The next big event in Dragongate’s calendar is Dangerous Gate, on August 20th! Last year’s Dangerous Gate saw Yuki Yoshioka defend his Open the Dream Gate championship against Eita in the main event. This year, D’Courage stablemate Madoka Kikuta stands at the top and challenger Kota Minoura will be looking to overcome the biggest obstacle in his career so far: winning the Open the Dream Gate Championship.
Though roster mainstays Shun Skywalker and Dragon Kid will be away on their US tour, their spots have been filled with two very special guests. NJPW’s Tomohiro Ishii will compete in Dragongate for the first time in his career, while Michinoku Pro’s Fujita ‘Jr’ Hayato will return to the Dragongate ring for the first time since 2011.
So, without further ado, let’s preview Dangerous Gate 2023!
What has happened since Kobe World?
The big story coming out of Kobe World was the unmasking of Diamante. Z-Brats’ luchador lost the Steel Cage Survival main event after his former tag team partner and friend, Shun Skywalker, betrayed him in order to keep his own mask. Z-Brats then kicked out Diamante, who is now factionless, though he appears to be forming an alliance with his idol Ultimo Dragon. He has gone back to Mexico on break. Though Skywalker is away in America, Diamante may return before his tour is over, so keep him in mind!
Elsewhere on the card, D’Courage’s Madoka Kikuta retained the Dream Gate championship against stablemate and former champion Yuki Yoshioka. The result didn’t affect their friendship and D’Courage remains as strong as ever. Z-Brats’ rookie hotshot ISHIN won the Brave Gate championship from Natural Vibes’ Jason Lee. This is ISHIN’s first ever singles championship. The Gold Class team of Kota Minoura, Minorita and former leader Naruki Doi won back the Triangle Gate championships from Natural Vibes’ Kzy, Big Boss Shimizu and Jacky ‘Funky’ Kamei. Minoura’s world title challenge prevents the defence of the Triangle Gate championships at this event.
Otherwise, the biggest occurance since Kobe World has been the King of Gate tournament. Usually in May, the tournament was rescheduled due to February’s Rey de Parejas competition. KoG involves the majority of the roster and the winner receives a Dream Gate championship match. Gold Class’ leader Kota Minoura beat Natural Vibes’ Big Boss Shimizu in the finals, finally winning the tournament after coming in second for the past two years.
Dragon Dia, Kaito Nagano & Daiki Yanagiuchi vs Kzy, Big Boss Shimizu & U-T
This has been both a great and a terrible month for Big Boss Shimizu. Making it to the finals of the King of Gate tournament, Shimizu was able to show off his abilities in a rare singles push and looked great the whole way through. After claiming that he had been snubbed from the Reiwa Generation Leaders back in May, he defeated members Shun Skywalker and Madoka Kikuta in the tournament. However, he was unable to seal the deal and came second place to Kota Minoura.
Dragongate needs a couple new heels and my two top candidates happen to be in this very match! One of them, of course, is Shimizu. Since the announcement of the Reiwa Generation Leaders, he has adopted a more aggressive attitude and has spent most of his time taking his anger out on the rookie talents of the promotion. Now having lost King of Gate (and his potential claim to a Dream Gate title challenge should Minoura win), a lot of pieces are in play to cement a turn.
My other potential heel pick, for the opposite reasons, is U-T. The llave specialist, who recently celebrated his 10th anniversary, has done nothing but lose and take pins since his return from injury in May. Natural Vibes is not exactly lacking for Brave Gate competitors and while U-T is incredibly popular with fans, a heel turn may be a nice change of scenery for him.
On the other side of the squared circle, a much needed piece missing from Kobe World has returned – the rookies! Nagano, Kato and Yanagiuchi, who all debuted in the past year, have recently come back from injury and two of them will be competing here along with D’Courage’s Dragon Dia. Nagano and Yanagiuchi are both high fliers. Yanagiuchi is known for his tope suicida whilst Nagano is known for his signature “Space World” rana.
I’ll be a happy lass if we see the return of Shimizu’s Triple Samoan Drop!
PREDICTION: Kzy, Big Boss Shimizu & U-T
Ultimo Dragon, Naruki Doi, BxB Hulk & Minorita vs Shuji Kondo, Kagetora, Problem Dragon & Punch Tominaga
This is the cool-down match of the show, though it can explore a new interesting dynamic in Gold Class.
Dragongate legend Naruki Doi created Gold Class, but left the group when he became a freelancer last September. Since then, he has done several things in Dragongate, including a run in Rey de Parejas with former partner YAMATO, but nothing of too much note. When Gold Class lost their Triangle Gate championships to Natural Vibes, they aimed to reclaim them at Kobe World. However, they ran into a conundrum. Two members of the unit, Ben-K and BxB Hulk, were going after the Twin Gate championships. This meant they needed an extra member to challenge for the Triangle Gate championships. Gold Class called out Doi. He initially refused, but GM Ryo Saito then forced him to team with Minoura and Minorita. With Doi by their side, Gold Class reclaimed the Triangle Gate titles.
Doi hasn’t officially re-joined Gold Class and remains separate from the unit. His attitude has made for some amusing moments, such as him blocking the crowd’s view of Gold Class’ group pose.
Aside from that, more Shuji Kondo is always a blessing. BxB Hulk will also be looking to get some revenge on Punch Tominaga, who eliminated him from the King of Gate tournament in a major upset.
PREDICTION: Ultimo Dragon, Naruki Doi, BxB Hulk & Minorita
Open the Brave Gate Championship: ISHIN (c) vs Mochizuki Junior
This might be the most interesting Brave Gate title match this year so far.
ISHIN and Mochizuki Junior have been rivals ever since the latter debuted last June. At the time, ISHIN was feeling lost after the retirement of his brother and tag team partner. He hadn’t even gotten his first win yet. Junior, on the other hand, was a “nepo-baby”, who was coddled by his father (Dragongate’s Masaaki Mochizuki) at every opportunity. Their rivalry, also involving ISHIN’s father Ishinriki, eventually led to ISHIN joining M3K, before betraying them in the same night to join Z-Brats, taking M3K’s Triangle Gate championships with him.
The pair had minimal interactions since then until Junior’s recent return from neck injury. At the King of Gate finals, the Twin Gate champions Susumu Mochizuki and Yasushi Kanda, along with Junior, faced Z-Brats’ Shun Skywalker, KAI…and ISHIN. Amusingly, Skywalker had previously called the M3K team weak for covering their bodies with t-shirts, before rocking up with his own Z-Brats t-shirt over his full coverage bodysuit. Nevertheless, the match ended in double count-out, after Masaaki hit ISHIN with Kanda’s trademark blue box as he tried to get back into the ring.
Annoyed, ISHIN then grabbed the mic and announced he had chosen a Brave Gate challenger: Masaaki Mochizuki. Korakuen erupted into laughs as Mochizuki claimed he was over the weight limit and would rather drink beer and relax than try to cut weight. Mochizuki Junior then issued his own challenge for the belt. Initially refusing, ISHIN later accepted after Masaaki threatened to call his mom.
I had Mochizuki Junior as the endgame of ISHIN’s reign, so having him be his first defence has thrown me off. Ideally, Junior loses here and goes on a journey to win in a rematch. However, with Dragongate’s allergy to long Brave Gate reigns nowadays, I could fully see Junior taking it here.
PREDICTION: ISHIN
Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii & Tomohiro Ishii vs Yuki Yoshioka, Ben-K & Strong Machine J
When Hiromu Takahashi was booked for a match at Kobe World, this humble previewer got incredibly excited at the thought of more NJPW talent wrestling in Dragongate. A month later, I get my wish.
Let it be known here: If Ben-K gets Ishii in a Jackhammer, I’m giving this 5 stars off the bat.
In all seriousness, while YAMATO’s battles against outsider talent (more on that imminently) have been incredibly fun to watch, I’m happy that some of the Reiwa 6 Leaders are getting a piece of the action. While all from different stables, these men have actually teamed up before, in the Reiwa 6 trios match that occurred after Dead or Alive. They showed good teamwork and that trend should continue here.
While Ishii has never wrestled in Dragongate before, he has wrestled Mochizuki. The 13th of July 2000 in the WAR promotion was the only time Masaaki Mochizuki and Tomohiro Ishii have faced off. If you’re curious to see a young Ishii in yellow gear and kickpads, it’s worth seeking out!
Masaaki and Don Fujii have also made it their mission to school some of Dragongate’s younger talents as of late. Reiwa Generation Leaders member Madoka Kikuta eliminated Masaaki in Round 1 of King of Gate. He will be looking to avenge that loss by scoring a win over the group.
While I would love the Reiwa 6 group to win, there are a couple of factors working against them. Ishii’s team may win purely because Ishii is there. Incidentally, Yoshioka is simultaneously competing in NOAH’s N-1 tournament and fatigue from that may play into the finish here. Nevertheless, I’ll predict that the younger group will get another big win in this generational shift.
PREDICTION: Yoshioka, Ben-K & Strong Machine J
YAMATO vs Fujita ‘Jr’ Hayato
Ever since HIGH-END’s disbandment in January, YAMATO has taken a bit of a backseat in the promotion’s hierarchy. He is still an important player in Dragongate, but has opted to remain without a faction for the time being. In fact, most of his work this year has revolved around wrestling outsiders and this event is no exception.
After NJPW’s Hiromu Takahashi defeated him at Kobe World, YAMATO was eliminated from Round 1 of King of Gate due to a draw with Don Fujii. He won a 10-man tag alongside Eita, Dragon Dia, Yuki Yoshioka and former stablemate Kagetora at the King of Gate finals show. After the match, Kagetora announced that someone had come with a message for him. Moments later, Michinoku Pro’s Fujita ‘Jr’ Hayato walked through the curtain. Hayato will be facing Takahashi in October and until then “wanted to play with Takahashi’s opponents”. In March, these two were opponents in a trios match at the All Star Junior Festival. However, at that time, YAMATO was solely focused on Takahashi. Hayato issued the challenge to YAMATO to test his strength, which YAMATO accepted.
YAMATO being Dragongate’s gatekeeper to top outsider talent has been a good time this year and I hope it continues. The match sounds fantastic on paper. At first glance, I see YAMATO losing. There’s great potential here for a story of YAMATO’s fall from grace leading into a potential full heel turn. With Dragongate needing a few fresh heels, that would definitely be a possible direction for the veteran to take!
PREDICTION: Fujita ‘Jr’ Hayato
Open the Twin Gate Championship: M3K (c) vs Z-Brats vs Natural Vibes
One of Dragongate’s nicest aspects this year has been the career resurgence of Yasushi Kanda. After watching him be treated as a non-entity for a lot of his later career, seeing the man have two career best matches this year has been heartwarming. He will probably be my pick for 2023’s Most Improved when all is said and done. Winning his first Twin Gate championship with long-time partner Susumu Mochizuki, he has already defended the championships against Gold Class’ Ben-K and BxB Hulk, along with Masato Tanaka and Takuya Sugawara.
In search of challengers for Dangerous Gate, Dragongate arranged a #1 contendership match between Jacky ‘Funky’ Kamei and Jason Lee of Natural Vibes and KAI and H.Y.O of Z-Brats.
In terms of accolades this year, Jason Lee was the previous Brave Gate champion. KAI has challenged for the Twin Gate titles already with current Brave Gate champion ISHIN. H.Y.O made the semi-finals of the King of Gate tournament, the furthest of anyone in this match.
After Z-Brats duct taped Jacky and Jason’s hands to the entrance rig, the result looked to be a simple tag team match against KAI and H.Y.O. However, just as they were about to enter the ring, Susumu and Kanda hit them on the apron. The match ended in a double count-out and the title match became a three-way.
In terms of winners, I think all three teams have a chance to come out of this with a win. If this is to be a swan song run for Kanda, I could see MK retaining for an eventual match with stablemates Masaaki Mochizuki and Mochizuki Junior. The team I would most like to come out with the win is Jacky and Jason. After winning the Twin Gate in what was largely considered Dragongate’s MOTY last year, they only had a short reign. If given a longer run with the belts, I bet they would do great.
PREDICTION: Jacky ‘Funky’ Kamei & Jason Lee
Open the Dream Gate Championship: Madoka Kikuta (c) vs Kota Minoura
After falling to Yuki Yoshioka in July 2022, Kota Minoura went on a year-long path to reinvent himself. He bolstered Gold Class’ ranks with fellow Reiwa Generation Leader Ben-K and veteran BxB Hulk. Minoura has spent most of 2023 as one third of the Open the Triangle Gate champions. He and Hulk also had a good showing in the Rey de Parejas tag tournament, making the semi finals. Minoura’s rebirth has come off the back of solid in-ring consistency.
The Golden Rose Prince won this opportunity by winning Dragongate’s King of Gate tournament. He overcame his mentor Naruki Doi, Yuki Yoshioka, who he had never beaten in singles action before, Z-Brats’ crafty tactician H.Y.O and Natural Vibes’ Big Boss Shimizu to win. Champion Kikuta, who has been on a tear in 2023, made the semi-finals. He ran the grueling gauntlet of legend Masaaki Mochizuki, Takashi Yoshida and Shuji Kondo before falling to Shimizu in the semi-finals.
This is a rematch from Minoura’s and Kikuta’s singles battle earlier in the year. In April, they competed for #1 contendership to the Dream Gate, a match Kikuta won, leading to his Dream Gate victory at Dead or Alive.
I’d say that this match seems like Minoura’s to lose. Kikuta has been a force to be reckoned with this year and if he wins, it would lead nicely into a rematch with Big Boss Shimizu, who could challenge for the belt after defeating him in King of Gate. However, I think Dragongate may get behind Minoura here to see if he has what it takes to be a top act in the company.
PREDICTION: Kota Minoura
WHERE TO WATCH: DRAGONGATE Network
The story between ISHIN and Mochizuki Junior, as well as their upcoming match at Dangerous Gate, are explored in more detail in our recent interview with the Brave Gate champion!
For more on DRAGONGATE, check out the latest episode DRAGONGATE and DDT podcast of the Five Star Network — Dramatic Dream Dragons.
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