A lot has happened since my last NJPW related blog post highlighting events taking place on WrestleMania weekend. Though there are four new champions coming out of the G1 Supercard in Madison Square Garden, things are a lot more familiar in New Japan now than they were even two months ago.

While this year’s Wrestling Dontaku doesn’t have a high stakes matchup to the degree of last year’s main event or a possible surprise appearance from Chris Jericho, it’s still expected to be an event filled with thoroughly entertaining matches and there’s always that level of uncertainty with New Japan, so just about anything could happen this weekend in Fukuoka.

IWGP Heavyweight Championship – Kazuchika Okada vs SANADA

The reason I said “just about” above rather than simply “anything could happen” is because of this match. Having only recently regained the IWGP Heavyweight Championship from ‘Switchblade‘ Jay White to the adoration of the New York crowd on April 6th, it can be strongly assumed that another long title reign for Kazuchika Okada is to be the case, especially given how the runs of Tanahashi and White didn’t even hit two full months. There’s also the small detail that his opponent hasn’t beaten him in their last five singles matches, with their last meeting being the New Japan Cup final in late March that earned Okada his Wrestle Kingdom 13 rematch with White. Now, while we all know that in professional wrestling (or any sport) winning streaks can easily be broken, Okada being 5-0 and this being his first defence seems to serve as a strong indication that SANADA fans will have to wait a while longer to see him become IWGP Heavyweight Champion. Regardless, it will be interesting to see the tag team match between the two (also featuring Tomohiro Ishii and EVIL) set to take place on May 3rd, as if SANADA manages to pin Okada there, or even vice versa, that should give an idea as to who might be walking out champion – and given Okada’s past championship matches, there’ll still be a lot of uncertainty deep into the match, because that’s how good they are. This should be a fantastic match and I’m hopeful it’ll be better than their stellar New Japan Cup final.

Prediction: Okada retains in his first defence and is challenged by Tanahashi post-match for the Dominion main event.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship – Dragon Lee vs Taiji Ishimori

This is the main event of the May 3rd show and has all of the potential in the world to be the match of the tour. Dragon Lee won the title in Madison Square Garden in a triple threat match also featuring Bandido. That match lasted under ten minutes, but was still a joy to watch, so I’m thrilled at the thought of seeing these two get even longer against one another. Both men are excellent junior heavyweights – if you need an early example, check out some of their matches with Hiromu Takahashi and KUSHIDA respectively – and this is a great teaser for the Best of the Super Juniors set to start on May 13th.

Prediction: Taiji regains the Junior Heavyweight Championship.

NEVER Openweight Championship – Jeff Cobb vs Taichi

Preceding the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match will be this, Jeff Cobb’s first defence of the title he defeated Will Ospreay for in a winner takes all match at the G1 Supercard (Cobb’s ROH Television Title was also on the line). I’m looking forward to this one purely based on how I can’t recall seeing it before, so I really don’t know what to expect. I haven’t seen that much of Cobb other than some of his matches in PWG and in NJPW and I’m excited to see more of what he can do in the ring. Taichi on the other hand is improving since his move into the heavyweight division, however with this being a fresh matchup, this could be hit or miss. I’m hoping for the best.

Prediction: Cobb retains.

EVIL vs Tomohiro Ishii

EVIL summed up the genesis of this match taking place when he tweeted something along the lines of, “is it out of nowhere, is it fated, or both?“. This is going to be interesting as while there isn’t much background to this semi-main event of the May 4th show, the result could be very important in the next few months, with the winner challenging for either the IWGP Heavyweight Championship or (more likely) Kota Ibushi’s Intercontinental Championship. Of course, even without the possible championship implications this is going to be worth watching for the sole reason of this being an outright brawl. EVIL and Ishii are two of the best, and most hard-hitting, stars in the company, so you can definitely expect this to be brutal.

Prediction: EVIL wins.

What else is there of interest on Wrestling Dontaku?

With Wrestling Dontaku taking place over two nights, there’s a couple of matches that are of interest and might be worth giving a watch on the 3rd and 4th of May.

Mikey Nicholls, Juice Robinson + Hirooki Goto vs Chase Owens, Bad Luck Fale + ‘Switchblade‘ Jay White (May 3rd):

This might be worth checking out to to get an idea of Jay White’s place in the company following G1 Supercard. He defeated Goto in the main event of Wrestling Hinokuni this past Monday and stated afterwards that “this is still my new era!” before what appeared to be a look of doubt washed over his face. It’ll be worth keeping an eye on whether the arrogant, egotistical top foreign star in the company is going to remain that way.

Prediction: Bullet Club win.

This might be worth checking out to to get an idea of Jay White’s place in the company following G1 Supercard. He defeated Goto in the main event of Wrestling Hinokuni this past Monday and stated afterwards that “this is still my new era!” before what appeared to be a look of doubt washed over his face. It’ll be worth keeping an eye on whether the arrogant, egotistical top foreign star in the company is going to remain that way. Roppongi 3K + Kota Ibushi vs Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI + Shingo Takagi (May 3rd + 4th):

The Ibushi and Naito rivalry continues, however I feel like these will be the last times we see these two up against one another for the foreseeable future. With that being a possibility, this is one last chance to see them trying to end each other’s careers while Roppongi 3K and BUSHI + Shingo continue their own rivalry. A win for BUSHI and Shingo here could definitely mean a future Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match is theirs, as well as it does mean an advantage going into the BOSJ.

Prediction: LIJ win.

The Ibushi and Naito rivalry continues, however I feel like these will be the last times we see these two up against one another for the foreseeable future. With that being a possibility, this is one last chance to see them trying to end each other’s careers while Roppongi 3K and BUSHI + Shingo continue their own rivalry. A win for BUSHI and Shingo here could definitely mean a future Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match is theirs, as well as it does mean an advantage going into the BOSJ. YOSHI-HASHI, Jyushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask + Ryusuke Taguchi vs Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado + TAKA (May 3rd) :

While there’s a ten man tag featuring Cobb and Taichi the next night, I’ve decided to mention this one due to it being filled with more BOSJ competitors than not. Likewise with Dragon Lee vs Taiji and the RPG3k & Ibushi vs LIJ match above, this should be a solid showcase of talent set to take place in the near month long tournament. The fact that Minoru Suzuki’s in this is a massive bonus as well, but that really goes without saying.

Prediction: Suzuki-gun win.

: While there’s a ten man tag featuring Cobb and Taichi the next night, I’ve decided to mention this one due to it being filled with more BOSJ competitors than not. Likewise with Dragon Lee vs Taiji and the RPG3k & Ibushi vs LIJ match above, this should be a solid showcase of talent set to take place in the near month long tournament. The fact that Minoru Suzuki’s in this is a massive bonus as well, but that really goes without saying. Will Ospreay + Dragon Lee vs Taiji Ishimori + ‘X’ (mystery partner) (May 4th):

I always find these matches featuring mystery tag team partners and opponents really exciting, even with the knowledge that they can so easily be anti-climactic. However, regardless of whether Taiji’s partner is underwhelming, the three men announced in this match already make this look like a thoroughly exciting high flying tag match. Ospreay being involved is also important for any newer fans who have yet to see him wrestle and want an idea of how good he is leading into the BOSJ, of which he’s arguably the favourite of the tournament.

Prediction: Ospreay + Dragon Lee.

These Wrestling Dontaku shows are live on NJPWWorld.com this Friday and Saturday, (May 3rd and May 4th) and though they aren’t the most all around appealing NJPW cards of 2019, there shouldn’t be any doubt that these will be enjoyable and worth watching.