IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji will have to wait a little longer for his pound of flesh. His Wrestling Dontaku challenger, Gabe Kidd, has been pulled from the event due to injury.<\/p>\n
After Tsuji dropped his IWGP Heavyweight title to Callum Newman at Sakura Genesis, Kidd added insult to injury<\/a> by attacking the Unbound Co. member after the match. The War Dog made it clear that he was coming after Tsuji’s remaining heavyweight title at a later date. And the former NJPW star’s return was initially welcomed – until he revealed he was wearing an AEW shirt. But tthe unveiling brought a cacophony of boos from the Ry\u014dgoku Sumo Hall crowd.<\/p>\n But karma clearly caught up with Kidd faster than he envisioned. The British star suffered a shoulder injury at AEW Dynasty last weekend which resulted in the Dogs dropping the World Trios Championships to The Conglomeration. NJPW<\/a> officially announced earlier this week that Kidd has been pulled from his world title match at Wrestling Dontaku on May 3.<\/span><\/p>\n However, that doesn’t mean that Tsuji’s title match has been cancelled. The champion will still defend his title, with a new challenger yet to be announced. With Wrestling Dontaku just a fortnight away, who deserves a shot at Yota Tsuji and his IWGP Global Heavyweight title?<\/p>\n The Holy Emperor probably isn’t first choice, but the tag team specialist has thrown his name in the hat.<\/a> The NJPW veteran has been around the block enough times to know that these types of opportunities are like gold dust. The 46-year-old is on his way down the mountain and has yet to capture a world title in NJPW despite his cult following. This might be the best chance he’ll ever get.<\/p>\n And while Taichi may not align with the traveling philosophy that Tsuji wants to establish with the championship, his recent history with the champion stakes a claim to that vacant title shot. Taichi was victorious in their last singles match<\/a> in the G1 Climax last year. It might be enough to convince NJPW to give a true fan favorite a moment in the sun.<\/p>\n Sometimes the best chance to capitalize on star power is when a wrestler makes a long awaited return. And that was the case for Henare earlier this year. The New Zealander spent 2025 on the sidelines as United Empire struggled on without him. This cruelly came after the biggest triumph of his career in beating Shingo Takagi for the NEVER Openweight Championship.<\/p>\n At the time, it seemed that there was a platform for Henare’s breakout. But now that he is back in action, fate has dealt him an opportunity to return to his previous heights. If NJPW wants to replace Kidd’s stiff Strong style with a similar profile, Henare would be a perfect replacement. It would be an entertaining bout and one that could make a new star out of Henare in a period when they’re desperately needed at the promotion.<\/p>\n There will always be time to run it back between Tsuji and Yuya Uemura. Their stories will be forever intertwined, having debuted as Young Lions on the same night in 2018. And after their infamous Hair vs. Hair match in 2024, which saw Uemura lose out in more ways than one, their grudge remains eternal.<\/p>\nTaichi<\/h2>\n
Henare<\/h2>\n
Yuya Uemura<\/h2>\n