Open The Twin Gate Title Match: R.E.D. (BxB Hulk & KAZMA SAKAMOTO) (c) vs. Team Dragon Gate (Jason Lee & Kota Minoura)
Kota Minoura had the spotlight fully on him in this match. Hulk and Sakamoto spent the majority of the match isolating him in the corner with hard strikes and double team moves. Minoura had the tough job of having to work to a crowd that could only clap and he did such a brilliant job at gaining sympathy, the building’s noise just grew. I dug his slick offence early in the match as well. He hit a sweet dropkick but his selling was where his performance was best at. Especially when he tagged on. He couldn’t even get to his feet while on the apron most of the time. Kazma Sakamoto had some brilliant cutoffs in the match as well. During a Minoura hope spot, Sakamoto counted a backdrop attempt with a deep headlock and later he’d throw some mean uppercuts to both Lee and Minoura while they were in a running strike, knocking them for a loop. Sakamoto and Hulk were so solid as a duo in this match. They were very rugged and snug in their double team offence, contrasting Jason Lee and Kota Minoura’s flashy, high speed offence really well. It felt like a true battle of styles. The closing stretch brought out Jason Lee’s qualities as a wrestler with him going wild with his Kung-Fu hand strikes and tope con hilos, and that’s always a good thing. This was a great match from all aspects. Sakamoto and Hulk have had a cool run with the Twin Gate titles. Their tournament win brought some good performances but this is their best one yet. And Lee and Minoura looked great in the process. A big achievement for both of them in their careers. ****
Open The Dream Gate Title Match: Naruki Doi (c) vs. Eita
After Eita beat Doi in the King Of Gate Finals, I thought the only way this match would go is Doi to get that win back while Eita looks strong in his first ever Dream Gate Title challenge. Similar to the KOG Finals match, Eita targets Doi’s arm to great benefits. They start off on the mat, trying to win the game of leverage and look for openings. Doi goes for Eita’s neck, similar to the Ben-K match so he can set up the Muscular Bomb whereas Eita decides on a smaller, focused attack on the arm, trying to lock on a cross arm-breaker quickly before Doi counts it and smothers him with a headlock. Doi was in the driving seat for the whole match but Eita kept it competitive enough with his arm work. Simple things like tying Doi’s arm in the ropes and pulling on it to some cool lucharestic submissions. Doi’s selling was good and it paid off nicely for the finishing stretch when Doi couldn’t capitalize on the Muscular Bomb because his arm was in pain. Doi had some sick offence revolving around his neck. He had a tendency to whiplash his opponents off his dropkicks and that big elevated slam he does. One thing that was pretty great about the match is Eita’s character development. Eita calling off the R.E.D interference in the crucial moments and then throwing away a chair in favour of doing it on his own was a great plot point of the match. And a big turning point in the match, transitioning into the final third. The closing stretch was a battle between Doi’s biggest bombs vs Eita’s deepest submissions. And it made for a superb compelling finish to a great match. Awesome outing for Eita in his first Dream Gate title win. Same for Doi. ****
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