Eita Kobayashi
Eita Kobayashi | |
---|---|
Eita as the Open the Brave Gate Champion in November 2016 | |
Birth name | Eita Kobayashi[1] |
Born |
[1] Nagano[1] | October 27, 1991
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) |
Eita Eita Kobayashi |
Billed height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1] |
Billed weight | 72 kg (159 lb)[1] |
Trained by | Dragon Gate Nex |
Debut | January 26, 2011 |
Eita Kobayashi (小林 瑛太 Kobayashi Eita, born October 27, 1991)[1] is a Japanese professional wrestler, also known simply as Eita. He began his career with the Dragon Gate professional wrestling promotion, which he is still affiliated with, and has worked matches for their United States-based sister company Dragon Gate USA. He has also worked for Mexican promotion International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG) as part of his wrestling training. He is nicknamed "The King of Chop" for his ability to execute the knife edge chop on opponents with such force that it makes a very loud sound on impact.
Professional wrestling career
Dragon Gate (2011–2012)
Kobayashi trained for his professional wrestling career in the Japanese promotion Dragon Gate's wrestling school called "Dragon Gate Nex" and made his debut on January 26, 2011 at Dragon Gate Nex's Sanctuary.71 show in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan, wrestling to a draw against fellow trainee Yosuke Watanabe. He later "graduated" to the main Dragon Gate shows as a low ranking rookie. On February 20, 2012 he was one of 10 wrestlers fighting to become the number one contender for the Open the Dream Gate Championship, but saw himself defeated by Pac.[2] A few weeks later he was involved it yet another number one contenders match for the Dream Gate title, but this time the match was won by Cyber Kong. While Kobayashi did not win a lot of matches he made a name for himself with his ability to execute the knife edge chop on opponents with such force that it makes a very loud sound on impact, partially by actually hitting opponents with full force instead of the normal, more "theatrical" version used in professional wrestling. His Chopping prowess and that of other Dragon Gate wrestlers led Dragon Gate to hold a "King of Chop" tournament, which was not a wrestling tournament but a tournament where two wrestlers used the knife edge chop on each other and the fans determined the winner of each match up. Kobayashi defeated Mondai Ruy, Cyber Kong and Don Fujii on his way to the finals where he also overcame Tomahawk T.T. to become Dragon Gate's "King of Chop".[3] As a result of his victory Eita Kobayashi was allowed to compete in Dragon Gate's annual "King of Gate" tournament, where he was eliminated in the second round by Masaaki Mochizuki.[4] On May 27, 2012 Eita Kobayashi teamed up with Don Fujii to lose to Akatsuki, the team of Shingo Takagi and Yamato in what turned out to be his last Dragon Gate match of 2012.[5]
International (2012–2013)
Four days after his last match for Dragon Gate Eita made his debut for the Mexican International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG) promotion as part of their annual Rey del Ring ("King of the Ring") tournament.[6][7][8] His ring name was shortened to simply "Eita" as he worked as a masked heel, a wrestler who portrays the bad guys, while in Mexico to gain experience with more styles of wrestling, something not uncommon for young Japanese wresrtlers.[9] He began carrying a green drum with him to the ring that he would bang before the match to annoy his opponents and also use as an actual weapon during the match. Eita worked a number of IWRG's annual featured shows, such as the 2012 Legado Final ("Final Legacy") where he teamed up with Imposible to defeat Centvrion and Charly Madrid.[10][11] He was also part of IWRG's 2012 Festival de las Máscaras, he, Imposible and Comando Negro defeated the team of Centvrion, Matrix, Jr. and Panterita.[12][13][14] He also began to work for Desastre Total Ultraviolento (DTU) that promoted shows around the same area as IWRG did. On August 17, 2012 he participated in the DTU Rey del Raquetazo ("King of the Chop") tournament. In the first round he defeated Gemelo Fantastico I but lost to Comando Negro in the second round of the tournament.[15] A few weeks later he won the vacant DTU Alto Rendimiento ("High Performance") Championship as he outlasted Dinastía, Eterno, Flamita, Principe Halcón, Rocky Lobo and Tribal.[16] In late 2012 Eita worked for Dragon Gate's North American sister company Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA), appearing on three of their Pay-per-view (PPV) events on October 21 and November 2 through 4th, losing all four matches including a match for Dragon Gate's Open the Brave Gate Championship against champion Dragon Kid.[17][18][19] A few weeks later he participated in an IWRG promoted tournament for the vacant WWS World Welterweight Championship. He defeated Alan Extreme in the first round but was defeated by eventual tournament winner Cerebro Negro in the second round.[20] The following day he challenged for the Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) Cruiserweight Championship against champion Daga but did not win the match. For IWRG's 2012 Prison Fatal show he teamed up with Alan Extreme and Carta Brava, Jr. to defeat the team of Avisman, Cerebro Negro and Dinamic Black.[21][22] He also had the chance to represent IWRG's wrestling school in a series of matches against Fuerza Guerrera's Gimnasio Konkreto school at the Arena Naucalpan 35th Anniversary Show and again at the IWRG 16th Anniversary Show, with Gimnasio Konkreto winning both matches.[23][24][25]
On January 17, 2013 Eita was teamed up with longtime wrestler Negro Navarro for IWRG's annual El Protector tournament, a tournament where a rookie and a "veteran" are teamed up for a tag team tournament designed to give the rookie the spotlihgt. The duo defeated Canis Lupus and Pirata Morgan in the first round, then defeated Centvrion and Veneno in the semi-finals of the tournament only to lose to Carta Brava, Jr. and X-Fly in the finals.[26][27] Eita also worked for DGUSA again, working three PPV tapings from January 25 to January 27, losing all three matches.[28][29][30] On February 19, 2013 Flamita defeated Eita to win the DTU Alto Rendimiento Championship. In late February "King of Chop" rival Tomahawk came to IWRG to train, the same way Eita had come to Mexico 9 months previous and the two began to work as a regular team on IWRG events. On March 16, 2013 Eita, Fénix, Freelance and Mike Segura defeated the tema of Cerebro Negro, Dr. Cerebro, Kaving and Kortiz on a show that was supposed to be the retirement of Kaving and Kortiz's father Ray Mendoza, Jr.[31] On July 19, Eita made an appearance for AAA, representing the Los Perros del Mal stable in a six-man tag team match, where he, Daga and Psicosis were defeated by Dark Cuervo, Dark Espíritu and Dark Ozz.[32]
Return to Dragon Gate (2013–present)
On July 21, 2013, Eita, T-Hawk and U-T, forming a new stable named Millennials, announced their impending return to Dragon Gate.[33] The stable made its debut appearance on August 23 at The Gate of Generation.[34][35] During September, Eita and T-Hawk won the 2013 Summer Adventure Tag League, defeating BxB Hulk and Yamato in the finals on September 28 to become the provisional Open the Twin Gate Champions.[36] On November 3, Eita and T-Hawk defeated previous champions, Dragon Kid and K-ness, to become the official Open the Twin Gate Champions.[37] On December 5, Eita, T-Hawk and one of Millennials' newest members, Mexican wrestler Flamita, defeated Mad Blankey (BxB Hulk, Cyber Kong and Yamato) to win the Open the Triangle Gate Championship.[38] However, just three days later, Eita and T-Hawk lost the Open the Twin Gate Championship to Naruki Doi and Yamato.[39] On December 22, Millennials lost the Open the Triangle Gate Championship to the Jimmyz (Jimmy Susumu, Mr. Kyu Kyu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin and Ryo "Jimmy" Saito) in a three-way elimination match, which also included Oretachi Veteran-gun (Cima, Dragon Kid and Masaaki Mochizuki).[40] On March 16, 2014, Eita, T-Hawk and U-T defeated the Jimmyz (Jimmy Kanda, Jimmy Susumu and Mr. Kyu Kyu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin) to win the Open the Triangle Gate Championship.[41] They lost the title to Mad Blankey (Cyber Kong, Kzy and Naruki Doi) on June 14. On July 20, Eita and T-Hawk defeated Akira Tozawa and Shingo Takagi to win the Open the Twin Gate Championship.[42] They lost the title to Cima and Gamma on November 2, before regaining it on December 3. On December 28, they lost the title to Cyber Kong and Yamato. On August 6, 2015, Millennials lost a three-way match and were as a result forced to disband.[43][44] Afterwards, Eita remained together with former Millennials stablemate Kotoka, with the two starting a feud with T-Hawk, whom they blamed for the dissolution of the stable.[45] On September 23, 2015, Eita was betrayed by Kotoka and kicked out of the newly formed VerserK unit.[46] On October 8, he formed a new unit with Cima, Gamma, Punch Tominaga, El Lindaman, and rookies Takehiro Yamamura and Kaito Ishida, which was named Over Generation on November 1. On June 12, 2016, Eita was selected to represent Dragon Gate in New Japan Pro Wrestling's 2016 Super J-Cup. On July 20, he was eliminated from the tournament in the first round by Jushin Thunder Liger.[47] On July 24, Eita defeated Yosuke♥Santa Maria to become Open the Brave Gate Champion, his first singles championship with the promotion.
Factions
- Millennials (2013–2015)[48]
- VerserK (2015)
- Over Generation (2015–present)
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Apocalypse (Seated scissored armbar while applying a Cloverleaf) 2015-present
- Esperanza (Calf slicer) 2015
- Moonsault[1] 2011-2012
- Numero Uno (Seated scissored armbar)[49] 2013
- Numero Uno Original (High-angle wrist-clutch sitout pin)[49] 2013-present
- Hidalgo (Back-to-back double underhook piledriver) 2012-present
- Salamander (Avalanche Wheelbarrow Victory Roll) 2016-present
- Tres (Inverted cloverleaf) 2013
- Signature moves
- BASTA (Somersault topé through the second and top ropes)[49]
- Alto BASTA (Somersault topé over the top rope)
- Dropkick
- Knife edge chop
- NOVA (Leg trap sunset flip from behind)[49]
- R-TEACH (Hammerlock Argentine backbreaker flipped backwards into a facebuster)[49]
- Perros (Reverse Gory Special flipped forward into an Electric Chair Facebuster)
- Standing moonsault
- Nicknames
- "King of Chop"[49]
- Entrance themes
- "Right Now, Right Here" by KT (used as part of the Millennials)
- "Overdrive the Mirage" by SOYOKAZE (used in singles competition)
Championships and accomplishments
- Desastre Total Ultraviolento
- DTU Alto Rendimiento Championship (1 time)[16]
- Dragon Gate
- Open the Brave Gate Championship (1 times; current)
- Open the Triangle Gate Championship (2 times) – with Flamita and T-Hawk (1), and T-Hawk and U-T (1)[38][41]
- Open the Twin Gate Championship (3 times) – with T-Hawk[37][42]
- Provisional Open the Twin Gate Championship (1 time) – with T-Hawk[36]
- King of Chop (2012)[3]
- Open the Triangle Gate Championship Next Challenger Team One Night Tournament (2013) – with Flamita and T-Hawk[38]
- Summer Adventure Tag League (2013) – with T-Hawk[36]
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Eita". Dragon Gate (in Japanese). Gaora. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
- ↑ "Truth Gate 2012.2.20 兵庫・神戸サンボーホール 観衆:1,100人(超満員札止め)". Dragon Gate (in Japanese). Gaora. February 20, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
- 1 2 "Infinity 254 or King of Chop". Open the Garoon Gate. April 19, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
- ↑ "King of Gate 2012 2012.5.13 アイメッセ山梨 観衆:2000人(超満員札止め)". Dragon Gate (in Japanese). Gaora. May 13, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
- ↑ "Mad Blankey VS ジミーズ 全面対抗戦 in 佐賀 2012.5.27 佐賀・諸富ハートフル 観衆:1,100人(超満員)". Dragon Gate (in Japanese). Gaora. May 27, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
- ↑ "Factor Campeón del Rey del Ring". MedioTiempo (in Spanish). June 1, 2012. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
- ↑ Reyes Ruiz, Eduardo (May 31, 2012). "Factor, nuevo Rey del Ring 2012.". Estrellas del Ring (in Spanish). Retrieved January 30, 2013.
- ↑ Mejia Eguiluz, Diego (May 31, 2012). "Factor, nuevo Rey del Ring". the Gladiatores (in Spanish). Retrieved January 30, 2013.
- ↑ Madigan, Dan (2007). "Okay... what is Lucha Libre?". Mondo Lucha Libre: the bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperColins Publisher. pp. 29–40. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
- ↑ Redacion (June 25, 2012). "Los Piratas, Campeones de Legado". MedioTiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved February 6, 2013.
- ↑ "IWRG (Resultados 24/Jun/12): Los Piratas, ganan el "Legado Final" – Debuta Niko c/ Fandango". superluchas.net (in Spanish). SuperLuchas Magazine. June 25, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
- ↑ "IWRG Festival de Mascaras Expo Lucha Libre". The Gladiatores (in Spanish). July 24, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
- ↑ Redaccion (August 3, 2012). "Festival de Máscaras en Naucalpan". MedioTiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved February 6, 2013.
- ↑ "IWRG "Festival de las Máscaras" (Resultados 02/Ago/12): Rivalidades y retos de máscaras al por mayor – Las Cobras presentes". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). August 3, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
- ↑ "Cerebro Negro rey del Raquetazo dentro de la Expo Lucha Libre La Experiencia". The Gladiatores (in Spanish). August 18, 2012. Retrieved April 6, 2013.
- 1 2 Mr. Reyes (September 24, 2012). "Crazy Boy dio muestras de volver al cuadrilátero". MedioTiempo (in Spanish). MSN. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
- ↑ "Fearless 2012 2012.11.02 マサチューセッツ州エバレット Everett Rec Center 観衆:632人(超満員)". Dragon Gate (in Japanese). Gaora. November 2, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
- ↑ "Uprising 2012 2012.11.03 アメリカ・ニュージャージー州ブアヒーズ・エシュロン Flyers Skate Zone 観衆:593人(超満員)". Dragon Gate (in Japanese). Gaora. November 3, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
- ↑ "Freedom Fight 2012 2012.11.04 アメリカ・ニューヨーク州ディールパーク NYWC Sportatorium 観衆:455人(超満員札止め)". Dragon Gate (in Japanese). Gaora. November 4, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
- ↑ Redacción (November 12, 2012). "El Oficial 911 va por la máscara del Ángel". MedioTiempo (in Spanish). MSN. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
- ↑ "Factor dejo su masscara en la Prison Fatal". MedioTiempo (in Spanish). December 3, 2012. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
- ↑ "Mmagenes: Mini Batista, Mini Super Astro, Mini Piratita Morgan Jr Mini Ozz y Mini Pegasso en IWRG". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). December 3, 2012. Retrieved December 4, 2012.
- ↑ Reyes Ruiz, Eduardo (December 20, 2012). "La lucha del Fin del Mundo fue para el Dr. Wagner Jr e Hijo". Estrellas del Ring (in Spanish). Retrieved January 26, 2013.
- ↑ Acosta, Hugo (January 1, 2013). "Double Factor first monarch in the year in Naucalpan.". Estrellas del Ring (in Spanish). Retrieved January 26, 2013.
- ↑ Redaccion (January 2, 2013). "Factor doble monarca en Naucalpan". MedioTiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved January 26, 2013.
- ↑ Mejia Eguiluz, Diego (January 18, 2013). "Carta Brava júnior y X-Fly, ganadores del Protector 2013". The Gladiatores (in Spanish). Retrieved January 24, 2013.
- ↑ Reyes Ruiz, Eduardo (January 17, 2013). "Para el Mosco X-Fly y Carta Brava Jr el Protector 2013". Estrellas del Ring (in Spanish). Retrieved January 24, 2013.
- ↑ "One Night Only 2013.1.25 アメリカ・カリフォルニア州サンタマリアLake View Jr. High school 観衆:712人(超満員札止め)". Dragon Gate (in Japanese). Gaora. January 25, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
- ↑ "The Pappy Pineda Dome 2013.1.26 アメリカ・カリフォルニア州ハンティントンパーク 観衆:365人(超満員札止め)". Dragon Gate (in Japanese). Gaora. January 26, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
- ↑ "The is War 2013.1.27 アメリカ・カリフォルニア州ハンティントンパーク 観衆:251人(満員)". Dragon Gate (in Japanese). Gaora. January 27, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
- ↑ Valdés, Apolo (March 17, 2013). "Ray Mendoza Jr. dijo adiós a la Lucha Libre". MedioTiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved March 17, 2013.
- ↑ "Rivalidad Desenfrenada". Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (in Spanish). Retrieved July 25, 2013.
- ↑ "Millennials coming soon...!?". Dragon Gate (in Japanese). YouTube. July 24, 2013. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
- ↑ "8/23 Gate of Generation". iHeartDG. August 23, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
- ↑ "新時代の扉を開いたはずの鷹木が、Yamatoに痛恨の敗戦でDG王座から陥落!ミレニアルズが凱旋帰国!傷心の鷹木は戸澤と合体!". Battle News (in Japanese). August 23, 2013. Retrieved August 24, 2013.
- 1 2 3 "Summer Adventure Tag League 2013". Dragon Gate (in Japanese). Retrieved October 1, 2013.
- 1 2 "The Gate of Destiny 2013". Dragon Gate (in Japanese). Retrieved November 4, 2013.
- 1 2 3 挑戦者決定ワンナイトトーナメントで優勝したミレニアルズが、その勢いでトライアングル王座も奪取!ミラクル土井ダーツ登場!. Battle News (in Japanese). December 6, 2013. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
- ↑ "Fantastic Gate". Dragon Gate (in Japanese). Retrieved December 15, 2013.
- ↑ "The Final Gate 2013". Dragon Gate (in Japanese). Gaora. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
- 1 2 "Memorial Gate 2014 in 和歌山". Dragon Gate (in Japanese). Gaora. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
- 1 2 T―HawkとEitaがツイン王座奪取. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). 2014-07-21. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
- ↑ "Scandal Gate in Tokyo". Dragon Gate (in Japanese). Gaora. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
- ↑ ドラゴンゲート8.6後楽園大会 ミレニアルズvs.ジミーズvs.MBの敗戦ユニット解散サバイバルイリミネーション6人タッグ3Wayマッチ. Battle News (in Japanese). August 7, 2015. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
- ↑ "08/23 Gate of Generation". iHeartDG. August 23, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
- ↑ "09/23 Summer Adventure Tag League". iHeartDG. September 23, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
- ↑ "Super J-Cup 2016". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved July 20, 2016.
- ↑ "Eita Cagematch profile: Tag Teams & Stables".
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Eita". iHEARTdg. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
- ↑ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2016". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
External links
- Dragon Gate profile (Japanese)