NJPW Wrestling Dontaku night one live results: Yota Tsuji vs. Andrade El Idolo
NJPW Wrestling Dontaku begins today.
The first night of the two-night event from the Fukuoka International Center in Fukuoka, Japan, began on Sunday with the IWGP Global Championship on the line. Yota Tsuji defends against Andrade El Idolo in the main event.
Also, Gino Gambino made his return to NJPW commentary.
NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2026 Night one (Sunday, May 3):
- IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji lost his belt to Andrade El Idolo
- NEVER Openweight Champion Ren Narita retained against Oleg Boltin
- Aaron Wolf defeated Don Fale
- Shingo Takagi, Drilla Moloney, Taiji Ishimori, Robbie X, & Daiki Nagai defeated Callum Newman, Jake Lee, Francesco Akira, Jakob Austin Young, & Zane Jay
- Konosuke Takeshita & Shota Umino defeated Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi
- Will Ospreay, HENARE, & Great-O-Khan defeated Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, & Tatsuya Matsumoto
- Yuya Uemura, Taichi, El Desperado, & Místico defeated Ryohei Oiwa, Hartley Jackson, Robbie Eagles, & Kosei Fujita
- OSKAR & Yuto-Ice defeated Tomoaki Honma & Masatora Yasuda
- Toru Yano, YOH, & Master Wato defeated Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi, & Taisei Nakahara
Our live coverage begins at 6 p.m. Japan Standard Time.
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Toru Yano, YOH, & Master Wato defeated Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi, & Taisei Nakahara
Yano battled his way out of Nakahara and Taguchi’s early plot, dodging their every move. Wato bounced Taguchi’s rather sensitive region and poked him on the shoulder to slowly fall to the mat. Taguchi waddled out of Wato’s Funky Weapon and a charging YOH. Nkaahara stomped and chopped at Wato, who swung a comeback by way of a dropkick. With but an uppercut, Wato scored the win for his team.
Strong comic relief from Yano and Taguchi, as usual. The genital pain is one that Taguchi excels in humorously. Yano missing his moves was an underratedly funny part of this.
OSKAR & Yuto-Ice defeated Tomoaki Honma & Masatora Yasuda
Honma had to wind down an emphatic Yasuda, who charged to a bewildered OSKAR and Ice before the bell. As soon as it rang, Yasuda kicked Ice off the apron. OSKAR sent both of his opponents down with a push and eluded Honma’s Kokeshi. Honma kept OSKAR subdued outside, while Ice nearly succumbed to a jackknife pin. Ice kicked Yasuda straight down and followed up with a thunderous right knee to completely knock him out, ending the match.
Huh. Well, okay. An entertaining, short squash.
Yuya Uemura, Taichi, El Desperado, & Místico defeated TMDK (Ryohei Oiwa, Hartley Jackson, Robbie Eagles, & Kosei Fujita)
Desperado and Fujita traded chest-reddening chops, culminating in the former spilling outside. Místico dazed Eagles with some excellent arm work, softening him up so Taichi could kick him flat. Jackson tackled Taichi and punctured him with an elbow drop.
Uemura met Oiwa after the latter dominated Taichi. Jackson came in for the assist, as did Fujita, but all of TMDK fell to adrenealine-fueled dropkicks. Oiwa trapped Uemura’s arm, tightened in a Cobra Twist Abdominal Stretch. Jackson drove the oxygen out of Uemura’s lungs with a well-placed senton. Místico and Desperado dropkicked Fujita and Eagles. Jackson burst through Uemur once again, this time by a Big Crossbody. Uemura surprised him with a quick Frankensteiner to secure the victory.
Post-match: Eagles and Fujita teased a challenge to defend their IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship. Místico took the bait gleefully and issued the challenge, to which Eagles accepted for Wrestling Dontaku, Night Two, on May 4.
Though his time was sporadic in the match, Místico’s spots were so fluid. It’s no surprise why he’s CMLL’s biggest draw right now. Uemura and Jackson shone brightest here with the time they were given.
United Empire (Will Ospreay, HENARE, & Great-O-Khan) defeated Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) & Tatsuya Matsumoto
Bishamon overwhelmed Ospreay, and they joined Matsumoto in clobbering his tender spine. Ospreay recovered with a scoop-and-slam on Matsumoto. In the crowd, Khan pinned Goto to the concrete as he sat proudly on a chair. Goto threw a lariat at Ospreay, and YOSHI-HASHI rescued him from Khan with a superkick. Matsumoto unwisely charged at Khan, yet succeeded in rocking him with an uppercut. Khan rendered Matsumoto unconscious with his Iron Claw, repeatedly slammed his cranium to the mat, and pinned him.
Ospreay continually seeing himself at odds with what United Empire had become really sells the heaviness of the inevitable turn the team will have against him. If NJPW is building this up to Forbidden Door, color me intrigued. Considering United Empire helped him in AEW against the Death Riders, the thought of Ospreay aligning with them in All In or Forbidden Door has me wondering.
Konosuke Takeshita & Shota Umino defeated House Of Torture (Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi)
Takeshita, conspicuously missing his NJPW World Television Championship, demanded that Owens give it back. Owens played the fool before sending him outside and flipping Umino over his shoulder. Takahashi charged Takeshita into the ring post. Takeshita dove outside, clattering Takahashi into the barricade. The Alpha then rocked Owens with an elbow. Owens responded with a Snapmare Driver. Takeshita ate a Z-Trigger and let loose a Knockout Shot.
Umino and Takeshita aligned to elbow hte House of Torture before accidentally bumping into each other. Following a tense stare, Takeshita pushed Umino out of the way to take the brunt of their ambush. Umino didn’t let his effort fall in vain, as he turned the page for his patented Second Chapter to pin Takahashi for the 3-count.
Takeshita’s learning to work with people better, or maybe it’s because Umino isn’t a nasty little gremlin like Kazuchika Okada. Gino Gambino on commentary was funny during this match with Takeshita’s supposedly stolen belt.
Unbound Co. (Shingo Takagi, Drilla Moloney, Taiji Ishimori, Robbie X, & Daiki Nagai) defeated United Empire (Callum Newman, Jake Lee, Francesco Akira, Jakob Austin Young, & Zane Jay)
Unbound Co. struck as though preemtively so, leading X and Ishimori room to batter Akira. Nagai took the subsequent opening to kick and strike Akira. Lee hurled Nagai into Newman’s boot in the corner. Newman taunted Nagai’s feeble elbow strikes until the latter’s Shotgun Blast kicked him into the corner. Takagi neutralized Jay’s dropkick attempt with a shoulder tackle. Moloney coordinated an offense with Takagi where they punched the young United Empire member to the mat. Nagai dove onto Newman outside, while X did the same to Lee, Akira, and Young. Moloney chopped down Jay, resulting in a brainbuster and a gore. His Drilla Killa put Jay down for the count in the pinfall.
Post-match: Takagi and Newman got in each other’s faces, shoving until they brawled.
United Empire continues to feel like the biggest threat in NJPW right now, and under Newman’s reign, that’s a fun thing to toy around with.
Don Fale defeated Aaron Wolf
Neither wrestler wasted a second, with the more tenacious Wolf charging his collossal opponent to one knee. Fale mercilessly threw Wolf into the sea of chairs ouside and sat on his chest. Wolf had enough of Fale’s bullying and flung him into the barricades, again and again. With a Judo Toss and elbow drop, Wolf inched closer to victory. Thanks to Chase Owens distracting Referee Marty Asami, Wolf’s hold on Fale bore no fruit. Fale and Owens niftily knocked out Asami so they could clobber Wolf and fling him into an exposed turnbuckle.
In the nick of time, Wolf rolled away from Fale’s devastating elbow drop. Baiting Fale into the corner, Wolf tossed him there again and miraculoulsy dropped him with a scoo-and-slam. With an Angle Slam, Wolf stood tall over his biggest obstacle so far with a pinfall win.
Slow build in a short match, but it made every glimpse of hope become an outright extended vision. To have me feel this amped in a match featuring Chase Owens and Don Fale should be a crime.
Ren Narita (c) defeated Oleg Boltin for the NEVER Openweight Championship
Narita executed a premeditated ambush on Boltin. Once the bell rung, however, Boltin came alive, knocking Narita outside. Dick Togo caught Boltin’s attention, lending enough time for Narita to strike his challenger with a steel chair. Narita swung Boltin into rows of chairs in front of a frightened Fukuoka crowd. The champion wrenched Bolltin’s arm against the lowest arm of the turnbuckle. Boltin powered up to convert Narita’s cross-arm hold into a ruinous powerbomb. Though Narita adorned Boltin’s arm with a steel chair for malicious purposes, the challenger used it against his foe. A Boltin Shake and Boltin Splash crushed Narita. Yoshinobu Kanemaru tried to spit whiskey into Boltin’s face, but he sneakily did it first to reduce the odds against him.
SHO arrived, temporarily distracting Boltin until Aaron Wolf came out to carry him off. Narita ensnared Boltin with a Guillotine Choke and a Double Cross. Boltin unleashed a Kamikaze but couldn’t capitalize due to his weak shoulders. The challenger writhed enough to break Narita’s cross-arm. Countering another cross-arm, Boltin nearly used it to end Narita’s reign with another powerbomb. Unfortunately, Togo returned with a low blow. Narita submitted Boltin with one last cross-arm.
The shenanigans in this match must’ve been the monkey’s paw for any hope of another House of Torture comeuppance after the prior bout. Shame.
Main Event
Yota Tsuji (c) versus Andrade El Idolo for the IWPG Global Heavyweight Championship
The main event saw these competitors sprinting full speed ahead, with Idolo and Tsuji sharing a Tranquilo pose after a standstill. In the corner, Tsuji hammered his fist into Idolo’s skull; the challenger usurped control with a spike into said corner. The AEW talent grounded the Global Heavyweight title holder with a headlock narrowly broken by the ropes. Idolo caught Tsuji on the ropes, springboarding off with a Spanish Fly. A Tsuji-cita swung a comeback for the champion. Idolo demolished Tsuji with a Running Double Knee Smash.
Tsuji unsheathed a Curb Stomp on a rope-perched Idolo, who transitioned it into a powerslam on the apron and followed with a tornillo. Returning to the ropes once more for a Marlowe Crush, Tsuji thwacked Idolo with a chop and executed the move on the ropes. Pivoting with surgical precision, Tsuji surprisingly sent Idolo flying with a hurricanrana. Tsuji unleashed anothe Spanish Fly. Idolo sensed a Gene Blaster and cut it off with a Spinning Back Elbow. In the final stretch, these fatigued wrestlers chopped a cloud of mist off each other’s chest, exposing gnarly welts. Tsuji headbutted Idolo and they traded pin attempts. His last hopes being a Schoolboy Suplex and a Hammerlock DDT, Idolo’s hopes were in vain. In a brutal spot, Idolo DM’d Tsuji into the ring post, and again on the mat to become the new IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion.
Post-match: Idolo, relieved, stated that he “did it”. Acknowledging the feelings his win may bring while being an AEW talent, he encouraged a new challenger to step up. Out came Drilla Moloney and Shota Umino, both arguing en route to the ring. Idolo proposed making the upcoming bout a triple-threat match for the IWGP Global Heavyweight Champoinship.
Whoa. I didn’t expect that outcome. Tsuji began the year with a double championship reign, and having both end so soon is a genuine shocker. The match itself justified it, too. These men took each other to the limit. They left a damning mark on one another, making the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship feel like a life-or-death accolade to win. That’s what’s beautiful about this art, having something to fight for that you paint your opponent with your blood, sweat, and tears to win it. The cherry on top is his post-match promo, excellently delivered, making previous comments about his language barrier structures feel a relic of the past.
Final Thoughts
I’ve some mixed feelings on this card, to be honest. Aaron Wolf squeaking out a win against Don Fale feels like a step in the right direction (though I’d rather he have moved onto someone else). The growing dissent between Will Ospreay and United Empire is sowing seeds that can grow into something amazing as the summer stretches on. Gino Gambino’s return to NJPW commentary provided a fresh outlook, especially in the perspective of someone who’s been away for so long. Welcome back, Gino.
As if Andrade El Idolo and Yota Tsuji’s match at New Beginning in USA didn’t deliver enough, they executed a great main event. I’d say this was a fair trade-off for the Gabe Kidd injury that removed him from this match. Nevertheless, this is Andrade’s year. His post-WWE run has left him feeling a star, and it’s time to belt him up to cement that.
Corey Michaels covers the play-by-play action of events hosted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Referenced by content creators and Wikipedia articles, he adds his prosaic voice with authority to the F4W/WON audience.
A content writer and wrestling fan, Corey has woven the stories of our great sport into literature. He cuts to the emotional core of characters, rivalries, and angles.