NJPW Wrestling Dontaku results: SANADA challenges Okada & more

Another Day, Another Ishii Match Of The Year Candidate

Tomohiro Ishii vs EVIL

When this match first popped up on the NJPW Wrestling Dontaku card I really didn’t give it a second thought. Yes, I knew it would be a solid match. Ishii has proven to be one of the most reliable wrestlers on the New Japan roster and EVIL is every bit as under-appreciated as Ishii is good.

During the Road To tour, though, these two turned up the intensity on one another seemingly out of nowhere and for no reason other than wanting to smash their bodies against one another until only one of them remained. It’s what New Japan does best – simple storytelling without a whole bunch of extra nonsense.

Throughout the tour, EVIL has made a point of using the Scorpion Death Lock of Ishii’s mentor Riki Choshu to add a more personal touch to the rivalry. On night one of NJPW Wrestling Dontaku, EVIL picked up the win over Ishii in a tag contest via referee stoppage when Ishii couldn’t break the submission.

The second night of action between these two perfect meatballs was a very different story.

Starting off, referee Red Shoes proved to be the analog of everybody watching in the arena at home. As Ishii and EVIL battered one another with near-endless forearms and shoulder blocks to start the match, he lost his mind behind them trying to figure out how long the two could actually keep going.

Later in the match, harkening back to the Choshu connection, Ishii able to not only survive EVIL’s version of the Scorpion Death Lock but come back with one of his own. It wasn’t enough to put the King of Darkness away, but it made a statement all its own – this was a different Ishii than was seen the night before and he wasn’t taking any more of EVIL’s nonsense.

There was so much action in this one, especially at the end, that words typed out simply can’t do it justice. The near falls were off the charts, EVIL kicking out of a thunderous Ishii lariat at one was completely bonkers, and the stiffness of the entire bout was next level. It’s worth going out of your way to watch (and then rewatch, and rewatch again).

In the end, EVIL would fall victim to the Ishii standby: the brainbuster. Dropping EVIL on his head, Ishii would finally capture the victory in what is absolutely a Match of the Year candidate. I feel like I say that after almost every big Ishii match, but it never stops being true.

If Ishii doesn’t get a run with the IWGP Heavyweight Title before he finally hangs it up, it’ll be one of the greatest injustices ever served in professional wrestling.