New Champions Crowned At NJPW Wrestling Dontaku

Plenty of new champions at NJPW Wrestling Dontaku

Aidan Gibbons smiling in front of a green screen in an Adidas hoodie

May 1, 2022

Hiroshi Tanahashi US Title win Wrestling Dontaku 2022.jpg

While Kazuchika Okada would successfully defend the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of today's Wrestling Dontaku show from the PayPay Dome, several new champions were crowned elsewhere on the card.

Wrestling Dontaku was ultimately a huge night for Bullet Club on the nine-year anniversary of the faction's formation.

In the fifth match on today's card, Chase Owens and Bad Luck Fale defeated Chaos' YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto, and United Empire's Jeff Cobb and Great-O-Khan to win the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships.

Owens picked up the win for his team following a Rocket Launcher Elbow Drop to Hirooki Goto, which ended Cobb and Great-O-Khan's reign after just 22 days.

Taiji Ishimori then added to Bullet Club's big night later in the show as he defeated El Desperado to become a three-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. Desperado's hubris ultimately cost him as he went for a second Pinche Loco only to have Ishimori reverse it into a Bone Lock for the submission win.

Bullet Club did lose one piece of gold at Wrestling Dontaku, though, as former BC member Tama Tonga exacted a measure of revenge on House Of Torture's EVIL to win the NEVER Openweight Title, pinning The King Of Darkness after a Gun Stun.

Tama didn't have long to celebrate, though, as he was suddenly laid out from behind by the returning Good Brothers, with Karl Anderson revealing his intentions to challenge Tonga for the NEVER Openweight Title at a later date.

In the fourth and final title change at Wrestling Dontaku, Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Tomohiro Ishii for the vacant IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship.

Ishii connected with his Vertical Drop Brainbuster during the contest but Tanahashi kicked out and later followed up with a High Fly Flow for the win to become a three-time IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion.

The next challenger for the gold was then revealed as Juice Robinson, who claimed he was done with NJPW, attacked Tanahashi from behind and joined Bullet Club.

Full results from Wrestling Dontaku are as follows:

  • Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi, & TAKA Michinoku def. BUSHI, Shingo Takagi, & Shiro Koshinaka
  • Hiromu Takahashi def. YOH
  • Tanga Loa def. Yujiro Takahashi
  • Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato (c) def. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI - IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships
  • Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale def. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI, and Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb (c) - IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships
  • Tama Tonga def. EVIL (c) - NEVER Openweight Championship
  • Taiji Ishimori def. El Desperado (c) - IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship 
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Tomohiro Ishii - IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship
  • Kazuchika Okada (c) def. Tetsuya Naito - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship

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