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Views from the Hawke’s Nest: Dragon Gate UK: Invasion II

February 10, 2013 | Posted by TJ Hawke
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Views from the Hawke’s Nest: Dragon Gate UK: Invasion II  

September 11, 2010
St. Ives, Cambs, England

Cyber Kong [1-0] vs. Marty Scurll [0-2]
Kong overpowered Scurll early on. Scurll was eventually able to send Kong to the floor with a hurricanrana. Scurll then wiped him out with a tope con hello. Back in the ring, Kong cut off Scurll with a gorilla press. Kong got the heat after that. Kong shoved the remains of his pineapple in Scurll’s face. Scurll tried to come back with a bodyslam, but he failed multiple times. Scurll was eventually able to hit an enzuigiri and an assisted neckbreaker: 1…2…NO! Scurll got another nearfall with a tornado DDT. Kong came back with a side slame and a release powerbomb: 1…2…3!

This match worked much better than you may have guessed just by looking at it on paper. Kong has been pretty over with the DG:UK crowds, and it’s a shame they didn’t use him in a more prominent way this weekend. Marty Scurll should be making lots of money in pro-wrestling one day.
Match Rating: **3/4

Masato Yoshino[1-1] vs. Lion Kid [1-1]
Lion Kid is not very good. I’m not sure how motivated Yoshino is going to be to get a good match out of him. Yoshino was the Dream Gate Champion at the time of this match.

They didn’t do anything too interesting in the early stages of the match. Yoshino was eventually able to cut Kid off, and he worked over the youngin for a while. Kid was eventually able to send Yoshino to the floor with a dropkick. Kid then hit a standing moonsault off the apron. Kid got a nearfall with a springboard dropkick. Yoshino came back with a Sling Blade, which got him a nearfall of his own. Yoshino went for his missile dropkick, but Kid blocked it with a dropkick. Kid then hit a slingshot DDT for a nearfall. Kid went for a Lionsault, but Yoshino got his knees up. Yoshino then absolutely NAILED Kid with his missile dropkick: 1…2…NO! They traded some pinning combinations. Yoshino hit a Torbelliono and then locked in Sol Naciente. Lion Kid taps out!

This was so easily the best match I have ever seen from Lion Kid. It was impossible to believe that Kid had a chance to win, but Yoshino definitely went out of his way to make Kid look as good and strong as possible. Good match.
Match Rating: ***

Masaaki Mochizuki [0-1] vs. Susumu Yokosuka [1-1]
This should be some hot fucking fighting.

The commentator explains that Yokosuka has never been able to defeat Mochi in a singles match. Since this is just DG:UK (as opposed to Japan), I cannot imagine that this fact will change here. Yokosuka dropped Mochi on the apron, shin first. Yokosuka then went after Mochi’s injured leg. They ended up on the floor. Yokosuka went for a lariat, but he hit a ringpost instead. Ok, Mochi has an injured leg, and Yokosuka has an injured arm. Got it? We’ll see if that leads to anything. Mochi hit an axe kick, but Yokosuka came back with a lariat. Yokosuka locked in a figure four. Storytelling! Mochi escaped and hit a running punt to Yokosuka’s chest. Mochi locked in a cross armbreaker, but Yokosuka made the ropes. Mochi went for the Sankakugeri, but Yokosuka caught him with an ankle lock! Awesome counter! Mochi rolled out of it. Mochi came back with some kicks and a sole butt to the head: 1…2…NO! Mochi then hit the Twister: 1…2…NO! Mochi locked in a sitting armbar. Yokosuka made the ropes. Yokosuka came back with a super exploder suplex and a Jumbo no Kachi: 1…2…NO! They traded some strikes, and Yokosuka then hit the Jumbo No Kachigatame: 1…2…NO! Yokosuka then hit the Mugen: 1…2…3!

This match ruled. It was slightly below the quality of the Yokosuka/Shingo matches in DG:UK, but this was definitely a great time. I wish the limb work played into the finish though.
Match Rating: ***3/4

BxB Hulk [2-0] & Naruki Doi [2-0] vs. Shingo Takagi [1-1] & YAMATO [0-1]
I think I’ve actually seen this match before. I recall not liking it. I think I was really tired and not in the mood to watch a match where they do all the moves. I hope I like it this time.

The crowd was less than impressed with Hulk’s shaved head. Hulk and Doi managed to isolate Shingo in the early stages of the match. That didn’t last too long though, as Shingo and YAMATO were eventually able to isolate Doi. They worked him over for a while. The heat on Doi lasted longer than I expected. Doi was actually able to come back on his own and hit a cannonball splash on both of them instead of tagging out. Hulk tagged in and made a comeback. Hulk hit a standing corkscrew press on YAMATO for a nearfall. YAMATO came back with an exploder for a nearfall. YAMATO locked in a crossface, but Hulk made the ropes. They traded strikes. Shingo and Doi then went at it. Shingo gave Doi an one-armed exploder for a nearfall. Doi came back with some uninspired offense. Hulk held Shingo up for Doi to hit the springboard senton for a nearfall. Shingo came back with a STO/DDT combo on Doi & Hulk. YAMATO ran wild. The teams traded nearfalls. Doi hit YAMATO with a Doi-5, and Hulk killed him with some kicks to the head. Hulk hit Shingo with a Mouse, but Shingo came back with the Pumping Bomber. YAMATO gave Hulk the Galleria, and Doi had to make the save. Doi killed Shingo with the Bakutari Sliding Kick. Shingo killed Doi with a DVD. Shingo dropped Hulk on his head with a Made in Japan: 1…2…NO! Hulk came back with a spinning heel kick and a super EVO: 1…2…NO! This match is losing some steam. Slaps from Hulk. Kicks from Hulk. Hulk then hit a H-Thunder: 1…2…3.

This match was pretty much exactly what you would expect for a main event-style Dragon Gate tag match: lots of moves and lots of nearfalls. I found it a little exhausting personally, but the crowd was pretty great for it, which makes this a success.
Match Rating: ****

CIMA [0-2] & Dragon Kid [1-1] vs. PAC [2-0] & Mark Haskins [2-0]
It looks like I’m finally going to see what Haskins is like as a face. Haskins and CIMA went back and forth to start the match. Haskins actually got the better of it. The DG guys are all about making the locals look good here. PAC and Kid tagged in and did some cool stuff. Eventually, CIMA and Kid were able to isolate Haskins, and they got the heat on him for a while. PAC was eventually tagged in. PAC sent the rudos to the floor, and then he and Haskins hit stereo dives.

PAC hit CIMA with a springboard crossbody for a nearfall. PAC got another nearfall with a bridging northern lights suplex. CIMA came back with a Perfect Driver, and Haskins had to make the save. Kid gave Haskins a stunner. Haskins gave Kid an urinagi. Kid locked in Cristo, but Haskins escaped and hit another side slam. PAC and Haskins hit Kid with a double team, wheelbarrow cutter. PAC took out CIMA with a slingshot Ace Crusher and a standing corkscrew shooting star press: 1…2…NO! CIMA came back on PAC with a Venus. CIMA then held PAC on his shoulders, and Kid hit a super rana that sent PAC onto Haskins. CIMA hit Haskins with a Meteora, and PAC had to make the save. Kid killed PAC with a DDT. Kid then hit PAC with the Dragonrana: 1…2…NO! PAC came back with a bridging German on Kid: 1…2…NO! Haskins hit Kid with a Shooting Star Press, and CIMA had to make the save. Haskins then gave Kid a cradle tombstone piledriver. PAC then hit Kid with the corkscrew Shooting Star Press: 1…2…3!

This was such a fun match, and I actually enjoyed it more than the last two Dragon Gate only matches. I love how DG:UK was allowed to book PAC like an absolute star on these shows. Haskins was so much more enjoyable as a babyface than he’s been as a heel, and I hope to see more of him as a babyface going forward.
Match Rating: ****

**Bonus Matches**

Stixx (0-1) vs. Xtreme Dean (0-0)
This was a pre-show match.

Dean used his speed to get the advantage on the large Stixx. Dean hit a Silverking Dropkick and then went for a baseball slide, but Stixx avoided. Dean then hit a slingshot Lionsault: 1…2…NO! Stixx was eventually able to cut off Dean with some strikes to the midsection. Dean got the heat after that. Dean was able to kick Stixx to the floor, and he then wiped him out with a tope suicida. Dean tried to hit a soccer punt from the apron, but Stixx blocked it. Dean managed to send Stixx back into the ring with a roundhouse kick. Dean then hit a standing moonsault: 1…2…NO! Stixx got back control for a bit. Stixx went for a middle rope move, but Dean reversed it into a Cutter. Dean hit a superkick for a nearfall. Dean then hit a diving DDT: 1…2…NO! Stixx came back with a Bossman Slam for a nearfall. They ended up on the top rope, and Dean hit a Spanish Fly: 1…2…3!!!

Wow, what a surprisingly fun match that came out of nowhere. Xtreme Dean is SO much fun to watch, and I definitely plan on seeking out more of his matches. Stixx did a good job as Dean’s base.
Match Rating: ***

Next, there was a fancam video of a trios match from Dragon Gate featuring Mark Haskins. The fancam angle made me not interested in reviewing the match.

IPW:UK’s Sittingbourne Spectacular 2010
April 4, 2010

PAC vs. Mask Haskins
These two went back and forth for a bit. It was awesome. They looked like they had wrestled each other a million times. Haskins managed to ground PAC with a leglock. PAC was eventually able to make the ropes. PAC managed to send Haskins to the floor. PAC hit the corkscrew Asai moonsault, which is just about the most ridiculous thing ever. PAC brought Haskins back into the ring, and PAC was in control for a bit. Haskins came back and hit a leg lariat. They traded a couple a nearfalls that weren’t that believable. Haskins hit an Ace Crusher: 1…2…NO! Haskins hit a superkick for another nearfall. Haskins went for a super hurrircanrana, but PAC avoided it. PAC then hit a shooting star knee drop. PAC hit a standing corkscrew shooting star press for a nearfall. PAC hit a bridging German for another nearfall. PAC went for a top-rope corkscrew shooting star press, but Haskins blocked it with his knees. Haskins then hit a cradle tombstone piledriver: 1…2…3!

This match absolutely ruled. Mark Haskins has proven on this DVD that he is an exciting wrestler that should absolutely be a babyface going forward. PAC did a great job of making Haskins look on his level from a technical standpoint.
Match Rating: ****

Thanks everybody for reading! You can send feedback to my Twitter or to my email address: [email protected]. Also, feel free to check out my own wrestling website, FreeProWrestling.com. Also, check out my Best of Chikara blog and an archive of all my 411 video reviews.

The 411: This was definitely my favorite DG:UK DVD yet, and now I can’t wait to watch the 2011 (and 2013) shows. The big difference for this show is that the undercard was more consistent, which made for a better overall viewing experience. Scurll and Cyber Kong had a fun match, and Masato Yoshino really did a good job to get a fun match out of Lion Kid. The final three matches all delivered as well. Mark Haskins really showed me something on this DVD, as the two best performances I’ve seen from him were on this DVD. In fact, the bonus match featuring PAC vs. Haskins may have been my favorite match on this DVD. HUGE Thumbs Up for this. Buy it now. Make sure you check out the DG:UK website and buy DG:UK DVDs here.
411 Elite Award
Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]  legend

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TJ Hawke

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