- Dragon Gate USA
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Dragon Gate USA 
Type Public Industry Professional wrestling, Puroresu, Lucha Libre Founded 2009 Headquarters Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. Key people Satoshi Oji (President)
Gabe Sapolsky (Vice president),
Sal Hamaoui (COO)Website Official Site Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA) is 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, serves as the promotion's Vice President.
Contents
History
Dragon Gate USA features regular members of the Dragon Gate roster, along with notable American talent. All Dragon Gate titles and champions are recognized by Dragon Gate USA.[1]
In June 2009, it was announced that Dragon Gate USA had signed an agreement to film its shows for pay-per-view broadcast.[2] In August 2009, it was announced that Dragon Gate USA had signed an agreement with The Fight Network to air DGUSA content on television.[3]
The first Open the Freedom Gate Champion was crowned following a tournament held at DGUSA Freedom Fight on November 28, 2009. This is 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.[4]
In the fall of 2010, DGUSA announced that it would be holding a tournament to crown the first Open the United Gate Champions, which is 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.
Partnerships
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.[5][6]
- Chikara (established April 26, 2009)[7]
- All American Wrestling (established June 15, 2009)
- Hybrid Wrestling (established June 15, 2009)
- Full Impact Pro (established September 28, 2009)
- Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup (established October 13, 2009)
- Women Superstars Uncensored (established October 14, 2009)
- Maximum Pro Wrestling (established March 3, 2010)
- Rampage Pro Wrestling
- New York Wrestling Connection
- Insanity Pro Wrestling
List of Dragon Gate USA events
Pay-Per-View name Live event name Date filmed Date aired City Venue Enter The Dragon Open The Historic Gate July 25, 2009 September 4, 2009 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania The Arena Untouchable[8] Open The Untouchable Gate September 6, 2009 November 6, 2009[8] Chicago, Illinois Congress Theater Freedom Fight[8] Open The Freedom Gate November 28, 2009 January 22, 2010[8] Philadelphia, Pennsylvania The Arena Fearless[9] Fearless January 23, 2010[9] March 5, 2010 Chicago, Illinois Congress Theater Open The Ultimate Gate Open The Ultimate Gate March 26, 2010 Phoenix, Arizona Celebrity Theatre Mercury Rising Mercury Rising March 27, 2010[10] May 14, 2010 Phoenix, Arizona Celebrity Theatre Open The Northern Gate Open The Northern Gate May 7, 2010 Windsor, Ontario, Canada Windsor Armoury Uprising Uprising May 8, 2010 July 9, 2010 Mississauga, Ontario, Canada International Centre Enter The Dragon 2010 1st Anniversary Celebration July 24, 2010 September 10, 2010 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania The Arena Untouchable 2010 Untouchable 2010 September 25, 2010 November 12, 2010 Chicago, Illinois Congress Theater Way of the Ronin Way of the Ronin September 26, 2010 Milwaukee, Wisconsin Miramar Theater Bushido: Code of the Warrior Bushido: Code of the Warrior October 29, 2010 October 29, 2010 Fall River, Massachusetts PAL Hall Freedom Fight 2011 Freedom Fight 2011 October 30, 2010 January 7, 2011 Rahway, New Jersey Rahway Recreation Center United: NYC United: NYC January 28, 2011 January 28, 2011 New York, New York B.B. King's Blues Club & Grill United: Philly United: Philly January 29, 2011 January 29, 2011 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania The Arena United We Stand[8] United: Finale January 30, 2011 March 11, 2011[8] Union City, New Jersey ACE Arena Open The Southern Gate Open The Southern Gate April 1, 2011 Burlington, North Carolina Mid Atlantic Sportatorium Mercury Rising 2011 Mercury Rising 2011 April 2, 2011 April 2, 2011 Atlanta, Georgia The Presidential Ballroom Open the Ultimate Gate 2011 Open The Ultimate Gate 2011 April 3, 2011 May 27, 2011 Atlanta, Georgia The Presidential Ballroom Fearless 2011 Fearless 2011 June 3, 2011 June 3, 2011 Revere, Massachusetts Wonderland Ballroom Uprising 2011 Uprising 2011 June 4, 2011 July 29, 2011 Deer Park, New York NYWC Sportatorium Enter The Dragon 2011 2nd Anniversary Celebration June 5, 2011 June 5, 2011 New York, New York B.B. King's Blues Club & Grill Chasing The Dragon Chasing The Dragon September 9, 2011 Indianapolis, Indiana The Community Center Untouchable 2011 Untouchable 2011 September 10, 2011 September 10, 2011 Chicago, Illinois The Congress Theater Way of the Ronin 2011 Way of the Ronin 2011 September 11, 2011 September 11, 2011 Milwaukee, Wisconsin The Miramar Theatre Roster
The company's roster is split into several units, with the majority of the wrestlers aligned with one faction or another.[11]
Blood Warriors
- CIMA (Leader)
- BxB Hulk
- Akira Tozawa
- Brodie Lee
- Genki Horiguchi
- Naruki Doi
- Ricochet
- Ryo Saito[12]
Junction Three
- Masaaki Mochizuki (Leader)
- Dragon Kid
- Gamma
- Masato Yoshino
- PAC
- Shingo Takagi
- Susumu Yokosuka
- YAMATO[12]
Ronin
- Chuck Taylor
- Johnny Gargano
- Rich Swann[12]
D.U.F. (Dirty Ugly Fucks)
- Arik Cannon
- Pinkie Sanchez
- Sami Callihan
Unaffiliated
- AR Fox
- Jon Davis
- Stalker Ichikawa
- Jigsaw[12]
Guests
- 2 Cold Scorpio
- Akebono
- Da Soul Touchaz
- Gran Akuma
- Jorge "Skayde" Rivera
- Jack Evans
- L.A. Park
- Hallowicked
- Homicide
- Ken Doane
- Paul London
- Sabu
- Stalker Ichikawa
- Super Crazy
- Teddy Hart
- Tommy Dreamer[13]
Notable alumni
Other
- Kevin Harvey - Live Event Host (September 6, 2009 - present)
- Lenny Leonard – Commentator
- Leonard Chikarason – Commentator (July 25, 2009 - May 18, 2011)
- Mike Quackenbush – Commentator
- Rob Naylor - Commentator
- Phil Colvin – Commentator
- Jason Harding - Referee
- Bryce Remsburg - Referee
- Mike Kehner - Referee
- Bob Saget - Live Event Host (March 26, 2010)
- Dawn Marie – Live Event Host (July 25, 2009)
- Tommy Dreamer - Live Event Host (January 23, 2010)
Championships
Current champions
Championship Champion(s) Previous Date Won Location DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate Championship Johnny Gargano YAMATO November 13, 2011 Manhattan, NY DGUSA Open the United Gate Championship Blood Warriors
(CIMA and Ricochet)Junction Three
(Masato Yoshino and PAC)September 11, 2011 Milwaukee, WI References
- ^ "Dragon Gate USA's Title Situation". DGUSA.tv. 2009-04-15. http://www.dgusa.tv/featurearticles1.htm.
- ^ http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/Other_News_4/article_32891.shtml
- ^ http://thefightnetwork.com/news/wrestling/4240/dragon_gate_usa_partners_with_the_fight_network
- ^ Caldwell, James (2010-09-07). "DGUSA News: Dragon Gate USA announces live Internet PPV debut next month". Pro Wrestling Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/Other_News_4/article_43612.shtml. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
- ^ "News Alerts". Dragon Gate USA. http://dgusa.tv/newsalerts.htm.
- ^ "Dragon Gate USA News update for 10/15". Indy Wrestling News. 2009-10-15. http://indywrestlingnews.com/pressreleases/6783-dragon-gate-usa-news-update-for-1015.html. Retrieved 2009-11-08.
- ^ "DGUSA and Chikara Reach Working Agreement". Dragon Gate USA. April 26, 2009. http://dgusa.tv/featurearticles4.htm. Retrieved November 8, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f http://www.dgusa.tv/featurearticles39.htm
- ^ a b "Dragon Gate USA "Fearless"". Dragon Gate USA. http://www.dgusa.tv/liveeventschicago.htm. Retrieved 2009-10-07.
- ^ http://www.celebritytheatre.com/upcoming.php?viewevent=715
- ^ USA, Dragon Gate (2009-07-23). "Dragon Gate USA". dgusa.tv. http://www.dgusa.tv/featurearticles9.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
- ^ a b c d "Core roster". Dragon Gate USA. http://www.dgusa.tv/roster-core.htm. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
- ^ "Guest stars". Dragon Gate USA. http://www.dgusa.tv/roster-guest.htm. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
- ^ "Alumni". Dragon Gate USA. http://www.dgusa.tv/roster-alumni.htm. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
- ^ "Announcers/Referees". Dragon Gate USA. http://www.dgusa.tv/roster-announcers.htm. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
External links
Dragon Gate USA Pay Per View DGUSA Enter The Dragon (2009-2011) · DGUSA Untouchable (2009-2011) · DGUSA Freedom Fight (2010-2011) · DGUSA Fearless (2010-2011) · Open The Ultimate Gate (2011) · DGUSA Mercury Rising (2010-2011) · DGUSA Uprising (2010) · Bushido: Code of the Warrior (2010) · United: NYC (2011) · United: Philly (2011) · DGUSA United We Stand · DGUSA Way of the Ronin (2011)Championship Miscellaneous Categories:- 2009 in professional wrestling
- American independent professional wrestling promotions based in Pennsylvania
- Companies established in 2009
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