Wrestling Dontaku (レスリングどんたく Resuringu Dontaku) is an annual event promoted by New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). It was originally held from 1993 to 1995 and again from 2000 to 2001 in Fukuoka at the Fukuoka Dome. The event was revived in 2009 and has since been held at the Fukuoka Kokusai Center and aired as a pay-per-view (PPV). From 2013 to 2014, the event also aired outside Japan as an internet pay-per-view (iPPV). Since 2015, the event has aired worldwide on NJPW's internet streaming site, New Japan Pro Wrestling World. Since 2018, Wrestling Dontaku will go over two back-to-back shows.[1] "Dontaku" is an obsolete Japanese word for holiday, derived from the Dutch word for Sunday, "Zondag".[2] In 2020, NJPW decided to cancel the 2020 edition, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, following recommendations by the Japanese Ministry of Health.
Events[]
1993[]
The first Wrestling Dontaku was held on May 3, 1993, in Fukuoka, Fukuoka, at the Fukuoka Dome. The event featured ten matches.[3] As part of working relationships between NJPW and American promotions World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Federation (WWF), WCW's Sting and WWF's Brutus Beefcake, Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart took part in the event.[3] The event featured a "dream match" between Hogan, the reigning WWF Champion, and The Great Muta, the reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion.[4]
# | Results[3] | Stipulations | Times |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Akira Nogami, El Samurai and Takayuki Iizuka defeated Hiroyoshi Yamamoto, Osamu Nishimura and Satoshi Kojima | Six-man tag team match | 15:01 |
2 | Michiyoshi Ohara defeated Akitoshi Saito | Singles match | 09:26 |
3 | Brutus Beefcake (with Jimmy Hart) defeated Masa Saito | Singles match | 08:35 |
4 | Heisei Ishingun (Great Kabuki, Kengo Kimura, Kuniaki Kobayashi, Masashi Aoyagi and Shiro Koshinaka) defeated Ashura Hara, Hiro Saito, Super Strong Machine, Takashi Ishikawa and Tatsutoshi Goto | Ten-man tag team match | 11:26 |
5 | Tiger Mask defeated Jushin Thunder Liger | Singles match | 14:25 |
6 | Scott Norton and Sting wrestled to a no contest | Singles match | 09:16 |
7 | Yoshiaki Fujiwara defeated Hiroshi Hase | Singles match | 12:11 |
8 | The Hell Raisers (Hawk Warrior and Power Warrior) defeated Masahiro Chono and Shinya Hashimoto | Tag team match | 12:22 |
9 | Hulk Hogan (with Jimmy Hart) defeated The Great Muta | Singles match | 15:55 |
10 | Antonio Inoki and Tatsumi Fujinami defeated Genichiro Tenryu and Riki Choshu | Tag team match | 26:35 |
1994[]
The second Wrestling Dontaku was held on May 1, 1994, in Fukuoka, Fukuoka, at the Fukuoka Dome. The event featured thirteen matches; three of which were contested for championships.[5] Much like the previous year, the event featured wrestlers from World Championship Wrestling (WCW), with Rick Rude defeating Sting for the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship.[5] The decision was, however, later reversed due to Rude cheating to win the match.[6] The semi-main event saw Shinya Hashimoto defeat Tatsumi Fujinami to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for the second time.[5]
# | Results[5] | Stipulations | Times |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Satoshi Kojima defeated Yuji Nagata | Singles match | 11:12 |
2 | El Samurai and Tokimitsu Ishizawa defeated Shinjiro Otani and Tatsuhito Takaiwa | Tag team match | 13:48 |
3 | Akira Nogami, Osamu Kido and Takayuki Iizuka defeated Heisei Ishingun (Akitoshi Saito, Michiyoshi Ohara and Tatsutoshi Goto) | Six-man tag team match | 14:06 |
4 | Heisei Ishingun (Great Kabuki, Kengo Kimura and Kuniaki Kobayashi) defeated Hiro Saito, Norio Honaga and Shinichi Nakano | Six-man tag team match | 08:39 |
5 | El Gigant defeated Tadao Yasuda | Singles match | 03:51 |
6 | Jushin Thunder Liger and Satoru Sayama wrestled to a time limit draw | Singles match | 10:00 |
7 | Shiro Koshinaka defeated Yoshiaki Yatsu | Singles match | 12:16 |
8 | The Hell Raisers (Hawk Warrior and Power Warrior) (c) defeated The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) | Tag team match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship | 15:27 |
9 | Rick Rude defeated Sting (c) | Singles match for the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship | 22:48 |
10 | Masahiro Chono defeated Yoshiaki Fujiwara | Singles match | 08:08 |
11 | Riki Choshu defeated Hiroshi Hase | Singles match | 10:56 |
12 | Shinya Hashimoto defeated Tatsumi Fujinami (c) | Singles match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship | 06:04 |
13 | Antonio Inoki defeated The Great Muta | Singles match | 20:12 |
1995[]
The third Wrestling Dontaku was held on May 3, 1995, in Fukuoka, Fukuoka, at the Fukuoka Dome. The event featured eleven matches, two of which were contested for championships.[7][8] For the third year in a row, wrestlers from World Championship Wrestling (WCW) took part in the event.[7] The event saw Sabu capture the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship from Koji Kanemoto and Keiji Mutoh capture the IWGP Heavyweight Championship from Shinya Hashimoto, ending his reign which had started at the previous year's Wrestling Dontaku.[7][8]
# | Results[7][8] | Stipulations | Times |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Yuji Nagata defeated Manabu Nakanishi | Singles match | 13:29 |
2 | El Samurai and Takayuki Iizuka defeated Akira Nogami and Norio Honaga | Tag team match | 13:45 |
3 | Wild Pegasus defeated Too Cold Scorpio | Singles match | 12:00 |
4 | Sabu defeated Koji Kanemoto (c) | Singles match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship | 16:39 |
5 | Junji Hirata defeated Hiro Saito | Singles match | 06:04 |
6 | The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) defeated Hawk Warrior and Scott Norton | Tag team match | 18:52 |
7 | Shiro Koshinaka and Terry Funk defeated Hiromichi Fuyuki and Masahiro Chono | Tag team match | 13:40 |
8 | Ric Flair defeated Hiroshi Hase | Singles match | 22:52 |
9 | Antonio Inoki and Kōji Kitao defeated Genichiro Tenryu and Riki Choshu | Tag team match | 10:57 |
10 | Kensuke Sasaki defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan | Singles match | 11:20 |
11 | Keiji Mutoh defeated Shinya Hashimoto (c) | Singles match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship | 21:13 |
2000[]
The fourth Wrestling Dontaku, first in five years, was held on May 5, 2000, in Fukuoka, Fukuoka, at the Fukuoka Dome. The event featured eight matches, two of which were contested for championships.[9] The event opened with the finals of the 2000 Young Lion Cup, where Kenzo Suzuki defeated Shinya Makabe,[9] who later became better known as Togi Makabe, winning the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.[10] In the semi-main event, Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata successfully defended the IWGP Tag Team Championship against Kazunari Murakami and Naoya Ogawa, while in the main event, Kensuke Sasaki, using his Power Warrior persona, defeated The Great Muta to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.[9]
# | Results[9] | Stipulations | Times |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Kenzo Suzuki defeated Shinya Makabe | Singles match; finals of the 2000 Young Lion Cup | 15:08 |
2 | Junji Hirata, Shiro Koshinaka and Tadao Yasuda defeated Team 2000 (Hiro Saito, Michiyoshi Ohara and Tatsutoshi Goto | Six-man tag team match | 10:19 |
3 | Kendo Kashin, Koji Kanemoto, Shinjiro Otani and Tatsuhito Takaiwa defeated CIMA, Jushin Thunder Liger, Minoru Tanaka and Sumo Dandy Fuji | Eight-man tag team match | 14:26 |
4 | Genichiro Tenryu defeated Takashi Iizuka | Singles match | 13:26 |
5 | Yutaka Yoshie defeated Satoshi Kojima | Singles match | 16:08 |
6 | Masahiro Chono defeated Tatsumi Fujinami | Singles match | 06:03 |
7 | Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata (c) defeated Kazunari Murakami and Naoya Ogawa | Tag team match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship | 09:26 |
8 | Power Warrior (c) defeated The Great Muta | Singles match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship | 12:44 |
2001[]
The fifth Wrestling Dontaku was held on May 5, 2001, in Fukuoka, Fukuoka, at the Fukuoka Dome. The event featured nine matches, one of which was contested for a championship.[11] In the title match, El Samurai and Jushin Thunder Liger defeated the Mexican brother tag team of Dr. Wagner, Jr. and Silver King to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.[11] The event also featured appearances by mixed martial artists Don Frye and Rainy Martinez.[11]
# | Results[11] | Stipulations | Times |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Katsuyori Shibata and Shinya Makabe defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi and Wataru Inoue | Tag team match | 11:01 |
2 | Osamu Nishimura, Shiro Koshinaka and Yutaka Yoshie defeated Team 2000 (Hiro Saito, Michiyoshi Ohara and Tatsutoshi Goto) | Six-man tag team match | 11:00 |
3 | Minoru Tanaka defeated Kendo Kashin | Singles match | 10:18 |
4 | El Samurai and Jushin Thunder Liger (c) defeated Dr. Wagner Jr. and Silver King | Tag team match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship | 19:09 |
5 | Don Frye defeated Scott Norton | Singles match | 07:15 |
6 | Tadao Yasuda defeated Takashi Iizuka | Singles match | 07:23 |
7 | Yuji Nagata defeated Rainy Martinez | Singles match | 02:29 |
8 | BATT (Hiroshi Hase, Keiji Mutoh and Taiyō Kea) defeated Team 2000 (Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Masahiro Chono and Satoshi Kojima) | Eight-man tag team match | 27:00 |
9 | Manabu Nakanishi and Riki Choshu defeated Kazunari Murakami and Naoya Ogawa | Tag team match | 09:07 |
2009[]
2010[]
2011[]
2012[]
2013[]
2014[]
2015[]
2016[]
2017[]
2018[]
2019[]
2021[]
2022[]
2023[]
References[]
- ↑ ja:濵かつ Presents レスリングどんたく 2017 (in Japanese). New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Retrieved on 2017-05-03.
- ↑ Hakata Dontaku Minato Matsuri . Asianbeat. Archived from the original on 2015-08-25. Retrieved on 2015-08-25.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Wrestling Dontaku 1993 . Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved on 2013-10-18.
- ↑ Johnson, Mike 2010-09-03. YouTube wrestling classic: when Hogan met Muta, champion vs. champion . Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved on 2014-12-03.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Wrestling Dontaku 1994 . Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved on 2013-10-18.
- ↑ "WCW International" World Heavyweight Title . Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved on 2013-10-18.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 Wrestling Dontaku 1995 . Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved on 2013-10-18.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Keller, Wade 2015-05-03. NJPW Flashback - Ric Flair headlines New Japan's "Wrestling Dontaku" 20 yrs. ago today, plus Great Muta in main event, Sabu, Benoit, more . Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved on 2015-05-03.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 Wrestling Dontaku 2000 . Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved on 2013-10-18.
- ↑ ja:真壁 刀義 (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved on 2013-10-18.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7 Wrestling Dontaku 2001 . Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved on 2013-10-18.