October 7, 2018
Fukuoka, Hakata Star Lanes
The Gate of Victory 2018
Attendance: 1659
1. Kzy, Susumu Yokosuka⭕️, “brother” YASSHI (10:09 Yokosuka Cutter) Problem Dragon, Hyo Watanabe, Kota Minoura❌
2. Ryo Saito⭕️, Don Fujii (7:16 Gedo Clutch) Gamma, Shachihoko Boy❌
3. Kagetora (8:09 No Contest due to R・E・D interference) Punch Tominaga
4. YAMATO, Yosuke♡Santa Maria, U-T⭕️ (13:52 Bienllave) Masaaki Mochizuki, Shun Skywalker, Yuki Yoshioka❌
5. PAC⭕️, Big R Shimizu, Ben-K, Takashi Yoshida, Yasushi Kanda (21:28 Black Arrow) Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, Jason Lee, Dragon Kid, Kaito Ishida❌
6. Shingo Takagi Dragon Gate Final: BxB Hulk⭕️ (17:56 First Flash) Shingo Takagi❌
R・E・D attacked both Punch & Kagetora. Word is all these people are here too Shingo Takagi’s last match but he knows they are really here to see R・E・D. They isolated Punch and cut his hair again. R・E・D overwhelmed until MaxiMuM (plus DK & Kaito) hit the ring. They weren’t here to save anyone. Vibes are their opponents in the 4 way next month. They were here because they have business with R・E・D tonight in the semi main. Shimizu said their entire team was whatever, but Big R Shimizu is everything and he will prove it by kicking the crap out of them later. DK promised a MaxiMuM win to which annoyed DoiDoi had to remind him that he wasn’t a member of the unit.
U-T continued to provoke Mochizuki Dojo. Korakuen was Hyo, today was Yoshioka. He was 2/3 of the way to paying them back for those 3 consecutive defeats. Shun bluntly told him to stop talking and bring it to him. U-T warned him was ready to submit him any time he wanted. When he does, that will be the end of Mochizuki Dojo. What was the purpose of a team with Mochizuki and three nobodies, anyway? They were useless. Shun wondered what his goals were. Did he want to beat him or did he want a unit battle? U-T said that Mochizuki Dojo was totally out of Tribe Vanguard’s league and He was going to make Shun tap out to prove it.
R・E・D took over the ring again after the semifinal. Eita was frustrated at not being able to wrestle tonight. It was all Dragon Kid’s fault so he was going to get revenge on him by exposing his face to everyone. He ripped his mask off, but Doi quickly made the save. Eita managed to injure himself and is taking it out on DK. To a masked wrestler, masks are more important than life. Furthermore, DK and Ishida were important partners. MaxiMuM weren’t going to stand back and let anyone badmouth or harm them. Why? Because they were a part of MaxiMuM! Eita figured the loss of Shimizu & Ben-K has left them in a real bad way if they were going to take the likes of those two as members. It doesn’t matter. R・E・D rules Dragon Gate and no one can stop them.
DK was taken aback by the sudden change of heart and wondered if he was hearing it correctly. There were cameras and a bunch of people so Doi can’t take it back now. Doi confirmed he was serious. His change of heart came a few days ago. He turned 38 on October 4th, and at exactly midnight he received a happy birthday tweet from DK. Who does that? DK confirmed that he set a reminder for 5 minutes before so he would be ready. We live in the social media era and he just couldn’t deny the amount of likes it got. His mind was changed. He wanted them to join. Yoshino admitted he wanted them to join from the start, and Jason welcomed them so it was finally official.
Hulk and Takagi have been together since the very beginning. 14 years. Today, in Takagi’s last match in Dragon Gate, Hulk was going to take his win and leave. Takagi told him that while he was leaving DG, he wasn’t leaving wrestling. He doesn’t know where or when, but they will meet again in the near future. Hulk wasn’t going to get to take his win and go. Their feud isn’t over. He revealed that they’ve never even gone out for a meal or a drink. They are friends on LINE but he can’t recall ever exchanging messages. Hulk just sucks, really. They aren’t friends. But they are brothers in arms. They are mirror images of each other. Hulk can do all the things Takagi can’t and vice-versa. Without him, he wouldn’t be who he is today so for that reason and that reason only he isn’t mad that Hulk exists. Hulk noted the overflowing crowd came today to see him off and they do, deep down, actually like him. Not him. He still hates his guts. He figured this was as good a time as any for everyone else who hates him to come out and say goodbye. The majority of the roster came out, which Hulk called a testament to how much of a pain in the ass Takagi really was. Takagi was a good sport and said he was ready to hear from each of them how much they hated him.
Hulk echoed Takagi’s sentiments. He hates him more than anyone, but without Shingo Takagi there is no BxB Hulk. For that reason he will always be grateful to him. They finally shook hands.
Kzy didn’t know how to follow up, since there really was no topping that. Takagi has mocked, looked down on and beaten the hell out of him on countless occasions. He now leads a unit and he probably owes a lot to that. Even though he is going freelance, he shouldn’t think he is safe from Kzy. He is still one of his generation rivals and Kzy still intends to prove how far he has come. They will eventually go 1 on 1, and he can’t wait for that day to come. As for today, there is someone with more to say than him. He passed to Punch who was already a mess.
He fought the tears to say that Takagi has tormented him in the ring, behind the scenes, and even on social media. He even used him as a chair. He’s made his life a living hell. Still, he is going to miss him so much. He wished him all the best and thanked him for everything.
Doi said Takagi falls somewhere between love and hate for him. He’s known for being selfish so he recalled the time they challenged for the ROH Tag Titles in the UK in 2007. Doi was just there for a few matches and Takagi was in the middle of his year long stay overseas. Takagi told him that if they were in a position to win, he should let Takagi get the pin. He did just that, and they actually won the titles. He wished him luck going his own way.
Yoshino has some good memories of him. They were together in Blood Generation and Monster Express, among other units. They even went to a baseball game together with Akira Tozawa. It’s fitting that he is finishing here in Hakata because this is where Shingo Takagi the wrestler was born. No matter where he goes, Dragon Gate will be his home. He is welcome back any time. Everyone will be waiting to meet him, in the ring.
YAMATO called him an incredibly annoying opponent. He didn’t mean that as an insult. He was younger than YAMATO, but his senior in terms of career. He didn’t want to lose to him and didn’t want to acknowledge how good he was. But he’s also someone you can’t not acknowledge. He’s always been a bit jealous of Hulk & Takagi. He wanted to be a put in the same category as them, but watching today he knows he never would be. Their rivalry and relationship is special. They had their blowoff today. How long would YAMATO have to wait for his? Takagi admitted he wanted revenge for World 2016 so the day that they fight again would come sooner or later. YAMATO hoped it would happen before he was in his forties. For 12 years he’s been playing catch up to Shingo Takagi, constantly behind him. He hopes Takagi will continue to achieve great things because it will continue give him high standards to strive for.
R・E・D came out. Shimizu was surprised to hear that Takagi wasn’t retiring. With him out of the way it was up to R・E・D to cause all the trouble and be the ruling party in Dragon Gate.
Takagi revealed that ever since his announcement, numerous fans have said to him that they wished it was Shimizu leaving instead of him. He got streamers befitting a retirement match, but he wasn’t retiring. He was planning on wrestling for 30 years or more. He’s been at it for 15 years so he still has at least half of his career ahead of him. While he hopes that the fans will continue to support Dragon Gate, he also hopes that they come to see him when he is in Hakata or wherever their hometown is. He will always carry the dragon spirit with him, as he continues going his own way. He’s not not the type to say these types of things, but he is incredibly grateful for the last 14 years. Thank you, so much.
