Welcome back to the King of Gate Tournament as we talk about the next round before we proceed to the block finals. One of my picks was eliminated but we at least we got the other two in it for now.

Who will make it to their block finals? Let’s find out as we…dive right in.

Rating System:

• 0 Stars: Dave Meltzer
• 1 Star: Vince Russo
• 2 Stars: Tony Schiavone
• 3 Stars: Eric Bischoff
• 4 Stars: Bruce Prichard
• 5 Stars: Jim Cornette

A Block 5/22/2020

King of Gate A Block Match
YAMATO vs. Kzy

Review: Time for our first match as we have YAMATO taking on Kzy. YAMATO was able to advance when he defeated Ryo Saito and Kzy moved on defeating H.Y.O by DQ. This is a hard one to call since YAMATO was my block pick and I want Kzy to win, why you unfair to me? Which one of these two will make it to the block final?

You know you’re going to get a great match out of these two because they hardly ever disappoint you in terms of match quality. Started with a simple test of strength and YAMATO getting the early advantage in the match. The match started going back and forth near the middle of it now and Kzy selling his arm when YAMATO would hurt it. Kzy did great with the selling of the arm while YAMATO played to his strength in the process. The momentum would change when Kzy hits the Blockbuster on him.

Kzy slammed YAMATO down and makes his way to the top rope to hit the Frog Splash but YAMATO moved out of the way, causing him to land face-first into the mat. The two slowly get up to brawl back and forth until Kzy hits the Running Elbow Smash and followed up with a Shotgun. Kzy rolled him off the turnbuckle and takes another attempt at the Frog Splash but YAMATO had his knees up this time. Kzy looked like he went for the Tilt-a-Whirl but YAMATO catches him to attempt the Gallaria. Kzy was able to fight out of it by going for the Tombstone but YAMATO flipped over him to hit the Gallaria this time and gets the victory. YAMATO is now going to the block finals in a great match and don’t worry, Kzy, win the Battle Royal later.

Rating: Eric Bischoff and three quarters

King of Gate A Block Match
Diamante vs. Yosuke Santa Maria

Review: It’s time for the last match for A Block as Diamante takes on Yosuke Santa Maria. Yosuke was able to get the surprise victory over Susumu to make it this far while Diamante had an upset victory of his own when he defeated Dragon Kid. Which one of these two will fight YAMATO in the block finals?

Santa Maria would attack Diamante once the bell has rung but Diamante would shove him off and would start his assault. Diamante showed a little bit of improvement during this match but still a little rough around the edges at the same time. Diamante had control for a good majority of the match over Santa Maria, even throwing him around outside of the ring during his heat. Santa Maria was able to make a comeback after having him in the corner and charges at Diamante with a couple of forearms.

Diamante eventually was able to toss Santa Maria up to the top rope and climbs up as the two fought on there. Santa Maria would jump on the ropes to hit a Hurricanrana with Diamante off the second rope. Santa Maria attempted the Crucifix pin but Diamante would spin him off to hit the Backbreaker and Gutbuster combo. Diamante would then hit the Vuelta Finale to get the victory and will now face YAMATO. I was not expecting Diamante to win but was still a solid match with a good showing by both of these men.

Rating: Eric Bischoff and a quarter

B Block 5/23/2020

King of Gate B Block Match
Kaito Ishida vs. Keisuke Okuda

Review: Time to start the B Block matches as we have Open the Brave Gate Champion, Kaito Ishida taking on Keisuke Okuda. Kaito advanced when he defeated Jason Lee and Keisuke would move on after getting the upset victory over BxB Hulk, which I’m still mad at him for. Will our champion move to the block finals or does Keisuke get another upset?

The two would just stare each other down from their corners for a good minute until the referee told them to get on with it already. The two finally begin as they punch each other for a bit until Kaito quickly turned it into a German Suplex. Kaito would use this time to just attack Keisuke in the corner with forearms and kicks, hits an Enziguri. Keisuke didn’t get much offense in the match and finally hits the Lights Out but didn’t get much of it as Kaito retreats to the corner. Keisuke rushed towards him as Kaito quickly moved out of the way and pulled the turnbuckle pad off with him, smart move. The two are now fighting outside of the ring and it seems Keisuke had the upper-hand but Kaito pulled his leg out to get him down and rushed into the ring, getting the count out victory over Keisuke.

Rating: Tony Schiavone and three quarters

King of Gate B Block Match
KAI vs. Naruki Doi

Review: Time for our final match of B Block this round as KAI takes on the Open of Dream Gate Champion, Naruki Doi. KAI defeated Genki Horiguchi to get here while Naruki defeated Big R Shimizu. The winner of this match will fight Kaito Ishida in the block final. Will KAI get a big win over the champion or will the back be champion vs champion?

We get some solid chain wrestling to kick things off with this match and ends with Naruki hitting a quick and beautiful armdrag. Naruki is very quick and crisp with his moves and he’s almost forty but being in Dragon Gate shows us how fast and smooth they can be despite age. KAI was able to find a small opening when he hits a Dragon Screw when Doi was between the ropes and works the champion’s leg right after. KAI eventually applies the Figure Four and has it locked it as Doi tries his best to fight him off and does when he gets to the ropes. This might be one of KAI’s best performances in Dragon Gate in quite some time and when he does try, he can produce great matches like this.

Doi would hit the Doi 555 and attempts to hit the Bakatare Sliding Kick but KAI would catch him with a Superkick and hits another one to take him down and pins him for a two count. The two brawl for a moment but Naruki would quickly hit the Bakatare Sliding Kick this time but KAI quickly rolled up and charges in to hit the Lariat and the two go down! The two get up and KAI attempted a German Suplex but Naruki rolled him for a pin as KAI kicked out and hits another Lariat onto Naruki. KAI would attempt at one more Lariat but Naruki caught his arm and rolled him for the V9 Clutch and pinned him to get the victory in a great match!

Rating: Bruce Prichard

C Block 5/24/2020

King of Gate C Block Match
Dragon Dia vs. KAZMA SAKAMOTO

Review: Time for our final block as it starts with Dragon Dia taking on KAZMA SAKAMOTO. KAZMA was able to advance after defeating Masaaki Mochizuki in a surprise victory and Dragon Dia had an upset of his own when he defeated Takashi Yoshida. Which one of these two will make it to the block finals?

I don’t know what the hell that was but it seems like they were going for a shoulder tackle spot but KAZMA just lightly pushed him down on the mat and it just looked awkward when it happened. After that little mess, Dia started to use his quickness to get the fast one over KAZMA but then KAZMA just derailed him right away. KAZMA just had most of the control during the match but nothing too memorable in this one as it was either basic or something coming out sloppy. Dia hits KAZMA with an Armdrag and attempts to hit a 619 but KAZMA caught him with a knee to the gut. KAZMA would then hit Dia in the back of the head with a Shining Wizard but Dia kicked out at two. KAZMA picked Dia up but Dia has KAZMA hit the ropes and hits the 619 this time, topping it off with a Jumping DDT as KAZMA kicked out. KAZMA attempted the pop-up but Dia jumped over him and hits a Springboard Tornado DDT and topped it with what looked like the V9 Clutch and got the pin over KAZMA. Dragon is young but also has ways to go if he’s gonna be the future dragon of this generation.

Rating: Tony Schiavone and three quarters

King of Gate C Block Match
Ben-K vs. Eita

Review: We now have our final block match as Ben-K takes on Eita. Ben defeated Kagetora to advance and Eita would defeat Strong Machine J. The last time the two fought was during the King of Gate finals last year when Ben defeated Eita. Will lightning strike twice or does Eita win to become one step closer to reaching his destiny?

Much better performance out of Ben on this one compared to his previous match just wanted to point that out before I would continue with this one. Did this one top their match last year? No, but it was still a solid bout due to the circumstances given with the situation. Eita would use his heel tactics to have the referee in front of him to stop Ben’s momentum and kicked him below the belt once the referee was shoved to the side. Eita certainly has grown from the past year and has been acting more of a leader ever since he kicked out Shingo Takagi in 2018. We get a nice little exchange when Ben attempted a Back Suplex but Eita rolled him over but Ben was able to get behind him to hit it this time around and connect, came out smooth.

Eita was able to get Ben’s arms in a butterfly lock and lifts him for a German Suplex as Ben kicked out at two. The two punch back and forth for a moment until Ben turned it into a Spear and Eita kicked out at two. Ben looked like he was going for the Ben-K Bomb but Eita powered out and hits the Imperial Uno, getting Ben to go down. Eita attempted a Lariat as Ben catches him with another Spear and pinned him for another two count. Ben gets to deadlift him into a Gutwrench Sitout Powerbomb and this could be it but Eita kicked out again! Ben starts running to get some momentum for another Spear as Eita kicks him in the face while he was running, making his body fold backward. Eita pushes him into the corner and hits him with the Imperial Uno and delivers one more to take him down and Eita makes it to the block finals!

Holy hell! What a kick from Eita! @Eita_Luchador #DragonGate #DragonGateNetwork #KingOfGate2020https://t.co/FbUXmdCaTY pic.twitter.com/i0I53pUpSm

— Dan Pierce (@DanIsAYeti) May 26, 2020

Rating: Eric Bischoff and a half

Overall: Some of these matches probably would’ve increased the quality of it if there was a crowd involved but we still had some solid to great matches for the next round. We’re now down to the block finals on the next show along with the battle royal to see who will join them for the final 4. It should be an exciting one.

Favorite Match: KAI vs. Naruki Doi

Least Favorite Match: Kaito Ishida vs. Keisuke Okuda

Score: 7/10