Five to the Front: A First Look at YAMATO From Dragon Gate

Jai Michel August 21, 2017 Japan Leave a comment

A quick jaunt over to Wikipedia tells me that he’s been a big deal in Dragon Gate for quite a long while. Multiple title winner; not a Grand Slam Champion, but then again I didn’t dig quite deep enough there to see if anyone has won all the championships Dragon Gate has to offer.

I noticed that YAMATO (real name Masato Onodera, or 小野寺 正人 if you prefer) is also listed as being a former mixed martial arts practitioner. I couldn’t find any listings of professional or amateur fights, but I am interested in seeing how that training influences his in-ring style.

Whatever he’s doing is obviously working, let me be clear on that. Four times, as well as current, Open the Dream Gate Champion (Dragon Gate‘s top title), and sitting on a near-400 day reign. You’d have to think a run like this would have made my Ten off the Top: Current Championship Reigns, but as it sits, I am unfamiliar with the whole promotion. Let’s change that: