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| Founded | May 11, 1997 (Toryumon Mexico)[1] January 31, 1999 (Toryumon Japan)[1] November 13, 2001 (Toryumon 2000 Project) August 22, 2003 (Toryumon X) |
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| Defunct | January 27, 2003 (Toryumon 2000 Project) July 4, 2004 (Toryumon Japan) September 9, 2004 (Toryumon X) March 2020 (Toryumon Mexico) |
| Style | Lucha libre[1] Puroresu[1] Sports entertainment[1] |
| Headquarters | Tokyo,Japan[1] Naucalpan,Mexico[1] |
| Founder | Último Dragón[1] |
| Owner | Último Dragón |
| Parent | Último Dragón Gym[1] |
| Successor | To Toryumon Japan: Dragon Gate Dragondoor To Toryumon Mexico: Toryumon Casa |
Toryumon (闘龍門,Tōryūmon) is the name of severalprofessional wrestling promotions that have operated in Japan and Mexico. The promotions were owned and operated by Yoshihiro Asai, who is best known under thering nameÚltimo Dragón. Toryumon is a coined word that meansFighting Dragon Gate. The word was derived from thehomonymTōryūmon (登龍門) that literally meansclimbing up the dragon gate (or less literallyclimbing up the gateway to success). TheToryumon Mexico promotion was originally created to give graduates of the Último Dragón Gym a promotion to gain their initial in-ring experience in. Its Japan-based sister promotionToryumon Japan developed a major cult following and grew into becoming one of the hottest independent promotions in the country. The promotion would run for five years. On July 4, 2004, Último Dragón left the promotion and took the name and trademarks with him. Toryumon Japan's wrestlers and officials decided to form a new promotion, adopting the nameDragon Gate (later Dragongate) and continuing in the traditions of Toryumon. Since then Último Dragón would continue to promote Toryumon events mainly in Mexico but also has occasionally held shows in Japan until 2020 when he signed with Dragongate.
During his time working forWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the United States Japanese wrestlerÚltimo Dragón decided to open up a wrestling school inNaucalpan,Mexico to give Japanese hopefuls the chance to learn the Mexicanlucha libre style like Dragón had.[1] The wrestling school operated after the same principles of a university, divided into classes with several terms where wrestlers would "graduate" (debut) at the same time. The Ultimo Dragon Gym's first graduating term consisted ofCima,Don Fujii,Dragon Kid,Magnum Tokyo andSuwa who collectively became known asToryumon Japan (a name that would be used for the first four terms).[1] Toryumon promoted their first show on May 11, 1997, in Naucalpan, Mexico on a show that was co-promoted withInternational Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG).[1] Toryumon and IWRG would co-promote shows in Japan from 1997 until 2001, allowing the Ultimo Dragon Gym graduates to work on IWRG shows and even saw several graduates wrestlers win IWRG Championship.[2] Through his contacts with WCW Último Dragón also arranged for some of his first term graduates to wrestle on World Championship Wrestling shows.[3] On January 1, 1999, Toryumon held its first show in Japan and from that point forward began promoting regular shows in Japan.[1] Toryumon's combination of traditional JapanesePuroresu, Mexican Lucha Libre and elements ofSports Entertainment that Último Dragón had observed while working for WCW such as outside interference and referee's being knocked out, something that at the time was not traditionally used in Japanese wrestling.[1] The second class of Último Dragón Gym graduates began their own promotion, called the Toryumon 2000 Project, or T2P for short. The T2P promotion debuted on November 13, 2001, and became known for their use of the six-sided wrestling ring, the first promotion to regularly use such a ring shape.[1] T2P wrestlers primarily used a submission based style calledLlave (Spanish for "Key" the lucha libre term for submission locks).[1] T2P ran until January 27, 2003, when the roster was absorbed into Toryumon.[1] The third graduating class was known as "Toryumon X" and like T2P also started their own promotion under their class name. Toryumon X made its debut on August 22, 2003, and lasted until early 2004.
Último Dragón had been forced to retire from active competition in 1998 after a mistake during an elbow surgery that causednerve damage.[3] In 2001 Dragón had another round of surgery on his elbow, restoring mobility and feeling. Following his rehabilitation Último Dragón made his return to active wrestling on a Toryumon / T2P co-promotedpay-per-view on September 8, 2002.[3] In the following months Dragón wrestled regularly for Toryumon and various companies around the world. Because of his active scheduled Último Dragón stepped down as the director of Toryumon leaving the job toTakashi Okamura. Okamura handled the job while Dragón began working full-time forWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in the United States.[3] After his run with WWE ended Dragón returned to Japan and announced that he was leaving Toryumon and taking all the trademarks he owned with him. Toryumon Japan changed its name toDragon Gate as a result of this, continuing the traditions of Toryumon Japan including references to Último Dragón. Since the break Toryumon has primarily promoted shows in Mexico, featuring students trained by Dragón andJorge "Skayde" Rivera and a number of wrestlers from various Mexican and American promotions.
In Japan a group of remaining Toryumon students, including ousted members of Dragon Gate, joined with the internet-firm Livedoor to create the promotion dragondoor, a promotion that only ran six shows. The group launched another wrestling venture in 2006 called El Dorado: Next Door Project.
In 2020, Toryumon Mexico would quietly close its doors with Dragón later foundingToryumon Casa in 2022, as base to serve as the home promotion for Japanese wrestlers from Dragongate andPro Wrestling Noah who had been sent on learning excursions in Mexico.[4]
Toryumon Japan ran a series of PPVs under the namesVamonos Amigos ("Let's go friends" in Spanish) and "Revolucion" ("Revolution") as well as an annual anniversary show. They also held an annualNumero Uno League that became one of the highlights of the promotional year.[1] Since the split in 2004 Toryumon has not promoted any major shows or PPVs, focusing their promotional efforts on Toryumon Mexico. In Mexico Dragón promoted an annual DragonMania show, with the last being DragonMania XI held on May 28, 2016.[5]In August 2017 Toryumon Mexico started working withAll Japan Pro Wrestling in with a collaborated event tour calledLucha Fiesta.[6]
Before the Dragon Gate split in 2004 Toryumon Japan promoted a series of championships, only one of which originated in the promotion,Último Dragón Gym Championship, the rest were either bought from its previous owner or acquired after promotions closed. When the promotion turned to Dragon Gate all its championships were vacated, leaving only the Toryumon Mexico promoted titles.
| Name | Promoted in | Last champion(s) | Date won | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Championship | 2001–2003 | Jun Ogawauchi | November 10, 2003 | Title currently inactive.[7] |
| NWA International Junior Heavyweight Championship | 2008–2009 | Hajime Ohara | December 14, 2008 | Currently promoted byDradition[8] |
| International Light Heavyweight Championship | 2002 | Cima | December 26, 2002 | Inactive[9] |
| NWA World Welterweight Championship | 1999–2007 | Hajime Ohara | February 10, 2007 | Promoted byConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre since 2007.[10] |
| Último Dragón Gym Championship | 2003–2004 | Cima | July 4, 2004 | Inactive after the Dragon Gate split.[11] |
| UWA World Trios Championship | 2001–2004 | Kenichiro Arai,Dragon KidSecond Doi | May 9, 2004 | Currently promoted byDDT Pro-Wrestling[12] |
| UWA World Welterweight Championship | 2003 | Taiji Ishimori | May 11, 2003 | Promoted byMichinoku Pro[13] |
Suzuki Cup is a Team Tournament that began in 2007
Every year Toryumon Mexico holds the Young Dragons Cup, an annualtournament that began in 1997. The tournament is used to showcase Dragon Gym students. Originally it was a traditional single-elimination tournament, in 2006 it was changed into atorneo cibernetico and has had that format ever since.Rocky Romero,Kota Ibushi,Ryuji Yamaguchi andTrauma II are the only tournament winners who were not actually trained by Último Dragón.
Toryumon Mexico holds the Yamaha Cup about once a year, although there have been years without a Cup. The Yamaha Cup is atag team tournament that features a mixture of Último Dragón trainees and a combination of wrestlers from theMexican Independent circuit, IWRG andConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL).
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