Osaka BODYMAKER COLOSSEUM #2, 25th of May 2013
It’s time! The King Of Gate semis and the final are upon us! It’s down to Susumu, Ricochet, YAMATO and Shingo. First off though, it’s time for the recently-back-from-Russia Kotoka and his new Russian hat to team with the veterans.
By the way, I’m stealing a trick from PWponderings alumni Brad Garoon and using a code for the units (V = Team Veteran, A = -akatsuki-, J = Jimmyz, W = Windows, W1 = World-1 International, M = Mad Blankey).
1) Masaaki Mochizuki (V), Don Fujii (V) & Kotoka (W) defeated Jimmy Kanda (J), Mr Quu Quu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin (J) & Cyber Kong (13:20, Mochizuki sankakugeri > Kotoka Momo Clutch)
Not only did I get to see my two favourite wrestlers team together again, but they now have a double team finisher?! Awesome. I’m so pleased that Kotoka is still being sort-of-pushed following the Akatsuki feud (I feared it may have been over for him after his loss to Shingo). I always love watching Kanda and Fujii fight too. Great opener. KotoMochiFujii rule.
YAMATO vs Shingo next. Loved their King Of Gate match last year so my expectations are high.
2) King Of Gate A Block Semi Final: Shingo Takagi (A) defeated YAMATO (A) (14:44, Pumping Bomber)
That was excellent, second only to the Mocchy/YAMATO Match Of The Year candidate out of the televised King Of Gate matches so far. The internal tension in Akatsuki helped build the early going, with YAMATO even opening up on Shingo with a chair until Shenlong stopped him, then it was a straight fight down the stretch with them trading shots and YAMATO trying to use his intellect to win with submissions like last year. Of course, it didn’t work this time round.
They hug afterwards, which surprised me as I thought they could pull the trigger on the YAMATO turn here. Dude has pretty much been a heel for a while.
Time for the Dead Or Alive rematch!
3) King Of Gate B Block Semi Final: Ricochet (W1) defeated Jimmy Susumu (J) (10:55, Springboard Shooting Star Press)
Ricochet has levelled up so much that I fully expect him to evolve at the end of this tournament. Susumu is really on form at the moment too. Another great match. I’d love to go back and watch their DGUSA match from a couple of years ago just to see how much these guys have improved. Susumu, like Mochizuki, Kanda and others, just seems to get better with age. This episode rules.
Time for a rookie to debut! Ryotsu Shimizu and his manga inspired monobrow will be attempting to take down Uhaa Nation. This is the highest on the card a rookie has debuted since BxB Hulk. Yes, I ripped that straight from Jae’s Twitter.
Uhaa’s entrance music now has his “Too Easy” catchphrase at the start. Awesome.
4) Uhaa Nation (M) defeated Ryotsu Shimizu (4:40, Uhaa Combination)
Uhaa dominated, Shimizu hit his much hyped rugby tackle and a scoop slam, then Uhaa resumed domination. Entertaining squash, which benefitted a lot from the hype and the crowd (who I assume were also hyped because of the hype).
Kotoka makes the save as Uhaa goes in for more! Kotoka gets booted in the face. He challenges Uhaa to a handicap match against Shimizu and himself. I’d put money on Uhaa saying “Too Easy” here. He does, but not before informing them that they’re crazy.
Time for another six man. Rich Swann’s pink bandana may be my favourite thing in wrestling right now. Also, I love how Mad Blankey always attack before the bell, but never before their names are announced. Egomaniacs.
5) Akira Tozawa (M), BxB Hulk (M) & Kzy (M) defeated Naruki Doi (W1), Masato Yoshino (W1) & Rich Swann (W1) (13:56, First Flash)
This was a good time, which is no surprise since World-1 are so hot at the moment and Mad Blankey have been a blast since they settled into their not-so-serious niche (with the exception of BJJ Hulk, so it’s a shame he’s the one that always seems to score the pins). My only complaint is that Kzy never gets to do his pre-match rap on Infinity (it’s a staple of his appearances on Prime Zone).
Next up, Gamma’s return match! I’m pleased he’s no longer hurt but I’m not exactly a fan, so my excitement for this match is because of K-ness.
6) K-ness (W), Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee (J), Ryo “Jimmy” Saito (J) & Jimmy Kagetora (J) defeated Gamma (V), CIMA (V), Dragon Kid (V) & HUB (V) (16:20, Hikari No Wa)
K-ness pinning Gamma was awesome…but bias aside, this was pretty good, though not on the same level as the Veteran/Jimmyz matches that lit up the latter portion of 2012.
Gamma shakes hands with K-ness afterwards…then attacks him! This set up a singles match for the next Hyogo show.
Time for the King Of Gate final! It’s a Dragon Gate UK rematch, as was YAMATO vs Susumu on the last Osaka show that made it to tv. Pretty sure there was a Susumu/Shingo match in Osaka last year too. It’s evidently the place to go for DGUK rematches.
7) King Of Gate Final: Ricochet (W1) defeated Shingo Takagi (A) (18:42, Modified La Magistral)
Awesome, awesome, awesome. One of those matches where the story just lifts it to another level, with the gaijin underdog Ricochet battling seemingly unsurmountable odds (in the form of the native powerhouse Shingo) to be the first foreigner to lift the King Of Gate trophy. Of course, most people’s money was on Ricochet to win the tournament, while no one (at least no one I talked to) picked Takagi, but I guess that’s a testament to how good the match was that it came off that way. I think this is the biggest victory a gaijin has ever had in Dragon Gate. One of the most important matches of the year and definitely one of the best.
Closing thoughts: Great episode, the best non-Korakuen Infinity of the year for sure. A fantastic and emotional King Of Gate final, two great semis, KotoMochiFujii awesomeness and other good stuff all round. King Of Gate 2013 was much better than 2012. I guess Horiguchi (last year’s winner) is gonna have to get a new shirt now.
Match of the night: Despite being a really strong show, the King Of Gate final is a fairly easy pick.
I’ll be back next week with…reviews of three episodes?! It’s December all over again. The Sapporo double shot will make up 298 and 299, so Rich Swann’s Brave Gate challenge and the latest MochiFujii/TakaYAMA war will be shown, then episode 300 will be the next Korakuen with the M2K reunion Triangle Gate challenge. Psyched.
Thanks as always to IheartDG for the match times and other info.
If you want to talk about Kotoka’s new hat, Shimizu’s monobrow or the ever increasing length of YAMATO’s hair, you can find me on Twitter @HellionLee.
Thanks for giving me credit
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