Open the Dream Gate Championship | |
Current Champion(s) | YAMATO |
Date Won | July 24th, 2016 |
Promotion(s) | Dragon Gate |
Date Established | July 4, 2004 |
The Open The Dream Gate Championship is the top singles championship in Dragon Gate. It is the successor to the Ultimo Dragon Gym Championship from Toryumon Japan, which had been discontinued as a result of the split from Toryumon. Being the last UDG Champion, CIMA was named the first Dream Gate Champion.
Overview
The belt itself is rather unique. The name of the champion is engraved onto a plate, which is then placed on the face of the belt and protected by a locked gate. For a competitor to be a challenger for the title, he must secure a Challenger's Key. If the champion successfully defends the title, the loser's key is added to the belt as a trophy. If the challenger wins the title, they key will unlock the gate, allowing him to replace the old nameplate with his own.
Each champion can devise their own method for how one can secure a Challenger's Key. Most of the time, these are done through the creation of matches, like in CIMA's third reign by holding battle royal matches dubbed CIMA Royale. Other times, there are different methods, such as when Masato Yoshino used a lottery system to determine his next challenger. Sometimes, the winner of the King of Gate tournament will be granted a Challenger's Key as proof of their being the strongest competitor over the previous one year period.
Since its inception, Dream Gate has not only been defended in every Kobe World Hall pay-per-view event, but it has also been placed indefinitely as the show's main event. A slight exception was made in 2006 when a No Rope Bonus Match took place after the Dream Gate match, and while it appeared to have aired on pay-per-view it was officially considered a post-show dark match.
In 2013, then-champion CIMA vowed to defend the belt once every month so long as he remained champion. Though his reign ended in July, the concept remained with the addition of the belt being defended on every show at Korakuen Hall. This is even if it had already been defend on another show during the month, such as Masato Yoshino defending on November 3 as part of the GATE OF DESTINY pay-per-view and then the belt being defended four days later at Korakuen Hall.
Title History
# | Wrestler | Reign | Date | Location | Length | Defenses | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | CIMA | 1 | July 4, 2004 | Kobe, Hyogo | 175 Days | 1 | Was awarded the title for being last Ultimo Dragon Gym Champion; made official in Tokyo on August 1, 2004. |
2 | Masaaki Mochizuki | 1 | December 16, 2004 | Tokyo | 323 Days | 4 | |
3 | Magnitude Kishiwada | 1 | November 4, 2005 | Tokyo | 112 Days | 2 | |
4 | Ryo Saito | 1 | February 24, 2006 | Tokyo | 58 Days | 0 | |
5 | Susumu Yokosuka | 1 | April 23, 2006 | Tokyo | 214 Days | 3 | |
6 | Don Fujii | 1 | November 23, 2006 | Tokyo | 122 Days | 1 | |
7 | Jushin "Thunder" Liger | 1 | March 25, 2007 | Tsu, Mie | 98 Days | 1 | |
8 | CIMA | 2 | July 1, 2007 | Kobe, Hyogo | 364 Days | 6 | |
— | Vacated | — | June 29, 2008 | Osaka | — | — | CIMA vacated title due to injury. |
9 | Shingo Takagi | 1 | July 27, 2008 | Kobe, Hyogo | 154 Days | 3 | Defeated BxB Hulk in a decision match. |
10 | Naruki Doi | 1 | December 28, 2008 | Fukuoka | 449 Days | 8 | |
11 | YAMATO | 1 | March 22, 2010 | Tokyo | 111 Days | 3 | |
12 | Masato Yoshino | 1 | July 11, 2010 | Kobe, Hyogo | 277 Days | 4 | |
13 | Masaaki Mochizuki | 2 | April 14, 2011 | Tokyo | 255 Days | 6 | |
14 | CIMA | 3 | December 25, 2011 | Fukuoka | 574 Days | 15 | |
15 | Shingo Takagi | 2 | July 21, 2013 | Kobe, Hyogo | 33 Days | 0 | |
16 | YAMATO | 2 | August 23, 2013 | Tokyo | 48 Days | 1 | |
17 | Masato Yoshino | 2 | October 10, 2013 | Tokyo | 143 Days | 4 | |
18 | Ricochet | 1 | March 2, 2014 | Osaka | 64 Days | 1 | |
19 | YAMATO | 3 | May 5, 2014 | Nagoya | 76 Days | 2 | |
20 | BxB Hulk | 1 | July 20, 2014 | Kobe | 329 Days | 7 | On August 5, 2014, Naruki Doi defeated Hulk in a four-on-one handicap match, where Doi teamed with Cyber Kong, Kzy and Mondai Ryu. Afterwards Doi was recognized as a "provisional" champion, pending a rematch. On August 17, Hulk defeated Doi to resume his reign and make his first successful title defense |
21 | Masato Yoshino | 3 | June 14, 2015 | Fukuoka | 63 Days | 1 | |
21 | Shingo Takagi | 3 | August 16, 2015 | Tokyo | 182 Days | 4 | Takagi's defense against Gamma was declared an unsuccessful attempt & Takagi didn't receive a Dream Key due to massive interference by VerserK/a no contest on 12/3/2015
|
22 | Jimmy Susumu | 2 | Febuary 14, 2016 | Fukuoka | 21 Days | 0 | Previously known as Susumu Yokosuka. |
23 | Shingo Takagi | 4 | March 6, 2016 | Tokyo | 140 | 1 | |
24 | YAMATO | 4 | July 24th, 2016 | Kobe | 2826+ | 0 | 0 |