PWInsider - WWE News, Wrestling News, WWE

 
 

COMPLETE DRAGON GATE USA - OPEN THE ULTIMATE GATE 2014 COVERAGE: CHRIS HERO AND MASATO TANAKA TEAR THE HOUSE DOWN, LOW KI RETURNS TO THE RING AGAINST TRENT BARETTA, GARGANO AND RICOCHET GO NEARLY 45 MINUTES FOR THE OPEN THE FREEDOM GATE TITLE, AND MORE

By Stuart Carapola on 2014-04-04 23:45:06
It's main event time!

Open The Freedom Gate Title Match: Johnny Gargano vs Ricochet

Ricochet is currently the Open The Dream Gate Champion, the top title in Dragon Gate in Japan, and now he wants to add the Open The Freedom Gate Title to his collection since it's literally the only Dragon Gate-branded title he has yet to win. Gargano, meanwhile, has been the champion for nearly two and a half years and has shown no signs of slowing down. They go to the mat right from the start as Lenny talks about how far they've come since first appearing in Dragon Gate USA and EVOLVE. They briefly get back to their feet for a Greco-Roman knucklelock before going back to the mat. They pick up for a moment and do a Jackie Chan sequence before going for each of their finishers right off the bat, and Gargano rolls to the outside to catch a break after nearly getting caught by Ricochet. They go back inside and Ricochet takes over on the champion, working him over in the corner with chops and kicks. Ricochet gets a jackknife cradle for 2, then a crucifix faceplant for another 2. Ricochet gets a headscissors and a dropkick, but Gargano avoids the dive, so Ricochet does back handsprings to show off for the fans and doesn't see Gargano come in with the spear through the ropes. Really bad time to screw around.

Now Gargano is in control and proceeds to begin wearing Ricochet down before putting him in the Texas Sunrise. Gargano turns it into a cradle for 2, then just puts the boots to Ricochet. Ricochet sweeps Gargano's legs and tries for a standing moonsault, but Gargano sees it coming and kicks Ricochet off in midair. They go outside where Gargano dumps Ricochet face first on the ring apron, then rolls inside to try for a countout. Ricochet beats the count, so Gargano wedges Ricochet in the corner and charges in with a dropkick. Ricochet catches Gargano with an Ace Crusher, but is too worn out to follow right up. Gargano tries to escape to the floor again, but Ricochet runs and dives over the ropes to wipe Gargano out.

We go back inside where Ricochet hit a springboard splash for 2, and then I get knocked off the webcast for some reason. I come back in just as Gargano tries to slingshot over the ropes for a DDT, only to be caught in midair and dumped before Ricochet hits a brainbuster. Ricochet hits a Zig Zag, but Gargano dodges a running shooting star press and gets the Gargano Escape. Ricochet gets right out, so Gargano hits the ropes, Ricochet tries to hit a flying headscissors coming back, but Gargano countered to a sitout powerbomb for 2. Ricochet blocks the lawn dart and nails Gargano with a Pelle kick, then he quickly drags a dazed Gargano out to the middle of the ring before going to the top rope. Gargano is up and tries to stop Ricochet, but Richcoet catches him with a kick to the head and goes for a shooting star press. Gargano sees him coming and superkicks him on the way down (which Ricochet sells like a MFer), then hits the lawn dart for 2. Great sequence.

Gargano is frustrated and spits on Ricochet, but that only fires Ricochet up as they begin to trade shots in the middle of the ring. They go nuts hammering each other with superkicks and Yakuza kicks until they both go down. They wind up on the apron where they trade blows until Ricochet begins nailing Gargano with kicks to his chest. He steps into the ring to break the count, then comes out to the apron for a couple more. Gargano knocks Ricochet to the floor and tries a dive, but Ricochet catches him and counters to a death valley driver on the floor.

Gargano is out on his feet as Ricochet hauls him up and goes for his finish. Gargano tries elbowing Ricochet in the face to get out, but Ricochet literally carries him up the ropes and tries to counter to a Frankensteiner. Ricochet blocks, but Gargano hits it any way and then hits Hertz Donut. Gargano only gets 2, but goes right into the Gargano Escape. Ricochet tries countering to a cradle, but Gargano rolls right back into the hold. Ricochet tries to suplex out of the hold, but Gargano holds on and takes Ricochet right back to the mat. Ricochet picks Gargano up again and suplexes him into the corner. Gargano lands on his head coming down and is on another planet as Ricochet hits the 630 splash. He drags Gargano out to the middle of the ring and hooks both legs, but Gargano is still out at 2.

The crowd is on their feet doing a "this is awesome" chant as Ricochet is back to his feet and gets Gargano up on his shoulders again, but Gargano holds the ropes to save himself. Gargano pulls the referee in front of an IED dropkick from Ricochet, and he is out as Ricochet hits his version of Go To Sleep and covers Gargano. There's nobody to count (other than the fans who counted to 10 or so), and Ricochet goes to check on the ref as Gargano rolls out to the floor and grabs the belt. Ricochet sees it coming and ducks, but Gargano gets the belt up as Ricochet goes for a kick, hurting Ricochet's leg, and then whacks him with the belt and knocks him out. Gargano covers, but Ricochet is out at 2, so Gargano takes the tape off his wrist and chokes Ricochet with it. Ricochet gets out of that too and goes for Go To Sleep, but he has trouble completing the move and Gargano takes him down into an STF version of the Gargano Escape. Ricochet desperately crawls to the ropes, but Gargano drags him back out to the midle of the ring...and gets rolled up for a very close 2. Ricochet immediately picks Gargano back up and hits Go To Sleep again and covers Gargano to win the match and FINALLY end what was the longest title reign in modern wrestling history.

Winner and NEW Open The Freedom Gate Champion: Ricochet

What an awesome match! This tops Hero-Tanaka and is an even BIGGER contender for DGUSA/EVOLVE Match of the Year. The ring fills with wrestlers from the locker room coming to congratulate the new champion as the fans chant "you deserve it" at Ricochet. Chuck Taylor comes out to the ring and gives Ricochet a long, hard stare before hugging his longtime rival and raising his hand to the fans.

Lenny Leonard congratulates Ricochet and hands him a microphone, and the champion says the journey here has been a long and wild ride, but like a wise man once said: to be the man, you have to beat the man, and now he's the man. He holds both the Open The Dream Gate Title and the Open The Freedom Gate Title, and that makes him the best thing going today. The fans chant "best in the world" at Ricochet, and he says that if anyone wants a shot at either title, he'll be right here waiting for them. He then does CIMA's routine of asking the fans if they enjoyed the show, then thanks the fans and says he'll see them tomorrow.

This was an excellent, excellent show. The undercard was solid, everything after the intermission was a MINIMUM of awesome, and the main event blew me away. This is the kind of show an independent company hangs its hat on, and I'm really looking forward to seeing them try and top it tomorrow night.

Thanks for following PWInsider.com's live coveraqge of Open The Ultimate Gate 2014. I'll be back to cover DGUSA's final event of the weekend tomorrow night beginning at 9 PM EST!


Page # [1][2][3]

If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!