| Wrestling Dontaku | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Official logo of the event | |||
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | ||
| Date | May 3, 2023 | ||
| City | Fukuoka, Japan | ||
| Venue | Fukuoka Kokusai Center | ||
| Attendance | 4,489 [1] | ||
| Event chronology | |||
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| Wrestling Dontaku chronology | |||
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Wrestling Dontaku was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on May 3, 2023, in Fukuoka, at the Fukuoka Kokusai Center. [2] It was the 18th event under the Wrestling Dontaku name.
Wrestling Dontaku will feature 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. [3]
The event started with the preshow Young Lion Hat-Trick challenge match in which Oskar Leube outmatched Ryohei Oiwa, Yuto Nakashima and Boltin Oleg. The first two matches of the event's main card were broadcast live on NJPW's YouTube channel. In the first bout, Toru Yano, Yoh, Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi picked up a victory over Evil, Yujiro Takahashi, Sho and Dick Togo, and in the second one, the IWGP Tag Team Champions and Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions Mark Davis, Kyle Fletcher and the Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion Great-O-Khan defeated Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste and Kosei Fujita. [4] [5]
The first main card bout saw Shota Umino and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion The Jet Setters (Kushida and Kevin Knight) picking up a victory over the former junior tag team champions Catch 2/2 (Francesco Akira and TJP)) and Aaron Henare in six-man tag team competition, following the events from Road To Wrestling Dontaku 2023 of April 27, event where Akira and TJP dropped the championship to Kushida and Knight. [6] Next up, Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Douki picked up a victory over Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi and Bushi in another six-man tag team action bout. In the sixth match of the night, Guerrillas of Destiny's Hikuleo defeated Kenta to win the Strong Openweight Championship, ending the latter's reign at 74 days and two consecutive defenses. Next up, Zack Sabre Jr. and Jeff Cobb battled into a fifteen-minute time limit draw for the NJPW World Television Championship which helped Sabre secure his fifth consecutive title defense in that respective reign. The eighth bout saw Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii and Hiroshi Tanahashi defeating Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado and Ren Narita to win the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. It was the first time in Okada's career when he won another title except the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship and IWGP Heavyweight Championship. After the match, Shota Umino stepped up to announce the return of Jon Moxley to NJPW. In the semi main event, David Finlay defeated Tama Tonga to win the NEVER Openweight Championship. [7] [8]
In the main event, Sanada defeated the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi to secure his first defense in that respective reign. After the bout concluded, Yota Tsuji appeared as he returned from his foreign excursion and attacked Sanada, subsequently challenging him for the Heavyweight title on further notice. [9] [10]
Luke James Uggles Eatwell, known by his ring name Zack Sabre Jr. and its abbreviated form ZSJ, is an English-born professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the reigning IWGP World Heavyweight Champion in his first reign. In NJPW, he is the second and current leader of the group The Mighty Don't Kneel (TMDK) and is a former two-time and inaugural NJPW World Television Champion. He also makes sporadic appearances for partner promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and its sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH).
Tetsuya Shimizu, better known by the ring name Bushi, is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of Los Ingobernables de Japón.
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