10 Biggest Stories From NJPW's Wrestling Dontaku And What They Mean Going Forward
2. Kazuchika Okada Retains But Finds A Worthy New Rival In SANADA
The Rainmaker and the so-called Cold Skull last met during the final round of March's New Japan Cup tournament. Okada defeated SANADA to not only win the Cup but also a shot at the IWGP belt--going on to defeat Jay White for the gold at G1 Supercard. During Wrestling Dontaku's second night of competition, the two men again met--this time with Okada's regained Heavyweight title on the line.
Over the course of nearly forty minutes, both men traded offense as the crowd in Fukuoka was evenly split in their support between them. Near the end of the bout, SANADA nearly put the reigning champ away with a Rainmaker clothesline of his own, but Okada managed to kick out at the last possible moment. An attempted Skull End submission from the challenger followed but was swiftly countered into a leaping Tombstone piledriver. Okada quickly hoisted SANADA off the mat and nailed a successive Rainmaker to finally put the challenger down.
Kazuchika just barely managed to overcome SANADA, but the new challenger proved his worth as one of the champion's toughest opponents in recent memory. However, another new challenger then made his presence felt to the shock of Okada and everyone watching.