wrestling / Video Reviews
From The Shelf – Dragon Gate Dead or Alive 2016
Image Credit: Dragon Gate
Loading...Dragon Gate Dead or Alive 2016
5-5-16
Aichi, Japan
El Lindaman, Kaito Ishida, and Takehiro Yamaura vs. Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!, Jimmy Kness J.K.S and U-T
Yamamura and Horiguchi start. They grappe to start and we reach a stalemate. Ishida and Kness come in and Ishida gets the advantage, forcing Kness to bail. Lindaman and U-T trade blows and U-T hits a hurricanrana sending Lindaman to the floor. Suicide dive by U-T and in the ring, Kness whips a strap into the face of Yamaura. He and U-T trade chops and Yamaura misses the dropkick. Second rope dropkick by U-T gets 2. Horiguchi hits a Tornado DDT into a Buzzsaw kick from Kness for 2. Stereo dropkicks by Ishita and Yamaura and they hit stereo summersault planchas to the floor. Back drop by Lindaman on U-T gets 2 and U-T hits a dropkick to the leg. Indian Deathlock by U-T but Yamaura breaks. Tornado Fisherman’s Suplex on Horiguchi gets 2 and Yamaura goes up. Swanton Bomb gets 2 as Kness saves. Spinning enzuigiri by Ishida but Kness comes back with a flying kick. Brainbuster by Kness gets 2. Lindaman and U-T trade roll-ups for near falls and he blocks a wheelbarrow roll-up. Inverted lungblower by Yamaura and Lindaman hits some rolling Germans into a Tiger Suplex for 3!!!
Winners- El Lindaman, Kaito Ishida, and Takehiro Yamaura **1/2 ( Solid opening to get everyone warmed up for the insanity that’s going to follow later. A ton of spots to help get the young boys accustomed to the fast paced six man style and it gave the young guys a good win over an experienced veteran group so this served its purpose well. )
Open the Brave Gate Championship- Yosuke Santa Maria © vs. Mondai Ryu
Ryu attacks to start and Maria catches him with a dropkick. Bronco Buster by Maria and Ryu comes back with a DDT off the second rope. Dropkick by Ryu gets 2. Cravat by Ryu and he catches Maria with a guillotine leg drop off the second rope for 2. Ryu pulls Maria into a back breaker for 2. They battle for a suplex and Ryu converts the attempt into a DDT for 2. Maria looks to springboard in but Ryu catches him with a dropkick on the way down. Hip check knocks Ryu to the floor and Maria follows out with a springboard crossbody to the floor!!! Back in, Maria hits a missile dropkick and he misses a seated senton. Standing leg drop by Maria gets 2. Hip check by Maria but Ryu trips him up and jumps on him in the ropes to come back. Full Nelson Slam by Ryu gets 2. Ryu goes up but Maria follows and they fight on top. Ryu fights him off but Maria catches him with a dropkick and he takes him off with a super Falcon Arrow for 2. Maria goes up but Ryu shoves the ref into the ropes, bringing Maria down. Ryu nails Maria in the head with a chair and he goes up. Shooting Star Press by Ryu gets 2!!! They trade roll-ups for near falls and Ryu hits the SOS for 2!!! Maria throws a slap and she peppers Ryu. Lariat by Ryu and Maria catches Ryu with Neraiuchi for 3.
Winner and Still Open the Brave Gate Champion- Yosuke Santa Maria **1/2 (It’s probably due to my unfamiliarity with the Santa Maria character but I wasn’t into the early portion of the match. I wasn’t totally invested in Ryu dominating Maria and he never took the beating to the next level to really get my to feel sympathetic for her. The final stretch made up for things with a couple of hot near falls and a good sprint to the finish style finale to the match. Santa Maria sure is unique if I take nothing else away from watching her, that’s for sure. )
Cyber Kong Delegate Match- Kzy vs. Masaaki Mochizuki
So the losers of the delegate matches will be at risk of losing their hair or mask based on the results of their representative in the Dead or Alive Cage Match main event later. Kzy catches Mochizuki with a baseball slide and follows up with a summersault plancha before he enters the ring!!! Hilo by Kzy and Mochizuki comes back with a kick to the chest. Knee breaker by Mochizuki and he kicks the bad leg of Kzy. Mochizuki works over that leg but Kzy begins to fight back and hits a standing Blockbuster. Fireman’s carry sit-out spinebuster by Kzy gets 2. Kzy goes up but Mochizuki slaps him and tosses him off the top. Knee strike to the mid section in the corner by Mochizuki and he hits a kick to the chest for 2. Running uppercut by Kzy and Mochizuki comes back with a back drop. Kzy charges in the corner but Mochizuki moves and he hits a Yakuza kick. He fires away with kicks, culminating in a Buzzsaw kick for 2. Twister by Mochizuki gets 2. Canadian Destroyer by Kzy and both men are down. He goes up for the Frog Splash but it eats knees. They trade blows and Kzy catches Mochizuki with a cradle for 3!!!
Winner- Kzy **3/4 ( First off, the delegate matches concept was genius. These small little single matches are going to go at a frantic pace and it’ll make sense since everyone wants to avoid being a potential victim of the result of tonight’s main event. This was a fun sprint with Mochizuki firing at all cylinders but Kzy’s quickness allowed him to catch Mochizuki at just the right moment to steal a win. )
Shingo Takagi Delegate Match- Punch Tominaga vs. Jimmy Kanda
Cross body by Kanda misses and Punch hits a big boot for 2. Second rope dropkick misses and Kanda hits an inverted atomic drop. Small package by Kanda gets 2. Spinning side walk slam by Kanda gets 2. Springboard dropkick by Punch and he hits the STO for 2. Slam by Punch and he hits the BME for 2. Slingshot battery ram head butt by Punch and Kanda comes back with a flap jack for 2. Kanda goes up and hits a flying elbow drop for 2. Roll-up by Punch gets 2 and Kanda hits a T-Bone suplex. Exploder suplex by Kanda and he hits Ryu’s for 3.
Winner- Jimmy Kanda **1/4 (Again, they packed a ton into a short period of time cause they were trying to just get out of this match and this punishment. It’s fun to see these matches go short on purpose and it’s been fun to see the despair and desperation of everyone trying to escape with a win. )
YAMATO Delegate Match- Jimmy Susumu vs. Hollywood Stalker Ichikawa
Jumbo No Katchi by Susumu gets 2!!!! Sunset flip by Ichikawa gets 2. Drop toe hold into the ropes by Stalker and he hits the 619. Inside cradle by Ichikawa gets 2. Susumu blocks another one for 2 and Ichikawa hits a German suplex for 2!!! Jumbo No Katchi by Susumu gets 3.
Winner- Jimmy Susumu *1/2 ( That was awesome. You know a match is important when Ichikawa actually kicks out of a finish and fires intense offense rather than just losing in 10 seconds, making this possibly the most dramatic non tag performance in ichikawa’s career. He still loss in about a minute, but that was as great a two minute match as you can get. )
Naoki Tanizaki Delegate Match- Ryo “Jimmy” Saito vs. Don Fuji
Overhead belly to belly suplex by Saito but Fuji answers back with a lariat for 2. Fuji chops away and catches Saito with a sunset flip for 2. Drop toe hold by Saito and he grabs a leg lock but Fuji quickly goes to the ropes to break. Fisherman’s Buster by Fuji and Saito comes back with a Fisherman’s suplex for his own. Fisherman’s Buster by Saito and he goes up. Double stomp off the top by Saito and he goes back up. Flying splash by Saito gets 2. Another double stomp off the top by Saito and he goes up. He misses a flying splash from across the ring and Fuji hits a release German suplex. Tiger Suplex by Fuji gets 2. Cradle by Fuji gets 2. Hurricanrana by Saito but Fuji rolls through for 2. They trade near falls and Fuji catches Saito for 3!!!
Winner- Don Fuji ** ( My least favorite of the matches so far. Saito was acting like his usual goofy self so the match lacked the drama and intensity of the prior matches. )
Naruki Doi Delegate Match- Gamma vs. CIMA
Gamma attacks with a kendo stick and he works CIMA over in the corner. Dropkick by CIMA knocks Gamma to the floor and he follows out with a suicide dive. CIMA works Gamma over on the floor and rams Gamma sternum first into the apron repeatedly. Back in, CIMA hits a second rope missile dropkick followed by a back senton for 2. Figure-4 by CIMA but Gamma makes the ropes to break. Dropkick to the leg by Gamma and he puts CIMA in the tree of woe. Gamma goes up and spits water onto the face of CIMA. Slingshot dropkick in the corner by Gamma gets 2. Back suplex by Gamma gets 2. They brawl in the crowd and Gamma hits a Tombstone on the floor!!! CIMA is able to make it back in before the 20 count!!! Lungblower by CIMA and he hits a Lionsault for 2. Standing double stomp by CIMA and he hits a double knee strike in the corner. Perfect Driver by CIMA gets 2. CIMA hits two of the three Meteoras but he misses the third. Lariat by Gamma and he hits a super kick. Air Raid Crash by Gamma gets 2. Inverted electric chair by Gamma and he hits a lariat for 2!!! Time runs out!!! Both men are delegates for Naruki Doi!!!
Match ends in a Draw ***1/2 ( They got the full ten minutes here, so they had a more drawn out match, only going at a frantic pace and having quicker exchanges in the final minute or show, which turned out to be a detriment to both men and it caused them both to suffer since they didn’t try to beat each other right away. A great use of the draw and the match itself was very good, as these two are so familiar with each other they can have a good match together in their sleep. )
Kotoka Delegate Match- Akira Tozawa vs. Masato Yoshino
Shotgun dropkick by Yoshino and Tozawa dumps him to the floor. Springboard summersault plancha to the floor by Tozawa!!! Back in, Tozawa hits a dropkick to the leg and he grabs the Figure-4. Yoshino goes to the ropes to break and Tozawa works over the leg of Yoshino. Yoshino again goes to the ropes to force a break so Tozawa hits a slam followed by a back senton for 2. Grapevine by Tozawa and again, Yoshino gets to the ropes. They trade blows and Yoshino catches Tozawa with a dropkick. Corner forearm by Tozawa and Yoshino catches him with a small package for 2. He goes up but Tozawa follows up and hits a superplex off the top for 2!!! Schweinn by Yoshino but Tozawa answers right back with a German suplex for 2. Deadlift German suplex by Tozawa gets 2!!! They trade blows and Tozawa dropkicks the leg again. He goes for the Figure-4 but Yoshino catches him with a small package for 2!!! They trade roll-ups for near falls and Yoshino hits Schweinn again. He catches Tozawa with a sunset flip for 3!!!
Winner- Masato Yoshino ***1/4 (I loved the Tozawa strategy of trying to take out the base of Yoshino right away and trying to kill his speed right from the start. That and combined with those lightning quick sequences for near falls by Tozawa and you had one hell of an individual performance from the man. Finish was sloppy and Yoshino never really sold the leg in the final stretch which was annoying but this was still a solid match and a great outing for Tozawa in defeat. )
Open the Twin Gate Championships-T-Hawk and Big R. Shimizu © vs. Dragon Kid and Eita
Eita dropkicks Shimizu to start but Shimizu overpowers him to come back. Tags to T-Hawk and Kid. Til-t-awhirl head scissors by Kid and T-Hawk bails. Double back elbow into a double suplex by the challengers on Big R. Standing moonsault by Eita and Kid works over Shimizu in the corner. Basement dropkick in the corner by Kid and Eita follows up with a slingshot senton. Suplex by Shimizu and T-Hawk tags in. T-Hawk chops away in the corner and he grabs an STF on Eita. Eita gets to the ropes to break and Shimizu grabs a neck crank. Eita again makes the ropes so Shimizu hits a fall-a-way slam for 2. Bubba Bomb by Shimizu and T-Hawk follows up with a suplex for 2. Enzuigiri from the apron by Eita and he goes up. Missile dropkick by Eita and Kid catches T-Hawk with a springboard hurricanrnaa sending T-Hawk to the floor. Stereo dives by the challengers and back in, Kid hits the springboard summersault stunner for 2. Shimizu blocks the 619 and he hits a Samoan Drop for 2. Running power slam by Shimizu gets 2. Eita catches T-Hawk with a flying knee strike for 2. Sky High by T-Hawk gets 2. Stereo dropkicks to T-Hawk and the challenges hit an assisted standing moonsault for 2. T-Hawk presses Kid into a knee lift and Shimizu hits a Baldo Bomb for 2. T-Hawk puts Kid on top and follows up. Eita saves and hoists T-Hawk on top for the super Frankensteiner for 2 as Shimizu saves!!! Double clothesline by Shimizu and he hits an avalanche into the corner. Double Samoan Drop by Shimizu and the champs hit a double hip toss on Eita. Sit-Out power bomb by T-Hawk gets 2. Eita catches T-Hawk with some roll-ups for near falls and he grabs Numero Uno. T-Hawk escapes so Eita hits a super kick into the Dragonrana from Kid for 2!!! Kid goes up and leaps but T-Hawk moves. Kid counters the Chokeslam into the crucifix driver on Shimizu for 2!!! Lariat by Shimizu and Eita eats one as well. Eita counters the Chokeslam into a small package for 2!!! Shimizu finally hits the Chokeslam for 3!!!
Winners and Still Open the Twin Gate Champions- T-Hawk and Big R. Shimizu ***3/4 ( Man, Shimizu is a friggin monster and that chokeslam looks awesome. Match was a really good tag team affair that was paint by the numbers for a Dragon Gate tag until the final run where they kicked things up a notch with crazy counter near falls that had the crowd rocking and the build up to the chokeslam finish was terrific. )
Dead or Alive Match- Kodaka (Akiza Tozawa) vs. Naoki Tanizaki (Ryo “Jimmy”Saito) vs. Cyber Kong (Masaaki Mochizuki) vs. Naruki Doi (CIMA and Gamma) vs. YAMATO (Hollywood Stalker Ichikawa) vs. Shingo Takagi (Punch Tominaga)
The match has a longer name but I’m shortening it because the participant list is long enough. The rules are each man must get a pin fall or a submission before being eligible to grab a flag on top of the cage and be able to escape. If they get a pin fall or submission, their delegate will be free of punishment. Last man left in the cage will lose their mask or hair for a year, same for their delegate if they don’t score a pinfall. Cyber Kong turned Mochizuki into SUPER KARATE ROBOT MASA RX VERSION!!!! Everyone brawls to start and Doi dropkicks the leg of Kong. Snake eyes by Kong and YAMATO saves Doi from further damage. Shingo and YAMATO trade blows and YAMATO hits a dropkick. Missile dropkick by Kodaka and he catches Tanizaki with a dropkick to the leg. Tanizaki grabs the bag Saito brought with him and discover it’s personal care products, including CONDOMS!!!!! Everyone attacks Tanizaki but Tanizaki catches Kodaka with a Tombstone. Yoshi Tonic by Tanizaki gets 3. Ryo “Jimmy Saito” is free and Tanizaki is eligible to escape.
Tanizaki tries to climb but Tozawa sprays him with a super soaker and Gamma uses a kendo stick to bring Tanizaki down. Tanizaki tries to climb again but Shingo stops him and Kong brings them down with the TOWER OF DOOM~!!! Lariat by Kong and he hits the Screwdriver for 2 as Doi saves. Kong presses YAMATO into the cage and he goes up. Tanizaki follows but Kong knocks him off with a lariat. Tanizaki climbs again but Mochizuki nails him with a glove on a stick, allowing Shingo and Kong to catch him with the Doomsday Device for 3. Super Karate Robot Masa RX Version is free and Kong is eligible to escape.
Kong climbs but Kodaka brings him back down. Catapult neck breaker combo by Doi and YAMATO and Doi follows up with a summersault senton. Back breaker/knee drop combo by YAMATO and Tanizaki to Shingo gets 2 as Kodaka saves. Tanizaki fakes doing to the same to Kodaka and climbs the cage instead but CIMA and Gamma throw WATER BALOONS at him!!!! Rolling lariats by Shingo to YAMATO and Kodaka hits a double stomp off the top. Flying elbow drop by Shingo and Kong follows up with one of his own. Kodaka covers for 2!!! Pumping Bomber by Shingo and YAMATO comes back with a hurricanrana for 3!!! Hollywood Stalker Ichikawa is free and YAMATO is eligible to climb.
YAMATO climbs but Shingo follows and takes him off with Stay Dream off the top for 3!!! Punch Tominaga is free and Shingo is eligible to climb.
Shingo climbs but Punch Tominaga stays out to try and prevent Shingo from getting a flag. As everyone if focused on Shingo, Tanizaki climbs but Tozawa fights him off with a rubber hammer!!! CIMA and Gamma are using a SOCCER BALL SHOOTER!!!!! This is insane. Shingo and Tanizaki fight on top of the cage and Tanizaki throws head butts, allowing him to grab the flag!!! Tanizaki is free.
Doi hits a flying elbow drop onto Kodaka for 2. Kodaka goes up but Doi shoves him against the cage to bring him down. Exploder suplex by Shingo to Doi and Doi rolls through a Blood Fall attempt for 2. Crucifix Bomb by Doi gets 3!!! CIMA is free but Doi needs another fall to be eligible to escape.
Kong, Shingo, and Kodaka work over YAMATO and Kodaka repeatedly tries to pin YAMATO with no success. Doi 555 by Doi and he goes for the Bakatare Sliding Kick but misses and Tozawa shoots streams at Doi, allowing Kodaka to roll him up for 3!!! Akira Tozawa is free and Kodaka is eligible to escape.
Kodaka climbs but Gamma stops him from getting the flag. Power bomb by Shingo to YAMATO and Kong climbs. Gamma throws everything in his possession at Kong but Kong is able to hold on and grab the flag. Cyber Kong is free.
DVD by Shingo to Doi and he hits a power bomb. Meteora by Kodaka and everyone brawls for a bit. YAMATO climbs and grabs the flag but sees Shingo and Kodaka working over Doi and decides to go save his partner!!! Enzuigiri to Shingo and Kodaka catches Doi with a high kick. Kodaka climbs but Gamam again goes up to stop him. Gamma nails Kodaka with a whipped cream pie and Doi hits an Air Raid Crash. Bakatare Sliding Kick by Doi gets 3!!! Gamma is free and Doi is eligible to climb.
Doi and YAMATO climb but Shingo is able to stop both of them. DVD to Doi and Shingo hits Last Falconry on YAMATO. Shingo and Kodaka climb but Tanizaki and the delegates stop them. Shingo fights off Punch and he grabs a flag. Shingo Takagi is free.
Doi and YAMATO charge at Kodaka in the corner and YAMATO hits Gallarea. Doi and YAMATO climb and Tanizaki sprays red mist at YAMATO bring him down!!! Doi is at the flag but is having second thoughts. He decides to stay in!!! Doi charges at Kodaka but misses and hits the ref. Kodaka goes low and now the rest of Verserk come in to attack YAMATO. Shino power bombs YAMATO through a table. Verserk begins to tear the ring apart and unhook all the turnbuckles and ropes. Doi saves YAMATO from a Pumping Bomber from Shingo and he blocks Shingo from using a sign. Doi gets it and nails YAMATO with it!!!! Bakatare Sliding Kick to YAMATO and Doi climbs. Doi grabs the flag. Narki Doi is free.
Kzy comes out and attacks Kodaka, preventing him from grabbing the final flag. Yosuke Santa Maria comes out and KISSES Kodaka to bring him down. Maria decides to move the flag to another post to keep it away from Kodaka. YAMATO hits the Brainbuster on Kodaka and Shingo enters the cage again. He clotheslines the ref and attacks YAMATO again. Kodaka climbs but BxB Hulk is out and he fights Kodaka off. Hulk goes after Shingo and lays him out with a spinning heel kick. EVO by Hulk and he hits First Flash on Kodaka. Sleeper by YAMATO and he hits Gallarea. YAMATO climbs and he grabs the final flag!!!!!!
Loser of his Hair for One Year – Kodaka ****1/2 ( This was a spectacle the likes of which I’ve never seen before. The stuff involving the delegates that can be overdone and way too wacky was perfect here. The choice of weapons they used in the early portion were so creative and so hilarious it made the usual slow moving and messing portion of these matches incredible entertaining. Once the delegates were out of the way, this became civil warfare and it was phenomenal. The match took so many twists and turns, the climbs for the flags were incredibly dramatic and you had the incredible story of Doi and Tanizaki betraying YAMATO to stay with the cause of Versek and YAMATO was able to overcome his betrayal with the support of his new family. YAMATO was the ultimate valiant warrior and superhero and he should be cemented as the clear #1 babyface in the promotion and hopefully a YAMATO/Doi or YAMATO/Shingo match is in the works for Kobe World coming out of this. This was incredible storytelling and one hell of a roller coaster ride. )
After the match, Kodaka gets his head shaved and YAMATO officially forms his new alliance with BxB Hulk, Yosuke Santa Maria, and Kzy.
