By Chris Shore

Check back tonight for my live coverage report of the Dragon Gate USA online pay-per-view that will be broadcast live from Philadelphia, Pa.

DGUSA United NYC Hits

PAC and Masato Yoshino vs. CIMA and Dragon Kid: This match was completely out of control for most of the second half and that's why I give it match of the night. Trying to cover all the moves was an exercise in futility. I do find it interesting that both of the Blood Warrior teams lost, though I do expect both to win tonight to setup an interesting final day of the tournament. CIMA was unbelievable to watch, as promised. I would suggest going out of your way to see this match.

Chuck Taylor and Johnny Gargano vs. Ricochet and Naruki Doi: This gets an honorable mention on the match of the night list. I gave the nod to the other tag match because it went an extra four minutes, but this match was equally good. It was also equally impossible to cover. And I have to agree with Chuck Taylor, I think Ronin is ready to make a run in Japan.

Brodie Lee vs. Jimmy Jacobs: This was my personal favorite match of the night. Brodie Lee is huge, and he looks like an axe murder. Yet he has incredible agility and speed, and Jacobs made him look like the baddest mofo on the planet. The other thing was this match had more of a traditional feel and pace to it so it stood out as familiar. It was a short match, especially when compared to the times given the others. But it was my personal favorite for sure. I now have a new big man fantasy match: Mike Knox vs. Brodi Lee!

Austin Aries vs. Rich Swann: This match had the most problems technically, which I'm sure is a surprise considering Austin Aries was in it. Both men missed some spots, and it was kind of sloppy throughout, but it still gets a hit because I thought it told the best story of the night. Aries is much bigger than Swann—who seemed to be channeling Norman Smiley all night—so Swann had to be a creative in his offense. Add in the minor help from Ronin and this was a good story, if poorly executed, match.

Akira Tozawa vs. Sami Callihan: This was by far the strangest match of the night. It took it a while to get going good, and the constant trading of weak blows got old quick, but it was a very good opener. It had several hot spots and provided good energy without setting the bar too high for the rest of the show to match. Sami is a…um…interesting character. To say the least.

DGUSA United NYC Misses

BxB Hulk vs. YAMATO: Let me be perfectly clear. All but the last minute of this match was spectacular to watch. Both guys worked very hard and performed well, even if I'm not a fan of Hulk's gimmick. That said, all of that good was wiped out by the finish and where this went on the card. Let's take those in reverse order. Having your first title change involving arguably your biggest star (YAMATO) and this goes on three of seven? What? I realize this weekend is about the tag titles, but way to completely bury your main singles title.

But of greater importance was the finish. The short story is that YAMATO botched his finisher. Generally a botched finisher is not the end of the world. But this was terrible because a title changed hands on the weakest looking move of the night. Seriously, there were chops that looked more violent than this move. All you have to do is have Hulk kick out and redo the spot. Put a filler move in the middle so it doesn't seem so obvious if you have to, but be aware enough to know you can't have a title change on that.

Jon Moxley vs. Jigsaw: This was a good match, but it started really quickly and Reby Sky was involved before that and then it was over. It needed about four minutes more to overcome that odd start. Don't get me wrong, these guys can wrestle. It was just a tough spot and not enough time to overcome it.

RECOMMEND THIS ARTICLE: