Episode 72: Wrestling Dontaku
May 12, 2026
On May 3rd and 4th, we held back-to-back nights of "Wrestling Dontaku." To everyone who came to the venue or watched on NJPW WORLD, thank you very much.
The history of this event, "Wrestling Dontaku," began in 1993. The main event for the first one was Antonio Inoki & Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Riki Choshu. The following year, in 1994, it was Antonio Inoki vs. The Great Muta. Inoki-san headlined the main event two years in a row. As expected, for a long-running event or series, that initial impact is crucial. In my generation, the June Osaka show, "DOMINION," can be called a massive hit series.
However, the Dontaku series actually went on hiatus after 1994 and didn't return until 2000. It wasn't held in 2002 either, making its "third start" in 2009 (headlined by Nakamura vs. Goto for the IWGP title), and it has continued annually since then.
For the record, I’ve only headlined the main event at Dontaku three times: In 2011 against Nakamura, in 2013 against Karl Anderson, and in 2018 against Okada. In recent years, I haven’t quite been able to make it to that final match in the ring.
Looking at the match data... the Okada match was a loss. The Karl Anderson match was followed by the birth of the Bullet Club. Wait... that means I might not have ever performed the "Air Guitar" in Fukuoka. No, hold on. 2011 was the year I was on my record-breaking title defense run, so I must have done it then! ...Wait, no. If I recall correctly, Goto showed up in the ring after that match and blasted me with a headbutt... Aaaaarrrrggghhh!!!
This means I might have never played the air guitar at "Wrestling Dontaku." What should I do?! I can’t change the past, but what should I do?!
Perhaps that’s why I feel this way. That’s exactly why I want all the active wrestlers to treat every single event with the utmost importance. Even when you think, "I've given it my all," there is usually still so much more you can do.
Attending Hiroyoshi Tenzan-san’s retirement press conference made me reflect on these things.