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| Acronym | DG-USA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2009 |
| Defunct | 2015 |
| Style | |
| Headquarters | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Founder(s) |
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| Parent |
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| Website | www |
Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2009 as an international expansion of the Japanese promotion Dragon Gate. Gabe Sapolsky, former head booker of Ring of Honor, served as the promotion's Vice President.
Dragon Gate USA featured regular members of the Dragon Gate roster, 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 for pay-per-view broadcast. [3] In August 2009, it was announced that Dragon Gate USA had signed an agreement with The Fight Network to air DGUSA content on television. [4]
The first Open the Freedom Gate Champion was crowned following a tournament held at DGUSA Freedom Fight on 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 renamed Bushido: 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 first Open 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 and Evolve announced 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, the Evolve Championship in 2012. On September 18, 2013, Vito LoGrasso announced 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) and Shine Wrestling, all under the WWNLive banner, held a tour of China. [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 in Trinity, Florida named "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 by WWE. [11]
| 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 a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by Dragon Gate USA that was taped May 8, 2010 at the Mississauga International Centre in Mississauga, Ontario and aired on July 9, 2010.
| No. | Results [12] | Stipulations | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Masaaki Mochizuki defeated Akira Tozawa | Singles match | ||
| 2 | Gran Akuma defeated Tyson Dux | Singles match | ||
| 3 | Jon Moxley defeated Jimmy Jacobs | No Disqualification match | ||
| 4 | Naruki Doi and PAC defeated Mike Quackenbush and Jigsaw | Tag team match | ||
| 5 | Rip Impact vs. Johnny Wave ended in a no contest | Singles match | ||
| 6 | Shingo and YAMATO defeated CIMA and Dragon Kid | Tag Team Match | ||
| 7 | BxB Hulk (c) defeated Masato Yoshino | Singles match for the Open the Freedom Gate Championship | ||
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Working 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]
| 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 Gargano and Rich Swann) | May 30, 2015 | January 30, 2011 | The Premier Athlete Brand (Anthony Nese, Caleb Konley and Trent Barreta) | WORLD-1 (Masato Yoshino and PAC) |
Gran Akuma is an American retired professional wrestler, best known for his work in Chikara. He has also worked for Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), Dragon Gate USA and Full Impact Pro (FIP). In Chikara, he was a member of The Kings of Wrestling stable, while also being a part of Team F.I.S.T. with Icarus and Chuck Taylor. On November 17, 2006, Akuma and Icarus defeated Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli to capture the Campeonatos de Parejas.
Full Impact Pro (FIP) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is currently part of the World Wrestling Network (WWN) along with Shine Wrestling. Sal Hamaoui founded the company and serves as the President while Trevin Adams is the Vice President of FIP.
Masato Onodera, better known by the ring name Yamato, is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist currently signed to Dragongate, where he is the current and record six-time Open the Dream Gate Champion.
Dustin Lee Howard, better known by the ring name Chuck Taylor, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he also works as a coach. He is currently on hiatus due to an ankle injury. Known as "The Kentucky Gentleman" and "Sexy Chuckie T", he was a member of the Best Friends stable alongside original tag team partner Trent Beretta, Orange Cassidy, Kris Statlander, and Danhausen. Howard has wrestled on the independent circuit since 2002, most notably appearing for Chikara, where he held the Campeonatos de Parejas twice, and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), where he is a former two-time PWG World Champion. He is also known for his work in larger national and international promotions like Ring of Honor (ROH) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).
The Young Bucks are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Matthew and Nicholas Massie, who perform under the ring names Matthew and Nicholas Jackson. As of January 2019, they are signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where they are also executive vice presidents and co-founders of the company. As performers in AEW, they are three-time and current AEW World Tag Team Champions, and were the inaugural and two-time AEW World Trios Champions with Kenny Omega as The Elite.
The Open the Freedom Gate Championship was the major title in the promotion Dragon Gate USA. The first holder of the title was crowned following a 14-man tournament held at DGUSA Freedom Fight on November 28, 2009. The title was recognized by Dragon Gate USA's parent promotion, Dragon Gate, and it has been defended at a Dragon Gate show in Japan. The title was also recognized by the Evolve promotion.
DGUSA Untouchable was a professional wrestling event series produced by Dragon Gate USA from 2009-2011. The events involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers were portrayed as either villains or heroes in the scripted events that build tension and culminate into a wrestling match or series of matches.
Mercury Rising is an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event currently produced by the World Wrestling Network (WWN) under the name WWNLive Supershow: Mercury Rising. The event takes place during WrestleMania weekend, at a venue in the same metropolitan area the WrestleMania is held, and features talent from WWN's affiliate promotions, including EVOLVE, Full Impact Pro and SHINE.
Edward McGuckin is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Jigsaw. He is best known for his work on the independent circuit for promotions such as Chikara, Combat Zone Wrestling, Dragon Gate USA, Full Impact Pro, and Ring of Honor and has also made appearances for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he worked under the ring name Rubix. He is currently working most notably in the United Kingdom, where he predominantly appears for HOPE Wrestling.
Evolve Wrestling was an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2010 by former Ring of Honor booker and Dragon Gate USA vice president, Gabe Sapolsky.
John Anthony Nicholas Gargano is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Gargano is best known for his time in NXT, where he became the first-ever NXT Triple Crown winner by winning the NXT Championship once, the NXT North American Championship for a record 3 times, and the NXT Tag Team Championship once. His popularity in NXT led him to be nicknamed "The Heart and Soul of NXT".
The DGUSA Open the United Gate Championship was a tag team championship within the Dragon Gate USA promotion. The first champions were World–1 and were crowned at United: Finale in the tournament final, which was held in Union City, New Jersey. It aired on March 11, 2011 on pay-per-view tape delay entitled United We Stand. The title is also recognized by Dragon Gate USA's parent promotion, Dragon Gate, and it has been defended at a Dragon Gate show in Japan. The title is also recognized by the Evolve promotion. On May 30, 2015, Gargano retired the titles after a title defense.
The Bravado Brothers were an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of real-life brothers Harlem Bravado and Lancelot Bravado. The duo have worked for several independent promotions, including Ring of Honor, Chikara, and Full Impact Pro, and have also appeared in Japan for Pro Wrestling Noah.
Thomas James Ballester, better known by his ring name AR Fox, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling. He is also known for his work in promotions like Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), Dragon Gate USA, and Evolve. Fox has also worked for Dragon Gate in Japan, Full Impact Pro (FIP), where he won the 2011 Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup, and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG). He currently serves as the head trainer of the WWA4 wrestling school in Atlanta, Georgia.
Richard Anthony Swann is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He is a former Impact World Champion, TNA World Heavyweight Champion, Impact X Division Champion and Impact Digital Media Champion. He also wrestles for Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), where he is a former CZW World Heavyweight Champion.
The Evolve Championship was a professional wrestling championship owned by the Evolve promotion. The inaugural champion was crowned on April 5, 2013, when A. R. Fox defeated Sami Callihan in the finals of an eight-man tournament.
Shine Wrestling is an American, New York based independent women's professional wrestling promotion. It is the sister promotion to Shimmer Women Athletes and airs events on Internet pay-per-view (iPPV).
The Evolve Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the Evolve promotion. The inaugural champions were crowned on January 24, 2016, at the end of an eight-team tournament.
The World Wrestling Network is an American professional wrestling organization known for and branded after its video streaming service, WWNLive. WWNLive hosts content both from WWN's "brands", including Full Impact Pro (FIP) and Shine Wrestling, as well as content from third-party organizations.
Evolve 131, also known as Evolve's 10th Anniversary Celebration, was a professional wrestling livestreaming event produced by the American promotion Evolve in partnership with WWE. The event aired on the WWE Network, making it the first Evolve show and the first independent wrestling show to broadcast live on the platform. It took place on July 13, 2019, at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show featured current Evolve wrestlers and alumni, as well as wrestlers from WWE's NXT and 205 Live brand divisions.
WWNLive, the parent company of Evolve, Shine, FIP and Dragon Gate USA.
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