DragonGate USA: The Rebirth 2025

Live From Las Vegas, NV

Initial Thoughts:  This is my first time checking out DragonGate Wrestling. I have seen a few of these wrestlers in other promotions and like what I've seen from them. The opening match did nothing to get the crowd invested in the show. The crowd did not seem interested in the show at all. They were quiet during the first two matches. Matt Sydal makes a guest appearance at DragonGate and gives a rah-rah speech.

KZY v Marcus Mathers

Seen KZY in a tag match in Defy the other night. I was impressed by his ring ability and have never seen Mathers, so this will be interesting. I do like his presence so far. Mathers refers to himself as Philly’s finest…. Is there anything fine about Philly? Mathers has a nice springboard. Gets a 2 count on KZY. KZY does a good job of selling each move, which I appreciate. Mathers hits a blue thunder bomb. It was nice, but nothing compares to the blue thunder bomb done by Takeshita. Mathers goes for the 450, but KZY moves. KZY with a nice flying upper cut to take down Mathers, can he hit his finisher….Mathers reverses, but KZY spikes Mathers, then hits impact and goes to the top to finish him off… taking too much time…he hits the frog splash and picks up the win. The match was good for an opening match. The crowd did not seem to be really that interested in this match, though.

Ho Ho Lun v Rhys Maddox

I saw Ho Ho Lun in Deft the other night, liked his style and in-ring ability. Rhys Maddox did his training under Booker T. We get a tie-up, as the match starts slow, in my opinion. Lun with a big boot to the face of Maddox, the match begins to pick up speed. Maddox’s uppercut to Lun in the corner looked a little sloppy. Lun begins to work on Maddox’s leg/ankle. Nice cutter by Maddox to take Lun down and give him some time to get a breath. Maddox is now on the offense against Lun and gets a 2 count. Nice missile dropkick by Lun. Maddox with a nice DDT on Lun, only a 2 count. Lun stacks him up and gets the win. Not a bad match given that Maddox is so young. I cannot wait to see Maddox improve and see where he is in the next 3 to five years. Maddox has great potential.

Sovereign (Evan Rivers, Judas Icarus, Travis Williams) v El Cucuy, La Estrella, Ultimo Dragon – Six Man Tag Team Match

I have seen Icarus and Williams in Defy as Sinner and Saint, and was impressed with them. I have not seen Evan Rivers, but he looks like he fits well in this group. El Cucuy has great gear and looks scary.  Ultimo Dragon gets a nice reaction from the crowd. This has been the most active the crowd has been all night. Cucuy and Williams started the match off. Cucuy has power; Williams will need to use his speed and try to keep Cucuy off his feet. El Cucuy is the Mexican version of the boogey man.. Estrella comes in, and Williams makes the tag to Icarus. Nice drop kick by Estrella. Poor cameraman got taken out too. Rivers with a nice clothesline on Estrella. Rivers reminds me of ELP from New Japan Pro Wrestling. Sovereign looks like a well-oiled machine. Williams with a 2 count on Estrella. Estrella needs to make a tag and has been grounded. Estrella moves out of the way, and Icarus hits Williams, and this allows Estrella to make the tag to Ultimo, who comes in and kicks Rivers. Ultimo cleans house. Ultimo has Williams in an ankle lock, but it's broken up, and we get everyone in the ring. Cucuy, for a big man, can fly. Rivers and Ultimo are in the ring, and Ultimo gets the pin for his team.

Rich Swann/Willie Mack v Ben-K/Hyo(He-O) v Gahbage Pail Kids(Alex Price & Jimmy Llyod ) – Three Way Tag Team Match

There was a change due to an injury to Cole, so Alex Price's new partner is Jimmy Lloyd.

I have seen Swann and Mack perform before and like them both. Hyo’s gimmick is a male stripper.. not a bad gimmick to get the female fans interested. Never seen Ben-K and Hyo.

Hyo and Price start. Hyo is controlling Price’s wrist. It seemed like there were several miscues between these two. We get Lloyd and Swann in now. Llyod with some unorthodox moves in the ring. Swann is now being double-teamed by Price and Lloyd. Mack comes in and cleans out Price and Lloyd. Mack and Ben-K are in the ring now. This match is chaos, which I love chaos in wrestling; however, this match did not keep me interested. If you like high flying, there are several wrestlers in this match that you would enjoy watching. Mack and Swann did a nice neckbreaker on Hyo. Swann pins Hyo for the win.

Neo Genesis (AZM & Starlight Kid) v HATE (Konami & Natsuko Tora)

The only person I have seen wrestle out of this bunch was AZM, although I have heard of Starlight Kid, just never seen her in the ring

HATE goes after Neo Genesis, and this looks like a street fight match as they came with weapons. Tora looks vicious and was trained by Asuka. Konami is taking it to AZM, and Starlight comes in to break the hold on AZM, but now both AZM and Starlight are in submission holds by HATE. Tora gets tagged and spits something in the face of AZM, and Tora takes down the ref. AZM with a Supplex on Tora, makes the tag to Starlight, who gives a nice crossbody on Tora for a 2 count. Starlight Kid is a high flyer but has to do something to keep Tora down. We are getting a slugfest between the two, but Tora would have the advantage. Nice cannonball by Tora.  AZM with the roll-up for the win. After the match, HATE attacks Neo Genesis. This match was ok, nothing really impressive as I would expect from Joshi wrestlers.

Z-Brats (ISHIN, Kota Minoura, Shun Skywalker) v PARADOX (Dragon Kid, Susumu Yokosuka, Yamato) – Six-Man Tag Team Match

The only two wrestlers I have any knowledge of are Dragon Kid and ISHIN. Shun Skywalker’s gear looks good. I believe I might have seen Yokosuka in Deft the other night, but I don’t remember his match. Minoura and Yokosuka are starting. Minoura and Yokosuka seem evenly matched in the ring. Dragon Kid comes in and Shun Skywalker. Skywalker has a height advantage over Dragon Kid. Dragon Kid is going to have to use his speed to take Shun off his feet. ISHIN and Yamato are now in the ring together after making their respectful tags. We get shoulder tackles from each man. ISHIN with a nice Supplex on Yamato. The remainder of the teams are taking each other out outside the ring. Dragon Kid is getting double-teamed as he is in the wrong corner, and the ref is distracted. PARADOX is doing great heel stuff and is making fans hate them. Every man is down in the ring, ISHIN and Yamato are the legal men, and they exchange chops with each other. ISHIN getting triple-teamed… Yamato with the pin after a Ragnarök. Not a bad match if you like chaos in your matches.

Overall thought this show was good. I will check out more of Dragon Gate wrestling USA.