wrestling / TV Reports
Pantoja’s NJPW Dominion Review 6.9.24
Image Credit: NJPW
Loading...NJPW Dominion
June 9th, 2024 | Osaka-Jo Hall in Osaka, Japan | Attendance: 7,254
I have been avoiding New Japan like the plague for most of 2024. I figure if you aren’t enjoying something, stop watching it. I said I’d give them a chance for Dominion, especially with the G1 on the horizon (though that’s been a hot mess for a few years). So let’s see what’s going on.
Callum Newman vs. Tetsuya Naito
We need more of this in New Japan. Openers and undercard stuff that isn’t just a barrage of multi-man tags. Newman has apparently been chasing this match for a while. Newman came out firing, attacking before Naito was ready and hitting an explosive dropkick. I liked that Naito took him more seriously after that but still not quite too much. He remained disrespectful, which led to Newman firing up and throwing his best shots at the former top champion. Naito delivered the spinning Destino and Newman kicked out, which I audibly laughed at. This man can’t beat Newman with one finisher (I don’t care that he didn’t hook the leg) and I’m supposed to take him seriously? Naito added a second after surviving some Newman shots to win in 8:08. Solid enough and did the job it needed to for the most part. [**¾]
Clark Connors, Drilla Moloney and LJ Cleary vs. Kosei Fujita, Robbie Eagles and Zack Sabre Jr.
Cleary is apparently new and it seems like they’re building to Connors and Moloney vs. Eagles and Fujita. I do like seeing Fujita getting some shine. The focus of the match was on that tag team rivalry, while Zack Sabre Jr. got to come in and do his thing (though it was mostly a night off for him). Cleary was also given a few moments to show what he’s capable of and he was fine out there but he didn’t wow me. He did have a good exchange with ZSJ, especially in the closing stretch even if nobody bought him actually scoring a pin on him. The Zack Driver put down the newcomer in 9:41. Another pretty good undercard match. I don’t hate this show so far. That’s a step up. [**¾]
NJPW KOPW Championship Catch Rules Match: Yuya Uemura [c] vs. The Great-O-Khan
The history of this title/trophy kind of lines up with New Japan’s fall in quality. They aren’t inherently tied together, it just happens to be that’s the case. So the idea here was a more technical, grapple-based match, complete with O-Khan changing up his gear. It’s a fine thing to try in theory but as is often the case, the execution lacked. It’s like when New Japan used to try MMA based matches which were met with reactions so quiet you would think it took place in 2020. Rope breaks played a part here as they built this toward a final rope break that could result in a DQ. O-Khan fought off some submissions and regained the title with the Eliminator in 10:36. This was rather bland and didn’t really work. It also feels like a waste to have these two competing for the 24/7 Title. [**¼]
NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano [c] vs. BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Yota Tsuji
I had no clue this trio held the titles. Solid action in this one from the start. Nothing special but things moved along swiftly, it wasn’t boring, and you had things like Yano antics to keep it spicy. I haven’t seen Yano in a while so his act was fine with me here. He and Hiromu had some fun exchanges given their eccentric personalities. The more serious stuff came from Tsuji and Tanahashi going at it before Boltin came in with some BIG BOY offense. It came down to Tanahashi and Tsuji, giving us a past vs. present/future situation. Tanahashi held his own but once he missed High Fly Flow, Tsuji drilled him with a Spear and we had new champions at the 8:32 mark. Another ho-hum match though not at all bad. Just solid multi-man stuff involving mostly entertaining guys. Post-match, Oleg kept getting in Yota’s face but the new champion kind of just brushed him off. [**¾]
NJPW Television Championship: Jeff Cobb [c] vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Now we’re talking. They’ve had really good matches in the G1 29 (****¼) and G1 30 (****). When I discuss the things I miss about New Japan back when it was good, among them is the 15 or so minute wars for NEVER Title. That’s basically what this was, just over a different belt. These two BIG MEATY MEN went right after each other, having exactly the kind of match you’d expect from them. Hard hitting, impressive feats of strength, and almost no down time. It’s the kind of thing I’ve seen a lot but it’s been a while in NJPW so I appreciated it. Cobb nearly dropped Ishii on his head on a belly to belly only for Ishii to pop right back up and keep fighting. I don’t understand how that man does what he does. When he busted out a pop up Frankensteiner, I nearly lost my shit. At 48, he’s outperforming 90% of wrestlers in the world. Alas, Cobb countered his next big move and hit Tour of the Islands to retain in 11:47. This is basically all I ever want from a lot of New Japan matches. Just give me a great match that doesn’t go too long. These two did just what I wanted and delivered. [****¼]
In some good news, the G1 33 has been scaled back to two blocks and 20 wrestlers. THANK YOU. Overstuffing their tournaments has only hurt New Japan. 18 wrestlers will be announced next week but the final two slots will be determined by a qualifying tournament. This is all positive stuff.
IWGP & NJPW Strong Tag Team Championship Elimination Match: Chase Owens & KENTA [c] vs. El Phantasmo & Hikuleo [c] vs. Bishamon vs. TMDK
In less good news, it’s New Japan’s tag division. In a world where tag divisions all across wrestling are struggling, NJPW always finds a way to remain at the bottom. Everyone went after Chase and KENTA because they’re assholes. This was contested under tornado rules so it never really got dull as things kept moving. Hikuleo ate the first pin (so much for the big strong threat they tried to sell him as), guaranteeing new Strong Champions. Why are there still two sets of these titles? Hikuleo and ELP had an argument afterward. Owens was put down by Shota, guaranteeing another new set of champions. The two better teams were left and they had a pretty great match last year. Not gonna lie, it’s cool that TMDK have a move called Olivia Newton Bomb. TMDK came close several times, which played into the story because they’ve yet to overcome Bishamon at any point. Finally, they hit the Super Tankbuster on YOSHI-HASHI to capture the titles in 16:26. The Bishamon/TMDK section was very good but the first part with the other two teams sucked. Split the difference. Good for TMDK. [**½]
NEVER Openweight Championship: Shingo Takagi [c] vs. HENARE
Oh, it’s another case of BIG MEATY MEN BUMPING MEAT. They met twice last year in the New Japan Cup (***¾) and G1 (****). Like Ishii/Cobb, this was hard hitting but in a different way. They threw some big moves in that last one while this featured more strikes and headbutts. HENARE won out on those headbutt battles. This might’ve felt more like the old NEVER Title matches because at times it felt like two guys trying to prove who was tougher between them. HENARE got a big opening with Street of Rage but he was too hurt from the physical battle to cover and that allowed Shingo to retaliate with Last of the Dragon, only for him to also be too hurt to capitalize. This was really starting to heat up when we were treated to a relatively disappointing conclusion as both men stayed down after a barrage of offense capped by a running headbutt from HENARE. The referee called for the bell following a 10 count, giving us a draw after 14:35. The crowd was totally into HENARE by the end though that finish is kind of flat. Even if you’re going to do that, it should’ve come a couple of minutes later since this was just starting to really get good. That said, I liked it a lot. [***¾]
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Lumberjack Death Match: Jon Moxley [c] vs. EVIL
I really don’t get why people are so up in arms about Moxley holding the title. New Japan has basically zero legitimate stars to carry the title besides Naito and maybe Shingo. You really want another EVIL or SANADA reign? Also, it’s not like this title is all that prestigious. That said, this is NOT the opponent to get anyone invested in this reign. So the gimmick here was that the lumberjacks were House of Torture for EVIL and former IWGP Champions and such for Moxley like Makabe, Nagata, etc. This opened with a brawl as Moxley got to the guardrail, allowing the lumberjacks to wage war as well. For the most part, this was pretty basic. They used the lumberjacks in uninteresting ways while the action in the ring involved weapons and such. It was certainly not the best Moxley match I can recall. One thing I did like with the lumberjacks was how EVIL would taunt them and anger them. He’s very anti-legend. Considering the weapons and shenanigans, Moxley is kind of an ideal opponent for EVIL so this was better than most of his stuff, though that is a low bar. As expected, things boiled over with the New Japan Dads doing their signature moves on the House of Torture as Moxley hit Death Rider. That should’ve been the finish but Narita ran in with a weapon to prolong this. Moxley got put through a table but survived and then got a barbed wire bat. He used it, a Curb Stomp, and Death Rider on the bat to retain in 25:01. That was pretty good but overly long. [***]
Post-match, Moxley called out anyone from New Japan and Naito answered, setting up a match at Forbidden Door II.
Best of the Super Juniors Finals: El Desperado vs. Taiji Ishimori
We’ve got past meetings in the BOSJ 2020 (***¾), Summer Struggle 2021 (***¾), BOSJ 2021 (***½), and Wrestling Dontaku 2022 (****). Kind of wild to think that neither of these guys have won this tournament before, both losing to Hiromu in recent years. You got the sense they were going long here since most BOSJ Finals have done that lately and they opened with a slower paced feeling out process. The first big move saw Desperado catch a rebounding Taiji with a back suplex that dropped him on his neck and commentary made sure to remind us that he missed time with a neck injury last year. Interestingly, Desperado opted to move away from the neck to try the Stretch Muffler though that did open the door for the next section of the match were Taiji also used his signature submission, the Bone Lock. Ishimori was on his game here, selling the knee very well while also being an absolute killer who targeted the shoulder. It was the best I’ve seen from him in a long time. That matched up so well against Desperado’s babyface performance here. It was also one of his best in terms of the energy he brought, the fire he had when he got on offense, and how he came across as sympathetic. The crowd wanted him to have his big BOSJ moment. The closing stretch was an emotional one and when Desperado sent Taiji into the exposed turnbuckle followed by a Jay Driller and Pinche Loco, he got his long-awaited win in 23:36. Great stuff here and I love that they realized this didn’t need 30+ minutes. They told a hell of a story filled with action in 23 minutes and the emotional impact of Desperado’s win added something to it. [****¼]
Post-match, Desperado had his confrontation with the Jr. Champion SHO and decided he wants him in a Steel Cage. It was sold as a big deal since the last cage match in this company resulted in HENARE nearly dying and Alex Coughlin retiring.
