NJPW Wrestling Dontaku night one live results: Nemeth vs. Tanahashi title match
NJPW’s two-night Wrestling Dontaku event kicks off today with a show headlined by an IWGP Global Championship bout.
Nic Nemeth will make his first defense of the IWGP Global Championship in the main event against company president Hirsohi Tanahashi.
A special singles match is in the co-main event position, with David Finlay facing Yota Tsuji.
NJPW World TV Champion Zack Sabre Jr. will defend his title against United Empire’s Jeff Cobb.
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley will team with Shota Umino and El Desperado against Ren Narita, EVIL, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Moxley defends his title against Narita in the night two main event.
LIJ’s Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi, and BUSHI face Gabe Kidd, Clark Connors, Drilla Moloney, and Gedo of Bullet Club War Dogs.
Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, and Tiger Mask take on KENTA, Chase Owens, and Taiji Ishimori.
Hikuleo, El Phantasmo, and Jado face Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls, and Kosei Fujita.
Taichi and Yuya Uemura take on Great-O-Khan and Callum Newman.
DOUKI and TAKA Michinoku face SHO and Yujiro Takahashi in the main card opener.
The pre-show kicks off at 4:30 a.m. Eastern time with Togi Makabe and Katsuya Murashima vs. Boltin Oleg and Shoma Kato.
Boltin Oleg & Shoma Kato defeated Togi Makabe & Katsuya Murashima
This pre-show match wasn’t anything special. Kato and Murashima looked fine but didn’t stand out. Like always, Oleg was presented strong and was a highlight here.
In the end, Oleg dropped Murashima to win the match for his team.
SHO & Yujiro Takahashi (House of Torture) defeated DOUKI & TAKA Michinoku (Just 5 Guys)
HoT started this match by rushing their opponents. As soon as J5Gs began to gain some footing, they took the action to the floor and retook their lead. From here, HoT maintained a strong lead for quite some time.
When J5G began to rally, Takahashi distracted the referee long enough to hit TAKA with his cane. Pimp Juice followed, leaving HoT with a win.
Taichi & Yuya Uemura (Just 5 Guys) defeated Great-O-Khan & Callum Newman (United Empire)
O-Khan and Uemura opened the match with a grappling showcase before tagging out to Taichi and Newman. After a short sequence between this pairing, O-Khan tagged back in, establishing a short lead before a two-sided knockdown forced a double tag.
Newman rushed Uemura, gaining a solid lead with fast offense. In the closing sequence, Newman tried for multiple finishing attempts. In the final moments, Uemura stuffed the OsCutter, and hit a sudden deadbolt suplex to win the match.
Guerrillas Of Destiny (El Phantasmo, Hikuleo & Jado) defeated TMDK (Kosei Fujita, Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste)
Hikuleo and Nicholls kicked things off with a striking battle. Hukuleo won out, but a match breakdown followed soon after. Eventually, Hikuleo retook the lead by taking down Nicholls and Haste.
Once ELP was tagged in, TMDK reversed the momentum. They triple-teamed ELP, gaining a strong lead. Before they could close the match, ELP rolled up Haste to score a quick win.
BULLET CLUB (Chase Owens, KENTA & Taiji Ishimori) defeated Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) & Tiger Mask
Before the opening bell, the BC trio took the fight to the floor. Once the match found its way to the ring, the babyfaces were in control for a short time before BC resorted to their normal tactics to reverse momentum.
Owens and TMIV had a fairly extensive back-and-forth, ending with a Tiger Driver nearfall. Once Owens kicked out, he dropped TMIV, leading to a match breakdown. Once the ring cleared, Owens hit at C-Trigger and package piledriver to win the match.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito) defeated BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Clark Connors, Drilla Moloney, Gabe Kidd & Gedo)
The War Dogs cleared the ring as soon as the match began, leading to a showdown between Moloney and Naito. Meanwhile, Kidd and Shingo began to fight deep into the crowd. Connors and Hiromu followed their example, nearly leading to a count-out early in the match. Back in the ring, the Dogs worked to isolate Hiromu from his team.
Shingo eventually tagged in to challenge Kidd, leading to a powerful exchange. Once they calmed down, LIJ was free to work on Gedo. After everyone got their lick in, BUSHI forced Gedo to submit with a figure four variation.
After the match, Kidd challenged Shingo to a fight on the outside. Shingo denied the impromptu fight, responding with, “See you tomorrow.”
House of Torture (EVIL, Ren Narita & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) defeated El Desperado, Jon Moxley & Shota Umino
HoT tried to rush the faces as the match began, but Moxley held them off. Once Umino was tagged in, HoT utilized their typical tactics to establish a lead.
Moxley and Narita eventually came to blows. Moxley dominated Narita, forcing Kanemaru to get involved. Moxley responded with a cutter before tagging in Desperado.
Desperado and Umino worked together to finish Kanemaru, but Narita distracted the referee. Dick Togo tried choking Desperado with his wire, but Moxley pulled him off. This led to a fight on the floor and a fully occupied official. Kanemaru then spit a mouthful of whiskey into Desperado’s eyes, bumped him into an exposed corner, and rolled him up to win the match for HoT.
After the match, HoT beat down Moxley, forcing Umino to make the save.
NJPW World Television Championship: Jeff Cobb defeated Zack Sabre Jr. (c)
This match was great, even if it fell apart slightly in the closing moments. This was built entirely around a rib injury, and they more than pulled it off.
In the opening exchange, ZSJ wrestled Cobb to the mat. Cobb responded post-rope break by taking ZSJ to the mat himself. Once Cobb proved capable, he began throwing ZSJ around the ring, establishing a significant lead.
A DDT from ZSJ opened the doop for a rally, but damage from Cobb’s offense was taking its toll on the champion. ZSJ managed to land a few strikes before hitting a suplex. Unfortunately for ZSJ, Cobb responded with a suplex of his own to retake the lead.
Cobb floored ZSJ before landing a moonsault for a nearfall. When Cobb tried to follow up, a desperate ZSJ landed a Zack Driver for a nearfall of his own. Once Cobb kicked out, he hoisted ZSJ to the top rope, but ZSJ transitioned to a sleeper from the corner. ZSJ then hit a mean powerbomb for a nearfall.
ZSJ tried for a kick, but Cobb reversed into a quick pin. Once ZSJ kicked out, the pair went back and forth until Cobb landed the F 5000. Cobb attempted a Tour of the Islands next, but ZSJ reversed. ZSJ then secured a submission on the mat, but Cobb managed to power through and hit Tour of the Islands. Cobb then pinned ZSJ to win the match.
For the first time this decade, Jeff Cobb is a singles champion in New Japan.
David Finlay defeated Yota Tsuji
Finlay established the match’s first lead by driving Tsuji into the barricade on the floor. Back in the ring, Finlay began to pick apart Tsuji with simplistic offense.
Tsuji eventually fired back with a splash and a rana, sending Finlay to the floor. A massive tope then sent Finlay up and over the first row of guard rails. Back in the ring, Tsuji utilized body scissors to cement his lead.
A dominator from Finlay placed him back in the driver’s seat. This was somewhat short-lived as Tsuji fired back with a backbreaker and a powerbomb for a nearfall. Tsuji then tried for his top rop curb stomp, but Finlay reversed into a cutter, buckle bomb, and oblivion for a false finish.
An inside cradle from Tsuji put Finlay back on the defense. Tsuji hit a curb stomp but collapsed right after, allowing Finlay to hold on. Finlay followed up with a collection of uppercuts.
A sudden knee from Tsuji opened the door for a rally. A powerbomb and curb stomp grounded Finlay long enough for Tsuji to land his top rope curb stomp.
When Finlay tried for Gene Blast, Gedo distracted him momentarily. Finlay hit a spear of his own, but Tsuji held on. Tsuji hit a quick spear before setting up for Gene Blast. When Tsuji tried for his finish, Finlay cut him off with a shillelagh strike. Finlay followed up with Overkill, his brainbuster knee strike variation, to win the match.
IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship: Nic Nemeth (c) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi
This match kicked off with a prolonged feeling-out process. Nemeth eventually gained the upper hand by working on Tanahashi’s leg. A big DDT at the 10-minute mark scored Nemeth a nearfall.
Tanahashi caught Nemeth with a few strikes and a senton to take the lead. This was short-lived, however, as a double cross body acted as a match reset.
Tanahashi hit a sling blade and a standing body press to set up the first High Fly Flow attempt of the match. He missed.
Nemeth tried for Danger Zone, but Tanahashi answered with Twist and Shout and a sling blade for a two count. This led to Tanahashi’s second High Fly Flow attempt. Nemeth reversed. This left Nemeth free to hit Danger Zone twice, winning the match and retaining his Global Championship.
During Nemeth’s celebration, David Finlay hit the ring to attack the champion. Nemeth fought back, forcing a break up. Nemeth then challenged Finlay for a title match tomorrow night.