Lion's Gate Project

Lion's Gate is the developmental branch of professional wrestling promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), which holds events under the banner of Lion's Gate Project.[1] The branch was officially announced on July 18, 2015, and held its first show on February 25, 2016. In addition to NJPW wrestlers, the Lion's Gate Project shows also feature wrestlers from other promotions, resulting in unique cards.[2]

Logo of the first Lion's Gate Project show

The events are held at Tokyo's Shinjuku Face. The first three shows featured heavy participation from wrestlers from the Pro Wrestling Noah promotion. Wrestlers from promotions such as All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) and Kaientai Dojo (K-Dojo) have also taken part in the project. NJPW rookies Takumi Honjo, Shota Umino, Tetsuhiro Yagi and Ren Narita have made their official debuts at Lion's Gate Project shows, while Katsuya Kitamura and Tomoyuki Oka wrestled their unofficial debuts as part of the project.

History

On July 18, 2015, NJPW held a press conference on various items relating to the future of the promotion. One of these was the establishment of a developmental branch, where NJPW could discover and develop both Japanese and foreign wrestlers. It was also intended as a place where trials could be held for outside wrestlers and where injured wrestlers could go to get back in shape. The plan was for the branch to eventually start running its own small shows.[3][4] The project quickly drew comparisons to WWE's NXT developmental branch.[5][6] NJPW had earlier attempted a developmental branch with a project named NEVER, which held shows between 2010 and 2012.[7]

Recently, NJPW had been described as "lax in cultivation of new talent", however, on January 3, 2016, the promotion introduced four new wrestlers with Hirai Kawato and Teruaki Kanemitsu wrestling their debut matches, while Katsuya Kitamura and Tomoyuki Oka were announced as the two newest recruits to the NJPW dojo. Dave Meltzer called the recruitment of the two former top amateur wrestlers "[p]robably the biggest move in a couple of years when it comes to new talent".[6] The same day, NJPW announced that their developmental branch Lion's Gate would be holding its first show on February 25, 2016, in Tokyo's Shinjuku Face.[2][8]

Events

Lion's Gate Project 1

Lion's Gate Project 1
Promotion	New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Brand(s)	Lion's Gate
Date	February 25, 2016[9]
City	Tokyo, Japan[9]
Venue	Shinjuku Face[9]
Attendance	467[9]
Event chronology
← Previous Honor Rising: Japan Next → New Japan Cup
Lion's Gate Project chronology
← Previous — Next → Lion's Gate Project 2

The first Lion's Gate Project event was held on February 25, 2016, in Tokyo at Shinjuku Face.[9][10] The event featured ten matches, including one dark match, an "exhibition match" featuring the unofficial debuts of Katsuya Kitamura and Tomoyuki Oka, working under amateur wrestling rules.[9][11] The other nine matches featured NJPW wrestlers taking on Pro Wrestling Noah wrestlers. The second match saw the debut of Animal Hamaguchi trainee Takumi Honjo, who was defeated by Noah's Maybach Taniguchi.[9] The show was main evented by NJPW veteran Yuji Nagata defeating Noah's Mitsuhiro Kitamiya.[12]

No.	Results[9][10]	Stipulations	Times
1^D	Katsuya Kitamura and Tomoyuki Oka wrestled to a time limit draw	Singles match	03:00
2	Maybach Taniguchi defeated Takumi Honjo	Singles match	04:24
3	Hitoshi Kumano defeated Hirai Kawato	Singles match	04:32
4	Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Kaito Kiyomiya	Singles match	06:20
5	Taiji Ishimori defeated David Finlay	Singles match	08:08
6	Yoshinari Ogawa defeated Jay White	Singles match	08:50
7	Manabu Nakanishi defeated Quiet Storm	Singles match	07:47
8	Tencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima) defeated Captain Noah and Genba Hirayanagi	Tag team match	11:08
9	Katsuhiko Nakajima defeated Juice Robinson	Singles match	12:20
10	Yuji Nagata defeated Mitsuhiro Kitamiya	Singles match	14:28

Lion's Gate Project 2

Lion's Gate Project 2
Promotion	New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Brand(s)	Lion's Gate
Date	May 19, 2016[13]
City	Tokyo, Japan[13]
Venue	Shinjuku Face[13]
Attendance	467[13]
Event chronology
← Previous War of the Worlds Next → Best of the Super Jr. XXIII
Lion's Gate Project chronology
← Previous Lion's Gate Project 1 Next → Lion's Gate Project 3

The second Lion's Gate Project event was held on May 19, 2016, in Tokyo at Shinjuku Face.[13][14][15] Much like the first Lion's Gate Project show, the event featured several wrestlers from Pro Wrestling Noah as well as Ayato Yoshida from Kaientai Dojo (K-Dojo).[15] All in all, the event featured eight matches.[13]

No.	Results[13][14][15]	Stipulations	Times
1	Kaito Kiyomiya defeated Hirai Kawato	Singles match	05:51
2	Shiro Tomoyose and Teruaki Kanemitsu wrestled to a time limit draw	Singles match	10:00
3	Hitoshi Kumano defeated Ayato Yoshida	Singles match	06:10
4	Yoshinari Ogawa defeated David Finlay	Singles match	08:30
5	Muhammad Yone and Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Captain Noah and Genba Hirayanagi	Tag team match	13:26
6	Naomichi Marufuji defeated Jay White	Singles match	12:41
7	Go Shiozaki defeated Juice Robinson	Singles match	14:53
8	Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi, Satoshi Kojima and Yuji Nagata defeated Katsuhiko Nakajima, Masa Kitamiya, Maybach Taniguchi and Quiet Storm	Eight-man tag team match	12:55

Lion's Gate Project 3

Lion's Gate Project 3
Promotion	New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Brand(s)	Lion's Gate
Date	September 1, 2016[16]
City	Tokyo, Japan[16]
Venue	Shinjuku Face[16]
Attendance	467[16]
Event chronology
← Previous Super J-Cup Next → Destruction in Tokyo
Lion's Gate Project chronology
← Previous Lion's Gate Project 2 Next → Lion's Gate Project 4

The third Lion's Gate Project event was held on September 1, 2016, in Tokyo at Shinjuku Face.[16][17] The event featured nine matches, including one dark match, and again featured heavy participation from Pro Wrestling Noah. One of the matches saw the NJPW debut of the promotion's newest international trainee, Henare, who was defeated by Noah's Quiet Storm.[16] In addition to the NJPW and Noah wrestlers, the event featured Ayato Yoshida and Go Asakawa from Kaientai Dojo (K-Dojo).[16] The dark match featured another exhibition match between NJPW trainees Katsuya Kitamura and Tomoyuki Oka, this time worked under professional wrestling rules.[18]

No.	Results[16][17]	Stipulations	Times
1^D	Katsuya Kitamura and Tomoyuki Oka wrestled to a time limit draw	Singles match	05:00
2	Quiet Storm defeated Henare	Singles match	06:02
3	Hajime Ohara defeated Hirai Kawato	Singles match	08:08
4	Kenoh defeated Teruaki Kanemitsu	Singles match	06:38
5	Tomoaki Honma defeated Shiro Tomoyose	Singles match	07:13
6	David Finlay defeated Go Asakawa	Singles match	06:30
7	Juice Robinson defeated Ayato Yoshida	Singles match	07:42
8	Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Hitoshi Kumano	Singles match	08:41
9	Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Katsuyori Shibata, Manabu Nakanishi, Satoshi Kojima and Yuji Nagata defeated Go Shiozaki, Kaito Kiyomiya, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Masa Kitamiya and Maybach Taniguchi	Ten-man tag team match	17:46

Lion's Gate Project 4

Lion's Gate Project 4
Promotion	New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Date	April 13, 2017[19]
City	Tokyo, Japan[19]
Venue	Shinjuku Face[19]
Attendance	467[19]
Event chronology
← Previous Sakura Genesis Next → Road to Wrestling Dontaku
Lion's Gate Project chronology
← Previous Lion's Gate Project 3 Next → Lion's Gate Project 5

The fourth Lion's Gate Project event was held on April 13, 2017, in Tokyo at Shinjuku Face.[19][20] The event featured six matches, including the debut match of Shota Umino, son of NJPW referee Red Shoes Unno. Unno refereed the match, where his son was defeated by Taka Michinoku.[19][21] Following the dissolution of the partnership between NJPW and Pro Wrestling Noah at the end of 2016,[22] this was the first Lion's Gate Project show not to feature any wrestlers from Noah, instead Ayato Yoshida and Dinosaur Takuma from Kaientai Dojo (K-Dojo), Koji Iwamoto and Yuma Aoyagi from All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and Toru Sugiura from Pro Wrestling Freedoms took part in the event as outsiders.[19]

No.	Results[19][20]	Stipulations	Times
1	Taka Michinoku defeated Shota Umino	Singles match	06:11
2	El Desperado defeated Hirai Kawato	Singles match	09:21
3	Gedo and Jado defeated Koji Iwamoto and Yuma Aoyagi	Tag team match	13:30
4	Yoshi-Hashi defeated Toru Sugiura	Singles match	09:44
5	Tencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima) defeated Ayato Yoshida and Dinosaur Takuma	Tag team match	11:26
6	Tomoyuki Oka and Yuji Nagata defeated Katsuya Kitamura and Manabu Nakanishi	Tag team match	14:18

Lion's Gate Project 5

Lion's Gate Project 5
Promotion	New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Brand(s)	Lion's Gate
Date	May 9, 2017[23]
City	Tokyo, Japan[23]
Venue	Shinjuku Face[23]
Attendance	444[23]
Event chronology
← Previous New Japan Road Next → Best of the Super Jr. 24
Lion's Gate Project chronology
← Previous Lion's Gate Project 4 Next → Lion's Gate Project 6

The fifth Lion's Gate Project event was held on May 9, 2017, in Tokyo at Shinjuku Face.[23][24] The event featured six matches, including the debut of Tetsuhiro Yagi in the opening match. Outsiders taking part in the event included Ayato Yoshida and Dinosaur Takuma from Kaientai Dojo, Daisuke Kanehira from Pro Wrestling Heat Up and Toru Sugiura from Pro Wrestling Fredoms.[23] In the main event of the show, the veteran duo of Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata were victorious over the rookie team of Katsuya Kitamura and Tomoyuki Oka in what marked Nagata's fifth straight main event win as part of Lion's Gate Project.[25]

No.	Results[23][24]	Stipulations	Times
1	Hirai Kawato defeated Tetsuhiro Yagi	Singles match	05:07
2	El Desperado defeated Shota Umino	Singles match	09:12
3	Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Tiger Mask defeated Dinosaur Takuma and Toru Sugiura	Tag team match	12:40
4	Yoshi-Hashi defeated Daisuke Kanehira	Singles match	12:23
5	Satoshi Kojima defeated Ayato Yoshida	Singles match	10:35
6	Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata defeated Katsuya Kitamura and Tomoyuki Oka	Tag team match	13:38

Lion's Gate Project 6

Lion's Gate Project 6
Promotion	New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Brand(s)	Lion's Gate
Date	June 15, 2017[26]
City	Tokyo, Japan[26]
Venue	Shinjuku Face[26]
Attendance	467[26]
Event chronology
← Previous Dominion 6.11 in Osaka-jo Hall Next → Kizuna Road
Lion's Gate Project chronology
← Previous Lion's Gate Project 5 Next → Lion's Gate Project 7

The sixth Lion's Gate Project event was held on June 15, 2017, in Tokyo at Shinjuku Face.[26][27] The event featured six matches and outside participation from Ayato Yoshida and Dinosaur Takuma from Kaientai Dojo (K-Dojo), Takuya Nomura from Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) and Yuma Aoyagi from All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW).[27]

No.	Results[26][27]	Stipulations	Times
1	El Desperado defeated Tetsuhiro Yagi	Singles match	07:46
2	Gedo and Jado defeated Hirai Kawato and Shota Umino	Tag team match	10:45
3	Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Tiger Mask defeated Dinosaur Takuma and Takuya Nomura	Tag team match	11:15
4	Manabu Nakanishi defeated Katsuya Kitamura	Singles match	06:54
5	Yoshi-Hashi defeated Yuma Aoyagi	Singles match	11:33
6	Ayato Yoshida and Satoshi Kojima defeated Tomoyuki Oka and Yuji Nagata	Tag team match	17:32

Lion's Gate Project 7

Lion's Gate Project 7
Promotion	New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Brand(s)	Lion's Gate
Date	July 4, 2017[28]
City	Tokyo, Japan[28]
Venue	Shinjuku Face[28]
Attendance	444[28]
Event chronology
← Previous G1 Special in USA Next → G1 Climax 27
Lion's Gate Project chronology
← Previous Lion's Gate Project 6 Next → Lion's Gate Project 8

The seventh Lion's Gate Project event was held on July 4, 2017, in Tokyo at Shinjuku Face.[28][29] The event featured seven matches, including the debut of Ren Narita in the opening match.[29] Outsiders taking part in the event included Dinosaur Takuma and Go Asakawa from Kaientai Dojo (K-Dojo), Koji Iwamoto from All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and freelancer Dick Togo, who made his first NJPW appearance since 2011.[28] Following the main event of the show, Yuji Nagata, seeing the recent influx of new talent into NJPW, proposed bringing back the Young Lion Cup for the first time in 12 years.[30][31]

No.	Results[28][29]	Stipulations	Times
1	Ren Narita and Shota Umino wrestled to a time limit draw	Singles match	10:00
2	Taka Michinoku defeated Tetsuhiro Yagi	Singles match	10:45
3	Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Dinosaur Takuma defeated Katsuya Kitamura and Manabu Nakanishi	Tag team match	09:25
4	Dick Togo defeated Hirai Kawato	Singles match	09:27
5	Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Tomoyuki Oka	Singles match	07:27
6	Yoshi-Hashi defeated Koji Iwamoto	Singles match	12:46
7	Yuji Nagata defeated Go Asakawa	Singles match	12:21

Lion's Gate Project 8

Lion's Gate Project 8
Promotion	New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Brand(s)	Lion's Gate
Date	October 12, 2017[32]
City	Tokyo, Japan[32]
Venue	Shinjuku Face[32]
Attendance	462[32]
Event chronology
← Previous King of Pro-Wrestling Next → Global Wars
Lion's Gate Project chronology
← Previous Lion's Gate Project 7 Next → Lion's Gate Project 9

The eighth Lion's Gate Project event was held on October 12, 2017, in Tokyo at Shinjuku Face.[32] The event featured six matches, including the first three matches of the 2017 Young Lion Cup. NJPW announced on September 26 that it was bringing back the tournament for the first time in 12 years and dedicating it to the memory of Kotetsu Yamamoto, the former head of the NJPW dojo. The round-robin tournament would feature six NJPW rookies who debuted in 2016 and 2017.[33][34] Non-tournament matches featured outside participation from Daisuke Kanehira from Pro Wrestling Heat Up, Go Asakawa and Kotaro Yoshino from Kaientai Dojo (K-Dojo) and Yuma Aoyagi from All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW).[32]

No.	Results[32]	Stipulations	Times
1	Hirai Kawato defeated Ren Narita	Singles match in the 2017 Young Lion Cup	07:14
2	Katsuya Kitamura defeated Tetsuhiro Yagi	Singles match in the 2017 Young Lion Cup	08:32
3	Tomoyuki Oka defeated Shota Umino	Singles match in the 2017 Young Lion Cup	10:50
4	Manabu Nakanishi defeated Kotaro Yoshino	Singles match	07:32
5	Tencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima) defeated Go Asakawa and Yuma Aoyagi	Tag team match	12:33
6	Yuji Nagata defeated Daisuke Kanehira	Singles match	12:12

Lion's Gate Project 9

Lion's Gate Project 9
Promotion	New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Brand(s)	Lion's Gate
Date	November 16, 2017[35]
City	Tokyo, Japan[35]
Venue	Shinjuku Face[35]
Attendance	467[35]
Event chronology
← Previous Power Struggle Next → World Tag League
Lion's Gate Project chronology
← Previous Lion's Gate Project 8 Next → Lion's Gate Project 10

The ninth Lion's Gate Project event was held on November 16, 2017, in Tokyo at Shinjuku Face.[35] The event featured six matches, including the continuation of the 2017 Young Lion Cup. Non-tournament matches featured outside participation from Daisuke Kanehira from Pro Wrestling Heat Up, Go Asakawa and the tag team Dino Stones (Dinosaur Takuma and Kotaro Yoshino) from Kaientai Dojo (K-Dojo) and Yuma Aoyagi from All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW).[35]

No.	Results[35]	Stipulations	Times
1	Tomoyuki Oka defeated Ren Narita	Singles match in the 2017 Young Lion Cup	13:22
2	Katsuya Kitamura defeated Shota Umino	Singles match in the 2017 Young Lion Cup	10:04
3	Hirai Kawato defeated Tetsuhiro Yagi	Singles match in the 2017 Young Lion Cup	06:43
4	Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Manabu Nakanishi defeated Dino Stones (Dinosaur Takuma and Kotaro Yoshino)	Tag team match	11:55
5	Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Go Asakawa	Singles match	10:31
6	Satoshi Kojima and Yuji Nagata defeated Daisuke Kanehira and Yuma Aoyagi	Tag team match	15:14

Lion's Gate Project 10

Lion's Gate Project 10
Promotion	New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Brand(s)	Lion's Gate
Date	December 21, 2017[36]
City	Tokyo, Japan[36]
Venue	Shinjuku Face[36]
Attendance	467[36]
Event chronology
← Previous Road to Tokyo Dome Next → Dai Puroresu Matsuri
Lion's Gate Project chronology
← Previous Lion's Gate Project 9 Next → Lion's Gate Project 11

The tenth Lion's Gate Project event was held on December 21, 2017, in Tokyo at Shinjuku Face. The event featured six matches, including the conclusion of the 2017 Young Lion Cup with its three final matches. Katsuya Kitamura won the tournament with a clean record of five wins and zero losses.[37][38] Non-tournament matches featured outside participation from Daisuke Kanehira from Pro Wrestling Heat Up, Dinosaur Takuma and Kotaro Yoshino from Kaientai Dojo (K-Dojo) and Yuma Aoyagi from All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW).[36]

No.	Results[36]	Stipulations	Times
1	Ren Narita and Tetsuhiro Yagi wrestled to a draw	Singles match in the 2017 Young Lion Cup	15:00
2	Hirai Kawato defeated Shota Umino	Singles match in the 2017 Young Lion Cup	08:27
3	Katsuya Kitamura defeated Tomoyuki Oka	Singles match in the 2017 Young Lion Cup	11:20
4	Kotaro Yoshino and Manabu Nakanishi defeated Dinosaur Takuma and Hiroyoshi Tenzan	Tag team match	12:42
5	Satoshi Kojima defeated Daisuke Kanehira	Singles match	11:01
6	Yuji Nagata defeated Yuma Aoyagi	Singles match	12:10

Lion's Gate Project 11

Lion's Gate Project 11
Promotion	New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Brand(s)	Lion's Gate
Date	April 10, 2018[39]
City	Tokyo, Japan[39]
Venue	Shinjuku Face[39]
Attendance	467[39]
Event chronology
← Previous Sakura Genesis Next → Road to Wrestling Dontaku
Lion's Gate Project chronology
← Previous Lion's Gate Project 10 Next → Lion's Gate Project 12

The eleventh Lion's Gate Project event was held on April 10, 2018, in Tokyo at Shinjuku Face. The event featured five matches. Two new rookies wrestled their debut match: Yuya Uemura and Yota Tsuji. Some matches featured outside participation: Manjimaru and Ken45°, from Michinoku Pro Wrestling, made their New Japan Pro-Wrestling debut and Ayato Yoshida and Go Asakawa made their return, from Kaientai Dojo (K-Dojo).[39]

No.	Results[39]	Stipulations	Times
1	Ren Narita defeated Yuya Uemura	Singles match	08:16
2	Tomoyuki Oka defeated Yota Tsuji	Singles match	07:17
3	Hiro Saito and Gedo defeated Tiger Mask and Tetsuhiro Yagi	Tag team match	14:59
4	Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Manabu Nakanishi defeated Manjimaru and Ken45°	Tag team match	13:35
5	Ayato Yoshida and Go Asakawa defeated Yuji Nagata and Shota Umino	Tag team match	12:03

Lion's Gate Project 12

Lion's Gate Project 12
Promotion	New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Brand(s)	Lion's Gate
Date	May 15, 2018[40]
City	Tokyo, Japan[40]
Venue	Shinjuku Face[40]
Attendance	419[40]
Event chronology
← Previous New Japan Road Next → Best of the Super Jr. 25
Lion's Gate Project chronology
← Previous Lion's Gate Project 11 Next → Lion's Gate Project 13

The twelfth Lion's Gate Project event was held on May 15, 2018, in Tokyo at Shinjuku Face. Some matches featured outside participation: Daisuke Sekimoto from Big Japan Pro Wrestling and Ayato Yoshida from Kaientai Dojo (K-Dojo).[40] The main event was a previously postponed one-on-one match between Yoshida and Yuji Nagata.

No.	Results[40]	Stipulations	Times
1	Yota Tsuji and Yuya Uemura wrestled to a draw	Singles match	10:00
2	Manabu Nakanishi defeated Tomoyuki Oka	Singles match	09:04
3	Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Hiro Saito defeated Ren Narita and Ryusuke Taguchi	Tag team match	12:13
4	Daisuke Sekimoto defeated Shota Umino	Singles match	14:38
5	Yuji Nagata defeated Ayato Yoshida	Singles match	12:47

Lion's Gate Project 13

Lion's Gate Project 13
Promotion	New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Brand(s)	Lion's Gate
Date	June 13, 2018[41]
City	Tokyo, Japan[41]
Venue	Shinjuku Face[41]
Attendance	364
Event chronology
← Previous Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall Next → Kizuna Road
Lion's Gate Project chronology
← Previous Lion's Gate Project 12 Next → —

The thirteenth Lion's Gate Project event was held on June 13, 2018, in Tokyo at Shinjuku Face. Some matches featured outside participation: Shunsuke Sayama, from Asuka Project, who made his New Japan Pro-Wrestling debut, and Dinosaur Takuma and Ayato Yoshida from Kaientai Dojo (K-Dojo).[41]

No.	Results[41]	Stipulations	Times
1	Yota Tsuji and Yuya Uemura wrestled to a time limit draw	Singles match	10:00
2	Ren Narita defeated Shunsuke Sayama	Singles match	08:02
3	Manabu Nakanishi and Toa Henare defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Dinosaur Takuma	Tag team match	10:33
4	Yuji Nagata defeated Tomoyuki Oka	Singles match	12:38
5	Ayato Yoshida defeated Shota Umino	Singles match	16:47

See also

• New Japan Pro-Wrestling
• NEVER

References

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3. 木谷オーナーが「ファーム設立プラン」「21世紀のIWGP構想」、そして「新日本プロレスは株式上場を目指す」と宣言! 【7.18戦略発表会】. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). July 18, 2015. Archived from the original on July 20, 2015. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
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External links

• The official New Japan Pro-Wrestling website