 | |
| Founded | July 5, 2004 (2004-07-05) |
|---|---|
| Style | Puroresu Lucha Libre |
| Headquarters | Kobe, Japan |
| Founder | Takashi Okumura |
| Owner | Toru Kido |
| Sister | Dragon Gate USA (2009–2015) Dragon Gate UK (2009–2014) |
| Split from | Toryumon Japan |
| Website | www |
Dragongate (DRAGONGATE株式会社,DRAGONGATEKabushiki-gaisha; formerlyDragon Gate and currently promoted asDragongate Japan Pro-Wrestling (ドラゴンゲート・ジャパン・プロレスリング,Doragongēto Japan puroresuringu)) is aJapaneseprofessional wrestlingpromotion founded and headquartered inKobe,Hyōgo,Japan.
The byproduct of the original JapaneseToryumon (闘龍門,Tōryūmon) promotion founded byÚltimo Dragón, it is considered one of the current five major wrestling promotions in Japan. The promotion is based on ajunior heavyweight style with varying emphasis on high flying maneuvers, flashy technical grappling, and submission wrestling. In its founding, and continuous to this day, Dragongate runs on a faction-based roster system, with the mainheel stable(s) being derived from the previous, andface stables coming and going as time goes on.
Dragongate is currently owned by CEO Toru Kido as of 2018, and is a member of theUnited Japan Pro-Wrestling association.
On July 4, 2004,Último Dragón departed from theToryumon Gym and seized ownership of the "Toryumon" trademarks. TheToryumon Japan promotion subsequently restructured and changed its name to Dragon Gate. Dragon Gate declaredCima (the last one to hold theÚltimo Dragón Gym Championship) to be the inauguralOpen 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 ofAll Japan Pro Wrestling after Motoko Baba sold the rights to the company and gave her power toKeiji 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 withFujiko Fujio-esque animation.[2]
Since its founding, Dragon Gate wrestlers have also made appearances on theUnited Statesindependent wrestling circuit, includingRing of Honor which held a Dragon Gate Invasion show on August 27, 2005, inBuffalo, New York, Dragon Gate Challenge on March 30, 2006, inDetroit, Michigan andSupercard of Honor and Better Than Our Best inChicago, Illinois on March 31 and April 1, 2006, respectively. A six-man match pitting Cima,Naruki Doi andMasato Yoshino againstDragon Kid,Ryo Saito andGenki Horiguchi at Supercard of Honor is one of only a handful of North American matches that wrestling journalistDave Meltzer has given afive-star rating. Both Ring of Honor's All Star Extravaganza III on March 30 andSupercard of Honor II on March 31, 2007, in Detroit, Michigan featured Dragon Gate in the main events.
On October 12, 2007 Baseball Magazine Sha, the publisher ofWeekly Pro-Wrestling released Dragon Gatetrading 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 featuredEl Generico,Necro Butcher, andKendo. Their second show was in Hawaii on September 8.
Japan's Dragon Gate promotion announced its expansion into the United States withDragon Gate USA on April 14, 2009, at theKorakuen Hall event inTokyo.
Also in 2009 it was announced that they created another branch promotion Dragon Gate UK. Their first show was held on November 1, 2009, inOxford, England.
On March 21, 2018, Dragon Gate announced the creation ofDragon Gate Network, an on-demand service similar toWWE Network andNew 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 Cima became the President of Dragon Gate Inc., the international department with the headquarter inShanghai, 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 combinedDragongate moniker as its officialromaji name.
On February 1, 2020, Dragongate announced a working relationship with American promotionMajor 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 theUnited Japan Pro-Wrestling alliance, a joint effort to further develop professional wrestling in Japan through promotion and organization, withSeiji Sakaguchi being named as the chairman of the project.[8]
Dragongate 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 toWWE Network,New Japan Pro-Wrestling'sNJPW World and most notablyRing of Honor'sHonor Club, in thatpay-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 andToryumon Japan video tape archive.[10]
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 asTrueborn, having been trained in the Dragon System exclusively through Dragongate as opposed to the Último Dragón Gym. They are listed in alphabetical order.
| Ring name | Real name | Years Active | Current Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akira Tozawa | Akira Tozawa | 2005 – Present | WWE |
| Ben-K | Futa Nakamura | 2016 – Present | Dragongate |
| Big R Shimizu | Ryotsu Shimizu | 2013 – Present | Dragongate |
| B×B Hulk | Terumasa Ishihara | 2005 – Present | Dragongate |
| Cyber Kong / Takashi Yoshida | Takashi Yoshida | 2006 – Present | Dragongate |
| Dragon Dia | Undisclosed | 2018 – Present | Dragongate |
| Eita | Eita Kobayashi | 2011 – Present | Pro Wrestling Noah |
| Hyo | Hyo Watanabe | 2016 – Present | Dragongate |
| Ishin | Ishin Iihashi | 2021 – Present | Dragongate |
| Jacky Kamei | Taketo Kamei | 2019 – Present | Dragongate |
| Katsuo | Yūki Ōno | 2005 – Present | Hokuto Pro |
| Kenshin Chikano | Kenshin Chikano | 2008 – Present | Dove Pro |
| Kota Minoura | Kota Minoura | 2018 – Present | Dragongate |
| Kotoka | Kotoka Shiiba | 2009 – 2018 | Retired |
| Jackson Florida | Kouji Shishido | 2006 – 2012 | Retired |
| Kzy | Kazuki Sawada | 2006 – Present | Dragongate |
| Lupin Matsutani | Kei Matsutani | 2006 – 2008 | Retired |
| Madoka Kikuta | Madoka Kikuta | 2020 – Present | Dragongate |
| Mondai Ryu | Daisuke Kimata | 2006 – Present | Dragongate |
| Punch Tominaga | Chihiro Tominaga | 2011 – Present | Dragongate |
| Riiita | Takumi Hayakawa | 2021 – Present | Dragongate |
| Shingo Takagi | Shin Takagi | 2004 – Present | New Japan Pro-Wrestling |
| Shun Skywalker | Shun Watanabe | 2015 – Present | Dragongate |
| Strong Machine J | Undisclosed | 2019 – Present | Dragongate |
| T-Hawk | Takuya Onodera | 2010 – Present | Gleat |
| U-T | Yūta Tanaka | 2013 – Present | Dragongate |
| Yamato | Masato Onodera | 2006 – Present | Dragongate |
| Yosuke♡Santa Maria | Yosuke Watanabe | 2006 – Present | Dragongate |
| Yo-Hey | Yohei Fujita | 2008 – Present | Pro Wrestling Noah |
| Championship | Current champion(s) | Reign | Date won | Days held[11] | Location | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open the Dream Gate Championship |  | Madoka Kikuta | 2 | August 17, 2025 | 183+ | Tokyo, Japan | DefeatedShun Skywalker atKobe Pro-Wrestling Festival 2025. |
| Open the Brave Gate Championship |  | Ryoya Tanaka | 1 | July 13, 2025 | 218+ | Kobe, Japan | DefeatedU-T atKobe Pro-Wrestling Festival 2025. |
| Open the Owarai Gate Championship |  | Vacant | 1 | December 16, 2025 | 62+ | Tokyo, Japan | Último Dragón vacated the title after he won it atDG Fantastic Gate 2025 - Day 9. |
| Open the Twin Gate Championship |   | Love And Peace (Jacky Kamei andRiiita) | 1 (2, 1) | November 3, 2025 | 105+ | Osaka, Japan | Defeated D'courage (Dragon Dia andYuki Yoshioka) atGate of Destiny. |
| Open the Triangle Gate Championship |    | Love And Peace (Ben-K,Hyo andMochizuki Jr.) | 1 (4, 4, 2) | December 27, 2025 | 51+ | Kobe, Japan | Defeated Gajadokuro (Jason Lee,Kai andKota Minoura) and Natural Vibes (Kzy,Strong Machine J andU-T) in athree-way elimination tag team match atFantastic Gate 2025 to win the vacant titles. |
| 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 andMasato Yoshino) | October 12, 2007 |
| Open the Owarai Twin Gate Championship | Don Fujii andKikutaro | April 12, 2009 |
| Open the Freedom Gate Championship | Timothy Thatcher | July 10, 2015 |
| Open the United Gate Championship | Rich Swann andJohnny Gargano | May 30, 2015 |
(I-J Heavyweight Tag Team Championship unified with Open the Twin Gate Championship on October 12, 2007)
| Tournament | Latest winner(s) | Date won | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| King of Gate | Dragon Dia | December 3, 2024 | Tokyo | DefeatedKota Minoura in the tournament final. |
| Rey de Parejas | Shun Skywalker and Homare | March 30, 2025 | Kobe | DefeatedKota Minoura andJason Lee in the tournament final. |
Dragon 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.
| Promotion name | Location | Partnered on | Ref. | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dragon Gate USA | United States | 2009 | Closed in 2015 and purchased byWWE in 2020. | |
| Dragon Gate UK | United Kingdom | 2009 | Never officially closed but has not promoted events since 2014. |
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