Hiroshi Tanahashi will be competing for more gold at Wrestling Donatku.
The Ace announced today on Twitter that he will be joining Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii as a tag partner at the May 3rd event, which will see the trio challenge Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado and Ren Narita for the IWGP NEVER Openweight Six-Man Championship.
I am X.
福岡行きます。 #njpw
— 棚橋 弘至 (@tanahashi1_100) April 30, 2023
NJPW has since issued the following press release confirming Tanahashi for the matchup:
When Ren Narita and Shota Umino faced Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada on March 11 in a special tag attraction match during the New Japan Cup, few were too surprised when age and experience triumphed over youthful enthusiasm. Yet while the Son of Strong Style felt burned at losing alongside a Dojo classmate in Umino, his confidence as a NEVER 6 Man Champion has only continued to be buoyed. Alongside his Strong Style partners, Narita picked up a victory and defended against HOUSE OF TORTURE, and had revenge on his mind immediately afterward.
Narita called out Okada and dared the Rainmaker to find two partners to face Strong Style in Fukuoka. While pundits suspected the inclusion of Tomohiro Ishii and Hiroshi Tanahashi, the subsequent Road to Dontaku was rather complicated. Ishii battled El Desperado in Washington DC, and their battle proved to be a flashpoint of an intense war that was waged through the rest of the tour, but the Stone Pitbull made a point of saying he wouldn’t team with Tanahashi, wanting anm all CHAOS team to challenge.
Meanwhile Tanahashi’s path to inclusion was made challenging by injury. At Capital Collision, the Dream team of Okada and Tanahashi were unsuccessful in their attempt to win the STRONG Openweight Tag team Championships, and the Ace would also leave with a broken rib. On April 30, Tanahashi announced on social media that he was cleared and would be in Fukuoka to take the open spot; hours later, Okada confirmed the decision in Kumamoto. That prompted Ishii to storm out in anger; will Ishii accept the Ace, and will this team of three be on point enough to beat a well oiled machine in the championship side?
UPDATED LINEUP FOR WRESTLING DONTAKU:
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
Hiromu Takahashi vs. SANADA (c)
IWGP NEVER Openweight Championship
David Finlay vs. Tama Tonga (c)
IWGP Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship
Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & Ren Narita (c)
NJPW World Television Championship
Jeff Cobb vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (c)
NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship
Hikuleo vs. KENTA (c)
Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI vs. Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI
Shota Umino, KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight vs. Aaron Henare, Francesco Akira & TJP
Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste & Kosei Fujita vs. Great-O-Khan & Aussie Open
Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Toru Yano & YOH vs. EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, SHO & Dick Togo
