[5.0] "A very okay show without anything truly worthwhile, except the pure spectacle of the most disappointing Dream Gate result/champion in quite a while, which ended the whole show on a sour note. The opening 6-man tag was actually rather atypical for a DG PPV opening tag. It started off as a typically fast-paced and flashy spotfest with good chemistry all around, and it likewise ended that way too, but it developed in the middle by slowing down, giving a greater focus to some sharp strikes, and introducing an engaging story of the beaten-down Nagano selling sympathetically before eventually getting a bunch of impressive hope spots. Good start to the show. ***1/4. Hyo vs Horiguchi was merely fine in the 1st half but pretty good in the 2nd. Hyo smartly played up his arrogant ex-heel side here to enhance Horiguchi's already sympathetic babyface charisma, and his control work was nicely varied and executed cleanly. Horiguchi showed good energy in his various hope spots, while Hyo impressed with his agility in response to Horiguchi's creeping momentum. Unfortunately, they ended things JUST as it was getting pretty fun. A few more minutes would've pushed it beyond just being 'decent'. ***. The M3K 6-man tag was a really quick but relatively fun showcase for all 6 men, with everyone hitting their signature stuff with good energy and solid technique. Too short to be properly good but still fine enough. **1/2. The "Christmas Special" 8-man tag was another showcase match, but with some younger and therefore more physically capable talents involved to make it more exciting than the last. Like the last one, there was no real story here, just a lot of exchanges, sequences, and spots, but with good enough technique and chemistry for it to be more enjoyable than not. ***. Kid, Punch & Yamato vs Ishin, Kai & Kato was another decent match, with a mildly interesting story of Kato and Punch's singles-match feuds. Punch was an endearing babyface in peril during Z-Brats' control work, with the babyface champs then getting a fun comeback which caused Z-Brats to begin wresting with more purposeful (i.e. non-brawl) offence to counter them, which was thus more exciting. The pace picked up well with the run-on spots towards the end, with some nice Punch-and-Kato 1-v-1 interactions in the finishing stretch. ***. Alejandro & Kiyomiya vs Ben-K & Minorita was quite good, possibly the MOTN. As usual for DG tags, there were some good interactions all around but not story to accompany them or hold that work together. Ben-K and Minorita were all around good with their intensity and explosiveness, while Alejandro had some nice high-flying offence and Kiymoya was impressively athletic with his varied attacks. They all put together some more fun interactions in the 2nd half as they picked up their pace and intensity. ***1/4. Kikuta vs Mante vs Skywalker was quite good but it undeniably ended in very underwhelming fashion with a very undeserved result. This being an elimination match was smart as a means to add extra drama behind each near fall, so that was fun. They had lots of run-on 3-man spots mixed in with the annoying multi-man match trope of the various pairs constantly cycling in and out. Some of those 3-man spots were cool or at least creative, but quite a few were too rushed or simply way over the top. There were a few okay storytelling moments but they were always very telegraphed, like Mante and Skywalker teasing reforming their team and all the Z-Brats interference, or they didn't make sense, like Skywalker being protected by getting DQ'd (you're telling me nothing else from Skaywalker/Z-Brats prior was DQ-able though? ) but for the most part this match was still typically mindless DG action without. Kikuta and Mante had some nicely impactful and athletic trades as the final 2, though nothing special. Mante's win was just a bad idea, since he doesn't feel remotely deserving as the top guy, plus even if he did, this was still way too soon to have been truly cathartic. ***1/4. The handful of low-level good matches here (including the main-event itself) weren't nearly enough to make up for the greater (albeit only slightly) number of forgettable matches and especially not for that disappointing main-event result."