Summary

DOUKI will not wrestle on the rest of NJPW's Wrestling Dontaku tour after the main event of Hizen no Kuni on April 29. The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion had just retained the title against Tiger Mask in a match that also saw HOUSE OF TORTURE get involved.

That title defense had already carried extra attention after Tiger Mask called for a lumberjack deathmatch against DOUKI at NJPW Wrestling Hizen no Kuni. Instead of building straight into the rest of the tour, NJPW now has to adjust its cards without its junior heavyweight champion in the ring.

Yujiro Takahashi takes DOUKI's place

NJPW announced that Yujiro Takahashi will replace DOUKI on the remaining Road to Dontaku events and on Wrestling Dontaku night two on May 4.

DOUKI also said he will not compete in the 2026 Best of the Super Juniors tournament. As of this update, there has been no official announcement changing the tournament field beyond DOUKI's own statement.

Quote from NJPW

"Thank you for supporting New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

After the main event of Hizen no Kuni on April 29, DOUKI announced that he would not be competing for the remainder of the Dontaku series.

Yujiro Takahashi will replace DOUKI on remaining events on the Road to Dontaku, and on Dontaku day two May 4.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling deeply apologises to fans for DOUKI's absence."

What DOUKI's absence means for NJPW

NJPW loses an active IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion from the Dontaku loop at a point when the junior division would usually be gathering momentum for Best of the Super Juniors. Even without an official tournament replacement update yet, DOUKI stepping out of both the tour and the tournament creates immediate uncertainty around one of the division's most important names heading into May.

Sources

As reported by Fightful