Don Fujii, Susumu Yokosuka & Yasushi Kanda vs. Keisuke Okuda, Mondai Ryu & Ho Ho Lun
Susumu and Kanda teaming together in the present day always makes me nostalgic for that early M2K run. Then I get the weird urge to roam the streets on a razor scooter and beat people up with a blue box. Alas, I can’t afford to get arrested because who else will write about all of these inconsequential undercard wrestling matches? Unlike me, the middle aged men of Team Toryumon are not afraid of incarceration and used every dirty trick in the book to stay on top of the babyface squadron here. Eye rakes, closted fists, repeated NECK TWISTS. True scoundrels, all of them. Getting beat up by these aging vets seems to be the only decent use of poor Ho Ho Lun. Shoutout to the JOHN WOO NO KACHI from Susumu and Kanda. **1/4
Ryo Saito vs. Konomawa Ichikawa
I couldn’t quite put my finger on it until now, but this is what’s been missing from my 2020 Dragon Gate experience. The man, the myth, the legend: Stalker Ichikawa. Ryo’s almost a full time comedy guy himself now, so him and the fork-wielding demon child feel like natural rivals. For this fated encounter, Ichikawa tried to go through his usual routine but Saito kept derailing everything by pushing the comedy into such deep water that both Susumu and Kanda couldn’t help themselves from corpsing at ring-side. As always, Referee Yagi was wonderful third dance partner for all this non-sense. **
Masaaki Mochizuki & Gamma vs. Takashi Yoshida & KAZMA SAKAMOTO
In order to climb the ranks of the wrestling world, certain wrestlers rely on cutting edge high spots, sculpted physiques and six star matches. Others get the job done by telling you to SHADDAP. Yoshida understands the true meaning of pro-wrestling and his art was on full display here. Across the ring, Mochi played legend in peril, submerged under a sea of murderous throat thrusts from the heels until Gamma-chan saved the day. The helpful DG Network commentator informed me that Yoshida calls his enzuigiri the ‘’Champion Carnival’’, an adequate reminder of this man’s status as an All Japan Pro-Wrestling legend. **1/2
Kzy, Ben-K, Strong Machine J & U-T vs. Ultimo Dragon, Naruki Doi, Dragon Kid & Shuji Kondo
One hell of a good time! U-T’s been out with an injury for most of the year, thus this was both his Korakuen comeback match AND my first time seeing him in action. What a momentous occasion. The little guy reminded me of KUSHIDA’s infant son, in the best possible way. Not just because of the similar gear/hair, but also for the quality submission spots and likeable babyface energy. Everyone else impressed as well, including Strong Machine J who made up for his inability to work an armdrag sequence with Ultimo by busting out the Captain Lou-approved MUTA LOCK~! The speed and high end choreography level in the second half of the match felt like vintage Dragon Gate. A truckload of clever spot ideas all chained together seamlessly. ***1/4
Kota Minoura, Jason Lee & Dragon Dia vs. Kaito Ishida, Diamante & HYO
Another 6-man belter with minimal down time and maximal fun time. The Dragon Dia/Diamante pairing is pure LUCHA MONEY. It seems like they come up with crazy new ideas every time they work together and the masked rudo never fails to make young Dia look like a million bucks. The R.E.D. heel beatdown on Minoura eventually led to all kinds of quality hot tag offense from the babyface team, including some sweet double teams from the new Twin Gate champs. Outside the ring, the big story was the presence of a mystery new R.E.D. member wearing a mask and boxing gloves, which fed nicely into the recent Ishida/Okuda storyline. ***1/4
Eita vs. BxB Hulk vs. Big R Shimizu vs. YAMATO vs. KAI vs. Masato Yoshino – Road to Dangerous Gate Special 6-Way Match
More of an elaborate plot device to add some spice to the upcoming Dangerous Gate match than a worthwhile Korakuen main event. Dangerous Gate entry orders were hidden inside turnbuckle pads and wrestlers who scored a fall (or over the top elimination) had to carefully choose their destiny at random. Most of the match was a Royal Rumble style bore but they peppered in some quality wrestling bits around the halfway mark. The segments involving YAMATO or Yoshino had some meat to them and there’s always comedic value in faction buddies turning on each other. That being said, the whole thing was just too tropey to get invested in the action. **1/2
