by Jae
5/21/09

The focal point of Dragon Gate is unit warfare. Now that we are up to speed on the history, and 2009, I think it is a good time to introduce the current units that are in place.

KAMIKAZE

Full Time Members: Shingo Takagi, Akira Tozawa, Taku Iwasa, Dragon Kid, Kenshin Chikano
Part Time & Gaijin Members: None

History: Takagi had recently been kicked out of Typhoon, and Tozawajuku ended the month before. Tozawa appealed to Takagi to start a new unit on 12/19/08. Tozawa had promised to reach the next stage of his career after graduating from Tozawajuku. He insisted Takagi was necessary for him to be able to achieve this. Takagi accepted, promising to bring a new wind to Dragon Gate. Iwasa also allied with them on the same date, via his recent team with Takagi and his history with Tozawa. The unit was named on 1/11, the first show of 2009. Dragon Kid asked to join at the same time. He spearheaded the charge to bring Takagi into Typhoon back in summer 2008, and the two formed the popular and successful Dragon Hawk team. The final member was Chikano. He was barely a month into his career, but Takagi insisted that new blood was essential for the new era the group hoped to usher in.

The unit concept is heavily tied to the MADE IN JAPAN mantra that Takagi carries. Each member also has something to prove. With the loss of the Dream Gate and the return of CIMA as ace, Takagi looks to retain his place in the highest tier in DG. Iwasa, while he has escaped his comedy past, now looks to shake his tag wrestler label and become a singles player. Tozawa seeks the next stage. Kid looks to maintain his status as a top flyer in the face of increasingly spectacular flyers. Of course, Chikano just looks to establish himself in some fashion.

The unit keynote colours are black, red, and white.

WARRIORS-5

Full Time Members: CIMA, Gamma, Susumu Yokosuka, KAGETORA, RYOMA
Part Time & Gaijin Members: Nick & Matt Jackson (The Young Bucks)

History: The seeds for WARRIORS-5 started on 2/15/09. Yokosuka had been betrayed by Ryo Saito and assaulted by REAL HAZARD. He was aided by Gamma, who had been kicked out of RH and was seemingly on his way out of DG. Gamma & Yokosuka challenged YAMATO & Cyber Kong for the Open the Twin Gate on 3/1. They won, with an assist from KAGETORA who was betraying RH. The trio aligned, and was joined by the returning CIMA. They were given their unit name there, but the “5th Warrior” was kept secret until 3/20. Despite many rumours of it being K-ness, and Super Shenlong insisting it would be him, it ended up being revealed as Youhei Fujita, who was renamed to RYOMA. Upon their arrival for the April tour, The Young Bucks were drafted as assistants.

W5 plays a similar role to mid-late period Crazy MAX, in that they excel at both being a face unit and heels, depending on their opponents. The 4 established members gained their most fame as heels and carry large levels of popularity. One of the things that make W5 such an interesting combination is the layers of history between the members.

• CIMA and Gamma of course were bitter rivals for several years until a mutual respect was found.
• CIMA and KAGETORA were aligned in Toryumon in Crazy MAX/Mini CMAX when KAGETORA was SUWAcito.
• CIMA and Yokosuka were rivals dating back to CMAX vs. M2K, and then were aligned in Typhoon.
• Gamma and KAGETORA were tag partners in Michinoku Pro, and co-founded the STONED unit that would go on to take part in El Dorado. Gamma was the one who turned KAGETORA heel, in fact.
• Gamma and Yokosuka were dojo boys around the same time in Michinoku in the late 90s. They are both also very close friends of K-ness.

Their keynote colour is camouflage.

WORLD-1

Full Time Members: Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, BxB Hulk, Naoki Tanisaki, m.c.KZ
Part Time & Gaijin Members: PAC, Shinobu

History: Doi and Yoshino parted ways with Muscle Outlaw’z at the end of DEAD OR ALIVE 2008. They promised to form a new unit in the coming month. The first recruit was KZ. He was wrapping up a stay in Mexico to train under Jorge Rivera and learn more in the ways of Lucha Libre. They made a phone call to him during the 5/14 Korakuen Hall show (tricking Super Shenlong into thinking he was the one they wanted in the process….). He accepted, and announced his return to Japan at the end of the month. Later in the show, Hulk was assaulted by the newly formed REAL HAZARD. Doi and Yoshino came to his aid. Despite losing the resulting impromptu match, Hulk accepted their overtures to join them. More fighting went on, leading to Tanisaki making the save with a spear. So, the entire unit was put in place on the same night. They held off on naming the unit until 5/31, where KZ returned. The Young Bucks were assistant members during their summer tour, but switched allegiance to WARRIORS-5 in 2009. With the demise of Typhoon, PAC was made a member in January 2009. Former NEW HAZARD and Tozawajuku part time member Shinobu is now also loosely affiliated. He quietly became an assistant in April. His DG schedule in 2009 has been exclusive to Kyoto shows thus far, so he is a very part time member.

The unit concept is simple, WORLD-1 IS NUMBER 1. Doi is the Dream Gate champion. Yoshino is a top singles player and multiple-time Brave Gate champion. Doi and Yoshino together are the top team in DG. Hulk has main evented World and is a face of the future. KZ is a NEX-1 tournament winner and one of the best from the original NEX class. Tanisaki has found varying levels of success all over Japan. PAC is one of the best flyers in the world. They are the strongest unit in Dragon Gate.

Their keynote colours are silver, gold, and black.

REAL HAZARD

Full Time Members: YAMATO, Ryo Saito, Kenichiro Arai, Yasushi Kanda, Cyber Kong, Genki Horiguchi
Part Time & Gaijin Members: None

History: Original REAL HAZARD was formed on 5/14/08. The remains of Muscle Outlaw’z (YAMATO, Horiguchi, Gamma, and Kanda) merged with NEW HAZARDs’ Shingo Takagi and Kong. Takagi was the original leader, but he was kicked out of the group at the end of World. He had showed some sympathy to CIMA during several RH assaults. Gamma assumed the leadership role. In late 2008, troubles between Gamma and Kanda began to arise. RH survived a unit dismissal match and the problems seemed to be on their way to being settled. The two still could not get along, and Gamma was ousted after a loser leaves RH match. Gamma actually won the match, but Kanda was aided by Arai who turned heel and joined RH. YAMATO was named the new leader. This version is considered a “newborn” REAL HAZARD, or a second generation version. Saito joined on 2/15, after betraying Susumu Yokosuka.

RH is the main heel group of DG. They are traditional heels who rely heavily on interference and illegal weapon attacks. Arai, Kanda, and Horiguchi are original Toryumon members, all coming from the second term class. Saito is also an early Toryumon member. YAMATO and Kong are from Dragon Gate NEX, giving RH an interesting generational mix. For Arai and Saito this is their first true run as heels. Saito was a member of Do FIXER during their heel run, but the unit itself was not heel in a traditional sense. Arai was heel when he debuted, but with the CMAX there was little room for others on that side of things.

Their keynote colours are blue, red, and black.

There are two pseudo-units that exist outside of the scope of the established ones.

The Zetsurins: Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii, Magnitude Kishiwada
“Zetsurin” means without peer. They are the old guard of DG. All three are former Dream Gate champions and act as gatekeepers for the younger generation. They are not a proper unit, and with Kishiwada participating on fewer shows they are not as active as they were in 2008. K-ness is sometimes thought of as a member but his membership is ambiguous. When Koji Kanemoto invaded DG in March 2009 he aligned with them as the “True Zetsurins”. Their roots can be traced back to 2006 and the failed Renaissance concept. Mochizuki and Fujii have been allied ever since.

The Shisas: Super Shisa & Shisa BOY
A masked teacher and student team. Anthony W. Mori is affiliated with them as well, but they don’t team very often.