Dragon Gate USA "Open the Ultimate Gate" iPPV Roundtable Reviews
March 30, 2012
Miami, Fla.

Greg Parks, PWTorch columnist (8.0)

Pardon me, but as a regular viewer of WWE and TNA PPVs, I'm just not used to seeing not only this much good wrestling, but diverse styles of wrestling as well, on any kind of PPV.

First, I really liked Lenny Leonard on commentary. However, I'm a little old-fashioned and prefer a two-man both. Rich Swann vs. A.R. Fox was a really good opener, much better than I expected. Swann is better than R-Truth in rapping/singing to the ring. Fox has good height and wasn't lacking in athleticism. Hot crowd helped the match, too.

And, hey, it's "nice surprise" Tommy Dreamer! And, he was a nice surprise here as well, teaming with Bobby Fish against Scott Reed and Caleb Konley. I could've done without the involvement of the women, but I get why they did it since Dreamer did some of those same things in ECW. It was a fine match and good use of Dreamer.

Sami Callihan would've fit in with the Brood given his look. I liked his match with BxB Hulk, but I found it curious that Hulk sold the knee, but right after that spot he did a standing back-flip, landing perfectly. I mean, come on now. Christina Von Eerie, last seen nationally in TNA as Jessie Neal's girlfriend, has that Daffney-like attractiveness to her.

I can't believe Sabu is still doing what he's doing after all these years. In his tag match with Jon Davis against Pinkie Sanchez and Arik Cannon, Davis really impressed me. I thought it a tad silly that Sabu would stab a dude in the head, and would do so while stomping the mat with each stab, as if he were punching him. The end of the match provided a good hook for the next night's show.

Masaaki Mochizuki and Akira Tozawa both floored me with their stamina. How they could go at the pace they were going that deep into their match...wow. Johnny Vandal vs. Samurai Del Sol was quick, but neither man looked out of place on the show. I thought Pac somewhat resembled Johnny Swinger. Looks-wise, not talent-wise, I mean. This was more of a ground-based match except for the occasional high-spot. It worked well for what it was though.

The main event tag match made my day when Leonard referred to Chuck Taylor as having "residual spasming," which is my new favorite phrase and a great name for an indy rock band. Non-stop action throughout this one, to the point that it was almost difficult to keep up with. With a price tag of just $14.99, it's well worth the purchase.

Brian Leahy, PWTorch review specialist (8.0

DGUSA scarcely put a foot wrong at Open the Ultimate Gate 2012. Those “risking” $2 to watch their first DGUSA iPPV were rewarded the slickest, smoothest, and best-crafted presentation they could have hoped for. On-screen graphics, clean lenses, no missed camera shots, no sound or picture issues; this could not possibly have gone any better from a presentation stand point for Gabe and Co.

In-ring, the substance of the show matched the style. From the get-go, customers were spoiled by a selection of matches many of which were worthy of the $2 price tag alone. Those unfamiliar to the DGUSA product were treated to a fantastic opener as A.R. Fox and Rich Swann met for the first time under the DGUSA banner. Overshadowing their previous EVOLVE encounters by a comfortable margin, these two again managed to innovate new moves and sequences between, above, and outside the strands, and put together a surprisingly lengthy and satisfying opening contest.

In the first of two matches I could have done without, Tommy Dreamer made his usual “surprise” appearance as Bobby Fish's partner to face The Scene in a match of little note (other than Dreamer's trademark womanizing/woman-beating). I would have also lived quite happily without the other undercard tag match: The D.U.F. vs. Sabu & Davis No DQ match, which was filled with the usual chair/table/brawling offense expected from Sabu at this stage of his career. Thankfully, this went just long enough not to completely kill the good mood, but Sabu continues to get far too much ring-time in DGUSA, with no end to his appearances in sight.

Sami Callahan vs. BxB Hulk was solid from start to finish, but the energy was somewhat sapped out by the presence of Christina Von Eerie at ringside. It was plain to anyone with a half-brain that the match wouldn’t conclude until Von Eerie had declared for either man’s stable; but the action was still enjoyable even if the crowd fell a tad flat for it.

The final match pre-intermission was an absolute scorcher as Akira Tozawa took on Masaaki Mochizuki. If the crowd had begun to slip into a slight lull at this point, they were snapped out of it by these two. Tozawa showed his typical, unique fire from the beginning, and Mochizuki’s usual barrage of strikes never fails to inspire a crowd. By far the longest match on the first half, they built to a perfect crescendo and had the crowd unglued from their seats for much of the finishing stretch.

Low Ki vs. PAC was a very mild let-down in the semi-main. That’s not to say their clash wasn’t good - it was very good - but they fought at a slower pace and seemed to be going somewhere they never really got to. Given five to ten more minutes, this could have been a legitimate “classic," but it came up just a little short. Ki’s post-match speech hinted at a potential re-match, and they could well be keeping something in reserve for a second bout.

The main event for the vacant tag titles matched Gargano & Taylor against Richochet & Yoshino in an extremely well-crafted tag bout. As expected, the relationship between Gargano and Taylor played a significant role in the match, and their tale was seamlessly integrated into a vigorous finishing sequence. The post-match events provided a strong hook for DGUSA’s second show of the weekend, and capped off a strong and satisfying show.

At $2 for the live iPPV, this was an absolute steal, and even at $15 dollars for the replay, it would still be very hard not to justify a purchase. With three bouts in the three-star-plus range, and both Tozawa vs. Mochizuki and the Main Event breaking through the four-star mark, DGUSA set the bar high for the rest of the weekend. A well-paced show, with enough variety in-ring to satisfy most fans, DGUSA also seemed to make a concerted effort to make their product as easy to follow as possible at Ultimate Gate, playing out simple but effective stories and giving matches appropriate length and focus. Recommend viewing.

Sean Radican, PWTorch columnist 8.5

This was a very good show that provided a lot of fantastic action from start to finish. If you ordered this show for $2.00, you got a heck of a deal, as the next layer of DGUSA’s more important storylines unfolded tonight.

The opening match was red hot with A.R. Fox and Rich Swann tearing it up in front of a red hot crowd. Things slowed down a bit from there, but once Mochizuki and Tozawa hit the ring, the fans got right back into the show and went crazy for a fantastic back and forth battle.

The Low Ki vs. PAC match seemed to be building to something that would go much longer. The match itself was well-worked with some great exchanges, but it seemed like the design of the match would lead to a bigger series of exchanges before the finish. The crowd seemed quiet, but invested in the action as both men went back and forth with some nice submission work mixed in with some brutal strikes. The pace picked up, but the finish seemed to come out of nowhere and the crowd didn’t go crazy for the finish at first. Don’t get me wrong, the match was really good, but the finish caught me by surprise given how it was building. I’d love to see these two go at it again, as I feel the match did have a star vs. star aura to it, which greatly enhanced the atmosphere in the building.

The main event really delivered big time. Both teams pulled off some great double team maneuvers while wrestling for the vacated Open the United Gate titles. I wasn’t sure when Taylor’s turn was coming. They teased it during the match towards the end, but it was done in a way so that you weren’t sure whether or not Taylor would fully turn. I can’t say how impressed I was with the effort by all four men and Taylor was especially good after the match completing his heel turn.

If you have followed DGUSA storylines, the Taylor heel turn was really well-executed given that Ronin originally formed because of CIMA not accepting Gargano, Taylor, and Swann into his stable. CIMA finally offered Gargano respect after this match only to be attacked by Taylor from behind. Taylor then superkicked Gargano to complete the heel turn.

I’m really intrigued by the introduction of Von Eerie as a female valet for the Mad Blankey faction. She cost Callihan his match during the early stages of the show and also hit a low blow on Mochizuki after he beat Tozawa. It’s really nice to see a female get used this way in DGUSA. I haven’t seen a lot of Von Eerie’s work, but she was really good with her facial expressions and the way she carried herself in the ring.

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