Dragon Gate USA [Archive] - RonFez.net Messageboard

SpicyMcHaggis

04-15-2009, 06:55 AM

Press Release:

Japan's Dragon Gate promotion announced its plans to expand into the United States as Dragon Gate USA. Former ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky is listed as the vice president of Dragon Gate USA, and Satoshi Oji is listed as the president. The full press release is listed below.

PHILADELPHIA- Japan's Dragon Gate promotion has announced its expansion into United States with Dragon Gate USA at last night's Korakuen Hall event in Tokyo. It has named Satoshi Oji as the President and Gabe Sapolsky as the Vice President of Dragon Gate USA. DGUSA will make its online home at www.DGUSA.tv as the site was launched late last night.

Dragon Gate's roots go back to Mexico in 1999. Now Dragon Gate promotes over 250 shows per year in Japan. It will increase its schedule by running live events under the Dragon Gate USA banner every other month in the United States. The first show is scheduled for Philadelphia at The Arena on July 25th. Already announced for this event are CIMA, Dragon Kid, Naruki Doi and Masato Yoshino. Tickets will go on sale on April 29th. Information will be coming soon about DGUSA's Chicago debut on Labor Day weekend.

Oji has been a long time employee of the Dragon Gate promotion and will run an office out of Houston. Sapolsky, the former booker of ROH and office worker in the original ECW, will head the Philadelphia office.

"This is a natural progression in Dragon Gate's growth," Oji said. "The entire company in Japan is looking forward to bringing our style of wrestling to the United States. The wrestlers are all very excited to make a new home in the United States."

"This is a great opportunity to bring something new, fresh and unique to the American pro wrestling scene," Sapolsky said. "DGUSA is going to be about quality over quantity. This is the haven for pro wrestling fans. Our goal is to become known as the premium brand of pro wrestling."

We encourage you to visit www.DGUSA.tv for feature articles, a roster section, a mission statement, the chance to order Dragon Gate USA merchandise and more. All the latest information about this revolutionary promotion is now at DGUSA.tv.

SpicyMcHaggis

04-16-2009, 07:48 AM

Paul Heyman:
There's obviously bad blood between ROH and its former head writer, and Sapolsky threw himself right into the battle by booking Dragon Gate USA's debut show not in New York, not in Chicago, not in Miami, not in Los Angeles. Nope. Want to take a guess?

BINGO!

Sapolsky booked the 1st show, scheduled for July 25th, in Philadelphia.

South Philadelphia, to be exact. Corner of Swanson and Ritner. Yup, Dragon Gate USA is going to debut at The Arena.

So now Philadelphia is about to become the battle ground for the niche promotions.

It's the seven-year old ROH promotion, trying to market itself as the 'action alternative,' offer itself as a 'quality product,' and establish itself as a legit player through its association not only with Mark Cuban and HDNet, but also by being endorsed by Ric Flair himself.

And it's the young, hot Dragon Gate promotion, looking to expand from its Japanese base, hoping to create a reputation as being the most exciting brand available to the pro wrestling consumer anywhere on the planet.

Dave Meltzer Report on DGUSA Details:
Dragon Gate promotions announced on 4/15 in Japan that they are setting up a U.S. office and will be running six or more shows per year, using former ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky as the booker.

The concept is to bring in eight wrestlers from Japan for each show, concentrate on three or four markets, and fill the show out with U.S. independent wrestlers.

Satoshi Oji, out of Houston, who has worked as their translator, will be the President of the organization and Toru Kito will be the CFO. The first show will be 7/25 at the Alhambra Arena in Philadelphia, with Dragon Kid, Cima, Masato Yoshino and Naruki Doi as four of the eight wrestlers appearing. They are looking at doing six to seven match shows, with the Japanese as the headliners. The second event will be over Labor Day weekend in Chicago. The goal is to draw 400 to 600 fans per event, based on the idea that Dragon Gate itself has become well known enough in the U.S. to draw that level of a niche audience.

There will be some similar talent brought in on the shows as they can do programs, but they will vary which of the top 16 or so Dragon Gate are brought in for each show. The concept is similar to ROH at the beginning, where they will look at DVD sales as a primary revenue stream. The annual shows with the Dragon Gate wrestlers were always among the best selling DVDs each year for ROH.

Personally I think that their best bet is to run limited shows, every other month, in major cities that would draw in the crowd, and build from there. Get a reputation going because outside of ROH fans, not much is known about Dragon Gate, which is essentially the Ring of Honor of Japan. It'll be interesting to see if this show, with Sapolsky as VP, will be the one to put what seems like a fledgling Ring of Honor out of business. Current booker Adam Pearce has been quoted off the record as predicting ROH will be done in 6 to 8 months with all of it's TV deals going to David Marquez and the NWA. When Pearce was put into the lead booking position, I predicted as much and wouldn't be surprised if by the end of the year or middle of next year there was a show where the two promotions unified their titles with NWA taking over.

conman823

04-16-2009, 10:19 AM

I really gotta get back into the indy scene.

Any videos's you guys suggest I check out?

SpicyMcHaggis

04-16-2009, 11:38 AM

CruelCircus

04-19-2009, 10:32 PM

Some of those finishers are ridiculous!
Esp. at 1:37 and 2:26.

Melk

04-20-2009, 12:55 AM

DragonGate has always been a marketing quandary in Japan. It is a pro wrestling group built on establishing fan support the same way that tokusatsu TV shows do. Their two target demographics are pre-pre-teens (7-12 year old boys) and their stay-at-home mothers. In spite of this, the group has some level of cross-over fandom but it is still built knowing that the traditional working-class Japanese male fan base that grew up watching Jumbo Tsuruta, Stan Hansen, and Antonio Inoki have shifted their interest to K-1, Sengoku or any other MMA-type group.

I have been to two DragonGate shows since coming to Japan. The group does a really good job distributing coupons to the local retailers and encouraging families to get out to the shows. I was able to get a third row seat for only 2,600 yen (about 26 US dollars) and I got to see all of their talent in spite of the fact that the show was in a suburb of a big city and not a pay-per-view.

I'm not even sure how the fans in the states would react to an unchanged DragonGate product. Their matches have great pacing and fantastic high spots. But the angles are kind of simplistic and a great number of their preliminary matches are really odd comedy matches. Not to mention, their curtain-jerkers are also the popcorn vendors and ushers. There is something oddly fun and mom-and-pop about the company that I think a lot of American wrestling fans would consider low-rent and tacky.

SpicyMcHaggis

04-21-2009, 09:25 AM

From the official MySpace page of DGUSA:

Welcome to the official Myspace of Dragon Gate USA, www.Myspace.com/DGUSA. My name is Gabe and I wear many hats for DGUSA, but the most important one is as your host of this new pro wrestling haven. If you want to know about who I am then check out my personal Myspace at www.Myspace.com/rohgabe and make sure to read my blog. Some of you might know me from my time with the original ECW. Many of you are familiar with my work in ROH. I am excited now to continue my 15-year wrestling career with Dragon Gate USA. The decision to join forces with Dragon Gate to form the DGUSA brand was an easy one for a number of factors. I will share some of those with you in this blog.

Since ROH parted ways with me last October I received several job offers and other opportunities in wrestling. None of them jumped out at me. I had a business relationship with Dragon Gate since 2005. They approached me last January about running a show in the United States. However, the timing just wasn't there. Then about a month later the idea was developed to launch a full-fledged wrestling promotion. Several weeks later DGUSA was born. Why did I jump at the DGUSA opportunity and let other jobs pass by? Here are just a few reasons in no particular order:

-DGUSA has a major company in Dragon Gate backing it. This means DGUSA has all the resources that come with Dragon Gate in Japan. This isn't trying to build a new promotion from scratch, we have a strong foundation already in place.

-Simply put, THE DRAGON GATE ROSTER!!! These guys are awesome. The amazing thing to me is that the entire roster has improved in every way since the famous five star match in Chicago in 2006. They are faster, execute their moves with sharper precision, in better condition and have more charisma than when I first saw them dazzle an American crowd. They are also committed to Dragon Gate and DGUSA so our core is set in stone. Most importantly, they are hungry to show the fans of the United States that they are the best. I had several offers to produce a "dream" indy card, but none of them excited me because they didn't offer anything different than any other promotion out there. DGUSA has the Dragon Gate roster to set it apart. I mean CIMA, Dragon Kid, Masato Yoshino and Naruki Doi are already announced for the July 25th debut in Philadelphia (www.DGUSA.tv for event info). This is a dream booking situation!!!

-One of my favorite things about the first year of ROH is that we weren't tied down to a contract-laden talent roster. You never knew when someone like Spanky on the 2nd show or Paul London in the ladder match would make themselves into a star. DGUSA will have the chance to book whoever has the desire and ability to make their reputation in one night. DGUSA will feature whoever is hot at the moment. We have a core roster from Dragon Gate and then flexibility with the remaining spots on the card for the most exciting and fresh talent. Of course, we will always look to have a revolving door of all-star guest stars. You never know who will step up and cement themselves in your memory in DGUSA. Keep checking the roster section of www.DGUSA.tv to see who is added next.

-The Dragon Gate stars are exposed, but not overexposed. You know who they are. You know what they do. You want to see them more and now you will.

-I love the fact there are only about six shows a year. If you read my blogs on www.Myspace.com/rohgabe then you know that booking 40 or so special shows a year is taxing, trying and just plain difficult. Now DGUSA can concentrate on around six standout and important events. There is no need to hold anything back, stretch an angle out or burn through rematches. It really comes down to the basic business principle of supply and demand. DGUSA will be a rare treat.

-Finally, I believe that you are ready for something new, fresh, exciting, innovative and different. Almost everything in wrestling feels like old news. As a wrestling fan myself, there isn't much anymore that gives me that rush. Most of the stuff out there feels stale, unoriginal and over produced. I feel that the market is there and you want something that will blow things up. I think DGUSA will do that for all the reasons I stated above.

I am refreshed, rejuvenated and alive again. The dawn of a new era is here. It is very exciting and all of you are feeding my adrenaline by expressing your enthusiasm to me. This is OUR wrestling haven. It is a very special time because now you can be a part of it as we evolve and progress. You will see our appreciation with first class treatment. Dragon Gate USA is here and we invite you to join us from the start of our journey.

Please friend us, subscribe to our blog and join our community.

Sincerely,
Gabe

SpicyMcHaggis

04-23-2009, 06:31 AM

From www.DGUSA.tv

Dragon Gate USA is pleased to announce the ticket options for its debut event on July 25th at The Arena in South Philadelphia. Tickets will go on sale at 10am on April 29th at www.DGUSA.tv. We will announce additional ticket outlets after the initial on sale date.

Every DGUSA show is a major, unique and rare event. These ticket options reflect the fact that DGUSA is the premium brand of pro wrestling in the United States. Here are some of the special things that are included in the various packages to show you our appreciation:

-The ticket itself is a high-end collectible item.

-Meet & Greet: The doors will open early and fans will get a chance to meet, get autographs and take photos with some of the stars on that night's show.

-Bonus Match: The Meet & Greet will also feature a high quality live bonus match.

-Appreciation Bag: DGUSA will show you our gratitude by giving you a gift bag with exclusive DGUSA items. This will include show specific collectible items that will only be available in the Appreciation Bag.

1st Row Golden Ringside - $75 each
-Collectable ticket
-Early admission for meet & greet
-Early admission for bonus match
-Appreciation Bag
-1st row reserved seating

2nd Row Golden Ringside - $50
-Collectable ticket
-Early admission for meet & greet
-Early admission for bonus match
-A special gift
-2nd row reserved seating

3rd Row Golden Ringside - $35
-Collectable ticket
-Early admission for meet & greet
-Early admission for bonus match
-3rd row reserved seating

General Admission - $20
-Collectable ticket
-First come, first serve seating

There can only be one premier event. Will you be able to say that you were there? We invite you to join our wrestling haven on July 25th with one of the above ticket options. Thank you.

SpicyMcHaggis

06-04-2009, 02:15 PM