deadoraliveMay 5, 2013 – Aichi, 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: Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson

Mondai Ryu {MB} & Kzy {MB} vs. Chihiro Tominaga {A} & Yuki Shimizu
My version of this dark match starts with Tominaga and Ryu trading blows. Tominaga hits a dropkick. Shimizu cleans house with slams. Tominaga dropkicks RYu again. Shimizu hits a shoulder tackle for 2. Kzy hits the Beat Bomb on Tominaga for 2. Tominaga gets a roll up for 2. Kzy hits a pair of low blows and the Impact for the win at 5:05. Not much here to judge by, but I’m certainly curious about the unibrowed rookie Shimizu.
Rating: ¾*

Ryo “Jimmy” Saito {J}, Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee. {J} & Jimmy Kanda {J} vs. Super Shenlong {A}, Super Shisa {MG} & Cyber Kong
Saito and Shisa start. They bring a few new tricks to the opening usual. Kong wipes out Horiguchi. Horiguchi hits a head scissor takedown. Kong whips the elastic band into Horiguchi’s face. Horiguchi hits Shenlong with a hiptoss. Kanda hits a back elbow for 2. Saito hits a double stomp for 2. MARAHA! ISAPPA! Shenlong hits a dropkick on Kanda. Kanda hits a side slam for 2. Shenlong hits the Skyhigh on Horiguchi. Kong hits a shoulder tackle on Kanda. He and Shenlong get some fun offense in on Maraha Isappa. Shenlong hits a plancha on Horiguchi. Saito hits Kong with a hurricanrana. Kong hits the Cyber Combination for 2. Shisa hits a head scissor takedown. Shenlong hits the Skyhigh for 2. Kong hits a diving elbowdrop for 2. Kanda and Saito hit the Johann Woo on Shisa. Kanda hits the Jon Woo on Shenlong. Saito hits the Superfly Splash for 2. Shenlong gets a roll up for 2. Saito hits a German suplex and the Double Cross for the win at 9:18. This was a very good and energetic opener, with some cool stuff from the job team and the Johann Woo from the Jimmyz. The Johann Woo wins me over every single time.
Rating: ***

K-ness {MG} & Kotoka {MG} vs. Jimmy Kagetora {J} & Mr. Quu Quu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin {J}
Dolphin and K-ness start. They do the thing. Kotoka hits Kagetora with an elbow. He and K-ness hit a double shoulder tackle. Dolphin beats the crap out of Kotoka. Kotoka hits a basement dropkick and a suicide dive. Kagetora hits K-ness with the leaping lariat. K-ness hits an enziguiri. He hits a swinging DDT for 2. Kagetora hits an enziguiri for 2. Kotoka hits a double stomp for 2. He hits the diving double stomp for 2. K-ness hits the Kaishaku for 2. Dolphin hits the DH. He hits the Casanova. Kagetora hits a flying elbowdrop for 2. K-ness hits the Shoryuukyaku. Kagetora gets the Kagenui for 2. K-ness gets the Hikari no Wa for the win at 7:12. Kotoka still has that fire, it just sucks that his push has stalled so much. This match was fine, but like so much lately, it broke no new ground and was just there to fill out the card.
Rating: **¼

CIMA and Tozawa come out and make their cases before their main event title match tonight.

Jimmy Susumu {J} vs. Ricochet {W1}
This will be the main event of the Jimmyz portion of the show. Ricochet goes for a shoulder tackle but Susumu is too strong. Ricochet gets a roll up for 2. He hits a head scissor takedown. Susumu hits the Jumbo no Kachi. He puts on a chinlock. Ricochet gets to the ropes. Susumu hits a double kneedrop for 2. He hits shoulder thrusts in the corner for 2. He works over the midsection until Ricochet gets to the ropes. Ricochet hits a superkick. Susumu hits an exploder into the corner. Ricochet hits a missile dropkick. He hits the Sasuke Special. Susumu hits a lariat. Ricochet hits the Ace Crusher and a standing SSP for 2. Susumu blocks a standing moonsault. Ricochet hits a backdrop. Susumu hits a super exploder. Ricochet pops up and hits a dropkick. Susumu hits a lariat in the corner. Ricochet hits the Rickrack and the Regal Stretch. Susumu clubs him off the top. Ricochet hits a high kick and the Spanish Fly for 2. Susumu blocks the Shooting Star Press. He hits the Jumbo no Kachi for 2. Ricochet hits an enziguiri, but Susumu catches him with a quick Jumbo no Kachigatame for the win at 13:47. Ricochet can do no wrong right now, and they really protected him in this loss by having Susumu win with the desperation lariat. I dug the hell out of this, and wouldn’t mind seeing these two go at it again at all. I may get my wish, as Ricochet hits a cheap shot on Susumu after the fact.
Rating: ***½

Naruki Doi © {W1}, Shachihoko BOY © {W1} & Rich Swann © {W1} vs. Masaaki Mochizuki {Z}, Don Fujii {Z} & HUB {Z}
Swann and HUB start. Swann gets the better of the first exchange. He hits a dropkick. HUB whips him. Fujii dispatches BOY. He hits Doi with a crossbody. Mochizuki kicks BOY in the ring as Fujii and Doi fight around the building. Doi hits Fujii with a water bottle. Mochizuki and HUB hit BOY with a double back elbow. This match is floundering with the Doi/Fujii distraction in the crowd. HUB puts BOY in the Mark Nulty Special. Doi whips Fujii into the post. HUB suplexes BOY for 2. Fujii works the neck. The Veterans work over all the World-1’ers necks. BOY hits HUB with a head scissor takedown. Mochizuki kicks him to the floor. He and Fujii hit a spike piledriver. Doi whips Fujii into the post. Swann hits Mochizuki with a Frankensteiner. Doi dropkicks Fujii. He and Swann hit stereo dives. BOY stretches HUB. HUB gets to the ropes. BOY misses a moonsault and gets whipped. HUB hits a kneebreaker. He puts on the anklelock. HUB hits an enziguiri and a roundhouse kick. He hits a quebrada. Doi hits Mochizuki with a neckbreaker. World-1 hits a triple dropkick. Doi hits a senton and Swann hits a running SSP for 2. Mochizuki hits a big boot and HUB hits the Black Magic. Fujii hits a chokeslam for 2. Swann hits an enziguiri. He hits a suerpkick. He and Doi hit the Die Fly for 2. Swann hits an Ace Crusher. Doi hits the Bakatare Sliding Kick and Swann hits Swann on Fire for 2. Mochizuki hits a missile dropkick. He hits BOY with a roundhouse kick. BOY and Mochizuki trade kicks, which is dumb on BOY’s part. Fujii hits the avalanche chokeslam and HUB hits the Frog Splash for 2. BOY is out on his feet, and Fujii hits a lariat for 2. Doi blcoks the Armageddon and rolls HUB up for 2. HUB whips him and hits the Shining Wizard. Doi gets the V9 Clutch out of nowhere for the win at 20:45. The second half of this match was stellar. World-1 was totally outclassed, totally scrambling for any offense they could find. It looked like the Veterans had this totally in hand, so Doi had to get sneaky to hold onto the belts. The first half drags this down a bit, but it’s worth checking out. The Veterans attack the winners like a bunch of jerks after the match.
Rating: ***½

Intermission gives us clips of CIMA © {Z} vs. Akira Tozawa {MB} [Open the Dream Gate Championship Match] from last year’s Kobe World Hall show.

Dragon Kid © {Z} vs. Masato Yoshino {W1}
Yoshino has all of World-1 with him. Kid has no backup. Yoshino gets a roll up to start. He hits a dropkick. Kid hits the Déjà Vu. He hits a pair of kneedrops. He puts on a leglock. Yoshino gets to the ropes. Kid hits a dropkick. Yoshino avoids a dropkick and hits one of his own. Kid hits a head scissor takedown. Yoshino hits the Bermuda Triangle. He works the back. He hits a side slam for 2. He hits a facebuster. He stays in control with chops. Kid misses a dropkick and eats the Sling Blade. He hits the 619 and a dropkick. He hits a head scissor takedown on the floor. He hits the Diamond Dust for 2. Yoshino hits a dropkick. Kid hits an amazing stunner for 2. Yoshino blocks a Frankensteiner and hits the shotgun dropkick for 2. Kid puts on the Christo. Yoshino hits a powerbomb for 2. Kid hits an avalanche Ace Crusher for 2. They trade roll ups. Yoshino hits the Lightning Spiral for 2. They fight up top until Kid hits the Skyscraper Frankensteiner. He hits the Ultra Hurricanrana for 2. Yoshino avoids the Dragon Rana and hits a Regalplex and the Michinoku Driver for 2. Kid avoids the Lightning Spiral and hits the Bible for 2. Yoshino hits a lariat and the Lightning Spiral for 2. Enough is enough for Yoshino, and he drags Kid to the top and hits the avalanche Lightning Spiral for the win and the title at 19:05. This was probably the best match I’ve seen between the two. It’s easy to let your mind wander early in a match between Kid and Yoshino, because they’ve wrestled so many times. But once they kicked it into overdrive, everything went totally insane. Yoshino hitting a desperation lariat really sealed it for me.
Rating: ****¼

BxB Hulk © {MB} & Uhaa Nation © {MB} vs. Shingo Takagi {A} & YAMATO {A}
Takagi and Hulk start. Takagi hits a shoulder tackle. Hulk kicks his face. He hits a chest kick. Takagi hits a back bodydrop. Nation hits a shoulder tackle. He shrugs off YAMATO’s dropkick and hits one of his own. He hits Takagi with a suplex. YAMATO hits Hulk with a dragon screw. Takagi goes for the Sharpshooter but Hulk gets to the ropes. Takagi hits a back suplex for 2. Kzy hits a yellow box attack on YAMATO and things break down. Nation and Hulk hit YAMATO with elbowdrops. Nation puts on a chinlock. YAMATO gets to the ropes. Nation hits a back elbow. Hulk mists Takagi and puts YAMATO in a chinlock. YAMATO bites his hand. Hulk hits a roundhouse kick. He hits a senton for 2. YAMATO hits a spear on Hulk and a dropkick on Nation. He hits a miracle bodyslam. Takagi cleans house. He hits Nation with a hiptoss. He hits a miracle suplex. Hulk hits a spin kick. Hulk hits an axe kick but Takagi blocks a senton. Hulk hits an enziguiri but Takagi comes back with the Pumping Bomber. YAMATO cleans house. Nation hits a double lariat. Hulk hits Takagi with the AEVO for 2. Nation hits a powerslam and Hulk hits the BxB Star Press for 2. Nation hits a powerbomb. He hits the Superfly Splash for 2. Takagi hits the DVD. YAMATO hits Hulk with the running dropkick. Takagi throws Hulk across the ring. He hits the Alabamaslam for 2. Nation saves Hulk from MADE IN JAPAN. He completely retakes control. He hits the Uhaa CombiNation for 2 when Takagi makes the save for Hulk. He hits a powerbomb but YAMATO counters a second to a guillotine choke. Hulk makes the save with an axe kick. Takagi hits the Pumping Bomber on Hulk out of nowhere. Nation hits a lariat. Takagi hits the Pumping Bomber. Hulk hits the First Flash. Hulk suplexes YAMATO and hits the First Flash for 2. YAMATO counters the EVO to the sleeper hold and then hits the sleeper suplex, punt, and brainbuster for 2. He hits the Galleria for the win and the titles at 23:38. It was really interesting seeing YAMATO and Takagi work out the Uhaa obstacle. The finish had the crowd absolutely melting as well. This was definitely the best match Nation has been a part of to date.
Rating: ****

CIMA © {Z} vs. Akira Tozawa {MB} [Open the Dream Gate Championship Match]
CIMA hits a shoulder tackle to start. Both guys have trouble connecting. Tozawa works the arm. CIMA gets to the ropes. Tozawa dropkicks the arm. He puts on another armbar but CIMA gets to the ropes. Tozawa hits a shoulder breaker for 2. CIMA hits an amazing facebuster and puts on a leglock. Tozawa gets to the ropes. CIMA slams Tozawa’s knee on the mat. He puts on a cloverleaf. Tozawa gets to the ropes. Tozawa hits the running knee. He knocks CIMA to the floor and hits a triple suicide dive. He makes a chair pile on the floor and suplexes CIMA onto it. He hits a chair shot to the arm. He hits a brainbuster for 2. He hits another shoulder breaker and puts on a modified kimura. CIMA gets to the ropes. He hits a bicycle kick and a side suplex for 2. CIMA puts on a Stretch Muffler but Tozawa gets to the ropes. CIMA hits a pair of double knee kicks and the Perfect Driver for 2. He hits the Miniora for 2. Tozawa hits a bicycle kick. He puts chairs on CIMA’s gut and hits a diving senton. It takes him a long time to cover, because the chairs hurt him as well, and he only gets 2. CIMA hits a superkick. Tozawa hits a bicycle kick. CIMA hits another superkick and a Regalplex for 2. He hits the Schwein for 2. He hits the Meteora to the back and to the front for 2. He hits the Crossfire for 2. He hits another Meteora for 2. The crowd isn’t going as crazy as you might expect, because these kick-outs kind of seem ridiculous. Tozawa hits a bicycle kick. Yep, he’s fine. They fight up top until Tozawa hits a superplex for 2. He hits a German suplex. CIMA kicks his leg. Tozawa hits the Ganki and running knee for 2. He hits a German suplex for 2. He hits the High Tension Suplex for 2. CIMA blocks a second attempt and hits the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex for the win at 30:28. Usually I’m annoyed by the first ten minutes of Dream Gate Matches, but in this case that segment was fun because CIMA was all about his new lucha submissions. However, the final stretch here was terribly annoying, because it was CIMA hitting all of his finishers and Tozawa kicking out, then Tozawa doing the same and CIMA kicking out, then CIMA hitting his lame 2013 finisher to seal the deal. A different finish would have made this better than their 2012 bout, but as it is, it’s about on par. Sure this didn’t have a botched finish, but it did have a played-out one.
Rating: ***½