April 4, 2009 – Nagoya, Japan
Hopefully Akebono will never get his hands on any of these titles:
Open the Dream Gate Champion: Naruki Doi
Open the Twin Gate Champions: Gamma & Susumu Yokosuka
Open the Triangle Gate Champions: Shingo Takagi, Taku Iwasa & Dragon Kid
Open the Brave Gate Champion: CIMA
The show opens showing CIMA defeating Masato Yoshino for the Brave Gate title, and Dragon Kid challenging him for the belt after the fact. Tonight Kid will have to go through CIMA’s buddies, the Twin Gate Champions, in a non-title match before he can try to Open the Brave Gate.
Gamma {W5} & Susumu Yokosuka {W5} vs. Dragon Kid {K} & Akira Tozawa {K}
CIMA is in the crowd cheering his teammates on. Gamma hits Tozawa with the cane to start. Kid puts Yokosuka on the floor with a hurricanrana. He hits Gamma with kneedrops for 2. CIMA interferes, spraying an aerosol can (the cold stuff they spray on each other’s injuries after a match) in Tozawa’s face for a ludicrously long time. Yokosuka rolls him up for 2. Gamma gives him the Sweet Angel’s Kiss. He hits an enziguiri for 2. Tozawa comes back with a butt butt. Kid hits Yokosuka with the Bermuda Triangle. Gamma comes back with the Flashback. Kid hits him with a stunner and Tozawa hits the Apron Kara Tozawa for 2. Yokosuka hits Kid with a backbreaker. Kid counters the Blitzen to a roll up for 2. He counters a powerbomb from Yokosuka to a roll up for 2. Yokosuka hits a lariat for 2. He hits the Last Ride for 2. Gamma canes him by mistake and Kid hits the Ultra Hurricanrana for 2 when CIMA comes in an breaks it up. Kamikaze and the WARRIORS 5 all start brawling. Gamma hits Tozawa with a low blow, a superkick and the Gamma Special for the win at 12:47. The crowd sucked a lot of the wind out of this match by completely sitting on their hands. A shame since WARRIORS 5 are always game in trying to get them involved. CIMA’s interference didn’t do much for the match, but at least showed that he takes Dragon Kid’s offense seriously.
Rating: **½
Kid asks CIMA for a title match again. The match is scheduled for Dead or Alive on May 5th.
Akebono vs. Masaki Mochizuki {Z}
They show a clip of Akebono pinning Don Fujii the night before, as well as clips of Mochizuki beating up Taku Iwasa, I guess so we know this isn’t supposed to be a squash. Mochizuki hits the Sankakugeri before the bell. Akebono shoves him across the ring to the floor. Mochizuki hits a few leg kicks before Akebono clubs him down. Mochizuki hits a top rope dropkick to the knee. He hits a knee kick to the leg. Akebono hits an avalanche. He hits a bodyslam. Mochizuki puts dodges a splash and channels Koji Kanemoto, putting on an anklelock. Akebono powers out. He hits another avalanche. Mochizuki goes back to the leg. He kicks Akebono’s head for 2. Akebono slaps him down. He hits a belly to belly suplex and a splash for the win at 3:44. This is exactly what you’d expect. After the match they shake hands.
Rating: *
Before the main event we get a video package highlighting the Real Hazard vs. World-1 feud, centered on Ryo Saito’s attempt to get BxB Hulk to join Real Hazard as Dark Hulk. The night before this show Dark Hulk showed up and beat the crap out of Saito. Tonight regular Hulk will try to do the same.
Naruki Doi {W1}, BxB Hulk {W1} & Masato Yoshino {W1} vs. Ryo Saito {RH}, YAMATO {RH} & Yasushi Kanda {RH}
Everyone brawls to start. Hulk hits Saito with the Mouse, a legsweep and a senton. Yoshino hits YAMATO with the Sling Blade. Doi hits Kanda with a bodyslam. Kanda nails Hulk with a forearm and Real Hazard takes control. Saito takes his time beating up Hulk. He and YAMATO hit double stomps off the top for 2. Kanda suplexes Hulk for 2. Hulk tries to fancy kick his way back into control but the numbers overwhelm him. Saito strangles Hulk with a whip and YAMATO dropkicks his face. That’s enough for Yoshino to get involved. Kanda hits Yoshino with a side slam. Hulk starts feeling it and cleans house with kicks. Doi tags in and hits YAMATO with a vertical suplex. He hits the Doi 555 but YAMATO counters the Bakatare Sliding Kick to a headlock. Yoshino hits Saito with a powerbomb. He puts on From Jungle. Hulk hits Kanda with a springboard kick for 2. Saito hits Hulk with the blu hox so Hulk goes after him. In the ring all of Real Hazard gangs up on Yoshino. YAMATO hits a brainbuster for 2. Kanda misses a flying elbowdrop. Doi hits a spinebuster for 2. He throws Kanda into YAMATO. Yoshino hits YAMATO with the shotgun dropkick. He hits Kanda with the Torbellino and Doi hits the Bakatare Sliding Kick for the win at 14:05 shown of 15:20. The finish was fun, but everything leading up to it was pretty dull, again thanks in part to the completely dead crowd.
Rating: **½
After the match Doi gets on the microphone to chat with the crowd. Akebono comes out from the back and argues with Doi about who knows what, leading to a Dream Gate challenge. The crowd reacts with the most deafening silence I’ve ever heard, but the match is made for the PPV anyway.
As World-1 leaves the ring, Dark Hulk enters the arena, beating Saito all the way to the ring. Saito tries to fight back but gets the crap kicked out of him again. Hulk hits the EVO to finish the segment.
The show ends with a clip of Real Hazard interfering in Kenichiro Arai’s match against Mochizuki the day before this show. Mochizuki took a post-match beating, but fought back to get the best of Arai in the end. On tonight’s show Arai defeated Mochizuki’s buddy Don Fujii after a pair of low blows. Naoki Tanisaki runs out to help the Zetsurins chase off Real Hazard.
I really dig the way they have Kid chasing after CIMA. A lot of the time in Dragon Gate someone asks for a title shot and there’s not a ton of build to it. This is already off to a good start with two matches in the can and title challenges being asked for both ways (since WARRIORS 5 want the Triangle Gate too). What I don’t dig is Akebono coming in and decimating the Zetsurins on his way to getting a telegraphed Dream Gate shot on PPV. Rather than write a long, drawn out defense of my position, just see what I wrote on the subject here.
