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DragonGate USA: Freedom Fight 2010
by SamoaRowe

October 30, 2010

-From Rahway, NJ. Our hosts are Lenny Leonard and Chikarason.

Jimmy Jacobs vs. Arik Cannon

They kick off trading some arm work. Jacobs scores with a suplex and controls the arm. Cannon reverses, putting his full weight on his opponent. Jacobs outsmarts and gains a near fall. Spinebuster into the Muta Lock by Cannon. They enter a stalemate sequence to the approval of the live audience. Wheelbarrow bulldog by Jacobs but Cannon cuts off a dive attempt. Big boot by Jacobs but Cannon blocks a dive. Jacobs surprises with a head scissors takedown and a suicide dive! Vicious curb stomp by Jacobs! Cannon counters with a neck breaker. Jacobs counters with a swinging suplex off the ropes. Jacobs charges with a head butt for 2. Exploder suplex into the turnbuckles by Cannon! Jacobs’ knee appears to be reinsured. Cannon wins a punching contest, reopening Jacobs’ open forehead wound. Cannon blocks the Contra Code but Jacobs rebounds with a leaping ace crusher. Cannonball senton by Jacobs gets 2. Cannon blocks End Time but Jacobs blocks a Brainbuster. Cannon clocks Jacobs in the head and delivers Total Anarchy for 2.999! The Brainbuster and enziguri still isn’t enough to put Jacobs away! Jacobs counters with End Time for the submission win at 11:48! This was a spotty collection of MOVES but I was really rooting for Jacobs near the end, **¾.
Winner: Jimmy Jacobs

-Interview with Ronin, consisting of Johnny Gargano, Chuck Taylor, and Rich Swann. Gargano was fed up with trying to join World-1 and decided to start a new group. They are free to do what they want.

Brodie Lee vs. Akebono

Akebono has trimmed down quite a bit since facing Big Show at Wrestlemania 21, but he’s still gargantuan. They trade corner splashes and shoulder blocks. Elbow drop by Akebono sends Lee to ringside to regroup. Lee gets whipped into a poor ringside official. Lee shakes it off and directs the action back to the ring. Akebono rebounds with a splash. The referee takes a bump, allowing Brodie to connect with some chair shots. Brodie punishes with a series of running strikes. Brodie nails a big boot and gets the upset pin at 2:50. Good enough for what it was, Akebono was there as a novelty more than anything, *.
Winner: Brodie Lee

-Sami Callihan has a history of bad luck when it comes to chances. He never had a chance to get the girl he wanted in high school and he hasn’t gotten the chance he deserves in Dragon Gate. Insert maniacal laughter here.

Jon Moxley and Akira Tozawa vs. BxB Hulk and Homicide

Homicide and Hulk are as unlikely tag partners as I’ve ever seen. Homicide kicks off against his arch-nemesis, Jon Moxley. Tozawa knocks Hulk off the apron and assists Moxley. Hulk gets a quick tag and enters with a double missile drop-kick. Hulk overwhelms Tozawa with a flurry of offense. Hulk targets the head while wearing down Tozawa. Homicide tags and pummels Tozawa into the corner. Tozawa nails some chops but eats some effective double team punishment from the unlikely duo. Hulk beheads Tozawa with a back heel kick for 2. Tozawa low blows Homicide and tags in Moxley. The momentum has shifted and Homicide becomes the isolated baby face. Homicide rakes the face of Jon Moxley, who retaliates with some biting. Hulk saves ‘Cide from an STF but is dispatched by Tozawa. The isolation of Homicide continues for several minutes. Homicide forges a comeback and makes the hot tag to BxB Hulk. Hulk cleans house in spectacular fashion. Hulk hurts his knee but manages to hit a standing SSP on Tozawa anyway. Moxley breaks the cover but Homicide takes him down with a dive to the floor. Tozawa blocks a pump handle and drives his knees into Hulk’s chest. Meanwhile, Homicide and Moxley are killing each other with the steel barricade. Tozawa and Hulk slug it out. Hulk outmaneuvers and nails the STX on Tozawa for the win at 13:29. This worked in continuing the rivalry between Homicide and Moxley, as well as showcasing Hulk and Tozawa, ***¼.
Winners: BxB Hulk and Homicide

-Homicide and Hulk’s post-match celebration doesn’t last long. Moxley grabs a microphone and mocks Homicide. Yamato charges out and blindsides BxB Hulk. Homicide accepts Moxley’s challenge and storms the ring. A wild brawl erupts and it quickly spills into the ringside area. Moxley realizes he’s in over his head and tries to run away. Homicide catches Moxley and whips him into a pile of chairs. Moxley regroups and takes control, but there’s no lighting and I can barely tell what’s happening at this point. I’ll take this time to remind readers that this event aired on actual pay-per-view, not on the internet, so the lousy production here is more unacceptable than usual. The fight spills back into the ringside area, where Moxley dissects the arm of Homicide with a chair. Moxley carries himself in a way that makes it unsurprising that WWE signed him soon after. When it’s all said and done, Homicide manages to walk out on his own, to a nice ovation from the fans.

-Austin Aries, along with Genki Horiguchi and Ricochet, addresses Ronin. The upstarts are going to pay the price for trying to make names for themselves at their expense.

Shingo vs. CIMA

They exchange holds in the early going. CIMA ducks a chop and delivers a stiff kick. They exchange arm drags but Shingo scores with a shoulder block. Shingo works a head scissors. CIMA escapes and targets the knee. Shingo rebounds and continues to target the head. Sick backbreaker by Shingo and a hard Irish whip into the steel barricade. Shingo risks a DQ with a chair shot. Shingo is now focusing on punishing CIMA’s back. Shingo applies the Camel Clutch! CIMA finds his second wind and sets Shingo up for the double stomp! Drop-kick to the face by CIMA! Shingo counters a guillotine choke but CIMA counters back into the hold. Shingo counters again with a fisherman suplex! The pace quickens with CIMA shaking off a backbreaker to snap Shingo to the mat. CIMA delivers a missile drop-kick and plants Shingo for a near fall. CIMA hits a springboard drop-kick and follows up with a superplex! Shingo blocks and carries CIMA to the top rope for a super Death Valley Driver! CIMA is resilient but Shingo delivers the Black Fall. Hard lariat by Shingo gets 2! Shingo delivers Made in Japan for a close near fall. Shingo runs into a super kick and CIMA unloads with some quick strikes. CIMA plants Shingo for 2.5. CIMA doesn’t quite get a springboard leg drop but follows up with multiple stiff strikes. CIMA hits Meteora for the win at 17:08! The silly finishing sequence is typical of DG and not really worth complaining about. Otherwise, this match delivered the goods, ***½.
Winner: CIMA

-CIMA thanks the fans for coming tonight. He announces that in 2011 they will hold a tournament to crown tag team champions for Dragon Gate USA.

Shane Smalls vs. Sami Callihan

Callihan is aggressive in the early going, destroying Smalls with a series of chops. Callihan mounts Smalls and drives elbows to the back of the head. Sami risks disqualification by raking the face. Smalls counters with a jawbreaker. Callihan counters a springboard. Standing moonsault by Smalls gets 2. Backdrop driver by Callihan! Diving forearm by Callihan and the stretch muffler finishes it at 2:33. Whoa, Gabe booked a squash match, color me impressed. Good showing from Sami here.
Winner: Sami Callihan

-Jimmy Jacobs backstage interview. He addresses the fact that most people don’t consider him to be a top contender for the Open the Freedom Gate Championship. He says his comeback isn’t complete until he wins his first major singles championship. Jacobs sees himself as the top guy in DGUSA.

Johnny Gargano, Chuck Taylor, and Rich Swann vs. Austin Aries, Genki Horiguchi, and Ricochet

This is Ronin’s first match as a stable and they NEED to win this. Ricochet kicks things off against the Kentucky Gentleman, Chuck Taylor. They go back and forth until Ricochet drop-kicks the face. Gargano and Horiguchi tag in and square off. Horiguchi initially seems to have Gargano’s number. Swann tags in and antagonizes with some bad dancing. Genki responds with some comedic dancing of his own. Genki blocks a low blow and tags Aries into the match. Swann immediately tags out to Gargano. Aries forces Gargano to tag Swann back in, as they have unfinished business. Aries and Swann exchange mat work. Aries ruthlessly cranks the arm and takes Swann down to continue the arm punishment. Aries swats away a Swann drop-kick. Swann wants a tag but Aries ruthlessly prevents one. Horiguchi tags and continues to make an example out of Swann. Taylor gets a tag and takes the advantage with some help from his Ronin teammates. Aries tags and dismantles Taylor and Swann. Aries looks for a suicide dive but runs into a spear from Taylor. Aries eats flying offense from Gargano and Swann and for the first time seems to be in trouble. Ronin effectively isolate Aries for several minutes, giving them a chance to get over how well they work as a team. Ricochet gets a hot tag and showcases his crazy flying ability while cleaning house. Gargano blocks the standing moonsault but Ricochet shakes it off and succeeds with a second attempt. Taylor catches Ricochet on his shoulders for a flap-jack. Gargano and Taylor apply submission holds, but Horiguchi and Aries join the fun for an orgy of submission holds. Yeah, that’s what I said, and I’m sticking to it. Swann breaks it up. The match breaks down and Aries wipes out half the competitors with a heat seeking missile. Ricochet dives onto Taylor for a devastatingly close near fall. Taylor rebounds and fights off Horiguchi. Aries returns but finds himself triple teamed. Swann gets tossed around by Ricochet and Horiguchi. A flurry of finishers leaves everyone down. Ricochet is the last man standing and nails a beautiful corkscrew plancha to the floor. Ricochet misses a shooting star press and eats a Gargano super kick. Gargano torpedoes Ricochet into the turnbuckles. Ronin hit a double stomp/DDT combo on Ricochet for the win at 21:15. Fantastic match here and a great way to debut Ronin as a unit, ****¼.
Winners: Johnny Gargano, Chuck Taylor, and Rich Swann

-Aries and Horiguchi help Ricochet back to his feet. They celebrate their loss to a standing ovation.

-Backstage interview with Jon Moxley and Yamato. Moxley says he’d always heard about how nasty Homicide is. But if Homicide is the baddest man, what does that make Moxley?

Yamato vs. Masato Yoshino

Yoshino is the reigning Open the Dream Gate Champion. They exchange some holds in a feeling out sequence. Yamato tries to sneak in an early pinfall. Yoshino scores with a running drop-kick. Yoshino rolls through a Greco-Roman knuckle lock to gain the advantage. Yoshino continues to target the arm in creative fashion. Yamato catches the leg and twists it to turn the momentum. The fight spills to ringside, with Yamato in firm control. Back to the ring, Yamato continues to work the leg. Yoshino shows signs of life with some open hand chops, but Yamato kicks the hurt leg to retain control. Dragon-screw leg sweep into the figure four by Yamato! Yoshino finds a second wind and no-sells the leg injury long enough to take Yamato down. Yoshino applies a head scissors and uses the ropes for leverage. Yoshino nails a running drop-kick off the floor onto the apron before taking a moment to sell his leg. Yoshino misses a missile drop-kick and Yamato scores with a running forearm. Yoshino shakes off a basement drop-kick to apply the abdominal stretch. Yamato escapes and delivers a sick enziguri. Yoshino drags Yamato off the ropes! Spear by Yamato! Yoshino resumes the arm attacks. Yamato applies a well-earned abdominal stretch but Yoshino counters. Big time missile drop-kick by Yoshino and Lighting Spiral! Yamato counters with the superplex! Cue the sleeper! Make that a sleeper suplex! Brainbuster by Yamato gets 2. Yoshino looks for a quick pin. Yamato plants Yoshino with the Galleria for a painfully close near fall. Yoshino hulks up, unloading a series of fast strikes. Torbellino by Yoshino and the Sol Naciente! Yamato counters! Yoshino reapplies Sol Naciente and gains the submission victory at 23:40! The finishing sequence was quite dramatic as Yamato became desperate and Yoshino rebounded from a severe beating to get the win. Inconsistent selling took me out of this one a bit, ***¾.
Winner: Masato Yoshino

-Yoshino thanks the fans for coming and promises that they will return.

Final Thoughts:
This was a significant enough of a show as it kick started the Moxley/Homicide feud as well as got the ball rolling with Ronin. The six man tag was fantastic and well worth seeing. Yoshino/Yamato and Shingo/CIMA were both quite good but I didn’t get the feeling that there was all that much at stake in either contest. Had Yamato scored an upset, that would have been noteworthy. Really, everything except the two minute Akebono match was good stuff, and the 2 hour pay-per-view format makes for a breezy show to sit though. Easy thumbs up here.

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