Kzy, U-T & Don Fujii vs. Kota Minoura, Jason Lee & La Estrella
I don’t think you could start a wrestling show with a better MOOD PIECE. Donald Fujii failing miserably at the Natural Vices dance and severely injuring his knee in the process wasn’t only peak comedy gold, it actually planted the seeds for various miscommunication spots and opportunistic leg work from Jason. Nothing less than a multi-layered pro-wrestling odyssey. Masquerade mixing it up with Kzy and U-T was also pretty darn exciting and sparked the usual show stealing high spots from Estrella. That rope-walk dropkick is something else. Just plain fun. ***
Ultimo Dragon, Bokutimo Dragon & Ryo Saito vs. Diamante, H.Y.O & Dia Inferno
Not that bad considering the people involved. Bokutimo being unable to pull the double headscissors takeover only for Ultimo to show him how it’s done felt very respectful. I also couldn’t help but be impressed by Diamante effortlessly catching Bokutimo’s PLUS SIZE lucha spots. **1/4
Shuji Kondo & Gamma vs. Kagetora & Yosuke Santa Maria
The original plan for this one (Kondo/Maria romance) was thrown out of the window real quick when Kondo accidently busted his heel on a routine spot. Poor dude. Get well soon, King Kong Kondo.
YAMATO, Keisuke Okuda, Dragon Kid & Ben-K vs. Eita, KAZMA SAKAMOTO, SB Kento & Hip Hop Kikuta
Not quite as good as the HIGH-END tag from yesterday. Still pretty solid. This one didn’t have the SBK magazine spots, but it did feature some amusing double team trolling from Kento and Kikuta. As usual, the Dragon Kid in peril section anchored most of the match. For better and for worse. Heel beatdowns, etc. Am I crazy, or is Ben-K looking a little subdued since coming back from the concussion? Maybe it’s just the lack of tan and cool hair color, but he’s starting to feel like a background character. **1/2
BxB Hulk & KAI © vs. Masaaki Mochizuki & Takashi Yoshida – Open The Twin Gate
Mochizuki. Yoshida. MOCHIDA~! Their time has come. And what better way to kick off their Twin Gate run than this very fun professional wrestling match. They managed to distill the entire Mochi/Yoshida story in a swift 14 minutes, the odd pair struggling with misfires early on but eventually overcoming the R.E.D. heel shenanigans thanks to their new found TAG TEAM UNITY.
Hulk and KAI were the ideal foils for the unexpected babyface duo, keeping the action structured and supplying the hurty cut-offs. Their sandwich superkick looks like pure white-hot death every single time. Very well laid out finish too – the big Mochi plancha coinciding with Yoshida’s triumph. Amen. ***1/4
Shun Skywalker © vs. Kaito Ishida – Open The Dream Gate
Dragon Gate have been very quiet on the Epic Match front this year. They have a Dream Gate champion that can clearly go, but for whatever reason, they’ve chosen not to run a title match until March. This long-awaited title defense made the 2021 Dream Gate booking process even more puzzling, because it absolutely killed. For my money, Shun and Ishida delivered everything that’s been missing in the past few months and had the best DG match since Eita/Doi.
Much like the Eita/Doi burner, this was a match that took a basic limb work trope and kept it not just relevant, but straight-up exciting, for 30 MINUTES! Ishida leaned into the leg work story that was setup during the preview matches and stayed on the injury like a god damn shark. Through a combination of absurdly consistent selling from Shun and creative offense from Ishida, the ‘’OW MY LEG’’ plotline felt completely vital and never hindered the action.
Beyond the ingenious limb work structure, the heart of the story was two young dudes with a lot to prove. And prove themselves they did. Both went completely bonkers and pulled enough crazy shit to fill a dozen Best Dragon Gate Movez videos on Youtube. Shun brought back the ridiculous rope-walk Quebrada and Kaito responded with a straight murderous avalanche German suplex (with amazing leg sell from the champion). There was also an apron Blaster that nearly broke Ishida in half!? Big match vibes only.
Extremely-vocal ring seconds have been the secret to all the best pandemic DG matches and this was no exception. Both Masquerade and R.E.D. were losing their minds at ring-side and eventually influenced the crowd into reacting big time for the final few near-falls. It all ruled. Two youngsters with a note-perfect babyface/heel dynamic delivering on the big stage and making a grand statement about the future of Dragon Gate. ****1/2
