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From The Shelf – Dragon Gate: Open the Rainbow Gate 7-7

July 24, 2016 | Posted by Dylan Diot
Dragon Gate Image Credit: Dragon Gate
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From The Shelf – Dragon Gate: Open the Rainbow Gate 7-7  

Dragon Gate Open The Rainbow Gate
7-7-16
Tokyo, Japan

Mike Sydal, Ryo “Jimmy” Saito & Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! vs. Kenichiro Arai, Jimmy Kanda & Jimmy K-ness J.K.S
Horiguchi and Arai start and they grapple until they reach a stalemate. Sydal and Kanda trade blows and Sydal hits an enzuigiri. Horiguchi and Saito double team K-ness but K-ness is able to catch Horiguchi so he gets whipped in the face with his own strap by Arai!!! They work over Horiguchi for a bit and K-ness hits a basement dropkick for 2. Power slam by Kanda gets 2. Horiguchi comes back with a hurricanrana and he catches K-ness with a back elbow. Tag to Sydal and he catches Arai with a dropkick. Inverted atomic drop by Saito but Kanda’s team takes control but have an awkward moment where they all couldn’t figure out what submission the other was going to attempt. Horiguchi’s team comes back and Saito hits a German suplex on Arai followed by a Brainbuster from Horiguchi for 2. Tag to Sydal and he misses a moonsault off the top. Power slam by K-ness and Arai comes off Kanda’s shoulders off the top into a double stomp on Sydal!!! Flying elbow drop by Kanda gets 2 as Saito saves. Small package by Kanda gets 2 and he hits a flap jack. K-ness rolls Horiguchi around and the ring and Horiguchi gets the rolling Backslide From Heaven for 3!!!
Winners- Mike Sydal, Ryo “Jimmy” Saito & Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! **1/4 (A halfway decent opener, nobody in this match had their finist moments but it was a nice warm-up and the point was to give Sydal some work in a six-man environment. )

Verserk attacks the Jimmyz after the match and they call out the other units in tonight’s main event. Monster Express comes out and Shachihoko Boy has some choice words for Shingo but Shingo kicks him away. Tribe Vanguard comes out and YAMATO warns Shingo to turn his focus to him with Kobe World coming down the pike.

El Lindaman vs. Mondai Ryu
Ryu chokes Lindaman with his jacket to start and he throws powder in Lindaman’s face. Small package gets 2 and they trade roll-ups for near falls. Rolling German suplexes by Lindamna and he finishes with the Tiger Suplex for 3!!! Verserk attacks after the match but Yosuke Santa Maria saves. Santa Maria and Lindaman offer to watch each other’s back and claims there’s a burning passion between the two of them. They agree to become a team in the Summer Adventure Tag League and to call themselves the Marilyns.
Winner- El Lindaman * ( Match was only a minute so there’s nothing really to dissect but we may have just saw the creation of the greatest team over, so I’m already pumped for Summer Adventure Tag next month. )

Gamma and Takehiro Yamamura vs. Jimmy Susumu and Jimmy Kagetora
Dropkick by Kagetora knocks Gamma to the floor and Yamamura catches Susumu with a second rope dropkick. Gamma does his spitting water gimmick into Susumu but Susumu spits that water back into the face in Yamamura in one of the most disgusting spots I’ve seen in some time. Leaping clothesline by Kagetora and he drives Yamamura’s knee into the mat before grabbing a grapevine. Yamamura makes the ropes to break. Knee to the midsection by Susumu and Kagetoa hits a slingshot elbow drop. Susumu and Yamamura trade chops but Kagetora cuts him off with a dropkick. Flying forearm by Yamamura and Gamma tags in. Missile dropkick by Gamma and Susumu catches him with an Exploder suplex. Gamma answers right back with a Saito suplex and they go up. Exploder superplex by Susumu and Kagetora follows up with a flying elbow drop for 2. Lariat by Gamma and Yamamura hits a missile dropkick. Super kick by Gamma and he hits the Air Raid Crash. Swanton Bomb by Yamamura gets 2 as Susumu saves. Enzuigiri by Kagetora and Gamma nails Susumu in the back with his Singapore cane, allowing Yamamura to get the wheelbarrow roll-up for 2. Rolling Fisherman suplexs by Yamamura gets 2 as Kagetora saves. Yamamura counters the Jumbo No Catchi into an inside cradle for 2!!! Dropkick into a DVD by the Jimmyz gets 2. Jumbo No Kachi gets 3.
Winners- Jimmy Susumu and Jimmy Kagetora *** ( Opening few minutes were paint by the numbers stuff but the last couple minutes of Yamamura catching Susumu off guard a few times was great and had the crowd buying the upset for a few minutes. A great showing from Yamamura who made the most of a throwaway tag match.)

CIMA, Peter Kassa & Kaito Ishida vs. Cyber Kong, Naoki Tanizaki & Kotoka
Verserk attacks to start and everyone brawls on the floor. Back in, they toss Ishida head first into a chair in the corner. CIMA fires back and Kassa comes in with a double missile dropkick. Ishida and CIMA dive to the floor, leaving Kassa in the ring with Kong. Test of strength and Kong eventually wins the battle. He presses Kassa to the mat and Ishida attacks, which doesn’t work. Tag to Tanizaki and he and Kotoka hit basement dropkicks on Ishida for 2. Back senton by Kong gets 2 as CIMA saves. Assisted big splash to Ishida gets 2. Ishida wins the battle for a suplex with Tanizaki and Kassa tags in. He cleans house and he hits a handspring corkscrew twisting plancha to the floor!!!! Lungblower to Kotoka gets 2. Swinging DDT by Kotoka gets 2 as Ishida saves. Missile dropkick by Ishida to Kong but Kong DRILLS him with a lariat for 2!!! Verserk charges at him in the corner and they hit the backbreaker/ top rope knee drop combo for 2. Flying elbow drop by Kong gets 2 as Kassa saves. Venus by CIMA to Kotak and he hits Catoclasm into a Standing SSP by Kassa for 2. Corkscrew moonsault by Kassa gets 2 and he goes up. Moonsault misses and Kotoka hits a second rope double stomp for 2. Backflip power slam by Kassa and he goes up. Red Arrow by Kassa gets 3!!!
Winners- CIMA, Peter Kassa & Kaito Ishida *** ( Solid six man tag but disappointing as I thought the head segment on Ishida would really get me into the match but it wasn’t as interesting or as brutal as it could have been. The rest of the match had solid action and Peter Kassa blew me away. He’s early 90s Scott Steiner in the modern wrestling landscape, with an incredible build yet he flys around like Ricochet. I can’t wait to see him with more polishing in a couple of months; he has the potential to become one of the best in the business.)

T-Hawk and Big R. Shimizu vs. Masaaki Mochizuki and Don Fuji
Fuji overpowers Shimizu to start but Shimizu comes back with a slam. He trucks Fuji and T-Hawk catches Mochizuki with a chop. Double dropkick by Mochizuki and T-Hawk tries to evade the doube team of the veterans. He shoves them into each other which sets off a fight, which allows them to draw T-Hawk in and get the advantage once again. Shimizu trucks Mochizuki and Mochizuki sends him shoulder first into the post to come back. Kicks to the chest by Fuji and they trade chops. Tag to Mochizuki and he goes for the arm of Shimizu but he blocks. He powers out of Mochizuki’s clutches but Mochizuki catches him with a second rope dropkick to the shoulder to maintain control. Shimizu and Fuji trade chops and he misses a flying shoulder block. Shimizu piles the veterans on top of each other and hits a double Samoan drop. Power bomb by T-Hawk to Mochizuki and they hit a double hip toss. Suplex by T-Hawk to Fuji and Fuji comes back with a lariat taking T-Hawk off the top. Mochizuki blocks the Chokeslam and he grabs the Fujiwara arm bar on Shimizu but T-Hawk saves. Lariat by Fuji to T-Hawk and he hits a back suplex on Shimizu. Fuji blocks the Chokeslam and Mochizuki hits an axe kick into the Gedo Clutch from Fuji for 3.
Winners- Masaaki Mochizuki and Don Fuji ***1/4 ( Solid match but again I’m left disappointed since I know these teams could do so much more together. Fuji and Mochizuki dominated but I really hated the booking of Shimizu to be the one that took the beating rather than T-Hawk. Shimizu looked so strong in the King of Gate tournament, he should be protected as a monster and beast for as long as possible instead of getting jobbed out and having to struggle against the veterans. T-Hawk taking the beating and Shimizu running crazy to avenge his partner would have made for a more engaging story and would have translated to a much stronger match.)

Yosuke Santa Maria and Flamita vs. Dragon Kid and Eita
Basement dropkick by Eita to Maria and he dropkicks Maria as she was coming off the second rope. Summersault plancha to the floor by Eita and Flamita gets the better of Kid before hitting a slingshot spinning pescado to the floor!!! Back in, they catch Kid with a double dropkick and Kid comes back with a spin kick. Tag to Eita and he hits a slingshot back senton on Flamita. Tag to Maria and she hits a back elbow on Kid. Kid comes back with a spin kick and Eita tags in. He chops away in the corner and Kid hits a corner dropkick. Basement dropkick in the corner by Kid and they hit a standing moonsault/knee drop combo on Maria for 2. Maria fights back and Flamita catches Kid with a springboard dropkick. Moonsault press to the floor by Flamita!!! Back in, Flamita hits a springboard crossbody followed by a springboard battery ram. Handspring back elbow by Flamita gets 2. Basement dropkick by Eita but he misses the standing moonsault. Muscle Buster on the knees by Flamita gets 2 as Kid saves. Flamita presses Maria into a dropkick on Kid and she hits a standing leg drop for 2. Springboard 450 by Flamita gets 2 as Eita saves. Flamita goes up but Eita follows and Dragon Kid hits the Frankensteiner off of Eita’s shoulders. Facebuster by Eita gets 2 as Maria saves. Flying knee strike by Eita gets 2. Super kick by Eita and he grabs Numero Uno on Maria. Maria gives!!!
Winners- Dragon Kid and Eita ***1/4 ( Best match of the show so far. A fun match with some great athleticism from Flamita and Eita ended up getting a strong win over Maria to build heat for their Brave Gate championship match at Kobe World. The heat segment fell flat since Maria in the heat role works better with dirty heels like Verserk, so the crowd really didn’t have the emotional connection with Maria when Kid and Eita were in control. )

Elimination Match- Monster Express (Masato Yoshino, Akira Tozawa & Shachihiko Boy) vs. Tribe Vanguard (YAMATO, BxB Hulk & Kzy) vs. Verserk (Shingo Tagaki, Naruki Doi & “brother” YASSHI)
Kzy charges but hits the post shoulder first and Tozawa knocks YASSHI to the floor. Yoshino dropkicks Doi but Doi trips him up and holds him for Hulk to attack. Hulk decides to hit an axe kick on Doi instead and Yoshino holds him in place for another Hulk axe kick. Second rope dropkick by Hulk and YAMATO and Shingo trade blows. Head scissors take over by Boy and he and YAMATO dropkick Shingo to the floor. Flying forearm to YAMATO and Doi attacks Boy. Boy is triple teamed in the corner and is worked over by Verserk for a bit. YASSHI attacks from behind when Yoshino comes in and Hulk catches Doi with a spinning heel kick. Leg drop by Kzy to Doi gets 2. YASSHI works over Kzy but he gets backed into the Tribe Vanguard cornr and worked over. Rapid chops in the corner by Tozawa to YASSHI but it has no effect. He grabs the GROINS of Yoshino and Tozawa!!! Kzy cleans house and he goes for a suicide dive but Shingo tosses a chair at him to block!!! Shingo drills Boy with a chair on the floor as well and everyone brawls on the floor. The other members of Verserk lend a hand, leading to another advantage for the group. Back in, they charge at Boy in the corner and Doi hits a super power bomb for 2 as Yoshino saves. DDT by Doi to Kzy and Shingo works him over. Doi catapults Kzy into the exposed corner for 2. Brainbuster by Shingo gets 2 as Hulk saves. Shingo backdrops Hulk and they triple team Kzy again, ending with a back senton from Shingo for 2. Kzy fights back and he catches Shingo with a back elbow. Tag to YAMATO and he cleans house. Stereo summersault planchas to the floor by Hulk and Kzy!!! Stereo springboard Asai moonsaults by Tozawa and Boy!!! Yoshino hits a moonsault press off the top onto everyone on the floor!!! Kotoka trips up YAMATO, preventing a dive from him. Hulk and Tozawa fire away on Shingo and Shingo comes back with a flatliner/DDT combo. Shingo catches Hulk with a Saito suplex and Tozawa catches Shingo with a suplex. Missile dropkick/back senton combo by Yoshino gets 2. Flapjack/bulldog combo on YAMATO and Yoshino catches Doi with the Slingblade. Doomsday Blockbuster on Kzy and Doi hits a flying elbow drop off the top for 2. Pumping Bomber by Shingo gets 2. Tozawa hits a superplex onto YASSHI and the Monster Express charge at him in the corner. Deadlift German suplex by Tozawa gets 2 as Doi saves. Snap German suplex on Doi and Hulk hits an Axe Kick. Everyone comes in and lands blows and Boy gets a wheelbarrow roll-up on Shingo for 2. Code Red by Boy gets 2!!! Made In Japan by Shingo gets 3!!! Shingo rips off Boy’s mask to add insult to injury. Monster Express is eliminated.

Hulk fires away on Verserk and Tribe Vanguard charge at Doi in the corner. EVO by Hulk and Kzy goes up. Shingo tosses him off the top and YASSHI hits a diving head butt. Tombstone by YASSHI gets 2. Corner dropkick by YAMATO to Shingo and Hulk hits a Yakuza kick. Enzuigiri to the back by YAMATO followed by a Pele from Hulk. Axe Kick by Hulk into Gallarea by YAMATO gets 2. Power slam by Shingo and Doi hits Doi 555. Bakatare Sliding Kick by Doi and YASSHI hits a German suplex for 2. Pumping Bomber by Shingo to YAMATO gets 2!!! Shingo fires away at YAMATO but YAMATO returns the favor. Hurricanrana by YAMATO gets 3!!!
Winners- Tribe Vanguard ***3/4 (The main portion of the match was very good. There was tons of action going on and everyone was getting a chance to have their moment and I liked the way they got the tide turning in Verserk’s favor with the crowd brawling allowing the outside members of the unit to interfere in the match. The final segments of each fall with Shingo and Boy and YAMATO respectively were fantastic. That being said, this went way too long, going over thirty minutes and there wasn’t enough drama or storytelling to sustain that amount of time. Plus, there was way too much going on to keep up with everyone, even moreso than the usual multi-man DG affair. They had two of the best babyfaces in peril in the company in Kzy and Boy but because there was so much happening at once they could use them to construct a strong heat segment for Versek and generate emotional attachment to anyone throughout the course of the match, only in the final few minutes of each fall. This was an example of too much of a good thing, as I was burnt out trying to catch everything and while this was fun to watch, it really just blended together in a messy way and just didn’t capture my imagination like the epic elimination match from earlier in the year did. )

6.0
The final score: review Average
The 411
This is the first Dragon Gate show in awhile that I felt was kind of flat. When you have a string of strong shows stretching from Dead or Alive through the King of Gate tournament, it sets your expectations a little too high, especially for a show like this which was basically designed to be a warm-up for Kobe World. The show had some solid wrestling but other than the main event there was nothing that stood out or really got me excited for the upcoming big show. They've done a terrific job building up YAMATO and the finish to the main event continues to get me pumped for the epic Shingo/YAMATO showdown, so at the very least this show did a great job building heat for the main event of Kobe World. The main event is worth a look but it's not going to be in everyone's taste, so I can't fully recommend this show as anything more than a good time killer.
legend