Dragon Gate Infinity 146!!!

146

Sandwiched between the best pro wrestling TV show of the year the week prior and a Korakuen show the next week, Infinity 146 looked to be a pretty low key show. However it turned out to be one of the most solid episodes of the year from start to finish. The show featured the two main matches from the tour show at the always lively Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium #2.

Shingo & YAMATO vs. Naruki Doi & Naoki Tanisaki

This match pitted the company’s current singles champs (who did a lovely double belt pose pre-match) against the #1 contenders to the tag titles. If you didn’t get enough Tani last week, there was plenty more for you here. The KAMIKAZE team isolated him early and he did what he does best – create sympathy. Doi eventually got his usual hot tag and we got a very fun finishing stretch which came down to Shingo and Naoki. They laid it in hard, including some sick headbutts which Naoki busted himself open with. The finish was awesome as Shingo turned him inside out, and I mean INSIDE OUT with an insane lariatoooo and then put him down with the Made In Japan. Good match.

RealHaz attacked post-match to build to the Twin Gate match at Korakuen and also Tani’s first Brave Gate defence against “Mr. Brave Gate” Genki Horiguchi.

Non-title Match: Masato Yoshino, BxB Hulk & PAC vs. CIMA, Gamma & Susumu Yokosuka

Crowd was H.O.T. for this from the get go. Lots of things going on here. Yoshino and PAC were having a personal game of one-upmanship for the title of GREATEST WRESTLER ON PLANET EARTH AT THIS VERY MOMENT, Gamma appeared to have taken the last protein bar at lunch and BxB was NOT happy about it so he was all uppity at him, CIMA was working his ass off as he usually does in multi-mans and Susumu was just being Susumu – keeping everything flowing as it should, catching flying dudes and throwin’ some choice lariats.

The match was quality, your typical really good DG 6 man. Not quite the level they get to when in front of a crazy US crowd or at a big DG PPV, but still better than 95% of the wrestling than you saw this month. Like I said, PAC and Yoshi were just outstanding. These guys are just the most mindblowing athletes in the world. We got the big finishing stretch that you’d expect and it was Susumu (who’s getting a push) who got the deciding pin over PAC with the Mugen.

Over the credits we got footage of Ryo Saito tying up Yoshino in a rope while Araken posed. I love Real Hazard.

I should mention that the new Infinity theme by THE PIXY CHICKS is without doubt the grandest wrestling TV show music going. You just have to hear it.

Infinity 145 – 8/10