It’s sure to be an emotional night in Fukuoka as Tetsuya Naito and BUSHI bid farewell to NJPW on day two of Wrestling Dontaku.
Naito and BUSHI have announced that they are leaving the promotion — Naito due to being unable to come to terms on a new contract, and BUSHI ostensibly leaving out of loyalty to Naito — following today’s show. They will team with Shingo Takagi and Hiromu Takahashi of Los Ingobernables de Japon against Shota Umino, Tomohiro Ishii, Taichi, and TAKA Michinoku.
The NJPW farewell for Naito and BUSHI will not headline today’s show, though, with two title matches on top.
In the main event, IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Hirooki Goto defends against Callum Newman.
In the semi-main position, IWGP Global Champion Yota Tsuji defends against Yuya Uemura in the remarkable 51st singles meeting in their careers. Most of their bouts came as both came up in the Young Lion system together, including 22 time limit draws.
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Pre-show
Katsuya Murashima & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Hitamaru Sasaki & Jet Wei
Sasaki and Taguchi may have wrestled to a stalemate, but Wei had to reach for Sasaki as Murashima was too much, even with his marks of war. Taguchi attempted to make the save for a worn Murashima, but Sasaki sent him flying into his partner. The wily veteran Taguchi made a comeback for his team, sending hip attacks to both Sasaki and Wei. Taguchi won the match with an ankle hold on a helpless Wei.
Post-match: Sasaki and Murashima bowed on the outside. The Kyushu wrestler then refused to shake Taguchi’s hand.
BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Gedo & Taiji Ishimori) defeated Batten Blabla & Mentai Kid
Kid’s offense immediately exhausted Ishimori, while Blabla’s antics confused him and Gedo. Despite the comedic hijinks, Blabla faced the vicious bites of the War Dogs. Kid nearly made a save with the Mentai Splash. Ishimori finished off Blabla with a Gedo Clutch as a pin for the 3-count.
Master Wato & YOSHI-HASHI vs. United Empire (Great-O-Khan & Jakob Austin Young)
YOSHI-HASHI had been incapacitated near the start, leaving United Empire (notably Khan) to weaken him with knees and kicks. Khan sat on Wato, adding his immense weight while Young worked on the junior heavyweight’s arm. The wide spread of tools under Khan’s collection proved cumbersome for YOSHI-HASHI, particularly the Iron Claw, but a surprise DDT saved him. Wato resisted Young’s German Suplex, countering with his own patented Tsutenkaku German Suplex.
YOSHI-HASHI’s in-ring has become more decisive and urgent, keeping him and World Heavyweight Champion Hirooki Goto in the tag team title radar while his partner defends his singles gold.
STARS (Hazuki & Koguma) & Maika defeated Neo Genesis (AZM & Starlight Kid) & Yuna Mizumori
Koguma started off against Kid, carefully dictating her slower pace to counter her masked opponent’s high speed. Mizumori writhed and crawled after STARS centered their focus on her. The colorful wrestler fought back with some kicks and even a dropkick of her own. AZM and Kid combined their quick offense to tenderize Maika and Koguma.
Maika planted AZM in the center of the ring with a vertical suplex. Mizumori combined her comeback with Kid and AZM for a synchronized Dropkick. Hazuki and Koguma flew over the top rope to knacker all of their opponents and drag Mizumori into the ring. Hazuki won the match with a Brainbuster over Mizumori.
Joshi wrestling is one of the best things in the pro wrestling industry. Maybe someday, Stardom will see in Hazuki what fans have for a long time. Give her a push.
El Phantasmo & Oleg Boltin defeated The Don Callis Family (Konosuke Takeshita & Rocky Romero)
Resuming last night’s war of attrition, Takeshita avoided every single move Phantasmo could think of. The pair then moved onto dismantling Boltin. Romero sought to use his agility to take down Boltin, who then dizzied them by way of his Boltin Shake. Boltin dropped Romero on the mat during a Kamikaze, thus winning the match for he and Phantasmo.
A lot of dynamite moves, one that will make initial viewing feel must-see. I’m glad this isn’t feeling like a one-and-done, that Phantasmo and Takeshita have more to communicate in the ring.
Be-Bop Tag Team (Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toru Yano), Ryota Chikuzen, TAJIRI & YOH defeated TMDK (Hartley Jackson, Kosei Fujita, Robbie Eagles, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr.)
TAJIRI and Sabre in a rare instance locked up, with the legend calmly and immediately powering out of the Brit’s holds and submissions. Eagles and YOH fired like cannons, with the former taking advantage of Fujita’s in-ring assistance. Yano opened the turnbuckle, aiming to send the junior heavyweights into it, instead receiving harsh opposition by Jackson.
Chikuzen blasted Oiwa with chops, eventually knocking him down with the alliance with Tanahashi. Jackson splashed heavily into the corner Tanahashi lay dazed at, followed with a fierce lariat. TAJIRI hit Jackson with his famous green mist, leaviding Tanahashi to end the match courtesy of a High-Fly Flow.
The guest wrestlers tonight have made for a great show. Whether it’s the Kyushu locals or legends like TAJIRI, they’ve added a specifically different flavor in wrestlng that made the matches special.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito) defeated Just 4 Guys (Taichi & TAKA Michinoku), Shota Umino & Tomohiro Ishii
Taichi suffered the brunt of the offense at first, but Ishii moved like a madman, especially to Takahashi with a Dangerous Driver. Naito made a hot tag, sending Taichi out with a Destino. Los Ingobernables de Japon trapped Michinoku alone and all combined for a dropkick. Naito unleashed a Destino again on Taichi, meanwhile BUSHI flew like a heat-seeking missile to Umino on the outside. Takagi finished the match for his team via a Last of the Dragon on Michinoku for the win.
Naito and BUSHI’s final match went about as usual, and I wouldn’t have had it any different. Ishii, Uminio, and Just 4 Guys filled their roles excellently. The years Naito and BUSHI have added to NJPW’s legacy, with the former’s big matches easily slotting into the pantheon of all-time great matches. Whether Los Ingobernables de Japon moves on or not without them remains to be seen, but what they’ve given us is more than enough now.
Yota Tsuji (c) defeated Yuya Uemura for the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship
Champion and challenger had a staredown and a lockup twice that stretched onward. Uemura targeted Tsuji’s left arm and shoulder. Tsuji repaid in kind with Uemura’s right arm. Firmly in control, Tsuji moved from Uemura’s arm to his torso. Uemura stunned Tsuji with a Back Body Drop. Tsuji sent Umino falling to the outside with a hurricanrana and into the barricade with a tope suicida.
Unresponsive in the corner, Uemura suffered a splash from Tsuji in the corner, yet he turned it around by working the legs of Tsuji with a figure-four leglock. The moment Tsuji began powering out of the Nelson lock that Uemura had him in, the more immediate Uemura gave a reverse Canadian Destroyer. Uemura aimed for a huge Splash but landed flat. Tsuji wrenched Uemura’s arm unforgivingly, A series of suplexes nearly took out Takagi, as did a Backbreaker. Stealing Hiroshi Tanahashi’s High-Fly Flow, Uemura found no success in emulation. Uemura desperately reached for a Dead Drop, but Tsuji ended the match instead with a Gene Blaster, thus retaining his championship.
Post-match: Uemura bade Tsuji his respect and departed. The rest of Los Ingobernables de Japon came out, with Tsuji kneeling in the spot Naito used to. Naito and BUSHI left, with emotion visible on their faces as the crowd called to them. Gabe Kidd then greeted Tsuji, challenging him for the championship on June 15’s Dominion event.
The rivarly between these two will carry into further in their careers. They’re meant to do this forever, with the chemistry to prove it. As for Tsuji’s kneeling, Chris Charlton mentioned that this could be a figurative passing of the torch which I find particularly interesting if it happens.
Main Event
Hirooki Goto (c) defeated Callum Newman for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
Goto started off strong, but Newman thwarted him on the outside with a plancha. He followed up with slingshots to the steel barricades and kicks to the back. Hitting a substantial vertical drop from the top rope, Goto worked on the shoulders of Newman. Newman reached high air with an impressive dropkick and a tope con hilo to flatten the champion. A quick battle of wits and strategy led to a simultaneous DDT on Goto and Ushigoroshi on Newman. Merciful as he tried to be, Goto kept providing forearms and elbows to Newman—until he spat in the champ’s face. For that, Goto immediately sent him to the mat.
A GTR nearly ended the match; despite Goto’s control of the match, he had issues dispatching the challenger. An Oscutter 2.0 quelled Goto’s momentum, but also left Newman weak and defenseless on the ground. Newman broke the count early, whilst Goto barely did it in time. A shock Rainmaker nearly gave Newman the pinfall, but Goto remained resilient, albeit horizontal. Another Oscutter 2.0, but Newman flipped and dropped to a Rainmaker. Goto’s Shouten Kai rendered Newman immobile in the ring, but not enough for pinfall. After two GTRs, ultimately Goto won the match.
Post-match: Zack Sabre Jr and Shingo Takagi emerged to issue their respective challenges, with Sabre having first dibs.
Very well done and deserving of being a main event spot. Though most will be talking more about Naito and BUSHI’s departures, this match should hopefully change some questions around Newman. Just another day at the office for Hirooki Goto.
Night Two had more must-watch matches for sure. The goodbye to Tetsuya Naito and BUSHI, Tsuji versus Uemura, and Hirooki Goto’s successful title retention in a star-making performance for Callum Newman stand among the rest of tonight’s wrestling proceedings. The economy may be rough, but creatively, NJPW has a bright future.
