The Dragon Gate thread

[JLM]

Ah, cheers for that. One day I'll be up to speed. Probably just as Tozawa wins his first Dream Gate title.

[Spatular]

Why is BxB Hulk wrestling Dos Caras by the way?

CIMA specially selected his opponent.

Any idea why they would have gone for Dos Caras in particular? I don't know the first thing about him.

[Foley4ever]

Why is BxB Hulk wrestling Dos Caras by the way?

CIMA specially selected his opponent.

Any idea why they would have gone for Dos Caras in particular? I don't know the first thing about him.

I think DGUSA said CIMA wanted to give him "someone important from Mexico". It's also just before the Wrestle Jam shows, so I guess it ties into that.

[Spatular]

Well yeah, I saw that, but there are umpteen important guys in Mexico. I was really looking for a reason why they booked Dos Caras in particular - whether a storyline reason or otherwise.

[PUNQ]

Dos Caras might be well over 20 years passed his prime, but you'll have to look hard and long to find a luchador with bigger name recognizion in Japan then Dos Caras. He and his brother Mil Mascaras was hughly over in AJPW tagging in the 70's and 80's.

 

 

BTW, here are the last few DG reviews I posted in the Guide to Japanese Wrestling 2006 thread.

 

 

Dragon Gate on GAORA TV - "PRIMAL GATE": February 5 & 11, 2006 - (2 hrs)

 

 

February 11, 2006, Osaka Prefectural Gym

 

1. CIMA & Shingo Takagi & Jack Evans -vs- Masaaki Mochizuki & Susumu Yokosuka & Kenichiro Arai [** 1/2]

--- Jack Evans in Dragon Gate! This is the first time I've ever seen this guy and man he looks like a total wimp! But he did add this match something different. He's like a spectacular comedy wrestler doing all these needless twisting acrobatics on every move he executes to the laughs and "wow"'s from the crowd. It fit into the theme of the match as it was one of those spotty sprints. Evans also got to win in this TV debut after a 630 top rope senton.

7:14 of 13:50 - Evans pinned Arai after a 630

 

 

2. Magnum TOKYO & BxB Hulk -vs- Don Fujii & Masato Yoshino [* 1/2]

--- Some decent light action. This wasn't designed to be anything big. The main thing here was that Don Fujii's bad times continue as he's now getting pinned BxB Hulk!

6:05 of 8:41 - Hulk pinned Fujii with a La Magistral

 

 

February 5, 2006, Fukuoka - Hakata Star Lanes

 

3. Dragon Kid

[JLM]

Infinity 27

 

1. Florida Express vs. Do FIXER, Takashi Okamura

 

Your standard silliness. I liked the "everyone wins except Magu" finish.

 

2. CIMA, Naruki Doi, Shingo Takagi vs. Ryo Saito, Dragon Kid, Genki Horiguchi vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, Susumu Yokosuka, K-ness

 

A fun sprint with precious little involvement from K-Ness, who is absolutely covered in that support tape stuff. I love that Shingo/CIMA spot they've added where CIMA hits the nakayubi on Ryo and Shingo deadlifts him straight up into his sit out powerbomb.

 

3. Susumu Yokosuka vs. Masaaki Mochizuki

 

These two always put on a good show, though this was kept short and didn't have all that much aggression going on. They don't have any reason to fight any more and I believe this was a fan requested affair. Still, a good match with Susumu doing his usual leg destruction and Mochi having the slight edge through out.

 

4. BxB Hulk, Anthony W. Mori, Super Shisa vs. Magnum TOKYO, Dragon Kid, Genki Horiguchi

 

I friggin love the Yoshi tonic. Specifically Shisa's version of it, the way he flows into it from a crucifix actually makes the move seem relatively feasible given how awkward the set up is. Hulk looks like a genuine superstar here, surviving a really vicious beating from Magu and kicking out of everything thrown at him by Magu and Genki. As good as his revolution special matches are, it's great to see Magu back in the multiman tag team mix every now and then. Antony is a lot more involved than in recent matches and generally looks good too.

 

5. Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino vs. K-ness, Dragon Kid

 

I loved this. K-Ness and Kid in a show of masked man solidarity, Kid complete with specially made shiny pants! But yeah, this is a superb little tag match brimming with intensity and exectued brilliantly. I really wanted K-Ness and Kid to win, so it did its job there too. All four of them look good, though the Doi/Kid rivalry once again takes centre stage as you'd expect. That pesky Doi just can't stop ripping at masks.

 

6. Magnum TOKYO, Susumu Yokosuka, Ryo Saito, K-ness, Genki Horiguchi vs. CIMA, Magnitude Kishiwada, Masato Yoshino, Shingo Takagi, Don Fujii

 

Original Do Fixer! Complete with original DoFixer dance! Top drawer ten man tag team action follows. Some of the timing on display here is breath taking, as are the double, triple and quadruple team moves. Everyone wants DF to win but we all secretly suspect that they won't.

 

Magnitude Kishiwada has looked consistently awesome since his debut, not only because his opponents rarely get a sniff but because every bit of offense he hands out looks tremendous. Top addition to the roster.

 

CIMA gets yet another pinfall victory over Ryo at the end of an exhausting match. I was a bit worried that this episode would be full of your more exhibition and/or comedy style matches because the first six matches all come from Odaiba shows, but as soon as you put BloodGen into the mix you get guaranteed intensity and a clear face/heel divide, so all is well.

 

7. Magnitude Kishiwada, Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, Shingo Takagi, Don Fujii vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, K-ness, Susumu Yokosuka, Keni'chiro Arai, Katsuhiko Nakajima

 

So after the failures of Pos.Hearts and Original DF to topple BloodGen, it is the turn of full strength Final M2K to have a go. After a spirited effort in which Mochi kicks the crap out of anyone who comes near him, Doi goes and spoils it via chair assisted Bakatare DQ, taking out K-Ness in the process. The solution? Magu assisted Rematch!

 

8. Magnitude Kishiwada, Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, Shingo Takagi, Don Fujii vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, Magnum TOKYO, Susumu Yokosuka, Keni'chiro Arai, Katsuhiko Nakajima

 

This was great too. My favourite part of the whole thing was when Araken ended up one on one with Magnitude and these three women in the front row began screaming their heads off in an effort to save him. You're one on one with Magnitude, everyone knows you're likely to die. I love it. Oh, and Susumu absolutely murderising Doi with the JUMBO NO KACHI! Even by his own high standards that was one hell of a lariat. Nakajima outdoes Fuji in the nice German standings once again, hitting the most perfect suplex on the heavier Shingo Takagi. Unfortunately for Araken, his noble fight back against the BG onslaught is eventually ended when, after a long period of being isolated, he succumbs to the Last Falcony. The viewers weep.

 

9. CIMA vs Ryo Saito

 

Who's that guy at ring side? Blond guy. Nokia someone? Didn't he used to wrestle?

 

This match was all kinds of logical and satisfying. Dragon suplex into Nakayubi? Not this time fucker! Goriconoclasm > Madsplash > 3 count? Not today! And so forth. Ryo even hit his own nakayubi which was a nice touch. Another good match between these two, though it still seemed to lack something for me that stopped it being as good as the great DG singles matches. Still, another big win for Ryo and a fine ending to the show.

 

Another great series of multiman tags with the whole promotion and the entire crowd united against BloodGen. Even if you take the last match off this show, the DF/Pos.H/M2K vs BloodGen tags make this comfortably superior to the August pay per view. With a Ryo vs CIMA singles match to sweeten the deal, this episode is well worth getting hold of.

[JLM]

September 2005 PPV

 

1. Kenichiro Arai/K-NESS/Magnum TOKYO/Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Shiori Asahi/BxB Hulk/Makoto Oishi/Super Shisa

 

Now this is an appealing match on paper. Less of this Yuji Hino rubbish, give me more Asahi and Oishi. A very enjoyable opener with good performances from all involved. Oishi and Asahi really put on a show towards the end, all of their offense is seriously cool and they have a top team chemistry, though Oishi is the superior of the two as an all rounder. I dig Asahi's funky roundhuse kicks and he seems to have a variation on them for any occasion, with the pick being when he does it off Oishi's back. They're also adept at taking a kicking, Oishi in particular. Their appearances are very welcome.

 

The crowd seems to favour to Pos.Hearts team but are also very vocal in their support of Nakajima. The finish surprised me somewhat, Araken doesn't seem to pick up many of the falls these days and I'd expected one of the others to pin one of the K-Dojo guys. Still, an excellent way to kick off the show. If you must have meaningless multiman tags to fill out the card, you should make them lots of fun like this one.

 

2. Florida Brothers (Michael Iwasa & Daniel Mishima) vs. Genki Horiguchi & Naoki Tanisaki

 

Oh this was terrific, I was laughing for pretty much the duration. The feigned joshi-esque intensity through snarling, over selling and near constant "AAAARRGH!"ing was classic. Oh, and the chain of chops > duck spot and Genki's solution were pure comedy genius. You wonder how they even thought of it. Then of course there was the superglue based finish. Easily the best Florida Brothers performance since they started and Genki added the comedy in a huge way.

 

Interval

 

An early break in the proceedings and we get some 1999 Mpro goodness as TAKA, Sasuke and Gran Hamada take on CrazyMAX. I miss CrazyMAX

 

Quite a good six man affair this, not a bad bonus. It's purpose is to show TAKA in action against CIMA and Don Fuji, and fittingly he puts Fuji away with the Michonoku Driver 2. There are some afters too, as CMAX burn a piece of paper that clearly holds some significance to TAKA and TARU rips it up in his face. I miss TARU too.

 

3. Anthony W. Mori vs. Masato Yoshino

 

Jesus, Yoshino keeps outdoing himself. What an absolute bastard. He's in full on bitch slappin' and face scraping mode here and you really want someone to kick his arse. Antony gets all kinds of riled up after this one is thrown out and the everyone vs BloodGen war heats up yet another notch. Ryo and Kid turn to save Antony from a BG beatdown and two matches are merged into one...

 

4. Dragon Kid/Anthony W. Mori/Ryo Saito vs. Naruki Doi/Don Fujii/Masato Yoshino

 

Chaotic hate filled brawling with chairs a-flying, oh yes indeed. This is awesome because it has angry Dragon Kid and BloodGen-hating Ryo, who has been in blistering form throughout the summer shows. Also because Doi and Yoshino are prick heel bastards and everyone hates them and because Antony is bloody mouthed and wound up. The finish is about as sweet as it could be. Doi's persistent cheating backfires and DK puts him away. The BloodGen guys actually need help getting backstage, so severe was the defeat. This isthe first time they've been so totally defeated in ages and Korakuen hall loves it. Excellent match

 

5. CIMA/Magnitude Kishiwada/Shingo Takagi vs. Masaaki Mochizuki/TAKA Michinoku/Susumu Yokosuka

 

Four very good matches down and this at the top of the card. Has there been a more complete DG card in 2005? I think not.

 

This idea of the card being complete is emphasised by this match being wrestled in complete contrast to the rest of the card. This is hard hitting, high impact, heavyweight style stuff with some particularly vicious strikes. Shingo and Susumu carry most of the work load, with the others tagging in at various intervals to inject pace in explosive flurries before those two resume clubbing the hell out of each other. CIMA really takes on the captain's role, coaching Takagi through his exchanges with FM2K, acknowledging that he is by far the least experienced man in the ring.

 

Magnitude looks typically unstoppable when he ventures into the fray, TAKA isn't in all that often but what he brings is good and all his signature moves get great responses. Him and Mochi doing a tandem quebrada was a high point as Mochi very rarely busts it out. A good, absorbing match to end the show with a momentous result for Shingo.

 

Top to bottom the best card of 2005 so far, get it.

[alexander]

I

[$tew]

I

[alexander]

I’m watching the 23/04/06 PPV at the moment, and without spoilers, Turboman is hilariously shit and did one of the funniest botches ever in his match. I’m almost convinced he’s doing it on purpose.

Me too, and that botch/move is the greatest thing I've ever seen. I laughed uproariously for minutes afterwards. Also, he did that 619-ey thing around the ringpost, so he's not all bad.Speaking of laughing - see the ending of the Stalker match? BEST THING EVER!! EVEN BETTER THAN THE TURBOMAN THING!!

Umm, I did watch that match, but I was slightly disappointed. And what was great about the finish other than

Click to Show/Hide

Stalker getting Ham Sandwiched?

Watching Jack Evans is just like therapy - it makes me feel all entertained. He's astonishing.

He didn't die enough. I wanted him to die more. Like when he got all folded up the missile dropkick, but more hurty looking and loads more.

[Gwailofilms]

Just seen the Turboman botch. That's fucking gold!

[JLM]

Where are you all watching this stuff? Has it been uploaded or torrented somewhere?

 

I've heard so many comments about this Turboman botch that I almost want to break my routine just to see it.

 

EDIT: Not to worry. Youtube once again proves its status as the best thing of all time.

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=YwnCAEJPnRE&search=turboman

 

Oh dear Lord.

[alexander]

Where are you all watching this stuff? Has it been uploaded or torrented somewhere?

I gots the torrent. Don't know about anyone else.

Just seen the Turboman botch. That's fucking gold!

Oh dear Lord.

Aint it great? Who is Turboman anyway? And Mr PT, who he?

[JLM]

I don't know much about them. Turboman is a US indy guy but I thought I'd heard of most notable indy flipsters, particularly those notable enough to get on Japanese tours. A lot of people have actually defended him, saying that he's not normally so spectacularly bad and is just having a really tough time of it on this particular tour. It doesn't help that he looks so ridiculous though does it, I presume the gimmick is related to that wonderful Arnie feel good film "Jingle all the way".

[alexander]

I don't know much about them. Turboman is a US indy guy but I thought I'd heard of most notable indy flipsters, particularly those notable enough to get on Japanese tours. A lot of people have actually defended him, saying that he's not normally so spectacularly bad and is just having a really tough time of it on this particular tour. It doesn't help that he looks so ridiculous though does it, I presume the gimmick is related to that wonderful Arnie feel good film "Jingle all the way".

Someone told me that Mr Primetime pays Dragongate to be on shows (This may be an evil lie) so maybe Turboman does the same? I have to admit, I’d assumed he was just a really shitty Luchadore. Hard to believe that someone with as many ludicrous high spots has never crossed my US Indy radar. Hadn't thought about the Arnie thing. Gosh, I hope that's true.