Wrestling Dontaku wrapped up for another year as both the junior and heavyweight titles were on the line in Fukuoka.
After yesterday’s fairly disappointing card, Kevin Kelly and Don Callis are still on your English language call, and we start with Young Lions being thrown to the wolves!
Shota Umino, Ren Narita & Yuya Uemura vs. Jushin “Thunder” Liger, Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi
The Young Lions attack the veterans at the bell, with Liger getting cornered early on, before things settled down with Uemura slamming Tiger Mask.
Tiger Mask replies with a back spin kick that looked pretty low on Uemura, as further kicks kept the newest rookie down on the mat. Taguchi’s next, dumping Uemura outside so Liger could hurl him into the railings, ahead of a Romero special as the veterans were going through their Greatest Hits.
Umino and Narita broke up that hold… and their repeated interference was caught, prompting Narita to scarper like the proverbial scalded dog. They notably weren’t helping as Uemura was getting slapped… but Yuya’s able to avoid a Shotei and take down Liger with a dropkick before tagging out.
Umino’s in to try and light up Liger, but he runs into a Shotei, before Taguchi’s in to threaten all the hip attacks. Shota does manage to land a suplex before bringing Narita in, who charges down Taguchi before going for a Boston crab… he holds on despite Taguchi rolling through, but the ring fills to break it up. Taguchi finally hits hip attacks as Uemura and Umino were taken outside for whips into the guard rails… before Taguchi gets the win with an ankle lock after his initial Dodon attempt had been rolled through. A gutsy showing from the youngsters, but this was business as usual for the veterans. **½
Bullet Club (Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. Yuji Nagata & Tomoyuki Oka
When I’d originally written up the card for this, somehow I’d confused Oka with Tomoaki Honma. That might be a little premature… while Don Callis poked fun at Yujiro’s dancer for the day.
There’s a cheapshot from the off as Yujiro attacked Oka from behind, but Nagata helps to turn it around, leading to Oka nearly winning early on with a belly-to-belly. Things quickly reverted to form though as the Bullet Club got in gear, double-teaming Oka and Nagata as we went back to business as usual with Oka being the target.
Yujiro’s boots fire up Oka, as he replies with a clothesline that looked a lot like a Slingblade, before bringing in a fired-up Nagata. Stinging kicks rock Yujiro, who eventually catches one and turns it into a Fisherman’s buster before tagging out. Chase quickly gets pulled into the Shirome arm bar, but Yujiro breaks it up, just as Oka demands a tag back in. Someday the veterans will learn…
Oka charges Chase into the corner with a spinebuster-like takedown, before he misses a splash into the same corner. Owens’ thrust kick puts Oka down, but he backdrops out of a package piledriver before sitting down on a sunset flip for a near-fall. A thunderous uppercut shocks Owens, but he’s quickly back with a Jewel Heist trapped-arm lariat for a near-fall, before the package piledriver gets the win. Another W for Chase, just as we get up to the Best of Super Juniors, eh? **¼
Roppongi 3K (Rocky Romero, SHO & YOH) vs. Suzuki-gun (Taichi, TAKA Michinoku & Takashi Iizuka)
WHY?! I thought we’d already had this one paid off? Apparently their quick and controversial finish yesterday warrants this..
Yes. Jump start. Yes. They go outside. Yes. They use chairs.
In the ring, Iizuka bites away at SHO, then YOH, then Rocky. Referee Kenta Sato is forced to dive out for safety, as Iizuka is so hungry the referee decides to time how long he’s biting, rather than DQ him. Taichi’s in to mock SHO with some boots, before laughing off SHO’s chops and charging into him in the corner with a lariat.
Off come the trousers as Taichi sidesteps a dropkick, before he tags in TAKA, who just pokes SHO in the eyes. A leaping enziguiri and a superkick put SHO down for a two-count as the referee gets shoved down in a melee… Taichi uses the mic stand on YOH, then Rocky, but SHO fights back from below. Iizuka gets his funky oven glove, but can’t use it as the referee’s still down… and Roppongi 3K mount a comeback with leaping knees, superkicks and dives, before the 3K puts away TAKA. Short and not as offensive as the previous matches, but I DO NOT NEED TO SEE THIS EVER AGAIN. *¼
Togi Makabe & Toa Henare vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano
There was a second match here… overdubber vs. Led Zeppelin. At least it’s better than silence!
Another match we’ve seen a fair bit of on this tour, but at least the Henare/Ishii interactions have been glorious. Those two start out, with Henare drilling Ishii with forearms… but they have no effect as Ishii fought back, busting up the Kiwi before laying into him with some kicks to the back.
Of course, Yano’s removed the turnbuckle padding, and when he gets tagged in he instantly whips Henare into that corner – with Ishii slyly pulling back the covered part of the rope to expose more of the steel cable in the corner. Yano gets a taste of his own medicine too, before Makabe gets in to share the love, clotheslining Ishii and Yano ahead of some mounted punches to Yano.
Yano and Makabe exchange obscenities before Yano met a lariat, ahead of a shoulder tackle from Henare. The Kiwi heads up top for a flying shoulder tackle, before resuming forearms with Ishii as those two bulls collided yet again. A back suplex puts a stop to Henare though, but he’s back with a Samoan drop after Makabe’d backfisted Ishii. Sandwiching lariats trap Ishii ahead of a spear, but Henare’s not able to put him away and ends up getting catapulted into the exposed corner by Yano.
Ishii comes close again with a Saito suplex, but he’s quickly met with a running lariat and a spear as Henare was starting to smell victory… but in the end Henare’s uranage is fought of, as a small package almost gets the shock win. From there though, Ishii blasts Henare with another lariat, before the sheer drop brainbuster picks up the win. Despite all the Ls, this feud is doing big things for Henare – yet more proof that wrestling isn’t strictly about results or the movez! ***¼
Juice Robinson, David Finlay & Michael Elgin vs. Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Jay White
Apparently this was Finlay’s last match before getting married next Sunday… all the best!
The crowd chanted for Elgin as he and Goto got us underway, using elbows to escape a waistlock before Goto tries for an early GTR. There’s plenty of table-turning as we got to Juice and White, but Switchblade scurries away from the Dusty punches and tagged in YOSHI-HASHI as we were firmly in revolving door territory here.
YOSHI-HASHI gets those Dusty punches, then a high chop as the pair traded those, ahead of a low bridge from Jay White as Juice spilled to the floor. There’s a crotching as White drills Juice into the post, as the CHAOS trio started to isolate and double-team him. Again, White refuses to do the sushi pose, rolling to the outside… that’s going to be like a Young Lion win, isn’t it? The crowd’ll pop, but it’s never happening.
A snap back suplex from White nearly puts Juice away, but eventually Juice fought free and makes the charge to his corner to bring Elgin back in. He clears the ring, but makes a point of going after Goto, ahead of a missile dropkick to White, who gets caught in the corner for some lariats.
Goto tried to interfere with a spinning heel kick, but Elgin turns it into a backbreaker as Elgin resumes on White, scoring a pumphandle death valley driver for a two-count. White’s forced to block a buckle bomb, before he counters into a side suplex on Elgin, as tags take us back to Finlay and YOSHI-HASHI, with a double-team gutbuster setting up for a Finlay flying uppercut.
Juice threatened to wipe out White with a TV monitor, while a uranage backbreaker in the ring nearly put away YOSHI-HASHI… instead, Finlay goes for a Stunner, but is shoved away into a Western lariat for a near-fall, as YOSHI-HASHI picked up a relatively rare victory with Karma. Enjoyable stuff, but it seemed that they were nudging us into a new direction… ***¼
Post-match, Taichi chokes out Goto and attacks Elgin with the mic stand… meanwhile, Jay White hangs back and tries to sneak attack Juice Robinson, but the Blade Runner’s avoided as Juice sent White packing. A new US title feud? Yes please!
They announce Wrestling Dontaku 2019 will be back in Fukuoka next year.
Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Killer Elite Squad (Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.), Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi)
The highlight of the intros? Lance Archer chasing Don Callis all the way through the building as he threatened him with water.
Yeah, there’s a Suzuki-gun jump start as Suzuki takes Naito into the crowd to continue pulling his leg off. When that doesn’t work, chairs and barriers are thrown onto Naito as Hiromu took a chokeslam from the ring into EVIL & SANADA on the floor as LIJ were massively on the defensive.
Davey Boy Smith Jr. slammed BUSHI in the middle of the ring before threatening to press slam him… instead, Suzuki gets the tag and goes after BUSHI with chops, before teasing a crossface as Naito returns to the ring and spits at Suzuki. That’s one way to break the hold… except it earns him another knee-bar! They’re back on BUSHI pretty quickly though, with Desperado getting clocked with an enziguiri before Hiromu Takahashi gets in!
The hot tag from Hiromu sends Despy down with a ‘rana, as he continues with charges and low dropkicks for a near-fall. Desperado avoids a Time Bomb and pulls the ref in front as a spear takes down Takahashi… as the ring fills again for some 4-on-1 offence. Hiromu takes a Hart Attack before Kanemaru’s press slammed onto him for a near-fall as LIJ floods the ring.
We stay with Kanemaru and Hiromu… but Naito gets the tag in for the final straight, catching Kanemaru with a slingshot corner dropkick, before Suzuki tries to interfere. It’s a chain of interference as everyone teases their finishers, before we settled down with an EVIL lariat as Naito polishes off Kanemaru with Destino for the win. Action packed and fun, but this felt like a relative squash after that initial flurry from the Suzuki-gun corps. ***
Post-match, Naito tries to mock Suzuki into attacking him… two brave Young Lions drag him away though and paid the price as LIJ stayed behind to celebrate. Naito’s jumped on his walk back by a fan in a BUSHI mask, and he’s dragged back towards the ring as security did nothing. The guy tried to break the security walls down, taking Naito into the ring for more of a beating before unmasking…
IT’S @IAmJericho!!!!! CHRIS JERICHO IS BACK TO NJPW #NJDontaku #NJPW pic.twitter.com/2KnVhmmlHp
— Italo Santana (@BulletClubItal) May 4, 2018
Yup, after being away since New Year Dash, Jericho’s back! A Codebreaker left Naito laying, as he revealed a shirt: Los Ingobernables de Jericho. I eagerly await the Jericho-gun tees when Chris does the ill-advised feud with MiSu! Finally referees and Young Lions get involved, but Jericho clears some of them away before blooding Naito with the ring gong. The rest of LIJ finally return to carry away their bloodied leader…
#NJPW #njdontaku https://t.co/4ULitIni5Z pic.twitter.com/w9jA69mDe4
— LARIATOOOO!! (@MrLARIATO) May 4, 2018
Bullet Club (Cody, Hangman Page, Marty Scurll & Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) vs. Bullet Club (Golden☆Lovers (Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi), Bad Luck Fale & Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa)
After it was spread thinly yesterday, we’ve got more Bullet Club vs. Bullet Club, featuring Cody wearing a tee declaring himself the “Bullet Queen.” I’m not touching that one, because it’s clearly a shout-out to his better half…
I must say, it is odd seeing the Guerrillas and Fale entering to the Golden☆Lovers theme. Just in case you weren’t sure who the goofs were here, Marty Scurll vowed to slam Fale here. After Cody fights with a fan for Kenny Omega’s t-shirt, Marty starts off by trying that, and of course it fails.
Cody’s tagged in, not by choice, playing the proverbial chickenshit heel well… but this opener is a lot like that Kota match last night. Fale tags out so something can happen, and we finally get going with Tama Tonga and Nick Jackson, as Tama and his Onnit shirt (remember that?) eventually worked up to the indy duelling dropkick spot.
The Bucks combine to try and double-team Tama, but Tanga Loa’s in to make the save before they block a pair of superkicks. It’s very tentative stuff, before Cody brings himself back in as we go back to last night’s match. Cody and Kota. C’mon, do something! Leapfrogs, duck unders and the like led to Cody faceplanting Ibushi, who replies with a flurry of kicks before a standing corkscrew moonsault earned him a near-fall.
Hangman Page cheapshots from the apron as “Team Cody” cycle through tags, with Marty slamming Kota… and then scurrying away as Fale threatened to come in. You know, you can be “chickenshit” without being “comedy”…
We’re back to Cody and Kota, with the latter blasting Cody with a dropkick, as tags get us to Scurll and Omega. The production crew give us a nice isometric ring view as the Golden☆Lovers took Marty to the outside, before the Bucks get in the way of the Cross Slash as they too seemed conflicted over whose side they were on. Shame the mic’ing wasn’t great here…
The Golden☆Lovers get dragged outside by Cody and Page, while Scurll fakes out Tama with a Just Kidding superkick. In comes Fale as Kota lands a Golden Triangle moonsault to the floor after a too-quick-to-call flurry of offence, and dear God, Fale’s going airborne? No, he’s stopped by Marty and his brolly, but Fale just wants to give Scurll a Bad Luck Fall.
The Bucks save Scurll with superkicks, before Marty’s slam sees him fall backwards as Fale’s too big… and that’s the end. Decent enough while it lasted, but I’d like to see the “heel” Bullet Club squad drop the comedy from their shtick. **½
Post match, Omega chases Cody to the back so quick you’d think they were late for an appointment, while everyone else hung back, along with Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi, as the remnants of the Bullet Club too sweeted and made up for the 5 year anniversary. Except Kota, because he’s not in the club…
It’s only when you see everyone together, you realise how bloated the club’s become.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: KUSHIDA vs. Will Ospreay (c)
In singles matches, Ospreay only has one win over KUSHIDA – can he make it two tonight and retain, bad neck and all?
From the lock-up, KUSHIDA’s taken into the ropes as the feeling out process was pretty tentative, with KUSHIDA taking Ospreay to the mat as he started to work over the left arm. There’s seamless takedowns and switches as KUSHIDA keeps on the arm, before rolling over on the mat into an attempted chinlock, before the pair fake out each other’s moves, before Ospreay’s headscissors were transferred to referee Red Shoes, so KUSHIDA could kick out the arm.
On the outside, Ospreay flips onto the apron to get by KUSHIDA for a kick, before leaping the guard rails as KUSHIDA tried to throw him there… but the springboard back into the ringside area is caught and turned into a cross armbreaker as Ospreay seemed to be tapping outside. Back inside, KUSHIDA dropkicks Ospreay’s arm, but Will blocks another cross armbreaker, instead squirming to the ropes for freedom.
A Downward Spiral spikes Ospreay into the turnbuckles, as KUSHIDA just weight straight for Ospreay’s head, adding the neck to the list of body parts he was targeting. It was almost like KUSHIDA had his number, as he methodically wore down Will’s head and neck, but somehow Ospreay gets free and took KUSHIDA to the outside for a Space Flying Tiger drop… not exactly a smart move to do with a neck like his! The springboard forearm back in gets Will a near-fall, while the Shibata-ish dropkick left KUSHIDA reeling ahead of a standing shooting star press as Ospreay was slowly getting back into it.
Ospreay jars his shoulder into the turnbuckles as he tried to reset it ahead of the Storm Breaker, but kUSHIDA slips out and lands a Pele kick instead before another flurry of offence ended with Ospreay countering a Hoverboard lock into a release German suplex. Fighting numbness, Ospreay throws some kicks before he ripped at KUISHIDA’s taped up neck… only for KUSHIDA to waffle him with a handstand kick as Ospreay rolled onto the apron. Uh oh.
Back-and-forth forearms led to Ospreay blocking a clothesline… as he teases another Spanish Fly, but he valued his neck a little and instead gets dumped with a DDT off the apron to the floor as KUSHIDA probably went “F your neck”.
With the threat of a title change via a count out, Ospreay barely makes it back in and gets spiked with another flying ‘rana from KUSHIDA. Good LORD! Somehow Ospreay kicks out, but he’s met with a cravat and some knees as KUSHIDA went back to the arm, before being met with what I can only describe as a F5 out of a satellite DDT attempt. Ospreay charges into KUSHIDA in the corner with a running boot ahead of the Cheeky Nando’s, with repeated helpings coming KUSHIDA’s way for good measure.
Ospreay keeps up with an imploding 450 splash, but he rolled up KUSHIDA too tightly and there’s an easy rope break from the cover. The Robinson special diving corkscrew follows, but KUSHIDA counters an OsCutter into a Hoverboard lock! Ospreay’s rolled back into the ring as he looked to reach for the ropes, but he manages to stand up out of it… only to be forced to block Back to the Future and rush in with an Essex Destroyer DDT!
From their knees, the pair lay into each other with forearms, but Ospreay breaks ahead with kicks… as does KUSHIDA, before he laid Ospreay out with a simple right hand! KUSHIDA goes back with some repeated curb stomps to a defiant Ospreay, before a super Back to the Future is teased… Ospreay slips out and nails a cutter off the top, before a Storm Breaker gets the win. Wow. That was incredible stuff, back-and-forth, but Ospreay managed to overcome his litany of injuries and snatch a victory as he proved he can slay the demons that were prior losses. ****¼
Post match, we got another “BONE SOLDER WILL RETURN” promo. Except we didn’t have to wait too much longer, because, amid Will Ospreay swearing, out comes… Tama Tonga? He makes it to the ring and grabs the mic, while someone in the Bone Soldier mask sneaks up behind Ospreay… Will turns around into a gutbuster as the silent crowd were introduced to the “diamond” of the Bullet Club, the new Bone Soldier… Taiji Ishimori!
TAIJI ISHIMORI!! #NJPW #njdontaku https://t.co/4ULitIni5Z pic.twitter.com/04jRjRBGhi
— LARIATOOOO!! (@MrLARIATO) May 4, 2018
Thank God, the dirtied name of Bone Soldier won’t be mixed up with Ishimori!
Tama fawns over Ishimori’s abs, calling them amazing, and it seems that’s Will’s next feud… but will the new Bone Soldier have to go through the Best of Super Juniors field first?
IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada (c)
The story here is simple. In February 2012, Kazuchika Okada unseated Tanahashi for his first title reign… after 11 successful defences for Tana. May 2018: Okada’s now at his 12th defence, with Tanahashi vowing to return the favour and spoil the party.
The crowd are electric at the start of this, with Tanahashi chants just about edging out… and it’s a slow start as Okada teases a cheapshot in the ropes, before Tanahashi went for some of the basics – hammerlocks and headlocks, with the latter forcing Okada to expend energy to escape… but Tanahashi blocks it and clings on. The basics, when done right, always work.
Eventually Okada escapes with a wristlock and reverses the hold as we pass the five minute mark. Okada teases an early Rainmaker, but it’s avoides as armdrag takedowns eventually get styled out into a stand-off. Tanahashi went for the knees with a chop block and a Dragon screw, as Okada looked for a tombstone, before dropkicking Tanahashi off the top rope… which leds to some cat-skinning as Tanahashi pulled his way into a tombstone attempt, which Okada eventually switched into a rope-hung DDT. Oof.
They headed outside, where Tanahashi’s whipped into, then booted over the barriers, as a DDT brought Tanahashi back into the ringside area the hard way. Of course, the match wasn’t ending like that, but Okada keeps up on Tanahashi with a low dropkick, prompting the Ace to fire back… only to get dumped with an uppercut from Okada. Another fightback is slightly more successful, but Okada shoves him back into the corner for some stomping ahead of a simple rear chinlock.
Tanahashi elbows free, even if one of those elbows looked like a big ‘un in Wigan, prompting Okada to go for a neckbreaker… which Tanahashi reverses into one of his own. A flying forearm keeps Tanahashi’s momentum going, as does a corner dropkick and a low dropkick as Okada staggered out of the corner. Okada ducks a Slingblade and hits an elbow to switch it around, landing another DDT as Okada collected a near-fall.
A slam leads to the Rainmaker elbow, but Tanahashi’s up before Okada can leap, as he instead charges himself into a neckbreaker slam. The Rainmaker elbow’s next, as Tanahashi stands up to the pose and takes down Okada with a Dragon screw! With Okada on the floor, Tanahashi nails a frog splash High Fly Flow to the floor. Remember when he said he was going to stop doing those? Nevermind, because Okada’s back with a tombstone as Tanahashi charges into him, which led to the tease of a double count-out before Tanahashi narrowly beat the ref’s 20-count. That was close!
The pair fight from their knees, throwing elbows as they’re left wobbly, before one uppercut left Tanahashi flat on the floor. The crowd boo as Okada kicks at Tanahashi, but it just prompts the Ace into a comeback as he decks Okada with a forearm, before returning the favour with those disrespectful shoving kicks. He hangs onto the ropes as Okada misses a dropkick, before countering a counter to the Slingblade with a rolling neckbreaker. The Slingblade follows next for a near-fall before a High Fly Flow misses… and that seemed to be the end of that burst of offence.
Okada’s back with dropkicks, before a Rainmaker’s turned into a Slingblade as the crowd roared into life! Okada’s back up first, teasing a tombstone, but Tanahashi escapes and attempts one of his own… but he can’t quite get Okada up as they go back and forth before Tanahashi clubbed his way free, only to get wiped out with a shotgun dropkick from Okada.
Nevermind, Tanahashi’s back with a tombstone, after steadying himself in the ropes, but it gives him the impetus to go back up top for a High Fly Flow to the back… then one to the front of Okada, but he gets nothing but the champ’s knees as we sail past 30 minutes. This certainly does NOT feel like a 30-minute match…
Tanahashi’s up at one from a bridging German suplex as he counters Rainmakers with Dragon suplexes, only for Okada to hit a dropkick… and get met with Slingblade as the pair suddenly turned it on! Another High Fly Flow’s stuffed as Tanahashi crashes into a dropkick, before Tanahashi counters a Rainmaker with one of his own as Okada’s still getting up at one brother!
Some palm strikes bruise Okada as Tanahashi was feeling it… another Rainmaker’s slapped away, but Okada keeps the wrist. Wash, rinse, repeat, as those slaps drew blood, before Okada pulled Tanahashi into the Rainmaker… and that, is it! Absolutely glorious stuff – as they made the basics mean so, so much in the early going, and it meant that when they turned it up, the high-impact moves were truly that. Kazuchika Okada leaves Fukuoka with the record, with the most successful defences for an IWGP title reign… and to quote a hall of famer, who’s next? ****¾
Whether you’re a fan of Okada or not, you cannot deny that his reign has become once in a lifetime. With no new challenger wandering out, as has become commonplace, Okada rattled through defeated challengers, before calling out Kenny Omega. They’ve a win, a loss, and a draw apiece, and Okada wants a decisive winner. The challenge is set: no time limit, best of three falls… and that, my friends, is at Dominion!
Okada already has the record for the longest reign, and if Okada gets past Kenny on June 9, he’ll end up creating a new record – the first man to have a reign entering a third year. Well, after a fairly disappointing set of Dontaku shows, Dominion has a must-see main event already!
Easily the best of the two Dontaku shows, this is a show you ought to go out of your way to see. From the unveiling of the new and massively-improved Bone Soldier, to the two title matches, and heck, even the teases for newer directions (Jay White vs. Juice Robinson gets my interest immediately) – means that a tour that had been characterised by having a good card thinly spread across the entirety of the tour ends with some fresh impetus. Next up is the Best of Super Juniors tournament, which will be a mixture of live shows and VOD tournament matches… which should be a good one, based on the names already revealed.
In the meantine, block a few hours out and make sure you watch the final night of Dontaku!