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NJPW Wrestling Dontaku Review & Results – 05.03.23

1 year ago
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NJPW Wrestling Dontaku Review & Results – 05.03.23

NJPW Wrestling Dontaku Review & Results – 05.03.23

By: Sonal Lad 

After the tides of New Japan Pro Wrestling altered at Sakura Genesis as SANADA was finally crowned IWGP World Heavyweight champion, change was in the air. With new feuds, the next big show was Wrestling Dontaku, with the main titles on the line and stakes high ahead of the Best of Super Jr tournament.

Here is a look at everything that happened during New Japan’s 2023 Wrestling Dontaku show.

Opening Matches

While the main matches came later in the show, the opening matches focused on the previous matches and those to expect.

After CHAOS beat House of Torture in record time, the Bullet Club started to beat up their opponents. Aussie Open came out to rescue the team they beat before getting onto the microphone and proposing a triple threat for the IWGP Heavyweight tag titles. They then had a match with fellow member Great O-Khan against TMDK’s Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls, and Fujita.

After beating Catch 2/2 for the IWGP Jr tag titles, Kushida cemented his victory with Kevin Knight by pinning The Empire’s TJP in their multi-man match. In the final multi-man match of the card, Los Ingobernables de Japon faced Just 5 Guys after the KOPW match earlier in the tour. TAICHI got the win for the team after pinning BUSHI with the Seitei Jujiro.

Match 5 – KENTA (c) v Hiku Leo – Strong Openweight Championship

After beating Jay White which made him leave Japan, many wondered what was next for Hiku Leo. With two successful defenses, KENTA became the Young Gun’s latest opponent. As former faction mates, the hatred has never gone since Hiku Leo betrayed Bullet Club to join his brothers.

Before the bell rang, Hiku Leo seemingly knocked out KENTA but rather than covering him; the referee seemed concerned with the veteran’s condition. Yet, when the bell rang, it was a ploy for KENTA to try and get the roll-up victory. When that didn’t happen, KENTA went for Hiku Leo’s leg to damage the young wrestler’s advantage.

As expected, despite Hiku Leo trying to have a clean fight, KENTA used the referee being injured to hit a low blow. He proceeded to get a kendo stick that had been used during the tour to attack Hiku Leo. Yet, despite adversity, he broke the weapon and called another referee to the ring.

In the end, Hiku Leo managed to win with his finisher to earn his first title. While the match didn’t last long and wasn’t ground-breaking, it allowed Hiku Leo to show that breaking the rules doesn’t always work. It has cemented that New Japan is investing in the company’s young stars.

Match 6 – Zack Sabre Jr (c) v Jeff Cobb – NJPW WORLD TV Championship

While Zack Sabre Jr has been a successful NJPW WORLD TV champion, his recent opponents mainly comprised young talent. Although they had all tested ZSJ, Jeff Cobb was the toughest, with a distinct size and strength advantage.

Considering the 15-minute time limit, the match between ZSJ and Cobb started quickly and fiercely. Both men tried their hardest to dictate the pace of the match, and they both knew that wearing their opponent out had to be done quickly, so they changed tactics many times.

Despite Cobb’s size and strength advantage, there was never a clear favorite throughout the match. Each wrestler fought to gain the upper hand. When ZSJ was down and on the top rope for a suplex, the wrestler hit a submission on Cobb as the fight continued on the top rope. As the clock struck the ten-minute mark, the fight intensified as both wrestlers were weakened.

Each move seemed to be perfectly countered, and the sense of urgency was even more prominent. Even after a “Tour of the Islands” attempt, Zack managed to counter it into a pin as the action didn’t seem to slow down, even with the time limit. In the end, with Zack’s innovative thinking by going out of the ring, the match ended in a time-limit ending, with Zack retaining.

Match 7 – Ren Narita, El Desperado & Minoru Suzuki (c) v Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & Hiroshi Tanahashi – NEVER Openweight 6-Man Championships

When it came to the next challengers for Strong Style, Ren Narita wanted revenge on the Rainmaker Kazuchika Okada. El Desperado was more than happy when Tomohiro Ishii became part of the team. Yet, when their final teammate Hiroshi Tanahashi was announced, Ishii wasn’t pleased, and Strong Style picked up on that in the warmup matches.

However, those animosities seemed to go out of the window as the match started. The dynamic between the six men in the ring took over as soon as the match started. All the wrestlers seemed to have an aggressive side, whether it was Okada’s attitude to Narita or Suzuki and Tanahashi’s exchange.

Unsurprisingly, the target seemed to be Tanahashi, who had just returned from injury. After Suzuki’s onslaught, El Desperado was brought in to cause more damage. Luckily, Tanahashi managed to get Ishii in, and the Stone Pitbull’s feud with Desperado continued. Ultimately, it was all down to Okada and Narita trying to prove a point in the ring.

Despite putting up an intense fight, Kazuchika Okada hit the Rainmaker to get the win. For the first time in his career, the Rainmaker is holding a NJPW title that isn’t the top belt. It will undoubtedly raise the prestige of the division. Following the match, Shota Umino came out. It was announced that he and Jon Moxley, with a final teammate, would be challenging for the titles at Dominion.

Match 8 – Tama Tonga (c) v David Finlay – NEVER Openweight Championship

After beating former brother turned nemesis Karl Anderson, Tama Tonga hoped to bring prestige back to the NEVER Openweight title. Yet, after pinning the champion during the New Japan Cup, David Finlay earned himself a title shot. Considering the match was set for Bullet Club’s tenth anniversary, many expected something big despite Finlay’s stance that it would be business as usual.

Surprisingly, Tama Tonga attacked first before the bell even rang. He was very aggressive and immediately took the fight outside the ring and into the audience. Finlay also took Tama’s passion and used his changed personality to fight on the floor and amongst the fans.

When it got back in the ring, that momentum didn’t stop. Finlay continued to showcase his aggression and willingness to be dangerous. Even though Tama was being beaten hard, he channeled his brutality. It seemingly allowed him to express his feelings built up since leaving Bullet Club. At different moments, each wrestler seemed to gain an advantage differently.

As the match got towards the end, Tama seemed like dead weight after Finlay’s onslaught, which was both physical and verbal. Yet, while many expected a flurry of offense from Tama, Finlay’s offense became too much as he was pinned in the most brutal way. It was the perfect way to cement his dominance as Bullet Club leader on the tenth anniversary. That was until El Phantasmo came out and beat him up to get back at him for kicking him out of the faction.

Match 9 – SANADA (c) v Hiromu Takahashi – IWGP World Heavyweight Championship

After leaving Los Ingobernables de Japon, SANADA found a new lease on life. It earned him the IWGP World Heavyweight title. After the match, SANADA’s former teammate Hiromu Takahashi came out to challenge. He had hopes of fulfilling his dream to hold both the Jr and Heavyweight title.

Considering they’ve not faced each other since 2012, the first moments of the match felt like a feeling-out process. Yet, very quickly, both men showcased their in-ring style. Hiromu threw caution to the win as the match went on to the floor. The wrestler sacrificed his back by hitting the concrete floor to cause damage to SANADA.

The match continued to be the perfect mix between two contrasting styles. As the champion, SANADA seemed much calmer than Hiromu in both his offense and his personality in the ring. Both factions were shouting support to their teammates as the match started to heat up. The offense got more intense.

Considering Hiromu and SANADA’s athleticism, the match was surprisingly slow-paced as they tried to wear each other down. Even the calm Cold Skull’s passion and determination could be felt as the two exchanged forearms in the center of the ring. In the end, after finisher attempts, SANADA managed to retain his title in a brutal match between two former faction mates.

Yet, if SANADA thought he would have a usual celebration, he was wrong. After his ending speech, the same mysterious video that had been playing for weeks was shown again. Former young lion Yota Tsuji returned and beat Just 5 Guys, cementing himself as the new challenger.

Date:

May 3, 2023

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