by Gabe Sapolsky

The July 25th Dragon Gate USA debut show in Philadelphia is less than two weeks away and we know most of the details of the lineup. Now I will do something that I never would have done in the past. This blog will focus on opening up the booking book and letting you in on the matchmaking thought process.

We need to begin by looking at the current card:

Main Event #1- Non-Title
Open The Dream Gate Champion Naruki Doi vs. Shingo

Main Event #2
Dragon Kid vs. Masato Yoshino

Main Event #3
BxB Hulk vs. YAMATO

Tag Team Challenge Match
CIMA & Susumu Yokosuka vs. The Young Bucks

CHIKARA Eight Man Tag Team Match
Fire Ant, Soldier Ant, Jigsaw & TBA vs. Gran Akuma, Icarus, Amasis & Hallowicked

Special Attraction Match
2 Cold Scorpio vs. Ken Doane

"Bonus Match" For Golden Ringside and VIP Balcony Ticket Holders at 6:30pm:
The Fray featuring Johnny Gargano, Cheech, Cloudy and five others. It will start with two competitors. Every three minutes a new wrestler will enter the ring. Eliminations can take place at anytime by pinfall, submission or DQ. There are no countouts. Entry is drawn at random. The last survivor is the winner.

First, let's look at the structure of the card. We are promoting DGUSA as the premium pro wrestling brand. This means that every moment has to matter. You aren't paying to see filler or a toned down undercard. The idea of DGUSA is to get a maximum amount out of a minimum number of matches and wrestlers. This is about quality, quality and more quality. Thus, the six match main show format was born. This allows DGUSA to present six high quality matches, let each bout stand out as its own "event" and have importance, while at the same time not pummeling the audience with a 4-5 hour show. The six match format gives four high quality first half contests and then two main events after intermission, which should give the fans a satisfying, but not exhausting, night of action.

Now that we have set a card structure that emphasizes quality over quantity while allowing every wrestler to perform on a high level without burning out the audience, it is time to decide exactly what the pairings are. The foundation of this event are the tremendous athletes of Dragon Gate. The first question to answer when putting together the lineup is what to do with these eight talents. The obvious answer was a six man tag, but I believed this would come off as more of an exhibition match and it has been seen in the United States without any build before. Another option was hosting a Japan vs. USA type format, but I felt that first we needed to establish the fresh faces that DGUSA is being built around. I can't state enough that July 25th marks the beginning of a full fledged wrestling promotion. Wins and losses mean everything. This isn't a collection of exhibition matches with no consequences. We need to establish a hierarchy on the roster and put these fresh talents in the best light possible. This is the genesis of new stars and wrestling styles on the North American independent scene.

In my opinion, the best way to accomplish this was set three main event quality one-on-one matches featuring the new DGUSA talent roster. These matches are Naruki Doi vs. Shingo, Masato Yoshino vs. Dragon Kid and BxB Hulk vs. YAMATO. We accomplish several things with these three matches. First of all, big time singles bouts with this talent has never been featured in the United States before. Secondly, these three contests give us a can't miss backbone of the show. Most importantly, the winners and losers immediately establish the hierarchy of the roster. Wins and losses are everything here. Who will be the faces of DGUSA? Who are the top stars? Who will gain the victory on pay-per-view? Right now, all three of these matches are a pick 'em to me. After July 25th, we'll know who stands where in DGUSA.

The other advantage of these three one-on-one contests is that it leaves us with two more athletes in CIMA & Susumu Yokosuka so the card can feature a kick ass tag team match. It didn't take long to think of opponents for CIMA & Yokosuka. The Young Bucks of Nick & Matt Jackson are everything that DGUSA represents- hungry, fresh and new. They are first round draft picks. They are blue chippers. They have toured Dragon Gate so they know the style. Again, most importantly, it also creates a situation where it is close to impossible to predict the winners.

One match I didn't put a lot of thought into was the CHIKARA eight man tag team bout featuring Hallowicked, Gran Akuma, Icarus & Amasis vs. Fire Ant, Soldier Ant, Jigsaw & to be announced. There was no doubt that CHIKARA had to be a part of this card. I was blown away by their King Of Trios tournament. Then they took it to the next level with the eight man tags on their recent "Aniversario Yang" and "The Bobliographon" events at The Arena. This is cutting edge wrestling. I highly recommend seeking out these DVDs at SmartMarkVideo.com. The partnership was a natural one, especially since both groups have strong roots with the same trainer, Jorge "Skyde" Rivera.

One thing I've learned over the years is when to step back. The people in CHIKARA know their talent and style better than I ever could. I made one call to their "Director Of Fun" Leonard F. Chikarason and asked him to send a match our way for July 25th. Once again, this match is much more than an exhibition match. The winner of the fall will make an immediate name for himself in DGUSA and become established on the roster. Winners and losers are everything.

This brings us to what was literally the final addition to the card and perhaps the most interesting match. We realize that you are paying a premium price, so we wanted to bring you some national names that weren't overexposed and fit the athletic DGUSA style. 2 Cold Scorpio was an obvious addition. He's a pioneer of innovative, high-flying action and a legend in The Arena. In addition to that, he still loves to wrestle and has expressed to me that he is very much looking forward to working on this kind of show. I have heard great reports of him tearing it up against Davey Richards for IWC and more recently I got nothing but positive reviews about his match against CW Anderson at Francine's ECW reunion show. Adding Scorpio was a no brainer.

We searched far and ride for an opponent for Scorpio. Ken Doane always intrigued me. I thought he showed some remarkable athleticism in WWE, but was hampered with a lower card spot. I always wanted to see what he could do if he was cut loose. I received word that he is now hungry and has a new attitude. He wants an opportunity. On top of that, he proved it on a recent Sheldon Goldberg NECW show with an excellent showing. I started to ask around about him. I asked Paul Heyman and CM Punk about the former Kenny Dykstra (both had worked with Doane in the WWE system) and they each gave him an enthusiastic recommendation. The deal was sealed with help from Bill Behrens and Doane was added as Scorpio's opponent. Scorpio and Doane are each coming to Philly for the same reason: To prove that they each have much more to offer fans of professional wrestling and to get a big win on the very first Dragon Gate USA show.

Finally, for Golden Ringside and VIP balcony ticket holders we have The Fray. My next blog will take a deep look at this match and what it means for the talent involved.

There you have it. Now that the booking book has been opened the only thing left is to see how it all plays out on July 25th when "Open The Historic Gate" goes down at The Arena in Philadelphia. We are at the genesis here. We have one shot to establish the DGUSA brand and prove that it is the premium product. This is our chance to suck you in and get you hooked. It's just a matter of days before it all becomes a reality.