DGUSA "Untouchable" DVD Roundtable Reviews
Taped September 25, 2010 in Chicago

-- ALSO SEE: Sean Radican's DVD/PPV review.

Mike Roe, PWTorch specialist (8.5)

Fantastic show, overall, with nothing on here below three stars for me. Great, great main event on this DVD. It involves Bryan Danielson/Daniel Bryan, so of course it's great. It's fun looking at how his style and character have evolved in WWE. I think in certain ways he's even better now, but he doesn't have the opportunity to face opponents as skilled at working his style anymore. I thought the fans actually took away from things a bit, as it felt a little silly with them doing all his catchphrases constantly since they knew they wouldn't see much of him after this since he was the WWE U.S. Champion at the time and merely finishing out his dates. Still, excellent.

Warriors International vs. Speed Muscle was pretty great. It's not a big surprise, but the consistency from CIMA and Speed Muscle is always a joy. I think Ricochet can be a bit more hit and miss, but he certainly delivered here.

The four-way freestyle was fine, but nothing to write home about. This did really make me miss Chuck Taylor's run in PWG. Swann's also been very impressive in Dragon Gate, so it was fun to take a step back in time to Swann in this match. They also lost the crowd for this match, which took away from the excitement.

I was super-excited to see Jimmy Jacobs fight Jon Moxley in his old berserker gimmick, but this match didn't deliver as much as I expected. Too much brawling outside the ring in the dark, which doesn't translate well to DVD.

Weird start to Shingo vs. Dragon Kid, but very good nonetheless. Shingo plays his role as a power wrestler in Dragon Gate so well. Most big men in the business could learn something just by watching the mannerisms of a guy who's not really that big, but knows how to play the part.

Brodie Lee killing Da Soul Touchaz may have been my favorite thing on this show. THAT is how you build a monster heel. WWE and TNA, take note. Actually, just WWE, as TNA's never going to learn anything anyway.

BxB Hulk and Mike Quackenbush in the ring will always make me pay attention, and Akira Tozawa ain't too bad, either. I liked the opening match, though I thought the stuff with Hulk's dancer turning on him was a little goofy.

Overall, this is a great show and a nicely-produced DVD. The bonuses include a nice little bonus match with Kyle O'Reilly and Arik Cannon, a highlight video, as well as those fascinating Jimmy Jacobs interviews with Jacobs talking about cleaning up his life.

Jimmy Eaton, Torch specialist (9.0)

The show opened with a fun little angle with BxB Hulk having one of his ladies give him a low blow during his awesome dance. Okay, maybe awesome is a bad word to use, but I've seen worse. Fun segment, though, that set the tone of the match with Kamikaze USA attacking the champ before the opening three-way match got underway with Tozawa, Hulk, and Mike Quackenbush. The opener really gave the fans something to get into and it was the best way to start the show. Quackenbush hit some nice high spots and Tozawa was his usual brilliant self. Hulk played the face in peril pretty well, too, which was one of the reasons for his nice reactions after he got the win.

Da Soul Touchaz then took on Brodie Lee in a handicap match. Not much to this other than an effective squash to put over Brodie Lee. This was followed by a gem of a match between Shingo and Dragon Kid. This was a fantastic match that at this point stole the show up until the main event. It was a great big man-little man match that made both guys coming out look extremely impressive. The sheer power of Shingo is amazing and having someone like Dragon Kid sell like he does made Shingo look even better. He moves great for a big man, too, so the match had an awesome flow and some of the power moves looked absolutely insane. Second-best match of the night, easy.

Jimmy Jacobs vs. John Moxley was a war and the "Husk" gimmick was a nice surprise for the crowd and they seemed to really get behind it. I'll have more thoughts on this below because, while the match was good, it really helped to have a solid story behind it. It pushed the intensity to the next level and made both guys look good in the process. The brawl showed a ton of emotion and the crowd got really behind it near the end. Great job by both guys another showcase of one of the many reasons that Jon Moxley (Dean Ambrose) is now with WWE.

Moving on to the four-way freestyle match with Rich Swann, Chuck Taylor, Johnny Gargano, and Drake Younger, this was a great match that really proved that DGUSA has some of the best young talent on the independent scene. Swann was his usual, high-flying self and Taylor/Gargano did their double-teaming throughout and really showcased their style. Younger was a nice change of pace with his power game so for a good 15 minutes or so. It was a fun clash of styles placed perfectly on the card for the evening.

The semi-main event of Warriors International (CIMA and Ricochet) vs. Speed Muscle (Naruki Doi and Matsato Yoshino) is probably tied for the the match of the night. This really blew me away with the athleticism of everyone involved. Oh, and there was a double rotation moonsault from Ricochet to end the match. Seriously. A DOUBLE FREAKIN' MOONSAULT. Overall, this was a blast of a tag match and it revolved around Ricochet as he became the new member of Warriors International. The post-match concluded with Johnny Gargano coming out saying he has to grow up in order to be in Warriors International so he congratulated Ricochet and CIMA. Classy move and the crowd enjoyed it, as well as the funny moment to follow with CIMA saying he could leave now. Funny stuff to conclude a great match.

The main event then featured a heck of a stiff contest with Bryan Danielson taking on YAMATO. What a match. DGUSA brings me to the edge of my seat with this style. Both guys were extremely stiff with hard-hitting strikes being the prominent offense each took. The finish was strong and made both guys look great. Danielson really put all of his effort into this and I like how they made him look strong mentioning that he was the current United States champion in WWE.

After the match, there was a run-in brawl with Jon Moxley helping YAMATO take out Danielson. Hulk came to his aid and Danielson really put over Hulk to close the show. This was especially good to see because he knew he would not be on the independent scene much anymore. It's also worth mentioning that Moxley cut a promo on Danielson with Kamikaze USA earlier in the evening to set this up. Simple and effective. That's what I want from wrestling angles and this is an example of just that.

My final thoughts are simply that this DVD included great wrestling and some of the best action you can see anywhere when it comes to unique wrestling and incredible athleticism. I did catch the excellent Jimmy Jacob's promos in the bonus section. It really made his match with Jon Moxley mean something more than just a basic brawl. His character even today has really evolved because of those videos of his real-life story. Great work. This show really looked solid and I don't have a ton of complaints. The audio was a bit too loud in spots for me but really as far as complaints about the product, I can't think of any. As good of a show as you can get and this gets a high recommendation.

Sean Radican, Torch columnist (9.0)

This was an excellent show from top to bottom. The opening match was really strong and things never really slowed down. By removing the bonus match that aired on PPV, there isn’t a weak match on the entire show.

The Shingo-Kid, Jacobs-Moxley, and Warriors International-Speed Muscle matches were all four stars or better. Kid vs. Shingo was the classic heavyweight vs. high-flyer match. It was just an awesome match to watch unfold save for Kid inexplicably dancing at the beginning of the match. Moxley-Jacobs was another great brawl between these two, although it was odd watching the feud out of order since their blowoff match aired live and this match was taped before the live PPV.

I can't say enough good things about the semi-main event. It wasn't a MOTYC, but it was awesome and these guys found a mystery gear that I haven’t seen before. Ricochet was great during this match and it was fun revisiting his coming out party. I don’t think I’ve seen Ricochet hit the double moonsault again in DGUSA since this show aired. With all the high-flying I see on the independent scene, Ricochet is one of the most impressive high-flyers out there, although A.R. Fox is giving him a serious run for his money in 2011.

The bonus material included is worth watching as well. The Cannon-O’Reilly match is very good and would have fit right into the main card. Both men put on strong performances and showed why they are rising stars on the independent scene in 2011. At least Cannon is, since ROH isn’t technically an independent promotion. Jimmy Jacobs’s series of promos about his recovery from substance abuse are really good and worth another look on the bonus menu.

The Danielson-YAMATO match that was edited off the PPV was excellent. I had huge expectations for this match and it delivered. The match started slowly, but they told a good story building around counters and submissions throughout the match. The big exchange of strikes at the end was electric. Danielson nailing YAMATO with elbow after elbow near the finish was a great “moment” in DGUSA that they should air in highlight packages.

With the addition of Danielson-YAMATO, this card features four matches that rate four stars or higher. You really can’t go wrong purchasing this release. It’s one of the better overall DGUSA events I’ve seen.

Brian Leahy, PWTorch Specialist (8.5)

DGUSA’s Untouchable 2010 DVD is easily one of the most well-rounded, balanced shows I’ve seen in quite a while. Top to bottom, the action sparkles, and DGUSA continues to develop more intricate relationship threads while also, and perhaps most importantly, developing domestic talents.

The opener was mildly disappointing considering the participants, but never-the-less was a solid start to the show. The action between BxB Hulk, Tozawa, and Quackenbush was largely acted out in a series of singles trade-offs, with Hulk taking the majority of the heat in the early going. Hulks no-selling let down the work done over his leg by the other two participants in the first half of the match, and the finish appeared to be a toned down version of a previously attempted spot gone awry.

Da Soul Touchaz were criminally mis-used in the second bout, as Brodie Lee steam-rolled through all three in a matter of minutes. On the plus side, Lee looked like an absolute beast in the process, and if DGUSA don’t plan on using Da Soul Touchaz again, the positives here firmly outweigh any negatives.

Shingo vs. Dragon Kid was an absolutely belter. The early silliness from Dragon Kid, where he opted to showcase some breakdancing over attacking his opponent, was soon forgotten as both went about their usual business of stringing together increasingly spectacular slams and holds. The bout felt more than a little familiar, but the action and exchanges were fresh and exciting and they had the crowd on their feet for what seemed like most of the match before the positively insane finishing sequence.

Jimmy Jacobs's pre-match promo felt a little too self-aware, but the return of Jacobs “HUSS!” character added an interesting twist to his clash with Jon Moxley. This was as good a match as I’ve seen either man in in a long time, as they used a handful of tricks and hardware and just a dash of claret to put together which was probably the best brawl ever seen in DGUSA. Moxley’s matches continue to involve more outside interference than I like, but if all the remaining matches in his DGUSA run turn out to be to this standard I won’t be complaining.

The four-way freestyle was a welcome “lull” in the four-star action as Swann, Younger, Taylor, and Gargano tangled in the “everyone at once” format. DGUSA is smart to omit tags in this bouts, as they tend to degenerate into tagless matches anyway, and the action was solid if unspectacular by comparison to the other matches on the card. Younger spent the least time of the four wrestlers on camera, and though he is a solid wrestler, his look and personality needs some work to stand out in the DGUSA crowd. The soon-to-be-Ronin faction dynamic was interesting to watch, and at least carried a thread of interest in a bought that will be no-doubt be forgotten amongst the gems on this show.

Yoshino & Doi vs. CIMA & Ricochet was another sterling match in the semi-main event spot. The in-ring action and commentary focused strongly on Ricochet, and in an single night, DGUSA seemed to have successfully elevated Ricochet to the upper mid card. The match itself was exactly what you’ve come to expect from DGUSA’s tag ranks: packed with high-paced action and believable nearfalls. Ricochet's double moonsault finisher was simply amazing, and (clichéd as it may sound) may be worth the price of the DVD alone.

With so much great action gone before it, Danielson vs. YAMATO had a lot to live up to. And live up to expectations it did. Danielson, despite having re-signed with WWE at this point, came with his working shoes on and wrestled a low-bump style, cleverly covered up with strikes and submissions. YAMATO, no slouch in submission wrestling himself, played a great foil, but there was little doubt on the final outcome.

With four matches at or over four stars, it’s extremely difficult not to recommend Untouchable 2010. Even more amazing is the variance of wrestling styles in those four matches: Tag Team wrestling, brawling, submission/striking, and (for want of a better term) “Dragon Gate” style singles wrestling. With a handful of other easily watchable matches, Untouchable 2010 represents great value for money, and while not packed with the extra features so common on earlier DGUSA DVDs, should be near the top of the list for anyone looking to buy his or her first DGUSA DVD.

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