DGUSA
Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2009 as an international expansion of the Japanese promotion Dragon Gate. Gabe Sapolsky, former head booker of Ring of Honor, served as the promotion's Vice President. History Dragon Gate USA featured regular members of the Dragon Gate roster, along with notable American talent. All Dragon Gate titles and champions were recognized by Dragon Gate USA. In June 2009, it was announced that Dragon Gate USA had signed an agreement to film its shows for pay-per-view broadcast. In August 2009, it was announced that Dragon Gate USA had signed an agreement with The Fight Network to air DGUSA content on television. The first Open the Freedom Gate Champion was crowned following a tournament held at DGUSA Freedom Fight on November 28, 2009. This was the main title of Dragon Gate USA. On September 7, 2010, Dragon Gate USA announced a partnership with Go Fight Live and that their first live internet pay ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
DGUSA Open The United Gate Championship
The DGUSA Open the United Gate Championship was a tag team championship within the Dragon Gate USA promotion. The first champions were World–1 ( Masato Yoshino and Pac) and were crowned at ''United: Finale'' in the tournament final, which was held in Union City, New Jersey. It aired on March 11, 2011 on pay-per-view tape delay entitled ''United We Stand''. The title is also recognized by Dragon Gate USA's parent promotion, Dragon Gate, and it has been defended at a Dragon Gate show in Japan. The title is also recognized by the Evolve promotion. On May 30, 2015, Gargano retired the titles after a title defense. Being a professional wrestling championship, it is not won via direct competition; it is instead won via a predetermined ending to a match or awarded to a wrestler because of a wrestling angle. Johnny Gargano and Rich Swann were the last champions, retiring the titles in their first reign both individually and as a team. Title history Tournament A three-day round ro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Akira Tozawa
Akira Tozawa (戸澤 陽, ''Tozawa Akira'', born July 22, 1985) is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. He is a former WWE Cruiserweight Champion and WWE 24/7 Champion, winning the latter title 16 times.WWE officially recognizes Tozawa as a 15-time 24/7 Champion; his ninth reign is not recognized by WWE. Prior to working for the WWE, he had a twelve-year run in Dragon Gate where he is a former Open the Brave Gate, Open the Twin Gate, Open the Triangle Gate and Open the Owarai Gate champion and the winner of the 2011 and 2012 Summer Adventure Tag League. He is also known for his year-long excursion to the United States, during which he performed for promotions such as Chikara, Dragon Gate USA, and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. Professional wrestling career Dragon Gate (2005–2010) Tozawa was the third graduate of the Dragon Gate dojo to debut. After debuting, he underwent a 10 match trial series, but lost ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
DGUSA Freedom Fight
Freedom Fight / Open The Freedom Gate is a series of professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) events produced by Dragon Gate USA. Background Freedom Fight will feature an undetermined number of professional wrestling matches that will involve different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers will be portrayed as either villains or heroes in the scripted events that build tension and culminate into a wrestling match or series of matches. The main emphasis on this show is to inaugurate the company's title, the Open the Freedom Gate Championship. There will be a 14-man tournament featuring four qualifying matches before leading to a final, which will be contested as a four-way elimination match between the winners. The first qualifier announced was a three-way match between Mike Quackenbush, Super Crazy, and Cima in a match billed as a "salute" to the trainer of all three men, Jorge Rivera. It was later announced Rivera was added to the match, mak ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Gran Akuma
Gran Akuma (born December 20, 1974) is a retired professional wrestler, best known for his work in Chikara. He has also worked for Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), Dragon Gate USA and Full Impact Pro (FIP). In Chikara, he was a member of The Kings of Wrestling stable, while also being a part of Team F.I.S.T. with Icarus and Chuck Taylor. On November 17, 2006, Akuma and Icarus defeated Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli to capture the Campeonatos de Parejas. Career Chikara (2002–2010) Gran Akuma debuted as a masked wrestler at a Chikara show on October 12, 2002 in Allentown, Pennsylvania and went on to take part in the inaugural Young Lions Cup later that year. In 2003 Akuma found a tag team partner in Icarus, and they formed the babyface Team F.I.S.T. (Friends In Similar Tights). The team competed in the 2003 Tag World Grand Prix but were defeated in the semi-finals by The Night Shift (Blind Rage and Hallowicked). Team F.I.S.T then went on to feud with The Wildcards (Eddie ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Gabe Sapolsky
Gabriel Sapolsky (born September 26, 1972) is an American professional wrestling promoter, creative writer, and booker who currently works for WWE. Sapolsky has also held various creative and marketing positions in the professional wrestling industry, notably as Paul Heyman's personal assistant with Extreme Championship Wrestling, the co-founder and head of talent relations (booker) at Ring of Honor, the vice-president of Dragon Gate USA, vice-president of talent relations, creative and marketing of the World Wrestling Network (WWN) and creative writer (booker) and founder of EVOLVE. Sapolsky also worked in a booking capacity for various other promotions including Full Impact Pro and Style Battle, as well as for special events like the WWN Supershow and the Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup. Early life Sapolsky attended Runkle Elementary School, and later Brookline High School, graduating in 1990. He received his B.A. in Communications from Temple University and graduated in 1994. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Evolve (professional Wrestling)
Evolve Wrestling (stylized as EVOLVE) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2010 by former Ring of Honor booker and Dragon Gate USA vice president, Gabe Sapolsky. The company featured a roster of wrestlers from all over America, as well as several competitors from Japan. The promotion had a close working relationship with sister promotion Dragon Gate USA until Dragon Gate USA's closure in August 2015. In 2015, Evolve formed a relationship with WWE, allowing WWE to scout Evolve talent and potentially sign them. On July 2, 2020, Evolve was officially purchased by WWE. History In 2009, Gabe Sapolsky announced a new wrestling promotion via some viral videos featuring one of the company's competitors, Jimmy Jacobs. After this more videos were produced promoting more performers, as well as featuring blogs written by the wrestlers about their feelings regarding the company. The first show, Evolve 1: Richards vs. Ibushi, was held on January 16, 2010, in Rah ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
DGUSA Open The Freedom Gate Championship
The Open the Freedom Gate Championship was the major title in the promotion Dragon Gate USA. The first holder of the title was crowned following a 14-man tournament held at DGUSA Freedom Fight on November 28, 2009. The title was recognized by Dragon Gate USA's parent promotion, Dragon Gate, and it has been defended at a Dragon Gate show in Japan. The title was also recognized by the Evolve promotion. There were seven reigns by six wrestlers. BxB Hulk became the first champion by winning a 14-man tournament. Timothy Thatcher was the final champion, vacating the title on August 15, 2015. The championship was defended in the USA, Japan, China, England, Germany, Canada, Scotland and Northern Ireland for promotions such as Revolution Pro Wrestling, British Championship Wrestling, Outback Championship Wrestling, Dragon Gate, Fight Club: PRO, Southside Wrestling Entertainment, Alpha-1 Wrestling, WWNLive, Kamikaze Pro, Premier British Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Ulster.https://www.cage ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Evolve Championship
The Evolve Championship was a professional wrestling championship owned by the Evolve promotion. The inaugural champion was crowned on April 5, 2013, when A. R. Fox defeated Sami Callihan in the finals of an eight-man tournament. Like most professional wrestling championships, the title was won as a result of a scripted match. There have been ten reigns shared among ten wrestlers. History Evolve was founded in 2009 by Dragon Gate USA booker Gabe Sapolsky, Full Impact Pro (FIP) owner Sal Hamaoui and independent wrestler Davey Richards and held its first event on January 16, 2010. Originally, Evolve had no championships, instead putting emphasis on each wrestler's win–loss record. On November 25, 2011, Evolve and Dragon Gate USA announced the unification of the two promotions, which would result in Evolve recognizing the Open the Freedom Gate and Open the United Gate Championships as its top two titles. However, on September 8, 2012, Evolve announced that the promotion woul ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
WWNLive
The World Wrestling Network is an American professional wrestling organization known for and branded after its video streaming service, WWNLive. WWNLive hosts content both from WWN's "brands", including Full Impact Pro (FIP) and Shine Wrestling, as well as content from third-party organizations. History World Wrestling Network was founded by Sal Hamaoui and Tony Valamontes in 2001 as a DVD company before it later evolved into an internet streaming and video on demand business. In 2003, WWNLive began producing FIP DVDs. In November 2014, Evolve Wrestling, Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA), Full Impact Pro (FIP) and Shine Wrestling held a tour of China under the WWNLive banner. The following month, WWNLive announced a long-term deal with Great-Wall International Sports Management for regular tours of Asia, starting in the spring of 2015. In 2015, WWNLive opened a training facility in Trinity, Florida named the "World Wrestling Network Academy". That year, Evolve began a partners ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Dave Meltzer
David Allen Meltzer (born October 24, 1959) is an American journalist who reports on professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Since 1983, he has been the publisher and editor of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON''). He has also written for the ''Oakland Tribune'', the ''Los Angeles Times'', Yahoo! Sports, SI.com, and '' The National Sports Daily''. He has extensively covered mixed martial arts since UFC 1 in 1993 and currently covers the sport for SB Nation. He has been called "the most accomplished reporter in sports journalism" by Frank Deford of ''Sports Illustrated''. He is also a frequent lecturer on many aspects of the business of MMA, professional wrestling, and boxing at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Early life Meltzer lived in upstate New York, later moving with his family to San Jose, California. Meltzer earned a journalism degree from San Jose State University and started out as a sportswriter for the ''Wichita Falls ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Professional Wrestling Match Types
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. Throughout professional wrestling's decades long history, some gimmick matches have spawned many variations of the core concept. Singles match The singles match is the most common of all professional wrestling matches, which involves only two competitors competing for one fall. A victory is obtained by pinfall, submission, knockout, countout, or disqualification. Some of the most common variations on the singles match is to restrict the possible means for victory. Duchess of Queensbury Rules match A Duchess of Queensbury Rules match is a singles match contested under specific, often disclosed rules is replaced by a title usually meant to sound traditional for one combatant. A wrestler challenging another wrestler to a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
President (corporate Title)
A president is a leader of an organization, company, community, club, trade union, university or other group. The relationship between a president and a chief executive officer varies, depending on the structure of the specific organization. In a similar vein to a chief operating officer, the title of corporate president as a separate position (as opposed to being combined with a " C-suite" designation, such as "president and chief executive officer" or "president and chief operating officer") is also loosely defined; the president is usually the legally recognized highest rank of corporate officer, ranking above the various vice presidents (including senior vice president and executive vice president), but on its own generally considered subordinate, in practice, to the CEO. The powers of a president vary widely across organizations and such powers come from specific authorization in the bylaws like '' Robert's Rules of Order'' (e.g. the president can make an "executive decision ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |