To say I was skeptical of what Pro Wrestling NOAH’s N-1 Victory tournament would look like this year would be an understatement. Takashi Sugiura is missing the tournament due to injury. Last year’s winner, Kaito Kiyomiya, is representing NOAH in New Japan’s G1 Climax. That’s two of arguably the top five wrestlers in NOAH not available for the big tournament. However, I think this field exceeded the expectations set for it.
One name stuck out more than any of the other entrants – DRAGONGATE’s “Bump Out” Yuki Yoshioka. My 2022 wrestler of the year and the man who breathed new life into DRAGONGATE.
In this article, I want to take a look at all his matches, and give my personal analysis, as well as introduce this outstanding talent to NOAH fans who may not yet be familiar with him.
Who Is Yuki Yoshioka?
Yuki Yoshioka made his debut for DRAGONGATE in 2016, after coming up through their dojo system. Following the uneventful first four years of his career, he opted to head to Mexico for an excursion at the start of 2020.
Yoshioka would return to Japan in October, as a masked character named Dia Inferno, who was determined to destroy talented young babyface Dragon Dia. Their feud culminated in December of 2021, with a mask vs mask tag match in which future main heel Shun Skywalker sacrificed Dragon Dia to protect his own mask.
Inferno was disgusted by the way Dia was tormented in the aftermath and opted to unmask as well. Both wrestlers disappeared from DG for several months and eventually returned to the ring together to announce they would be moving forward together, as a tag team. They captured the Open The Twin Gate Championships soon after, holding them until May of that year.
However, it was the the second half of 2023 that would define Yuki Yoshioka. After winning the 2023 King of Gate Tournament he captured DG’s main title, the Open The Dream Gate Championship on the grand stage of Kobe World Memorial Hall. Over the course of his title run, Yoshioka took down stars Kota Minoura, Eita, YAMATO, Masaaki Mochizuki, and Ben-K, before ultimately losing the belt to Shun Skywalker on January 12th, 2023. NOAH fans might also remember him teaming with Kaito Kiyomiya on the GLOBAL DREAM show last year.
Despite losing his title, Yoshioka bounced back, winning the 2023 Rey De Parejas tag team tournament alongside Madoka Kikuta. Unfortunately, they couldn’t capture the Twin Gate belts, but Yoshioka kept trying. He challenged for the Dream Gate at Kobe World again this year, but was unsuccessful once again. Most recently, he missed out on reaching the King of Gate semifinals, losing to Kota Minoura. So he’s coming in with a massive chip on his shoulder.
August 6th: vs Masa Kitamiya
This was almost the Yuki match I was most looking forward to, but it’ll rank it as number two.
Masa Kitamiya might just be the most underappreciated pro wrestler in the world. He’s in my opinion the best wrestler in NOAH. Most may perceive him as just a hard-hitting bruiser, but I assure you he’s way more than that. He’s mastered the old school style he learned from the late Masa Saito and modernized it to the point where he meshes well with literally everyone.
There’s no one like him in DRAGONGATE and it’s going to be hard for Yuki to figure him out. Yoshioka’s keys to victory for this match are avoiding getting on the mat with Masa and finding every opportunity he can to use his speed and explosiveness.
August 9th: vs Jake Lee
One question I have about Yuki’s appearance in this tournament has to do with the circumstances. Does he understand that he is not only representing DRAGONGATE, but also the new generation of wrestling as one of its leaders?
In this match, he gets to step into the ring with the current GHC Heavyweight Champion, Jake Lee, who just so happens to also be a former All Japan Triple Crown Champion. Despite already being a former Open The Dream Gate Champion himself, Yoshioka getting a win here would be massive for him. Not only would he showcase the power of DRAGONGATE, but he would beat the current GHC Champion, as well as a man who’s one belt away from the Japanese wrestling grand slam.
There is only one problem. Jake Lee has yet to be pinned since coming to NOAH and vowed to win the tournament undefeated. Which is very much possible with the roll he is on. I’m interested in how seeing Yuki deals with the size of Jake Lee, who is seven inches taller than he is. I am also curious about what Jake Lee’s impression of DRAGONGATE will be after this and what kind of impact Yoshioka will leave on him.
August 10th: vs Timothy Thatcher
Timothy Thatcher is what I would call a nightmare matchup for Yuki Yoshioka. Most of his offense revolves around him methodically torturing his opponents. Specifically, he works them over to soften them up for the Fujiwara Armbar and that is going to be an issue.
Yuki’s signature move, the “Battle Hook”, is a flying lariat and his finisher is the Frog Splash. Eddie Guerrero once dislocated his elbow on that very same move, so it’s already a high risk to even attempt it. Now imagine him trying to do that with a damaged arm. Not only that, but the N-1 is a long tournament, so damage here will impact him all the way to the end.
August 11th: vs Kenoh
Easily my most anticipated match not just for Yuki Yoshioka, but for the entire N-1 Victory Tournament. There are many reasons for this, but the biggest is the fact Kenoh is the catalyst of Pro Wrestling NOAH. No matter what position he’s in, everything that happens within NOAH is dictated by the actions of Kenoh. He will always be the focal point of the company, even when he’s seemingly stepping back.
In addition to that, these two wrestlers met on opposite sides of the main event of GLOBAL DREAM last year, when Yoshioka teamed with then GHC Heavyweight Champion, Kaito Kiyomiya, to battle Kenoh and Kota Minoura. In the lead up to that match, Kenoh mentioned that he thought Yoshioka was an uninteresting Open The Dream Gate Champion, only in that position because of his promotion.
They got to interact a bit in that match, but now Kenoh can have a full assessment of Yuki Yoshioka.
During his run as champ, Yoshioka did defeat Masaaki Mochizuki, who wrestles a similar style to Kenoh. However, this is the N-1 and Kenoh is going to be on his A game. Yoshioka is going to need to go all out and prove to Kenoh that his achievements weren’t a fluke. Not only that, but he’s going to need to show Kenoh that he is without a doubt DRAGONGATE’s top wrestler.
August 19th: vs Adam Brooks
I’m still quite new to Adam Brooks’ work, so I can’t really tell you what to expect from this match. However, going off of the little bits I’ve seen from Deadlock Pro Wrestling, he’s going to be a good matchup for Yuki. He is going to benefit from the experience of being matched up with a veteran from another country.
August 26th: vs Jack Morris
Jack Morris vs Yuki Yoshioka might just be the sleeper hit of N-1 Victory. The matchup certainly has certainly grabbed my attention.
Jack Morris has grown leaps and bounds since his debut in last year’s N-1, constantly changing, and fine-tuning his in-ring abilities. I think their styles are going to mesh very well with each other.
One thing to keep an eye out for is that earlier this year, Jack had one of his knees heavily taped. While neither has been taped recently, one of Yoshioka’s favorite things to do is pick a body part to work on and slow his opponent down. If Yuki does his research, we could possibly see him aim to re-aggravate that knee issue to stop Jack.
August 27th: vs Yoshiki Inamura
Yuki Yoshioka’s last N-1 Victory Tournament match will be against NOAH’s resident strongman, Yoshiki Inamura.
Inamura is very talented, but unfortunately hasn’t been able to provide the results needed to be a great threat to Yoshioka. Still, some could call Inamura the strongest man in wrestling and for that reason alone he shouldn’t be taken lightly. He is someone who usually rises to the occasion when he’s facing wrestlers from other companies.
I expect the same here, and I think that’s the most interesting aspect of this match. This is DRAGONGATE’s future vs NOAH’s future, and the one that shines the brightest will be left standing as the victor.
You can check out the N-1 Victory Tournament on WRESTLE UNIVERSE. If you want to see Yuki Yoshioka and the stars of DRAGONGATE, have a look at the DRAGONGATE Network.
Stay tuned to the Five Star Network for all updates on the world of Joshi, Puro, and more!