The second night of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual wrestling dontaku event, held on May 4th, saw the end of the company era as it was the final night when former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito was an official member of the roster. Knight announced in April that he was leaving the company. Like his Los Ingobrenable de Japon Stabmate Busi, the two men won the final match along the Wandering Takahashi and Honshu, defeating Mitsui, Hakutajima, Koshi and Waguchi Taka.
As for the next thing on Knight, Dave Meltzer reported in the latest version of his Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the current former NJPW star has not retired, but has been spending a long time from the ring. Meltzer noted that Knight had surgery in his left eye on May 7th, a procedure he has undergone four times in recent years, and that he hopes to start stem cell therapy in his right knee once he recovers from ophthalmic surgery. Knight reportedly knows that his right knee will never be 100% again, but is undergoing treatment so that he can regain as much power as possible when he returns.
Knight’s departure from the company also led to the end of the Los Ingobrenables de Japon, which was stable throughout Japon, with the rest of the members vowing to move forward with each other’s backs even if they weren’t in the same group. That being said, NJPW wanted to put the main focus on the NJPW Dog Pound Steel Cage Match between the losers’ leaving club factions, House of Torture and War Dogs, so NAITO tried not to cover up the wrestling Dontaku event.
