The New Japan Pro Wrestling train continued apace this evening in Fukuoka with Wrestling Dontaku 2017. This was the 14th event under the Wrestling Dontaku name, and the show featured three title matches and a match of the year contender in the semi-main event. The IWGP Tag Team and NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championships were on the line, while Kazuchika Okada defended his IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Bad Luck Fale in the main event. Here are the full results.
Pre-show match: Yoshitatsu & Hirai Kawato def. Tomoyuki Oka & Katsuya Kitamura
Some pretty standard young lion fare to open up the evening, albeit with the long-irrelevant Yoshitatsu involved too. New Japan crowds continue to react in a big way to Kitamura, but it was the big man who eventually tapped out to Yoshitatsu.
#1: YOSHI-HASHI & Will Ospreay def. Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens
Will Ospreay continued his momentum heading into the Best of Super Juniors, but it was YOSHI-HASHi who picked up the fall in this CHAOS vs. Bullet Club battle. YOSHI forced the impressive Chase Owens to tap out to the Butterfly Lock, but it was Ospreay and Owens who impressed the most here. Yujiro? He was in there too.
#2: Togi Makabe, Tiger Mask & Tiger Mask W. def. Jushin Thunder Liger, Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi
How great is it seeing Kota Ibushi in a New Japan ring once more? The old timers did their thing here, with little moments of Tiger Mask W athleticism and energy enhancing the entire match. Makabe did little more than growl until he was unleashed towards the end, pinning Nakanishi after a King Kong knee drop. Liger shook hands with the Tigers following the match before giving Makabe the finger.
#3: Hirooki Goto, Toru Yano, Jado, Beretta & Rocky Romero def. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku, El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Taichi
Is there a more tired act in mainstream pro wrestling today than Suzuki-gun? If you’ve seen one match featuring the faction, you’ve seen them all. CHAOS picked up the win when Goto hit TAKA with the GTR, but the main point of interest here was the post-match segment. Suzuki and Goto had a pull-apart brawl hinting at a rematch between the two before Suzuki knocked Katsuya Kitamura out as Suzuki-gun left.
#4 Cody def. David Finlay
Cody returned to New Japan Pro Wrestling here with an impressive win over David Finlay (Former WWE US Champion Fit Finlay’s son). The American Nightmare gained the advantage when he hit Finlay with an Alabama Slam on the floor, and the former WWE Intercontinental Champion was able to pick up the win with a Cross Rhodes out of nowhere. Cody gave a post-match promo asking for someone ’bigger’ and ’stronger’. It will be no surprise to see Cody in the 2017 G1 Climax.
#njdontaku 'Wrestling Dontaku' Live only on @njpwworld @CodyRhodes #BulletClub pic.twitter.com/IDdRMDX6QC
— njpw_global (@njpwglobal) May 3, 2017
#5 Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito def. KUSHIDA & Juice Robinson
KUSHIDA returned to New Japan action at Dontaku, and he wasted no time in taking Takahashi to the woodshed out in the crowd. This was a thrilling back and forth between four of the most consistent performers in the company, but KUSHIDA’s woes against the Junior Heavyweight Champion continued as LIJ picked up the win. Hiromu hit KUSHIDA with the Time Bomb for the 1-2-3.
#6 IWGP Tag Team Championship: War Machine [c] def. Guerrillas of Destiny & TenCozy
Hanson and Raymond Rowe managed to survive this three-way with their IWGP Tag Team Championships in tow, pinning Tenzan after hitting the old warrior with the Fallout. Tama Tonga and Tonga Roa attacked War Machine after the match, laying both Rowe and Hanson out with the belts. G.O.D made it clear that they were gunning for the champions, and we can expect a championship match between the two gaijins at some point down the line.
#7 NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship: EVIL, SANADA & BUSHI def. Hiroshi Tanahashi. Ricochet & Ryusuke Taguchi [c]
Another entertaining match between Los Ingobernables de Japon and Taguchi Japan, and while matches between the two factions are on the verge of overkill they remain entertaining nonetheless. This was one of the better matches between the two, and Taguchi Japan seemed to have the match won when BUSHI tapped to Taguchi’s Ankle Lock. The referee was out of action, however, which allowed BUSHI to blind Taguchi with the green mist and hit two MX’s for the win.
Los Ingobernables are your new NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions, for the third time.
#8 Kenny Omega def. Tomohiro Ishii
Omega vs. Ishii II did not disappoint. The match set off at an exhilarating pace, with both men getting believable near-falls within the first five minutes of the match. Omega zeroed in on Ishii's neck (Ishii has a neck), with Omega really coming into his own as a cerebral wrestler here. The Cleaner made the mistake of taunting Ishii however, and the Stone Pitbull was soon back in the encounter with some vicious headbutts.
#njdontaku 'Wrestling Dontaku' Live only on @njpwworld @KennyOmegamanX #theelite #BulletClub #TomohiroIshii pic.twitter.com/Tw1mYGJG8P
— njpw_global (@njpwglobal) May 3, 2017
The closing stretch of this match was an absolute joy to watch, with both men coming within a whisker of pulling out the win. Ishii even pulled out a reverse rana, but it was Omega who got revenge for his first round New Japan Cup loss by hitting the One-Winged Angel for the three count.
#9 IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada [c] def. Bad Luck Fale
How were The Rainmaker and The Underboss supposed to follow that? Many fans complain about the positioning of Bad Luck Fale, but the big man plays his part to perfection, and he did that here. Okada was faced with another entirely new challenge in the shape of Fale, and it seemed as though Okada’s hectic schedule was catching up with him. Fale dominated this match, working the methodical pace that he does so well.
Okada fought back, but Fale was just too big and too dominating, with the Grenade bringing The Underboss within a whisker of the title. Okada turned the tide with a picture-perfect dropkick and a shocking Tombstone, but Fale managed to counter the Rainmaker with a lariat of his own. Okada somehow managed to kick out of a Fale Tombstone, Fale’s failure to hook the leg maybe costing him the title.
Okada was eventually able to hit two Rainmakers and a monstrous German suplex before one final Rainmaker ended the match. Kazuchika Okada is still your IWGP Heavyweight Champion. Who did Okada call out after the match? None other than ‘The Cleaner’, Kenny Omega.
Also read: 10 top-tier Superstars that could still sign with WWE in 2017
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