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

4. Tetsuya Naito's Intercontinental Challenge Finally Made Official

Chris Jericho New Japan NJPW
njpw1972.com

Kota Ibushi and Tetsuya Naito have been circling each other for some time now. The Golden Star managed to unseat the Los Ingobernables de Japon leader as Intercontinental Champion in Madison Square Garden last month. Since then, Naito has called for a rematch, but the ever "tranquilo" star has repeatedly refused to name a time or place for the bout.

The champion and challenger met on both nights of Wrestling Dontaku in six-man tag team action, offering a preview of their inevitable singles match. With Roppongi 3K on his side, Ibushi took the win on Friday. Then, the next night saw LIJ victorious before Naito took the microphone to again lay down the gauntlet for the Intercontinental belt.

This time, however, he finally declared that he will challenge for the gold on 9 June at Dominion. Ibushi--who had already left the ring and was halfway to the back--returned to face Naito and quickly accepted the challenge, making the match official.

 
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Douglas Scarpa is a freelance writer, independent filmmaker, art school graduate, and pro wrestling aficionado -- all of which mean he is in financial ruin. He has no backup plan to speak of, yet maintains his abnormally high spirits. If he had only listened to the scorn of his childhood teachers, he wouldn't be in this situation.