As the Wrestling Dontaku series thunders towards its conclusion in Fukuoka, the tour made a stop in Japan’s Southern-most city. This night was final night of the Heisei era and the historic night was marked by another typically spellbinding performance from New Japan’s roster.
Check out the full results and match photos here!
*****
7th match: Kota Ibushi, SHO, YOH, Tomohiro Ishii & Kazuchika Okada defeated Los Ingobernables De Japon (Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI & Shingo Takagi) when Ibushi pinned BUSHI after a Kamigoye
Ending L.I.J’s remarkable winning streak in spectacular fashion, the Golden Star was crowned as the final victor of the Heisei era. The match featured previews for the two main events on the final day of Wrestling Dontaku (EVIL vs Ishii – Special Singles Match & Okada vs SANADA – IWGP Heavyweight Championship match). Ibushi, who is from Kagoshima prefecture, was definitely the crowd favourite and he finally overcame another gruelling war to pull off the Kamigoye.
6th match: Dragon Lee, Will Ospreay, Juice Robinson & Hirooki Goto defeated BULLET CLUB (Taiji Ishimori, Chase Owens, Gedo & Jay White) when Juice pinned Gedo after a Pulp Friction
With the two sides fighting hard, it was the Hontai/Chaos team that emerged victorious. Fresh off his defeat in Wrestling Hi no Kuni, Hirooki Goto didn’t seem to miss a beat and was aggressive in seeking out Jay White. Taiji Ishimori for his part was looking very sharp ahead of his upcoming championship match on May 3rd (IWGP Jr Heavyweight Championship). Juice and Ospreay in particular looked to be in good form as the former emerged the victor after his Pulp Friction.
5th match: Suzuki Gun (TAKA Michinoku, Taichi & Minoru Suzuki) defeated Jeff Cobb, YOSHI-HASHI & Toa Henare when Taichi tapped out Henare with his Holy Emperor’s Crucifix Tomb.
Ahead of their match in Fukuoka on the 3rd, Jeff Cobb and Taichi were particularly aggressive towards each other. The match ended when Taichi transitioned from his “Tensho Jujihyo” thrust kick into his “Holy Emperor’s Crucifix Tomb” causing the Maori man to tap out. After the match the Heel Master, Yoshinobu Kanemaru blindsided Cobb with his patented “Whiskey Surprise” and Taichi laid him on the mat with a “Tensho Jujiho”
4th match: Tomoaki Honma, Mikey Nicholls, Toru Yano & Togi Makabe defeated BULLET CLUB (Hikuleo, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Bad Luck Fale) when Mikey pinned Hikuleo after a Mikey Bomb.
Mikey managed to avenge his loss the previous night to Fale as he ended up pinning the giant Hikuleo after his Mikey Bomb. In doing so, he managed to further heat up the rivalry.
3rd match: Jyushin Thunder Liger & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Suzuki Gun (Taka Michinoku & El Desperado) when Taguchi pinned TAKA after a Dodon.
In the third match Taguchi emerged victorious, gaining momentum ahead of the Best of The Super Juniors.
2nd match: Ren Narita & Rocky Romero defeated Yuya Uemura & Tiger Mask when Rocky pinned Uemura after a Sliced Bread II.
Rocky also managed to gain momentum going into Best of the Super Juniors, defeating young lion Yuya Uemura.
1st match: Shota Umino defeated Yota Tsuji when Umino pinned Tsuji with a Fisherman’s Suplex
Shota was the victor here, pinning fellow Young Lion with his new finishing move.
