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NJPW Wrestling Dontaku results: SANADA challenges Okada & more

By Corey Collins

OSAKA,JAPAN - FEBRUARY 11: Kazuchika Okada enters the ring prior to the match between Kazuchika Okada and Bad Luck Fale during the New Beginning of NJPW at Edion Arena Osaka on February 11, 2019 in Osaka, Japan. (Photo by Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
OSAKA,JAPAN - FEBRUARY 11: Kazuchika Okada enters the ring prior to the match between Kazuchika Okada and Bad Luck Fale during the New Beginning of NJPW at Edion Arena Osaka on February 11, 2019 in Osaka, Japan. (Photo by Etsuo Hara/Getty Images) /
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Chris Jericho Returns to New Japan

As Okada celebrated in the ring after his war with SANADA, the lights in the arena dropped out and a video began to play on the video wall. Unlike the video calling out Juice Robinson, the mystery of this individual was answered almost immediately.

Showing, yet again, that you never really know when or where he’ll show up, Chris Jericho appeared on the video wall surrounded by dolls and clowns. Jericho referred to himself as “The Painmaker” and made his intentions very clear: he wanted the IWGP Heavyweight Title.

Jericho went so far as to issue a challenge for a specific date – June 9 in Osaka at Dominion. This seemed less like a challenge and more like a demand and will pair nicely with the Intercontinental Title Match set earlier into the show between champion Kota Ibushi and challenger Tetsuya Naito.

While it was already public knowledge that both Jericho and Kenny Omega were able to work in New Japan despite their status in AEW, it’s a bit of a surprise to see one of them show up so quickly after Double Or Nothing goes down on May 25. Will Jericho be the one to knock Okada from his perch and bring the IWGP Heavyweight Title to All Elite Wrestling?

What’s Next For New Japan?

In just over a week, the 26th Best of the Super Juniors will kick off in Miyagi. This year’s tournament features two brackets of ten wrestlers with the finals taking place in Tokyo’s Ryogoku Sumo Hall on June 5. The brackets are set to be revealed this week so we can finally see which dream matches are on tap over the next month.

Hiroshi Tanahashi will return on June 5 as well and the smart money has him looking for revenge on Jay White for his attack at NJPW Wrestling Dontaku. Could Tanahashi also be on the lookout for the man who put him on the shelf, Zack Sabre Jr?

Next. Taya Valkyrie on Rebellion, her influences, more!. dark

Finally, as mentioned above, Dominion is already shaping up with both the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Titles set to be defended. Can Naito take the first step toward realizing his double-title dreams, or will Ibushi continue to try and raise the value of the IC Title as we head toward the G1?

The biggest event of the summer, G1 Climax 29, kicks off in July leaving some breathing room between it and the end of the BOSJ. The names for the G1 have yet to be announced but with the winner heading onto the first ever two-night Wrestle Kingdom the stakes have never been higher.

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