Open the Twin Gate Championship
Kai made his debut for Dragon Gate in August 2018, teaming with former partner Hiroshi Yamato to defeated Kagetora and Yosuke Santa Maria. Kai slowly began aligning himself with Yamato and his Tribe Vanguard stable, and in January became a full fledged member of the group. On March 3, Kai and U-T unsuccessfully challenged Big Ben (Big R Shimizu) and Ben-K) for the Open the Twin Gate Championship.