Two action packed nights of wrestling in Fukuoka have come to a close, and the landscape of New Japan has shifted in dramatic ways. Before getting into the results, there was a very interesting interview with Naoki Sugabayashi online about the history of Wrestling Dontaku (https://www.njpw1972.com/26605), including his thoughts about the possibility of New Japan returning to the Fukuoka Dome at some point. When Wrestling Dontaku first began it used to be held in the Fukuoka Dome, and New Japan used to run shows in multiple domes across Japan. However, since the downturn in business in the mid-2000s they have pretty much limited themselves to the Tokyo Dome. Now that business is booming again, Sugabayashi hinted that a return to the Fukuoka Dome may happen sooner rather than later. If these two nights of Wrestling Dontaku were close to being sold-out, that could see a very serious discussion about holding events in the Fukuoka Dome again.
Wrestling Dontaku Night One
Shota Umino and Yota Tsuji vs. Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi
Chase and Yujiro came out with Pieter to Yujiro’s music, and as they two sweeted each other Umino and Tsuji attacked before the bell. This was a fun little match, and Tsuji really got to show off some good stuff, including a nice dropkick on Chase. Chase got the victory for Bullet Club with the package piledriver on Umino.
Winners: Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi, 5:23
Jyushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask, and Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Yuji Nagata, Tomoyuki Oka, and Ren Narita – Dad Nagata and two of the Young Lions against three of the more veteran members of the roster. Liger got a big pop for his entrance, in part because he lives in Fukuoka (and because he’s a legend). The commentary team played up the fact that Liger debuted in 1989, and Narita was only born in 1997. Another fun little match that showed off the Young Lions’ skill, and had some comedic moments with Taguchi. The match ended with Taguchi hitting Narita with a chickenwing facebuster for the pin.
Winners: Jyushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask, and Ryusuke Taguchi, 7:12
Roppongi 3K (Yoh, Sho, and Rocky Romero) vs. Killer Elite Squad (Lance Archer and Davey Boy Smith Jr.) and Takashi Iizuka – Roppongi 3K took on the monsters of Suzuki-gun. They really need to get Roppongi 3K out of this feud with the Suzuki-gun undercard, it has done nothing for them. This match was mostly just brawling on the outside and Iizuka biting people, but thankfully it ended quickly when Sho got a roll up on Iizuka.
Winners: Roppongi 3K, 2:04
Togi Makabe, Toa Henare, Juice Robinson, Michael Elgin, and David Finlay vs. Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, and Jay White – The Hontai team came out to Makabe’s music, whereas Goto, Ishii, Yano, and YOSHI-HASHI came out together and Jay White came separately. This was the best match on the card so far, as everyone got the chance to show off their stuff. They highlighted the upcoming match between Goto and Elgin, but Juice and Henare really stood out in this match, Juice getting the hot tag after Finlay played the face in peril, and Henare slugging it out with Jay White. Finally, Jay White hit the Blade Runner on Henare for the three count.
Winners: Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, and Jay White, 10:25
NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champioship
The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) and Marty Scurll vs. Guerrillas of Destiny (Tanga Loa and Tama Tonga) and Bad Luck Fale (c) – This was the first of the Bullet Club vs. Bullet Club matches on the card tonight, pitting The Elite against the Bullet Club OGs. Before the bell rung both teams shook hands, and GOD and Fale two sweeted each other. This was The Young Bucks’ first title match since they moved up to heavyweight, and a lot was made of their ability to work as a tag team. The other main theme in this match was Marty Scurll trying to take on Bad Luck Fale, usually with hilarious results, although he did finally hit his finger breaking spot on him late in the match. The Elite won the match after The Young Bucks hit Tanga Loa with More Bang For Your Buck. After the match Tama Tonga and Fale presented The Elite with the tag team belts.
Winners: The Young Bucks and Marty Scurll, 12:05
Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr., El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Taichi vs. Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, EVIL, BUSHI, and Hiromu Takahashi – This match comes after Naito beat Suzuki for the Intercontinental Championship at Wrestling Hi No Kuni. Naito came out without the IC belt, and according to the commentators this was because Naito had decided that people were more interested in seeing him than the “Intercontinental Champion.” TAKA Michinoku did his hype-man routine for Suzuki-gun, and then as always they jumped LIJ before the bell rang. The pacing of this match felt a bit off, since a lot of time was spent on Naito getting put in submissions by Suzuki and ZSJ, but then he escaped and they didn’t really come back to Naito’s injuries. EVIL picked up the win for LIJ after hitting Kanemaru with an STO. It’s hard to know where exactly the feud between LIJ and Suzuki-gun is going – it is likely that the junior heavyweight members of the two teams will face off in Best of the Super Juniors, but presumably Naito is moving on to new challengers. Hopefully these multi-man tag matches are the last ones we see for a while between these two teams, because they’re starting to feel stale after this tour.
Winners: Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, EVIL, BUSHI, and Hiromu Takahashi, 13:36
After the match The Young Bucks came to the ring and challenged EVIL and SANADA to a match for the Heavyweight Tag Titles, then superkicked then. When he recovered, EVIL took the microphone and accepted their challenge.
Hiroshi Tanahashi and KUSHIDA vs. Kazuchika Okada and Will Ospreay – A preview of the semi-main and main events of night two, when the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title and IWGP Heavyweight Title were on the line. Tanahashi looked rather pensive as he entered the ring, although he stared down Okada before the bell. KUSHIDA and Ospreay both had their shoulders taped up, and the CHAOS team took advantage of this by working over KUSHIDA’s back and shoulders. There were big cheers for Tanahashi and KUSHIDA when they were in the ring and the crowd was firmly behind them. Okada tried to tombstone Tanahashi outside the ring again, but ended up with Tanahashi escaping, then catching him with a Dragon Screw. This was a fast-paced match with a lot of back and forth – at one point Tanahashi and KUSHIDA put their opponents in a Texas Cloverleaf and an armbar, while Ospreay very nearly hit KUSHIDA again with his new move, Storm Breaker. Eventually Okada isolated KUSHIDA in the ring, hit him with a tombstone and then a Rainmaker for the three count.
Winners: Kazuchika Okada and Will Ospreay, 16:15
After the match Okada and Tanahasi squared up to each other in the ring, with duelling “Okada” and “Tanahashi” chants.
Cody vs. Kota Ibushi – Cody made his entrance wearing a black and gold military style jacket complete with epaulettes. This was a rematch from Wrestle Kingdom 12, which was a very good match, so I had high hopes coming into this match. The first half of the match was quite slow and methodical, and Cody made a point of slowing down the pace with heel tactics, like feigning a neck injury. At one point Cody accidentally hit Red Shoes with a corner splash, which led to a painful looking table spot. Cody attempted to suplex Ibushi through a table, which Ibushi countered and hit a double foot stomp. Like any good Japanese table, it didn’t break, so Ibushi went back up top and hit another double foot stomp. This resulted in the table around Cody’s frame rather than down the middle, and cut open Cody’s back. The second half of the match had a better flow to it – Cody ducked two attempts at the Kamigoye, and hit the Cross Rhodes for a near fall. Finally Cody picked up the win after he hit a reverse Gordy Special Bomb called Din’s Fire. This was good match that picked up steam after the first ten minutes, although it didn’t live up to their Wrestle Kingdom match.
Winner: Cody, 23:36
Kenny Omega vs. Hangman Page – The Bullet Club OGs came to the ring wearing Bullet Club 5th anniversary haoris earlier in the night, and so did Kenny when he made his way to the ring for the main event. Hangman Page has improved massively over the last year, and Kenny remains one of the top wrestlers in the world, so this match had a lot of potential to impress. It didn’t quite live up to my expectations, which was mainly because the first half was mostly brawling outside the ring, with Kenny in particular taking some wicked bumps. Page hit Kenny with a back-to-belly piledriver onto a table outside the ring, then DDTd him onto a chair back in the ring, the combination of which busted him open. The blood was a stark contrast with Kenny’s freshly bleached hair, and made for a great visual. Once the action returned to the ring the match improved, and Hangman Page showed off how much he has improved recently. If these two were given twenty or thirty minutes in a singles match with no shenanigans (the G1 possibly?) they could have an excellent match. Page took some vicious V-Triggers from Kenny, and finally the One Winged Angel to seal the victory for Kenny Omega. Despite my reservations, this was still the best match of the night.
Winner: Kenny Omega, 18:23
After the match Kenny cut a promo in Japanese, thanking the fans for coming and saying that he was looking forward to seeing them again on night two.
Wrestling Dontaku Night Two
Ren Narita, Shota Umino, and Yuya Uemura vs. Jyushin Thunder Liger, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Tiger Mask – The Young Lions all jumped the veterans before the bell, and started beating down Liger. This was another fun opening match, although Uemura didn’t have as much chance to show off his prowess at Tsuji did yesterday. In a call-back to night one, Taguchi tried to hit Narita with a chickenwing facebuster but he rolled through into a pin. Taguchi kicked out and then forced Narita to tap out to the ankle lock.
Winners: Jyushin Thunder Liger, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Tiger Mask, 6:34
Yujiro Takahashi and Chase Owens vs. Yuji Nagata and Tomoyuki Oka – Chase and Yujiro are a fun lower-card tag team, and they work well together. Oka was really fired up in this match, and came close to pinning Chase with a roll up after he countered a package piledriver attempt. Despite his best efforts Bullet Club won again, as Chase hit a hammerlock lariat, followed by the package piledriver to make it two wins out of two for the Crown Jewel and the Tokyo Pimp.
Winners: Yujiro Takahashi and Chase Owens, 6:11
Roppongi 3K (Sho, Yoh, and Rocky Romero) vs. Taichi, Takashi Iizuka, and TAKA Michinoku – Unsurprisingly Suzuki-gun attacked Roppongi 3K before the bell, and proceeded to beat them up outside the ring. This match was just like any Suzuki-gun mulit-man tag match – lots of shenanigans, a ref bump, and Iizuka biting people. Roppongi 3K picked up another win here, which hopefully means that they are moving on from this feud, which has done nothing for everyone involved.
Winners: Roppongi 3K, 6:00
Togi Makabe and Toa Henare vs. Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano– This was a fun match between two tag teams who know each other very well. The highlight of the match was Ishii and Henare continuing their quest to brutalise each other with vicious chops and some savage headbutts. Henare got some near falls with a spear and a roll up, but once again Ishii picked up the win after hitting him with a lariat and a brainbuster. It seems like The Young Bucks are the next challengers for EVIL and SANADA, but Yano and Ishii have been picking up a lot of tag team wins, so they should be in with a shot to challenge for the titles in the future.
Winners: Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano, 7:12
Juice Robinson, David Finlay, and Michael Elgin vs. Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, and Jay White – The CHAOS team entered separately again, and Jay White threatened one of the Young Lions on his way into the ring. This was a good tag match that focused on the NEVER title challenge between Goto and Elgin, but allowed everyone to show off their stuff. Jay White in particular continued his excellent character work as a slimy heel, and again refused to join in with the CHAOS sushi zanmai pose. Surprisingly YOSHI-HASHI won the match for CHAOS by hitting a pumphandle half-nelson driver on David Finlay.
Winners: Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, and Jay White, 11:04
After the match Taichi attacked Goto and Elgin with his mic stand, then Jay White snuck back into the ring and tried to hit Juice with a Blade Runner. Juice fought him off, and Jay retreated telling him that he’s inside his head. It looks like Juice will be the next challenger for the US Title.
Killer Elite Squad (Lance Archer and Davey Boy Smith Jr.), El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Minoru Suzuki vs. EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, and Tetsuya Naito – Once again Naito came out for the match without the Intercontinental Title. This match was better than the match on night one, since they didn’t focus on submissions for anything like as long. Suzuki-gun attacked before the bell and brawled on the outside for a while, but when the action got back into the ring it moved at a good pace. Finally Kanemaru was isolated in the ring by LIJ, and Naito hit the Destino for a three count.
Winners: EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, and Tetsuya Naito, 8:31
After the match LIJ celebrated in the ring, then the rest of the members left Naito in the ring to soak up applause from the crowd. As he left someone in a mask jumped out of the crowd and dragged him back to the ring. After beating Naito down, the intruder pulled off his mask to reveal Chris Jericho! Jericho continued his assault on Naito, including hitting Naito in the face with the ring bell, which busted him open and covered him in blood. Finally the Young Lions and LIJ managed to drag Jericho off Naito, and forced him to the back. Naito managed to get back to his feet, waved away a stretcher and walked out with his face covered in blood. So after all of Jericho’s tweets about how he isn’t coming back to New Japan, he’s back. Presumably this means we will get Jericho vs. Naito at Dominion for the Intercontinental Title?
Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa), Bad Luck Fale, and the Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson), Marty Scurll, Hangman Page, and Cody – After two good singles matches yesterday, the Bullet Club faced off in a ten-man tag team match. This match was short but fun, and continued the story that Kenny is conflicted about fighting The Young Bucks, Ibushi is a bit exasperated with him, and Cody is a slimy heel who has no problem sucker punching Kenny. Scurll made several attempts to slam Fale, in a call-back to the NEVER Six Man Tag Team Championship match yesterday. Finally he managed to lift Fale, but then collapsed under his weight and was pinned.
Winners: GOD, Bad Luck Fale, and the Golden Lovers, 8:47
After the match, Cody ran to the back and Kenny charged after him, leaving Ibushi and the rest of Bullet Club in the ring. Chase and Yujiro came from the back and the entire Bullet Club two-sweeted together, noticeably without either Kenny or Cody. Ibushi left the ring while the Bullet Club’s theme played, and the Club celebrated in the ring. Is this a hint that both Kenny and Cody might be kicked out of Bullet Club before long? Moreover, what will happen to the Golden Lovers given Kenny’s fixation on Cody?
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship
KUSHIDA vs. Will Ospreay (c) – Ospreay won the Jr. Heavyweight Title in a fatal-four way at Wrestle Kingdom 12, defeating KUSHIDA, Hiromu Takahashi, and Marty Scurll. Since then he has beaten Hiromu and Scurll, so KUSHIDA is his last challenge to establish himself as the new Jr. Ace. This match was excellent, fast-paced and hard hitting. KUSHIDA showed off his dark side in this match, employing heel tactics to target Ospreay’s neck and generally being much more aggressive than usual. Jyushin Thunder Liger was on commentary for this match, and was effusive in his praise for both participants. Both Ospreay and KUSHIDA came into the match with their shoulders taped up, and took some nasty looking bumps on their necks. Ospreay teased the Spanish Fly from the apron, which he hit at Sakura Genesis and landed on his neck on the apron, but KUSHIDA blocked it and then hit a sick swinging DDT from the apron right onto Ospreay’s neck. KUSHIDA worked the Hover Board Lock on Ospreay a lot during this match, focusing on keeping the pressure on Ospreay’s injured neck. Ospreay for his part hit a wicked looking Essex Destroyer that dropped KUSHIDA straight onto his head. In the closing stages KUSHIDA started just kicking Ospreay in the head and neck, then put him on the top turnbuckle and attempted an avalanche Back to the Future, but Ospreay countered it into an Os Cutter from the top turnbuckle, and then hit a Storm Breaker to win.
Winner: Will Ospreay, 23:46
Post-match Ospreay was in the ring celebrating, when he was interrupted by Tama Tonga, who introduced the returning Bone Soldier. Bone Soldier blindsided Ospreay and laid him out, then Tama took off his mask to reveal former Pro Wrestling Noah Jr. Heavyweight Taiji Ishimori! Tama hyped him up and they two sweeted in the ring before leaving.
IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada (c) – Okada and Tanahashi have had a storied rivalry since Okada first won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in 2012, but this is their first singles match since 2016. In the build-up to this match Okada was initially dismissive of Tanahashi, but became increasingly rattled by the former Ace in their tag-team matches. The crowd in Fukuoka were firmly behind Tanahashi in this match, and Okada even got booed for some of his more heelish actions. This match was absolutely excellent, a Match of the Year contender, and needs to be seen to be appreciated. There were so many callbacks to the previous matches between the two – Tanahashi attacking Okada’s knee, Okada trying and eventually succeeding in tombstone piledriving Tanahashi outside the ring, Okada’s wrist control finally being broken at the end of the match. Tanahashi hit his own tombstone on Okada, and a High Fly Flow to his back, but when he tried for a second High Fly Flow Okada got his knees up to counter. Towards the end of the match Tanahashi even hit his own Rainmaker, but only managed to get a one count. Tanahashi then started slapping Okada in the face, while Okada looked like he was almost on the verge of tears. Tanahashi countered a Rainmaker attempt by slapping Okada, and Okada lost control of his rist, but as Tanahashi went to run the ropes Okada grabbed him and finally was able to hit a Rainmaker for the victory. The fact that it only took one Rainmaker to defeat Tanahashi was surprising in the moment of the match, but it really showed that Tanahashi is no longer at the level of Okada, or even Naito or Kenny, who both needed multiple Rainmakers to put them away.
Winner: Kazuchika Okada, 34:36
Post-match, Gedo hyped Okada’s achievements, then Okada took the microphone and after congratulating Tanahashi on still being a strong opponent he began to wonder out-loud about his next opponent. He listed all of the 12 title defences that he had during this reign, including the time-limit draw with Kenny Omega at Dominion last year, and then he went a step further and called out Kenny! Omega made his way to the ring, and Okada suggested a match with no time limit. Kenny made a counter offer of a two-out-of-three falls match, which Okada agreed to, adding that it would have no time limit. Kenny left with a smirk on his face and Okada posed in the ring to close the show.
Final Thoughts
The main event and semi-main event of night two were absolutely excellent matches that need to be seen by any New Japan fan. Okada vs. Tanahashi goes straight into consideration for Match of the Year for me, the emotion and storytelling was first rate, as was the drama. Despite Okada’s reign having lasted for almost two years, he always manages to create a real sense that this might be the time that he finally loses. Ospreay and KUSHIDA are great opponents for each other, who always deliver quality matches, and this was no different. I might rate the Ospreay vs. Scurll match at Sakura Genesis slightly higher, but I don’t think Ospreay has had a singles match in New Japan this year that has been less than great.
Overall, I think that the show suffered by being spread over two days. I understand why New Japan would do that from a business point of view – according to Naoki Sugabayashi Fukuoka is one of the three biggest markets for New Japan – but much of the undercard felt repetitive after two nights. A lot of night two was about advancing storylines, and as such some of the matches felt secondary to the post-match events. Chris Jericho’s return was the most shocking of the stories, and his brutal attack on Naito points towards a match between the new Intercontinental Champion and Y2J at Dominion. Bullet Club seem to have made up again, but neither Cody nor Kenny were present for that, so will they be staying in the Club for much longer? Bullet Club also debuted their newest member Taiji Ishimori as the new (and vastly improved) Bone Solider, who goes straight into consideration for Best of the Super Juniors winner. A match between Ospreay and Ishimori at Dominion beckons, and some new blood in the Jr. Heavyweight division is welcome.
Potentially the biggest news however, is the identity of Okada’s next challenger for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Prior to the match with Tanahashi, there was a general confusion about who the next challenger would be. I had expected Naito to challenge at Dominion, but after he won the Intercontinental Title at Hi No Kuni that seemed to be unlikely. Instead, Okada called out Kenny Omega, and set a two-out-three falls match with no time limit for Dominion. Given how good Okada and Omega’s trilogy in 2017 was, this match promises to be amazing, and I really believe that Omega has a good chance of winning. New Japan are running a G1 Special show in San Francisco in July, and what better time to give Omega his first championship reign than then? An Omega victory would also open up more fresh matchups in the heavyweight division – as good as Okada’s reign has been, he’s beaten almost everyone there is to beat. It seems like this is Omega’s time, and I for one cannot wait to see two of the greatest professional wrestlers in the world go head to head again at Dominion in June.
