August 5, 2012 – Kobe, Japan
Open the Dream Gate Champion: CIMA
Open the Triangle Gate Champions: Vacant
Open the Brave Gate Champion: Dragon Kid
Open the Twin Gate Champions: Shingo Takagi & YAMATO
Open the Freedom Gate Champion: Johnny Gargano
Open the United Gate Champions: CIMA & AR Fox
Ryo “Jimmy†Saito {J} & Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee. {J} vs. Mondai Ryu {MB} & Cyber Kong {MB}
Kong and Ryu attack before the bell and the crowd couldn’t care less. Ryu slams Saito by his hair. Saito hits a shoulder tackle. Horiguchi hits an elbowdrop. Saito hits a double stomp. MARAHA! ISAPPA! Kong cleans house with lariats. He hits a splash for 2. He hits a shinbreaker and a lariat to Horiguchi’s leg. He puts on the Stretch Muffler. Ryu hits a dropkick for 2. Horiguchi hits a leg lariat. Saito hits Kong with a hurricanrana. Kong hits a lariat for 2. Saito hits a vertical suplex. Ryu saves Kong from the Cycling Yahoo. Horiguchi catches Kong with the Backslide from Heaven for 2. Saito hits Ryu with a German suplex. Horiguchi hits a brainbuster. Saito hits the Superfly Splash for 2. They suplex Kong onto Ryu. Ryu hits Kong’s clubs on Saito, but that does nothing and Saito hits a dragon suplex out of nowhere at 7:28. I loved that finish, and the match leading up to it was a perfectly adequate opener.
Rating: **¾
Masaaki Mochizuki {Z}, Don Fujii {Z} & Dragon Kid {Z} vs. Kenichiro Arai {MG}, Super Shisa {MG} & Shachihoko BOY {MG} [Round Robin Tournament Match]
Kid and BOY start. They trade holds on the mat. A test of strength goes BOY’s way, giving him a wristlock. Kid hits a head scissor takedown. Fujii hits Arai with a shouder tackle and a double stomp. He sends Arai into the post. Arai hits a headbutt and a vertical suplex. Shisa hits Mochizuki with European uppercuts. He responds to a big boot with a dropkick. Mochiuzki swats away a plancha. He and Fujii hit a spike piledriver on the floor. They level BOY in the ring. Fujii blocks a monkey flip. He hits a back suplex for 2. Kid hits a pair of kneedrops for 2. He puts on a Mutalock. Mochizuki hits a big boot in the corner. He hits a delayed vertical suplex for 2. Kid hits a lariat, possibly for the first time in his career. BOY gets fired up but Kid blocks his head scissor takedown. BOY comes back with a dropkick. Arai cleans house with big boots. He hits Fujii with a DDT. He hits Mochizuki with a dragon screw. Kid hits the Diamond Dust. Arai ducks the 619 but and turns the Christo into a Tombstone Piledriver. He hits the skyscraper double stomp. BOY hits a moonsault. Arai hits a diving headbutt for 2. Shisa goes for the Yoshi Tonic but Fujii makes the save. Shisa counters Fujii’s chokeslam to a cross armbreaker. Mochizuki makes the save. Kid hits the skyscraper Frankensteiner. Mochizuki hits a chest kick for 2. Fujii hits a chokeslam for 2. Arai blocks the Twister and hits a tiger suplex. The Shisas get the Shachihoko Clutch for 2. Fujii goes for the avalanche chokeslam on BOY but has to settle for a lariat. Mochizuki hits a buzzsaw kick and Fujii hits the avalanche chokeslam for the win at 14:49. This was a lot of fun, and made Arai and Shisa look formidable against the super-team they faced, while at the same time showing us that BOY can be interesting when he really turns it on.
Rating: ***
Jimmy Susumu {J} vs. Kotoka {MG}
I like how much airtime the Windows are getting thanks to their unit status. Susumu sexually humiliates Referee Yagi during his entrance for reasons beyond my comprehension. He and Kotoka fight it out on the mat to start. Kotoka goes for a shoulder tackle and fails. They trade elbows until Kotoka stomps on Susumu’s foot and connects with the shoulder tackle. Susumu hits the Jumno no Kachi. He hits an exploder for 2. Kotoka absorbs a few elbows and hits a running elbow of his own. He hits a suicide dive. He hits a surprise vertical suplex for 2. They fight up top, stiffing each other with smacks and headbutts, until Kotoka fights Susumu off. He misses the double stomp and Susumu hits a sit-out powerbomb for 2. Kotoka gets a sunset flip for 2. He gets a small package for 2. Susumu hits the DVD to block a victory roll, but Kotoka catches him with another small package for 2. Susumu hits a lariat to the leg and the Jumbo no Kachi. Kotoka gets another roll up for 2. The crowd is totally buying these near-falls, by the way. Susumu hits another Jumbo no Kachi for 2. He hits the Mugen for the win at 8:31. A rematch is necessary! They made Kotoka look like a million bucks here. Susumu shows the little guy respect after the match. This was so much better than I was expecting thanks to Kotoka’s fired-up (and more importantly, not overblown) performance.
Rating: ***½
The next three matches all look awesome, so I’m putting it out there now that I might have unreasonable expectations for the top of this show.
Naoki Tanizaki {J} vs. “Naoki Tanisaki†{MB}
It’s so good to have Tanizaki back! He attacks “Tanisaki†during his entrance with the FH. He hits a plancha. He scrubs off “Tanisaki†shoulder tattoo. They fight over a whip into the post until Ryu gets involved and helps send Tanizaki into it. Kong gets in on the beating as well. “Tanisaki†hits a facebuster. Tanizaki shows him how it’s done. “Tanisaki†goes to the eyes. He hits a side Russian legsweep for 2. They trade chops in an exchange that goes badly for the original article. “Tanisaki†hits a bodyslam for 2. He puts on a chinlock. Tanizaki gets to the ropes. Ryu trips Tanizaki and distracts the referee so Kong can come in and hit an avalanche and a back suplex. “Tanisaki†hits the Casanova and Kong hits a splash for 2. Tanizaki comes back with a leaping elbow. He hits the FH. “Tanisaki†blocks the DH but Tanizaki hits a DDT. Tanizaki hits a Casanova to the back, and one to the front for 2. They fight over the Implant but neither can hit it. “Tanisaki†chops away the Casanova. They slug it out until “Tanisaki†hits the DH. Tanizaki returns the favor. “Tanisaki†chops the crap out of him for 2. Tanizaki blocks the Night Ride and hits the kneelift. He hits the Casanova for 2. “Tanisaki†counters the Implant to the Outsider’s Edge for 2. He hits the Implant for the win at 10:23. The finish was the logical, and expected one, as the Edge was the natural reversal for the Implant. I thought the real deal would win this match, and am I think appropriately sad that he didn’t. The match was good, entertaining mirror wrestling, and will obviously lead to another. “Tanisaki†talks trash after the match, saying that Tanizaki is giving him a bad name, so Tanizaki goes after him and they brawl to the back.
Rating: ***¼
At intermission, CIMA and YAMATO are both interviewed with their Summer Adventure Tag League partners, about the main event tonight and about the upcoming Open the Dream Gate Championship match.
Akira Tozawa {MB} & BxB Hulk {MB} vs. Naruki Doi {W1} & Masato Yoshino {W1}
Speed Muscle is looking to recover from a rather paralyzing defeat on the last episode. Doi and Tozawa start. They trade armdrags and takedowns. Yoshino dropkicks Hulk. He puts on the Coumori and Doi hits a dropkick. Hulk hits Doi with a spin kick. Doi slams Tozawa and hits elbowdrops for 2. Hulk gouges at Yoshino’s eyes. Yoshino comes back with a DDT. He hits a dropkick to the face. Doi hits the hanging senton for 2. Ryu and Kong pull Yoshino to the floor and beat him. Hulk hits a roundhouse kick for 2. He puts on a half crab. Doi makes the save. Hulk and Tozawa sandwich Yoshino with kicks for 2. Yoshino gets cold spray to the face. Hulk hits the axe kick for 2. Yoshino comes back with a midair dropkick. He blocks Tozawa’s running knee and hits a head scissor takedown. Hulk hits Doi with the Mouse. Doi hits a dropkick. He blocks the senton with his knees. Hulk kicks the crap out of him for 2. Tozawa hits Yoshino with the bicycle kick. He hits a vertical suplex for 2. Yoshino gets the better of Tozawa in the corner and hits the Sling Blade. He hits the elevated facebuster for 2. Tozawa hits a bicycle kick and Hulk hits the Complete Shot for 2. Hulk dropkicks Yoshino into Tozawa’s back suplex for 2. Doi hits Hulk with a senton. He hits a DDT for 2. He hits the Rydeen Bomb for 2. Yoshino hits the shotgun dropkick into the Doi 555. He hits the Torbellino and the Lightning Spiral for 2 when Tozawa makes the save. Tozawa hits a bicycle kick on Doi and Hulk hits a spin kick. Tozawa hits the superplex for 2. He hits the German suplex for 2. Yoshino hits the Ude Yoshino. Hulk hits a missile dropkick. He hits Doi with an enziguiri. Doi counters the EVO to a reverse DDT. He hits the Bakatare Sliding Kick. Hulk counters the Muscular Bomb to a facebuster for 2. Doi ducks the First Flash but Hulk hits a suplex and the First Flash for the win at 16:28. That finish was nutty. The first ten minutes were pretty dull, but the extended home stretch was a lot of fun. Speed Muscle continues to struggle as a team.
Rating: ***¼
Hulk and Tozawa approach the commentating Mochizuki after the match, so he throws water at them. They will meet in a tournament match on the next episode of Infinity.
CIMA {Z}, Gamma {Z} & Magnitude Kishiwada {Z} vs. Shingo Takagi {A}, YAMATO {A} & Super Shenlong {A} [Round Robin Tournament Match]
Shenlong and Gamma start. They fight over a wristlock. Shenlong hits a dropkick and freaks Gamma out in general. Gamma spits at him. Takagi and Kishiwada fight over a shoulder tackle. Kishiwada wants to arm wrestle. Takagi meets him and gets stomped. Kishiwada hits the shoulder tackle. Takagi hits a powerslam. YAMATO and CIMA pick up the pace. CIMA hits a shoulder tackle. YAMATO misses a dropkick but hits a dragon screw. CIMA hits a dropkick on Shenlong. Kishiwada hits a chair shot. Gamma gets stuck in the wrong corner. YAMATO and Takagi double-team him. Takagi puts on the Sharpshooter. Gamma hits Shenlong with an enziguiri. Kishiwada hits a back bodydrop and a senton. He hits a butterfly suplex. He puts on a half crab. Shenlong gets to the ropes. Kishiwada leads the charge with screaming kicks. CIMA puts on an abdominal stretch. Shenlong’s dropkicks on Gamma do nothing. Gamma’s knock Shenlong on his back. Shenlong hits a leg lariat. Takagi cleans house. YAMATO dropkick and explodes Kishiwada for 2. Kishiwada comes back with lariats. CIMA dropkicks Takagi. Takagi hits a gutbuster and a DDT. He misses a senton. YAMATO hits a dropkick. Shenlong hits a dropkick. Takagi hits a lariat. Shenlong hits an elevated legdrop for 2. He misses a dropkick and CIMA hits a senton. CIMA hits the Perfect Driver for 2. He hits a dropkick. YAMATO hits a big boot. CIMA hits a superkick. YAMATO puts on the sleeper hold. Gamma makes the save. Shenlong again tries to dropkick Gamma. Gamma hits the superkick. Shenlong gets a schoolboy for 2. Takagi hits a lariat for 2. Akatsuke gangs up on Gamma in the corner. Gamma hits a clothesline on Shenlong. He hits a powerbomb and Kishiwada hits the Superfly Splash for 2. Kishiwada hits a delayed brainbuster for 2. CIMA and Gamma hit a double Tokarev. Kishiwada hits the Last Ride and CIMA hits the Meteora for the win at 17:30. Kishiwada got BLOWN UP near the end there. It might be time for him to start taking it easy. This was a good enough main event, playing up that Shenlong was a liability for Akatsuke, here and in the tournament at large. The Veteran teams are seemingly unstoppable.
Rating: ***½
