Ben-K, Bokutimo Dragon & Ho Ho Lun vs. Diamante, H.Y.O. & Dia Inferno
Food for thought: Benedict-K might get a decent push if he stopped going through drastic cosmetic changes every week. I mean, what was wrong with the last haircut? Borderline self-sabotage at this point. Meanwhile, Bokutimo is taking the BLACK BUFFALO~! approach to post-mask life by coming out with the hood and removing it early in the match. Judging by the tremendous Big Ben pop-up spear that ended this very okay match, I’d say Shimizu is ready for a new gimmick. **1/4
Ultimo Dragon & Don Fujii vs. Konomama Ichikawa & Mondai Ryu
The gang’s all here. Look, if it was up to me, Stalker would still work every show. Therefore, I had no issues with this grand display of six-star wrestling. The failed German suplex spot is still one of the highest forms of comedic expression. *3/4
Keisuke Okuda © vs. U-T – Open The Brave Gate
Other than Okuda’s unfortunate new live rap theme, this hit all the right notes. High-intensity dust-up that pit the champ’s Open The Inoki-ISM shoot stylings against U-T’s crafty leg assault. They put together a really solid Leg Match structure with a clear inciting incident (ring-post kick), smart cut-offs and inspired long-term selling. Also, lots of petty bullshit. Love me some petty bullshit. Okuda slapping the challenger around turned this clap crowd into a sea of U-T Believers and added tons of heat to the ending stretch. The Rings of Saturn (Rings of U-T?) struggle near the end brought soooo much drama – both guys selling the desperation like crazy and chaining all sorts of wild counters out of the submission. Up there with the Okuda/Ishida bangerz from last year. ***3/4
Masato Yoshino, Naruki Doi, Eita & BxB Hulk vs. Ryo Saito, Yasushi Kanda, Kagetora & Kota Minoura
I have a life to live and bills to pay, so the house show shenanigans that led to DoiYoshi being forced to join R.E.D. for one night completely eluded me. Still, waiting for someone to turn on someone was half the fun of this match. Both sides leaned into it and it led to some quality comedy. The rest of the action was Baseline Dragon Gate multiman-level, Yoshino obviously ramping up the pace whenever he tagged in. **3/4
Masaaki Mochizuki & Takashi Yoshida © vs. Kaito Ishida & KAZMA SAKAMOTO – Open The Twin Gate
Pretty solid conclusion to the MOCHIDA tag reign. Babyface Yoshida may have finally found love in his heart but the heel shenanigans of his former R.E.D. buddies proved to be too much for him and Mochi. They went with a time-tested Southern tag structure, complete with old man Mochizuki in peril and big Yoshida hot tag run of house cleaning wackiness. No wheel reinvention whatsoever, but the action flew reasonably well. I liked the idea of setting up Ishida’s WRENCH-ASSISTED ankle lock finish with the knee chair shot for extra asshole points. The Kick Boy and KAZMA are a good fit – I giggled at their douchebag secret handshake. ***1/4
Kzy, Susumu Yokosuka & Genki Horiguchi vs. Jason Lee, Dragon Dia & La Estrella – Open The Triangle Gate
Total blast of a 6-man tag that efficiently spotlighted the returning Dragon Dia. They structured most of the match around him – first as babyface in peril and eventually as the god damn winner of this whole thing. Beyond Dia’s character arc, the quality content came at you fast and lived up to the Triangle Gate expectations (despite a timid Nagoya crowd). Plenty of daredevil dives from everyone (including a pretty wild Sasuke Special botch recovery from aerial genius La Estrella) and the usual intricate counter wrestling. Susumu worked wonders with both Jason and Dia, supplying a ton of nasty big match offense for the kids to overcome. Very hyped for this Masquerade Triangle run! ***3/4
Shun Skywalker © vs. Hip Hop Kikuta – Open The Dream Gate
It is time to ban the drop-toe hold from wrestling. Too dangerous.
YAMATO & KAI vs. Dragon Kid & SB Kento – Mascara Contra Caballera Cage Survival Tag Match
If you are a fan of bells and whistles, I have some good news for you! This offered large quantities of these two controversial accessories. They basically had a full-on Dangerous Gate cage match, complete with bazooka-wielding faction rivals preventing escapes. The new twist here was that the losing team had to face off and put their hair or mask on the line. While the tag match section was sports entertaining enough, the real drama came from the finale between Kitto and SBK. Kento checked all the boxes here. Tokyo Dome-worthy entrance, effective heel shenanigans and big main event workrate. The kid keeps delivering in high-pressure environments and this performance felt like a career peak. Dumb fun is still fun. ***1/4
