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From The Shelf- NJPW Dominion 2014

September 19, 2014 | Posted by Dylan Diot
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From The Shelf- NJPW Dominion 2014  

NJPW Dominion 2014
6-21-14
Osaka, Japan

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championships- Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) © vs. Time Splitters (Alex Shelley and KUSHIDA)
Nick and KUSHIDA start. Nick works the arm to start but KUSHIDA comes back by going for the leg. KUSHIDA misses the arm drag and Nick stomps away. KUSHIDA fights out of the corner and he rolls Matt up for 2. Shelley and KUSHIDA take turns working the arm of Matt and Shelley cleans house on the Bucks. Matt rakes the eyes and bails to avoid a super kick. Seated senton off the apron by KUSHIDA and back in, he hits a knee lift to Nick forcing him to bail. Stereo pescados to the floor by the challengers and back in, Shelley hits a basement cross body off the top to Matt. Stereo kicks to Nick and Shelley hits a spine buster into a half crab on Matt. Nick breaks it up so Shelley hits a knee to the gut. Headstand dropkick by the Bucks knock Shelley off the apron and the Bucks work the Splitters over on the floor. Back in, Matt hammers away on the injured shoulder of Shelley before going to the hammerlock. Nick drop toe holds Shelley into a basement dropkick from Matt. Matt stomps away and tags Nick. Double back elbow and they hit the gutbuster/swinging neckbreaker combo for 2 as KUSHIDA saves. Forearms by Shelley and Nick stops that with a spinning enzuigiri to the shoulder for 2. Nick works the shoulder but Shelley fights out and sends Nick crashing into Matt. Shelley avoids Matt and looks to make the tag but Nick pulls KUSHIDA off the apron. Spear by Matt and the Bucks hit a standing moonsault/springboard splash combo for 2. Nick goes for a corner knee strike but misses and nails Matt!!! KUSHIDA tags in and cleans house. Enzuigiri by KUSHIDA and he hits a springboard dropkick knocking Matt to the floor. Back in, KUSHIDA hits an enzuigiri and a back breaker. KUSHIDA goes up and hits a moonsault for 2. High kick by Nick and he goes for a moonsault off the apron but misses and Shelley hits a knee strike off the apron. Baseball slide by Matt and he goes to skin the cat but KUSHIDA catches him with a dropkick. Summersault plancha to the floor by KUSHIDA!!! Back in, Doomsday Dropkick by the Splitters gets 2 as Nick saves. Assisted basement dropkick by the Splitters to Nick. Double strikes to Matt in the corner and the Splitters hit I-94 for 2 as Nick saves!!! Superkick by Nick to Shelley and he hits a back elbow to KUSHIDA. Tornado DDT off the apron by Nick to Shelley but he hits a handspring Kapo kick from KUSHIDA. Matt blocks a tilt-a-whirl DDT and the Bucks hit the Spiked Tombstone for 2 as Shelley saves!!!! Buckle Bomb/Enzuigiri by the Bucks and Nick hits the guillotine 450 splash for 2!!! More Bang for Your Buck misses and Shelley hits an overhead belly to belly suplex driving Nick into Matt in the corner. Hoverboard Lock by KUSHIDA on Matt. Matt gives!!!!
Winners and NEW IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions- Time Splitters ****1/2 ( Awesome opener with a great story of the Bucks targeting Shelley’s injured shoulder and an insane finish sequence that had the crowd rocking. This is the type of match that can help the Jr. Heavyweight division gain steam again. )

Tama Tonga vs. Tetsuya Naito
Tonga attacks from behind to start and he chokes away on Naito in the corner. Tonga stomps away and Naito comes back with a hurricanrana. Tonga blocks the slingshot basement dropkick and he hits the flap jack on Naito. They go to the floor and Tonga works over Naito. Flapjack onto the railings by Tonga and back in, Tonga hits a leg drop for 2. Tonga chokes away and he stomps away on Naito in the corner. Snap mare and Tonga grabs the chinlock. Naito fights out and Tonga misses an avalanche in the corner. Hanging neck breaker by Naito and he hits a hip toss into a basement dropkick to the back. Summersault senton by Naito and he hits a slingshot basement dropkick in the corner. Back suplex by Tonga and both men are down. Avalanche in the corner by Tonga and he hits a standing splash for 2. Roll of the Dice by Tonga gets 2. Guillotine Choke by Tonga but Naito escapes and hits an enzuigiri. Release German suplex by Naito and he hits the flying forearm. Slam by Naito and he goes up. Stardust Press gets 3.
Winner- Tetsuya Naito **3/4 ( This match fulfilled two goals of making Tonga look like a threat by dominating against one of the company’s bigger stars and gave Naito a momentum win that he had been lacking for a while. )

Meiya Tag (Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata) vs. Tomoaki Honma and Yugi Nagata
Honma attacks to start and he chops away on Shibata. Honma stomps away in the corner and Shibata fights back with forearms. Shibata gets doubled teamed in the corner and Nagata fires away with forearms. Kick to the chest by Nagata and he snap mares Shibata into a kick to the back. Tag to Honma and he slams Shibata for 2. Hard forearm ROCKS Honma and he collapses at the feet of Shibata. Tag to Goto and he stomps away. Forearms in the corner by Goto and he stomps away. He chokes Honma with his boot and he snap mares Honma into a kick to the back. Half crab by Goto but Honma makes the ropes to break. Tag to Shibata and he throws some uppercuts. He chokes Honma with his boot and he snap mares Honma. He knocks Nagata off the apron with a big boot and Shibata throws slaps and kicks at Honma. Honma fires back with slaps and he hits a lariat. Tag to Nagata and he throws some kicks to the chest of Shibata. They trade forearms and Shibata wins that battle, peppering Nagata in the corner. Yakuza kick by Nagata and they go back to trading forearms. Exploder suplex by Nagata but Shibata comes back with a Release German suplex. Tag to Goto and he throws some kicks to the chest. Nagata takes Goto down and grabs the Fujiwara arm bar. Shibata breaks it up and Honma tags in. Chops by Honma and he hits a corner forearm to Goto. Bulldog by Honma and he hits a dropping head butt. Nagata and Honma charge with strikes in the corner and Nagata hits an exploder suplex. Blockbuster to Goto by Honma gets 2 as Shibata saves. Slam by Honma and he goes up. Diving head butt misses and Goto hits a spinning heel kick in the corner. They trade forearms and Goto thows a head butt to end that. Penalty kick gets 2 as Nagata saves. They trade lariats and Goto hits the DVD back breaker. Honma counters a Brainbuster into a small package for 2!!! Lariat by Goto and he hits Reverse Ushikoroshi for 3. Nagata and Shibata brawl all the way backstage after the match.
Winners- Meiya Tag ***1/2 ( Sweet, stiff tag match. All four guys beat the crap out of each other with hard strikes and the crowd was hot for Honma as they wanted to see him pull off the upset. )

NWA World Tag Team Championships- Tencozy (Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan) © vs. Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer) w/Taka Michinoku
KES attack to start and Tenzan overpowers Smith Jr. Shoulder chops by Tenzan but Smith Jr. ends that with a head butt to the midsection. Spinning heel kick by Tenzan and Archer tags in along with Kojima. Rights by Kojima and Tenzan comes in to throw shoulder chops. Slingshot elbow drop/dropping head butt by TenKoji and Kojima throws rapid chops by Archer in the corner. Black Hole Slam by Archer and he hits a short arm clothesline to Kojima. Another short arm clothesline by Archer and Smith Jr. tags in. Double shoulderblock by KES and they hit a big splash/leg drop combo for 2. Suplex by Smith Jr. gets 2 as Tenzan saves. Camel Clutch by Smith Jr. and he rakes the face of Kojima, forcing the break. Tag to Archer and he hits a delayed suplex on Kojima for 2 as Tenzan saves. Tag to Smith Jr. and he stomps the midsection of Kojima. Side Russian leg sweep by Smith Jr. and he hits a leg drop for 2. Slam by Smith Jr. and Archer charges in the corner but misses. Tag to Tenzan and he works over Archer. Head butts in the corner by Tenzan and he goes up. Standing knee drop off the top by Tenzan gets 1. Big boot by Archer and he slams Tenzan. Archer goes up and hits a moonsault off the top for 2. Shoulder chops by Archer and Tenzan comes back with a Samoan drop. Tag to Kojima and Smith Jr. hits a leaping knee strike. Kojima fires back with rapid chops in the corner and he hits a corner forearm. Kojima goes up and hits a diving elbow drop for 2. They trade forearms and slaps and Kojima hits a discus forearm. Powerslam by Smith Jr. gets 2. DDT by Kojima and he hits an Ace Crusher. Hart Attack by KES gets 2. Kojima fights back with forearms and they hit 3D on Smith Jr. for 2 as Archer saves. Chokeslam to Tenzan and Kojima clotheslines Archer to the floor. Tiger suplex by Smith Jr. gets 2. Killer Bomb to Kojima gets 2 as Tenzan saves. Kojima blocks a power bomb and he hits a lariat on Smith Jr. for 3!!!
Winners and Still NWA World Tag Team Champions- Tencozy ***1/4 ( These teams have had so many matches with each other it’s hard for them to do anything bad with one another. However, it is time to give these guys something fresh to do and move them away from both the NWA stuff and feuding with each other. )

Video package for Ibushi/Ricoche airs.

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship- Kota Ibushi © vs. Ricoche
Ricoche won Best of the Super Juniors to earn this shot. Also Ricoche is spelled without the T in New Japan so that’s not a spelling error on my part. Ibushi overpowers Ricoche early and they showcase their athletic abilities before reaching a stand still. Zig Zag by Ricoche and he hits a standing SSP for 2. Snap mare and Ricoche hits a kick to the back for 2. Rear Cloverleaf by Ricoche but Ibushi goes to the ropes to break. Kicks to the chest in the corner by Ricoche and he snap mares Ibushi into an uppercut to the back for 2. Kicks to the chest by Ricoche and Ibushi comes back with a missile dropkick. Springboard Asai moonsault by Ibushi and back in, they trade forearms. Ibushi throws strikes and knocks Ricochet down with a kick to the chest. Standing corkscrew press by Ibushi gets 2. Enzuigiri to the back by Ricoche and he hits a springboard dropkick knocking Ibushi to the floor. Summersault plancha to the floor by Ricoche and back in, he hits a springboard cross body for 2. Fireman’s carry into a punt to the midsection by Ricoche gets 2. Ricoche goes up but Ibushi stops him and follows up. Springboard Frankensteiner by Ibushi but Ricoche lands on his feet!!!! Spinning enzuigiri by Ricoche and he hits a Northern Lights suplex rolled through into the Brainbuster for 2!!! Ricoche throws some strikes and he goes for the Benadryller but Ibushi blocks. Lariat by Ibushi and both men are down. Sit-out powerbomb by Ibushi gets 2. Ibushi goes up and misses the Phoenix Splash!!! Springboard SSP by Ricoche gets 2!!! Spin kick by Ricoche and he goes for the Benadryller but Ibushi counters into a hurricanrana for 2!!! High kick by Ibushi and he hits a Cradle Suplex for 3!!!
Winner and Still IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion- Kota Ibushi ****1/4 ( This lived up to the insanely high expectations of the match. Both guys showcased their mind blowing athleticism while putting together a wild, exciting contest. Hopefully Ricoche becomes a mainstay in New Japan because he will thrive in the Jr. Division when Ibushi moves on to bigger and better things. )

Suzukigun (Minoru Suzuki and Takashi Iizuka) w/Taka Michinoku vs. Kazushi Sakuraba and Toru Yano
Suzuki and Sakuraba start. Both men grapple on the mat and Sakuraba goes for the arm but Suzuki goes to the ropes to break. Tag to Yano and Iizuka. Iizuka rakes the eyes and chokes away on Yano. Yano side steps Iizuka and he attacks Yano from behind when he talks to Sakuraba. Iizuka stomps away but Yano rakes the eyes. Suzuki hits a knee to the back from behind and grabs the cross arm breaker in the ropes. All four men brawl on the floor and Iizuka chokes Yano with a chair. Back in, Iizuka stomps away and then chokes away on Yano. Suzuki comes in for some choking as the ref is distracted and he officially tags in. Half Crab by Suzuki and he releases when Yano won’t give. Iizuka works Sakuraba over on the floor and he hangs Yano with a microphone cord. Iizuka covers for 2 and Yano fights back with forearms. Iizuka rakes the eyes abut gets drop toe holded into the ropes, allowing Sakuraba to get a shot in. Tag to Sakuraba and he goes for a cross arm breaker but Suzuki comes in. Sakuraba hits some kicks to the chest but Iizuka chokes Sakuraba with a cord to come back. Inverted atomic drop by Iizuka and Suzuki comes in. Yakuza kick by Suzuki and he hits the Penalty Kick for 2. Triangle Choke by Sakuraba but Suzuki counters into the sleeper. Suzuki goes for the Gotch Piledriver but Yano breaks it up. Kimura by Sakuraba but Iizuka chokes Sakuraba with the tag rope to break that up. Yano tells Sakuraba to exposed the corner and Suzuki sends Yano into the corner. Forearms by Suzuki but Yano takes him down by the hair. Yano TAKES IIZUKA DOWN BY THE BEARD!!!! Yano goes low on Suzuki and gets the small package for 2 as Iizuka pulls the ref out of the ring!!! Suzuki nails Yano in the back with a chair and he grabs the sleeper. Iizukia nails Yano with the spiked glove and Suzuki hits the Gotch Piledriver for 3.
Winners- Suzukigun ** ( Mostly brawling and not much in the way of actual wrestling. The Suzuki/Sakuraba stuff was decent but Iizuka was god awful and I’m not a fan of this feud at all. )

Chaos (Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii) w/Gedo vs. Bullet Club (AJ Styles and Yujiro Takahashi)
Okada and Styles start. Styles hammers away and goes for the Styles Clash but Okada blocks. Styles counters Rainmaker into a backslide for 1. Roll-up by Okada gets 1 and he backdrops Styles. Tags to Yujiro and Ishii and Ishii overpowers Yujiro. Back in, Ishii chops away and Yujiro rakes the eyes to come back. Ishii charges in the corner but misses and Yujiro goes for a Buckle Bomb but Ishii comes short and he hurts his shoulder. Tag to Styles and he slams Ishii. Knee drop by Styles gets 2. Tag to Yujiro and he toys with Ishii in the corner. Slam by Yujiro gets 2 as Okada saves. Tag to Styles and he grabs the inverted bow and arrow. Okada breaks that up and Styles hits some forearms with no effect on Ishii. Powerslam by Ishii and both men are down. Tag to Okada and he cleans house. Flapjack by Okada and Styles comes back with a pumphandle gut buster. Okada counters the Styles Clash into the Air Raid back breaker. Slam by Okada and he goes up. Flying elbow drop by Okada and he hits a big boot to Yujiro. Gordbuster by Styles and Okada comes back with a dropkick. Styles fires away on Okada and hits a discus lariat. Ishii tags in and Yujiro hits a Yakuza kick in the corner on Ishii. Forearms by Yujiro and again they have no effect. Ishii puts Yujiro on top and follows up. Superplex by Ishii gets 2. Forearms by Yujiro and he stun guns Ishii. Forearms by Ishii and Yujiro comes back with the Olympic Slam for 2 as Okada saves. Lariat by Ishii and he hits a powerbomb for 2. Fisherman’s suplex by Yujiro and he hits a deadlift German suplex for 2. Lariats by Yujiro have no effect so Ishii kills Yujiro with one for 2. Springboard forearm by Styles to Ishii and Okada hits a big boot to Styles. Styles low bridges Okada sending him to the floor and Ishii sends Styles and Yujiro into each other. Styles comes back with the Pele into the lariat from Yujiro. Miami Shine by Yujiro gets 3.
Winners- Bullet Club ***1/2 ( Very good tag team match with the second half of the match surving as a long preview for Ishii and Yujiro’s upcoming title match, with their sequence being pretty good. The fans aren’t comfortable with Styles as champion yet but there is potential for it to work going forward. )

IWGP Tag Team Championships- Bullet Club (Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows) © vs. Ace to King (Hiroshi Tanahashi and Togi Makabe)
Tanahashi and Anderson start. They battle for control before reaching a standstill. Shots to the ribs by Tanahashi and Gallows chokes Tanahashi with the tag rope. Springboard crossbody by Tanahashi and Makabe tags in along with Gallows. They both try to overpower the over and Gallows resorts to a right hand. Tag to Tanahashi and Anderson as Makabe looks to have been legit hurt from the short from Gallows. Dropkick by Tanahashi and he charges at Gallows but gets caught. Bicycle kick knocks Tanahashi to the floor and Gallows works Makabe over on the floor, dropping some guard rails onto him multiple times. Anderson powerbombs Tanahashi on the apron and back in, Anderson stomps away. He hammers Tanahashi on the mat and Gallows tags in. Suplex by Gallows and he hits some elbow drops for 2. Tag to Anderson and he snap mares Tanahashi into the rear chinlock. Tanahashi starts to fight out and he misses a dropkick. Back senton by Anderson misses and Tanahashi looks for the tag but Makabe is still hurt on the floor. Tanahashi tries to fight out of the champs’ corner but Anderson rakes the eyes to end that. Flying forearm by Tanahashi and both men are down. Tag to Makabe and he hits some corner lariats to Anderson. Punches in the corner by Makabe and he hits a Northern lights suplex for 2. Lariat by Makabe gets 2. Spinebuster by Anderson and Makabe and Gallows exchange lariats with neither going down. Makabe wins the lariat battle and Tanahashi tags in. Forearms by Tanahashi and he dropkicks the leg of Gallows. Gallows catches a crossbody attempt and he hits a fall-a-way slam. Tag to Anderson and he hits a bicycle kick in the corner. Back suplex/neckbreaker combo by the champs and Anderson hits a back senton. Standing splash by Gallows gets 2 as Makabe saves. TKO by Anderson gets 2 and the champs go for the Magic Killer but Makabe saves. He clotheslines Gallows to the floor and he hits a lariat to Anderson. Sling Blade by Tanahashi and he goes up. High Fly Flow eats knees and Anderson cradles for 2!!! Dragon screw leg sweep by Tanahashi and Makabe tags in. Double clothesline by Makabe and Tanahashi hits a slingshot pescado to Gallows on the floor. Powerbomb by Makabe to Anderson gets 2. DVD by Makabe and Tanahashi goes up. High Fly Flow by Tanahashi and Makabe goes up. Gallows nails Makabe with a chair to bring him down and hits the Gallows Pole. Anderson covers for 2!!! Magic Killer attempt is saved by Tanahashi and he hits a jaw breaker to Gallows. Gallows blocks Sling Blade and they hit Magic Killer to Tanahashi. Makabe tries to fight off the champs and Anderson catches him with Gun Stun. Magic Killer to Makabe gets 3.
Winners and Still IWGP Tag Team Champions- Bullet Club **** ( Oh man, the storytelling in this match was just fantastic. Makabe selling that one punch from Gallows like death for the whole match was beautiful and the story of Tanahashi surviving the two on one onslaught and Makabe using what he had in the tank at the end to try to pull off the win was just fantastic. )

Video package for Nakamura/Fale airs.

IWGP Intercontinental Championship- Shinsuke Nakamura © vs. Bad Luck Fale w/Tama Tonga
Nakamura throws some knees at Fale and Fale runs over Nakamura to come back, forcing Nakamura to bail. Tonga gets some cheap shots in but Nakamura fights him off. Fale attacks from behind and Nakamura sends him into the railings. Fale overpowers Nakamura to come back and Fale knocks Nakamura into the crowd. Back in, Fale stands on the back of Nakamura and covers for 2. Fale grabs a chinlock with his knee driven into the back of Nakamura. Fale works Nakamura over in the corner and Nakamura comes back with a spinning heel kick. They trade forearms and Nakamura works over Fale in the corner. Nakamura puts Fale on top and goes for the running knee lift but misses. Fale goes to suplex Nakamura to the floor but he blocks and hits a high kick. Hanging DDT by Nakamura gets 2. He hits a knee drop to the back of Fale for 2. Front facelock by Nakamura but Fale breaks with a suplex. They trade forearms and Fale hits an Avalanche into the corner. Samoan Drop by Fale gets 2. Big splashes by Fale gets 2. Nakamura blocks the Samoan Spike with a knee lift and he hits the Sick Kick. Enzuigiri by Nakamura and he puts Fale on top. Running knee lifts by Nakamura and Fale catches Nakamura with a lariat. Samoan Spike by Fale gets 2. Nakamura escapes Razor’s Edge but Fale catches him with an avalanche in the corner. Fale goes up but Nakamura follows and hits a superplex. Lungblower by Nakamura and he grabs a sleeper. Knee to the midsection by Nakamura and he hits the Release Regal Plex. Second rope knee strike by Nakamura and he hits Boom Ye for 2!!! Spear by Fale and both men are down. Forearms by Nakamura and Fale counters a hurricanrana into a powerbomb for 2. Samoan Drop by Fale and he goes up. Flying Splash by Fale gets 2!!! Razor’s Edge by Fale gets 3!!!
Winner and NEW IWGP Intercontinental Champion- Bad Luck Fale ***1/4 ( It’s a testament to the star power of Nakamura that this match got to be the main event of one of NJPW’s biggest PPVs. The match was pretty good but I still think Fale needs some fine tuning before he fits in the main event scene. Still props for NJPW going all the way with him and getting him a huge clean win over one of the biggest stars in the company. Now Nakamura can move back into the World Title picture where he belongs. )

The 411: I think this show is up there as one of the best shows of the entire year. This was the best the junior heavyweight division has looked since the days of pre-Bullet Club Prince Devitt. The opening tag and the Ibushi/Rioche matches were out of this world and is a great sign for a division that has been in limbo the last few years. The Bullet Club also had a damn good showcase on this show, having great in ring performances and guys like Bad Luck Fale and Doc Gallows got some of their biggest career wins in the final two matches. This show, along with the G1 that followed finally has given the company some momentum that they lost in the early part of the year. Go out of your way to check this one out.
411 Elite Award
Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]  legend

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