The Open the Dream Gate Championship (オープン・ザ・ドリームゲート王座, Ōpun za Dorīmugēto Ōza) is a professional wrestlingchampionship created and promoted by the JapanesepromotionDragon Gate.[2] The wrestler who holds it is considered the top singles wrestler in Dragon Gate. It was created on July 4, 2004 when Cima was awarded the title as a result of being the last Último Dragón Gym Champion.[3]
History
The inaugural champion was Cima, who was awarded the championship for being the last Último Dragón Gym Champion. he is still the longest reigning champion as of today at 574 days. Title reigns are determined either by professional wrestling matches between different wrestlers involved in pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storylines, or by scripted circumstances. Wrestlers were portrayed as either villains or heroes as they followed a series of tension-building events, which culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches for the championship.
Belt design
The title belt's face has a "gate" on it represented by a hinged metallic door which contains a plate with the titleholders' name. Any official challenger for the belt carries a key used to open the gate with, and should they win the title, then they can open the gate and put their name inside it. However, if the title is successfully defended, then the key is added to the main plate of the belt as a symbol of the respective successful defense.[2] The original title belt was lost following Dragon Gate's July 20, 2015 event, which forced the promotion to create a new belt, which debuted on August 16, 2015.[4]
Reigns
As of November 13, 2024, there here have been a total of 21 recognized champions who have had a combined 40 official reigns. The current champion is Yamato who is in his sixth reign.[5]
^"ドラゴンゲートKobe プロレスフェスティバル 2013". Dragon Gate (in Japanese). Retrieved 2013-07-22.
^"The Gate of Generation". Dragon Gate (in Japanese). Retrieved 2013-08-24.
^"The Gate of Victory". Dragongate (in Japanese). October 10, 2013. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
^Daly, Wayne (March 3, 2014). "Dragon Gate Results: Champion Gate Day 2 – Osaka, Japan (3/2)". wrestling-news.net. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
^"Dead or Alive 2014". Dragongate (in Japanese). May 5, 2014.
^"Dragon Gate „Kobe Pro Wrestling Festival 2014" Ergebnisse aus Hyogo, Japan (20.07.2014)". wrestling-infos.de (in German). July 20, 2014. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
^Taigermen (June 14, 2015). "Risultati: Dragon Gate "Champion Gate in Hakata 2015" 13/06/2015". zonawrestling.net (in Italian). Retrieved May 1, 2021.
^В Puroresu (August 16, 2015). "Dragon Gate: Dangerous Gate 2015". vsplanet.net (in Russian). Retrieved May 1, 2021.
^"Dragon Gate: Results «Truth Gate 2016» - 14/02/2016 - Jymmy Susumu is new champion". superluchas.com. February 15, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
^Dragon Gate (March 6, 2016). 3.5 & 3.6 "Champion Gate 2016 in Osaka" 全対戦カード決定!. spora.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved May 1, 2021.
^"Dragon Gate: Results «Kobe Pro Wrestling Festival 2016» - 24/07/2016 - 4 titles at stake; Flamita returns to Japan". superluchas.com. July 26, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
^Lowe, Case (September 20, 2017). "Dragon Gate Dangerous Gate 2017 (September 18) REVIEW". voicesofwrestling.com. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
^Lowe, Case (June 12, 2018). "Dragon Gate King of Gate (June 10) Results & Review". voicesofwrestling.com. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
^Rozanski, Ryan (December 5, 2018). "Dragon Gate: Fantastic Gate 2018 Review". pwponderings.com. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
^Lowe, Case (July 22, 2019). "Dragon Gate Kobe World Pro Wrestling Festival 2019 Review". voicesofwrestling.com. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
^Hymantor, Michael (December 20, 2019). "#AndNEW: Dragon Gate Landscape Changes At Final Gate 2019". lastwordonsports.com. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
^Toro, Carlos (August 3, 2020). "Dragon Gate Memorial Gate 2020 In Wakayama (8/2) Results: Multiple New Champions Crowned". fightful.com. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
^"Dragon Gate: «Kobe Pro Wrestling Festival 2020» Shun Skywalker, maximum champion". superluchas.com. November 24, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
^Pollock, John (August 1, 2021). "Masato Yoshino's retirement, new Open the Dream Gate champion in Kobe". postwrestling.com. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
^"The Final Gate 2021". Dragongate (in Japanese). December 26, 2021.
^Dragongate Kobe World 2022-ウルティモ・ドラゴン デビュー35周年記念大会-. Dragongate (in Japanese). July 30, 2022.
^Williams, Xavier (January 11, 2023). "Match Point: Dragongate – Yuki Yoshioka(c) vs Shun Skywalker (01/12/23)". lastwordonsports.com. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
^Lowe, Case (May 9, 2023). "Dragongate Dead or Alive 2023 (May 5) Results & Review". voicesofwrestling.com. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
^Kreikenbohm, Philip (December 24, 2023). "DG Final Gate 2023". cagematch.net. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
^Lowe, Case (June 5, 2024). "Dragongate Rainbow Gate (June 4) Results & Review". voicesofwrestling.com. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
^Kreikenbohm, Philip (July 21, 2024). "DG Kobe Pro-Wrestling Festival 2024". cagematch.net. Retrieved July 22, 2024.