Who was the Rookie of the Year 2022?
The discussion around that issue brings up many well-known people and promotions. From AEW’s HOOK to WWE’s Logan Paul, to even famous idol-turned-wrestler Yuki Arai. But one commonly mentioned competitor sticks out from the crowd. With no prior fame or legacy to his name, working for a promotion generally considered the domain of only hardcore Puroresu fans in the West, DRAGONGATE’s Takuma Fujiwara has still become many critics’ number one choice.
Why is that?
This article intends to answer that question by giving you a closer look at one of the most exciting prospects on the Japanese scene.
A Diamond in the Rough
Takuma Fujiwara’s background is fairly typical for a young wrestler. He was fascinated by the shows he saw as a young child, spent his middle school career day at the Michinoku Pro dojo, and built a basis in Amateur Wrestling for himself before finally signing up to the DRAGONGATE dojo at about 19 years old. Even at this age, he already possessed exceptional athletic talent and a creative mind, which allowed him to pass the promotion’s demanding entrance exam.
But of course, talent is not all it takes to create a wrestling prodigy. Training is a massive factor in whether a rookie will actually reach their full potential.
Choosing the right dojo is a vital decision in a wrestler’s career.
And Fujiwara definitely chose one that would be perfectly suited to him.
Certainly, when most western wrestling fans think about Japanese company dojos, what comes to mind is the New Japan model. A strict system where rookies are not even allowed to attempt individual characters or movesets until they have gone above and beyond to prove themselves in the basics. But not all promotions are like that.
DRAGONGATE in particular has quite a different approach. The general idea there is that age, height and weight are irrelevant. All that counts is ability. This manifests in their booking, with smaller and younger competitors being pushed much more strongly than they would be anywhere else. It is also visible in their dojo system, which allows trainees to set themselves apart with some more unconventional and acrobatic moves, as well as giving them a unique gimmick and look very quickly.
These were great conditions for Fujiwara in particular to flourish. Due to his smaller size, most other big promotions would have probably banished him to a neglected Junior Heavyweight Division. But in DRAGONGATE, people like him had challenged for and won the main championship many times over. His creative mind was allowed to flourish from the very beginning, getting him a lot of attention even just for his early exhibition matches.
All the conditions were set.
Once Takuma finally made his debut, he took to wrestling like a bird to the skies.
Flying Start
Fujiwara’s first official match was set for the Gate of Origin 2021 event. A singles bout on one of the promotion’s biggest stages. The message was clear.
Takuma did not waste the opportunity, either. Stunning the audience with his incredible speed and athleticism, he demonstrated perfectly just how great of a fit he was for the promotion’s lucha libre-inspired style. He did not end up winning and was visibly frustrated about it, but everyone still broke into massive applause for him afterward. Even his opponent.
This audience connection never faded over the coming months. For many viewers, he was the highlight of the undercard, making even the most unspectacular 8 man matches worth watching. Despite DRAGONGATE’s incredibly busy schedule, there was not a single bout in which Fujiwara did not show off his amazing potential.
In addition to this, the first glimmers of a character were beginning to shine through. While not exactly a gimmick yet, Fujiwara’s great pride, confidence, and ambition stuck out among the rookies. He was not satisfied with just giving his best. From the very beginning, he wanted to win. He wanted to get to the top, whatever it took.
Opportunities Gained and Lost
On the 23rd of February, as part of the Memorial Gate event, Fujiwara would finally get his first proper chance. Instead of being made to battle larger and much more experienced wrestlers, he would be facing his dojo classmates in a battle royale. The winner would be granted a chance at the Open the Brave Gate Championship, DRAGONGATE’s middleweight title.
The current champion, Dragon Dia, was not much older and even a bit smaller than Takuma. He would be fast and acrobatic, certainly, but so was Fujiwara himself. If Takuma could win this, he had a decent chance at obtaining his first singles championship only three months into his career. He had to succeed.
Fujiwara put his all into that Battle Royale. Even when, in the final stretch, he was facing down the established tag team of the Iihashi brothers, he did not give up. With his outstanding athleticism, ring awareness, and sheer willpower, he picked off his opponents one by one until he finally stood victorious.
All that remained now was to beat Dia. Takuma knew that he could do it. He just needed to put his mind to it.
Unfortunately, three years of experience made quite the difference after all. As incredible as Fujiwara’s talent was, Dia knew just how to counter him and his greater endurance ultimately won out.
The audience was deeply impressed by the match and the two wrestlers embraced at the end. But Takuma was not satisfied. A good performance was not enough to get where he wanted to be.
He had to wait almost another three months for his next big opportunity. But this time, he would definitely capitalize on it.
Fujiwara was granted a spot in the King of Gate tournament, DRAGONGATE’s most prestigious competition of the year. The winner would receive a shot at the Open the Dream Gate Championship. That would be an instant way of proving himself worthy of the top card. But even if he did not progress that far, a couple of victories alone would be enough to establish Takuma as a serious threat. At least the first round he would definitely win. His opponent was Ishin Iihashi, one of his classmates, after all. Fujiwara could at least beat him.
But once again, things did not go as expected. Ishin lasted a lot longer than Takuma had planned for and both young wrestlers were eliminated from the tournament after a time-limit draw.
If Fujiwara wanted to get to the top, something would have to change. He would have to expand his abilities elsewhere. And so, on the 5th of July 2022, he announced his excursion to Mexico.
Leaving the Nest
Takuma’s excursion would mark quite the departure from his status quo in more than just one sense.
While Fujiwara had clearly defined himself as a babyface in DRAGONGATE, his ticket to the world of Lucha Libre ended up being a crafty old AAA rudo named Crazy Boy. He had been betrayed by one of his associates, Nino Hamburguesa, and was looking for new allies to enact his revenge. By calling in some old favors, he gained access to DRAGONGATE’s current excursion roster for these purposes.
Who among the rookies would be willing to dirty their hands for a man like this?
One was already a given. SB KENTo, the rowdy delinquent of the group, was practically chomping at the bit to wreak some more havoc in another country.
But the other wrestler to step up was Fujiwara, the aspiring future ace of the promotion.
Dirty work or not, this was an opportunity to wrestle for one of the two largest companies in Mexico. He could not afford to miss this chance. Whether he had to fight for a crook, whether he had to team with his previous enemy, Takuma would climb to the top at any cost.
He was not one for half-measures, either. Fujiwara worked hard at being a heel. Much like his new tag team partner, he dyed his hair, made mean expressions, and cheated at will.
While these antics were effective and entertaining enough, though, there was something he lacked.
Anyone can break the rules, spout swearwords, or insult the local sports team, so to speak. But the most compelling heels have a special charisma to them, an effortless confidence, a hidden depth that draws the viewer in like a yawning abyss. AAA rudo Takuma Fujiwara could not muster that.
But there was a mysterious new wrestler in Mexico who could.
The Mystery of the Mask
Not long after the current batch of DRAGONGATE rookies had arrived, something strange began to happen. Promotions would announce DRAGONGATE talent, but none of the wrestlers would actually be named. Instead, an unknown competitor in a frightening demon mask would appear at the show. Hannya, he called himself.
Hannya’s skill was stunning. On a scene as rich in wild and creative high-flying stunts as Lucha Libre, he still managed to set himself apart with his style. He was strong, he was ruthless and he was dripping with charisma. Where Fujiwara’s heel work felt almost a little clumsy and obvious at times, Hannya’s was just his second nature. He really was like a demon merely enjoying himself in the human world.
However, his mischief had its price. After a heated confrontation during a tag match, experienced luchador Radioactivo made it his mission to reveal Hannya’s identity. A mask vs mask death match was set.
For all his talent, Hannya did not end up winning.
He was still only a rookie, after all.
After a grueling battle, Fujiwara’s face was finally revealed.
Hannya, as he explained, had been a way to explore a new side of himself under the anonymity of a mask.
Not Takuma Fujiwara, the next ace of DRAGONGATE, not Takuma, the AAA rudo henchman, but something entirely different. A wrestler who could follow his own whims freely, who had no master but himself. This as well was part of him.
And a hint of that ruthlessness and independence would stay with him when he shed the mask.
Yet another possible future had opened up.
Familiar Shores
During all of this, though, DRAGONGATE did not entirely want to miss out on the drawing power of their star rookie. In a move they had only made once before, with the equally popular Eita, they specifically brought him back from Mexico for a week to participate in two of their biggest events. Fujiwara would be fighting that very same Eita in a midcard singles match for Gate of Destiny 2022, before facing the promotion’s main heel, Shun Skywalker, in a tag team bout during DRAGONGATE’s crossover show with NOAH.
These choices made very clear just how much Takuma’s home promotion saw in him. While his rise to the top may not have been as lightning-quick as he may have wanted, it was absolutely inevitable.
His performance in those matches only proved that further. Even Eita, who does not extend his respect easily, was convinced at the end of their intense battle. This kid was going places.
Still, for the moment, there were still loose ends to tie up elsewhere.
Fujiwara returned to Mexico for a couple more months. He finally completed his journey as Hannya, wrestled some more indie matches, and eventually wrapped up his involvement with Crazy Boy after losing a lumberjack tag match against Nino Hamburguesa and his friend.
It has been a month since then. The date is still unknown, but it’s clear that he is coming home.
Futures Yet to Come
What Fujiwara will do once he returns is a matter of much speculation.
One thing is for certain, though: He will be an incredibly valuable asset to whichever one of DRAGONGATE’s constantly warring factions manages to get their hands on him first. His options are wide open in that regard. Still, there are some possibilities that I would consider likelier than others.
To begin with, if Takuma wishes to build on his heel run in Mexico, the intrepid bad boy stable Z-Brats would be a great choice. His excursion mate and regular tag team partner in Mexico, SB KENTo, is already a member, after all. Nothing would really stand in the way of such an arrangement.
But maybe he would actually prefer to be more of a babyface again. In that case, D’Courage could take him in as their fourth member. They already house the young aces of DRAGONGATE’s openweight and middleweight divisions. Adding the new talent most likely to fill that position in the future only makes sense. The concept of the stable is also very open. Fujiwara could develop his character freely and lay the groundwork for some great future storylines with the other members.
Lastly, with how many parallels there already are between Takuma and Eita, he might follow in those footsteps even further and participate in bringing an entirely new faction to the scene. Eita himself, SB KENTo, Takuma Nishikawa, and La Estrella would be likely members of such a group, perhaps focused on shared excursion experiences in a new take on the Millenials concept.
Conclusion
Whatever Fujiwara might choose in the end, he is destined for stardom. His natural talent is outstanding, his training is excellent and he is perfectly suited for the promotion he is signed to. Be it as a heel, a face, or a tweener, he has the potential to be one of DRAGONGATE’s greatest draws and legends.
But even to people unfamiliar with the company, I can only recommend following along with his development. This guy is going to be the next big thing.
Note: Several months after the publishing of this article, both Takuma Fujiwara And Kento Kobune (aka SB KENTo) were announced as having been removed from DRAGONGATE due to a “severe breach of contract” while in Mexico. They have not returned to Japan since and are instead continuing to compete on the Mexican indie scene. Further details are unknown. Since this article largely serves as a history piece on Takuma Fujiwara, it will remain up until further notice.
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