1.Open the Brave Gate Title: Genki Horiguchi(c) vs Kagetora ***
2.Open the Triangle Gate Titles: MASQUERADE(Dragon Dia, Estrella, Jason Lee) (c) vs Aagan Iisou (Kondo, Owashi, YASSHI) ****
Thoughts:
I've dropped a crap load of reviews for this show on the site the past few days, unapologetically. I was so excited to find the series again that I've been diving right in to catch up. The trend I noticed seemed to suggest GAORA Sports would be uploading new installments each Saturday. Yesterday was Saturday. The translated description attached to the videos, that I've noticed at least, says the same and yet this week we have no new episode. Yet, at least. Did I just find Cutting Edge Battle again, making it easier for me to get back into the product instead of just selecting pulls, just to have it lost to me for a second time? I am being way too dramatic about nothing, I bet.
Anyway, this one is the first bit that's airing from the Speed Star Final show that took place the same weekend as this year's big Kobe gig. It's going to be very bittersweet watching Yoshino's retirement match, when it airs.
Up first, Horiguchi won the Brave Gate strap back on episode 117 and now defends it on the opener two installments later. He was not successful, which feels a bit like a question mark for me. I was under the impression that Genki was retiring soon, too. I figured this reign was going to be his send-off run, perhaps. Instead, it ended quickly. Kagetora had recently joined High-End a few episodes back and I suppose they want to give him momentum, though. Short, but good. That's how I'd describe it. I am intrigued to say the least at how Kagetora's reign will go but I'd prefer someone like SB KENTo or Minoura holding the belt if I am being honest.
Speaking of, SB KENTo is shown confronting Kagetora backstage. Cool. The dude's hair grows fast, by the way.
So, in the main event, Aagan Iisou is back together. That's pretty cool. We're going back in time to the earliest days of the company, when Ultimo ran the joint, for this unit. That basically meant we were getting base-dicks versus high-flying entertainment. It was fantastic. I really like MASQUERADE as a unit, by the way, and these young dudes are awesome in general.
The reason I've plowed through the series to catch up is because the show is so fucking easy to watch. Each edition is a half-hour of pure lucharesu excitement and the only wrestling programs I consider to be as good as Cutting Edge Battle is We are STARDOM!! and AEW's Dynamite and Rampage shows.
Check this one out.
Overall Rating: 80/100%