The Gate Of Revolution
Date: April 18, 2025
Location: MEET Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Joe Dombrowski, Rich Bocchini

This is a co-promoted show between Dragon Gate USA and Pro Wrestling Revolution, giving us the incredibly clever title. Dragon Gate USA is freshly back so there is only so much built up for the card. In other words, this is going to be all about the action we get to see and that should make for a fun night. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Diablo Azteca vs. Kid Lynx vs. Rhys Maddox

A double dropkick puts Maddox down to start, leaving the other two to trade armdrags. Maddox is back in to send Azteca outside and a basement dropkick gets two on Lynx. Back up and Lynx strikes away, setting up a rolling Stunner. Lynx bodyscissors Azteca but gets triangle choked by Maddox. That’s broken up and Maddox is back with a springboard cutter for two on Azteca. Maddox crucifix bombs both of them at once and they forearm it out from their knees. Lynx is sent outside, leaving Azteca to tie Maddox up for a driver and the pin at 5:42.

Rating: C+. Let three guys have a few minutes to warm up the crowd with a fast paced match. That’s all this needed to be and they didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. It’s an idea that will always work and it was a perfectly fine way to go for a pre-show match. That’s a tricky thing to do and they did it well here.

And now, the main show.

Border Patrol vs. Rey Horus/Vary Morales

Stevens shoves Morales down to start but a dropkick gives Morales a breather. Horus comes in to dropkick Dutra down and it’s time to work on the arm. A hot show drops Morales though and a running kick to the face puts him in even more trouble. Stevens’ middle rope elbow gets two and Morales gets pounded down in the corner.

That’s broken up and Morales manages a double knockdown. Horus comes back in to pick up the pace, including the big running flip dive to the floor onto everyone else. A Fameasser into a top rope elbow gets two on Morales but Horus is up for the save. Horus’ dive to the floor misses though and the Border Wall (powerbomb/Zig Zag combination) pins Morales at 8:56.

Rating: C+. Nice enough match with the Border Patrol coming off as villains who don’t like luchadors around here. Horus and Morales fought against them but lost in the end, which might not be the best way to start a show. The match itself wasn’t bad at all, with the Patrol giving off a bit of a Basham Brothers vibe (and yes, the Bashams were good when they weren’t stuck with a ridiculous gimmick).

El Cucuy/Oni El Bendito vs. La Estrella/Viento vs. Mike Sydal/Willie Mack

Mack and Cucuy (basically the boogeyman of Mexico) start things off but instead we hit the music so Mack can dance. He even throws in a Worm and a backwards Worm for good measure, earning a cheap shot from Cucuy to take over. Back up and Mack hurricanranas him out to the floor, allowing Sydal and Estrella to come in, with a Yoga Driver giving Sydal two. Estrella walks on his hands for a headscissors and it’s off to Viento vs. Bendito.

They waste no time in running the ropes for some flips so Cucuy comes back in to help double team Viento down. Sydal comes in and fights back a bit, allowing the tag off to Mack, who isn’t scared of Bendito. Estrella is back in for a dropkick and everything breaks down, meaning it’s time for the string of dives. Back in and Cucuy plants Viento, setting up the running flip dive for the knockdown. Estrella dropkicks Bendito, who is right back with a superkick into a slingshot Jackhammer for the pin at 11:49.

Rating: B-. This was your standard lucha three way tag and it worked well enough. You had a nice mixture of power and high flying, which made for a fun formula. Cucuy is a good monster and Mack could match his power, leaving the other four to do the high flying. Entertaining match here, as it felt different enough from the previous match to stand out a bit.

Stars vs. Hyan/Karisma

Stars are Hanan/Saya Iida and their Goddess of Stardom Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line. Karisma and Hanan start, with the former pulling her down to work on the arm. Hanan reverses into a headlock takeover and Iida comes in for a double bulldog to put Karisma in trouble. Iida unloads with chops in the corner and gets two off a posing cover. Karisma fights up and hits some running shots in the corner, allowing Hyan to come in for two off a belly to back suplex.

An assisted splash hits Iida, who is back with a pretty hard running clothesline. Hyan and Iida chop it out and a double clothesline puts both of them down. Hanan and Karisma come in for the slugout and everything breaks down. Karisma takes WAY too long setting up a moonsault and only hits mat for the crash. Stars double team Karisma down and a tabletop suplex gives Hanan the pin at 10:45.

Rating: B-. Another fast paced, back and forth match with two teams getting to showcase themselves. Stars definitely seem like the more polished team but Karisma and Hyan held their own. This was another nice change of pace and that’s a good thing to see continuing over an hour into the card.

Dragon Kid/Ultimo Dragon vs. Ho Ho Lun/Susumu Yokosuka

Kid and Yokosuka start things off with a stomp to Kid’s feet putting him in trouble. Lun comes in as we hear about Kid’s history in wrestling, which started as a referee. Some double teaming has Kid down and we hit the chinlock. The eyes are raked over the top rope and Lun slaps on the armbar. A knee to the ribs gives Yokosuka two as we hear about Kid and Yokosuka being in the same stable but Kid wanted to team with Ultimo. Eh I’ve heard worse ideas.

Kid comes back with a middle rope hurricanrana and it’s off to Ultimo for the big reception and a string of kicks to Yokosuka. A dragon screw legwhip pulls Yokosuka down and Ultimo gets in a reverse Figure Four. Kid Octopuses Lun at the same time but both holds are broken up in a hurry. Ultimo cuts Lun off, leaving Kid to grab a West Coast Pop to pin Yokosuka at 10:45.

Rating: C+. Oh like this was ever in doubt. That’s not a bad thing either, as having Ultimo on the show and giving him a win is a perfectly good way to go. Kid did most of the work for the team despite being a seasoned veteran himself, but the whole thing worked out well, especially with the fans giving Ultimo that kind of a reception.

Post match the Dragons hug (despite a bit of animosity) and here is Matt Sydal…for a promo I can’t understand as the audio is fairly horrible. It seems to be praising Ultimo and the promotion, which gets a nice reaction.

Pro Wrestling Revolution Tag Team Titles: Arkangel Divino/Ultimo Maldito vs. Los Hermanos de la Jungla

Divino and Maldito are defending and both teams are brothers. Aero Panther dropkicks Divino to start but Maldito comes in for some alternating shots to Fight Panther Jr.’s face. A spinning kick in the face hits Fight and an assisted spear gets two. Aero gets beaten down but Fight is up with a frog splash for two on Divino. Maldito is back in with a Regal Roll into a moonsault, only for Fight to elbow him in the face for two of his own.

Back up and Maldito slugs it out with Fight until Divino comes back in for a heck of a superkick. Divino poisonranas Aero and everyone is down. Aero sends Maldito to the floor for a big springboard flip dive, followed by a slam to Divino. Maldito breaks up the dive though and Divino super hurricanranas Maldito off the top onto the champions. Back in and a Doomsday Canadian Destroyer finishes Aero to retain the titles.

Rating: B. Take four guys who can fly around rather fast and go all over the place for about ten minutes and pop the crowd as a result. That’s all this needed to be and the four people involved did well in their roles. The four of them were around on some other shows this weekend so it wouldn’t surprise me to see them doing something on the bigger stage sooner than later.

Yamato vs. Rich Swann

This is the result of a challenge at the Dragon Gate USA show earlier this week. They take their time to start with Swann teasing the test of strength and going into a dance. Yamato swings away but gets dropkicked to the floor just as fast. Back in and Swann hammers away but gets backdropped, allowing Yamato to start stomping away. The Figure Four goes on to start in on Swann’s but he’s out in a hurry. Swann takes him to the floor and hammers away, setting up a frog splash for two.

A 450 misses though and Yamato grabs a fisherman’s buster for two. Back up and Swann kicks him down, setting up the middle rope 450 for two more. They slap it out from their knees and they slug it out from their feet, with Swann going up top. A superplex brings him down but Swann rolls through with a suplex of his own. Yamato is right back with an over the shoulder piledriver, followed by a second edition for the pin at 12:14.

Rating: B. This felt like a big showdown between two talented stars and that’s a good thing to add to the card. It felt like something that was actually built up and they lived up to enough of their hype. Swann is a bigger deal around here and he was mostly serious here, albeit with enough dancing to keep things fun.

Respect is shown post match and they’re still friends.

Z-Brats vs. Ben-K/Hyo/Kzy

Shun Skywalker starts with Ben-K, who wins a slugout and runs Skywalker over with a shoulder. Kzy and Minoura slug it out and then slug it out even faster before it’s off to Hyo (with the fans swooning). Ishin comes in and mocks Hyo with a YES chant, earning himself a leg lariat. Minoura pulls Hyo down from the floor though and the fight heads out into the crowd.

Everyone winds out on the floor for an electric chair and an elaborate low blow before it’s time to go back inside. Hyo is in trouble but he manages to knock Ishin down but it’s too early for the tag. Minoura helps Ishin drop him for two but a kick to the face allows the hot tag off to Ben-K.

Everything breaks down and Skywalker can’t hit a lifting Pedigree on Kzy. Skywalker kicks him in the face and snaps off a German suplex but it’s back to Hyo. A basement dropkick hits Minoura, who gets sent into the corner for the running shots. Hyo’s double biceps senton gets two but Ben-K goes shoulder first into the post.

Back in and Kzy gets superplexed into a brainbuster, leaving Hyo to roll Ishin up for two. Kzy hits a running Canadian Destroyer on Minoura and everyone is down. Back up and Hyo and Kzy hit dives to take out Skywalker and Minoura, leaving Ben-K to spear Ishin for the pin at 21:05.

Rating: B+. Yeah this was awesome, with the last half being pretty much non-stop action. That’s what makes Dragon Gate work so well and it did so here again. It’s a bunch of people flying all over the place and popping the crowd with one big move after another and that was a blast. Great main event and something that works very well whether you’re a fan of the promotion or not.

Overall Rating: B+. Good stuff here with nothing bad or really close to it and a heck of a main event to wrap it up. Dragon Gate USA had a very strong reputation when it was around and this was a good example of the fun that it would have. There are some talented people around here and throwing in some guest stars made it even better. Rather fun show here and I had a very good time with the whole thing.

Results
Diablo Azteca b. Kid Lynx and Rhys Maddox – Arm trap driver to Maddox
Border Patrol b. Rey Horus/Vary Morales – Border Wall to Morales
El Cucuy/Oni El Bendito b. Viento/La Estrella and Mike Sydal/Willie Mack – Slingshot Jackhammer to Estrella
Stars b. Hyan/Karisma – Tabletop suplex to Karisma
Ultimo Dragon/Dragon Kid b. Susumu Yokosuka/Ho Ho Lun – West Coast Pop to Yokosuka
Arkangel Divino/Ultimo Maldito b. Los Hermanos de la Jungla – Doomsday Canadian Destroyer to Aero
Yamato b. Rich Swann – Over the shoulder piledriver
Ben-K/Hyo/Kzy b. Z-Brats – Spear to Ishin

 

 

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Dragon Gate USA: The Rebirth
Date: April 16, 2025
Location: Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Joe Dombrowski, Rich Bocchini

So this is Dragon Gate USA, which (I believe) is an official spin off from the Japanese Dragon Gate promotion. This is the first time that Dragon Gate USA has run a show in over ten years, though it isn’t clear if this is the start of an ongoing relaunch. I have no idea what to expect here but let’s get to it.

Note that I did not follow the original promotion/Dragon Gate (assuming that matters) so I apologize in advance if I miss any storylines or character points.

Kzy vs. Marcus Mathers

They stare at each other to start before locking up and trading some waistlocks. Kzy…I think dances out of a waistlock but Mathers is right back with a wristlock. A Worm gets Kzy out of a wristlock but Mathers wants to keep this serious. We get a dance tease until Mathers hits him in the ribs. That earns Mathers a running Blockbuster and we hit the chinlock. That’s broken up like you might expect from a chinlock, allowing Mathers to hit a spinning high crossbody.

Kzy gets kicked down for two and Mathers grabs a chinlock of his own. A pair of belly to back suplexes put Kzy down but he blocks a regular suplex attempt. Kzy’s running forearm and uppercut drop Mathers, who is right back with a sunset flip out of the corner. A middle rope Stunner into a Blue Thunder Bomb gives Mathers two and an RKO drops Kzy again. The fisherman’s buster gives Mathers two but he misses a 450 and gets caught with a running uppercut. Kzy hits a headscissors driver and Impact (Jay Driller) sets up a frog splash to give Kzy the pin at 10:38.

Rating: B. Good, back and forth opener here as Mathers continues to shine when he is given the chance. I’ve seen both of these guys in the ring before and they have both done well before. Kzy felt like a big enough deal, with commentary recapping his title history from Dragon Gate. It’s a nice way to get things going for the relaunched promotion and it went well for both guys.

Post match respect is shown. Mathers leaves and Kzy gets the mic to talk about how Dragon Gate USA is back.

AZM/Starlight Kid vs. Konami/Natsuko Tora

These are women from Stardom and Konami/Tora are part of the HATE faction so I’m going to assume they’re the villains. Hate jumps the other two to start fast and the brawl is on fast. Thankfully we go split screen with Konami striking away at Kid before we settle down to Konami throwing AZM down by the hair. The double arm crank is on until the Kid makes the save, only for Tora to come in with a choke.

With those broken up, Konami kicks AZM in the back, leaving Tora to mist her down. The referee almost gets decked but he’s up to count two off a suplex to AZM. Back up and AZM manages a suplex of her own and it’s back to Kid for a high crossbody. Kid takes both villains down for a double dropkick against the ropes. A standing moonsault gives Kid two but the much bigger Tora is back up for a slugout. Tora knocks her down for a standing backsplash and a near fall. Konami comes back in for a Disarm-Her but Kid headscissors her way to freedom.

It’s back to AZM, who is quickly kicked down and Tora hits a running crossbody to take both of them down. The two of them nip up though and stereo armdrags bring the villains off the top. AZM’s Fujiwara armbar has Konami in trouble but Tora is back in to run her down with a shoulder. The Cannonball crushes AZM and Konami’s running kick to the chest gets two, with Kid making the save. AZM sweeps Konami’s leg though and a rollup gets the pin at 11:35.

Rating: B-. I was getting into this one near the end as they were telling a nice story, with the heroines vs. the villains and it made for a good story. AZM and Kid were fighting from underneath throughout and eventually overcame hate with better wrestling technique. Good match here, with Stardom getting to showcase their star power as usual.

Ho Ho Lun vs. Rhys Maddox

Maddox is 17 and a newcomer, as you might have guessed due to being 17. They fight over wrist control to start and Maddox breaks out of a full nelson. Maddox knocks him into the corner and hits a basement dropkick for two. Lun kicks the knee out to take over though and it’s time to twist the leg around.

A leglock goes on to keep Maddox down as commentary tries to compare him to Shawn Michaels or Terry Gordy. Back up and Maddox hits a bottom rope springboard cutter and they’re both down for a bit. The leg is fine enough to hit a springboard forearm for two but Lun is back with a missile dropkick. Maddox hits a DDT for two but Lun grabs two rollups for two each. The third rollup, with the legs tied up, finishes Maddox at 8:41.

Rating: C+. This was just ok with Lun being the veteran who was trying to carry things and only being able to get it so far. The leg stuff in the middle went nowhere as Maddox was right back with springboards and that’s never a good thing to see. It was a decent enough match, but neither of them really stood out.

El Cucuy/La Estrella/Ultimo Dragon vs. Sovereign

Sovereign is Evan Rivers/Judas Icarus/Travis Williams (the latter two are known as the Northern Armory in TNA). Dragon is the star of WCW fame and had a big hand in starting Dragon Gate. Cucuy (who looks a bit evil and is described as the Mexican Boogeyman) starts with Williams and runs him down with a shoulder. Estrella comes in and is taken into the wrong corner and it’s off to Icarus.

A whip into the ropes is cut off as Estrella walks on his hands but gets sent outside. The cameraman gets taken down and Rivers’ clothesline to the back of Estrella’s head gets two. A bodyscissors lets Rivers fish hook Estrella’s mouth before it’s back to Williams for a shot to the face of his own. A stomp to the arm gets two and Icarus chokes away on the mat. Rivers accidentally sends Icarus into Williams in the corner though and the tag brings in Dragon.

The rapid fire kicks (well as rapid as he can get) have Rivers in trouble and Dragon spins Williams into a leglock. Everything breaks down Cucuy hits a double hip attack in the corner. Estrella adds a running dive to the floor and the rather large Cucuy hits a flip dive over the top. Back in and Dragon grabs la majistral for the pin on Rivers at 9:17.

Rating: C+. This was about getting Estrella in the ring on this show and that is not a bad idea. He’s a legend in wrestling and in Dragon Gate in particular so this makes a lot of sense. Sovereign didn’t feel like the best team, though having the Boogeyman go after the villains was a bit odd to see. The fans seemed happy to see Dragon though so we’ll call this a success.

Rich Swann/Willie Mack vs. Alec Price/Jimmy Lloyd vs. Ben-K/Hyo

Swann has gotten a haircut and…yeah I don’t know about that. Hold on though as Swann and Mack get the referee to dance during the entrances for the fun moment. Hyo seems to be a male stripper, or at least something else that gets women to put money in his pants. Hyo and Price start things off with Price bouncing on the mat to escape a wristlock. Swann and Lloyd come in for an exchange of leapfrogs before Swann shoulders him down.

Hip swiveling ensues but Lloyd is right back up with a running neckbreaker. Price comes in to help drop Swann and Lloyd (who is not a small guy) hits a dive, which sends Swann out to the floor. That means Mack can come in for a slugout with Ben-K, who manages to knock him down. Everything breaks down and Swann gets caught in a gutbuster/running dropkick combination. Price and Lloyd hit stereo dives to the floor as everything breaks down. Back in and Ben-K and Hyo go up, only to get caught by Lloyd and Mack.

That means a double Doomsday Blockbuster from Price, followed by a dropkick to send Mack outside. Swann gets planted with a double flipping DDT and Price hits a dive onto the floor. Back in and Ben-K spears Price down, only to get leg lariated by Mack. Swann is in with a Lethal Injection to Hyo and Mack hits a big running flip dive onto Price and Lloyd. That leaves Swann to hit the 450 to pin Hyo at 9:33.

Rating: B. Yeah this was fun, with everyone just going nuts until someone got the pin. That’s what this kind of match should be and it was as entertaining as you would have expected. Swann and Mack have worked well together for a long time and they still have that chemistry. Ben-K and Hyo got to showcase themselves well enough, while Price and Lloyd were just kind of there to make it more of a brawl, which was only so much of an addition.

If nothing else, it’s nice to hear Swann’s music again.

Here is Matt Sydal, who praises the previous match and talks about how awesome it was to be in the first group of wrestlers who went over to Dragon Gate. Now Dragon Gate is back here in America and these fans are here on a Wednesday so they want this stuff put into their veins. Sydal asks us to come out for their other show on Friday night and thanks the fans for coming out. Perfectly fine speech here for a special moment.

Paradox vs. Z-Brats

That would be Dragon Kid/Susumu Yokosuka/Yamato vs. Ishin/Kota Minoura/Shun Skywalker. Yokosuka and Minoura slowly circle each other before fighting over wrist control. Minoura kicks him down and flips off the fans before handing it off to Skywalker and Kid. Skywalker goes to the eyes to take over but gets armdragged down. Yamato and Ishin come in, with Ishin holding up the referee’s hand.

They trade shoulders with Yamato taking him down and stopping to gaze at the fans. Everything breaks down and the Brats jump Paradox on the floor. We go split screen as the beating continues outside, including some of them going to either the stage or into the crowd. Ishin chokes Yamato on the stage before going back to ringside to trade opponents. We settle down to Skywalker taking Kid into the corner, where some double boot choking ensues. Minoura kicks him back into the corner before Ishin’s DDT gets two.

Minoura lets Kid chop away and Kid is fine with doing this rather than trying a tag, only to snap off a headscissors. Yokosuka and Ishin come in, with the former getting to clean house in a hurry. Yamato and Ishin fight over a suplex until Ishin finally gets him over as everything breaks down again. Skywalker soaks in some booing before helping Ishin double team Kid with right hands. A pump kick drops Kid again and Ishin’s splash gets two. Yokosuka saves Kid on top though and it’s a super hurricanrana to bring Skywalker down.

Minoura gets caught in the wrong corner for some running clotheslines but gets out of Yamato’s Galleria. A Stundog Millionaire drops Skywalker and we hit a parade of knockdowns. Yamato plants Ishin, who pops back up with a German suplex. A lariat drops Ishin right back and everyone is down for a needed breather. Ishin and Yamato chop it out until Kid is back in with a tornado DDT. An assisted reverse implant DDT gives Yamato the pin on Ishin at 20:18.

Rating: B. It was an entertaining, fast paced match but I’m not sure this is going to be some kind of game changer like some of their previous matches have been. All six looked good and did their things well, but it never got to that high level that had me desperate to see what was happening next. Still though, rather good main event and worth a look.

Post match Yamato says the promotion made new history tonight. Rich Swann comes in to praise the winners and says without them, he would not be the wrestler he is today. Swann respects Yamato but challenges him for this Friday. Yamato seems to accept.

Overall Rating: B. This might not have been a classic show but it was more than good enough. It was a bunch of talented wrestlers getting to work a style which works well for them. You didn’t need to have a deep understanding or knowledge of what happened coming into the show and it still worked well. Good stuff here, making it a solid return for the promotion.

Results
Kzy b. Marcus Mathers – Frog splash
AZM/Starlight Kid b. Konami/Natsuko Tora – Rollup to Konami
Ho Ho Lun b. Rhys Maddox – Rollup
El Cucuy/La Estrella/Ultimo Dragon b. Sovereign – La Majistral to Rivers
Rich Swann/Willie Mack b. Ben-K/Hyo and Jimmy Lloyd/Alec Price – 450 to Hyo
Paradox b. Z-Brats – Assisted reverse implant DDT to Ishin

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Sorry for not having anything up yesterday as I fell asleep watching football.  Here you are.

Enter the Dragon
Date: September 4, 2009
Location: The Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Lenny Leonard, Chikarason, Mike Quackenbush

Ok, so a lot of you likely don’t know what this is. In short, this is my latest attempt to shut X up. He’s raved about this Dragon Gate USA company for months now and it’s been the hottest thing on the indy scene for like 8 months or something so I figured I’d pop in the first PPV and see if it’s worth anything. I should note that I have no idea who most of these people are so don’t expect an incredibly in depth analysis. Also it’s less than two hours long so I can’t review much since there isn’t much to review. Let’s get to this.

Dawn Marie is the hostess/ring announcer. Well at least it’s nice to look at. We go straight to the first match.

BxB Hulk vs. YAMATO

Now Hulk is the main guy from this promotion it seems as he won the title at the next PPV. He has thunder sticks and fairly hot dancing girls. Ok then. Apparently the x is silent or something. Makes no sense but whatever. The production values are pretty good actually which is a nice surprise. Yamato (Not doing the stupid capitalization thing. It’s pronounced the same) looks pretty clearly to be the heel here.

Nice technical sequence to start us out which is nice. The whole lack of lights does little to give me confidence in the attendance, but for a debut show I can understand that. This is definitely a smart promotion as they list off a ton of Japanese stables that we’re just expected to recognize. Yamato goes for the leg so maybe that’ll gives us something in the area of psychology. Hey let’s brawl on the floor a bit. No one has ever seen that before!

Hulk gets caught in a leg lock and the BB HULK chants are rapidly getting annoying. So he can’t run across the ring on his bad leg but he can do all kinds of kicks and flips. Got it. Yeah all the knee work is just gone now with no apparent question about it. In a nice cover, Yamato hooks the legs so that after the kickout he can go straight to a cloverleaf. And now he TICKS ME OFF by using a crossface because it’s his finisher.

Pay no attention to the total lack of back or neck work. It’s his finisher so instead of using all the leg stuff, let’s go for the finisher that isn’t softened up at all. That my friends is what gets on my nerves about a lack of psychology. If he’s going to use the crossface that’s fine but WHY WORK ON THE LEG IF YOU’RE GOING FOR A NECK SUBMISSION? Oh and his leg is fine all of a sudden again.

EVO, which is an Emerald Flosion, gets a 4 or so as this referee has a weird style of counting. His foot was on the rope though so it’s not like it matters. A big flip splash misses but it would have missed by AT LEAST five feet. He was in the corner and the splash landed in the middle of the ring. That looked awful. Plus Jimmy Wang can do a much better looking one of those.

Hulk gets a big spin kick to the back of his head. Naturally Yamato just shakes it off and puts on a sleeper. The lack of selling is getting old. A reverse sitout piledriver (How Owen broke Austin’s neck) with a different kind of lift gets the pin for Yamato.

Rating: D+. This was a spotfest and not a very good one. Was it exciting? Yes it was. Was it back and forth? Yes it was. Did it make much sense? Nope. Was it overrated as hel;? Yes it was.

We go to the back to see one of the main event guys. We get some mini bios on the two guys. THIS is what is needed here. This is the debut PPV. We more than likely don’t know who most of these people are, so short bios of who they are and their history is NICE. Short version: Naruki Doi is a young kid that has taken the company by storm and Shingo is the top star over there.

Doi took Shingo’s title and tonight is a non-title rematch for respect more or less. FINE. That right there is all I need. I know their names, I know a little bit about each guy, and I know why these two are fighting and why they’re in the main event. WHY IS THIS SO COMPLICATED???

2 Cold Scorpio and Ken Doane had a dark match at this point. Yes, the Kenny Dykstra that so many people want back in WWF is in a dark match at the debut of an indy PPV. That’s just amusing.

Soldier Ant/Fire Ant/Mike Quackenbush/Jigsaw vs. Icarus/Gran Akuma/Amasis/Hallowicked

This is all CHIKARA here which is a promotion that appeals to me as it’s so over the top and insane that it stops trying to be real wrestling which makes it awesome. I have no idea who most of these people are, so I’m really not going to try to keep track of who is who. I know the main storyline in CHIKARA that came after this and it involves mind control with a mystical object so there you are.

Quackenbush is more or less God in that company so he’ll be the focus of the match. I kind of like Dawn Marie’s style. She just says the names. Simple yet effective I suppose. This is the home promotion for this arena so these guys are very familiar. All four of the faces, the first team listed, get chants. For example, two of these people are insects and one of the heels dances a lot.

Mike trained all of them so that’s fun. CHIKARA seems like a show that is pure fun. Looks like lucha rules as when you hit the floor your partner can come in. This is more acrobatic stuff, meaning not a lot of actual pain but rather high spots. Or as Lawler called it, psychological damage. Scratch that as Soldier Ant takes a massive powerbomb. That works. Soldier Ant is taking a freaking beating.

Mike gets the hot tag and we crank it up a bit. Jigsaw and Icarus do some solid stuff which is nice looking indeed. In the words of a wrestler more famous than all 8 of these guys, this is the part where we crank it up, let’s crank it up. High spots a go-go begins and the fans are way into it all of a sudden. After about a dozen near falls (likely too few), the faces just go insane with dives and flips before Jigsaw hits the same kind of piledriver that Kazarian uses to get the pin. He calls it the Jig and Tonic. Clever.

Rating: B+. This wasn’t technically sound, it wasn’t coherent, it wasn’t logical. What it was though was FUN. What you had here was 8 guys just going out there and having a blast. They weren’t trying to have a traditional match, they weren’t trying to be the best wrestlers in the world or have some big deep storyline. They were having fun and giving the crowd something to cheer for. THIS is what TNA needs if it wants to be competitive. Not everything has to be so serious and of epic proportions. I’d watch this again.

Quackenbush gets on the mic and says that CHIKARA and DGUSA works really well together, but we should really thank Jorge Rivera, who trained everyone here tonight. Cool. He issues an open challenge: anyone from Dragon Gate vs. any guy from CHIKARA. Again, this is something that there needs to be more of.

Yamato, the guy from earlier comes out. He says something in Japanese (apparently more or less saying screw Rivera, it’s our time) and kicks Mike low. Jigsaw and Akuma make the save but Akuma helps Yamato and it’s a big beat down. Faces come out to make the save. Naturally there was a tag match at the next PPV.

Dragon Kid vs. Masato Yoshino

Ok then. Yoshino is popular. Very popular actually. Both have people with them. Ok then. Oh the guy with Dragon Kid is Shingo. Got it. Apparently this is a big rivalry and has been for a few years. Dragon Kid is on a three match losing streak and broke Yoshino’s neck in the last match. See what a little exposition gives you? That information took 8 seconds to say and I’m perfectly satisfied with it.

Oh and the other guy in the corner is Shingo’s opponent tonight. This is another fast paced one. If nothing else I like that they don’t try to make things about themselves as they regularly use common names for moves such as the 619. Everyone else is going to call it that so why over complicate things? Apparently these are the two most exciting guys in Dragon Gate. Good to know. Let them prove it. Yoshino goes for Kid’s arm. Better than the leg if nothing else. Kid hits a 619.

Remember kids: this is NEVER BEFORE SEEN STUFF. It’s so never before seen we already have names for the stuff! Apparently Dragon Kid has a move called Jesus. Nothing tricky there or anything. It’s just called Jesus. That’s either very stupid or awesome and I’m not sure which.

The difference here with the first match though is that while we had arm work earlier, Dragon Kid is having trouble with his offense because HIS ARM HURTS. See? Is that too much to ask for? Seriously? They hit a ton of high spots and we get an arm bar. I think it was on Dragon Kid but I’m not sure. Kid hits an Ultra Hurricanrana (West Coast Pop with a front flip) for the pin. Yeah he used a 619 and a modified West Coast Pop for the pin. Yeah he’s really innovative.

Rating: B-. Not bad but not the classic they tried to make it seem like. It’s far better than the first match if nothing else. If nothing else the arm injury stayed around this time which is one of my biggest issues with most wrestling, either indy or mainstream. This was fine for what it was though.

Young Bucks vs. CIMA/Susumu Yokosuka

Heard of CIMA, not so much on the other guy. Young Bucks are more commonly known as Generation ME in TNA. CIMA gets in a fight with some streamers. That’s rather amusing. Four faces here it seems. Quackenbush is on commentary now. THANKFULLY Quackenbush says it’s not about him and it’s about the four guys in the ring. Wow that’s nice to hear. The Bucks go insane with tags. They’re just fun to watch.

The non-Americans are in control at the moment. Matt gets the heck beaten out of him for a good while. He tries to Hulk Up but gets kicked down. That was nice. They bust out some of the stuff you would see Generation ME do at Destination X. Nice to see them adapt it. After a few tons of near falls, More Bang For Your Buck (450 followed immediately by a moonsault) ends it.

Rating: B+. Another match that was just about getting people excited. There’s no flow or structure to it and there wasn’t supposed to be. There were some great double team moves in there. It’s very entertaining. It’s not great wrestling at all, but it’s great entertainment which is what this was supposed to be so I’ll give it that.

We go to the main event guys’ dressing rooms. The title isn’t on the line. Is there a reason that it’s not?

Naruki Doi vs. Shingo

I still don’t get the whole lack of title on the line here, but I’m sure it has something to do with some overly complicated system of earning a title shot and tradition or something like that. Shingo is strong. Good to know. Long feeling out process which is fine as they have a lot of time to play with. I like Shingo to an extent I think.

Doi works over the knee and we get a Figure Four. In a nice move after getting out of the hold he grabs a fast powerbomb and immediately falls with his knee. It was fast enough to buy I guess, but it was a bit shaky as far as psychology goes. They chop the living heck out of each other and they might be the loudest sequence of them I’ve ever heard. Great ones indeed. Shingo shakes his leg a bit to sell the injury. Nicely done.

In a cool moment, he hooks a British Bulldog suplex and the fans count the seconds he holds him for, which winds up at 30. According to Mike, the chops that are quiet that hurt worst. Why should I listen to that? Because Quackenbush is a wrestler. Lawler and Taz need to let us know that more often. We’re into the segment of let’s do big moves over and over again until we get to a pin.

Shingo kills him with a lariat but it just gets two. Doi hits his finisher, a running boot to the face when the guy is on one knee. It’s better than it sounds. Another one sets up a Tiger Suplex for two. Shingo starts no selling kicks to the FACE. How is that possible? The Muscular Bomb, which is like a wheelbarrow slam into a rollup where the guy lands on his head, ends this. Solid ending. Oh Doi got the win. Might be important information.

Rating: B. This was a different kind of match but it worked all the same. There was far more of a slow build here and that made things work much better for me. The ending was great with Doi just beating the heck out of Shingo until he finally went down. Solid match, although I have no clue why it was non-title if Doi was going to win.

Overall Rating: B. First match aside, this was fun. See what happens when you explain what’s going on in Puro to fans like me? It gets a lot better. Now this isn’t something I’d want to see weekly, but once in awhile would be fine. This came off pretty well I think though and they did a good job of introducing things to the audience. I liked it and it could work well for an every other month thing. Not bad at all.