NJPW WRESTLING DONTAKU NIGHT 2 REPORT (5/4) : Lansdell’s report and analysis on Goto vs Newman, Tsuji vs Uemura, and Naito’s farewell

NJPW WRESTLING DONTAKU NIGHT 1 REPORT
MAY 4, 2025
FUKUOKA CONVENTION CENTER
FUKUOKA, JAPAN
AIRED LIVE ON NJPW WORLD

Walker Stewart and Chris Charlton were on commentary again tonight. Same city as last night but it looked like a bigger venue.It’s also worth mentioning that the canvas had very noticeable blood stains on it from the cage match that happened the night before. Maybe it’s just me, but it screams low-budget to only have one canvas you can use, and not entirely hygienic either.

(1) MENTAI KID & BATTEN BURABURA vs. TAIJI ISHIMORI & GEDO

Both War Dogs members were moving gingerly after the brutality of the cage match last night. Mentai Kid was trained by Dragon Kid and is a masked luchador. He’s a local indie guy and got a good reaction as a result, but is about to retire. Batten Burabura is…um…OK, imagine if one of those freaky masks with the rosy cheeks and white faces was also the captain of Love Boat. But with fringe and pigtails. Yes it really was that weird. I want to say he was almost like a Mexican exotico mixed with Eugene in terms of ring style, but take that with a grain of salt as my knowledge of Mexican wrestling is limited. I would have preferred to see him against Yano, but Gedo did a good job as the straight man here.

A very weird match that ended with Ishimori pinning Burabura with a Gedo clutch.

WINNERS: Ishimori and Gedo via pinfall in 6:00. (*1/4)

(Lansdell’s Analysis: This was pure fan service for the local crowd. Nothing more to say about it really. Burabura has to be seen to be believed, so if your curiosity is strong then give this a watch.)

(2) YOSHI-HASHI & MASTER WATO vs. GREAT-O-KHAN & JAKOB AUSTIN YOUNG

Interesting to note here that Wato and Yoshi-Hashi came out to Wato’s music, which would have been unheard of a couple of months ago. Charlton and Stewart talked about this match as a tone-setter for the main event, but it’s also noteworthy for possibly setting up tag title matches; Wato and Yoh against Young and Akira, or Bishamon against O-Khan and Newman. Or both, of course.

For the second night in a row, Young got a chance to show his stuff. On this night he would be the one eating the pin, falling to a German suplex from Wato. There was precious little here to build on, though.

WINNERS: Wato and Yoshi-Hashi via pinfall in 9:00. (**)

(Lansdell’s Analysis: Kind of tame and uneventful, given all the crumbs they could have left us here. Not to make a mountain out of a molehill but New Japan does not have the luxury of going too slowly with their repair work, and a match like this presented several opportunities to build something for the midcard. Hopefully they start taking those opportunities as we move forward.)

(3) MAIKA & HAZUKI & KOGUMA vs. STARLIGHT KID & AZM & YUNA MIZUMORI

It cannot be overstated how monumental this match was. Stardom matches on New Japan cards just do not happen. Mercedes Moné had started to change that, but this match, to my knowledge, was only the second non-title women’s match on a main card for New Japan. If you consider Wrestle Dynasty to be an AEW and NJPW crossover card, then this might well have been the first one. Certainly the first one in recent memory.

Hazuki, Koguma, and AZM have all been featured on New Japan Strong events, but this was my first time seeing the others. Maika looked to be more of a power wrestler, Starlight Kid wrestled a quick and athletic style, and Mizumori unfortunately did not get much of a spotlight but came across as a hard-hitter. Hazuki pinned Mizumori after a brainbuster to get the win.

WINNERS: Maika, Hazumi, and Koguma via pinfall in 9:00. (***1/4)

(Lansdell’s Analysis: It was pretty chaotic but all six of them worked hard and managed to engage a crowd who are not used to seeing women’s wrestling on a men’s wrestling event. Maika stood out most to me, especially as she was working hurt and it was mentioned she was taking time off for surgery. If there were more hours in a day, this would have made me more interested in following Stardom.)

(4) EL PHANTASMO & BOLTIN OLEG vs. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & ROCKY ROMERO

After last night’s extremely predictable time-limit draw, we got another preview for the match at Resurgence between ELP and Takeshita. As much as that match seems to be a foregone conclusion, those two have great chemistry and the more they wrestle each other the better it gets.

ELP’s trainer Aaron Idol joined the English commentary for this match, but didn’t really add anything. We did get a fun moment where Oleg, in the middle of the Boltin Shake on Romero, paused to use Romero as a battering ram to flatten Takeshita. Oleg kicked out of a modified Strong Zero before hitting Kamikaze on Romero for the win.

WINNERS: Phantasmo and Oleg via pinfall in 8:00. (***)

(Lansdell’s Analysis: This was fun. ELP and Takeshita work well together, and Oleg got to show off a lot at the end of the match. It’s still highly unlikely that ELP will win at Resurgence, but that match will be even better than I thought.)

(5) ZACK SABRE JR & RYOHEI OIWA & KOSEI FUJITA & ROBBIE EAGLES & HARTLEY JACKSON vs. HIROSHI TANAHASHI & TORU YANO & YOH & RYOTA CHIKUZEN & TAJIRI

Good grief, Tajiri looked different. Facially he has not changed but he is fully gray-haired now and it is quite the stark difference. He currently wrestles for the local indy promotion, but has some connection with New Japan and Tanahashi to justify this match.Ryota Chikuzen is the president of the local indy in Fukuoka as well as their head trainer.

ZSJ and Tajiri started the match and worked through some grappling exchanges that felt very awkward to me. It might have been the silence in the arena, but I think Tajiri’s complete lack of facial expression was the bigger problem. Chikuzen got his chance to shine a little, but ultimately this match existed to allow Tajiri and Tanahashi to team up. Tajiri misted Jackson in the face, Chikuzen hit a Slingblade, and Tanahashi connected with High Fly Flow to pick up the win.

WINNERS: Tajiri, Chikuzen, Yano, Yoh, and Tanahashi via pinfall in 10:00. (*1/2)

(Lansdell’s Analysis: A lot of nothing here, outside of the nostalgia trip. Again, this event felt like it should have been one night and was stretched to two for an undetermined reason. The match was awkward in a lot of ways, even with Fujita and Eagles trying to up the pace, but as Tanahashi makes his farewell tour I can forgive some of that.)

(6) BUSHI & SHINGO TAKAGI & TETSUYA NAITO & HIROMU TAKAHASHI vs. SHOTA UMINO & TOMOHIRO ISHII & TAICHI & TAKA MICHINOKU

We got a video package for Naito and Bushi before the match, as this was their farewell to New Japan. As contracted wrestlers, at least. As you might expect, they were the last two to come out for LIJ. Bushi got the loudest response I have ever heard for him, but Naito’s was thunderous. He was visibly emotional as he made his way down the ramp, pausing to absorb the cheers.

Shingo and Hiromu stayed off the apron to start the match, a nice touch to allow Bushi and Naito to have the spotlight on them. It is somewhat typical of Naito that even in his farewell match, he took a back seat long enough to allow the continued build-up of the Hiromu-Ishii feud. Umino and Shingo also picked up from where they left off last night with more straight-ahead smash mouth action.

Shingo pinned Taka after a Burning Dragon to finish the proceedings, which should not have surprised me but did nonetheless.

WINNER: LIJ via pinfall in 10:00. (**3/4)

(Lansdell’s Analysis: This was never about the match. It was only ever about the emotion. Sure, there’s story here with Ishii-Hiromu and Shingo-Umino, but this was a farewell to one of New Japan’s most loyal and dependable stars…and Bushi.)

• After the match there was an LIJ salute mid-ring, but no promo and no Tsuji joining them. Even on his way out the door, Naito remained a consummate professional and company man.

(7) YOTA TSUJI (C) vs. YUYA UEMURA – IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship match

This match was for the company’s second-biggest title, yes. But it was so much more besides. Tsuji is the first of the vaunted new generation to hold a major title in the company, and to defend it against a classmate in the semi-main event was a big sign of the changing of the guard. They had feuded before, which ended in Uemura shaving his head. Uemura has positioned himself as the sun to Tsuji’s moon, the sort of generational rival that has been a foundation of some of New Japan’s best matches. Mutoh and Chono, Tanahashi and Nakamura, Okada and Naito…all feuds that endured because of the positioning as opposite poles without needing to go with a heel vs face dynamic.

The crowd seemed heavily behind Tsuji as the bell rang. Uemura got early control with a headlock takedown, but it was short-lived as Tsuji escaped. Tsuji grabbed his own headlock, Uemura escaped and hit a pair of arm drags into an armlock. Tsuji elbowed his way free, ran into another arm drag, but reversed the arm lock into one of his own. Tsuji stepped over and snapped back on Uemura’s arm. Uemura laid in some elbows with the same arm, but the damage took the power out of them. As we went past five minutes, Tsuji absorbed the weakened strikes and dropped Uemura with a codebreaker to the arm.

Tsuji applied a top wristlock to continue working on the damaged arm. Uemura got to the ropes to break the hold, but Tsuji continued to focus on that limb. Tsuji charged into a Uemura boot, but cut the comeback short with a big kick to the shoulder. Uemura nonetheless avoided a whip to the corner and hit a deep arm drag and a dropkick to create some separation. Uemura hit a Saito suplex for a two-count, but his follow-up was cut off when Tsuji yanked on his arm. A huracanrana from Tsuji sent Uemura to the floor, and Tsuji followed him with a tope. Tsuji went for a walk around the ring as the referee checked on Uemura. They got back inside with Uemura still selling the right arm. He blocked a suplex attempt at the ten-minute mark and then landed a double-hand chop, but ran into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Tsuji hit an impressive Stinger splash, but Uemura avoided the Marlowe crash. Uemura hit a dropkick to the knee, a kneebreaker, and then locked in a figure four.

Tsuji struggled to reverse the hold, and briefly managed to do so before they both rolled into the ropes. Uemura slammed Tsuji and went to the top rope, but took too long to get there and was met with a gamengiri. Tsuji joined Uemura on the top turnbuckle, but Uemura was able to push him down. Tsuji avoided the crossbody attack, Uemura connected with a German suplex but ran into a big boot. Tsuji hit a backbreaker, Uemura avoided a curb stomp but ate a dropkick. He returned fire with a dropkick of his own, leaving both men down. They got to their feet in opposite corners. Uemura charged into a boot, but ducked the follow-up lariat and tried to slam Tsuji with a uranage suplex. Tsuji blocked and hit a stiff forearm shot, but Uemura ducked a big lariat attempt and connected with that uranage suplex for a two-count at the 15-minute mark. He slammed Tsuji and went to the top again…frog splash hit nothing but canvas! Tsuji charged and leapt into a flying cross armbreaker in the middle of the ring. Uemura powered his way up but Tsuji reapplied the hold. Uemura rolled over to lessen the pressure but Tsuji kept the hold on until Uemura could reach the bottom rope.

Both men stood in the middle of the ring. Uemura tried to lay in his usual double-hand chops, but each one seemed to hurt him more. He switched to headbutts, which were more effective, but Tsuji countered with an elbow. A straight knee lift dropped Uemura to his knees, and Tsuji measured for the Gene Blaster…Uemura countered with a dropkick to the knee! Uemura went for a dragon screw, Tsuji hit a nasty-sounding headbutt to block, but Uemura shook it off and hit the dragon screw into another figure four! Tsuji tried to get to the ropes, but Uemura dragged him back to the middle and cranked back on the hold as we hit 20 minutes. Tsuji rolled towards the ropes, could not quite reach, and then dramatically rolled again to break the hold.

Uemura tried for another dragon screw, but Tsuji hit an enzuigiri. Uemura fell on top of Tsuji, and rose with waist control. German suplex bridge by Uemura! 1…2…no! He maintained the grip, transitioned into a dragon suplex, and secured another near fall. He called to the crowd and hit a pendulum backbreaker, then once again went to the top rope…frog splash connected! 1…2…no! Uemura went for the Deadbolt, but Tsuji countered into a stunner. Tsuji ran into a dropkick, then went for Gene Blaster…Uemura hit a dropkick! He tried for the Deadbolt, Tsuji fought it off and blocked it…Deadbolt connected! Tsuji rolled away to prevent the pin, then hit a Gene Blaster out of nowhere! 1…2…3!

WINNER: Yota Tsuji via pinfall in 24:00 to retain the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship. (****)

• After the match, all of LIJ (except Titan) came to the ring to pose with Tsuji in the center, a symbolic gesture to pass that torch to the youngster. They did the LIJ salute, then Bushi and Naito left the ring. Bushi’s mask had the lion mark on the back with the word Adios. Tsuji stopped them halfway up the ramp and said that their departure might mean the end of LIJ, but that they would always be ungovernable and always connected. As the two departing members left the arena, Tsuji named Gabe Kidd as a perfect rival.Kidd came out before being called out, and said Tsuji never beat him. Kidd challenged him for June 15 at Dominion in Osaka.

(Lansdell’s Analysis: That was exactly what was needed from these two men. I could argue that Uemura should have won to allow Tsuji to move up the card, but giving Uemura that spot is not out of the question. These two work well together, they told a good story psychologically and put on a great match with a scintillating finishing sequence. It’s the sort of match that does not hurt either man. To be honest I was sure they were going to pull the trigger on the title change when Uemura fought off the amrbreaker for so long, so they managed to fool me. Having Tsuji move on to Kidd will be an interesting one, because last time they faced off it was in a situation where neither could afford to lose…and they didn’t. Tsuji is in a better spot now to lose, if such a thing can be said to exist, which would both give Kidd a major title and allow Tsuji to move to the world title scene. A good bit of business all around, though it does leave Uemura somewhat in limbo.)

(8) HIROOKI GOTO (C) vs. CALLUM NEWMAN – IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match

As Newman made his entrance, Stewart tried really hard to sell us on the possibility of a new champion in this match. I was more than a little skeptical.

Newman charged Goto early but Goto was able to sidestep the big boot. They traded blows at high speed, Goto knocked down Newman with a shoulder tackle but Newman popped up and hit an enzuigiri. Newman threw Goto to the outside and followed him with a plancha. The crowd seemed up for this match, with no clear favourite between the two. Newman whipped Goto to a barricade, Goto charged back but ate a boot, and Newman connected with a PK to the chest. Newman rolled Goto back inside and snapped off another stiff kick to the spine. Newman went to the top for a double stomp, Goto moved and Newman landed on his feet but then charged into nothing. Goto hit a corner clothesline, a back suplex, and a muramasa kick. He perched Newman on the top turnbuckle and dropped him with a hanging neckbreaker. Newman rolled to the outside while Goto caught his breath in the ring. Newman sold a neck injury as the referee started to count him out.

Newman came back to the ring at the count of six, and immediately got dropped on his head with a brainbuster. At the five-minute mark Goto stepped away to allow the referee to check on Newman. That reprieve was short as Goto stomped on Newman’s neck, then locked in a rear chinlock. Goto hit a Russian leg sweep and transitioned into a koji clutch, then a headscissors. Goto again looked concerned for Newman’s health, but changed his mind and hit a trio of leaping elbow drops for a two-count. Newman tried to fight back, with Goto seemingly ending the rally with an elbow to the back of the head. Newman managed to connect with a gorgeous dropkick that sent Goto to the outside. He thought about it for a second before soaring over the top rope with a tope con giro that almost overshot Goto. Newman is just unreal with that leaping ability. Did I mention he landed on his feet?

Back inside, Newman measured Goto for a corner dropkick. He hit a tiger suplex, but could not hold the bridge because of the damage to his neck. He nevertheless scrambled into a cover for a near fall at the ten-minute mark. He called to the crowd and went for the Firebolt but Goto managed to escape it. They ran the ropes at ridiculous speed, each man trying to misdirect the other, until Goto caught Newman and dropped him with an ushigoroshi that looked even more painful than normal because of the speed of it. Newman tried to fire in an elbow but it was weakly delivered. Goto’s version was not. Newman kept getting up, and Goto kept knocking him back down. The referee asked him if he wanted to stop the match, and Newman refused.

Newman assumed the Great-O-Khan arms-behind-the-back pose and spat in Goto’s face. Goto flattened him with another shot. Newman fought his way to his feet again, arms still behind his back, and Goto peppered him with shots. Newman toughed it out and hit a loud chop that staggered Goto. Goto hit the reverse GTR but Newman connected with a German suplex and a roundhouse kick. He ran the ropes only to get caught with a GTW for a very near fall at the 15-minute mark. That time flew by. Newman rolled to the apron, unfortunately for him Goto followed him. Newman fought off a GTR on the apron, kicked Goto in the chest and hit an Os-cutter on the apron! Both men were down and motionless on the outside as the referee again started a count. Newman made it back inside at 17, with Goto following at 19.

With Goto on his knees Newman hit a running knee, then went to the top…double stomp connected! 1…2…no! The crowd chanted for Goto as Newman picked him up. Both men hit a lariat, then a second, then a third. Rainmaker by Newman! 1…2…no! That was just the sort of thing you could imagine New Japan doing to pull off a shock title change. Newman again pulled Goto up, signalled for the Os-cutter…Goto blocked it! Newman ducked a roaring lariat and hit the Os-cutter! 1…2…still no! Newman went right into Firebolt…and hit it! 1…2…Goto kicked out again! Newman looked frustrated as the announcer told us we had surpassed 20 minutes. The crowd was firmly behind him. He tried for Firebolt again, Goto countered into GTR, Newman blocked that and went for a PK, Goto caught the boot and hit his own Rainmaker to leave both men down.

Goto was first up, and he peppered Newman with a series of headbutts. He went for Shouten Kai…and hit it! 1…2…Newman kicked out! Now the crowd was squarely in Goto’s corner. He planted a kick in Newman’s chest and went for GTR…Newman countered into a rollup for a near fall! Superkick by Newman! Lariat by Goto! He went for GTR, Newman fought it off, but Goto wrapped his arm into a hammerlock and dropped him with GTR Kai for the win!

WINNER: Goto via pinfall in 24:00 to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. (****¼)

• After the match, Goto pointed with respect at Newman, who in return bowed deeply. Goto made the classic mistake of asking who his next challenger would be, which brought out Zack Sabre Jr who announced himself as the next challenger. Goto said of course he would accept, and they shook hands.
• That would not be the end of the discussion as Shingo came down to the ring. He apologised for the interruption, and said that Goto had a belt and got to hang out with his kids in the ring. But he doesn’t have a belt, kids, or a wife, and his faction was now dead. He said the G in IWGP does not stand for Goto, because Shingo and Takagi both have a G. He added that he did not object to ZSJ getting the first shot, but he wanted the winner. The three men seemed to agree on the terms, and the two challengers left Goto to celebrate.

(Lansdell’s Analysis: I think we all knew this was going to end with a successful defence, and we assumed Newman would put on a good show in the loss. I don’t think any of us expected it to be that good of a match. There were a couple of moments in the match where I genuinely thought they were going to do the unthinkable and give Newman the win. He certainly worked hard enough here, and in my mind proved that he would be a safe pick to get behind as a contender for a major title. The aftermath made me extremely happy, because I have been crying out for Shingo to get another run at the top title. It seems obvious in hindsight, but maybe being part of a faction with Naito kept Shingo down a little. Whatever combination of the three we end up getting, it will be excellent.)

Final thoughts: A card of two halves, much like the previous night. The LIJ Farewell match was understandable, but everything else felt like filler. More to the point, the second straight night of filler. The singles matches were excellent, which was no surprise, but the whole weekend seemed diluted. I would be shocked if Goto emerged from the ZSJ-Shingo gauntlet with the title, but I have been shocked twice so far with his successful defences. Tsuji and Kidd will be a brutal match, and again I could see a title change there. There have been some seeds planted for the run up to Dominion, and although I could nitpick a few things I do have to admit that it seems there is finally a plan to move forward after all the departures.

Keep your eyes and ears open for the 7-Star Podcast and Radican Worldwide on PWTorch VIP to hear more of my thoughts on the road forward from here and the upcoming BOSJ tournament. Thanks for joining us!