Sanada finally ascended to the top of the mountain in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, winning the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship for the first time last month. Now one of his former mates from his LIJ days wants to make his reign a short one.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi will be the first challenger for Sanada when the two meet tonight in the main event of Wrestling Dontaku 2023 in Fukuoka. The always colorful Hiromu will be attempting to also win the top prize in NJPW for the first time, making hima double champ if he pulls it off.
That’s not the only title on the line. In fact the last five matches on this card are championship bouts, with the Strong Openweight Championship and NJPW World Television Championship among those being defended. Two others stand out, however; one pits former longtime Bullet Club member Tama Tonga against the group’s latest leader, David Finlay, looking to claim Tonga’s NEVER Openweight Championship and validate his status as BC’s top dog.
The other is a titanic battle for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. Reigning champs Strong Style (Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado and Ren Narita) will try to turn back a challenge from a star-studded trio composed of Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii and Hiroshi Tanahashi.
The opening matches on the card are a mix of six-man and eight-man tag matches that ensure as many different members of the NJPW roster as possible are in the show. It should be an exciting night of wrestling from the Fukuoka Kokusai Center, and it kicks off at 5 a.m. ET/2 a.m. PT.
Wrestling Dontaku 2023 results:
(click on any match with a link for more details)
- Chaos (Toru Yano, Yoh and Bishamon (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi)) def. House of Torture (Evil, Yujiro Takahashi, Sho and Dick Togo) by pinfall, after which Aussie Open came out to repossess their tag team title belts and propose a three-way match with Bishamon and House of Torture
- United Empire (Aussie Open (Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher) and Great-O-Khan) def. TMDK (Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste and Kosei Fujita) by submission as Great-O-Khan taps out Fujita; afterward Great-O-Khan cuts a promo saying neither Bishamon or House of Torture stand a chance against Aussie Open and that Jeff Cobb would defeat Zack Sabre Jr. later tonight
- Shota Umino and The Jet Setters (Kushida and Kevin Knight) def. United Empire (Aaron Henare and Catch 2/2 (Francesco Akira and TJP)) by pinfall when Kushida catches TJP with an inside cradle
- Just 5 Guys (Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Douki) def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi and Bushi) by submission as Taichi gets Bushi to submit
- A video plays to promote Best of the Super Juniors and show off the cards for May 12-24
- Hikuleo def. KENTA by pinfall to become the new Strong Openweight Champion
- Jeff Cobb vs. Zack Sabre Jr. ends in a 15-minute time limit draw; Sabre retains the NJPW World Television Championship
- Chaos (Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii) and Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Strong Style (Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado and Ren Narita) by pinfall to become the new NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions
- Shota Umino reveals that Jon Moxley is returning at Dominion in June
- David Finlay def. Tama Tonga by pinfall to become the new NEVER Openweight Champion …
- .. but gets attacked by El Phantasmo after the match, and the two men need to eventually be pulled apart
- Sanada def. Hiromu Takahashi by pinfall to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
- The Godzilla-esque video promo that’s been running for weeks pays off with a reveal of a returning Yota Tsuji, who clears the ring, spears Sanada and holds up the IWGP title before laying it back across Sanada’s chest