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APR.13.2021

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Road to Wrestling Dontaku night 4 preview

Major tag match headlines in Korakuen Hall

 

 

 

Night four of the Road to Wrestling Dontaku will see us back in Korakuen Hall, as early eight man scrambles between Los Ingobernables De Japon and United Empire get boiled don to a more focused and intense direct tag team main event that should give an accurate preview of what to expect from major matches late in the month, and ultimately May 4 with the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at stake. 

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Main event: Los Ingobernables De Japon (Shingo Takagi & SANADA) vs United Empire (Will Ospreay & Aaron Henare)

Our main event sees the first time tag team combination of Aaron Henare with Will Ospreay against Shingo Takagi and SANADA. On April 26, Henare will take on SANADA in one on one action in Hiroshima, as the Ultimate Weapon seeks to continue making a mark with his new team after debuting with the United Empire at Sakura Genesis. There in Ryogoku, Henare won in impressive and commanding form against an LIJ trio, using his new Streets of Rage finisher to claim pinfall victory over Cold Skull, and immediately challenging SANADA to a singles match thereafter. 

Even more impressive at Ryogoku was the feat of Will Ospreay to become the first Briton to seize professional wrestling’s richest prize, the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. With Shingo Takagi becoming his first challenger on May 4 in Fukuoka at Dontaku, the two have had heated exchanges on all three nights of the Road to Dontaku thus far. Takagi eliminated Ospreay from the tour opening main event in Yokohama, but he and LIJ fell to United Empire the next two nights in Shizuoka and Korakuen. As each faction jockeys for position, who will gain the upper hand tonight? 

4th Match: Los Ingobernables De Japon (Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI) vs United Empire (Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan) 

As Aaron Henare counts down to his first singles test in the United Empire against SANADA in Hiroshima on April 26, Great-O-Khan and Tetsuya Naito are anticipating their main event clash that night in Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall. After the New Japan Cup final saw O-Khan isolate Naito’s knee en route to victory, and a post match assault at Sakura Genesis saw the damage further worsened, can Naito get some measure of revenge against O-Khan tonight? Meanwhile as Jeff Cobb awaits his next opportunity, he may be looking to show his strength against junior heavyweight BUSHI, much as he did Tuesday with a thunderous Tour of the Islands. Tonight, BUSHI will need all his speed and wiles to survive. 

3rd Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs BULLET CLUB (EVIL, Gedo, Yujiro Takahashi, Taiji Ishimori & KENTA)

A now familiar ten man lineup hits the ring for the third match of the night as Hiroshi Tanahashi joins CHAOS against the forces of BULLET CLUB. With Jay White absent from the tour until his May 3 NEVER Openweight Championship challenge to Tanahashi, the Ace had been content with utilising the Texas Cloverleaf (or, depending on the opponent, the J or GTO for Jado/Gedo Tap Out) to some success; all until April 13 saw EVIL turn out the lights on Toru Yano and allow Gedo to choke out the Ace. 

With voting currently taking place for their Satsuma no Kuni KOPW 2021 match, EVIL and Toru Yano are each trying to one up the other when it comes to the use of Yano’s hoods and EVIL (or Dick Togo’s) electrical skills. Just as Toru Yano had put a blindfold on Dick Togo as he closed on victory Tuesday, EVIL turned the Korakuen lights out and struck Yano allowing Togo to gain victory. What will the preferred delivery of darkness be on April 28? And what steps will be taken before NEVER 6-Man Tag team Championship action moves CHAOS and BULLET CLUB forward next week?

2nd Match: Suzuki-Gun (DOUKI, Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi) vs BULLET CLUB (Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Jado)

The second match of the evening sees BULLET CLUB and Suzuki-Gun trios face off once again as we count down toward May 3’s singles bouts between the members of Dangerous Tekkers and the Guerrillas of Destiny.Early success for Suzuki-Gun saw a pair of victories over the BULLET CLUB trio to start the tour, but Tuesday in Korakuen, Tanga Loa turned the tides with Apesh*t on DOUKI.  Which team can carry momentum through to Fukuoka?

1st Match: Tomoaki Honma, SHO & YOH vs Suzuki-Gun (Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)

Starting the action tonight in Korakuen will be another preview of IWGP Junior Heavyweight singles and tag team championship action for later in the tour. With Roppongi 3K defending their tag titles on April 28 in Kagoshima in a rematch against the former champions Desperado and Kanemaru, and YOH challenging Desperado for singles gold on May 4 at Dontaku, what does tonight have in store?

Tuesday in Korakuen, Kanemaru may have set the pace for their title bout, pulling the referee aside at just the right moment to kick SHO low and pick up the deciding pinfall. Now the tag champions Roppongi 3K need to grab an advantage that has eluded them thus far on the road with less than two weeks until the gold is on the line. 

Plus, Minoru Suzuki will relive a violent and furious battle with Tomoaki Honma from New Japan Cup!

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