The second night of New Japan Pro Wrestling's annual Wrestling Dontaku event on May 4 saw the end of an era for the company as it was the final night where former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito was an official member of the roster. Naito had announced in April that he was leaving the company, as did his Los Ingobrenables de Japon stablemate BUSHI, with the two men picking up the win in their final match alongside Hiromu Takahashi and Shingo Takagi, defeating Tomohiro Ishii, Shota Umino, Taichi, and TAKA Michinoku.
As for what's next for Naito, Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the now former NJPW star is not retiring, but will be taking a lengthy amount of time away from the ring. Meltzer noted that on May 7, Naito underwent surgery on his left eye, a procedure he has undergone four previous times in recent years, and his hoping to start stem cell treatment on his right knee once he has recovered from his eye surgery. Naito reportedly knows that his right knee is never going to be at 100% ever again, but is undergoing the treatment so that he can get as much strength back in it as possible for when he returns.
Naito's departure from the company also led to the end of the Los Ingobrenables de Japon stable as a whole, with the remaining members vowing to have each other's back going forward despite not being in the same group anymore. With that said, NJPW tried to not have Naito's departure from the company overshadow the Wrestling Dontaku event as the company wanted to put the main focus on the Loser Leaves NJPW Dog Pound Steel Cage match between the two Bullet Club factions, House of Torture and the War Dogs.
