Kobe Pro-Wrestling Festival (2017)

The Kobe World Pro Wrestling Festival (2017) is an upcoming professional wrestling event promoted by Dragon Gate (DG). The event is scheduled to take place on July 23, 2017, at the Kobe World Kinen Hall in Kobe, Japan. It will be the 14th Kobe World Pro Wrestling Festival, which is Dragon Gate's biggest annual event and its similar to NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom. The event will be main evented by YAMATO defending the Open The Dream Gate Championship against T-Hawk.

Background
The Kobe World Pro Wrestling Festival (2017) will air in Japan through Dragon Gate's internet streaming site, Niconico, with Japanese language commentaries. The Japanese commentary was provided by Katsuya Ichikawa. The event also aired on tape delay on Japanese TV Gaora Sports to be launched in Dragon Gate's ~ Infinity ~ Series.

Storylines
The Kobe World Pro Wrestling Festival (2017) will feature professional wrestling matches that involve different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portray villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches.

The Kobe World Pro Wrestling Festival (2017) will be main evented by YAMATO defending the Open The Dream Gate Championship against T-Hawk. Last year at the 2016 Kobe World Pro Wrestling Festival YAMATO won the title defeating Shingo Takagi. Throughout 2016 and 2017 since YAMATO won the title, he had been defending his title against all comers, even defending his title in a Steel Cage Survival 5 Way Match. Meanwhile, T-Hawk turned heel joining VerserK and also the Open The Triangle Gate Championship. Then in June during the King of Gate T-Hawk would start a feud with YAMATO after his VerserK stablemate Shingo Takagi cheated to defeat YAMATO's Tribe Vanguard stablemate BxB Hulk, and then YAMATO intervened and Hulk and YAMATO started to speak bad about Takagi being proud of a dirty win. Then Takagi's stablemate T-Hawk came in a started to talk about Tribe Vanguard accomplishments. This led a match between the four on July 6.

This followed up on June 11, with T-Hawk defeating Naruki Doi to win the King of Gate. After the match, T-Hawk called out YAMATO stating his intensions for the Open The Dream Gate Championship. At first YAMATO didn't wanted to give T-Hawk is title shot and even joked about it. Then YAMATO would agreed to give T-Hawk his title shot. On June 17, the two would later set their match to be on the main event in the Kobe World Pro Wrestling Festival. The match between the two would later be announced on the following day.