English Version
(日本語版はこちら)
2024 was the Year of the Dragon and, as many fans of Japanese Pro Wrestling would claim, the year of Dragon Dia. Already one of the most popular roster members of the Lucha Libre-based promotion DRAGONGATE Japan Pro Wrestling, the 26 year old successor to wrestling legend Dragon Kid went from barely reaching two points in New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Best of the Super Junior[s] tournament to proudly representing the new generation in his promotion’s last big event of the year in the span of the last several months.
In the main event of Final Gate 2024, the 1,68m (5’5ft) tall and 70kg (154lbs) heavy young wrestler faced DG ace and Open the Dream Gate champion YAMATO in a double title match, following an upset victory against him in the King of Gate tournament. While Dragon Dia ultimately lost, the match positioned the two wrestlers as equals, the veteran and the young star who were carrying the promotion on their shoulders.
Following this landmark moment in his his career, Five Star Network’s Sarah Rosner had the opportunity to interview Dragon Dia about the match itself, the arduous journey that got him to this point, and his future ambitions.
Here is what he had to say:
How did you come to be Dragon Kid’s student when you first joined DRAGONGATE?
Dragon Kid has always been [one of] the coaches that oversee the training of the young wrestlers. Since I was physically the smallest among the ten trainees that were there when I joined and the style of someone like Dragon Kid fit me, he’d often look after me when we were sparring in the dojo.
In what ways did your training as his student differ from that of your peers?
I was never treated in any special way, and he took care of me the same way he did my classmates.
But I did learn other moves from him than the other trainees.
What does being the successor to Dragon Kid mean to you?
He was a legend that I watched on my screen since childhood, so being named his successor is like a dream. It’s like I became the protagonist in a movie.
When you first debuted, Weekly Pro Wrestling reported that you had wanted to be a masked wrestler from the start. What about being a masked wrestler appealed to you back then?
I was always drawn to high-flyers, and to me being a masked wrestler was the same as [being a high-flyer].
So I was drawn to being a masked wrestler, but I wasn’t particular about absolutely needing to debut as a masked wrestler, and I became one by chance.
You became a part of DRAGONGATE’s 2020 generation war before even joining your first regular faction. YAMATO, who now represents the promotion’s older generation in PARADOX, was the one leading your generation back then. How has your impression of him changed since that time?
When YAMATO was leading DRAGONGATE Generation, I thought that he definitely had leadership skills, so following him would be a safe bet.
Because he was someone I respect deeply, I felt like his way of thinking was entirely correct, so all I needed to do was do as I was told and not think for myself.
I still respect him like I used to, but I’ve come up with a way of stirring things up in DG that’s different from what YAMATO has in mind, so I think I’m at a point where I’m on the same level as YAMATO in elevating [DRAGONGATE].
In December of 2020, you left the DRAGONGATE Generation to become a founding member of new faction MASQUERADE. What led you to that decision?
At the time, I had gained experience in DRAGONGATE Generation and won my first title, and then when I had more confidence and Shun Skywalker returned to Japan from his excursion to Mexico, he offered me to join forces with him.
He also invited Kota Minoura and Jason Lee, who were in DRAGONGATE Generation as well, and after he returned to Japan the three of us decided to leave DRAGONGATE Generation.
Come to think of it, I went to get him from the airport when he came back to Japan.
What was being a member of MASQUERADE like for you during the one year of its existence?
When I was in DRAGONGATE Generation, it was technically a stable for the new generation, but because YAMATO, whose career was over ten years longer than [mine], was the leader, I never thought about where we were headed as a team. In MASQUERADE, I was closer to [my teammates] in terms of age, so there were several times when I decided the direction for the stable myself and didn’t leave everything to our leader, Shun. I got a sense of responsibility.
During [MASQUERADE]’s existence I broke my collarbone, which was my first time being out for a while with an injury, and I won belts and was betrayed, so there were a lot of experiences that made me grow [as a wrestler].
MASQUERADE collapsed after leader Shun Skywalker sacrificed you to protect himself during a mask vs mask tag match. What did you feel like when that happened?
In the moment I didn’t know what had just happened. I didn’t even know that someone had pushed me.
After that, I saw that the others were accusing him [of having betrayed me], and then I kind of got it. My only feeling was, “Why?”. At that moment, it hadn’t been a betrayal [or anything like that], he had simply sacrificed me for his own sake.
After losing your mask, you disappeared from DRAGONGATE for several months alongside your former rival Yuki Yoshioka. What were you doing during that time?
Of course I planned on getting back into the ring, but during that time I devoted myself to thinking about the form in which I should come back.
I talked to Ultimo Dragon about my ring name and all that.
I wanted to fight together with Yuki Yoshioka and he felt the same way, so we linked up spontaneously.
How did you feel seeing what happened to your former faction in your absence?
It felt like Shun was beginning to fall apart. He’s self-centered and he’s ready to sacrifice his friends in order to protect himself. I was looking at how he could no longer justify that and how his friends were leaving him, and I thought, “This is going to collapse.”
While the other members took issue with Skywalker’s actions towards you at the time, they (with the exception of La Estrella) are now all members of the same faction once again. This includes your dojo classmate Kota Minoura, who you stated to be the person you trusted most at the time of your debut. What do you think of that?
It’s very strange. I don’t think there’s any way they followed Shun [into the stable], but it feels like they fight together well.
Well, the stable doesn’t seem to have something like a bond between the stablemates, so I guess to them it’s just [an alliance of convenience]. If you ask me, they’re completely wrong, but justice means something different to every person.
How would you say that you had changed as a person and wrestler when you returned to the ring after losing your mask?
I don’t really know what changed at the time, but I had lost everything so there was nothing else to lose. All I could do was move up, so I was able to not think and just fight with all my might.
You did so alongside Yoshioka, who became your tag team partner after a year of bitter rivalry. How has that history influenced your relationship?
Yoshioka is a great rival, and during the time we were feuding I fought him in every match [I was in]. Through that, I was able to learn how to wrestle in such a way as to read the opponent’s movements and so on, so I really grew as a wrestler.
And since we’ve become tag partners, whenever we thought about what double teams [we could do] and so on, since we know each other like the back of our hands, we came up with a lot of ideas, and I realized that he was the greatest tag partner for me. I don’t think I will ever have a better partner in my career.
Your tag team, D’Courage, has since been expanded into a full faction. How would you describe D’Courage’s role and identity within DRAGONGATE at the moment?
I want it to be a faction that pursues justice.
I think it’s a faction that can be bright and fun and make the audience smile.
How has your role in D’Courage changed in Yoshioka’s injury-related absence?
It hasn’t really changed.
In D’Courage it’s not about who’s the leader, it’s a team made up of talented people who are each single players!
I felt like I had to do my best to protect the place [Yoshioka] could come back to.
Shortly after your return, you won the Open the Brave Gate championship for the first time. Since then, you have worked towards raising its value towards being on par with the Open the Dream Gate championship. What makes the Brave Gate special, in your opinion?
As a child, I watched my mentor Dragon Kid elevate the Brave Gate title scene, so it’s a special belt to me.
I also think that many of the wrestlers who wore that belt in the past are active all over the world, so I can’t let it lose its value.
So I really hated it when it became a belt for the younger wrestlers for a time, and I wanted to raise its prestige.
Part of your increase in renown this year were your appearances in New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament and Junior tag league. What was the most important thing you took away from that experience?
Until that point, I had fought in the Brave Gate title scene, conscious of the fact that I was one of the below 82 kg [164 lbs] wrestlers in the world of DRAGONGATE.
But after my experiences wrestling for New Japan, I became aware that I was a junior heavyweight.
I broadened my horizons and gained a sense of responsibility and also confidence.
Following those appearances, what allowed you to finally win the King of Gate tournament this year?
One of the reasons was that I had wrestled a lot of different wrestlers and expanded my range as a wrestler, but I think the most important thing was how I felt.
I was driven by the feeling that I had to become the face of the promotion.
After defeating YAMATO during King of Gate, you declared yourself “the future of DRAGONGATE”. What would a future led by Dragon Dia look like?
When [first] I declared myself to be the future of DRAGONGATE, that was after the show at the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium where Madoka Kikuta proposed the Reiwa New Generation. I was there as a second and I heard those six people call themselves the future of DRAGONGATE in the ring. That stung, so what I said was also meant as a declaration of war against the Reiwa New Generation.
The future that I see for DRAGONGATE is one in which we fill every venue to the brim, like some other wrestlers are also saying.
Following your victory, you faced YAMATO once again, in a double title match at Final Gate. What did this match mean to you?
It was the culmination of a successful 2024 for me, on the main event stage of the last big show of the year.
It was the first double title match for the Dream Gate and the Brave Gate in fifteen years, and my opponent was the face of the promotion, YAMATO.
I couldn’t have asked for a bigger stage to prove that I’m the new face of the promotion.
After a hard-fought battle in which you employed several moves inspired by Ultimo Dragon, Darkness Dragon, and of course Dragon Kid, you ultimately succumbed to YAMATO’s Ragnarok. How do you feel about your loss?
For me there’s a lot of history behind the title of “Dragon”.
There was a part of me that felt like it was my duty to weave those feelings [towards the title of “Dragon”] together in the match.
I very bitterly regret having lost, but I was also a bit happy that it wasn’t just so easy to surpass the DRAGONGATE I had admired since I was a kid.
What is next for you after this match?
My goal of filling the seats at every single DRAGONGATE show hasn’t changed.
I lost the belt, but I think I still have all the eyes on me, so I want to keep my current position and take off both within and without the promotion.
Our deepest gratitude to Dragon Dia (@dragondia), for taking the time to answer our questions on such short notice. We would also like to thank Ho Ho Lun (@hoholun719), for his help in arranging this interview.
All translation for this interview was handled by Joe (@joetranslates), with assistance from Sarah Rosner. We are grateful for his excellent work.