Dragon Gate (wrestling)
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| Founded | July 5, 2004 |
|---|---|
| Style | Professional wrestling Puroresu Lucha Libre |
| Headquarters | Kobe, Japan |
| Founder(s) | Takashi Okumura |
| Owner(s) | Takashi Okumura |
| Parent | Gaora |
| Sister | Dragon Gate USA (2009–2015) Dragon Gate UK (2009–2014) |
| Formerly | Toryumon Japan |
| Website | www |
Dragon Gate Inc. (DRAGONGATE株式会社, Doragon Gēto kabushiki-gaisha) operating as Dragon Gate Japan Pro-Wrestling (ドラゴンゲートジャパンレスリング, Doragon Gēto Japan Puroresu) and often referred to simply as Dragon Gate (ドラゴンゲート, Doragon Gēto), is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion formerly known as Toryumon Japan. Most of Dragon Gate's wrestlers are graduates of the Dragon Gate Dojo or Último Dragón's Toryumon Gym, and thus the promotion is based on a junior heavyweight style with varying emphasis on high flying maneuvers, flashy technical grappling, and submission wrestling.
History[]
On July 4, 2004, Último Dragón departed from the Toryumon Gym and seized ownership of the "Toryumon" trademarks. The Toryumon Japan promotion subsequently restructured and changed its name to Dragon Gate. Dragon Gate declared Cima (the last one to hold the Último Dragón Gym Championship) to be the inaugural Open the Dream Gate Champion, thus making him the first champion in the promotion's history.
Since its founding, Dragon Gate wrestlers have also made appearances on the United States independent wrestling circuit, including Ring of Honor which held a Dragon Gate Invasion show on August 27, 2005, in Buffalo, New York, Dragon Gate Challenge on March 30, 2006, in Detroit, Michigan and Supercard of Honor and Better Than Our Best in Chicago, Illinois on March 31 and April 1, 2006, respectively. A six-man match pitting Cima, Naruki Doi and Masato Yoshino against Dragon Kid, Ryo Saito and Genki Horiguchi at Supercard of Honor is one of only a handful of North American matches that wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer has given a five-star rating. Both Ring of Honor's All Star Extravaganza III on March 30 and Supercard of Honor II on March 31, 2007, in Detroit, Michigan featured Dragon Gate in the main events.
October 12, 2007 Baseball Magazine Sha, the publisher of Puroresu Shukan released Dragon Gate trading cards.[1]
In 2008, Dragon Gate promoted their first set of shows in the United States. The first show took place in Los Angeles on September 5 and featured El Generico, Necro Butcher, and Kendo. Their second show was in Hawaii on September 8.
Japan's Dragon Gate promotion announced its expansion into the United States with Dragon Gate USA on April 14, 2009, at the Korakuen Hall event in Tokyo.
Also in 2009 it was announced that they created another branch promotion Dragon Gate UK. Their first show was held on November 1, 2009, in Oxford, England.
On March 21, 2018, Dragon Gate announced the creation of Dragon Gate Network, an on-demand service similar to WWE Network and New Japan Pro-Wrestling World.[2] The service officially launched on April 1, 2018.[3] On May 7, 2018, Okamura left his job as President. Toru Kido became the new President and Nobuhiko Oshima (professional wrestler Cima) became the President of Dragon Gate Inc., the international department with the HQ in Shangai, China.[4] In 2019, the promotion celebrated its 20th anniversary. As part of the celebration Ultimo Dragon returned to the promotion in July as a senior advisor. Afterwards, the promotion changed its logo and Dragon Entertainment would be known as Dragon Gate Inc.
On February 1, 2020, Dragon Gate announced a working relationship with American promotion Major League Wrestling (MLW), which would include a talent-exchange between the two promotions.[5]
Dragon Gate Network[]
| Ownership | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Dragon Gate |
| History | |
| Launched | April 1, 2018 |
| Links | |
| Website | dragongate |
Dragon Gate Network is a subscription-based video streaming service owned by Japanese professional wrestling promotion Dragon Gate. Development of the on-demand service was announced on March 21, 2018.[6] Dragon Gate Network was officially launched on April 1, 2018. Dragon Gate Network operates similarly to WWE Network and New Japan Pro-Wrestling's NJPW World and most notably Ring of Honor's Honor Club, in that pay-per-view events are available to stream through the service, but unlike its aforementioned competitors, some membership tiers must pay extra for these events.[3]
The service currently includes Dragon Gate PPV archive and past pay-per-view events and access to all future pay-per-view events and the Dragon Gate Studio which includes the Prime Zone events with no additional costs for monthly subscription price of ¥1500, as well as access to the Dragon Gate and Toryumon Japan video tape archive.[7]
Dragon Gate Nex[]
Dragon Gate Nex is a project of Dragon Gate, which gives young wrestlers the promotion of more experience.
History[]
In mid-2006, the NEX project was announced. It would be a series of shows and events that would focus primarily on the recent graduates of the Dragon Gate Dojo, allowing for them to further gain experience in ability while also being seen as the main attraction of a show. Virtually all of the shows take place in the Dragon Gate Arena, the main training ring at the Dragon Gate offices in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan.
In addition to the recent graduates, comedy characters, gaijin talent, and any freelance wrestler currently on tour in Japan will also compete on these shows. The occasional main card member of the roster will compete as well. This is done to further enhance the experience to be gained for the trainees and teach the outsiders how to compete in the Dragon System of wrestling.
The vast majority of NEX shows are called "Sanctuary" and are held twice a month. They generally draw an attendance of around 90 fans due to the limited size and space of the venue. There are also special event shows called "Premium," which are the equivalent in atmosphere to a pay-per-view. These shows involve the main card members of the roster and will draw up to 100 in attendance. Early in NEX, they ran two anniversary shows at Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan, although this has since been discontinued.
Dragon Gate Trueborn (Dragon Gate Dojo)[]
The following is a list of Japanese wrestlers who have graduated from the Dragon Gate Dojo in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan, along with the USA Dojo in Houston, Texas. Graduates are regarded as Dragon Gate Trueborn, having been trained in the Dragon System exclusively through Dragon Gate as opposed to the Ultimo Dragon Gym. They are listed in alphabetical order.
List of wrestlers graduated[]
| Ring name | Real name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Akira Tozawa | Akira Tozawa | |
| B×B Hulk | Terumasa Ishihara | |
| Big R Shimizu | Ryotsu Shimizu | |
| Cyber Kong | Takashi Yoshida | |
| Eita | Eita Kobayashi | |
| Katsuo | Yūki Ōno | |
| Kenshin Chikano | Kenshin Chikano | |
| Kotoka | Kotoka Shiiba | Retired |
| Jackson Florida | Kouji Shishido | Retired |
| Kzy | Kazuki Sawada | |
| Lupin Matsutani | Kei Matsutani | Retired |
| Mondai Ryu | Daisuke Kimata | |
| Punch Tominaga | Chihiro Tominaga | |
| Shingo Takagi | Shingo Takagi | |
| T-Hawk | Takuya Onodera | |
| U-T | Yūta Tanaka | |
| Yamato | Masato Onodera | |
| Yosuke♡Santa Maria | Yosuke Watanabe | |
| Yo-Hey | Yohei Fujita |
Roster[]
Championships[]
As of September 10, 2021.
| Championship | Current champion(s) | Reign | Date won | Days held | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open the Dream Gate Championship | Yamato | 5 | August 1, 2021 | 40+ | Kobe, Japan | Defeated Shun Skywalker at Speed Star Final 2021. |
| Open the Brave Gate Championship | SB Kento | 1 | August 8, 2021 | 33+ | Nagoya, Japan | Defeated Kagetora at The Gate Of Adventure 2021 2021. |
| Open the Twin Gate Championship | Natural Vibes (Susumu Yokosuka and King Shimizu) |
1 (7, 5) |
July 31, 2021 | 41+ | Kobe, Japan | Defeated R.E.D. (Kaito Ishida and Kazma Sakamoto) at Kobe Pro Wrestling Festival 2021. |
| Open the Triangle Gate Championship | Masquerade (Dragon Dia, Jason Lee and Estrella) |
1 (2, 1, 1) |
May 5, 2021 | 128+ | Nagoya, Japan | Defeated Natural Vibes (Kzy, Genki Horiguchi and Susumu Yokosuka) at Dragon Gate Dead or Alive |
Defunct Championships
| Championship | Last champion(s) | Date won |
|---|---|---|
| I-J Heavyweight Championship | Masaaki Mochizuki | November 23, 2006 |
| I-J Heavyweight Tag Team Championship | Muscle Outlaw'z (Naruki Doi and Masato Yoshino) |
October 12, 2007 |
| Open the Owarai Twin Gate Championship | Don Fujii and Kikutaro | April 12, 2009 |
| Open the Freedom Gate Championship | Timothy Thatcher | July 10, 2015 |
| Open the United Gate Championship | Rich Swann and Johnny Gargano | May 30, 2015 |
| Open the Owarai Gate Championship | Shingo Takagi | March 7, 2018 |
(I-J Heavyweight Tag Team Championship unified with Open the Twin Gate Championship on October 12, 2007)
Annual tournaments[]
| Tournament | Last winner | Last held |
|---|---|---|
| King of Gate | Kzy | May 14-June 3, 2021 |
| Summer Adventure Tag League | Over Generation (Eita and Dragon Kid) |
September 10, 2016 |
Notable pay-per-views[]
| Event | Last held | Main event |
|---|---|---|
| Gate of Destiny | November 3, 2020 | Eita (c) vs. Kzy for the Open the Dream Gate Championship |
Affiliates[]
| Promotion name | Location | Partnered on | Ref. | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dragon Gate USA | United States | 2009 | Closed in 2015 and purchased by WWE in 2020. | |
| Dragon Gate UK | United Kingdom | 2009 | Never officially closed but has not promoted events since 2014. |
Broadcasters[]
Domestic:
- Gaora (2004-present, broadcasting monthly shows and live specials and taped shows of Dragon Gate Infinity)
- MBS TV (2018–present, currently broadcasting weekly highlights show Cutting Edge Battle Dragon Gate)
- SKY PerfecTV! (2017–present, currently broadcasting live pay-per-view events)
- Nico Nico Douga (2016-present, streaming untelevised spot-shows and interviews)
Worldwide:
- Dragon Gate Network (streaming service, in partnership with Gaora, broadcasting most Dragon Gate shows live, as well as on-demand classic)
Former[]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ http://www.wrestlingtradingcards.com/japanese/japanese_2007_dragon_gate.html
- ^ http://puroresuspirit.net/2018/03/dragon-gate-results-for-march-21-2018/
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Dragon Gate streaming service debut2". Twitter. 2018-03-21. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
- ^ https://www.solowrestling.com/new/70822-cambios-en-la-presidencia-de-dragon-gate-y-apertura-de-la-division-internacional-en-china
- ^ "MLW announces working relationship with Dragon Gate". WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, UFC News, UFC results. February 1, 2020.
- ^ "All Japan, Dragon Gate Streaming Services Updates". Pro Wrestling Insider. 2018-03-21. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
- ^ "Dragon Gate streaming service debut3" (in Japanese). 2018-03-22. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
External links[]
- Dragon Gate (wrestling)
- Japanese professional wrestling promotions
- 2004 establishments in Japan