DRAGON BANE & ALEJANDRO OVERCOME DRAGON GATE'S BEST TO RETAIN GHC JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM TITLES
- 8 hours ago
- 3 min read
A few days ago on July 18, 2026 at the INTEX Osaka Hall 5 in Osaka, Japan, Pro Wrestling NOAH held its Summer Epic 2026 event in front of more than 2000 fans.
So much great wrestling transpired on this night; however, to this writer, nothing was more important than the opening match for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships between challengers Love & Peace of Riiita and JACKY KAMEI and the titleholders Dragon Bane and Alejandro.
Throughout 2026, there has been no better tag team in the entire wrestling industry, to me, than Dragon Bane and Alejandro. Formed after watching their respective partners and family join TEAM 2000 X, Bane and Alejandro quickly found chemistry and, after winning the NOAH Jr. Tag League on March 1, 2026, they became GHC Junior Tag Champs by defeating Los Intocables of Daga & Daiki Odashima on March 8, 2026.
Since then, the duo have become fast friends and have had a wild 2026. For a month in the Spring, Dragon Bane also held the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship, completely dominating the NOAH juniors scene, and Alejandro finally split away and dissolved ALL REBELLION at the beginning of Summer. They’ve also defended the titles successfully three times, beating Lykos Gym, TEAM 2000 X, and Atsushi Kotoge & Hajime Ohara respectively.
Their opponents at Summer Epic 2026 were no strangers to championships. KAMEI & Riiita are tag team specialists in Dragon Gate, holding both the Twin Gate and Triple Gate Championships at one point. (WRITER’S NOTE: Two days after this match, the duo, along with Hyu, became Open the Triangle Gate Champions.)
In fact, six days earlier, following a big win, along with Mochizuki, Jr, over the Junior Tag Champs and SUPER CRAZY, KAMEI and Riiita called their shots and demanded an opportunity at the belts.
This NOAH vs DRAGON GATE battle kicked off the night, and what a match it was.
As it has come to Bane & Alejandro title defenses, JACKY KAMEI & Riiita were, by far, their toughest challenge to date. Love & Peace brought their experience and speed to the table, displaying some fantastic double team maneuvers. Bane & Alejandro also did the same, but they seemed a step behind for the first half of this battle.
However, as the champs have been prone to do, they fought back. Getting closer as friends, Bane and Alejandro displayed some awesome double team work, demonstrating their quickness and speed.
By the end of the match, both teams unloaded their arsenals. KAMEI locked on his impressive JFK rolling crucifix pin and got a 2.999 count on Bane. Alejandro got fired up, delivering a vicious Destroyer to Riiita and following it up with a beautiful plancha. On the flip side, Bane crushed KAMEI with a reverse hurricanrana, a Shooting Star Press, and the Santa Maria for the three to retain the gold.
With this renewed fighting spirit in the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, there is only one question: can Dragon Bane and Alejandro be stopped? Unless someone within NOAH or in any other affiliated promotion can put together a magic formula, I can legitimately see these two on top for a very long time.
This is definitely a story to look out for heading throughout the second half of 2026.
Bankie Bruce
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