Don Fujii, Gamma & Ultimo Dragon vs. Team Boku (Bokutimo Dragon, Punch Tominaga & Ryo Saito)
Bokutimo Dragon's theme song is hilarious. Anyone who hasn't listened to it yet must do so now. It's utterly amazing. The song is Big R singing ‘Separados’ with his deep voice which contrasts the love lyrics perfectly. But it allows the song to be played on the DG network with no copyright! The match was a real laugh. I've not watched one of these comedy openers in a while but I'm glad because all the usual jokes came off fresh as a result. I spent a good while chuckling to myself at Bokutimo copying Ultimo Dragon at the Super J Cup and Ultimo then mirrors him. Ryo Saito was gold as per usual. Don Fujii being no nonsense among all the bollocks is comedy gold by itself. Fun ass opening match. ***
Genki Horiguchi & Kenichiro Arai vs. Keisuke Okuda & Yosuke Santa Maria
This was a pretty nothing match to set up Okuda vs HYO after the match. **
R.E.D. (Diamante, HipHop Kikuta, Kaito Ishida & KAZMA SAKAMOTO) vs. MASQUERADE (Jason Lee, Kota Minoura, La Estrella & Shun Skywalker)
Even for DG standards, the pacing of the action was pretty impressive. And it only increased as the match went on. La Estrella is getting a lot of attention despite only debuting a few weeks ago, and I see why but there are clear weak points. His athleticism is insane. Super impressive but the connective tissue isn't there yet. That'll come naturally with him but it's super obvious that he only has his spots right now. Dragon Gate should continue putting him in the ring with guys like Susumu, Kagetora, Kazma Sakamoto, etc. Great base's who are almost always the glue of their matches. ***1/2
Masaaki Mochizuki & Takashi Yoshida vs. R.E.D. (BxB Hulk & Eita)
BxB Hulk has been amazing since he turned heel. I know not everyone loves this version as it's a little rough but I think it's amazing. While he no longer has the explosive speed anymore, he still kicks like nobody else and has great cutoffs and counters. He and Eita work well like bread on toast. Yoshida looked like the weak link as he should but even he had a few decent moments on offence. Good match. ***1/2
Ben-K, Kagetora & Shuji Kondo vs. Natural Vibes (Kzy, Susumu Yokosuka & U-T)
I'm glad to see Ben-K back after that scare KO at Final Gate. He was definitely happy himself, struggling not to smile while posing and showing off his abs. This was yet another quality match. Great individual matchups like Kondo v U-T, Kzy v Ben-K, etc as well as triple team battles. NV naturally had the edge there and was able to use that to eventually win but it was a real struggle. ***1/2
Dragon Kid & YAMATO vs. R.E.D. (KAI & SB KENTo)
A story driven main event in two parts. Dragon Kid and YAMATO won the first match by DQ after SBK ripped DK’s mask off. Then they won the second match in quick, malicious fashion. Good one, two punch. This sets up matches between YAMATO/KAI and DK/SBK next month at Korakuen Hall. And we got a birth of a new unit between DK, Yamato, Ben-K and Keisuke Okuda. **1/2
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