2010 – Dragon Gate USA: Fearless

Second stop on the journey through 2010 brings us to the Congress Theater in Chicago, IL for Dragon Gate USA “Fearless” (1/23/10). While I am not new to the company as a whole – I’ve attended two live events prior to this – I am sampling their home video merchandise for the first time with this show.

Admittedly, some aspects of the production aren’t favorable. Specifically, the lack of transition from the one match on the main card that is only for the DVD to the “Pay-Per-View” portion of the night bothers me. Seems like they are going for a knock the fourth wall down approach, where the viewer is “in the know” regarding the taping. Personally, I’d rather see some simple editing that leaves me none the wiser about this. No need to include me in on such things. Just give me the wrestling.

Moving past that slight complaint, let us look match by match at the event:

-Really couldn’t get into Gran Akuma vs. TJP. I like both guys a lot and definitely felt their work here was solid, but there was nothing that drew me in and made me emotionally invested in the bout. It was just there.

-Was expecting a potential speed-barrier challenging contest from CIMA and Super Crazy vs. Mike Quackenbush and Jigsaw match. In actuality, things are kept pretty slow between the four. A lot of time is spent on pushing the Quack/CIMA feud and generally keeping things mat-based and simple. Not a complaint, just a note of how different this was compared to what was anticipated. Overall it is a lot of fun if not quite the show-stealer that could have been. And that’s okay.

-Wasn’t expecting much from Brian Kendrick vs. Jimmy Jacobs. Kendrick has lost a step or two since his return to the independent scene, from what I’ve seen so far anyway, while Jacobs is one of those guys I always forget how much I enjoy until I see him again. But this bout was a pleasant surprise! Both men work really hard and put over a pretty decent story. There may not be any particularly memorable spots, but overall the contest leaves a good impression.

-Wasn’t sure what to expect at all from Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Davey Richards. Having never seen Mochizuki before, it was a real flip of the coin as to whether I’d enjoy this or not. Happy to report from the ground of the airport that this match was brilliant! What a fantastic contest, with both men looking like solid gold superstars and really going all out on each other. Mochizuki may be my new favorite Dragon Gate talent based on this bout alone. Love the psychology of the two men working on different specific parts of the other man’s body and doing all they can with that to get the win. Everything about this contest is excellent. Match of the night, without question. Between this and his match against Kota Ibushi from EVOLVE 1, I’m starting to think Richards vs. any Japanese talent is the ultimate recipe for squared circle awesomeness.

-Enjoyable elimination match with The Young Bucks vs. Shingo and YAMATO vs. Masato Yoshino and Naruki Doi. There are some fun moments and generally the whole affair is entertaining. Nothing was “wow” worthy, which is a bit disappointing given the talents involved, but complaining about a lack of jaw-dropping moments makes me sound too much like a spoiled indie wrestling fan. So let’s not go down that road and simply say this was good at best.

-BxB Hulk vs. Dragon Kid for the Open The Freedom Gate championship unfortunately falls a bit flat. Much like the opener, this is a bout where there is a real disconnect between the action and the audience. I wanted to care about the outcome and the action, especially since these are two of my favorites on the Dragon Gate roster, but ultimately I just couldn’t do it. The match was just there, which isn’t what you want a main event to be.

Overall Fearless is an okay show...but not what I was expecting.