New Japan Pro Wrestling 5/3/2024 Wrestling Dontaku 2024 Day 1

New Japan Pro Wrestling 5/3/2024 Wrestling Dontaku 2024 Day 1

I saw all but one match here:

Oleg Boltin & Shoma Kato vs. Katsuya Murashima & Togi Makabe

KM = Katsuya Murashima

Togi and Oleg start us off. They shoulder battle and Oleg shoulders him over. Togi knocks him over. Kato hits forearms on Togi in the corner. Togi slams him. KM shoulders over Kato then stomps on him. Kato takes a hiptoss for 2 then slams him.

Togi hits forearms and bangs Kato's head off the buckles. KM forearms Kato then stomps him. Kato and Togi trade forearms. Kato dropkicks him. Oleg gets in and shoulders over both opponents. Oleg hits karelin's lift on Togi and kips up. Oleg is double shouldered over then takes a dropkick from KM for 2.

KM crabs Oleg but Oleg poers out of it. Oleg spinning slams KM for 2. Oleg crabs KM. Kato dropkicks Togi ten KM dropkicks leg. Oleg finlay rolls KM and wins it.

It was a short young lions match here and was nothing of note. Kato and KM got more in than I expected.

United Empire (Callum Newman & Great-O-Khan) vs. Just 5 Guys (Taichi & Yuya Uemura)

Yuya and Khan start us off. Khan trips him and front facelocks him. They roll and stand off. They do more grappling. Khan takes him down and fujiwara armbars him.

Yuya armdrags Khan, flying armdrags him then armlocks him. Khan shoulders him over. Newman and Taichi fight. Newman hits forearms and they trade facekicks. Taichi side kicks him.

Newman trips Taichi then double stomps his back. Khan sleepers Taichi then kicks him in the back. Khan corner lariats Taichi then sits on his neck in the corner. Khan slams Taichi and does a one footed pin on him. Khan hits mongolian chops then Taichi chops him back. Taichi hits an STO.

Newman running facekicks Taichi when they get in. Newman corner dropkicks him then hits a suplex. Newman PK's him then Yuya back body drops him. Yuya chops Newman in the corner then backdrops him.

Yuya chops Newman then Newman dropkicks him off of his crossbody attempt. Newman rolls him up for 2. Yuya blocks an os cutter. Newman spinning forearms him then Yuya hits a front suplex for the win.

It was a short tag match as expected. Newman and Yuya tried a little bit here but Khan really didn't. 

TMDK (Kosei Fujita, Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste) vs. Guerrillas Of Destiny (El Phantasmo, Hikuleo & Jado)

Mikey and Hiku trade forearms. Hiku forearms him then lariats him. Hiku corner splashes Mikey then ELP corner lariats Mikey. Mikey is side slammed into a 2nd rope elbow drop from ELP. Hiku ddt's Shane following ELP's leapfrog. Kosei takes a double boot.

Hiku lariats Kosei, sending him on his neck. Shane kicks Jado in the back and dances. Shane pulls Jado's ears then Mikey does as well. Kosei slams Jado for 2. Kosei hits forearms then Jado blocks a PK. They flip each other off and Jado shoulders him over.

Hiku shoulders Mikey over. Shane chops Hiku then Hiku drops him with a chop. Mikey is dropped with a chop then Hiku splashes and lariats both. Shane face kicks Hiku then takes a big boot. Shane dropkicks ELP for 2 then ELP takes a rock bottom + powerbomb combo for 2. Kosei enzugiri's Jado then ELp superkicks Kosei.

Hiku is double gorilla pressed by TMDK but escapes it. ELP then grabs the tights of Mikey and pins him.

It was another short and nothing match that really just filled time.

Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) & Tiger Mask vs. BULLET CLUB (Chase Owens, KENTA & Taiji Ishimori)

The faces are attacked before it starts and everyone fights outside. Goto's head is banged off the apron. Chase and Kenta are sent into eac hother then shoulders over. Tiger top rope crossbodies Taiji then the faces triple club Taiji's back.

Chase sentons Goto then Taiji chokes Goto with a shirt. Goto's head is banged off the exposed buckle. He fights off a double team then takes triple clubs on his back and the heels do his pose. Goto is double shouldered then stomped by both opponents. Kenta misses a hiptoss onto Goto.

Yoshi is tagged in and neckbreakers Chase. He chops Kenta then hangs him over the top rope for a dropkick. The heels thwart the faces then Yoshi lariats Kenta down. Chase and Tiger get in. Tiger hits a step up enzugiri then crucifixes him. Tiger hits a tiger driver for 2.

Chase backdrops Tiger for 2. Tiger hits punches on Chase then Chase spinning back elbows him. Chase pumping knees him then does a package piledriver. Chase then wins it.

It was a total nothing match and a very lazy effort by all involved.

Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito) vs. BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Clark Connors, Drilla Moloney, Gabe Kidd & Gedo)

LIJ is hit before it starts like usual. Gabe hits shots on Shingo. Drilla and Naito trade. Naito tries to get over the top but can't make it. Naito running back elbows him then baseball slides him. Drilla takes a double team double axe handle. Hiromu corner lariats him then is pulled out by Clark. Drilla baseball slides Hiromu and Hiromu is sent into the rails by Clark. Shingo and Gabe lariat each other in the aisle way.

Shingo and Hiromu both get sent into walls outside. The heels try to stop Hiromu from getting into the ring before the countout. He then is then beaten up when he gets in. Gedo snapmares Hiromu then rakes his face with his boot. Gedo stands on Hiromu's neck then Clark suplexes Hiromu. Clark elbow drops Hiromu. Clark chinlocks Hiromu then powerslams him. 

Hiromu avoids a double team and hits a double dropkick. Hiromu dragon screws Clark. Gabe and Shingo get in. They shoulder battle and trade forearms. They shoulder battle and both go down. Shingo corner lariats Gabe then hits forearms. Shingo suplexes Gabe. Gabe hits him from behind then suplexes him.

They trade lariats. Gabe drops him with a punch and a lariat then Shingo drops him with a lariat. They collide with lariats. Gabe slaps him and goes down to a punch. Bushi and Gedo get in. Bushi flying headscissors him at 10 minutes. Bushi spinning neckbreakers him. Drilla spinebusters him then double stomps him. Calrk gets crotched on the top then Naito neckbreakers Drilla.

Gedo takes a spinebuster and dropkick to the knee. Bushi then taps out Gedo with a figure four variation.

It was an 11 minute multi-person tag. It hyped up Gabe vs Shingo a little and was okay for what it was but not really that special. Gedo being in these matches is getting silly as he gets beaten every single time.

El Desperado, Jon Moxley & Shota Umino vs. House Of Torture (EVIL, Ren Narita & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)

Mox didn't come out to Wild Thing here.

Mox poses on the ropes and Ren hits him as the heels attack prior to the bell. Ren takes off Mox's jacket and throws it at him. Ren eye rakes and beats up on Mox. Ren kicks him in the side of the head then Mox hits a big lariat. Mox throws Ren into the rails.

Ren takes a double back elbow, gets his legs split then takes a basment dropkick + PK in the ring. Shota hits elbows on Ren's neck then euros him. Shota is sent into the exposed buckle then the rail. Togo hits Shot with the turnbuckle pad then Shota is double suplexed on the floor. Evil eye rakes Shota outside.

Kanemaru slams Shota and hits knees to the back. Kanemaru then chinlocks him and elbows him in the face. Evil tries to choke Shota with a towel, the ref takes it and Evil chokes him with a chain. Despy stops it and is eye raked. Shota hits forearms on Evil then Kanemaru trips him outside.

Shota stops a double team and tornado ddt's Evil at 5 minutes.Mox gets in and hits shots on Ren. Mox germans Ren then hits corner lariats. Mox hits corner punches on Ren. Ren abdominal stretches him and Mox hiptosses him to escape it. Mox sliding lariats Ren.

Ren flying knee presses Mox then Mox cutters Kanemaru. Kanemaru takes corner attacks then Despy spinebusters Kanemaru. Shota hits ignition on Kanemaru for 2. Despy does a bomb on Kanemaru for 2. Togo chokes Despy with a weapon while Ren distracts the ref. Mox plancha's Ren and Shota sends Evil in the rails. Kanemaru spits whiskey at Despy, sends him into the exposed buckle and pins him.

This was bogus. They had Mox in here and instead of doing a nice 15 minute tag, we got like an 8 minute affair filled with the usual HoT nonsense. This was nothing of note.

HoT group stomps Mox after.

NJPW World Television Title Match - Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Jeff Cobb

They try to take each other down. Zack wristlock takedowns him then Cobb reverses the wristlock. Zack goes for the armbar and Cobb ropebreaks. Cobb side headlock takeovers him then Zack headscissors him. Cobb headstands out of it and twists Zack's foot. Zack misses a pele kick on the arm and Cobb teases a standing moonsault.

Cobb throws him down. Cobb beale throws him then throws him hard into the buckles. Cobb hits a big belly to belly suplex then Zack tornado ddt's him. Zack hits euros then Cobb hits forearms. They roll each other up. Zack rolls out of a backslide and twists Cobb's neck with his feet. Zack then PK's him.

They trade forearms. Zack face kicks him several times then Cobb face kicks him back. Zack pele kicks the arm then germans him. Cobb then release germans him. Cobb throws him on a backdrop then standing moonsaults him for 2. They lariat each other at the same time.

Zack kicks Cobb's arm and michinoku drivers him for 2. Zack hits slaps and is knocked back hard with a dropkick. Cobb carries him to the top rope then Zack sleepers him on the 2nd rope. Zack powerbombs Cobb while Cobb is on the 2nd rope.

Cobb rolls him up for 2. Cobb rolls out of a choke and does a nice F-5. Zack tries to crucifix Cobb off a tour of the islands slam. Cobb like clubs on him/downward lariats him and Zack ties the arm up. Zack armbars him then Cobb picks him up and tour of the island slams him for the win.

It was a fun match at times but did get a little too clever at times for its own good. Zack's matches tend to be all over the place at times with random submissions that destroy the flow and this was one of those times. I thought they could have had a better on in them had they focused a little more on Cobb roughing him up and Zack using his trick submissions to escape it. 

David Finlay vs. Yota Tsuji

Yota side headlocks him then shoulders him over. DF slides out to stall. DF misses a charge and takes corner spears. DF knocks Yota outside then rams him into the rails. DF throws him on a suplex then hits headbutts to the gut. DF legdrops him.

Yota is thrown hard into the buckles then DF stomps his hand and chinlocks him. DF sentons him then is suplexed into the buckles. Yota corner splashes him then flying headscissors him out. Yota topes him over the rails outside. Yota gutbusters him then bodyscissors him.

Yota hits a shot to the gut. DF gets stuck up top. Yota enzugiri's him then sunset flips him out of the powerbomb attempt. DF hits a blue thunder then hits a dominator for 2.  Yota back body drops him then tilt-a-whirl backbreakers him. Yota falcon arrow/orange crushes him for 2.

Yota double jump springboards and is caught with a cutter. DF buckle bombs him then hits oblivion for 2. Yota cradles him then hits his curbstomp combination. DF hits euros while they are on their knees then stands up and euros him. Yota hits forearms then takes euros. Yota backslides him and they trade strikes. Yota flying pumping knees him for 2. Yota hits a sitout swinging slam for 2.

Yota curbstomps him then double jump curbstomps him for 2. Gedo gets on the apron. Yota is distracted and gets speared. Yota cutters him out of the suplex then spears him. Yota misses a spear then DF powerbombs him for 2. DF powerbombs him then knees him in the face off a suplex lift. DF then wins it.

It was your usual average David Finlay match. I don't know what it is, but he's just not exciting to watch in the ring and he never is able to get his matches up to the next level. It was one of Yota's better efforts though and he didn't do overdo it like he had in prior big matches. Yota losing isn't totally surprising, but Finlay winning doesn't do a whole lot for me.

IWGP Global Heavyweight Title Match - Nic Nemeth (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Nic is out of the TNA PPV this weekend due to this match. They ran an injury angle for him on Impact because of it. 

Nic and Tana lock up. Tana wristlocks him and rolls him. hey stand off. Nic rolls him on the mat then Tana side headlocks him on the mat. Tana hits armdrags and they end up doing another stand off. Nic takes him down and Tana side headlocks him again. Nic hits a dropkick and tries to german him over the top. Tana dragon screws Nic and Nic rolls out. Tana back elbows him out of the corner then 2nd rope twisting crossbodies him. Tana dropkicks him in the knee then Nic does it back. Nic ddt's the leg then pulls it while rolling.

Tana hits forearms then Nic kicks him in the leg again. Nic bangs the leg off the mat and elbow drops him for 2. Nic leglocks him then they trade forearms for punches. Nic boots him in the knee then jumping ddt's him for 2. Tana flying forearms him and slams him. Tana 2nd rope swantons him for 2. Tana is thrown over the top but skins the cat. Nic is thrown over the top and skins the cat. They collide with crossbodies in mid-air. They trade forearms and Nick headbutts him. Tana slingblades him then top rope crossbodies him for 2.

Tana misses a high fly flow off the top. Nic superkicks him for 2. Tana slaps Nic then hits a twist and shout. Tana slingblades him for 2 and Nic gets his knees up on the high fly flow. Nic hits a dangerzone then hits a second one for the win.

It wasn't a real good match. They spent a bunch of time on legwork here that ultimately meant nothing in the match. There weren't any real big spots or moments here. They got under 20 minutes here and that's not enough for these guys to do a classic. And with no heel or face roles here or any other storyline, a classic was about all they could attempt to do. It was real disappointing and we would have gotten a match that was twice as good about 5 years ago. Yes, Tana's old and injured but compare this to the Nemeth/Moose match a few weeks ago and it's clear this was an effort issue above all else.

Tana holds up Nic's hand after. David Finlay comes in and beats down both after. DF and Nic roll around trading punches. Young Lions try to stop it then War Dogs pull DF off. Nic gets on the mic after. He calls DF a coward. He says DF takes the easy way out and is a little sh!t. He says he will defend the title against him anytime and anyplace. He challenges him for a Global Title match tomorrow.

Overall thoughts: It was not one of NJPW's best shows. The main was nothing special. Finlay had his usual average match with Yota. Zack/Cobb had some fun parts to it but Zack got too clever as he often does and messed up some of the pace. Mox got a whole 8 minutes of wrestling in during his match and the rest of the show as just mild midcard stuff. I don't recommend this.