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12/25/2011 Fukuoka, Fukuoka Kokusai Center ~THE FINAL GATE 2011~
1. Yasushi Kanda, Tomahawk T.T, Uhaa Nation vs. Don Fujii, Kotoka, Super Shenlong
2. Jimmy Susumu & Jimmy Kagetora vs. Ryo Saito & Genki Horiguchi
3. Cyber Kong vs. Kensuke Sasaki
4. Open the Triangle Gate: Team DOI DARTS -Naruki Doi, Naoki Tanizaki, Kzy (c) vs. Rich Swann, Gamma, Dragon Kid
5. Open the Brave Gate: Ricochet (c) vs. Masato Yoshino
6. Open the Twin Gate: Akira Tozawa & BxB Hulk (c) vs. YAMATO & Shingo Takagi
7. Open the Dream Gate: Masaaki Mochizuki (c) vs. CIMA
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Dragon Gate had a fantastic year, and is my pick for promotion of the year. They wrap things up at their annual biggest show, 'Final Gate'. With the exception of a few undercard guys, the entire roster is split into two factions, Blood Warriors (heels) and Junction Three (babyfaces). The feud has been epic.
My breakdown of the card:
1. The usual six man opener. Blood Warriors undercard guys against the unaffiliated threesome led by veteran Don Fujii. This is obviously a showcase for Uhaa Nation, who will almost surely be pinning Kotoka.
2. "The Jimmy's" (Susumu Yokozuka & Kagetora) were forced into the Jimmy gimmick by losing a stipulation to BxB Hulk & Akira Tozawa in the decision match for the vacant Open The Twin Gate titles. Jimmy is Japanese slang for 'dull', so the heels have given Susumu & Kagetora the old Lance Storm gimmick. Saito & Horiguchi have had a great year as a tag team. I smell an angle here. I think the Jimmy's lose, and possibly turn on each other.
3. This will be a squash. Kensuke Sasaki is coming in as a big name to return a favor, as the Dragon Gate crew has been working a lot of his Kensuke Office shows this year. Cyber Kong was recently bounced from Blood Warriors, and is a man without allies these days. He was squashed by Uhaa Nation on the go home show for the PPV, and is going to get squashed here. 2012 will be a big transition year for poor Cyber Kong. Maybe he starts his own group?
4. Team DOI DARTS defends the Open The Triangle Gate belts against a slapped together Junction Three-some. Rumors abound that the unaffiliated team of K-Ness, Kenichiro Arai, & Taku Iwasu will be added to the match, due to the non title victory they earned on the go home show earlier this week. Should be a fun spot fest, with Doi Darts retaining.
5. HUGE match for Ricochet, his biggest singles match to date. No surprise that they booked the veteran Yoshino in this spot, to ensure the match doesn't get away from the young champion. Ricochet & CIMA vacated the Twin Gate titles so Ricochet could focus on the Brave Gate and his singles career. This is his first major match and first defense since beating PAC.
6. This will be great, it has no choice. Tozawa is flat out awesome, and it's a shame more people don't see him. Together with BxB Hulk, they are the new Twin Gate champs. Shingo & YAMATO are obviously the huge stars, former aces, and each are former Open The Dream Gate champs.
7. The big one. Thanks to some blow away title defenses in October/November, Mochizuki is my Wrestler of the Year. He is so good right now that his 2011 ranks among the best single years in wrestling history. CIMA is the original ace of Dragon Gate looking to regain the Open The Dream Gate title, which is the only title currently held by a member of Junction Three. The heels are dominating the feud, and I would not be shocked to see CIMA win while his teammates all retain, giving total dominance to Blood Warriors, and putting the future of J3 in serious doubt.
Dragon Gate always delivers, and this lineup looks great. It might be time to shuffle the faction deck again, with Cyber Kong, The Jimmy's, and guys like Iwasu & Arai lacking direction and/or struggling.
Download should be available on 12/26.
1. Yasushi Kanda, Tomahawk T.T, Uhaa Nation vs. Don Fujii, Kotoka, Super Shenlong
2. Jimmy Susumu & Jimmy Kagetora vs. Ryo Saito & Genki Horiguchi
3. Cyber Kong vs. Kensuke Sasaki
4. Open the Triangle Gate: Team DOI DARTS -Naruki Doi, Naoki Tanizaki, Kzy (c) vs. Rich Swann, Gamma, Dragon Kid
5. Open the Brave Gate: Ricochet (c) vs. Masato Yoshino
6. Open the Twin Gate: Akira Tozawa & BxB Hulk (c) vs. YAMATO & Shingo Takagi
7. Open the Dream Gate: Masaaki Mochizuki (c) vs. CIMA
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Dragon Gate had a fantastic year, and is my pick for promotion of the year. They wrap things up at their annual biggest show, 'Final Gate'. With the exception of a few undercard guys, the entire roster is split into two factions, Blood Warriors (heels) and Junction Three (babyfaces). The feud has been epic.
My breakdown of the card:
1. The usual six man opener. Blood Warriors undercard guys against the unaffiliated threesome led by veteran Don Fujii. This is obviously a showcase for Uhaa Nation, who will almost surely be pinning Kotoka.
2. "The Jimmy's" (Susumu Yokozuka & Kagetora) were forced into the Jimmy gimmick by losing a stipulation to BxB Hulk & Akira Tozawa in the decision match for the vacant Open The Twin Gate titles. Jimmy is Japanese slang for 'dull', so the heels have given Susumu & Kagetora the old Lance Storm gimmick. Saito & Horiguchi have had a great year as a tag team. I smell an angle here. I think the Jimmy's lose, and possibly turn on each other.
3. This will be a squash. Kensuke Sasaki is coming in as a big name to return a favor, as the Dragon Gate crew has been working a lot of his Kensuke Office shows this year. Cyber Kong was recently bounced from Blood Warriors, and is a man without allies these days. He was squashed by Uhaa Nation on the go home show for the PPV, and is going to get squashed here. 2012 will be a big transition year for poor Cyber Kong. Maybe he starts his own group?
4. Team DOI DARTS defends the Open The Triangle Gate belts against a slapped together Junction Three-some. Rumors abound that the unaffiliated team of K-Ness, Kenichiro Arai, & Taku Iwasu will be added to the match, due to the non title victory they earned on the go home show earlier this week. Should be a fun spot fest, with Doi Darts retaining.
5. HUGE match for Ricochet, his biggest singles match to date. No surprise that they booked the veteran Yoshino in this spot, to ensure the match doesn't get away from the young champion. Ricochet & CIMA vacated the Twin Gate titles so Ricochet could focus on the Brave Gate and his singles career. This is his first major match and first defense since beating PAC.
6. This will be great, it has no choice. Tozawa is flat out awesome, and it's a shame more people don't see him. Together with BxB Hulk, they are the new Twin Gate champs. Shingo & YAMATO are obviously the huge stars, former aces, and each are former Open The Dream Gate champs.
7. The big one. Thanks to some blow away title defenses in October/November, Mochizuki is my Wrestler of the Year. He is so good right now that his 2011 ranks among the best single years in wrestling history. CIMA is the original ace of Dragon Gate looking to regain the Open The Dream Gate title, which is the only title currently held by a member of Junction Three. The heels are dominating the feud, and I would not be shocked to see CIMA win while his teammates all retain, giving total dominance to Blood Warriors, and putting the future of J3 in serious doubt.
Dragon Gate always delivers, and this lineup looks great. It might be time to shuffle the faction deck again, with Cyber Kong, The Jimmy's, and guys like Iwasu & Arai lacking direction and/or struggling.
Download should be available on 12/26.
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