Dragon Gate Pro Wrestling is putting on their yearly big event in December. Live from Fukuoka Kokusai Center, it’s The Final Gate 2021. Two championships are on the line and grudges will be settled. Here is a rundown of the action.
Dragon Gate – The Final Gate 2021 Full Card
- Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii, Yasushi Kanda, and Kagetora vs Shoya Sato, Takuma Fujiwara, Takumi Hayakawa, and Ryu Fuda
- Punch Tominaga and Ultra Soki(Ryukyu Dragon Pro Wrestling) vs Strong Machine J and Churaumi Saver(Ryukyu Dragon Pro Wrestling)
- La Estrella vs Diamanté
- Riki Iihashi and Ishin Iihashi vs U-T and Susumu Yokosuka
- Ultimo Dragon, Jason Lee, and Yosuke♡Santa Maria vs Genki Horiguchi, Konomama Ichikawa , and Shachihoko Boy
- If Skywalker Loses, He Must Leave Masquerade: Shun Skywalker vs Kota Minoura
- KZY, Big Boss Shimizu, and Jacky “Funky” Kamei vs Dragon Kid, Keisuke Okuda, and Ben-K vs Kaito Ishida, BxB Hulk, and Eita
- Open The Twin Gate Championship: Naruki Doi and Takashi Yoshida (c) vs H•Y•O and SBKENTo
- Open The Dream Gate Championship: YAMATO (c) vs KAI
If Skywalker Loses, He Must Leave Masquerade: Shun Skywalker vs Kota Minoura
Things in Masquerade are not what they once were. When the group formed one year ago, it seemed like it was the Dragon Gate faction of the future. The first half of this year seemingly confirmed that with the emergence of Kota Minoura. Then the tag team mask vs mask happened and Shun Skywalker, the leader of the group, sacrificed Dragon Dia to save his own mask. This resulted in Dia unmasking and losing his status as the heir apparent to Dragon Kid, which has been met with great hate from the other members of the unit.
Skywalker finally apologized after trying his hardest not to. Minoura mentioned Skywalker hadn’t called and checked on Dia at all. Skywalker figured the best way for them to be a unit again was to become Open The Triangle Gate Champions. They won the belts, and Minoura still wasn’t happy. That was until Skywalker brought up the idea of the two having a singles match and Minoura bringing a stipulation to the table; if Skywalker loses, the Triangle Gate belts are vacated and he must leave the group. While all this is going on, Naruki Doi announced a new unit and has aggressively started pursuing Minoura for that group. Will any of this play into the aftermath of the match?
【12/26 #福岡国際センター セミファイナル トレーラー】
オープン・ザ・ツインゲート選手権試合
[王者組]#土井成樹@NarukiDoi#吉田隆司@cyberkongDG
vs
[挑戦者組]#H・Y・O @watanabehyo14#SBKENTo @kobunekentohttps://t.co/hYT6BTIFko#DRAGONGATE #ProWrestling#TheFinalGate2021 pic.twitter.com/r7aGwNoaz7— DRAGONGATE (@dragongate_pro) December 23, 2021
Open The Twin Gate Championship: Naruki Doi and Takashi Yoshida(c) vs H•Y•O and SBKENTo
Naruki Doi and Takashi Yoshida just recently captured the Open The Twin Gate Championship, but it seems like their reign could already be in jeopardy. They faced H•Y•O and SBKENTo recently at KBS Hall. Despite the underhanded tactics used by the R.E.D. duo, Doi and Yoshida were the victors. At the time, H•Y•O was one-third of the Open The Triangle Gate Champions. Additionally, SBKENTo is the current Open The Brave Gate Champion. These were their reasons for challenging at The Final Gate 2021, potentially becoming double champions.
GM Ryo Saito mentioned that it could be rather interesting with double champions and signed the match. Since then, H•Y•O lost his belt while SBK held onto his. Also, Doi and Yoshida had a clear victory over the two before U-T stole the pin in a three-way elimination match. Afterward, Doi announced his new unit and chase for Kota Minoura. Will Doi be focused enough to successfully retain the Twin Gate belts? Will the R.E.D. team capture their first Open The Twin Gate Championship together?
【12/26 #福岡国際センター メインイベント トレーラー】
オープン・ザ・ドリームゲート選手権試合
[王者]#YAMATO @yamato_oldtype
vs
[挑戦者]#KAI_kof @kai0222https://t.co/hYT6BTIFko#DRAGONGATE #ProWrestling#TheFinalGate2021 pic.twitter.com/spruvgeahW— DRAGONGATE (@dragongate_pro) December 24, 2021
Open The Dream Gate Championship: YAMATO (c) vs KAI
Things between YAMATO and KAI seemed they were finally over after KAI lost a No DQ No Rope Match to YAMATO. This gave YAMATO the momentum he needed to challenge for the Dream Gate Championship once again. However, that was not the case after YAMATO won the Open The Dream Gate Championship. Rather, this reignited their rivalry with KAI, who’s been lobbying for a title match since the beginning. KAI then proved himself after pinning the men who challenged YAMATO during this Dream Gate title reign, as well as YAMATO himself. With this, KAI earned a title opportunity at The Final Gate 2021.
What is presumingly the final clash between the two is interesting. During the go-home show at Korakuen Hall, KAI spoke about how he thought Dragon Gate was the best promotion in the world. He came after YAMATO again to become the top champion in what he deems to be the best promotion in the world. Meanwhile, YAMATO has made it clear he is making sure this will be the last time they meet in a singles match. Can YAMATO turn back his rival once and for all, or will KAI open the Dream Gate?
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. Looking to watch Dragon Gate? All their live shows will be on their steaming service Dragon Gate Network.
