411’s DGUSA Untouchable 2012 Review 8.3.2012

Taylor, MI
July 28, 2012

Commentator: Lenny Leonard

Chuck Taylor, Jake Manning, and Jake Manning’s Mustache come out to start the show. Taylor informs us that The Swamp Monster is missing. I have some serious man tears about this news. Jake Manning then gives everyone a lesson on how to build a campfire. Taylor lets everyone know that they will be doing this for three hours, which immediately causes “Dragon Gate” chants to break out. Good job fans. Rich Swann ran out and chased Chuck Taylor away, which leads to…

Jon Davis vs. Jake Manning
Davis will retire if loses another match in DGUSA or Evolve. You may have known about that if you read a random interview with DGUSA/Evolve’s booker or if you follow me on Twitter. Yes, I think it’s a stupid that Jon Davis’s retirement stipulation is not promoted better. Okay, on with the match.

Manning tried to jump Davis before the bell, but it didn’t work out too well. Davis hit a delayed vertical suplex, where he held Manning in the air for thirty seconds. Manning came back with a back breaker/Mic Check combo. Manning worked Davis over for a little bit. The crowd was hot for Davis beating down Manning, but they did not care about this heat segment. Davis no sold some chops from Manning. Davis took him down with a back elbow and then hit DAT SPINEBUSTER. Davis then nearly took Manning’s head off with a running knee: 1…2…NO! Davis went for Three Seconds Around the World, but Manning avoided it. Davis booted him in the face, and he then successfully hit Three Seconds Around the World: 1…2…3. I guess Jon Davis gets to keep wrestling because he won this match. You know, because his career is on the line in every match. Seems like a big deal.

The crowd seemed into Jon Davis beating Manning down, but they didn’t buy for a second that Manning had a chance, so his heat segment was a waste of time and took the match down from the outright fun squash it should have been. Jake Manning’s mustache was five stars though.
Match Rating: *1/2

As soon as Davis and Manning left the ring, Taylor and Swann popped back up at ringside, as they had been apparently been brawling the whole time

Rich Swann vs. Chuck Taylor
Swann hit a somersault plancha almost immediately. Taylor came back and hit Swann with a ladder. Swann came right back with a chair shot to the head. They continued to brawl around ringside. At one point, Swann backdropped Taylor onto a ladder on the floor. Taylor sent him headfirst into a ring post and then DDTed him on the floor. That was a good sequence. Back in the ring, Swann hit a superkick, but Taylor cut him right off with an urinagi. Taylor then hit a spinning sit-out powerbomb: 1…2…NO! Taylor seemed to be going for another powerbomb, but Swann reversed it into a DDT. Swann then hit the Lethal Injection and a Trouble in Paradise: 1…2…NO! Swann went for a super hurricanrana,, but Taylor managed to reverse it into a single leg crab. Swann made the ropes. Taylor refused to release the hold, so the referee disqualified Taylor.

Taylor continued to not break the hold, but Johnny Gargano ran down and chased him off. Christina Von Eerie came out and informed Gargano that Akira Tozawa will win the Freedom Gate Title. Von Eerie spat in his face, but Gargano refused to hit her (unlike El Generico at Evolve 14).

This was a super fun brawl, but my god that ending blew my mind. They used so much plunder during the match that I assumed I had missed the announcement that this was a “No DQ” match. It’s really annoying that I greatly enjoyed the first 99% of the match, only for the finish to leave a horribly sour taste in my mouth. I don’t mind a DQ finish, as it was obviously meant to say something about Chuck Taylor’s character AND continue his feuds with Rich Swann and Johnny Gargano. All reasonable reasons for such a finish. However, there really should be more quality control when it comes to what rules are to be followed and what rules aren’t apparently important. The small stuff does matter. Great effort from Taylor and Swann.
Match Rating: **3/4

The Super Smash Bros. (Player Uno & Player Dos) vs. The Scene (Caleb Konley & Scott Reed with Larry Dallas)
This is the SSB’s debut in DGUSA, as they are on a quest for a million wins in DGUSA and Evolve. Larry Dallas just returned from Japan after a three month tour in Dragon Gate. He’s wearing a sweater vest with nothing underneath. Apparently he’s trying to make me like him as a performer. Damn.

The SSB almost knocked over the entrance setup on their way to the ring. Awesome. The Scene don’t have any valets with them. The SSB were in control to start the match. Dos wiped out Konley with a somersault plancha. Dos is an incredible high flyer. Back in the ring, Reed attacked Dos from the apron, which allowed Konley to cut him off. The Scene started to work Dos over. Dos managed to take them both down with a hurricanrana simultaneously. Shades of Kenny Omega on HDNet. Uno tagged in and ran wild on The Scene. Larry Dallas interfered from the outside, which allowed Konley to take Uno down with a rolling elbow. The Scene started to work over Uno, but he managed to escape and tag in Dos who ran wild. Dos looked awesome as usual. The SSB hit Reed with a legdrop/sidewalk slam combo: 1…2…NO! Reed came back with a spinning Razor’s Edge type move on Dos: 1…2…NO! The crowd was hot for Dos’s comeback earlier, but they have seemingly lost a little interest with the Scene back in control. Dos finally hit them with a double Pele kick. Uno tagged in and called for Fatality. Right in front of the referee, Larry Dallas blocked Dos from doing it. Ok. The Scene sloppily performed That’s Obscene on Uno. Uno grabbed the ropes with both hands, but the referee still counted the nearfall. It also looked like the referee actually counted to three, because Dos was possibly a little late on breaking it up. I couldn’t tell exactly what happened. Reed ended up in the corner, and SSB hit Konley with the Come Over Here Assisted Suplex into Reed. It didn’t go smoothly though, so it looked like Konley landed on his head. The SSB then hit Konley with Fatality: 1…2…3

That started out fine, but the last five minutes or so really didn’t go that well and the fans definitely lost interest. The miscommunications will probably get the most attention, but The Scene seemingly doing a third heat segment is where the fans really lost interest. I love the SSB, but this was a disappointing debut. I’m glad they won though. It also really needs to be mentioned that Larry Dallas’s sweater vest was awesome. I’ll probably lose some cool internet points for putting that over, but I call them like I see them.
Match Rating: **1/2

Ricochet vs. YAMATO
Ricochet cut a pre-match promo where he brought up that he has never lost an United Gate Championship match, but if wins tomorrow, he will become a three-time champion. He said it makes him angry. Me too. Well, I’m not angry. It’s mostly just silly and very unfortunate. YAMATO’s hair is starting to grow back, but it’s in a really awkward stage where it’s not long or short. More importantly, this is YAMATO’s first DGUSA match since he lost the Freedom Gate title to Johnny Gargano.

The crowd responded to both men like they were stars. They started out trading holds at a slower than expected pace. YAMATO got sent to the floor, but YAMATO crawled under the ring to avoid a dive. YAMATO popped up on the other side and attacked Ricochet from behind. YAMATO started to work over Ricochet’s leg in an attempt to ground the high flyer. Ricochet eventually came back with an enzuigiri and a springboard lariat. Ricochet then hit a Trouble in Paradise and a standing shooting star press for a nearfall. Ricochet went for a backslide driver, but YAMATO blocked it and then dragon screw legwhipped Ricochet’s injured leg. Ricochet avoided a brainbuster, but YAMATO got the ankle lock. Ricochet made the ropes. Ricochet hit a running Ace Crusher and a standing corkscrew press: 1…2…NO! Ricochet followed that up with a Phoenix Splash: 1…2…NO! They traded some rollups for nearfalls. YAMATO then hit a short range spear: 1…2…3!

Jon Davis came out after the match. He congratulated him on his win. Davis says tomorrow will be the hardest he will ever have to fight. YAMATO promptly kicked him in the balls and locked in a sleeper. Two referees ran in and pulled him off. The crowd like YAMATO even more after that, which was probably not the intended affect. Jon Davis did not leave this segment looking like a star, and it’s damn good that the booking at the next show went the way it did.

I enjoyed this match quite a bit. They didn’t try to have a main event-level match, but instead just had a really fun mid-card match (and there is nothing wrong with that). I guess you could make the argument that they should have been booked to have a great 15-20 minute match, but I was really OK with what I got. I don’t have much else to add. Good stuff.
Match Rating: ***1/4

The Dirty Ugly Fucks (Arik Cannon & Pinkie Sanchez) vs. Derek Ryze & N8 Mattson
Ryze has been in Evolve and Beyond Wrestling before. N8 Mattson has been a Detroit area indy guy for a while. Ryze earned this booking by impressing at the DGUSA seminar before the show.

Mattson and Pinkie started the match. Mattson got the better of their exchange. Ryze tagged and Pinkie continued to not have much success. Pinkie was finally able to tag out to Cannon. Cannon spat beer in Ryze’s face and smashed the can on Ryze’s face. Lenny Leonard points out that the referee was too lenient with that. The D.U.F. started to work over Mattson. Mattson hit a diving single leg codebreaker on Pinkie. Ryze tagged in, but Cannon dominated him. Cannon killed him with a lariat, and Mattson had to break up the pinfall. Cannon held Ryze in the wheelbarrow position, and Pinkie hit a Ghetto stomp on Ryze. Cannon then hit Ryze with a kneeling superkick and Total Anarchy: 1…2…3.

This did not do much for me or anyone in the crowd. I don’t know what the goals of this match were, but at the very least, I was not entertained (which should at least be the minimal goal of every match). This was a disappointment in a long run of disappointing DGUSA matches with the Dirty Ugly Fucks.
Match Rating: ½*

Cannon got on the microphone and said it was bullshit that Sami Callihan got suspended for blatantly breaking one of the major rules of Evolve. The crowd agreed with him. Cannon said that Masada was now going to join them. Masada came out and said no. Cannon then made Pinkie stand up to Masada. Pinkie then berated Masada and said he would beat his ass. So, we get…

Masada vs. Pinkie Sanchez
Masada beat Pinkie down. Pinkie baited Masada to the floor and then hit a tope suicida. Pinkie went for another, but Masada just threw a chair at Pinkie as he came through the ropes. Masada then tossed Pinkie into the ringside chairs. Back in the ring, Pinkie hit two dragon screw legwhips and then went after the now injured leg of Masada. Masada came back and seemingly was dominating again, but Pinkie came back with a sliding butt butt. Masada cut him off and hit a snap powerslam. Pinkie went for a springboard move, but Masada caught him with a powerbomb. Masada gave Pinkie another powerbomb and locked in a Border City Stretch like move. Pinkie almost immediately tapped out to give Masada the win. I honestly didn’t recognize the submission. Feel free to inform me in the comments.

I don’t understand the thinking of introducing Masada by having him in a semi-competitive match against a guy that never wins in DGUSA and doesn’t even get booked in Evolve unless it’s super convenient. Booking Masada is such an inspired choice to have someone hot, fresh, and different that the typical DGUSA mold, but this debut seemed to be designed to make him look as unspecial as possible. This was disappointing. I should add that Pinkie Sanchez is super talented, and I wish he had been used better in his DGUSA run, but this match did neither man any favors.
Match Rating: *

CIMA and AR Fox vs. El Generico & Samuray Del Sol
This is the first time that either of these teams have tagged together. Fox and CIMA already have a tag title shot scheduled for the next night. Yes, it’s very silly. I am looking forward to this match so much. It should be amazing.

The crowd gives them an “Everybody!” chant. This crowd is on top of things. CIMA and Generico started the match. Neither man could get a prolonged or decisive advantage. Del Sol and Fox tagged in. They did an awesome sequence. Generico tagged back in to face off against Fox. These two need to have a singles match pronto. Del Sol and Generico were able to work over Fox for a bit. Del Sol went for a springboard move, but CIMA pulled him to the floor. Fox tossed Generico to the floor. CIMA then held them so that Fox could hit Lo Mein Rain. Holy shit, somehow Fox didn’t die on that one. He looked to have landed very hard on his back and head. Generico went to the back and came back out with his shoulder taped up. Fox seemed to be OK. CIMA and Fox then started to work over Del Sol. This beatdown went on for a while, but eventually Del Sol hit a standing sliced bread #2 on Fox. CIMA and Generico tagged in. Generico hit CIMA with a tornado DDT. Del Sol hit Fox with a Fosbury Flop. Generico got a nearfall on CIMA with a Blue Thumber Bomb. CIMA hit Generico with a Venus and Iconoclasm, and then Fox hit a senton atomico: 1…2…NO! Fox then hit Generico with Thugbait: 1…2…NO! Generico came Fox an exploder into the turnbuckle. Generico then hit a Yakuza and a half-nelson suplex. Del Sol then murdered Fox with a springboard reverse hurricanrana: 1…2…CIMA MAKES THE SAVE! Generico tried to hit the turnbuckle brainbuster, but Fox avoided it. CIMA then hit Generico with an armtrap backstabber and Fox hit a 450 splash: 1…2…DEL SOL MAKES THE SAVE! CIMA gave Del Sol shotgun knees and Fox hit the second half of My Dick Explodes. Del Sol ate a series of big moves. Fox then hit Del Sol with Lo Mein Pain and CIMA followed that up with a Meteora: 1…2…3!!!

CIMA put Fox over after the match. I hope Fox gets brought back to Japan soon.

These are the kinds of matches that DGUSA does as well as (if not better than) anyone in America. I loved everything about this match, and I am really glad that Del Sol and Fox are being treated like main eventers. This was a perfect use of CIMA and El Generico. In the last 18-24 months, DGUSA and Evolve have been at their best when young American independent talents have matches that make them look like stars. It really started with Ricochet at Untouchable 2010, and if DGUSA and Evolve are able to make these types of matches happen more often, the better off independent wrestling will be.
Match Rating: ****1/4

Johnny Gargano© vs. Akira Tozawa (w/ Christina Von Eerie) [Freedom Gate Title]
The last minute build (that was in DGUSA published email newsletters) for this storyline, since the last set of Evolve shows, seemed to mostly revolve around speculation about whether or not Gargano would get signed by WWE. I am not kidding. The real story was that Tozawa has pinned Gargano twice on the last the nine DGUSA shows. These two had an awesome match last September in DGUSA. They also once had a really good match in AIW. Much like the last match, I am very excited to watch this.

Neither man could get the advantage at the start. Gargano managed to send Tozawa to the floor and he set up for a dive. Tozawa pulled him out of the ring and hit a tope suicida. Tozawa went for a second, but Gargano came back and hit a tope suicida of his own. Gargano set up for a second, but Tozawa managed to come back and hit a second tope. Tozawa went for a third, but Gargano caught him with the Gotcha Spear. That was an amusing sequence. Lenny Leonard definitely tried to get over the fact that Tozawa defeated Gargano twice in the last 10 months, and he hasn’t mentioned the WWE rumors so far. Gargano started to go after Tozawa’s left arm. Gargano went for a middle rope cross-body, but Tozawa caught him with a double knee gutbuster. Tozawa started to work over Gargano. Christina Von Eerie popped up on the apron with a chair in hand. Tozawa tried to get the referee to look away, but he clearly saw Von Eerie toss in the chair. The referee then pretended to only be distracted by Von Eerie and not notice that the chair was suddenly missing from her hands. Tozawa used the chair to hit a back senton. This all seemed labored considering Taylor/Swann and Masada/Pinkie showed that weapons were all allowed to be used. Whatever. That was so much effort and frustration for a completely throwaway spot in a main event. Tozawa continued to get the heat. Gargano managed to low-bridge Tozawa to the floor. Tozawa came back in the ring, but he ate a slingshot DDT for his troubles. Gargano made a comeback. Gargano suplexed Tozawa into a turnbuckle. Tozawa came back with a saito suplex for a nearfall. Gargano went for another Gotcha Spear, but Tozawa blocked it with a running knee. Tozawa put Gargano on the top rope and hit a Brogue Kick. Tozawa hit a big superplex and then started selling his injured left arm again. They traded some strikes and big moves. Both men went down afterwards. They got their knees and traded more strikes. They slowly made their way to their feet. Gargano hit a super back suplex, a Lawn Dart, and a kneeling superkick: 1…2…NO! GARGANO ESCAPE! Tozawa made the ropes. They ended up on the ring apron trading more strikes. Tozawa then murdered him with a German suplex on the apron. Jeeez. Us. Back in the ring, Tozawa managed to hit a deadlift German: 1…2…NO! Gargano immediately came back with a Gargano Escape. Tozawa made the ropes. Gargano went after Tozawa’s injured arm again, but Tozawa managed to hit another German suplex. Tozawa then hit the arm-trap German: 1…2…NO! Tozawa’s injured arm couldn’t keep the pin locked. Selling! Yay! Tozawa went for another arm-trap German, but Gargano hit a Hurt’s Donut: 1…2…NO! Gargano hit another Hurt’s Donut and locked in the Gargano Escape! Tozawa taps out!!!

This match was excellently worked, but man oh man, there was very little heat for it. I loved so many things about this match (the back and forth sequences and Tozawa’s selling of the arm, among other things), but in the end, these two just didn’t have the crowd like I expected them too. This was still a very good match mind you, but it just couldn’t compare to all-out fun of the semi-main event. I hope we get another match between these two in the next year.
Match Rating: ***3/4

Gargano grabbed the microphone after the match. Gargano says he got into wrestling to be an independent wrestler, but that independent wrestling is dying. He says his dream is still like everyone else is to main event wrestling, but he wants to make DGUSA the best promotion in North America. Jake Manning and Chuck Taylor run in and attack Gargano. Taylor was sent packing, but The Swamp Monster then attacked Gargano. It was obviously Taylor playing the Swamp Monster. Taylor hit the Awful Waffle on Gargano. CIMA ran in and sent the Gentleman’s Club packing. CIMA put the Freedom Gate Title back on Gargano. CIMA and Gargano, former heated rivals who just happen to both be tecnicos now, showed each other respect. I guess we are not getting CIMA vs. Gargano anytime soon.

I have mixed thoughts on Gargano’s speech. On one hand, as a lover of independent wrestling, I can’t help but appreciate the ideals he preached in his speech. However, considering that Gargano has openly discussed his desire to go to the WWE, I can’t help but feel that it sounds so disingenuous for him to imply that he chose to stay with DGUSA instead of going to the WWE. That’s not to say it can’t be true, but it just seems so unlikely on the surface that it’s hard to suspend my disbelief. Normally, I am very hesitant (if not out-right against) using backstage speculations as a means of interpreting in-ring stories as opposed to letting the stories be judged on their own merits. However, DGUSA’s open attempts to play off on the “Gargano to WWE” rumors make it fair game in my opinion. Maybe, I’m just being a jerk. Regardless, I am looking forward to watching many more Johnny Gargano matches in DGUSA and Evolve.

Overall thoughts: This show was everything I have come to expect from a DGUSA show. There were two main events that were excellently wrestled, but before that there were a lot of forgettable matches and head-scratching booking. As usual though, the good stuff on DGUSA outweighs the annoying stuff enough so that I say I enjoyed the show. However, the annoying stuff prevents me from loving the promotion and investing in the characters/storylines. Instead, the promotion only has the great wrestlers and matches. Is that enough to run a successful independent promotion? Only their office staff know. It’s definitely not enough though to make me enthusiastic about a promotion that has all the tools to be so much better than it actually is.

Final Recommendation: Thumbs up for the two main events. Order the show at WWNlive.com.

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