| Gates of Agony | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Statistics | |
| Members | |
| Name(s) | Gates of Agony GOA |
| Debut | April 1, 2022 |
| Years active | 2022–present |
Gates of Agony (GOA) is aprofessional wrestlingtag team consisting ofBishop Kaun andToa Liona. They are signed toAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) and its sister promotion,Ring of Honor (ROH), where they are members of thestable The Demand alongsideRicochet. They are two-time formerROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions (withBrian Cage, as Cage of Agony).
At the ROH pay-per-viewSupercard of Honor XV in April 2022, Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona teamed for the first time as "Gates of Agony" to defeat Shinobi Shadow Squad (Cheeseburger andEli Isom). During the event, Gates of Agony were announced as members ofTully Blanchard's new stable,Tully Blanchard Enterprises, along withBrian Cage.[1] Gates of Agony made their tag team debut for ROH's sister promotion, All Elite Wrestling (AEW), on the July 6 episode ofAEW Rampage, defeatingJonathan Gresham (theROH World Champion) andLee Moriarty when Greshamturned on Moriarty and joined Tully Blanchard Enterprises.[2][3]
On July 23, 2022, atDeath Before Dishonor,Prince Nana was announced as having purchased Tully Blanchard Enterprises and folded it into his long-running stable,the Embassy.[4][3] At the event, Gates of Agony and Brian Cage wrestled their first match as a unit, defeatingAlex Zayne,Blake Christian, andTony Deppen in asix-man tag team match.[2] Also at the event, Gresham resigned from ROH, leaving Gates of Agony and Cage as the only wrestlers in the Embassy.[5] In October 2022 atBattle of the Belts IV, Gates of Agony unsuccessfully challengedFTR for theROH World Tag Team Championship.[2]
In December 2022 atFinal Battle, Gates of Agony and Cage defeatedDalton Castle andthe Boys to win theROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship. AtSupercard of Honor in March 2023, they successfully defended the Championship againstAR Fox,Blake Christian, andMetalik. AtDeath Before Dishonor in July 2023, they successfully defended the Championship againstLeon Ruffin,Master Wato, andRyusuke Taguchi. In September 2023 atGrand Slam, they lost the titles toThe Elite.[6]
In April 2023, the Embassy merged withSwerve Strickland'sMogul Affiliates stable to form a new stable,Mogul Embassy.[7] AtForbidden Door in June 2023, Gates of Agony, Cage, and Strickland defeatedChaos in aneight-man tag team match.[2]
In November 2023 onAEW Dynamite, Gates of Agony and Cage defeated The Elite to regain the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship. AtFinal Battle in December 2023, they successfully defended the titles againstThe Mighty Don't Kneel. In January 2024 onAEW Dynamite, Gates of Agony and Cage lost the titles toBullet Club Gold.[8]
In May 2024, Gates of Agony and Cage attacked Strickland and split from Nana, disbanding Mogul Embassy.[9] Later that month, they dubbed themselves "Cage of Agony".[10] AtDouble or Nothing in May 2024, Cage of Agony lost toThe Acclaimed andBilly Gunn. AtAll In in August 2024, Cage of Agony andUndisputed Kingdom lost toDustin Rhodes,Katsuyori Shibata,Marshall Von Erich,Ross Von Erich, andSammy Guevara in a10-man tag team match.[11]
In October 2024, Brian Cage joined theDon Callis Family, disbanding Cage of Agony and leaving Gates of Agony as a tag team.[12] AtFinal Battle in December 2024, Gates of Agony defeated LEEJ (E. J. Nduka andLee Johnson). On April 16 atDynamite: Spring BreakThru, Gates of Agony unsuccessfully challengedThe Hurt Syndicate for theAEW World Tag Team Championship.[13]
In July 2025, Gates of Agony aligned themselves withRicochet and shortened their name to "GOA".[14][15] That same month, they entered the AEW World Tag Team Championship eliminator tournament, being eliminated in the first round by Brodido (Bandido andBrody King). In August 2025, atForbidden Door, GOA and Ricochet defeatedJetSpeed andMichael Oku; at the same event, they attacked The Hurt Syndicate, costing them the AEW World Tag Team Championship.[16] Later that month, GOA and Ricochet unsuccessfully challengedThe Opps for theAEW World Trios Championship, with Hurt Syndicate memberMVP costing them the match.[2][17] AtAll Out in September 2025, GOA and Ricochet (now known as "The Demand") defeated The Hurt Syndicate.[18] Later that month, GOA unsuccessfully challenged AEW World Tag Team Champions Brodido on an episode ofDynamite.[2] The Demand continued their feud with the Hurt Syndicate, but were defeated in a rematch atDynamite: Title Tuesday on October 7 in astreet fight and on October 12 atWrestleDream in atornado trios match.[18][19][20]
In November and December 2023, Gates of Agony wrestled a series of matches in Japan forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), competing in the2023 World Tag League. The duo finished with four points, placing seventh out of eight teams in block 'A', and thus did not qualify for the semi-finals. During their tour with NJPW, they also faced teams such asBullet Club,Chaos,House of Torture,The Mighty Don't Kneel, andUnited Empire.[2]
Gates of Agony's finishing move is adouble crucifix powerbomb known variously as "Fall from Heaven", "Heaven's Gate", or "Open the Gate".[21]
Gates of Agony hit a double Razor's Edge on Oskar. (I have heard the name of this finishing move as "Open the Gate", "Fall from Heaven" or "Heaven's Gate" over the course of the tour.)
