RADICAN’S DGUSA REVIEW SERIES
OPEN THE SOUTHERN GATE
BURLINGTON, N.C.
APRIL 1, 2011

The show opened with a Ronin promo. Gargano and Taylor teased that they had left Swann in Japan after a recent tour with Dragon Gate. Swann came out with a mask. He then went behind a door and came back out as Rich Swann. Gargano and Taylor acted disgusted and left. Swann said he would beat Sami Callihan.

Brodie Lee came out with the Blood Warriors. He said to prove they were the most dominant faction in the world, he would face anyone right now.

(1) Brodie Lee (w/ Blood Warriors) vs. Jon Davis. Davis hit a nice powerslam early, but Ricochet grabbed his leg from the outside giving Lee the advantage a short time later. The Blood Warriors continued to interfere in the match. Davis fired back and nailed Lee with a series of kicks. Lee ducked a kick and tossed Davis to the outside. Davis nailed Lee with a boot to the head as he came through the ropes and followed up with a big clothesline. Davis then hit the pounce, but Lee kicked out. Lee fired back with a big boot in the corner and then the truck stop, but Davis kicked out. Davis fired back with a blue thunder powerbomb, but Lee kicked out. Lee finally hit a powerbomb for the pin. (*)

After the match, the Blood Warriors beat up Davis.

Match thoughts: The crowd wasn’t into this and the action was average. Lee didn’t look particularly exciting during this match. I’m not a fan of matches with a lot of interference either, which impacted my enjoyment of this match.

A.R. Fox cut a promo backstage. He said he had won on PPV in DGUSA. Fox said he would win the Breakout Challenge tonight.

(2) Kyle Matthews vs. Sugar Dunkerton vs. Lince Dorado vs. Jimmy Rave in a Four-way Freestyle Breakout Challenge Preliminary match. The match started with some fast-pace action. Dorado took out Matthews and Rave with a springboard moonsault off the apron. Rave took control of the match after an STO on Dunkerton. He then superplexed Matthews off the top. Dorado quickly covered Matthews, but Rave broke it up. Dunkerton hit a combination of moves on Matthews and took him down with a big lariat for a nearfall. The action continued at high-speed, so I’ll do my best here. Matthews and Dorado hit simultaneous superkicks on each other. Rave then beat Dunkerton after a shining wizard. (**)

Jonny Fairplay came out after the match and drew some boos. Fairplay offered Rave a handshake, but Rave walked away.

Match thoughts: Nobody really stood out here, but the action was fine while it lasted. Rave advances to the finals of the Breakout Challenge with the win. Did Fairplay borrow that suit from Bruce Mitchell?

(3) Sami Callihan vs. Rich Swann. Callihan jumped Swann while he was talking to the camera, but Swann fired right back and kicked him to the outside. Swann missed a moonsault to the outside, but landed on his feet. Callihan knocked Swann off the apron and went for a dropkick, but Swann got out of the way and connected with a moonsault off the apron. Callihan fired back with an exploder on the ramp and Swann was down in a heap. Swann got back into the ring, but Callihan nailed him with a powerbomb for a nearfall. Callihan mounted Swann from behind and nailed him with several forearms while taunting him. Swann escaped with a chin breaker, but Callihan cut him off right away with a running kick for a 2 count. Callihan nailed Swann with a huge chop and taunted him. Callihan hit another chop on Swann in the corner and spit in his face.

Swann fired back out of the corner and nailed Callihan with a running kick. He then nailed a headscissors takedown for a nearfall. Swann went for a handspring, but Callihan nailed him with a Saito suplex. Callihan then hit a running forearm, but Swann kicked out. Swann cut off Callihan on the top rope and leapt up and took him to the mat with a hurricanrana. Swann then followed up with a standing SSP, but Callihan kicked out. Swann went for a standing 450, but Callihan got his knees up. Callihan then went for a rollup, but Swann kicked out. Callihan followed up with a side headlock driver, but Swann kicked out as the crowd applauded. Swann blocked a chop and nailed Callihan with several kicks to the head. Swann hit several kicks, but Callihan wouldn’t go down. Callihan blocked a hurricanrana and locked in the Brock lock. Swann went for the ropes, but Callihan trapped him on the mat and Swann tapped out. (***1/4)

Match thoughts: Callihan’s character really stood out here and Swann was good in his role coming from behind. Callihan has good music, but overall a lot of the talent in DGUSA could use better entrance music, especially Swann, who should be coming out to his Ronin rap.

Jon Moxley cut a promo backstage. He said he was the only member of Kamikaze USA in the building tonight. Moxley said he was going to take out all the Blood Warriors by himself. Moxley said he would start with Doi and go down the line. Moxley warned Sky not to try to make nice with him tonight. He said he’d found a nice southern bell and he dragged her into the picture. He said she would never pose for a smut magazine like Playboy. This girl looked more like the Hustler type, not that I would know. Moxley dragged the girl out of the picture to end the promo.

(4) Facade vs. Shiima Xion vs. A.R. Fox vs. Arik Cannon in a Four-way Freestyle Breakout Challenge Preliminary match. Xion took down Fox with an elevated kick to the mouth from his back. Facade came into the ring and sent Fox to the floor. Xion nailed Cannon with a dropkick through the ropes, as the action reached a chaotic pace that was difficult to keep track of, although Facade did hit a nice flip dive to the outside to take out everyone. He then walked the ropes and hit a dive to take out Fox inside the ring a short time later.

Facade continued to impress with some nice high-flying until Cannon cut him off. Cannon then nailed Fox with a dropkick to the back of the head for a 2 count. Fox fired right back with a springboard ace crusher. Façade then nailed Fox with a moonsault, but Xion broke up the pin. Xion hit a sit down powerbomb on Façade, but he kicked out. Xion went up top, but Cannon cut him off and nailed him with a big chop. Everyone hit big moves and Cannon capped off the sequence with a big clothesline on Fox for a nearfall. Xion hit a moonsault on Cannon and locked in the cross-face, but Cannon dead-lifted him right into total anarchy. Fox and Facade then went at it. Fox hit a big Michinoku driver on Facade, who rolled out of the ring. Fox then nailed everyone on the outside with a springboard 450! Fox is impressive. Fox went for a legdrop on the apron, but Façade got out of the way. Xion then took out Fox with a moonsault to the outside. Cannon hit a big suplex on Facade back inside the ring and followed with a brainbuster for the pin. (**3/4)

Match thoughts: Everything started off as a blur at first, but Fox really stood out by the end. The first half of the match went by so fast that it’s hard to remember anything that happened, but the second half was a little better and they built to some nice sequences as well. Cannon and Rave will now face off in the finals of the Breakout Challenge.

Jimmy Rave cut a promo backstage. He said he’d breakout against Arik Cannon.

Jon Moxley came out for his match against Doi, but got attacked by Lee. Lee nailed Moxley with a chair, but the ref didn’t call for the bell. Lee rolled Moxley into the ring and helped Doi beat up Moxley. Lee sized up Moxley and nailed him with a chokeslam. The ref hilariously rang the bell.

(5) Naruki Doi (w/Brodie Lee) vs. Jon Moxley. Doi covered Moxley, but he kicked out at 2. Doi beat on Moxley in the corner and began going after Moxley’s leg. Moxley fired back, but Doi backdropped him over the ropes and he fell to the floor. Moxley limped around on the outside, who continued the assault before throwing him back into the ring. Moxley fired back, but lost his balance and continued to favor his leg. Doi tied up Moxley in the ropes and nailed him with a senton off the top, which drew some applause from the crowd. Doi continued to work over Moxley’s leg before applying a figure four.

Moxley refused to tap and tried to turn the hold over. He finally turned over the figure four, but Doi countered right back into the figure four. Moxley finally grabbed the ropes to break the hold. Moxley hit a big splash and landed some punches from the mount on Doi, but Doi caught him a short time later with a dropkick to the legs. Doi then worked a sleeper and Moxley eventually slumped to the mat. The ref checked Moxley’s arm. Moxley got his arm up on the third check and tried to fire up. The fans got behind Moxley as he tried to free himself. Moxley eventually caught Doi with a big clothesline, but slumped in the corner selling his leg injury. Moxley got in some sustained offense, but his leg continued to bother him. Moxley caught Doi in an arm bar and the crowd chanted for Doi to tap. Moxley then transitioned into the cross-face, but Doi got the ropes. Moxley nailed Doi with several forearms, but Doi fired back and nailed him with a senton for a 2 count. Doi went for a sliding kick, but Moxley countered it and hit an ace crusher and a DDT for a nearfall. Doi fired back with a series of moves in the corner. He then signaled for the end. Doi went for the Doi 5’s, but Moxley countered it and hit the Doi 5’s. He then nailed Doi with several slaps. Doi then hit Moxley with the Doi 5 and nailed him with several slaps. Moxley flipped Doi off, so Doi slapped him many times before nailing him with the sliding kick for the win. (***3/4)

Match thoughts: This was a very good match that told a good story with Moxley getting jumped from behind to make him the de facto babyface in the match. Moxley’s selling was really good here as Doi worked over his leg for most of the match. I was impressed with what these two put together here.

Cannon cut a promo backstage. He said he would break Rave’s teeth tonight.

A hype package aired for WWNLive. They should really showcase their individual talents, instead of spectacular moves. A mix of both would make for a better plug to draw in fans.

Larry Legend said he was pleased to introduce Reby Sky. Sky came down to the ring. She’s a babyface in DGUSA, but a heel in EVOLVE. Sky thanked the fans for coming to the show tonight. Sky tried to warm up the crowd, but they weren’t giving her too much energy. Moxley then came out from the back and said she came to North Carolina to be close to him. He pronounced her name wrong and said he only dated classy girls like Trina Michaels. He said she wouldn’t pose for a smut magazine like Reby did. Moxley said she had thick ankles and was bad in bed. Moxley’s woman of the night then jumped Reby from behind. Reby fired back and Leonard threw in a cat fight line. Sky eventually hit a DDT. She got on the mic and said everyone knows Moxley is a coward. Sky said she’s a real woman and she would get even with him.

I can’t believe they didn’t have Swann do his Ronin rap here and played some generic unidentifiable music instead.

(6) Johnny Gargano (w/Ronin) vs. CIMA (w/Blood Warriors). Gargano took control early and began working over CIMA’s arm, but CIMA fired back a short time later and nailed him with a kick. Gargano fired back and nailed CIMA with a neckbreaker and the crowd applauded. Gargano continued to work over CIMA and mocked the Blood Warriors pose before doing a crotch chop. CIMA fired back and nailed Gargano with a big kick to the face. He continued to put the boots to Gargano before raking his eyes. CIMA then did an elaborate setup before nailing Gargano with a big kick to the chest. With the ref distracted, Lee nailed Gargano with a big slap from the outside. With continued ref idiocy, CIMA & Doi picked up Gargano and drove him crotch-first into the ringpost.

The crowd tried to rally behind Gargano, outside of one loud woman chanting that he sucks. CIMA taunted Gargano with several slaps, but Gargano caught him with a spear through the ropes and both men were down as the crowd really got into the action. Gargano nailed CIMA with a flurry of strikes and took him down with a clothesline. Gargano then locked CIMA in a submission using the ropes, but had to break it because of the ref’s count. Gargano followed up with a diving ace crusher, but he kicked out at the last second. Gargano followed up with a dive through the ropes and a senton off the apron on CIMA.

Gargano went up top, but CIMA cut him off and brought him to the mat with the iconoclasm for a 2 count. The crowd began chanting for both men as CIMA ran wild on Gargano. The crowd continued to be split in their support of both men. Gargano took down CIMA and nailed him with a superkick, but he kicked out at the last second as the crowd heat continued to increase. CIMA ducked a charge from Gargano and nailed him with the double knees to the chest. He then launched Gargano in the air and brought him down with a powerbomb variation, but Gargano kicked out and both men were down.

CIMA and Gargano traded big slaps to the face and both men wobbled on their feet. They continued to exchange big slaps to the face and began trading punches. Both men then hit superkicks at the same time and the crowd roared as both men collapsed to the mat. Both men got to their knees and exchanged big slaps to the face. They then got to their feet and continued to exchange big slaps. Wow! CIMA nailed Gargano with a headbutt. Both men exchanged several counters. Gargano hit hurts don’t it, but CIMA hit the shwine and both men were down as the crowd went ballistic.

CIMA nailed Gargano with a low blow and nailed him with the perfect driver behind the ref’s back, but Gargano kicked out. CIMA hit another shwine and went up top. He then nailed Gargano with meteora for the win. (****1/4)

The Blood Warriors left the ring and the fans chanted for Gargano after the match. The Blood Warriors clinch the stable shootout 3-0 with the win in this match.

Match thoughts: This was a really good match and showed why Gargano could be a star for DGUSA if they choose to build around him in the future. CIMA had one of his best performances in DGUSA playing the heel and his facial expressions were great throughout the match, especially down the stretch when Gargano refused to stay for what should have been sure pinfalls.

(7) Breakout Challenge finals: Jimmy Rave vs. Arik Cannon. They did some chain wrestling early, but neither main could gain the clear advantage. Cannon pushed Rave into the corner and nailed him with a huge chop. Rave looked down at his chest and appeared to be upset. Rave backed Cannon back into the corner, but he ducked through the ropes to avoid a chop. Cannon took control with a hard forearm and nailed Rave with another big chop in the corner. Rave fired back and nailed Cannon with several chops, but Cannon managed to duck a charge in the corner. Jonny Fairplay was shown watching the action from the entrance ramp.

They went back and forth on the outside. Cannon chopped the ringpost by accident, but managed to maintain the upper hand once they got back inside the ring. Rave fired back on Cannon with a huge clothesline followed by an S.T.O. Rave nailed Cannon with the shining wizard, which put away Dunkerton earlier in the night, but Cannon kicked out. Cannon hit a Saito suplex and total anarchy, but Rave kicked out. Cannon set up Rave in the corner, but Rave rolled out of the way of a moonsault. Rave nailed Cannon with a spear, but Cannon kicked out. Cannon hit total anarchy using the ropes this time. He then nailed Rave with a glimmering warlock for the pin. (**1/2)

After the match, Fairplay was shown looking upset. Fairplay got into the ring after the match and cut a promo. He told Cannon he would never be a breakout star. Cannon grabbed the mic from him, but Fairplay took it right back from him. He told Cannon he was too ugly to take the mic from him. Cannon told Fairplay they were about to have a situation. Fairplay imitated the Situation from Jersey Shore, so Cannon nailed him with total anarchy. Cannon got on the mic and said, “Hey asshole, the tribe has spoken.”

Match thoughts: They had some good exchanges early, but it seemed like something was missing to complete the story they were telling in the middle of the match, as Rave and Cannon started with some slow-building back and forth action, but quickly went to trading big moves and finishers down the stretch. I liked Cannon’s line to Fairplay after he nailed him with total anarchy.

(8) PAC & Ricochet vs. Chuck Taylor & Akira Tozawa (w/Rich Swann). This is the final stable shootout match between Ronin and Blood Warriors. Tozawa and PAC kicked things off. They did some chain wrestling and then exchanged counters on the mat. PAC and Tozawa came to a stalemate and the crowd applauded. Tozawa began gaining moment after nailing PAC with a big shoulder tackle. PAC fired back with a northern lights suplex with a bridge and Tozawa rolled to the floor after kicking out and the crowd roared. That was one heck of an exchange there. Ricochet tagged himself into the match and PAC looked upset. Taylor also tagged into the match and quickly took down Ricochet with a shoulder tackle. Ricochet fired back with a shoulder tackle of his own and the action continued at a high pace. Taylor hit an incredible springboard into a pinning combination for a nearfall and the crowd went nuts. Ricochet sent Taylor to the outside and set up for a dive, but PAC shoved him to the mat and nailed Taylor with a flip dive over the ropes.

Tozawa quickly went to work on Ricochet back inside the ring and nailed him with a senton for a 2 count. PAC tagged in, but was quickly isolated by Tozawa and Taylor. Tozawa nailed PAC with a kick that made him angry. PAC fired back with several strikes, as Ricochet tried to tell him what to do to Tozawa from the corner. Ricochet then hit a delayed springboard senton on Tozawa before posing for the fans. They went to a split camera shot as PAC and Tozawa went at it on the outside with Ricochet and Taylor going at it in the ring. Taylor fired back on Ricochet and nailed him with a head-butt. On the outside, PAC got busted open after an exchange with Tozawa.

PAC went for a springboard off Ricochet’s back after they argued, but Taylor got out of the way. Ricochet ended up cutting off Tozawa and the pacing of this match seems off at this point. PAC tagged in and chocked Tozawa with his boots in the corner. PAC hit a big running uppercut on Tozawa in the corner, but he kicked out right away. Tozawa shot a look at PAC that said, “bring it,” so PAC continued the assault before tagging in Ricochet. Ricochet tied up Tozawa in a submission, but Taylor ran to the other side of the ring on the outside and made the save. PAC pushed Ricochet to the floor to make a legal tag before hitting a standing SSP on Tozawa. The fans chanted for Tozawa, who nailed PAC with a huge strike. Both men began exchanging blows. Tozawa told PAC to bring it and took several strikes before taking PAC down with a kick. Tozawa tried to tag out, but Ricochet cut him off. Tozawa fired back on Ricochet after another failed double team attempt with PAC to tag in Taylor.

Taylor ran wild on Ricochet once he got inside the ring. Taylor cleared the ring and hit a tandem dive to the outside onto PAC and Ricochet. They got back into the ring and hit a second tandem dive, which woke up the crowd. PAC did a handspring evade before nailing Taylor with a springboard frogsplash for a 2 count. Taylor fired right back and the action broke down inside the ring with all four men going at it. PAC and Ricochet isolated Taylor. PAC and Ricochet continued to try to outdo each other while working over Taylor.

Tozawa ran into the ring and kicked Ricochet to the outside. Tozawa fired up Taylor and they hit stereo kicks on PAC. Tozawa followed with a Saito suplex for a nearfall and the crowd came alive. Ricochet accidentally hit PAC with a kick and Tozawa followed with the avalanche German, but Ricochet ran back to break up the tag. Taylor got cut off and Ricochet nailed him with a 450. PAC then hit a twisting 630 on Taylor for the win. (****)

The crowd chanted “that was awesome” after the match as PAC and Ricochet continued to argue. The crowd chanted for DGUSA to come back. Tozawa stared down PAC previewing their match on the next show. PAC stood alone in the ring and saluted the crowd to end the show. He got on the mic to address the crowd as they chanted his name loudly. PAC thanked the fans for the great reception. PAC said it would be his honor to come back to N.C.

Match thoughts: This was another really good match. It got slow at one point during the middle of the match, but they really picked things up after that. I liked storyline with PAC and Ricochet not getting along, but they managed to overpower their opponents at the end to win the match. This was a good preview of their upcoming series of matches in September.

Overall thoughts: (7.5) The show started off slow with some lackluster undercard matches. The breakout challenge didn’t come off very with, as nobody really stood out in any of the matches within the mini-tournament, although Jimmy Rave did have a very good match with Johnny Gargano later in the weekend. It’s just part of one of the overall issues that hampers DGUSA where there aren’t a clear cut group of stars that stand out above the rest of the pack.

That being said, there were a lot of really good matches on the card. Callihan continues to impress me with his charisma and his hard-hitting style in the ring. He had a solid match with Swann. If you want to see why WWE signed Moxley, just watch his promos and selling in the ring on this show.

Gargano had an excellent match with CIMA, but I was more impressed with CIMA here than Gargano. CIMA has great presence in the ring as a heel and he was better than ever in terms of what he’s done in DGUSA. This was easily hit best performance.

The main event was excellent as well and I thought the match did a good job of building towards a future PAC-Ricochet feud. That being said, I don’t think anyone stood as a must-see star. DGUSA is pushing the in-ring action above the wrestlers they have on the roster right now. If they put more steam behind wrestlers like PAC, YAMATO, and Tozawa, I think the company would see an increase in the amount of attention it gets from wrestling fans.

If you like the DGUSA style, I highly recommend purchasing this show. The in-ring action and athleticism are the best you will see on the independents. Gargano-CIMA and Ricochet & PAC vs. Taylor & Tozawa will more than give you your money’s worth.

You can purchase this show right now as a VOD on WWNLive.com for $14.99.

Contact Sean at PWTorchSean@gmail.com

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