Naruki Doi Announces Card for 26th Anniversary Show

Former two-time Open the Dream Gate Champion Naruki Doi has unveiled the card for his upcoming 26th Anniversary show, set to take place on September 11 at Tokyo’s Shinjuku FACE. The event will feature six matches, with wrestlers from Dragongate, All Japan Pro Wrestling, DDT Pro Wrestling, and Pro Wrestling Up Town all set to appear.

The first match announced will be a three-way tag team match featuring AJPW’s Kuma Arashi and Seiki Yoshioka, Dragongate’s new XenisS pairing of Yuki Yoshioka and Kota Minoura, and Dragon Gate’s Hyo teaming with Pro Wrestling Up Town’s Hyo Ogawa.

Dragongate’s resident salaryman, Jiro Shimbashi, will then take on Pro Wrestling Up Town leader Kuroshio TOKYO Japan in a special singles match. This will be the first meeting between the two.

Following that, Doi has booked himself in an eight-man tag team match, where he will team with his friends Jun and Rei Saito, along with an unknown fourth partner, against Madoka Kikuta, Jason Lee, ISHIN, and Yoshiki Kato of Dragongate’s Gajadokuro faction.

The fourth match of the night could very well be the match of the night, with Mochizuki Jr. taking on Fuminori Abe in another special singles match. Mochi Jr. is the son of Masaaki Mochizuki, a longtime rival and former teammate of Doi’s with whom he has shared the ring throughout much of his career.

The semi-main event will feature what could be one of the most intriguing combinations on the card, with JACKY KAMEI and Riiita, widely regarded as one of the best tag teams in Japanese wrestling, teaming with former Dragongate dojo trainee and current DDT wrestler Kazuma Sumi. They will take on the fascinating trio of Luis Mante, Kagetora, and Shuji Kondo.

Finally, the main event of the evening will reportedly be a trios match, with XENOSTAL NOVA’s Ryoya Tanaka, Homare, and Kazuma Kimura taking on Punch Tominaga, Seigo Tachibana, and Yuki Miyamoto.

Naruki Doi is one of the most successful wrestlers in Dragongate history. He is a former two-time Open the Dream Gate Champion, two-time Open the Brave Gate Champion, eight-time Open the Twin Gate Champion, and record 15-time Open the Triangle Gate Champion. His 449-day Dream Gate reign from 2008 to 2010 remains the second-longest in the title’s history.

His tag teams with Masato Yoshino and YAMATO are among the greatest not only in Dragon Gate history, but in wrestling history as a whole. He was also famously part of the legendary Blood Generation vs. Do Fixer six-man tag team match at Ring of Honor’s Supercard of Honor in 2006, which became one of just seven matches to receive a five-star rating from Dave Meltzer at the time.

Doi’s 26th Anniversary event will stream live on GAORA’s PPV service, although it is currently unknown where else the show will be available, including whether it will air on the Dragon Gate Network. Commentary for the event will be provided by Katsuya Ichikawa and Doi’s No Hug tag team partner, Dragon Kid.

For more coverage ahead of the show and everything surrounding Dragongate, WrestlePurists will keep you updated.