*** Dragon Gate USA DVD Reviews by Brad Dykens ***
May 8, 2010 – Mississauga, Ontario
[ UPRISING ]
INTRODUCTION: The crowd was packed and very loud for this event. Someone was selling big red inflatable noise-makers and they provided a thunderous atmosphere for Dragon Gate USA’s second straight night of action-packed wrestling in the country of Canada! “Uprising” was also taped for PPV.
SINGLES MATCH
Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Akira Tozawa: These two Dragon Gate sensations lit the building on fire and earned a very enthusiastic “This Is Awesome!” chant from the rowdy audience. In the end, it was Mochizuki scoring the victory over Tozawa – and both men showed great respect for each other after the match.
SINGLES MATCH
Gran Akuma vs. Tyson Dux: Tyson Dux might be a “local favorite,” but I’ve never been impressed by him. I think the match went way too long, but thankfully the great Gran Akuma was victorious!
NO-DQ GRUDGE MATCH
Jimmy Jacobs vs. Jon Moxley: Twenty four hours after walking to the ring with a random blond “flavor of the week,” Jon Moxley was back with some random brunette “flavor.” I guess he has upgraded to the “flavor of the night” club. The weird thing is he treats his women like trash, pushing them around, and literally dragging them by the hair. The previous girl got pile-driven into oblivion by Tommy Dreamer! That would never work in WWE or TNA, so it’s pretty controversial. This feud has been brewing for a little while, and if you’ve ever seen a Jimmy Jacobs feud as it’s about to boil over then you know you can expect to see something amazing and unpredictable. The match got really heated and eventually Moxley’s stripper friend jumped into the ring to defend his honor. Moxley flung her into the path of a Jacobs spear, which she took like a true champ! Jacobs hit the Contra-code on Moxley and was on his way to victory when Shingo & YAMATO attacked him, and helped Moxley pick up a cheap victory over his nemesis. The heels continued to assault Jacobs after the match until BxB Hulk ran out and chased them away! God bless the stripper, who never stopped selling her injuries. BxB pulled out a WORLD-1 shirt and offered it to Jimmy Jacobs, who refused the invitation and walked out!
TAG TEAM MATCH
Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw vs. Naruki Doi & PAC: As DGUSA continues to build their tag team division, the incredible athletes on the roster continue to offer their version of shock and awe with some outstanding acts of gravity-defying acrobatics. PAC has really developed over the years, and is about as close to a “natural” as it gets for a pro-wrestler. The crowd was slowly becoming unglued, as these four phenoms performed a series of exciting out-of-this-world moves. It seems like they are pushing Quack/Jigsaw, so it came as a surprise to me when PAC/Doi finished on top. The fans were the true winners here, as they got to watch a truly dynamite match!
SINGLES MATCH
Rip Impact vs. Johnny Wave: Here we go with the bathroom/popcorn match featuring a couple local guys going through the motions. But if you thought that you’d be wrong, because before the match could get started, “Big Rig” Brodie Lee hit the ring and destroyed both men! Lee said he was the biggest and the baddest in the locker room and proclaimed that he would take on any one at any time! No one accepted the challenge.
TAG TEAM MATCH
CIMA & Dragon Kid vs. YAMATO & Shingo: YAMATO came to the ring with a noticeable limp, but still holding the Open the Dream Gate belt. This tag team match was off-the-charts, delivering so much crazy Dragon Gate drama! More chants of “This Is Awesome!” Gabe Sapolsky even joined in on commentary, and when that happens you know it’s GREAT. Shingo was able to loosen Dragon Kid’s head off his shoulders with a series of devastating moves, before finishing him off for a satisfying victory for the heels! They had no sympathy for the status of Dragon Kid’s neck after the match, and took a few cheap shots before leaving the ring. CIMA carried Dragon Kid out ‘piggy back’ style as the fans chanted “That Was Awesome!”
OPEN THE FREEDOM GATE TITLE MATCH
BxB Hulk vs. Masato Yoshino: BxB Hulk did his big dance routine before the match, but there were no girls so it was done half-assed. The crowd still had lots of energy left-over for the main event. It didn’t take long before they were pounding their noise-makers and chanting “this is awesome!” A few more minutes went by and BxB won the match and the celebration began. However, the celebration was cut short by the appearance of Jon Moxley, who warned Hulk that he was the target and he’ll never know when it’s coming. Suddenly, Kamikaze USA (Moxley’s group, Shingo & YAMATO) hit the ring from behind and attacked Yoshino & Hulk!! Jimmy Jacobs ran out and ignored the fight, but did a dive through the ropes onto Moxley! Jacobs & Maxley battled to the back while Kamikaze USA continued their assault in the ring. CIMA came out with a big push broom and “cleaned house” but Akuma & Tozawa attacked him from behind until Dragon Kid showed up to help CIMA. Shingo tried to finish the job he started on Dragon Kid earlier, but the Kid hit a stunner. CIMA kicked Shingo out and stood in the ring with Dragon Kid. Most of the shows end with CIMA as the last man standing. CIMA picked up the Open the Freedom Gate belt and seemed to like how it looked around his waist. The crowd was chanting “please come back!” so CIMA promised to come back, then milked the rabid crowd into chanting some more.
CONCLUSION: This DVD, unlike the previous one (Open the Northern Gate) was jam-packed with memorable moments. I guess they saved all their good stuff for the PPV event, which is understandable. If you’re a fan of DGUSA, you need to get this, if you’re not a fan, you still need to get this, because you will be instantly converted!
[BONUS DISC]: The bonus disc includes an “Uprising” highlight package and the following action packed matches…
[BONUS DISC] FRAY from the “PRE-SHOW”
Brodie Lee vs. Kyle O’Reilly vs. Cheech vs. Cloudy vs. Xtremo vs. Brent B. vs. Anthony Fiasco vs. Phil Atlas:
[BONUS DISC] FULL IMPACT PRO 10/13/06 FLORIDA
Shingo vs. Matt Sydal:
[BONUS DISC] WRESTLEJAM 7/12/06 JAPAN
Austin Aries vs. Susumu Yokozuka:
[BONUS DISC] SUMMER ADVENTURE TAG LEAGUS III 8/26/09 JAPAN
Shingo & YAMATO vs. Masaaki Mochizuki & Katsuhiko Nakajima:
If you would like to purchase this or any other DRAGON GATE USA DVD
please check out the Dragon Gate USA website at DGUSA.tv