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. However, his defenses were not necessarily part of the official championship lineage until he was finally defeated by Dr. Muscle on June 29, 2008, when the title was properly restored.
Following a match on July 17, 2011, the reigning champion PAC would be returning home to the United Kingdom for an extended stay. Naoki Tanizaki stole the title and proclaimed himself as the champion in his place, changing the name of the title to "Blood Authorized Open the Brave Gate". All of his supposed defenses, however, were not officially recognized. PAC would reclaim the belt in a proper defense on September 16, 2011.
In 2018, Eita and Dragon Kid started feuding, in their feud Eita would destroy the title, initially, he changed partially, but destroyed it during Kid's fourth reign, forcing Dragon Gate to have it repaired in January 2019, changing the belt to a white strap. In June following the promotion's rebranding, the promotion unveiled a new version of the title, with the new logo of the promotion.
Inaugural 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 | Final | ||||||||||||
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 | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Open The Brave Gate Championship | |||||||||
1 | Naruki Doi | 1 | March 13, 2005 | Nagoya | Brave Gate Tour 2005 - Day 4 | 245 Days | 5 | Defeated YOSSINO in a tournament final to become the inagural champion. | |
2 | Dragon Kid | 1 | November 13, 2005 | Nagoya | Crown Gate 2005 - Day 7 | 84 Days | 1 | ||
— | Vacated | — | February 5, 2006 | Hakata | — | — | — | The title was vacated due to the second defense ending in a controversial No Contest. | |
3 | Masato Yoshino | 1 | March 19, 2006 | Kawagoe | Brave Gate Tour 2006 - Day 10 | 330 Days | 4 | Defeated Dragon Kid and Naoki Tanizaki in a tournament final to crown a new champion. | |
4 | Matt Sydal | 1 | February 12, 2007 | Kobe | Live Gate 2007 Vol.1 | 41 Days | 1 | ||
5 | Genki Horiguchi | 1 | March 25, 2007 | Tsu | Memorial Gate 2007 | 98 Days | 2 | ||
6 | Yasushi Kanda | 1 | July 1, 2007 | Kobe | Kobe Pro-Wrestling Festival 2007 | 83 Days | 2 | ||
7 | Masato Yoshino | 2 | September 22, 2007 | Tokyo | Storm Gate 2007 - Day 7: ~ Tokyo Special ~ Dragon Storm 2007 | 205 Days | 6 | ||
8 | Anthony W. Mori | 1 | April 13, 2008 | Nagoya | The Gate Of Passion 2008 - Day 4 | <1 Day | 0 | ||
— | Vacated | — | April 13, 2008 | Nagoya | — | — | — | Mori immediately vacated the title after winning it due to the interference from Yasushi Kanada in the title switch. | |
Open The Gamma Gate Championship | |||||||||
9 | Gamma | 1 | April 27, 2008 | Hakata, Fukuoka | The Gate Of Passion 2008 - Day 10 | 63 Days | 6[Note 1] | Defeated Anthony W. Mori in a tournament final, the reign his is recognized but his title defenses are not recognized by Dragon Gate. | |
Open The Brave Gate Championship | |||||||||
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 | Kobe Pro-Wrestling Festival 2008 | 77 Days | 2 | Defeated m.c.KZ in a decision match. | |
12 | Masato Yoshino | 3 | October 12, 2008 | Nagoya | The Gate Of Victory 2008 - Day 5 | 161 Days | 2 | ||
13 | CIMA | 1 | March 22, 2009 | Tokyo | The Gate Of Anniversary | 119 Days | 4 | ||
14 | Naruki Doi | 2 | July 19, 2009 | Kobe | Kobe 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 | Fukuoka | Storm Gate 2009 - Day 1 | 134 Days | 6 | 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 | ||
17 | Super Shisa | 1 | February 27, 2010 | Kyoto | Truth Gate 2010 - Day 14 | 50 Days | 1 | ||
18 | Tigers Mask | 1 | April 18, 2010 | Takaishi | Gate Of Passion 2010 - Day 4 | 118 Days | 3 | ||
19 | Masato Yoshino | 4 | August 14, 2010 | Kobe | Summer Adventure Tag League IV - Day 8 | 0 Days | 0 | ||
— | Vacated | — | August 14, 2010 | Kobe | — | — | — | Yoshino vacated title immediately after winning it due to being Open The Dream Gate Champion. | |
20 | PAC | 1 | August 29, 2010 | Fukuoka | Storm Gate 2010 - Day 2 | 322 Days | 8[Note 2] | 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 extended stay. | |
Blood Warriors Authorized Open The Brave Gate Championship | |||||||||
— | Naoki Tanizaki | Provisional
|
July 17, 2011 | Kobe | Kobe Pro- Wrestling Festival 2011 | 61 Days | 2 | 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. | |
Open The Brave Gate Championship | |||||||||
20 | PAC | 1 | September 16, 2011 | Tokyo | Storm Gate 2011 - Day 12 | 64 Days | 3[Note 2] | 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 | ||
22 | Dragon Kid | 2 | May 6, 2012 | Nagoya | Dead or Alive 2012 | 364 Days | 9 | ||
23 | Masato Yoshino | 5 | May 5, 2013 | Aichi | Dead or Alive 2013 | 117 Days | 4 | ||
— | 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 | 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] | ||
— | 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 | 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 | ||
28 | Kotoka | 1 | November 1, 2015 | Osaka | Gate of Destiny 2015 | 125 Days | 1 | ||
29 | Yosuke♥Santa Maria | 1 | March 5, 2016 | Osaka | Champion Gate in Osaka 2016 - Day 1 | 141 Days | 2 | ||
30 | Eita | 1 | July 24, 2016 | Kobe | Kobe Pro-Wrestling Festival 2016 | 223 Days | 4 | ||
— | 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 | Kagetora | 1 | March 20, 2017 | Wakayama | Memorial Gate in Wakayama 2017 | 278 Days | 5 | Defeated El Lindaman in a tournament final. | |
32 | Yasushi Kanda | 2 | December 23, 2017 | Fukuoka | Final Gate 2017 | 70 Days | 0 | ||
33 | Punch Tominaga | 1 | March 3, 2018 | Osaka | Champion Gate in Osaka 2018 | 18 Days | 0 | ||
— | Vacated | — | March 21, 2018 | Wakayama | — | — | — | The title was declared vacated after Tominaga's title defense against Yasushi Kanda ended in a no contest. | |
34 | Dragon Kid | 3 | April 6, 2018 | Tokyo | The Gate of Passion 2018 - Day 3 | 107 Days | 1 | Defeated Kagetora in a tournament final to win the vacant title. | |
35 | Eita | 2 | July 22, 2018 | Kobe | Kobe Pro Wrestling Festival 2018 | 64 Days | 1 | ||
36 | Dragon Kid | 4 | September 25, 2018 | Tokyo | Dangerous Gate 2018 | 178 Days | 2 | ||
37 | Susumu Yokosuka | 1 | March 21, 2019 | Wakayama | Memorial Gate in Wakayama 2019 | 228 Days | 4 | ||
38 | Kaito Ishida | 1 | November 4, 2019 | Osaka | Gate of Destiny 2019 | 364 Days | 4 | ||
39 | Keisuke Okuda | 1 | November 3, 2020 | Osaka | Gate of Destiny 2020 | 270 Days | 5 | ||
40 | Genki Horiguchi | 4 | July 31, 2021 | Kobe | Kobe Pro-Wrestling Festival 2021 | 1 Day | 0 | ||
41 | Kagetora | 2 | August 1, 2021 | Kobe | Speed Star Final | 7 Days | 0 | ||
42 | SB KENTo | 1 | August 8, 2021 | Tokyo | The Gate of Adventure 2021 - Day 1 | 1 Day | 0 | ||
— | Vacated | — | August 9, 2021 | — | — | — | — | The title declared vacant due to massive interference form both R.E.D and High-End during KENTo's title defense against Keisuke Okuda causing the match to end in a no contest. | |
43 | SB KENTo | 2 | September 11, 2021 | Osaka | Storm Gate 2021 - Day 5 | 123 Days | 4 | Defeated Keisuke Okuda in a decision match to win the vacant title. | |
44 | Dragon Dia | 1 | January 12, 2022 | Tokyo | Open The New Year Gate 2022 - Day 1 | 199 Days | 2 | ||
45 | H.Y.O | 1 | July 30, 2022 | Kobe | Kobe Pro-Wrestling Festival 2022 | 148 Days | 4 | ||
46 | Minorita | 1 | December 25, 2022 | Fukukoka | Final Gate (2022) | 69 Days | 0 | ||
47 | Jason Lee | 1 | March 5, 2023 | Osaka | Champion Gate in Osaka 2023 - Day 1 | 120 Days | 1 | ||
48 | ISHIN | 1 | July 2, 2023 | Kobe | Kobe Pro-Wrestling Festival 2023 | 101 Days | 1 | ||
49 | Kzy | 2 | October 9, 2023 | Sendai | The Gate Of Origin 2023 | 5 Days | 0 | ||
50 | ISHIN | 2 | October 14, 2023 | Kobe | The Gate Of Victory 2023 - Day 6 | 52 Days | 1 | ||
51 | Hyo | 2 | December 5, 2023 | Tokyo | Fantastic Gate - Day 4 | 230 Days | 7 | ||
52 | Dragon Dia | 2 | July 21, 2024 | Kobe | Kobe Pro-Wrestling Festival 2024 | 147 Days | 3 | ||
53 | YAMATO | 1 | December 15, 2024 | Fukuoka | Final Gate 2024 | 61+ | 0 | This was a Winner Takes All title vs. title Match also for the Open The Dream Gate Championship. |
- ↑ 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 extended 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 officially recognize those title defenses.
- ↑ When Kagetora won the title, he was known as Jimmy Kagetora until the disbanding of Jimmyz, he reverted back to his old name Kagetora.
List of combined reigns[]
† | Indicates the current champion |
Rank | Wrestler | # of Reigns |
Combined defenses |
Combined days |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Masato Yoshino/ Dr. Muscle |
6 | 16 | 813 |
2 | Dragon Kid | 4 | 12 | 733 |
3 | PAC | 1 | 11 | 447 |
4 | Hyo | 2 | 378 | |
5 | Kaito Ishida | 1 | 4 | 364 |
6 | Eita | 2 | 354 | |
7 | Dragon Dia | 6 | 346 | |
8 | Genki Horiguchi/ Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! |
4 | 8 | 344 |
9 | Flamita | 1 | 9 | 290 |
10 | Jimmy Kagetora/Kagetora | 2 | 4 | 285 |
11 | Keisuke Okuda | 1 | 5 | 270 |
12 | Naruki Doi | 2 | 254 | |
13 | Akira Tozawa | 1 | 6 | 246 |
14 | Susumu Yokosuka | 4 | 228 | |
15 | Ricochet | 1 | 3 | 169 |
16 | Yasushi Kanda | 2 | 2 | 154 |
17 | ISHIN | 151 | ||
18 | Yosuke♥Santa Maria | 1 | 141 | |
19 | Naoki Tanizaki | 6 | 134 | |
20 | Kotoka | 1 | 125 | |
21 | SB KENTo | 2 | 4 | 123 |
22 | Jason Lee | 1 | 1 | 120 |
23 | CIMA | 3 | 119 | |
24 | Tigers Mask | 118 | ||
25 | Minorita | 0 | 70 | |
26 | Gamma | 63 | ||
27 | Kzy | 2 | 1 | 52 |
28 | Super Shisa | 1 | 50 | |
30 | K-ness. | 47 | ||
31 | Matt Sydal | 41 | ||
32 | Punch Tominaga | 0 | 18 | |
33 | YAMATO † | 61+ | ||
35 | Anthony W. Mori | <1 |
Gallery[]