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Kevin’s NJPW Dominion 2020 Review

July 12, 2020 | Posted by Kevin Pantoja
NJPW Dominion
6.5
The 411 Rating
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Kevin’s NJPW Dominion 2020 Review  

NJPW Dominion

July 12th, 2020 | Osaka-Jo Hall in Osaka, Japan | Attendance: 3,898

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I woke up and got spoiled on the main event for today. Oh, boy. That Gedo sure is a “genius level booker.” That’s a legitimate quite I’ve read on another site. We’ll get to that, though. We’re one night removed from EVIL winning the New Japan Cup, turning on LIJ, and joining Bullet Club.

Gabriel Kidd and Great Bash Heel vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, Satoshi Kojima and Yuji Nagata

I dig Kidd but I am loving that other team. Taguchi, Kojima, and Nagata is a fun trio. Interestingly, Kidd seemed to put his focus on Nagata. I love when a Young Lion targets a Dad. As usual in these matches, each of the veterans got to get their signature stuff in like Kojima’s chops and Kokeshi attempts. It’s all enjoyable stuff. Kidd learned that he bit off more than he could chew with Nagata as he fell to a Backdrop Driver and the Nagata Lock II in 9:25. A good way to start the show. Classic veteran stuff from the Dads and a spirited effort from Kidd. I can’t ask for much more from an NJPW opener. [***]

BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi and SANADA vs. Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano and Yota Tsuji

2-for-2 in matches that sound pretty damn good. Hiromu’s entrance attire is remarkable. He also sported wrist tape that said, “Why?” on them. LIJ is having a rough weekend. I could watch Yano do dumb shit like continually going after the turnbuckle pads all day. SANADA played well with it, including a spot where he put Yano in the Paradise Lock on the ropes, did the same for Tsuji and then dropkicked him into Yano. Everything involving Ishii was very good and Hiromu is always great. That made for a really fun match that I dug most than most of what I saw yesterday. Hiromu won with a Boston Crab on Tsuji in 10:15. That man just beat a Young Lion with the Young Lion’s only finisher. Cold blooded. [***¼]

DOUKI, El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Master Wato and Yuya Uemura

A less interesting match than the previous two. It stems from the Wato/DOUKI/Kanemaru/Tenzan stuff yesterday. The babyfaces jumped the heels, showing they’re at least somewhat wise. It didn’t go well for them as Suzuki-Gun took control anyway, but A for effort. I don’t have much to say about this one. It was similar to the Wato match yesterday in that it kind of just existed. The Suzuki-Gun act is pretty tired unless they’re in there with the right opponents and these guys weren’t it. After pulling the referee out of the ring, Uemura was left to fall victim to Pinche Loco in 9:44. It happened. [**¼]

Hirooki Goto and Kazuchika Okada vs. Taiji Ishimori and Yujiro Takahashi

One of the many problems with the booking of Okada over the years is that his identity is basically 100% tied to the IWGP Title. When he’s not involved in the chase or as champion, he’s absolutely lost. It was the case when he dicked around with balloons in 2018 and is the case here again. Look, I’m all for Okada doing something other than the stale run at the top but this Gedo revenge angle isn’t it. I still say they should have him pursue other gold. Raise the IC or US Title prestige or team with his bitch Goto for the Tag Titles or something. With that small rant over, I can quickly get to the match which was pretty basic. Ishimori really felt like the only guy getting after it. Gedo showed up and attacked Okada. That left ultimate dweeb Goto to lose to Yujiro Takahashi of all people when he got hit with Pimp Juice in 9:42. That Goto sure is a loser. [**½]

NEVER Openweight Championship: Shingo Takagi [c] vs. SHO

Their past two matches each got ****½ from me. Like in their previous matches, they went right after each other. It’s just what these two do. This was an absolute war just as I’ve come to love from these two. Both men threw bombs at one another from huge lariats to big suplexes. There’s an intensity and sense of urgency here that you don’t get in many other NJPW matchups. I liked SHO hitting the Power Breaker only for it to hurt his knees. Shingo is a big boy and that move is different against him than it would be against someone like BUSHI. Still, SHO found ways to push Shingo like nobody else does. The ending was more definitive than I expected. Not that I expected a fluke or anything but Shingo kind of went off on a barrage to put SHO away, capping it with Last of the Dragon in 20:07. He even did a Hirooki Goto style GTR. These two never fail to deliver. Another hard-hitting affair as they tried to one up each other and putting on a show. About on par with their previous matches but I’ll most likely watch all three by the end of the year to see which is my favorite. [****½]

Post-match, El Desperado attacked Shingo and stole the NEVER Title. Hell yeah! I really like Despy and feel like this will be a great spot for him.

IWGP Tag Team Championship: The Golden Aces [c] vs. Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr.

The Golden Aces deserve a good run with the titles. It should mean something, freshen up the division, and elevate it. Of course, titles are just props to Gedo so I suspect this was just to give them a reign to their names. Anyway, this felt like a match that was going for a slow burn right from the start. It’s a logically booked match with two awesome babyfaces against two strong villains. I liked how Taichi is the underhanded prick while Sabre Jr. looked like a killer. Maybe it’s because he’s the only gaijin around (besides Gabriel Kidd) but they made sure he came off great here. Tanahashi got placed as the face in peril and did his usual bit of strong selling. Ibushi came in hot and had some pretty smooth tandem maneuvers with Tanahashi. They work so well together as a team. As this got to where it needed to go down the stretch, it was really good. Ibushi seemed to die when hit with a Zack Driver. That left Tanahashi to avoid the Iron Fingers but still take a beating. He ultimately fell to a superkick/Zack Driver combo in 28:43. A bit long but a very good match that bordered on great. I liked the heels doing their thing and the roles that Tanahashi and Ibushi played. One of the better Tag Title matches. [***¾]

IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships: Tetsuya Naito [c] vs. EVIL

If I’m right, their only prior meeting was in the G1 26, which Naito won (***½). EVIL got some new music and rocks some kind of skirt to the ring. I dig it. The match began and EVIL bailed to frustrate Naito. Giving him a taste of his own medicine. Naito eventually bit and went after him. Unfortunately, the stuff after that didn’t really work for me. There’s the obvious overly long factor. I noted yesterday that EVIL isn’t a guy meant for 30-minute matches and that’s taken to the next level when this one lasted a ridiculous 38:01. It took forever and felt even longer. At about the half-hour mark, they started in with the big run-ins like Jado and Ishimori. That triggered a Hiromu arrival to try and make the save. Eventually, BUSHI seemed to show up and distract the referee, leading to EVIL hitting Everything is EVIL and becoming double champion. A slog of a match that continued an NJPW trend of overbooking matches that drag on for way too long. Hugely disappointing. [**]

I’m not mad about this result, by the way. As soon as Naito lost at WK12, I gave up on caring deeply for him because I knew he was never going to be that guy. People said that Gedo was doing longer-term booking than usual and to wait. In 2020, he won both belts and I didn’t even pop because it was way past time. I knew he wouldn’t get a good run and again, he drops it in his second defense. On the flip side, I do appreciate Gedo having the balls to try something new. Although whenever he seems to do this, he quickly goes back to the status quo so I could totally see Okada winning the G1 or dethroning EVIL soon.

6.5
The final score: review Average
The 411
This was a tough show to rate. It was solid throughout with the NEVER Title match being incredible and the Tag Titles being very good. However, nothing else stood out and the main event was among the worst in major NJPW show history.
legend

article topics :

NJPW Dominion, Kevin Pantoja