is the name of several
professional wrestling promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event. Within ...
s that have operated in Japan and Mexico. The promotions were owned and operated by Yoshihiro Asai, who is best known under the
ring name
A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...
Último Dragón
, better known by his ring name , is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler signed to Dragon Gate (wrestling), Dragon Gate, where he acts as an in-ring talent, trainer and senior advisor. In addition to having trained in Japan, ...
. Toryumon is a coined word that means ''Fighting Dragon Gate''. The word was derived from the
homonym
In linguistics, homonyms are words which are either; '' homographs''—words that mean different things, but have the same spelling (regardless of pronunciation), or '' homophones''—words that mean different things, but have the same pronunciat ...
that literally means ''climbing up the dragon gate'' (or less literally ''climbing up the gateway to success''). The Toryumon Mexico promotion was originally created to give graduates of the Último Dragón Gym a promotion to gain their initial in-ring experience in. Its Japan-based sister promotion Toryumon Japan developed a major cult following and grew into becoming one of the hottest independent promotions in the country. The promotion would run for five years. On July 4, 2004, Último Dragón left the promotion and took the name and trademarks with him. Toryumon Japan's wrestlers and officials decided to form a new promotion, adopting the name
Dragon Gate (later Dragongate) and continuing in the traditions of Toryumon. Since then Último Dragón would continue to promote Toryumon events mainly in Mexico but also has occasionally held shows in Japan until 2020 when he signed with Dragongate.
History
During his time working for
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...
(WCW) in the United States Japanese wrestler
Último Dragón
, better known by his ring name , is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler signed to Dragon Gate (wrestling), Dragon Gate, where he acts as an in-ring talent, trainer and senior advisor. In addition to having trained in Japan, ...
decided to open up a wrestling school in
Naucalpan
Naucalpan, officially Naucalpan de Juárez, is one of Municipalities of the State of Mexico, 125 Municipalities of Mexico State, and is located just northwest of Mexico City. The municipal seat is the city of Naucalpan de Juárez, which extends ...
,
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
to give Japanese hopefuls the chance to learn the Mexican
lucha libre
''Lucha libre'' (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term for the style of professional wrestling originating in Mexico. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has develope ...
style like Dragón had.
The wrestling school operated after the same principles of a university, divided into classes with several terms where wrestlers would "graduate" (debut) at the same time. The Ultimo Dragon Gym's first graduating term consisted of
Cima,
Don Fujii,
Dragon Kid,
Magnum Tokyo and
Suwa who collectively became known as ''Toryumon Japan'' (a name that would be used for the first four terms).
Toryumon promoted their first show on May 11, 1997, in Naucalpan, Mexico on a show that was co-promoted with
International Wrestling Revolution Group
International Wrestling Revolution Group (Grupo Internacional Revolución in Spanish language, Spanish; the Spanish name is used for the promotion while the English initials are used for the title governing body) is a Lucha Libre professional wres ...
(IWRG).
Toryumon and IWRG would co-promote shows in Japan from 1997 until 2001, allowing the Ultimo Dragon Gym graduates to work on IWRG shows and even saw several graduates wrestlers win IWRG Championship.
Through his contacts with WCW Último Dragón also arranged for some of his first term graduates to wrestle on World Championship Wrestling shows.
On January 1, 1999, Toryumon held its first show in Japan and from that point forward began promoting regular shows in Japan.
Toryumon's combination of traditional Japanese
Puroresu
is a Japanese term used for professional wrestling in Japan, professional wrestling in and outside of Japan. The term comes from the Gairaigo, Japanese pronunciation of , which in Japanese is abbreviated to “puro” ( - “pro”) & “resu” ...
, Mexican Lucha Libre and elements of
Sports Entertainment
Sports entertainment is a type of spectacle which presents an ostensibly competition, competitive event using a high level of theatre, theatrical flourish and extravagant presentation, with the purpose of entertainment, entertaining an audience. Un ...
that Último Dragón had observed while working for WCW such as outside interference and referee's being knocked out, something that at the time was not traditionally used in Japanese wrestling.
The second class of Último Dragón Gym graduates began their own promotion, called the Toryumon 2000 Project, or T2P for short. The T2P promotion debuted on November 13, 2001, and became known for their use of the six-sided wrestling ring, the first promotion to regularly use such a ring shape.
T2P wrestlers primarily used a submission based style called ''Llave'' (
Spanish for "Key" the lucha libre term for submission locks).
T2P ran until January 27, 2003, when the roster was absorbed into Toryumon.
The third graduating class was known as "Toryumon X" and like T2P also started their own promotion under their class name. Toryumon X made its debut on August 22, 2003, and lasted until early 2004.
Último Dragón had been forced to retire from active competition in 1998 after a mistake during an elbow surgery that caused
nerve damage.
In 2001 Dragón had another round of surgery on his elbow, restoring mobility and feeling. Following his rehabilitation Último Dragón made his return to active wrestling on a Toryumon / T2P co-promoted
pay-per-view
Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast.
Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...
on September 8, 2002.
In the following months Dragón wrestled regularly for Toryumon and various companies around the world. Because of his active scheduled Último Dragón stepped down as the director of Toryumon leaving the job to
Takashi Okamura. Okamura handled the job while Dragón began working full-time for
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
(WWE) in the United States.
After his run with WWE ended Dragón returned to Japan and announced that he was leaving Toryumon and taking all the trademarks he owned with him. Toryumon Japan changed its name to
Dragon Gate as a result of this, continuing the traditions of Toryumon Japan including references to Último Dragón. Since the break Toryumon has primarily promoted shows in Mexico, featuring students trained by Dragón and
Jorge "Skayde" Rivera and a number of wrestlers from various Mexican and American promotions.
In Japan a group of remaining Toryumon students, including ousted members of Dragon Gate, joined with the internet-firm Livedoor to create the promotion dragondoor, a promotion that only ran six shows. The group launched another wrestling venture in 2006 called El Dorado: Next Door Project.
In 2020, Toryumon Mexico would quietly close its doors with Dragón later founding Toryumon Casa in 2022, as base to serve as the home promotion for Japanese wrestlers from Dragongate and
Pro Wrestling Noah who had been sent on learning excursions in Mexico.
Shows and events
Toryumon Japan ran a series of PPVs under the names ''Vamonos Amigos'' ("Let's go friends" in Spanish) and "Revolucion" ("Revolution") as well as an annual anniversary show. They also held an annual ''Numero Uno'' League that became one of the highlights of the promotional year.
Since the split in 2004 Toryumon has not promoted any major shows or PPVs, focusing their promotional efforts on Toryumon Mexico. In Mexico Dragón promoted an annual DragonMania show, with the last being DragonMania XI held on May 28, 2016.
In August 2017 Toryumon Mexico started working with
All Japan Pro Wrestling
(AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on October 21, 1972, by Giant Baba after he left the Japanese Wrestling Association to create his own promotion. Ma ...
in with a collaborated event tour called
Lucha Fiesta.
Championships promoted
Before the Dragon Gate split in 2004 Toryumon Japan promoted a series of championships, only one of which originated in the promotion,
Último Dragón Gym Championship, the rest were either bought from its previous owner or acquired after promotions closed. When the promotion turned to Dragon Gate all its championships were vacated, leaving only the Toryumon Mexico promoted titles.
Annual tournaments
Suzuki Cup
Suzuki Cup is a Team Tournament that began in 2007
*2007:
Marco Corleone,
Kensuke Sasaki
is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his numerous runs in the top three Japanese wrestling promotions; New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), and Pro Wrestling Noah. He was the founder and o ...
and
Ultimo Dragon
*2008:
Alex Koslov, Marco Corleone and Ultimo Dragon
Young Dragons Cup
Every year Toryumon Mexico holds the Young Dragons Cup, an annual
tournament
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...
that began in 1997. The tournament is used to showcase Dragon Gym students. Originally it was a traditional single-elimination tournament, in 2006 it was changed into a ''
torneo cibernetico
A ''torneo cibernetico'' is a multi-man professional wrestling elimination match that was created and primarily used in Mexican ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotions, especially in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). The match format ...
'' and has had that format ever since.
Rocky Romero,
Kota Ibushi,
Ryuji Yamaguchi and
Trauma II
Trauma II (born December 12, 1982) is a Mexican ''Lucha libre, luchador wrestling mask, enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestling, professional wrestler, working on the Mexican independent circuit and as a freelance wrestler for promotions s ...
are the only tournament winners who were not actually trained by Último Dragón.
*1997:
Magnum Tokyo
*1998:
Genki Horiguchi
is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by the ring name . He is currently a full-time wrestler for Dragon Gate (wrestling), Dragon Gate. He has also competed in Wrestling Society X and Ring of Honor.
When Horiguchi's hairline began re ...
*1999:
Yasushi Kanda
*2000:
Milano Collection AT
, is a Japanese color commentator and retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name . As Milano, Sawafuji adopted the gimmick of an Italian fashion aficionado/supermodel, reflected in his ring attire. Milano is also known for walk ...
*2001:
Toru Owashi
is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by his ring name . He is best known for his work in DDT Pro-Wrestling, where he is a former KO-D Openweight Champion and two-time KO-D Tag Team Champion.
Sumo career
Initially aspiring to b ...
*2002:
Taiji Ishimori
is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of Bullet Club and its List of Bullet Club members#War Dogs, War Dogs sub-group. Ishimori is a three-time IWGP Junio ...
*2003:
Takeshi Minamino
*2004:
Rocky Romero
*2005:
Kazuchika Okada
*2006:
Kota Ibushi
*2007:
Ryuji Yamaguchi
*2008:
Satoshi Kajiwara
*2009:
Trauma II
Trauma II (born December 12, 1982) is a Mexican ''Lucha libre, luchador wrestling mask, enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestling, professional wrestler, working on the Mexican independent circuit and as a freelance wrestler for promotions s ...
*2010:
Angélico
Yamaha Cup
Toryumon Mexico holds the Yamaha Cup about once a year, although there have been years without a Cup. The Yamaha Cup is a
tag team
Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establis ...
tournament that features a mixture of Último Dragón trainees and a combination of wrestlers from the
Mexican Independent circuit, IWRG and
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as (EMLL) (''Mexican Wrestling Enterprise''). Founded in 1933, it is the oldest profe ...
(CMLL).
*2000:
Susumu Mochizuki
, better known by his ring name is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to Dragon Gate. He is not related to fellow Dragon Gate wrestler and long-term ally/rival Masaaki Mochizuki, who debuted much earlier for WAR.
Professional ...
and
Yasushi Kanda
*2003:
Taiji Ishimori
is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of Bullet Club and its List of Bullet Club members#War Dogs, War Dogs sub-group. Ishimori is a three-time IWGP Junio ...
and
Shu Sato
*2004:
Mini Cima and
SUWAcito
*2005:
Hiromi Horiguchi and
Ryusuke Taguchi
is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, trained by and performing for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is a former List of IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champions, two-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, List of IWGP Junior He ...
*2006:
Johnny Stamboli and
Chuck Palumbo
*2008: Último Dragón and
Yutaka Yoshie
*2010:
Angélico and
El Hijo del Fantasma
*2012: Angélico and Último Dragón
Último Dragón Gym students
See also
*
List of professional wrestling promotions in Mexico
*
Universal Lucha Libre
*
Michinoku Pro Wrestling
*
WAR
War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
References
External links
Toryumon/Dragon Gate Title Histories
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toryumon (Ultimo Dragon)
Japanese professional wrestling promotions
Mexican professional wrestling promotions
Professional wrestling schools
Japan–Mexico relations
Toryumon