adamknightjones Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 ok thats perfect mark cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thanatos Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 Any updates forthcoming today? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Sloan Posted July 11, 2014 Author Share Posted July 11, 2014 If you are planning to goto Yamato v Yokosuka 2 on Saturday July 26th at Broxbourne, it would be a good idea to purchase the tickets as soon as possible, There are less than 20 tickets available in the General & Value sections for the event. If you are thinking of going get your tickets before they are gone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firstnameunknown Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 2 For 1 Hyper Japan tickets via Groupon... http://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/london/gl-h...apan-1/41808606 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thanatos Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Tempted to do this but only in London for a few hours so was think or checking out the British History museum! Many options! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Sloan Posted July 12, 2014 Author Share Posted July 12, 2014 Tempted to do this but only in London for a few hours so was think or checking out the British History museum! Many options! Hyper Japan will be worth your while........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthofsin Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 2 For 1 Hyper Japan tickets via Groupon... http://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/london/gl-h...apan-1/41808606 They have no Sunday tickets available under this deal. Guess they sold out of the group on allocation. Still full price tickets available via the Hyper Japan site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Big Benny HG Posted July 12, 2014 Paid Members Share Posted July 12, 2014 Well, picking up from where I left off last year, I continue the project to re-watch and review all of the Dragon Gate UK DVDs just ahead of sampling the latest live edition. All of the past entries in my Guide to Dragon Gate UK can still be found on the UKFF here, including a summary at the end of the first 6 where I ranked what I thought had been the best matches and events to that point. Of course, 2013 brought three new shows which have now made their was onto DVD, meaning it's time for the next instalment. Titled the 'Festival of Fire' (not to be confused with fellow Japanese promotion Zero-One's 'Fire Festival' signature event), the 3-night tour saw back-to-back nights in the Broxbourne Civic Hall just outside London, before heading further north than the promotion has ever been before to Castleford in West Yorkshire to finish the weekend. So, disc in the machine, here we go... ~~Big Benny's Big Guide to DGUK~~ Part Seven – Festival of Fire - Night One 22 February 2013 (Broxbourne Civic Hall; Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire) As has become the norm, the main 2-hour presentation starts with a sweet video package showing highlights of what went down on the last tour. It shouldn’t come as a shock by now on these things, but it catches me out every time: the picture quality is outstanding, far better than anything else I’ve ever seen produced in the DVD format. Before we get started, I’ll set the scene. At the time of the previous tour, the entire Dragon Gate roster found themselves falling into either the heroic Junction Three stable or the heinous Blood Warriors, who were at war with each other. Given that a year-and-a-half has passed since then (and this is Dragon Gate after all), you’d expect that things have altered somewhat. And you’d be right: Blood Warriors came out on top of the feud and forced Junction Three to disband. Akira Tozawa then seized command of the Warriors, kicking out former leader CIMA and Naruki Doi, and has renamed the team ‘Mad Blankey’. They are still the top antagonists in the promotion. The former Junction Three members are now split amongst new factions World-1 International (led by Doi and Masato Yoshino), Team Veteran Army Returns (led by CIMA), -akatsuki- (with Shingo Takagi and YAMATO leading the way) and The Jimmyz (including Susumu Yokosuka, Ryo Saito and Genki Horiguchu). The show gets underway with Team UK’s The Lion Kid going up against Naruki Doi. If you want to hear the commentary, by the way, you have to switch to the secondary audio track, as it is not the default setting. When I work this out several minutes in, ‘Irish’ $tew Allen and ‘Twisted Genius’ Dean Ayass are explaining Lion Kid’s quest to battle the established Dragon Gate stars in singles matches. Kid, by the way, is met with the ‘RRAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!!!’s from the audience that really started to get over by the last tour. A few minutes in, Doi discovers he can get a big reaction by pulling bits of Lion’s mane out, so repeats it several times to a chant of “Animal Cruelty (clap clap clapclapclap)”. Doi takes over, dominating Kid, hitting two of his cannonball variations and displaying some of the rough, disrespectful rudo tendencies that were his signature when part of the Blood Warriors. Doi hits a third cannonball (this time the ‘Dai Bassou’ version into the corner), as I hear myself trying to start a “LION KID” chant. Kid shows signs of a brief comeback, but the Japanese puts him down with the Doi555 sit-down F5 and the follow-up Bakatari Sliding Kick to seemingly bring things to an end. To the surprise of virtually everyone, the brave Lion kicks out, then as a stunned Doi goes back to the mask, Kid catches him in a cradle for a shock upset win! A lot of boos in the room for that one, actually. Afterwards, a thoroughly pissed-off Doi smashes The Lion with another cannonball then actually rips Kid’s mask off and walks away. Hey, dude, chill. A simple-but-effective match to get the weekend going. **3/4. Ayr’s Noam Dar makes his DGUK main show debut next, here for the first part of his 5-match Trial Series. This is a staple of Japanese promotions, where a young newcomer is granted a series of singles matches against established names in order to prove their worth. His first opponent is massive DGUK favourite Susumu Yokosuka or, to be more accurate, “Jimmy Susumu”, given his new allegiance. “Jimmy”, by the way, is seen as meaning “simple/daft” in Japan, and the Jimmyz are a silly nerdy stable. Some of that “Jimmyness” is seen in the early going when Susumu tries to pin referee Chris Roberts as they roll on the mat, then walks into the lighting support while taking a break on the floor. Oh, the south-east fans are doing the PROGRESS “count one ahead of the referee” thing. How could I have forgot that... In a strategy that will be familiar to UK fans, Dar goes to work on his opponent’s leg, even managing to get a sneaky bite in behind the ref’s back. Telling us “Ah’m gonnae break his leg!”, Noam heads to the top rope for a double-stomp to the knee, but Susumu gets out of the way and fires back with a huge Exploder suplex into the turnbuckles. He is unable to sustain an advantage, though, as Dar catches the Jimmy in the Deep-Fried Knee-Bar for a near-submission, forcing Yokosuka to the ropes. Dar gets a 2-count from a fisherman-brainbuster then does manage to hit his leg-bound double-stomp from the top. The knee-bar is locked on again, but Susumu desperately scrambles to the ropes. The pair exchange of strikes in the middle of the ring, ending when Jimmy puts Dar on his arse with a big clothesline and an even bigger Jumbo No Kachi lariat. When that trademark move only yields a 2-count, Susumu follows-up with the Mugen (double-underhook head-drop) for the win. I don’t think a single person watching ever thought that Dar was going to win, but the match did what it was supposed to in making him look competitive and strong against the DGUK benchmark. The crowd was quiet for the most part, but this was a really good showing. ***. UK vs. Dragon Gate is the theme of a third consecutive match next, with four-way action pitting CIMA, BxB Hulk, Marty Scurll and Mark Haskins against each other. You know something extremely cool that I’ve just noticed during the introductions for this contest? As ring announcer Andy Quildan introduces each wrestler, the on-screen graphics this time not only tell us their name, their measurements and their DGUK Win-Loss record, but there is also a little scrolling banner telling us FACTS about them too, like their background, previous title reigns, etc. I now know, for instance, that BxB Hulk was a ranger in the Japanese Defence Force. How have I just noticed this? I’m going to have to go back and read at the graphics in the first two matches... The Win-Loss record concept that DGUK operates is really at the fore here, and is the entire story upon which the match is founded. As I’ve mentioned in these reviews before (and is helpfully recapped and explained by the commentators at the start), anyone who gains a +5 win/loss difference will be rewarded with a match of their choosing (which, they’ve hinted, could even be the creation of a dedicated DGUK title...) whereas anyone slipping to -5 is eliminated from the promotion altogether. This four-corners bout is decided by first pinfall (i.e. rather than elimination), with the winner obviously gaining a Win for their record but ALL THREE others recording a Loss. As Marty comes in with a record of 1-5, he is in a situation where he simply MUST win this match to avoid being excluded from DGUK. Things start with everyone ganging up on the villainous Mad Blankey member BxB Hulk for a moment, before the Team UK guys turn on CIMA, who ably fights them both off at once. There’s excitement right away, as Scurll converts an Irish Whip from Hulk into a tope on CIMA on the floor, leaving Hulk and Haskins to fight alone in the ring. From here, the bout effectively turns into a standard tag affair, as Team UK stand together against the two Japanese. Despite representing two rival factions, CIMA and Hulk realise it is in their best interests to work together. It doesn’t always go smoothly, though, such as Hulk deciding kick CIMA who was playing nice by holding Haskins for him. Allen and Ayass explain that this was originally supposed to be a tag match anyway. What?! Why?! How would that have made any sense whatsoever?!? The factions/stables system in Dragon Gate is so established that it should only ever broken in very special occasions. The 4-way was a much better idea. Anyway, CIMA and Hulk work over Haskins for a while, before the hot tag is made to Marty who knocks BxB on his head with a scary-looking clothesline. As this point, it starts to become apparent that Haskins (with a “SAFE” 4-2 record of his own) is trying to let Scurll be the one that picks up the win so that his Team UK ally saves his place in DGUK. They hit double team moves, then Haskins acts as the ‘guard’ to prevent the pin being broken up. His logic is immediately and obviously flawed, though, since if his sole aim was to give Scurll the win he could have just lay down and let Scurll pin him, surely? He’s going to get a loss anyway? CIMA has given up on the idea of “Team Japan” at this stage, hitting the Iconclasm on Scurll in such a way that he lands directly onto Hulk. Haskins puts CIMA down the a Falcon Arrow, then calls Marty into the ring to make the cover. They go for a double team again, but Haskins accidentally wipes his partner out with a superkick. It’s all-out fast-paced moves and action now, as Hulk spits wine in CIMA’s face then lands a running shooting star on Haskins for a near-fall. Mark takes BxB out with a tope dive through the ropes, then the pair fight up on the stage to leave CIMA and Marty in the ring alone to fight it out for the win. CIMA lands a Perfect Driver but when that only earns him a 2-count, goes upstairs for the Meteora double knee-drop. Scurll moves, hits Party’s Over (torture-rack into double-knee back-breaker, a bit like All The Landslides Birds Will Ever See) and then a tombstone piledriver for the career-saving 3-count. I remember I wasn’t a big fan of this match live, but it was certainly a lot better watching it back all this time later. It would probably have been better as an all-out ‘real’ four-way, particularly since the closing stretch with all the hot moves was really exciting. The Win-Loss story did add an extra layer of intrigue and interest, but I can’t help feeling it made me think Scurll looks weak since he needed help to keep his job, while Haskins was left looking like an idiot for going along with it. ***1/4. After what was the interval in the live event (and, as it happens, almost exactly half-way through the DVD running time), Genki Horiguchi H-A-Gee-Mee of the Jimmyz returns to DGUK for the first time since the 2009 debut event to take on Akira Tozawa. Like with the 2011 shows, Tozawa represents Dragon Gate’s lead heel unit but is met with a rapturous reception from the British fans who he won over with his tour-stealing charismatic performances on the last tour. It starts with some signature comedy based on Genki’s hair extensions, and it’s a fast start as each man is only able to hit a single move before a reversal and a move back. Tozawa is the first to step things up, hitting his double consecutive tope dives to the outside then climbing up into a sea of familiar UKFF faces in the tiered seating to celebrate his accomplishment. It goes without saying that the audience loves this little dickhead, totally into every single little thing he does. Tozawa gives the fans even more to cheer when he does the machinegun chops in the corner, finished with a cheeky punch to H-A-Gee-Mee’s face. Genki does get back into it with a tornado DDT and a brainbuster, before Tozawa returns a shining wizard knee strike and a brainbuster of his own. Horiguchi is repeatedly going for his trademark backslide finish at this point, getting a desperately close count when he does manage to lock it in. Akira gets a split-second near-fall of his own with the slow-bridging German suplex, before putting Genki away for good with the arm-captured version of the same move. A short little match, but a splendid showcase for Akira Tozawa, whose personality and charisma make him absolutely adored. ***. The co-main event brings –akatsuki-‘s YAMATO and the Veteran Army’s Masaaki Mochizuki, both with 0-2 records, back to the UK for the first time since the 2010 Hoddesdon/St. Ives tour. No, not that St. Ives... They start out right away by trading chops and kicks, before Mochi gains the upper hand by ramming YAMATO’s arm into the ring apron and then starting to work over the limb. YAMATO adopts a similar strategy when he is granted an opening, targeting Mochizuki’s leg. Being one of the few all-Japan (no, not that All Japan... or the other one... or the other one...) bout on offer on this show, what we get is very typical of a Dragon Gate singles match, slowly developing through arm and leg holds, each taking turns to control the other, as the moves start to get bigger and the near-falls start to register. Arm-scissors and arm-bars from Mochi; figure-fours and ankle-locks from YAMATO, with the veteran also throwing a tremendous variety of kicks. YAMATO blasts his foe with a perfect dropkick in the corner and goes for Gallaria, but Masaaki is right back at him with more kicks, a running knee to a cornered-YAMATO and a spinning brainbuster for a near-fall. Yep, this is starting to get pretty damn great. No sooner than I type that, though, Mochi hits his jumping kick out of the corner, scores the win, and that’s that. It could probably have had another 5 minutes and another gear to reach ‘that’ level, but this was still a really good match, and the best seen so far tonight. ***1/2. The last night one ‘Festival of Fire’ contest sees the debut of Ricochet, famed for his appearance in US indies like PWG, Chikara and DGUSA, but also part of the World-1 International team in Dragon Gate Japan. He is thrown straight into the mix, though, facing Shingo Takagi in a mouth-watering main event bout. As has always been the case in DGUK, Takagi goes by his US moniker of simply SHINGO. The on-screen graphic information tells me that SHINGO is “Fiercely Patriotic”. Well, yes. Someone once told me that in the reserved country of Japan, his act would be seen as borderline ‘national front’ and people would likely have a slight discomfort at that. Not that it matters a jiffy here, as SHINGO is very much the main man in DGUK, coming off victory in his awesome trilogy with Susumu Yokozuka which, to this point, are still the best bouts DGUK has ever put on. Will anything have surpassed them by the end of this weekend? We’ll have to wait and see. Ricochet? Well, he’s brilliant. It would be easy to dismiss him as a high-spot-centric flyer, but that description would be entirely inaccurate. His smoothness in execution and motion, his timing, his facial expressions and reactions are all tremendous. I said on returning from these shows live that you don’t fully appreciate Ricochet when watching him on DVD/screen, since he has all these subtle looks, expressions and interactions that really sell what he is doing and add depth. Well, there’s an advert if you need any to head along to the 2014 shows later this month, since he’s coming back. This match starts out with SHINGO overpowering Riccles, including running right through him with a shoulderblock that absolutely flattens the American. ‘Ochet’s counter to his opponent’s strength advantage is, unsurprisingly, his speed and agility, which comes to the fore when he dodges several SHINGO moves and hits a Space Flying Tiger Drop to the floor of the Civic Hall. From there, that is very much the story of this contest, as SHINGO clubbers, pounds and slams Ricochet with his power, while Ricochet comes at him with spectacular high-flying offence the likes of which others simply cannot do. Indeed, often Ricochet is bouncing all over the place trying to keep on top, but then SHINGO will ground him with some harsh move that looks like the flyer has been well and truly killed (which Ricochet sells fantastically). A highlight sees Ricochet almost launched into orbit off a huuuuge SHINGO back body drop. The –akatsuki- leader invites his opponent to come at him with strikes , leading to Ricochet putting SHINGO down with a springboard elbow. It is at this point that you can hear ‘the American guy’ in the crowd, who plenty had something to say about afterwards, started making a tit of himself and being rightfully booed down by the rest of the audience every time he tries to act up. Back in the ring, things are heating up and a terrific sequence sees Ricochet try to come off the top, SHINGO catch him on his shoulders and go for Blood Fall, Ricochet land on his feet, miss a kick and try a standing moonsault, only for SHINGO to get his knees up then finally blast Ricochet with a strong DDT. SHINGO hits a Sliding-D-style running low lariat on a second attempt then goes with Made In Japan (pumphandle package driver) for a fantastic near-fall. A Diamond Cutter and a standing shooting star press earn ‘The Future of Flight’ a 2-count of his own, then a battle on the top leads to Ricochet hitting a spectacular 630. A massive Pumping Bomber lariat from SHINGO turns Ricochet inside out and looks to have things sorted, but Riccy kicks out to a massive reaction from, well, everyone. With the audience stamping its feet along with the action (to the point the shot from the hard camera is actually SHAKING), SHINGO deadlifts Ricochet up onto his shoulders and blasts him with the Last Falconry to wrap up a superb match. ****1/4. As with the 2011 DVDs, there are no bonus features on the disc, so the pre-show ‘dark match’ remains precisely that. I can’t complain with the decision, since it is by stripping content down that they are able to get such high picture quality onto the presentation, which is really a strong selling point of these releases. As for the show itself, well all of the matches are of a consistently high standard that most wrestling promotions in the world would be proud of. However, this is Dragon Gate UK, a group that has set lofty standards for itself with show after show of superb action. As such, this one doesn’t place towards the top of DGUK’s output, but does remain highly recommended, if only for the awesome SHINGO vs. Ricochet bout which is one of the best they have ever hosted. Up next: the ‘Festival of Fire’ continues with a second night in the Broxbourne Civic Hall, with SHINGO vs. Akira Tozawa and YAMATO vs. Jimmy Susumu being the key bouts on offer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobystag Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Fantastic review/write up there Benny. I do remember walking out of Broxbourne that night believing that show to be the best one to take place in Broxbourne (at that point). Can't wait for Night 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thanatos Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 Fantastic review/write up there Benny. I do remember walking out of Broxbourne that night believing that show to be the best one to take place in Broxbourne (at that point). Can't wait for Night 2. Nice review -- makes me jealous that I missed last years tour. Btw, Mark: Any idea when we may get the update or is it looking likely to roll forward to Wednesday? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Sloan Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 Dragon Gate UK are pleased to announce their participation at the huge HYPER JAPAN convention on Sunday July 27th at Earls Court. Following the two Dragon Gate UK live events at Broxbourne on the 25th and 26th of July, we will be appearing on Sunday in the world famous Earls Court convention hall. Group 1 From 10am Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Y2Jabba Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 of now im tempted by hyper japan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthofsin Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Our Hyper Japan tickets just got a whole lot better!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthofsin Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 BTW. Mark.. Whats the pricing going to be for pictures with talent at Hyper Japan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Sloan Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 BTW. Mark.. Whats the pricing going to be for pictures with talent at Hyper Japan? We haven't worked it out yet, but we'll make sure it is reasonable, let them know when you are there that you have been to the live events and we'll look after you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.