Dragon Gate USA(DGUSA) was an Americanprofessional wrestling promotionfounded in 2009 as an international expansion of the Japanese promotionDragon Gate. Gabe Sapolsky,former head booker ofRing of Honor,served as the promotion's Vice President.
 | |
| Acronym | DG-USA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2009 |
| Defunct | 2015 |
| Style | |
| Headquarters | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,U.S. |
| Founder(s) |
|
| Parent |
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| Website | www |
History
editDragon Gate USA featured regular members of theDragon Gateroster, along with notable American talent. All Dragon Gate titles and champions were recognized by Dragon Gate USA.[2]
In June 2009, it was announced that Dragon Gate USA had signed an agreement to film its shows forpay-per-viewbroadcast.[3]In August 2009, it was announced that Dragon Gate USA had signed an agreement withThe Fight Networkto air DGUSA content on television.[4]
The firstOpen the Freedom Gate Championwas crowned following a tournament held atDGUSA Freedom Fighton November 28, 2009. This was the main title of Dragon Gate USA.
On September 7, 2010, Dragon Gate USA announced a partnership with Go Fight Live and that their first live internet pay-per-view,Bushido: Way of the Warrior(later renamedBushido: Code of the Warrior), would be taking place on October 29.[5]
In the fall of 2010, DGUSA announced that it would be holding a tournament to crown the firstOpen the United Gate Champions,which was their tag team champions. It was announced on December 13, 2010, that the tournament would be a four team round robin tournament that would take place over three shows from January 28 through January 30, 2011.
On November 25, 2011, Dragon Gate USA andEvolveannounced the unification of the two promotions. Dragon Gate USA and Evolve will still promote separate events, but the two share rosters, including stables, and Evolve recognized Dragon Gate USA's Open the Freedom Gate Championship and Open the United Gate Championship as its top two championships,[6]until establishing its own championship, theEvolve Championshipin 2012. On September 18, 2013,Vito LoGrassoannounced that his new Wrestling School signed an agreement to be the Development Center for DGUSA.[7]
In November 2014, Dragon Gate USA, along with Evolve,Full Impact Pro(FIP) andShine Wrestling,all under theWWNLivebanner, held a tour ofChina.[1]The following month, WWNLive announced a long-term deal with Great-Wall International Sports Management for regular tours of Asia, starting in the spring of 2015.[8]On December 22, WWNLive announced it was putting Dragon Gate USA on an indefinite hiatus until the promotion could secure more Japanese wrestlers for their shows.[9]
In 2015, WWNLive opened a training facility inTrinity, Floridanamed "World Wrestling Network Academy", which Dragon Gate USA shares with Evolve, FIP and Shine.[10]
On July 2, 2020, Dragon Gate USA's video library along with Evolve's assets were bought byWWE.[11]
Uprising
edit| Uprising | |
|---|---|
| Promotion | Dragon Gate USA[12] |
| Date | May 8, 2010[12] (aired July 9, 2010) |
| City | Mississauga, Ontario[12] |
| Venue | Mississauga International Centre[12] |
Uprising was aprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view(PPV) event produced by Dragon Gate USA that was taped May 8, 2010 at the Mississauga International Centre inMississauga, Ontarioand aired on July 9, 2010.
| No. | Results[12] | Stipulations | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Masaaki MochizukidefeatedAkira Tozawa | Singles match | ||
| 2 | Gran AkumadefeatedTyson Dux | Singles match | ||
| 3 | Jon MoxleydefeatedJimmy Jacobs | No Disqualification match | ||
| 4 | Naruki DoiandPACdefeatedMike QuackenbushandJigsaw | Tag team match | ||
| 5 | Rip Impact vs. Johnny Wave ended in a no contest | Singles match | ||
| 6 | ShingoandYAMATOdefeatedCIMAandDragon Kid | Tag Team Match | ||
| 7 | BxB Hulk(c) defeatedMasato Yoshino | Singles match for theOpen the Freedom Gate Championship | ||
| ||||
Partnerships
editWorking agreements between Dragon Gate USA and the following promotions have led to interchanges in talent. Also, matches from these promotions have appeared on Dragon Gate USA DVD releases.[13][14]
- Chikara(established April 26, 2009)[15]
- All American Wrestling(established June 15, 2009)
- Hybrid Wrestling (established June 15, 2009)
- Full Impact Pro(established September 28, 2009)
- Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup(established October 13, 2009)
- Women Superstars Uncensored(established October 14, 2009)
- Maximum Pro Wrestling(established March 3, 2010)
- Rampage Pro Wrestling
- Combat Zone Wrestling
- New York Wrestling Connection
- Insanity Pro Wrestling
Championships
edit| Championship | Last champion(s) | Date retired | Date Established | Previous champion (s) | Inaugural champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open the Freedom Gate Championship | Timothy Thatcher | August 15, 2015 | November 28, 2009 | Drew Galloway | BxB Hulk |
| Open the United Gate Championship | Ronin (Johnny GarganoandRich Swann) |
May 30, 2015 | January 30, 2011 | The Premier Athlete Brand (Anthony Nese,Caleb KonleyandTrent Barreta) |
WORLD-1 (Masato YoshinoandPAC) |
References
edit- ^abJohnson, Mike (2014-09-19)."Evolve heading to China (no, really)".Pro Wrestling Insider.Retrieved2014-09-19.
WWNLive, the parent company of Evolve, Shine, FIP and Dragon Gate USA.
- ^"Dragon Gate USA's Title Situation".DGUSA.tv.2009-04-15.
- ^"PWTorch.com - DGUSA News: Dragon Gate USA announces PPV distribution deal with ROH's previous distributor".pwtorch.com.Retrieved18 March2018.
- ^"Dragon Gate USA Partners with The Fight Network".Fight Network.August 18, 2009. Archived fromthe originalon August 29, 2012.RetrievedFebruary 25,2023.
- ^Caldwell, James (2010-09-07)."DGUSA News: Dragon Gate USA announces live Internet PPV debut next month".Pro Wrestling Torch.Retrieved2010-09-07.
- ^"Evolve evolves -- now unified with DGUSA".Wrestling Observer Newsletter.2011-11-25.Retrieved2011-11-25.
- ^"PWInsiderXTRA.com".www.pwinsiderxtra.com.Retrieved18 March2018.
- ^Caldwell, James (2014-12-03)."Newswire: WWNLive announces long-term China plan, Ross talks importance of Tokyo Dome, New Japan's subscription goals, latest World Tag League standings, more".Pro Wrestling Torch.Retrieved2014-12-04.
- ^Caldwell, James (2014-12-22)."WWNLive news: Update on the future of Dragon Gate USA, several new matches for Evolve Florida tour".Pro Wrestling Torch.Retrieved2014-12-23.
- ^Caldwell, James (2015-02-19)."WWNLive news: Official new training facility announced".Pro Wrestling Torch.Retrieved2015-02-19.
- ^"WWE Acquires Evolve Wrestling".3 July 2020.
- ^abcde"Dragon Gate USA".Online World of Wrestling.RetrievedFebruary 1,2019.
- ^"News Alerts".Dragon Gate USA.
- ^"Dragon Gate USA News update for 10/15".Indy Wrestling News. 2009-10-15.Retrieved2009-11-08.
- ^"DGUSA and Chikara Reach Working Agreement".Dragon Gate USA. April 26, 2009. Archived fromthe originalon September 26, 2010.RetrievedNovember 8,2009.