Dragongate Japan Pro-Wrestling, often referred to simply as Dragongate or Dragon Gate (ドラゴンゲート, Doragongēto), is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded and headquartered in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture. Most of the promotion's wrestlers are graduates of its Dojo or Yoshihiro "Último Dragón" Asai'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. The promotion is the byproduct of the original Japanese Toryumon (登龍門, Tōryūmon) promotion.
 | |
| Founded | July 5, 2004 |
|---|---|
| Style | Professional wrestling Puroresu Lucha Libre |
| Headquarters | Kobe, Japan |
| Founder(s) | Takashi Okumura |
| Owner(s) | Toru Kido |
| Sister | Dragon Gate USA (2009–2015) Dragon Gate UK (2009–2014) |
| Split from | Toryumon Japan |
| Website | www |
History
editOn 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.
Dragon Gate would make a TV deal to air on Gaora TV, who was also a shareholder of All Japan Pro Wrestling after Motoko Baba sold the rights to the company and gave her power to Keiji Muto. Dragon Gate TV's first episode aired live on July 16, 2004.[1] AJPW TV episodes would also air commercials advertising Dragon Gate's TV debut and would frequently promote future Dragon Gate shows during AJPW commercials, despite there being little interpromotional crossover of AJPW and Dragon Gate in their events. Dragon Gate TV would use an anime intro depicting their wrestlers, the intro's art style being a blend of mainstream anime with Fujiko Fujio-esque animation.[2]
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.[3]
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.[4] The service officially launched on April 1, 2018.[5] 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 headquarter in Shanghai, China.[6] In 2019, the promotion celebrated its 20th anniversary. As part of the celebration Último Dragón returned to the promotion in July as a senior advisor. Afterwards, the promotion changed its logo and its parent company Dragon Entertainment would be known as Dragongate Inc. Within the time of all the changes of the promotion, they started to use the combined Dragongate moniker as its official romaji name.
On February 1, 2020, Dragongate announced a working relationship with American promotion Major League Wrestling (MLW), which would include a talent-exchange between the two promotions.[7]
On December 15, 2023, Dragongate was announced as one of the founding members of the United Japan Pro-Wrestling alliance, a joint effort to further develop professional wrestling in Japan through promotion and organization, with Seiji Sakaguchi being named as the chairman of the project.[8]
Features
editDragongate Network
editDragongate Network is a subscription-based video streaming service owned by Japanese professional wrestling promotion Dragongate. Development of the on-demand service was announced on March 21, 2018.[9] Dragongate Network was officially launched on April 1, 2018. It operates similarly to WWE Network, 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.[5]
The service currently includes a Dragongate PPV archive and past pay-per-view events and access to all future pay-per-view events and the Dragongate Studio which includes the Prime Zone events with no additional costs for monthly subscription price of ¥1,500, as well as access to the Dragongate and Toryumon Japan video tape archive.[10]
Trueborn (Dragongate Dojo)
edit
The following is a list of Japanese wrestlers who have graduated from the Dragongate Dojo in Kobe, along with the USA Dojo in Houston, Texas. Graduates are regarded as Trueborn, having been trained in the Dragon System exclusively through Dragongate as opposed to the Último Dragón Gym. They are listed in alphabetical order.
List of wrestlers graduated
edit| Ring name | Real name | Years Active | Current Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akira Tozawa | Akira Tozawa | 2005-Present | WWE |
| Ben-K | Futa Nakamura | 2016-Present | Dragon Gate |
| Big R Shimizu | Ryotsu Shimizu | 2013-Present | Dragon Gate |
| B×B Hulk | Terumasa Ishihara | 2005-Present | Dragon Gate |
| Cyber Kong | Takashi Yoshida | 2006-Present | Dragon Gate |
| Dragon Dia | 2018-Presnet | Dragon Gate | |
| Eita | Eita Kobayashi | 2011-Present | Dragon Gate |
| Hyo | Hyo Watanabe | 2016-Present | Dragon Gate |
| Ishin | Ishin Iihashi | 2021-Present | Dragon Gate |
| Jacky Kamei | Taketo Kamei | 2019-Present | Dragon Gate |
| Katsuo | Yūki Ōno | 2005-Present | Hokuto Pro |
| Kenshin Chikano | Kenshin Chikano | 2008-Present | Dove Pro |
| Kota Minoura | Kota Minoura | 2018-Present | Dragon Gate |
| Kotoka | Kotoka Shiiba | 2009-2018 | Retired |
| Jackson Florida | Kouji Shishido | 2006-2012 | Retired |
| Kzy | Kazuki Sawada | 2006-Present | Dragon Gate |
| Lupin Matsutani | Kei Matsutani | 2006-2008 | Retired |
| Madoka Kikuta | Madoka Kikuta | 2020-Present | Dragon Gate |
| Minorita | Takumi Hayakawa | 2021-Present | Dragon Gate |
| Mondai Ryu | Daisuke Kimata | 2006-Present | Dragon Gate |
| Punch Tominaga | Chihiro Tominaga | 2011-Present | Dragon Gate |
| Shingo Takagi | Shin Takagi | 2004-Present | NJPW |
| Shun Skywalker | Shun Watanabe | 2015-Present | Dragon Gate |
| Strong Machine J | 2019-Present | Dragon Gate | |
| T-Hawk | Takuya Onodera | 2010-Present | Gleat |
| U-T | Yūta Tanaka | 2013-Present | Dragon Gate |
| Yamato | Masato Onodera | 2006-Present | Dragon Gate |
| Yosuke♡Santa Maria | Yosuke Watanabe | 2006-Present | Dragon Gate |
| YO-HEY | Yohei Fujita | 2008-Present | NOAH |
Roster
editChampionships
editCurrent championships
edit| Championship | Current champion(s) | Reign | Date won | Days held[11] |
Location | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open the Dream Gate Championship | 
|
Yamato | 6 | July 21, 2024 | 118+ | Kobe, Japan | Defeated Ben-K at Kobe Pro-Wrestling Festival 2024. |
| Open the Brave Gate Championship | 
|
Dragon Dia | 1 | July 21, 2024 | 118+ | Kobe, Japan | Defeated H.Y.O at Kobe Pro-Wrestling Festival 2024. |
| Open the Owarai Gate Championship | 
|
Lingerie Muto | 1 | October 5, 2023 | 408+ | Tokyo, Japan | Defeated Kikutaro at DG/Masaaki Mochizuki Produce Buyuden Rei ~ Zero ~ Vol. 2. |
| Open the Twin Gate Championship |  
|
Paradox (Dragon Kid and Naruki Doi) |
1 (4, 8) |
May 5, 2024 | 195+ | Nagoya, Japan | Defeated Alejandro and Kaito Kiyomiya at Dead or Alive 2024. |
| Open the Triangle Gate Championship |   
|
Natural Vibes (Big Boss Shimizu, Strong Machine J and U-T) |
2 (4, 3, 3) |
May 9, 2024 | 191+ | Tokyo, Japan | Defeated Z-Brats (Ishin, Kai and Shun Skywalker) to win the vacant titles at Hopeful Gate 2024. |
Defunct Championships
edit| 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 |
(I-J Heavyweight Tag Team Championship unified with Open the Twin Gate Championship on October 12, 2007)
Events
editTournaments
edit| Tournament | Latest winner(s) | Date won | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| King of Gate | Kota Minoura | August 3, 2023 | Tokyo | Defeated Big Boss Shimizu in the tournament final. |
| Rey de Parejas | Dragon Kid and Naruki Doi | April 10, 2024 | Tokyo | Defeated Yamato and Susumu Yokosuka in the tournament final. |
Dragon Gate Nex
editDragon Gate Nex was a project of Dragongate, which gave young wrestlers of the promotion more experience.
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 would also compete on these shows. The occasional main card member of the roster would compete as well. This was 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 were called "Sanctuary" and were held twice a month. They generally drew an attendance of around 90 fans due to the limited size and space of the venue. There were also special event shows called "Premium," which were the equivalent in atmosphere to a pay-per-view. These shows involved the main card members of the roster and would 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.
Affiliates
edit| 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
editCurrent
editDomestic:
- 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:
- Dragongate Network (2018–present, streaming service, in partnership with Gaora, broadcasting most Dragongate shows live, as well as on-demand classic)
Former
editSee also
edit
References
edit- ^ "Dragon Gate The Open Gate - Tag 2". Cage Match. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- ^ "Dragon Gate Anime Intro". YouTube.
- ^ "WrestlingTradingCards.com - 2007-2008 Dragon Gate Pro-Wrestling Cards". www.wrestlingtradingcards.com. Archived from the original on 2010-04-15.
- ^ "Dragon Gate Results for March 21, 2018 – Puroresu Spirit". puroresuspirit.net. Archived from the original on 2018-03-25.
- ^ a b "Dragon Gate streaming service debut2". Twitter. 2018-03-21. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
- ^ "Cambios en la presidencia de Dragon Gate y apertura de la división internacional en China". solowrestling.mundodeportivo.com. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- ^ "MLW announces working relationship with Dragon Gate". WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, UFC News, UFC results. February 1, 2020.
- ^ 新日、全日、ノアら９団体が「日本プロレスリング連盟」設立 来年５月には設立記念興行も [Nine organizations, including NJPW, AJPW, and Noah, establish "United Japan Pro-wrestling"; launching event to be held next May]. Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). December 15, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
- ^ "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.
- ^ As of November 16, 2024.
External links
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