Dragon Kid

Kid in February 2022

###

Toukai City, Aichi, Japan

**Nobuyoshi Nakamura** (中村伸能, *Nakamura Nobuyoshi*, born February 2, 1976 in Tokai, Aichi, Japan) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for Dragon Gate as **Dragon Kid** (ドラゴン・キッド, *Doragon Kiddo*).

Nakamura initially broke into the wrestling business with Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling (FMW), but was not allowed to be a wrestler by owner Atsushi Onita and instead worked as a referee for the promotion during the mid 1990s. Longing to become a wrestler, he left FMW in 1997 and joined Ultimo Dragon’s Toryumón Gym, where he was given the gimmick of “Dragon Kid”, a character he has used for his entire career.

## Professional wrestling career

### Training and early career (1994–1997)

Nobuyoshi Nakamura wanted to be a wrestler for a long time, but he was told that he was too small to become one. He started training in the Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling dojo in 1994, but ended up as a referee (FMW head Atsushi Onita, wary of injury to smaller wrestlers from his days as a junior heavyweight in All Japan Pro Wrestling, prevented him from trying to achieve his potential). Nakamura never gave up his dream of being a wrestler. He was eventually introduced to Último Dragón by Nakamura's relative Jinsei Shinzaki, who told him that his wrestling school had no size restriction, so he entered the Último Dragón Gym.

### Toryumon and Dragon Gate (1997–present)

Nakamura debuted in 1997 as a first term student, and was given the gimmick of Dragon Kid, Último Dragón's pupil, as he was perceived as the Último Dragón's heir. He spent 1998 wrestling in Mexico, but he did some spot participation with Michinoku Pro and also had a short run with World Championship Wrestling working as "Little Dragon." His only appearance on *WCW Monday Nitro* would be a victory over Eddie Guerrero via rollup after interference

In 1999, he debuted in Japan along with the rest of Toryumon. In February, he captured his first title, defeating Dr. Cerebro to win the vacant NWA World Welterweight Title. He would lose the title two months later to SUWA, and in that match, he suffered a bad knee injury that put him out of action for the remainder of the year. He would return to action on the first show of 2000 and proceed to feud with SUWA. Though he failed to win the NWA World Welterweight Title back from SUWA, he did defeat him in a Mask vs. Hair match on August 24. Shortly after winning, he was attacked by a debuting Darkness Dragon, and they started a feud that would last for a little over two years. It ended on September 8, 2002, when he defeated Darkness Dragon in a Best of Three Falls Mask vs. Mask Match, forcing Darkness to unmask.

Darkness Dragon was booted out of M2K following the loss. He announced the formation of a new stable dubbed Do FIXER, and he invited Kid and Ryo Saito to join him, and they both accepted. On October 28, after Magnum TOKYO dissolved M2K, he announced that he and the remnants of M2K were the real Do FIXER, and that Darkness Dragon - now renamed K-ness - was still a member of the group and was sent into the home army (Seikigun) to cause problems within it. It worked in that Ryo Saito was not welcomed back into Seikigun, but Dragon Kid, however, was.

When Seikigun disbanded at the end of 2002, he joined Masaaki Mochizuki's Shin M2K stable at the start of 2003. He stayed with the group until it dissolved in December, after Mochizuki lost a match to stablemate Keni'chiro Arai. After that, Kid would go unaligned until mid-2004, and in May he won that year's El Numero Uno Tournament to the surprise of everyone. In mid-2004, he became a member of Do FIXER, and would stay in it until the very end. During his tenure with them, he won the Open The Brave Gate Championship from inaugural champion Naruki Doi in November 2005, and would hold the Open The Triangle Gate Titles with Ryo Saito and Genki Horiguchi on three separate occasions in 2005 and 2006. During the last few months of 2006, he contracted appendicitis, forcing him out of action for several months.

2007 he won his first non-Japanese promotion's championship, wXw's Lightweight Championship, in Essen, Germany after defeating the British wrestler PAC.

When Dragon Kid returned in early 2007, Saito decided to end Do FIXER activity following the betrayal of Genki Horiguchi, and brought him along into CIMA's new Typhoon stable. He joined them with a new look, marking the first ever change of his ring attire. When Saito and Susumu Yokosuka started teaming together, he and CIMA started teaming up exclusively with each other, calling themselves CK-1. When CIMA was out injured in mid-2008, Dragon Kid formed a team with Shingo Takagi for that year's Summer Adventure Tag League Tournament. The team proved very successful, even making it to the finals, but they lost out to the previous year's winners Naruki Doi and Masato Yoshino.

On December 28, he, Ryo Saito and Susumu Yokosuka fought a Unit Split Survival Three-Way Six-Man Tag Match against teams from WORLD-1 and Real Hazard, and they lost, bringing about the end of Typhoon. However, he did not remain unaligned for very long, for on January 11, 2009, he joined Shingo Takagi's new unit, KAMIKAZE. On February 15, he, Shingo, and Taku Iwasa won the Open The Triangle Gate titles, but they lost them two months later.

At the end of the year, when the Generation War was going on, the Veteran-gun extended an invite to him to join their ranks. He did not accept nor reject the invitation, which eventually caused his KAMIKAZE stablemates to question where his loyalties lied. After Akira Tozawa interrupted a Ultra Hurricanrana attempt in a six-man tag match on January 11, 2010, causing them and YAMATO to lose, Kid decided to leave KAMIKAZE and side with CIMA, Gamma, Susumu Yokosuka and KAGETORA in the WARRIORS-5 group, and by default the Veteran-gun.

Dragon Kid turned heel on January 14, 2011, along with the rest of WARRIORS, when they attacked Masato Yoshino and World-1, and joined forces with Naruki Doi's group. On January 18 the new group was named Blood Warriors. On May 15, the rest of Blood Warriors turned on Dragon Kid and kicked him out of the group, despite the fact that he still held the Open The Triangle Gate Championship with CIMA and Ricochet. He then joined Masaaki Mochizuki's new stable, Junction Three, to battle his former group. As a result, the title was declared vacant. On June 19 Dragon Kid gained a measure of revenge on Blood Warriors, when he and PAC defeated Ryo Saito and Genki Horiguchi to win the Open The Twin Gate Championship. They would lose the title to Blood Warriors representatives CIMA and Ricochet on July 17. On February 9, 2012, Junction Three was forced to disband, after losing a fourteen-man elimination tag team match to Blood Warriors. After joining Team Veteran Returns, Dragon Kid won the Open The Brave Gate Championship for the second time on May 6, defeating Ricochet. After a reign of 364 days and nine successful defenses, he lost the title to Masato Yoshino on May 5, 2013. He would go on to team with We Are Team Veteran stablemate K-ness to win the Open The Twin Gate Championship, and with K-ness and Masaaki Mochizuki, won the Open The Triangle Gate Championship. He would suffer an injury later on, and would be forced to vacate both titles. On August 17, 2014, Dragon Kid and Masaaki Mochizuki quit We Are Team Veteran to form a new stable with BxB Hulk, which on September 9, 2014 would be named Dia.HEARTS. On February 4, 2016, Dia.HEARTS was forced to disband after losing a match to Monster Express and VerserK.

On April 7, Dragon Kid joined the Over Generation unit. On September 9 Kid and Eita defeated VerserK (Naruki Doi and "brother" YASSHI) to win the 2016 Summer Adventure Tag League. On November 3 Kid and CIMA defeated Jimmy Kagetora and Jimmy Susumu for the Open The Twin Gate Championship. On December 5 CIMA and Kid were forced to relinquish the titles after CIMA lost a Six-Man Tag Team match, whereas per the stipulation, he had to relinquish the titles since Kid was injured. On December 5 Kid and CIMA were forced to relinquish the titles after CIMA lost a Six-Man Tag Team, whereas per the stipulation, they had to relinquish the titles since Kid was injured. Shortly, after returning from injury, Kid defeated Kagetora in a tournament final to win the Open the Brave Gate Championship on April 6, 2018. Following his return, Kid took part in the King of Gate, where he lost to Eita in the first match. At the end of the match, Eita intentionally kayfabe injured him, causing Kid to be pulled out of the tournament, forfeiting the rest of his matches. Kid made his return on July 5, representing Over Generation in a losing disband match against ANTIAS in a Losing Unit Disbands Naniwa Elimination Rules match. Kid would be pinned by Eita forcing Over Generation to disband. On July 22 at Kobe Pro Wrestling Festival, Kid lost the Open The Brave Gate Championship to Eita. After the event, Kid would align himself with his former Over Generation stablemate Kaito Ishida and the two would try to join MaxiMuM on multiple occasions in the following months but were turned down each time. They would come to the point of making their own MaxiMuM ring gear, buying their merchandise, and being in their corner for their matches. On September 24 at Dangerous Gate, Kid received his rematch for the Open the Brave Gate Championship, defeating Eita to win the title for the fourth time. On October 7, Kid and Ishida were finally accepted as members of MaxiMuM. Kid and Eita's feud would culminate in a Mask vs. Hair match at Final Gate on December 23, where Kid defeated Eita, forcing him to shave his head.

Since January 13, 2019, Kid began proclaiming himself as the leader of MaxiMuM and started berating the other members of MaxiMuM, after losing their matches. Kid would accuse his stablemates efforts, stating that they only worked hard when there was a prize on the line. His actions started to annoy Doi, leading him to ask Kid to leave MaxiMuM. On March 7, Doi and Kid faced each other in a match. Doi would show signs of a heel turn such as using his former VerserK attire, attack Kid during his entrance and using heel a low blow to win the match. Later that night, Doi was offered by R.E.D's leader Eita to join R.E.D, only for Kid to interrupt and question Doi's tactics. Doi responded that he just joined in the 20th Anniversary fan service by wearing his old VerserK attire. General Manager Takayuki Yagi capitalized on the opportunity and announced the rules for the Steel Cage Survival match at Dead or Alive on May 6, as well as multiple tag team matches between members of the respective units to decide, which member would enter in the match. Doi would select Kid as his partner, leading Yoshino to choose Ishida. On March 16, Doi warned Kid that if he retrieved the flag he would kick him out of the stable, while Kid responded that he would keep MaxiMuM all together. On March 21, at Memorial Gate in Wakayama, Kid lost the Open the Brave Gate Championship to Susumu Yokosuka. On April 10, Doi and Kid defeated Ishida and Yoshino, with Doi pinning Ishida to represent MaxiMuM in the match. Doi blackmailed Kid that if he helped him win the match, he wouldn't kick him out of the stable. Yoshino proposed facing Doi to decide who would represent MaxiMuM in the match, but Doi refused. Leading to the match, Kid was nominated by PAC to face him for his Open The Dream Gate Championship at Dead or Alive or otherwise he wouldn't come back to Dragon Gate. Kid who was surprised by PAC's challenge and accepted the match. On May 6 at Dead or Alive, Kid unsuccessfully challenged PAC for the Open The Dream Gate Championship. Later that night, after MaxiMuM helped Doi escape the "Bonds" steel cage survival five-way match, Doi decided that no one would be no one kicked out, forgiving Kid for his actions. Later that month, Kid took part in the 2019 King of Gate, finishing the tournament with a record of two wins and three losses, failing to advance to the semifinals tournament.

In December, after MaxiMuM was suspended by Doi and Yoshino, Kid joined them and their mentor Último Drágon to form the Toryumon stable, as part of a "Generation War" against Dragon Gate and R.E.D. As part of the storyline, Kid, Kenichiro Arai and Ryo Saito won the Open The Triangle Gate Championship on February 7, 2020 by defeating R.E.D (Diamante, H.Y.O and Takashi Yoshida) and Dragon Gate (Keisuke Okuda, Strong Machine J, Yosuke♡Santa Maria) in a three-way match. They lost the titles to Ben-K, Dragon Dia and Strong Machine J on February 29 on the first night of the Champion Gate in Osaka. On May 15, Kid took part in the 2020 King of Gate, losing in the first round to Diamante, eliminating him from the tournament. On December 20, at Final Gate, Toryumon was forced to disband, after losing to R.E.D in No Disqualification Losing Unit Disbands match.

Following the disbanding of Dragon Gate, on January 13, Kid faced YAMATO in a match, which ended in a no contest, after KAI attacked YAMATO. Afterwards, KAI reminded that YAMATO was alone, after deciding to disband the Dragon Gate stable. However, Kid decided to form a team with YAMATO, in order to avenge Toryumon, which R.E.D had forced to disband. This feud with R.E.D led to a match on February 5, where Kid and YAMATO faced R.E.D members KAI and SB KENTo. The match ended by disqualification after KENTo removed Kid's mask. However, dissatisfied with the outcome of the match, Kid and YAMATO faced KAI and KENTo in a rematch, which Kid pinned KENTo. Afterwards, YAMATO proposed the creation of a new stable with Kid, which he accepted. The two were joined by Ben-K and Keisuke Okuda, with name of the new stable being revealed on March 4. At the event, the new stable was named High-End. Later that night, Kid faced KENTo in a losing effort. Afterwards, YAMATO attacked him, until KAI appeared, which led to YAMATO facing KAI in a losing effort. After the match, YAMATO kept attacking KAI, until Dragon Gate's General Manager Takayuki Yagi announced that YAMATO would be forced to team with KAI against Kid and SB KENTo in a *Mask vs. Hair* Steel cage survival tag team match on May 5, at Dead or Alive. At Dead or Alive, Kid was the second wrestler to escape the match. However, after YAMATO escaped and won the match for his team. Kid faced KENTo in a match, which he won forcing KENTo to shave his hair. Later that month, Kid took part in the 2021 King of Gate, finishing the tournament with a record of two wins, one draw and one loss, failling to advance to the semifinals of the tournament. The following tournament, Kid was eliminated in the first round after losing to Diamante. On January 11, 2023, High-End was forced to disband after losing to Z-Brats in a Unit Disbands match.

In February, Kid and Dragon Dia took part in the 2023 Rey de Parejas, finishing the tournament with a record of two wins and three losses, failing to advance to the semifinals of the tournament. The following months, Kidd was dragged out to a storyline between Diamante, Último Drágon and Shun Skywalker, after Diamante began campaigning to face Drágon in a match, however he refused, leading him to be suspended by Dragon Gate's General Manager Ryo Saito's. On June 1, Kid appeared and introduced a video message from Dragón, who accepted the match against Diamante. The following day, Saito announced a mask vs mask four-way steel cage match between all four of them. On June 12, Kid requested to be included in the match, in order to help his teacher Drágon defend his mask, and after careful consideration, Dragon Gate General Manager Ryo Saito granted his request and changed the match to a five-way match. On July 2 at Kobe Pro-Wrestling Festival, at the steel cage match, Kid was the second wrestler to escape the cage, keeping his mask. On October 6, Kid, YAMATO and Punch Tominaga defeated Gold Class (Kota Minoura, Ben-K and Naruki Doi) and D'Courage (Madoka Kikuta, Yuki Yoshioka and Dragon Dia) in the finals of a tournament to win the vacant Open The Triangle Gate Championship. They lost the titles to Z-Brats (KAI, ISHIN and Yoshiki Kato) on December 24 at Final Gate.

## In wrestling

* **Finishing moves**
	+ *Dragonrana* (Somersault *Huracánrana*) – 1997-2004, still used rarely;
	+ *Ultra Hurricanrana* (Springboard *Huracánrana*)
* **Signature moves**
	+ *Asai Moonsault Press* (Springboard moonsault plancha to the outside of the ring from either the second or top ropes, or a springboard second-turnbuckle moonsault to the outside of the ring)
	+ *Bermuda Triangle* (Springboard moonsault from the second rope to the outside of the ring)
	+ *Bible* (Crucifix driver, sometimes performed in a tilt-a-whirl variant)
	+ *Christo* (Tilt-a-whirl headscissors spun into a head-trapped armbar)
	+ *Diamond / Dragon Dust* (Springboard forward somersault three-quarter facelock jawbreaker)
	+ Diving spinning cutter
	+ *Dragonsteiner* (Electric chair, reversed into a shoulder / powerbomb position, and proceeded by a *Huracánarana*)
	+ *Dragon Stunner* (Stunner, as a vertical suplex counter)
	+ *Firebird Splash* (450º splash) – early career
	+ Flip-over facebuster from a powerbomb position
	+ *Frankensteiner* (Spike back *tijeras*, sometimes performed in an avalanche variant)
	+ *Gyaku-Suihei Chop* (Knife-edged chop)
	+ *Hallelujah* (Headscissors twisted into a figure four necklock)
	+ *Headscissors Driver* (Spike *front tijeras* to a kneeling opponent)
	+ *Huracánrana* (*Back* *tijeras* into a rana pin, sometimes performed in an avalanche variant)
	+ *Jesus Walks* (Double springboard split-legged moonsault)
	+ Jumping knee drop followed up by a handstand knee drop, with theatrics
	+ Multiple *DDT* variations
		- Flip-over
		- *Messiah* (Tilt-a-whirl)
		- Regular
		- Wheelbarrow transitioned into a
	+ Multiple kicks
		- *619* (Tiger feint to the head of an opponent draped over the second rope, or to a running opponent's chest)
		- Basement drop
		- Corner drop, usually proceeded from a *Gyaku-Suihei Chop*
		- Corner spinning heel
		- Drop
		- Low corner drop
		- Missile drop
		- Spinning back heel
		- Springboard missile drop
	+ *Phoenix Splash* (Corkscrew 450° splash) – 1997-2004
	+ *Poisoned Frankensteiner* (Reverse spike back *tijeras*, with theatrics; sometimes performed in an avalanche variant)
	+ Reverse figure-four leglock
	+ Somersault plancha from the turnbuckle/post area
	+ *Tijeras* (Headscissors takedown)
		- *Back* (From the shoulders of the opponent, can be transitioned into a *Rana* pin and also performed in numerous variants)
			* Avalanche
			* Apron-dive
			* Diving
			* Slingshot
			* Springboard
		- *Front* (With the legs trapped in the opponent's head, flipped into a takedown)
			* *Déjà Vu* (Multiple revolution *front)*
	+ *Topé Suicida* / Suicide dive
	+ *Wheelbarrow Dragon Stunner* (Wheelbarrow stunner)
* **Nicknames**
	+ **"Kami no Ko"** (Japanese for "Child of God")
* **Entrance themes**
	+ "Deja vu"
	+ **"J'amais Vu"** by Hironobu Kageyama

## Championships and accomplishments

* **Dragon Gate**
	+ Open The Brave Gate Championship (4 times)
	+ Open The Triangle Gate Championship (9 times) – with Ryo Saito and Genki Horiguchi (3), Shingo Takagi and Taku Iwasa (1), CIMA and Ricochet (1), K-ness and Masaaki Mochizuki (1), Big R Shimizu and Masaaki Mochizuki (1), Kenichiro Arai and Ryo Saito (1), and YAMATO and Punch Tominaga (1)
	+ Open The Twin Gate Championship (3 times) – with PAC (1), K-ness. (1) and CIMA (1)
	+ Summer Adventure Tag League (2016) – with Eita
	+ Kijima Kogen Park Tag Tournament (2021) – with Kagetora
	+ Best Bout Award (2020) Toryumon Generation vs. R.E.D on December 20
* **Pro Wrestling Illustrated**
	+ PWI ranked him #**160** of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2001
* **Toryumon Japan**
	+ El Numero Uno (2004)
	+ NWA World Welterweight Championship (1 time)
	+ UWA World Trios Championship (3 times) – with Magnum Tokyo and Ryo Saito (1), with Masaaki Mochizuki and Keni'chiro Arai (1) and Keni'chiro Arai and Second Doi (1)
* **westside Xtreme wrestling**
	+ wXw World Lightweight Championship (1 time)
* **Wrestling Observer Newsletter**
	+ 5 Star Match (2006) with Genki Horiguchi and Ryo Saito vs. CIMA, Naruki Doi, and Masato Yoshino (ROH Supercard of Honor, March 31)
	+ Best Flying Wrestler (2001)
	+ Best Wrestling Maneuver (1999, 2000) Dragonrana
	+ Match of the Year (2006) with Genki Horiguchi and Ryo Saito vs. CIMA, Naruki Doi and Masato Yoshino (ROH Supercard of Honor, March 31
	+ 4½ Star Match (2020) R.E.D vs. Toryumon Generation on December 20

## Notes

1. ↑ The UWA Closed in 1995, since then various UWA titles have been used by promotions in Mexico and Japan, this title was promoted by Toryumon Japan at the time Dragon Kid won it.
2. ↑ This was a steel cage tag team match, where Kid teamed with SB KENTo and faced KAI and YAMATO.

## References

1. ↑ Chatra, Mo (August 2003). "Enter the Dragon". *Power Slam Magazine*. Lancaster, Lancashire, England: SW Publishing LTD. pp. 24–25. 109.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Chatra, Mo (March 2005). "Toryumon Uncovered". *Power Slam Magazine*. Lancaster, Lancashire, England: SW Publishing LTD. pp. 34–35. 116.
3. ↑ Cawthron, Graham 1998-06-29. WCW Ring Results: 1998 . The history of WWE. Retrieved on 2010-04-18. “Little Dragon defeated Eddie Guerrero”
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2006). "Mexico: EMLL NWA Welterweight Heavyweight Title", *Wrestling Title Histories*, 4th, Archeus Communications, 390. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `DGProfile`
6. ↑ Cagematch : Dragon Kid > Title
7. ↑ Summer Adventure Tag League 2008 . ProWrestlingHistory.com (**"August 9–28, 2008" is not a valid date.**). Retrieved on 2010-04-18.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Boutwell, Josh 2011-01-21. Viva La Raza! Lucha Weekly . *WrestleView*. Retrieved on 2011-01-22.
9. ↑ 5/15 KING OF GATE - 15 May 2011 . *iHeartDG* (2011-05-15). Retrieved on 2011-05-16.
10. ↑ 7/17 Dragon Gate Pro Wrestling Festival in Kobe 2011 - 17 Jul 2011 . *iHeartDG* (2011-07-17). Retrieved on 2011-07-17.
11. ↑ 2/9 TRUTH GATE, Blood Warriors vs. Junction Three Finale - 09 Feb 2012 . *iHeartDG* (2012-02-09). Retrieved on 2012-02-10.
12. ↑ 5/6 Dead or Alive 2012 - 05 May 2012 . *iHeartDG* (2012-05-06). Retrieved on 2012-05-06.
13. ↑ Dead or Alive 2013  (in Japanese). *Dragon Gate* (2013-05-05). Retrieved on 2013-05-06.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 Puroresu Central Profile . Puroresu Central. Retrieved on 2011-09-07.
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 RADICAN'S DGUSA "Untouchable" PPV review - Doi vs. Danielson, Shingo vs. Richards . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2011-09-07.
16. ↑ RADICAN'S DGUSA DVD REVIEW SERIES: "Untouchable 2010" - Bryan Danielson vs. YAMATO, Shingo-Kid, Jacobs-Moxley . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2011-09-07.
17. ↑ RADICAN'S 5/14 DGUSA MERCURY RISING PPV REPORT - Dragon Gate Six Man Tag, Kendrick & London vs. Jacobs & Evans . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2011-09-07.
18. ↑ Puro Love Profile . Puro Love. Retrieved on 2011-09-07.
19. ↑ Dragon Kid profile . PuroresuCentral.com.
20. ↑ Cagematch.net profile .
21. ↑ Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 – 2001 . Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved on 2010-08-01.
22. ↑ Universal Wrestling Association World Trios Title . Wrestling-titles.com (2010-01-24). Retrieved on 2010-04-18.
23. ↑ Westside Xtreme Wrestling . Online World of Wrestling (2007-07-07). Retrieved on 2008-07-06. “Dragon Kid beat PAC to win the wXw World Lightweight title”
24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 "Pro Wrestling Illustrated 500 - 2006 :106: Dragon Kid". *Pro Wrestling Illustrated*. Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, USA: Sports and Entertainment publications LLC. August 2006. p. 55. October 2006.