Home / Results / DGUSA/Evolve / April 4, 2014

• Open The United Gate Title Match: Bravado Brothers  (c) def. Anthony Nese and Caleb Konley
• A.R. Fox def. Mr. A
• Rich Swann def. Biff Busick
• The Colony def. Drew Gulak and Chuck Taylor
• Trent Baretta def. Low Ki
• Masato Tanaka def. Chris Hero
• Open The Freedom Gate Championship Match: Ricochet def. Johnny Gargano (c)

Open The United Gate Title Match: Bravado Brothers vs Anthony Nese & Caleb Konley

Colt Cabana joins Lenny Leonard on commentary as Konley and Lancelot start us off with some bassic mat wrestling. Lancelot quickly takes Konley down and gets a Mexican surfboard, cradling Konley backward onto his shoulders for a 2 count. Nese tags in and takes Lancelot down to the mat with a crazy hold even I can't identify, but Harlen comes in and drills Nese with a dropkick before dropping a double elbowdrop for 2. Lancelot tries for a suplex, but Nese blocks and snaps Lancelot over instead, then tags Konley in to hammer Lancelot with a flurry of moves. Konley slams Lancelot into the corner, then tags Nese in to dish out some damage of his own. Konley is back in and takes Lancelot down with a fireman's carry and goes to a Fujiwara armbar that is quickly broken when Lancelot makes the ropes. Konley tries to leapfrom Lancelot, but Lancelot catches him in midair and powerslams him, then tags in his brother. Harlem is a house of fire as he rolls over Nese and drills him with a double stomp. Nese tries to escape to the floor, but Harlem takes both Nese and Konley out with a dive, then brings Nese back inside and gets a high crossbody for 2. Konley hits a missile dropkick on Harlem and then catches him with a leaping enziguiri for 2. Lancelot tags in and drills Konley with a series of kneestrikes and turns him inside out with a lariat for 2. Harlem has recovered and takes Nese out as Lancelot hits Konley with a TKO for 2. Nese finally tags in and takes out Lancelot's legs with a drop down, then moonsaults onto...nothing. He totally missed it. All four men wind up in the ring andtake each other out with big moves until all four men are down. They get up and schmozz it out until Nese and Konley hit a unique double team for 2. Mr A tries to come in and interfere, but Moose comes in and spears him, then stares Nese down until the Bravados grab him and hit the Gentlemen's Agreement for the win.

Winners: Bravado Brothers

Great opener! Nese chews out Mr A after the match, then Su Yung gets a microphone and challenges AR Fox to come out and start their match right now.

AR Fox vs Mr A

Fox dominates Mr A for the first several minutes until A catches him with a leg lariat as he comes off the top rope. Mr A hits flying shoulderblock, and Fox starts to come back with some stuff, but spends too much time screwing around doing flippy dips until Mr A just picks him up and chucks him across the ring before locking in an abdominal stretch. Su Yung jumps in the ring to try and confront Fox, but Ivalisse comes into the ring to neutralize the ensuing catfight. Fox nails Mr A with a pair of bicycle kicks in the corner, but Larry Dallas jumps on the ring apron and says he has a gift for everybody. Of all people, Teddy Hart comes out of the back and has a couple of girls hand him a cat. He comes in the ring and sits the cat on the top turnbuckle, then takes his coat off and gives Fox Project Ciampa. The referee is beyond distracted as Teddy takes out Fox and then gives Mr A a moonsault, then does it a third time just to land on his feet. Now that Hart beat both men up, Fox hits a series of bicycle kicks in the corner and a Swanton for 2. Mr A brings Fox outside and powerbombs him onto the ring apron, then goes inside and hits a spinebuster for 2. Mr A goes to the second rope, but people should know better than that in AR Fox matches because he just hit Lo Mein Pain and it's over.

Winner: AR Fox

I could really have done without the Teddy Hart portion of the match, but it was very good otherwise.

Biff Busick vs Rich Swann

They circle one another for a moment until Busick starts tying Swann up in tortuous looking submission holds. Busick tages Swann to the mat and controls him with a legscissors, Swann gets out and cradles Busick to his back for 2. Swann catches Busick with a flying headscissors and a dropkick, then they go out to the ring apron where Swann tries to German suplex Busick to the floor. Busick blocks that and drops Swann, then brings him inside and covers for 2. Busick backdrops Swann with such vigor that he does another half flip and lands on his face. Busick with a nasty looking sitout powerbomb for 2, but Swann quickly turns it aorund and hits an ax kick. Fast paced, back and forth sequence trading pinfall attempts until Swann winds up on top with a sunset flip for 3.

Winner: Rich Swann

Solid outing by these two, this was my first chance to see Busick and I liked his amateur wrestling-based style, plus he has great timing in the ring as well.

The Colony vs Drew Gulak & Chuck Taylor
Green Ant and Gulak start us off, Green gets the control early, but they tag out so Taylor can come in with Fire Ant and pop him over with a nice overhead suplex. They do a bunch of lucha stuff, giving Green Ant the advantage. He swings through the ropes with a modified 619, then gets Tasylor in a Fujiwara armbar right in the middle of the ring. The Ants come in and out and draw Taylor into accidentally chopping Gulak several times before dropkicking them out to the floor. Taylor finally gets an advantage by going to the eyes, and now Green Ant is trapped in the wrong part of town. Gulak gets 2 off a fallaway slam and then locks a hold on Green's arm, which as been a major focus of their strategy. Green finally makes it to his corner and tags in Fire Ant, who goes nuts taking on both Gentleman's Club members by himself. Gulak comes in and gets an ankle lock on Green, but Green gets out and they dump Nese to the floor. Taylor rams Fire into Green and then gives Red a sitout powerbomb for 2. The Ants come back with a series of superkicks, then get both Taylor and Gulak in the corner and hit a double charging baseball slide. They try another one and Gulak catches their legs and gets a figure four on both men. They won't submit, so Gulak tries to superplex Fire Ant, but Fire Ant knocks him off and sends Gulak to the floor. Taylor comes in and nails Fire and tries a moonsault, but Fire dodges and hits what I can only describe as an Alabama Driver for 2. Gulak is back in and hits a Billy Robinson backbreaker on Fire Ant for 2. Green Ant tries to help Fire Ant out, but Gulak takes Green to the mat and really cranks on an anklelock. Green won't tap out and fights his way free, then traps Gulak in a submission Lenny identifies as the CHIKARA special to force Gulak to tap.

Winners: The Colony

Very action packed match, and they did it without getting too far into that over the top CHIKARA flippy dippy territory. Taylor also really seemed to have worked hard on his body and added some muscle mass since the last time I saw him and it looked good on him. These two teams work real well together, but looks like we won't see a rematch because Gulak has had enough of Taylor and kicks the crap out of him after the match. Gulak gets a microphone and starts screaming at Taylor and I can't quite make out what he says because of the sound quality in the building, but I did catch the end where he said the Gentleman's Club is no more.

INTERMISSION

Low Ki vs Trent Baretta

The fans were really happy to see Low Ki as he made his entrance. Baretta very carefully circles Low Ki before going behind for a waistlock. Low Ki gets out by dropping to the mat and catching Baretta with a quick kick to the shoulder. Baretta backs Low Ki to the corner and smacks him in the face, which the fans react to by informing Baretta that Low Ki is going to kill him. Low Ki responds with a couple of quick strikes that send Baretta scurrying to the floor where he grabs Low Ki's jacket and throws it into the crowd before telling the fan who caught it to sell it on eBay. Baretta comes back inside and they work on the mat for a bit before going to a chop exchange that makes me cringe at its stiffness. They go back to the mat, then Baretta tries escaping to the floor only to be followd by Ki, who viciously hammers him with more kicks and chops and even tries to give him the Ki Krusher on the floor. Baretta finally does some damage by whipping Ki hard into the corner and wiping him out with a clothesline, but he only gets a 1 count off the pinfall attempt. Baretta again tries to ground Low Ki with a chinlock, then continues to work Ki on the mat before making the mistake of throwing chops. Low Ki responds in kind and then goes to the top rope, but Baretta grabs the leg and pulls Ki down chest first on the top turnbuckle. Baretta takes advantage with a missile dropkick for 2, but Low Ki flips through on a German suplex attempt, lands on his feet, and double stomps Baretta in the chest. Now Ki is coming back with kicks and hits the Tidal Krush for 2. Baretta hits the German suplex on the second try and gets 2, then hits a diving elbow in the corner. Ki responds with a shotgun dropkick, Baretta blocks the Ki Krusher and puts Ki on the top rope, but Ki catches him coming up and hangs him in the Tree of Woe. Low Ki goes for the top rope double stomp, but Baretta pulls him down by the tights and hits him with the running kneestrike to the back of the head. Baretta quickly cradles Ki and stacks his legs high for the 3 count.

Winner: Trent Baretta

Awesome, awesome match! These guys really left it all out there in the ring and the surprise win by Baretta was a great finish.

Lenny Leonard takes a moment to inform us that Dragon Gate USA and EVOLVE will be in California next year for Wrestlemania weekend, and they'll be the only company running within five miles of "that big event" we can't name.

EVOLVE Champion Chris Hero vs Masato Tanaka

They carefully feel each other out for a moment before going to the mat and exchanging pinning combinations. They both go for rolling elbows, then they fight over a surfboard before picking up speed as Hero wipes Tanaka out with a Yakuza kick as he comes off the ropes. Now Hero is in control and unloads on Tanaka with some hard shots, but Tanaka has been through this before and responds in kind. Tanaka fires himself up, sends Hero to the corner, and drills him with a running forearm. Tanaka just goes nuts hammering Hero with hard forearms until Hero just collapses to the mat. Hero tries to get up, but he's definitely had his bell rung as he stumbles right back to the mat. Hero catches Tanaka with a jab to the face that knocks Tanaka to the mat, but Hero only gets a 2 count before Tanaka is right back on his feet and flattening Hero with another clothesline. Tanaka is just destroying Hero with those forearms, but Hero finally sidesteps Tanaka and sends him to the ropes, then knocks him into next week with the rolling elbow. Now it's Hero's turn to pound the snot out of Tanaka, drilling him with a series of forearms, a charging elbow in the corner, and a rolling neckbreaker for 2. Tanaka runs Hero over with another lariat, then plants him with a DDT. Hero is up and hits a rolling elbow followed by the roaring Yakuza kick, but he only gets a 2 count. Tanaka no-sells repeated kicks to the head, so they go back to trading forearms and chops. Hero hits a leaping kneestrike and goes for a suplex, but Tanaka reverses to a brainbuster and comes off the top rope with a frogsplash for 2. Hero tries for a powerbomb, Tanaka blocks it, so Hero drills him with a roaring elbow and goes for the Awesome Bomb. Tanaka gets out of that, but Hero gets him right back up and hits a Liger Bomb for 2. Tanaka moves out of the way of a moonsault and flattens Hero with a lariat for 2. Tanaka hits a spinning backfist, Hero hits a rolling elbow, Tanaka gets one of his own, and Hero kicks out at 1. Hero unloads on Tanaka, Tanaka nails him with another lariat, and Hero again is out at 2. Tanaka hits the sliding lariat and Hero is out at 2, so he hits the sliding elbow and that's finally enough to put Hero down for the three count.

Winner: Masato Tanaka

Just an unbelievable match. This is an early contender for DGUSA/EVOLVE Match of the Year, no doubt about it. Total war that Tanaka didn't win, he survived.

Open The Freedom Gate Title Match: Johnny Gargano vs Ricochet

Ricochet is currently the Open The Dream Gate Champion, the top title in Dragon Gate in Japan, and now he wants to add the Open The Freedom Gate Title to his collection since it's literally the only Dragon Gate-branded title he has yet to win. Gargano, meanwhile, has been the champion for nearly two and a half years and has shown no signs of slowing down. They go to the mat right from the start as Lenny talks about how far they've come since first appearing in Dragon Gate USA and EVOLVE. They briefly get back to their feet for a Greco-Roman knucklelock before going back to the mat. They pick up for a moment and do a Jackie Chan sequence before going for each of their finishers right off the bat, and Gargano rolls to the outside to catch a break after nearly getting caught by Ricochet. They go back inside and Ricochet takes over on the champion, working him over in the corner with chops and kicks. Ricochet gets a jackknife cradle for 2, then a crucifix faceplant for another 2. Ricochet gets a headscissors and a dropkick, but Gargano avoids the dive, so Ricochet does back handsprings to show off for the fans and doesn't see Gargano come in with the spear through the ropes. Really bad time to screw around.

Now Gargano is in control and proceeds to begin wearing Ricochet down before putting him in the Texas Sunrise. Gargano turns it into a cradle for 2, then just puts the boots to Ricochet. Ricochet sweeps Gargano's legs and tries for a standing moonsault, but Gargano sees it coming and kicks Ricochet off in midair. They go outside where Gargano dumps Ricochet face first on the ring apron, then rolls inside to try for a countout. Ricochet beats the count, so Gargano wedges Ricochet in the corner and charges in with a dropkick. Ricochet catches Gargano with an Ace Crusher, but is too worn out to follow right up. Gargano tries to escape to the floor again, but Ricochet runs and dives over the ropes to wipe Gargano out.

We go back inside where Ricochet hit a springboard splash for 2, and then I get knocked off the webcast for some reason. I come back in just as Gargano tries to slingshot over the ropes for a DDT, only to be caught in midair and dumped before Ricochet hits a brainbuster. Ricochet hits a Zig Zag, but Gargano dodges a running shooting star press and gets the Gargano Escape. Ricochet gets right out, so Gargano hits the ropes, Ricochet tries to hit a flying headscissors coming back, but Gargano countered to a sitout powerbomb for 2. Ricochet blocks the lawn dart and nails Gargano with a Pelle kick, then he quickly drags a dazed Gargano out to the middle of the ring before going to the top rope. Gargano is up and tries to stop Ricochet, but Richcoet catches him with a kick to the head and goes for a shooting star press. Gargano sees him coming and superkicks him on the way down (which Ricochet sells like a MFer), then hits the lawn dart for 2. Great sequence.

Gargano is frustrated and spits on Ricochet, but that only fires Ricochet up as they begin to trade shots in the middle of the ring. They go nuts hammering each other with superkicks and Yakuza kicks until they both go down. They wind up on the apron where they trade blows until Ricochet begins nailing Gargano with kicks to his chest. He steps into the ring to break the count, then comes out to the apron for a couple more. Gargano knocks Ricochet to the floor and tries a dive, but Ricochet catches him and counters to a death valley driver on the floor.

Gargano is out on his feet as Ricochet hauls him up and goes for his finish. Gargano tries elbowing Ricochet in the face to get out, but Ricochet literally carries him up the ropes and tries to counter to a Frankensteiner. Ricochet blocks, but Gargano hits it any way and then hits Hertz Donut. Gargano only gets 2, but goes right into the Gargano Escape. Ricochet tries countering to a cradle, but Gargano rolls right back into the hold. Ricochet tries to suplex out of the hold, but Gargano holds on and takes Ricochet right back to the mat. Ricochet picks Gargano up again and suplexes him into the corner. Gargano lands on his head coming down and is on another planet as Ricochet hits the 630 splash. He drags Gargano out to the middle of the ring and hooks both legs, but Gargano is still out at 2.

The crowd is on their feet doing a "this is awesome" chant as Ricochet is back to his feet and gets Gargano up on his shoulders again, but Gargano holds the ropes to save himself. Gargano pulls the referee in front of an IED dropkick from Ricochet, and he is out as Ricochet hits his version of Go To Sleep and covers Gargano. There's nobody to count (other than the fans who counted to 10 or so), and Ricochet goes to check on the ref as Gargano rolls out to the floor and grabs the belt. Ricochet sees it coming and ducks, but Gargano gets the belt up as Ricochet goes for a kick, hurting Ricochet's leg, and then whacks him with the belt and knocks him out. Gargano covers, but Ricochet is out at 2, so Gargano takes the tape off his wrist and chokes Ricochet with it. Ricochet gets out of that too and goes for Go To Sleep, but he has trouble completing the move and Gargano takes him down into an STF version of the Gargano Escape. Ricochet desperately crawls to the ropes, but Gargano drags him back out to the midle of the ring...and gets rolled up for a very close 2. Ricochet immediately picks Gargano back up and hits Go To Sleep again and covers Gargano to win the match and FINALLY end what was the longest title reign in modern wrestling history.

Winner and NEW Open The Freedom Gate Champion: Ricochet

What an awesome match! This tops Hero-Tanaka and is an even BIGGER contender for DGUSA/EVOLVE Match of the Year. The ring fills with wrestlers from the locker room coming to congratulate the new champion as the fans chant "you deserve it" at Ricochet. Chuck Taylor comes out to the ring and gives Ricochet a long, hard stare before hugging his longtime rival and raising his hand to the fans.

Lenny Leonard congratulates Ricochet and hands him a microphone, and the champion says the journey here has been a long and wild ride, but like a wise man once said: to be the man, you have to beat the man, and now he's the man. He holds both the Open The Dream Gate Title and the Open The Freedom Gate Title, and that makes him the best thing going today. The fans chant "best in the world" at Ricochet, and he says that if anyone wants a shot at either title, he'll be right here waiting for them. He then does CIMA's routine of asking the fans if they enjoyed the show, then thanks the fans and says he'll see them tomorrow.

This was an excellent, excellent show. The undercard was solid, everything after the intermission was a MINIMUM of awesome, and the main event blew me away. This is the kind of show an independent company hangs its hat on, and I'm really looking forward to seeing them try and top it tomorrow night.