The Story of Eita's Greatness
It was in November 2017 at Korakuen, when Eita was 26 years old, that he betrayed his mentor Dragon Kid and turned heel. At the same time, he left the unit
OVER GENERATION and joined the heel unit VerserK. At the time, VerserK had Shingo Takagi as its backbone, along with T-Hawk and El Lindaman, who were Eita's contemporaries, and the heel role was entrusted to these three young wrestlers. In January of the following year, they renamed the unit to
ANTIAS and officially started as a youth-centered unit... or so it was supposed to be. However, after the big match in Aichi in May, an event occurred that must have been unexpected for both him and DRAGON GATE.
The promotion underwent a new management structure, and
CIMA left the promotion due to his desire to pursue business in Shanghai. T-Hawk, El Lindaman, Takehiro Yamamura, and the current #STRONGHEARTS faction, who looked up to him, left one after another. As a result, the heavy responsibility of being the standard-bearer for the heels—the center of the DRAGON GATE feud that was supposed to be shared by three people—fell squarely on Eita's shoulders alone.
The hardships he faced from this point on were immeasurable.
While Eita now carries himself with the ease of a beloved heel, back then, although his character wasn't much different from today, he lacked composure and always had an intense, strained look in his eyes.
Compared to the silver-tongued Lindaman, his mic work was immature and didn't even draw boos; there were moments when the audience would just go cold when he spoke, and his support as a heel was by no means high.
The biggest job he accomplished in DRAGON GATE was his feud with his mentor, Dragon Kid.
Spanning about a year from his betrayal in November 2017 to the big match at Fukuoka International in December 2018, it was one of the longest, most intense, and love-hate-filled feuds in the promotion's recent history.
And that year is a record of Eita's significant growth as a heel and as a professional wrestler.
For a year, the mentor and student continued their feud in true tandem.
Kid's unit, OVER GENERATION, disbanded following a dissolution match against ANTIAS, and the two fought over the Brave Gate title that Kid held at the time.
Dragon Kid was always in Eita's sights, and at times, Eita directed such intense passion and hatred toward Kid that one might wonder if he truly hated him.
Thinking back, I believe his desperation was reflected directly in the ring, but for Kid fans, there were many scenes that were truly painful to watch. And Kid accepted all of his love and hate with everything he had (though in reality, there were times when Eita's Twitter battles received little response, and he was distracted by Naruki Doi, who would engage with him).
During the feud, although Takagi, the backbone of ANTIAS, left, the unit was bolstered by the addition of Big R Shimizu (now BIGBOSS Shimizu), Ben-K, and KAZMA SAKAMOTO, the participation of DAGA, and the long-awaited return of PAC, making it a well-rounded heel unit, and they renamed the unit to R・E・D.
As his allies increased and support from the audience grew, Eita gradually matured as a heel, but without a rival of his own generation, he always seemed lonely.
The culmination of Eita's efforts was the Mask vs. Hair match at the Fukuoka International Center in December 2018. The match became an all-out war between units, typical of DRAGON GATE, with R・E・D facing off against MaxiMuM, who supported Kid. In the end, Eita, who was struck with full force by Doi's box, lost and had his hair shaved.
Kid told Eita, "I will accept everything you have!" and after the match, Eita praised him, saying, "You really are an amazing person."
Although he ultimately attacked Kid when he reached out for a handshake before leaving, I want to believe that those words were heartfelt.
With this match, the love-hate feud between the mentor and student came to an end.
After finishing such a big job, Eita's expression softened and he gained composure; it was clear that he had grown significantly as a heel and as a professional wrestler.
After his heel turn, Eita had no real rivals and struggled to gain support compared to the many veteran heels.
It is an undeniable fact that he was one of the wrestlers who energized the audience and DRAGON GATE when the atmosphere felt scattered after the #STRONGHEARTS faction left, and as a fan, I cannot thank him enough for taking on the heavy responsibility as a heel.
While there may not be a wrestler in today's DRAGON GATE who is his rival, there are many young wrestlers carrying the promotion and rivals of his own generation, which is different from the era when Eita carried almost everything on his own as the next-generation youth.
Therefore, I want him to feel at ease leaving the promotion to the younger wrestlers and do what he likes.
And as a Kid fan, it is my secret wish to occasionally see him tag with the mentor he surely trusts deep down.
Thank you very much, and great work.
And please, come back once in a while.