Man, I am sick as a dog, which I know because my dog just came over and was like, “I know sick, and you, my friend, are sick.” Uh, now that I think about it, maybe I’m sicker than I thought. Regardless, here’s a look at the second night of this year’s Wrestling Dontaku from Fukuoka.

Masatora Yasuda vs. Taisei Nakahara

Nakahara is in his hometown, although I don’t think that’s going to help him. Yasuda seems to be bulking up a bit, which might suggest that he’s beginning to prepare for an excursion – it’s been almost two years since his debut, so it’s certainly time to start thinking about next steps with him. Both guys seem to be working on their babyface fire, although Nakahara is so small that it looks a bit ridiculous coming from him. This is, as you would no doubt expect, a pretty basic match, which Yasuda wins with a Boston Crab.

NJPW World TV Championship: Konosuke Takeshita (c) vs. Chase Owens [House of Torture]

CW: Chase’s music. The belt still is not present, but Owens doesn’t seem to have it. Owens jumps Takeshita during his entrance, then, shortly thereafter, blows a spot where I’m pretty sure he was supposed to take a back drop over the barricade. In the ring, the match starts with Takeshita controlling with headlocks, but Owens takes over by kicking the top rope into Takeshita’s throat during a rope break. Owens gives Takeshita a snapmare driver on the apron for two, then gets one with a lariat. Takeshita regains control with a clothesline, then gets two with an exploder suplex. They have a striking battle; Owens takes the advantage and hits the C Trigger for two. Takeshita reverses a lariat attempt and gets a brainbuster, although Owens bails when he tries for Raging Fire. Takeshita continues to control on the floor, but after he tosses Owens back in the ring, Owens takes the ref and Yujiro Takahashi hits Takeshita with his cane. Owens gets two with High Noon to absolutely zero reaction. Owens goes for the Last Testament, but Takeshita fights out and the ref gets bumped in the process. Takahashi attacks Takeshita and Owens prepares to hit Takeshita with the branding iron, but Shota Umino makes the save. In response, SHO, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Dick Togo, Ren Narita and, eventually, Don Fale run in and attack Umino, but Takeshita covers up Umino. Toru Yano, Tiger Mask, YOH, Master Wato and Aaron Wolf run in to help the faces, and it’s essentially a preview of the 10-man that will take place later in the show. Takeshita does a tope con hilo onto the House, and the Hontai crew drags the House to the back. Takeshita goes for a Blue Thunder Bomb on Owens, but Owens hits him with one of his spurs for a two count. Owens goes for the Last Testament again, but Takeshita fights out and hits a pair of Power Drive knees, followed by Raging Fire for the pin. However, the belt is still missing.

After the match, a video plays featuring baby-mask-and-tuxedo guy, who then appears in the ring with the belt in a bag. He hits Takeshita with the belt, then removes the mask to reveal that he is, in fact, SANADA, and he leaves with the belt.

It should also be noted that during the post-match press conference, Takeshita asked to join Hontai and was accepted into the main unit. 

What’s next? Takeshita has a slightly higher-profile opponent at AEW Double or Nothing 2026 in Queens, New York, on May 24 – Kazuchika Okada.

Ryusuke Taguchi & Tetsuya Matsumoto vs. Gedo & Daiki Nagai [Unbound Co.]

Nagai still has the Young Lion music, but he has his own entrance video and is now sporting short tights with an Unbound Co. logo on his ass that do a slightly better job of hiding how short his legs are. Nagai steps to Taguchi before the match, and the two start the match with a mat wrestling exchange before transitioning to Taguchi’s more typical comedy stylings with a lengthy pass-through spot. Gedo tags in and more comedy ensues. After a double-down spot, both Young Lions tag in. After some double-team moves, Matsumoto gets Nagai in the Boston Crab, but Nagai makes it to the ropes. Nagai gets a near-fall on Matsumoto with a spinebuster, and then finishes him with a diving headbutt. I still get chills seeing guys use that move, but it’s been so long since the rash of broken necks it contributed to that I guess the younger generation is going to have to learn for itself. After the match, Nagai cuts a promo promising to run through A Block in the Best of the Super Juniors. Good luck, young man.

What’s next? Taguchi and Nagai face each other on night 1 of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament on May 14 at Korakuen Hall.

Shota Umino & Tomaki Honma vs. Knockout Brothers (Yuto-Ice & OSKAR) [Unbound Co.]

Honma gives it one more try, although I think the prevailing evidence suggests that he might simply be barking up the wrong tree. Honma starts against Yuto and briefly gains the advantage, but misses the Kokeshi. After a heat segment, Honma avoids the Bomboclaat knee strike and hits a lariat before tagging in Umino, who gains the advantage on OSKAR with a Dragon Screw into an STF. Umino attempts a tornado DDT on OSKAR but gets caught, and the two go back and forth for a few minutes before Umino tags in Honma. Honma misses the Kokeshi again, but manages to hit Yuto with a headbutt as the champs try to set up K.O.B. Umino gets the tornado DDT on OSKAR, and then Honma and Umino hit a double Kokeshi for two. Honma hits OSKAR with a launching headbutt for two, then gets a couple of near-falls with roll-ups, but OSKAR eventually puts him out with the Nightmare Sleeper. Bless Honma, but he’s really not moving very well these days.

Aaron Wolf, Toru Yano, Tiger Mask, YOH & Master Wato vs. Ren Narita, Don Fale, Yujiro Takahashi, SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru [House of Torture]

Just one more House match this weekend; come on, you can do it, Mike. The House jumps Wolf during his entrance, not surprisingly. Gino Gambino compares Fale’s technical ability to that of Pegasus Kid, which now unfortunately makes it twice that this show has reminded me of Chris Benoit. The House gets the heat on Wato, but he eventually tags in YOH, and after a long sequence with Kanemaru, Wolf and Narita tag in to preview their upcoming NEVER title match. House shenanigans allow Narita and then Takahashi to take control, and Takahashi gets two with a fisherman’s suplex. However, Wolf counters Pimp Juice with a fireman’s carry throw and then hits the Angle Slam for the pin. After the match, Tiger Mask thanks Fukuoka and plugs his last match in the prefecture with Kyushu Pro-Wrestling on May 31. 

What’s next? Aside from Wolf vs. Narita, which will presumably be at Dominion, YOH, Wato, SHO and Kanemaru are all headed to Best of the Super Juniors. On night 1, YOH wrestles Hyu, Wato wrestles Titan, and SHO and Kanemaru wrestle each other.

Yuya Uemura & Taichi vs. Ryohei Oiwa & Hartley Jackson

The rivalry between Uemura and Oiwa is heating up, and they start off this match with a fun sequence before tagging in the elder members of their teams, who are also feuding. TMDK briefly gets the heat on Taichi, but after a few minutes, Uemura tags in and he and Oiwa continue to go at it. Oiwa gains the advantage and works over Uemura’s knee, but Uemura reverses a knee slam into a double wristlock, which causes Jackson to intervene. Oiwa and Jackson hit a delayed suplex on Uemura for two. Oiwa applies a figure-four, but Taichi breaks it up. Uemura goes after Oiwa’s arm, then tags in Taichi, who continues the attack. Oiwa manages to tag in Jackson, and Taichi and Jackson go back and forth until both partners run in and all four guys battle. Uemura tries the same hurricanrana that beat Jackson yesterday, but Jackson catches it and hits a brutal-looking jackknife power bomb, then hits a senton on Taichi for two. Taichi gets the best of a sumo sequence with Jackson and hits Black Mephisto for the pin. This was good. After the match, Oiwa and Uemura cut promos that essentially confirm their rivalry, until Taichi steps in and challenges Oiwa and Zack Sabre Jr. to a tag match against himself and Uemura.

Yota Tsuji, Drilla Moloney, Taiji Ishimori & Robbie X [Unbound Co.] vs. Jake Lee, Francesco Akira, Jakob Austin Young & Zane Jay [United Empire]

United Empire jumps Unbound Co. while they’re doing their silly team thing, and the match starts with the four juniors running through a hyperspeed version of their usual match. Moloney and Lee tag in, and Moloney hits an impressive delay suplex for two. Moloney goes for the Drilla Killa on Lee, but Lee slips out the back and tags in Jay. Moloney hits Jay with a power bomb after a criss-cross sequence, then tags in Tsuji. Jay avoids the Marlowe Crash and hits a fall-away slam for two. Jay and Lee double-team Tsuji, and Jay gets two with a lariat. Tsuji counters another lariat attempt with a curb stomp, then gets two with the sitout suplex. Jay gets a couple of near-falls in a pinfall reversal sequence, but Tsuji regains the advantage and locks in a Boston Crab on Jay for the submission. You know, I think that if factions would just stop tagging in their junior members at the ends of these matches, they’d have a much better chance of winning. After the match, Moloney and Lee stare each other down.

What’s next? Ishimori, X, Akira and Young are all headed to the Best of the Super Juniors; on night 1, Ishimori wrestles Young, X wrestles Nick Wayne, and Akira wrestles Kosei Fujita.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Ichiban Sweet Boys (Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita) (c) vs. El Desperado & Mistico

Mistico’s production music is back, and lord is it bad. I’ve heard more compelling hold music. Desperado is sporting a surprisingly minimal mask/makeup combo. Fujita and Desperado start with a striking battle that culminates with Fujita hitting a short dropkick that genuinely seemed to knock the wind out of Desperado. Both guys tag out, and Eagles and Mistico have their own striking battle, which Eagles wins, but Mistico gains the upper hand with a criss-cross sequence and a twisting armdrag off the top. Desperado tags in, and he and Mistico hit some basic double-team maneuvers, including the dreaded double big boot. However, Fujita runs in, and the champs hit some much more advanced double-team offense to gain the advantage. TMDK gets the heat on Desperado, but after a few minutes, Desperado manages to tag in Mistico, who proceeds to hit all sorts of lucha offense on both guys, culminating in a La Magistral pinfall attempt on Eagles for two. Eagles and Mistico exchange offense, and Eagles nearly gets a pinfall after reversing La Mistica into a crucifix. Eagles tags in Fujita, who hits a springboard dropkick for two. Mistico hits a superkick on Fujita and tags out to Desperado, who gets two with a slam. Fujita takes down Desperado and tries to apply the Nemosu Special, but Desperado gets to the ropes. Desperado gets two with a spinebuster (popular move, all of a sudden), then applies Numero Dos; Eagles breaks it up, however. Eagles kicks Desperado in the midsection to cut off a tope attempt, and then Fujita hits a plancha onto Desperado on the outside. Mistico hits Fujita with a tope, followed by a tope by Eagles on Mistico. Back in the ring, TMDK hit the Sweetbuster on Desperado for two. Eagles and Fujita try the Interceptor, but Desperado fights out and Mistico hits an assisted dropkick on both guys. Mistico and Desperado hit stereo topes on both champions, and Desperado gets Fujita back in the ring at 18 and then hits a sitout suplex for two. Desperado goes for a superplex, but Fujita knocks him off with a headbutt; however, Mistico hits a top-rope Spanish Fly. Eagles returns to the match and hits a destroyer on Mistico, but Desperado cancels him out with a spear. Desperado goes for Pinche Loco, but Fujita responds with a couple of too-stiff headbutts (reference what I said earlier about younger wrestlers finding out for themselves that some moves are too dangerous), then applies an armbar to Desperado. Mistico hits La Mistica on Eagles, and Fujita gives up the armbar to try to break it up (stupidly, because he and Desperado are legal), but when he does, Desperado cranks on his knee and applies Numero Dos for the submission and the championship. This was a lot of fun. There were a few moments when it felt like people were standing around waiting around for Mistico to do something, but it wasn’t a big deal. The post-match celebration is undercut a tiny bit by the fake Mistico music, which remains hilarious.

What’s next? Eagles, Fujita and Desperado are headed to Best of the Super Juniors; on night 1, Eagles wrestles KUSHIDA, Fujita wrestles Akira, and Desperado wrestles Daisuke Sasaki.

NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship: Bishimon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) & Boltin Oleg (c) vs. Will Ospreay, HENARE & Great-O-Khan [United Empire]

United Empire controls early, with Great-O-Khan distracting YOSHI-HASHI to take the advantage. After a few minutes, Boltin tags in and has an extended “big meaty men slapping meat” sequence with HENARE that is a lot of fun. I love these two guys together. Ospreay tags in and hits a neckbreaker on Boltin for two, followed by a counter sequence between the two, which ends with Boltin hitting a capture suplex. Goto tags in and exchanges offense with Ospreay in a sequence that has light dream match vibes. HENARE breaks it up with a tackle to Goto, and after another HENARE tackle, Ospreay hits a 450 splash for two. Ospreay goes for an OsCutter, but Boltin pushes Goto out of the way, catches Ospreay on his shoulders, and hits a Kamikaze. HENARE prevents a cover and brawls some more on the outside with Boltin, leading to both being knocked out. Back in the ring, Ospreay and Goto fight over a top-rope move, leading to a nasty-looking Kaiten by Goto for two. YOSHI-HASHI and Great-O-Khan tag in, and YOSHI-HASHI takes the advantage, but Great-O-Khan baits him to the outside, drives him into the barricade and hits a suplex to the outside. Great-O-Khan and HENARE double-team YOSHI-HASHI, getting two with a sitout powerbomb by HENARE, but YOSHI-HASHI comes back on both of them and eventually even wipes out Ospreay with a lariat. Bishamon double-teams Great-O-Khan and goes for Shoto, but Great-O-Khan battles out, and all six guys get involved. Bishamon hits an elevated bulldog from the second rope for two on Great-O-Khan, but HENARE breaks it up. The champs go for their goofy triple-team finish, but Ospreay hits the Hidden Blade on Boltin, using Henare as a step-stool to leap over the Bishamon/Great-O-Khan bridge. United Empire tosses Goto to the outside, and Ospreay hits a sky twister press to the outside on Boltin and Goto. Back in the ring, Great-O-Khan gets the Iron Claw on YOSHI-HASHI and tries to knock him out by smashing his head into the mat, but YOSHI-HASHI won’t be beaten that way; he counters a Dominator attempt with a Codebreaker and gets two with a small package. However, Great-O-Khan responds with a kick to the head, and United Empire hits a double powerbomb/Hidden Blade combo move on YOSHI-HASHI for the win and the championship. This was really, really good, recalling the height of the NEVER sixes matches during the pandemic.

After the match, Great-O-Khan challenges the Knockout Brothers to an IWGP Tag Team Championship match; Yuto and OSKAR come to the ring, and Yuto accepts.

IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Callum Newman [United Empire] (c) vs. Shingo Takagi [Unbound Co.]

Newman stalls to start, but soon thereafter, they engage in a very quick exchange where they each counter a number of attempts at offense. Takagi hits a dragon screw, which sends Newman outside, and Newman goes back to stalling. Takagi chases him outside, gets him back in the ring, and hits a shoulder tackle. Takagi gets tripped up and hit with a knee to the midsection that recalls the one he was hit with by Jake Lee in the lead-up to New Beginning. (Lee is at ringside doing commentary with his clown makeup still on, by the way.) Newman drags Takagi into the crowd, then hits a dropkick to a seated Takagi and, in perhaps the most dastardly heel move imaginable, hits on Natsupoi (Takagi’s wife). Of course, this enrages Takagi, and he tosses the champion into the barricade and then back into the ring. Newman regains the advantage and methodically beats down Takagi. Eventually, Takagi comes back and clotheslines Newman to the outside, but Newman slams Takagi’s ribs into the ring apron and attempts a crazy tope; Takagi avoids it and hits one of his own. In the ring, Takagi takes control and goes through his offense before declaring it Takagi Time. However, Newman avoids the Sliding Bomber and lands a couple of kicks to take control. On the floor, Newman puts Takagi through a table, and Takagi barely gets back into the ring before Red Shoes counts him out. Newman gets two with the Fire Bolt and goes for Prince’s Curse, but Takagi battles back, leading to a heavy exchange of suplexes that leaves both men on the mat. They regain their feet and exchange clotheslines, and Takagi once again gains the advantage. Takagi hits a DDT, a cutter and a Dangerous Driver for a near-fall. Takagi goes for the Pumping Bomber, but Newman collapses out of the way. Red Shoes checks on him, but Newman spits at him and hits Takagi in the ribs, then hits the OsCutter for two. Newman goes for Excalibur, but Takagi moves and Newman sells the knee he injured in 2024, but it’s a ruse; Newman tosses Red Shoes out of the ring and Zane Jay attacks Takagi. Daiki Nagai jumps in and hits a spinebuster (again) on Jay, but Lee comes in from outside, takes out Nagai and hits Takagi with the Giant-Killing Knee. Tsuji runs in to take out Lee, but he’s taken out by Newman, and Newman hits Excalibur on Takagi for two from the now-recovered Red Shoes. Newman hits Made in Essex for two, then lands Prince’s Curse, but Takagi once again kicks out. Newman attacks Takagi with strikes, but Takagi fires up and hits a lariat, then another, and two Made in Japans for a near-fall. Takagi hits a Pumping Bomber and the Burning Dragon for two. Ospreay comes to ringside to cheer Newman on, but Takagi maintains control with clotheslines, forearms and a headbutt. Newman tosses Red Shoes aside, hits Takagi low and then hits Prince’s Curse for two. Ospreay is pissed because of the cheating, and Newman tells him to leave, but he does not. Newman hits a sort of GTS to the ribs and then tries for Make Way, but Takagi slips out the back and hits a poison rana, followed by a clothesline for two. Newman shoves Takagi into Red Shoes, fouls Takagi and then hits Make Way for three. Ospreay is not super jazzed about this. This was very good, but came up a bit short of great, particularly with the unimaginative finish.

The Empire (including Andrade) surrounds the ring, and Tsuji, who is tending to Takagi, has some words with Newman. Newman kicks him low, then hits him with the belt. Lee grabs Takagi, but before Newman can hit him, Ospreay steps in and tells him not to do it. Newman says, fine – you do it, Death Rider (referring to Ospreay’s current AEW storyline, where he’s being courted by Jon Moxley’s faction), and Ospreay reluctantly hits Takagi with the Hidden Blade. Newman challenges Takagi and Tsuji to a tag team match with him and Lee at Ignition to Dominion on Wednesday in Karatsu, and if one of them pins him in that match, that person will get a title match in the Dominion main event; however, if Newman and Lee win, neither Takagi or Tsuji can challenge Newman again.

This was a good show, thanks primarily to the top three matches, but it felt very long in a way that NJPW usually don’t. I think the layout of the title matches was fine, but they really didn’t need to run back all the guys on the undercard both nights.

I’ll probably be back for a news dump when the Dominion matches get announced. See you then!