Toryumon is a professional wrestling promotion that operates both in Japan and in Mexico, where it's called Toryumon Mexico. The promotion is owned and operated by Yoshihiro Asai, who is best known under the name Último Dragón. Tōryūmon is a coined word that means Fighting Dragon Gate. The word is coined after the homonym Tōryūmon that literally means climbing up dragon gate and means gateway to success. The promotion was originally created to give graduates of the Último Dragón Gym a promotion to gain their initial in-ring experience in. In 2004 Último Dragón left the promotion and took the name and trademarks with him. The wrestlers and officials decided to adopt the name Dragon Gate and continue in the traditions of Toryumon. Since then Último Dragón has promoted Toryumon mainly in Mexico but also holds occasional shows in Japan.
History[]
During his time working for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the United States Japanese wrestler Último Dragón decided to open up a wrestling school in Naucalpan, Mexico to give Japanese hopefuls the chance to learn the Mexican lucha libre style like Dragón had. The wrestling school operated after the same principles of a university, divided into classes with several terms where wrestlers would "graduate" (debut) at the same time. the Ultimo Dragon Gym's first graduating term consistede of CIMA, Don Fujii, Dragon Kid, Magnum Tokyo and SUWA who collectively became known as Toryumon Japan (a name that would be used for the first four terms). Toryumon promoted their first show on May 11, 1997 in Naucalpan, Mexico on a show that was co-promoted with International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG). Toryumon and IWRG would co-promote shows in Japan from 1997 until 2001, allowing the Ultimo Dragon Gym graduates to work on IWRG shows and even saw several graduates wrestlers win IWRG Championship. Through his contacts with WCW Último Dragón also arranged for some of his first term graduates to wrestle on World Championship Wrestling shows. On January 1, 1999 Toryumon held its first show in Japan and from that point forward began promoting regular shows in Japan. Toryumon's combination of traditional Japanese Puroresu, Mexican Lucha Libre and elements of Sports Entertainment that Último Dragón had observed while working for WCW such as outside interference and referee's being knocked out, something that at the time was not traditionally used in Japanese wrestling. The second class of Último Dragón Gym graduates began their own promotion, called the Toryumon 2000 Project, or T2P for short. The T2P promotion debuted on November 13, 2001 and became known for their use of the six-sided wrestling ring, the first promotion to regularly use such a ring shape. T2P wrestlers primarily used a submission based style called Llave (Spanish for "Key" the lucha libre term for submission locks). T2P ran until January 27, 2003 when the roster was absorbed into Toryumon. The third graduating class was known as "Toryumon X" and like T2P also started their own promotion under their class name. Toryumon X made its debut on August 22, 2003 and lasted until early 2004.
Último Dragón had been forced to retire from active competition in 1998 after a mistake during an elbow surgery that casued nerve damage. In 2001 Dragón had another round of surgery on his elbow, restoring the mobility and feeling that the original operation had robbed him off. Following his rehabilitation Último Dragón made his return to active wrestling on a Toryumon / T2P co-promoted Pay-Per-View on September 8, 2002. In the following months Dragón wrestled regularly for Toryumon and various companies around the world. Because of his active scheduled Último Dragón stepped down as the director of Toryumon leaving the job to Takashi Okamura. Okamura handled the job while Dragón began working full-time for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in the United States. After his run with WWE ended Dragón returned to Japan and announced that he was leaving Toryumon and taking all the trademarks he owned with him. Toryumon Japan changed its name to Dragon Gate as a result of this, continuing the traditions of Toryumon Japan including references to Último Dragón. Since the break Toryumon has primarily promoted shows in Mexico, featuring students trained by Dragón and Jorge "Skayde" Rivera and a number of wrestlers from various Mexican and American promotions.
In Japan a group of remaining Toryumon students, including ousted members of Dragon Gate, joined with the internet-firm Livedoor to create the promotion dragondoor, a promotion that only ran six shows. The group launched another wrestling venture in 2006 called El Dorado: Next Door Project.
Shows and events[]
Toryumon Japan ran a series of PPVs under the names Vamonos Amigos ("Let's go pal" in Spanish) and "Revolucion" ("Revolution") as well as an annual anniversary show. They also held an annual Numero Uno League that became one of the highlights of the promotional year. Since the split in 2004 Toryumon has not promoted any major shows or PPVs, focusing their promotional efforts on Toryumon Mexico. In Mexico Dragón promotes an annual DragonMania show, with the last being DragonMania IV held on August 22, 2009.
Championships promoted[]
Before the Dragon Gate split in 2004 Toryumon Japan promoted a series of championships, only one of which originated in the promotion, Último Dragón Gym Championship, the rest were either bought from its previous owner or acquired after promotions closed. When the promotion turned to Dragon Gate all its championships were vacated, leaving only the Toryumon Mexico promoted titles.
| Name | Promoted in | Last Champion | Date won | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Championship | 2001–2003 | Jun Ogawauchi | November 10, 2003
|
Title currently inactive. |
| NWA International Junior Heavyweight Championship | 2008–2009 | Hajime Ohara | December 14, 2008
|
Currently promoted by Dradition |
| NWA International Light Heavyweight Championship | 2002 | CIMA | December 26, 2002
|
Inactive |
| NWA World Welterweight Championship | 1999–2007 | Hajime Ohara | February 10, 2007
|
Promoted by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre since 2007. |
| Último Dragón Gym Championship | 2003–2004 | CIMA | July 4, 2004
|
Inactive after the Dragon Gate split. |
| UWA World Trios Championship | 2001–2004 | Keni'chiro Arai, Dragon Kid Second Doi | May 9, 2004
|
Currently promoted by El Dorado |
| UWA World Welterweight Championship | 2003 | Taiji Ishimori | May 11, 2003
|
Promoted by Michinoku Pro |
Annual tournaments[]
Young Dragons Cup[]
Every year Toryumon Mexico holds the Young Dragons Cup, an annual tournament that began in 1997. The tournament is used to showcas Dragon Gym students. Originally it was a traditional single-elimination tournament, in 2006 it was changed into a torneo cibernetico and has had that format ever since. Rocky Romero, Kota Ibushi, Ryuji Yamaguchi and Trauma II are the only tournament winners who were not actually trained by Último Dragón.
- 1997: Magnum TOKYO
- 1998: Genki Horiguchi
- 1999: Yasushi Kanda
- 2000: Milano Collection AT
- 2001: Touru Owashi
- 2002: Taiji Ishimori
- 2003: Takeshi Minaminno
- 2004: Rocky Romero
- 2005: Kazuchika Okada
- 2006: Kota Ibushi
- 2007: Ryuji Yamaguchi
- 2008: Satoshi Kajiwara
- 2009: Trauma II
- 2010: Angelico
Yamaha Cup[]
Toryumon Mexico holds the Yamaha Cup about once a year, although there have been years without a Cup. The Yamaha Cup is a tag team tournament that features a mixture of Último Dragón trainees and a combination of wrestlers from the Mexican Independent circuit, IWRG and Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL).
- 2000: Susumu Mochizuki and Yasushi Kanda
- 2003: Taiji Ishimori and Shu Sato
- 2004: Mini Cima and SUWAcito
- 2005: Hiromi Horiguchi and Ryusuke Taguchi
- 2006: Johnny Stamboli and Chuck Palumbo
- 2008: Último Dragón and Yutaka Yoshie
- 2010: Angelico and El Hijo del Fantasma
Ultimo Dragon Gym students[]
| Class | Term | Name | Currently working |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toryumon Japan (1st Class)
|
1st Term
|
CIMA
|
Dragon Gate |
| Toryumon Japan (1st Class)
|
1st Term
|
Don Fujii
|
Dragon Gate |
| Toryumon Japan (1st Class)
|
1st Term
|
Dragon Kid | Dragon Gate |
| Toryumon Japan (1st Class)
|
1st Term
|
Magnum Tokyo
|
HUSTLE |
| Toryumon Japan (1st Class)
|
1st Term
|
SUWA
|
Retired |
| Toryumon Japan (1st Class)
|
2nd Term
|
Genki Horiguchi
|
Dragon Gate |
| Toryumon Japan (1st Class)
|
2nd Term
|
Keni'chiro Arai
|
Dragon Gate |
| Toryumon Japan (1st Class)
|
2nd Term
|
Stalker Ichikawa
|
Dragon Gate |
| Toryumon Japan (1st Class)
|
2nd Term
|
Yasushi Kanda
|
Dragon Gate |
| Toryumon Japan (1st Class)
|
3rd Term
|
Susumu Yokosuka
|
Dragon Gate |
| Toryumon Japan (1st Class)
|
3rd Term
|
Mototsugu Shimizu
|
El Dorado |
| Toryumon Japan (1st Class)
|
4th Term
|
Ryo Saito
|
Dragon Gate |
| Toryumon Japan (1st Class)
|
4th Term
|
Kinta Tamaoka
|
Did not graduate - Dragon Gate |
| Toryumon 2000 Project (2nd Class)
|
5th Term
|
Anthony W. Mori
|
Retired |
| Toryumon 2000 Project (2nd Class)
|
5th Term
|
Raimu Mishima
|
Retired due to injuries. |
| Toryumon 2000 Project (2nd Class)
|
5th Term
|
Naruki Doi
|
Dragon Gate |
| Toryumon 2000 Project (2nd Class)
|
5th Term
|
Taku Iwasa
|
Dragon Gate |
| Toryumon 2000 Project (2nd Class)
|
6th Term
|
Milano Collection AT | Retired due to eye injury |
| Toryumon 2000 Project (2nd Class)
|
6th Term
|
Kinya Oyanagei
|
El Dorado |
| Toryumon 2000 Project (2nd Class)
|
6th Term
|
Phillip J. Fukumasa | Retired |
| Toryumon 2000 Project (2nd Class)
|
6th Term
|
Taku Iwasa
|
Dragon Gate |
| Toryumon 2000 Project (2nd Class)
|
6th Term
|
TARUcito | Retired |
| Toryumon 2000 Project (2nd Class)
|
6th Term
|
Takuya Murakami
|
Michinoku Pro |
| Toryumon 2000 Project (2nd Class)
|
7th Term
|
Toru Owashi
|
Dramatic Dream Team |
| Toryumon 2000 Project (2nd Class)
|
7th Term
|
Masato Yoshino
|
Dragon Gate |
| Toryumon 2000 Project (2nd Class)
|
7th Term
|
Brother YASSHI
|
All Japan Pro Wrestling |
| Toryumon 2000 Project (2nd Class)
|
7th Term
|
Takayuki Yagi
|
Dragon Gate |
| Toryumon 2000 Project (2nd Class)
|
8th Term
|
Shuji Kondo
|
All Japan Pro Wrestling |
| Toryumon 2000 Project (2nd Class)
|
8th Term
|
Jun Ogawauchi
(JUN) |
Retired |
| Toryumon 2000 Project (2nd Class)
|
8th Term
|
Shogo Takagi
|
Semi-Retired |
| Toryumon 2000 Project (2nd Class)
|
8th Term
|
Takuya Sugawara
|
Pro Wrestling Zero1 / Dragon Gate |
| Toryumon 2000 Project (2nd Class)
|
8th Term
|
Hisamaru Tajima
|
Dradition |
| Toryumon 2000 Project (2nd Class)
|
8th Term
|
Flash Moon / Murcielago / Inoue 110 Taiien | Freelancer |
| Toryumon X (3rd Class)
|
9th Term
|
Taiji Ishimori
|
Pro Wrestling NOAH |
| Toryumon X (3rd Class)
|
9th Term
|
Shu Sato / Brahman Shu | Michinoku Pro/El Dorado |
| Toryumon X (3rd Class)
|
9th Term
|
Kei Sato / Brahman Kei | Michinoku Pro/El Dorado |
| Toryumon X (3rd Class)
|
9th Term
|
Ooma
|
Michinoku Pro |
| Toryumon X (3rd Class)
|
9th Term
|
Shinjitsu Nohashi
/ Koichiro Arai |
Michinoku Pro |
| Toryumon X (3rd Class)
|
9th Term
|
Takeshi Minaminno
|
Michinoku Pro |
| Toryumon X (3rd Class)
|
9th Term
|
Pineapple Hanai
/ Ken45° |
Michinoku Pro/El Dorado |
| Toryumon X (3rd Class)
|
9th Term
|
SUWAcito / KAGETORA
|
Michinoku Pro/El Dorado |
| Toryumon X (3rd Class)
|
9th Term
|
Rasse / Jumping Kid Okimoto
|
Michinoku Pro/El Dorado |
| Toryumon X (3rd Class)
|
9th Term
|
Lambo Miura / Dynamite Tohoku | Retired |
| Toryumon X (3rd Class)
|
9th Term
|
Masahiro Takanashi
|
(Did not graduate) Dramatic Dream Team |
| Toryumon X (3rd Class)
|
10th Term
|
Naoki Tanisaki
|
Dragon Gate |
| Toryumon X (3rd Class)
|
10th Term
|
Mango Fukuda
Bear Fukuda |
El Dorado |
| Toryumon X (3rd Class)
|
11th Term
|
Takuya Sugi
|
Michinoku Pro / Freelance |
| Toryumon X (3rd Class)
|
11th Term
|
Saito Masuda
|
Never made his debut |
| Toryumon X (3rd Class)
|
11th Term
|
Amigo Suzuki
/ Chuuichiro Arai/Amigo Suzuki |
Toryumon Mexico / Dradition |
| Toryumon X (3rd Class)
|
11th Term
|
Passion Hasegawa
|
Toryumon Mexico |
| Toryumon X (3rd Class)
|
12th Term
|
Yousuke Aoki
/ Spark Aoki |
El Dorado |
| Toryumon X (3rd Class)
|
12th Term
|
GALLARDO / 119 Katayama Taiin | Retired |
| Toryumon X (3rd Class)
|
12th Term
|
Kondo and Co | Retired |
| Toryumon X (3rd Class)
|
12th Term
|
TARUcito 2 | Never made his debut |
| Toryumon X (3rd Class)
|
13th Term
|
Hiromi Horiguchi
|
Toryumon Mexico / Dradition |
| Toryumon X (3rd Class)
|
13th Term
|
Tsutomu Oosugi / Milanito Collection a.t. / Rei
|
Michinoku Pro/El Dorado |
| Toryumon X (3rd Class)
|
13th Term
|
Banana Senga
/ Hercules Oosenga |
Michinoku Pro/El Dorado |
| Toryumon X (3rd Class)
|
13th Term
|
Kanjyuuro Matsuyama
|
Michinoku Pro / Osaka Pro |
| Toryumon X (3rd Class)
|
13th Term
|
Hajime Ohara
|
Pro Wrestling Zero1 / Kensuke Office |
| Toryumon X (3rd Class)
|
13th Term
|
Kazuchika Okada
|
New Japan Pro Wrestling / Total Nonstop Action Wrestling |
| Toryumon X (3rd Class)
|
13th Term
|
Guillermo Akiba
/ CHANGO |
El Dorado |
| Toryumon Mexico (4th Class)
|
14th Term
|
Toshiya Matsuzaki
/ Rascal Matsuzaki / Pequeno Ninja |
Toryumon Mexico / Dradition |
| Toryumon Mexico (4th Class)
|
14th Term
|
Daisuke Hanaoka
/ Oscar Hanoka |
Toryumon Mexico / Dradition |
| Toryumon Mexico (4th Class)
|
14th Term
|
Satoshi Kajiwara
|
Toryumon Mexico / Dradition / Kensuke Office |
