An occasional series in which, in a bid to further my spotty
knowledge of Japanese wrestling promotions, I watch a recent event and
assess whether or not I'd watch regularly given the time, money and
ability to access.
Promotion: Dragon Gate
Event watched: Summer Adventure Tag League 2014 Day 13, 23rd September 2014, Bodymaker Colosseum #2, Osaka (broadcast as Infinity #349)
What did I know about the promotion going in?: I have seen about half a dozen events and basically remember: names but not always faces, faces but not always names, sometimes both and sometimes neither. There aren't really any metrics that make such proclamations official but it seems like Dragon Gate are the #2 promotion of Japan right now, growing and increasing perception of their outfit by the year.
Absolutely no idea of their history whatsoever, but having actually seen the Dead or Alive? event as well as a few select videos and live appearances I can state with some degree of confidence the following: it is a promotion that has more junior heavyweights than other larger promotions (I think their 'lightweight' division is for workers under 183lbs as opposed to the US/NJPW standard somewhere around the 210-220lbs mark) and this reflects in general standard of ringcraft, with a greater than average amount of dives and a smaller than average amount of chest-chopping.
There are elements of DDT-style comic work, as well as there being room for larger heavyweights and talented foreigners (including the excellent Ricochet and also excellent Uhaa Nation as regular workers) who perform in an all-round style. Though many matches appear to be pretty straight down the line contests, there are occasionally odd stipulations and confusing contents (three-way trios matches) designed to load up on high spots.
Reflecting a historical lucha libre connection, there are often luchas de apuestas contests (wager matches) and those weird multi-man cage matches where there is no winner per se, just one big loser who suffers a terrible ignominy upon defeat.
Reflecting a historical lucha libre connection, there are often luchas de apuestas contests (wager matches) and those weird multi-man cage matches where there is no winner per se, just one big loser who suffers a terrible ignominy upon defeat.
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| Open The Dream Gate (credit: iheartdg.com) |
Factions appear highly formalised, with (from memory) Millenials (all in Mexican attire), the newly formed Dia. Hearts, Mad Blankey, Jimmys (all re-named Jimmy), We Are Team Veteran (older workers) and Monster Express (larger guys) being the ones I can recall right now. This foundation helps to ensure continual live competition for both the tag team titles and the trios belts. Some workers are unaffiliated to any faction.
Many Dragon Gate workers are fully-contracted exclusive properties of Dragon Gate, having emerged through the Dragon Gate system. Unlike many Japanese promotions, you will not see many (if any) freelance wrestlers on a Dragon Gate show, nor will you often (if at all) see Dragon Gate workers on anybody else's show.
Oh, and their titles have odd names. Let's see if I can remember:
- Open The Dream Gate / heavyweight
- Open The Twin Gate / tag team
- Open The Triangle Gate / trios
- Open The Brave Gate / lightweight
- Open The Owarai Gate / comedy / dormant
Also the contendership process for the Dream Gate title is oddly formalised too, with official contenders getting a key to prove they're the contender. If the contender wins, the key opens the nameplate on the belt and they get to wear that title. If the champion wins, they get to attach the key to the belt and wear it as a symbol of a foe vanquished. It's pretty odd but it's unique from what I can tell. Ceremony and ritual can be so important in these things.
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| I am certain Dragon Gate keep a tanning booth in their office |
What is the history of the promotion?: (from subsequent research) founded in 1997 by Ultimo Dragon under the Toryumon name, by 2004 Ultimo returned to Mexico and an official split was declared, with the Japanese part of the company renaming itself Dragon Gate. Based in Kobe, the company is celebrating its 10th year in business with regular sold out Korakuen Hall shows and a large Fire Festival show in its home city in front of 10000.
The company has official USA and UK chapters, sending talent from the parent promotion on frequent excursions and performing full roster shows annually.
And how was the event?: We begin with a televised dark match (apparently not an oxymoron) between exotico wrestler Yosuke Santa Maria and the masked Syachihoko Boy. Like a lot of things here it is funny and high on action and characterisation even though I didn't always quite follow what was going on. With great respect to the tradition, exotico matches tend to all be fairly similar in theme. S. Boy won with a cradle.
Six man action to follow between two thirds of the reigning Triangle Gate champions - Kzy and Naruki Doi - alongside MAD BLANKEY stablemate Mondai Ryu against three of the lightly annoying but technically solid Jimmyz crew; Jimmy Kanda, Genki Horiguchi HaGeeMee and Mr. Kyu Kyu Naoki Tanazaki Tonoyaka Dolphin. Phew.
This was a pretty cool match but it brought something to mind. You know how in the leaked WWE scripts they actually write down and indicate "physicality" meaning "signature pose" - with that signature pose being a way of summing up your character somehow? Well, here they just do things between moves, all the time doing something to keep the crowd's eyes trained on the match. Sometimes I'm watching one guy doing one thing that I have sort of missed the set-up for another thing and sometimes I even forget who is fighting who. And I'm not sure what any of the poses even mean. It's really smooth though, almost sickeningly so, like a computer sim of a great wrestling match. Jimmyz take the win as Kanda covers Mondai.
Super Shisa of the We Are Team Veteran faction takes on Dragon Gate trainee Yuga Hayashi in a cool short match designed to put the kid over. He'll be fine. Shisa wins with an Alejandro Lock, forcing the tap.
A match between the excellent Masaaki Mochizuki and the brilliantly-realised Punch Tominaga character (oh man, this dude is something. Balding with a widow's peak, he walks to the ring combing his hair. He then wrestles with his hands in his pockets, occasionally throwing haymakers. His matches usually end by him getting disqualified) goes for nearly ten minutes before getting stopped after Tominaga's MAD BLANKEY colleagues YAMATO and upcoming Dream Gate challenger Cyber Kong attack Mochizuki after Tominaga fails with a brass knuckle attempt.
This match gets folded into the next as Dream Gate champion BxB Hulk (pronounced "Bee Bee") and Dragon Kid of the Dia. Hearts stable rush to make the save for Mochizuki, leading to a six man tag between everyone named in this and the previous paragraph. More hard-hitting than anything that has gone before, the match needs to put over the weird-looking Cyber Kong (drawn-on abdominals, yellow half-mask that looks like Zoidberg from Futurama) ahead of his superior stablemate YAMATO. It does, in an entertaining quarter hour, with the relatively mighty Kong laying out Dragon Kid with a Cyber Bomb.
In the previous segment there was a lot of mic work, probably more than have been on the last two New Japan PPVs put together. The chatting continues as three of We Are Team Veteran - CIMA, Gamma and Don Fujii) perform what appears to be a comic bit ahead of their match with Monster Express mainstays Akira Tozawa, Shingo Takagi and Masato Yoshino.
Again it's a great display of everything good about in-ring action except psychology (which I don't think you necessarily need a great deal of in six man matches with nothing on the line). The factions complement each other very well, with an array of double- and triple-team moves performed with dazzling speed and fluidity. Monster Express won after Takagi hit a Package Suplex on Gamma, leading Tozawa to take the mic post-match. I will now throw you over to iheartdg.com for the scoop on what was said.
Aww! You guys!
The main event was the final of the 2014 Summer Adventure Tag League between present Open The Twin Gate champions Millenials (T-Hawk and Eita) against Jimmyz representatives Jimmy Susumu and Jimmy Kagetora, though the titles were not on the line.
In a thrilling chain of high spots that again maybe lacked consistent storytelling, the Jimmyz pair won. A lot of finisher-looking moves were kicked out of or the pins broken up but Kagetora finally landed his mark with the Kagenui on T-Hawk (who many see as the future ace of the company, and it's easy to see why, but don't discount Eita). Watching this as one-off match I was nearly blown-away, but perhaps for the benefit of long-term storytelling it would be nice to establish what is and is not a pin sequence ordinarily. Maybe this has been done and I just need to watch some more. It wasn't that clear though.
Immediately afterward the Jimmyz challenged Millenials to a rematch for the Twin Gate titles, which was accepted. Further celebrations were afoot as Ryo "Jimmy" Saito came out after injury and announced his return date.
Would you watch again?: I plan to review the big shows from now on if I can and will try and get up to speed on the relationships a little more. A pithy one line review would go like this: Dragon Gate is like if WCW was just its cruiserweight division with good booking simulated by Fire Pro. There's more to it than that but what there is to decipher is all in Japanese rather than the international language of kicking someone's head off.
And how was the event?: We begin with a televised dark match (apparently not an oxymoron) between exotico wrestler Yosuke Santa Maria and the masked Syachihoko Boy. Like a lot of things here it is funny and high on action and characterisation even though I didn't always quite follow what was going on. With great respect to the tradition, exotico matches tend to all be fairly similar in theme. S. Boy won with a cradle.
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| Jimmyz |
This was a pretty cool match but it brought something to mind. You know how in the leaked WWE scripts they actually write down and indicate "physicality" meaning "signature pose" - with that signature pose being a way of summing up your character somehow? Well, here they just do things between moves, all the time doing something to keep the crowd's eyes trained on the match. Sometimes I'm watching one guy doing one thing that I have sort of missed the set-up for another thing and sometimes I even forget who is fighting who. And I'm not sure what any of the poses even mean. It's really smooth though, almost sickeningly so, like a computer sim of a great wrestling match. Jimmyz take the win as Kanda covers Mondai.
 |
| Punch Tominaga |
Super Shisa of the We Are Team Veteran faction takes on Dragon Gate trainee Yuga Hayashi in a cool short match designed to put the kid over. He'll be fine. Shisa wins with an Alejandro Lock, forcing the tap.
A match between the excellent Masaaki Mochizuki and the brilliantly-realised Punch Tominaga character (oh man, this dude is something. Balding with a widow's peak, he walks to the ring combing his hair. He then wrestles with his hands in his pockets, occasionally throwing haymakers. His matches usually end by him getting disqualified) goes for nearly ten minutes before getting stopped after Tominaga's MAD BLANKEY colleagues YAMATO and upcoming Dream Gate challenger Cyber Kong attack Mochizuki after Tominaga fails with a brass knuckle attempt.
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| YAMATO |
In the previous segment there was a lot of mic work, probably more than have been on the last two New Japan PPVs put together. The chatting continues as three of We Are Team Veteran - CIMA, Gamma and Don Fujii) perform what appears to be a comic bit ahead of their match with Monster Express mainstays Akira Tozawa, Shingo Takagi and Masato Yoshino.
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| Don Fujii |
Tozawa was elated at once again experiencing the feeling of victory. He talked about the recent malaise in MONSTER EXPRESS. His best friends, Uhaa Nation & Ricochet, were gone. Their busy schedules will make it very difficult for them to return before the year was out. [...] Today, he was ready to join hands in happiness, friendship, and victory with his Japanese teammates. If they would join hands with him, that is. Yoshino quickly accepted, and ME joined hands for the first time in awhile. Tozawa said he also had a special way of showing happiness and friendship. He liked to hug Uhaa & Ricochet. Today, he wanted to hug them, Particularly Takagi, so he jumped into his arms for a long, powerful hug. Even though the tag league ended in defeat for him, Tozawa promised a huge burst of activity from him in the near future.
Aww! You guys!
The main event was the final of the 2014 Summer Adventure Tag League between present Open The Twin Gate champions Millenials (T-Hawk and Eita) against Jimmyz representatives Jimmy Susumu and Jimmy Kagetora, though the titles were not on the line.
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| Eita and T-Hawk take out Akira Tozawa |
Immediately afterward the Jimmyz challenged Millenials to a rematch for the Twin Gate titles, which was accepted. Further celebrations were afoot as Ryo "Jimmy" Saito came out after injury and announced his return date.
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| Hmmm... |
Would you watch again?: I plan to review the big shows from now on if I can and will try and get up to speed on the relationships a little more. A pithy one line review would go like this: Dragon Gate is like if WCW was just its cruiserweight division with good booking simulated by Fire Pro. There's more to it than that but what there is to decipher is all in Japanese rather than the international language of kicking someone's head off.
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