Views from the Hawke’s Nest: Dragon Gate UK: Shingo vs, Yokosuka II

September 10, 2010
Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, England

The show starts with an awesome hype video for the sole prior DG:UK show, which happened a year prior to this show.

Cyber Kong [0-0] vs. Joey Hayes [0-0]
I have never seen Hayes before. Kong is a polarizing figure among Dragon Gate diehards. Some love him, and others think he is god awful. I am rather indifferent towards him. I haven’t seen anything to make me love him or hate him.

Kong made his entrance and then crushed a pineapple. Ok, that was quick. How can you not love this man? Kong dominated Hayes at the start of the match. There was a camera issue for this match that forced them to stay on the hardcam for a majority of the match. This wouldn’t be that bad if the hardcam wasn’t so far away. Kong locked in a single leg crab, but Hayes made the ropes. Kong was just in complete control. Hayes tried to body slam Kong, but he repeatedly failed. Hayes was eventually able to hit a diving crossbody: 1…2…NO! Kong killed him with a lariat. Kong then hit an urinagi that would have finished Hayes, but Kong pulled him up. Kong then hit a powerbomb: 1…2…3

This was an extended squash for Cyber Kong. The crowd responded well to almost all of Kong’s offense, so I can’t say it was a bad decision for it to be booked as a squash. I feel like DG:UK should avoid doing squash matches with DG talent in the future though.
Match Rating: *

Lion Kid [0-1] vs. Mark Haskins [1-0]
Haskins defeated KAGETORA on the first show. Kid lost a dark match on the same show.

Haskins got sent to the floor early, and Kid then hit a standing moonsault to the floor. Back in the ring, Haskins was able to cut Kid off by sending him into the ringpost repeatedly. Haskins got the heat for a bit. Haskins was going after Kid’s left arm. Haskins went for a diving crossbody, but Kid blocked it with a dropkick. Kid made a weak comeback. They traded pinning combinations. Haskins went for a standing moonsault, but Kid avoided it. Kid hit a Lionsault: 1…2…NO! Haskins came back with a gutbuster for a nearfall of his own. Haskins hit a short range lariat: 1…2…NO! Kid came back with a tornardo DDT and a sole butt to the head: 1…2…NO! Kid hit a springboard double stomp for another nearfall. Kid went for another springboard move, but Haskins caught him with an Ace Crusher for a nearfall. Kid came back with a springboard blockbuster: 1…2…no. Too many nearfalls. Kid went for a shooting star press, but Haskins avoided it. Haskins hit a Bridging German for a nearfall. Kid went for a moonsault, but Haskins caught him and hit a cradle Tombstone: 1…2…3!

These guys worked hard and busted out every nearfall they had, but I just don’t find Lion Kid to be an interesting performer. I just don’t need to see more matches of his. Haskins did a fine job as usual, but I still want to see what he’s like as a babyface. I think he could be more interesting as one.
Match Rating: **1/2

Shingo Takagi [0-1] vs. Susumu Yokosuka [1-0]
These guys had an awesome match at the first show, which is why their rematch gets the title for the show, despite it being the third match from the bottom.

Shingo was in control to start the match. Yokosuka came back by going after Shingo’s left leg. Shingo came back by just mauling Yokosuka in the corner. Shingo was back in control for a while after that. Yokosuka fought back with a shinbreaker. They traded exploder suplexes. Yomosuka hit a super exploder suplex: 1…2…NO! The crowd has been red hot for this match. Shingo was selling his back big time after that. He still managed to fight back though. Shingo came back with a backbreaker and a back suplex, which got him a nearfall. Yokosuka avoided a Made in Japan, but Shingo did manage to hit the STAY DREAM. They traded lariat attempts, but neither man would go down. They fell to their knees at the same time after a Shingo lariat. Shingo mauled him with strikes. Yokosuka fought back with a barrage of strikes. SHINGO CAME BACK WITH THE DVD! LARIAT FROM YOKOSUKA! ANOTHER LARIAT: 1…2…NO! Sorry for the all caps. The crowd is ridiculously hot. Yokosuka followed that up with Mugen: 1…2…NO! Shingo went for Made in Japan, but Yokosuka reversed it into a rollup for another nearfall. Yokosuka avoided a lariat, but Shingo then hit Made in Japan: 1…2…NO! Shingo hit a lariat and then the Pumping Bomber: 1…2…NO! Shingo then hit the Last Falconry: 1…2…3!

The crowd makes it clear they want one more match between these two. What a coincidence.

This match ruled something fierce. Some people probably won’t be into the “throwing bombs” story that these two tell each time out, but it worked for me and it most definitely worked for the crowd. Their first two matches in DG:UK have been about delivering the best match possible in the time allotted, and I appreciate it greatly. I can’t wait to see the conclusion of their trilogy.
Match Rating: ****1/4

Naruki Doi vs. YAMATO
Doi was the Dream Gate Champion for the 2009 DG:UK show, but he had since lost it to YAMATO. YAMATO had since lost the belt to Masato Yoshino.

They started out slow and methodical, going after each other’s limbs. Doi was mostly in control, and he managed to dump YAMATO to the floor. YAMATO used that as an opportunity to crawl underneath the ring. He then managed to sneak behind Doi and attack him from behind. YAMATO got the heat after that. YAMATO was going after Doi’s left leg. Doi eventually managed to come back with a cannonball splash. Doi ran wild on YAMATO for a bit with some of his standard offense. YAMATO managed to grab an ankle lock on Doi’s injured leg, but Doi made the ropes almost right away. YAMATO went back after that leg. YAMATO got a figure four leglock. Doi made the ropes and then got a small package: 1…2…NO! Doi hit a Rydeen Bomb: 1…2…NO! They traded some strikes. YAMATO avoided a Bakutari Sliding Kick and a Doi-5, and then got a sleeper on Doi. Doi escaped, but YAMATO hit a punt to the head and a brainbuster: 1…2…NO! Doi avoided a Galleria and teased a Muscular Bomb, but YAMATO saved his own life, only to get hit by Doi with a Scorpion Deathdrop. Doi went for the Muscular Bomb again, but YAMATO rolled through and got a STF. Doi made the ropes. YAMATO got another sleeper, and he tried to transition it into a Galleria, but Doi avoided it. Cyber Kong distracted the referee, but it accomplished nothing. Doi hit a middle rope Doi-5: 1…2…NO! Doi hit a Bakutari Sliding Kick and another Doi-5. And another Bakutari Sliding Kick: 1…2…3!

I really enjoyed this match even though they things rather simple. YAMATO did a good enough job of dominating Doi that Doi’s quick and definitive comeback felt satisfying. These guys are obviously capable of greatness, but this was a good “Smackdown” version of what they are capable of.
Match Rating: ***1/2

Masaaki Mochizuki, Dragon Kid, & CIMA vs. BxB Hulk, PAC, Masato Yoshino
PAC was the Brave Gate Champion at the time of this match, and Yoshino was the Dream Gate Champion.

Hulk doesn’t have hair, which always makes me sad. This match will have lots of moves and lots of me not catching said moves in time to recap them. I shall give it the college try though. The old people left the match, apparently deciding they no longer wished to wrestle. The crowd chanted bullshit, so they came back. PAC displayed how awesome he is at the start. Yoshino and Kid did a sequence. Hulk and Mochi then kicked each other hard. CIMA got worked over for a bit. Mochi managed to tag in, and he proceeded to dominate PAC for a while. Kid and CIMA joined in. Looks like PAC may be set up as the big hero of this match as he was for the first ever DG:UK main event. PAC was eventually able to hit CIMA with a springboard dropkick. Hulk tagged in. He hit Mochi with a Rock Bottom and Kid with a corkscrew senton. PAC wiped out Mochi and Kid with a Fosbury Flop. Yoshino got a nearfall on CIMA with a Slingblade. CIMA came back with a double stomp. Yoshino locked in From Jungle on CIMA. Kid locked in Cristo on Hulk. Hulk and CIMA escaped. Kid hit Hulk with a stunner. Yoshino hit Kid with a powerbomb and PAC hit an assisted corkscrew moonsault on Kid. Mochi and PAC went at it. Hulk and Mochi traded some kicks. Mochi delivered a Yakuza kick, and CIMA then hit him with a Venus. Kid absolutely murdered Hulk with a super hurricanrana and CIMA flattened him with a Meteora. More nearfalls with kickouts and saves. Kid killed PAC with a reverse rana. CIMA and Mochi dominated PAC. Kid then hit PAC with the DRAGON RANA: 1…2…NO!!!! WOW! Hulk hit Kid with a Mouse. Yoshino hit Kid with a Torbellino for a nearfall. Hulk hit Kid with an axe kick and a kneeling superkick: 1…2…NO! Hulk hit Kid with an EVO. PAC went to the top rope, stumbled a bit, but then managed to hit the floating 450 splash: 1…2…3!!!

Dragon Gate trios matches can kind of feel repetitive since they are essentially the exact same thing, every time out. Things start out slow, and then all six guys kill themselves to do ALL the moves for as long as possible. If you watch more than one of them in a row, it can get tiresome. The point is, I wish I didn’t watch this match so closely after I watched the main event of the first DG:UK show. However, this crowd had not seen a Dragon Gate trios match in over a year, which means this match still somehow managed to seem fresh to me as the crowd was just so into it. Much like the 2009 show main event, this match showcased PAC as an absolute star. While PAC would improve exponentially before being signed by the WWE, he definitely proved here to be worthy of the showcase. Also, based on a couple of sequences in the match, I really wish Mochizuki and PAC had a singles PPV match. That could of have been awesome

In conclusion, this was a great effort that produced a great main event. If you watched a lot of Dragon Gate trios matches before, you may not be into it as much though.
Match Rating: ****1/4

**BONUS Match**
All-Stars (Mikey Whiplash & Robbie Dynamite) vs. LDRS (Zack Sabre Jr. & Marty Scurll)© [British Tag Team Titles]
This was a pre-show match. I’m pretty disappointed Sabre and Scurll weren’t on the main show against some DG talent.

Sabre and Whiplash started the match for their teams. Sabre delivered some kicks. Scurll and Dynamite tagged in. Scurll wiped out Whiplash with a tope con hello. In the ring, Sabre caught Dynamite with a cross armbreaker, but Dynamite made the ropes. A blind tag by Whiplash, allowed the rudo to cut off Sabre with a diving spinning heel kick. The All-Stars worked over Sabre for a while. Sabre finally managed to tag in Scurll who made a big comeback. Scurll hit Whiplash with a leaping DDT: 1…2…NO! Sabre managed to get a cross armbreaker on Dynamite. Whiplash killed Sabre with a slingshot DDT. The teams traded some nearfalls. The crowd was not super into this. Dynamite killed Scurll with a brainbuster on the apron. Sabre had Whiplash in the armbreaker, but Dynamite broke it up with a diving headbutt. They the hit Sabre with a double team gourd buster: 1…2…3. Weak finish.

This match came off pretty flat, which was surprising given that LDRS is one of my favorite tag teams of the last decade. You can honestly skip this match if you are not a completest.
Match Rating: **1/2

Thanks everybody for reading! You can send feedback to my Twitter or to my email address: [email protected]. Also, feel free to check out my own wrestling website, FreeProWrestling.com. Also, check out my Best of Chikara blog and an archive of all my 411 video reviews.

The 411: This was my second Dragon Gate: UK show, and I’m already loving this promotion. They remind me of the early DGUSA shows (which were actually even better than these shows). They don’t try to overbook things. DG:UK just gets out of the way and lets the best wrestlers in the world deliver the best matches possible. That is not to say that the promotion is perfect. This is definitely a three match show, and the common denominator of those matches was that they only involved Dragon Gate (Japan) roster members. Mark Haskins seems like a good prospect, but after two shows, I’m not sure why he is the “chosen one” for DG:UK. Wrestlers like Zack Sabre Jr., Marty Scurll, Noam Dar, El Ligero, etc. would make for much better choices to play the part of the rising British star that gets a big rub from Dragon Gate. Also, I would like to see a show where the Dragon Gate roster members are more spread throughout a card, as opposed to be bunched up in a few matches. I think that would make for a better overall viewing experience. These are nitpicks though, given the quality of the DVDs so far. Make sure you check out the DG:UK website and buy DG:UK DVDs here.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]