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BG Says: Dragon Gate Infinity 77 (BUY)
By Brad Garoon | March 26, 2008
Today’s episode of Infinity features matches from early 2008.
BxB Hulk & BxB Fujii VS. Cyber Kong & Cyber Ryo
If you haven’t guessed it yet the gimmick here is that Don Fujii has adopted Hulk’s persona and Ryo Saito has done the same for Kong. Why the New Hazard members have decided to fight each other and why they’ve brought in outsiders to mimic them is beyond me. I do know that Cyber Ryo once defeated Cyber Kong in a singles match. Ryo and Hulk start. YAMATO watches from the floor. They knuckle up and Ryo grabs a wristlock. Hulk hits an armdrag and a dropkick. Kong and Fujii come into the match. Fujii goes for a wristlock but Kong uses his power to counter the hold. He blocks a hiptoss and shoves Fujii to the mat. Fujii hits an armdrag and a dropkick and pretends to kip up. Ryo tags in and kicks Fujii down in the corner. They trade chops in an exchange that Fujii wins. Kong is shocked. Hulk tags in and hits the Ace Crusher. Fujii hits an elbowdrop and Hulk hits a standing corkscrew senton for 2. He puts on a chinlock. Ryo hits a back elbow. Kong tags in and hits a press slam. Ryo tags in and goes for a press slam but has trouble. He tags to Kong instead. Hulk hits a back heel kick. Kong easily blocks the EVO. Hulk hits a DDT for 2. He goes for the EVO but Kong is too big. Kong hits a lariat to the back of the head. Kong launches Hulk into the Cyber Cutter from Ryo. That gets 2. Ryo hits a second rope elbowdrop. Kong follows that with a top rope elbowdrop for 2. YAMATO attacks Hulk from behind. He tries to spear Hulk but hits Ryo by mistake. Fujii hits a chokeslam and Hulk rolls Ryo up for the win at 8:22 shown of 13:45. It wasn’t particularly funny as a comedy match, but it was effective in adding heat to both the YAMATO/Saito rivalry and the dissention between YAMATO and Hulk.
Rating: *¾
Ryo Saito VS. YAMATO
YAMATO attacks Saito before the bell. Saito hits a hurricanrana but YAMATO rolls through for 2. He hits a spear. He shoves Saito to the floor. He drags Saito around the building, throwing him into various things. Saito regains control by throwing chairs at YAMATO. He suplexes YAMATO onto a pile of chairs. Back in the ring Saito stays in control. YAMATO comes back with forearms. He hits a powerslam for 2. He hits a tiger driver for 2. He goes for the Hidalgo but Saito blocks. He gets a roll up for 2. Saito gets a roll up for 2. YAMATO hits a running forearm. Saito hits a German suplex. YAMATO hits a DVD for 2. He goes for the Galleria but Saito blocks. They exchange strikes until Saito hits a dragon suplex for 2. He hits another for the win at 8:25. YAMATO was overeager, going for his finishers too early. The story was fun, but Saito didn’t have much trouble with the rookie. Saito puts YAMATO over after the match. YAMATO throws a bottle of water at Saito but it hits CIMA. CIMA charges YAMATO and has to be pulled off by the rest of Typhoon.
Rating: **½
Taku Iwasa & Kenichiro Arai VS. Cyber Kong & Austin Aries
Before the match clips are shown of the Muscle Outlaw’z beating Iwasa and Arai’s teammates Ono and Tozuku in a match that cost the Tozawajuku members their hair. Aries and Arai start. Aries hits his basement dropkick and Arai retreats. Iwasa and Kong tag into the match. Kong uses his strength to counter a wristlock. He hits an armbreaker. He walks through an Iwasa dropkick. He puts on a hammerlock and rams Iwasa’s shoulder into the post. He puts on an armbar. Iwasa gets to the ropes. Aries tags in and hits an armbreaker. He hits another but Iwasa immediately hits a back suplex. Kong and Arai tag into the match. Arai goes for a bodyslam but Kong blocks. Kong goes for one but Arai blocks. That goes back and forth until Arai hits a bodyslam. Aries and Kong go for a double suplex so Arai hits them with DDTs. Arai misses a springboard dropkick. Aries hits the corner dropkick for 2. Iwasa shoves Arai out of the way and hits a knee to the gut. They hit a kick/tombstone piledriver combo for 2. Arai hits a bodyslam but misses the double stomp. Kong hits him with an avalanche. He hits the Cyber Cutter. Aries hits the Finlay roll and Kong hits a flying elbowdrop for 2 when Iwasa makes the save. Kong hits Iwasa with an avalanche. Aries hits the soccer kick and the brainbuster for 2. He climbs the ropes but Arai shoves him to the floor. Kong hits Iwasa with the Pineapple Bomber for 2. He clubs Iwasa around and hits a pair of lariats. Iwasa fights back and hits a lariat for 2. Arai hits the Kokyuuyama twice and Iwasa hits the Noshigami for the win at 8:54 shown of 13:00. Fun match that saw AraIwa fight from behind and defeat the accomplished Aries and the giant Kong. Arai and Iwasa throw themselves back into Twin Gate title contention after the match.
Rating: **¾
CIMA & Dragon Kid VS. Gamma & Genki Horiguchi
They show a clip of Gamma’s now storied low blow on CIMA from the King of Gate tournament. With CIMA falling to Gamma and then Dragon Kid defending CIMA’s honor immediately following the tournament this match became necessary. The Outlaw’z attack before the bell. CIMA and Gamma brawl around the building as the Muscle Outlaw’z hit a quadruple dropkick on Kid in the ring. Kid comes back with an armdrag. He hits a head scissors takedown and Horiguchi bails. CIMA and Gamma tag into the match. CIMA hits a dropkick. Gamma spits in his face. He ties CIMA up in the corner but CIMA comes back with a low blow. He stomps on Gamma’s crotch. Kid tags in and hits a dropkick in the corner. Horiguchi tags in and hits a brainbuster for 2. Kid hits a low blow but Gamma runs in and pokes his eyes. Kid hits him with the Déjà Vu. CIMA tags in and knocks Gamma to the floor. He hits Gamma with a suicide dive. Horiguchi hits Kid with a swinging DDT for 2. He hits a bodyslam but a moonsault hits knees. Gamma attacks Kid from behind. Kid hits a stunner. Horiguchi canes Gamma by mistake. Kid holds Gamma upside down and CIMA canes his crotch. He canes the referee by mistake, allowing the Muscle Outlaw’z to attack en masse. Gamma hits an ugly powerbomb. Horiguchi holds CIMA upside down and Gamma tries to cane his crotch but Kid throws Horiguchi’s head into the path of the cane. Typhoon attacks Gamma all at once. CIMA hits the Perfect Driver for 2 when Yasushi Kanda knocks out the referee. The referee gets on the microphone and says some stuff I don’t understand. Kanda attacks him but he holds his own, clotheslining Kanda and throwing the extraneous Outlaw’z to the floor. Gamma hits Kid with a back suplex. He climbs the ropes but CIMA catches him with the Venus. Kid hits a super duper hurricanrana. CIMA hits a double jump double stomp and Kid hits the Jesus for 2. CIMA hits a superkick and the Schwein for 2. Horiguchi keeps him from hitting the Crossfire. Gamma hits a superkick and the Gamma Special for 2. CIMA blocks the Blitzen and hits a spinning kick to the face. Horiguchi hits him with a low blow but CIMA rolls through the Backslide from Hell and Kid hits Horiguchi with the Dragon Rana for the win at 10:07 shown of 16:19. This was a really fun and overbooked match that played into Gamma’s nonsense from the King of Gate finals really well. After the match they hype a big elimination style match between Typhoon and the Muscle Outlaw’z for late February.
Rating: ***¼
Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino VS. Shingo Takagi & BxB Hulk [GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship Match]
Doi & Yoshino’s Twin Gate Championships are not on the line here. Hulk and Yoshino start. They trade holds and takedowns. Doi and Takagi tag into the match. Takagi hits the TKO for 2. Hulk tags in and kicks Doi’s arm. He hits a dropkick in the corner. Doi goes to the eyes. He ties Hulk in the ropes and hits a dropkick. Yoshino tags in and works the arm. Yoshino hits a legdrop and a dropkick to the crotch while Doi holds Hulk in a crab. Takagi tags in and chops Yoshino off his feet. He hits a kneedrop for 2. He puts on a crossface but Yoshino gets to the ropes. Hulk comes in and hits a spin kick. Yoshino shoves him to the floor. He hits Takagi with a vertical suplex. Doi tags in and knocks Hulk off the apron. He hits a crossbody on Takagi. He hits a DDT for 2. It’s so sad to see former ROH tag champs fight. Takagi comes back with an exploder for 2. Hulk tags in and hits a springboard spin kick. He hits a running shooting star press for 2. He goes for the EVO but gets caught with a powerbomb. Yoshino tags in and hits a sleeper slam. Hulk hits a back heel kick but misses a dropkick. Doi comes in and they double-team Hulk in the corner. Yoshino dropkicks Takagi as he hits a senton on Hulk. Hulk comes back with a leg lariat. Yoshino blocks the EVO and tricks Takagi into hitting Hulk with the Pumping Bomber. Doi hits Hulk with the Doi 555 but misses the Bakatare Sliding Kick. Yoshino hits the Torbellino. He puts on the Sol Naciente but Takagi makes the save. Takagi hits Doi with a DVD on the apron. Yoshino puts From Jungle on Takagi and then rolls him up for 2. Takagi hits a spinebuster and Hulk hits the EVO. Yoshino gets a crucifix pin for 2. He hits the Lightning Spiral. Doi hits the Bakatare Sliding Kick for 2. Doi & Yoshino hit a Doomsday Sleeper Slam for 2. Takagi and Hulk hit Doi with a Doomsday Leg Lariat. Hulk hits the EVO. Takagi hits the Blood Fall for 2. He sets Yoshino up top but Yoshino catches him with the shotgun dropkick. He sends Hulk to the floor and hits him with a suicide dive. Doi hits a second rope Doi 555 and the Bakatare Sliding Kick for 2. He goes for the Muscle Bomb but Takagi blocks it and hits the Last Falconry for 2 when Yoshino saves. Takagi hits a backdrop driver on Yoshino. Hulk hits Yoshino with the FTX. Takagi hits Doi with the Original Falconry off the second rope for 2. He hits a lariat but Doi pops up. Doi gets a roll up for 2. Takagi hits the Pumping Bomber for 2. He hits the Last Falconry for the win and the titles at 18:45 shown of 23:45. That makes this the first time a GHC title has changed hands outside of NOAH. The old man from NOAH that reads the pre-match statements in title matches congratulates Takagi and Hulk. I don’t know if it’s the MOTY that people were claiming it was in early 2008, but it was absolutely fantastic. The best match for these belts since KENTA and Ishimori challenged for them. And in a coincidence KENTA and Ishimori were New Hazard’s first challengers.
Rating: ****¼
Masaaki Mochizuki, K-ness & Don Fujii VS. Dick Togo, Ikuto Hidaka & Munenori Sawa [Open the Triangle Gate Match]
Togo and Hidaka are from ZERO1-MAX and Sawa is a BattleArts guy. The champs attack at the bell. Togo gets triple-teamed in the corner until he dropkicks K-ness. He hits Fujii with a suicide dive. Fujii fires up and Honda slaps Togo to the floor. Hidaka and Mochizuki tag into the match. They trade kicks in an exchange that Mochizuki predictably wins. They both go for dropkicks. Sawa and K-ness tag into the match. Sawa hits a shoulder tackle. He puts K-ness down with kicks. K-ness comes back with a leg lariat. Fujii tags in and beats on Sawa in the corner. Mochizuki kicks Sawa in the ropes, getting 2 for Fujii. Fujii puts on the Mark Nulty Special but Sawa escapes and stomps on his back. Fujii hits a back elbow. Mochizuki tags in and kicks Sawa to the floor. He suplexes him back into the ring for 2. Sawa slaps Mochizuki to the mat. He dumps him on the floor where Togo hits him with a chair. Togo & Hidaka turn Mochizuki into a battering ram and shove his head into the barricade. Back in the ring Hidaka hits Mochizuki with elbowdrops. Togo tags in and rams Mochizuki’s head against an exposed turnbuckle. He hits a dropkick for 2. He targets Mochizuki’s knee. Sawa tags in and puts on a cross armbreaker. Mochizuki gets to the ropes. Hidaka tags in and goes back to the knee. He puts on a leg grapevine and Togo hits a slingshot senton. Mochizuki gets to the ropes. Hidaka and Mochizuki trade kicks again and it goes bad for Hidaka again. Fujii tags in and trades strikes with Sawa. Hidaka and Sawa fall victim to clotheslines. Togo meets the same fate. Togo hits a low blow. Fujii tosses him to the floor and tags to K-ness. K-ness takes out Sawa and Hidaka. Mochizuki hits the Tope Masaaki. In the ring Fujii and Sawa trade chops for kicks. Sawa comes out on top of that exchange. Fujii fights back, slapping the taste out of Sawa’s mouth. He hits a clothesline. He hits a chokeslam but Sawa grabs the arm and puts on a cross armbreaker. K-ness makes the save. K-ness hits Togo with a kick to the head. Togo gets a crucifix pin for 2. He puts on the crossface but Mochizuki kicks him until he lets go. Hidaka and Togo collide. Mochizuki hits Hidaka with a springboard dropkick. Hidaka gets triple-teamed in the corner. The champions kick the crap out of him. Fujii hits a chokeslam for 2. Hidaka comes back with a flying knee to Mochizuki. Togo puts on K-ness in a crossface and Sawa puts Fujii in an octopus stretch. Hidaka puts Mochizuki in the leg grapevine. Fujii escapes and saves his partners. Hidaka hits K-ness with a reverse DDT. Togo and Hidaka sandwich K-ness with kicks and Sawa hits the Shining Wizard for 2. Hidaka powerbombs K-ness for 2. K-ness rolls Togo up for 2. He gets a sunset flip for 2. He gets a rolling cradle for 2. Hidaka kicks off of Mochizuki to hit K-ness with a swinging DDT. Togo hits the Pedigree and climbs the ropes. He hits the senton for 2 when Fujii makes the save. Fujii hits a chokeslam on Togo and Mochizuki kicks Hidaka to the floor. Sawa blocks the Sankakugeri and puts on a triangle choke. Mochizuki gets close to the ropes so Sawa turns the hold into a cross armbreaker. Fujii makes the save. Mochizuki blocks a Shining Wizard and hits the Twister for 2. He hits the Ikkakugeri for the win at 21:51. The finish felt out-of-nowhere for me but the commentator sold the move like death so it must not be the first time he’s used it. This was insanely fast-paced, and I loved seeing one of my all-time favorite juniors in Togo mix it up with the Dragon Gate guys.
Rating: ***¾
After the match they hype Mochizuki’s Buyuden project. In February a tag tournament will take place. I notice B-Boy is advertised but he’d be retired by that date.
WrestleJam is also hyped, as gaijin El Generico, Human Tornado, Jorge Rivera, PAC, Austin Aries and the SAT are shown on screen. Jack Evans will also appear.
This was a fantastic show, as both title matches are mind blowingly good. I don’t know if it’s my crazy fandom of Shingo and Togo showing through, but I highly recommend you all seek out these matches. You can buy this at IVP Videos.
Topics: Dragon Gate Reviews |