Wrestling Dontaku 2017

Wrestling Dontaku 2017 is an upcoming professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). The event is scheduled to take place on May 3, 2017, in Fukuoka, Fukuoka at Fukuoka Kokusai Center and feature ten matches, three of which will be contested for championships. The show will be headlined by Kazuchika Okada defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Bad Luck Fale. This will be the fourteenth event under the Wrestling Dontaku name.

Storylines
Wrestling Dontaku 2017 will feature ten professional wrestling matches that involve different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portray villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches.

Wrestling Dontaku 2017 will be headlined by Kazuchika Okada making his fifth defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Bad Luck Fale. This match was set up on April 9 at Sakura Genesis 2017, where Fale attacked Okada after he had made his fourth successful title defense against the 2017 New Japan Cup winner Katsuyori Shibata. Fale, who had lost to Shibata in the finals of the New Japan Cup, had defeated Okada on August 8, 2016, during the 2016 G1 Climax, but instead of a title shot, was granted a non-title match against Okada on September 22 at Destruction in Hiroshima, where he was defeated by the reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion. The match at Wrestling Dontaku 2017 marks Fale's first shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.

In the semi-main event, Kenny Omega takes on Tomohiro Ishii. Prior to challenging Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2017, Omega stated that he wanted to defend the title against Ishii. After failing to capture the title, Omega and Ishii faced off in the first round of the 2017 New Japan Cup, where Ishii was victorious, derailing Omega's quest for another shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. On April 9, Omega pinned Ishii in a tag team match and afterwards requested a singles rematch with him, which was made official the following day.

Two more title matches will take place at Wrestling Dontaku 2017. In the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship match, Taguchi Japan (Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ricochet and Ryusuke Taguchi) defend against previous champions Los Ingobernables de Japon (Bushi, Evil and Sanada) in a rematch from April 4. Meanwhile, the IWGP Tag Team Championship will be defended in a three-way match with new champions War Machine (Hanson and Raymond Rowe) facing Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Roa) and Tencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima). After defeating Tencozy for the title on April 9, War Machine accepted a rematch challenge from the previous champions as well as another challenge made backstage by Guerrillas of Destiny, leading to NJPW announcing the three-way match the following day.

Other matches at the event include the returning Cody taking on David Finlay and CHAOS and Suzuki-gun facing off in a ten-man tag team match.