NEVER gold and Iron Fingers at stake in Fukuoka
The full card has been revealed for Wrestling Dontaku in Fukuoka’s International Center on May 3 and 4, with a major championship match headlining night one above only the second ever ladder match in NJPW history.
The main event will see Hiroshi Tanahashi defend the NEVER Openweight Championship against Jay White. As we approach Wrestle Grand Slam in Yokohama Stadium and Tokyo Dome, White has been obssessed with the idea of a grand slam of his own. The Switchblade has vowed to be the one and only wrestler to capture the IWGP United States, Intercontinental and Heavyweight Championships as well as the NEVER Openweight title; the one missing piece of the puzzle is currently over Tanahashi’s shoulder.
The Ace is yet to wear the openweight championship around his waist, having declared that he needs to show his resolve and dedication to the title first, by elevating it to a status similar or beyond that of the new IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. To do so, Tanahashi has said he needs to take fights with high level opponents that he’s never faced before. Familiarity with Jay White seemed to make the Ace hesitate to grant the Switchblade’s challenge, but White would argue that familiarity is one with defeat.
White has been consistently dominant against Tanahashi for the last several years, with a New Japan Cup victory the most recent Switchblade victory. Tanahashi’s confidence appeared to be rattled, until a Texas Cloverleaf, or ‘JTO’ forced jay to tap out Sunday at Sakura Genesis. The buoyed Ace quickly accepted White’s challenge, to a wry smile from the Switchblade; has Tanahashi played into his challenger’s hands, or can he finally overcome Jay White in Fukuoka?
Also at Dontaku, we will see the second ladder match in the history of New Japan Pro-Wrestling when Taichi faces Tama Tonga with Iron Fingers hanging high above the ring.
Dangerous Tekkers and the Guerrillas of Destiny have been at loggerheads since World Tag League, and it seems that the center of their dispute has been as much about the Iron Fingers From Hell as it has the IWGP Tag Team Championships. G.o.D have won each of the last three encounters with Zack Sabre Jr. and Taichi, but the last victory for the tag champions was via disqualification as Taichi, so furious at Tama Tonga’s control of the prized fingers he had inherited from the retired Takashi Iizuka, was overcome with emotion at finally taking control of them at new Beginning in Hiroshima.
When the metal hand again seemed to be a distraction for both Tama and Taichi at Sakura Genesis, referee Kenta Sato took the fingers away altogether and passed them to chairman Naoki Sugabayashi. To settle this issue once and for all, the fingers will be hung above the ring in Fukuoka and both men must fight to retrieve them. Should they do so, the match will be won, and the mysterious artifact can perhaps be consigned to history for good. Five years after Kenny Omega and Michael Elgin met in NJPW’s first ladder match for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, what could possibly be in store here in Fukuoka?
Taichi and Tonga’s tag team partners will also be in one on one action at Dontaku, with Tanga Loa wrestling Zack Sabre Jr. At Sakura Genesis, a European Clutch from ZSJ granted his Suzuki-Gun team victory over Tanga Loa, and Sabre was quick to assert his claim to an IWGP Tag Team Championship rematch. Yet Loa would state that the Briton was getting ahead of himself, and that G.o.D would only consider putting the titles up for grabs if ZSJ can beat him one on one first. Could singles victory lead to a tag challenge for Zack? Or after an impressive win against YOSHI-HASHI in Osaka this February, is Loa on a singles hot streak?
Plus, many more matches will see the top stars and factions jockey for position with Wrestle Grand Slam fast approaching! Wrestling Dontaku will be an unmissable start to the month of May!
