Final Gate (2008)

Final Gate (2008)
Information
Promotion	Dragon Gate
Date	02008-12-28-0000December 28, 2008
Attendance	7000
Venue	Fukuoka Kokusai Center
City	Fukuoka, Japan
Event chronology
Previous King of Gate
Next Primal Gate
Final Gate chronology
Previous Final Gate (2007)
Next Final Gate (2009)

The Final Gate (2008) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and GAORA TV event promoted by Dragon Gate. The event that took place on December 28 2008, in Fukuoka at the Fukuoka Kokusai Center and was the second event under the Final Gate.

The event featured seven matches with two of Dragon Gate's sixth championships on the line. The main event saw Naruki Doi defeating Shingo Takagi to win the Open The Dream Gate Championship for the first time.

Production

The Final Gate (2008) aired 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 and was launched in Dragon Gate's ~ Infinity ~ Series.

Storylines

Final Gate (2008) featured eight professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.

At Gate of Destiny Shingo Takagi susseccfully defended the Open The Dream Gate Championship against Susumu Yokosuka after the match he was challenged by Ryo Saito, BxB Hulk and Naruki Doi but Takagi announced that he would not participate face in the King of Gate but insted that the winner of the tournament would face him at Final Gate. On December 19, Doi defeated Masaaki Mochizuki to win the King of Gate face him at Final Gate.

On July 1, 2007, CIMA defeated Jushin Thunder Liger for the Open The Dream Gate Championship. In May CIMA developed a neck injury. He tried to recuperate from it early the best as he could, but by the end of June, it was becoming obvious that he would need to take considerable time off to rest and heal up properly. When CIMA returned he challenged YAMATO and Cyber Kong for the Open The Twin Gate Championship and he announced that his partner was NJPW's Jushin Thunder Liger and the general manager Takayuki Yagi made the match official.

During the King of Gate weekend WORLD-1 and Typhoon start to feud with each other which led to them to attacks either in the ring and in the backstage area. On December 6, Three units (WORLD-1, Typhoon and Real Hazard) appered in the ring and they were arguing with each other, until the general maneger Takayuki Yagi appered and announced that three units would face each other in a Losing Unit Disbands Survival 3 Way 6 Man Tag Team Match. Shortly after that, Gamma began to have problems with Yasushi Kanda. These problems escalated when Kanda began to misfire on protein powder attacks during their tag matches, blinding him instead of their opponents and costing Gamma the matches.

On November 16, at Gate of Destiny Masaaki Mochizuki, Magnitude Kishiwada and Don Fujii succesfully defended the Open The Triangle Gate Champions against Tozawa-juku (Akira Tozawa, Kenichiro Arai and Taku Iwasa) and as part of the stipulation, if his team lost, then Tozawa-juku would had to disband. Iwasa began a rivalry with him after swearing revenge on him for causing the end of Tozawa-juku. They faced off in a second round match in the King of Gate Tournament in December, where Mochizuki had promised that he would show Iwasa's one "fundamental flaw". Mochizuki won, and afterwards, he told Iwasa that his "fundamental flaw" was that he had been a tag team wrestler for so long that he had forgotten how to wrestle on his own, and would have to re-learn how. This would led to a match at Final Gate.

Event

Other on-screen personnel

Role:	Name:
Commentators	Katsuya Ichikawa
	Kazuma Hashimoto
Ring announcers	Naoto Kikuchi
Referees	Kinta Tamaoka
	Takayuki Yagi
Backstage interviewers	Katsuya Ichikawa

Preliminary matches

The pay-per-view opened with Katsuya Ichikawa. Next it was a match between Super Shisa, Shisa BOY and Super Shenlong #2 against Kenichiro Arai, Jorge Rivera and The Turoboman. In the end, Shisa BOY perfomed a Super Kick on Arai and Super Shisa hitted a Yoshitonic on Arai to win the match.

Next. it was a tag team between Don Fujii and Magnitude Kishiwada against Akira Tozawa and Anthony W. Mori. In the end Kishiwada hitted the Last Ride on Mori. After the match Fujii offered Mori an handshake, in which Mori accepted.

Next, it was a singles match as part of the Stalker Ichikawa Bosou 10 Match Series, where Ichikawa faced Akebono. The match ended when Akebono perfomed Yokozuna Press on Ichikawa to win the match.

After that, it was a singles match between Masaaki Mochizuki and Taku Iwasa. The match ended with Mochizuki defeating Iwasa with the Shin Saikyou Kick.

In the fifth match, was Losing Unit Disbands Survival 3 Way 6 Man Tag Team Match between WORLD-1, Typhoon and Real Hazard. The match ended after Gamma pinned Ryo Saito with a Tombstone Piledriver, thus Typhoon had to disband.

After that, it was the Open The Twin Gate Championship match where CIMA and Jushin Thunder Liger faced Real Hazard (Cyber Kong and YAMATO). Before the match, it was a traditional championship ceremony were CIMA and Jushin Thunder Liger, Cyber Kong and YAMATO posted with the titles. In the end, YAMATO performed a Doujime Sleeper on CIMA to retain the Open The Twin Gate Champions. After the match, YAMATO attacked CIMA and provoked Liger and he left the ring.

Main event

In the main event, Shingo Takagi defended the Open The Dream Gate Championship against Naruki Doi. Doi performed a Bakatare Sliding Kick on Takagi, but Takagi resisted and Doi gave many slaps to him. Doi performed another Bakatare Sliding Kick but Takagi kicked out. Doi then performed a Muscular Bomb to Takagi to win his first Open The Dream Gate Championship.

Aftermath

Following the Final Gate, KAGETORA left Real Hazard, Gamma was kicked out of Real Hazard in a Looser leaves unit match between him and Yasushi Kanda where Real Hazard turned on Gamma and Keni'chiro Arai took his place as the leader of the unit. Later it was formed the WARRIORS-5 unit between Susumu Yokosuka, CIMA and Gamma and KAGETORA, also Ryo Saito joined Real Hazard after betreying Yokosuka in match for the Open The Twin Gate Champions. Also Dragon Kid joined Shingo Takagi, Taku Iwasa and Akira Tozawa and formed KAMIKAZE and Kid, Takagi and Iwasa won the Open The Triangle Gate Champions but they lost them two months later.

Matches

#	Results	Stipulations	Times
1	Super Shisa, Shisa BOY and Super Shenlong #2 defeated Kenichiro Arai, The Turboman and Jorge Rivera	Six-man Tag Team match	7:31
2	Veteran-gun (Don Fujii and Magnitude Kishiwada) defeated Akira Tozawa and Anthony W. Mori	Tag Team match	10:45
3	Akebono defeated "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa	Singles match for the Stalker Ichikawa Bosou 10 Match Series	10:45
4	Masaaki Mochizuki defeated Taku Iwasa	Singles match	12:33
5	WORLD-1 (BxB Hulk, Naoki Tanizaki and m.c.KZ) and Real Hazard (Yasushi Kanda, Gamma and Genki Horiguchi) defeated Typhoon (Ryo Saito, Susumu Yokosuka and Dragon Kid)	Losing Unit Disbands Survival 3 Way 6 Man Tag Team match	26:69
6	Real Hazard (Cyber Kong and YAMATO) (c) defeated CIMA and Jushin Thunder Liger	Tag Team match for the Open The Twin Gate Championship	21:53
7	Naruki Doi (with m.c.KZ and BxB Hulk) defeated Shingo Takagi (c) (with Akira Tozawa and Taku Iwasa)	Singles match for the Open The Dream Gate Championship	26:20
(c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match – refers to the video of that match

Losing Unit Disbands Survival 3 Way 6 Man Tag Team Match

Elimination	Wrestler	Eliminated by	Elimination move	Team	Time
1	Susumu Yokosuka	m.c.KZ	Schoolboy	Typhoon	11:20
2	Ryo Saito	Gamma	Top Rope Tombstone Piledriver	Typhoon	15:49
Loser:	Typhoon (Ryo Saito, Susumu Yokosuka and Dragon Kid) (Typhoon must disband)