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| Acronym | DG-USA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2009 (2009) 2025 (2025) (revival) |
| Defunct | 2015 (2015) |
| Style | |
| Headquarters | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Founders |
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| Parent |
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Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA) is an Americanprofessional wrestling promotion founded in 2009 as an international expansion of the Japanese promotionDragon Gate.Gabe Sapolsky, former head booker ofRing of Honor, served as the promotion's Vice President.
Dragon Gate USA featured regular members of theDragon Gate roster, along with notable American talent. All Dragon Gate titles and champions were recognized by Dragon Gate USA.[2]
In June 2009, it was announced that Dragon Gate USA had signed an agreement to film its shows forpay-per-view broadcast.[3] In August 2009, it was announced that Dragon Gate USA had signed an agreement withThe Fight Network to air DGUSA content on television.[4]
The firstOpen the Freedom Gate Champion was crowned following a tournament held atDGUSA Freedom Fight on November 28, 2009. This was the main title of Dragon Gate USA.
On September 7, 2010, Dragon Gate USA announced a partnership with Go Fight Live and that their first live internet pay-per-view,Bushido: Way of the Warrior (later renamedBushido: Code of the Warrior), would be taking place on October 29.[5]
In the fall of 2010, DGUSA announced that it would be holding a tournament to crown the firstOpen the United Gate Champions, which was their tag team champions. It was announced on December 13, 2010, that the tournament would be a four team round robin tournament that would take place over three shows from January 28 through January 30, 2011.
On November 25, 2011, Dragon Gate USA andEvolve announced the unification of the two promotions. Dragon Gate USA and Evolve will still promote separate events, but the two share rosters, including stables, and Evolve recognized Dragon Gate USA's Open the Freedom Gate Championship and Open the United Gate Championship as its top two championships,[6] until establishing its own championship, theEvolve Championship in 2012. On September 18, 2013,Vito LoGrasso announced that his new Wrestling School signed an agreement to be the Development Center for DGUSA.[7]
In November 2014, Dragon Gate USA, along with Evolve,Full Impact Pro (FIP) andShine Wrestling, all under theWWNLive banner, held a tour ofChina.[1] The following month, WWNLive announced a long-term deal with Great-Wall International Sports Management for regular tours of Asia, starting in the spring of 2015.[8] On December 22, WWNLive announced it was putting Dragon Gate USA on an indefinite hiatus until the promotion could secure more Japanese wrestlers for their shows.[9]
In 2015, WWNLive opened a training facility inTrinity, Florida named "World Wrestling Network Academy", which Dragon Gate USA shares with Evolve, FIP and Shine.[10]
On July 2, 2020, Dragon Gate USA's video library along with Evolve's assets were bought byWWE.[11]
On January 31, 2025, Dragon Gate announced that the DGUSA brand would return on April 16, 2025 at thePalms Casino Resort inLas Vegas, Nevada as part ofGame Changer Wrestling's (GCW) Collective under the titleDragon Gate USA The Rebirth during WrestleMania weekend. Another show was also announced withPro Wrestling Revolution during the West Coast Pro/DPW/Prestige Vegas event atMEET Las Vegas titledThe Gate Of Revolution
| Uprising | |
|---|---|
| Promotion | Dragon Gate USA[12] |
| Date | May 8, 2010[12] (aired July 9, 2010) |
| City | Mississauga, Ontario, Canada[12] |
| Venue | International Centre[12] |
Uprising was aprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV) event produced by Dragon Gate USA that was taped May 8, 2010 at the Mississauga International Centre inMississauga, Ontario and aired on July 9, 2010.
| No. | Results[12] | Stipulations | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Masaaki Mochizuki defeatedAkira Tozawa | Singles match | ||
| 2 | Gran Akuma defeatedTyson Dux | Singles match | ||
| 3 | Jon Moxley defeatedJimmy Jacobs | No Disqualification match | ||
| 4 | Naruki Doi andPAC defeatedMike Quackenbush andJigsaw | Tag team match | ||
| 5 | Rip Impact vs. Johnny Wave ended in a no contest | Singles match | ||
| 6 | Shingo andYAMATO defeatedCIMA andDragon Kid | Tag Team Match | ||
| 7 | BxB Hulk (c) defeatedMasato Yoshino | Singles match for theOpen the Freedom Gate Championship | ||
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Working agreements between Dragon Gate USA and the following promotions have led to interchanges in talent. Also, matches from these promotions have appeared on Dragon Gate USA DVD releases.[13][14]
| Championship | Last champion(s) | Date retired | Date Established | Previous champion (s) | Inaugural champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open the Freedom Gate Championship | Timothy Thatcher | August 15, 2015 | November 28, 2009 | Drew Galloway | BxB Hulk |
| Open the United Gate Championship | Ronin (Johnny Gargano andRich Swann) | May 30, 2015 | January 30, 2011 | The Premier Athlete Brand (Anthony Nese,Caleb Konley andTrent Barreta) | WORLD-1 (Masato Yoshino andPAC) |
WWNLive, the parent company of Evolve, Shine, FIP and Dragon Gate USA.
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