Dragon Gate “Champion Gate in Osaka 2015”
review by Kevin Wilson

Date:  February 28th, 2015
Location:  Osaka BODYMAKER COLOSSEUM #2 in Osaka, Japan
Announced Attendance:  1,600

As I have mentioned before, the reason that I don’t review Dragon Gate as often is mostly a time issue.  Their events take longer to type up than normal events so I am slower to do them.  I know this causes me to miss some quality pro wres as I do enjoy Dragon Gate, so I am going to try to cut down on the play by play so I can get through them faster, which in turn will mean I will review more of their events.  We’ll see how this works out.  This is a big event (first of two in a row) for Dragon Gate as both the Open the Brave Gate and Open the Triangle Gate Championships are defended.  Here is the full card:

- Jimmy Kanda and Jimmy Kagetora vs. Super Shisa and Shachihoko BOY
- BxB Hulk vs. Mr. Que Que Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin
- Gamma and Mondai Ryu vs. Yosuke Santa Maria and Kotoka
- T-Hawk, U-T, and Yosuke Santa Maria vs. YAMATO, Don Fujii, and Mondai Ryu
- Jimmy Susumu, Ryo "Jimmy" Saito, and Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! vs. Shingo Takagi, Masato Yoshino, and Uhaa Nation
- Open the Brave Gate Championship: Kzy vs. Akira Tozawa
- Open the Triangle Gate Championship: Masaaki Mochizuki, Dragon Kid, and Big R Shimizu vs. CIMA, Naruki Doi, and Cyber Kong

This event aired in full so let’s get to it.

Jimmy Kanda and Jimmy Kagetora vs. Super Shisa and Shachihoko BOY
Shisa and Kagetora are the first two in and they trade holds and monkey flips before Shisa applies a cross-arm submission which Kagetora gets out of.  Shachihoko BOY and Kanda are tagged in and Shachihoko BOY hits a headscissors before dropkicking Kanda out of the ring.  Kagetora gets in and Shachihoko BOY tags in Shisa.  Shisa applies a stretch hold to Kagetora but Kagetora gets out of it and tags in Kanda.  Kanda elbows Shisa and hits a scoop slam followed by an elbow drop.  Kagetora is tagged back in and with Kanda they double team Shisa with a dual sliding kick.  Kagetora picks up Shisa but Shisa fires back with a kick and tags in Shachihoko BOY.  Missile dropkick by Shachihoko BOY to Kagetora, Kanda comes in and Shachihoko BOY dropkicks him out of the ring as well.  Shachihoko BOY goes to the apron and he hits an Asai Moonsault down onto both of them.  Back in Shachihoko BOY kicks Kagetora and hits a dropkick off the second rope.  Standing moonsault by Shachihoko BOY but it gets two.  Kagetora hits a jumping lariat on Shachihoko BOY and delivers a kick combination for a two count.  Kanda comes in but so does Shisa, Kanda jumps up top but Shisa hits a headscissors to bring him back to the mat.  They trade pin attempts with no luck and both their partners come in, with Shachihoko BOY staying in with Kagetora.  Kagetora hits a tiger feint kick on Shachihoko BOY, Kanda hits Shachihoko BOY with an atomic drop and then a dropkick, then Kagetora picks up Shachihoko BOY and hits a brainbuster for two.  Kanda picks up Shachihoko BOY, kick by Shachihoko BOY and he hits a tilt-a-whirl side slam.  Red Eighteen by Shachihoko BOY and he gets the three count!  A solid way to start the show.  They kept it pretty basic with a few high spots to spice things up without doing too much.  Good opener.  Score:  6.0

BxB Hulk vs. Mr. Que Que Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin
Tanizaki avoids Hulk until Hulk finally catches him, elbow by Tanizaki and he hits a jumping lariat.  Tanizaki slams Hulk into his knee a few times, is this how Tanizaki always wrestles now?  He is going in slow motion.  Hulk finally kicks him, he goes off the ropes and he kicks Tanizaki in the chest for a two count.  Single leg crab hold by Hulk but Tanizaki gets to the ropes and they trade strikes back up.  Hulk throws Tanizaki in the corner and stomps on him, Hulk goes off the ropes but Tanizaki kicks him in the head.  Tanizaki goes for the Implant but Hulk rolls out of it.  Step-up knee by Tanizaki but Hulk kicks him.  Cross-legged DDT by Tanizaki and he goes for the Casanova but Hulk catches his leg and hits a capture powerslam.  Kick combination by Hulk and he hits a standing corkscrew press for two.  Hulk picks up Tanizaki, Tanizaki wiggles away and hits a jumping knee in the corner.  High knee by Tanizaki, he goes off the ropes but Hulk catches him with a suplex.  First Flash by Hulk and he picks up the three count!  I didn’t like this match a bit for a number of reasons.  It started really slow and then once they got into it, it was just a series of taking turns and not selling each other’s moves.  I guess they knew their time constraint but nothing meant anything long term.  I don’t think this did much for either of them.  Score:  3.5

Gamma and Mondai Ryu vs. Yosuke Santa Maria and Kotoka
Let’s see if this one is better.  Ryu and Yosuke start off and Yosuke hits the first move of the match with a hip attack.  Both wrestlers tag out and Gamma hits a shoulderblock to Kotoka.  Armdrags by Kotoka but Gamma kicks him low.  Yosuke comes in, Gamma puts a few cans on the mat and powerbombs Yosuke onto them.  Ryu becomes the legal man and he holds down Yosuke so that Gamma can spit water down on him.  Ryu puts Yosuke in the ropes and jumps down onto him before hitting a side slam.  Irish whip by Ryu and he delivers a lariat, Irish whip by Ryu and he hits a second one.  Yosuke gets back up and they trade slaps to the chest, Irish whip by Ryu but Yosuke reverses it and hits a heel kick.  Kotoka is tagged in but Ryu avoids his springboard attack.  Gamma comes in the ring but Kotoka dropkicks both of them.  Kotoka sails out with a tope suicida, then Yosuke goes up top and dives out of the ring with a plancha suicida.  YAMATO appears out of nowhere and Yosuke is attacked by everyone in the ring, leading to U-T and T-Hawk running down.  At some point during this carnage the referee calls the match off, declaring it a No Contest.   That led to….

T-Hawk, U-T, Kotoka, and Yosuke Santa Maria vs. YAMATO, GAMMA, Don Fujii, and Mondai Ryu
They all brawl to start the match and take the action outside the ring.  Fujii slides Kotoka back in and they trade strikes before Fujii hits a shoulderblock.  Kotoka dropkicks Fujii in the knee and kicks him in the chest but Fujii hits another shoulderblock and tags in YAMATO.  U-T comes in as well but YAMATO shoulderblocks him to the mat.  U-T kicks YAMATO  and he tags in T-Hawk.  T-Hawk chops YAMATO in the corner but YAMATO chops him back.  YAMATO tags in GAMMA and GAMMA chops T-Hawk in the chest.  T-Hawk tags U-T back in and GAMMA pushes him in the corner so his corner could help.  Fujii comes in and punches U-T to the mat before stomping on him.  Ryu is next in as everyone takes turns attacking U-T.  YAMATO goes to do a dive but he is tripped from the floor, T-Hawk gets in the ring and he chops YAMATO in the corner.  T-Hawk and YAMATO trade strike attempts and T-Hawk’s crew runs in the ring.  I just noticed now that Kotoka is in the match so if I messed up any of my play by play up to this point, that’s why.  YAMATO is quadruple teamed until Yosuke hits a leg lariat on YAMATO for two.  T-Hawk comes in and he picks up YAMATO, delivering a sit-down powerbomb for two.  YAMATO’s team comes in to help this time and YAMATO hits a brainbuster on Kotoka.  Ryu picks up Kotoka but Kotoka rolls him up for a two count.  Ryu holds Kotoka but Fujii accidentally hits Ryu with the yellow box.  General chaos ensues until Kotoka delivers the Caldera on Ryu for the three count!  This was Dragon Gate carnage at its best or worst, depending on how you look at it.  Just a faction based brawl but it didn’t get a lot of time since it was on the midcard.  Solid matches though, certainly no downtime and it had some of the ‘hate’ which I like.  Score:  7.0

Jimmy Susumu, Ryo Saito, and Genki Horiguchi vs. Takagi, Masato Yoshino, and Uhaa Nation
Horiguchi and Yoshino start off the match and Yoshino quickly hits a tope suicida on Horiguchi.  Saito and Takagi get in the ring and Takagi hits a shoulderblock.  Hurricanrana by Saito and Takagi falls out of the ring.  Uhaa Nation comes into it so Saito tags in Susumu.  Susumu tries unsuccessfully to knock over Uhaa Nation, but Uhaa Nation delivers a dropkick.  Uhaa Nation picks up Susumu and tags in Takagi.  Takagi is double teamed in the corner but he shoulderblocks Saito down before tagging in Yoshino.  Yoshino throws down Saito so Horiguchi gets in the ring, Yoshino takes off his wrist tape and uses it on Horiguchi’s hair.  Yoshino applies a stretch hold but Horiguchi hiptosses out of it.  Horiguchi is put in the ropes, Uhaa Nation puts the end of the band in his mouth and snaps it back at him.  Back in the ring Takagi suplexes Horiguchi, picking up a two count.  Everyone runs in to attack Horiguchi and then they do push-ups before posing.  Back up Takagi trades chops with Horiguchi but Horiguchi eventually hits a hurricanrana, giving him time to tag in Susumu.  Takagi is also tagged in and Susumu hits a big lariat.  Uhaa Nation comes in but Susumu suplexes him to the mat.  Susumu tags in Saito, chops by Saito but Uhaa Nation absorbs the blows.  Uhaa Nation goes for a suplex but Saito lands on his feet and hits a drop toehold.  Saito goes off the ropes but Uhaa Nation hits an enzigieri followed by a spinebuster for two.  Susumu and Yoshino come in and Yoshino applies a choke over the top rope.  Yoshino goes up top, Susumu avoids the dropkick and he hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker.  From Jungle by Yoshino but it is broken up as their teammates come into the ring.  Susumu lariats Takagi in the corner, Susumu puts Takagi up top and he hits a superplex.  Uhaa Nation hits a double lariat, then everyone attacks Horiguchi in the corner.  Big lariat by Takagi to Horiguchi, cover, but it gets a two count.  Scoop slam by Takagi, Uhaa Nation goes up top and he hits a diving body press but the pin attempt is broken up.  Uhaa Nation grabs Horiguchi but Horiguchi sneaks in a backslide for two.  Big boot by Uhaa Nation, he picks up Horiguchi and he nails the Uhaa Combination for the three count.  This was good although a bit too lacking in structure for my personal tastes.  That will eternally be my criticism of some Dragon Gate matches, it is just a style thing, but I still enjoyed the match.  It just felt like random moves for a lot of it, even though Uhaa Nation is very impressive.  Score:  6.5

(c) Kzy vs. Akira Tozawa
This match is for the Open the Brave Gate Championship.  They trade wristlocks to start and holds on the mat, but neither gets a clear advantage.  Shoulderblock by Tozawa and he boots Kzy out of the ring.  Tope suicida by Tozawa, he brings Kzy back in the ring and punches him in the corner.  Senton by Tozawa, cover, but it gets two.  Snapmare by Tozawa and he kicks Kzy in the back, he picks up Kzy and he hits a tombstone piledriver.  Kzy falls out of the ring but Tozawa goes out after him, he goes to elbow Kzy but Kzy ducks and Tozawa elbows the ring post.  Kzy slams Tozawa’s arm into the post, and back in the ring he continues working over the arm.  Tozawa fights back with elbows but Kzy kicks him in the arm to send him to the mat.  Kzy knocks Tozawa into the corner and twists his arm in the ropes before hitting a spear.  Kzy applies a modified armbar on the mat but Tozawa gets to the ropes.  Tozawa and Kzy trade elbows, Kzy clubs on Tozawa’s arm but Tozawa fires back with a big boot.  Kzy falls out of the ring and Tozawa sails out onto him with a tope suicida, he gets back in the ring and he hits a second one.  Tozawa slides Kzy back in and he hits an elbow in the corner.  Vertical suplex by Tozawa, cover, but it gets a two count.  Kzy elbows Tozawa off of him but Tozawa delivers a knee for two.  Flipping neckbreaker by Kzy and he hits a Northern Lights Suplex hold for two. 

Running elbow by Kzy in the corner and he slams Tozawa to the mat.  Kzy goes up top but Tozawa grabs him.  Kzy elbows Tozawa and he hits a neckbreaker from the top turnbuckle, he goes back up top and delivers the swanton.  Kzy goes up again and this time he hits the diving body press, but Tozawa barely gets a shoulder up.  Kzy hits two boots, he goes up top again but Tozawa joins him and hits a superplex.  Suplex by Tozawa, but it gets a two count.  Tozawa picks up Kzy, elbow by Kzy but Tozawa drops Kzy onto his knee and hits a roaring elbow to the back of his head.  Kzy moves when Tozawa charges in and he hits a front flip piledriver.  Back up they trade elbows, Kzy picks up Tozawa but Tozawa gets away and hits a release German suplex.  They trade pin attempts with no luck, snap German suplex hold by Tozawa but it gets two.  Tozawa picks up Kzy, Kzy fights him off and applies a double underhook but Tozawa gets away and nails the package German suplex for the three count!  Tozawa is your new champion!  Oddly this match had the structure but I can’t help but feel that the wrong wrestler won which is really my only complaint.  Kzy dominated this match in just about every way, it just felt like a couple German suplexes shouldn’t put away a champion that had been doing more in the match overall.  I liked the arm work and I understand the journey that Tozawa took to get here, it just felt it he could have done more to weaken down Kzy at the end.  Solid action throughout though and a good showing by both wrestlers.  Score:  7.5

(c) Masaaki Mochizuki, Dragon Kid, and Big R Shimizu vs. CIMA, Naruki Doi, and Cyber Kong
This match is for the Open the Triangle Gate Championship.  CIMA and company attack their opponents before the match starts and they fight into the crowd.  CIMA slides Dragon Kid back in as Doi gets in as well, and Dragon Kid eats a double elbow.  Armdrag by Dragon Kid and he hits a spinning headscissors on CIMA.  Doi and Mochizuki are next in and Doi hits a shoulderblock.  Mochizuki drops Doi on the apron and trips him before kicking him out of the ring.  Shimizu and Kong are in next and Kong hits a scoop slam.  Shimizu gets the better of things and tags in Dragon Kid, but Kong drops Dragon Kid with a side slam.  Mochizuki gets leg locks on Doi and CIMA, but Kong kindly breaks it up.  Kong applies a chinlock to Mochizuki, he tags in Doi and Doi kicks Mochizuki low.  Kong yanks back on Mochizuki’s leg but Mochizuki kicks Kong in the chest.  This brings in Mochizuki’s teammates, they hold Kong so that Mochizuki can kick him in the groin.  I’m trying to keep my promise to not type every single thing that happens as there is constant motion in this match, but it goes against every fiber in my being.  RANDOM CARNAGE HAPPENED.  There we go.  Things settle down when Dragon Kid gets isolated in the ring, and Mad Blankey take turns attacking him.  Dragon Kid jumps up top get away from Kong, Kong knocks him out to the apron but Dragon Kid hits a swandive hurricanrana, giving him time to tag in Shimizu.  Shimizu beats up everyone that gets in his path, then both Dragon Kid and Mochizuki do dives out of the ring onto everyone.  Shimizu then goes up top but he falls off and crotches himself on the top rope (I hope that was intentional). 

Kong and Mochizuki get in the ring, boot by Mochizuki but Kong shrugs it off.  Kong goes off the ropes but Mochizuki kicks him in the chest and hits a backdrop suplex.  Everyone on the champion team puts their opponents in submission holds but Ryu comes in to break it up.  Mochizuki takes care of him and CIMA is double teamed, ending with an Shimizu Samoan Drop for a two count.  Mochizuki picks up CIMA, he goes off the ropes but YAMATO hits him from the floor.  Mochizuki is lariated by everyone in the corner, Fire Thunder Driver by Kong but it gets a two count.  Kong goes up top and he delivers the diving elbow drop, cover, but Dragon Kid breaks it up.  Doi goes up top this time but Dragon Kid jumps up to the top and hits a Frankensteiner.  Tiger Feint Kick by Dragon Kid on Doi and Shimizu hits a fallaway slam.  Kong comes in with Shimizu and Shimizu levels him with a lariat.  Shimizu picks up Kong and hits a sit-down powerbomb, but CIMA breaks up the pin.  Shimizu throws CIMA into the corner but CIMA hits a dropkick off the second turnbuckle.  Mochizuki runs in and kicks CIMA, then Dragon Kid hits Doi with an Ultra Hurricanrana for two.  Kong lariats Dragon Kid in the corner, CIMA goes up top and he nails Dragon Kid with the Meteora.  Shimizu grabs CIMA however and drops him with the Shot Put Slam, picking up the three count!  Dia.HEARTS remain your champions!  This match started slow, the crowd was burned out from the last match and it just took time to connect.  It was fun once it got there but it just took about 15 minutes until it really got cooking.  The last part of the match was entertaining and had some solid action, in hindsight they may have wished they switched the last two matches.  A fun main event but nothing more than that.  Score:  6.0

Final Thoughts:

Sometimes I feel like I am a broken record when I review Dragon Gate events as their tag matches tend to blend into one big blob in my brain since they are all crazy action with factions that hate each other.  The singles title match was a bit different as it had a solid structure, I just didn't love it as much as some others did even if I did enjoy the match. Definitely some good here, I have no doubt it won't be the best Dragon Gate event of the year but pretty solid with only one below average match. Worth a watch, and required for long time Dragon Gate fans with the Tozawa win.

Grade: B-

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event reviewed on 4/15/15