Gate of Destiny (2022)

Promotional card for the event

The **Gate of Destiny (2022)** was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and GAORA TV event promoted by Dragon Gate. The event took place on November 6, 2022, in Osaka at the Edion Arena Osaka and it was the sixteenth annual event under the Gate of Destiny. The event was also available in their streaming service Dragon Gate Network in both English and Japanese commentaries and was broadcasted live at SKY PerfecTV! as pay-per-view (PPV).

The event was main evented by Yuki Yoshioka defending the Open The Dream Gate Championship against YAMATO. Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the event had some restrictions in the attendance, after the Japanese Government lifted the State of Emergency.

## Production

### Background

The Gate of Destiny 2022 was officially announced in September 2022. The aired live through Dragon Gate's internet streaming site, Dragon Gate Network, with Japanese and English language commentaries. The Japanese commentary was provided by Katsuya Ichikawa, while the English commentary was provided by Jae Church. The event also aired on tape delay on Japanese TV Gaora Sports that was launched in Dragon Gate's ~ Infinity ~ Series.

#### Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, other wrestling promotions began to cancel or postpone their shows in an attempt to prevent further spreading of the COVID-19 virus. On March 1, Dragon Gate began canceling events starting with the Glorious Gate tour between March 3 and March 8 and the March 13th show, including a show on March 5 in the Korakuen Hall. Initially, it was announced that the Glorious Gate would be resumed on March 14, however, the tour ended up being canceled, following the recommendations by the Japanese Ministry of Health regarding the coronavirus pandemic. On March 11, it was announced that the Memorial Gate in Wakayama would be postponed, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 22, Dragon Gate began holding shows behind closed doors with no audience and only essential staff present. Four days later, Dragon Gate canceled more events from March 28 through March 31. This led to on March 30, Dragon Gate canceling more events from April 4 through April 8. On April 8, Dragon Gate canceled more events including 2020 Dead or Alive, following Japan's declaration State of Emergency. On May 11, Dragon Gate canceled more events from June 2 through June 10. From May 15 to June 7, Dragon Gate held the entire 2020 King of Gate behind closed doors with no audience and only essential staff present, leading all Dragon Gate programming being relocated to the Kobe Lapis Hall. The format of the tournament was changed to a singles elimination tournament for the first time in four years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On June 12, Dragon Gate announced the rules and regulations for fans who attend Dragon Gate events. On June 17, it was announced that starting on July 4, Dragon Gate would be resuming shows with fans after the Japanese Government lifted the State of Emergency.

### Storylines

The Gate of Destiny 2022 featured professional wrestling matches that involved wrestlers from pre-existing feuds and storylines that played out on the Dragon Gate's television program. Wrestlers portrayed heroes or villains as they followed a series of events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.

On October 7, Yuki Yoshioka and YAMATO faced each other in a tag team match, which YAMATO's team won. Afterwards, Yoshioka nominated YAMATO as his next challenger to the Open The Dream Gate Championship at Gate of Destiny, as he wanted to surpass him. Following a second victory over Yoshioka, on October 6, YAMATO, overcome by his emotions announced that he was aiming to recapture Open The Dream Gate Championship, as he reminded Yoshioka the difficulty of surpassing his legacy with the title. This marked their last pre-match until the event, as YAMATO departed to the United States to compete in various wrestling promotions in the country, and only returning for Gate of Destiny.

On October 15, H.Y.O successfully defended the Open The Brave Gate Championship against Jason Lee. Following the match, after complaining for the lack of challengers for the title, Dragon Kid challenged him to a title match at Gate of Destiny, which Dragon Gate's General Manager Ryo Saito made official. Their feud began in the previous month, after Z-Brats were embroiled in a feud with High-End.

On October 16, M3K (Masaaki Mochizuki, Mochizuki Junior and Susumu Mochizuki) successfully defended the Open The Twin Gate Championship against Kung Fu Masters (Ho Ho Lun, Jacky "Funky" Kamei and Super Shenlong. Afterwards, Z-Brats, KAI and Shun Skywalker nominated themselves as M3K's next challengers, with their partner being a mysterious wrestler under the disguise of Masked Z. This led to Dragon Gate's General Manager Ryo Saito officially announcing the title match for the Gate of Destiny.

Also in the event, Dragon Gate announced that Takuma Fujiwara would make his return to the promotion, following the conclusion of his excursion in Mexico, with his opponent being Eita, who himself had return to Japan from Mexico at 2012 Gate of Destiny, before continuing his excursion.

On October 23, Natural Vibes (Kzy, Big Boss Shimizu and Strong Machine J) faced Madoka Kikuta, Ryo Saito and Yuki Yoshioka in a winning effort. Afterwards, Shimizu and Machine challenged Kikuta and Dragon Dia to a title match for the Open The Twin Gate Championship. However, their challenged was not initially confirmed by Dragon Gate's General Manager Ryo Saito, due to being unclear the status of Dia's injury, but he ended up booking the match for the Gate of Destiny.