Lion's Gate Project

**Lion's Gate** was the developmental branch of professional wrestling promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), which holds events under the banner of **Lion's Gate Project**. 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 featuring wrestlers from other promotions, resulting in unique cards.

So far, thirdteen shows have been held, all of which have taken place in 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, Ren Narita, Yuya Uemura and Yota Tsuji 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. The project quickly drew comparisons to WWE's NXT developmental branch. NJPW had earlier attempted a developmental branch with a project named NEVER, which held shows between 2010 and 2012.

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". 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.

## Information

### City

Tokyo, Japan

The first Lion's Gate Project event was held on February 25, 2016, in Tokyo at Shinjuku Face. 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. 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. The show was main evented by NJPW veteran Yuji Nagata defeating Noah's Mitsuhiro Kitamiya.

## Information

### City

Tokyo, Japan

The second Lion's Gate Project event was held on May 19, 2016, in Tokyo at Shinjuku Face. 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). All in all, the event featured eight matches.

## Information

### City

Tokyo, Japan

The third Lion's Gate Project event was held on September 1, 2016, in Tokyo at Shinjuku Face. 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. In addition to the NJPW and Noah wrestlers, the event featured Ayato Yoshida and Go Asakawa from Kaientai Dojo (K-Dojo). The dark match featured another exhibition match between NJPW trainees Katsuya Kitamura and Tomoyuki Oka, this time worked under professional wrestling rules.

## Information

### City

Tokyo, Japan

The fourth Lion's Gate Project event was held on April 13, 2017, in Tokyo at Shinjuku Face. 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. Following the dissolution of the partnership between NJPW and Pro Wrestling Noah at the end of 2016, 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.

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## Information

### City

Tokyo, Japan

The fifth Lion's Gate Project event was held on May 9, 2017, in Tokyo at Shinjuku Face. 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 Freedoms. 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.

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## Information

### City

Tokyo, Japan

The sixth Lion's Gate Project event was held on June 15, 2017, in Tokyo at Shinjuku Face. 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).

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## Information

### City

Tokyo, Japan

The seventh Lion's Gate Project event was held on July 4, 2017, in Tokyo at Shinjuku Face. The event featured seven matches, including the debut of Ren Narita in the opening match. 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. 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.

## Information

### City

Tokyo, Japan

The eighth Lion's Gate Project event was held on October 12, 2017, in Tokyo at Shinjuku Face. 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 took place over the next several Lion's Gate Project shows and featured six NJPW rookies who debuted in 2016 and 2017. Non-tournament matches will feature 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).

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## Information

### City

Tokyo, Japan

The ninth Lion's Gate Project event was held on November 16, 2017, in Tokyo at Shinjuku Face. 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).

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## Information

### City

Tokyo, Japan

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. Non-tournament matches feature 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).

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### City

Tokyo, Japan

The eleventh Lion's Gate Project event took place on April 10, 2018, in Tokyo at Shinjuku Face. The event featured five matches, including the debuts of Yuya Uemura and Yota Tsuji in the opening matches. Outsiders taking part in the event includes Ayato Yoshida and Go Asakawa from Kaientai Dojo (K-Dojo) and Bad Boy (Manjimaru and Ken45°) from Michinoku Pro Wrestling (MPW) and freelancer and veteran Hiro Saito, featuring his return after taking part of the New Japan Rumble at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in January.

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## Information

### City

Tokyo, Japan

The twelveth Lion's Gate Project event was held on May 15, 2018, in Tokyo at Shinjuku Face. The event featured five matches, outsiders taking part in the event were Ayato Yoshida and Go Asakawa from Kaientai Dojo (K-Dojo) and Daisuke Sekimoto from Big Japan Pro Wrestling. On April 25, was announced due to Tetsuhiro Yagi being injury he would be replaced by Ryusuke Taguchi.

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* (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
* – refers to the video of that match

## Information

### City

Tokyo, Japan

The thirteenth Lion's Gate Project event was held on June 13, 2018, in Tokyo at Shinjuku Face. The event featured five matches, outsiders taking part in the event were Shunsuke Sayama from Asuka Project and Ayato Yoshida and Dinosaur Takuma from Kaientai Dojo (K-Dojo).

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* (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
* – refers to the video of that match

## References

1. ↑ *ja:『Lion's Gate Project1』2月25日（木）新宿Face大会のチケット情報が確定！* (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro-Wrestling* (2016-01-15). Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 *ja:【WK10】“期待の新星”岡倫之＆北村克哉が新日本プロレス入団！ 新プロジェクト『Lion's Gate』第1回大会は2月25日（木）新宿Faceに決定！【入団会見】* (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro-Wrestling* (2016-01-03). Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
3. ↑ ja: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】 (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro-Wrestling* (2015-07-18). Archived from the original on 2015-07-20. Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
4. ↑ *ja:新日本プロレス３～５年後上場目指す* (in Japanese). *Daily Sports Online*. Kobe Shimbun (2015-07-18). Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
5. ↑ Caldwell, James 2015-07-18. NJPW news: New Japan announces big int'l expansion plans, including expanded N. America partnerships & NXT-like program . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Meltzer, Dave (January 11, 2016). "January 11, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Cena out with shoulder injury, New Japan stars to WWE". *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Campbell, California: 60–61. ISSN 1083-9593.
7. ↑ *ja:Ｖ２柴田がＮＥＶＥＲ王座の改名を予告* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-03-20). Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
8. ↑ Macklin, Matthew 2016-01-03. New Japan Pro Wrestling 'Festival' report . *Pro Wrestling Insider*. Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 Lion's Gate Project 1  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro-Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Rose, Bryan 2016-02-25. Lion's Gate Project 1 results: Nagata vs. Kitamiya; NJPW and Noah rookies shine . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
11. ↑ *ja:新日・岡倫之＆北村克哉がエキシビションマッチで対戦* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-02-26). Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
12. ↑ *ja:永田がＮＪＣ5年ぶり優勝へ燃えるワケ* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-02-26). Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 Lion's Gate Project2  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro-Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Rose, Bryan 2016-05-19. Lion's Gate Project 2 results: Noah vs. New Japan eight man tag . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 5/19 New Japan vs. Noah "Lion’s Gate Project 2" Results – Team Nagata vs. Team Noah main event, Marufuji makes big endorsement, BOSJ pinch-hitter loses . *Pro Wrestling Torch* (2016-05-19). Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 16.6 16.7 Lion's Gate Project3  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro-Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Rose, Bryan 2016-09-01. Lion's Gate Project 3 results: Noah and New Japan battle in 10-man tag madness . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
18. ↑ Lion's Gate Project3  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro-Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 19.5 19.6 19.7 Lion's Gate Project4  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro-Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Rose, Bryan 2017-04-13. NJPW Lion's Gate Project results: The fourth installment . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
21. ↑ *ja:【新日本】海野レフェリーの次男・翔太がデビュー* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2017-04-14). Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
22. ↑ Johnson, Mike 2017-01-05. 1/5 NJPW New Year's Dash results and notes . *Pro Wrestling Insider*. Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 23.4 23.5 23.6 Lion's Gate Project5  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro-Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Rose, Bryan 2017-05-09. NJPW Lion's Gate Project 5 results: Tag match main event . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
25. ↑ *ja:【新日本】容赦なく出る杭を打ち続ける　永田は若手の高い壁* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2017-05-10). Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 26.4 26.5 Lion's Gate Project6  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro-Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 Rose, Bryan 2017-06-15. NJPW Lion's Gate Project 6 results: A look at the young lions . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 28.4 28.5 28.6 Lion's Gate Project7  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro-Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 Rose, Bryan 2017-07-04. NJPW Lion's Gate Project results: The seventh installment . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
30. ↑ Lion's Gate Project7  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro-Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
31. ↑ *ja:【新日本】永田が全日初参戦の愛弟子・岡に過酷指令* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2017-07-05). Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
32. ↑ *ja:約12年ぶり復活！ 『山本小鉄メモリアル 第11回ヤングライオン杯争奪リーグ戦』が開催決定！ 10月12日（木）新宿大会から公式戦スタート!!* (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro-Wrestling* (2017-09-26). Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
33. ↑ Rose, Bryan 2017-09-26. NJPW bringing back Young Lion's Cup . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2017-09-27.
34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 34.3 34.4 34.5 34.6 Lion's Gate Project9  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro-Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2017-11-16.
35. ↑ *ja:【12月21日（木）『Lion's Gate』新宿大会の全カード決定！】メインは、永田vs青柳！ 『ヤングライオン杯』最終戦は川人vs海野！ 北村vs岡！ 八木vs成田が激突！* (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro-Wrestling* (2017-11-17). Retrieved on 2017-11-17.
36. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Project10`
37. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Project12`

## External links

* The official New Japan Pro-Wrestling website