Wrestling Dontaku 2017 was headlined by Kazuchika Okada making his fifth defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Bad Luck Fale.[5][6] This match was set up on April 9 at Sakura Genesis 2017, where Fale attacked Okada after he had made his fourth successful title defense against the 2017 New Japan Cup winner Katsuyori Shibata.[5][7] Fale, who had lost to Shibata in the final of the New Japan Cup, had defeated Okada on August 8, 2016, during the 2016 G1 Climax,[8] but instead of a title shot, was granted a non-title match against Okada on September 22 at Destruction in Hiroshima, where he was defeated by the reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion.[5][9] The match at Wrestling Dontaku 2017 marked Fale's first shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.[5][10]
In the semi-main event, Kenny Omega took on Tomohiro Ishii.[5] Prior to challenging Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2017, Omega stated that he wanted to defend the title against Ishii.[5] After failing to capture the title, Omega and Ishii faced off in the first round of the 2017 New Japan Cup, where Ishii was victorious, derailing Omega's quest for another shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.[5][11] On April 9, Omega pinned Ishii in a tag team match and afterwards requested a singles rematch with him, which was made official the following day.[5][12]
Other matches at the event included the returning Cody taking on David Finlay and the Chaos and Suzuki-gunstables facing off in a ten-man tag team match.[5][13]
