DGUSA "Mercury Rising 2012" Internet PPV Roundtable
March 31, 2012 (WrestleMania Weekend)
On-Demand Replay available at WWNLive.com

Greg Parks, PWTorch columnist (8.0)

In comparing the two Wrestlemania weekend DGUSA shows, I think I liked the undercard of the first show better, but Mercury Rising had the better one-two combo of the final two matches. That said, I thought there was very little separating the shows quality-wise. Both were must-sees if you haven't yet checked them out.

I don't know how I failed to mention this in the Open The Ultimate Gate RT, but I was very pleased with the production values on both DGUSA shows. At a time when ROH has come under fire for their issues (not just on Go Fight Live's end, but camera work and directing of the shows), DGUSA has done a really nice job giving their shows a clean, professional feel.

The show-opening match was technically sound with some good exchanges at the end. Jon Davis looks like your typical brawler, but he showed he could mat wrestle here. Arik Cannon played to the crowd well during his match with A.R. Fox. Fox has that swimmer's body that Vince McMahon detests, but he impressed me in the two shows.

For a time, I could only concentrate on the streamers stuck to the bottom of Sami Callihan's boot during his match with Sabu - it reminded me of toilet paper stuck to someone leaving the bathroom. There was a good story behind the match, but it went on too long.

I'm not sure the legality of Chuck Taylor interrupting a match to start his own; maybe that's just a part of DGUSA I haven't been exposed to yet. The luchadores added a different dimension to the show, which was nice. Los Ben Dejos did well in their iPPV debut against The Scene. The match was short, with a lot of action packed into it.

Johnny Gargano vs. Masato Yoshino was really well-done, though I wasn't a huge fan of Taylor on commentary, especially over the first several minutes of the match. The six-man main event was wild. Ricochet lived up to his name in that one, taking an absolute beating. DGUSA won me over with these two shows, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

Brian Leahy, PWTorch specialist (8.0)

DGUSA followed up their fantastic “Open the Ultimate Gate” show with another superb effort at Mercury Rising 2012. Although the undercard matches may not have been quite as good as their counterparts from the night before, the show produced three top, different matches, which outstanding in their own right.

EVOLVE main-stays Bobby Fish and Jon Davis kicked off the festivities with a fine opener. Both men looked impressive, especially Davis with some big power moves. Fish seemed to have more favor with the live crowd, and his submission win was well received. I would have expected a little more protection for Davis in this match, but Fish seems to have moved on from his series of losses in EVOLVE pre-unification with DGUSA, and put himself in the conversation for the EVOLVE Title after this weekend.

Cannon vs. A.R. Fox was an enjoyable style-clash in the second bout, as Cannon worked his ground & pound game and played a great foil to Fox's high-flying, quick-paced offense. The match was picking up considerable steam before it was somewhat spoiled by the interference of Sami Callihan, causing a DQ. The booking here was a little infuriating: Fox could have benefited from some momentum, and Cannon wouldn’t have been damaged here, but this seemed to be done to segue into Callihan vs. Sabu, and provide Sabu with an ally to interfere on his behalf later on.

Callihan vs. Sabu I could have done without; Sabu is long past his prime, and came across as a liability to himself and his opponent. Two moments stood out: Sabu’s unintentionally-hilarious double-jump, self-crotch on the top strand, and his reckless chairshot near the end ofthe match, which seemed to catch Callihan at the back of the head. Sabu’s no-selling and win here were the final nail in the coffin for me. Easily my least favorite match of the weekend.

The “Chuck Taylor Invitational” then lifted my spirits. Taylor, Lince Dorado, Samurai del Sol, Rich Swann, CIMA, and the debuting El Generico put on a, quite frankly, ridiculous showcase of high-flying action. The match started off with a few rule-respecting pair-offs, allowing for some nice sequences, but devolved/evolved into dive sequences and multi-man trade-offs. Shockingly enough, they even managed to weave some story into the action as Taylor was targeted by the faces while playing occasional foil to the faces. El Generico’s eventual win was super well-received, and goes to show just goes to show what ROH has been missing out on with their half-hearted use of the “Generic Luchador."

Los Ben Dejos and The Scene had a fine popcorn match for the live crowd post-intermission, which ensured everyone had gotten back into the groove of things for the Gargano vs. Yoshino DGUSA Title match. Despite some slow going in the early stages of Gargano-Yoshino, the crowd was hot for the action throughout. Leonard and Taylor did a great job on commentary of selling the match, and building up Yoshino’s sol naciente, such that when Gargano escaped the hold, it came across like a huge deal. From the sol naciente escape onwards, the action was gripping, and was eaten up by the live crowd. Yoshino looked typically great here, while Gargano’s win was a strong validation of his position in DGUSA, and his performance showed little signs of a man who had been doubtful for the event just a few weeks ago.

DGUSA closed out the weekend with the traditional and signature six-man tag match pitting Low Ki, Tozawa, and BxB Hulk against Mochizuki, PAC, and Richochet. The match didn’t quite match up to the best six-mans bouts, but was blistering, none the less. The PAC-Low Ki dynamic was nicely played up over the match, and added another dimension to the “usual” action. Unlike previous years, the match didn’t have a ridiculous long series of kick-outs, which although exciting live, has been overplayed in recent times. That DGUSA strayed away from that style this weekend is an investment in their future. And, the placement of more focus on characters and storylines over the weekend shows some astute thinking. DGUSA is quickly bridging the gap between the action in the ring, and the stories that bring in the fans to watch them play out between the ropes.

I didn’t enjoy the overall card as much as I did “Open The Ultimate Gate," but ignoring the abhorrent waste of Sami Callihan, the undercard was still decent. In reality, it’s the top bouts you really want to give your time to. Even if you think you’re not a fan of the “DGUSA Style,” there were three radically different, but equally enthralling four-star-plus matches on here. If you can’t enjoy what DGUSA put on this weekend, there’s no hope for you, but I suspect anyone who picked up Mercury Rising was more than satisfied with what they got. Recommended.

Sean Radican, PWTorch columnist (9.0)

When you think about the number of awe-inspiring matches on this card, it really was a special night for DGUSA. The PAC invitational, which turned into the Chuck Taylor Invitational was fantastic, especially with Generico’s heel turn. The Gargano-Yoshino Open the Freedom Gate title match and Six Man Tag matches were also excellent. There’s bound to be something between those three matches that will blow your mind.

Colt Cabana was a nice addition on commentary for the first half of the show. Lenny Leonard could really use a consistent partner instead of a rotation of different people, but for WrestleMania weekend, Cabana was a good get and he and Leonard meshed together well. The product feels fresher and a lot of it has to do with the pacing and variety of matches the company is putting together.

The Fox-Cannon and Callihan-Sabu matches tied together nicely, as they set up another Callihan-Fox match. I was really enjoying the Cannon-Fox match up until the DQ finish with Callihan interfering. Fox is amazing to watch in the ring and the Cannon has more than earned his spot in the promotion. Sabu-Callihan used the entire bag of tricks you would expect, but it dragged in spots. The finish with Fox interfering to cause Sami the match makes sense going forward and I'm looking forward to seeing Fox and Callihan really break through in DGUSA/EVOLVE this year.

The card rounded out with three really good matches. There was an insane Chuck Taylor invitational match featuring El Generico's surprise appearance - these guys tore it up and everyone in the match looked good. Gargano-Yoshino was another excellent match on this card. They told a really good story in the ring built around Yoshino's sol naciente submisison that Taylor and Leonard put over on commentary. I enjoyed Taylor on commentary, but he may have been a lit over the top selling his heel turn at times.

The main event Six-Man Tag was a blast to watch, as they played up the rivalry between PAC and Ki. I'm hoping for a series of matches between these two, but I really enjoyed the taste of what they can deliver during this weekend. Of course, there was a ton of insane action in this one and the finishing sequence between Mochizuki and Tozawa was insane.

I thought DGUSA really made a good impression during both nights of WrestleMania weekend. These were two of their better back-to-back shows and the company seems to be turning the tide when it comes to presenting a product with storylines, variety, and well-paced cards. I liked this show more than "Open the Ultimate Gate 2012," but both shows are well-worth ordering on demand at WWNLive.com.

Jimmy Eaton, PWTorch Common Fan specialist (8.5)

Wow. Just... Wow. I don't think I've ever seen a more diverse style of wrestling on one show. Japanese style, Hardcore style, Lucha style, etc. Just a wonderful job by DGUSA to really play to all types of wrestling fans with a solid audience for Wrestlemania Weekend. This show would have scored an 8.0, but I thought it deserved a jump for the great display of diversity with each passing match. The show had a solid build with meaningful but simple stories and a fun combination of commentators joining Lenny Leonard throughout the evening. While no match was well over four-stars or an instant classic, it was entertaining for me as a fan, and after any show, that should be the goal of any promoter or performer.

The start of the show was simple with a solid singles match with Bobby Fish and Jon Davis. As the night went on, things got better and better. To me, this is how every show should be laid out and it's a shame that more often than not, shows have too many down periods with things not climaxing during the main event. Dragon Gate USA succeeded with this formula on this show. Fish-Davis (**) led to an even better contest with Arik Cannon and A.R. Fox. Fox is just absolutely incredible to watch regarding his athleticism, doing things I never thought a human could do. Given more time, I think this match could have been much more memorable. (**1/2)

Next was a Street Fight with Sabu and Sami Callihan that turned in an above-average brawl. I'm not usually a fan of these, but Lenny Leonard helped keep my interest by explaining some of the backstory to their feud. This brings me to another high point in the evening, the commentary. Guests included Colt Cabana, Chuck Taylor, and Arik Cannon, and holy crap was it good. All three guys were great alongside Leonard, who I think is one of the most underrated commentators in the business. (***)

From here, the show really kicked into high gear. The six-way match was fantastic and some of the newer talent that I'd never seen before really impressed me (Samuray and Dorado), but El Generico has to be one of the most popular wrestlers on the independent scene today, without question. So many different styles were shown and I'm absolutely loving the heel character Chuck Taylor plays. He was right on-point with jumping guys from behind and selling his disgust in almost everything he does. All six wrestlers in this match put on a show, and El Generico's top turnbuckle super-brainbuster was stunning and as perfect as you can get with that complicated of a move. (***3/4)

I'll talk about the intermission now briefly. I believe WWN Live is by far the best iPPV destination, and during intermission to actually show content, which was a big positive. They brought me up to speed with a few things, explained some stories, and showed some footage from shows I missed. It was just a smart way to fill 15 minutes or so of time instead of showing just a logo.

To start the second half of the show, it was time for Los Ben Dejos vs. The Scene. I've been really looking forward to seeing the Scene for a while now and am a big fan of Larry Dallas, but I was surprised to see my boys Los Ben Dejos on the card! I wasn't aware of this until Mr. Radican filled me in and it's a great surprise because Ben Dejo is a good friend of mine. The Scene was fun and their heel antics were definitely hate-able, but Los Ben Dejos really did a phenomenal job of getting the crowd not only involved after the intermission, but behind them as newcomers. I liked that they also really showed a different style that isn't seen very often in DGUSA. It was a breath of fresh air to see the Lucha-style wrestling and I hope to see them along with the Scene continue to build a strong tag division and be in contention soon for the Open the United Gate Titles. (***)

Next was the Open the Freedom Gate Title match with Johnny Gargano defending against Matsato Yoshino. This match was a bit slower than I expected, but given Gargano's recent back injury I can understand why. That aside, this was still fantastic. Gargano proved that no injury is going to slow him down as he held his own move for move and still showed the great charisma he had when I first saw him wearing a Pokemon t-shirt on at a past Evolve show. He had some great sequences with Yoshino, including the great finish with a submission hold exchange before Yoshino tapped out. Just a great job by both men and a much more technical match than I expected going in. Also, if you haven't checked out Sean Radican's recent article on Johnny Gargano and his story, check it out. it's a great article and highlights a touching letter from a fan to Mr. Gargano. (***1/2)

Last on the show was a traditional, "sure to be full of awesomeness" six-man tag match with World 1 taking on Low Ki and MAD BLANKEY (BxB Hulk with a unique new character) and Akira Tozawa with Christina Von Eerie. Like almost every time I see a new wrestler on DGUSA, I came away impressed. This time was no different with Masaaki Mochizuki. He had some great stuff with Akira Tozawa and throughout the whole match my mind was blown at the things I saw from PAC, Richocett, and Low Ki. Bodies were flying all over the place at different times and they were smart to not overcrowd the ring. I also loved the Lucha no tag rule! It made the action go so much quicker with little delay. Also, it was rightfully the main event of the night, although I wish titles were on the line in the main event a bit more in DGUSA. Just a minor complaint, though, as tradition isn't a bad substitute in this case. Also, how about Von Eerie's hair? Crazy. Nice to see a new look for BxB Hulk as well. I haven't seen him in the heel role much in the past. (****)

Overall, I highly recommend this show due to not only the diversity of wrestling styles, but the solid stories and fantastic in-ring action, which was only slowed by a few average but still good undercard matches. Check out this as well as reviews and other great coverage of WrestleMania Weekend shows from Sean Radican and Co. The team minus me really busted their butts over Mania Weekend to provide all the best coverage and stories they could. And, I say excluding me simply because I was getting married just before the weekend wrestling rush. The married life is slowly settling in, so I'm finding a bit more free time finally after a year-and-a-half of planning for the said wedding.

Finally, keep an eye out in the coming week or two for my Retrospective of the Common Fan return on "ROH: Manhattan Mayhem 2005." Thanks for reading and this has been your perspective, from a common fan! (Agree? Disagree? Follow me @TheCommonFan to start the debate and head on over to Facebook on the RWC page to join in on great wrestling discussions every day!)

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