Wrestling Dontaku 2015

Last updated
Wrestling Dontaku 2015
Wrestling Dontaku 2015.jpg
Promotional poster for the event, featuring caricatures of several NJPW wrestlers
Promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling
DateMay 3, 2015 [1]
City Fukuoka, Japan [1]
Venue Fukuoka Kokusai Center [1]
Attendance5,180 [1]
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous
Invasion Attack 		Next →
Global Wars: Night #1
Wrestling Dontaku chronology
← Previous
2014 		Next →
2016

Wrestling Dontaku 2015 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on May 3, 2015, in Fukuoka, Fukuoka at Fukuoka Kokusai Center and featured nine matches, three of which were contested for championships. [1] [2] [3] In addition to airing worldwide through NJPW's internet streaming site, NJPW World, [1] the event also aired in Japan as a regular PPV through SKY PerfecTV!'s Sukachan service. [4] It was the twelfth event under the Wrestling Dontaku name.

Contents

Storylines

Wrestling Dontaku 2015 featured nine professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. [5]

Wrestling Dontaku 2015 was main evented by Shinsuke Nakamura defending the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against Hirooki Goto. [6] [7] [8] After failing to win the 2015 New Japan Cup and earn himself an IWGP Heavyweight Championship match, Goto announced he was changing his target to the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. [9] Initially Nakamura did not take Goto's challenge seriously, [6] but this changed on April 5 at Invasion Attack 2015, when he was pinned in a six-man tag team match by Goto, who then publicly challenged him to a title match, [10] which was made official the next day. [6] [7] Goto is a former one-time IWGP Intercontinental Champion and lost the title to Nakamura in July 2012. [6] [10] Before the title match, Goto announced his goal was to first win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship and then unify it with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. [11]

Wrestling Dontaku 2015 also featured two more title matches, contested for NJPW's junior heavyweight titles. [6] [7] First, new champions Roppongi Vice (Beretta and Rocky Romero), who won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship at Invasion Attack 2015, were set to make their first title defense in a three-way match against previous champions The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) and former one-time champions reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly). [6] [7] Meanwhile, Kenny Omega was scheduled to defend the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Alex Shelley. [6] [7] This match was a result of events taking place at Invasion Attack 2015, where, after successfully defending his title against Máscara Dorada, Omega nominated Shelley as his next challenger. [6]

The semi-main event of the show built up the July Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall IWGP Heavyweight Championship main event between A.J. Styles and Kazuchika Okada with Styles teaming with his Bullet Club stablemate Yujiro Takahashi to face Okada and his Chaos stablemate Yoshi-Hashi in a tag team match. [6] [7] The previous year at Wrestling Dontaku 2014, Takahashi turned on Chaos and joined Bullet Club by costing Okada the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in a match against Styles. [12] One of the matches at Wrestling Dontaku 2015 pitted three sets of rivals against each other in a six-man tag team match as Kazushi Sakuraba, Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano were set to take on Hiroshi Tanahashi, Katsuyori Shibata and Togi Makabe. [6] [12] Sakuraba and Shibata started their feud with each other after Invasion Attack 2015, where Sakuraba submitted his former protégé in a tag team match, [13] Ishii and Makabe had feuded since the beginning of the year over the NEVER Openweight Championship, which Makabe won from Ishii on both January 4 and April 29, [14] while Yano and Tanahashi had feuded since March's New Japan Cup with Yano scoring multiple upset wins over his rival. [12] [15] Another big match would see Bullet Club's Amber Gallows, Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson face The Kingdom's Maria Kanellis, Matt Taven and Michael Bennett in a six-person intergender tag team match. [6] [7] At Invasion Attack 2015, Taven and Bennett defeated Gallows and Anderson to capture the IWGP Tag Team Championship, largely thanks to a distraction from Bennett's wife Maria Kanellis. [16] The next day, it was announced that Bullet Club would be bringing in Gallows' wife, wrestler Amber Gallows, to take on Taven, Bennett and Kanellis in a rare intergender match. [6] [7] This marked the first NJPW match involving female wrestlers since October 2002. [6]

Event

Hirooki Goto, holding the IWGP Intercontinental Championship belt he captured in the main event of Wrestling Dontaku 2015 Hirooki Goto IWGP Intercontinental Champion.JPG
Hirooki Goto, holding the IWGP Intercontinental Championship belt he captured in the main event of Wrestling Dontaku 2015

The event started with a ten-bell salute to Ashura Hara. [1] [17] In the first title match of the event, The Young Bucks won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship for the third time by defeating Roppongi Vice and reDRagon in a three-way match, pinning Beretta to end his and Rocky Romero's title reign in their first defense. [1] In the following match, Kenny Omega successfully defended the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Alex Shelley. [1] The match featured outside interference from The Young Bucks, who pulled the referee out of the ring as Shelley was about to win and who were then attacked by his tag team partner Kushida. [18] Following his win, Omega announced that he would not be taking part in the upcoming Best of the Super Juniors and would instead next defend his title against the winner of the tournament at Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall. [1] [3] Next up was the six-person intergender tag team match between Bullet Club and The Kingdom. Throughout the match, NJPW continued a storyline, where Karl Anderson's infatuation with Maria Kanellis distracted him from the match. In the finish of the match, Anderson went to kiss Kanellis, but got hit with a low blow instead by Kanellis, who then pinned Amber Gallows for the win. [1] After the match, Anderson turned on Kanellis, throwing her into a punch from Doc Gallows, which was followed by the two performing their signature double-team move, Magic Killer , on her, before being chased away from the ring by Bennett and Taven. [3] [18]

The seventh match of the event saw Hiroshi Tanahashi, Katsuyori Shibata and Togi Makabe defeat Kazushi Sakuraba, Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano. In the finish of the match, Tanahashi used Yano's own tactics against him by grabbing him by his hair and then pinning him to finally pick up a win over his rival. [1] [3] The semi-main event saw Bullet Club's A.J. Styles and Yujiro Takahashi defeat Chaos' Kazuchika Okada and Yoshi-Hashi with Styles pinning Yoshi-Hashi for the win. After the match, Styles and Okada both tried to hit their respective finishing moves, Styles Clash and Rainmaker , on each other, but both managed to avoid them. [1] Okada then posed with Styles' IWGP Heavyweight Championship belt, before handing it back to him. [18] In the main event of the show, Hirooki Goto defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship for the second time. [1] Following the win, Goto reiterated that his goal was to unify the Intercontinental and Heavyweight Championships. [19]

Results

No.Results [1] [2] [3] [18] StipulationsTimes [1]
1 Jyushin Thunder Liger, Máscara Dorada, Tiger Mask and Yuji Nagata defeated Captain New Japan, Kushida, Manabu Nakanishi and Ryusuke Taguchi Eight-man tag team match 08:29
2 Kota Ibushi and Yohei Komatsu defeated Sho Tanaka and Tetsuya Naito Tag team match 11:55
3 Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima and Tomoaki Honma defeated Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Cody Hall and Tama Tonga)Six-man tag team match08:57
4 The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) defeated Roppongi Vice (Beretta and Rocky Romero) (c) and reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) Three-way tag team match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship 17:17
5 Kenny Omega (c) (with Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) defeated Alex Shelley (with Kushida and Ryusuke Taguchi) Singles match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship 16:07
6 The Kingdom (Maria Kanellis, Matt Taven and Michael Bennett) defeated Bullet Club (Amber Gallows, Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) Six-person intergender tag team match 08:09
7 Hiroshi Tanahashi, Katsuyori Shibata and Togi Makabe defeated Kazushi Sakuraba, Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano Six-man tag team match15:52
8Bullet Club (AJ Styles and Yujiro Takahashi) defeated Chaos (Kazuchika Okada and Yoshi-Hashi) (with Gedo)Tag team match13:20
9 Hirooki Goto defeated Shinsuke Nakamura (c)Singles match for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship 20:53
  • (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match

Related Research Articles

Shinsuke Nakamura Japanese professional wrestler

Shinsuke Nakamura is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, performing on the company's SmackDown brand.

Hiroshi Tanahashi Japanese professional wrestler

Hiroshi Tanahashi is a Japanese professional wrestler and actor. He works primarily for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).

Hirooki Goto Japanese professional wrestler

Hirooki Goto is a Japanese professional wrestler. Since his debut, he has wrestled primarily for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. He is also known for being the longest reigning NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion with Tomohiro Ishii and Yoshi-Hashi, a two-time IWGP Intercontinental Champion, two-time IWGP Tag Team Champion, one-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, five-time NEVER Openweight Champion, one-time winner of the G1 Climax (2008), three-time winner of the World Tag League, and a record three-time winner of the New Japan Cup.

Kazuchika Okada Japanese professional wrestler

Kazuchika Okada is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Okada is also a five-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion where his fourth reign with the championship is the longest in history at 720 days; he also holds the record for most successful title defenses with 12. Additionally, he is also a former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion

Chaos (professional wrestling) Professional wrestling stable

Chaos is a professional wrestling stable, primarily performing in the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion and All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The group was formed in 2009, when nearly all the members of the Great Bash Heel (G.B.H) stable turned on leader Togi Makabe and reformed under new leader Shinsuke Nakamura. Soon after, the new group was named Chaos, with Nakamura as the leader. As the leader of Chaos, Nakamura was one of NJPW's top wrestlers, winning the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and the IWGP Intercontinental Championship as well as the 2011 G1 Climax and the 2014 New Japan Cup.

Bad Luck Fale Tongan-New Zealand professional wrestler and rugby union footballer

Simi Taitoko Fale is a Tongan-New Zealand professional wrestler and former rugby union player. He currently works for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as Bad Luck Fale. In NJPW, he is a three-time NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion, a one-time IWGP Tag Team Champion and a one-time IWGP Intercontinental Champion. His name literally translates to "house" in Tongan, which suits his wrestling persona as an immovable force.

Suzuki-gun Professional wrestling stable

Suzuki-gun is a villainous professional wrestling stable primarily appearing in the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion, and making occasional appearances in All Elite Wrestling. The group was founded in December 2010 by IWGP Heavyweight Champion Satoshi Kojima as Kojima-gun, but the members of the stable turned on Kojima and appointed Minoru Suzuki as their new leader in May 2011. Suzuki-gun has since added several new members, most notably Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer, known collectively as the Killer Elite Squad (K.E.S.), who are three-time IWGP Tag Team Champions and two-time NWA World Tag Team Champions as part of the stable. Other accomplishments attained by the stable include Suzuki and Archer winning the 2011 G1 Tag League and founding members Taichi and Taka Michinoku becoming one-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. As the leader of Suzuki-gun, Suzuki became one of NJPW's top wrestlers and has challenged for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on multiple occasions.

Bullet Club Professional wrestling stable

Bullet Club, sometimes shortened to BC, is a professional wrestling stable primarily appearing in the Japanese promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). In the United States, the group currently appears on NJPW events run by the company's subsidiary, NJPW of America, as well as U.S. partner promotion Impact Wrestling.

Wrestling Dontaku is an annual professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).

Wrestling Dontaku 2014

Wrestling Dontaku 2014 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on May 3, 2014, in Fukuoka, Fukuoka, at the Fukuoka Kokusai Center. The event featured ten matches, five of which were contested for championships. It was the eleventh event under the Wrestling Dontaku name.

Back to the Yokohama Arena 2014 New Japan Pro-Wrestling pay-per-view event

Back to the Yokohama Arena was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took take place on May 25, 2014, at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Kanagawa and marked NJPW's first event at the arena in eleven years. The event, considered one of NJPW's biggest of the year, following Wrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome and the finals of the G1 Climax, featured four championship matches and was headlined by a match for the promotion's top title, the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. The event aired domestically as a regular PPV and internationally as an internet PPV. While the show was praised for its match quality, it was considered a disappointment due to poor attendance numbers. NJPW did not return to the Yokohama Arena until 8 years later, on the third night of Wrestle Kingdom 16 in 2022.

Wrestle Kingdom 9 2015 professional wrestling pay-per-view event

Wrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion, which took place at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on January 4, 2015. It was the 24th January 4 Tokyo Dome Show and the first event on the 2015 NJPW schedule. The event featured ten professional wrestling matches and one pre-show match, six of which were for championships.

Invasion Attack 2015

Invasion Attack 2015 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on April 5, 2015, in Tokyo at Ryōgoku Kokugikan and featured nine matches, four of which were contested for championships. In addition to airing worldwide through NJPW's internet streaming site, NJPW World, the event also aired in Japan as a regular PPV through SKY PerfecTV!'s Sukachan service. It was the third event under the Invasion Attack name.

Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall

Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on July 5, 2015, in Osaka, Osaka, at the Osaka-jō Hall. The event featured ten matches with all six of NJPW's championships on the line, main evented by an IWGP Heavyweight Championship match between champion A.J. Styles and challenger Kazuchika Okada. In addition to airing worldwide through NJPW's internet streaming site, NJPW World, the event also aired in Japan as a regular PPV through SKY PerfecTV!. The event marked NJPW's first show in Osaka-jō Hall in 21 years and drew 11,400 fans to the arena. This was the seventh event under the Dominion name and the first to take place in July.

Wrestle Kingdom 10 2016 New Japan Pro-Wrestling event

Wrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on January 4, 2016, in Tokyo, Japan, at the Tokyo Dome. It was the 25th January 4 Tokyo Dome Show, which is NJPW's biggest annual event and has been called "the largest wrestling show in the world outside of the United States" and the "Japanese equivalent to the Super Bowl". The event featured ten matches and was main evented by Kazuchika Okada defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Hiroshi Tanahashi.

The New Beginning in Osaka (2016)

The New Beginning in Osaka (2016) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on February 11, 2016, in Osaka, Osaka, at the Edion Arena Osaka. The event featured nine matches, four of which were contested for championships. In the main event, Kazuchika Okada defended the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Hirooki Goto. In addition to airing worldwide through NJPW's internet streaming site, NJPW World, the event also aired in Japan as a PPV through SKY PerfecTV!. The New Beginning in Osaka was the ninth event under the New Beginning name and the third under the New Beginning in Osaka name.

The New Beginning in Niigata 2016 New Japan Pro-Wrestling event

The New Beginning in Niigata was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on February 14, 2016, in Nagaoka, Niigata, at the Aore Nagaoka. The event featured nine matches, four of which were contested for championships. In the main event, Hiroshi Tanahashi took on Kenny Omega to determine the new IWGP Intercontinental Champion, following previous champion Shinsuke Nakamura's departure from NJPW. The New Beginning in Niigata was the tenth event under the New Beginning name and the first to take place in Niigata.

Wrestling Dontaku 2016 2016 New Japan Pro-Wrestling event

Wrestling Dontaku 2016 was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on May 3, 2016, in Fukuoka, Fukuoka at Fukuoka Kokusai Center and featured ten matches, six of which were contested for championships. The show was headlined by Tetsuya Naito making his first defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Tomohiro Ishii. It was the thirteenth event under the Wrestling Dontaku name.

Wrestling Hinokuni is a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).

Taguchi Japan Professional wrestling stable

Taguchi Japan is a professional wrestling stable in the Japanese promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The group was formed the night after Wrestle Kingdom 11 on January 5, 2017. Starting out as a trio, the stable named Ryusuke Taguchi as their leader, and have gone on to primarily feud with Los Ingobernables de Japón over the IWGP Intercontinental, IWGP Junior Heavyweight and NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championships.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "レスリングどんたく 2015". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved May 3, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "新日本プロレスレ「レスリングどんたく 2015」". Sports Navi (in Japanese). Yahoo!. May 3, 2015. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Meltzer, Dave (May 3, 2015). "New Japan Dontaku live coverage 5-3 Fukuoka - RPG Vice vs. Bucks vs ReDRagon, Nakamura vs. Goto, Omega vs. Shelley and Maria teases Karl Anderson". Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Archived from the original on May 4, 2015. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
  4. ↑ "5月3日（日）17:00～ スカチャン4で『レスリングどんたく2015』をPPV生放送!!". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). May 1, 2015. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  5. ↑ Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications . Retrieved April 6, 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "5月3日（日）『レスリングどんたく』全カード決定! メインは中邑vs後藤のIC戦! ケニーvsシェリー! Jr.タッグ3Way戦! なんとマリアが試合に出場!". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). April 6, 2015. Archived from the original on April 10, 2015. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Caldwell, James (April 5, 2015). "NJPW news: Huge upcoming matches - Styles vs. Okada announced for July PPV, three title matches & historic six-person tag announced for next PPV in May, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
  8. ↑ Macklin, Matthew (April 6, 2015). "New Japan announces Wrestling Dontaku lineup, largest G-1 tournament in history and more". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
  9. ↑ "洋央紀 中邑のＩＣ王座に標的変更". Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
  10. 1 2 "洋央紀が中邑からフォール！ＩＣ王座に挑戦へ". Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). April 6, 2015. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
  11. ↑ "洋央紀が史上初のＩＷＧＰ＆インターコンチ統一戦構想". Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). April 28, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
  12. 1 2 3 Macklin, Matthew (April 30, 2015). "NJPW Wrestling Dontaku preview". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  13. ↑ 柴田が師匠・桜庭に宣戦布告. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). April 14, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  14. ↑ 真壁ＮＥＶＥＲ王座奪還の裏に浜ちゃんあり. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). April 30, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  15. ↑ 【新日ＮＪＣ】棚橋 天敵・矢野にまさかの１６７秒負け. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). March 6, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  16. ↑ "ＲＯＨ軍が"お色気作戦"でＩＷＧＰタッグ王座強奪". Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). April 6, 2015. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
  17. ↑ "新日マットで阿修羅原さん追悼１０カウントゴング". Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). May 4, 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  18. 1 2 3 4 Caldwell, James (May 3, 2015). "Show results - 5/3 NJPW'S "Wrestling Dontaku 2015" in Tokyo, Japan: Nakamura vs. Goto IC Title main event, new IWGP Jr. Tag Champs, Omega-Shelley, Styles, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  19. ↑ "絶対王者・中邑撃破！洋央紀３年ぶりＩＣ奪還". Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). May 4, 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.