10 Biggest Stories From NJPW's Wrestling Dontaku And What They Mean Going Forward

Two brutish, rough-neck competitors met in one epic fight on Saturday night in Fukuoka. For over twenty minutes, EVIL and Tomohiro Ishii traded power moves, vicious strikes, and sickening headbutts. The strong style grudge match quickly took off and never let up, stealing much acclaim from the IWGP title main event that was to follow.

Both men were rocked on multiple occasions during the bout and each came within milliseconds of winning. However, a final flurry from Ishii--hitting an enziguri, lariat, and his signature brainbuster--was enough to keep EVIL down for the three count.

Curiously, The Stone Pitbull was interrupted during his post-match interview backstage by Taichi--with his newly won NEVER Openweight belt in hand. The champion repeatedly acted as if Ishii was gunning for the title despite no such challenge being made. A continually confused Ishii eventually relented and said that if Taichi wanted to defend the belt against him, that would be fine. It was an odd moment for sure, but the match has since been made official for Dominion.