kog20131May 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: Masato Yoshino
Open the Twin Gate Champions: YAMATO & Shingo Takagi
Open the Freedom Gate Champion: Johnny Gargano
Open the United Gate Champions: Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson

Jimmy Kagetora {J} vs. Mondai Ryu {MB}
Ryu goes to the eyes to start. He hits a dropkick. He chokes Kagetora on the mat. He humps Kagetora’s face in the corner. He hits another dropkick for 2. Kagetora hits the leaping lariat. He hits an enziguiri for 2. Ryu hits a low blow. He hits the Panic Attack for 2. Kagetora smacks the crap out of him and hits a brainbuster for 2. He blocks a low blow, hits a low blow, and hits the Ikkitousen for the win at 4:53. This probably should have gone on second, as the crowd didn’t react to it, and it isn’t going to be remembered by the time I start watching the next match.
Rating: ½*

Akira Tozawa {MB}, BxB Hulk {MB} & Uhaa Nation {MB} vs. Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee. {J}, Ryo “Jimmy” Saito {J} & Mr. Quu Quu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin {J}
Mad Blankey attacks before the bell. Everyone brawls around the building. Tozawa uses a kid as a human shield. He and Hulk hit Horiguchi with a double back elbow. Dolphin hits Hulk with an elbow. Nation hits a dropkick on Saito. Nation and Tozawa high five, because they’re in love with each other. You didn’t know that was so? Follow either one of them on Vine. MARAHA! ISAPPA! Dolphin makes with the facebusters. Nation hits him with a side slam for 2. Nation hits Saito with a back elbow. Hulk hits a roundhouse kick and a senton for 2. Tozawa hits a senton. He hits another with a pair of chairs for 2. Saito hits a German suplex. Horiguchi hits Hulk with a head scissor takedown. Dolphin hits Nation with the Casanova. Tozawa hits a brainbuster for 2. Dolphin avoids the running knee and hits the Casanova. Horiguchi dropkicks Hulk. Tozawa hits a back suplex for 2. Dolphin hits the DH and a diving knee. Horiguchi hits Hulk with a swinging DDT for 2. Saito hits the Superfly Splash for 2. Nation cleans house. He hits the Superfly Splash on Dolphin for 2. He hits the Uhaa CombiNation for the win at 10:26. Yep, that definitely should have been the opener. It was so much fun, and made me want to see a Dolphin vs. Tozawa singles match very badly. I know they’ve wrestled each other before, but both are far more awesome now.
Rating: ***

After the match, Nation drags Ryotsu Shimizu into the ring. He starts to attack the young boy, but Shimizu nails him with a shoulder tackle. Nation comes back with a dropkick, but Mad Blankey and the Jimmyz separate them. Shimizu looks SO YOUNG. He also apparently hasn’t had enough, as ducks away from the Jimmyz and attacks Nation again. I can think of a million worse ways to try to get over, but all of them are safer.

Shingo Takagi {A} & YAMATO {A} vs. Super Shenlong {A} & Chihiro Tominaga {A}
YAMATO, who has been hating strong on Tominaga and Shenlong lately, literally drags them to the ring, quite violently, to start the match. The match begins with YAMATO hitting Tominaga with a shoulder tackle. He hits a hiptoss. Takagi absorbs Shenlong’s shoulder tackles and hits a bodyslam. He hits a big shoulder tackle. He works the neck. YAMATO no-sells Shenlong’s offense, and then beats the crap out of him. He attacks Tominaga on the apron. He hits a back elbow for 2. Takagi hits Shenlong with a delayed vertical suplex for 2. YAMATO brings a chair into the ring, but Takagi takes it away from him. Takagi insists he be the legal man for a while. Shenlong hits a dropkick. He hits a leg lariat. YAMATO tags in, absorbs Tominaga’s dropkick, avoids his top rope dropkick, and bullies him. He hits an exploder for 2. Takagi hits a powerbomb for 2. He hits a back suplex for 2. YAMATO hits the punt and brainbuster for 2 on Shenlong. He hits an enziguiri. Takagi accidentally hits YAMATO with the Pumping Bomber and Tominaga pins him for the win at 9:25. His crazy celebration is interrupted when YAMATO beats the crap out of him. YAMATO accosts Takagi for the mistake. He accuses him of doing it on purpose. Takagi tells him that accidents happen and he needs to chill out. YAMATO tells him how angry losing to Tominaga makes him, and the walks off. Takagi sticks around with the rest of Akatsuki and mends fences. The match wasn’t much, but the storyline was well done, and YAMATO is starting to feel like a loose cannon.
Rating: **½

Naruki Doi {W1} & Rich Swann {W1} vs. HUB {Z} & Kotoka {MG}
Swann and Kotoka start. Kotoka wants Doi. Doi obliges and they trade holds for a bit. Doi gets a roll up for 2. Swann hits HUB with a dropkick. Doi puts Kotoka in a chinlock. He and Swann hit a double suplex. Doi hits a senton and Swann hits a standing SSP for 2. Swann puts on a chinlock. Doi hits the hanging senton for 2. Kotoka comes back with a dropkick. HUB whips World-1. He stacks Swann on Doi and hits a diving senton. He hits Doi with the Black Magic. He puts on the anklelock. Doi hits a dropkick. Swann hits a Frankensteiner for 2. He hits the Rocker Dropper and the Rolling Thunder for 2. Kotoka hits a double stomp for 2. HUB hits the DH and a weird splash for 2. Kotoka misses the diving double stomp. Swann hits an enziguiri. Kotoka rolls up Doi for 2. Swann hits the Ace Crusher for 2. Swann and Doi hit the Die Sky for the win at 10:13. Perfectly acceptable midcard stuff here, and I dig that Kotoka wrestled the bulk of the match with HUB as little more than an accessory.
Rating: **¾

CIMA {Z}, Masaaki Mochizuki {Z} & Don Fujii {Z} vs. K-ness {MG}, Super Shisa {MG} & Cyber Kong
This is Mochizuki’s 2500th match. That said, would it have been so hard to get Kenichiro Arai in there instead of Kong? Fujii and Kong start. Kong hits a shoulder tackle. He misses an elbowdrop and Fujii hits a double stomp. Fujii gets a roll up for 2. He gets a couple more for 2. Mochizuki hits Shisa with a back kick. Shisa hits a dropkick. K-ness hits CIMA with a head scissor takedown. Shisa and CIMA show off on the mat. Shisa works Fujii’s arm. Fujii escapes and puts on the head scissors. He hits a bodyslam and an elbowdrop. He works the neck. CIMA hits a senton. He stays on the neck. Kong makes the save. Shisa appears to be out. Mochizuki puts on a rear naked choke. Kong makes the save. Shisa counters a chokeslam to a cross armbreaker. He puts CIMA and Mochizuki in an Octopus Stretch. Mochizuki and K-ness show off their fancy kicks. K-ness hits a vertical suplex for 2. CIMA saves Mochizuki from the Aoki Hikari. CIMA rolls Kong up for 2. He ties Kong in a knot and rolls him up again for 2. Kong hits the Cyber Cutter. The masked men gang up on CIMA for 2. CIMA hits a sloppy superkick on Shisa. Mochizuki hits a big boot and Fujii hits a lariat for 2. He hits a chokeslam for 2. Shisa rolls Mochizuki up for 2. K-ness hits the Shoryuuyaku. Shisa hits a European uppercut. Mochizuki hits chest kicks. He hits a back heel kick for 2. He hits the Twister for the win at 14:48. This was pretty flat. Nobody seemed to be connecting to the crowd, and only the last minute had any fire. Points for the cool mat work CIMA and Shisa brought to the game, and the fun little exchange between Mochizuki and K-ness, but this was overall very disappointing given the talent involved.
Rating: **¼

After the match, Gamma comes out and announces that he’ll be returning soon, and that K-ness will be in the match. Then Mochizuki and Fujii challenge for the Twin Gate titles.

Ricochet {W1} vs. Masato Yoshino {W1} [Quarterfinal Match]
In the opening round, Ricochet beat Saito and Yoshino beat Tozawa to get here. They flip around each other until Ricochet hits a dropkick. Ricochet plays guitar with Yoshino’s arm. Yoshino goes after the leg. Ricochet gets a roll up for 2. He hits the Corner Head Slam^2 for 2. He gets a crucifix pin for 2. He hits a standing moonsault for 2. Yoshino hits a back bodydrop and a basement dropkick. He works the leg with kicks and a leglock. Ricochet gets to the ropes. Yoshino puts on another leglock but Ricochet gets to the ropes. Yoshino hits the Sling Blade for 2. Ricochet smacks him. He hits the Ace Crusher. He hits a huge topé. He hits a neckbreaker and a standing SSP for 2. Yoshino blocks the Regalplex and hits a dropkick. Ricochet hits a facebuster and puts on an armbar. Yoshino gets to the ropes. Ricochet hits chest kicks. Yoshino hits a dropkick. He hits the Shotgun Dropkick for 2. Ricochet hits a neckbreaker out of the Gory Special for 2. He hits the Regalplex for 2. Yoshino blocks a 450 Splash and hits a back suplex. He hits the Michinoku Driver for 2. Ricochet gets a roll up for 2. Yoshino hit the Torbellino. Ricochet blocks the Lightning Spiral and hits a superkick. He hits Shooting Star Presses from the second and top rope for the win at 15:18. Yoshino’s veteran strategy ended up being no match for Ricochet’s youthful exuberance. It’s really exciting to watch the American just get better and better.
Rating: ***¼

After the match, Swann congratulates Ricochet and consoles Yoshino. Then he challenges Yoshino for the Brave Gate Championship. Yoshino accepts, and Swann is crazy excited.

Jimmy Susumu {J} vs. Dragon Kid {Z} [Quarterfinal Match]
In the opening round, Kid beat Doi and Susumu beat Nation, giving the American his first pin-fall loss in Dragon Gate. Would have liked to see at least the finish of that one. Susumu goes after Kid’s leg. Kid goes after the arm. Kid hits a head scissor takedown. He does hits 619 fake, and Susumu clotheslines his legs, hurting them both. Susumu puts on a leglock but Kid gets to the ropes. Susumu hits the Ashi Yokosuka. Kid hits a pair of kneedrops on the arm. He hits a dropkick. Susumu hits a lariat. He hits a double kneedrop for 2. He puts on the body scissors. He turns that into a rear naked choke but Kid gets to the ropes. Kid hits a head scissor takedown. He hits another on the floor. He hits a dropkick for 2. He hits the Diamond Dust for 2. Susumu blocks the 619 and hits the Ashi Yokosuka. He puts on the Figure 4 Leglock. Kid gets to the ropes. Susumu hits the DVD for 2. Kid hits a backdrop. He hits the 619 and a stunner for 2. Susumu hits a lariat and the super exploder for 2. Kid hits the Messiah and the Mysterio Rana for 2. Susumu hits a lariat. Kid counters the Jumbo no Kachi to the Bible for 2. Susumu hits the Jumbo no Kachi for 2. He hits a lariat in the corner. He goes for the Kobe World Liner but Kid blocks and hits the Skyscraper Frankensteiner . Susumu counters the Ultra Hurricanrana to the World Liner, and follows that up with the Hikari no Wa for the win at 21:24. Apparently together those two moves are called the K-neSuka Liner. We may have seen this match a million times, but it has paid off because these guys craft such excellent exchanges. This match was awesome, and recharges my tolerance for further rematches.
Rating: ****