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The third installment of New Japan's 2000 Dome schedule saw them return to the Fukuoka Dome for "WRESTLING DONTAKU 2000". With his announcement that he would hold a retirement match countdown, Tatsumi Fujinami's "Epilogue of Dragon" series began in Fukuoka with a match against the man he lost the IWGP Heavyweight Title to in 1998, Masahiro Chono. The destructive UFO force of Naoya Ogawa & Kazunari Murakami would face IWGP Tag Team Champions, G-EGGS' Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata, who looked to avoid the same fate as Shinya Hashimoto against Ogawa. In a unique main event seeing two of New Japan's top superstars face each other as their alternate personas, Kensuke Sasaki as Power Warrior defended the IWGP Heavyweight Title against Keiji Muto as Great Muta. Additionally, many feature matches took place on the undercard, including the Young Lion Cup final, and two New Japan vs. Team 2000 singles matches.
Special participation:
Kazunari Murakami (UFO)
Naoya Ogawa (UFO)
CIMA (Toryumon Japan)
Minoru Tanaka (BattlARTS)
Sumo Dandy Fuji 2000 (Toryumon Japan)
NJPW "WRESTLING DONTAKU 2000 - EPILOGUE OF DRAGON 1ST", 5/5/00 (WPW)
Fukuoka Dome
35,000 Fans
1. Young Lion Cup - Final: Kenzo Suzuki beat Shinya Makabe (15:08) with a backdrop suplex.
2. Shiro Koshinaka, Junji Hirata & Tadao Yasuda beat Hiro Saito, Tatsutoshi Goto & Michiyoshi Ohara (10:19) when Koshinaka used a powerbomb on Hiro.
3. Koji Kanemoto, Shinjiro Otani, Kendo Kashin & Tatsuhito Takaiwa beat Jushin Thunder Liger, Minoru Tanaka  , CIMA  & Sumo Dandy Fuji 2000 (14:26) when Otani used a swan dive kneel kick on Fuji.
4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Takashi Iizuka (13:34) with a diving headbutt.
5. Yutaka Yoshie beat Satoshi Kojima (15:08) with a half-nelson suplex.
6. Epilogue of Dragon 1st: Masahiro Chono beat Tatsumi Fujinami (6:03) with a Yakuza kick.
7. IWGP Tag Team Title: Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata (c) beat Naoya Ogawa  & Kazunari Murakami (9:26) when Nagata used a backdrop hold on Murakami (4th defense).
8. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Power Warrior (Kensuke Sasaki) (c) beat Great Muta (12:44) with a lariat (3rd defense).
Points of note:
Kenzo Suzuki, the super rookie turning heads, avenged his only Young Lion Cup group stage loss in the final, defeating a man several years his senior, Shinya Makabe, to capture the cup. A shade under four months after his debut, the former rugby star picked up his first tournament victory, a prelude to no doubt more success in the future.
Liger led three independent junior stars against the New Japan force of Kanemoto, Otani, Kashin & Takaiwa in a featured eight man tag match. Liger's partners were BattlARTS' Minoru Tanaka, Toryumon Japan's CIMA (the man who Liger defeated in the 2000 Super J Cup final), and CIMA's Crazy Max friend, Sumo Dandy Fuji 2000. The match featured many dazzling moves, but the New Japan combined force was too strong for their opponents on the day, Otani pinning Fuji.
Tenzan pushed forward to a possible IWGP Heavyweight Title shot with a big win over Iizuka in the first of three New Japan vs. Team 2000 singles matches. Tenzan pinned the technician following a diving headbutt.
In a major upset that few were expecting, one month after his homecoming and loss to Tenzan, Yutaka Yoshie defeated Tenzan's tag partner, Kojima, in singles action. Kojima was troubled by Yoshie's large frame, and was crushed by a half-nelson suplex, which sealed the win for the G-EGGS upstart.
President Tatsumi Fujinami wrestled the first match of his "Epilogue of Dragon" retirement countdown against enemy, Chono. It was not a good day for Fujinami though, as he fell to a Chono Yakuza kick in only 6 minutes, a disappointing start to his farewell parade.
Nakanishi & Nagata made a very impressive defense of their IWGP Tag Team Title when they defeated the much feared UFO force of Naoya Ogawa & Kazunari Murakami. The challengers entered with a figure in a white mask, resembling Antonio Inoki greatly. The figure used an Inoki-style sleeper hold on Nakanishi at one point during the match. After a chaotic fight, Nagata sunk a confused Murakami with a backdrop hold to complete a successful V4 defense. The mayhem didn't end there though, as a large brawl erupted, with Riki Choshu getting involved! New Japan vs. UFO raged on, even with Hashimoto seemingly retired.
Kensuke Sasaki revived his Power Warrior persona, and was accompanied by his wife, Akira Hokuto. His challenger for the IWGP Heavyweight Title, Great Muta, made a sneak attack at the bell, beginning the match. During the match, Hokuto involved herself, surprising Muta with her patented Northern Light bomb! Power countered a mist attack from Muta with his own later on, and followed with a lariat for the successful V3 defense!
Back to: "STRONG ENERGY II 2000" (4/14/00 to 4/30/00)
Forward to: "BEST OF THE SUPER JR. VII" (5/19/00 to 6/9/00)
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