NJPW Confirms Two New Title Bouts for Wrestling Dontaku

– NJPW has added two more title matchups for the upcoming Wrestling Dontaku card scheduled for May 3 in Fukuoka, Japan. Jeff Cobb will challenge Zack Sabre Jr. for the IWGP TV Championship. Also, KENTA defends the Strong Openweight Title against Hikuleo. Here’s the full announcement:

KENTA and Hikuleo, Cobb and ZSJ set for title encounters in Fukuoka

Two more title matches official for Dontaku

As Dontaku in the Fukuoka International Center May 3 gets ever closer to sellout status, two more championship matches have been added to the slate for what is sure to be a stunning event.

Backstage at Sakura Genesis April 8, Jeff Cobb responded to Zack Sabre Jr.’s proxy challenge on behalf of Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls to Aussie Open with a challenge of his own. Cobb wanted a shot at the NJPW World TV Championship, a challenge Sabre accepted as long as he got past Tom Lawlor at Capital Collision. Though it was by no means a guarantee for Sabre, who just survived a very game Filthy One, it was a win for the Briton, who will now defend his championship for a sixth time in under four months at Dontaku opposite Cobb.

Also set for Dontaku was a singles contest between Hikuleo and KENTA, made after KENTA rocked the big man with a STRONG Openweight Championship shot. A belt shot now leds to a shot for the belt, as after KENTA retained against Eddie Edwards this past weekend at Capital Collision, Hikuleo demanded that the grudge match become a championship affair. Who emerges with the gold in the first ever STRONG Championship match on Japanese soil?

Here is the updated lineup for next month’s NJPW Wrestling Dontaku card:

* IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: SANADA (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi
* NEVER Openweight Championship Match: Tama Tonga (c) vs. David Finlay
* NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship Match: Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & Ren Narita (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada, TBD & TBD
* NJPW World Television Championship Match: Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Jeff Cobb
* Strong Openweight Championship Match: KENTA vs. Hikuleo
* Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI vs. Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI
* Shota Umino, KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight vs. Aaron Henare, Francesco Akira & TJP
* Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste & Kosei Fujita vs. Great-O-Khan & Aussie Open
* Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Toru Yano & YOH vs. EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, SHO & Dick Togo