Fearless 2011
Dragon Gate USA
$20.00
Reviewed by Joe Babinsack
The 2011 version of Fearless comes to us from Revere, Massachusetts.
Ironic, in a sense, but then again the heralding of Dragon Gate Pro Wrestling— as the cutting edge of the sport, as the future of the sport existing now, as one of the most significant companies in the industry – has been going on since that six-man tag match at a WrestleMania weekend long forgotten for the players of either that event or the players in that match itself.
Yet that style was brought to this country and opened eyes and brought the vanguard Japanese pro wrestling promotion to a point where it could join forces with Gabe Sapolsky and start the ball rolling on getting a foothold in the United States.
A few years later, and DG USA has established that foothold.
Fearless 2011 shows that DG USA has fully integrated both American and Japanese talent; shows that the newcomers on both sides of the Pacific are able to meet the heightened bar of excellence established by the Dragon Gate brand, shows; shows that the promotion is on the cusp of greatness.
Accolades for Untouchable 2011 are already reaching a crescendo, and an important Dragon Gate event has been announced for March of this year, but Fearless 2011 was perhaps the last piece of the foundation to be built, the establishment of the promotion in terms of storylines, cutting edge/high flying action and also the depth and breadth of the talent and styles involved.
There was a recent poll on this site about top bookers, and I really had to disagree with the results. There’s no comparison these days between what is going on with Dragon Gate USA and what is going on with other top American Indy promotions.
In Dragon Gate, new faces are being introduced, and introduced well.
In Dragon Gate, a guy like Austin Aries may no longer be a part of the stories, but his participation in them in 2011 raised the profile of the guys he battled.
In Dragon Gate, there are distinct dynamics of guys moving up and down the card, distinct storylines and the existence of a solid crop of new talent that will push the envelope of what is expected in high flying action.
And most importantly, Dragon Gate USA is a true proving ground for professional wrestling talent. The veterans in the group are the best measuring stick for the American talent, but that talent has been forged by battling, touring and working with that talent for some years.
With Fearless, there is no distinction between veterans of Dragon Gate of any ethnicity. The once newcomers are battling the best. From Rich Swann, Ricochet & Jon Davis, to Arik Cannon, Sami Callihan & Brodie Lee; from Akira Tozawa & Susumu Yokosuka from Japan, from PAC from England and Johnny Gargano from that weird place called Cleveland, there’s more than just the token international flavor.
There is an accumulation of top talent from across the world.
As I’ve said in previous reviews, the Dragon Gate style is almost impossible to put in words. The main event here is a mind-blowing tag team match: Champions PAC & Masato Yoshino vs. Challengers YAMATO & Akira Tozawa.
Note, first, that each side has a veteran, and each side has a newcomer with vast potential.
Yoshino is one of the veterans of the home brand, and one of the ultimate examples of the Dragon Gate Style. Yoshino is light-speed fast, incredibly creative and works at a rate that makes any attempt to quantify ‘workrate’ laughable.
His partner is a man who defies gravity.
PAC is a guy that you’ve got to see in action. He may very well be this generation’s version of the Dynamite Kid. He’s that good. He’s that impressive. And like Tom Billington in the early 1980’s, he’s working at a pace, with a high-flying exhibition and to an audience that may not exist today. Five and ten years from now, wrestling fans may expect some of his moves, have a better grasp of them, and may have reached a point where terminology and identification of the subtleties, the high-risks and the inherent ability to do these moves may have caught up with the sheer talent of PAC.
Maybe.
There is no other promotion on earth where “cutting edge” is an apt description.
And the Challengers? YAMATO is the best heel in the business, and truly in the prime of his career. Akira Tozawa is one of the blue-chippers of the newest crop of talents, and that’s saying something when he rose faster to the top than several other names, and now challenges PAC’s ascendancy.
Yet Tozawa isn’t Rich Swan or Ricochet or AR Fox. He’s not the high flyer par excellence, he’s a well-rounded wrestler in a promotion filled with mat technicians, submission specialists and high-flyers of a level that makes almost any other promotion look second rate.
Thus I’ve set up the main event for Fearless 2011, and haven’t gotten to the action, and in reality, I’m not going to tarnish the excellence of that match with a blow-by-blow, or a two sentence recap.
Watch this match.
It cannot be booked, it cannot be scripted, it cannot be experienced in any other way than to watch it.
Austin Aries vs Johnny Gargano is something that can only be set up by Dragon Gate USA. While Aries is currently getting appreciation for what he can do with that national alternative, he solidified his legacy in the American Indy scene with his work in DG USA. Aries is the wily veteran, the guy who’s done in all and then some, and a guy who is clearly enjoying his run and working with younger guys like Gargano.
Gargano has had some injury concerns, and I hope all is well. Gargano may have everything that Aries has and more, but may be looking at the same situations that saddled Aries for years. And yet, with the existence of multiple promotions these days, maybe Gargano can carve out a solid career.
He certainly will be well prepared from this battle.
There’s a sense of attitude and talent and a couple of levels of interaction going on in this match, but seeing how a veteran and an up-and-comer work a match is something to enjoy.
Jon Davis vs Pinkie Sanchez provides an extension of several threads of storylines, and progresses them forward. While there’s a bit of a hesitation about strong man Davis taking exception to D.U.F stalwarts Arik Cannon and Sami Callihan, there’s also a strong emotional tie to this, and one that makes a lot more sense than most matches these days.
Davis just doesn’t like those guys, and they don’t like Davis.
Sanchez trying to impress D.U.F. is interesting. The match is interesting. Davis has a finisher called three seconds around the world, which is also very interesting.
That match follows up what is merely one more epic battle of Sami Callihan against the world.
Masaaki Mochizuki vs Sami Callihan pits the Open the Dream Gate Champion (the Japan home group’s top title) against one of the most hard-hitting guys around. It is a battle of respect, which again seems to be Callihan’s gimmick, and it plays out well.
Mochizuki is the traditional Japanese worker, just all-around great and stiff in the tradition of All Japan.
Callihan is, for lack of a better description, a jacked-up punk with all the attitude expected.
The match plays out into a post-match angle, but I loved it on several levels. D.U.F as the heel bad-ass faction is awesome, and there’s nowhere else in the industry where this faction feels right, as in DG USA.
Ricochet vs Susumu Yokosuka is one more match to watch. Ricochet is one of the top high-flyers in the scene, and has been working with the Blood Warriors and obviously gaining great experience. Yokosuka is a guy in his prime, well versed in the Dragon Gate style, and the two don’t fail to live up to expectations.
The Six way Freestyle match isn’t always one of my favorites, as they tend towards spot-fests and ways to have people fight without losing, but this one was clever and told some stories. It also felt like a way to get some faces out there, and served its purpose
AR Fox vs Arik Cannon Vs Alex Colon vs Brodie Lee vs Scott Reed vs Tony Nese worked well.
Nese is a great looking wrestler, and is already on a bigger stage. Scott Reed is starting to make the scene in EVOLVE, and should be a great addition to either roster. Colon didn’t get enough time, but Brodie Lee and AR Fox and Arik Cannon got enough to progress their storylines and character development.
They got their spots in, but more importantly got the stories in.
The opener for Fearless 2011 shows just how far the promotion has grown.
CIMA in the opener?
Rich Swann in the opener?
How is that possible?
But it worked and these guys and their factions play their roles and the match rolls out fine. That the promotion puts out one of their all-time great talents in the opener with a guy who has great potential, and there is no typical political nonsense going on speak volumes for the roster and the direction of the company.
Which is beyond promising.
Remember, Dragon Gate USA will return to live iPPV on March 30th and 31st from Miami, on WWNLive.com
