The Pro Wrestling Prodigy Discusses A Fateful Conversation with Our Own Hustler De Tuti Hustlers!
"Are you coming to our show this Saturday night?" Gabe Sapolsky hustled, "It’s time to shake things up!"
Pro wrestling’s most renowned independent writer/producer has been searching for the right formula since his unceremonious ouster from Ring of Honor.
"We took our time in 2010 to nurture and develop a new roster with Dragon Gate USA." Sapolsky admitted, "We have three shows this weekend, and two of them are on live iPPV!"
When asked how these shows will differ from one another, Sapolsky didn’t even let me finish the question. He was that excited about his plans for the weekend.
"These shows take me back to one of my earliest booking lessons from Paul Heyman," Sapolsky said, "I distinctly remember the conversation. It was 1994 and it was one of those late night phone calls when I would keep my mouth shut and listen."
Gabe paused, whether because he was catching his breath from excitement, or maybe even for dramatic effect. Maybe both. "Heyman was like a sensei teaching his protege. He said WHEN EVERYONE ZIGS, YOU ZAG!"
I tried to get a word in, but by this time, Sapolsky was on a roll.
"Those words have always stuck with me," Sapolsky stated, "When Hulkamania exploded on the scene in the 80s it zagged by bringing a modernized flash to wrestling. When Hulkamania got old, WCW zagged and started the NWO. When wrestling was outdated, the original ECW zagged and led to the way to WWE’s Attitude Era. On a smaller level, when every indy was trying to fill the void of ECW with hardcore wrestling, we zagged and started ROH and the ROH style. Now while wrestling has been zigging for years, MMA is zagging and is filling that wrestling void for many people."
OK, valid points, but …
Oh wait. He has more to say.
"It’s hard for an independent wrestling promotion to zag these days," Gabe admitted, "The fans have seen just about everything. There is a buffet of every style available. All the above things I mentioned were rarely, if ever, done before when they gained popularity. However, there is one area where everyone else is zigging so we can zag with DGUSA."
Gabe continued, "WWE, TNA and ROH seem mired in a rut with the same talent in the same spots on almost every show. Every match up has been done and done to death at that. Everyone is zigging with the same talent and same matches. This gives Dragon Gate USA a great opportunity to zag. We have the most exciting, talented and cutting-edge roster from Japan. We spent 2010 developing a new roster of American stars. For a while it seemed like DGUSA had two rosters- the Japanese stars against each other and the US based wrestlers filling out the undercard. That’s not the case anymore. Everyone has now come together as a team."
Working with Dragon Gate has been a learning experience for Sapolsky, too.
"Dragon Gate brought the high-flying Ricochet and Brodie Lee to tour Japan," Sapolsky mentioned, "They didn’t just treat them as young boys and stick them at the bottom of the card. They got behind these talents. Ricochet won the Open The Triangle Gate Title (think six man championship) on his first tour. This is unheard of for a gaijin talent. The last time Dragon Gate saw an American champion was Matt Sydal, who is now known in Evan Bourne in WWE, and that was only after he was in Japan for over a year."
Sapolsky insisted, "Brodie Lee is mowing down everyone in sight, just like Bruiser Brody and Stan Hansen did in the 80s. In fact, on the last tour he pinned Masaaki Mochizuki, the most respected veteran in Dragon Gate. This is an honor for "The Big Rig" and shows that the Dragon Gate office holds him in high esteem."
This weekend, Dragon Gate USA presents shows in New York, Philadelphia, and Union City, New Jersey. If you check out THIS LINK, you will get excited to see PAC join DGUSA as a regular.
There’s also THIS VIDEO of the Ronin stable, which consists of Chuck Taylor, Johnny Gargano and Rich Swann. They’re the new group in DGUSA and they look to be headed straight into the spotlight. So has Sami Callihan, who can be seen HERE
The main attraction will be a four team round robin tournament to determine the first DGUSA Tag Team Champions, called the Open The United Gate Titles. "We decided to go with a rarely seen format in the United States that will give all three events two main event quality tag team matches," Sapolsky noted, "The teams of CIMA & Dragon Kid, Masato Yoshino & PAC, Ronin and Naruki Doi & Ricochet are the epitome of the new DGUSA roster. Everyone is mixed seamlessly together with the goal of paving the way into the future."
Gabe admitted, "As a booker, this talent has refreshed me and gotten me to think outside-the-box. I need to step it up and zag a little too. Everyone in the wrestling industry really needs to do the same. It’s up to us to shake things up and get you excited. DGUSA will try our best this weekend!"
The DGUSA events this weekend are as follows:
Friday, January 28th – Manhattan, NY – BB King Blues Club & Grille (237 W. 42nd Street in Times Square) Limited tickets still available — go to www.GoFightLive.TV for iPPV information
Saturday, January 29th – Philadelphia, PA – The Asylum Arena (former ECW Arena – The famous corner of Swanson and Ritner) Limited tickets still available — go to www.GoFightLive.TV for iPPV information
Sunday, January 30th – Union City, NJ – The ACE Arena (725 Sip Street)
Call 267-519-9744 or go to www.DGUSA.tv
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