Interview Special #2 - Dragon Gate Debrief Part 1

Joel Allen Interview 23th November 2009



The Suplex E-Magazine’s chief editor had the privilege of attending the Dragon Gate show in Oxford at the start of this month. Here’s what he had to say when we had chance to talk about the show, Dragon Gate and random Puro stuff in a brief chat on 23rd November…

Chris: Were you aware of the Dragon Gate product before the show? Had you had the chance to watch any before?

Joel: Yeah, I was well aware of Dragon Gate. I first found out about them at a Ring Of Honor show in Chicago back in 2006 and they had a feature 6-man tag match and it was awesome to say the least. The whole crowd were on their feet for the match and gave them the deserved ovation after the match, for a few years after a 'Dragon-Gate' 6-man tag became an attraction of ROH's WrestleMania weekend festivities. After this I started to watch Dragon Gate online.


C: What was your overall view of the show and its production values?

J: The show was great, top to bottom. All the British guys did exceptionally well, the British standouts for me were obviously PAC but that's a given, right? And Mark Haskins, who's come on so much over the last 18 months. They had Haskins come out with Kelly of IPW:UK fame, I like that pairing, it looks like a good package. All the DG guys were top-notch also. I was very impressed with the Young Bucks (ED NOTE: Look out for a interview with pro-wrestling’s hottest young tag-team in The Suplex very soon!) they remind you of The Rockers/Hardy Boys but define their own style which makes them different. The productions values were to be expected, it's Mark Sloan he always makes sure the presentation and layout of whatever he's doing is to be as perfect as perfect can be. I'm sure Mark hat sat down with his team and picked it apart but the production from him, is still the best in the UK.


C: Rumour has it Dragon Gate are planning a return to the UK next year, would you recommend the show to anyone, and where would you like the show to be held?

J: Yes, 100% go see it, make sure you get your tickets pretty swiftly once they go on sale, it'll be another hot ticket, I'm sure. Anywhere really, the only drag is, if it's way down south or way up north but everyone has the issue with one-off superstar shows.


C: Are there any other Puro promotions which you think could do well in the UK?

J: They've both been over here in the last 18 months, they being Pro-Wrestling NOAH and Dragon Gate. I don't think any other Japanese promotion is widely followed compared to NOAH and DG, so in my humble opinion it would be a money waster to a extreme level but that's my opinion. NOAH seemingly did well and DG did also, so look out for more Dragon Gate UK shows and go to them, you will not be disappointed at all!

Puro Newsflash – Hustle Dead, Super J Cup Participants and AJPW in Taiwan!

Hustle Dead: The sports entertainment styled promotion Hustle announced that their December 25th show at Tokyo’s Sumo Hall had been cancelled on November 22nd, with an announcement forthcoming at the start of December, most likely the public acknowledgement of the office’s closure.

I had predicted that one or two promotions would close this year, and at the end of 2008 my money was firmly on ZERO1-MAX, though Hustle wasn’t too far behind. Their model of bigger spot shows instead of running tours, and brining in bigger names in Puroresu just doesn’t work in times of economic depression.


Super J Cup 5th Stage: Participants for the 5th Super J Cup, set to take place on December 22nd and 23rd at Korakuen Hall, have been announced as follows: Taichi (NJPW), Tigers Mask (Osaka Pro), GENTARO (Freedoms), AKIRA, Jado (NJPW), Gedo (NJPW), Prince Devitt (NJPW), Ryusuke Taguchi (NJPW), Fujita "Jr." Hayato (M-Pro), YAMATO (Dragon Gate), Atsushi Aoki (NOAH), Danshoku Dino (DDT), Koji Kanemoto (NJPW), Jushin Thunder Liger (NJPW).

I suspect one of the remaining two places will be a CMLL representative, and another NOAH representative is a possibility. I for one am looking forward to this one.


AJPW In Taiwan: In notable events from the two AJPW shows in Taiwan at the National University Gymnasium on November 20th and 21st, SUWAMA bested Osamu Nishimura in the finals of the Taiwan Cup, an eight man tournament specially for the tour on November 20th, with his Last Ride finisher after 24 minutes of action. Also on the card, The Great Muta, appearing at the request of his Taiwanese fans, defeated Zodiac with the Shining Wizard. The second day of the mini tour featured three Real World Tag League matches. More on the tournament soon on the Puro Blog...


Other Notes: Jun Akiyama has been injured again, pulling out of the majority of Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Winter Navigation Tour. I would suspect that if his physical ailments don’t clear up after a lengthy sabbatical from the ring, he might have to contemplate retirement. Cue rumours of Akiyama starting his own promotion…

A Proper Introduction To The Puro Blog

Ok, I’ll say it straight; I’ve not been a good blogger. Well, I am a bit new to it all, so I’ve opted to give any current or future followers of the Suplex E-Magazine’s Puro Power blog a proper introduction to what I’ll be doing here.

First and foremost, our shiny new blog is for all things news worthy in the world of Japanese wrestling. The plan is to post news flash style blogs as and when things happen, and then round up the entire goings on each month in a longer piece which will cover all the other blogs and more for the previous month.

Second of all there will be various special blogs, a kind of open ended idea which includes interviews, history articles, wrestler profiles and whatever else I feel like.

I have a rather good idea for the coming couple of months with special blogs, so keep your eyes on both the blog, follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/suplexcorker and check out the main website at www.thesuplex.com as well for any special announcements.

Puro Newsflash - Weekend Roundup 4th November 2009

Just a quick roundup of the weekend's news and events in the land of Puro, starting with:

Dragon Gate Pro Wrestling: Making their first successful trip to Europe, Dragon Gate ran shows in Barcelona on October 30th, drawing over 400 fans, in Germany as a collaboration with WXW on October 31st, before finally heading to the UK on November 1st for their first show on British soil in Oxford. Drawing a sell-out of 1622 at The Regal, the main event saw Naruki Doi, BxB Hulk and Pac defeated CIMA, Nick Jackson and Matt Jackson when Pac hit a Shooting Star Press on Nick Jackson after 22 minutes of action. From the review's I've heard so far, the show was possibly one of the best held in the UK, with everything from the crowd to the matches being almost perfect. A-Merchandise even has the show up for pre-order already.


Pro Wrestling NOAH: The finals of NOAH's first Jr. Heavyweight League took place on Saturday 31st October. After KENTA had vacated the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title due to injury, the main event would be to name a new champion. In the first semi final, NOAH's Jr. stalwart Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated rising star Katsuhiko Nakajima, and in the other semi final Jushin Thunder Liger defeated the American Delirious, who had replaced Kotaro Suzuki who withdrew due to injury. In the final Kanemaru defeated Liger in 18:53 to win the tournament and lift the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title for the fifth time… Nakajima has been announced as replacing KENTA on his upcoming ROH bookings.


New Japan Pro Wrestling: The G-1 Tag League wrapped up on November 1st drawing 1,900 to Korakuen Hall. In the final, the all gaijin team of Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson defeated Ryusuke Taguchi and Prince Devitt in just over a quarter of an hour to win the tournament and become number one contenders for the IWGP Tag Team Championship. After the match, TNA's Team 3D, the current IWGP Tag Team Champions, appeared on the screen in the arena and said they were coming to New Japan at the next Sumo Hall show on November 8th to meet Bernard and Anderson… After the show the full card was announced for the Sumo Hall show, with Shinsuke Nakamura defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Togi Macabe taking on Takashi Iizuka in a Chain Death Match. More on that show in the next weekend roundup… Rumours have begun circulating about a possible collaboration between New Japan and Antonio Inoki's Inoki Genome Federation… Let's see what happens with that one…


Super J Cup 2009! On Sunday November 1st Jr. Heavyweight legend Jushin Thunder Liger announced that New Japan, originators of the Super J Cup tournament, would be reviving the tournament for its fifteenth anniversary on December 22nd and 23rd at Korakuen Hall. Originating in 1994, the tournament was named the best show of the year, and was followed by a 1995 tournament hosted by the Wrestling Association R promotion, followed by mediocre tournaments in 2000 and 2004 hosted by Michinoku Pro and Osaka Pro respectively. No names have been announced so far but I am really looking forward to this one!