Csonka’s NJPW Wrestling Dontaku Day II Preview

WELCOME back to column time with Larry! Today, I am going to discuss and preview tonight’s NJPW Wrestling Dontaku Day II event. As always, I’ll be breaking the show down mach by match. Feel free to make your picks in the comment section. Thanks for reading! It’s wrestling, we love it and will disagree. The only rules are “have a take, be respectful, and don’t be a dick.” How we got here…

– NJPW Road to Wrestling Dontaku Review 4.13.18.
– NJPW Road to Wrestling Dontaku Review 4.14.18.
– NJPW Road to Wrestling Dontaku Review 4.23.18.
– NJPW Road to Wrestling Dontaku Review 4.24.18.
– NJPW Road to Wrestling Dontaku Review 4.27.18.
– NJPW Wrestling Hi No Kuni Review.

Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask, & Jushin Liger vs. Shota Umino, Ren Narita, & Yuya Uemura: I tend to really enjoy these matches, the lions always show great fire as they battle the fun loving veterans. It’s a nice match to kick off the show with, it should be fun and have some good energy to it. But you know the drill, it is young lions vs. veterans; the lions will put up a good fight, but ultimately lose a fun opener. WINNERS: Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask, & Jushin Liger

Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Yuji Nagata & Tomoyuki Oka: Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi are an overall solid Bullet Club “b-team” tag unit, usually putting on solid matches, but nothing special. But they take a lot of the falls when Bullet Club loses, so I see them winning here to give them some credibility back, while Nagata and Oka will certainly put up a good fight. Oka will work really hard to impress his dojo dad, but he’s taking the fall here. WINNERS: Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi

Sho, Yoh, & Rocky Romero vs. Taka Michinoku, Iizuka, & Taichi: Oh sweet Jess Christ, I’m stuck in the worst version of Groundhog Day EVER. These teams have faces off several times on the road to Dontaku tour. The matches are all the same. Tons of brawling, Iizuka biting everyone, no real wrestling to be found, Sho and Yoh looking like prelim geeks, Romero getting too much shine and then a completely bumble fuck style ending. I have absolutely no hopes for this match to be anything worth my time, I just want Sho, Yoh, & Rocky to win and move far away from these guys. WINNERS: Sho, Yoh, & Rocky Romero

Toa Henare & Togi Makabe vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano: The feud continues! These two teams have had fun matches, with the Ishii & Henare dynamic carrying the, and they finally had their singles match, which was a blast. Makabe & Yano have had issues in these matches, and have played off of each other well. I’d love to see Henare pick up a pin here, but it feels as if Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano are being positioned for a tag title shot, and will likely win. I’m looking forward to this one, as I love Ishii & Henare beating the shit out of each other. WINNERS: Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano

David Finlay, Juice Robinson, & Michael Elgin vs. Hirooki Goto, Jay White, & YOSHI-HASHI: This is a similar match to night one, but has been trimmed from a ten-man tag to a six-man. White and Finlay will continue their previous issues, because these lads are destined to fight forever. Juice will be looking for revenge on Goto, but like night one, this is seemingly here to set the stage for an Elgin title shot. They started the tease to Elgin vs. Goto, but fucking Taichi got involved for no reason. I am not interested in a Taichi title shot, and certainly hope that they don’t book a shitty triple threat. If they have to give Taichi a shot at Goto, then they should transition Elgin to a US Title feud, since White has no dance partner for Dominion at this time. WINNERS: David Finlay, Juice Robinson, & Michael Elgin

Hiromu Takahashi, BUSHI, EVIL, SANADA, & Tetsuya Naito vs. Desperado, Kanemaru, Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr, & Minoru Suzuki: I have Suzuki-gun winning on night one, and believe that the likely build to a Naito vs. Sabre match will also be the main highlight of this match. The LIJ vs. Suzuki-gun main player matches and interactions have been very strong, and following Hi No Kuni, it feels as if the juniors will keep feuding over the junior tag titles. They will likely split the matches on these two shows, I have Suzuki-gun winning night one, and if that’s the case, LIJ should win on night two. WINNERS: Hiromu Takahashi, BUSHI, EVIL, SANADA, & Tetsuya Naito

Tanga Loa, Tana Tonga, Bad Luck Fale, Kota Ibushi, & Kenny Omega vs. Cody, Adam page, Marty Scurll, & The Young Bucks: This one is really interesting, as it is not only the continuation of the Bullet Club civil war, but on the previous day’s show, Never Openweight Six-Man Champions Tanga Loa, Tama Tonga, & Bad Luck Fale face off with Marty Scurll & the Young Bucks. Even if we don’t get a title change the day before, the drama level will be high as Cody & Kenny will enter the fray. They have done a really good job with the angle as a whole and have made me very interested. It really feel like something big will happen here no matter who wins, but I really don’t have a hot take on what it is at this time, but they have my interest. WINNERS: Tanga Loa, Tana Tonga, Bad Luck Fale, Kota Ibushi, & Kenny Omega

Champion Will Ospreay vs. KUSHIDA: To me, the interesting thing about this match is that KUSHIDA didn’t go on some big tear to earn a title shot, because it was Ospreay that demanded it. Ospreay is obsessed with securing his legacy, he beat Liger, he overcame Scurll again to prove it wasn’t a fluke and is looking to do the same with KUSHIDA. This is because he spent the better part of two years playing KUSHIDA’s man bitch and getting beat like a drum before finally defeating KUSHIDA, Ospreay is trying to rid himself of the ghosts from his past. I thought their 2007 BOTSJ finals match was amazing, 5 stars, and in the top 4, matches from last year. Ospreay remains one of the most innovative juniors working today and is constantly improving his game. KUSHIDA is the ace of the juniors, and the most well rounded performer in that division and one of the very best wrestlers period. These two are top tier performers and always deliver in the big matches, and with their history of working together; I expect much of the same here. Unless they decide to throw us a curveball, I expect Ospreay to retain and continue on his legacy-building run, which will once again set up KUSHIDA as a favorite heading into the BOTSJ tournament. WINNER: Will Ospreay

Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi: There were a lot of unhappy people when this match was announced, complaining about “another Okada vs. Tanahashi” match, calling it lazy, but I disagree big time. If you pay attention, this is no throw way match, it makes the most sense right now and plays not only into their established rivalry, but it’s coming at the right time. Okada has tied Tanahashi’s IWGP Title defense record, and with his next win, breaks it. Tanahashi wants to put a stop to Okada overtaking his legacy, and to overtake him in their overall feud; it’s completely logical and makes the most sense that Tanahashi is the man to try and stop him. But Okada feels disrespected, and thinks that Tanahashi doesn’t deserve the shot, which has led to him being a complete asshole in their set up matches, which is for the best as asshole Okada is the best Okada. In my opinion, Tanahashi vs. Okada is one of the best one on one feuds of all time, and that only adds to the build for this match. That and the title defense story makes this feel like one of the most important matches of the year for me. I suppose a Tanahashi win isn’t completely out of the question, but I just don’t see it. NJPW has been completely invested in Okada as the new ace, he’s having great matches, and selling out venues with ease; there is no sign of fatigue in the Japanese paying, which was a concern of mine when he beat Naito. I expect Okada to retain and to head to Domination as the undisputed ace of the company. WINNER: Kazuchika Okada

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– End Scene.

– Thanks for reading.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”