By Pat McNeill, PWTorch columnist

Wake the pets and call the neighbors. It's time for our DGUSA internet pay-per-view preview column!

DISCLAIMER: Projections are made by myself and for myself with absolutely no assistance from Gabe Sapolsky or Sal "Rhymes With Amway" Hamaoui. Projections are not predictions, because this is the column where everything's made up, and the points don't count. No one knows the contents of these projections, but I, in my divine and mystical way, will ascertain the finishes to these matches despite not being caught up on my Dragon Gate DVD's. Some of our departing contestants will receive a supply of Wizard air fresheners. Light, fresh fragrances in aerosol, solid and wick air fresheners. Wizard, the natural way to freshen your home. Remember, this is only an exhibition. This is not a competition. Please, please, no wagering. This lineup is based on the best available information as of this writing.

Even though there aren't any wrestlers from Dragon Gate Japan in New Orleans this weekend (Have you *priced* international airline tickets these days?) our friends at DGUSA have cobbled together a reasonably good pair of supercards. Bad Influence is in tomorrow for a match that will not be on iPPV, Masato Tanaka is in the house, and Low Ki has come out of semi-retirement for the occasion. All of that makes tonight's show noteworthy

Before we get to our picks, let's do today's Wrestling History Lesson. Before Dragon Gate USA and Ring of Honor, the "number three promotion" in North America was the Philadelphia-based Extreme Championship Wrestling. The original ECW ran from 1993 through 2001. Among the many wrestlers who passed through ECW were Steve Austin, Mick Foley and the late Eddie Guerrero. A young Gabe Sapolsky worked for the company, as did ROH founder Rob Feinstein and legendary manager Jim Cornette.

But we're not here to talk about that. On June 12, 2005, WWE presented the greatest ECW tribute show of all time, "ECW One Night Stand 2005." Your main event was Tommy Dreamer & Sandman vs. The Dudley Boys. Joey Styles and Mick Foley had the call. We're not presenting this so much for the match itself, but for what might be The Greatest Ring Entrance In The History Of Our Sport.


One Night Stand 2005 The Dudley Boyz vs Sandman... by iturriwrestling

Ten years ago, there was some pretty good indy wrestling going around. In fact, one of our brave readers was in attendance on October 1, 2004 when NWA No Limits presented its "Sinners & Saints" show in Rock Island, Illinois. Why do we care about camcorder footage of an indy show? Because the main event was Christopher Daniels vs. CM Punk, in the unofficial continuation of their 2003-2004 Ring of Honor feud.



As your free gift for viewing this column, let's take you back to June 1, 2013, and the "Evolve 21" event in Jacksonville, Florida. Here's Chuck Taylor against Jon Davis in a no disqualification match. They're hardcore! Lenny Leonard has the call.



Enough of that. Now on with the projections!

Rich Swann vs. Biff Busick: Swann will be going a hundred miles a minute, per usual. The crowd will love Swann. Projection? Rich wins with the Swann Hansen Lariat.

AR Fox vs. Mr. A: The one thing you'll notice in this match? AR Fox is taller than you thought he was. Projection? The Whole Fox'n Show wins with the Lo Mein Pain.

Fire Ant & Green Ant vs. Chuck Taylor & Drew Gulak: After going 0 for 300 (or something like that) against the Bravado Brothers, this crew could probably use a victory, dont'cha think? Projection? Fire Ant eats an Awful Waffle, and the Gentlemen's Club takes the victory.

Bravado Brothers vs. Anthony Nese & Caleb Konley (DGUSA Tag Team Titles): I like the Bravado Brothers, but it doesn't look like they're the great tag team babyfaces everyone's been hoping for. Projection? After some timely interference from Su Yung, Mr. A, Trent Baretta, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Nese pins Harlem Bravado with a reverse piledriver, and the PAB gets the gold.

Chris Hero vs. Masato Tanaka (non-title): Chris Hero is a very talented and entertaining wrestler. However, there will be at least as many people in the building to see Masato Tanaka as there are to see The Knockout Kid. Projection? The former ECW champ pins Hero after hitting the Diamond Dust

Low Ki vs. Trent Baretta: Low Ki is particular about who he puts over. I could see a situation where Mister Ki loses to Johnny Gargano, the top guy in the company, on tomorrow night's show. But I don't see him losing this one. Projection? Low Ki wins with the Ki Crusher, then gives an emotional and heartfelt endorsement of Baretta after the match.

Johnny Gargano vs. Ricochet (Dragon Gate USA Title): These two met for the DGUSA title at Evolve 10. Gargano tried to work with an injured back, and that did not go well for him. Seeing both these guys at the height of their powers should be fun. Projection? Ricochet hits the Benadryller and wins to unify the DGUSA and Dragon Gate Japan titles. And there will be much rejoicing.

Aftermath: Tomorrow night, it will be DGUSA Mercury Rising on HD iPPV! Assuming no one else changes the lineup, I'm taking Ivilesse, Team Ricochet, Team Bravado, The Premier Athletes and Johnny Gargano to win their respective bouts in New Orleans, with Team Ricochet winning the finals. DGUSA sends Gargano and Low Ki back out to fight (and defeat) Bad Influence in the main event.

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Pat McNeill of Richmond, Va. has been a Torch columnist since February 2001. Stay tuned, there's more on the way.

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