6 Wrestlers Pulled From NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2021 Due To COVID-19 Protocols

Rest easy, friends: Will Ospreay vs. Shingo Takagi is still going ahead.

by Andy H Murray
NJPW Wrestling Dontaku
NJPW

Today's NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2021 card has been decimated after six wrestlers were pulled from the show due to COVID-19 protocols.

Per New Japan, Kazuchika Okada, Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, SHO, and YOH have all been taken off the show, forcing a number of big line-up changes.

The official update notes that one of the wrestlers listed above was suffering from a fever earlier this morning. Though they are currently being tested, removing them from Wrestling Dontaku was an essential precaution. In addition, another wrestler who has been on NJPW shows since 1 May has a fever.

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In response to this, NJPW opted to remove any wrestler who had competed against those suffering from the fevers as well.

The most notable cut, card-wise, is YOH and Desperado's IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title match, which is off the card entirely. The other withdrawals mean that instead of Okada and SHO facing Suzuki and Kanemaru, Master Wato and Hiroyoshi Tenzan will face Taiji Ishimori and Yujiro Takahashi instead, while a 10-man tag has been reconfigured into Ryusuke Taguchi, Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Dick Togo, EVIL & Jay White.

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IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay vs. Shingo Takagi remains intact. Wrestling Dontaku 2021 day two is currently ongoing.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.