DRAGON GATE
DANGEROUS GATE
SEPTEMBER 18, 2017
OTA CITY GENERAL GYMNASIUM – TOKYO, JAPAN

Translations: IHeartDG.com / Watch: NicoNico (Guide on Ordering via NicoNico)

SHUN SKYWALKER & HYOU WATANABE DEF. GAMMA & SHACHIHOKO BOY

Hyou Watanabe has new gear, and it is a major improvement over his plain leopard trunks. I hope it’s a sign of things to come as this entire show, up to this point (the opener), has felt fresh. New graphics, heavy branding, and now new gear. Dragon Gate feels so fresh.

These four brought their working boots. No Gamma comedy. He wanted to beat these two upstarts, but their plucky nature overpowered Gamma and the expert ring technician, Shachihoko BOY. This was a lot of fun. Both Skywalker and Watanabe looked more confident than I’ve seen them in quite some time. They’re starting to find a groove on the undercard, which is great to see. Skywalker pinned BOY with a moonsault. **3/4

BXB HULK & KZY DEF. DON FUJII & JASON LEE

This Jason Lee’s third match with the company and the first I’ve seen of Jason Lee in Dragon Gate.

This was given 10 minutes, which meant Lee was able to shine, sell, shine again, and then sell once more. He got in a handful of spots that made him standout, notably his karate-like chops which lit up the chest of Kzy. I was impressed with Lee, and it seemed like by the end of the match, the crowd was beginning to get on board with Lee and his peculiar offense. Kzy won with KZ Time. Worth watching for Lee’s televised debut. **1/2

OPEN THE BRAVE GATE CHAMPIONSHIP
JIMMY KAGETORA (c) DEF. YOSUKE SANTA MARIA

I wanted to like this more than I did. I kind of felt like I was watching a clipped match as things started to unfold. The feeling out process felt awkward, and the finish seemed rushed. These two didn’t click like I thought they would.

Kagetora wore a mask in the match to prevent a kiss of death from Maria. It did its job initially, but Maria was able to strip him of the mask and plant one on him, which backfired as she was rolled up immediately after. She kicked out, but that led to her having Kagetora’s extensive playbook of finishing moves hit on her. This just didn’t feel right. I was excited to see Kagetora pin Maria for the fact that the match was over, if anything. **3/4

NARUKI DOI, MASATO YOSHINO, & BEN-K DEF. KAITO ISHIDA, TAKEHIRO YAMAMURA, & EITA

This was terrific, as expected. It’s getting to a point that every MaxiMuM trios match is becoming essential viewing. The chemistry between these six was sublime. Eita meshed with DoiYoshi and Ben-K and Kaito Ishida looked great together. This was a lot of moves in a short period of time, which is exactly what it should’ve been. Tremendous showing from all six competitors. ***3/4

OPEN THE TWIN GATE CHAMPIONSHIP
CIMA & DRAGON KID (c) DEF. BIG R SHIMIZU & KOTOKA

I really thought this was going to be it for CK-1. Their reign has been a mixed bag, featuring a dreadful match at Final Gate 2016 against Shingo & T-Hawk, but also incredible high points like their match at World against Doi & Yoshino. This was one of their better defenses as they proved they were just strong enough to outlast the MaxiMuM youngsters.

I don’t know what changes CIMA made, but he has turned up his intensity a few notches in the past month and once again, is wrestling like one of the best wrestlers in the world. He took it to Kotoka in what was easily his biggest opportunity since his days as CIMA’s protege, CIBA. There were points in this match when Kotoka had the upperhand, and it looked like the quickness of Kotoka and the power of Big R were going to defeat the older duo. It ended up being all for not, as CIMA planted Kotoka with a Meteora for the win.

Long term, I think this is an important match for both Kotoka & Big R. Kotoka proved he can hang with the big boys, both here and at the Korakuen in early September. He’s no longer an apprentice, a comedy character, or a prospect – Kotoka is the real deal, and it showed here.

Big R continues to fail when it matters most. He couldn’t beat Mochizuki, and he couldn’t lead his team to victory in this contest. He needs to be faster, stronger, and meaner. It was apparent here that he was not scraping and clawing with everything he had in the same way that CIMA was. CIMA desperately wanted to win this match. He jumped in to break up pins, he took risks, he countered moves when they mattered, and it ended with he and Dragon Kid getting their hands raised. ****1/4

5 UNIT SURVIVAL RACE – LOSING UNIT MUST DISSOLVE NO DQ MATCH
SHINGO TAKAGI, T-HAWK, TAKASHI YOSHIDA, EL LINDAMAN, & PUNCH TOMINAGA DEF. GENKI HORIGUCHI, JIMMY SUSUMU, RYO SAITO, JIMMY KANDA, & JIMMY KNESS J.K.S.

The Jimmyz are no more.

For five years, they have been an intrical part of the Dragon Gate landscape, but a Cerebus from T-Hawk marked the last stop for The Jimmyz Train.

When The Jimmyz formed, CIMA was in the early stages of his historic Open the Dream Gate reign, CM Punk was beginning his second run as WWE Champion, Jim Cornette was still employed by Ring of Honor and caught in the midst of backstage chaos between Davey Richards and Kevin Steen, and a young upstart was making heads turn in Japan, as Kazuchika Okada had shocked Hiroshi Tanahashi by defeating him to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.

CM Punk is out of wrestling, Kevin Steen has pinned John Cena on national TV, and Kazuchika Okada has established himself as the most dominant wrestler in Japan. The Jimmyz survived all of that madness, but they could not survive the 5 Unit Survival Race.

This match was bananas. There has never been a match like this in Dragon Gate, and there never will be again. It’s hard to put into words how insane this was. Shingo and the rest of Verserk were in full FMW cosplay mode, as they brought baseball bats and barbed wire, using it early and often. Although Punch Tominaga was the first one to be eliminated, they quickly recovered, taking out Kness with barbed wire and then Jimmy Kanda soon after.

It came down to Ryo Saito, Jimmy Susumu, T-Hawk, and Shingo Takagi. Saito fell to the Night Ride, leaving Susumu at a 2 on 1 disadvantage. Somehow, Susumu was able to survive a piledriver through a barbed wire table. He wasn’t going to let Shingo Takagi end The Jimmyz, they’ve gone through too much for Shingo of all people to end them. After kicking out, he delivered an offensive onslaught to Takagi, ending with a brutal Jumbo no Kachi that put him away.

The spirit of The Jimmyz was not enough to carry Susumu past T-Hawk, however. T-Hawk was younger, stronger, and had taken less critical blows throughout the match. He was able to survive a Jumbo no Kachi with Susumu’s arm wrapped in barbed wire and then a series of Jumbo no Kachi’s straight to the chest. Susumu threw everything he had at T-Hawk and it wasn’t enough. He fell short. The Jimmyz went out with a fight, but they finally met their match. ****1/2

iheartdg.com: Susumu apologized for losing. They would abide by the rules and split up. This all started nearly 6 years ago when himself & Kagetora had a match where if they lost they would have to change their names. It was cruel and unusual punishment and they hated it. But the fans were there for them. They were joined by Saito, Horiguchi, & Candy a few months later. Then, two years ago in this very same building under the same circumstances, K-ness betrayed Mad Blankey and joined them. That was the start of their second chapter. Someone as plain as him was able to have so much success and so many great memories over the last 5-6 years because of the fans that supported the Jimmyz. That Jimmy name that he once hated so much. Today he fought with all his might to keep it. He failed. The Jimmyz are finished. But not today. He wants one more chance to see some of the fans from all over the country as a Jimmy one last time. A few weeks. Just to say goodbye. Then they will come back to Tokyo for the October Korakuen Hall show and bring the train to its final stop.

OPEN THE DREAM GATE CHAMPIONSHIP
MASAAKI MOCHIZUKI DEF. YAMATO (c)

I certainly didn’t see this coming. The 47-year-old knocked out YAMATO with a brutal kick to the head, ending his reign of over a year as champion.

These two have had better matches. Their Dead or Alive 2011 main event, in which Mochizuki came in as the champion and then defeated YAMATO to retain his title was better. It has been a few years since I’ve seen it, but I think enjoyed their most recent singles match, a No DQ contest at Kobe World 2013 more. That being said, this was a terrific battle between two wrestlers at the top of their game.

YAMATO held his own here. It might’ve been his best individual performance during his reign, but this was the Mochizuki show. At 47-years-old, there are few wrestlers better at their peak than him. Maybe now that he’s starting his third reign as Open the Dream Gate Champion, he can be respected as an all-time great. His kicks were on point, his selling was beautiful, and his timing was magnificent. This was a championship-quality performance from one of the best to ever do it.

After numerous kicks to the dome, a perfectly placed Sankakugeri to the face of YAMATO was enough to put away the valiant champion. YAMATO defended the gold against his Big 5 counterparts Akira Tozawa, Naruki Doi, and BxB Hulk and T-Hawk, who represents the newest generation of main eventers, but he could not overcome the Iron Man of Dragon Gate. Masaaki Mochizuki is once again standing alone at the top of Dragon Gate. ****1/4

iheartdg.com: Mochizuki closed the show out. At 47 years and 8 months, he is once again champion. He will probably have to fight off challengers that are half his age. He’s not sure how long his stamina will hold out but he is ready to carry Dragon Gate again. He had a planned trip to Europe this weekend with CIMA and a few others. Now he is going as champion. He will proudly go and show the world what the champion of Dragon Gate is made of. He promised to deliver more thrilling and chest pounding excitement.

Final Thoughts:

Essential viewing for any wrestling fan in 2017. Everything on this show served a purpose. I wasn’t high on the Brave Gate match, but even then I know there will be a strong contingent of Dragon Gate fans that enjoy it. Starting with the MaxiMuM six-man, I think any wrestling fan would be foolish not to watch this card. Not everyone is going to understand every nuance of the Jimmyz vs. Verserk match, but the 10 men involved did their part to hook the viewer in emotionally. Two thumbs up. This could go down as one of the more historically significant shows in Dragon Gate history.