Dragon Gate USA, often shortened to DGUSA, is an American spinoff of Dragon Gate, a Japanese wrestling promotion known for its mixture of the Mexican high-flying style and Japanese power moves. Currently, DGUSA is run by a group of factions such as the Blood Warriors featuring CIMA (pronounced Shi-ma) and World-1 featuring BxB Hulk and Masato Yoshino. On their newest DVD, “Open the Northern Gate,” the Dragon Gate USA wrestlers grapple north of the border in Windsor, Canada. I hate writing play-by-play commentary since it ruins the experience for you, so I will give brief notes about the matches instead.
Tag Team Grudge Match: Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw vs. Gran Akuma & Akira Tozawa
Mike Quackenbush and Jigsaw are from Chikara, a wrestling promotion based out of Philadelphia that is known for creative moves and over-the-top characters. The problem that I have with Chikara is the same problem that I have with this match. Every move looks choreographed that it takes me out of the match. Since Tozawa has a good Japanese wrestling background, his moves looked less choreographed, but that is not enough to make the match a classic. My complaints aside, it was a decent match.
FIP World Heavyweight Title Match: Jon Moxley vs. Phil Atlas
Jon Moxley's character is a misogynistic crazy maniac who I think may border the lines of what is acceptable in the world of wrestling. First, he throws his female valet through the entrance curtain, then he throws her to the floor. If Moxley toned it down a little, I could see him going far. His ring work is certainly what the WWE loves in their wrestlers. He does some submission moves, but he needed to emphasize them more against Atlas. The match was not too bad even though it had a stereotypically controversial ending. It did have a good buildup which gave the characters more importance.
Special Challenge Match: CIMA vs. Jimmy Jacobs
For the first time in their career, CIMA battles Jimmy Jacobs. Both wrestlers are well-known in pro wrestling fan circles. CIMA is a well-built wrestling machine capable of delivering stiff head-drop-esque manuevers. Jacobs is a crafty high-flyer who's finisher is named “The Contra Code” after the famous video game cheat code in Konami's “Contra” for the NES. Both wrestlers perform a very well-executed match. I do think that Jacobs had to rely on CIMA to make the match look a little more realistic as he has some of the choreographical problems that the Chikara guys have.
Special Attraction Match: Naruki Doi vs. Masaaki Mochizuki
Johnny Gargano appears in the ring just before the match begins in a very funny segment where he tries to present gifts such as “D2: The Mighty Ducks” and “Dunston Checks In” to Doi and Mochizuki in exchange for him being allowed into one of the factions they belong to. While Doi and Mochizuki are not as well-known as CIMA and Jimmy Jacobs, their matches are just as good on many occasions. Mochizuki hits a wicked spinning brainbuster, which is a suplex that lands on the head instead of the back. I would like to see more of these two in the future.
MPW Showcase Match: Bolen & Tyson Dux vs. Xtremo & Brad Martin
This is the weakest match on the card, but that does not mean it is terrible. Xtremo (What a terrible name) consecutively dives on both Dux and Bolen which really brought the crowd to its feet. Brad Martin has a good arsenal of moves, but his look leaves much to be desired. Be on the lookout for him in the future though if this improves. The ending was a little botched as Dux was supposed to get his feet on the ropes to perform a leverage pin, but his feet slipped off early in the count.
2 out of 3 Falls Match: Dragon Kid vs. Masato Yoshino
Dragon Kid and Yoshino put on a Dragon Gate clinic in this match. Everything here from the super hurricanrana to the unique submission moves are what Dragon Gate wrestling is all about. What also helped this match is that hype segments were inserted in between every match detailing their feud. This gave the match more importance. Second best match on the card.
Tag Team Action: BxB Hulk & PAC vs. YAMATO & Shingo
In Japan, tag team matches are huge. Many Japanese promotions hold main events featuring tag team matches starring the promotion's four biggest stars. “Open the Northern Gate” follows the same pattern with excellent results. BxB (Pronounced B.B.) Hulk, DGUSA's resident pretty boy, is the Open the Freedom Gate champion, DGUSA's equivalent to their world championship. Alongside PAC, who is known for his amazing acrobatics, battles the crazy YAMATO and the ex-bodybuilder Shingo, a personal favorite. The match builds up to a ton of strong power moves and quick counts, which leads to a hard fought and deserved victory for YAMATO and Shingo. Easily, the best match of the card.
A second bonus DVD features extra matches between DGUSA members at other events and includes a Full Impact Pro match between Bryan Danielson, known in the WWE as Daniel Bryan (How original!), and Matt Sydal, known in the WWE as Evan Bourne (Good name! No, I am not being sarcastic). It certainly adds value to an already impressive DVD. The packaging that this two-disc DVD comes in is one of the best packages that I have ever seen. The pictures printed on the cardboard packaging are of the highest quality and helps DGUSA stand out from most other independent organizations. If I was at a store and saw a DGUSA DVD and a DVD from another independent wrestling promotion, DGUSA would be superior. And just like the packaging, DGUSA is superior.
Score: 9/10
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