By Will Pruett

DGUSA from Miami, Florida
Live on iPPV on 3/30/12

Lenny Leonard welcomed everyone to the show as the crowd cheered. Rich Swann rapped to the ring and hyped up the crowd with a “When I say Ronin, you say baby” routine.

1. A.R. Fox defeated Rich Swann in 10:51. This is the third match between these two and the first in DGUSA. They felt each other out to start. A.R. Fox hit a spectacular spinning fisherman buster early in the match prior to the two men taking it outside.

They traded moves off the apron and Swann came out ahead with a flip off the apron. This is fast. The fans are very into A.R. Fox and slightly less into Rich Swann. Fox slowed it down with a side-headlock on Swann that lead to a rope break.

Fox hit Swann with an anticlimactic cross body to the back while Swann was down, then spiked him on his head with an Jeff Jarrett-esque Stroke. This all lead to a corner exchange that ended with Swann taking Fox out with a top rope Frankensteiner. He then hit rolling thuder for a two count on Fox.

Pruett’s Pause: These are highlights for sure. I couldn’t possibly write every move and have no intention of doing so.

A.R. Fox hit a swanton on Swann (that was fun to say) for two and then hit a huge dive over the top rope onto the floor. The crowd is loud and passionate now, chanting for Fox. Swann hit Fox with an Ace Crusher for a two count then went up top and hit an amazingly high frog splash for two.

Swann ended up sitting on the top turnbuckle and Fox hit him with a running top rope C4 (I believe I have the move name correct) and that was enough to score a three count.

The two shook hands and hugged post-match.

Pruett’s Pause: Wow. This match was fast and exciting. Both men should be proud. This show looks great and the fans look psyched. If you’re not watching, order this show now for $2.

CIMA and Ricochet entered the ballroom. CIMA said hello to the crowd and welcomed everyone to DGUSA. He said he cannot wrestle tonight because of his neck. The crowd cheered him as he stood solemnly. He then announced that they must vacate the championships. Chuck Taylor and Johnny Gargano ran out and Taylor was excitedly jumping.

Taylor took a mic and said that since tonight they were supposed to face himself and Gargano, they should kick the titles over to them. Gargano said he does not want to win the belts that way and said “professional wrestlers” to try and hype a hardcore crowd. He cut a promo about working for and earning his title. He said that if they are going to become tag team champions, they will do so because they are the best.

Yoshino came out to the ring and said he will stand in for CIMA. He told Gargano not to insult him again. Ricochet said that he would do it if CIMA was okay with it and CIMA gave him the thumbs up. The fans cheered as the segment ended.

Pruett’s Pause: It’s depressing not to see CIMA in action, but Yoshino is a great replacement. This will be a fantastic match no matter what. The promo work here from the non-english speakers was short and sweet. They did a nice job.

Konley and Reed had an obnoxiously long and pornographic entrance. Bobby Fish came out and Larry Dallas insulted Fish and Fish said he has a partner. Tommy Dreamer walked out behind Fish as the crowd chanted for a defunct promotion 11 years after its demise.

2. Bobby Fish and Tommy Dreamer defeated Caleb Konley and Scott Reed (w/ Larry Dallas and ladies) in 8:39. Dreamer is in town for WrestleReunion. Fish hit Scott Reed with a top rope senton from the outside.

The match soon spilled to the outside and Tommy Dreamer was attacked by a barricade, but Reed could only get one on a pin attempt inside. Reed tagged out to Konley and they double teamed Dreamer.

Pruett’s Pause: Lenny Leonard is obnoxious with the sexual jokes in this one. It’s one of the things I dislike about indie crowds, but I hate it in indie commentary.

Scott Reed hit some power moves on Dreamer and attempted to draw Fish out of the corner. The Scene continued the tag team onslaught drawing heat at Dreamer’s expense. Dreamer found himself able to get a boot into Konley’s face and tag in Fish.

Fish took the fight to Reed and Konley until the two on one poton of it took him out. Dreamer somehow ended up with the Sharpshooter on Konley, then a girl hit Dreamer. Dreamer threatened the girl and another came into the ring. This allowed Dreamer to make out with both of them like it’s 1997. I hate this. Dreamer then gave one a piledriver. Domestic violence sucks, as does this.

Fish caught a kick from Konley and turned it into the “Fish hook” heel hook and Konley tapped.

Tommy Dreamer spanked a girl after the bell. This sucks.

Pruett’s Pause: That was just obnoxious. The crowd enjoyed Tommy Dreamer, but all of the drama with the girls and the whole domestic violence thing got under my skin. This is a bad way to present the product to first time viewers.

3. BxB Hulk defeated Sami Calihan in 11:30. This is apparently the darker and more dangerous BxB hulk. Sami attacked Hulk to start and bodyslammed him in the corner. Calihan continued to work the leg that Hulk hurt, including doing so on the ring post.

Calihan chopped Hulk’s chest hard and set him up in the corner and chopped his legs as well. Ouch. Hulk fired back with some kicks to finally take down Calihan for the first time at almost three minutes. Hulk stomped Calihan quite roughly.

Christina Von Erie entered and was shown briefly as the action in the ring slowed down. Hulk is still kicking Calihan, don’t worry. Calihan told Hulk to bring it and Hulk kicked him in the face multiple times. Those look painful.

Hulk rushed Calihan in the corner and missed him. This lead to Calihan hitting a Death Valley Driver on Hulk. Calihan then fired off a shotgun splash for a near fall. Calihan then dove and crushed Hulk against the guardrail and chopped him into the front row. The crowd is getting back into it.

Hulk threw Calihan back into the ring and hit a video game pretty springboard spinning heel kick. Calihan managed to kick Hulk in the knee and then slapped a half crab to work that injury.

Hulk eventually came back with an amazing kick combination followed by a corkscrew standing dive. Calihan then hit some moves on the leg and locked in the stretch muffler. Von Erie climbed onto the ring apron and sprayed what was called wine into Calihan’s face. Hulk hit his First Flash kick on Calihan and that was the end.

Pruett’s Pause: The Von Erie drama and finish slowed the momentum of the match quite a bit. The action was good, but apparently this was a heel vs. heel combination. That’s not the best way to get a crowd into things. There are way too many

Sami Calihan took the mic and said that he should never have trusted a woman. He then insulted Von Erie to increase the sexism on the show. He said he cares about Sabu tomorrow and chanted his name. The lights went out and Sabu was in the ring. Sabu attacked Sami and locked in the camel clutch. The rest of the DUF ran in and attacked Sabu with a can of PBR.

The brawl continued and the referee rang the bell.

4. Sabu and Jon Davis defeated Arik Cannon and Pinkie Sanchez in a Street Fight in 6:48. Who needs internal logic when we have this? Davis chopped Sanchez hard when I finally caught up with what was happening. Davis and Sanchez worked in the ring while Sabu and Cannon were on the floor.

Sabu and Cannon came into the ring and Sabu attacked Cannon with a spike, busting him open. Sabu used a chair to springboard onto Cannon in the corner. This is an odd match. Sanchez was pushed onto the floor and Cannon walked into a clothesline from Davis. Sabu stood in the ring and was able to leg drop Cannon through the table. Jon Davis powerbombed Sanchez for the three count.

Pruett’s Pause: This was an odd match. It was sudden and hardcore, but not super violent. The storytelling was not all that clear for first time fans, who should be the focus on this show.

Sami Calihan attacked Sabu with a bottle and then cut a promo saying that it won’t be the easy. He stepped on Sabu’s throat and said that tomorrow will be Sabu’s last match.

Pruett’s Pause: That was some solid hype for the show tomorrow. Nice work from DGUSA to hook $2 viewers into paying $15 tomorrow.

5. Masaaki Mochizuki defeated Akira Tozawa (w/ Christina Von Erie and BxB Hulk) in 19:57. The fans chanted for both men as the bell rang. They felt each other out and toyed around until Tozawa was kicked hard by Mochizuki. CIMA came to ringside to support Mochizuki.

Mochizuki worked over Towawa’s leg including a kick to the hamstring. Mochizuki eventually decided that it was time to work the arm instead and put a Figure Four Arm Bar on Tozawa. Von Erie distracted the crowd by making fun of a hat off camera. That was weird.

Mochizuki continued the armbar attack until Tozawa made it to the ropes and rolled outside. Mochizuki brought it to him outside, but found himself in a precarious position on the apron. He took advantage of it by hitting “Divorce Court” on the apron to Tozawa’s shoulder.

Tozawa finally got the upper hand and was able to hit two dives to the outside on Mochizuki. The fans are into it (something about dives and indie crowds) and Tozawa brought Mochizuki back to the ring. Von Erie once again got involved and hurt Mochizuki.

Toawaw and Mochizuki fought over who would Tombstone the other. Tozawa won for a two count. Mochizuki then ended up in a chokehold of some sort until he made it to the ropes. Tozawa eventually chopped the poor out of Mochizuki in the corner until Mochizuki kicked him down.

Tozawa and Mochizuki traded corner strikes until Tozawa ended up in the tree of woe getting kicked. Mochizuki hit some big kicks for a near fall in the center of the ring. The crowd chanted for Tozawa. Tozawa then hit a shining wizard for a near fall.

They traded kicks and elbows in the center of the ring until Tozawa slipped on the ropes, but somehow managed to hit a second rope German Suplex on Mochizuki. Mochizuki locked in the cross-armbreaker and Tozawa escaped after three attempts to hit a dead life German Suplex. The crowd gave these men a standing ovation.

Tozawa went for another big German, but Mochizuki escaped. They slapped each other in the center of the ring and ended up hitting double kicks. Mochizuki took Tozawa down with some kicks and got a two count. Mochizuki hit a running top rope kick and that was enough for three.

Pruett’s Pause: This was an amazingly impressive match. It built naturally to a fever pitch and consisted of a nice mix of signature and standard moves. More than anything else, the pacing was more traditional than the normal indie style. This shows some evolution in the product and I love it.

Christina Von Erie kicked Mochizuki in the balls after the match. This was to promote the six man main event tomorrow night.

Intermission

Pruett’s Pause: This show has been another case of good pacing and exciting action. It also looks fantastic. I’m watching on my iPad, which is usually inferior when it comes to streaming, but it is handling this fine. The production of this show is top notch for an iPPV. Congratulations to DGUSA for a great first half and a great presentation. If you haven’t ordered this show yet, it will still be worth more than $2 just to see the two main events.

6. Samurai Del Sol defeated Johnny Vandal in 3:21. Ricochet is on commentary now. I’m assuming Del Sol is the mystery luchador that has been hyped. Apparently Ricochet and CIMA did actually vacate the tag titles. That was not clear at all.

Del Sol hit some great offense early before Johnny Vandal (a Florida local) hit him with a big boot. Del Sol and Vandal fought until Vandal eventually hit a TKO on Del Sol. Del Sol hit an amazing Huricanrana on Del Sol to end the match.

Pruett’s Pause: This was nothing more than a squash match that included a little bit of time for Vandal to shine. The mystery luchador does not seem super impressive, but this is early on.

7. Low Ki defeated PAC in 23:50. Arik Cannon is on commentary now instead of Ricochet. The two wrestlers felt each other out to begin with. They went chest to chest trying to take each other down. Low Ki bridged down and then took PAC over for a PAC bridge. This ended in a standoff and an ovation from the crowd.

Cannon and Leonard traded pleasantries as the standoff continued.

PAC twisted Low Ki into a rollup from some sort of leg lock. The man that gravity forgot (PAC) seems to be using gravity to his advantage a lot here. They are starting very slow here and utilizing a lot of stand offs.

They sped up a bit working in some sequences with running and more highspots. This lead to PAC locking Low Ki in a head scissors. The crowd chanted for both men as they came to yet another draw. Low Ki hit PAC with an extremely hard chop and a few more as PAC tried to recover with a forearm. Low Ki then locked in a figure four head scissor on PAC.

PAC tried the same escape that Low Ki used. Eventually PAC was trying to suplex Low Ki out of the ring and Low Ki countered with a knee strike that was pretty impressive. Low Ki ended up falling to the outside. PAC looked to be going for a springboard dive, but Low Ki grabbed his foot and did not allow him to do so.

PAC hit a huge corkscrew dive on Low Ki on the outside that was unbelievable. Gravity must have remembered to forget PAC. The crowd chanted “That was splendid” after that amazing move.

Low Ki made it back into the ring, kicked out of a near fall and was knocked down multiple times by PAC. Ki caught PAC with a kick to the head as he telegraphed a back body drop. PAC then threw Low Ki up to the ballroom chandelier and pinned him as he came back down. Ki kicked out at two.

At around 20:00 this match is still pretty even. Low Ki chopped PAC hard in the corner and then hit him with a backbreaker. Ki went for a big splash, but PAC moved. PAC went up top for a second rope twisting splash and only got a two count.

PAC hit a top rope hurricanrana on Low Ki then went for another twisting top rope splash. Low Ki moved. PAC hurt. Low Ki hit a top rope Warriors Way stomp on PAC for the three count.

Low Ki said that PAC is incredible and he said this is the true sport of professional wrestling. He said he would be happy to fight PAC again. Low Ki continued putting over PAC and putting over the product. He called out Dragon Gate and Evolve should have a championship for them to compete for.

Pruett’s Pause: This was a good match, but not a great match. These guys worked hard, but it never seemed to get into that “dream match” gear that we expect. Ki and PAC should be proud of themselves for the effort on this show, but it was not the breathtaking display it was built up to be.

8. Ricochet and Masato Yoshino defeated Johnny Gargano and Chuck Taylor in 19:44 to win the Open the United Gate Championships. Apparently Taylor and Gargano are the champions now since they have the tag team titles. Why was this not made clear earlier?

Yoshino and Gargano started the match in a preview of tomorrow’s Open the Freedom Gate Championship match. Gargano and Yoshino traded slaps on the chest to start. Gargano was suddenly kicked by Ricochet and Chuck Taylor ran in to take on Ricochet.

Pruett’s Pause: These matches are Lucha rules, so there is no chance of me keeping up.

Gargano returned to take on Ricochet. Yoshino came back in with Gargano down and double team him. Yoshino delivered a missile dropkick to Gargano, who’s nose has started bleeding. Ricochet twisted Gargano around him, working his back and hitting his head on the turnbuckle.

Yoshino and Ricochet continued to double team Gargano and Ricochet hit the coolest standing moonsault I have ever seen for a two count. Chuck Taylor came back and hit a springboard moonsault for a two count. Taylor stomped Ricochet in the corner and eventually tagged Gargano.

Gargano twisted Ricochet up into an impressive knot and Yoshino broke up the submission attempt. Taylor tagged in and hit a dropkick on Ricochet, followed by a leg vine. Gargano stopped Ricochet from getting to his corner with a stomp and exchanged with him in the center of the ring. When Ricochet went for his standing moonsault, Gargano kicked him away in a crazy moment.

Chuck Taylor attempted and missed a top rope moonsault that lead to Ricochet getting an advantage on him. Both men are down and the crowd is anticipating a hot tag. Yoshino tagged in and ran the ropes. Yoshino is the fastest man alive, I’m convinced. Yoshino ran into a spinebuster from Taylor that also lead to a half crab.

Yoshino then went from running to twisting Taylor into a submission hold very quickly. Ricochet and Gargano ran in and Ricochet hit an Ace Crushed and a standing 450 splash on Gargano. Gargano was able to lawn-dart Ricochet into the turnbuckle and then eventually get a two count when Yoshino made the save.

Yoshino and Ricochet hit a very fast combination of kicks, knees and flips on Gargano that brought forth a standing ovation. Gargano and Taylor came back with a few strikes of their own. Gargano hit an Ace Crusher on Ricochet and only got two for his efforts.

Yoshino then exchanged with Gargano in a speedy manner that ended with Gargano in his own headlock submission. Taylor stopped that madness and hit a double team DDT Hurts Doughnut on Yoshino. Taylor pulled Gargano off of Yoshino when he went for a pin. Taylor then grabbed the Open the Freedom Gate Championship and attempted to leave.

Taylor was almost pinned when Gargano saved him. Gargano and Ricochet exchanged in the center of the ring. They hit some stiff elbows on each other and Ricochet dove to the outside onto Gargano.

Yoshino and Taylor hooked up at center. Yoshino was able to hook in his X-armed submission hold and Taylor tapped out.

The crowd chanted for Yoshino, Ricochet and CIMA. They then chanted for Gargano and Chuck Taylor. Finally, the Miami crowd settled on chanting “everyone” as CIMA grabbed a mic. CIMA shook hands with Gargano and Taylor. Taylor attacked both CIMA and Gargano. Taylor walked away as the fans chanted mean things about him.

Yoshino then said that tomorrow he will be United Gate Champion. He asked the fans if they liked the show and they cheered.

Pruett’s Pause: The match was insanity. I was confused by the tag team title situation and Lenny Leonard did nothing to help with that confusion. He should be working harder to reinforce what is happening in the ring.

Yoshino is one of the most impressive performers I have ever seen and I am constantly amazed by him. Ricochet has a WWE look and an amazing moveset. I would be amazed if he did not end up in FCW sometime very soon.

One unexpected thing that this show did was adequately sell tomorrow night’s $15 iPPV. The hype was good and they still delivered a quality show here. I would recommend the replay of this show to anyone. It delivered solid wrestling all around and some good story-telling. There were elements I did not love, but they were minor compared to the great wrestling we saw.

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