Tag: wrestling dontaku 2026

AEW stars confirmed for NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2026 this weekend

Posted on by Jake Skudder

New Japan will be presenting Wrestling Dontaku 2026 this weekend from Fukuoka International Center, and there are some major AEW stars set to be performing on Night 1 and Night 2 of the event.

Will Ospreay will be joining Great-O-Khan and HENARE this to face Tatsuya Matsumoto, YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto and Andrade El Idolo will be challenging Yota Tsuji for the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship in the main event of the first night.

Night 2 will also feature Konosuke Takeshita defending his NJPW WORLD TV Championship against Chase Owens.

FAQ and Context

When and where is NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2026?

Wrestling Dontaku 2026 runs across two nights this weekend at the Fukuoka International Center in Japan. It’s one of NJPW’s annual marquee events, traditionally held over Japan’s Golden Week.

How can I watch Wrestling Dontaku?

The show streams worldwide on NJPW World, New Japan’s official subscription platform. Both nights are available live with English commentary, and the platform retains the shows on demand afterwards.

Which AEW stars are appearing at Wrestling Dontaku?

Three major AEW names are on the card: Will Ospreay, Andrade El Idolo and Konosuke Takeshita. Ospreay is in a six-man tag on Night 1, Andrade challenges for the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship the same night, and Takeshita defends his NJPW WORLD TV title on Night 2.

Will Ospreay talks relationship between AEW and NJPW

Posted on by Jake Skudder

AEW star and former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay recently spoke to NJPW1972.com about his upcoming return to the company. Ospreay would also discuss the current relationship between All Elite Wrestling and New Japan, seemingly helping to further build the storyline tension for the upcoming Forbidden Door PPV.

“It is a difficult one” Ospreay would begin. “I can understand there can be a certain perception because a lot of guys did go from New Japan into AEW, myself included. But NJPW has always been exceptional at creating new stars; it just took time for New Japan to really identify who was going to be the top guy carrying things forward. And if you just looked at Wrestle Kingdom this year, Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita, Andrade as well on that card were all major moments that could only really happen with the AEW relationship.”

Will Ospreay on AEW to NJPW ‘excursions’

Ospreay also indicated that more AEW stars could make their way over to New Japan, almost as a quasi-excursion due to the size of the All Elite roster:

“At the same time I do think there could be more guys sent from AEW into NJPW, and not just big names to pop a house but for a tour, or longer than that. Especially with the sheer size and the number of people AEW has under contract, I think it would be a great chance for AEW talent to grow and come back even better. And vice versa as well.”

Ospreay will be joining Great-O-Khan and HENARE this weekend at Wrestling Dontaku 2026 to face Tatsuya Matsumoto, YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto.

NJPW reveals Wrestling Dontaku 2026 lineups

Posted on by Joseph Currier

With Sakura Genesis now in the rearview mirror, NJPW’s attention turns to Wrestling Dontaku 2026.

The two-night Dontaku event is being held in Fukuoka on Sunday, May 3 and Monday, May 4. Headlining the second night is an IWGP Heavyweight Championship defense by Callum Newman, who is putting his title on the line against Shingo Takagi. Newman — the 2026 New Japan Cup winner — dethroned Yota Tsuji for the belt at Sakura Genesis this past weekend.

At 23 years old, this is Newman’s first IWGP Heavyweight Championship reign. He’s one of the top foreign wrestlers in NJPW and the leader of United Empire.

United Empire has a big night at Wrestling Dontaku night two. In the semi-main event, the group is challenging for the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team titles. The match has AEW’s Will Ospreay — who is returning to Japan once again for both nights of Dontaku — teaming with HENARE & Great-O-Khan against champions Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Oleg Boltin.

Tsuji still holds the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship and will be defending that title in the night one main event. His challenger is Gabe Kidd, who is now waging war on NJPW after joining AEW.

Plus, there is more international representation on the cards with top CMLL star Mistico competing in tag matches.

The shows will stream live on NJPW World. Here are the announced lineups:

NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2026 —

Night one (Sunday, May 3):

  • IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji defends against Gabe Kidd
  • NEVER Openweight Champion Ren Narita defends against Oleg Boltin
  • Aaron Wolf vs. Don Fale
  • Shingo Takagi, Drilla Moloney, Taiji Ishimori, Robbie X & Daiki Nagai vs. Callum Newman, Jake Lee, Francesco Akira, Jakob Austin Young & Zane Jay
  • Konosuke Takeshita & Shota Umino vs. Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi
  • Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Tatsuya Matsumoto vs. Will Ospreay, HENARE & Great-O-Khan
  • Yuya Uemura, Taichi, El Desperado & Mistico vs. Ryohei Oiwa, Hartley Jackson, Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita
  • Tomoaki Honma & Masatora Yasuda vs. OSKAR & Yuto-Ice
  • Toru Yano, YOH & Master Wato vs. Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi & Taisei Nakahara

Night two (Monday, May 4):

  • IWGP Heavyweight Champion Callum Newman defends against Shingo Takagi
  • NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Oleg Boltin defend against Will Ospreay, HENARE & Great-O-Khan
  • Yota Tsuji, Drilla Moloney, Taiji Ishimori & Robbie X vs. Jake Lee, Francesco Akira, Jakob Austin Young & Zane Jay
  • Yuya Uemura & Taichi vs. Ryohei Oiwa & Hartley Jackson
  • El Desperado & Mistico vs. Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita
  • Aaron Wolf, Toru Yano, Tiger Mask, YOH & Master Wato vs. Ren Narita, Don Fale, DOUKI, SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  • Shota Umino & Tomoaki Honma vs. OSKAR & Yuto-Ice
  • Ryusuke Taguchi & Tatsuya Matsumoto vs. Gedo & Daiki Nagai
  • NJPW World Television Champion Konosuke Takeshita defends against Chase Owens
  • Pre-show: Masatora Yasuda vs. Taisei Nakahara