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On June 11th, New Japan Pro Wrestling will invade a sold-out Osaka-Jo Hall for their second-biggest show of the year, Dominion. With the company about to make the biggest move in their history to the United States with a planned American expansion, all eyes will be on their for their biggest show of the Summer. And NJPW has responded, putting together one of the most stacked cards in their history, including the rematch the world has been waiting for.
The show will air with live English commentary from Kevin Kelly (ROH/Former WWE) and Don Callis (The Jackyl in WWE, Cyrus in ECW) exclusively at NJPWWorld.com, where you can sign up for just ¥999 a month (which, as of this writing, is about $9 USD), where fans can watch NJPW events from the past, present, and future.
Pre-Show Match - Six-Man Tag Team Match
David Finlay, Tomoyuki Oka, and Shota Umino vs. Hirai Kawato, Katsuya Kitamura, and Tetsuhiro Yagi
New Japan's Young Lions will do battle in the special pre-show match, as David Finlay (son of the legendary Fit Finlay) joins forces with former amateur heavyweight standout Tomoyuki Oka, as well as Shota Umino, whose claim to fame is being the son of NJPW senior referee ”Red Shoes" Unno. Their opponents will be the 20 year-old firebrand Hirai Kawato, along with Katsuya Kitamura, who possesses one of best physiques in wrestling today, plus Tetsuhiro Yagi, the newest Young Lion, who only made his debut last month.
Match 1 - Eight-Man Tag Team Match
Togi Makabe, Yuji Nagata, Tiger Mask W, and Tiger Mask IV vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima), Manabu Nakanishi, and Jushin Thunder Liger
The opener of Dominion features the veterans of New Japan, including one very special guest. ”Unchained Gorilla" Togi Makabe will join up with ”Blue Justice" Yuji Nagata, among New Japan's most decorated stars, as they team with two men based on the legendary Tiger Mask anime and manga character – both the current, fourth incarnation, as well as Tiger Mask W, who comes from the anime series currently airing in Japan.
(And is also played by Kota Ibushi)
Their opponents consist of the most decorated tag team in New Japan history, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima, the former six-time champions. They'll be joining with one of the promotion's strongest competitors in Manabu Nakanishi, as well as an undisputed legend in Jushin Thunder Liger, just coming off his final appearance in the yearly Best of the Super Juniors tournament.
Match 2 – NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship - Gauntlet Match
Los Ingobernables de Japon (SANADA, EVIL, and BUSHI) (c) vs. Taguchi Japan (Ryusuke Taguchi, Juice Robinson, and Ricochet) vs. CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, and YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi, Hangman Page, and Bad Luck Fale) vs. Suzuki-gun (Zack Sabre Jr., Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Taichi)
Like Wrestle Kingdom, the NEVER trios titles will again be defended in a gauntlet match between representatives of each of New Japan's various factions. Two teams will start, and when a team is eliminated, another team takes their place, and the last team standing will be crowned the champions. Currently in their third reign with the belts, the Los Ingobernables de Japon trio of SANADA, EVIL, and BUSHI have traded the titles with Ryusuke Taguchi and members of his new Taguchi Japan alliance, and he will bring young standout Juice Robinson and the high-flying Ricochet to the ring with him.
Rounding out the match are a trio from CHAOS featuring Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, and YOSHI-HASHI, the Bullet Club's unit of Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi, and Hangman Page, and Zack Sabre Jr., Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Taichi representing Suzuki-gun.
Match 3 – IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Roppongi Vice (Rocky Romero & Beretta) (c) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)
After finally capturing the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight tag titles from the Young Bucks at Wrestle Kingdom 11, the CHOAS duo of Rocky Romero and Beretta, collectively known as Roppongi Vice, have flourished with the belts, while all the while, the Bullet Club's Young Bucks have faltered, going on to collectively lose their PWG and ROH tag titles as well. However, after reclaiming the ROH tag titles, they found themselves on the receiving end of a challenge from Beretta and Romero, looking to prove that once and for all, they are the superior team. These long time rivals will clash in Osaka-jo Hall in what should be a high-risk affair.
Match 4 – IWGP Tag Team Championship
War Machine (Raymond Rowe & Hanson) (c) vs. Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa)
Since returning to New Japan in February, the ROH duo of Raymond Rowe and Hanson, War Machine, have staked their claim as one of the most powerful teams on the planet, capturing the IWGP tag team championship from the legendary TenKoji, and successfully defending against them in a three-way match a month later. However, the other team in that match, the Guerrillas of Destiny, collectively made up of Bullet Club members and brothers Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa, were quick to attack the champions, looking for a one-on-one clash against the duo and a chance at obtaining their 3rd reign as champions. With the brawling tendencies of all four men, this should be absolute warfare for tag team gold.
Match 5 – Special Singles Match
Michael Elgin vs. Cody
Since making his NJPW at Wrestle Kingdom 11, Cody Rhodes has shot up like a rocket through the NJPW roster, but his opponents have mostly stuck to the lower end of the NJPW spectrum, with Juice Robinson and David Finlay providing the opposition. As such, after defeating Finlay at Wrestling Dontaku last month, Cody requested someone ”bigger and stronger" to fight.
Well, when you talk about that criteria, they don't come more bigger or stronger than Big Mike.
”Unbreakable" Michael Elgin has become a household name in Japan, where he is a former IWGP Intercontinental champion, and notably took Tetsuya Naito to the limit in a five star affair in February. While Elgin has been taking some time off from NJPW since then, the company saw a perfect opportunity to bring him back when Cody made his challenge. Can Cody continue his rise in the company? Or will Michael Elgin resume his rise to the top in NJPW?
Match 6 – IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship
Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. KUSHIDA
Making his return to New Japan this past November and joining Los Ingobernables de Japon, ”Ticking Time Bomb" Hiromu Takahashi has become nothing short of an absolutely insane dynamo (emphasis on insane), running through New Japan's Junior division by capturing the Jr. Heavyweight title from KUSHIDA at Wrestle Kingdom 11 and defending against the top names from around the world, such as Dragon Lee, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Ricochet. However, of most note was his rematch with KUSHIDA at Sakura Genesis this past April, when he polished off the ace of the Jr. division in less than two minutes.
Undaunted, the ”Time Splitter" has fought back, capturing the ROH World Television championship, and entering the annual Best of the Super Juniors tournament. Despite a weak start, KUSHIDA would bounce back and make the finals, where in an incredible clash with last year's champion, Will Ospreay, would defeat him to earn one more chance at Takahashi and the Jr. title. Now armed with a renewed motivation and a deadly new finisher – a small package driver called the ”Back to the Future" - KUSHIDA looks again to stake his claim as the top Jr. in Japan, but to do so must defeat a man who has proven to be nigh unbeatable.
Match 7 – NEVER Openweight Championship – Lumberjack Death Match
Minoru Suzuki (c) vs. Hirooki Goto
Since making their return to NJPW from a long stint in Pro Wrestling NOAH this past January, Minoru Suzuki and his Suzuki-gun faction have run roughshod over the company, but surprisingly this has not led to much in-ring success. Still, the group has picked up where they left off with their conflict with the faction CHAOS, with Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Taichi holding the IWGP Jr. tag titles for a couple months, and Suzuki himself upending NEVER champion Hirooki Goto to capture the gold, his first singles title in New Japan, with a little help from a steel chair-wielding El Desperado.
Now, the war between the two factions has come to a head, with Suzuki challenging Goto to a rematch to be held under Lumberjack Death Match rules, where members of CHAOS and Suzuki-gun will be outside the ring to not only prevent the other faction from getting involved, but also to lay a beating on either Suzuki or Goto should they be so unlucky to fall outside of the ring. Tempers will certainly flare in what has become a hellacious conflict.
Match 8 – IWGP Intercontinental Championship
Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Back at Wrestle Kingdom 11, Los Ingobernables de Japon leader Tetsuya Naito finally beat back the one demon that has followed him, as he defeated the man he has been inexorably linked to, New Japan's ace Hiroshi Tanahashi, retaining his Intercontinental championship in the process. But since then, Naito has been bored, successfully defending his title against the likes of Michael Elgin and Juice Robinson, but continually growing offended by his current place in the company. And thus, his target has been the Intercontinental belt itself, dragging it on the ground and smashing it into the ring steps, until it has become a tangled mass of discolored leather and steel.
Of course, this doesn't sit well with Tanahashi, the epitome of all things good and righteous in New Japan. In the twilight of his career and with nothing left to lose, Tanahashi challenged Naito to a rematch for the championship at Dominion. However, it is a match where he will not be 100%, as a torn bicep suffered during a recent US excursion with ROH kept him out of the Best of the Super Juniors tour. Still, with Naito promising to no longer defend his title were he to win, Tanahashi will fight with all his heart to protect the honor of NJPW.
Match 9 – IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Kenny Omega
On January 4th, 2017, there was an earthquake felt throughout the world, caused, very simply, but wrestling fans' jaws dropping after the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 11. IWGP champion Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega proceeded to have a hard-hitting, high-impact, dramatic contest that raised the bar for pro wrestling throughout the world, receiving universal acclaim as one of the greatest matches ever held, an unprecedented six-star rating from wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer, and constant calls of being the greatest match of all time. It put Okada on a tier all of his own as arguably the best wrestler in the world today, and turned Omega into a household name and one of the hottest wrestlers on the planet.
For Omega, his Bullet Club comrades, and his fans, there was only one problem – the fact that he lost.
Since that point, Okada has continued his run of greatness, with the CHAOS premier fending off challenges from Minoru Suzuki, Tiger Mask W, Katsuyori Shibata, and Bad Luck Fale, constantly testing himself to prove he is on another level. All the while, Omega has bided his time, with the Cleaner becoming stronger, becoming faster, and waiting for his moment to once again take down the Rainmaker. And that time came at Wrestling Dontaku in April, when Okada, shockingly, offered to put his belt up against Omega one more time, in a redux of their prodigious battle at the Tokyo Dome.
So now, it comes to this. Who will lead New Japan into their future expansion? Who will be the face of the company, and perhaps all of pro-wrestling? And can they possibly, conceivably, top what went down this past January? Okada-Omega II is on the horizon, and the world will be watching.
