Lince Dorado vs. Super Sheng Long. Didn't really work for me. In a match with
expectations of highflying actions, there was a lot of mat work and the
highflying stuff, once it happened, was not very crisp, with miscues and space
between bodies in certain spots. 10 minute time limit draw. After watching
Chikara, it was weird seeing Lince not in his BDK whites and going for the
cheers.
Rex Reed and Tomasso Ciampa vs. Up in Smoke. Rex Reed's a bigger fellow that got
great air on a top rope senton that he missed. Up in Smoke won with their double
team finisher on Ciampa. After the match, Brodie Lee came out and destroyed
Cheech and Cloudy with an impressive big boot and black hole slam. I like Cheech
and his facial expressions and charisma, and Brodie Lee is a monster in a world
of junior heavyweights that is the indies.
Bonus card main event: Jimmy Jacobs vs. Sami Callihan. Callihan looks like he's
slimmed down and toned up since I last saw him wrestle. Jacobs wins with the End
Time. A back and forth match with both guys hitting their big stuff.
The main show started with Cima thanking everyone for supporting Dragon Gate USA
for the first year. Johnny Gargano interrupted and said if Cima is looking for
an American for Warriors International, it should be him. Gargano wanted a
match, Cima agreed, and the bell rang. Cima won after hitting a Schwein and
Meteora.
Chuck Taylor vs. Arik Cannon vs. Adam Cole vs. Ricochet. Chuck Taylor pinned
Ricochet after an Awful Waffle. If you love the spotfest craziness, this is for
you. Tons of good fast paced action.
Announced an October 30 date in Rahway, NJ.
Drake Younger vs. Naruki Doi. Doi started the match working on Younger's knee.
Doi won with a bakatare kick after Doi 555 and dozens of strikes to the face.
After the match, Younger offered his services as an American rep for any of the
stables, but was attacked and bloodied by Johnny Gargano.
Masaaki Mochizuki vs. BxB Hulk for the Open the Freedom Gate Championship. Hulk
came out with a wig on, which he took off after his trademark dance. Hulk won
after a corkscrew splash and then won again after a superkick. A woman came to
the ring to distract BxB Hulk while Kamikaze (Shingo, Yamato, and Moxley) came
to attack Hulk. Before Yamato could tombstone Hulk on the belt, Bryan Danielson
came to stop them. Moxley said "we already knew [Danielson] is a p**sy so we'll
wait til we can make money off him" and left. Danielson returned the belt to
Hulk.
Rich Swann vs. Scott Reed (w/Nicole Matthews). Swann won a quick match with a
really interesting 450. Brodie Lee came out and destroyed ref Jonathon Barber,
Swann, Reed, and eventually big booted Nicole Matthews. Lee then said he didn't
care if it was a man, woman, or child, but next time he's at DGUSA, he's coming
after a Japanese guy.
Elimination 8 Man Tag: Masato Yoshino and Chikara Sekigun (Quackenbush, Jigsaw,
and Hallowicked) vs Kamikaze USA (Akira Tozawa, Yamato, jon Moxley, and Gran
Akuma). Hallowicked was eliminated by Yamato after his tombstone. Jon Moxley was
disqualified for using a chair. Jimmy Jacobs (complete with nipple rings)
attacked Moxley and took him through the front door. Jigsaw was eliminated by
Yamato right after. Akuma was eliminated by Quackenbush with powerbomb counter
to Yoshi Tonic. Yamato was eliminated by Yoshino's Sol Naciente at the same time
as Tozawa was eliminated by Quackenbush's Chikara Special.
Shingo (seconded by Tozawa) vs. Bryan Danielson. After a long, hard-hitting
match, Danielson finally made Shingo tap with what looked like a variation of a
crossface. They both hit everything and kicked out of everything. Strong MOTY
candidate. After the match, Yamato came down and had a staredown with Danielson.
Once Shingo snuck behind Dragon, BxB Hulk made evened the odds. Moxley came out
to coax Shingo and Yamato to the back. Danielon took the mike and offered to
join Hulk in World 1. Hulk accepted the offer, and Danielson requested Final
Countdown to play.
Notes: Super Sheng Long was ringside all night doing all the cleanup of
streamers and security and helpfulness with dives to the floor.
When the crowd was quiet, I could hear Lenny Leonard on commentary, which is a
bit distracting.
Danielson came out to no music and was referred to as American Dragon.
Well-paced show even with what felt like long intermissions between "bonus show"
and main show and in the middle of the main show. Cheech was trying to attract
attention to his merch by yelling, "Stop going to Danielson. He doesn't need the
money. I do." Which I found funny.
Overall, a good fun show that you'll dig, if you like the Dragon Gate style.
Definite recommendation for the PPV when it airs.
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