Dangerous Gate

September 23, 2012 – Tokyo, Japan

Open the Dream Gate Champion: CIMA
Open the Triangle Gate Champions: Akira Tozawa, BxB Hulk & “Naoki Tanisaki”
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

Kenichiro Arai {MG}, Kotoka {MG}, Jimmy Kanda {J} & Chihiro Tominaga {A} vs. K-ness {MG}, Super Shisa {MG}, Super Shenlong {A} & Shachihoko BOY {MG}
No wonder Kanda wanted on Gamma’s team so badly; this match lineup is a mess. Masked guys vs. unmasked guys… who cares? He seems none too interested in this match. Kotoka hits Shenlong with a shoulder tackle to start. BOY hits Arai with an armdrag. He misses a missile dropkick. Arai hits a giant swing and misses a headbutt. The masked guys stretch the unmasked guys legs while BOY rolls Arai up for 2. He hits Kanda with a quebrada. K-ness hits Tominaga with a high kick. Tominaga misses a dropkick. K-ness hits a vertical suplex and puts on a half crab. Shisa ties Kanda and Arai in an abdominal stretch while BOY rolls Kotoka up for 2. Kanda hits BOY with the Jon Wu. Shenlong hits Tominaga with the reverse Rocker Dropper. Arai hits the Skyscraper Double Stomp for 2. Kanda hits the flying elbowdrop for the win at 5:15. Kanda winning so causally puts the rest of the match into perspective, in that none of it mattered at all. Kanda walks out on a victory pose with his partners after the match.
Rating: *

Gamma {Z}, Stalker Ichikawa {Z} & HUB {Z} vs. Kzy {MB}, Mondai Ryu {MB} & Cyber Kong {MB} [Scramble Bunkhouse Whip Match]
The teams have to run from opposite sides of the building to get to whips in the ring. Mad Blankey gets to the ring first, but HUB nabs a whip and takes over for his team. The Veterans hit a triple suicide dive. They whip Mad Blankey on the floor. Ichikawa whips Kzy into a ladder. He and Gamma whip Ryu into the ladder. Kong whips Ichikawa into the ladder. He press slams Ichikawa onto a chair pile. Ryu and Kzy whip Ichikawa for 2. Icihkawa hits a head scissor takedown on Kzy. Gamma spits in Kzy’s face. He boots Ryu off the apron and clotheslines Kzy. He hits a miracle suplex on Kong. Kzy hits HUB with the B-Boy. HUB hits a Jackhammer for 2. He hits a Pedigree and a Frog Splash for 2. Ichikawa botches the handspring. Kzy hits the Beat Bomb for 2. Kong hits a flying elbowdrop for 2. Kzy climbs a ladder, but he’s too slow and Gamma toys with him before shoving it over. Kong clubs Gamma and hits an avalanche. Ichikawa hits the Kancho. Ryu salts Kong by mistake. HUB and Gamma whip Ryu and Ichikawa hits the Ina Bauer German for the win at 9:49. This was a fine squash for the Veterans, paying off how damned annoying Ryu is and making him look like a suitable chump. After the match Kanda runs out and attacks Gamma. They brawl to the back.
Rating: **

Dragon Kid © {Z} vs. Masamune {OP} [Open the Brave Gate Championship Match]
They lock up to start and Masamune powers Kid to the ropes. Masamune works the arm. Kid hits an armdrag. They knuckle up until Kid hits a head scissor takedown. Masamune hits a dropkick and the 619. Kid hits a back heel kick. He hits a pair of kneedrops. He hits a pair of dropkicks in the corner for 2. He puts on a Mutalock. Masamune gets to the ropes. He hits a head kick. He hits a swinging DDT on the apron. Kid beats the count at 19 and Masamune pins him repeatedly, only getting 2. Masamune works the leg. He puts on an anklelock. Kid gets to the ropes. He hits a head scissor takedown and the Bermuda Triangle. He stalls on the floor to tend to his hurt leg. He hits a springboard dropkick for 2. He hits the Diamond Dust for 2. Masamune hits a chinbreaker. Kid hits the Messiah for 2. Masamune hits a Manhattan drop and gets a roll up for 2. He puts on the anklelock. Kid gets to the ropes so Masamune hits the 619. Masamune reapplies the anklelock and gets a roll up for 2. He goes back to the anklelock and hits a Regalplex for 2. Kid hits the Bible for 2. He hits the avalanche Ace Crusher. Masamune stomps the leg and after something quite awkward, puts on the anklelock. Kid gets to the ropes so Masamune hits an ugly 619. Kid no sells it and hits a back heel kick, obviously frustrated. He goes for a 619 but Masamune hits a dropkick. Kid hits the Ultra Hurricanrana out of nowhere for the win at 18:39. Watching Masamune frustrate Kid’s game plan was a lot of fun. The match also ended at the perfect time, because it looked liked Masamune had just blown up. Kid stomps him in the back of the head after the match, pretty much affirming my suspicion.
Rating: ***

Masato Yoshino {W1} & Daichi Hashimoto {Z1} vs. Jimmy Susumu {J} & Jimmy Kagetora {J}
Kagetora and Yoshino start. They trade the usual. Susumu hits Hashimoto with a lariat. Hashimoto comes back with chest kicks. He kicks away a few lariats and hits a high kick. He and Yoshino hit a double kick for 2. He hits a kneedrop for 2. Susumu dropkicks the leg. Kagetora follows suit. Susumu puts on a leglock. Hashimoto gets to the ropes. He dropkicks the leg again. Kagetora hits an elbowdrop to the leg. Susumu hits the Ashi Yokosuka. Kagetora does too. Susumu puts on the Figure 4 Leglock. Hashimoto dropkicks Kagetora. He hits an enziguiri. What leg work? Yoshino hits a quebrada on the Jimmyz. He puts Susumu in the Coumori. He misses the shotgun dropkick and Susumu hits a backbreaker for 2. Yoshino puts on From Jungle. Hashimoto takes Kagetora out with kicks. Kagetora hits the leaping lariat. He and Yoshino trade chops. Makes me think King of Chop was rigged. Susumu hits the DVD for 2. Yoshino hits Kagetora with a DDT. He and Hashimoto hit shotgun dropkicks for 2. Kagetora hits Hashimoto with an enziguiri. Susumu hits a lariat. He hits the super exploder. Kagetora hits the flying elbowdrop for 2. Susumu hits the Jumbo no Kachi for 2. Yoshino jumps in front of the Jumbo no Kachi bullet and no-sells it. He hits the Ude Yoshino. Hashimoto hits a DDT. He hits the Shining Wizard for 2. He hits Kagetora with a plancha. Susumu hits Yoshino with a lariat. He hits the Jumno no Kachi. Yoshino hits the Lightning Spiral for 2. Hashimoto hits the Sankakugeri and Yoshino hits the Torbellino. He puts on the Sol Naciente Kai for the win at 14:52. Given Hashimoto’s no-selling you have to attribute uselessness to the long leg work segment. That’s quite a black eye on this match. The rest was fine and dandy, however.
Rating: **½

Rather than show a match at intermission, Dragon Kid just announces the Gate of Destiny PPV for October 21st. Boring.

Akira Tozawa © {MB}, BxB Hulk © {MB} & “Naoki Tanisaki” © {MB} vs. Naoki Tanizaki {J}, Ryo “Jimmy” Saito {J} & Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee. {J} [Open the Triangle Gate Championship Match]
If Tanizaki loses the match he also loses his rights to his name. The Jimmyz get live entrance music, but Tanizaki is all business. So is “Tainsaki” apparently, as he attacks the musician before the match and hits a Tombstone Piledriver on the ramp. Everyone brawls. Tanizaki and “Tanisaki” fight on the ramp. Hulk and Tozawa hit a dropkick sandwich on Horiguchi. Horiguchi hits Tozawa with a head scissor takedown. MAHARA! ISAPPA! Tanizaki hits “Tanisaki” with a facebuster. He hits Hulk with a facebuster and Tozawa with a legsweep. “Tanisaki” hits a delayed vertical suplex. Hulk and Tozawa pepper Tanizaki with kicks. Hulk hits a suplex for 2. Tozawa hits a senton. He hits another with chairs for 2. Hulk and “Tanisaki” hit elbowdrops for 2. “Tanisaki” chops Tanizaki in the corner. He hits a butterfly suplex. Hulk hits a roundhouse kick and puts on an abdominal stretch. Tozawa hits a chair-assisted dropkick for 2. Hulk hits the axe kick for 2. Tanizaki hits “Tanisaki” with the FH. Saito hits Tozawa with an overhead suplex. The Jimmyz hit a triple dropkick on Hulk. Horiguchi hits the topé con hilo. Tozawa hits Machine Gun Chops on Saito and slugs him. He hits a side suplex for 2. Saito avoids the running knee and hits a German suplex for 2. Hulk saves Tozawa from the Cycling Yahoo. With “Tanisaki” and hUlk in abdominal stretches, Saito puts Tozawa in the Cycling Yahoo. Hulk escapes and makes the save. He hits Horiguchi with a senton for 2. He hits a spin kick. Darkside Tension double-teams Horiguchi. Tanizaki hits a diving kneedrop and the DH. Horiguchi hits a swinging DDT. Saito hits the Superfly Splash for 2. The Naokis trade shots. Kzy trips Tanizaki but “Tanisaki” elbows him by mistake. Horiguchi gets the Backslide from Heaven for 2. He gets it on Tozawa for 2. Tanizaki hits the FH. Saito hits a German suplex. Tanizaki blocks the DH and hits one of his own. Saito hits a dragon suplex. Tanizaki hits a back heel kick. He hits the Libido for 2. He hits the Implant for 2 when the referee gets pulled. Tozawa hits a chair shot and Hulk hits the First Flash. Tozawa hits a German suplex for 2. He hits a suicide dive. “Tanisaki” hits the Razor’s Edge for 2. Tanizaki gets a sunset flip for 2. Kzy hits a yellow box attack and Ryu salts Tanizaki. “Tanisaki” hits the Implant for 2. The crowd is now rabid for Tanizaki, but it’s all for naught as “Tanisaki” hits the Night Ride END for the win at 16:50. This was everything you’d expect action wise, with extra points for the laser focus on the battle of the Naokis. I thoroughly enjoyed this, even if the ending was somewhat heartbreaking.
Rating: ***¾

After the match Tanizaki agrees to be called Jimmy Tanizaki. “Tanisaki” is not satisfied, and says that he will rename Tanizaki. He says his crying sounds like a dolphin going quu quu, and since Tanizaki is from Toyonaka, his name will now be Mr. Quu Quu Toyonaka Dolphin. The saving grace of all this is now that he’s the only Tanisaki, I can finally stop putting quotation marks around his name. Also, Tanisaki actually making the quu quu noise is pretty funny.

Shingo Takagi © {A} & YAMATO © {A} vs. Masaaki Mochizuki {Z} & Don Fujii {Z} [Open the Twin Gate Championship Match]
YAMATO levels Fujii before the match begins. Takagi and Mochizuki start. Takagi smacks Mochizuki. Mochizuki takes offense and gets in Takagi’s face. A test of strength ends with a kick to Takagi’s chest. Takagi fires back with chops. Takagi ends an awesome exchange with a shoulder tackle. Mochizuki hits the apron kick but Takagi absorbs it. Mochizuki boots him to the floor. He hits the SicK Kick off the apron. YAMATO decks Fujii again. Fujii smacks him. He hits a lariat, knocking YAMATO to the floor. He drags YAMATO throw the stands. In the ring Mochizuki kicks the crap out of Takagi. Fujii gets a roll up for 2. He hits all of the headbutts. Takagi blocks the Sankakugeri and hits the DVD on the apron. YAMATO puts Fujii in the sleeper hold. Fujii gets to the ropes. YAMATO stops the nearly unconscious Fujii as Takagi pins Mochizuki for 2. Takagi hits a senton. YAMATO hits a dragon screw. He and Mochizuki fight over an anklelock in an exchange that YAMATO wins. Mochizuki gets to the ropes. Takagi no-sells a knee kick and hits a side suplex. YAMATO dropkicks Fujii off of the apron. Takagi hits Mochizuki with the Alabamaslam for 2. Mochizuki hits Takagi with the Sankakugeri. YAMATO hits a big boot. Mochizuki returns the favor. Fujii hits a lariat in the corner. He hits both opponents with dropkicks to their knees and a double DDT. He and Takagi trade chops. Fujii hits the Rocker Dropper and the chokeslam. YAMATO hits a hurricanrana. Mochizuki hits a missile dropkick. Fujii hits a bulldog. Mochizuki hits a chest kick for 2. Takagi hits a lariat in the corner. YAMATO hits a sick dropkick. Fujii hits a crossbody. Takagi hits a chokeslam. YAMATO hits a brainbuster and Takagi hits the Sliding Bomber for 2. Mochizuki kicks him around and Fujii gets the Gedo Clutch for 2. Takagi hits a pair of lariats. He hits the STAY DREAM for 2 when Mochizuki kicks his face. Mochizuki hits three chest kicks. Takagi hits a neckbreaker. Mochizuki hits a Tree of Woe kick. Fujii hits a second rope chokeslam for 2. Takagi rebounds off of a missile dropkick to hit the Pumping Bomber. Mochizuki blocks the Blood Fall to hit a buzzsaw kick. Takagi pops up and hits another Pumping Bomber. Fujii hits a lariat. YAMATO hits a big boot and the spear. Mochizuki hits a nasty back heel kick. Takagi hits another Pumping Bomber. Everyone just starts slugging each other. YAMATO and Takagi take control. YAMATO hits a gnarly dropkick in the corner. Mochizuki blocks the Galleria. YAMATO blocks the Twister III and puts on the sleeper hold. He hits the sleeper suplex, the punt and the brainbuster for 2. He hits the Galleria for 2. Mochizuki ducks the Shin Saikyou High Kick and hits MADE IN JAPAN for 2 when Fujii makes the save. YAMATO puts on the sleeper hold. Fujii hits Takagi with a chokeslam on the apron. Mochizuki bites his way out of the sleeper hold and kicks YAMATO’s head off. He hits the high kicks and an axe kick for 2. He hits the Sankakugeri for the win and the titles at 24:25. Things were looking pretty bad for the old timers early on, but Mochizuki’s desperation at the very end paid off, and Fujii was able to keep Takagi out of the ring long enough to make sure they got the titles. Eventually this started to look like a series of explosions, with incredible tension between said explosions. Akatsuke comes out of this looking incredibly strong, as the Veterans really just barely won the titles and looked more worn out than ever. I wish they’d have followed this up with an immediate rematch at the next PPV, because there was certainly a lot of room for one. They did not, and the upcoming Veterans vs. Jimmyz feud has to live up to a lot.
Rating: ****½

CIMA © {Z} vs. Naruki Doi {W1} [Open the Dream Gate Championship Match]
CIMA and Doi are 1-1 in Dream Gate matches. They lock up to start and Doi hits a cheap shot. Doi hits a shoulder tacke. He goes for the Muscular Bomb but settles for the Dai Bosou to the back. He hits a dropkick. He shoves CIMA to the floor and hits a suicide dive. He chokes CIMA with some metal stairs. He hits three elbowdrops for 2. CIMA hits an enziguiri. He hits a senton. He hits chest kicks. He ties Doi in a knot and pins him for 2. He works the leg. He pins Doi for 2. Doi blocks the Superdrol and hits a neckbreaker. He hits another neckbreaker for 2. He puts on a cravat. He hits a dropkick and two DDTs for 2. He stays on the neck. CIMA gets to the ropes. He hits a powerbomb and Miniora for 2. He hits a senton. Doi blocks the Perfect Driver and hits a dropkick. He hits the Dai Bosou. CIMA hits a dropkick and the Perfect Driver for 2. He hits the Venus and Iconoclasm. Doi blocks the Mad Splash and goes for the Muscular Bomb but has to settle for a tiger driver. It gets 2. He bleeds from the mouth as he hits the Doi 555 and a Rydeen Bomb for 2. He hits the Bakatare Sliding Kick in the corner. He hits the Dai Bosou of Woe. He hits a German superplex, the Doi 555 and the Bakatare Sliding Kick for 2. He goes for the Muscular Bomb but CIMA blocks it. CIMA hits a high kick. He hits the Tokarev. He hits a double knee kick. He hits the Schwein for 2. He hits the Meteora to the back but Doi knew it was coming, powered through, and sneaks up behind CIMA to hit the Muscular Bomb. Unfortunately his brains are too scrambled to go for the pin. A double count out seems likely (and would have made for a smart finish) but Doi beats the count. Somehow it doesn’t count as CIMA getting counted out. Doi hits a Bakatare Sliding Kick to the back. CIMA uses the referee to block the Muscular Bomb. He hits a superkick and a high kick. He hits the Meteora from the ropes but can’t cover. He hits the double knee kick and the Crossfire for 2. He hits the Meteora for the win at 23:58. When Doi debuted the Muscular Bomb, CIMA kicked out of it, so it was smart of him to wear down the neck before going for it. The finish was pretty anticlimactic because CIMA’s late-match comebacks weren’t dramatic at all. Still, the match was much more logical and engaging than their match from 2008, and really flew by. It didn’t measure up to their balls-out epic bonanza from 2007, but then they couldn’t do that and follow the match that came before this anyway.
Rating: ***¾

CIMA starts to close out the show but Mad Blankey runs out and attacks. Tanisaki goes after CIMA but Mochizuki makes the save. Tanisaki lists all of Veterans he’s beaten recently, including CIMA, and demands a title shot. CIMA says that nobody gets a title shot without winning the CIMA Royale. Tanisaki asks for and receives a match without the title on the line at the next Korakuen Hall show, however. He demands that it be a lumberjack match. And the Tanisaki project continues with much success.

Gamma gets on them microphone and calls out Kanda. He accepts Kanda’s challenge for a match between their two stables for the next Korakuen Hall show.