Dragon Gate Battle Station 2/24/06

1. Magnum TOKYO, Keni'chiro Arai, Jack Evans vs. Anthony W. Mori, BxB Hulk, Genki Horiguchi - 3
2. Shingo Takagi vs. Katsuo - 3
3. Open the Brave Gate League: Super Shisa vs. Tozawa - 4
4. Open the Brave Gate League: Naoki Tanisaki vs. Dragon Kid - 4
5. Open the Brave Gate League: Masato Yoshino vs. Naruki Doi - 6

We start with a comedy match more than anything pitting the gaijin Jack Evans teaming with two older Japanese wrestling stars against a younger, faster team. Evans ate some nice offesne from Hulk, getting twisted all about. Hulk shined throughout the match as he was a relative newcomer to the promotion. His agility and selling were on good display here. TOKYO kept resorting to a comedy shtick that got tiring quickly. Horiguchi was subject to an interesting hold that saw his face being dragged against the mat that looked more humorous than painful -- then again so did the entire match. Mori hardly had any time in the match at all, which was odd because everyone on the rest of the team got pretty much an equal amount of time in the ring. This match really saw two of the younger guys in the match, Evans and Hulk, shine through, both due to their selling abilities.

Shingo looked even better five years ago than he does today. He was put up against a guy who looked like he belonged modeling underwear and not in a wrestling ring. Shingo seemed to be taking liberties with the boy, dishing out shots both with his fists and chairs. Must be a dojo boy. The kid showed heart, dishing out his own beating to Shingo, but Shingo would prove to be too powerful for this youngster.

Everyone should have a little Tozawa in their life. He brings this reckless element to every match he's in. This was no different. Shisa showed some mat dominance over Tozawa through wrist control and overall power ability. Tozawa sold his arm nicely by shrieking like a banshee. Tozawa wasn't without his mat skills either -- he was able to transition nicely into a lot of holds and pins. The pin sequences were also very smooth and fluid. Nothing looked forced. This match was odd in that it had a very British catch style to it that I dug.

Tanisaki brought a garbage can with him to the ring and placed Kid inside of it and began pounding it with his foot in plain sight; this is ok, I guess? Match never really took off in the sense that you'd expect when Dragon Kid is involved. Tanisaki looked all right, but clearly this match wasn't made to make him shine. Kid took a sick bump on the outside onto a bunch of chairs that looked really sick. Think Jig-and-Tonic onto pile of chairs. Yeah. The last spot bumped them match rating up by one point.

This match has happened countless amount of times. I'm a bit burned out on both of these guys, particularly Yoshino as he doesn't emote very well in the ring, but I'm going to look at this match with an open mind. The match felt a bit rushed, but all in all it was good. Doi and Yoshino are ridiculously fast in the ring, which can be a good and bad thing. Good in the sense that it's fun to watch, bad in the sense that it gets repetitive. Yoshino surprised me in that fact that he slowed the match down in an attempt to get the best of Doi via wrist control. Yosh worked over Doi's arm well and Doi sold his arm great by yelling and grasping his elbow. Yoshino busted out the Triple H motor boat lips after receiving a cannon ball splash in the corner from Doi that made me laugh. Overall, a well-worked match that surprised me in how nicely paced it was.

In the end, the event was less than good and was definitely one of the weaker DG PPVs I have seen.

Match Average: 4

Recommendation Level: See the main event, skip the rest. Otherwise Not Recommended.