New Japan Pro-Wrestling announced the lineup for NJPW Wrestling Dontaku night one on May 3rd.
The night will be headlined by a Dogpound Steel Cage match pitting Bullet Club WAR DOGS against House of Torture.
WAR DOGS will be represented by David Finlay, Gabe Kidd, Drilla Moloney, Clark Connors, and Taiji Ishimori. SANADA, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, SHO, Ren Narita, and EVIL make up team House of Torture.
The co-main event sees Shingo Takagi against Shota Umino. In a special singles match, Hiroshi Tanahashi takes on Zack Sabre Jr.
Also on the card, El Phantasmo teams with Jado against Konosuke Takeshita and a mystery partner.
Wrestling Dontaku has a significant place in the memories of fans for the 2013 birth of BULLET CLUB. 12 years on from its founding, the Club has been shaken to its foundations with a civil war between the War Dogs and HOUSE OF TORTURE, a war that will see its final battleground set as the Dogpound Steel Cage.
David Finlay issued the challenge for the violent bout after SANADA turned his back on an already shaky alliance with the War Dogs, joining H.O.T. This violent, dangerous bout sees entrants from each side join the ring until all ten members are involved, and one pinfall or submission ends the anything goes bout. The only other Dogpound Steel cage match saw the War Dogs emerge victorious over United Empire in a bout that permanently changed all involved in it. Finlay was victorious that night and Will Ospreay left NJPW in the aftermath; who will score the decisive final shot in this war?
Special singles action will see Shota Umino take on Shingo Takagi. Windy City Riot saw Umino challenge Hirooki Goto for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, but the New Japan Cup runner up struggled in the face of champion Goto in Chicago. Having to rebuild once again, the Roughneck will take on Takagi, having defeated the Dragon in the New Japan Cup semifinals. For Umino, victory is essential in a year of hot and cold; for Takagi a win could propel himself into top title contention ahead of Resurgence later in May and Dominion in June.
Hiroshi Tanahashi's Final Road will continue with a Kinship match against Zack Sabre Jr. Tanahashi vs ZSJ has been one of the Ace's most significant rivalries in recent years, and this is one of a very significant few matches that has graced both Madison Square Garden and the Tokyo Dome. When it did take place in the Tokyo Dome back at Wrestle Kingdom 18, Tanahashi upset Sabre for the NJPW World TV Championship; will the Briton get his win back in likely his last match against the NJPW President?
Night one of Dontaku will also see El Phantasmo and Jado face Konosuke Takeshita and a mystery partner. Backstage at Windy City Riot, ELP issued a challenge to NEVER Openweight Champion Takeshita for Resurgence on may 9 in Ontario California. No sooner had the challenge been issued though then Rocky Romero, who'd had a tough time teaming with rival Phantasmo earlier in the night, jumped ELP from behind. Will this lead to an alliance with the Alpha, or will Takeshita bring a different partner to Fukuoka?
Fans can check out the full lineup for the show by clicking here.
You can find results from around the wrestling world at Fightful's results section.
