Minorita

Minorita in September 2022

###

Koshu, Yamanashi, Japan

**Takumi Hayakawa** (早川匠, *Hayakawa Takumi*, born August 14, 1997), is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to Dragon Gate (DG) under the ring name **Minorita** (ミノリータ, *Minorīta*), where he is a former two-time Open The Triangle Gate Champion and a former one-time Open The Brave Gate Champion.

Hayakawa was trained in the Dragon Gate Dojo and made his debut in October 2021. Hayakawa worked as a rookie being placed on Dragon Gate's mid-card for under a year, before being repackaged as "Minorita" (ミノリータ, *Minorīta*), a smaller and lighter version of Kota Minoura.

## Professional Wrestling Career

### Dragon Gate (2021–Present)

#### Early Career

Hayakawa, a longtime admirer of professional wrestling, has an extensive grappling background - even going so far as to travel to Tokyo to participate in Pro Wrestling HEAT-UP's grappling exhibitions, went on to train for his professional wrestling career in Dragon Gate. After a long series of exhibitions bouts against other people in his class (known as Dragon Gate Future), he made his official debut on October 24, 2021, replacing Keisuke Okuda, who suffered a knee injury, following the consideration of Dragon Gate's General Manager Ryo Saito. On his debut, Hayakawa teamed with High-End's Ben-K and Dragon Kid in a losing effort against Natural Vibes (Jacky "Funky" Kamei, King Shimizu and Susumu Yokosuka). As is customary for most professional wrestlers, Hayakawa spent most of his matches losing to other, more experienced wrestlers, which would help put over other wrestlers while at the same time give him some in-ring experience. On February 20, 2022 General Manager Ryo Saito announced that the rookies of class of 2021, whom Hayakawa was part of, would be facing each other at Memorial Gate in Wakayama in a five-way match, with the winner receiving a title match for the Open The Brave Gate Championship against Dragon Dia on March 5 at Champion Gate in Osaka. At the event, on February 23, Hayakawa was unable to win the match, being eliminated by The Iihashi Brothers (Ishin Iihashi and Riki Iihashi).

#### Minorita and Gold Class (2022-Present)

On March 3, following the creation of Gold Class, Hayakawa was repackaged as "Minorita", a smaller and lighter version of Kota Minoura, as part of a gift from Naruki Doi to Minoura. Doi suggested "Minourita," imitating the Mexican naming system, while using "Mini Minoura" and "Minoura Junior" as examples. The "u" was dropped because it was difficult to pronounce, and the name was finally settled on "Minorita". Minorita greeted Minoura by mimicking his movements "pretending to not understand the situation", with Minoura accepting the gift. On March 5 at Champion Gate in Osaka, Minorita along with Doi, Kaito Ishida and Kota Minoura defeated Natural Vibes (Kzy, U-T and Jacky "Funky" Kamei) to win the Open The Triangle Gate Championship. Despite, Doi, Ishida and Minoura winning the titles, Minorita was also recognized as champion in title reign under the *Freebird Rule*. On April 7, Doi, Ishida and Minoura complanied about not having any team to challenge them, suddently a trio Metal Warriors appeared, kidnapping Minorita. Minorita, who had been assaulted backstage, appealed for revenge, leading to a match between Minorita and one of the three Metal Warriors. On April 25, one of the three Metal Warriors faced Minorita in a winning effort. Afterwards, the trio was revealed to be *Los Perros del Mal de Japón'*s Eita, Nosawa Rongai and Kotaro Suzuki. On May 5 at Dead or Alive, Minoura, Doi and Ishida lost the Open The Triangle Gate Championship to Eita, Nosawa Rongai and Kotaro Suzuki. On May 20, Minorita made an appeal to fill in Big Boss Shimizu's match in the 2022 King of Gate, after he was sidelined with an injury, which his opponent Takashi Yoshida accepted. The following day, Minorita defeated Yoshida to advance to the second round, where he was eliminated by Kzy.

On September 9, after Ben-K joined Gold Class, Minorita began often accompaining Ben-K to his matches, serving as a mouthpiece and sidekick for Ben-K. On December 10, following a six-man tag team match, Minorita challenged H.Y.O to a title match for the Open The Brave Gate Championship. The following day, Minorita repeated his challenge, but he refused. Último Dragón wanted to make an official number one contender match between Minorita and Ryu Fuda, since Fuda losing to H.Y.O earlier. After a Rock Paper Scissors game, it was decided that Minorita would have the title match at Final Gate. On December 25 at Final Gate, Minorita defeated H.Y.O to win the Open The Brave Gate Championship. On January 8, upon winning the Open The Brave Gate Championship, Minorita requested General Manager Ryo Saito a miniature of his Open The Brave Gate Championship belt, which Saito accepted and satisfied his request. The following month, Minorita and Ben-K took part in the 2023 Rey de Parejas, losing all off their matches. On March 4, at Champion Gate in Osaka, Minorita lost the Open The Brave Gate Championship to Jason Lee. On June 4, Minorita and Minoura challenged Natural Vibes (Big Boss Shimizu, Jacky "Funky" Kamei and Kzy) to a match for the Open The Triangle Gate Championship with their partner being Naruki Doi, who made his return to Gold Class. On July 2, at Kobe Pro-Wrestling Festival, Minorita, Minoura and Doi defeated Natural Vibes to become the new champions. On August 27, Minorita, Minoura and Doi were forced to vacate the Open The Triangle Gate Championship, after Minorita was diagnosed with a ruptured ACL in his right knee.

## In wrestling

* **Finishing moves**
	+ Headlock takedown transitioned into a cradle
	+ *Minoritanic/Minorita Roll* (Sunset flip powerbomb)
* **Signature moves**
	+ Chasing an opponent to the backstage area
	+ Dropkick
	+ Legscissors takedown transitioned into a single leg Boston crab
	+ Springboard bulldog
	+ Tilt-a-whirl headscissors transitioned into a reverse STO
	+ Tilt-a-whirl DDT
	+ Wheelbarrow bodyscissors takedown
* **With Ben-K**
	+ **Double team finishing moves**
		- Aided Spear
* **Wrestlers managed**
	+ **Kota Minoura**
	+ **Ben-K**
* **Nicknames**
	+ **"Chīsana Kikōshi"** (Japanese for the "Little Prince")
* **Entrance themes**
	+ "Future Dreams" by Yatsuka Nakagawa (used as Takumi Hayakawa)
	+ **"Rise in Grace (Fast Forwarded Version)"** by YO-HEI (used as Minorita)

## Personal life

Minorita's personal hobby is shopping, with him prefering to buy clothes and items from street brands. As of 2022, he is considered Dragon Gate's smallest competitor, having 5 ft 1 inches (1.56 meters).

## Championships and Accomplishments

* **Dragon Gate**
	+ Open The Brave Gate Championship (1 time)
	+ Open The Triangle Gate Championship (2 times) – with Kota Minoura, Kaito Ishida and Naruki Doi (1) and Kota Minoura and Naruki Doi (1)