Dragon Gate USA Freedom Fight 2011 Review

Johnny Gargano finally achieves his dream!!

Dragon Gate USA Freedom Fight 2011

Manhattan, New York 11/13/11

I gotta say before I start that I actually really like the BB Kings Venue, even though it's a smaller one.

1.) BJ Whitmer vs. Brodie Lee: **1/2

These two have been having a bit of a feud during this weekend's triple shot, and this is the culmination of that. A fine opener.

2.) The Scene vs. Uhaa Nation & John Silver: **1/2

Larry Dallas and his cohorts continue their issue with Uhaa Nation. A decent tag team match. The Scene is hit or miss with me...

3.) Ronin (Chuck Taylor & Rich Swann) vs. Blood Warriors (Akira Tozawa & BxB Hulk): ***1/2

After the controversial ending to his Open The Freedom Gate Title Match the night before in Philadelphia, Chuck Taylor ran off with the belt and has yet to return it to YAMATO. Before the match Johnny Gargano cut a promo saying how bad he felt about the position he was put in. He apologized to Taylor, but told him to give back the belt and that he had forgotten what Ronin was all about. Taylor says he will and Rich Swann tells Gargano that he needs to focus on YAMATO. 

Then we got the actual match. This was actually a pretty good tag team match. Hulk & Tozawa are good as usual and I enjoy seeing this version of Ronin in Tag Team Action.

After the match, CIMA & Brodie Lee of Blood Warriors come out and attack everyone. This brings out Masato Yoshino and we get our next match!

4.) Bonus Main Event – CIMA vs. Masato Yoshino: ***3/4

Here we have a battle between two Dragon Gate Veterans. This was very good. Yoshino looked strong in this singles encounter.

5.) Last One-On-One Match – PAC vs. Ricochet: ****

These two have been having a feud for awhile over who's the better wrestler. This was pretty awesome. One thing I'd say though was that the brawling they did in the crowd was a little hard to see, but that's my only real complaint.

6.) Open The Freedom Gate Title – YAMATO vs. Johnny Gargano: ****1/4

YAMATO still doesn't have his title belt. Rich Swann comes out with Gargano but Chuck Taylor is not. The match itself was awesome. You had a feeling watching it that this was Gargano's time, and it was indeed his time as he won the belt!

Chuck Taylor comes out after the match with the title belt. Gargano reminds him again what Ronin was all about and that by winning tonight, they have achieved what they had been seeking as a group. He added that Taylor & Swann should go after the United Gate Titles so Taylor can get back at CIMA. Taylor eventually gives Gargano the belt and hugs him. Ronin then celebrates Gargano's Title Win.

7.) Extreme Warfare – Sabu, AR Fox & Jon Davis vs. D.U.F (Sami Callihan, Arik Cannon & Pinkie Sanchez): ***1/2

D.U.F. has been going after AR Fox for months, which over time dragged Jon Davis and Sabu into the mix. This was a good hardcore brawl, but the ending was kind of deflating. I also question as to why this match was the main event. Given the fact that they have been building up this Gargano title win for awhile, that should have probably been the Main Event. Given the way the matches ended, the Open The Freedom Gate Title Match definitely should have been the Main Event.

Overall: 8.5/10

You really can't go wrong with this show. A great way for Dragon Gate USA to end 2011. CIMA/Yoshino, PAC/Ricochet, and the Open The Freedom Gate Title Match are all worth checking out. The rest of the card was good as well. While Extreme Warfare was good as well, it was not the match to end this show with, as the show would have been much better if it ended with Gargano winning the belt.