Dragon Gate had certainly changed in 12 short months. Blood Generation, Final M2K, Do FIXER, and Pos. Hearts were all gone and replaced by Typhoon and New Hazard. Shingo Takagi, Cyber Kong, BxB Hulk, Masato Yoshino, and Naruki Doi had worked their way up the card and now were all competing in title matches on this show. Mainstays CIMA and Masaaki Mochizuki were still a level ahead of the next generation, but it was clear that there was a new era coming and it was coming fast. This show features a bright, young Dragon Gate roster, as well as Gedo, Jado, Koji Kanemoto, Yuji Nagata, and Jushin Liger. No, this is not a TEW mod. This is real life...this is Kobe World 2007!
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Dragon Gate Presents:
Kobe World Pro-Wrestling Festival, July 1, 2007
Jack Evans & YAMATO vs. Akira Tozawa & Taku Iwasa
Jack Evans and YAMATO just sounds like a fun team, doesn't it? Doesn't hurt that the Tozawa-juku duo has toned down their gimmick dramatically since the previous Kobe World and that makes this match much more enjoyable. YAMATO came across looking great in this match. He has natural heel charisma with the hair and the mirror, but he's capable of showing some tremendous fire, which he did in this match. This is is a perfectly acceptable opener which features Jack Evans doing even more innovative offense than normal. That offense? A moonsault and a half. No need to explain it - I'll let the gif do that. Thank God Jack Evans is still here.
Rating: ***1/4
Don Fujii vs. Tetsuhiro Kuroda
Kuroda is a veteran of the grimy Japanese indie scene and is now working for Pro Wrestling Secret Base and Apache Pro Wrestling. Where is Occupation of the Indies when you need it? This is a comedy match and because Don Fujii is involved it's great. Kuroda has what I'm assuming is his mother at ringside and she gets involved at multiple points. There were large portions of this where I had no idea what was going on, but I had fun watching it. Don Fujii is a God among men.
Rating: FUN
Gamma & Kinta Tomoaka vs. Anthony W. Mori & Dragon Kid
Tomoaka is the Muscle Outlawz heel referee who I complimented in my Kobe World 2006 review. He's being forced to wrestle here and not even the video package could really answer why. This match was actually much better than I thought it was going to be. Kid, who a year earlier worked the co-main event in a Dream Gate title match, worked his ass off to make things work here. The one gripe that I do have with this match is that Tomoaka's "spit-based" offense is even grosser than Gamma's. There's absolutely nothing worse than that. I'd gladly take a chop from Kobashi or a kick from Mochizuki before I'd have Gamma or Tomoaka spit water in my face. I refuse to gif any spit-based attacks.
Rating: ***
There are so many different things to discuss about this match. One, the build. There's never been a better build to a match. Not ROH vs. CZW in Cage of Death or Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima at Final Battle 2008. No. This is the peak of booking. Stalker Ichikawa went to an AUTOGRAPH SIGNING for then IWGP Yuji Nagata. I believe Ichikawa tricked him into signing a contract for this match. Then, the match. Submission master Stalker Ichikawa cranked and cranked on the arm of Yuji Nagata (what does he even know about armbars?) but Nagata showed such amazing fighting spirit and was able to squeak out the victory. Put this up there with the Tanahashi matches as Nagata's best work from 2007. If this match had one flaw, it was that they didn't do the gimmick where Ichikawa gets pinned in eight seconds. If that would've happened, we'd have a five star match (sort of). Stalker is the best, Nagata is pretty damn great. I highly enjoyed this.
Rating: NR
Genki Horiguchi vs. Yasushi Kanda
K-Ness is the guest referee for this Open the Brave Gate Championship match. K-Ness ends up playing a big part in this match as the Muscle Outlawz do everything they can to get him out of the match so Kinta Tomoaka can come in and count the three for Horiguchi. The way they did was very entertaining. Like I said in the review for Kobe World 2006 - I still find any sort of guest referee stipulation dumb, but this is by far the best I've seen it executed. Horiguchi was no longer the babyface that never gave up, he was now a heel looking for anyway out. Sure, he might not come out to the ring with a surfboard anymore, but I enjoy this persona as well. Kanda puts Horiguchi away with the best Gekokujoh Elbow I've ever seen to conclude a really fun finishing stretch. Horiguchi has quietly put on great performances on most of these shows thus far.
Rating: ***3/4
Gedo & Jado vs. Ryo Saito & Susumu Yokosuka
Two elite tag teams from the past decade collide in this one. Going in I was very excited, coming out I had mixed feelings. First, this ended up being much more Jado than Gedo. Even in 2007 when Jado could move around, I still prefer Gedo. This match never hit that second gear that I'm used to seeing from RyoSuka matches which ended up hurt this. Both teams worked hard and Saito and Yokosuka seemed to really shine towards the end, but nothing had me truly invested. Disappointing in the end, but still, a good match. When the Countdown to Kobe series finishes, I can promise you there will be much more RyoSuka on this blog.
Rating: ***1/2
Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Koji Kanemoto
In 2015, this is what we call a "G1 sprint". Two heavy-hitters collided and they turned in a HOOT of a match. To no one's surprise, these two spent nearly the entire match kicking each other and it totally worked. Kanemoto is a guy that I absolutely love, but I've still seen very little of him. That needs to change, especially after watching this. Mochizuki puts in a great performance against an outsider for the second year. This match is worth buying the show from Jae. Kanemoto does some little things towards the end that I love. He was so quick with his counters and submissions. One of my favorite matches of this project so far. Can't say enough good things about it.
Rating: ****1/2
Shingo Takagi, BxB Hulk, & Cyber Kong vs. Masato Yoshino, Naruki Doi, & Magnitude Kishiwada
This match is on the same level as the previous one. Hulk has really come into his own since the last review, as has Takagi. These two look so much more confident and have a really special charisma to them. Hulk does a great job of playing the FIP here, much like Genki Horiguchi did in the Triangle Gate match two years prior. Yoshino and Doi control large portions of this one with Kishiwada acting as more of a wrecking ball here, which I'm perfectly okay with. Takagi gets busted open hardway at some point in this match and when he comes back in, he becomes a man on a mission to take out Muscle Outlawz. I don't know if anyone in wrestling history has had better looking offense than Shingo Takagi. Everything he does he hits with such high intensity and with such impact. It's very similar to what Brock Lesnar is doing but with a larger variety of suplexes. Takagi goes on a rampage that I loved every second of.
Not only do he and Hulk shine here, but Cyber Kong is excellent! Kong, to me, has always been nothing more than a slightly better of what Kishiwada was supposed to be. Not here, though. He held his own with the other five in the match and actually stood out as looking like a major player here. The one issue I have with this, which knocks it down a 3/4*, is that Takagi seemed to have put Yoshino away, but they did the finish where Yoshino kicked out right at 3. This confused the fans and wrestlers alike, as they all thought Yoshino got his shoulder up before the 3. Other than that, this is an excellent match and another standout in this series thus far.
Rating: ****1/2
Jushin Liger vs. CIMA
Liger is in full CTU heel mode. Sadly, that means he's not in "super good Liger match" mode. This left a whole lot to be desired. Liger worked over CIMA's leg for an eternity, then CIMA made a valiant comeback and was able to score the pinfall using full strength in his previously injured leg. This made was oddly similar to BxB Hulk vs. YAMATO from Kobe World 2014. I just kept on waiting for CIMA to hit something big and spark the crowd because the majority of this match was dull. Even with the lame main event, it was cool seeing Liger in Dragon Gate. He had a presence about him that was only matched by Shingo, who I thought came across as the biggest star on this show. CIMA won with the Crossfire, which I really want to see him bring back. What a SWEET move. Disappointing for a main event, but still not a "bad" match.
Rating: ***1/2
Closing the Gate: While this show is still behind 2004 and 2005 in terms of quality, it's much better than 2006. Mochizuki vs. Kanemoto and the Triangle Gate match delivered and a fun undercard with two funny comedy matches really help this card get a thumbs up, even with a weak main event. Genki Horiguchi continues to put on sneaky good performances and for the second time in four years, CIMA is back atop the promotion. Next time, the next generation takes over as Shingo Takagi and BxB Hulk meet in the main event! Elsewhere, 12 men battle for the Open the Triangle Gate Championship, Genki Horiguchi and mcKZ duke it out for the Brave Gate Championship, and Great Sasuke stops by to do battle with Stalker Ichikawa!
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