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Feeling out process to start, then YAMATO takes Gargano down with a side headlock. Gargano gets to his feet, so YAMATO starts working over Gargano's left arm until Gargano reverses to a hammerlock and shoots the half to put YAMATO to his back for 2. They make their way back to a neutral position and YAMATO goes to a three quarter nelson, then snapmares Gargano and goes to a rear chinlock with his knee squarely in Gargano's back. They go to the mat and Gargano again goes to the arm, and YAMATO tries to get to his feet but Gargano cranks on the arm at a really ugly angle until YAMATO finally switches out to a top wristlock and takes Gargano down and stomps his arm. YAMATO slumps Gargano in the corner and then DRILLS him with a series of hard chops to the chest. Gargano finally gets some momentum, taking YAMATO to the corner and following in with a running forearm and a kick to the chest for 2. Now Gargano lays in some hard chops of his own that reverberate through the building and YAMATO collapses to the mat, clutching his chest as Gargano puts the boots to his skull. Gargano snapmares YAMATO to the mat and then steps over the arm to hook the champion into the Tequila Sunrise. YAMATO struggles his way to the ropes to force the break, but the arm has clearly taken a toll from the hold, and Gargano doesn't let up, firing kneestrikes into YAMATO's face and then hitting a Double Dragon-esque leaping spin kick. Gargano takes YAMATO to the corner to ram shoulderblocks into his midsection, but takes too long playing to the crowd and YAMATO gets his boot up on a charge. Gargano tries a running dropkick, but YAMATO sidesteps Gargano and gets him in a crossface. Gargano makes the ropes, but now YAMATO keeps up the pressure, putting the boots to Gargano as he tries to cling for cover on the ropes. YAMATO with a chinbreaker and a textbook neckbreaker for 2, then fires a hard forearm into the back of Gargano's neck. YAMATO with a hard bodyslam and a kneedrop for 2, then Gargano weakly tries to fire kicks off at YAMATO that have no effect, and the champion casually steps on the back of Gargano's head as he crawls to the ropes. The crowd chants loudly for YAMATO as he drills Gargano with more chops, but a cradle only gets a 2 count. Gargano again tries to fire back at the champion, but YAMATO cuts him off immediately with more kicks and forearms. YAMATO sets Gargano up for the brainbuster, but Gargano blocks and rolls YAMATO up with a schoolboy, YAMATO rolls through the move, and Gargano kicks him in the head and clotheslines him over the top and to the floor. Crowd is chanting for Gargano as he slingshots himself over the top rope and onto the apron, faking YAMATO out before kicking him in the chest and finally diving off the apron and onto the champion. Gargano rolls YAMATO in and hits the spear through the ropes before tying him in the ropes with a modified Tarantula. Gargano with a leaping enziguiri from the outside as a very polarized crowd goes back and forth chanting for each man, and YAMATO goes up to the top rope with Gargano, but Gargano sunset flips off the top and delivers a running Liger Bomb. YAMATO rolls to the outside, but Gargano doesn't let up for a second and hits a dive through the ropes, followed by a somersault senton off the apron, and another off the stage. Gargano is truly wrestling with a purpose as he dumps YAMATO back into the ring and then slingshots himself back into the ring to deliver a DDT to YAMATO. Gargano goes for the full nelson slam, YAMATO tries to escape and hit a leaping enziguiri, Gargano ducks and goes for the full nelson slam again, but YAMATO tries the leaping enziguiri again and follows with a brainbuster for 2, then goes right into another crossface and thistime, has Gargano trapped right in the middle of the ring. Gargano finally makes the ropes after several tense moments, and then the referee finds himself getting sandwiched between Gargano, YAMATO, and the corner and goes down. Gargano hits the full nelson flapjack and goes for a cover, but the referee is out. Gargano goes to check on him, but YAMATO comes from behind and kicks YAMATO low. YAMATO goes to grab Gargano, but Chuck Taylor runs in and swings the belt at YAMATO, but now YAMATO ducks and Taylor connects with the head of Gargano. YAMATO boots Taylor out of the ring and goes for a cover as the referee revives, but Gargano manages to kick out at 2. They trade forearms in the middle of the ring as they struggled to keep their feet, then trade boots and clotheslines, and YAMATO counters the full nelson flapjack to Galleria, butGargano again kicks out at 2. YAMATO signals for one more, but Gargano slips out the back, so YAMATOyanks him down to the mat, kicks him in the head and goes for the brainbuster, but Gargano slips out and hits the full nelson flapjack for 2 and locks YAMATO in the Gargano Escape and YAMATO is finally forced to tap out.
Winner and NEW Open The Freedom Gate Champion: Johnny Gargano
Awesome match and the place went nuts when YAMATO tapped. Gargano looks around for the belt and finally sees Taylor with it on the floor. Taylor goes to leave, but Gargano calls him back to reason with him. Taylor said that Gargano and Swann forgot what Ronin is all about, but Gargano thinks Taylor forgot what Ronin was all about because they stuck together to become one of the hottest acts in DGUSA. Taylor talked about a class system in DGUSA, but Gargano is very proud of what he just did and it doesn't matter which of the is them Open The Freedom Gate Champion because itbelongs to Ronin and the class system isn't so uneven anymore. He watched Taylor and Swann beat Hulk and Tozawa clean earlier in the evening,and he thinks that makes them the #1 contender for the DGUSA Tag Team Titles. Taylor says that CIMA's been holding him down since day one, but CIMA and Ricochet, another man Taylor knows very well, hold the tag title and if he wants to shut CIMA up, he can prove once and for all that he's better than them by winning the tag title and bringing it home to Ronin.
Gargano hands the microphone to Taylor, who simply puts it down on the mat and hands the belt to Gargano. Ronin shares a big group hug in the middle of the ring and Taylor feints like he's going to superkick Gargano, but stops short and he and Gargano share a big laugh before another hug. Taylor says he saw Gargano go from a goofy little kid into one of the best wrestlers around, and he thinks that he and Rich Swann are coming for the tag title and soon, Ronin will have all the belts in DGUSA. The crowd chants "Ronin baby" as the group celebrates Gargano's win in the middle of the ring. Really nice, classy moment and Gargano continues to soak in the reaction from the crowd for several minutes, goes to leave, then comes back into the ring to soak in more cheers before finally heading to the back.
Jon Davis and AR Fox come out for the main event and say something about the DUFs jumping Sabu backstage (which we didn't hear about in the building), but they'll be happy to fight the DUFs 3-on-2.
Extreme Warfare: Sabu, AR Fox & Jon Davis vs Sami Callihan, Arik Cannon & PinkieSanchez
Fox went for a dive onto the DUFs during their entrance, but fell short and crashed on the stage, so Callihan improvised and spit on him as the DUFs tried to surround Davis until Sabu ran in to make the save. They fight the DUFs off to the floor where Fox goes for another dive that comes off much better, and then Sabu hits a dive of his own. Davis goes for a third dive, but Callihan jumps onto the apron and yells at him to stop, so Davis knocks him off the apron and hits the dive anyway. Sabu and Cannon head into the ring where Sabu hits a slingshot Arabian legdrop for 2, but then Cannon gets a spinning neckbreaker for 2 and a T-bone suplex for another 2. The rest of them fight out on the floor as Cannon goes to the second rope and yells something unprintable at him, but comes off right into an uppercut from Sabu as Davis and Callihan destroy each other on the floor. Sabu gets a spike and gouges it into the forehead of Cannon, busting him open, then locks him in the half camel clutch. Callihan tries to tear the barricade apart as Sanchez gets in the ring to help out Cannon. He tosses Sabu to the floor, but turns around as Davis prepares for the Pounce but sees him coming and dropkicks his legs out from under him. Fox finally pulls the barricade apart and wedges it onto the apron as Sabu brgins a table out of the back and Davis rams Sanchez into the corner and lays into him with hard chops. There is so much going on here that it's going to be difficult to recap it all, but I'll do my best. Sanchez is on his knees as Davis fires hard kicks into his chest, but picks him up for a suplex and Callihan slides into the ring and kicks Davis' legs out from under him, then wipes out Fox and slingshots off the ropes into a high impact splash for 2. Callihan's face iscovered with blood as he pulls out a fork and rams it into Fox's head, viciously gouging him in the face as Fox screams in agony. Callihan continues jabbing the fork into Fox's head as Sanchez makes his way back onto the apron and dives right back off onto Davis. Fox finally gets the better of Callihan, and Cannon runs in to try and blindside him,but Fox sees him coming and takes him out before turning back to Callihan and getting dumped on his head in the corner. Sabu slides the table into the ring and starts to set it up, but Cannon nails him from behind and drills him with a hard chop and gets a brainbuster for 2. Cannon's face is a crimson mask as Sabu catches him unawares with a DDT and goes to pick up the table, but the legs are broken, so he stops to come up with Plan B as Callihan suplexes Fox off the stage and onto the piece of barricade that's laying between the ring and the rest of the barricade. Sabu decides to just lay Cannon on the table anyway and puts him through it with a second rope legdrop, then Davis comes in and turns Cannon inside out with a lariat as Fox hits a springboard Ace Crusher on Cannon. Fox with a leaping, twisting forearm in the corner, and then puts Callihan up top for this weird rebound Flatliner for 2. Fox goes back up top and hits Callihan with a 450 splash for 2, so Sabu gives Callihan a legdrop and then dumps Cannon to the floor as Fox goes back up for another 450, but Callihan gets the knees up and gives Fox a running Awesome Bomb out of the ring and onto that piece of barricade, drawing another big reaction from the crowd. Callihan rolls Fox back inside and makes a cover, but Fox kicks out at 2, so Callihan stalks him with the fork and yells at him while repeatedly waiting for Fox to get to his knees so he can jab him in the head with the fork again. Finally Callilhan decides to ditch the fork and instead grabs a glass bottle, breaking it over Fox's head and covering him for the win.
Winners: The DUFs
Absolutely brutal match. Fox took TONS of punishment in this one. Callihan calls Sabu an old man and tells him to back off because his partner just got beat, then says that the DUFs were formed in 2011, and 2012 will be the year the DUFs take over Dragon Gate USA. Callihan announces that they're heading to the bar, and that New York City is picking up the tab.
Great show, and you can absolutely no longer make a case for any class separation between the Japanese and Americans in this company. It's a completely level playing field, and guys like Gargano and Ricochet have really broken out in the last year to become star players.
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