Ben-K, Strong Machine J & Dragon Dia vs. BxB Hulk, H.Y.O. & Dia Inferno
This was my first look at Dia Inferno and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the campiness of it all. He has the next-level catcher ability to make all of Dragon Dia’s spots look like a million bucks, while his own offense seems to be based entirely around face claws and MAKOTO-style neck biting spots. A true creature of the abyss. In other news, Ben-K was sporting new slicked back hair, silver gear and an even more toned-down bodybuilder physique. The man’s training regimen defies all logic. Elsewhere, people ran through their spots very competently and it made for a decent Dragon Gate opener. **1/2
Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii, Gamma & The Bodyguard vs. Dragon Kid, Ryo Saito, Shuji Kondo & Kagetora
Never would’ve expected Bodyguard to fit this seamlessly into a Dragon Gate 6-man. Mochi marking out for his one-handed press slam on Dragon Kid was obviously a highlight, but I also dug his beef showdown with Kondo. Nothing wrong with booking this proper Osaka legend on your Osaka supershow. The rest of the match was all action all the time and everyone got some quality time in the spotlight. Lots of well-choreographed back and forth craziness with a feelgood Kagetora win as the icing on the cake. ***
Ultimo Dragon, Masato Yoshino & Yasushi Kanda vs. Kento Kobune, Taketo Kamei & Madoka Kikuta
There have been better DG young boyz/Toryumon veterans tag matches, but this still ticked most of the boxes that make these matches work. The rookies brought the fire and the cranky sempai opposition attempted to shut them down to no avail. I particularly dug the Yoshino/Kamei chemistry as the chop violence is extremely on point. Also need to point out that Kikuta’s running discus lariat is a thing of beauty. Kobune tapping out Kanda this easily felt a bit ‘’too much too soon’’ but I like the general idea of this push, so I’ll take it. **3/4
TARU IS COMING. FEEL THE EXCITEMENT. Can we also get Chocoball KOBE for World?
YAMATO vs. KAI
Although this was drowned in R.E.D. interference shenanigans, it did the job in furthering the YAMATO/KAI backstabbing odyssey. YAMATO supplied the hate and KAI showcased his entertaining new heel act. Lots of comical facials and trolling, yet he showed he could still hit the gas pedal when needed. BxB Hulk as his ring-side enforcer seems like a fun idea until I get sick of the tomfoolery in about 2 weeks. The way they timed their pre-match ambush on YAMATO with the fast-paced outro of KAI’s theme was high art. **1/2
Kaito Ishida © vs. Keisuke Okuda – Open The Brave Gate
Woah. A balls to the wall tribute to Ishii/Shibata matches filtered through Masaaki Mochizuki training and DG faction warfare. 10 minutes of pure ass kicking with both guys trying hard to steal the show and damn near succeeding. The pace never let up and neither did the violence. There was a brutal soccer kick duel, crazy high kick counters, unprotected chairshots. Gritty Slug Festival vibes all the way through, fitting of the two Dragon Gate generation guys that feel the most different from the rest of the crew. My only nitpick is that Ishida slapping his own leg for some of his opponent’s strikes (shades of BIG MIKE) seemed completely egregious in this type of bar fight setting. Other than that, it all ruled and they pulled one hell of a finish with Okuda choking the Kick Boy to death as Ben-K immediately cut off the dreaded R.E.D. interference attempt. Hyped for this Okuda Brave Gate run! ***3/4
Kota Minoura & Jason Lee © vs. Susumu Yokosuka & Genki Horiguchi – Open The Twin Gate
Another banger for all of you Dragon heads out there. Same action-packed deal as the previous Minoura/Lee defense against Susumu/DK, although the vibe might’ve been even better for this one thanks to Gamma losing his mind on commentary and the Toryumon and DG crews going nuts at ringside. I liked how they threw any pretense of ‘’slow build’’ out of the window and immediately had Susumu murder everything in sight with suplexes and lariats. This conveniently set the champions in their default underdog roles and everything just flew smoothly from there.
The Powers That Be are clearly trying to get Minoura in the ring with Susumu as often as possible and I can’t blame ‘em. All the stiff short-range lariats and headbutts are toughening up the kid in the best way. Loved the wacky Tiger Driver variation he pulled off here. Genki was a lovely addition here too. He might not have Dragon Kid’s high spots, but the blessed Blackslide from Heaven gets as much heat as anything in wrestling. ***3/4
Takashi Yoshida, KAZMA SAKAMOTO & Kento Kobune vs. Naruki Doi, Punch Tominaga & Ryotsu Shimizu – Open The Triangle Gate
Once I got past the absolute bewilderment of Kobune as the mystery R.E.D. member, there was a lot of fun to be had with this match. R.E.D. did their heel thing during the first half, but the pace picked up in classic Triangle Gate fashion for the second half and a ton of cool stuff happened. KAZMA pop-up Powerbombed the shit out of people, Punch did a god damn Quebrada and Team Boku gave their all to keep the spirit of their goofy anime-themed enterprise alive. I hope they didn’t hotshot Heel Kobune due of Diamante’s injury because 1) this feels way too soon and 2) it completely torpedoes the very cool Rise of The Young Boyz angle on the undercard. There’s a high risk that the kid will get lost in the shuffle and end up as H.Y.O Lite. I’ll give it a shot but as of now, this doesn’t feel right. ***1/4
Eita © vs. Kzy – Open The Dream Gate
What a weird match this was. I had huge expectations for these guys and unfortunately the layout and booking didn’t do them any favors. They took a while to pick a direction (Kzy filler neck-work vs. Eita heel shortcuts – kinda?) and once they really got cooking, the match ended on a terrible banana peel finish that felt completely out of place in a World title main event. It’s such a bummer, because the middle portion hinted at incredible potential. Kzy overcoming Eita’s heel domination with his lovable babyface energy and explosive offense had me Natural Vibing like there was no tomorrow. The freakin’ Canadian Destroyer into Tiger Driver ’98 from this man felt like ALL OF AEW rolled into 5 seconds of offense and it was glorious. Yeah, the post-match Shun Skywalker return was awesome, but I can’t shake the feeling that this could’ve been so much more. ***1/4
