Dragon Kid
Encyclopedia
Dragon Kid is a Japanese
professional wrestler who wrestles for Dragon Gate
.
in 1996, but he never gave up his dream of being a wrestler. He was eventually introduced to Último Dragón by Jinsei Shinzaki
, who told him that his wrestling school had no size restriction, so he entered the Último Dragón Gym.
working as "Little Dragon." His only appearance on 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 proceeded 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 re-named 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 Title 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 Army 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 Army.
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.
Records (a subsidiary of Dragon Gate Wrestling) released a CD featuring music from Nakamura and Eiji Ezaki
(Japanese singer and retired wrestler, also known as Hayabusa).
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
professional wrestler who wrestles for Dragon Gate
Dragon Gate
is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion formerly known as Toryumon Japan. Most of Dragon Gate's wrestlers are graduates from Último Dragón's Toryumon Gym, and thus the promotion is based on a Junior Heavyweight style with varying emphasis on high flying maneuvers, flashy technical grappling,...
.
Professional wrestling career
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 out as a referee for Frontier Martial-Arts WrestlingFrontier Martial-Arts Wrestling
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989 by Atsushi Onita that specialized in hardcore wrestling involving weapons such as barbed wire and fire. They held their first show on October 6, 1989...
in 1996, but he never gave up his dream of being a wrestler. He was eventually introduced to Último Dragón by Jinsei Shinzaki
Jinsei Shinzaki
Kensuke Shinzaki is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by his stage names Jinsei Shinzaki and Hakushi...
, who told him that his wrestling school had no size restriction, so he entered the Último Dragón Gym.
Toryumon / Dragon Gate
Nakamura debuted in 1997 as a 1st term student, and was given the gimmick of Dragon Kid, Último Dragón's pupil. He was perceived as the heir of Último Dragón, but he has never reached the level of ace. He spent 1998 wrestling in Mexico, but he did some spot participation with Michinoku Pro and also had a short run with World Championship WrestlingWorld Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
working as "Little Dragon." His only appearance on Monday Nitro
WCW Monday Nitro
WCW Monday Nitro was a weekly professional wrestling telecast produced by World Championship Wrestling, created by Ted Turner and Eric Bischoff. The show aired Monday nights on TNT, going head-to-head with the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001...
would be a victory over Eddie Guerrero
Eddie Guerrero
Eduardo Gory "Eddie" Guerrero was a Mexican-American professional wrestler born into the Guerrero wrestling family. He wrestled in Mexico and Japan for several major professional wrestling promotions...
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 proceeded 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 re-named 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
Masaaki Mochizuki
is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently performing for Dragon Gate, where he is the current Open the Dream Gate Champion in his second reign and the leader of the Junction Three stable...
'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
Keni'chiro Arai
Keni'chiro "AraKen" Arai is a Japanese wrestler for Dragon Gate.-Biography:Keni'chiro Arai, also known as AraKen, is a second term graduate of Ultimo Dragon's Toryumon Japan group, and has been a mainstay on the roster ever since. He participated in FMW before joining Toryumon...
. 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 Title from inaugural champion Naruki Doi in November 2005, and would hold the Open the Triangle Gate Titles with Ryo Saito and Genki Horiguchi
Genki Horiguchi
, is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is currently a full time wrestler and booker for Dragon Gate, where he is currently a member of the Blood Warriors stable. He has also competed in Wrestling Society X and Ring of Honor....
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
Westside Xtreme Wrestling
Westside Xtreme Wrestling, officially stylized as westside Xtreme wrestling «wXw», is a professional wrestling promotion based in Oberhausen, Germany...
's Lightweight Championship, in Essen
Essen
- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
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
Summer Adventure Tag League
Summer Adventure Tag League is an annual professional wrestling tag team tournament held in the Japanese promotion Dragon Gate since 2007. It features a round-robin first round, after which the top four teams participate in the single-elimination portion to crown the winner...
Tournament. The team proved very successful, even making it to the finals, but they lost out to the previous year's winners Naruki Doi
Naruki Doi
is a Japanese wrestler for Dragon Gate, where he is currently one third of the Open the Triangle Gate Champions. He also wrestled for Ring of Honor, where he is a former World Tag Team Champion with Shingo Takagi, as well as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling....
and Masato Yoshino
Masato Yoshino
Masato Yoshino is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for the Dragon Gate wrestling promotion.-Toryumon:...
.
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 Army 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 Army.
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
Ricochet (wrestler)
Trevor Mann is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Ricochet. He currently performs mainly for the American promotion Dragon Gate USA and its parent promotion, Japanese Dragon Gate. In both promotions he is a member of the Blood Warriors stable...
. 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
Dragon Gate Open the Twin Gate Championship
The Open the Twin Gate Championship is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion Dragon Gate. Dragon Gate had used the WAR IJ Tag Team Championship since 2006, until 2007 when Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino introduced the new Twin Gate after winning the Summer Adventure Tag League...
. They would lose the title to Blood Warriors representatives CIMA and Ricochet on July 17.
Music career
On November 11, 2007, Dragon GateDragon Gate
is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion formerly known as Toryumon Japan. Most of Dragon Gate's wrestlers are graduates from Último Dragón's Toryumon Gym, and thus the promotion is based on a Junior Heavyweight style with varying emphasis on high flying maneuvers, flashy technical grappling,...
Records (a subsidiary of Dragon Gate Wrestling) released a CD featuring music from Nakamura and Eiji Ezaki
Eiji Ezaki
is a former Japanese professional wrestler better known as the masked Hayabusa , who worked primarily for Atsushi Onita's Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling promotion.-Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling :...
(Japanese singer and retired wrestler, also known as Hayabusa).
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Dragonrana (Diving front flip hurricanrana pin) – innovated
- Ultra Hurricanrana (Springboard hurricanrana pin)
- Signature moves
- Bermuda TriangleBermuda TriangleThe Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and surface vessels allegedly disappeared under mysterious circumstances....
(Springboard moonsault from the inside middle turnbuckle to the floor) - BibleBibleThe Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
(Crucifix driver into a crucifix pin) - Christo (Tilt–a–whirl headscissors armbar)
- Déjà VuDéjà vuDéjà vu is the experience of feeling sure that one has already witnessed or experienced a current situation, even though the exact circumstances of the prior encounter are uncertain and were perhaps imagined...
(Multiple revolution headscissors takedown) - Dragon Stunner (Stunner, as a vertical suplex counter)
- Hallelujah (Headscissors twisted into a figure four necklock)
- Jesus WalksJesus Walks"Jesus Walks" is a hip hop song by American rap artist Kanye West. It was released on May 25, 2004 as the third single from his debut album, The College Dropout. The song is built around a sample of "Walk with Me" as performed by the ARC Choir. "Jesus Walks" was well-received by music critics, who...
(Springboard Arabian press) - Messiah (Headscissors takedown twisted into a tilt-a-whirl DDT)
- Springboard Diamond Dust
- Tiger feint kick to the an opponent's head
- Top-rope cutterCutter (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a cutter is a common term that refers to the three-quarter facelock bulldog maneuver. The move is also described as an inverted neckbreaker, though it is not one, it only bears an inverted style to it...
- Top-rope frankensteiner
- Top-rope reverse frankensteiner
Championships and accomplishments
- Dragon GateDragon Gateis a Japanese professional wrestling promotion formerly known as Toryumon Japan. Most of Dragon Gate's wrestlers are graduates from Último Dragón's Toryumon Gym, and thus the promotion is based on a Junior Heavyweight style with varying emphasis on high flying maneuvers, flashy technical grappling,...
- Dragon Gate Open the Brave Gate ChampionshipDragon Gate Open the Brave Gate ChampionshipThe Open the Brave Gate Championship is a professional wrestling title in Japanese promotion Dragon Gate; it has a weight limit of , though it has been defended against heavier wrestlers in the past. It can be considered the secondary singles title in Dragon Gate and is more of a light heavyweight...
(1 time) - Dragon Gate Open the Triangle Gate ChampionshipDragon Gate Open the Triangle Gate ChampionshipThe Open the Triangle Gate Championship is a professional wrestling trios title in Japanese promotion Dragon Gate. It was created on November 7, 2004 when The Italian Connection faction of Milano Collection AT, Anthony W. Mori & YOSSINO defeated Aagan Iisou's Shuji Kondo, Takuya Sugawara &...
(5 times) - with Ryo SaitoRyo Saito, is a Japanese professional wrestler . he wrestled for Dragon Gate, where he was a member of the Blood Warriors stable. His name is sometimes abbreviated as SaiRyo, so as not to confuse him with Toryumon/DG alumni SAITO.-Toryumon:...
and Genki HoriguchiGenki Horiguchi, is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is currently a full time wrestler and booker for Dragon Gate, where he is currently a member of the Blood Warriors stable. He has also competed in Wrestling Society X and Ring of Honor....
(3), Shingo TakagiShingo TakagiShingo Takagi is a former Japanese bodybuilder, turned professional wrestler. Shingo is currently competing for the Japanese promotion Dragon Gate and American promotion Dragon Gate USA...
and Taku IwasaTaku IwasaTaku Iwasa is a Japanese professional wrestler who currently wrestles for Dragon Gate.-Early:Iwasa graduated as part of the Toryumon T2P class. He initially portrayed Takamichi Iwasa, a Satanic character. Injuries derailed his career, and he soon ended up as a jobber to the stars. He was briefly...
(1), and CIMANobuhiko Oshima, better known by his ring name Cima , is a Japanese professional wrestler who currently wrestles for Dragon Gate and its international expansion Dragon Gate USA...
and RicochetRicochet (wrestler)Trevor Mann is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Ricochet. He currently performs mainly for the American promotion Dragon Gate USA and its parent promotion, Japanese Dragon Gate. In both promotions he is a member of the Blood Warriors stable...
(1) - Open the Twin Gate ChampionshipDragon Gate Open the Twin Gate ChampionshipThe Open the Twin Gate Championship is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion Dragon Gate. Dragon Gate had used the WAR IJ Tag Team Championship since 2006, until 2007 when Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino introduced the new Twin Gate after winning the Summer Adventure Tag League...
(1 time) – with PAC
- Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- 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 ChampionshipNWA World Welterweight ChampionshipThe NWA World Welterweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship governed by the National Wrestling Alliance . For the majority of its existence, the title has been promoted by Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre , where it was known as the Campeonato Mundial Welter de...
(1 time) - UWA World Trios ChampionshipUWA World Trios ChampionshipThe UWA World Trios Championship is a tag team professional wrestling championship created by the Mexican Universal Wrestling Association and defended there until the UWA closed in 1995....
(3 times) - with Magnum Tokyo and Ryo SaitoRyo Saito, is a Japanese professional wrestler . he wrestled for Dragon Gate, where he was a member of the Blood Warriors stable. His name is sometimes abbreviated as SaiRyo, so as not to confuse him with Toryumon/DG alumni SAITO.-Toryumon:...
(1), with Masaaki MochizukiMasaaki Mochizukiis a Japanese professional wrestler, currently performing for Dragon Gate, where he is the current Open the Dream Gate Champion in his second reign and the leader of the Junction Three stable...
and Keni'chiro AraiKeni'chiro AraiKeni'chiro "AraKen" Arai is a Japanese wrestler for Dragon Gate.-Biography:Keni'chiro Arai, also known as AraKen, is a second term graduate of Ultimo Dragon's Toryumon Japan group, and has been a mainstay on the roster ever since. He participated in FMW before joining Toryumon...
(1) and with Keni'chiro AraiKeni'chiro AraiKeni'chiro "AraKen" Arai is a Japanese wrestler for Dragon Gate.-Biography:Keni'chiro Arai, also known as AraKen, is a second term graduate of Ultimo Dragon's Toryumon Japan group, and has been a mainstay on the roster ever since. He participated in FMW before joining Toryumon...
and Second DoiNaruki Doiis a Japanese wrestler for Dragon Gate, where he is currently one third of the Open the Triangle Gate Champions. He also wrestled for Ring of Honor, where he is a former World Tag Team Champion with Shingo Takagi, as well as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling....
(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.
- westside Xtreme wrestling
- wXw World Lightweight Championship (1 time)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- 5 Star Match (2006)
- Best Flying Wrestler (2001)
- Best Wrestling Maneuver (1999, 2000)
- Match of the Year (2006)