Tag: dragon gate pro wrestling

Dragon Gate ran their first Tokyo event of the year today, the first half of a doubleheader. Today was headlined by a Masaaki Mochizuki 30th Anniversary match.

Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on DRAGONGATE NETWORK.

The announced paid attendance was 1485, a legit sellout.

Match 1: Luis Mante & Hyo beat Kagetora & Ryoya Tanaka. Hyo pinned Tanaka after Hunting.

Match 2: BIGBOSS Shimizu & JACKY “FUNKY” KAMEI beat Susumu Mochizuki & Yasushi Kanda. KAMEI pinned Kanda after JACKY Knife.

Match 3: Open The Owarai Gate Champion Longerie Muto vs. Don Fujii went to a double countout. But based on post-match fan reactions/support, Muto retains the title. V1 for Muto. (This is a comedy title where the champion can lose the match but retain the title as fan reaction determines who wins)

Match 4: KAI & Gianni Valletta beat Ultimo Dragon & Punch Tominaga. Vallenta pinned Tomonaga after a King Kong kneedrop.

Match 5: YAMATO, Dragon Kid, BxB Hulk, Kzy & Naruki Doi (Independent/Freelancer) beat Madoka Kikuta, Dragon Dia, Ben-K, Strong Machine J & Kota Minoura. YAMATO pinned Minoura after Gallaria.

Match 6: Shun Skywalker, ISHIN & Yoshiki Kato beat Shuji Kondo, Toru Owashi (DDT) & Takuya Sugawara (Independent/Freelancer) by DQ. Kato DQ’d.

Main Event: Masaaki Mochizuki 30th Anniversary Match: Shingo Takagi (New Japan) beat Masaaki Mochizuki.

The next event is tomorrow. Live streaming on DRAGONGATE NETWORK will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET.

UPDATE: A few hours after the event, following happenings today after their tag match, Open The Brave Gate Champion Hyo vs. Kagetora for the title was added to THE GATE OF BAYSIDE 2024 on 1/27.

Dragon Gate continues the New Year’s Gate 2024 Tour today with a non-televised house show.

Today’s event was held at Yamanori City Gym in Mie. There is/was no live or on demand broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 272.

Match 1: Kzy, BIGBOSS Shimizu & Jason Lee beat Kota Minoura, Ben-K & BxB Hulk. Kzy pinned Hulk with Skayde Schoolboy.

Match 2: JACKY “FUNKY” KAMEI beat Kaito Nagano.

Match 3: Ultimo Dragon, Madoka Kikuta & Dragon Dia beat Genki Horiguchi, Susumu Mochizuki & Yasushi Kanda. Kikuta pinned Horiguchi after a tolling lariat.

Match 4: Hyo & Luis Mante beat U-T & Strong Machine J. Hyo pinned U-T after Samson Driver.

Main Event: YAMATO, Dragon Kid. Don Fujii & Punch Tomonaga beat Shun Slywalker, KAI, ISHIN & Yoshiki Kato. YAMATO pinned ISHIN after Omnipotent & Omniscient Frankensteiner.

The next event is Wednesday at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo for the first half of a doubleheader, featuring a Masaaki Mochizuki 30th Anniversary Match as Mochizuki faces former Dragon Gate star Shingo Takagi (now with New Japan). Live streaming on DRAGONGATE NETWORK will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET.

Dragon Gate continued the New Year Gate 2024 Tour today with their first Osaka event of the year.

Today’s event was held at Osaka Prefectural Gym 2 in Osaka and can be watched on demand on DRAGONGATE NETWORK.

The announced paid attendance was 879, a super full house/very near sellout.

Match 1: U-T, Jason Lee & JACKY “FUNKY” KAMEI” beat Madoka Kikuta, Dragon Dia & Ryoya Tanaka. KAMEI pinned Tanaka after JFK.

Match 2: KAI & Yoshiki Kato beat Kota Minoura & Ben-K. KAI pinned Ben-K with Gannosuke Clutch.

Match 3: Yasushi Kanda vs. Strong Machine J went to a double countout.

Match 4: Ultimo Dragon, Dragon Kid, Don Fujii & Naruki Doi (Independent/Freelancer) beat YAMATO, Takashi Yoshida, Problem Dragon & Eita. Doi pinned Dragon after Bakatare Sliding Kick.

Match 5: Masaaki Mochizuki & Susumu Mochizuki beat Kzy & BIGBOSS Shimizu. Susumu Mochizuki pinned Kzy after Jumbo Wins!

Main Event: Luis Mante & Hyo beat Shun Skywalker & ISHIN. Mante pinned ISHIN after Spertigre.

The next event is tomorrow at Yamamori Gym in Mie. There will be no live or on demand broadcast.

Dragon Gate kicked off their 2024-the promotion’s 25th Anniversary year-today with the start of the New Year Gate 2024 tour, their first event of the year.

Today’s event was held at Kyoto KBS Hall in Kyoto and can be watched on demand on DRAGONGATE NETWORK.

The announced paid attendance was 468.

Match 1; Jason Lee & U-T beat Punch Tominaga & Daiki Yanagiuchi. Lee pinned Yanagiuchi.

Match 2; Masaaki Mochizuki, Susumu Mochizuki & Yasushi Kanda vs. YAMATO, Dragon Kid & Eita went to a 15 minute time limit draw.

Match 3: Ben-K & Kaito Nagano beat Ryoya Tanaka & Madoka Kikuta. Ben-K pinned Tanaka after a spear.

Match 4: Dragon Dia beat Kota Minoura.

Match 5: Hyo & Lios Mante beat Ultimo Dragon & Kagetora. Hyo pinned Kagetora after Samson Driver.

Main Event: Kzy, Strong Machine J, BIGBOSS Shimizu & JACKY “FUNKY” KAMEI beat Shun SKywalker, KAI, ISHIN & Yoshiki Kato. J pinned ISHIN after Machine Suplex.

The next event is tomorrow at Osaka Prefectural Gym 2 in Osaka. Live streaming on DRAGONGATE NETWORK will begin at 1 AM PT/4 AM ET.

From 2012 until early 2020 when the pandemic put everything on hold, Dragon Gate ran a monthly series called PRIME ZONE that streamed on DRAGONGATE NETWORK. If you’ve never seen it before and want to check it out, you can now watch all 85 episodes FOR FREE on DRAGONGATE NETWORK, even if you are not a paying subscriber. Each episode ran for between 50-90 minutes and featured 2 or 3 matches and other content.

The free access is until 1/24/24 at 6:59 AM PT/9:59 AM ET. Click below to access the page:
https://dragongate.live/dragongate_studio/

This and much more content is part of DRAGONGATE NETWORK, available worldwide for 1650 yen/month (around $12 US).

Dragon Gate wrapped up their 2023 today with the final event of the Fantastic Gate 2023 Tour, a hometown event for the promotion.

Today’s event was held at Kobe Sambo Hall in Kobe and can be watched on demand on DRAGONGATE NETWORK.

The announced paid attendance was 726, which sounds like a legit sellout.

Match 1: Kzy, BIGBOSS Shimizu & U-T beat Dragon Dia, Ryoya Tanaka & Kaito Nagano. Shimizu pinned Tanaka after BIGBOSS Press.

Match 2: Takashi Yoshida beat Problem Dragon.

Match 3: BxB Hulk, Shachihoko BOY, Kagetora & Punch Tominaga beat Ultimo Dragon, Don Fujii, Genki Horiguchi & Shuji Kondo. Kagetora pinned Horiguchi.

Match 4: Masaaki Mochizuki, Susumu Mochizuki & Yasushi Kanda vs. KAI, ISHIN & Yoshiki Kato went to a double countout.

Match 5: YAMATO & Naruki Doi beat Dragon Kid & Eita. YAMATO pinned Kid after Gallaria.

Main Event: Shun Skywalker won a 9 man battle royal, last eliminating JACKY “FUNKY” KAMEI. Participants included NEW Open The Dream Gate Champion Luis Mante

The 2024 schedule begins with the New Year Gate 2024 Tour, starting on 1/6 at Kyoto KBS Hall in Kyoto. Live streaming on DRAGONGATE NETWORK will begin at midnight PT/3 AM ET.

Additionally, ahead of the coming return of the promotion’s old PRIME ZONE series all episodes of the prior iteration are available FOR FREE on DRAGONGATE NETWORK for a limited time, no registration required.

UPDATE; Apparently Skywalker got a nice reward for winning the battle royal today-the first shot at Mante for the Open The Dream Gate Championship. That match will happen at THE GATE OF BAYSIDE 2024 on 1/27 at Yokohama Budokan in Yokohama.

UPDATE 2: Also added to 1/27 is NEW Open The Twin Gate Champions Kaito Kiyomiya & Alejandro vs. Jason Lee & JACKY “FUNKY” KAMEI for the titles. On 1/11 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo will be NEW Open The Triangle Gate Champions KAI, ISHIN & Yoshiki Kato vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, Susumu Mochizuki & Yasushi Kanda for the titles and Hyo vs. Shun Skywalker in a NON-TITLE matchz

Dragon Gate’s final blowout event of 2023, THE FINAL GATE 2023, is now in the books.

Today’s event was held at Fukuoka International Center in Fukuoka and will be available on demand on DRAGONGATE NETWORK tomorrow at 5 PM PT/8 PM ET. The event was streamed live on the service but on demand availability is delayed due to broadcast rights.

The paid attendance has not yet been announced. (UPDATE: The announced paid attendance was 2286)

Match 1: Jason Lee, U-T & JACKY “FUNKY” KAMEI beat Ryoya Tanaka, Kaito Nagano & Shachihoko BOY. KAMEI pinned Tanaka after “JACKY” Knife. BOY was a late replacement for the absent Daiki Yanagiuchi (illness).

Match 2: Open The Brave Gate Champion Hyo beat Genki Horiguchi to retain the title. V2 for Hyo.

Match 3: Masaaki Mochizuki, Susumu Mochizuki & Yasushi Kanda beat Don Fujii, Kagetora & Problem Dragon. Masaaki Mochizuki pinned Dragon after Twister.

Match 4: Kzy, BIGBOSS Shimizu, Strong Machine J & Naruki Doi beat Ultimo Dragon, BxB Hulk, Dragon Dia & Shuji Kondo. J pinned Hulk with Machine Suplex. The teams for this match were determined by random draw at the event.

Match 5: KAI, ISHIN & Yoshiki Kato beat Open The Triangle Gate Champions YAMATO, Dragon Kid & Punch Tominaga to win the titles. KAI, ISHIN & Kato become the 88th Open The Triangle Gate Champions. Kato pinned Tominaga after Cadere Luna.

Match 6: Kaito Kiyomiya & Alejandro (Pro Wrestling NOAH) beat Open The Twin Gate Champions Ben-K & Kota Minoura to win the titles. Kiyomiya & Alejandro become the 65th Open The Twin Gate Champions. Kiyomiya pinned Minoura after Transformed Shining Wizard.

Main Event: Luis Mante beat Open The Dream Gate Champion Madoka Kikuta & Shun Skywalker in a 3-way elimination match to win the title. Mante becomes the 38th Open The Dream Gate Champion. Skywalker DQ’d first then Mante pinned Kikuta. What a turnaround for Mante, who began the year as Diamante then left for several months after losing his mask this summer, returned under a new unmasked identity and now has won the top title in the promotion.

The next event, their final event of the year, is Tuesday at Kobe Sambo Hall in Kobe. Live streaming on DRAGONGATE NETWORK will begin at 1 AM PT/4 AM ET.

Dragon Gate ran the penultimate event of the Fantastic Gate 2023 Your Wednesday.

Wednesday’s event was held at Yokohama Radiant Hall in Yokohama. There is/was no live or on demand broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 358, a super full house/very near sellout.

Match 1: Kota Minoura & Ben-K beat Jason Lee & JACKY “FUNKY” KAMEI. Minoura pinned Lee after Golden Rose.

Match 2: Kagetora & Punch Tominaga beat Kenichiro Arai & Daiki Yanagiuchi. Kagetora pinned Yanagiuchi.

Match 3: YAMATO, Dragon Kid & Genki Horiguchi beat Masaaki Mochizuki, Susumu Mochizuki & Yasushi Kanda. Horiguchi pinned Kanda with Backslide From Heaven.

Match 4: Luis Mante & VIENTO beat Madoka Kikuta & Dragon Dia. Mante pinned Dia after MCT.

Main Event: Strong Machine J, Kzy, BIGBOSS Shimizu & U-T beat Shun Skywalker, KAI, ISHIN & Yoshiki Kato. J pinned Kato after Genie Windmill.

The next event is THE FINAL GATE 2023 Sunday at Fukuoka International Center in Fukuoka. Live streaming on DRAGONGATE NETWORK will begin at midnight PT/3 AM ET.

UPDATE: Daiki Yanagiuchi is now off Sunday. Illness. He was to have teamed with Ryoya Tanaka & Kaito Nagano to face Jason Lee, U-T & JACKY “FUNKY” KAMEI. Shachihoko BOY is the replacement.

Dragon Gate ran their final Tokyo event of the year today as they continued the Fantastic Gate 2023 Tour.

Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on DRAGONGATE NETWORK.

The announced paid attendance was 1343.

Before the event began, it was announced that the Open The Twin Gate Championship is now VACANT. Previous champions Yuki Yoshioka & Dragon Dia vacated the titles today, with Dia returning the belts, due to a Yoshioka injury (eye). It’s a minor injury but this means Yoshioka won’t be able to return for their scheduled title defense Sunday against Kaito Kiyomiya & Alejandro (Pro Wrestling NOAH. Alejandro actually was in Dragon Gate until earlier this year as Aleja). The NOAH duo will now face Ben-K & Kota Minoura for the titles Sunday.

Match 1: Punch Tominaga beat Yoshiki Kato.

Match 2: Kzy, Strong Machine J, BIGBOSS Shimizu, U-T & Jason Lee beat Don Fujii, Genki Horiguchi, Kagetora, Takashi Yoshida & Daiki Yanagiuchi. Shimizu pinned Yanagiuchi after Power BOSS.

Match 3: ISHIN beat JACKY “FUNKY” KAMEI by countout.

Match 4: Ultimo Dragon & VIENTO beat Super Crazy & Demus. Dragon pinned Demus after Asai DDT.

Match 5; Kota Minoura, BxB Hulk & Ben-K beat Masaaki Mochizuki, Susumu Mochizuki & Yasushi Kanda. Minoura pinned Kanda after Golden Rose.

Match 6: YAMATO, Naruki Doi, Dragon Kid & Alejandro beat Dragon Dia, Ryoya Tanaka, Eita & Shuji Kondo. Alejandro pinned Tanaka after a modified Yoshitonic.

Main Event: Madoka Kikuta & Luis Mante beat Shun Skywalker & KAI by DQ. Skywalker DQ’d. Which led to…
Main Event (again): Madoka Kikuta, Luis Mante & JACKY “FUNKY” KAMEI beat Shun Skywalker, KAI & ISHIN. KAMEI pinned Skywalker after “JACKY” Knife. That’s not insignificant, in particular for KAMEI. I would call that a definite upset.

The next event is tomorrow at Yokohama Radiant Hall in Yokohama. There will be no live or on demand broadcast. This is the last non-televised event of the year as both remaining events after this will be live and on demand on DRAGONGATE NETWORK.

It was also announced today that the first Korakuen event of 2024 on 1/10 (the first half of a doubleheader) will be a Masaaki Mochizuki 30th Anniversary Event. For his 30th Anniversary match, Mochizuki will face Shingo Takagi, the former Dragon Gate star who began his career in the promotion before moving to New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he reached superstardom and is a former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion among other accolades. Check out the promo poster below for the event, which should be live and on demand on DRAGONGATE NETWORK (confirmation will come later this month(:

Following up on the Yuki Yoshioka injury (eye) in Dragon Gate, a breaking update-The Open The Twin Gate Championship held by Yoshioka and Dragon Dia is now VACANT. This means Yoshioka will not be back in time for Saturday. They were supposed to defend the titles against Kaito Kiyomiya & Alejandro, who will now face Ben-K & Kota Minoura for the titles.