On a night that saw the participants in the Best of the Super Juniors 26 competition revealed, Korakuen hall was alive with anticipation. Almost as if wanting to live up to the evening’s sense of anticipation, the wrestlers of New Japan Pro-Wrestling rose to the occasion. The road to Wrestling Dontaku continues to heat-up on the second of three nights at the legendary home of Japanese Pro-wrestling.

Full match results and photos here

*****

7th match – Special Tag match

Chaos (YOH & Kazuchika Okada) defeated L.I.J. (BUSHI & SANADA) when Okada pinned BUSHI after a Rainmaker

In advance of their championship defences (IWGP Heavyweight Championship on May 4th at Wrestling Dontaku and IWGP Jr Tag Team Championship on April 26th at Aki no Kuni) two of Chaos’ brightest stars took on their upcoming challengers in a special tag match. YOH showed particular skill and daring when he performed a Tope Con Hilo outside of the ring, destroying both opponents and damaging his own team mate in the process. The match was decided after a Rainmaker laid BUSHI flat on the mat, ending Chaos’ losing streak against L.I.J. 

6th match

L.I.J. (Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito & EVIL) defeated SHO, Kota Ibushi and Tomohiro Ishii when Naito pinned SHO after a Destino

In another match that was a preview of upcoming matches (Special Singles match on May 4th at Wrestling Dontaku and IWGP Jr Tag Team Championship on April 26th at Aki no Kuni), Chaos teamed up with Kota Ibushi, who had recently been accepted into the NJPW Main unit to face L.I.J. Naito and Ibushi also squared-up in advance of their upcoming match for the IC title. After Naito pinned SHO, EVIL and Ishii continued to fight outside of the ring.

5th match

Dragon Lee, Ryusuke Taguchi & Hirooki Goto defeated BULLET CLUB (Taiji Ishimori, Hikuleo & Jay White) when Goto pinned Hikuleo after a GTR

After Jay had defeated Goto with a Bladerunner the night before, the fierce warrior seemed particularly fired-up. With their upcoming special singles match (Wrestling Hi no Kuni, April 29th) Jay and Goto have been battling back and forth, not just in the ring, but in their post-match comments as well. Taiji Ishimori and Dragon Lee also have an upcoming showcase on May 3rd (Wrestling Dontaku, night 1) where the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship will be on the line. Goto’s renewed fighting spirit lead him to victory over Hikuleo, who he pinned after a GTR

Between the 4th and 5th matches the participants in the Best of the Super Juniors competition were announced. You can read more about the entrants here

4th match

Mikey Nicholls, Juice Robinson, Toru Yano & Togi Makabe defeated BULLET CLUB (Chase Owens, Bad Luck Fale, Tanga Loa & Tama Tonga) when Mikey pinned Chase after a Mikey Bomb

In advance of the upcoming IWGP Tag Team Championship on 29th April (Wrestling Hi no Kuni), BULLET CLUB decided to focus their aggression on Makabe. However, the main unit and Chaos team managed to recover and the match ended when Mikey reversed his loss the previous night, pinning Chase Owens. Once again, Yano stole the IWGP Tag Team Belts after the match.

3rd match

Suzuki Gun – ZTT group (TAKA Michinoku, Taichi and Zack Sabre Junior) defeated Rocky Romero, YOSHI-HASHI and Tomoaki Honma when Taichi tapped out Rocky with a Holy Emperor’s Crucifix Tomb

Despite Honma’s team’s best efforts, it was not enough for them to be successful in the match. Taichi proved the deciding factor when he pinned Rocky Romero. The sadistic Zack decided to focus on YOSHI-HASHI and cause him as much pain as possible.

2nd match

Suzuki Gun (Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and El Desperado) defeated Ren Narita, Tiger Mask and Jyushin Thunder Liger when Suzuki pinned Narita after a Gotch-style piledriver

The rivalry between Liger and Suzuki continued to heat-up as the two entered into some vicious exchanges. The match was won by El Desperado when he performed the Pinch Loco on Narita.

1st match

Toa Henare, Yuji Nagata and Satoshi Kojima defeated Yuya Uemura, Yota Tsuji and Shota Umino when Henare pinned Uemura after a TOA Bottom

Although they were desperately looking for an upset, the match was decided by Henare, who won with a Toa Bottom.