One of the greatest things about the artform known as pro wrestling is that it offers something to any kind of fan. Even within the same country, different promotions can approach the subject from vastly different angles, cater to vastly different audiences.
That is true for Japanese pro wrestling as well.
While many western fans associate Japanese pro wrestling strictly with the New Japan style and the related sports-like presentation, all sorts of promotions have bloomed in the country over the last decades, each with its own style, presentation and values.
Perhaps one of the most unique among them is DRAGONGATE. Primarily known in the west for its connection to wrestlers like PAC or the Young Bucks, the Lucha Libre inspired promotion with a penchant for faction drama holds its position among the most important players on the Japanese scene not by adhering to convention, but by sticking out from the crowd.
This makes them both an interesting and a daunting company to get into for western fans looking to expand their horizons. With so many shows coming out every day, the time required to get acclimated to all the quirks of such an unusual promotion is something that most simply do not have.
This guide intends to make the journey just a little bit easier for new viewers, whether they want to know about titles, streaming services, or important events. Feel free to skip to whichever section you are interested in.
(Note: Due to the nature and importance of DRAGONGATE’s faction system, this guide does not contain information about specific factions and roster members. That information will be explained separately in a later article.)
The Particular Appeal of DRAGONGATE
So, what is it that makes this promotion so special?
Faction Warfare
DRAGONGATE’s ever turbulent faction landscape is the core of the promotion in many ways.
Unlike in companies like New Japan, where factions can become massive and incredibly long-lived, factions in DRAGONGATE are usually relatively small and ephemeral, lasting between 2 and 4 years on average.
Wrestlers change allegiance frequently, but rarely remain without a faction for long. The support of a faction is seen as absolutely vital to even challenge for, let alone win, a title, although there have been exceptions to that rule. This support is not purely intangible, either. Rather than just one or two representatives, DRAGONGATE matches usually have every available member of the wrestlers’ faction at ringside, cheering, starting chants, and generally trying to lead their friend to victory.
Each faction has its own entrance music, which is used whenever multiple members compete in the same match, and its own signature colors, which are worn by all members, making their allegiance immediately obvious.
The importance of factions is further seen in DG’s signature match type, the 3-way (or sometimes 4-way) trios match, which usually features 3 different factions vying for supremacy.
Both in terms of matches and in terms of wrestler relationships, DRAGONGATE’s focus on faction warfare keeps the promotion in a state of constant flux, which makes it difficult for things to get boring. The emotional friendships, betrayals and reunions are themselves also a big draw for many fans.
Lucha Libre Influence
Due to the company’s history, the influence of Mexican wrestling runs much deeper in DRAGONGATE than it does in any other Japanese promotion. This is reflected in DG’s famously fast and flashy style, as well as their ruleset.
Specifically, tagging is not required to make the switch during multiman matches in DRAGONGATE, as long as the legal man leaves the ring.
Masks are of very high importance and taking off an opponent’s mask will result in immediate disqualification. Outside of that, however, referees will often let rule infractions slide with just a chiding, as disqualifications and no contests are seen as detrimental to the enjoyment of the audience.
If you enjoy the spectacular lucha libre wrestling style, but would prefer a more grounded and subdued presentation in line with the Japanese scene, DRAGONGATE has you covered.
Talent over Stature, Age, or Experience
Something that immediately sticks out about the DG roster is how small a lot of the wrestlers are. That is no accident. DG has been a haven for competitors rejected by other promotions for their height since it was founded.
The promotion’s policy is that a wrestler’s skill matters far more than external traits like that. Accordingly, it is almost entirely openweight, a rarity among the larger Japanese companies.
This philosophy is also reflected in DG’s dojo system, which has allows young wrestlers to debut and establish a unique character very quickly, as long as they can pass the very demanding physical tests required.
Rookies may even challenge for titles only months after their debut, if they are talented enough.
This leads to the promotion having a particularly strong younger generation, but the idea applies equally to older wrestlers. Even competitors in their 50s can still win the top title, as long as they are skilled enough.
Due to this general openness, the DRAGONGATE roster contains an especially wide variety of exceptional and highly ambitious talents intent on climbing to the top of the company.
Self-Reliance
In addition to that, DG wrestlers are known for being particularly good at working together and resolving unexpected situations.
Perhaps most famously, they once held a highly acclaimed show in Korakuen Hall despite the ring completely breaking during the first match.
A big reason for this adaptability is just how many of the promotion’s day to day operations are already shouldered by wrestlers. From merchandise sales, to repairs, to the running of official social media accounts, everyone helps out to keep things going. Even when watching the ring be disassembled at the end of a show, you can see big stars and veterans assisting the rookies.
This fosters a creativity and team spirit that can really come through when the promotion is in crisis – such as in the face of a global pandemic, or a wave of unfortunate illnesses and injuries. Even when everything goes wrong, the wrestlers can still construct an entertaining show on the fly.
Fan Connection
DRAGONGATE’s uniqueness is not limited to the promotion itself, but extends to its fanbase.
Famously, many of DG’s most ardent fans in Japan are women and that fact is proudly embraced by the company, to the point where it is said to have influenced the presentation of several major wrestlers.
Children are also seen as an especially important part of the audience, highlighted by the “Gong Kids” segments at smaller shows, where kids are called from the audience, asked to name their favorite wrestler, and allowed to ring the bell for a match along with them.
Adults are instead able to meet their favorites through various fan events throughout the year, which, unlike traditional meet-and-greets, often take place in casual settings such as bars or cafés and encourage getting to know the wrestlers as people, while still having enough of a formal framework to provide relative safety to the attendees.
Even outside of such direct contact points, though, DRAGONGATE puts a lot of effort into humanising their roster members to the audience and establishing a personal connection with their fans.
Both DRAGONGATE’s fanbase and the way in which the promotion interacts with them are fairly unusual, especially given DG’s size, and have been an important factor in their popularity for a while now.
Taken together, these five key points set DRAGONGATE apart and allow it to stand shoulder to shoulder with promotions like NOAH and All Japan in terms of popularity, despite its much shorter history.
History
While it might be comperatively short, however, DRAGONGATE’s history is still nothing to sneeze at. In fact, the origins of many of its unique quirks lie in the unusual way in which DG was founded.
Toryumon Japan
Rather than in Japan, DRAGONGATE’s lineage as a promotion first began in Mexico. International wrestling legend Ultimo Dragon ran a wrestling school there, then known as Ultimo Dragon Gym Toryumon.
The name Toryumon came from an old legend about a carp swimming up a waterfall to become a dragon. Just the same, many aspiring young wrestlers who could not find their place on the Japanese scene joined the school to face the currents and become stars in their own right.
In 1999, Ultimo Dragon decided that he would take the talents he had trained this way back to Japan. He merged Ultimo Dragon Gym Toryumon with a Japanese martial arts dojo to create Toryumon Japan, a wrestling promotion meant to bring the Lucha Libre style to his home country.
The experiment proved a success and Toryumon Japan quickly grew quite popular.
Rise of the Dragon
However, in 2004, Ultimo Dragon and the promotion decided to part ways. In light of this, a name change was required for copyright reasons. Keeping it simple, the company just translated its previous name into English, arriving at DRAGONGATE (alternatively written as Dragon Gate, Dragongate or DRAGON GATE).
Despite this change, DG continued to grow. By focusing on smaller wrestlers and flashy, high-speed matches, they stood out against other promotions in the country and managed to attract audiences beyond the stereotypical hardcore wrestling fan.
While the Japanese wrestling scene was still largely dominated by New Japan Pro Wrestling, by the end of the 2010s, DRAGONGATE had established itself as one of the biggest competitors for the Nr. 2 position. They were even able to create a spin-off promotion in America, DRAGON GATE USA, which prominently featured several future stars of the US scene, such as Jon Moxley.
That particular venture did not end up going smoothly, unfortunately. DG USA would eventually split from its parent promotion and ultimately had to shut down in 2015. DG itself would keep going, however. While their momentum had slowed over a decade after their founding, they maintained their position as one of Japan’s most prominent promotions.
In 2019, they were even able to bring Ultimo Dragon back on board, as a special advisor to the company.
Modern-Day Struggles
Just like for all of Japanese pro wrestling, though, 2020 would be a heavy blow for DRAGONGATE. Attendance numbers took a massive hit in the wake of the global pandemic, leaving the promotion struggling to stay afloat over the following years.
Still, they are determined to look towards the future. By building up a promising young generation of wrestlers and getting new eyes on them through crossovers both in and out of Japan, DRAGONGATE intends to climb the waterfall once more.
Championships
But what goals are the wrestlers striving for within the promotion?
Open the Dream Gate Championship
The Dream Gate is DG’s main singles title, typically defended at the very top of the card. Befitting of the name, it is fashioned with a lock at its center, which challengers are looking to “open”. For this purpose, any wrestler who wins a Dream Gate challenge is given a small golden key to represent their status, which they hand in at the beginning of their title match. If they win, they are allowed to use it to unlock their dreams, so to speak. If they lose, however, their key is hung from the championship to represent the champion’s strength. Because of this, the number of successful defenses can be seen whenever the champion enters.
In the past, the Dream Gate champion’s national anthem was played before title matches, but that practice was abolished in 2020.
Open the Brave Gate Championship
As DG’s one weight-limited championship, this singles belt only allows champions and challengers at 82kg or under. The weight of either is only measured before title matches, however, so wrestlers slightly above that limit can still hold the championship for a time.
The Brave Gate was originally introduced by “Speed Star” Masato Yoshino to give the young and particularly small wrestlers of the promotion their own title to compete over. While the majority of DG belts use black as their primary color, the Brave Gate is fashioned with a white strap, so that it can be figuratively “dyed the color of the champion”, which is to say, adapt to the young wrestler holding it and help them make their name.
Brave Gate matches are usually found around the midcard and the title tends to change hands a little more frequently than the Dream Gate.
Open the Triangle Gate Championship
DRAGONGATE’s trios championship holds a very particular position in the promotion. Whichever faction manages to capture this championship is considered to be at the top of DG and accordingly, the Triangle Gate is highly sought after and constantly feuded over. Reigns are often very short, reflecting the ever-shifting power balance in DRAGONGATE.
While some members of the roster consider the Triangle Gate to be of equal importance to the Dream Gate, it tends to be a little lower on the card, usually after the Brave Gate, but before the Dream and Twin Gate.
Open the Twin Gate Championship
DG’s tag team championships. There isn’t much that differentiates them from tag championships in other Japanese promotions.
Since DG does not have a dedicated tag team division, all sorts of wrestler combinations can challenge for and win the Twin Gate, although membership to the same faction is expected and long-time teams do tend to have the advantage over new duos.
Open the Owarai Gate Championship
DG’s comedy championship, recently reintroduced after several years of absence following Shingo Takagi tearing the belt in half out of anger over not being able to drop it.
“Owarai” roughly translates to “laughter” and in accordance with that, the belt features laughing faces in its design, as well as a vibrant blue strap that makes it easily recognisable.
Unlike other championships, the winner of an Owarai Gate title match is not the person who pins their opponent, but the person who the audience declares to be the funniest. After a match has concluded, be it via pin, countout, or disqualification, both wrestlers are presented to the fans and the person who gets louder applause is awarded the championship.
As a result, Owarai Gate matches usually feature a lot of strange antics and are left off of more serious cards. If an Owarai Gate match does happen, it will usually be on the lower card.
Tournaments
Championships are not the only kind of accolade a wrestler can achieve in DRAGONGATE, of course. DG also has two yearly tournaments, one focused on singles matches and one centered around tag team wrestling.
King of Gate
King of Gate is DG’s main tournament, intended to crown the strongest wrestler in the promotion.
The last few iterations have all been elimination style, but has also been a round robin style tournament at times. The participants are chosen among what are deemed DG’s best current talents, divided into two blocks, and whoever comes out on top is granted a trophy and a shot at the Dream Gate.
What sets King of Gate apart from other tournaments is that the finals and semifinals typically take place on the same day, leading to wrestlers having to play it smart and pace themselves in those rounds.
KoG usually takes place around late spring or summer.
Rey de Parejas
An old DG tag tournament that was reintroduced in 2023, Rey de Parejas is a round robin style competition to determine DG’s best tag team and give them a shot at the Twin Gate.
Teams do not have to consist of members of the same faction and one faction can participate in multiple teams, which makes this tournament a rare opportunity to see DG wrestlers cross those boundaries and face their usual allies.
Rey de Parejas took place in February in the year of its reintroduction.
Events
Both during and outside of these tournaments, DRAGONGATE’s events are structured by month.
Each month of events has its own name, which always involves the word “Gate”. June, for instance, is “Rainbow Gate”. This name is applied to all of the month’s standard shows, typically comprising a great number of house shows (parts of which are later uploaded to YouTube), several smaller shows live-streamed via hardcam and a handful of major Korakuen Hall events.
In addition to that, almost every month features one or two special events, which break with the monthly naming theme. About half of them are smaller shows with some sort of unusual gimmick, but the other half are major affairs, comparable to PPVs in America.
Especially notable in this regard are two particular events:
Dead or Alive
DoA takes place in Nagoya during early May. Positioned near the cusp of the summer season, it is meant to bring the major feuds of the year to a boiling point with its high stakes cage match main event, which usually features some kind of harsh stipulation and intense emotional fallout.
Cage matches are a rarity in DRAGONGATE, since the promotion’s intense style and demanding schedule do not mix well with such a physically taxing match type. This makes Dead or Alive an important attraction for fans.
As DoA 2022 and 2023 have shown, however, DG is willing to cancel or postpone the yearly cage match if the current feuds do not justify the risk in the company’s eyes. As such, the exact future of Dead or Alive remains to be seen.
Kobe Pro Wrestling Festival
Taking place in Kobe World Memorial Hall around late July or early August and affectionately nicknamed “Kobe World” by fans, Kobe Pro Wrestling Festival is DRAGONGATE’s biggest event of the year.
It features a defense for every (non-comedic) title, in particular the Dream Gate, which usually has the the most high-profile defense of a champion’s reign at this event.
The most consistently beloved part of Kobe World among fans, however, are the Twin Gate matches, which typically occupy the semi-main event and almost always end up being match of the year contenders.
The other big events are Gate of Bayside (Yokohama in late January), Dangerous Gate (Tokyo in August or September), Gate of Destiny (Osaka in November), and Final Gate (Fukuoka on Christmas Eve).
In addition to their regular wrestling events, DRAGONGATE also has a studio show, titled PRIME ZONE (now PRIME ZONE+), typically consisting of about an hour of unannounced matches and lighthearted skits.
How to Watch
So, how do you actually watch any of those events?
There are two main options available to you:
YouTube
For new viewers who may not be ready to spend money just yet, DRAGONGATE’s YouTube channels are a great starting point.
The official DRAGONGATE YouTube channel uploads select house show matches in addition to backstage comments, making it a great resource for any fan. House show matches are usually uploaded roughly a day after they happen.
The DRAGONGATE Network channel uploads the first match of every live-streamed show as a teaser for what the promotion’s subscription service has to offer. On occasion, it also features bigger appetizers, such as select title bouts or important historical matches with retroactive English commentary. The opening matches are streamed live.
DRAGONGATE Network
Anyone who wants the full experience, however, needs to sign up to DRAGONGATE Network.
DG Network is DRAGONGATE’s streaming service and much like the promotion itself, it has a couple of unique quirks. Exploring all of them in detail would require a much longer article, but the basics are as follows:
DG Network costs 1650 Yen (roughly 11$) a month. There are no PPVs and all events aside from house shows and PRIME ZONE+ are streamed live. English and Japanese commentary are available for big events and Korakuen Hall shows. Smaller shows instead have a Japanese “Wrestler Commentary” version.
How to sign up to DG Network is explained in detail in the “User’s Guide” section of the website, accessible via the menu. Remember to enter your email address in all lowercase, as the site will not be able to parse it otherwise.
Livestreams and stream archives are accessible in the “Live & Video On Demand” section of the site for a year, a limitation stemming from DRAGONGATE’s TV contract. After that, they are typically recut and moved to the “Tournament & Series” section. Smaller shows may vanish altogether, however, so make sure to watch them before the time limit.
The “Matches” section largely consists of recuts of specific matches from those smaller shows, as well as certain historical bouts.
The “Original Programs” section is for light-hearted videos featuring the roster engaging in various activities, such as basketball competitions or travel vlogs.
Prime Zone shows are found in the “Dragon Gate Studio” section.
What Else Do You Need to Know?
You can use the search function on DG Network to find all matches relating to a particular wrestler. This is an especially great option for new fans who don’t know where to start – just pick a wrestler who seems interesting and dive in. However, the English translation misspells names on rare occasions, so using the Japanese spelling is recommended if you want to make absolutely sure. Name changes are also not factored in.
Another good way to get started is to pick the most recent Korakuen Hall show in the “Live & Video On Demand” section and make sure to listen to the pre-show explanation by the English commentary team. Many of DRAGONGATE’s biggest moments happen in Korakuen Hall and a lot of effort is put into making those moments accessible for new fans.
While smaller shows do not have any kind of explanation or live translation, English commentator Jae will usually summarize particularly important promos on twitter. If you have an account on the platform, following him is a great choice.
DG merchandise can be purchased in the DRAGONGATE Official Web Shop with the help of a proxy service like Tenso or Blackship, while tickets can be reserved by contacting Ho Ho Lun or Jae on social media.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, while all of this sounds complicated, there is no need to be intimidated. DG may be seen as a promotion for hardcore wrestling fans in the west, but it is ultimately meant to be just as engaging for people who just want to see good-looking men do impressive acrobatics, or get emotionally invested in the current faction drama without reading up on a decade of context.
There is no need to immediately memorize the special traits of every title, or explore every nook and cranny of DRAGONGATE Network. What matters is that you have fun. So if you are nervous about getting into the promotion, just start up a show that seems interesting – such as this one – and see what you like. You can still learn about the deep lore ramifications of Memorial Gate 2018 at a later date.
For more on DRAGONGATE, listen to the Dramatic Dream Dragons podcast and have a look at our interviews!