Csonka’s NJPW Wrestling Dontaku (Night One) Preview

WELCOME back to column time with Larry! Today, I am going to discuss and preview the NJPW Wrestling Dontaku (Night One) event, which is headlined by two title matches and a big tag match ahead of night two. So today, I will break down and preview the show; 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.”

Tomoaki Honma, Shota Umino, & Ren Narita vs. Toa Henare, Yota Tsuji, & Yuya Uemura: These six have interacted a lot on the tour in various singles and tag matches. Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura are good and are starting to show more fire, while Umino remains top of the class with Narita close behind. This should be a fine start to the show, and while I think Henare needs the win more, he’s paired with the junior lions, who are destined to fail here. WINNER: Tomoaki Honma, Shota Umino, & Ren Narita

YOSHI-HASHI, Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask IV, & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado, & TAKA Michinoku: This will be the usual Suzuki-gun battling unified babyfaces match, and if I were a betting man and I am, I see Suzuki-gun attacking prior to the match to take their traditional advantage. One thing about the tour is that Suzuki-gun has been very successful, as it feels as if they have made an effort to rebuild the credibility of the stable. I think that the theme continues here, with Suzuki-gun picking up another big win. WINNER: Suzuki-gun

Togi Makabe, Toru Yano, & Will Ospreay vs. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Hikuleo: Makabe & Yano just lost the tag title shot at Hi No Kuni, while Ospreay is looking to be heated up for BOSJ. Makabe & Yano will be looking for revenge as NJOW try to showcase Ospreay here, and with Hikuleo involved, he’s likely eating the pin as the babyfaces win. WINNER: Togi Makabe, Toru Yano, & Will Ospreay

Kota Ibushi, SHO, & YOH vs. Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI, & Shingo: This is the continuation of the build to Naito & Ibushi’s rematch, which was amped up following Naito’s challenge and Ibushi demanding to be put against him for the rest of the tour. The LIJ vs. CHAOS/Ibushi matches really carried the tour in terms of consistent and quality wrestling, and that should continue here. LIJ has dominated in terms of wins, and I think that continues here as they will likely split the two matches. WINNER: Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI, & Shingo

Hirooki Goto, Juice Robinson, & Mikey Nicholls vs. Jay White, Bad Luck Fale, & Chase Owens: These six have been intertwined all tour long, working many tag matches, Juice defeating Fale to retain the US title, and then the Nicholls vs. Fale, Juice vs. Owens, and Goto vs. White singles matches at Hi No Kuni (Fale beat Nicholls & White beat Goto, while Juice defeated Owens). This feels like a chance for the babyfaces to get some revenge and pickup a win, following their overall disappointments at Hi No Kuni. WINNER: Hirooki Goto, Juice Robinson, & Mikey Nicholls

Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii vs. SANADA & EVIL: This is the continued build to the Okada vs. SANADA & Ishii vs. EVIL matches on night two. They have been building to the matches through multi-man tags, with fun spots between SANADA & Okada while Ishii & EVIL have been mauling each other with vicious, never-ending striking exchanges. While I think that the SANADA & Okada rematch is coming way too soon, I think that they have done a good job of building to it on the Dontaku tour. While Okada vs. SANADA will likely be great; I am honestly looking forward to EVIL vs. Ishii more. This tag has potential too be really great as the final chapter ahead of the singles matches. WINNER: Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii

NEVER Openweight Champion Jeff Cobb defending against Taichi: Prior to the G1 Supercard event. Taichi pinned then NEVER Openweight Champion Will Ospreay in a tag match, earning him a title shot. Ospreay lost the title to Cobb, but NJPW is still honoring Taichi’s title shot here. Taichi has delivered as a single in three matches, with Naito, Tanahashi, & Ishii. It’s not that Taichi is a bad wrestler, it’s just that they present him as too much shitty, stalling, cheating heel instead of allowing Dangerous T out like in the matches I mentioned. If we got more of that Taichi, I don’t think most people would mind him and I’d surely find him more tolerable. I see no reason for Cobb to lose here, as I think a short run with the title really ups his stock in NJPW. Cobb has been having a great year, and if Taichi can bring the fire like he did in his NJ Cup match with Ishii, this could be good. I hope that’s what we get and that Cobb retains. WINNER: Champion Jeff Cobb

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Dragon Lee defending against Taiji Ishimori: And now we come to our main event, with Champion Dragon Lee defending against former champion Taiji Ishimori. Lee won the title at the G1 Supercard event, pinning Bandido in a three-way. With Ishimori not taking the fall, the rematch was the most likely result, and make sense. One aspect of the story that commentary has been playing up on the tour is that Lee wants to face Takahashi when he returns from injury to renew their rivalry. But they have also speculated that Lee could be looking past Ishimori to get there and that it may cost him here. These two guys are great and have had some great interactions on the tour, which makes me feel that we’re in for something great here. A title change wouldn’t surprise me at all, but I feel ill advised at this time. Lee is a fresh face and I feel he should hold the title for a bit longer. But again, I wouldn’t be surprised if we get a title change here. WINNER: Champion Dragon Lee

– End Scene.

– Thanks for reading.

The 411 on Wrestling Podcast returns to the 411 Podcasting Network for episode 15. On the show, 411’s Larry Csonka is joined by Jeremy Lambert Jr III. Today, the guys will review the 2019 NWA Crockett Cup (Jeremy was live at the event) & Impact Rebellion PPV events. The show is approximately 130-minutes long.

* Intro
* NWA Crockett Cup 2019 Review: 6:40
* Impact Rebellion PPV Review: 75:00

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