Spring tour hits Korakuen for free!
Fans will have a chance to watch NJPW action for absolutely gratis this Tuesday, as Road to Wrestling Dontaku comes to Korakuen Hall absolutely FREE! As action heats up in a long tour studded with big time matchups, some key previews are yours to experience with no sign up required on NJPW World!
Main event: Los Ingobernables De Japon (Shingo Takagi, SANADA, Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI) vs United Empire (Will Ospreay, Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb)
Headlining in Korakuen Hall, Los Ingobernables De Japon will take on the United Empire in eight man tag team action. Saturday in Yokohama the two teams face off in elimination warfare, but this time it will be the first fall that takes the match as we see previews of three big time singles matches later on in the tour. With SANADA facing Aaron Henare on April 26 in Hiroshima and Tetsuya Naito going one on one with Great-O-Khan the same night, all four will be looking to dictate the pace on the winding road to Dontaku. Meanwhile, every road is heading to Fukuoka, and Shingo Takagi’s challenge to IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay. The Dragon and the Commonwealth Kingpin are well familiar with one another by now, but will one be able to one up the other as the days tick down to destiny?
4th Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toru Yano vs Gedo & Dick Togo
Toru Yano and Hiroshi Tanahashi are also heading toward key matches on the Dontaku tour. On May 3, Tanahashi will defend his NEVER Openweight Championship against Switchblade Jay White, while Satsuma no Kuni will see Toru Yano defend his KOPW 2021 status on April 28 against EVIL.
One of the greatest concerns for the defending champions in both matches is the constant interfering presence of each challenger’s respective seconds. Dick Togo has been a constant thorn in pretty much everyone’s side for close to a year now in New Japan, but especially Toru Yano’s. In repeated matches against EVIL in Korakuen, Togo has turned out the lights on Yano, and not in a metaphorical sense; the Spoiler has literally shut off the lighting in the building to allow BULLET CLUB to get the jump on the master producer. Meanwhile Gedo is consistently a factor in Jay White’s corner, and one Tanahashi could certainly live without on May 3.
Tonight then, a significant opportunity for both men to dispose of any distractions come their tour ending title matches. On paper, Tasnahashi and Yano should be more than equipped to take out BULLET CLUB’s Far East Connection, but Togo and Gedo have decades worth of tricks up their sleeve, and are a dangerous combination indeed.
3rd Match: Tomoaki Honma, YOSHI-HASHI, Hirooki Goto & Tomohiro Ishii vs BULLET CLUB (EVIL, Taiji Ishimori, KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi)
Joined by Tomoaki Honma tonight, CHAOS’ NEVER 6-Man tag team Champions find themselves in a familiar spot against BULLET CLUB here tonight in eight man action. Next week in Korakuen, it’ll be time to put up or shut up when a trio of singles matches will then lead into the NEVER 6-Man titles being on the line April 20. But tonight a preview of those high stakes bouts. As KENTA continues to troll YOSHI-HASHI with the Headhunters stolen ceremonial staff, YOSHI-HASHI wants to reclaim both iron and metal, and will be driven to make a mark with his team tonight. After he sent YOSHI-HASHI tumbling over the top rope to the floor to be eliminated Saturday, KENTA doesn’t have the benefit of the over the top rule tonight, but will he have other tricks up his sleeve?
2nd Match: Suzuki-Gun (DOUKI, Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi) vs BULLET CLUB (Jado, Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa)
Second on the card, DOUKI and Dangerous Tekkers team up for Suzuki-Gun against IWGP Tag Team Champions Guerrillas of Destiny and Jado. It’s a familiar matchup through the first part of 2021, but it looks like this intense dispute over IWGP Tag Team Championships and the infamous Iron Fingers From Hell may be coming to a head. On May 3, Zack Sabre Jr will take on Tanga Loa one on one with an IWGP Tag Team title shot hanging in the balance, while Taichi will finally end his dispute with Tama Tonga over the Iron Fingers, which will be hanging from the ceiling in a ladder match. Which trio climbs the ladder to success tonight?
1st Match: Gabriel Kidd, SHO & YOH vs Suzuki-Gun (Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado)
Action gets started tonight with Roppongi 3K in a preview of their Satsuma no Kuni IWGP junior Heavyweight Championship defense against El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru. The two will team up with Gabriel Kidd as Minoru Suzuki joins the Suzuki-Gun side in what will be a violent start to the evening. After Kidd lost in the tour opening bout to Yota Tsuji in Yokohama, can he find a way to recover against intense competition? In Yokohama Saturday, a post match attack on YOH saw Desperado and Kanemaru attack both legs of the recent returnee, a pair of figure fours further damaging the surgically repaired left knee. Will he have an answer tonight?
