Atlanta, GA – 4.3.2011

Commentary is provided by Lenny Leonard & Leonard F. Chikarason.

PAC and Masato Yoshino are backstage. PAC says the Blood Warriors now have their attention and that tonight they will prove to them that they are the best tag team in Dragon Gate. Yoshino finishes up their promo in Japanese. We then cut to CIMA and Naruki Doi of the Blood Warriors. They both say they will take PAC and Yoshino’s titles. This tag match was supposed to have CIMA and Ricochet challenge for the titles, but last night Ricochet got injured. Naruki Doi will take his place. Doi was supposed to take on Johnny Gargano in a singles match, but now Gargano will take on Jimmy Rave.

Johnny Gargano vs. Jimmy Rave

A stalemate is reached on the mat. Rave controls Gargano with a wristlock. Gargano trips him into a front chancery. Rave escapes and grabs Gargano’s leg. Rave shows Gargano mercy by not stomping on his arm. Gargano controls Rave by his arm on the mat. Rave snapmares him into a side headlock. Gargano escapes and double stomps Rave’s back. He strings a knee strike and neckbreaker together. Gargano gets two with a slingshot splash. Rave takes back control with a clothesline and a straight-jacket choke. Gargano snapmares to escape and rolls up Rave for two. Rave reapplies the choke. As Gargano begins to escape, Rave drops him with a swinging neckbreaker. Gargano comes back with the slingshot spear. Gargano gets in a few strikes. He elbows Rave repeatidly to avoid a corner choke. Gargano rolls Rave into a low enzuigiri. A low ace crusher gets him two. Rave misses a knee strike and goes to the floor. Gargano lands a suicide dive and a senton off the ring apron. They begin to trade blows on the apron. Rave drops him with an STO. Gargano back elbows Rave but then gets dropped with a clothesline for two. Rave superplexes Gargano for two. Gargano and Rave exchange chops mid-ring. Rave knees Gargano in the gut. He misses the Doppler Effect and Gargano rolls Rave into the Gargano Escape. Rave escapes and drops Gargano with From Dusk Till Dawn. Gargano rolls out and they knock each other down with simultaneous clotheslines. Another strike exchange ends with Gargano hitting an enzuigiri. He lawn darts Rave and follows with a superkick. He delivers the Diced Bread for two. Rave DDT’s Gargano and hits the Doppler Effect for two. Gargano German suplexes Rave. He hits a low superkick, then drops Rave with the Hurts Donut for two. Gargano transitions into the Gargano Escape. Rave taps out at 16:32. I liked that this was a mat based match, as it really was a nice change of pace from the usual matches we get in Dragon Gate. Gargano and Rave both got a chance to showcase their ability and made the most of it. ***

Jon Moxley and YAMATO are backstage with Trina Michaels. Moxley says Kamikaze takes people out. He says YAMATO took out Austin Aries last night and they will do the same with Akira Tozawa tonight. Moxley says they will forever be the dominant force in Dragon Gate USA.

Sami Callihan vs. Arik Cannon vs. AR Fox vs. Rich Swann vs. Lince Dorado vs. Silas Young

Dorado gets the advantage over Cannon to start. He sends Cannon to the floor with a huracanrana. Young attacks Dorado from behind. Swann and Young trade chops. Young throws him with a leg-capture overhead suplex. Swann crossbody’s Young, but Young rolls through into the Go 2 Sleepy Hollow. Callihan sends Young to the floor. Fox drops Callihan with a springboard Code Breaker and a delayed boot. Cannon punches Fox then superkicks him for two. Dorado comes in. He takes Cannon down with a tilt-a-whirl armdrag. He gets two with a quebrada. Young Finlay Rolls Dorado and hits the Peegee Waja Plunge. Callihan breaks the pin. Callihan drops him with a Saito suplex. Swann spikes Callihan on his head with a headscissors. Fox hits a twisting neckbreaker on Swann. He follows with a frog splash for two. Dorado enzuigiri’s Fox on the top rope. Callihan takes Dorado off the second rope with the Zig Zag. Dorado kicks him to block a dive. Fox misses a legdrop on the apron thanks to Cannon, and Swann tope con hilo’s onto Cannon. Young Sasuke Special’s onto everyone. Fox hits a springboard 450 onto everyone. Dorado hits a corckscrew moonsault onto everyone. Callihan and Cannon end up back in the ring together. They slug it out until Swann and Dorado come in. They get dumped with stereo Saito suplexes, then Callihan and Cannon resume their slugfest. Fox comes in and suffers the same fate as Dorado and Swann. Back to striking they go. As you would guess, Young comes in and also gets taken care of. Callihan and Cannon decide to bail on the match and head to the back together. Swann and Dorado then trade strikes. Dorado hits a flipping DDT for two. Dorado misses a moonsault legdrop and gets superkicked. Swann hits his standing 450 splash for the pin at 10:00. The storyline of Callihan and Cannon getting together seemed odd but the action was consistent and fun for the most part. Swann winning was absolutely the right choice. **3/4

Hollywood Stalker Ichikawa makes his way out. The Blood Warriors then come out. CIMA sets up a match between Ichikawa and Lee.

Hollywood Stalker Ichikawa vs. Brodie Lee

Ichikawa’s offense has literally no effect. Lee knocks shoulder blocks and slams him. Ichikawa hits a 619 after Lee misses an elbow. Lee throws him off to break a pin attempt. Lee slaps Ichikawa for two. Ichikawa fails German suplex Brodie, even after the Kanchou. One big boot and Truck Stop later and Lee gets the pin at 2:06. Obviously this was nothing serious, just something fun to make Lee look even more like a monster.

The Blood Warriors pull his gimmick ears off and bully Ichikawa further. Ronin makes their way out complete with Rich Swann rapping. Lee tells Swann to shut up. Lee says since he beat up Stalker so quickly, he wants to face Taylor.

Chuck Taylor vs. Brodie Lee

Taylor lays in some kicks and forearms to accept. He sends Lee to the floor with a huracanrana and follows with a tope con hilo. Ricochet grabs Taylor’s leg, allowing Lee to thrust kick him. Lee chokes Taylor on the bottom rope. Lee pitches Taylor to the floor. He follows out and slaps Taylor into the crowd. Lee accidentally chops the ring post. Taylor tries to take control but Lee hot shots him on the guardrail. Lee keeps Taylor grounded with various strikes. Lee misses a big boot and spills to the floor. Taylor moonsaults off the apron onto him. Taylor kicks Lee from the apron and delivers a springboard dropkick. He big boots Lee and drop him with a DDT for two. Lee catches Taylor with the Truck Stop for two. Lee big boots Taylor twice. He hits a half nelson suplex and a shotgun lariat for two. Taylor goes for the Awful Waffle. That fails, so he gives him Sole Food. A uranage and quebrada get him two. Lee butterfly superplexes Taylor. A big boot and powerbomb score Lee the victory at 6:48. Taylor put in a good effort, but it’s hard to get into these matches when Lee is just so dominant. I also think it kind of stinks that Taylor had to go 0-3 this whole weekend, especially since he’s one of the best homegrown guys they have. **1/2

Gargano and Swann help Taylor out of the rig. CIMA grabs the microphone and says it’s time for the United Gate Championship match.

Open The United Gate Championship
World-1 (PAC & Masato Yoshino) (Champions) vs. Blood Warriors (CIMA & Naruki Doi)

CIMA and PAC aggressively look for control. They each control one another’s arm on the mat. CIMA kicks PAC after a shoulder block. PAC sweeps CIMA’s legs for two, then dropkicks him in the chest. Doi and Yoshino tag in. Yoshino runs the ropes as only he can and headscissors Doi to the mat. Doi cuts off Yoshino with a back elbow. Yoshino breaks a hold and tags in PAC. PAC hits a back elbow in the corner. Doi dropkicks PAC’s leg out and tags in CIMA. CIMA targets PAC’s legs in the hopes of keeping him grounded. PAC shoves CIMA to his own corner and tags in Yoshino. He and PAC hit a double axe handle on CIMA’s arms. Yoshino double stomps the arm. Yoshino and PAC team up and continue their attack on CIMA’s arm. CIMA outstretches his foot so that Doi can tag in while PAC has him in a figure four headscissors. Doi kicks PAC to free his partner. PAC wins a strike exchange and tags in Yoshino. CIMA dropkicks PAC to avoid him hitting a splash off of Yoshino’s back. CIMA legally tags in and once again wears down PAC. CIMA baits Yoshino to come into the ring. CIMA Human Centipede’s them in the corner and dropkicks Yoshino in the ass. PAC continues to get bullied by CIMA and Doi until PAC nails Doi with an enzuigiri. Yoshino tags in and trades overhand chops with CIMA. V blocks a Venus and puts CIMA in the Coumori. He releases and hits a running dropkick from the floor. Doi catches Yoshino with a dropkick as Yoshino comes off the top rope. CIMA holds Yoshino. Yoshino moves causing Doi to dropkick CIMA. Yoshino knocks CIMA to the floor and suicide dives onto him. PAC crossbody’s onto Doi for two. Doi elbows PAC in the ropes. He blocks a dropkick with a springboard ace crusher. He gets two with a Northern Lights suplex. Doi shotgun dropkicks PAC into the corner. CIMA enzuigiri’s PAC to the f loor. Yoshino cuts off his dive by putting him in From Jungle. CIMA escapes and dropkicks Yoshino. A springboard double stomp gets CIMA a two count. Yoshino drops CIMA with a DDT variant for two. Yoshino dropkicks Doi and falls into a senton on CIMA. Yoshino Sling Blade’s Doi. PAC corkscrew plancha’s off Yoshino’s back for two. CIMA hits Yoshino with Venus on the top rope. Yoshino Sling Blade’s CIMA off the top. PAC hits a springboard 450 splash for two. Doi Rydeen Bomb’s PAC for two. CIMA kicks PAC as he tries to flip out of the corner. He delivers a Schwein for two. PAC blocks Doi 555 with a chest kick. Doi gets his knees up to counter a shooting star press. Doi sets up Yoshino and PAC in the corner. CIMA and Doi hit a combination Tokarev/Dai Bousou. Doi drops Yoshino with the Doi 555. He hits the Bakatare Sliding Kick for two. Yoshino small packages Doi to block the Muscular Bomb for two. He drops Doi with the Lightning Spiral for two. Yoshino delivers two Torbellino’s before putting Doi in Sol Naciente. PAC is holding onto CIMA outside. Doi passes out at 23:02. It’s hard to put these four together and not get a really entertaining match. CIMA and Doi are a dream team when it comes to being bullies, and Yoshino and PAC were great foils for them. The fans got hotter as the match progressed and the pin attempts were all exciting and believable. This was a great inaugural title defense for PAC and Yoshino. ****

Ronin come out and belittle Blood Warriors for losing their title match. Gargano calls CIMA a she-male and gets the fans to chant it. Gargano admits it was bad (thank God). He claims that the Blood Warriors may not be the most dominant stable anymore.

Lenny Leonard makes his way to the ring. He thanks the fans for coming out to the show. He then introduces The Dark City Fight Club as the newest team in Dragon Gate USA. Jon Davis says he and Kory Chavis came to DGUSA since they heard it was the place where the best tag teams competed. Davis makes an open challenge for right now. Sami Callihan and Arik Cannon answer the challenge.

Arik Cannon & Sami Callihan vs. The Dark City Fight Club (Jon Davis & Kory Chavis)

A slug fest between the two teams spills to the floor. Callihan and Davis make it back in the ring first. Chavis fires up as he takes some chops. He forearms Callihan to the mat. Callihan sends him to the floor and follows with a bodyscissors. Chavis catches him and slams Callihan back first on the ring apron. In the ring, Cannon sole butts Davis. They trade punches. Davis kicks him in the head. Cannon ducks a leg lariat but gets powerslammed. He and Chavis double team Cannon. They catch Callihan coming off the top rope. Callihan slips out of the Project Mayhem but gets caught with Total Elimination for two. They go for Project Mayhem again, but Cannon attacks Davis. Callihan sends Chavis to the floor and dives onto him. Cannon delivers a neckbreaker to Davis. He hits Total Anarchy for two. Callihan hits a sliding clothesline and Canon superkicks him for two. Chavis boots Callihan and spinebusters Cannon. Davis pounces Callihan to the floor while Chavis pins Cannon for two. Cannon superkicks Davis on the floor. In the ring Cannon blasts Davis with a haymaker. Callihan Saito suplexes him. Cannon hits the Glimmering Warlock on Chavis for the pin at 5:09. That was a fun little brawl to show the toughness of Callihan and Cannon. It’s funny watching these shows in hindsight, because even though they were proclaimed to be the new DGUSA tag team, only Jon Davis returned to DGUSA after this show. **1/4

Callihan says he is tired of being pushed around in DGUSA and was hoping to find someone who was messed up just like him. He says Cannon is that guy. Callihan says he doesn’t care what you call them, and you can call them Dirty Ugly Fucks for all they care. Cannon basically reiterates they don’t care what you call them, but says Dirty Ugly Fucks again. For the record, that is what their stable name becomes, but it’s shortened to D.U.F.

AR Fox is not happy with his performance this weekend. He says we’ve only seen a sample of what he has in store, and now feels more confident in himself.

Austin Aries vs. Jimmy Jacobs

This is being billed as Aries’ final match in DGUSA. He was matched up with Jacobs due to their extensive rivalry in the past (ROH mostly). Aries fireman carry’s Jacobs into a headscissors. Aries hits a slingshot elbow in the corner. He takes down Jacobs with a pair of armdrags and reapplies an armbar. Jacobs foolishly puts Aries in a headscissors, which both men admit is silly. Aries pops out into a dropkick. Jacobs rolls back for a headscissors. Aries catches his legs, but then allows Jacobs to deliver it since he let Aries escape from the grounded headscissors. Their mutual admiration (i.e. playful slaps in the face) escalates and builds their tempers. Aries and Jacobs head to the floor and slug it out. Aries throws Jacobs into the guardrail and onto the ring apron. A fan puts up his shoe and Aries throws Jacobs into that too. Jacobs does the same to three fans’ shoes. Aries comes off the top with an elbow smash to Jacobs’ forehead. In the ring Aries lands a slingshot senton for two. Aries hits a leaping elbow for two. Aries applies a Stump Puller and lays back into a pin for two. Jacobs shrugs off a kick and hits a clothesline. Some stomps and an elbow gets Jacobs a two count. Aries snaps Jacobs’ neck on the top rope from the apron. He hits a slingshot corkscrew splash and a quebrada for two. Jacobs counters the brainbuster with a Contra Code attempt. Aries blocks it and puts Jacobs in a tree of woe. He misses a baseball slide, and Jacobs flips out of the tree of woe into the Contra Code for two. That was awesome. Aries drops him with an STO. He fires up the fans before dropping the powerdrive elbow for two. Jacobs fights Aries off the top rope. Aries puts his knees up to block a senton splash. Aries hits the IED and goes back up top. Aries misses the 450 splash. Jacobs goes for a spear, but Aries catches him and applies the Last Chancery. Jacobs escapes. He springs back into an ace crusher off the ropes for two. He transitions into the End Time. Aries escapes. He misses a punt and gets rolled up for two. He backslides Jacobs for two. Jacobs counters the brainbuster with a small package for the pin at 14:23. This was a really fun “greatest hits” match for both guys. The playful stuff at the beginning flawlessly turned into a really competitive match that the crowd was really receptive of. I never get tired of watching these two together. ***1/2

Aries and Jacobs embrace after the match. Aries talks a small bit about his career and thanks the fans for being supportive and respective. Aries says he was touched that many people gave him encouraging words when he said that he would leave Dragon Gate USA if he didn’t find his purpose. Aries says it always bothers him when guys leave and don’t pass the torch, so he plans to do that right now. He brings out Ronin, saying they remind him of his group Generation Next from back in the day. Aries puts over Taylor, Gargano and Swann individually. When he’s done, CIMA, Naruki Doi and Ricochet of the Blood Warriors come out. Aries points out that CIMA was one of the first guys to call him when he discussed leaving DGUSA. He says the Warriors coming out now is a sign of disrespect. He says they are everything Ronin is not and that they expect people to respect them just because they spend all day in the gym. Aries says if they want to earn their respect, they should step in the ring with them now. The Warriors get on the apron and stall. They tease getting in but then jump to the floor and shrug them off. Aries says he just found his purpose in Dragon Gate USA, and turns and attacks Ronin! The Blood Warriors hit the ring and lay waste to Gargano, Taylor and Swann. Aries chokes Gargano in his ropes with his belt. Aries makes it known that know that he’s found his purpose, he’s not leaving. This was a brilliant turn. Aries has history with both Swann and Taylor so it makes sense that he would bait them into a beatdown like this. Him choking Gargano was a catalyst to make this personal with him as well. I very much look forward to the June tripleshot when Ronin and the Blood Warriors meet up. Great segment here. Ironically, this would end up being Jimmy Jacobs’ final weekend in DGUSA although we didn’t know it at the time.

A video recap plays of the animosity between Akira Tozawa and Jon Moxley, leading to YAMATO and Moxley jumping Tozawa out of Kamikaze. We then go the ring where Akira Tozawa and YAMATO enter for their scheduled non-title bout. Moxley tells Tozawa that he was never Kamikaze material and the only reason the fans cheer for him is because they feel sorry for him. Moxley offers Tozawa the chance to fight him in a one-on-one No Disqualification match before his match with YAMATO. If Tozawa beats Moxley, his match with YAMATO becomes a Freedom Gate title match. Tozawa accepts and Trina Michaels attacks him from behind.

No Disqualification Match
Akira Tozawa vs. Jon Moxley

Moxley pounds on Tozawa and the corner and lays out referee Bryce Remsburg with a punch. Tozawa sends Moxley to the floor and suicide dives onto him. Tozawa and Moxley brawl in the crowd. Moxley throws Tozawa and some chairs back in the ring. Tozawa pump kicks Moxley as Moxley sits on one of the chairs. Trina Michaels distracts Tozawa long enough for Moxley to low blow him. Michaels gets in some punches while Moxley looks on. Moxley suplexes Tozawa. He sets up two chairs seat to seat. Tozawa German suplexes Moxley onto the chairs. He hits a regular German suplex for the pin at 3:57, making his match with YAMATO a title match. This was a fun, short brawl to end the Moxley/ Tozawa issue before the main event. N/R

Trina Michaels gets in a few more shots before Reby Sky runs out to attack her. Moxley holds Sky. Sky ducks causing Michaels to hit Moxley instead of her with her purse. Sky drops Michaels with a DDT. Sky heads to the back, so do Moxley and Michaels. Well that was a good way to ensure a clean championship match. I approve!

Open The Freedom Gate Championship
YAMATO (Champion) vs. Akira Tozawa

Some mat work and trading of arm control leads to a stalemate. YAMATO shoulder blocks Tozawa to the mat. Tozawa holds onto the arm after a deep armdrag. Tozawa breaks a chinlock by getting to the ropes, but YAMATO stomps on him in the corner. Tozawa and YAMATO trade chops. Tozawa cranks on a cravate, breaking it with a knee strike for two. Tozawa slams YAMATO into a senton for two. They trade forearms on the mat. YAMATO stomps Tozawa some more and rakes his face. Tozawa and YAMATO throws overhand slaps at another. Tozawa runs right into a quesadora from YAMATO. YAMATO inflicts more damage to Tozawa’s lower back. YAMATO delivers three backbreaker’s right to Tozawa’s lower back for two. YAMATO slams Tozawa for two and transitions into a half crab. Tozawa escapes. He makes it up to his feet. He lays in some chops but they have little strength behind them. YAMATO side steps a kick. Tozawa dropkicks YAMATO’s leg and knee strikes the side of his head. Tozawa follows YAMATO to the floor with two suicide dives. The fans call for a third, so Tozawa hits a senton from the apron. Tozawa slips out of a suplex and drops YAMATO with a Saito suplex of his own for two. Tozawa can’t get a German suplex so he kicks YAMATO in the back instead. A back and forth ends with YAMATO putting Tozawa back in a single leg crab. Tozawa gets the bottom rope to break the hold. Tozawa and YAMATO once again trade forearms. Tozawa wins the exchange. Each guy throws a boot at one another. Tozawa hits a sole butt and tornado kick. YAMATO blocks a German suplex with an enzugiri. Tozawa recovers and drops YAMATO with another Saito suplex for two. Tozawa hits a pump kick and running forearm in the corner. After fighting up top, Tozawa nails a superplex for two. Tozawa pump kicks YAMATO in the head. He delivers a German suplex. YAMATO boots Tozawa and delivers a brainbuster. Tozawa gets up and takes YAMATO down with a headscissors. He follows with a shining wizard leaving both men laying on the mat. Yet another forearm exchange ends with a yakuza kick from Tozawa. Tozawa is able to hit a German suplex. He hits a deadlift version for two. YAMATO goes for a couple quick pins but only gets two. He blocks Tozawa’s Ganki and puts on a choke sleeper. YAMATO suplexes Tozawa and drops him with a brainbuster for two. YAMATO drops him with Galleria and Tozawa kicks out at one! YAMATO lays in some forearms and hits a second Galleria for the pin at 22:49. This was a killer main event and a great way to cap off DGUSA’s Mania weekend. This was one of Tozawa’s best matches he has ever had, right up there with his fantastic match against BxB Hulk during United weekend. There was no slowing down and nothing but exciting action from bell to bell. Really top notch work from both men. ****1/4

YAMATO says he respects Tozawa and shakes his hand. They embrace and Tozawa leaves YAMATO in the ring. YAMATO thanks the fans for coming out.