|
 Post-Kobe World is always the best time for a new thread, and I'm probably at least somewhat qualified because I used to be the resident TM/DG guy at a wrestling column website like a million years ago.  Dragongate Japan Pro Wrestling was started by Ultimo Dragon as Toryumon - first as Toryumon Mexico in 1997 as a way to bring the Japanese junior heavyweight style to Mexico, then Toryumon Japan in 1999 to bring lucha libre back to Japan. It was renamed Dragon Gate in 2014 when Ultimo left and was replaced by CIMA, then rebranded to Dragongate in 2018 after CIMA left for OWE/GLEAT. Ultimo then returned in 2019. It features smaller wrestlers, fast-paced action, and a hybrid of many wrestling styles. Since it's inspired by lucha, masks are extremely important. They also use lucha tag rules, which means they really excel at multi-man matches. There's a heavy emphasis on generations (specifically which dojo class each wrestler debuted in), and nearly the entire roster is separated into units - usually one big heel stable, a couple babyface stables, and some tweeners. HOW TO WATCH Paid: Dragongate Network is their subscription streaming service (1650¥/month). The 8 annual PPVs & monthly Korakuen Hall shows have English commentary by Jae Church & Ho Ho Lun. For touring shows without commentary, Jae usually tweets summaries of promos & segments. Free: •DGN Youtube (1st match of every Network show free) •GAORA Sports (free major matches & feud video packages) •Dragongate Youtube (free house show footage) If you don't know where to start, I make DG-related content on my Youtube channel, and my 10-minute Dragongate primer has been endorsed by DG staff. I have a whole playlist which includes a multi-part series of short episodes about the roster and current units, and my documentary series on Shun Skywalker's Masquerade unit, which was the biggest story of 2021. I'll be adding other related topics as I make more. ROSTER/UNITS/CHAMPIONS Official GAORA site (more detail in English here) LINKS •DG English Twitter (cards & updates) •Open the Voice Gate podcast on Voices of Wrestling •Official Merch (you can contact Ho Ho Lun to set up shipping) Come talk about who is the prettiest lucharesu boy. It's Yuki Bonk fucked around with this message at 16:49 on Dec 29, 2022 |
#
¿
Aug 12, 2022 08:55
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 21, 2024 01:14 |
|
|
Free matches from recent tours: (bold = DGN free 1st match, otherwise house shows) 11.11.22 NOAHxDG Global Dream (full show free on DGN) •Fantastic Gate tour: 12.02 Sapporo | 12.03 Sapporo | 12.04 Sapporo | 12.06 Korakuen | 12.09 | 12.10 KBS | 12.11 Nagoya | 12.16 Korakuen | 12.17 | 12.18 Gate of Origin | 12.19 | 12.25 Final Gate | 12.27 Sambo Hall If you want to see what the DG boys on excursion are up to, someone has put together a spreadsheet of dates, plus an accompanying playlist, which they keep adding to as more matches air (this doesn't include US indies that require Fite/IWTV subscriptions, it's mostly the Mexico indies). Bonk fucked around with this message at 06:43 on Dec 27, 2022 |
|
#
¿
Aug 12, 2022 09:01
|
|
|
https://twitter.com/DragonGateEN/status/1557915750375260161 It's a unit scramble/mystery vortex card, so it's weird that this is the one time they've announced it ahead of time, but still looks pretty fun. edit: Free match: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMoF4cRHEDw Fun, light show. About the only thing that happened plotwise was Ben-K being offered to join Z-Brats but not giving an answer yet, if I interpreted that segment correctly. Bonk fucked around with this message at 09:26 on Aug 14, 2022 |
|
#
¿
Aug 13, 2022 19:56
|
|
|
It's at least national exposure, so that's good. But I saw someone describe MLW matches as "always at least a quarter-star less than they should be with the talent they have" and I can't really explain WHY it's so true, but it totally is. I think my 2nd post is going to be the default tour dates post, and I'll add excursion dates to it too, so just keep an eye on that. edit: Fujiwara seems to be leaning into the masked gimmick in Mexico, so when he comes back we might see him as "Hannya": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g0PNRX5zsQ Bonk fucked around with this message at 22:27 on Aug 16, 2022 |
|
#
¿
Aug 16, 2022 22:16
|
|
|
That may be about to happen again. Jacky's in Okinawa tagging with Hibiscus. Ho Ho is in Singapore for SPW, and then both are headed to Thailand for SETUP.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 16, 2022 23:04
|
|
|
It's great dipping into the archives sometimes. If you have DGN or can find the January 2020 Toryumon Reunion show somewhere, this show starts with an exhibition match between a baby SBK and a pre-masked La Estrella (if he is who pretty much everyone assumes). Jae mentions on commentary that SBK and Kamei are the first ever wrestlers in DG to be younger than the promotion itself.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 18, 2022 19:22
|
|
|
8/20: Kagoshima house show 8/21: Acros matinee card Free opening match Acros evening card Free opening match 8/22: Kokura house show Nagano's looking good so far! Some interesting choices by only putting him up against heavy-hitters right away, so maybe they're trying to give him an underdog run. I *think* he's a Kzy trainee, but I'm not 100% on that. I didn't catch why Saito put him against Ben-K right after Ben's other match, but the description bills it as an "emergency decision match". I like the story they're telling with Ben-K. It's more about Ben trying to prove he can lead rather than a simple rift in the group. Most interesting HxE has ever been. Bonk fucked around with this message at 03:08 on Aug 23, 2022 |
|
#
¿
Aug 21, 2022 06:44
|
|
|
Oh hey, they actually announced a partial card for the Saturday show. Second time in a month! ▼6 Man Tag Team Match Yuki Yoshioka / Dragon Dia / Madoka Kikuta vs. Jason Lee / Jacky “Funky” Kamei / Super Shenlong III ▼Tag Team Match Dragon Kid / Ben-K vs. Kota Minoura / Minorita ▼Singles Match Eita vs. H・Y・O All of those sound fun. I mentioned this in the previous thread, but for the last few months I've been putting together a Youtube documentary series focusing on Shun Skywalker and the story of Masquerade. I have 3 out of 4 parts complete, but I'm probably going to wait to upload them all at once when I finish, so I'll post about it when I'm done. I sourced all the clips, wrote, edited, and voiced it all myself, so it's taken forever but I'm pretty happy with the results so far. I just hope I don't get a GAORA takedown; I'm not monetizing it but I will be linking a tip site. 8/23: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vADbFjGj1tA Bonk fucked around with this message at 10:12 on Aug 25, 2022 |
|
#
¿
Aug 24, 2022 23:42
|
|
|
8/27 Sambo Hall card On DGN with free opening match Segments: -Shun calls Kzy worthless scum, and says he's just using Vibes for his own goals and needs to disappear. -Minorita invited YAMATO to join Gold Class, but he declined. -Kung Fu Masters will take a "business trip" to Tokyo for Dangerous Gate, so they will be defending outside of Kobe after all. -Dia/Kikuta want to go after the Twin Gate. Jae is calling them "D'rear end" lmao -Ben-K names himself as his own tag partner, but then realizes he can't do that so he settles on YAMATO. HxE will fight D'rear end on 9/4, winners face KFM at Dangerous Gate. I'm liking Weird Ben so far. Not sure where the Shun/Kzy thing goes since Shun heads to the US right before Dangerous Gate. Hopefully we'll get something before then because every match between those two whips. Jacky & Jason making D'courage corpse while talking about Kikuta's rear end was fantastic. Bonk fucked around with this message at 09:51 on Aug 28, 2022 |
|
#
¿
Aug 27, 2022 15:58
|
|
|
https://twitter.com/DragonGateEN/status/1563786526244212736 Tonight's card, which also has links to the free Youtube match and the DGN show.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 28, 2022 08:28
|
|
|
Oh my god, Takashi Yoshida announcing the September dates with Jae & Ho Ho is absolutely precious  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qfk5yi_pTk I have completed my short documentary series about Masquerade, which I worked on all summer and added more content to as the story kept going. Feel free to show this to anyone who needs more exposure to Dragongate. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHX36rkFHZQve0KSQQD5SQpgNvvgSD7hW edit: GAORA gave me a copyright takedown, but you can just click through to the links in the placeholder video to see it in other places. Bonk fucked around with this message at 15:15 on Aug 30, 2022 |
|
#
¿
Aug 29, 2022 08:25
|
|
|
Next few shows have some matches announced: 9/4 Osaka: D'rear end vs YAMABen, Twin Gate #1 contender for Dangerous Gate 9/8 Korakuen: Take Your Son to Work tag match, Mocchy family vs Iihashi family 9/19 Dangerous Gate: Yoshioka vs Eita & KFM vs winner of 9/4 forkboy84 posted:Honestly, forcing everyone to watch flippy little Japanese guys on Xmas morning is an improvement on whatever mince film my dad will have on. I'm in favour 
|
|
#
¿
Sep 2, 2022 22:23
|
|
|
Some new free poo poo: 9/3 house show matches from Jacky's homecoming show in Tottori. GAORA also made the Brave Gate #1 contender Dragon Scramble match from Kobe World free. 9/4 Osaka show card and free match from the Network. Dimebags Brain posted:Shun's so cool, he did an interview with PWI and then forced them to make it free: https://pwi-online.com/shun-skywalker-dragon-gate-crazy-beautiful/ GCW in the mud. 
Bonk fucked around with this message at 18:06 on Sep 4, 2022 |
|
#
¿
Sep 4, 2022 04:09
|
|
|
https://twitter.com/DragonGateEN/status/1566447580309262336 CHEERING IS BACK!!! 9/4 show thoughts: •Rookies look solid as hell lately. Minorita/Nagano play really well off each other, and two small scrappy guys could make for a killer Brave Gate feud someday. Junior/Ishin has been vicious so far, and I think that could be a big generational feud. Fuda's looking great too but he needs a unit. •Not sure what promos ZBs keep cutting that provoke NVs to attack them, but I assume it's about Shun/Kzy. My guess is it's leading to a Unit Disbands match at Final Gate. And was Shun just... screaming throughout the multi-man tags?  •Eita/Genki have a fun dynamic and they should tag more. Also wouldn't hate Yoshida aligning more regularly with D'courage. Haven't seen Eita cut a heated promo in a while, his Dream shot should be a good one. •Biggest news is that we're getting a DG/NOAH Jrs crossover show at some point. They're really trying to push fans outside their bubbles. Seiki wants to face YAMATO, Alejandro wants DK, YO-HEY challenged Kzy. Not sure about Kotoge. •We now know 2 title matches for Dangerous Gate. Should be a solid card. 9/8 edit: Korakuen tonight, but I have to get up early tomorrow, so here's the free match link: English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lghUmXrEBUU Japanese: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw_yXpmJHwU Card Bonk fucked around with this message at 03:37 on Sep 9, 2022 |
|
#
¿
Sep 4, 2022 18:07
|
|
|
The big news from last night is that Ben-K joined Gold Class instead of YAMATO. Honestly didn't see that coming. We've also got a full card for Dangerous Gate announced! Singles Match Kaito Nagano vs. Yasushi Kanda Tag Team Match Ho Ho Lun & Super Shenglong III vs. Shuji Kondo & Toru Owashi 8 Man Tag Team Match Ultimo/Genki/AraKen/Ichikawa vs Shachihoko/Yoshida/Punch/Fuda 8 Man Tag Team Match Kzy/Shimizu/U-T/SMJ vs. KAI/BxB/HYO/Diamante 6 Man Tag Team Match YAMATO/DKid/Kagetora vs. (same spoiler)Minoura/Doi/Ben-K Open the Triangle Gate Championship Match M3K(c) vs Ishinriki/Ishin/Fujii Open the Twin Gate Championship Match KFM(c) vs D'rear end Open the Dream Gate Championship Match Yuki Yoshioka(c) vs Eita
|
|
#
¿
Sep 9, 2022 03:42
|
|
|
Dimebags Brain posted:Oh my god this loving post match reveal. This angle reminds me so much of old Toryumon. Big Don's post-50 career has been amazing. Jae had some great quips too. "This is looking like the AEW locker room!" Then during the post-show: "I should've saved my AEW joke for this." [edit] 9/10 Yokosuka (Susumu's homecoming) 9/11 Fukui 9/17 Saitama 9/18 Saitama Bonk fucked around with this message at 23:23 on Sep 18, 2022 |
|
#
¿
Sep 10, 2022 01:07
|
|
|
Dangerous Gate is upon us! Tonight @ 11PM PST / 2AM EST / 6AM GMT / 3PM JST Free opener: English / Japanese Diamante may be the next challenger for Yuki. He mentioned in an interview that he put his own mask on the line to protect Inferno's identity, but then Yuki unmasked voluntarily and left them, so Diamante's still upset with him. I love the idea that a Mexican luchador would take that way more personally and hold a bigger grudge than others about it. I could see that being a Gate of Origin match, assuming Yuki retains tonight. In content news, my Masquerade series has been restored because GAORA didn't follow up on me challenging their takedown. Part 1 was still pending, but I edited and replaced it, so you can watch it on Youtube now. If anything else happens, the Bilibili and Drive links will still be active. I'm also working on a follow-up about how to get into DG for casual viewers.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 18, 2022 23:57
|
|
|
Dimebags Brain posted:Still clap only crowd right? Hope motivated Eita shows up because the dream gate match up is really good on paper. Twin Gate obviously looking like the show stealing match though. Eita's looked really good lately in the house show build over the last week, just being a total shithead to Yuki. Teaming with Jacky is a little odd, but they've done weirder random teams on house shows.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 19, 2022 06:13
|
|
|
forkboy84 posted:Oh ffs Next two are Kanda/Nagano and then the unaffiliated 8-man. Shimizu's on English comms. Sounds like he understands more than he speaks, but he's doing alright so far.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 19, 2022 07:16
|
|
|
This match fucks
|
|
#
¿
Sep 19, 2022 07:26
|
|
|
Wow. Was not expecting that. I wonder if Kikuta officially joins DC now?
|
|
#
¿
Sep 19, 2022 07:34
|
|
|
Tominaga might have to change his name again.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 19, 2022 07:53
|
|
|
 Jae: "Shenlong wrestles the Lovely Style..." Jason: "Are we allowed to say that?"
|
|
#
¿
Sep 19, 2022 08:05
|
|
|
This got good, Vibes not afraid to get brutal
|
|
#
¿
Sep 19, 2022 09:09
|
|
|
WHO ARE YOU, FAKE SHUN
|
|
#
¿
Sep 19, 2022 09:20
|
|
|
forkboy84 posted:Ishin looks deeply embarrassed that his dad is trying to find a stable for him "Now you kids play nice."
|
|
#
¿
Sep 19, 2022 09:47
|
|
|
That's probably the most solid show top to bottom DG's done all year. Even the undercard was really fun and didn't overstay, and it felt like every match told a story.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 19, 2022 10:29
|
|
|
Updated the schedule in the OP, and consolidated the links to free matches. We're getting a ton of content from the Gate of Victory tour; 8 DGN shows and 12 house shows. Plus 1 DGN show and 2 house shows left in September. Grain of salt, but I've seen a few people speculating that the fake Shun might be a returning Fujiwara. Feels a bit too soon considering he's only just joined a stable there, but it's possible they'll tease it out with other people playing him until then. I'm of the mind that it's going to be Ishin after he can't get along with Junior, but that's pure speculation. The other potential option is that Fuda's re-injury is a work, but they usually don't work injury announcements.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 20, 2022 04:52
|
|
|
NotQuiteQuentin posted:Imo it’s probably the tall FUTURE kid. They covered his mouth for a reason to not give it away. They’ve used rookies and dojo kids for masked reveal angles before (like on house shows during the RED demon masks). Kinda took me out of the finish because there was no physical way for Shun to be there so why not used an established mystery attacker like Dr Muscle or a Metal Warrior. Little too on the nose for once. I don't mind a fake Shun though; if Z-Brats are about to reveal a new member, using a fake Shun is on-brand for them because it specifically messes with Kzy's head. Dimebags Brain posted:Like his namesake, Shun Skywalker has Force powers and projected his image to Japan to gently caress with Kzy.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 20, 2022 09:19
|
|
|
Some interesting collab news coming up. We've got the NOAHxDG event in November, but they've also announced Ishin Iihashi vs DDT's Mizuki Watase in at a Tenryu Project show in October, and Minorita is doing a ZERO1 show in November as well. Also the SETUP Thailand show that Jacky and Ho Ho were on is up, and there's a bunch more Mexico shows that have been using Shun and several others. A lot of these shows aren't great, but working with a ton of indies globally is only going to boost DG's profile. Kobe Sambo Hall is tonight, expect some KFM fallout. No card yet, but here's the free match link. I'll probably catch it in the morning.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 22, 2022 22:21
|
|
|
Kobe show card Oh wow, as of last night Naruki Doi has switched to a freelance contract. He'll still be doing DG dates but on his own schedule, and his neck still isn't great so he won't be wrestling anywhere through October. Gold Class is truly the cursed unit. Jason Lee will challenge HYO for the Brave Gate in mid-October. Yoshioka wants his next Dream Gate challenger to be YAMATO, following up on the Dangerous Gate challenge to beat former champions.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 23, 2022 14:57
|
|
|
He seems like he can still go, but I'm guessing he won't be in a unit again unless they form a new variation of Team Veteran or dojo unit. Once he does retire, I'm very curious to see who gets the Fives/Bakatare combo. It's one of my favorite finisher sequences.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 24, 2022 00:08
|
|
|
Eita wasn't on the Sambo Hall card and he doesn't seem to be on the current house show circuit either, so I think he's either taking a break or he's going to NOAH for at least a while. Or maybe he wants a freelancer contract like Doi. Jae did say people were going to be dropping like flies after the Yoshino retirement, and they're really angling toward younger talent now. It does feel like we're still in a transitional period, and they have to usher in that new generation to make it more viable to new audiences once cheer crowds come back. I'd miss Eita in DG, but all the crossover stuff has gotten me to start watching NOAH a bit more often, so I'll still see him. Shizuoka house shows from the weekend: 9/24 / 9/25 Some really fun Konomama Ichikawa antics on these shows. The Mocchy/Ichikawa rematch on 9/24 was especially cracking me up. I can't believe how consistently funny he still is after all these years.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 25, 2022 23:49
|
|
|
I don't have a link handy, but the 2014 Summer Adventure Tag League final with Millennials vs Jimmyz was fantastic. I was SUCH a stan for Millennials-era Eita, when everyone was talking about T-Hawk. For singles, yeah, you can't go wrong with Eita/Tozawa. His Dream Gate match vs Doi at Memorial Gate '20 was great too.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 26, 2022 07:55
|
|
|
TBH I feel like Dragongate could use a few more big name freelancers who float in and out for big matches so it seems like they're a little more connected. I don't know if NOAH Jrs are the answer to that, but at least some people who are more of a draw than say, Aagan Iisou and The Bodyguard.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 26, 2022 14:18
|
|
|
https://twitter.com/ben_k_1019/status/1576464604909408256 Ben-K won the Ryou Championship from Ultra Soki at a Ryukyu Dragon show. Looks good on him. Also new house shows: 10/1 Yamagata 10/2 Iwate Bonk fucked around with this message at 03:01 on Oct 3, 2022 |
|
#
¿
Oct 2, 2022 16:44
|
|
|
Posted a new video to my Youtube, it's a 10 minute DG primer you can show new fans who want to check it out. Bunch of history in there too, but let me know if you spot any inaccuracies. My next one's going to be about the roster/units, but I'm going to wait and see if there's a unit shift before I do that, so it might not be until the end of the year - I did a voice take a few weeks ago and it's already outdated.  edit: Here's the 10/3 show. Also, oof. Kagetora has a torn ligament, so with YAMATO in the US for the next couple months, HxE is literally just Dragon Kid now. I wonder if they'll just bite the bullet and break them up at Korakuen. Bonk fucked around with this message at 19:42 on Oct 4, 2022 |
|
#
¿
Oct 4, 2022 19:35
|
|
|
Oh drat. Jae, Ho Ho, and Open the Voice Gate have all given me shoutouts & feedback since I posted that primer. [impostor syndrome increasing]
|
|
#
¿
Oct 5, 2022 19:56
|
|
|
forkboy84 posted:I'm hoping it will be on Samurai TV & end up online somewhere because that is such a fun and wacky combination of guys 10/5 Kanagawa house show is up. Tonight's Korakuen has 2 matches revealed: ■Tag Match Ishin Iihashi & Mochizuki Junior vs Ryu Fuda & Kaito Nagano ■Natural Vibes vs Z-Brats 4 Singles Match Series Kzy, Shimizu, U-T, JFK vs KAI, BxB, HYO, Diamante *Match pairings will be decided by lottery They've done this before, where it's several singles matches right after another, and the opponents are randomly paired. There are a few specific pairings I'd like to see, but man, you can't go wrong with pretty much any combination here. Free match: English / Japanese
|
|
#
¿
Oct 6, 2022 04:52
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 21, 2024 01:14 |
|
|
I like this version of Gold Class. Minorita was always fun, but the Ben-K/Minoura dynamic works really well.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 6, 2022 10:58
|
|