Jon Moxley to Headline NJPW Wrestling Dontaku: His First IWGP Challenger, Match Card
Fresh off his win at NJPW Windy City Riot, newly-crowned IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley is now slated for his first title defense as a part of New Japan Pro-Wrestling's two-night Wrestling Dontaku event.
As revealed by NJPW, the Wrestling Dontaku event will emanate from the Fukuoka Convention Center in Fukuoka, Japan, on Friday, May 3 and Saturday, May 4, respectively. Four matches have been announced for the first night, while night two's card also boasts four contests.
Night One
One day after winning the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship, Nic Nemeth challenged Hiroshi Tanahashi to face him for the title once he recovered from an ankle injury. As such, NJPW later announced that Nemeth would defend his title against Tanahashi at the Sakura Genesis event on April 6.
Unfortunately for Tanahashi, NJPW later determined his injury to be more serious than they initially thought, prompting them to postpone this IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship match. In the meantime, Nemeth pivoted his attention to NJPW Windy City Riot, where he would be tested against former NEVER Openweight Champion Tomohiro Ishii.
After Nemeth conquered Ishii, NJPW confirmed that the title match between Nemeth and Tanahashi was back on and scheduled for night one of Wrestling Dontaku.
Elsewhere on the card, NJPW World Television Champion Zack Sabre Jr. will defend his title against Jeff Cobb with a 15-minute time limit. Former IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion David Finlay will also be in action as he takes on Yota Tsuji in singles competition.
Night one of Wrestling Dontaku will also see an explosive six-man tag team match, as House of Torture's EVIL, Ren Narita, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru battle Shota Umino, El Desperado, and Jon Moxley.
Night Two
Following his tag team outing on night one, Jon Moxley will defend his newly won IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Ren Narita in the main event of Wrestling Dontaku night two.
Moxley initially offered his protege Shota Umino the opportunity to be his first challenger. However, before Umino could respond, Narita attacked Moxley with his reinforced pushup bar, proclaiming his interest in challenging for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.
Two other titles will be on the line on night two, the first being NEVER Openweight Championship. In this title match, Shingo Takagi will be defending against Gabe Kidd. Meanwhile, IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Bishamon (Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI) will put their titles on the line against KENTA and Chase Owens.
In non-title competition, Taichi and SANADA will be pitted against a pair of night one opponents -- Nic Nemeth and Hiroshi Tanahashi.
