The Dragon Gate thread

[jae]

Infinity #19Opened with Kawada/Stalker. Easily the least interesting Stalker match ever, as Kawada made no attempt to look like he was at all enjoying himself, nor did he appear to care about doing anything properly. Stoicism is all well and good, but kamon man, laugh.Gaora had incorrect listings, they did indeed show the Triangle Gate defense from 5/1. DF, despite being incredibly uninteresting on their own (Ryo being the exception), are undeniably on a tear as a team. White Magu did make his debut here, and he was in a kicky mood, using more kicks than in recent memory. BxB again worked the bulk of the match, looking pretty good. Tons of heat, with a hot finish. Better than the Middle2Kick defense, but still falls short of the title win vs. BG.MochiSusu vs. YoShingo was basically there to do the bloodshed angle with Fujii.Doi vs. Mishima was a huge letdown after the greatness of their Nagoya match. Now that maji mode Frolida hysteria is over, Danny really shows to be limited, without much offense. Doi wins easily.KnesSuka vs. DoiShino was also just kinda there to further the K-ness/Doi Brave Gate angle. Considering the participants this was of course still pretty good.Show ends on a high note, with Doi defending against K-ness. Skeptical to see these 2 go 25 minutes. K-ness is better as a heel, but as a face won't be carrying the control segments. Doi on the other hand, doesn't have much interesting filler offense. Better than I expected, but Doi again can't get back to the level of the YOSSINO match. The K-ness trademark reversal and counter sequences came out towards the end, where the match and heat really kicked up. Finish was flat, as the Bakatare is dead to the world as a one hit finish. Takes 4 to put K-ness down. Good match, Doi got a very positive reaction afterwards, which is good.Overall the 2nd best TV of the year, so pick it up when it hits dealers.5/11 Korakuen PPVThe first 2 matches were pretty interchangeable, as Tozawa and Naoki are pretty even in rank. Opener was nothing memorable but not awful. Match 2, Naoki pissed CIMA off somewhere, so CIMA really started to beat the crap out of him. Naoki with the barbwire bat, cutting Shingo open before he dies to a lariat and the Falconi. CIMAs' promo afterwards was pretty somber, most notable difference in motion to in text is that he made a point to say he was representing BG in Mexico, not DG.KnesSuka and the middle kick mutant vs PSH. PSH now have their own dance, which is bizarre and forced. Shisa just looks way too much like the old dude at the club who still wants to get 18 year olds, so he acts a fool. PSH proper looked good in action yet again, as they continue to develop well as a team. Nakajima has his best showing, mainly because he wasn't in much. He pins BxB and the tears fall like rain.Magu vs. Tenryu ruled, for the reasons you would expect. Best moment, possibly of all time, Magu hits the Zetsuen, but it landed way stiff directly to the face (busting Tenryus' nose). Magu just looks down with this "Oh crap...." look. Tenryu pays him back with some nasty kicks before killing him with lariats. Good stuff.After the lengthy intermission, it was time for BG vs. K-Dojo. This was the best match of the night, according to spectators. Oishi and Asahi are basically the 2 out of the 3 I can stomach in K-Dojo (PSYCHO the other). They have a good look and chemistry together. They get in all their trademark offense, including a gigantic quebrada by Oishi. The heat got pretty good later, including a huge pop for Oishis' double jump moonsault. Impressive showing for them, hopefully we see them some more.Mochi vs. Fujii was certainly not pretty, but it was pretty good, and better than expected. Good brawling early, Mochi bleeds again all over the place. Fujii, being a stern gentleman, allows Mochi to kick him as hard as he can, which makes Mochis' offense a lot more interesting. The heat was off the charts, and the crowd was fully behind a Mochi win. Good sign there for what has been a questionable Dream Gate reign. TAKA comes out afterwards, and is just so annoying and awful. I guess it serves it's purpose, as I would pay to see him get killed. Mochi accepts his Dream Gate challenge, but Susumu intercepts the key passing to a huge eruption from the crowd. TAKA pulls out a cell phone with a diamond studded strap (hate), checking his calender to see if he is free to wrestle Susumu, before calling him "Mochizuki Touru". Touru is the more common use for the kanji Susumu uses for his name. Show ends with the various matches made.Good PPV, much better than 4/8.

[Carbomb]

One thing I have to ask, because it's niggling me:Are they portraying all DG wrestlers to be completely inferior to every big-name heavyweight that turns up on their shows? That no matter how good they get, someone like Tenryu, Sasaki or Kawada will be able to destroy them, even if they put up a good fight?Because if the answer's yes - that is very, oh so very, fucking annoying. Yes it is.

[Spatular]

Well, yeah. The DG guys are pretty tiny compared to the top heavies you mentioned, and the ODG belt, while technically openweight, has nowhere near the same level of prestige as the Triple Crown / IWGP title.

 

This is one of the reasons I'm looking forward to Susumu (and possibly Mochi) vs TAKA - it'll be the first high-profile singles match with a prominent outsider of similar size in the two years I've been watching*. You have to think that with so many K-dojo guys getting work on DG shows and vice versa, TAKA will at least be prepared to try pretty hard and show some ass.

 

*Disclaimer - my memory is shite, so this could be wrong. And yes, I'm ignoring Stalker vs Sasuke.

 

Mo - Jae's recommendations for 2005 are spot on, but get JFFC's 2004 comp too - 2004 was generally much better.

[Carbomb]

Well, yeah. The DG guys are pretty tiny compared to the top heavies you mentioned, and the ODG belt, while technically openweight, has nowhere near the same level of prestige as the Triple Crown / IWGP title.

This may be true - but then booking that way is just saying that DG is an inferior promotion, and always will be. I hope that some point they'll start booking some of the DG guys beating a bigger guy - because, quite frankly, the idea that the DG guys are inferior because they're juniors is just ridiculous, especially when you consider all the work Liger has done in raising the profile of juniors.To put it another way - would you want a lazy bastard like Mutoh to come in and go over someone like CIMA or Milano just because he's in the heavyweight division? I'd be mega pissed-off if that happened.And I don't really want to be effectively told that the promotion I'm watching is basically lower leagues.

[Spatular]

You make it sound as though the top DG guys are getting squashed regularly by outsiders. They're not. Kawada beat Stalker - big deal. Semi-retired lady wrestlers can beat Stalker in under 30 seconds. Kensuke Sasaki didn't win a match in DG, except by FloBro trick DQ. Tenryu vs Magu was the exception, and even than went seven minutes or so, despite having anti-Magu lumberjacks. That's not bad going considering how ridiculously few jobs Tenryu does.Sasaki even did a friggin' hair job in December. What more do you want?

[JFFC]

I think in the case of Stalker getting squashed by the big outside guys is all fine and dandy, Stalkers still one of the most over guys in the company despite winning maybe 3 matches in his entire carear. Kenskee was beaten at least twice by FloBro and if my memory hasnt let me down, didnt they beat Tenryu as well?At the top of the card though as said above it would piss me off if Kawada came in and CIMA had to job to him but with the middle comedy acts it really doesent bother me one way or another.I'm personally hoping Susu beats TAKA and then sets up Susu/Mochi at World. Is Mochi still set to be retiring this year some time?

[Spatular]

Kenskee was beaten at least twice by FloBro and if my memory hasnt let me down, didnt they beat Tenryu as well?

Tenryu's only other DG match that I've seen was against Genki. Tenryu beat the crap out of all of the DF guys and won easily. Nevertheless, it was awesome fun to watch and arguably helped get the HAGE thing even more over than it was before.Wasn't Shiro Koshinaka the other outsider that lost to the FloBros? Hip-attack man, in case I've got the name wrong.

[JFFC]

Ah. my bad, it was Genki vs. Tenryu and not FloBro

[Carbomb]

Tenryu's only other DG match that I've seen was against Genki. Tenryu beat the crap out of all of the DF guys and won easily. Nevertheless, it was awesome fun to watch and arguably helped get the HAGE thing even more over thn it was before.

I basically had this in mind when I posted - wasn't talking about Stalker, I know what he's there for.Basically, you have Tenryu coming in and destroying all of DoFIXER - what the hell's the point of that?I might be a little biased because of my dislike of Tenryu (not as a wrestler, but as a backstage politician), but I don't think I'd be happy if Kawada or Sasaki did it either.Of course, I didn't really know all that stuff about Sasaki losing either, so it goes some way to making me feel better.

[JFFC]

Sasaki lost once on his debut and then again at the 6th Anniversary Show with the stipulation, that if he lost he would join the elite group of Floridians. He also took the fall in the massive hair/mask match from the December PPV. Hes been a major part of the FloBro staying fresh over the Summer/Autumn period IMO.

[Spatular]

Basically, you have Tenryu coming in and destroying all of DoFIXER - what the hell's the point of that?

The point was as follows. :)Genki Horiguchi has a receding hairline. Some time before 2003 (this was when I started watching, so I'm not sure exactly when) the other wrestlers started taking the piss out of this, calling him 'hage' (roughly, 'baldy'). Genki adopted 'Who has called me HAGE' as a catchphrase, and Ryo Saito started leading a big H-A-G-E chant whenever Genki was in trouble in a match. This much you probably know already.During the 2003 El Numero Uno tournament, HAGEmania reached new heights. Genki pinned Magu in the quarter-finals and Mochi in the semis, both with the Godly Backslide, and came this close to beating CIMA in the final - and the crowd wanted it to happen, too. The era of HAGE had well and truly begun. So what do you do once you've got a guy over as someone who can take a mammoth beating and come back from it Hogan-style by channelling the energy of a chanting crowd?Why, you book him against Genichiro Tenryu, naturally. :)Now, on paper, there's no way Genki's winning that match. He's 5'5" and 180lb or so. But he lost so valiantly that the HAGE thing ended up more over after the match than it was beforehand. I'm pretty sure he had a Godly Backslide nearfall, too. Imagine the pop for that! Anyway, the point is: more heat for Genki, even in defeat.As for Tenryu creaming the rest of DF - my memory's hazy, but what with Magu likely being a pussy and running in fear, and the rest of them coming at Tenryu one by one, it's probably not as Herculean a task as it sounds. I'd have to see it again, though...

[JonnyMiller]

When are the shows with Tenryu from?

[JFFC]

Toryumon: Vamonos Amigos #551. Dragon Kid & Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Ryo Saito & Susumu Yokosuka2. Venezia vs. Stalker Ichikawa3. Jun & Taru vs. Araken & Second Doi4. Genki Horiguch & Magnum Tokyo vs. Yossino & Bakey Yagi5. Cima, Suwa, & Don Fujii vs. Milano Collection A.T., Condotti Shuji, & Yassini6. Genichiro Tenryu vs. Genki Horiguchi7. Magnum Tokyo, K-ness, & Susumu Yokosuka vs. Milano Collection A.T., Yossino, & YassiniEdit: Venezia

[Adam Young]

Toryumon: Vamonos Amigos #551. Dragon Kid & Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Ryo Saito & Susumu Yokosuka2. Venezia vs. Stalker Ichikawa3. Jun & Taru vs. Araken & Second Doi4. Genki Horiguch & Magnum Tokyo vs. Yossino & Bakey Yagi5. Cima, Suwa, & Don Fujii vs. Milano Collection A.T., Condotti Shuji, & Yassini6. Genichiro Tenryu vs. Genki Horiguchi7. Magnum Tokyo, K-ness, & Susumu Yokosuka vs. Milano Collection A.T., Yossino, & YassiniEdit: Venezia

How I miss the days of ItaliConn, JUN and Venezia~!

[Spatular]

Yeah. Venezia :(On the bright side: everyone did see this at Chez Jae, right?

The CIMA story has begun to get pretty weird. Despite all of CIMAs' doomsday talk about not coming back (both in ring and on the blog), the office has been quoted as saying he will be back no later than the end of May (I had heard he was booked on some IWRG shows in Mexico as well, but haven't heard beyond that). Also, there is a Blood Generation bowling event scheduled for 6/3, with CIMA and Don Fujii taking part as main participants. Looks like CIMA may have been talking out of his .. well .. you know.Edit: Kazumasa Fujimotos' column in Shu Pro also is saying CIMA will return quickly to DG.