VerserK (ヴェルセルク Beruseruku) was the top heel stable, in the Dragon Gate promotion. It was formed on August 30, 2015 by Shingo Takagi, Mondai Ryu, Cyber Kong (who would later be revealed as Takashi Yoshida), Eita, YAMATO, Naruki Doi and Kotoka. Later Punch Tominaga would join the group as Takagi's lackey. In 2015 VerserK kicked Eita out of the group and Tominaga despite being a lackey would turn on Takagi. VerserK then replaced Eita with Naoki Tanizaki, Kotoka brought the Open The Brave Gate Championship with VerserK holding also simultaneously the Open The Dream Gate Championship with Takagi and the Open The Twin Gate Championship with Doi and YAMATO.
At the beginning of 2016 VerserK lost the Open The Brave, Dream and Twin Gate Champions but Takagi also quickly brought the Open The Dream Gate Championship back and also Takagi and YAMATO started to have problems with each other which led to VerserK being split into two sides with Kotoka and Kong being on Takagi's side and Tanizaki and Doi on YAMATO's side despite this Mondai Ryu was on both sides. On May 5 VerserK kicked YAMATO out of the stable being all together again and Takagi lost the Open The Dream Gate Championship to YAMATO.
VerserK since then added several new members "brother" YASSHI, T-Hawk and El Lindaman, and on October 12 Kotoka as Dr. Muscle defected from the stable and Doi was kicked out after the disbanding of MONSTER EXPRESS. In 2017 Lindaman, Takagi and T-Hawk brought one more accomplishment to the stable winning the New Years Unit War 6 Man Tag Team Tournament and Punch Tominaga as Dr. VerserK rejoined the stable, but this time as an actual member. Later Takagi, T-Hawk and Kong defeated Jimmyz (Jimmy Susumu, Ryo "Jimmy" Saito and Jimmy Kanda) to win the Open The Triangle Gate Championships. Later in 2017 Ryu left VerserK after VerserK was defeated in a Headhunting match against Over Generation and Naruki Doi, later, Tanizaki left Dragon Gate and VerserK to wrestle full time on the independent circuit. Later T-Hawk managed to win the King of Gate and Takagi, Yoshida and Lindaman won the Open The Triangle Gate Championship.
On October 5, VeserK would then add Yasushi Kanda as a new member, after Kanda turned on Jimmyz and help VerserK winning a match and later Eita rejoined their ranks. After a series of losses, Punch Tominaga would be kicked out again, and Eita, T-Hawk and Lindaman were positioned as the center of the stable. They also announced that VerserK would undergo a name change in 2018. This led to on January 13, renaming the stable to ANTIAS.
History[]
Formation (2015)[]
During August 2015, Two "Losing Unit Disbands" match took place, in which Millenials would lose first at the hands of Mad Blankey on August 6 and Mad Blankey on August 16 lost at the hands of Jimmyz after K-ness turned on them to join with his former partner Jimmy Susumu in the Jimmyz. With the disbanding of Mad Blankey, Dragon Gate was without a heel stable. A former Millenials member Kotoka (who had been developing a cheating mean-streak prior) and Eita would later turn on T-Hawk, blaming him for Millennials disbanding and would align themselves with former Mad Blankey members, the Open The Twin Gate Champions YAMATO and Naruki Doi, at the same time, Shingo Takagi was kicked out of Monster Express after turning on his stablemates Masato Yoshino and Shachihoko BOY and mocking Yoshino for losing the physical Open The Dream Gate Championship and for having to use the old relic of the previous one, and Shachihoko BOY for being Monster Express weakest member. After the match, Takagi stated that Dream Gate wasn't enough he asked T-Hawk to team with him to take on YAMATO and Naruki Doi for the Open The Twin Gate Championships. On August 30, 2015 during the Open The Twin Gate Championship match Takagi turned on T-Hawk and align himself with Kotoka and Eita and the remnants of Mad Blankey thus setting the foundation for their new heel stable.
On September 23, Doi unveiled the name of the new stable that was VerserK including himself, YAMATO, Takagi, Cyber Kong, Mondai Ryu, Kotoka, and Eita. (the name was chosen as the allusion to "berserk" should stand for the representatives of VerserK being the strongest wrestlers of the Dragon Gate Roster).
Shingo Takagi's Leadership (2015-2016)[]
Later that evening, Dr. Muscle & Metal Warrior made an appearance to extract Mr. Kyu Kyu Tanizaki Naoki Toyonaka Dolphin following the match in which Tanizaki had one of many falling outs with fellow Jimmyz member Jimmy Kanda when he accidentally hit him with a dropkick. During the main event of the same show, Kotoka turned on Eita during the match against YAMATO and Naruki Doi along with Cyber Kong (who was Dr. Muscle from earlier in the show), YAMATO and Doi, kicked Eita out of the group and forcing him to revert to his real name, Eita Kobayashi. On October 4, Punch Tominaga turned on Takagi after (despite being just a lackey for him) and left the stable. On October 8, Tanizaki refused to shake hands with Jimmy K-ness J.K.S after their match and Jimmy Kagetora appeared on crutches to trying talk with him and appeared to be successful. Tanizaki apologized for his recent behavior and handshakes and hugs were shared until the Jimmyz first ever 7 man Jimmyz Train and the peace was short lived until Tanizaki attacked Kagetora from behind, giving him the Implant. VerserK came out, and revealed Tanizaki to be their newest member and he was no longer Mr. Kyu Kyu and the old Tanizaki was back.
On November 1, 2015 Kotoka defeated Akira Tozawa to win Open The Brave Gate Championship with the help of the other members of VerserK. On February 4, 2016, VerserK forced Dia.HEARTS to disband after defeating them in a loser disband match the match also included Monster Express. Ten days later Takagi lost the Open The Dream Gate Championship to Jimmy Susumu in his fourth defense and it started to have problems between YAMATO and Takagi and after he lost the Dream Gate Champion Takagi challenged Jimmy Susumu into a rematch and if he lost he would leave VerserK. He would regain the title from Susumu on March 6, becoming the first four-time champion. After the match Ryo Jimmy Saito hit Takagi with the red box and challenged him for the Open The Dream Gate Champion. On March 5, 2016 Kotoka lost the Open The Brave Gate Champion to Yosuke♥Santa Maria after the match Naoki Tanizaki challenge Yosuke Santa Maria for the Open The Brave Gate Championship. One day later Doi and YAMATO lost the Open The Twin Gate Champions to Monster Express (T-Hawk and Big R Shimizu). On March 21 Tanizaki failed to capture the Brave Gate Champion from Yosuke Santa Maria and also that night Kotoka, Naruki Doi and YAMATO failed to capture the Open The Triangle Gate Championship from Monster Express (Akira Tozawa, Masato Yoshino and T-Hawk).
The Split (Shingo Takagi's and YAMATO's side) (2016)[]
On March 23 Takagi defeated Ryo Jimmy Saito to make his first title defense of the Open The Dream Gate Championship after the match all the members of VerserK congratulate and shook hands with Takagi for the win except for YAMATO who refused to shake hands with Takagi. On March 28 the problems between YAMATO and Takagi got even worst when YAMATO hit Takagi during the close of the match against Monster Express which allowed Big R Shimizu to pick up the win and everyone seemed to point blame at each other as a clear rift was looming over the group. On April 3 the issue continued to remain as strong as ever among the group.
On April 7 after VerserK lost to Jimmyz, Doi and Tanizaki decide to be on YAMATO's side and Kotoka and Kong decide to be on Takagi's side and Mondai Ryu just chose the both sides and the General manager Takayuki Yagi capitalized on this opportunity of 6 entrants was the exact number he wanted for the cage match at Dead or Alive, so all six were now entered into the match and Kong protested, but Ryu of all people stood up to him and Kong said he wasn’t going to be able to climb any cage, so Ryu should take his place and Ryu refused to be apart of it. They had a singles match where the loser would be put into the match which Ryu won by reversing the Cyber Bomb for an upset win within 30 seconds. The rules for this year are once again that the last fighter left in the cage will lose their hair or mask. However, there is an extra penalty that will only apply to those with their hair at stake. They will have to preserve the bald head for the minimum of one year. If Kong were to lose his mask, he has to permanently keep it off. Therefore no extra penalty applies. On April 12 Ryu also asserted himself as the next contender for the Open The Brave Gate Championship.
On May 5 Mondai Ryu failed to win Open The Brave Gate Championship from Yosuke Santa Maria and later that night at the during the Steel Cage Survival Double Risk 6 Way match Naruki Doi turned on YAMATO and blaming him for losing the Open The Twin Gate Champions and the rest of the stable turned on YAMATO and he was out of the stable and they prevented YAMATO from escaping at all times until Kzy came to his aid. He blocked a potential Kotoka escape. Maria followed suit. Takagi got back into the cage to attack YAMATO more. Finally, BxB Hulk made his return to the ring to run off Takagi and lead YAMATO to his escape and Kotoka to get his hair shaved for one year.
Rebuilding and Championship pursuits (2016-2017)[]
On May 11 during the match of Doi and Tanizaki against Masato Yoshino and Shachihoko Boy, "brother" YASSHI interfered and got in the ring with a Monster Express T-Shirt and after that he attacked Boy and tore his mask completely off after that Doi introduced him as the new member of VerserK has the replacement of YAMATO. At the end of the King of Gate Takagi finished his block with 5 points and Ryu finished block B with no points, Kong finished block D with 2 points and Kotoka with 4 points at the end of the tournament YAMATO challenged Takagi for the Open The Dream Gate Champion and the General Manager Yagi announced that the match was going to be on the 2016 Kobe World Pro Wrestling Festival. On June 19 after Jimmy Kagetora and Jimmy Susumu won the Open The Twin Gate Champions Doi and YASSHI challenged them to match at Kobe Pro Wrestling Festival for the Twin Gate Titles. On July 24 Doi and YASSHI unsuccessfully challenged Jimmy Kagetora and Jimmy Susumu for the Open The Twin Gate Championship while Takagi lost the Open The Dream Gate Championship to YAMATO. At the first day of the 2016 Summer Adventure Tag League it was announced that YASSHI would face Eita for the Open The Brave Gate Champion at the Dangerous Gate. At the end of the Summer Adventure Tag League Takagi and Kong finished their block with only 3 points, Doi and YASSHI with 10 points winning all of their matches and advancing to the semifinals. At the semifinals, Doi and YASSHI defeated CIMA and Gamma but at the finals, they lost to Eita and Dragon Kid. On September 22 YASSHI failed to capture the Open The Brave Gate Champion while Doi and Takagi failed to capture the Open The Twin Gate Champions after the match Doi raised the hands of Kagetora and Susumu and then attacked them from behind. On September 22 during the loser leaves unit between Masato Yoshino and T-Hawk, VerserK interfered in the match and the match ended in no contest and T-Hawk turned on Yoshino and joined the stable. On November 29 El Lindaman joined the stable.
On October 12, VeserK were able to defeat Monster Express in a 5 vs 4 Loser Revival Captains Fall match, forcing Monster Express to disbands. During the match, Dr. Muscle, who had cost El Lindaman his Brave Gate title match against Eita earlier in the night, attacked T-Hawk and caused him to be eliminated. He would unmask to reveal himself as a returning Kotoka, who would defect from VerserK in the process. After the match, T-Hawk would attack Doi, kicking him out of the group.
On November 3 Kong, T-Hawk and YASSHI unsuccessfully challenged Jimmyz (Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!, Ryo “Jimmy” Saito and Jimmy Kanda) for the Open The Triangle Gate Championship the match included Masaaki Mochizuki, Big R Shimizu and Peter Kaasa.
On January 18, 2017 YASSHI, Kong, Ryu and Takagi, T-Hawk and Lindaman participated in the New Years Unit War 6 Man Tag Team Tournament. YASSHI, Kong, Ryu were eliminated at the first round and Takagi, T-Hawk and Lindaman defeated Ben-K, Kotoka and Masato Yoshino at the finals to win the New Years Unit War 6 Man Tag Team Tournament after the match they tried to assault Yoshino but they were overpowered by Dr. Muscle and he later revealed himself as Doi. Four days later VerserK announced that a Dr. Muscle would join the stable but this time we would be called Dr. VerserK. On February 2 Dr. VerserK revealed himself as Punch Tominaga, rejoining the unit as an actual member. On March 4 El Lindaman failed to capture the Open The Brave Gate Championship from Eita because of mass interference that caused a no-contest, and on that same night in the main event Takagi, T-Hawk and Kong defeated Jimmyz (Jimmy Susumu, Ryo "Jimmy" Saito and Jimmy Kanda) to win the Open The Triangle Gate Championships. One day later Kong unsuccessfully challenged YAMATO for the Open The Dream Gate Championship Four days later VerserK was defeated in headhunting match against Over Generation and Naruki Doi. Because of the stipulation Over Generation choose Mondai Ryu as their new member. On March 19, Kong, T-Hawk and Takagi vacated the Open The Triangle Gate Champions due to Cyber Kong being sidelined with an injury. One day later Lindaman defeated Yosuke Santa Maria in the semifinals of the Open The Brave Gate Championship but lost to Jimmy Kagetora at the finals. In the main event Takagi, T-Hawk and YASSHI failed to win the vacant Open The Triangle Gate Champions.
On April 23 after the Open the Twin Gate Championship match T-Hawk and Lindaman challenged CK-1 to a Twin Gate title match at Dead Or Alive. On May 5 at the Dead Or Alive T-Hawk and Lindaman unsuccessfully challenged CK-1 while Takagi and Kong failed to capture the Open The Dream Gate Championship in the Dead Or Alive Steel Cage Survival Five-Way match and as the result, Cyber Kong would have to unmask and revert to his real name Takashi Yoshida. On May 26, 2017 Tanizaki's Dragon Gate profile was quietly removed from Dragon Gate roster page, signaling his departure from the promotion.
During the month of May until the beginning of June Takagi, T-Hawk, Yoshida and Lindaman would take part of the King of Gate, separately. Yoshida and Lindaman would finish the tournament with 2 points while Takagi and T-Hawk managed to pass to the semifinals finishing the tournament with 8 points. On June 10 Takagi failed to get into the finals losing to Naruki Doi and T-Hawk defeated Eita to get into the finals. The following day, T-Hawk defeated Naruki Doi to win the 2017 King of Gate tournament. After the King of Gate tournament on July 1 Takagi, Yoshida and Lindaman won the Open The Triangle Gate Championship defeating MaxiMuM's Naruki Doi, Big R Shimizu and Ben-K.
Young VerserK leadership and Disbanding (2017-2018)[]
During the year of 2017, all units in Dragon Gate started to feuding with each other. This led to a tournament the 5 Units Survival Race, where all units faced each other in multiple matches. On September 16 after VerserK and Jimmyz lost their respective matches, it was announced that VerserK would face Jimmyz on September 18 in a losing disbands match at the Dangerous Gate. On September 18 VerserK forced Jimmyz to disband in a Ten-Man Elimination No Disqualification Loser Disbands match. On October 5, Yasushi Kanda turned on Jimmyz during their last match, helping VerserK, thus joining the stable. On November 3 Takagi, Yoshida and Lindaman lost the titles to YAMATO, BxB Hulk and Kzy also involving Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino and Kotoka. On November 8 Eita rejoined VerserK after turning on Dragon Kid revealing to be their newest member, which led him and T-Hawk winning the Early Christmas Tag Team Tournament by defeating BxB Hulk and Kzy in the finals.
Since November 26, Punch Tominaga began a losing streak and costing VerserK their matches. On December 23 at Final Gate, VerserK succeded on their championship matches, first Kanda defeating Kagetora to win the Open The Brave Gare Championship and T-Hawk and Eita defeating CIMA and Susumu Yokosuka to win the vacant Open The Twin Gate Championship, both matches were won after VerserK massive interference. After the Twin Gate Championship match, the sub-trio of T-Hawk, Eita and Lindaman were positioned as the center of the stable and Tominaga was kicked out of the stable. They also announced that VerserK would undergo a name change in 2018. On January 13, 2018, VerserK renamed the stable to ANTIAS.
Members[]
| * | Founding member |
|---|---|
| I | First Leader |
| II | Second Leader |
| Member | Duration | |
|---|---|---|
| Shingo Takagi | I* | August 30, 2015 – January 13, 2018 |
| Cyber Kong/Takashi Yoshida | * | August 30, 2015 – January 13, 2018 |
| YAMATO | * | August 30, 2015 – May 5, 2016 |
| Naruki Doi | * | August 30, 2015 – October 12, 2016 |
| Kotoka | * | August 30, 2015 – October 12, 2016 |
| Mondai Ryu | * | August 30, 2015 – March 8, 2017 |
| Naoki Tanizaki | October 8, 2015 – May 26, 2017 | |
| "brother" YASSHI | May 11, 2016 – January 13, 2018 | |
| T-Hawk | II | September 22, 2016 – January 13, 2018 |
| El Lindaman | II | September 29, 2016 – January 13, 2018 |
| Punch Tominaga | * | August 30, 2015 – October 4, 2015 February 2, 2017 – December 23, 2017 |
| Yasushi Kanda | October 5, 2017 – January 13, 2018 | |
| Eita | II* | August 30, 2015 – September 23, 2015 November 8, 2017 – January 13, 2018 |
Sub-groups[]
| Affiliate | Members | Tenure | Type | Promotion(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YAMADoi | Naruki Doi YAMATO |
2013–2016 | Tag team | Dragon Gate |
| Shingo Takagi and Takashi Yoshida | Shingo Takagi Takashi Yoshida |
2010–2018 | Tag team | Dragon Gate |
| Bousou Brothers | Naruki Doi "brother" YASSHI |
2016 | Tag team | Dragon Gate |
| Eita and T-Hawk | Eita T-Hawk |
2017-2018 | Tag team | Dragon Gate |
| Young VerserK | Eita El Lindaman T-Hawk |
2017-2018 | Trio | Dragon Gate |
Timeline[]
Championships and Accomplishments[]
- Dragon Gate
- Open The Dream Gate Championship (2 times) – Takagi
- Open The Brave Gate Championship (2 times) – Kotoka (1) and Kanda (1)
- Open The Triangle Gate Championship (2 times) – Takagi, T-Hawk and Kong (1) and Takagi, Yoshida and Lindaman (1)
- Open The Twin Gate Championship (2 times) – Doi and YAMATO (1) and Eita and T-Hawk (1)
- New Years Unit War 6 Man Tag Team Tournament (2017) – Takagi, T-Hawk and Lindaman
- King of Gate (2017) – T-Hawk
- Early Christmas Tag Team Tournament (2017) – Eita and T-Hawk
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Luchas de Apuestas record[]
| Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YAMATO (hair) | Kotoka (hair) | Aichi, Japan | Dead or Alive 2016 | May 5, 2016 | [Note 1] |
| Eita (Championship) | El Lindaman (Cape) | Tokyo, Japan | Gate Of Victory 2016 - Day 7 | October 12, 2016 | |
(member) |
(member) |
||||
| YAMATO (hair and title) | Cyber Kong (mask) | Aichi, Japan | Dead or Alive 2017 | May 5, 2017 | [Note 3][3] |
Notes[]
- ↑ This was a Hair Vs. Mask Steel Cage Survival Double Risk Six Way Match also incluing all the members of VerserK (Cyber Kong, Naoki Tanizaki, Naruki Doi, YAMATO, Kotoka and Shingo Takagi) except Mondai Ryu and Kotoka couldn't get a flag as a result his hair was shaved.
- ↑ This was a Unit Headhunting Match incluing the members of VerserK (Cyber Kong, T-Hawk, El Lindaman and Shingo Takagi) and the members of Over Generation (CIMA, Eita, Dragon Kid and Takehiro Yamamura) and Naruki Doi. Over Generation and Naruki Doi won and beacause of the stipulation Mondai Ryu was chosen to be the new member of Over Generation
- ↑ This was a Hair Vs. Mask Steel Cage Survival Double Risk Six Way Match also involving Naruki Doi, BxB Hulk and Shingo Takagi.
References[]
- ↑ Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2016 . The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved on 2016-09-01.
- ↑ Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2016 . The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved on 2016-09-01.
- ↑ 05/05 Dead or Alive 2017 . iHeartDG (2017-05-05). Retrieved on 2017-05-05.
Gallery[]
