*** Dragon Gate USA DVD Reviews by Brad Dykens ***
March 26, 2010 – Phoenix, Arizona
OPEN THE ULTIMATE GATE
TAG TEAM MATCH
Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw vs. Susumu Yokozuka & Genki Horiguchi: If you’re a dorky wrestling fan with dreams of becoming a successful independent wrestler, just take a long look at Mike Quackenbush. He looks like he should be sitting in the fourth row with the marks, but I assure you he is one of the best out there today. This USA vs. Japan tag team match was a hot opener with the charismatic Japanese duo of Yokozuka & Horiguchi coming out on top. They exchanged handshakes and all arms were raised after the match in a refreshing show of mutual respect.
SINGLES MATCH
YAMATO vs. TJP: T.J. Perkins became somewhat of a star under a mask as Puma in several international promotions, but now he is trying to make a name for himself with his true self revealed to the world. YAMATO is a killer heel, and limped to the ring with a brutal scowl on his face. It was another great little match but it ended with TJP’s lights going out due to the dreaded sleeper hold from YAMATO.
TAG TEAM MATCH
Jimmy Jacobs & Paul London vs. Jon Moxley & Brian Kendrick: Paul London debuted with DGUSA with a strange new gimmick that I assume he’s been developing deep on the independent scene. With the exception of a few PWG appearances, London hasn’t been seen in the places you might expect; like Ring of Honor for example. I’m not sure what to think of London’s weirdo gimmick.. it’s almost like he’s trying to be just like Brian Kendrick, but Kendrick has already perfected it. There was a lot of focus on London vs. Kendrick from the start of the match as Moxley and Jacobs stood on the ring apron watching. London was trying to light a fire under Kendrick’s arse, trying to motivate him to raise his game a little bit. Eventually Moxley and Jacobs got involved in the match too. The finish saw Kendrick roll up a stunned Jacobs in a small package for the win! After the match, Moxley attacked Jacobs but London made the save. Jacobs set up Moxley on a table and told London to climb up to the top rope. Kendrick grabbed London’s feet and prevented him from climbing. Kendrick pulled London into the ring and yelled at him that it was not worth it to do a high-risk move for the marks. Kendrick said the people don’t care about Paul London, but he (Kendrick) cares about him. Kendrick said they were friends, but the people were just fans. Suddenly the biggest waste of space in pro-wrestling, Teddy Hart, showed up and cut a profanity laced promo telling London & Kendrick that they lost their f’ing balls. Teddy Hart then climbed up and did a spring-board back-flip off the top rope onto Jacobs & Moxley on the floor! If that guy wasn’t such a loser that would have been cool. Hart gloated a little too much, so London & Kendrick attacked him and beat the crap out of him! Teddy Anus no-sold it and slipped out of the ring. The moronic fans began chanting “Teddy! Teddy!” to encourage him. London & Kendrick attacked him once more and beat what’s left of his brains out of his skull. Of course, Teddy no-sold it and fought back because he has no respect for the art of pro-wrestling. Teddy climbed up and jumped off the top rope again, this time onto both London & Kendrick. The moronic fans chanted “holy sh*t!” I stood up in my living room and chanted “You’re A Loser!”
SINGLES MATCH
SHINGO vs. Masato Yoshino: This match was great and escalated brilliantly. Lots of near falls, each would have made sense, but prolonging the finish just made it that much better. They ended the match with SHINGO submitting to a fansy arm-submission. I felt like they could have gone another 10 minutes the way they were going. Yoshino offered to shake hands and SHINGO accepted as a sign of respect. SHINGO was left in the ring with the fans showing respect. Jon Moxley came out and whispered something into SHINGO’s ear. SHINGO nodded and they left together. Stay tuned..
OPEN THE FREEDOME GATE TITLE MATCH
BxB Hulk vs. Naruki Doi: This was another great match that escalated brilliantly, but ended pre-maturely. It was a nice finish, but once again I thought they could have gone another 10 minutes. I guess it’s better to be left wanting more, as opposed to wishing it was over sooner. I am loving Dragon Gate USA~!
THE SIX MAN TRADITION RETURNS MATCH
CIMA & GAMMA & Dragon Kid vs. Jack Evans & The Young Bucks: Jack Evans and the Bucks are the skinny white kids from the next neighborhood, all talk and no brains. Still, these guys are known for shattering pre-conceived opinions and winning over the fans with hard work. It was an interesting clash of styles when they went up against three monster fan-favorites from Japan. Before the match, Jack Evans cut a promo about what happened to his friend Teddy Hart earlier, and challenged Paul London & Brian Kendrick to a match tomorrow night! The entrance music for the Japanese team was loud and very electrifying. The Young Bucks actually have a victory over CIMA back on the first DGUSA DVD, so CIMA brought in GAMMA to help him get revenge on the Bucks. This match was much different than the previous two. They did a lots of crowd pleasing spots. Lots of basic stuff, and nothing too over the top. The team from Japan won and sent the fans home happy.
=================================================
BONUS DISC: The bonus disc features an “OPEN THE ULTIMATE GATE” highlight package plus the following bonus matches.
FRAY!
Brad Allen vs. The Prophet vs. Chimera vs. Jake Crist vs. Dave Crist vs. Dustin Cutler vs. Brandon Cutler vs. Malachi Jackson: Only one person had any business winning this match, and his name is BRAD.
TAG TEAM MATCH
L.A. Park & Hijo De Rey Misterio vs. Derrick Neikirk & G.Q. Gallo: So cool to see L.A. Park & Hijo De Rey Misterio. You should know this, but in case you don’t, Hijo De Rey Misterio is the son of the original Rey Misterio, who is the uncle of WWE’s Rey Mysterio. L.A. Park was previously known as La Parka in Mexico and in WCW before a falling out with a Lucha Libre promoter who owned the rights to the La Parka name. L.A. Park is a cooler name anyway! Neikirk & Gallow are local independent stars, but Neikirk did spend a few years in the WWE developmental system.
SINGLES MATCH (JAPAN 2006)
Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Roderick Strong: Clever way of making money off of a Ring of Honor star.
OPEN THE DREAM GATE TITLE MATCH (JAPAN)
Naruki Doi (c) vs. Masato Yoshino: EXCELLENT!
If you would like to purchase this or any other DRAGON GATE USA DVD,
please check out the Dragon Gate USA website at DGUSA.tv