100 Percent Fordified: Dragon Gate USA Mercury Rising 2011

Atlanta, GA – 4.2.2011

Commentary is provided by Lenny Leonard and Leonard F. Chikarason.

Arik Cannon vs. Jon Moxley

Moxley is accompanied by Trina Michaels and Val Malone. Moxley attacks Cannon from behind and chokes him with his t-shirt. Cannon responds with an armdrag and series of chops. He backdrops Moxley. Moxley comes back with a boot to the gut and some punches. Cannon blocks an Irish whip with an enzuigiri for two. Cannon sends Moxley to the floor. Malone grabs Cannon’s foot as he hits the ropes. The distraction allows Moxley to attack from behind and hit a DDT for two. Cannon stops his flurry of punches with an Atomic Drop. Moxley rakes his eyes and throws Cannon to the corner. He slams Cannon for two. Moxley applies a sleeper hold and a body scissors simultaneously. Cannon fights up and trades strikes with Moxley. Cannon counters a lariat with a neckbreaker. A pair of clotheslines and a back elbow fires Cannon up. Cannon gets two with an exploder suplex. Moxley drops Cannon with an ace crusher and a lariat for two. Moxley goes for a chair shot. The chair bounces off the ropes into his head, and Cannon rolls him up for two. Cannon hits a haymaker, a superkick and a brainbuster. Malone comes into the ring to distract the referee. Moxley kicks Cannon in the balls and small packages him for the pin at 7:31. That finish was crap, especially knowing now how important Cannon is in DGUSA and how Moxley is in WWE. Good thing Cannon looked good for the rest of the match. **1/4

Reby Sky comes out and begins trash talking Moxley. Moxley shoves Malone into Sky, and the two women get in a cat fight. Sky drops Malone with a DDT. Trina Michaels clobbers Sky in the head with her heel. Officials come out to help Sky and Malone, while Moxley and Michaels walk to the back.

Backstage, Austin Aries says his purpose tonight is to take YAMATO’s Open The Freedom Gate championship. He says nothing short of consciousness will keep him from winning the match. He claims he will find his purpose.

Elimination Match
Brodie Lee vs. Jimmy Jacobs vs. Silas Young vs. AR Fox vs. Jon Davis vs. Hollywood Stalker Ichikawa

I’m fairly certain AR Fox is wearing jeggings. Ichikawa rips off his gimmick ears and fires up the crowd. Fox rolls him up for two. Ichikawa baits Young, Davis and Fox to run after him. Ichikawa misses everyone with a crossbody. Everyone else hits a move on Ichikawa, except Lee who misses an elbow. Ichikawa lines up all five competitors. He slaps everyone but Lee who blocks it. He pretends a mosquito lands on Lee’s chin so he can slap him. He gives him the embarrassing Kanchou which displeases Lee greatly. Lee knocks him down. Everyone attacks Lee in the corner, except Ichikawa who lands on his head after a cartwheel. Davis clotheslines Ichikawa for the elimination at 3:19. Davis and Lee exchange strikes as a callback to last night. Davis gets the upper hand with some kicks and an uppercut. Lee sends him to the floor with a step-up Frankensteiner. Lee follow out with a suicide dive. Fox dropkicks Young for two. Fox then hits an enzuigiri. Fox dives onto everyone (but Jacobs) on the floor. Jacobs brings in Ichikawa and convinces him to dive onto everybody. Ichikawa misses. In the ring, Davis drops Jacobs with a spinning powerslam. Fox hits Davis with a tornado bulldog a split-legged senton. Lee big boots Fox. Young boots Lee twice and goes for a suplex. Lee blocks. Young gets in some more shots and German suplexes Lee for two. Fox kick flip moonsaults onto Lee on the floor. He hits a springboard Code Breaker on Young for two. Jacobs hits a tandem ace crusher on Young and Fox. He then hits a double Contra Code, which pins Fox at 8:19. He pins Young who gets his foot on the ropes. Davis pounces Jacobs. He powerslams Young for two. Young ducks the Pounce and catches Davis with a backbreaker/clothesline combo. Young takes Lee over with a huracanrana. Lee punches Young and Jacobs goes for the End Time on Lee. Young breaks the hold, but Jacobs puts him in the End Time. Young turns it into the Peegee Waja Plunge. Jacobs moves and reapplies the End Time. Young taps out at 10:54. Lee boots Davis into a crucifix pin from Jacobs. Jacobs scores his third consecutive pin at 11:23. Lee boots Jacobs for two. He goes for another big boot in the corner. Jacobs moves and Lee’s momentum brings him to the floor. Jacobs headscissors Lee into the guardrail. He hits the Contra Code off the ring apron and to the floor. Lee throws Jacobs back into the ring. Jacobs kicks the middle rope into Lee’s groin and hits another Contra Code for two. Lee catches Jacobs up top with a double underhook suplex. He hits a big boot and the Truck Stop for the pin at 13:54. Ichikawa was a treat, especially his interaction with Lee. Lee is such a great, believable monster and was the right guy to win here. Everyone else got their time to shine too, especially Jacobs with his three consecutive pins. Fun times all around. **3/4

Arik Cannon is backstage. He believes he got “fucked” (his word) tonight and thinks it’s time he starts doing things his way.

Masato Yoshino vs. Sami Callihan

Callihan charges at Yoshino. Yoshino ducks his attack, but Callihan catches him with a clothesline. He chops Yoshino for two. Callihan drops three elbows for two. He traps Yoshino’s arms around his legs and slams his forearm into his neck. Callihan gets frustrated that he can’t keep Yoshino down. Callihan headbutts Yoshino and sends him across the ring. Yoshino hops over Callihan and drops him with the Sling Blade. Yoshino evades a dropkick and hits one of his own. He drops Callihan with a sweet hammerlock DDT for two. Callihan hits the Zig-Zag for two. Yoshino puts Callihan in From Jungle. He turns it into a sunset flip for two. Yoshino double stomps Callihan’s arm as Callihan grabs the top rope. Callihan hits a corner enzuigiri and a facewash kick for two. Callihan misses a splash. Yoshino hits a top rope dropkick for two. Callihan delivers a flurry of palm strike variants. Callihan nails a lariat for two. He drops Yoshino with a sit-out reverse piledriver for two. Yoshino and Callihan trade pins. Yoshino drops him with the Lightning Spiral for two. Yoshino hits the Torbellino and locks Callihan in Sol Naciente. Callihan submits at 9:28. Much like Gargano and CIMA last night, Callihan looks strong going toe-to-toe with a Dragon Gate star and comes out looking good even in losing. ***

Sami Callihan gets the microphone and says he’s done “fucking around.” More potty mouth language. Speaking of, Jon Moxley is backstage. He calls himself a trendsetter and says Austin Aries is out of style. He says YAMATO will defeat Aries and that Aries will leave Dragon Gate USA. He mimics Terry Funk’s retirement speech by yelling “forever” over and over and pretending to cry.

Open The Brave Gate Championship
PAC (Champion) vs. Akira Tozawa

This title was defended in the US for the first time in 2007, when Matt Sydal defended it against Austin Aries in ROH. They vie for the advantage on the mat and end up reaching a stalemate. They trade waistlocks until Tozawa forearms PAC in the neck. Tozawa shoulder blocks him down. He dropkicks PAC to the floor. Pac comes back in and gets the boots put to him. Tozawa snapmares PAC into a kick, and PAC does the same to him. Tozawa suplexes PAC for two. After a chinlock, he slams PAC and lands a senton for two. Tozawa chokes PAC in the corner. Tozawa applies a grounded abdominal stretch. PAC hip tosses his way free but takes a dropkick to the shoulder. He misses the Apron Kara Tozawa and eats a mule kick. PAC hits a Northern Lights suplex for two. He gets two with a standing moonsault for two. PAC suplexes Tozawa again, then applies a figure four headscissors. Tozawa gets the ropes to escape. Tozawa slaps PAC to stop PAC’s trash talk. Tozawa blocks an Irish whip and hits a dropkick. He hits a sliding knee to the side of PAC’s head. Tozawa suicide dives twice onto PAC. He then sentons off the apron. In the ring he nails a running forearm and a Saito suplex for two. He drops PAC on his head with a German suplex for two. PAC kicks Tozawa from the apron. He follows with a springboard dropkick. He hits a second springboard dropkick for two. PAC connects with a springboard 450 splash for two. Tozawa delivers a flurry of forearms. He hits two kicks. PAC hits an enzuigiri and Tozawa huracanrana’s PAC into a shining wizard. Tozawa hits a pump kick. He misses a second but connects with a yakuza kick. PAC bounces Tozawa off the ropes into a German suplex. Tozawa gets up and pump kicks PAC. He German suplexes PAC. Tozawa misses a Ganki and eats a superkick. Both men lay on the mat exhausted. They trade elbows. Tozawa hits a pump kick. PAC knocks him down and misses a twisting splash. He drops PAC with Ganki for two. Tozawa hits an Avalanche German suplex for two. A sequence of counters ends with PAC hitting a German suplex for the pin at 19:39. This was a super fun back-and-forth match-up. PAC is just so crisp and his offense is really exciting. Tozawa is over like crazy in the U.S., making these two a really fun pair to watch do battle. ***3/4

Tozawa and PAC embrace as a sign of respect. Tozawa leaves as Yoshino helps his partner PAC relish in his victory. The Blood Warriors run out and attack Yoshino and PAC. CIMA promises that he and Doi will win the United Gate titles from PAC and Yoshino tomorrow night.

Backstage is the Ronin stable. Chuck Taylor says they will prove they not only belong in the ring with the Blood Warriors, but they will beat them. Gargano says they’re bringing the fight tonight.

Danny Steel & Charade vs. The Sin City Saints (Scotty Rayz & Billy Rayz)

These are four wrestlers who impressed during a Seminar held earlier today. Before any action gets under way, Sami Callihan hits the ring and takes out the Saints. He cuts a profanity laden promo and says Steel and Charade will die. Arik Cannon runs out, seemingly to stop him. He too swears in a promo against Callihan. He says Cannon had a “whore” and a “cum dumpster” cost him his match while Callihan just lost. Angry, Callihan disposes of Charade and Stel. Cannon and Callihan begin to slug it out themselves. They brawl in the aisle, all the way backstage.

PAC is backstage. His forehead is rather banged up. He tells the Blood Warriors that after their attack, they have his attention.

Open The Freedom Gate Championship
YAMATO (Champion) vs. Austin Aries

Austin Aries’ vowed to leave Dragon Gate USA if he does not win the title in this match. YAMATO sends Jon Moxley to the back in order to have a fair fight. Some initial back and forth leads to neither man getting an upper hand. Aries grabs YAMATO’s arm on the mat. YAMATO brings Aries to the corner on his feet and breaks cleanly. Aries drops him with a brainbuster for two. He then hits the 450 splash for two. Aries takes YAMATO into the crowd. He brings him back in the ring and hits a slingshot senton for two. Aries delivers an elbow to YAMATO’s back and takes him out with a dragonscrew leg whip. Aries gets two with a bulldog. YAMATO gets the ropes to break a front chancery. Aries dragonscrews YAMATO’s leg in the ropes. Aries goes to the top rope, but YAMATO shoves him to the floor. YAMATO slams a broom across his back. In the ring YAMATO softens up Aries’ leg. YAMATO grapevine’s Aries’ legs to add more pressure. Aries gets the ropes to escape. Aries knocks YAMATO down, but YAMATO trips him right away into a figure four leg lock. Aries escapes. He STO’s YAMATO and hits the pendulum elbow for two. Aries and YAMATO each apply a sleeper. Aries frees himself with a chin breaker. He blocks a German suplex and hits one of his own. He clothesline YAMATO to the floor. He goes for the Heat-Seeking Missile, but YAMATO slips under the ring. He tries to attack Aries from behind, but Aries notices and sends YAMATO out. This time he connects with the Heat-Seeking MIssle. Aries and YAMATO fight on the ring apron. Aries drops YAMATO inside the ring with a rope-assisted DDT for two. Aries blocks YAMATO’s kick with a dragonscrew. He applies a seated reverse stump puller. YAMATO hits Aries in the temple to escape. He puts Aries in a Boston Crab. YAMATO turns it into a half crab which Aries escapes from. Aries goes for a Finlay Roll. YAMATO counters into a sleeper hold. He suplexes Aries out of it for two. YAMATO suplexes Aries to the floor. Again they go to the apron. Aries counters a brainbuster with a Death Valley Driver. Aries brings YAMATO back in and only manages a two count. YAMATO crotches Aries on the top rope. YAMATO superplexes Aries into a double pin. Both men kick out. Aries strings a shin breaker and suplex together. Fired up, he yells for YAMATO to get up. He hits the IED twice and a brainbuster for two. YAMATO evades a 450 splash. He lands an enzuigiri and punts Aries in the head. Aries rolls up YAMATO for two and punts him in the head. YAMATO counters a brainbuster. Aries kicks out at one and hits a brainbuster of his own. YAMATO kicks out at two. Aries and YAMATO deliver forearms to each other. YAMATO turns a brainbuster into the Galleria for two. YAMATO picks up Aries for a second Galleria. YAMATO pins Aries at 25:23. The drama and excitement these two were able to convey was exceptional. Aries did an amazing job conveying just how important winning this match was to him. He tried his damndest, but fell to YAMATO’s signature finisher after taking it twice. This was a thing of a beauty. ****1/4

Jimmy Jacobs is backstage. He talks about all the roadblocks that have been put in his way lately in DGUSA. He says although Austin Aries had a hell of match tonight but didn’t get the job done. Jacobs says it is fitting that Aries chose him for his final match in DGUSA. Jacobs says tomorrow will begin his road to the Open The Freedom Gate championship and be Aries’ End Time.

Ronin (Chuck Taylor, Johnny Gargano & Rich Swann) vs. Blood Warriors (CIMA, Naruki Doi & Ricochet)

The Warriors attack Ronin before the bell. Doi beats down Swann in the ring while the others brawl. CIMA comes in and helps Doi with Swann. Ricochet comes in and the Warriors give Swann a Broken Arrow twice. CIMA double stomps him while Doi and the top rope hold Swann up. Swann flips out over Doi and delivers a dropkick. CIMA dropkicks Gargano the moment they come in the ring. Gargano sole butts CIMA and stomps his back. He brings him down with a knee lift and neckbreaker. Ricochet hits him with a springboard dropkick. Taylor tags in and gets taken down with the Déjà vu. Taylor armdrags off the second rope into a pin for two. Taylor drops Ricochet with a quebradora and Gargano knee strikes him. Ronin hit CIMA with triple kicks to the head. Ronin take turns beating down CIMA in their corner. CIMA wristlocks Taylor and tags in Doi. Doi dropkicks Taylor’s leg after trapping it in the corner. Ricochet tags in and kicks Taylor in the leg. Taylor shoves him to this corner where Gargano stomps him down. Ricochet trips Gargano. Gargano kicks Ricochet to avoid a standing moonsault. Taylor and Gargano take turns attacking Ricochet until Ricochet sends Gargano to the Warriors corner with the headscissors. Gargano mounts Ricochet and delivers a flurry of punches after being isolated for a short period. Swann gets in some strikes before Doi attacks him from behind. Swann gets bullied in the Blood Warriors corner. Swann catches CIMA with an enzuigiri and a leap of faith. He hits the Rolling Thunder and shoves CIMA to the Ronin corner. Gargano and Taylor hit stereo low dropkicks. Gargano puts CIMA in a rope assisted Anaconda Vice. Taylor tope con hilo’s onto Doi and Ricochet who try to break the hold. Gargano rolls CIMA into a kick. He hits a low ace crusher for two. Gargano suicide dives onto CIMA. Ricochet trips Gargano on the ring apron. Gargano hits Doi with a slingshot spear, Taylor hits a quebrada and Swann frog splashes him for two. Taylor drops Doi with Sole Food and a uranage for two. Doi slaps Taylor as he’s stuck in the ropes. He hits a running dropkick and senton splashes Taylor as he dangles on the middle rope. Doi drops Taylor with a Rydeen Bomb and Swann breaks the pin. CIMA dropkicks Swann and drops him out of an electric chair for two. Swann comes back with some kicks and a guillotine legdrop for two. The Blood Warriors attack Swann. Gargano breaks Ricochet’s pin attempt. Gargano dropkicks Ricochet mid-air out of a quebrada. He lawn darts Swann in the corner and superkicks him. He hits the Diced Bread for two. Ricochet drops him with a reverse STO and a standing moonsault senton. Taylor breaks the count and exchanges punches with Ricochet. Taylor gets nailed with Ronin Kicks. Gargano stacks up Ricochet on CIMA’s shoulders and drops them on their faces. Swann double stomps Ricochet into a DDT on CIMA. Doi breaks a pin on Ricochet. A triple team attack from Ronin is thwarted. CIMA drops Swann onto Gargano after a Venus and Iconoclasm. Ricochet spikes Taylor with a reverse huracanrana. Swann blasts Ricochet with a tornado kick and Taylor hits a running big boot. Doi kicks Swann to stop a handspring. He drops him with Doi 555 and hits the Bakatare Sliding Kick. Gargano breaks the cover. The Warriors maul Swann in the corner. Ricochet and CIMA hit stereo Tokarev’s. Ricochet messes up a Sasuke Special. Meanwhile, CIMA drops Swann with Schwein and a Meteora. Doi drops Swann with the Muscular Bomb for the pin at 25:51. The botched move on Ricochet’s behalf took some steam out of the finish, but the rest of the match was just as flashy as fun as any other Dragon Gate six man. Even as a team of Americans, Ronin hung in there for the most part. Another good grudge match in the Blood Warriors/Ronin series. ****

As the Blood Warriors stand tall, PAC and Yoshino run out to attack them. Lee and CIMA cause Yoshino and PAC to stall. CIMA once again states they will be the new United Gate champions. Yoshino says that he and PAC will never give up and that they will show the BW’s tomorrow. PAC mentions tonight was historic since it was the first DGUSA iPPV (he meant in house, and the commentators correct them). Yoshino thanks the fans for coming and gets a positive reply when asking the fans if they liked the show.

The 411: The last three matches are all you need here and is possibly the best final three matches of any show in 2011. The elimination match and Yoshino vs. Callihan were also really fun, making this one of the most solid DGUSA cards so far this year. No question about it; you should absolutely purchase this show.
Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]