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 from 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 submissions.
History[]
On July 4, 2004 Último Dragón left the Toryumon Gym in Mexico and took the name and trademarks with him. The promotion subsequently changed its name to Dragon Gate and declared Cima (the last one to hold the Último Dragón Gym Championship) its first Open the Dream Gate Champion.
Wrestlers from the promotion have also made appearances on the United States independent wrestling scene, 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.
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. In 2009, Dragon Gate debuted in the United Kingdom. Their first show was held on November 1, 2009, in Oxford, England.
Despite a very unfortunate incident that was made public in mid-2009, Dragon Gate continued to grow stronger than ever with increasing fanbases in Japan and now the United States following the first Dragon Gate USA show on July 25 in the former ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Furthermore, they ran the first of what would become annual visits to Europe, in particular the United Kingdom, in October and November.
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.
Dragon Gate Nex[]
Dragon Gate Nex is a project of Dragon Gate, which gives the young wrestlers of the promotion 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 "Sancutary" 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 | |
| Big R Shimizu | Yuki Shimizu | |
| BxB Hulk | Terumasa Ishihara | |
| Cyber Kong | Takashi Yoshida | |
| Eita | Eita Kobayashi | |
| Katsuo | Yūki Ōno | |
| Kenshin Chikano | Kenshin Chikano | Retired |
| Kotoka | Kotoka Shiiba | |
| Jackson Florida | Kouji Shishido | Retired |
| Kzy | Unknown | |
| 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 | |
| Shingo Takagi | Shingo Takagi | |
| Yamato | Masato Onodera | |
| Yosuke♥Santa Maria | Yosuke Watanabe | |
| YO-HEY | Youhei Fujita | |
| BlackWolf | Alexandra Riley Black | |
| Mototsune Hada | Mototsune Hada |
Roster[]
Wrestlers[]
| Ring name | Real name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Akira Tozawa | Akira Tozawa | Open the Triangle Gate Champion |
| Big R Shimizu | Yuki Shimizu | |
| "brother" YASSHI | Yasushi Tsujimoto | Sporadic appearances |
| BxB Hulk | Terumasa Ishihara | |
| Cima | Nobuhiko Oshima | |
| Cyber Kong | Takashi Yoshida | |
| Don Fujii | Tatsuki Fuji | |
| Dragon Kid | Nobuyoshi Nakamura | |
| Eita | Eita Kobayashi | Open the Brave Gate Champion |
| Flamita | Unknown | |
| Gamma | Yoshito Sugamoto | |
| Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! | Hiromasa Horiguchi | |
| "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa | Kanji Ichikawa | Sporadic appearances |
| Jimmy Kagetora | Fumiyuki Hashimoto | Open the Twin Gate Champion |
| Jimmy Kanda | Yasushi Kanda | |
| Jimmy K-ness J.K.S. | Makoto Saitō | |
| Jimmy Susumu | Susumu Mochizuki | Open the Twin Gate Champion |
| Johnson Florida | Takayuki Yagi | Sporadic appearances |
| Kaito Ishida | Kaito Ishida | |
| Keni'chiro Arai | Keni'chiro Arai | Sporadic appearances |
| Kotoka | Kotoka Shiiba | |
| Kzy | Unknown | |
| El Lindaman | Yūga Hayashi | |
| Masaaki Mochizuki | Masaaki Mochizuki | |
| Masato Yoshino | Masato Yoshino | Open the Triangle Gate Champion |
| Mondai Ryu | Daisuke Kimata | |
| Naoki Tanizaki | Naoki Tanizaki | |
| Naruki Doi | Naruki Doi | |
| Punch Tominaga | Chihiro Tominaga | |
| Ryo "Jimmy" Saito | Ryo Saito | |
| Shachihoko Boy | Unknown | |
| Shingo Takagi | Shingo Takagi | |
| Super Shisa | Yoshiyuki Saito | Sporadic appearances |
| Takehiro Yamamura | Takehiro Yamamura | |
| T-Hawk | Takuya Onodera | Open the Triangle Gate Champion |
| U-T | Yūta Tanaka | |
| Yamato | Masato Onodera | Open the Dream Gate Champion |
| Yosuke Santa Maria | Yosuke Watanabe | |
| BlackWolf | Alexandra Riley Black |
Staff[]
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Eiichi Fujimoto | Photographer |
| Katsuya Ichikawa | Play-by-play commentary and backstage interviewer |
| Mr. Nakagawa | Referee |
| Naoto Kikuchi | Ring announcer |
| Takashi Okamura | President |
| Takayuki Yagi | Referee and general manager |
| Toru Kido | Senior managing director and commissioner |
| Yatsuka Nakazawa | Dragon Gate Records |
Championships[]
- Main article: List of current champions in Dragon Gate
| Championship | Current champion(s) | Date won | Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open the Dream Gate Championship | Yamato | July 24th, 2016 | Template:Age in days |
| Open the Triangle Gate Championship | Monster Express Template:Small |
December 6, 2015 | Template:Age in days |
| Open the Brave Gate Championship | Eita | July 24, 2016 | Template:Age in days |
| Open the Twin Gate Championship | Jimmyz Template:Small |
June 19, 2016 | Template:Age in days |
| Open the Owarai Gate Championship | "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa | April 10, 2016 | Template:Age in days |
Defunct Championships
| Championship | Last champion(s) | Date won |
|---|---|---|
| I-J Heavyweight Tag Team Championship | Muscle Outlawz Template:Small |
October 12, 2007 |
| Open the Owarai Twin Gate Championship | Don Fujii and Kikutaro | April 12, 2009 |
(I-J Heavyweight Tag Team Championship unified with Open the Twin Gate Championship on October 12, 2007)