The IWGP World Heavyweight Championship will be on the line in the main event of night two of NJPW Wrestling Dontaku.
Will Ospreay will defend the IWGP World title against Shingo Takagi. This will be Ospreay s first title defense since defeating Kota Ibushi for the Championship at Sakura Genesis.
The two have met three times in singles competition before. Ospreay holds a 2-1 edge over Shingo with his wins coming in the 2019 Best of the Super Juniors final and this year s New Japan Cup final. Shingo s victory came in the 2020 G1 Climax tournament.
Tonight s scheduled IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match with El Desperado defending against YOH was pulled from the card as a precautionary measure. Contact tracing has also forced the change of two other matches on the card.
By James Kurokawa on 2021-05-04 09:17:00
5/4/21 Results for New Japan s Wrestling Dontaku 2021; Must see main event - Fukuoka, Japan:
New Japan made an announcement on NJPW1972.com that there was a change to the line up of the event tonight:
A wrestler had a fever in the morning and is undergoing a thorough examination and PCR and antibody testing.
The match for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight title between El Desperado vs YOH has been removed from the event. Also, a Suzuki-Gun vs. CHAOS match.
Japan had declared a third state of emergency due to the pandemic on April 23, 2021. The government imposed strict guidelines on various businesses. New Japan is taking these guidelines seriously.
By James Kurokawa on 2021-05-03 20:16:00
5/3/21 Results for New Japan s Wrestling Dontaku 2021; First quadruple champion in New Japan - From Fukuoka, Japan:
Master Wato, Tiger Mask, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Toru Yano vs. Dick Togo, Taiji Ishimori, Yujiro Takahashi and EVIL. Ishimori pins Tiger Mask after a Bloody Cross.
SHO, YOH and Kazuchika Okada vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado and Minoru Suzuki. YOH attacks Desperado at the start of the match. Suzuki takes control of the match beating down SHO, then traded shots with Okada. YOH and Desperado tagged in YOH got the advantage. Desperado hit a Spinebuster, then immediately locked in Numero Dos. YOH screamed and scrambled for the ropes. Kanemaru tagged in and went after YOH s leg. YOH was able to fight off Kanemaru. YOH hit a double underhook neckbreaker on Kanemaru and gets the pin, win and momentum into his Title match with El Desperado. El Desperado and YOH have words after the match.
Quick Results
Taiji Ishimori & Yujiro Takahashi pinned Master Wato & Hiroyoshi Tenzan in 10:31 ( )
Jeff Cobb, Great-O-Khan & Aaron Henare pinned BUSHI, Tetsuya Naito & SANADA in 14:55 ( )
Toru Yano, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Ryusuke Taguchi pinned Dick Togo, Jay White & EVIL in 12:23 ( ½)
Will Ospreay pinned Shingo Takagi in 44:53 to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship ( )
We’re back at the Fukuoka Convention Center after a very bare bones hold screen. No Taguchi music video. No Makabe teaching us the rules. None of that… which is explained as…
We open with a statement from New Japan chairman Naoki Sugabayashi, saying that a wrestler due to appear on the card presented with a fever – and as such has been pulled from the card. Another wrestler, who’d only joined the tour at the weekend, was also pulled – as we lost the El Desperado vs. YOH junior title match… enjoy the jigsaw identification attempts.
Quick Results
Taiji Ishimori, EVIL, Dick Togo & Yujiro Takahashi pinned Tiger Mask, Toru Yano, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Master Wato in 9:58 ( ½)
YOH, SHO & Kazuchika Okada pinned Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado & Minoru Suzuki in 10:31 ( ¾)
SANADA, Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI pinned Aaron Henare, Will Ospreay, Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb in 11:31 ( )
Zack Sabre Jr. pinned Tanga Loa in 15:12 ( ¼)
Taichi defeated Tama Tonga in 27:10 to regain the Iron Fingers from Hell (½ )
Jay White pinned Hiroshi Tanahashi in 38:59 to win the NEVER Openweight Championship ( ¼)
We’re at the Fukuoka Convention Center, with no live English commentary as Kevin Kelly is in quarantine ahead of the two big stadium shows…