November 23, 2006 – Osaka, Japan

Championship rundown:
Open the Dream Gate Champion: Susumu Yokosuka
Open the Brave Gate Champion: Masato Yoshino
Open the Triangle Gate Champions: Masato Yoshino, Naruki Doi & Gamma
I-J Heavyweight Tag Team Champions: Don Fujii & Masaaki Mochizuki

K-ness {FM}, Kenichiro Arai {FM} & Yamato Onodera {FM} vs. Akira Tozawa {TJ}, Taku Iwasa {TJ} & Takayuki Mori {TJ}
Arai and Tozawa start. Arai hits a dropkick to the back during Tozawa’s shtick. K-ness hits a kick to the head for 2. Mori acts as a launching pad for Tozawa’s big kick. Onodera hits K-ness by mistake. Iwasa chops him down. Onodera puts on the sleeper hold. Iwasa suplexes Arai with Onodera on his back. He hits the Gouwan for 2. Iwasa misses the top rope headbutt. Arai hits his. Onodera hits a flying elbowdrop. K-ness kicks Tozawa’s head for 2. Arai hits the tiger suplex for the win at 4:44. This was so chaotic, and nobody got a chance to shine.
Rating: *

Shingo Takagi {BG} & Cyber Kong vs. Ryo Saito {DF} & Genki Horiguchi {DF}
For the life of me I can’t figure out what title belt Takagi is rocking here. The announcer says what it’s called but I can’t get passed his accent. Kong tries to chokeslam both opponents, but has to settle for clotheslines. Takagi hits a back elbow. Saito hits a hurricanrana. Takagi hits a lariat. He hits the Original Falconry for 2. Kong hits a press slam. He hits an avalanche. Takagi hits a low blow and a DDT. He hits a powerslam for 2. Kong puts on a full nelson. Horiguchi comes back with a hurricanrana. He dropkicks Kong’s knee. Saito hits a German suplex. Horiguchi hits a tope con hilo. Saito hits a dragon suplex. Takagi hits a lariat. Saito hits another dragon suplex for 2. Kong hits a sidewalk slam. He and Takagi hit the Doomsday Device for 2. Horiguchi hits a missile dropkick. Takagi hits the Yo Throw. He hits the Pumping Bomber for 2. He hits the Blood Fall for the win at 6:50. So that’s what a throw away match featuring these guys would look like. They ran through their offense like it was nothing, making the match fun but ultimately emotionless.
Rating: **¼

Genichiro Tenryu vs. Yasushi Kanda {FM}
Tenryu came to Dragon Gate and had a ten match series. This was the finale. Kanda attacks before the bell. He hits a bodyslam and the flying elbowdrop for 2. He dives onto Tenryu on the floor. Tenryu comes back with a superplex for 2. He hits an elbowdrop for 2. He slugs Kanda down and hits a senton for 2. He stiffs the crap out of Kanda and puts on an abdominal stretch. He hits the 53 Sai for 2. He puts on a Boston crab. Kanda comes back with dropkicks to the leg. He hits a dragon screw and puts on the figure 4 leglock. Tenryu gets to the ropes. He hits an enziguiri. Kanda hits a suplex. He hits a weak German suplex and clutches his neck. Tenryu hits a lariat out of nowhere for 2. He hits another for the win at 7:50. Tenryu basically walked through Kanda here. I’m not sure why the recently returned Kanda was given this spot.
Rating: *½

Pentagon Black {MO} © vs. Masaaki Mochizuki {FM} [I-J Heavyweight Championship Match]
Mochizuki attacks Black and Dr. Muscle before the match. He rams Black into the post. He tries to unmask Black, but Black bites his hand. Black hits a dragon screw. He puts on a leglock. He hits a shinbreaker and then slaps on another leglock. Mochizuki comes back with kicks. He hits the Sankakugeri and kicks Black off the apron. Dr. Muscle trips Mochizuki so Super Shisa trips Black. Shisa hits suicide dive on Muscle. Mochizuki hits Black with a missile dropkick. He hits an enziguiri and the Sankakugeri. Muscle hits a blue box shot and Black dropkicks the knee. He puts on another leglock. He spits water in Mochizuki’s face. Mochizuki comes back with a knee to the face, a chest kick and the Twister for 2. He hits the Twister II for 2. Muscle and Shisa get involved, leading to Mochizuki hitting a dragon suplex for 2. Black gets a roll up for 2. Mochizuki kicks the referee by mistake. Muscle hits him with a chokeslam. Black takes out Muscle by mistake and Shisa hits him with the Yoshie Tonic. Mochizuki rolls Black up for 2. Black hits a TKO. He hits a splash off the top for 2. He hits a pumphandle piledriver for 2. He hits a clothesline and a Tombstone Piledriver for 2. Mochizuki rolls him up for the win at 13:27. Mochizuki barely squeaked out that win. The match was solid throughout, though I think the interference was silly, especially since they didn’t have Shisa directly help Mochizuki win the belt and thus get his own revenge on Black for turning on him.
Rating: ***

After the match Mochizuki is awarded the title. In the end however he retires the belt. He asks for a shot at the Open the Dream Gate title. He does a celebratory moonsault, sort of still selling the leg, and then leaves the title in the ring.

BxB Hulk {BG}, Jushin Liger {CTU}, Matt Sydal {BG} & Jack Evans {BG} vs. Naruki Doi {MO}, Masato Yoshino {MO}, Magnitude Kishiwada {MO} & Kevin Steen {MO}
We get a giggle moment when Kishiwada is startled by his own pyro. Everyone brawls to start. Once in the ring everyone pairs up and for the most part it’s New Hazard’s speed vs. the Muscle Outlaw’z strength. That is until Yoshino tags in and picks up amazing speed before hitting Sydal with a dropkick. Liger and Kishiwada trade shoulder tackles until Liger hits the mat. The Outlaw’z gang up on Liger in the corner, left to their own devices by the biased, blue-clad referee. Hulk and Evans double-team Yoshino for 2. Yoshino comes back with a low blow on Hulk. Doi hits the Dai Bosou. He, Yoshino and Steen hit a triple dropkick for 2. Kishiwada hits an avalanche and a standing moonsault for 2. He hits a senton for 2. Steen hits a back suplex and the somersault legdrop for 2. Doi hits his big senton for 2. Hulk comes back with a vertical suplex and tags to Liger. Liger cleans house. Steen proves troublesome so the other three hit a triple dropkick. Evans hits an insane dive on Steen. Sydal follows suit. Liger tries but the crooked referee stops him. Doi exposes a turnbuckle but ends up getting whipped into it. Liger hits a frog splash for 2. Yoshino nails him with the shotgun dropkick. Sydal hits a hurricanrana. Steen hits the pumphandle neckbreaker. Evans hits a roundhouse kick. Kishiwada hits a lariat. Hulk hits a leg lariat. He hits Doi with the Mouse and a clothesline. He takes on Doi and Kishiwada by himself. He hits Steen with a bodyslam for 2. Sydal and Evans hit Skipping a Generation on Steen. Someone knocks Evans off the turnbuckle with a chair. Hulk rolls Kishiwada up for 2. Kishiwada hits a German suplex for 2. He hits a splash off the top for 2. He hits the Last Ride. Doi hits the Bakatare Sliding Kick for 2. He hits the Doi 555. Evans trips Doi and his team gangs up on him in the corner. Evans hits a sick double stomp. Liger hits the Ligerbomb for 2. Kishiwada clotheslines Doi by mistake. Sydal hits the Slice and Evans hits the 630 senton for 2. Steen and Kishiwada hit the Doomsday Device on Evans for 2. Steen hits a moonsault for 2. He hits the Package Piledriver for 2. Yoshino hits Sydal with the Torbellino. Doi powders Yoshino by mistake. Liger hits a brainbuster and Sydal hits the shooting star press for the win at 17:56. See how the Outlaw’z cheated creatively, without ridiculous amounts of interference? Real Hazard is a shadow of what the Outlaw’z were. This was a fantastic spotfest.
Rating: ****

CIMA {BG} vs. Gamma {MO} [Hair vs. Hair Match]
Kinta is the referee, so CIMA is screwed. Kinta helps Gamma win a test of strength. CIMA stomps Gamma to the mat. He hits a springboard dropkick. Kinta gets the the way, halting his momentum. Gamma hits a dropkick. He hits another in the corner. He hits a facebuster for 2. He gives CIMA the Sweet Angel’s Kiss. He hits a vertical suplex for 2. He blows snot in a rag and rubs it in CIMA’s face. Doi, Yoshino and Steen help him hit a quadruple dropkick for 2. He sends CIMA to the floor with an enziguiri. He drags CIMA up the ramp to suplex him off of it but CIMA hits a suplex on it. In the ring CIMA hits the Superdrol. Kinta crotches him up top. Gamma gives him the Osuikougeki. CIMA recovers and returns the favor. He hits a superplex but Kinta immediately hits him with a back superplex for 2. CIMA hits a dragon screw with a chair. He suplexes Kinta while holding Gamma in a leglock. Kinta helps Gamma roll CIMA up for the win at 9:49.

Blood Generation is pissed. The Outlaw’z get ready to shave CIMA’s head but President Okamura comes out to stop it. He beats up Kinta and demands the match be restarted with a traditional Dragon Gate referee. CIMA hits a dropkick. He hits the big double stomp and the Tokarev. He hits a big dive to the Outlaw’z. He hits the Venus and Iconoclasm. The Mad Splash hits Gamma’s knees. Gamma hits the Blitzen for 2. He goes for it again but CIMA blocks and hits the double stomp. Gamma hits a facebuster. He hits a splash off the top for 2. He canes CIMA’s back. CIMA gets the cane and goes to work. Yoshino gets the cane and hits Gamma by mistake. CIMA hits the Schwein for 2. He hits a low blow and another Tokarev. He hits the Venus and a cross armed Iconoclasm. He hits the Mad Splash for 2 when Kinta pulls the referee out of the ring. Steen runs in and hits a lariat and the Package Piledriver, getting 2 for Gamma. CIMA hits a superkick. Gamma hits a reverse hurricanrana. He hits the Gamma Special for 2. He hits a Tombstone Piledriver off the top rope for the win at 6:44. He always wins his big matches with that move. The match actually had far less interference than I thought it would, and was quite decent all around. Nothing special, but then the heel went over so it was never going to have that satisfying feeling.
Rating: ***¼

After the match Gamma shaves CIMA’s head completely bald. He jaws with President Okamura and generally depresses everyone. CIMA leaves with a towel over his head.

Susumu Yokosuka © {FM} vs. Don Fujii {BG} [Open the Dream Gate Championship Match]
Fujii earned his Dream Key by beating Kevin Steen. Yokosuka hits a lariat to start. He hits another, knocking Fujii off the apron. Back in the ring Fujii hits a shoulder tackle. Yokosuka hits a back elbow. They fight up the ramp where Yokosuka hits an exploder. Fujii rams Yokosuka’s arm against the post. In the ring Fujii works the arm. He hits an armbreaker. He drops an elbow on the arm. He hits a bodyslam but misses a top rope kneedrop. Yokosuka dropkicks the leg. He hits the Ashi Yokosuka. He drives Fujii’s knee into the mat. He dropkicks the knee. He puts on a leglock but Fujii gets to the ropes. Yokosuka dropkicks the knee again. He goes up top to hit a kneedrop on the knee. He hits the Ashi Yokosuka again. Fujii hits the sumo slaps and a dropkick. Yokosuka falls to the floor so Fujii hits him with a suicide dive. They go back to the ramp. Fujii tries to chokeslam Yokosuka off of it, but has to settle for a chokeslam on it. Yokosuka beats the count at 19. Can the Dream Gate title change hands by count out? Fujii hits a powerslam for 2. He hits a powerbomb. He clotheslines Yokosuka off the top and hits a kneedrop. He hits another chokeslam for 2. He tries to chokeslam Yokosuka to the floor but Yokosuka catches him with an avalanche Ashi Yokosuka. Yokosuka puts on a figure 4 leglock. Fujii grabs Yokosuka’s leg to escape but Yokosuka keeps the hold on tight. Fujii gets to the ropes. He gets a roll up for 2. Yokosuka hits a lariat. Fujii gets a backslide for 2. Yokosuka hits another lariat for 2. Fujii hits a second rope chokeslam for 2. He hits the Nice German for 2. Yokosuka gets a roll up for 2. He hits a back suplex. He hits lariats in the corner. Fujii starts getting counted down but gets to his feet at 9. Yokosuka hits a lariat to the back. He hits an avalanche Aikata for 2. He hits the Jumbo no Kachi for 1. He hits it again for 2. Fujii’s face is swollen. He hits the Aikata for 2. He goes for a wrist clutch avalanche exploder but Fujii blocks that and hits a top rope chokeslam for 2. They slug it out until Fujii puts Yokosuka down with a lariat. He hits the Nice German for the win and the title at 26:40. The crowd is pretty shocked, not expecting Fujii to win at all. The match itself was about on part with Yokosuka’s other title defenses, which is to say it was good, but his offense has become so neutered that it takes a series of any of his moves to put anyone down and the near falls become less dramatic.
Rating: ***½