shows. Part of the intrigue for me going to DGUK shows is seeing who Lion Kid wrestles as well as the Foreign imports.

 

I thought he did a great job putting Uhaa Nation over on Friday and botched finisher aside played his part in the 4 way well.

 

I know i said this elsewhere but in person on Sunday I thought Kid and Boar made an interesting team and i wouldn't mind see them team up again at a DGUK show.