Tag: dragon gate pro wrestling

This is something I’ve noticed blowing up on the Japanese social media scene over the last day, an interesting announcement from Dragon Gate. Below is a loose English translation:

“Dear Relatives and Fans

We would like to express our sincere gratitude for your continued support of DRAGONGATE’s activities.

Now, we have learned that a former player of DRAGONGATE has sent out information containing a lot of untrue content, as if he had been involved in serious illegal acts in the past. Naturally, there is no fact that our company or its related parties were involved in such serious illegal acts, and we believe that such unfounded information was unilaterally carried out and is considered to be an unacceptable act.

We have already delegated the handling of this case to a lawyer, and we intend to consider strict measures for defamation and discredit acts such as this case, with a view to legal action. In addition, we will continue to position compliance as the most important item and will work on the development of DRAGONGATE. I sincerely ask that you do not easily trust or spread false information.

We sincerely apologize for causing you concern. We look forward to your continued support for DRAGONGATE’s activities.

March 16, 2026 DRGONGATE Co., Ltd”

The socials are speculating on two names in particular here-CIMA and Tokyo Magnum, both formerly of Dragon Gate. Translation of various social media reports (which are unofficial and not affiliated with the promotion suggest DG is considering legal action but this does not affect or involve anyone on the current roster. Anyway, pass the salt and let’s see what happens.

More as it becomes available. A link to the original announcement is below:

https://blog.spora.jp/dragongate/archives/30477

Dragon Gate has announced several injuries and absences for upcoming events starting this weekend: Strong Machine J, El Cielo and Ben-K are all out for now. J & Cielo-the always-vague poor health. Ben-K-back. All out indefinitely. It’s not yet known how long they will be out but J & Cielo should be back quickly. Ben-K status uncertain.

More as it becomes available.

Dragon Gate reported on an injury coming out of yesterday’s event-BIGBOSS Shimizu, who slimmed down a lot during his lengthy suspension last year, was injured during his match. Foot. Status uncertain but he was off today’s event as a result. Also out tomorrow. It’s a busy stretch of events for the promotion over the next week-plus so he may miss more events

More as it becomes available.

Dragon Gate continued the Glorious Gate 2026 Tour, the March tour, today with the monthly Tokyo event. The below results are courtesy of Weekly Pro.

Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on DRAGONGATE NETWORK. You can also watch the first match FOR FREE on YouTube.

The announced paid attendance was 1188.

Match 1: Madoka Kikuta, KAI & ISHIN beat Yuki Yoshioka, Marcus Mathers & Luis Mante. ISHIN pinned Mathers after a deadlift German suplex hold.

Match 2: Kazuma Kimura beat Jiro Shinbashi.

Match 3: Kzy, U-T, GuC & @KEY beat YAMATO, Takashi, Problem Dragon & Punch Tominaga. GuC pinned Tominaga after Sabrie Bomb.

Match 4: Dragon Kid, BxB Hulk, Susumu Yokosuka, KAGETORA & Naruki Doi (Independent/Freelancer) beat Hyo, Ben-K, Riiita, JACKY KAMEI & Mochizuki Junior. KAGETORA pinned KAMEI after Ikkitousen.

Match 5: All-Asia Tag Team Champions Masaaki Mochizuki & Don Fujii beat Tatsumi Fujinami & Strong Machine J by ref stoppage to retain the titles. Mochizuki beat J by corner stoppage (towel). V1 for the champs. All-Japan referee Kyohei Wada was special referee.

Match 6: Takashi Sugiura, Masa Kitamiya & Tadasuke (Pro Wrestling NOAH) beat Shun Skywalker, Homare & El Cielo and BIGBOSS Shimkzu, Kota Minoura & Yoshiki Kato in a 3-way elimination match. Homare beat Minoura then Kitamiya beat Homare by countout. Afterwards, a Cielo promo led to the annual Mask vs. Hair Steel Cage 4-way on 4/26 at GOLDEN COLOSSEUM 2026 at Aichi Prefectural Budokan in Aichi (this might be replacing DEAD OR ALIVE, the annual Golden Week blowout event that is not on the schedule this year). It will be Cielo, Skywalker, Shimizu & Kato meaning the first 2 risk their mask and the last 2 risk their hair.

Main Event: Open The Brave Gate Champion Ryoya Tanaka beat Jason Lee to retain the title. V9 for Tanaka. 2 to go to tie the all-time record.

The next event is tomorrow at Yokohama Radiant Hall in Yokohama. There will be no live or on demand broadcast. In fact, they are all but done with streaming for March-only the last event on 3/29 is scheduled for broadcast now. It was also announced that 4/17 will be the next PRIME ZONE+.

Dragon Gate taped their latest episode of PRIME ZONE+ yesterday in Kobe, no wors on who got to be this episode’s GM.

Yesterday’s event was held at Kobe Lapis Hall in Kobe and can be watched on demand on DRAGONGATE NETWORK. You can also watch the first match FOR FREE on YouTube.

The announced paid attendance was 46. Remember this is a very small venue with a capacity of around 100.

Match 1: In a handicap match, BIGBOSS Shimizu beat @KEY & GuC by pinning both.

Match 2: Punch Tominaga beat Jiro Shinbashi.

Match 3: YAMATO & Takashi beat Problem Dragon & Ryu Ishihara. YAMATO pinned Dragon.

Main Event: Strong Machine J, U-T & JACKY KAMEI beat Kzy, Susumu Yokosuka & Genki Horiguchi. J pinned Horiguchi with Demon Clutch

The next event was earlier today at Osaka Prefectural Gym 2 in Osaka for a doubleheader. Results will be posted when available. The event is available on demand on DRAGONGATE NETWORK. There were last-minute changes to the event because Riiita was pulled before it began. The always-vague poor health.

The next subsequent event is tomorrow. Live streaming on DRAGONGATE NETWORK will begin TONIGHT at 10 PM PT/1 AM ET.

Dragon Gate ran a special blowout event today called UNO! DOS!! TRES!!! DRAGONGATE!!!

Today’s event was held at Fukuoka International. Enter in Fukuoka and can be watched on demand on DRAGONGATE NETWORK. This was also a live GAORA SPORTS broadcast in Japan. You can also watch the first match FOR FREE on YouTube.

The paid attendance has not yet been announced. (UPDATE: The announced paid attendance was 2222)

Match 1: Luis Mante beat Kazuma Kimura.

Match 2: Strong Machine J & U-T beat Masaaki Mochizuki & Don Fujii, Susumu Yokosuka & KAGETORA and Problem Dragon & Punch Tominaga in a 4-way when J pinned Tominaga.

Match 3: Toru Owashi (DDT) beat Jiro Shinbashi.

Match 4: Open The Brave Gate Champion Ryoya Tanaka beat Genki Horiguchi to retain the title. V8 for Tanaka.

Match 5: Open The Twin Gate Champions JACKY KAMEI & Riiita beat Marcus Mathers & Dragon Dia to retain the titles. KAMEI pinned Dia after JACKY Knife. V2 for the champs.

Match 6: Shun Skywalker, Honare, El Cielo, Masa Kitamiya (Pro Wrestling NOAH) & Takashi Sugiura (Pro Wrestling NOAH) beat BIGBOSS Shimizu, KAI, ISHIN, Kota Minoura & Yuki Yoshioka. Skywalker pinned Shimizu after a huracanrana.

Match 7: Kzy, GuC & @KEY beat YAMATO, Dragon Kid & BxB Hulk then beat Open The Triangle Gate Champions Hyo, Ben-K & Mochizuki Junior in a 3-way elimination match to win the titles. Kzy, Guc & @KEY become the 98th Open The Triangle Gate Champions.

Main Event: Open The Dream Gate Champion Madoka Kikuta beat Yuki Yoshioka to retain the title. V4 for Kikuta.

The next event is PRIME ZONE+ Vol. 18 Friday at Kobe Lapis Hall in Kobe. Live streaming on DRAGONGATE NETWORK will begin at 2 AM PT/5 AM ET.’

Dragon Gate continued the Truth Gate 2026 Tour today in Kyoto.

Today’s event was held at Kyoto KBS Hall in Kyoto and can be watched on demand on DRAGONGATE NETWORK. You can also watch the first match FOR FREE on YouTube.

The announced paid attendance was 340.

Match 1: Genki Horiguchi, Yasushi Kanda & Luis Mante beat BxB Hulk, Susumu Yokosuka & Naruki Doi (Independent/Freelancer). Horiguchi pinned Yokosuka with Backslide From Heaven.

Match 2: Ultimo Dragon & Masaaki Mochizuki beat Strong Machine J & Kazuma Kimura. Mochizuki pinned Kimura with a dragon suplex hold.

Match 3: Shun Skywalker & Homare beat BIGBOSS Shimizu & Kota Minoura by DQ. Shimizu DQ’d. Mask removal.

Match 4: Yuki Yoshioka beat KAI.

Match 5: JACKY KAMEI, Riiita & Mochizuki Junior beat ISHIN, Madoka Kikuta & Yoshiki Kato. Riiita pinned ISHIN after Riiitanic.

Main Event: Dragon Dia & Marcus Mathers beat YAMATO & Dragon Kid, Hyo & Ben-K and Kzy & @KEY in a 4-way when Mathers pinned @KEY.

The next event is Saturday at Fukuyama Big Rose in HIroshima. There will be no live or on demand broadcast. Unless plans change, the rest of the tour is non-televised. (The only broadcasts left this month are a special standalone event on 2/23 and a PRIME ZONE+ on 2/27)

Dragon Gate continued the Truth Gate 2026 Tour today with a house show in Kobe.

Today’s event was held at Kobe Art Center in Kobe and can be watched on demand on DRAGONGATE NETWORK. You can also watch the first match FOR FREE on YouTube.

The paid attendance has not yet been announced. (UPDATE: The announced paid attendance was 384)

Match 1: Masaaki Mochizuki & Don Fujii beat Ben-K & Mochizuki Junior. Fujii pinned Junior.

Match 2: Luis Mante beat Jiro Shinbashi.

Match 3: Ryoya Tanaka won an 11 man battle royal, last eliminating Kazuma Kimura.

Match 4: Shun Skywalker & Homare vs. BIGBOSS Shimizu & Yoshiki Kato went to a double countout.

Match 5: Ultimo Dragon, YAMATO, Dragon Kid, Susumu Yokosuka & BxB Hulk beat Strong Machine J, KZY, GuC (Daiki Yanagiuchi), @KEY (Akihiro Sahara) & U-T. YAMATO pinned GuC after Gallaria. Note the name changes for Yanagiuchi & Sahara who just joined Natural Vibes recently.

Match 6: Genki Horiguchi beat KAGETORA. As a result, Horiguchi will face Open The Brave Gate Champion Ryoya Tanaka for the title on 2/23.

Main Event: Yuki Yoshioka, Dragon Dia & Matchs Mathers beat Madoka Kikuta, Kota Minoura & KAI. Yoshioka pinned KAI.

The next event is tomorrow at Tsushima City Bunka Kaikan in Aichi. There will be no live or on demand broadcast.

In other news, the promotion’s US return in April has seen a new event added before WrestleMania week, to be held on 4/10 in Portland, OR for a co-produced event with US independent promotion DEFY Wrestling. More details are expected next week.

There also was a change made to the scheduled Open The Triangle Gate Championship match on 2/23 between Hyo, Ben-K & Mochizuki Junior and Kzy, @KEY & GuC…it’s now a 3-way. The third team added is YAMATO/Kid/Hulk. Pro Wrestling NOAH participation has also been announced for 2/23 as Takashi Sugiura & Masa Kitamiya will join Shun Skywalker’s PSYPATRA faction for a 10-man tag against GAIADOKURO which is Minoura, Shimizu, KAI, ISHIN & Kato.

Dragon Gate kicked off the TRUTH GATE 2026 Tour, their February tour, today with the monthly Tokyo event.

Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on DRAGONGATE NETWORK. You can also watch the first match FOR FREE on YouTube.

The paid attendance has not yet been announced. (UPDATE: The announced paid attendance was 1142)

There was a last-minute change to the event due to Ryu Fuda being pulled off the card. Shoulder injury.

Match 1: Naruki Doi (Independent/Freelancer) & KAGETORA beat Kenichiro Arai & Kazuma Kimura. KAGETORA pinned Kimura.

Match 2: Ultimo Dragon, Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii & Punch Tominaga beat YAMATO, Dragon Kid, BxB Hulk & Susumu Yokosuka. Dragon pinned Hulk with a dragon suplex hold.

Match 3: Luis Mante beat Marcus Mathers.

Match 4: KAI & Yoshiki Kato beat Homare & El Cielo by DQ. Cielo DQ’d. Chair use.

Match 5: Madoka Kikuta, Kota Minoura & ISHIN beat Yuki Yoshioka, Dragon Dia & Ryoya Tanaka by countout. Yoshioka counted out.

Match 6: Shun Skywalker beat BIGBOSS Shimizu by DQ. Mask removal.

Main Event: Strong Machine J, U-T, Kzy, Akihiro Sahara & Daiki Yanahiuchi beat Hyo, Ben-K, JACKY KAMEI, Riiita & Mochizuki Junior. Kzy pinned Ben-K after a running elbow smash.

The next event is Saturday at Kobe Art Center in Kobe. Live streaming on DRAGONGATE NETWORK will begin at midnight PT/3 AM ET.

UPDATE: There are some name changes on the roster to report-Akihiro Sahara is now known as (at symbol)KEY and Daiki Yanagiuchi is now known as GuC. They along with Kzy are the next challengers for the Open The Triangle Gate Championship.

According to an article just published by the Yomiuri Shinbun website, Ryuto Mochizuki, aka Dragon Gate wrestler Mochizuki Junior, received a letter of appreciation from Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture, for his actions in helping prevent further damage from an apparent arson attempt at Himeji Castle in November 2025. According to a translation of the article, on November 9 just after midnight Junior was visiting the castle with an unnamed American wrestler and witnessed someone setting a “No Trespassing” sign on fire. Junior put out the fire and tried to chase the suspect, who escaped but was later identified and arrested. Today or yesterday he received the letter from the mayor of Himeji City. The castle is considered a cultural asset to both Hyogo Prefecture and Japan as a whole.