Congress Theater – Chicago, Illinois – January 23, 2010

Brian Kendrick and Jon Moxley come out to hijack the beginning of the show. Moxley has a bone to pick with Tommy Dreamer, who is in the building tonight. Kendrick joins in the bad mouthing, calling Dreamer a coward and other such nasty words, and then head to the back. I’m guessing we haven’t heard the last of Kendrick and Moxley tonight.

MATCH #1: Gran Akuma vs. TJP

TJP slaps Akuma in the face before the bell and they’re off and running. Lenny Leonard and Phil Colvin are calling the action. TJP controls the early part of the match with his incredible agility, so Akuma takes a powder and TJP follows him out with a suicide dive. Back in the ring Akuma throws a couple of kicks and choke TJP down in the corner. TJP comes back with a modified Sharpshooter and Akuma goes right to the ropes. They take it back to the floor and TJP goes for a springboard something but Akuma pulls him down and takes control. Back in the ring Akuma goes to work on the leg, which is good strategy against a high flying kicker like TJP. Akuma locks on a submission hold and TJP escapes and hits a cross body block up against the ropes and both men tumble to the floor. Back in the ring they exchange forearms and kicks. TJP lands the 86’er and a neckbreaker for a two-count. He looks to go u p top but Akuma rolls him up for two and then lands a solid kick to the face for two. A contrived little sequence ends with Akuma slamming TJP’s chest into his knees for a two-count. Back on their feet they awkwardly trade strikes. TJP hits a solid superkick but Akuma comes back with a lariat and TJP rolls him up off that cover for another two-count. They go up top and TJP jumps off with a sunset flip and then turns it into the Figure Four Deathlock for the submission win at 8:57. That was a solid opener and it certainly made TJP look really good. Akuma I’m not sure how I feel about yet.
Rating: **¾

Backstage Davey Richards cuts his usual promo about facing Masaaki Mochizuki for the FIP World Title tonight. He badly wants to regain the title that he lost in Japan (scroll down for that match review).

MATCH #2: CIMA & Super Crazy vs. Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw

The crowd appreciates Super Crazy. Apparently Quackenbush and CIMA have some kind of issue going on from CHIKARA. Crazy and Quackenbush start the match with some chain wrestling. Leonard explains the issues between these guys, and most of them are lame reasons involving Jorge Rivera, so let’s just move on. Jigsaw and CIMA make unconventional tags that referee Bryce Remsburg allows for some reason. CIMA is entirely focused on Quackenbush and he gets rolled up by Jigsaw for two. They wrestle on the mat a little bit as Jigsaw controls. CIMA comes back aggressively and they come to a stalemate. He knocks Quack off the apron, so Quack illegally enters the ring and they double-team CIMA. Quack locks on a submission hold and Crazy comes in to break it up. The pace quickens and the CHIKARA duo is in control. CIMA avoids a Jigsaw dropkick and double stomps him. He takes Jigsaw over to the corner and makes the tag. Crazy takes control and finds a couple of thunder sticks to beat on both Jigsaw and Remsburg with. CIMA and Crazy continue to work Jigsaw over in their half of the ring. After several minutes Jigsaw hits a simultaneous DDT and inverted DDT on his opponents and makes the tag. Quack is on fire and Jigsaw recovers pretty quickly. They send CIMA and Crazy to the floor with dropkicks and then follow them out with simultaneous Hilos. Back in the ring Jigsaw goes up top with CIMA and gets pushed to the floor but it doesn’t really seem to bother him as he just goes up to the other corner and hits CIMA with a guillotine legdrop after Quack had hit CIMA with a super hurricanrana. CIMA and Crazy come back with stereo powerbombs. Crazy locks Quack in a surfboard and CIMA hits a double stomp and then a superkick. Quackenbush kicks out at two. CIMA hits Jigsaw with a lungblower and a sick double stomp. He this a Schwein but Quack breaks up the cover. Crazy hits Quack with a spinning sit-out powerbomb but it only gets two. CIMA accidentally hits Crazy with a superkick and Quack rolls him up for the pin at 17:49. I’m not really into the issue between Quackenbush and CIMA, and generally watching Quack bores me so this match didn’t do much for me.
Rating: **½

MATCH #3: Brian Kendrick vs. Jimmy Jacobs

I believe these two first wrestled all the way back on 2.26.05 and ROH’s Third Anniversary Celebration Pt. 3 in Chicago Ridge, not far from where they are tonight. Kendrick comes out and compares himself to Jacobs in the way that they wrestle. He says he made a few phone calls and procured Lacey as his valet. I guess it’s somewhat reasonable to assume that most people watching DGUSA would be familiar with the Jacobs and Lacey story, but for anyone who isn’t they offer no explanation whatsoever.

An angry Jacobs spears Kendrick and the match begins. Jacobs dumps Kendrick to the floor and turns his attention to Lacey, but before anything can happen Kendrick pulls Jacobs to the floor and chokes him with his jacket. Back in the ring Kendrick hits a dropkick in the corner for two. He goes to work on Jacobs, locking on a camel clutch. Jacobs powers his way out of it but then gets driven into the second turnbuckle and choked with Kendrick’s boot. Kendrick locks on a sleeper with a body scissors. Jacobs powers up and uses momentum to break the hold and send Kendrick to the floor. He tries a slingshot dive but Kendrick moves out of the way and Jacobs splats on the floor. Back in the ring Kendrick hits a superplex but only gets a one-count. Kendrick stays on offense but Jacobs shrugs it all off and hits a couple of clotheslines and the choke takedown for two. Jacobs tries to gather himself, allowing Kendrick to come back with a superkick and a jackknife cradle for two. Kendrick goes for Sliced Bread No. 2 but Jacobs fights out of it and hits a springboard back elbow. Jacobs goes for the Contra Code but Kendrick avoids it, only to run into the End Time! Lacey gets in the ring and Jacobs breaks the hold. She kisses him to distract him and Kendrick hits the Sliced Bread No. 2 for the pin at 6:44. I really don’t care for using old ROH storylines in new DGUSA stuff, and the match was too short and had too much Lacey to really get anything going. This is one of my least favorite Jimmy Jacobs matches ever.
Rating: *¾

A defeated Jacobs gets on the mic and says he’s going to go after Kendrick’s wife Taylor Matheny of Tough Enough fame. Kendrick then thinks having Moxley clothesline Lacey is proper payback for threatening to go after his wife. Officials come out as Jacobs continues to lay there after what must have been the most devastating Sliced Bread No. 2 ever. Tommy Dreamer then makes his way out to battle Moxley. Jacobs and Kendrick fight to the back, leaving Dreamer and Moxley in the spotlight. They brawl around for a while to hype up a match I don’t want to see at all. Man, Jacobs really looked like a bitch for that entire match and post match activity.

MATCH #4: FIP World Heavyweight Title Match – Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Davey Richards

Mochizuki has been the champion since 12.6.09 and this is his first defense. They start off throwing some kicks at each other, and Mochizuki lands the first shot. Then they trade shoulderblocks and avoid each other’s kicks and come to a stalemate. Mochizuki takes the advantage with some kneelifts and assorted kicks. He works Richards over in the corner and goes after the leg again. Richards comes back by going after the arm. I like how both men are going back to their strategies from their previous match. Mochizuki fights back with a low bridge and then kicks Richards to the floor. They take it to the apron and Richards unleashes a few kicks, but then Mochizuki ducks one and Richards hits the ring post. Back in the ring Mochizuki viciously attacks the knee. After a few submission holds, Richards fights back with (what else) a kick, and then a missile dropkick. He then unloads more kicks with his good legs, and then hits the handspring kick (could he really do that with a leg that hurt) for a two-count. He hits a Northern Lights Suplex for two and then rolls it into the Kimura. Mochizuki reaches the ropes to break the hold. Richards goes to the apron and tries a suplex, but the Mochizuki blocks it and goes right back to the injured leg. He catches an enziguiri and then locks on an Ankle Lock. Richards reaches the ropes. He gets up and tries a charge in the corner but Mochizuki boots him in the face. That just fires Richards up and they trade kicks, but ultimately Mochizuki wins that battle with an exploder suplex and a kick to the chest for a two-count. Richards fights back with a low bridge of his own to send Mochizuki to the floor, and then Richards follows with that super unsafe dive. His leg didn’t appear to be bothering him there either. Back in the ring Richards is sort of selling the injury. They trade more kicks and Mochizuki reverses a German Suplex into one of his own for two, but Richards rolls that right into the Kimura. Once again Mochizuki reaches the ropes. They get up and trade kicks again, with Mochizuki hitting the Saikyou High Kick (the move that won him the title) but this time it only gets two. Mochizuki goes up top and Richards pops up for the German Superplex. Richards hits a lariat and a German Suplex with a bridge for a two-count. He goes up top and nails the Shooting Star Press for two, and then once again locks on the Kimura. Mochizuki won’t tap, so Richards switches it up to a cross armbreaker, which Mochizuki rolls into an Ankle Lock. Richards kicks out of it and gets a rollup for two. He hits a knockout kick and then the DR Driver for two, so he rolls into the Kimura for the fourth time. Mochizuki rolls it into a cradle for two, and Richards reverses that to the cross armbreaker again, and this time Mochizuki taps the belt away at 19:08. That was just as good as their previous match, with stuff from that match coming into play here, and the counters down the stretch were pretty awesome.
Rating: ****

Mike Quackenbush and Jigsaw should not be allowed to talk, ever. I mean ever. Please don’t let these guys talk again.

MATCH #5: Elimination Match – The Young Bucks vs. Shingo & Yamato vs. Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino

Shingo, Yoshino, and Matt Jackson start the match for their teams. I expect to not be able to keep up with the play-by-play here. It’s interesting how they start off with all three guys wrestling each other instead of just pairing off into a regular tag match. They trade some fast paced offensive maneuvers and then Nick Jackson, Doi, and Yamato tag in. Doi and Nick briefly work together before taking each other on. This match is under Dragon Gate Rules, so tags are not necessary. Everyone except Shingo forms a head scissors train, and then Shingo goes to the front of the train and locks a Sharpshooter on, turning all five guys over in the process. That’s creative. The action continues fast and furious for a bit until Shingo and Yamato isolate on Nick Jackson in their corner. The match spills to the floor and the Young Bucks both get abused by the stronger Shingo and Yamato. Back in the ring Matt gets the tag (which is weird because when Nick was outside the ring couldn’t Matt have just come in? Yoshino and Doi get back in on the action and Matt hits Yoshino with a standing Shiranui for a two-count. Matt ends up in the ring with Shingo and hits a DDT, but Shingo hangs on and hits a suplex. He’s so awesome. Matt comes back with an Ace Crusher but Yamato breaks up the cover. Shingo is left alone in the ring with the Bucks, who double team him but can’t put him away. After Nick hits a splash on Shingo, it looks like Yamato was supposed to break up the cover but didn’t, because Remsburg only counted two and Shingo didn’t really get his shoulder up. Everyone gets back in the ring for a flurry of offense. The Bucks hit Yamato with More Bang for Your Buck, but Shingo breaks up the cover with a power German Suplex on Matt. Doi and Yoshino are back in, and Doi hits Matt with the Doi 555s and Yoshino follows up with the Lightning Spiral to eliminate the Bucks at 14:54.

There’s no break in the action as all four men tear into each other. Doi and Yoshino hit Yamato with a Doomsday Sling Blade and Shingo breaks up the Cover. Shingo hits Yoshino with a powerbomb and goes for another one but Yoshino rolls over into a sunset flip. Doi and Shingo exchange forearms while Yamato and Yoshino try to recover. The Open the Dream Gate Champion unleashes a seemingly unending flurry of strikes but Shingo won’t go down. Yamato and Yoshino come back alive and the action is almost too fast to follow. Shingo and Yoshino are in the ring while Doi and Yamato are outside. Yoshino hits the Torbellino and then locks on Sol Naciente, and Shingo taps out at 18:57! Leonard puts over how Yoshino scored both falls for his team. The match was an awesome, fast-paced slew of offense that never slowed down. It looks like they might be going somewhere with Yoshino, which is fine by me.
Rating: ****¼

MATCH #6: Open the Freedom Gate Title Match – BxB Hulk vs. Dragon Kid

Hulk has been the champion since 11.28.09 and this is his second defense. His dancers look a little bit lost tonight. Kid is accompanied by CIMA tonight. This is the first time these two have ever wrestled one-on-one. They start off cautiously, and Hulk takes the first brief advantage by going after the arm, but Kid fights back with speed and agility. Kid takes Hulk down in the corner and hits a delayed dropkick to the face. He then goes after the leg, locking on an inverted Indian Death Lock, and then turning it into a Muta Lock. Hulk pulls himself to the ropes to break the hold. He then makes the comeback and takes Kid down for a running dropkick to the face. He hits a knife edge chop for two and then locks on a reverse chinlock. The champ continues working Kid over with a variety of holds and strikes. Kid fights back but gets cut off with a back elbow, and Hulk then hits a twisting body press for two. Hulk then locks on a variation of the Texas Cloverleaf. Kid crawls to the ropes and then rolls to the floor. Hulk follows him out and throws him into the guardrail. They make it up to the apron and Kid gets back in the ring with a springboard Stunner. Hulk comes right back with a high kick to the head. Kid comes back and goes up top, but Hulk knocks him down to the apron. Even so Kid flies back in the ring with a springboard hurricanrana, and then hits a 619. Hulk falls to the floor, and Kid follows him out with the Bermuda Triangle (Vintage Dragon Kid!). Back in the ring Kid hits a springboard missile dropkick for a two-count. Kid hits an elevated Stunner for another count of two. Hulk comes back with a springboard spinning kick for a two-count. He sweeps the legs and hits the BxB Star Press for two. They both get up and trade forearms, and Kid locks on Christo. Hulk escapes with a side slam, but Kid fights right back with a tornado DDT for two. Kid charges right into a hard uranage slam, and then the BxB Smash for a two-count. They fight up to the top rope and Kid hits a Super Ace Crusher and then follows up with an Ultra Hurricanrana but Hulk kicks out at two! Kid goes up top but Hulk stops him and hits EVO off the top rope for a two-count! They get back up and Hulk hits another EVO but once again Kid kicks out! Kid comes back with yet another Stunner. Hulk comes back with a jumping high kick and the FTX for another two-count! He hits a superkick and then the EVOP to finally put the challenger away at 17:09! That was a great Face versus Face match. The action was almost nonstop and Kid looked good in losing. Of course, Hulk also looked good in winning. Both guys were going for their big moves but Hulk was just a little bit better tonight. I wouldn’t mind seeing a rematch of this.
Rating: ****

After the match Yamato, Gran Akuma, and Davey Richards come out to attack the Open the Freedom Gate Champion as well as Dragon Kid. CIMA tries to come to their aid but he gets cut off. Shingo comes out to make the save, and then changes his mind, knocking Dragon Kid out with a punch and a clothesline. CIMA takes Kid to the back, leaving Hulk on his own. Arik Cannon and Brad Allen come to the rescue, but they’re quickly dispatched. Then the CHIKARA locker room comes out to make the save for real. Quackenbush goes after Yamato and they brawl outside the ring. CIMA comes back with a broom and chases everyone away.

~BONUS DISC~

BONUS MATCH #1: Six Man Elimination Match – Jon Moxley vs. Arik Cannon vs. Kyle O’Reilly vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Lince Dorado vs. Brad Allen

This is an exclusive match for Golden Ticket Holders. Allen and Cannon start things off. They try to knock each other down, and Allen wins the battle and then hits a bodyslam. Cannon whips him into the corner but Allen pops back out with a cross body block for a two-count and then hits a bulldog. He goes for the slingshot senton but Cannon gets his knees up. Moxley comes in out of nowhere and starts beating on everybody, and Brian Kendrick comes out to join him. As a result, Moxley is eliminated by disqualification at 1:40. When the smoke clears Dorado and O’Reilly get in the ring. They engage in some fast paced back and forth action and wrestle to a stalemate. O’Reilly unleashes with rolling butterfly suplexes into a double-arm DDT for two. Allen tags himself in and blasts Dorado with a clothesline for two. Dorado comes back with a swinging DDT. Gargano tags himself in and dropkicks Dorado out of the air during a quebrada, but then Allen grabs him with a spinebuster for two. Allen goes for a powerslam but Gargano slips out and gets a schoolboy rollup with a fistful of tights to eliminate Allen at 4:56. O’Reilly comes in and they trade shots. He hits a Regalplex for two and then a series of strikes. Gargano comes back with a hard superkick and then lawn darts O’Reilly into the second turnbuckle for two. He hits an enziguiri but O’Reilly hits a clothesline before selling it. Both men make tags and Dorado is in control of Cannon. Dorado hits a quebrada for two. Cannon comes back with a brainbuster and the Glimmering Warlock to eliminate Dorado at 7:45. O’Reilly and Gargano both come back in and it’s a three-way fracas. Gargano tries the Spear on Cannon but gets caught in a spinning neckbreaker. Cannon then hits another Shimmering Warlock to eliminate Gargano at 8:44. O’Reilly hits Cannon with a Saito suplex for two, and Cannon comes back with one of his own. Cannon hits a big lariat for two. They trade strikes and neither man will budge. O’Reilly hits a tornado DDT and hangs on, but Cannon counters with the spinning neckbreaker and both men are down. They get up and Cannon hits an Exploder but O’Reilly counters with a knee strike and another tornado DDT. This time O’Reilly hangs on and hits a brainbuster for the win at 11:45. That was a fun enough preshow spot fest but I’m really not into Kyle O’Reilly. He just comes off as Davey Richards Lite (for obvious reasons).
Rating: **½

BONUS MATCH #2: AAW Heavyweight Title Match – Silas Young vs. Hallowicked

Young has been the champion since 11.28.09 and this is his third defense. This is another Exclusive Match for Golden Ticket Holders. They chain wrestle to start and take it right to the mat. Hallowicked subdues Young with a headscissors but Young turns it into a single leg crab, which gets turned into a cradle for two. They continue going back and forth, with Young showing a heel side that I’m not familiar with yet. Young hits a hard backbreaker and goes to work on the challenger. He’s focusing on the back, and he’s able to cut off Hallowicked’s come back attempts. They end up booting each other in the face and they’re both down. Hallowicked counters a leap frog with a rollup and gets a couple of other cradles for two-counts. He then hits a Sky-Hi Powerbomb for a near-fall. He tries the Go to Sleepy Hollow but Young counters to the backbreaker/lariat combo. Young then locks on a Full Nelson Stretch and Hallowicked reaches the ropes. Again Hallowicked tries Go To Sleepy Hollow but Young counters and hits the Finlay Roll. Young then hits the PeeGee Waja Plunge for the win at 9:12. That was a solid little sprint of a match, and Young looks to be comfortable as a heel.
Rating: **¾

“Fearless” PPV Preview and Promo Spots

Instead of clips and an actual preview of the Fearless pay-per-view, they show a section of Yamato versus BxB Hulk from Open the Historic Gate, the first ever mach on DG-USA PPV. I didn’t start receiving DG-USA PPVs until the third one, so hopefully when I get some cash I’ll go back and review the first two.

“Fearless” Highlight Package

This is exactly what it sounds like, about seven minutes or so of highlights from the event, some of them in fast forward for some reason.

BONUS MATCH #3: FIP World Heavyweight Title Match – Davey Richards vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, Gate of Generation 2009, Hokkaido, Japan, 12.6.09

Richards has been the champion since 5.2.09 and this is his fifth defense. These two wrestled each other way back at ROH’s All Star Extravaganza III in Detroit on 3.30.07, and even teamed up at ROH’s Live in Osaka on 7.17.07. Mochizuki attacks right away with a flurry of kicks, beating Richards down in the corner. They try suplexing each other to the floor and fight on the apron. Richards tries a kick but Mochizuki ducks and Richards kicks the ring post. That’s a cool spot. Shingo and Yamato are at ringside in support of Richards, and Don Fuji is there for Mochizuki. I don’t follow Dragon Gate proper, so I assume they’re part of a faction. Mochizuki viciously attacks the injured leg. Richards tries to fight back but Mochizuki dumps him to the floor and wipes him out with a dive. Back in the ring the challenger continues to dominate. Richards escapes a submission by getting to the ropes, and when he gets up he tries a kick but further injures his own leg. Mochizuki blocks an enziguiri and turns it into an Ankle Lock. Richards finally connects with a kick to the head and then a missile dropkick. They take it the apron again and Richards attacks Mochizuki’s taped-up arm, which is good strategy on his part. Richards seems to have forgotten about his injured leg at this point. He hits a Northern Lights Suplex with a bridge for a two-count, and then turns it into the Kimura. Mochizuki makes it to the ropes. Richards hits a bodyslam and goes up to the second rope. Mochizuki joins him up there, only to get hit with a leaping Divorce Court. Richards locks on a Fujiwara armbar as Fuji thinks about throwing in the towel. They get up and exchange some kicks and both men are down. Mochizuki is up first and he sets Richards between the top and middle turnbuckles and hits a running knee. Richards comes back with the handspring kick (with the injured leg) and a German Suplex with a bridge for two. He hits a couple of kicks to the face but Mochizuki absorbs them and comes back with a German Suplex of his own for two, and Richards turns that right into the Kimura. Mochizuki rolls that into a cradle for two, and Richards rolls that right into a cross armbreaker. He first tries to roll it into a pin, and then to get to the ropes, neither of which are successful, but then he’s able to roll it into an Ankle Lock. Richards makes the ropes and. Mochizuki gets up and hits a rana but Richards rolls through for a two-count, so Mochizuki kicks him in the head for another two-count. The challenger goes up top presumably for some kind of moonsault but Richards pops up there and hits a super release German Suplex. They get up and trade kicks to the face, and Richards hits the Alarm Clock and a lariat. Richards hits a Straightjacket Suplex with a bridge for a two-count. He goes up and hits the Diving Headbutt for another two-count. He goes for the Shooting Star Press but Mochizuki moves out of the way. Mochizuki hits a series of kicks and a Twister for two. They trade kicks and Mochizuki lands the Shin Saikyou High Kick to get the surprising pin at 19:07. Man they did so much cool stuff in that match, and the simple story of Mochizuki attacking the leg and Richards attacking the arm was really working for them. The only thing holding this match back from being rated higher was Richards’s refusal to consistently sell the leg injury.
Rating: ****

BONUS MATCH #4: Open the Freedom Gate Title Match – BxB Hulk vs. Susumu Yokosuka, Gate of Generation 2009, Hokkaido, Japan, 12.6.09

Hulk has been the champion since 11.28.09 and this is his first defense. He attacks right away, before they can even rid the ring of all the streamers. Yokosuka comes back with a hard clothesline and they take the match to the floor. The challenger whips the champ hard into the ring post. Ryo Saito and Genki Horiguchi are at ringside for their stable mate Yokosuka, while Masato Yoshino and Naruki Doi are there for Hulk. The fight continues on the floor, as Yokosuka hurls Hulk into a pile of chairs, and then brings the champ back inside just before the 20 count. He immediately throws Hulk back to the floor and slams a chair down on Hulk’s knee. Back in the ring Hulk can’t put any weight on his now injured leg. That hinders every comeback opportunity he gets for the time being. Yokosuka is just viciously attacking the leg. The Real Hazard faction takes every opportunity to distract the referee and take cheap shots on the floor. Saito trips Hulk from the floor and Yoshino has had enough, finally attacking Saito. Yokosuka brings the Blue Box in the ring (is that a thing he does?) and drops Hulk’s knees on it, and then locks on a Figure-Four Leglock. Hulk reaches the ropes, and moments later he’s finally able to land a jumping high kick to knock Yokosuka down. He charges into the corner and Yokosuka backdrops him to the apron, but Hulk springboards back in with a missile dropkick. He then runs off the apron and wipes Yokosuka down with a somersault dive. Hulk springboards back in the ring with a spinning heel kick for two. Apparently his leg isn’t injured anymore. Hulk sweeps the legs and goes for a standing moonsault but Yokosuka gets the knees up. Yokosuka grabs a charging Hulk and hits an exploder into the turnbuckles. He goes for a piledriver but Hulk blocks it and backdrops him. Hulk goes up top but Yokosuka meets him there and hits a Super Exploder for two! Yokosuka goes back up for a super belly-to-back suplex but Hulk lands on his feet, and when Yokosuka tries a German suplex Hulk again lands on his feet. Hulk then hits a hurricanrana for a two-count. He runs into the ropes and gets hit with the Blue Box. Real Hazard hit the ring for some blatant interference while the referee is distracted. Moments later World-1 returns the favor and we’re back to Even Stevens. They fight up top and Hulk hits a Super Island Driver but Yokosuka gets his foot on the ropes. Hulk goes back up top and Saito knocks him down. Yokosuka finally hits the Jumbo no Kachi! He sets Hulk on the top rope again and hits a Super Dominator. One thing Lenny Leonard does on commentary that’s annoying is not calling move names and instead just saying “Plants Him!” He hits the Jumbo no Kachi! again but Hulk kicks out. Back on their feet Yokosuka hits a couple of Jumbo no Kachi!s but Hulk will not go down. Yokosuka hits a German Suplex but Hulk gets right back up and hits the EVO for a two-count. Hulk is right back up and hits two more EVO’s but Yokosuka gets up and lands another Jumbo no Kachi! but Hulk shrugs it off and hits a superkick and then H-Thunder to get the pin and retain the title at 22:07. I know it’s a different style and all, but I’m not real big on the constant no-selling of finishers and stuff, and there was also tons of interference that seemed unnecessary, but again I don’t really follow regular Dragon Gate so I don’t know how it all fits into the larger parts of the story. That being said I liked the match and the guys obviously worked hard, it just wasn’t my favorite kind of match is all.
Rating: ***¼

The Pulse: This is another great show from DGUSA. Three matches are four stars or more, and they’re building to stuff I want to see: Hulk versus Yoshino mostly, and while I may not be a huge Mike Quackenbush fan I’ll watch Yamato versus anybody. This DVD bonus features include another four star match from Dragon Gate, the first Open the Freedom Gate Title defense from the same show, and two bonus matches, so I highly recommend this DVD. You can pick it up right here.

Tags: BxB Hulk, DGUSA, Dragon Gate, Dragon Gate USA, Dragon Kid, Fearless, Masato Yoshino, shingo, The Young Bucks