The Open The Brave Gate Championship is a secondary singles championship in Dragon Gate. It is the equivalent of a middleweight or welterweight championship as competitors are required to weight no more than 82 kilograms (or 181 lbs.). An exception was made to the rule when Matt Sydal defended the title against Austin Aries on February 23, 2007 as this would be the first defense of any Dragon Gate championship in the United States.
Overview
The Brave Gate was conceived by K-ness and YOSSINO in early 2005. It was to be the spiritual successor to the NWA World Welterweight Championship from the Toryumon Japan days, for which came some of the more famous matches between the two wrestlers in their rivalry. A tournament was held beginning March 3, 2005 with the eight participants each receiving a piece that, when combined, made up the center plate on the belt. When defeated, the competitor must hand over all of their pieces to the winner. The eventual winner, Naruki Doi, would collect all of the pieces and complete the belt.
When Gamma won the championship on April 27, 2008, he discarded the eight center plate pieces and replaced it with his own plate, changing the name of the title to "Open The Gamma Gate." He was still recognized as the Brave Gate champion, but however his defenses were not necessarily part of the official championship lineage until he was finally defeated by Dr. Muscle on July 29, 2008, when the title was properly restored.
Following a match on July 17th, 2011, the reigning champion PAC would be returning home to the United Kingdom for an extensive stay. Naoki Tanizaki stole the title and proclaimed himself as the champion in his place. All of his supposed defenses, however, were not officially recognized. PAC would reclaim the belt in a proper defense on September 16, 2011.
Inaugral tournament
On March 13 2005 Dragon Gate held a single-elimination tournament in the Dragon Gate The Brave Gate Tour 2005; which involved seven wrestlers from Dragon Gate and one from Kaientai Dojo. The seven wrestlers from Dragon Gate were Daniel Mishima, Genki Horiguchi, K-ness, Naoki Tanizaki, Naruki Doi, Super Shisa and YOSSINO and from Kaientai Dojo was PSYCHO. The winner was Naruki Doi and he became the inaugural Open The Brave Gate Champion.
Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | |||||||||||
YOSSINO | Pin | ||||||||||||
K-ness | 14:30 | ||||||||||||
YOSSINO | Pin | ||||||||||||
PSYCHO | 8:29 | ||||||||||||
PSYCHO | Pin | ||||||||||||
Naoki Tanizaki | 3:17 | ||||||||||||
YOSSINO | 21:01 | ||||||||||||
Naruki Doi | Pin | ||||||||||||
Naruki Doi | Pin1 | ||||||||||||
Super Shisa | 2:13 | ||||||||||||
Naruki Doi | RS | ||||||||||||
Daniel Mishima | 8:13 | ||||||||||||
Daniel Mishima | Pin | ||||||||||||
Genki Horiguchi | 9:26 |
1The match ended in a no contest at 6:48 minutes, and then it was restarted.
Title History
# | Wrestler | Reign | Date | Location | Event | Length | Defenses | Successful defenses | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Naruki Doi | 1 | March 13, 2005 | Nagoya, Aichi | Brave Gate Tour 2005 - Day 4 | 245 Days | 5 | 1. defeated Super Shisa on April 3, 2005 2. defeated K-ness on May 1, 2005 3. defeated Makoto Oishi on June 12, 2005 4. defeated Dragon Kid on September 11, 2005 5. defeated Naoki Tanizaki on October 30, 2005 |
Defeated YOSSINO in tournament finals to become the inagural champion. |
2 | Dragon Kid | 1 | November 13, 2005 | Nagoya, Aichi | Crown Gate 2005 - Day 7 | 84 Days | 1 | 1. defeated Masato Yoshino on January 22, 2006 x. vs Masato Yoshino ended in a no contest on February 5, 2006 |
|
— | Vacated | — | February 5, 2006 | Hakata, Fukuoka | — | — | — | — | The title was vacated due to the second defense ending in a controversial No Contest. |
3 | Masato Yoshino | 1 | March 19, 2006 | Honkawagoe, Saitama | Brave Gate Tour 2006 - Day 10 | 330 Days | 4 | 1. defeated Jack Evans on April 23, 2006 2. defeated Genki Horiguchi on June 11, 2006 3. defeated Takayuki Mori on September 26, 2006 4. defeated Takayuki Mori on October 1, 2006 |
Defeated Dragon Kid and Naoki Tanizaki in a tournament final to crown a new champion. |
4 | Matt Sydal | 1 | February 12, 2007 | Kobe, Hyogo | Live Gate 2007 Vol.1 | 41 Days | 1 | 1. defeated Austin Aries on February 23, 2007 | |
5 | Genki Horiguchi | 1 | March 25, 2007 | Tsu, Mie | Memorial Gate 2007 | 98 Days | 2 | 1. defeated Dragon Kid on April 15, 2007 2. defeated Dragon Kid on May 6, 2007 |
|
6 | Yasushi Kanda | 1 | July 1, 2007 | Kobe, Hyogo | Kobe World Pro Wrestling Festival 2007 | 83 Days | 2 | 1. defeated Jorge Rivera on August 13, 2007 2. defeated Genki Horiguchi on September 8, 2007 |
|
7 | Masato Yoshino | 2 | September 22, 2007 | Ota-ku, Tokyo | Storm Gate 2007 - Day 7: ~ Tokyo Special ~ Dragon Storm 2007 | 205 Days | 6 | 1. defeated K-ness on November 18, 2007 2. defeated Susumu Yokosuka on December 23, 2007 3. defeated El Generico on January 19, 2008 4. defeated Dragon Kid on February 3, 2008 5. defeated Ryo Saito on February 17, 2008 6. defeated CIMA on March 1, 2008 |
|
8 | Anthony W. Mori | 1 | April 13, 2008 | Nagoya, Aichi | The Gate Of Passion 2008 - Day 4 | 0 Days | 0 | ||
— | Vacated | — | April 13, 2008 | Nagoya, Aichi | — | — | — | — | Mori immediately vacated the title after winning it due to the interference from Yasushi Kanada in the title switch. |
9 | Gamma | 1 | April 27, 2008 | Hakata, Fukuoka | The Gate Of Passion 2008 - Day 10 | 63 Days | 6[Note 1] | 1. defeated Super Shelong on May 5, 2008 x. vs Super Shelong ended in a no contest on May 25, 2008 2. defeated Super Shelong on May 25, 2008 x. defeated by Super Shelong by count out on June 1, 2008 3. defeated Dr. Muscle on June 8, 2008 x. defeated by Naoshi Sano on June 20, 2008 4. defeated Naoshi Sano on June 20, 2008 5. defeated Dr. Muscle on June 21, 2008 |
Defeated Anthony W. Mori in a tournament final, the reign his is recognized but his title defenses are not recognized by Dragon Gate. |
10 | Dr. Muscle | 1 | June 29, 2008 | Osaka | The Gate Of Maximum 2008 - Day 9 | 0 Days | 0 | ||
— | Vacated | — | June 29, 2008 | Osaka | — | — | — | — | The was vacated when Masato Yoshino, revealed to be Dr. Muscle, vacated title immediately after winning it, only to restore the Brave Gate lineage. |
11 | Genki Horiguchi | 2 | July 27, 2008 | Kobe, Hyogo | Kobe World Pro Wrestling Festival 2008 | 77 Days | 2 | 1. defeated Shinobu on August, 31 2008 2. defeated Naoki Tanizaki on September, 8 2008 |
Defeated m.c.KZ in a decision match. |
12 | Masato Yoshino | 3 | October 12, 2008 | Nagoya, Aichi | The Gate Of Victory 2008 - Day 5 | 161 Days | 2 | 1. defeated Dragon Kid on November, 16 2008 2. defeated KAGETORA on February 12, 2009 |
|
13 | CIMA | 1 | March 22, 2009 | Tokyo | The Gate Of Anniversary | 119 Days | 4 | 1. defeated Dragon Kid on May, 5 2009 2. defeated Akira Tozawa on May 31, 2009 x. vs Kenichiro Arai ended in a no contest on July 21, 2009 3. defeated Kenichiro Arai on July 21, 2009 |
|
14 | Naruki Doi | 2 | July 19, 2009 | Kobe, Hyogo | Kobe World Pro Wrestling Festival 2009 | 9 Days | 0 | This was a Title vs. Title Match also for the Open The Dream Gate Championship. | |
— | Vacated | — | July 28, 2009 | — | — | — | — | — | Doi vacated title due to being Open The Dream Gate Champion. |
15 | Naoki Tanizaki | 1 | August 30, 2009 | Hakata, Fukuoka | Storm Gate 2009 - Day 1 | 134 Days | 6 | 1. defeated Genki Horiguchi on October 4, 2009 2. defeated Akira Tozawa November 8, 2009 3. defeated Akira Tozawa and KAGETORA on November 23, 2009 4. defeated by Super Shisa on December 10, 2009 5. defeated Anthony W. Mori on December 20, 2009 6. defeated Kzy on December 27, 2009 |
Defeated KAGETORA in tournament final to win the title. |
16 | K-ness | 1 | January 11, 2010 | Nagoya, Aichi | Primal Gate 2010 - Day 2 | 47 Days | 1 | 1. defeated PAC on February, 7 2010 | |
17 | Super Shisa | 1 | February 27, 2010 | Kyoto | Truth Gate 2010 - Day 14 | 50 Days | 1 | 1. defeated Genki Horiguchi and Munenori Sawa on March, 18 2010 | |
18 | Tigers Mask | 1 | April 18, 2010 | Takaishi, Osaka | Gate Of Passion 2010 - Day 4 | 118 Days | 3 | 1. defeated Dragon Kid on May 5, 2010 2. defeated Super Shisa May 8, 2010 3. defeated Genki Horiguchi on July 3, 2010 |
|
19 | Masato Yoshino | 4 | August 14, 2010 | Kobe, Hyogo | Summer Adventure Tag League IV - Day 8 | 0 Days | 0 | ||
— | Vacated | — | August 14, 2010 | Kobe, Hyogo | — | — | — | — | Yoshino vacated title immediately after winning it due to being Open The Dream Gate Champion. |
20 | PAC | 1 | August 29, 2010 | Hakata, Fukuoka | Storm Gate 2010 - Day 2 | 322 Days | 8[Note 2] | 1. defeated K-ness on October 24, 2010 2. defeated Dragon Kid October 11, 2010 3. defeated YAMATO on December 12, 2010 4. defeated Naoki Tanizaki on February 6, 2011 5. defeated Ricochet on March 1, 2011 6. defeated Akira Tozawa on April 2, 2011 7. defeated Naruki Doi on May 5, 2011 8. defeated Ricochet on June 18, 2011 |
Defeated Susumu Yokosuka in tournament finals decision match. Following a match on July 17, 2011, reigning champion PAC would be returning home to the United Kingdom for an extensive stay. |
— | Naoki Tanizaki | Provisional
|
July 17, 2011 | Kobe | Kobe World Pro Wrestling Festival 2011 | 61 Days | 2 | 1. defeated Rich Swann on July 24, 2011 2. defeated Gamma on August 25, 2011 |
Naoki Tanizaki stole the title and proclaimed himself as the champion in his place and he was named the Blood Warriors Authorized Open the Brave Gate Championship. All of his supposed defenses, however, were not officially recognized. |
20 | PAC | 1 | September 16, 2011 | Tokyo | Storm Gate 2011 - Day 12 | 64 Days | 3[Note 2] | 9. defeated Naoki Tanizaki on September 16, 2011 10. defeated Genki Horiguchi on October 16, 2011 11. defeated Dragon Kid on October 22, 2011 |
PAC would reclaim the belt in a proper defense on September 16, 2011 and resume his reign. |
21 | Ricochet | 1 | November 19, 2011 | Osaka | Crown Gate 2011 - Day 6 | 169 Days | 3 | 1. defeated Masato Yoshino on December 25, 2011 2. defeated Naruki Doi on March 3, 2012 3. defeated Kzy on March 25, 2012 |
|
22 | Dragon Kid | 2 | May 6, 2012 | Aichi | Dead or Alive 2012 | 364 Days | 9 | 1. defeated Super Shisa on June 16, 2012 2. defeated Ricochet on July 22, 2012 3. defeated Masamune on September 23, 2012 4. defeated Eita on October 21, 2012 5. defeated Shachihoko BOY on October 27, 2012 6. defeated Jimmy Kagetora on December 23, 2012 7. defeated Mr. Kyu Kyu Toyonaka Dolphin on January 25, 2013 8. defeated HUB on January 25, 2013 9. defeated Kzy on April 12, 2013 |
|
23 | Masato Yoshino | 5 | May 5, 2013 | Aichi | Dead or Alive 2013 | 117 Days | 4 | 1. defeated Rich Swann on June 1, 2013 2. defeated Jimmy Kagetora on June 15, 2013 3. defeated K-ness on July 27, 2013 4. defeated Naruki Doi on August 1, 2013 |
|
— | Vacated | — | August 30, 2013 | Kobe | — | — | — | — | Yoshino vacated the title, feeling it belonged to the younger generation. |
24 | Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! | 3 | September 29, 2013 | Kobe | Summer Adventure Tag League 2013 | 168 Days | 3 | 1. defeated CIBA on December 22, 2013 2. defeated Super Shisa on January 12, 2014 3. defeated Yosuke♥Santa Maria on March 1, 2014 |
Defeated Kzy in the finals of a tournament. |
25 | Flamita | 1 | March 16, 2014 | Wakayama | Memorial Gate in Wakayama 2014 | 290 Days | 10[Note 3] | 1. defeated Jimmy Susumu on May 5, 2014 2. defeated Draztik Boy, Kaleth and Shane Strickland on May 20, 2014 3. defeated Jimmy Kagetora on June 14, 2014 4. defeated Dragon Kid on July 20, 2014 5. defeated Makabre and Tony Rodriguez on August 2, 2014 6. defeated Mr. Kyu Kyu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin on August 17, 2014 7. defeated Kzy on September 9, 2014 8. defeated Jimmy Kanda on November 2, 2014 9. defeated Ryo "Jimmy" Saito on December 7, 2014 10. defeated Punch Tominaga on December 28, 2014 |
|
— | Vacated | — | December 31, 2014 | — | — | — | — | — | The title was declared vacated three days after Flamita left the belt in the ring in protest, following his tenth defense ending in a disqualification. |
26 | Kzy | 1 | January 12, 2015 | Kobe | Open The New Year Gate 2015 - Day 3 | 47 Days | 1 | 1. defeated Mondai Ryu on February 2, 2015 | Kzy, as the masked Dr. Muscle, defeated Eita in the finals of a tournament. Later he unmasked on January 16, 2015. |
27 | Akira Tozawa | 1 | Febuary 28, 2015 | Osaka | Champion Gate in Osaka 2015 - Day 1 | 246 Days | 6 | 1. defeated Flamita on March 23, 2015 2. defeated Kotoka on April 19, 2015 3. defeated Dragon Kid on May 5, 2015 4. defeated K-ness on June 13, 2015 5. defeated Eita on July 20, 2015 6. defeated Punch Tominaga and Super Shisa on August 16, 2015 |
|
28 | Kotoka | 1 | November 1, 2015 | Osaka | Gate of Destiny 2015 | 125 Days | 1 | 1. defeated Eita on December 27, 2015 | |
29 | Yosuke♥Santa Maria | 1 | March 5, 2016 | Osaka | Champion Gate in Osaka 2016 - Day 1 | 141 Days | 2 | 1. defeated Naoki Tanizaki on March 21, 2016 2. defeated Mondai Ryu on May 5, 2016 |
|
30 | Eita | 1 | July 24, 2016 | Kobe | Kobe World Pro Wrestling Festival 2016 | 223 Days | 4 | 1. defeated "brother" YASSHI on October 29, 2016 2. defeated El Lindaman on October 12, 2016 3. defeated Flamita on November 3, 2016 4. defeated Jimmy Kagetora on December 25, 2016 X. vs El Lindaman ended in a no contest on March 4, 2017 |
|
— | Vacated | — | March 4, 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | The title declared vacant due to massive interference form both Over Generation and VerserK during Eita's title defense against El Lindaman |
31 | Jimmy Kagetora | 1 | March 20, 2017 | Wakayama | Memorial Gate in Wakayama 2017 | 2587+ | 3 | 1. defeated Takehiro Yamamura on May 5, 2017 2. defeated Flamita on July 23, 2017 3. defeated Yosuke♥Santa Maria on August 18, 2017 |
Defeated El Lindaman in a tournament final. |
- ↑ When Gamma won the title, he discarded the 8 Pieces of the belt, replaced with his own. He changed the name to “Open the Gamma Gate”. However, his reign is still recognized, but his defenses are not a part of the official Brave Gate lineage. Also, when Gamma loses a title defense he said that the victories didn't count and he restarted the matches.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Following a match on July 17, 2011, the reigning champion PAC would be returning home to the United Kingdom for an extensive stay. Naoki Tanizaki stole the title and proclaimed himself as the champion in his place. However PAC's reign is considered uninterrupted after all.
- ↑ Flamita also made two title defenses at Desastre Total Ultraviolento (DTU). Although Dragon Gate don't officialy recognize those title defenses.