The Best And Worst Of NJPW: Wrestling Dontaku 2019

Previously on NJPW: Elimination matches abounded and Japan getting a new Emperor in real life made it very easy for everyone to come up with topical promos.

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And now, the best and worst of Wrestling Dontaku from May 3-4, 2019 in Fukuoka.

Best: Big Boy Szn Has Arrived

Both nights of Wrestling Dontaku featured heavyweight matches that 1) ruled, and 2) turned out to signal the return of the NEVER Openweight Championship picture to the designated place in NJPW for hard-hitting, minimally flippy matches. And in a move that I don’t think anyone could have predicted even at this time last year, it looks like Taichi could become a name closely associated with this belt during this phase – and if not, it still looks like he’ll almost definitely be one of the more heavily featured wrestlers on the roster.

The VTR for Jeff Cobb vs. Taichi could have made an effort to make up for the audience’s relative lack of exposure to Cobb in order to make sure he was as over as possible as a babyface before taking on a cult-popular heel. However, in a dramatic departure from the Naito vs. Taichi VTR that showed the Holy Emperor drinking and playing Fire Pro, Taichi looked extremely dominant for the majority of the video package. In retrospect, rather than getting Cobb over against a scummy heel, this whole angle was more about getting a strong win for Taichi over the immovable but astonishingly mobile object that is the ROH TV Champion.

Cobb and Taichi work well together, play their difference in size well, and both get moments to shine in this match, which also thankfully includes only enough Suzukigun interference to get the point across without throwing off the in-ring work. Cobb looks like a freak athlete and someone who should definitely come back and work with NJPW guys in the future, but by the time Taichi hits Black Mephisto he looks like a wrestler who could actually have a lengthy reign with this title.

Also, remember how Taichi and Sanada were the two NJPW wrestlers who went over at the inter-promotional Giant Baba Memorial Show in February? Turns out that really was a sign of star-building things to come!

May 4 sets up Taichi’s first defense after establishing that another future defense is likely to happen against Henare. Henare had previously made it very clear that he would challenge whoever won the previous night’s NEVER title match. However, since Taichi didn’t go out of his way to challenge him, we see Henare work visibly so hard to pin the man who submitted him multiple times on the Road to Dontaku. Unsurprisingly, he fails at this, but he fails in a way that seems like part of a story, not just because he was the most obvious pin-eater for the match.

But Taichi’s first challenger for Dominion is basically the best possible choice: Tomohiro Ishii, the guy who brought out his secret (but becoming less of a secret all the time) inner badass and also beat him in the New Japan Cup. If Taichi was a babyface, Ishii would also probably be the person he’d name as his first challenger, but since he’s Taichi he has to do this through attempted gaslighting and playing Date Mike. The fact that he clearly has fighting spirit within him and is trying to Elevate The Title but can’t admit it because he’s so terrible makes me excited to watch this feud and title reign on pretty much every level. All hail the Holy Emperor.

As Ishii’s match with Taichi made the latter look like a million bucks even in defeat, the semi-main event of the May 4 show does the same for Evil. Their feud oddly had its weakest moment the night before their singles match when the Ishii-Okada vs. Evil-Sanada match ended with a referee stoppage that looked like a verbal submission. It’s never good to have a confusing finish for a go-home match!

However, there’s nothing confusing about Ishii vs. Evil, one-on-one. Every move feels important and painful to make a match that’s all killer, no filler. The tour-long buildup of the Scorpion Deathlock pays off as Evil targets Ishii’s leg for the first part of the match to set it up, then Ishii struggles mightily to the ropes to escape. Ishii locking Evil in the same move for some revenge is a great moment, especially since he’s a guy who’s been known to use other people’s moves on them (see also: against Kenny Omega.)

In the end, Evil loses and does not surpass NJPW’s number one tough guy to become a bigger deal as a tough guy himself, but he looks like he could someday. I’d love to see this continue as a rivalry or at least get a rematch in the G1.

Best: I See You Shiver With Antici –

As with Evil and Ishii before their singles match, we know exactly what we’re getting from the pairs of Naito vs. Ibushi, Sho vs. Shingo, and the default dance partners of Yoh and Bushi, who have all been feuding for a while now. The shiny boys vs. goths trios matches on both nights of Dontaku are reliably entertaining parts of the midcard and give us Naito and Ibushi setting a date (Dominion) for their title match with the opposite champion-challenger dynamic.

We finally know when all these matches are happening, but the time and place and stipulations of Liger vs. Suzuki are all still up in the air. I thought it might be the BOSJ final show to give Liger something to do during the last iteration of the tournament he’s won more than anyone he’ll experience as an active wrestler, but I guess not! This is absolutely fine with me because the old man murder continues to be awesome and it seems like this should probably main event something.

Worst: Happy Birthday, Bullet Club

Continuing a trend on this tour, the Bullet Club multi-man tag matches are the weakest part of the show. They all have their highlights, but they’re burning off residual heat for feuds that weren’t the hottest to begin with. BC getting special anniversary kimonos made again and then losing every single match on their birthday weekend is pretty funny though. I think Suzukigun should be the primary faction associated with this anniversary date now since they won a title on it without even making a big deal about their age.

NJPW: Characters Welcome

The main purpose of the tag matches involving the members of the U.S. title picture is to introduce us via mysterious vignette that Juice Robinson’s next challenger, a presumably British man who had an Arctic Monkeys music video filmed to show he’s coming to a wrestling promotion, possibly to teach an important lesson about sexual harassment. He’s also NJPW’s latest knife pervert, which Robinson points out backstage while seemingly unafraid of being stabbed. With this and Taichi carrying around the Iron Fingers, somebody needs to get stabbed around here!

Since a different modified leather jacket BritWres guy debuted for NJPW this weekend, this vignette doesn’t get me hyped in itself. It might be for Chris Brookes though, who I think is the only BritWres guy I might want to see come to New Japan right now, and the visual of Juice watching it from the stage on May 4 is cool.

We definitely know who the subject of the other video targeted at an IWGP champion is though! Chris Jericho looks and acts more ridiculous than ever and I personally hate it but if it’s “so bad it’s good” to you, I can’t judge.

Okada vs. Jericho at Dominion should be very good and please, wrestling god, a one-off title match like people from NOAH used to show up for in this company a few years ago and not the start of an invasion angle or a hijacked world title angle or a big star treading water for the rest of the year in service of a decent hardcore match with no blood at the Tokyo Dome. What happened with the Elite in NJPW during two-thirds of last year killed my personal interest in so much of New Japan as a fan that the concept of this match mostly stresses me out!

And Speaking Of Our Current Knife Pervert

The other big non-wrestling part of this show is the return of Hiroshi Tanashi after having elbow surgery and the subsequent return of Jay White after the length of two tag matches. Tanahashi vows to make another Complete Comeback and win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, which is probably something he should continue to do until he joins the NJPW Dads.

White attacking him and yelling he’s at the front of the line when he wasn’t even officially in line at all since his match with Goto was only assumed to be a number one contender’s match (but it would be cool if commentary assumed that type of thing a little less definitively in the future!). Like how Jericho being terrible about his IC title reign was part of why he got that match with Naito at Wrestle Kingdom this year, I’m pretty sure White’s behavior here is part of why the fictional NJPW office just went with the Jericho video challenge, along with Y2J being a famous WWE guy.

Now White and Tanahashi will fight this incident out in the special “Hiroshi Tanahashi Comeback Special Singles Match” on the BOSJ final show, which seems like a good place to put a matchup we saw fairly recently. It won’t be the main event or the most important thing on the card, which should help it feel somewhat different from their title match.

Best/Worst: Also Speaking Of The Modified Leather Jacket BritWres Guy

There are definite pros and cons to the NJPW debut match of our latest edgelord heel. I like how El Phantasmo’s theme song is an EDM remix of the original Bullet Club theme and his jacket is a higher-budget remix of Prince Devitt’s, immediately showing his commitment to the original version of the group like Ishimori’s Devitt-referencing did last year. Watch BC get a junior next year who just does the Wrestle Kingdom 8 body paint all the time but in a different color.

The interactions with Ospreay seemed OTT to me, but I can’t really hate on them since immediately completing the ELP heel turn for RevPro fans seems like the best way to make this make sense for the most people at the same time. These two are in the same BOSJ block so their confrontation is just going to be a tournament match that BritWres people will care more about than everyone else anyway. Ospreay’s facing ultimate spoiler Taguchi and ELP is facing the guy the Junior Heavyweight Champion called out, El Desperado, on the last night of their block action, so it seems like they’ll both go pretty far in the tournament and the result of their match could play an important role in how it all plays out.

As for the actual match part of El Phantasmo’s debut match, it plays like a highlight reel. Those unfamiliar with him now know what flippy moves he’s bringing to the NJPW tournament with the most flippy moves! It doesn’t give us a good idea of how he works a full match, but we’ll see that pretty soon.

Best: Kamaitachi Is My Copilot

The highest-stakes junior heavyweight match on the show is a good one that also makes me look forward to seeing these guys go at it again with a time limit in BOSJ. Both Dragon Lee and Taiji Ishimori show off their incredible athleticism and high-flying abilities and look good in the lengthy Yes Lock spot. By the end, Lee has definitely beaten the former champion, who brought his A-game, and Ishimori looks like he could be champ again in the future.

The influence of Hiromu Takahashi has been referenced throughout this rivalry, but this match takes it to another level. Lee brings his combination Lee-Kamaitachi mask to watch over his title defense from the turnbuckle, kisses it after he wins, and then his whole promo his about Takahashi! Their rivalry became infamous and elevated both of their careers through its physical intensity and risk-taking, but while they can’t do that, these two are keeping the emotional intensity alive. GET WELL SOON, HIROMU.

As for Lee himself, it looks like he has a Tanahashi situation going on at twenty-three years old. His ring work is top notch, his crowd work is unbeatable, he has the physique of a statue, he has good chemistry with lots of wrestlers – including the one he calls out backstage, El Desperado, meaning we might finally get that mask vs. mask match, and he can pull off straight-up saying he loves the fans and feeds off their energy. It is possible this man can do no wrong right now.

Best: Our Long International Nightmare Is Over

Before we talk about the IWGP Heavyweight Championship match, we have to talk about how Sanada fixed his beard. His hair situation is still very dramatic in a way that people who don’t have the face of a working model should probably not try at home, but it is working for him now!

This new hairdo and space pirate prince outfit, which combine the “Cold Skull” look with that of his Wrestle-1/X Division Champion days, also fit Sanada’s character arc. He’s been more and more openly playing the babyface and appealing to the crowd since the New Japan Cup – possibly in kayfabe since he got the taste of the type of popularity that let him get the audience to turn their phone lights on like his promo was a power ballad. This might be something he abandons after the title match he broke it out for ended with him being pinned, but given how much NJPW seems to be committing to the new Okada-Sanada rivalry, I could see some of these changes actually taking for Sanada.

A Real Copout Best/Worst: The Reset Rematch

In some ways, it makes sense that this Okada-Sanada rivalry thing is happening and in some ways it does not at all. The way it doesn’t make sense is the win-loss record between the two (now 6-0 in favor of Okada), but I will accept that a “reset” exists in Okada’s mind (so they’re 1-0 to him As Committed Rivals) after their New Japan Cup final match made him respect Sanada so goddamn much he gave him this title shot. I am prepared to make that concession and see where this goes.

Going into this match, though, the presentation of these two as evenly matched athletes was not credible. With their 5-0 record, Sanada having never held a singles title, this being Okada’s first IWGP Heavyweight Championship defense, and the previous two champions losing the title with no successful defenses, the outcome was clear. It didn’t help that during the preview tags, Okada and Sanada didn’t really bring anything new and interesting to their feud. While Naito and Ibushi used the elements of insanity and danger to build as much hype as possible for their third match in a short period of time, Okada and Sanada played a game of mild one-upmanship.

This story of them being evenly matched now after Okada clearly dominated their last singles bout does work out much better during the main event on May 4 though. Each works to methodically break the other down, clearly knowing not to underestimate the other’s endurance. The initial, slower stages of the match highlight their similarly strong fundamentals, body types, and athleticism, though Sanada moves a lot faster and more smoothly than Okada these days.

While the match tells a different enough story from the New Japan Cup final to keep this rematch from feeling like a repeat, it does seem weaker than what we saw from them last month. When Skull End looks bad it looks very bad, and it looked very, very bad at times here. At one point Sanada’s arm is so not covering Okada’s face that his escape of the submission just looks like effortlessly sitting up. There’s also the weird sequence in the video above with the goofy-looking spin into the corner. In a match with higher highs, these elements of the match might be easy to overlook, but although most of the match contained nothing to complain about it also didn’t have a lot of stand-out moments.

All that being said, I’m still not too down on the attempt to make Okada-Sanada happen. Sanada’s still extremely over, so why not strike while the iron’s hot? And their previous match was good enough and this one wasn’t bad enough that I’m down to see Sanada try to get that first win he gestured to Okada about in hopefully a format like the G1 where a time limit could change things up. And Okada seems so happy to finally have a wrestlefriend his own age! There are ways this could go wrong from this point forward, but it could also go right.

But before we focus on this championship or either of these people again, we have a month of all junior heavyweights, all the time! I’ll see you back here next week to talk about the beginning of Best of the Super Juniors and leave you for now with this bonus, one-off [low production quality] podcast episode in which I talk about some NJPW matches with my mom, who has what I think are entertaining takes.