New Japan Pro-Wrestling event series
Wrestling Dontaku (レスリングどんたく , Resuringu Dontaku ) is an annual professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).
Professional wrestling pay-per-view event series
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 on Constitution Memorial Day , a national holiday in Japan on May 3, 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, NJPW World . In 2018 and 2019, Wrestling Dontaku took place over two back-to-back shows.[ 1] The event was originally scheduled to take place in 2020 on May 3 and May 4, but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic .[ 2] "Dontaku" is an obsolete Japanese word for holiday, derived from the Dutch word for Sunday, "Zondag",[ 3] used in reference to Hakata Dontaku , a Fukuoka-based festival held in early May, the same time as the event. In 2022, the event took place on May 1 at Fukuoka PayPay Dome , formerly known as the Fukuoka Dome. This was the first time that Wrestling Dontaku was held in the domed venue since 2001.
#
Event
Date
City
Venue
Attendance
Main event
Ref(s)
1
Wrestling Dontaku 1993
May 3, 1993
Fukuoka, Japan
Fukuoka Dome
55,000
Antonio Inoki and Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Genichiro Tenryu and Riki Choshu
[ 4]
2
Wrestling Dontaku 1994
May 1, 1994
53,500
Antonio Inoki vs. The Great Muta
[ 5]
3
Wrestling Dontaku 1995
May 3, 1995
52,000
Shinya Hashimoto (c) vs. Keiji Mutoh for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship
[ 6] [ 7]
4
Wrestling Dontaku 2000
May 5, 2000
25,000
Power Warrior (c) vs. The Great Muta for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship
[ 8]
5
Wrestling Dontaku 2001
May 5, 2001
25,000
Kazunari Murakami and Naoya Ogawa vs. Manabu Nakanishi and Riki Choshu
[ 9]
6
Wrestling Dontaku 2009
May 3, 2009
Fukuoka Kokusai Center
5,500
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Hirooki Goto for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship
[ 10] [ 11] [ 12]
7
Wrestling Dontaku 2010
May 3, 2010
6,000
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Togi Makabe for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship
[ 13]
8
Wrestling Dontaku 2011
May 3, 2011
6,500
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship
[ 14]
9
Wrestling Dontaku 2012
May 3, 2012
6,500
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Hirooki Goto for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship
[ 15] [ 16]
10
Wrestling Dontaku 2013
May 3, 2013
6,800
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Minoru Suzuki for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship
[ 17] [ 18] [ 19]
11
Wrestling Dontaku 2014
May 3, 2014
7,190
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. A.J. Styles for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship
[ 20] [ 21] [ 22]
12
Wrestling Dontaku 2015
May 3, 2015
5,180
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Hirooki Goto for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship
[ 23] [ 24] [ 25]
13
Wrestling Dontaku 2016
May 3, 2016
5,299
Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship
[ 26] [ 27] [ 28]
14
Wrestling Dontaku 2017
May 3, 2017
6,126
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Bad Luck Fale for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship
[ 29] [ 30]
15
Wrestling Dontaku 2018
May 3, 2018
4,066
Kenny Omega vs. Hangman Page
[ 1]
May 4, 2018
6,307
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship
[ 1]
16
Wrestling Dontaku 2019
May 3, 2019
4,011
Dragon Lee (c) vs. Taiji Ishimori for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
[ 31]
May 4, 2019
6,105
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Sanada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship
17
Wrestling Dontaku 2021
May 3, 2021
2,211
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Jay White for the NEVER Openweight Championship
[ 32]
May 4, 2021
2,367
Will Ospreay (c) vs. Shingo Takagi for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
18
Wrestling Dontaku 2022
May 1, 2022
Fukuoka PayPay Dome
8,162
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
[ 33] [ 34]
19
Wrestling Dontaku 2023
May 3, 2023
Fukuoka Kokusai Center
4,489
Sanada (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
[ 35]
20
Wrestling Dontaku 2024
May 3, 2024
2,440
Nic Nemeth (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship
[ 36]
21
May 4, 2024
4,238
Jon Moxley (c) vs. Ren Narita for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
(c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
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 .[ 8] The event opened with the finals of the 2000 Young Lion Cup , where Kenzo Suzuki defeated Shinya Makabe ,[ 8] who later became better known as Togi Makabe, winning the IWGP Heavyweight Championship .[ 37] 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.[ 8]
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 .[ 9]
In the title match, El Samurai and Jyushin Thunder Liger defeated the Mexican brother tag team of Dr. Wagner, Jr. and Silver King to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship .[ 9] The event also featured appearances by mixed martial artists Don Frye and Rainy Martinez.[ 9]
^ a b c 濵かつ Presents レスリングどんたく 2017 . New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved May 3, 2017 .
^ "NJPW events cancelled until May 4" . New Japan Pro-Wrestling . April 8, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2020 .
^ "Hakata Dontaku Minato Matsuri" . Asianbeat . Archived from the original on May 12, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2015 .{{cite web }}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link )
^ "Wrestling Dontaku 1993" . Pro Wrestling History . Retrieved October 18, 2013 .
^ "Wrestling Dontaku 1994" . Pro Wrestling History . Retrieved October 18, 2013 .
^ "Wrestling Dontaku 1995" . Pro Wrestling History . Retrieved October 18, 2013 .
^ Keller, Wade (May 3, 2015). "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 May 3, 2015 .
^ a b c d e f g h i j "Wrestling Dontaku 2000" . Pro Wrestling History . Retrieved October 18, 2013 .
^ a b c d e f g h i j "Wrestling Dontaku 2001" . Pro Wrestling History . Retrieved October 18, 2013 .
^ レスリングどんたく 2009 . New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved October 18, 2013 .
^ 新日本プロレス「レスリングどんたく2009」 . Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). May 3, 2009. Archived from the original on May 7, 2009. Retrieved July 5, 2016 .
^ Golden, Hunter (May 4, 2009). "New Japan "Donkatu 2009" results!" . Wrestleview . Archived from the original on May 6, 2009. Retrieved July 5, 2016 .
^ レスリングどんたく2010 . New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved October 18, 2013 .
^ レスリングどんたく 2011 . New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved October 18, 2013 .
^ "NJPW 40th anniversary レスリングどんたく 2012" . New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved October 18, 2013 .
^ 新日本プロレス「レスリングどんたく 2012」 . Sports Navi (in Japanese). Yahoo! . May 3, 2012. Archived from the original on May 4, 2012. Retrieved October 18, 2013 .
^ レスリングどんたく 2013 . New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved October 18, 2013 .
^ 新日本プロレス「レスリングどんたく2013」 . Sports Navi (in Japanese). Yahoo! . May 3, 2013. Retrieved October 18, 2013 .
^ "Show results - 5/3 NJPW Dontaku PPV: U.S. stars lose titles or title matches, Okada's first IWGP Title defense, more" . Pro Wrestling Torch . May 4, 2013. Retrieved October 18, 2013 .
^ レスリングどんたく 2014 . New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved May 3, 2014 .
^ 新日本プロレス「レスリングどんたく 2014」 . Sports Navi (in Japanese). Yahoo! . May 3, 2014. Retrieved May 3, 2014 .
^ "Show results - 5/3 New Japan "Wrestling Dontaku" PPV: A.J. Styles captures IWGP World Title, plus NWA & more title matches" . Pro Wrestling Torch . May 3, 2014. Retrieved May 3, 2014 .
^ "レスリングどんたく 2015" . New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved May 3, 2015 .
^ "新日本プロレスレ「レスリングどんたく 2015」" . Sports Navi (in Japanese). Yahoo! . May 3, 2015. Retrieved May 3, 2015 .
^ Meltzer, Dave (May 3, 2015). "New Japan Dontaku live coverage 5-3 Fukuoka - RPG Vice vs. Bucks vs ReDRagon, Nakamura vs. Goto, Omega vs. Shelley and Maria teases Karl Anderson" . Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Archived from the original on May 4, 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2015 .
^ レスリングどんたく 2016 . New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved May 3, 2016 .
^ Rose, Bryan (May 3, 2016). "NJPW Wrestling Dontaku results: Super Juniors lineups; IWGP champ Naito vs. Ishii" . Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Retrieved May 3, 2016 .
^ "5/3 NJPW Wrestling Dontaku Results – big title changes, big stars from New Japan, ROH, Bullet Club, Naito's faction" . Pro Wrestling Torch . May 3, 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2016 .
^ 濵かつ Presents レスリングどんたく 2017 . New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved May 3, 2017 .
^ Rose, Bryan (May 2, 2017). "NJPW Wrestling Dontaku live results: Okada faces Bad Luck Fale" . Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Retrieved May 3, 2017 .
^ "Big matches in 2019 are now announced!!" . New Japan Pro-Wrestling . January 4, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2019 .
^ "NJPW Announces Wrestling Dontaku As Two-Night Event In May 2021" . Fightful . December 6, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2020 .
^ "Big Events in Store in the First Half of 2022! 【50th】" . New Japan Pro-Wrestling . January 6, 2022. Retrieved January 6, 2022 .
^ NJPW. "Full card Revealed for Wrestling Dontaku! | NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING" . NJPW . Retrieved 2022-04-10 .
^ NJPW. "2023.05.03 WRESTLING DONTAKU 2023 | NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING" . NJPW . Retrieved 2023-02-07 .
^ "Two nights of title fights set for Fukuoka" . NJPW . April 15, 2024. Retrieved April 15, 2024 .
^ 真壁 刀義 . New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved October 18, 2013 .