A2Z Analysiz: DGUSA Mercury Rising 2012 (PAC, Low Ki)

Wrestling DVDs

MercuryRising2012

Deauville Beach Resort – Miami Beach, FL – Saturday, March 31, 2012

Lenny Leonard is on commentary.

MATCH #1: Bobby Fish vs. Jon Davis

They take it down to the mat and exchange holds, much to the crowd’s delight. Davis definitely has the power advantage here and he’s not shy about using it. Fish hits a dropkick and then unleashes more kicks. Davis catches him in a big spinebuster for two. Now Davis is in control and he wears Fish down using his superior power. Davis hits a delayed vertical suplex for two. Fish fights back with kicks and knee strikes, and lands one right under Davis’ jaw for a two-count. He takes Davis down with a snap mare and goes up top for a moonsault but misses and lands on his feet. Fish hits a dragon screw out of the corner and goes for the Fish Hook but Davis kicks him off. Davis pops up and hits the Pounce. He goes for 3 Seconds Around the World but Fish counters it. Davis counters that into a powerslam for a two-count. A series of reversals ends with Fish cinching on the Fish Hook and Davis taps out at 9:32. That was a decent choice for an opener, as the crowd was into both guys but the wrestlers didn’t elevate it to anything more than “I do this, you do that,” etc.
Rating: **½

MATCH #2: Grudge Match – Arik Cannon w/ Pinkie Sanchez vs. AR Fox

Colt Cabana joins Leonard on commentary. Cannon attacks right away but Fox weathers the storm and hits a dropkick. Fox hits the Miz clothesline in the corner but then Cannon dumps him to the floor. Cannon throws Fox into the barricade and then throws him back in the ring. Fox recovers with a baseball slide and then hits the Kickflip to wipe out both Cannon and Sanchez. Back in the ring Fox gets a two-count. Cannon comes back with a neckbreaker. He continues to work Fox over and even pauses to drink some beer. Oh those cads. Fox comes back with a Stunner. He tries Lo Mein Pain but Cannon blocks it and Fox crashes to the canvas. Cannon goes back on offense but Fox counters him with his impressive athleticism. Fox hits a springboard missile dropkick that sends Cannon to the floor. He follows him out with a springboard 450, which also wipes out Sanchez again. Fox hits the guillotine legdrop on the apron for a two-count. He tries a rana off the second rope but Cannon counters with a Buckle Bomb. Cannon hits a huge lariat and then a big right hand. He connects with a superkick and then Total Anarchy for a very close near-fall. Fox comes back and hits a flatliner into the buckles and then a springboard Vader Bomb off the top rope for two. He locks on the End Time and Cannon counters it with a Brainbuster for two. Fox hits an enziguiri and then goes up top but misses a 450. He’s able to connect with a springboard Ace Crusher but only gets two. Fox hits a senton bomb in the corner and sets up for Lo Mein Pain. But from out of nowhere Sami Callihan throws a chair at Fox to draw the disqualification at 11:01. That was decent back and forth but there wasn’t a lot of cohesion tying the match together.
Rating; **½

MATCH #3: No Rules Fight – Sami Callihan vs. Sabu

Sabu obliges but since it’s a No Rules it starts off as a three-on-one assault. Jon Davis comes out to the rescue and runs Cannon and Sanchez off to the back. Meanwhile Callihan is going to work on Sabu in the ring. The fight spills to the floor and Callihan brings a table into the fray. Sabu kicks the table back into Callihan’s face and then brings a chair into the ring so he can jump off it, which he does, and lands right on the top rope. What the hell was that? Now they fight into the crowd. Not much happens and then they get back in the ring and swing chairs at each other. Sabu wins that battle. Callihan quickly resumes control and busts Sabu’s head open. He goes to work on Sabu’s hand, busting that open too. Sabu fights back, etc. He hits a DDT on a chair. Sabu puts on a Camel Clutch and then Davis, Sanchez, and Cannon make their way back to the ring. Davis dispatches Cannon and Sanchez again and then wipes them out with a plancha. Sabu throws Callihan to the floor and this time hits Air Sabu. Back in the ring Sabu continues the abuse until Callihan cuts him off by kicking a chair back into his shin. Callihan goes after the leg now, abusing it with a chair. He locks on the Stretch Muffler. Sabu escapes by using a chair. Callihan comes back and dumps his bottle of chew over Sabu’s head. Gross. Callihan goes up top with a steel chair but AR Fox comes running out and kicks it back into his face. Fox hits Lo Mein Pain and Sabu follows up with a huge chair shot. Callihan is set on the table. Sabu goes up top and hits the Arabian Facebuster to break the table and get the pin at 18:02. That went on way too long and was way too boring for my liking. I don’t see why Callihan wouldn’t go over here. At least Sabu showed up.
Rating: ½*

MATCH #4: The Chuck Taylor Invitational – Chuck Taylor vs. Rich Swann vs. Samuray del Sol vs. Lince Dorado vs. El Generico vs. CIMA

This was originally scheduled as Dorado versus Del Sol, but Chuck Taylor comes out to attack them both, in his bare feet no less. CIMA and Rich Swann come out to make the save. Then from out of nowhere EL GENERICO comes running out and enters himself in the invitational! The crowd is hot for him.

How is CIMA okay to wrestle this match but he was too injured to wrestle just last night? Regardless, he starts the match with Swann. They have a nice back and forth exchange and Swann dropkicks CIMA to the floor. Dorado and Del Sol come in and put on a high-flying exhibition. Del Sol is particularly impressive. Taylor comes in the ring and Generico ruins him off. That leaves us with Generico and Del Sol in the ring. They put on an even more impressive display than when Dorado was in the ring, because Generico is much better. Taylor takes a cheap shot at Generico and then tags Dorado on his way out of the ring. The match slows down a bit as everyone tries to gain an advantage. Taylor hits Del Sol with Sole Food for a two-count. Every time Taylor goes for a pin someone breaks it up. Eventually Generico gets the tag and he’s happy to hit Taylor with a swinging DDT. Things break down and bodies start flying in from everywhere to attack Taylor because he’s a jerk. Generico hits him with the running Yakuza Kick in the corner. They fight on the floor but the action continues in the ring. The action is getting too fast to follow. Swann hits Generico with a swank DDT for a two-count. Generico comes back with a Blue Thunder Powerbomb for two. CIMA hits Del Sol with a Tombstone Piledriver for a near-fall. He goes for Schwein but Taylor breaks that up. Del Sol hits Taylor with a pop-up rana with a cradle for two. Taylor comes back with a uranage and Dorado breaks up the cover. Dorado hits a Merosault on Taylor for two. Near-falls are happening all over the place. Generico hits Swann with an exploder into the turnbuckles. Dorado then flattens Generico with a beautiful Shooting Star Press. They go to the floor and Del Sol wipes them out with a dive. Swann looks for a dive but Taylor cheap shots him. Taylor goes for the Awful Waffle but CIMA breaks it up and hits Taylor with the Schwein. Dorado breaks up the cover. He hits CIMA with a one-man standing Spanish Fly for two. Dorado goes up top but Generico drills him with a boot to the face. Generico then hits the Top-Rope Brainbuster for the pin at 17:15. I actually thought that ran a little bit long but it was good fun for the most part and Generico got the crowd hyped up. Generico is definitely a good addition to the roster and I’m excited to see him around.
Rating: ***

MATCH #5: The Scene vs. Los Ben Dejos

The Scene is accompanied by Larry Dallas, Amber, and Shelly Martinez. Chuck Taylor has replaced Colt Cabana on commentary. Caleb Konley starts the match with Ben Dejo. Yes, that’s actually his name. The other one is named Marty Con, by the way. The two teams go back and forth in the early going, with the Scene using their power and the Dejos using their speed. This goes on for a little while. Larry Dallas interferes to give his team the advantage. Los Ben Dejos come back and get in quite a bit of offense. Konley and Reed cut them off and hit one of them with the Ob-Scene to get the win at 6:26. That was standard post-intermission fare. Los Ben Dejos haven’t been heard from since, and if DGUSA ever wants the Scene to be taken seriously they should be squashing jobber teams like this.
Rating: *½

MATCH #6: Open the Freedom Gate Title Match – Johnny Gargano vs. Masato Yoshino

Gargano has been the Champion since 11.13.11, and this is his second defense. He is accompanied by Rich Swann, even though he is part of the same stable that Yoshino is a part of. They start with some chain wrestling, just feeling each other out in the early going. Gargano dumps Yoshino to the floor and wipes him out with a dive. He goes to the apron and hits a somersault, and then chews his gum obnoxiously. What is it with wrestlers and gum? Back in the ring Gargano continues to wear Yoshino down. He focuses on the arm, which is one area that his submission finisher targets. Yoshino fights back and focuses on the neck, which makes sense for his submission finisher. I like the game of chess going on here. Gargano comes back and hits the Superman Spear. He puts on a version of the Tarantula and then nails a knee strike to the face. Yoshino tries a rana (you know, like he always does) and Gargano catches him with a sitout powerbomb for two. Gargano tries to capitalize but Yoshino hits him with Sling Blade. Yoshino goes up top and misses the missile dropkick. Gargano hits an Alabama Slam and a kick to the head for two. He goes for GargaNo Escape but Yoshino reaches the ropes. Yoshino comes back with a swinging DDT for two. He goes up top and this time hits the missile dropkick but only gets a two-count. An awesome series of reversals ends with Yoshino cinching in the GargaNo Escape! Gargano reaches the ropes. Yoshino hits Torbellino and locks on Sol Naciente! Gargano reverses it to the GargaNo Escape! Yoshino reaches the ropes. They exchange strikes and knock each other down. The crowd is juiced. Gargano hits the Lawn Dart and Yoshino hit the ring post. A series of reversals ends with Yoshino scoring a cradle for two. Gargano lands a superkick and hits Hurts Donut for a near-fall. He hits another Hurts Donut and locks on the GargaNo Escape and Yoshino taps out at 20:21. I never really bought Yoshino as a threat to the title but he made the most of the match, and they had some really cool reversal exchanges. Both guys also showed good strategy and psychology and it made for a very entertaining semi-main event.
Rating: ***¾

MATCH #7: The Dragon Gate Six Man Tradition Continues – PAC, Ricochet & Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Low Ki, BxB Hulk & Akira Tozawa

Mad Blankey is accompanied by Christina Von Eerie. Hulk and Tozawa attack right away and the spectacle begins. They send Ricochet and PAC to the floor and focus on the veteran Mochizuki. It’s notable that Ki did not join in on their pre-bell attack. Mochizuki fights back as Arik Cannon replaces Taylor on commentary. Ricochet tags in and sends Hulk to the floor. Ki tags in and the fans want PAC. They get what they want and here we go. PAC and Ki resume their battle from last night and pick up right where they left off. Mochizuki tags in and he unloads on Ki with hard kicks. Ki responds in kind. Mochizuki dumps Ki to the apron and then kicks him into the guardrail. Back in the ring Ricochet covers for two. Ki comes back and blasts Ricochet with a kick to the chest. Ricochet knocks Ki to the floor and goes for a dive but Ki cuts him off with a kick. The referee loses control briefly and when order is restored Tozawa is in control of Ricochet. The referee gets distracted and Tozawa hits a chair-assisted senton. Mad Blankey isolates Ricochet and keeps him away from his partners. After several minutes of abuse Ricochet makes the big comeback and makes the tag. Mochizuki is a house afire, knocking Mad Blankey to the floor. Ricochet wipes out Tozawa and Hulk with a dive. That leaves PAC and Ki in the ring. Ki hits PAC with a hard double stomp for two. The referee is losing control. Mochizuki and Hulk are in the ring now trading kicks. Hulk goes for an enziguiri but Mochizuki catches it and puts on the Ankle Lock. Tozawa breaks that up. The action is getting too fast to call. Offense is coming from all over the place. Tozawa gets isolated and destroyed by Mochizuki, PAC, and Ricochet. PAC hits a sitout powerbomb but Hulk and Ki break it up. Hulk hits Mochizuki with Mouse and more kicks. Mochizuki counters First Flash with a leg sweep. Hulk and Tozawa hold PAC and Ki hits a huge Tidal Wave. PAC comes back and hits a shooting star kick to the back of the head. Tozawa and Mochizuki tear into each other now. Hulk catches Mochizuki with First Flash and Tozawa hits the dead lift German Suplex but only gets two! Tozawa then hits the Straightjacket German Suplex to get the pin at 21:23. That match was awesome in every possible way and kept the crowd going for over 20 minutes. Everyone looked good and the action never stopped. This is a worthy entry in the series.
Rating: ****¼

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