DRAGON GATE
GATE OF DESTINY 2017
NOVEMBER 3, 2017
EDISON ARENA – OSAKA, JAPAN

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SHUN SKYWALKER DEF. HYO WATANABE

A very fun match 0. Skywalker still has questionable technique, but he’s fun to watch. Watanabe not only looks awesome with his new, bleached hair, but he continues to jump off the screen (almost literally, the kid has hops). Skywalker won with a moonsault. Fun action from the young guys.

K-NESS, SHACHIHOKO BOY, YOSUKE SANTA MARIA, & MISTERIOSO DEF. KAITO ISHIDA, JASON LEE, GAMMA, & MONDAI RYU

Despite only going a little under eight minutes, I felt like this went on too long. It lacked the energy that I’m looking for in a Dragon Gate opener, although that could be attributed to the fact that I am once again over Santa Maria’s act and Gamma never has his working boots on in situations like this (I don’t blame him).

Misterioso did not impress. He too seemed like he was taking the night off, which is a bold move for your first Dragon Gate tour. On the contrary, Jason Lee continues to look good. He’s clearly a step below the top tier of workers in Dragon Gate, but he looks like someone that Dragon Gate can mold into a productive member on the roster. I really hope he sticks around and eventually finds a unit.

The other interesting thing of note is that not only did K-Ness pick up the victory, he did it by pinning Kaito Ishida. It appears that K-Ness will be getting some sort of a push in this post-Jimmyz universe, and I am all for that. Ishida was pinned with the Hikari no Wa. **1/2

T-HAWK, YASUSHI KANDA, & PUNCH TOMINAGA DEF. U-T, DON FUJII, & RYO SAITO

“I think Don Fujii is going to do some crowd brawling, and then Yasushi Kanda is going to drop his dreaded elbow right into the chest of U-T for the victory.” is what I wrote in my preview, and I’d like to point out that that’s almost exactly what happened. Don Fujii did indeed crowd brawl and Kanda nailed his signature elbow drop on U-T, it just wasn’t the finish. T-Hawk driving his knee into the skull of U-T is what kept U-T down for the three count.

There wasn’t a lot to this match. It was the VerserK undercard match that we’ve seen for two years now. The only thing to note is that I’ve finally turned the corner on U-T. For the longest time, I thought he was an injury prone zilch who contributed nothing to the roster. I’m starting to see that there could easily be a place in the Dragon Gate landscape for him to shine. He’s the smallest guy on the roster, but he’s learned how to use that to his advantage. **3/4

OPEN THE BRAVE GATE CHAMPIONSHIP
KAGETORA (C) DEF. GENKI HORIGUCHI

This was Kagetora’s fourth defense of the Brave Gate Championship.

Kagetora not only crushed my dream of Horiguchi becoming Brave Gate champion, but he violently assault and dismembered the legs of Horiguchi in the process. This was some of the more methodical and vicious limb work I’ve seen from Dragon Gate in quite a long time. Kagetora came into this match like he was trying to prove that he was more than just another Jimmyz; Kagetora on his own can stand out and be a successful singles wrestler. He proved that in this bout against Horiguchi.

I continue to throw my hands up as I am marveled by Genki Horiguchi’s in-ring performances as he is nearly 40 years old and still working at a ridiculous level. His selling in this match was terrific. Kagetora would grind his legs down, Horiguchi would have a brief hope spot, but then his knees would be in too much pain for him to gain any momentum. This was most noticeable when he hit Kagetora with a Beach Break, which we rarely see from Horiguchi anymore. Instead of going right for the pin, Horiguchi had to shake off his injury before going for the cover. This allowed Kagetora to kick out, and after trading Backslide From Heaven attempts, Horiguchi was planted with the Ikkitousen. ***1/2

RICOCHET DEF. EITA

Ricochet just looks so good in a Dragon Gate ring.

The last time he wrestled in Dragon Gate was at Kobe World 2015, although you’d have to go back to the spring of 2014 when Ricochet was wrestling for Dragon Gate on a regular basis (which included a brief Open the Dream Gate run). He tangled with Eita often in 2014 as a part of the ongoing Monster Express vs. Millennials feud, but this was their very first singles match and it delivered. Both men have had better matches this year, and both will have hundreds of matches better than this as their careers progress, but for a special attraction match, this was exactly what it needed to be.

I was impressed with just how smooth these two were. Other than a brief blemish when Eita was going for the Numero Uno, these two kept things flawless. Eita’s llave style mixed well with Ricochet’s in-ring approach as he’s fully transitioned from a guy that does a lot of dives, to a smooth in-ring wrestler that just happens to do some dives.

I really liked the finishing sequence, as Ricochet nailed a springboard 450, but Eita kicked out, meaning Ricochet had to take it one step further and deliver a 630 off the top rope for the victory. It’s a shame that this is more than likely Ricochet’s last tour ever, as he fits in so well in Dragon Gate. This was quite enjoyable. ***3/4

Open the Twin Gate Championship
CIMA & DRAGON KID DEF. BEN-K & BIG R SHIMIZU

CIMA and Dragon Kid won these titles at Gate of Destiny 2016. Their 8th defense of the titles happened to take place 365 days after they won the titles from Susumu & Kagetora (Shimizu teamed with Masaaki Mochizuki and Peter Kaasa on that show, and Ben-K, then Futa Nakamura, wrestled in the opener). Their year of dominance has been met with plenty of controversy, but CIMA & Dragon Kid have more than won me over and it’s time to call this reign what it is: one of, if not the greatest Open the Twin Gate reign of all-time.

This was yet another defense full of creative spots, well-timed transitions, and desperation on behalf of the challengers in an attempt to dethrone the champions. Ben-K wildly flinging himself at both CIMA and DK in an attempt to win the second title of his career is something I’m all for. CIMA kicking Ben-K in the chest to counter a spear was surreal.

I don’t know what Big R Shimizu’s career will look like when he finally calls it quits, but this current run of getting big opportunities and coming up just short is one of my favorite things going on in wrestling. He couldn’t beat Mochizuki in a #1 Contenders match and now he’s lost twice to CIMA and Dragon Kid with the Twin Gate titles on the line. When he eventually wins a big one, it’s going to be a huge deal.

Ben-K ate a Meteora just after the 17 minute mark, which led to a CK-1 victory. These two have been nothing short of dominant for over a year now, and I fully admit that I was late to the party. I wanted these two to drop the belts and move to the undercard, and in hindsight, that is insane. This is an all-time great run, and I’m all for seeing it continue until someone worthwhile comes along and knocks them off their pedestal. ****1/4

OPEN THE TRIANGLE GATE CHAMPIONSHIP
YAMATO, KZY, & BxB HULK DEF. SHINGO TAKAGI, TAKASHI YOSHIDA, & EL LINDAMAN, & MASATO YOSHINO, NARUKI DOI, & KOTOKA

Alright, this was painfully boring. I was feeling so good coming off of that Twin Gate match, and this sucked the life right out of me. This was far too tame for a big time Triangle Gate match. Tribe Vanguard and VerserK have no juice when going against each other. Once MaxiMuM was eliminated, I had to try hard not to tune out. This was painfully mediocre and forgettable, even with the Tribe Vanguard title change. Skip. **1/2

OPEN THE DREAM GATE CHAMPIONSHIP
MASAAKI MOCHIZUKI (C) DEF. SUSUMU YOKOSUKA

This will go down as one of the most emotional matches of the calendar year.

Mochizuki and Susumu have a storied history, dating back to the days of M2K in Toryumon, and despite so many interactions in tags and trios matches over the years, they finally got their chance to shine in the main event of one of Dragon Gate’s biggest shows.

From the start, I couldn’t help but feel like Susumu was no match for Mochizuki. Granted, he came close many times to pinning Mochizuki, but from the moment the bell rang, Mochizuki’s presence declared victory. He casted a shadow too big to escape from. This was the night that Mochizuki firmly cemented his place in the all-time Dragon Gate pecking order ahead of Yokosuka.

This lasted only 22 minutes. They fought with a purpose, they fought as hard as they could, and in the end, it was Mochizuki delivering heavier blows to earn him the victory. This was a great back-and-forth bout. Contrary to most Dragon Gate main events, especially those in the past 12 months with YAMATO as champion, there was no time wasted here. These two went in with a purpose, executed it to perfection, and in the end, Mochizuki was the victor. ****1/4  

Final Thoughts:

Other than the Triangle Gate match, this show ruled. Paced superbly with two stellar matches and a Ricochet vs. Eita showcase that everyone should check out. 2017 will go down as one of the weaker years in Dragon Gate, but the latter half of the year has produced three strong PPVs between this show, Dangerous Gate, and Kobe World. Overall, Gate of Destiny gets two thumbs up. Eita vs. Ricochet, the Twin Gate match, and the main event match are essential viewing.