DGUSA Bushido: Code of the Warrior 2013 July 27, 2013 Elmhurst, NY Website: http://DGUSA.tv
Dragon Gate USA’s fourth anniversary weekend kicks off tonight at 8 P.M. EDT. with its “Bushido” show live from Queens, NY. Read below for full results, and remember you can order the live iPPV or on-demand replay at WWNLive.com.
Our night begins with picture but no audio. Apparently Rich Swann sang to open up the show. Hopefully these audio problems are short lived so I can provide as thorough a review as possible. Please stay tuned.
Uhaa Nation beat Jigsaw with the Uhaa Combination. The audio is working. Fine opener, with Nation using power moves to out-maneuver the air-based assault of Jigsaw. Jigsaw managed a dive and a double-stomp for a nearfall, giving Jigsaw temporary control. But Nation fired back, nearly putting Jigsaw away until Jigsaw went for a flash pin. Then, suddenly, Nation hits his Uhaa Combination for the win. Very short match. The six-way is up next.
Scott Reed beat Derek Ryze, Drew Gulak, Orange Cassidy, Shane Strickland, and Caleb Konley in a six-way. This match operates under lucha rules, where if your feet touch the floor someone comes in and takes your place. They immediately teased Reed and Konley doing something, but Larry Dallas convinced Reed to get away before Konley could take a shot at him. Konley and Gulak spent some time in there with one another, with Dallas trying his best to distract the handsome north Carolinian. Cassidy and Gulak tried double teaming Konley, and when Konley went to tag out to Scott Reed, Reed refused to make the tag. Ryze made the tag instead. It should be no surprise that things got really wild really fast in a six-way match, with everybody hitting dives on everybody else, until Gulak tried to dive and Scott Reed cut him off. But, what’s this? Scott Reed comes face to face with Caleb Konley Konley hit one move before Cassidy threw Reed out to the floor. I just remembered Cassidy and Gulak are tag team partners. Okay so their working together makes sense now. I’m not the right person to be doing this review. Konley managed to get Shane Strickland in a submission and forced a tap out, but Reed kicked Konley low and then hit his move on Strickland for the win. So the story is Reed and Dallas once again screw their former associate Caleb Konley. It’s okay, Caleb. At least you’re still pretty.
The sound cut out for a second, so I’m not sure what exactly happened, but when it came back Chuck Taylor ran out to fight Jon Davis.
Jon Davis beat Chuck Taylor in a bunkhouse match. Jon Davis kept putting Taylor down and then looking for weapons, eventually screaming “Where are the weapons?” Taylor scavenges the ringside area for weapons and comes up with, yes, a water bottle. Davis, prepare to be hydrated. Perhaps he’ll pop a cap in his … never mind. Davis ended up using the referee as a weapon, since he apparently couldn’t find any real ones. A street sign came into play, but Chuck Taylor came up with a plunger and used the unequalled force of ickiness on Davis! “Taylor uses plunger. Plunger is super effective.” Taylor’s knee is hurt, and Davis is choking him with a plunger. If I were in Taylor’s position, I would seriously start reconsidering my career choice. Taylor comes back and wallops Davis in the head with a pan. The fans channel their inner-Daft Punk and chant “ONe More Time!” Taylor obliges. This match suddenly got serious and I got sad. Taylor took a spine buster on the apron. Then, without warning the sound disappeared again for a long time. I thought we were passed this. The sound came back and they were still wrestling. Davis hit a springboard falcon arrow for a nearfall before Taylor got the shoulder up. Taylor fought back with a jumping knee strike and a moonsault for two. Taylor hit the Awful Waffle out of nowhere for a nearfall, but then Taylor latched on a body scissors and a submission for the tapout win. Hard to really judge the match as a whole, but what I did get to take in was really fun. I worked my jokes in here, but it was a fun match. And the new “Serious” Chuck Taylor character is a good departure.
Lenny Leonard asked some fans to clear a way to the women’s restroom and hyped matches for tomorrow. Then Johnny Gargano interrupted and proceeded to cut a hard-to-hear promo. He mentioned he wasn’t an opening guy, and that he had a hamstring injury. But actually he stretched out his hamstrings so he’s good to go. What?! He called out Rich Swann and out he comes, only for Gargano to run to the floor. Gargano said a bunch more stuff, all of which I could make out was “Professional wrestling.” But it looks like they’re going to wrestle now so yay!
Johnny Gargano beat Rich Swann in a non-title match. Why is the main champion of the company the fourth match on the card? Does Gargano have to rassle in another town later tonight for a Colisseum Home Video taping? Really though, can you expect anything less than a good match between these two? At one point both guys went for crossbodies and collided. Swann missed a big splash, and Gargano tried something before Swann countered. Gargano hit a double stomp and launched Swann across the ring. Swann had to use the ropes to get back up, and they began exchanging strikes. They traded a series of superkicks before Swann hit a spinning Enziguiri. Swann called for the standing 450 but Gargano grabbed the leg and went into the Gargano Escape submission hold, only for Swann to make the ropes. Yes, this match has, in fact, gotten really good. Gargano spat in a defenseless Rich Swann’s defenseless face, which made Swann very angry. Swann hit a handspring into a swinging DDT for two. Swann hit a frogsplash for another nearfall. Gargano used the referee as a shield, kicked Swann low, and then choked him out with a rope. That was a really good match until the finish. It sort of felt cheap, and I get that’s supposed to be the point, but after such a good match, you expect a good finish. Anyway, Gargano mockingly shakes Swann’s hand afterward.
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Trent Barretta beat Eita to open the second half. I wonder about the legalities involved in DGUSA referring to Trent as Trent Barretta. Then I stop caring. Eita hit a dropkick and sent Trent to the floor, but Eita took too long to dive and Trent caught him. Trent undid his kickpads and ran the buckles on his boots across Eita’s face. Eita later hit a dropkick off the second rope and this time immediately dove after Trent. The crowd really felt dead for this match. Eita tried to take the match later with a moonsault, only to get nothing but Trent’s boots, allowing Trent to hit his move for the win.
Lenny Leonard ran through the rules for the Gate to Heaven tag match on commentary. It’s really going to suck for him when he has to do it again on the mic for the crowd.
Anthony Nese beat Akira Tozawa with the 450 Splash. All Nese in the early going. Later Tozawa took control, hit a running knee strike and hit a dive to the floor. He went for another dive but Nese tried for a spear. I was just informed on Twitter that Tozawa is a heel in Dragon Gate. You’d never know from this match. He’s totally working as a babyface. Anyway, the heel-babyface hybrid that is Tozawa goes to town on Nese with some chops and a giant punch. Big leg lariat from Nese followed by a big dive. Nese hit a splash for a nearfall. Nese hit a flawless hurricanrana for another close nearfall. Tozawa fired back with a brainbuster, prompting the obligatory “OLE!” chants. Nese let loose on Tozawa with a barrage of Tozawa-esque moves, including a German that Tozawa popped right back up form. Fans broke into a frenzy of “This is awesome!” chants. Tozawa nailed a bridging German for two. One-armed lift into a buckle bomb from Nese, followed by a knee strike. Nese finished Tozawa off with a 450. Very good match. Afterward Tozawa’s manager Christina Von Eerie talked mad trash to Nese, until Von Eerie is attacked by Su Yung. Afterward Nese’s manager Mr. A splashed Von Eerie.
Main event: The Young Bucks and Ricochet beat Tomahawk TT, AR Fox, and Cima 2 falls to 1 in the first ever Gate to Heaven match. The first fall was a traditional tag match with two referees. Bucks and Ricochet controlled the majority of the first fall. Tomahawk played babyface in peril for a while until he fought off Ricochet long enough to tag in Cima, who nailed Matt Jackson with a double stomp. Fox came in with double dropkicks. Matt kicked Fox low and Ricochet took advantage and win fall number one.
Fall number two is contested under Dragon Gate rules. Super fast paced to start. Great point where all three heels hit superkicks to AR Fox for a nearfall. Fox just hit a ton of big flying moves to everyone, until the babyfaces win the second fall by submission.
Final fall is a TLC match, but I think you win with pins. AR Fox guillotine legdropped Matt Jackson off the ladder while Cima and Nick fought on the outside. Ricochet flew over a ladder while Tomahawk missed a frogsplash. Fox dove through the ladder at one point. Later Fox brought a table in play and Tomahawk got frogsplashed through it. The crowd is going nuts here. Tomahawk can’t be pinned. The heels set Tomahawk up on another table, with both Bucks ascending the ladder, until Cima interferes and crotches Nick on the ladder. Ricochet cuts off Cima and puts Cima on the table. Fox manages to tip the ladder and save Cima from a table-related death. Fox hit a Swanton through the table to the floor with nobody there. So let’s say Fox is dead now for the rest of this match. The Bucks land More Bang for Your Buck to Cima followed by a 630 splash from Ricochet for the win. An awesome match! Did I mention I love wrestling sometimes?
The closing promo sees the Bucks turn on Ricochet and lay him out to set up for the tag match tomorrow afternoon. This was a good show, and I expected nothing less. Nothing was bad on it, and the main event was both hhistoric for its match type and just an action-packed match. Still, it’s within that sphere of “Why should I buy this?” This isn’t exactly a show I would go out of my way to buy, even for the spectacular main event. This was very much a setup show for tomorrow, where these angles and stories should pay off. Lee Hellion will be back with a review of that show tomorrow afternoon. Keep reading PWP, listen to the podcasts, and have a good time. Good night.