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Before you read this review, you should definitely go Check This Out. It’s a series of videos called “The Grapefruit Chronicles,†put together by my good friend and former reviewing tag team partner Brad Garoon. They’re highly entertaining and creative, and he deserves more viewers for his hard work.
The Windsor Armory – Windsor, Ontario, Canada – May 7, 2010
Lenny Leonard begins the show backstage with Jimmy Jacobs to get a word in about the new Kamikaze USA group. Jacobs says that he is here to stand on his own two feet and not to join a group. Tonight Jacobs will battle Dragon Gate Icon CIMA.
Next up is a video package on the feud between Dragon Kid and Masato Yoshino, who will square off in a two out of three falls match tonight. Actually, it’s barely a video package, it just repeats stuff from Open the Historic Gate, mostly Scorpio’s self-fellatio of a promo.
MATCH #1: Tag Team Grudge Match – Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw vs. Gran Akuma & Akira Tozawa
Akuma and Tozawa represent Kamikaze USA. Quack and Tozawa start it off. They take it to the mat and exchange holds. Akuma interferes illegally to gain the advantage for his team. Quack fights back and Jigsaw pops in out of nowhere with a dropkick to send both Akuma and Tozawa to the floor. Jigsaw and Quack then deliver stereo dives to wipe out both opponents on the floor. Back in the ring Quack and Jigsaw control Tozawa and get a couple of near-falls. Tozawa comes back and forces Jigsaw into the corner, and the Kamikaze team takes control. Jigsaw fights back by pulling Tozawa’s tights down. Amazingly that’s not enough to stymie him though. Finally Jigsaw makes the comeback and knocks both men to the floor. Jigsaw goes for a dive but gets caught, so Quack executes the dive for him instead. Back in the ring the CHIKARA Sekigun team is dominating. They hit a nasty double-powerbomb on Tozawa for two. Quack hits the Black Tornado Slam and Akuma has to break up the cover. Jigsaw steps in and flattens Akuma with a brainbuster and Tozawa again has to break it up. Tozawa pitches Jigsaw to the floor and then lands a Saito Suplex on Quack for two. Akuma comes back in and hits an Exploder off the top rope, Tozawa follows with a diving headbutt, and Akuma hits a nice moonsault for two. He then hits a sitout wheelbarrow facebuster and Tozawa follows up with a bridging German Suplex. Jigsaw breaks that up with a slingshot double stomp. Akuma hits Jigsaw with a knee buster and goes for Yoshi Tonic but Jigsaw counters to the Jig N’ Tonic to get the win at 12:24. That was a good opener, and I’m digging this feud.
Rating: ***¼
Shingo and YAMATO come out to attack the CHIKARA Sekigun duo. FIP World Champion Jon Moxley comes out to join the party. Then they all walk to the back.
Thankfully the video footage of the Dragon Kid versus Masato Yoshino feud isn’t just limited to that first segment. I think it helps the match feel a lot bigger. At “Open the Untouchable Gate,†Kid pinned Yoshino, and then Yoshino refused to shake his hand. Then they ran into each other backstage and heated words were exchanged.
MATCH #2: FIP World Heavyweight Title Match – Jon Moxley vs. Phil Atlas
Moxley has been the champion since 4.17.10 and this is his first defense. He defeated Roderick Strong to win the title, no small feat. The champ attacks right away but Atlas is ready for him and he’s able to armdrag Moxley to the floor. Atlas follows him out with a somersault dive and then he poses with the belt. Moxley uses the girl he brought to ringside with him to reclaim the advantage on the floor. Back in the ring Atlas tries a high cross body but Moxley rolls through for two. Moxley hits a hard clothesline for two. Atlas fights back with a leg lariat for two. That doesn’t last too long and Moxley is back in control, going to work on the arm. Moxley tries a Fujiwara Armbar but Atlas escapes it. The champ responds with a release suplex for two. Atlas fights back by quickening the pace and hitting a series of kicks. He hits Career Killer #3 but it only gets two. YAMATO and Shingo make their way to ringside and pull Atlas to the floor while Moxley keeps referee Bryce Remsburg distracted. Back in the ring Moxley locks on a Cross Face Chicken Wing to get the tap out victory at 7:40. They kept it at a pretty good pace for the short running time, but nothing much really developed and I’m not sold on Moxley yet.
Rating: **
At “Open the Freedom Gate,†Masato Yoshino and Naruki Doi were able to defeat Dragon Kid & Shingo.
MATCH #3: Special Challenge Match – CIMA vs. Jimmy Jacobs
Jacobs thinks he deserves a bigger pop, so he goes backstage and tries his entrance again and gets a satisfactory pop the second time. This is a first time ever matchup. They take it down to the mat and wrestle to a standoff. Back on their feet they continue the chain wrestling, and Jacobs seems out to prove that he’s not intimidated by CIMA. They continue to battle back and forth, and Jacobs hits the swinging headscissors for a two-count. Jacobs rams CIMA’s head into four different turnbuckles consecutively and hits a couple of shoulderblocks and chops in the corner. CIMA fights out of the corner and takes Jacobs down to the mat with an arm submission. Jacobs won’t stand for CIMA’s aggression and hits the multiple double stomps and an elbow drop for two. CIMA fights out of a chinlock with a jawbreaker. He tries a charge but Jacobs sidesteps him and CIMA sails to the floor. Jacobs follows him out with a house show dive. Back in the ring Jacobs tries a sunset flip but CIMA blocks it and hits a nasty double stomp. He wears Jacobs down with a variety of holds and strikes. CIMA hits a snap suplex and Jacobs kicks out at one! Jacobs fights back with a flurry of clotheslines and a neckbreaker for two. He tries the Contra Code but CIMA avoids it and hits Superdrol and the Perfect Driver for two. CIMA goes for the Schwein but Jacobs slips out and hits a Spear for two. Both men get back to their feet and CIMA once again goes for the Schwein but Jacobs counters it to the End Time! CIMA makes it to the ropes. Jacobs avoids the Venus and turns it into the Contra Code for a close near-fall. He goes up top and CIMA knocks him down and hits the Perfect Driver off the second rope but Jacobs kicks out again! Back on their feet CIMA misses a charge and Jacobs gets a rollup for two. CIMA then blasts Jacobs with a superkick and hits the Schwein but it only gets two! The frustrated CIMA goes up top and hits Meteora to get the pin at 15:17. The idea of this match seemed to be to make Jacobs look like a major threat and I think they did a good job of that. After the match Jacobs refuses a handshake.
Rating: ***½
For more info on Dragon Gate USA, please visit www.DGUSA.tv.
MATCH #4: Special Attraction Match – Naruki Doi vs. Masaaki Mochizuki
Before the match can begin, Johnny Gargano comes out with a backpack. He tries to offer the guys some American movies on VHS. Then he gives Doi a stuffed animal, and then he leaves. I don’t really understand what the point of that was. Apparently, Gargano was offering to be the American representative for either the Warriors or World-1 Factions. That’s kind of a funny way to go about it, but I like Gargano so I hope they find something interesting for him to do.
Doi and Mochizuki seem evenly matched in the early going, and Mochizuki wastes no time in unleashing his hard kicks. Doi cuts him off with a back elbow and they go to the floor. Mochizuki whips Doi into the ring post and then tries to kick him but Doi moves and his left foot cracks against the post. Back in the ring Doi wisely goes to work on the injured limb. Mochizuki is able to dump Doi to the apron and then kicks him to the floor (with the injured leg). He follows Doi to the floor and kicks him again, then delivers a bodyslam. He then locks on a single leg crab briefly, and then they roll back into the ring. Mochizuki continues to work the back, using a lot of kicks. He locks on another half crab and Doi looks to be in a lot of pain, but he manages to reach the ropes. Mochizuki hits a backbreaker and goes right back to the half crab. Doi once again reaches the ropes but Mochizuki is relentless. Doi fights back with a basement dropkick and follows up with Dai Bosou! He grabs an Ankle Lock and Mochizuki reaches the ropes. They go back and forth and Mochizuki hits more kicks and a Saito Suplex and both men are down. Mochizuki hits more kicks but still can’t put Doi away. Doi counters the Twister with a dragon screw and then locks on a Figure-Four Leglock. Mochizuki reaches the ropes to break the hold. They take the battle to the apron and Doi hits the shotgun dropkick and then the senton to the back. Doi hits the Bakatare Sliding Kick but it only gets two. He goes for Doi 555 but Mochizuki blocks it and lands a kick to the head and then hits the Ikkakugeri. Mochizuki hits the Twister but Doi kicks out at two. He goes for a Dragon Suplex but Doi counters and hits Doi 555. Doi lands another Bakatare Sliding Kick but Mochizuki scores with an overhead kick to get the big win at 13:41. I love me some Mochizuki that’s for sure. This was good solid action all the way through, though some of the selling was pretty suspect.
Rating: ***½
Backstage Quack and Jigsaw are lamenting the poor sportsmanship of Kamikaze USA. They want to end the feud.
MATCH #5: Showcase Match – Bolen & Tyson Dux vs. Xtremo & Brad Martin
This match is courtesy of Maximum Pro Wrestling. Bolen and Dux get some pretty good heal heat here. Xtremo and Dux start for their respective teams. They immediately trade chops and Xtremo wins that battle and switches it up to kicks. Dux comes back with a shoulder tackle and Xtremo comes back with a head scissors and then issues a receipt for the earlier slap. Martin tags in and goes to work on Dux’s arm. Bolen tags in gets outwrestled. Martin avoids Bolen and hits chops. Dux comes back in and gets hit with a leg lariat. Martin and Xtremo are rolling so Dux and Bolen take a powder to regroup. That doesn’t stop the babyfaces though, who retrieve Dux and take the battle back to the ring. Bolen sweeps Xtremo’s legs on the ring apron, allowing Dux to take control. Dux and Bolen keep control of Xtremo, cutting off his various comeback attempts. Finally Xtremo hits a solid DDT and makes the tag. Martin is a house afire, clotheslining Dux to the floor. That leaves Bolen and Xtremo in the ring, and Xtremo fights out of a press slam and hits a chinbreaker/enziguiri combo. Xtremo takes Dux out with a dive, and then takes Bolen out with a dive on the other side of the ring. Back in the ring the referee has no control of the match, as all four men are in the ring. Martin locks Bolen in an STF and Xtremo locks Dux in a Muta Lock. Bolen reaches the ropes and then hits Martin with a suplex. He charges at Xtremo but gets low bridged and sails to the floor. Xtremo hits Dux with a DDT and goes up for the 450 splash but Dux moves and hits the Death Valley Driver into the corner. Martin tries a waist lock on Dux but gets clobbered with a right hand from the floor by Bolen, and Dux cradles him in a jackknife pin to get the win at 10:54. That was certainly spirited. ROH should try to bring in Dux and Bolen; they looked really good as a team.
Rating: ***½
At “Mercury Rising,†the patented Dragon Gate six-man tag made its DGUSA debut, and Dragon Kid and Masato Yoshino were on different sides. That’s about all one could possibly glean from this little piece of footage. They could have shown who won.
MATCH #6: Two out of Three Falls Match – Dragon Kid vs. Masato Yoshino
Leonard says this is the last singles matchup between these two. Bothe men are a little cautious of each other early on since they’ve wrestled so many times and they know each other’s tricks. Yoshino lands the first dropkick and Kid fights right back with a spinning headscissors. Kid takes Yoshino down in the corner and lands a hesitation dropkick. He continues to work Yoshino over and locks on an inverted Figure-Four Leglock, and then turns it into a Muta Lock. Yoshino reaches the ropes and then strikes with a back elbow. He locks on a headscissors and then stomps away. Moments later Kid comes back with the Déjà vu headscissors to send Yoshino to the floor, and then follows him out with the Bermuda Triangle. Back in the ring Yoshino fights back with a face slam for a two-count. Yoshino goes up top and Kid knocks him off his perch and hits a dropkick. Kid tries a rana but Yoshino puts on the breaks and hits a missile dropkick and the Lighting Spiral to take the first fall at 8:53.
Yoshino stays in control at the start of the second fall. He hits Sling Blade for a two-count. He is very confident as he dismissively kicks Kid in the head. He goes out for a springboard missile dropkick but Kid dropkicks him out of the air. Kid then locks on From Jungle and Yoshino makes it to the ropes. Now Kid sets Yoshino up top, but Yoshino is able to turn it into a Super Sling Blade for two! That was cool. Kid comes back with Bible from out of nowhere to win the second fall at 13:34.
The third fall starts with a Kid leg lariat. Kid follows up with a flipping stunner for two. He tries a rana but Yoshino counters with a hard powerbomb for two. Yoshino goes up top and Kid knocks him down and hits a super hurricanrana but it only gets two! Kid looks for the Ultra Hurricanrana but Yoshino counters it so Kid counters to another flipping stunner. This time Kid hits the Ultra Hurricanrana but Yoshino kicks out! Kid goes for the Dragon Rana but Yoshino avoids it and hits a powerbomb. A series of reversals ends with an awesome Lighting Spiral but this time it only gets two! Yoshino responds with Torbellino and then locks on Sol Naciente and Kid is out at 19:12. That was a very cool fast-paced matchup with some awesome spots based on the fact that they had wrestled each other numerous times before. Kid and Yoshino shake hands after the match to end the feud.
Rating: ***¾
Back at “Fearless,†Shingo, YAMATO, Davey Richards, and Gran Akuma assaulted the Open the Freedom Gate Champion BxB Hulk. That’s enough to set us up for tonight’s main event.
MATCH #7: Tag Team Action – BxB Hulk & PAC vs. YAMATO & Shingo
Shingo and YAMATO are accompanied by Kamikaze-USA teammate Akira Tozawa. YAMATO is the current Open the Dream Gate Champion. Hulk and PAC are representing World-1; Hulk is the Open the Freedom Gate Champion, and his is PAC’s DGUSA debut.
PAC and Shingo start it off and Shingo immediately asserts his power advantage. They start chain wrestling and both men appear pretty evenly matched there. PAC starts using his agility and shows why they call him “The Man That Gravity Forgot.†Shingo takes a powder. Back in the ring the champions tag in and they go back and forth at a fast pace. YAMATO uses his power to take Hulk down and then into his corner. Shingo tags in and Hulk takes his head off with a spin kick and then makes the tag. PAC and Hulk use their amazing agility to keep Shingo grounded. Shingo fights back with a hard chop on Hulk and then tags out. YAMATO goes right to work on Hulk, stomping him down in the corner. Hulk fights back with a running boot in the corner, and then hits a Demolition Decapitation Guillotine Legdrop with PAC but it only gets two. PAC tags in now and YAMATO is able to regain control. The match spills to the floor, where PAC and Hulk get whipped into opposing guardrails. Tozawa keeps referee Bryce Remsburg distracted. Hulk fires back at YAMATO with kicks, but Shingo cuts him off and throws him into the guardrail.
Back in the ring Shingo and YAMATO are firmly in control of PAC. They keep PAC isolated and successfully keep Hulk at bay. YAMATO locks on the CBV and PAC has to reach the ropes. Hulk and Shingo join the fray and Shingo hits a high back body drop. PAC tries firing back but Shingo and YAMATO is a lot for one man to overcome. Finally PAC is able to connect with a springboard missile dropkick on Shingo and he makes the tag. Hulk comes in and gets cut off by YAMATO. PAC wipes out YAMATO with a dive on the floor. Meanwhile Shingo and Hulk battle in the ring. Hulk hits a Rock Bottom for two. He sweeps the legs and goes for a moonsault but Shingo gets his knees up. Shingo hits a DDT and senton for two. The match keeps going back and forth and it’s getting tough to follow. Some heel miscommunication leads to Shingo hitting a lariat on YAMATO. PAC and Hulk are flying all over the ring, keeping their larger opponents off their feet. PAC hits a springboard 450 on YAMATO for two. Shingo grabs Hulk with a Gallon Throw for two. The referee has totally lost control. YAMATO locks Hulk in the Doujime Sleeper but Hulk escapes and hits a jumping overhead kick, and YAMATO responds to that with a Saito Suplex for three consecutive near-falls. Hulk comes back with EVO but it only gets two. He hits a hard superkick on YAMATO and Shingo has to break up the cover. YAMATO fights back with a kick to the head and a brainbuster for two. He locks on the Choke Sleeper and then turns it into a nasty Sleeper Suplex for two! Finally YAMATO is able to land Galleria to get the win at 23:28. That had incredible action and everyone was playing to their strengths. The combined awesome of Shingo and YAMATO is very nearly overpowering, and pitting them against two high-flyers worked out really well.
Rating: ****¼
Yoshino is cutting a promo backstage when Jimmy Jacobs walks by. He tries to ask Jacobs a question, but he pretty much blows him off. When Jacobs turns the corner he gets attacked by Jon Moxley!
~BONUS DISC~
BONUS MATCH #1: FIP Heavyweight Title Match – Bryan Danielson vs. Matt Sydal, FIP Year of the Dragon, Clearwater, Florida, 2.17.06
Danielson has been the champion since 1.14.06 and this is his first defense. He’s accompanied by Dave Prazak and Mr. Milo Beasley of DP Associates. It’s interesting to see how far these two have come in the last five years. Lenny Leonard is on commentary by himself.
They take it to the mat and trade maneuvers back and forth, and when Sydal hits a headscissors Danielson takes a quick powder. Sydal hits a baseball slide dropkick, sending the champ crashing into the guardrail. Danielson stalls and thinks maybe he has a loose tooth. Back in the ring Danielson goes to work on the arm. Sydal uses his quickness to escape and is able to hiptoss Danielson out of the corner. He continues using his speed and agility to avoid a Danielson dropkick, and then he hits one of his own, once again sending Danielson scurrying to the floor. Back in the ring Danielson goes for a handshake but he has his fingers crossed. Sydal is on to him though, and ends up stomping the fingers and hitting another hiptoss and a headscissors to keep Danielson grounded. Danielson escapes and delivers a hard bodyslam. He goes to work on the back but Sydal withstands the punishment and crotches Danielson on the middle rope, and then hits a bodyslam for two. Prazak interferes from the floor to help his charge gain the advantage. Danielson takes it to the floor and hurls Sydal into the crowd. Sydal gets distracted by Beasley, and Danielson reclaims control back in the ring.
Danielson locks on a surfboard but Sydal is able to get the ropes. He sets Sydal up top but gets knocked down and Sydal tries the Shooting Star Press but misses and lands on his feet. Sydal grabs a La Magistral cradle for two and then a schoolboy rollup for two. Danielson slows Sydal down with a sleeper, but Sydal reverses to one of his own. The champ powers out and drives Sydal back down to the canvas. Back on their feet Danielson whips Sydal out to the floor and then distracts the referee so that Beasley can wipe Sydal out with a dive off the apron. Back in the ring Danielson goes for a missile dropkick but Sydal cuts him off with one of his own. Danielson recovers and charges but Sydal ducks, sending the champion to the floor. Sydal follows up with a moonsault all the way to the floor. Back in the ring Sydal hits a high cross body off the top rope for two. Danielson comes back with a headbutt to the midsection and some European Uppercuts. Sydal fights back with an enziguiri and the standing moonsault. He goes up top but Prazak distracts him, allowing Danielson to hit the Super Belly-to-Back Suplex to get the pin at 20:40. Sydal wasn’t quite as awesome as he would soon become, but this was a fun match (if a bit long for what they were doing) and to my knowledge had never been released on DVD before.
Rating: ***
BONUS MATCH #2: Dragon Kid & King Shisa vs. Susumu Yokosuka & Keni’chiro Arai, Wrestle JAM, Kanagawa, Japan, 7.10.06
Yokosuka was the Open the Dream Gate Champion at this time. Lenny Leonard is handling commentary here. Shisa and Arai start it off. This is my first experience with either of them. They start with some chain wrestling and Arai grabs the first advantage. Shisa comes back with some Lucha style offense, which is fitting since he works in Mexico as Pentagon Black. He knocks Arai to the floor and Kid and Yokosuka get in the ring now. Kid unleashes some high flying offense, and then tags Shisa in for some creative double-teaming. Yokosuka is getting dominated in the wrong corner. Shisa and Kid work together to continue wearing the Champion down. Yokosuka comes back with a back elbow and makes the tag. Now Kid is in the wrong part of town getting worked over by Yokosuka and Arai. Yokosuka hits a delayed brainbuster for two. Kid comes back with a leg lariat on Arai and makes the tag. Shisa is all over both Yokosuka and Arai, and the referee loses control. Yokosuka comes back and engages Shisa in a chop battle, which ends badly for him. Shisa hits a springboard diving headbutt for two. Yokosuka comes back with an exploder but it only gets two. Shisa comes right back with a moonsault press for two. Kid rejoins the fray and nails Yokosuka with a DDT for two. Shisa hits a TKO but Arai breaks up the cover. Arai hits Kid with a springboard missile dropkick and a Saito Suplex. Yokosuka tries Jumbo no Kachi but Kid ducks it so he turns it into a nasty Death Valley Driver for a two-count. He then hits the Jumbo no Kachi but it again only gets two. Arai goes up top and Yokosuka joins him and they go for a Rocket Launcher but Kid moves out of the way! Shisa and Arai are left in the ring and Shisa hits the Alabama Slam for two. Moments later Kid hits the Ultra Hurricanrana to get the pin at 12:42. That was a solid back and forth tag match. The best parts involved Yokosuka and Kid who were feuding at the time.
Rating: ***
BONUS MATCH #3: Ringside Exclusive – BxB Hulk & Masato Yoshino vs. Naruki Doi & Naoki Tanizaki, Summer Adventure Tag League III, Hyogo, Japan, 8.23.09
Doi is the Open the Dream Gate Champion at this time. The champ and Yoshino start the match. Yoshino does what he does best and quickens the pace, dumping Doi to the floor and wiping him out with a dive. Hulk and Tanizaki take their place in the ring and I get a feeling I’m going to have a hard time keeping up with this. They go back and forth at a fast pace and neither man seems interested in selling for the other. Hulk uses dropkicks to try and subdue Tanizaki. He grabs a front facelock and makes the tag. Tanizaki and Yoshino trade chops and Yoshino gets the better of it. Hulk tags in and Tanizaki unloads on him with forearms and makes the tag. Doi takes Hulk down and goes to work but it doesn’t last long. Yoshino tags back in and Doi bodyslams him. Doi hits the running dropkick against the ropes and tags out. He and Tanizaki hit a double-team suplex for two. The camera man has this annoying habit of showing the ground when he walks to a new location. Doi tags back in and Hulk is able to avoid both men’s attacks and make the tag. Yoshino hits Doi with the Sling Blade and then the match is clipped for some reason. We pick back up with Yoshino still in control so I don’t think much was clipped. Tanizaki fights back and locks on the Octopus. All four men get in the ring and the Octopus gets broken up. Doi plants Hulk with a hard DDT for two. Hulk fights back with an enziguiri. He sweeps the legs and tries a standing moonsault but Doi gets his knees up. Yoshino helps Hulk regain the advantage and Hulk hits a springboard spinning leg lariat for two. Now Yoshino gets back in the ring and locks on From Jungle, then turns it into a sunset flip for two. They trade pinning combinations for more two-counts. Hulk and Tanizaki trade strikes now and Tanizaki hits a 2K1 Bomb for two. Doi and Tanizaki take advantage of Hulk now and double-team him but can’t put him away. Yoshino gets back in the fray and hits Tanizaki with the shotgun missile dropkick for two. He follows up with Torbellino and then locks on Sol Naciente. Doi launches Hulk into the crowd and then breaks up the hold. He grabs Yoshino with a hard Rydeen Bomb for two. Tanizaki blasts Yoshino with a running knee strike for another two-count. Doi goes for Doi 555 but Yoshino slips out and hits Torbellino. Yoshino tries the Lighting Spiral but Doi blocks it and hits the Bakatare Sliding Kick and Hulk breaks up the cover. The match breaks down again with all four men in the ring. Tanizaki hits Yoshino with the Implant and Hulk breaks up the cover with a superkick. Doi then takes Hulk out with Doi 555 on the apron! That looked sick. Doi follows up with a Buckle Bomb and Cannonball on Yoshino before hitting the Doi 555 and a Bakatare Sliding Kick! He goes for the Muscular Bomb but Yoshino counters to a cradle for the pin at 16:05! That was total nonstop action from start to finish and everything looked great.
Rating: ****
BONUS MATCH #4: BxB Hulk & Masato Yoshino vs. Masaaki Mochizuki & Katsuhiko Nakajima, Summer Adventure Tag League III, Tokyo, Japan, 8.26.09
Hulk and Nakajima start it off. They take it down to the mat and exchange holds. Back on their feet they try to knock each other out with kicks but neither man can land a solid blow. Tags are made and the pace immediately quickens. Yoshino hits Mochizuki with a dropkick and then knocks Nakajima off the apron. He throws Mochizuki into his corner and they double-team him. They work over his knee, which is smart since he’s such a strong kicker. This goes on for quite a while, which isn’t what I’m used to seeing on these DVDs. Not that I’m complaining. Mochizuki finally fights back with kicks and makes the tag. Hulk hits Mochizuki with a Rock Bottom and tags Yoshino. Nakajima is fresh but Yoshino is fast so he’s able to hit the Sling Blade. Yoshino withstands Nakajima’s comeback attempt and locks on From Jungle. Hulk adds an Ankle Lock on Mochizuki for a double submission situation. Both men reach the ropes and the holds are broken. Nakajima and Mochizuki are able to isolate Hulk and unload on him with kicks. Hulk then catches one of Mochizuki’s kicks and locks on the Ankle Lock! Nakajima breaks up the hold. Yoshino gets back in the ring and gets lambasted with kicks to the face. Hulk rejoins the action and he and Yoshino hit stereo kicks on Nakajima. Yoshino then goes up top and hits the shotgun missile dropkick but it only gets two. He then hits Torbellino and locks on Sol Naciente but Nakajima breaks it up. Mochizuki and Nakajima pelt Hulk with kicks but Yoshino breaks up the cover. Hulk and Yoshino come back and execute stereo rollups but both men kick out. Nakajima and Mochizuki isolate Hulk and hit him with a series of kicks. Mochizuki then hits a bridging Dragon Suplex to get the pin at 13:27. That was a solid tag team match with a good story and the usual exciting action.
Rating: ***½
Open the Northern Gate Highlight Package
This is the standard set of highlights that comes with each DGUSA DVD. It runs about four and a half minutes.
The Pulse: The main event is all kinds of awesome and everything else besides the Moxley match (even the bonus matches) is three stars or higher. I also love how the main event clearly set YAMATO up for a future shot at BxB Hulk’s Open the Freedom Gate Title, which is a match I would really like to see. Yoshino and Kid are going to be moving on now, so I’m anxious to see what they do. Jacobs and Moxley seems to be headed somewhere too. So as usual, this DGUSA DVD is loaded with good matches and shows signs of more stuff I want to see. You can buy the DVD Right Here.
