March 17, 2013 – Kobe, Japan
Open the Dream Gate Champion: CIMA
Open the Triangle Gate Champions: Naruki Doi, Rich Swann & Shachihoko BOY
Open the Brave Gate Champion: Dragon Kid
Open the Twin Gate Champions: BxB Hulk & Uhaa Nation
Open the Freedom Gate Champion: Johnny Gargano
Open the United Gate Champions: CIMA & AR Fox
Jimmy Kanda {J} vs. Shachihako BOY {W1}
They fight on the mat to start. BOY hits a pair of armdrags. He puts on a seated abdominal stretch and gets a roll up for 1. Kanda hits a side slam. He hits an elbowdrop for 2. He hits a running elbow. BOY hits a satellite head scissor takedown and a dropkick. He hits a missile dropkick for 2. Kanda blocks the Shiranui but BOY hits a springboard enziguiri. Kanda ducks the roundhouse kick and hits the Flapjack. He hits a hammerlock suplex for 2. BOY blocks the Ryus and gets a roll up for 2. He gets a small package for 2. Kanda misses the Jon Woo and BOY hits the roundhouse kick for 2. Kanda hits an exploder and Gemran suplex for 2. He hits the Ryus for the win at 6:24. There wasn’t much going on here out of the ordinary, but I like like both of these guys a lot lot, so it worked for me.
Rating: **¼
Jimmy Kagetora {J} & Mr. Quu Quu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin {J} vs. Super Shisa {MG} & Cyber Kong
Dolphin and Shisa start. They trade armdrags. Kong hits Kagetora with a shoulder tackle. Kagetora hits an armdrag and a dropkick and a suicide dive. Kong’s selling is weird. Dolphin hits Shisa with the facebusters and legsweep for 2. Kong helps Shisa hit a dropkick. He press slams Shisa on to Kagetora for 2. Kagetora hits the Ace Crusher. Shisa hits Dolphin with a dropkick. Dolphin hits a facebuster. He hits the Casanova for 2. Shisa puts both opponents in the Octopus Stretch. Kong hits lariats. He hits Kagetora with the Pineapple Bomber for 2. Dolphin hits a facebuster to block the Yoshi Tonic. Kagetora hits Kong with an enziguiri. Kong blocks the Implant but Dolphin hits the FH. He hits the Implant for the win at 7:44. Dolphin is just a blast to watch almost all the time. Kong was a little off here, but he can’t be very motivated in his current role.
Rating: **½
Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee. {J} & Kotoka {MG} vs. YAMATO {A} & Super Shenlong {A}
Why couldn’t Horiguchi and Shisa swap spots to make the Windows feel like a real faction for once? Kotoka attacks Shenlong before the bell. Shenlong hits a dropkick. Kotoka hits a suicide dive. Horiguchi chokes YAMATO with streamers. Saito and Horiguchi hit YAMATO with the elastic band. Figures that someone in Akatsuki would be one of the first real victims of that gimmick. Kotoka hits Shenlong with a double stomp and a baseball slide for 2. Horiguchi hits a back suplex for 2. YAMATO goes to town on Kotoka with a chair. Just turn him heel already. Shenlong hits a dropkick for 2. YAMATO hits a back elbow and then gets in Horiguchi’s face. Shenlong hits Kotoka with a vertical suplex for 2. He and YAMATO hit bodyslams. YAMATO hits a dropkick for 2. Kotoka hits a brainbuster. Horiguchi dropkicks Shenlong. Kotoka hits a dropkick. Horiguchi hits a bodyslam and Kotoka hits the diving double stomp for 2. Horiguchi hits YAMATO with a head scissor takedown. Shenlong hits a dropkick. YAMATO hits a brainbuster for 2. Horiguchi blocks the Galleria and enziguiri and gets the Backslide from Heaven for 2. Shenlong hits Kotoka with the Skyhigh. Kotoka hits a double stomp for 2. He misses the diving double stomp and YAMATO hits the running dropkick. Shenlong hits a crucifix bomb for 2. YAMATO hits a chair shot. TURN HIM HEEL! Shenlong and Kotoka trade roll ups. Kotoka avoids the Skyhigh and gets a schoolboy for the win at 12:43. This kid is seriously on fire. The match was too much fun, and Kotoka got to be the highlight again. Couple that with YAMATO being a total dick and you have yourself a winner of a match.
Rating: ***¼
Shingo Takagi {A} vs. Rich Swann {W1}
Takagi grabs a waistlock to start. He hits a shoulder tackle. Swann hits a dropkick. Swann hits mounted punches while screaming, “high tension!†Takagi hits knees to the gut. He dumps Swann on the apron. He hits a double stomp. He hits short-arm clotheslines and a bodyslam. He hits the diving elbowdrop for 2. He puts on the body scissors. Swann gets to the ropes. He hits a Frankensteiner. They trade Kawada kicks. Swann hits the Rocker Dropper and Rolling Thunder for 2. Takagi hits the Sliding Bomber for 2. Swann hits the Ace Crusher for 2. He hits the Frog Splash for 2. Takagi blocks Swann on Fire. He hits a lariat in the corner. He hits the Blood Fall. Swann gets a roll up for 2. He hits a pair of superkicks. Takagi hits a lariat for 2. He hits the Pumping Bomber for 2. He hits MADE IN JAPAN for the win at 11:14. These guys are both in serious danger of getting stale. This match was about as paint-by-numbers as it gets until the last thirty seconds. Frankly, both Takagi and Swann need to shake it up somehow.
Rating: **½
Mondai Ryu {MB} & Kzy {MB} vs. Dragon Kid {Z} & HUB {Z}
Kzy and Ryu attack before the bell. Kid hits Kzy with a head scissor takedown. Ryu plays with HUB’s tail. HUB whips Ryu with it. Kid hits a pair of kneedrops. Ryu chokes him for 2. HUB hits a dropkick and a senton. Kzy hits a double legdrop. HUB hits a bodyslam. Kid hits a dropkick. Ryu hits a Tree of Woe dropkick for 2. Kzy hits the B-Boy for 2. He and Ryu hit a dropkick sandwich for 2. Kid hits Ryu with the 619 and Kzy with a dropkick. HUB hits a knee kick. He whips both opponents with his ail. He hits a knee crusher and puts on a leglock. Kid puts Ryu in the Christop. Ryu slams to escape and saves Kzy. He hits the Panic Attack. Kzy hits the Beat Bomb for 2. Kid hits the Skyscraper Frankensteiner for 2. HUB hits the DH and a lariat for 2. Kzy gets the Skayde Schoolboy for 2. Kid hits the Bible for 2. Kzy hits a yellow box attack and rolls Kid up for the win at 10:51. The Zodiac team didn’t do anything to make me think that their pairing is a particularly good idea. In fact, they pretty much got handled by the undercard Kzy/Ryu team. The bad guys may have cheated a bit, but they didn’t need help from their more skilled teammates. That’s a bad omen for the masked team. After the match Kzy mocks Kid for losing and still dodging his Brave Gate challenge.
Rating: **
Jimmy Susumu {J} & Ryo “Jimmy†Saito {J} vs. Naruki Doi {W1} & Masato Yoshino {W1}
This isn’t being called a number one contenders’ match, but they’re not fooling anyone. Susumu and Doi start. They do the usual until Susumu hits a shoulder tackle. Saito hits Yoshino with a hurricanrana. Yoshino hits a dropkick. He puts on a chinlock. He and Doi take turns abusing Susumu’s groin. Saito hits a double stomp and puts on the body scissors. Yoshino goes to the leg but Saito gets to the ropes. He hits a double stomp to the arm. SPEED! MUSCLE! Doi hits a neckbreaker and a senton for 2. He dropkicks the leg. Yoshino hits a dropkick. A chop exchange cripples Saito’s confidence. Doi hits the hanging senton for 2. Saito hits an overhead suplex. Susumu hits Yoshino with a backbreaker. He hits the DVD to block the Coumori and gets 2. Yoshino hits a backdrop. He hits the Sling Blade for 2. He puts on From Jungle but Saito makes the save. RYO! SUKA! Saito hits the Fisherman Express. Doi gets a roll up for 2. He hits a dropkick. Yoshino hits the elevated facebuster for 2. He hits the shotgun dropkick on Doi by mistake. Saito hits a German suplex. Susumu hits the super exploder and Saito hits the Superfly Splash for 2. Yoshino blocks the Mugen and hits a back suplex. Doi hits a neckbreaker for 2. Yoshino hits the Torbellino and Doi hits the Bakatare Sliding Kick for 2. Saito hits a pair of dragon suplexes for 2. Susumu hits the Mugen for 2. Saito hits a hurricanrana. Susumu hits lariats on Doi. Doi hits the Doi 555. Susumu hits the Jumbo no Kachigatame but Doi cuts back. They go back and forth looking for roll ups. Susumu hits the Jumbo no Kachi and another Jumbo no Kachigatame for the win at 16:03. That finish was sick, and almost too fast to follow. The rest of the match was fun, if predictable and safe.
Rating: ***¼
Akira Tozawa {MB}, BxB Hulk {MB} & Uhaa Nation {MB} vs. CIMA {Z}, Masaaki Mochizuki {Z} & Don Fujii {Z}
Everyone brawls to start. Fujii chops Hulk in the ring while the others fight on the floor. Hulk hits a spin kick. Mochizuki and Fujii dump Darkside Tension on the floor. CIMA wants to arm wrestle with Nation, then hits a cheap shot. He hits an enziguiri. Nation hits a dropkick. He wipes out MochiFujii with lariats. Fujii hits Tozawa with a back bodydrop. He works the neck. Mochizuki hits a back kick. He hits Hulk with a chest kick. CIMA hits a senton for 2. He puts on a chinlock. Hulk hits a hiptoss. Nation and Tozawa hit a double back elbow. CIMA dropkick the leg but Nation blocks the dragon screw. CIMA suplexes Tozawa. Fujii smacks the back. He puts on a leglock. Hulk makes the save. Fuji hits a back elbow. Ryu hits a yellow box attack on Mochizuki. Hulk hits a roundhouse kick and a senton for 2. He puts on an abdominal stretch. Tozawa hits a dropkick. He and Hulk pepper Mochizuki with kicks. Nation hits a legdrop. He puts on a chinlock. Hulk hits the Kakato Otoshi for 2. Tozawa hits a senton. Nation slams Tozawa onto Mochizuki. He does it again, this time with chairs. Mochizuki hits Hulk with the Sankakugeri. He hits Tozawa with a big boot. CIMA dropkicks Nation. He suplexes Hulk while holding Tozawa in a leglock. A Nation shoulder tackle backfires. Fujii hits a lariat for 1. Nation suplexes MochiFujii. Hulk hits the Mouse. He sweeps the leg. Mochizuki blocks the First Flash. He hits a suplex for 2. Tozawa hits a brainbuster for 2. He kicks CIMA to the floor. Mochizuki blocks the dive and Fujii hits a chokeslam for 2. Fujii and Mochizuki get help from CIMA to hit Nation with a double back suplex. Nation double powerbombs Mochizuki for 2. He hits CIMA with the powerslam. Ryu accidentally salts Tozawa. Kzy hits Fujii with the yellow box and Hulk hits the EVO. Nation hits a Superfly Splash for 2. He hits the Uhaa CombiNation for the win at 21:00. Nation looked great here, as he picked his spots perfectly and was made to look only dangerous, never mundane. Everyone else pretty much worked around that story, and did a great job in doing so.
Rating: ***½
After the match, Tozawa says their feud with the old-timers is over. RyoSuka come out to challenge for the Twin Gate titles. After some scheduling issues are worked out, the match is set for April 19.
