Summary

SANADA made his return to NJPW at Wrestling Dontaku night two and immediately put Konosuke Takeshita in his sights.

The former IWGP Heavyweight Champion appeared after Takeshita retained the NJPW World Television Championship against Chase Owens on the main card. Once the lights came back up in the building, SANADA was in the ring and attacked the champion before revealing himself.

How SANADA returned

Takeshita had just beaten Owens despite interference from HOUSE OF TORTURE when the post-match scene changed. A video played featuring the same masked man who had distracted Takeshita at Sakura Genesis and helped set up Owens' earlier attack.

That mystery did not last long this time. When the lights returned at Wrestling Dontaku, the masked attacker struck Takeshita and then revealed himself as SANADA.

Wrestling Dontaku was already a major night for NJPW title movement, with the IWGP Global Heavyweight Title changing hands elsewhere on the show.

What it sets up for Takeshita

SANADA's first move back was to go straight after the NJPW World Television Champion, which gives Takeshita an immediate new challenger after getting past Owens. Because the angle ties back to Sakura Genesis, NJPW now has a clear thread connecting SANADA's absence to Takeshita's current title run.

The return also puts SANADA back into the mix with purpose instead of treating this as a one-night surprise. After stepping away in January, he is back in a championship storyline right away.

SANADA's hiatus ends

At New Year Dash in January, SANADA said he was stepping away from the ring and "going on a trip." NJPW later announced that he was entering an indefinite hiatus from the company.

That hiatus is now over, and his first statement was an attack on one of the promotion's current champions.

Sources

As reported by Fightful