Views from the Hawke’s Nest: Dragon Gate UK: Shingo vs. Yokosuka III

October 22, 2011

The show started with a recap of the Invasion III DVD. This was an awesome video for an awesome DVD.

BxB Hulk [3-1] vs. Lion Kid [2-2]
The singles matches I’ve seen from Kid haven’t been all that good. Yoshino carried him to a solid match in 2010, but I’m less confident in Hulk’s ability to do that.

The crowd is definitely behind Kid. Kid sent Hulk to the floor with a headscissors early on. Kid then hit a hurricanrana off the apron. Back in the ring, Lion Kid locked in a variation of the Mexican Surfboard. Hulk came back with a series of kicks, which effectively cut Kid off. Hulk then got a nearfall with a standing shooting star press. Kid came back with some strikes, but Hulk came right back with a gamengiri. Kid came back with the Final Cut. Kid used a Silverking Dropkick to send Hulk to the floor. Kid then (kind of) hit a tope suicida. There wasn’t a great camera angle of it, but it clearly went wrong somehow. Kid then got a nearfall with a springboard crossbody. Hulk came back with his standing corkscrew press: 1…2…NO! Hulk got another nearfall with a pumphandle suplex. Kid came back with a super hurricanrana. Kid connected on a bunch of slaps. Hulk came back with some strikes. Kid then got a nearfall with a bridging German. Hulk came back with a Mouse and EVO: 1…2…NO! Hulk then delivered the First Flash: 1…2…3!

I enjoyed this a bit more than I expected. I think I forgot how much fun Hulk is when he just runs through guys with his kicks, slaps, etc. I get more pleasure from that than I probably should. Kid looked like he improved a lot here, but he’s still just not a very strong performer.
Match Rating: **3/4

Akira Tozawa [1-0] vs. Naoki Tanizaki [0-1]
This is technically a heel vs. heel matchup. Tozawa starts using his English catchphrase (“BULLSHIT!”) and says that he will fight for the UK. This is no longer a heel vs. heel matchup. That’s for the best.

Tozawa was in control early on until Tanizaki used the ropes to attack Tozawa’s balls. Tanizaki then used a piece of rope to choke Tozawa. I love Tanizaki. Tanizaki was in control until Tozawa hit a Brogue Kick that sent Tanizaki to the floor. Tozawa then hit a pair of tope suicidas to the absolute delight of the crowd. Back in the ring, Tozawa hit a saito suplex for a nearfall. Tanizaki came back with a series of knee strikes, but Tozawa fought back with a Brogue Kick, a hurricanrana, and a shining wizard. Tanizaki then got a nearfall with a running knee. Tanizaki then killed Tozawa with a Jig ‘n’ Tonic: 1…2…NO! The crowd is molten for this match. Tozawa came back with a Brogue Kick, a release German, and a deadlift bridging German: 1…2…NO! Tozawa then hit the High Tension Suplex: 1…2…3!!!

Tozawa turned heel again after the match. Oh well.

Fuck, this match totally overachieved and was absolutely awesome. The crowd hated Tanizaki and absolutely loved Tozawa, so these two didn’t even have to do too much to get the crowd to come alive. Awesome, awesome, awesome.
Match Rating: ***3/4

Naruki Doi [3-1] vs. Masato Yoshino [2-2]
These guys never seem to have amazing matches together. Yoshino started to go after Doi’s left arm. Doi came back by dropping Yoshino on his neck. Doi then hit the cannonball splash in the corner for a nearfall. Yoshino came back with a Sling Blade. Doi came back with a neckbreaker and a running somersault senton, which got Doi another nearfall. Yoshino then locked in From Jungle. Doi used the referee as a distraction, which allowed him to cut off Yoshino momentarily. Yoshino came back with a missile dropkick, which got him a nearfall. Doi then caught Yoshino with a bridging Tiger Suplex for a nearfall. They traded some slaps. Yoshino hit Torbellino. Doi reversed a Sol Naciente attempt into a pinfall for a nearfall. Doi then hit a Doi-5, followed by a Bakutari Sliding Kick: 1…2…NO! Doi tried for a Muscular Bomb, but Yoshino reversed it into a Lightening Spiral. Yoshino hit another Torbellino and then locked in a Sol Naciente. Doi was fading for a while, which is weird because it’s supposed to be an arm submission. Doi verbally submitted.

Meh: The Naruki Doi vs. Masato Yoshino Collection. Seriously though, I just have never really been especially into any of the matches these two have together. It was very technically proficient, there were some cool sequences in the match, but I was just not invested emotionally at all.
Match Rating: ***

CIMA [0-4] & Gamma [1-0] vs. Mark Haskins [4-0] & Marty Scurll [1-3]
Haskins is trying to protect his perfect record, while CIMA is trying to save his Dragon Gate: UK career. The rule going into the weekend was that once anyone accumulated their fifth loss, they would be banished from DG: UK. As such, CIMA decided to recruit his old tag partner, Gamma, for this match. This would be considered significant because Gamma was in Junction-3 whereas CIMA was the head of Blood Warriors. (Junction-3 and Blood Warriors were in the midst of an epic year-long feud at the time of this show.)

CIMA and Gamma attacked Team UK right before the bell. They brawled in the ringside area, which revealed that the building wasn’t as packed as it sounded. Scurll hit CIMA with a tope suicida. CIMA and Gamma were able to isolate Haskins for a bit. That didn’t last long though. Team UK were actually able to tie CIMA and Gamma’s legs together. They then locked in stereo camel clutches. CIMA and Gamma came back, and they managed to isolate Haskins again. They worked him over for a while. Scurll was eventually able to tag in, and he made a big comeback. Scurll hit a series of strikes on Gamma. He got a nearfall on Gamma with a lariat. CIMA got a nearfall on Haskins with a perfect driver. CIMA hit Haskins with a double stomp, and he then rolled into a Super Droll on Scurll. The crowd was impressed. CIMA basked in his own awesomeness. Scurll came back with a lung blower on CIMA. Haskins then dropped CIMA on Scurll’s knees. Haskins hit CIMA with a cutter. Scurll then hit CIMA with an Argentine Backbreaker! Gamma had to save CIMA. Gamma attacked Scurll and Haskins with a Singapore cane. The crowd wanted a disqualification. Gamma gave Haskins a middle rope cradle tombstone: 1…2…SCURLL MAKES THE SAVE! CIMA and Gamma then ran through Scurll. Eventually, Scurll ate an Air Raid Crash from Gamma and then a Meteora from CIMA: 1…2…3!

Blood Warriors attacked Gamma after the math. Haskins, Scurll, and Yoshino made the save.

This is pretty much the first match from DG: UK that relied on outside storytelling for drama as opposed to just making the match as insane as possible for the drama. While the idea of CIMA being banished from DG: UK seems a little silly, because it’s just an off shoot promotion, it was easy enough for everyone to suspend their disbelief. The result was a really fun tag match that Gamma didn’t drag down at all.
Match Rating: ***1/2

PAC© [3-1] vs. Dragon Kid [1-3] [Brave Gate Championship]
This match may have some flips.

Apparently the belt was lost in transit, but the championship is still on the line. PAC sent Kid to the floor early and hit a top-rope moonsault onto him. PAC hit that with so much ease. Back in the ring, PAC hit a standing shooting star press for a nearfall. Kid couldn’t get anything going for a while. Eventually, PAC went for a springboard move, but Kid kicked out the ropes and PAC landed on his head. Kid was in control for a bit. PAC eventually came back with a slingshot Ace Crusher. PAC got a nearfall with a bridging Northern Lights suplex. Kid locked in Christo. PAC reversed it into a side slam. Kid came back with a slingshot flip stunner, which got him a nearfall. Kid hit another stunner. Kid went for a hurricanrana, but PAC reversed it into a powerbomb. Kid came back with a super hurricanrana, which had a labored setup. PAC came back with his rebound bridging German: 1…2…NO! PAC avoided a reverse rana. Kid avoided a German. Kid then hit a satellite spike DDT: 1…2…NO!!! Kid then hit a snap hurricanrana: 1…2…NO! Kid went to the top rope, but PAC met him and hit a moonsault slam (yes). PAC went for the floating 450, but Kid avoided it and PAC went splat. Kid came back with a crucifix bomb, but PAC came right back with a jumping tombstone. PAC then hit the corkscrew shooting star press: 1…2…3

I think PAC should have connected on the floating 450 for the win, but even with that minor nitpick, this was a very strong match. Kid has been a stronger tag team performer for a while now, but PAC was able to make him seem fresh and interesting right here. This was a very good semi-main event.
Match Rating: ***1/2

Shingo Takagi [2-2] vs. Susumu Yokosuka [3-1]
This is the big one folks. They had two great matches in the first two years in DG: UK and now they conclude their trilogy.

Shingo’s strength gave him the advantage early on. Yokosuka came back by going after Shingo’s left leg. Yokosuka’s work on the injured leg gave him the advantage for a while. Shingo struggled to the ropes, and he ended up on the apron. Yokosuka joined him there, but Shingo then gave him a DVD onto the apron for his troubles. Shingo then started to go after Yokosuka’s right arm (aka his lariat arm). Shingo was in control after that. Shingo got a cross armbreaker on the injured arm. Yokosuka got to the ropes. Shingo went for a suplex, but Yokosuka reversed it into a suplex of his own. They traded exploder suplexes. They went for a lariat at the same time, and both men went down when they connected simultaneously. Yokosuka got a nearfall with a super exploder suplex. Yokosuka went for a sleeper, but Shingo reversed it into a saito suplex. Yokosuka went for an arm submission, but Shingo reversed it into a Rampage Powerbomb. Yokosuka came back with a pair of half-nelson suplexes. Shingo came back with Stay Dream: 1…2…NO! They traded lariats. Neither man would go down. They traded some strikes. Yokosuka finally took Shingo’s head off with a lariat. JUMBO NO KACHI: 1…2…NO! Yokosuka then hit the Mugen: 1…2…NO! Yokosuka avoided a Made in Japan, but he ran into a pop-up DVD. PUMPING BOMBER! DELAYED MADE IN JAPAN: 1…2…NO! MADE IN JAPAN: 1…2…NO!!!!!! Yokosuka avoided the Last Falconry and then hit another Jumbo No Kachi: 1…2…NO!!! Shingo then held Yokosuka up in the Last Falconry position, before deciding to hit the Made in Japan: 1…2…3!

Near perfection. After the match, one of the commentators said “there are only so many superlatives in the English language.” I really can’t think of a better way to describe this conclusion to this trilogy. Their three DG: UK matches somehow managed to all be great as standalone stories, while simultaneously building on one another reward people who saw the earlier matches. This is the type of match, that makes an entire DVD worth buying all on its own.
Match Rating: ****3/4

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The 411: Broken record time: this was definitely my favorite DG:UK DVD yet. The main event makes this show an automatic "must buy" and everything else on the show ranges from "enjoyable" to "very good." Support Dragon Gate: UK. Buy their DVDS. Just a HUGE Thumbs Up for this. Buy it now. Make sure you check out the DG:UK website and buy DG:UK DVDs here.
Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]