Wrestling Dontaku 2019

Promotional poster for the event, featuring caricatures of several NJPW wrestlers

## Information

### Date

02019-05-03-0000May 3, 2019
02019-05-04-0000May 4, 2019

### Attendance

Night 1:
4,011
Night 2:
6,105

### City

Fukuoka, Japan

**Wrestling Dontaku 2019** was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). The event will take place on two nights May 3 and 4, 2019, in Fukuoka, Fukuoka at Fukuoka Kokusai Center. Both nights featured eight matches, two of which are contested for championships in the first night and the second one of which are contested for championships. The first night was headlined by Dragon Lee defending the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Taiji Ishimori and the second night was headlined by Kazuchika Okada after defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against SANADA. This was the sixteenth event under the Wrestling Dontaku name.

## Production

### Storylines

Both nights of Wrestling Dontaku 2019 featured 16 professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portray villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches.

The first night of Wrestling Dontaku 2019 was headlined by Dragon Lee making his first title defense of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Taiji Ishimori. On March 6, 2019, at NJPW's 47th-anniversary show, after Ishimori retained the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Jushin Thunder Liger, Ishimori challenged anyone from Ring of Honor to face him in a match at G1 Supercard for his title. Afterwards, Ishimori's challenged was accepted by Dragon Lee, who confronted him and instead he would be representing Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). On April 6 at G1 Supercard, Ishimori lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship to Lee in a three-way match, also involving Bandido. Afterwards, Ishimori challenged Lee to a rematch, but as singles match. The title match was announced on April 8. NJPW also announced a tag team match between Lee and Ishimori, with Lee teaming Will Ospreay and Ishimori will be teaming with a mystery, which had previously been teased on March 8, that Bullet Club would have a new member in the junior heavyweight division.

On March 24, Taichi and Will Ospreay faced each other in a tag team match, where Taichi teamed with his Suzuki-gun stablemate Zack Sabre Jr. and Ospreay teamed with Hiroshi Tanahashi. Taichi scored a direct victory on Ospreay and following the match, Taichi attacked Ospreay and posed with the NEVER Openweight Championship title belt. Afterwards, Taichi challenged the winner of the match at G1 Supercard on April 6, between Ospreay and Jeff Cobb. At the event on April 6, Cobb defeated Ospreay in a "Winners takes all" match to win the NEVER Openweight Championship and retain the ROH World Television Championship. The title match was announced on April 8.

The second night of Wrestling Dontaku 2019 was headlined by Kazuchika Okada making his first title defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against SANADA. On March 24, Okada defeated SANADA in the finals to win the 2019 New Japan Cup and earn the right to face Jay White at the main event of the G1 Supercard on April 6. After winning the tournament, Okada promised that after he won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship he would give SANADA a rematch. At the event on April 6, Okada defeated White to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for the fifth time. Okada and SANADA had previously faced each other on five different occasions with Okada winning each match. The title match was announced on April 8.

The second night of the event featured a singles match between EVIL and Tomohiro Ishii. The match was set up following their encounter on March 24, after EVIL and Ishii faced each other in an eight-man tag team match after Ishii and EVIL would brawl with each other and had to be separated.