roflbotApril 4, 2013 – Tokyo, 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}, Jimmy Kagetora {J} & Mr. Quu Quu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin {J} vs. Masaaki Mochizuki {Z}, Don Fujii {Z} & Super Shisa {MG}
Kagetora and Fujii start. Fujii gets a roll up for 2. Kagetora hits a dropkick. Kanda hits Mochizuki with the Jon Woo. Mochizuki blocks a suicide dive. Dolphin blocks Shisa’s suicide dive. He hits a pair of facebusters, but Shisa counters the legsweep to an abdominal stretch. Dolphin escapes and hits the legsweep. Kagetora hits a dropkick. He and Shisa trade dropkicks. Fujii works the neck. Kagetora hits an enziguiri. He hits a leaping lariat. Kanda hits a diving lariat. The Jimmyz hit a triple suicide dive. Dolphin hits Mochizuki with a pair of Casanovas for 2. Kagetora hits a flying elbowdrop for 2. Mochizuki cleans house with dragon screws. He dropkicks Kanda from behind. Fujii hits a lariat and Mochizuki hits a pair of kicks for 2. Fujii hits Kagetora with a crossbody and Dolphin with the Thesz Press. Mochizuki hits the Ikkakugeri. Shisa goes for the Yoshi Tonic, but Kagetora pulls him off and rolls him up for the win at 12:29. The Veterans take the loss badly. I dug the hell out of that finish, and the action moved so quickly that it was hard to keep up. Throw in a few spots I’ve never seen before and you’ve got a recipe for a fun opener.
Rating: ***

Kzy {MB} & Mondai Ryu {MB} vs. Stalker Ichikawa {Z} & Cyber Kong
Ichikawa attacks during Mad Blankey’s entrance. They whip him into the post. Kong evens the odds. Ichikawa misses a plancha. Kong cleans house with lariats. Kzy hits Ichikawa with a yellow box attack. Ryu hits a basement dropkick. Ichikawa hits the Kancho. Kong hits a lariat. Ichikawa hits an assisted Kancho and Kong hits a powerbomb. Kong hits the diving elbowdrop for 2. Ichikawa botches the handspring. Ryu salts Kong and Kzy (by mistake), and Ichikawa gets a roll up for 2. Kzy hits the Beat Bomb and the Impact for the win at 5:42. No new ground was broken in this world of Ichi-comedy. Fujii and Mochizuki drag Ichikawa to the back after the match.
Rating: ½*

Shingo Takagi {A} vs. Kotoka {MG}
Kotoka is in super serious mode, with his hair slicked back and no theatrics during his entrance. He hits Takagi with a suicide dive during his entrance. He baits Takagi into the post. He hits a dropkick off the apron. He hits a shotgun dropkick and a drop toehold into the corner. He hits a bulldog. He hits another shotgun dropkick for 1. Takagi hits a bodyslam and a shoulder tackle. He hits a chair shot on the floor. He hits a double stomp in the ring. He dumps Kotoka on the top rope. He hits a pair of sentons. He hits short-arm clotheslines and another bodyslam. He hits the falling elbowdrop for 2. They trade elbows in an exchange that goes badly for Kotoka. Kotoka hits a leaping elbow. He dropkicks the leg and hits a bodyslam. He sweeps the leg and hits a buzzsaw kick for 1. He hits a double stomp and a diving double stomp. He hits a third double stomp for 2. Takagi hits a lariat and a back suplex. He hits an insane powerbomb for 2. Kotoka blocks the Pumping Bomber, but Takagi rebounds with a quick lariat. Kotoka hits a headbutt but Takagi hits another lariat for 2. He hits the Pumping Bomber and a kneedrop to the back of the head for the win at 7:44. I would have liked to see a little more fight out of Kotoka here, if Takagi was going over anyway, but the finish was quite a brutal way to put an end to Kotoka’s spitfire run. After the match Takagi drags Kotoka to his feet and tells the crowd to give him a round of applause. That’s more a rub than younger guys usually get in their losing efforts in Dragon Gate, so here’s hoping the push isn’t totally gone.
Rating: ***¼

Naruki Doi {W1}, Masato Yoshino {W1} & Shachihoko BOY {W1} vs. Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee. {J}, Jimmy Susumu {J} & Ryo “Jimmy” Saito {J}
Saito, wearing the Open the Owarai Gate title belt. and BOY start. Saito takes off the belt, but BOY must have been inspired by it because he gets silly. Saito attacks him from behind. BOY hits a head scissor takedown and a dropkick. Susumu and Doi trade offense. Yoshino takes Horiguchi by the hair. He hits a dropkick. Horiguchi hits a head scissor takedown. Saito works the arm. World-1 returns the favor. Susumu hits a knee to the gut for 2. He and Saito stand on BOY’s gut. MARAHA! ISAPPA! SUSUMU! BOY’s antenna and Horiguchi’s ponytail make them dance involuntarily. Yoshino hits the elevated facebuster for 2. BOY hits the Shachihoko Splash for 2. He and Horiguchi trade dropkicks. Doi gets a face full of elastic band on a backfire. Saito and Susumu hit stereo backbreakers. Susumu hits Yoshino with the DVD. He puts on From Jungle. BOY paralyzes Horiguchi with his ponytail. Saito selfishly thinks about putting Doi in the Cycling Yahoo, but then saves his partners instead. He hits the Fisherman Express. Doi hits a neckbreaker. Yoshino hits the Michinoku Driver for 2. BOY misses the moonsault and Saito hits a German suplex. Horiguchi hits a brainbuster for 2. BOY gets la magistral on Susumu for 2. Susumu hits a lariat for 2. He and Saito hit the Genkai for 2. Yoshino hits the Sling Blade. Doi hits a dropkick. He hits Horiguchi with the DOi 55 and the Bakatare Sliding Kick for 2. Yoshino hits the Torbellino and Lightning Spiral for the win at 15:43. Most of the match was focused on making fun of BOY’s ridiculously gravely voice. I appreciate the comedy in the first half of the match, because it differentiated this from the countless matches between these two teams. The home stretch was also appropriately fast and insane.
Rating: ***½

YAMATO {A} vs. Kenichiro Arai {MG}
They shove and chop each other to start. Arai dumps YAMATO but misses a suicide dive. YAMATO hits a suicide dive. He works the neck. He puts on a half crab but Arai gets to the ropes. YAMATO goes back to the leg. Arai gets to the ropes. YAMATO foolishly goes for a headbutt. He hits a bunch of them and both men fall. Arai hits the Alabamaslam for 2. He puts on a half crab. YAMATO gets to the ropes. Arai misses a chanrge and hits the post. YAMATO punts his head. Arai hits a big boot. YAMATO hits an enziguiri. Arai hits a tiger suplex. YAMATO gets a roll up for 2. He puts on the anklelock. He ducks an enziguiri and puts on the sleeper hold. Arai blocks the Gallaria and hits the Tombstone Piledriver and the Hanshin Tiger Suplex for 2. He misses the Firebird Splash. YAMATO hits the running dropkick. He hits a brainbuster for 2. They trade roll ups. YAMATO counters the Tombstone Piledriver to the Gallaria for the win at 15:00. The finish was cool, the match was competitive, and the crowd was into it. Those are ingredients for a good time at the wrestling show. I also like that, while Arai did well, he wasn’t really shown to be in YAMATO’s league, which is good considering YAMATO will continue to be showcased and Arai will not.
Rating: ***½

After the match YAMATO baits Arai into a handshake, a la Takagi and Kotoka, but then attacks him and shoves him to the floor.

Akira Tozawa {MB} & BxB Hulk {MB} vs. Dragon Kid {Z} & HUB {Z}
Darkside Tension attacks before the bell. Hulk drags HUB around by his tail. HUB tries to whip him but misses. Kid hits Tozawa with a head scissor takedown. He dropkicks Hulk and Tozawa in the corner. Tozawa hits a German suplex. Hulk hits a senton for 2. He hits a roundhouse kick for 2. DARKSIDE! TENSION! Tozawa hits a senton. He hits a chair shot and a chair-assisted senton for 2. Kid hits a head scissor takedown on Hulk. He hits the 619 on Tozawa. HUB cleans house. He piles Hulk on Tozawa and hits a senton. Kid hits the Bermuda Triangle. HUB hits Black Magic for 2. Tozawa hits Machine Gun Chops. Kzy and Ryu run in and attack. Tozawa cuts off HUB’s tail with hedge clippers. HUB goes crazy, but falls to a chair shot. Tozawa whips both opponents with the dismembered tail. Kid hits Hulk with a stunner. Hulk hits the Mouse and an axe kick for 2. Kid hits the Messiah for 2. Hulk hits the uranage for 2. HUB, wearing a new mask with a new tail, cleans house with tail whips. Kid hits the Skyscraper Frankensteiner on Tozawa. HUB hits a lariat for 2. He hits the Armageddon for 2 when Ryu attacks the referee. Hulk hits Kid with the First Flash and HUB with the EVOP for 2. He hits an axe kick and Tozawa hits a German suplex for 2. Tozawa hits the High Tension Suplex (a real nasty one) for the win at 18:37. The masked team is officially impotent, being unable to win any matches as a team. The match however, was very interesting, and the tail cutting added a unique dimension that made it memorable.
Rating: ***½

Did I just give three matches in a row the exact same rating? Snowflakes sure are silly. After the match Kzy rips off Kid’s mask and wears it.

CIMA © {Z} vs. K-ness {MG} [Open the Dream Gate Championship Match]
Despite being in Dragon Gate and Toryumon pretty much since the beginning, this is K-ness’ very first shot at the Dream Gate title (he never got a shot at the UDG Championship, and only ever main-evented one PPV in a singles match; a mask vs. mask match against Dragon Kid.) K-ness hits an enziguiri to start. He hits a bulldog. He puts on a chinlock. He hits an elbowdrop for 2. CIMA hits a double stomp. He hits a senton. He works K-ness’ back on the floor. He hits a Lionsault for 2. Both men miss dives. CIMA hits a chair shot. He uses the chair to work the back. He puts on a pair of body scissors but K-ness gets to the ropes. Susumu watches from afar. CIMA hits a double kneedrop to the back. He puts on a cloverleaf. K-ness gets to the ropes. K-ness hits a vertical suplex. He hits a high kick and a DDT for 2. He hits a brainbuster for 2. CIMA blocks the Kaishaku. He hits a dropkick and a back suplex. He hits a double stomp and a double kneedrop for 2. K-ness hits an enziguiri. CIMA hits the Superdrol. K-ness hits a high kick and the Kaishaku for 2. CIMA hits a superkick. K-ness blocks the Schweinsteiner and hits a Frankensteiner. CIMA blocks a Darkness move and hits the Perfect Driver for 2. K-ness collapses. Susumu tries to cheer him on, as the Jimmyz have joined the Windows corner in support of K-neSuka. CIMA hits another chair shot. He hits the Neji to Hashi for 2. K-ness avoids the Meteora and hits the sssss for 2. He hits a Double Stomp of Woe. He kicks the crap out of CIMA in the Tree of Woe. He hits a Razor’s Edge for 2. CIMA hits a superkick. K-ness counters the Schwein to a Yoshi Tonic and then gets the Hikari no Wa for 2. He hits the ssss. CIMA hits the Schwein for 2. He hits the Meteora to the back. He hits the Crossfire for 2. He hits the Meteora for the win at 27:33. CIMA’s defenses tend to be more interesting when his opponent’s game plan is the focus of the match. Instead, they went the drama-heavy route. K-ness got to have a couple of fun hope spots, but the title never seemed to be in any real kind of jeopardy.
Rating: ***¾

After the match CIMA puts K-ness over for his recovery from big injuries, and his ability to wow the crowd. K-ness assures everyone that they will see more of him. They hug. Mad Blankey comes out. Tozawa talks trash until CIMA superkicks him. Mad Blankey retaliates. Gamma returns and makes the save, stripping Ryu of his mask. Blankey attacks again, so Susumu wipes them out with Jumbo no Kachis. CIMA falls into Tozawa’s trap and names him the next Dream Gate challenger. He also sets up a match with K-neSuka against Mad Blankey. Kzy and Uhaa Nation will be Tozawa’s partners.

The show ends by revealing the King of Gate brackets. Participating this year are YAMATO, Mochizuki, Takagi, Hulk, Rich Swann, Horiguchi, Fujii, Yoshino, Tozawa, Susumu, Nation, Kid, Doi, Saito, Ricochet, and the winner of a mini-tournament consisting of Kotoka, Ryu, Super Shenlong, and Chihiro Tominaga.