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NJPW Dominion 2018


Raziel

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June 9, Osaka-Jo Hall, Osaka Japan

MAIN EVENT: IWGP Heavyweight Championship, 2 Out of 3 Falls - NO TIME LIMIT

"Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada (CHAOS) (c) vs. "Best Bout Machine" Kenny Omega (Bullet Club)

 

IWGP Intercontinental Championship

Tetsuya Naito (Los Ingobernables de Japon) (c) vs. Chris Jericho (FREE)

 

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship

"Aerial Assassin" Will Ospreay (CHAOS) (c) vs. "Time Bomb" Hiromu Takahashi (Los Ingobernables de Japon) (Best of Super Junior 25 Winner)

 

Special Six Man Tag Match

Rey Mysterio Jr (FREE), Hiroshi Tanahashi & Jyushin "Thunder" Liger vs. Bullet Club (Cody, Hangman Page & Marty Scurll)

 

IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship

Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL & SANADA) (c) vs. The Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson) (Bullet Club)

 

NEVER Openweight Championship Three Way Match

Hirooki Goto (CHAOS) (c) vs. Michael Elgin vs. Taichi (Suzuki-gun)

 

CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano) vs. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr.)

 

Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. CHAOS ("Switchblade" Jay White & YOSHI-HASHI)

 

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship

Suzuki-gun (Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado) (c) vs. Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) (CHAOS)

 

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Updated with the Jr Title match, and whatever the Liger/Tanahashi vs. Scrull thing is gonna be (It's possible Liger, Tana, and Rey vs. a BC trio, but who knows.

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Didn't spot this thread when I created mine. Oops.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega had a three match trilogy last year. The first match at Wrestle Kingdom 11 was the longest match ever at the Tokyo Dome. I loved it, my 2017 MOTY and the best match of the three. I didn't like the Dominion match which went to a 60 minute draw with the leg work getting lost and trying to fill the time up. Omega won the third match at the G1 Climax, a terrific match aided by the 30 minute time limit and the story that Okada was beaten down. So we're 1-1-1.

This fourth IWGP Heavyweight Title reign by Kazuchika Okada is the longest in NJPW history, he's nearly up to 700 days and the most defenses in sucession. Two out of three falls is one of my favourite gimmick matches. The match may go short to surprise, I remember the 2004 Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk ROH trilogy, the first two matches were one hour draws and the third just over 30 minutes...Yeah right, this match is going long.

Chris Jericho's follows his match against Kenny Omega for the IWGP United States Championship at Wrestle Kingdom this year versus Tetsuya Naito for his IWGP Intercontinental Championship. Be interesting to see how Chris follows that match as this isn't no DQ and he's had a diverse year so far freelancing between IWGP and WWE.

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Yeah, I'm gonna watch this whole thing. Bucks/LIJ and Hiromu/Ospreay seem likeliest contenders for the "actually, I didn't even think Omega/Okada was MOTN" internet title, whereas I kinda expect Naito/Jericho to be a bit of a dud. All the title matches seem up in the air, which is nice, though I think this is Kenny's time. (And Taichi's!)

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My only prediction is that whoever wins the 1st fall won't win the match.  And I though that *before* they each did their special interviews talking up how important the 1st fall was going to be.

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Really looking forward to this card probably gonna watch the whole thing. Omega/Okada should be good at least but there is certainly a chance it will get over indulgent. Naito/Jericho probably has a ceiling of good, maybe Jericho will surprise us but his best days are behind him though him and Naito might be able to use character work to really up the quality of the match they are both great in that regard. Hiromu/Ospreay should be fantastic both have been on a hot streak and I say that as someone who generally has no time for Ospreay but he has made me start to change my mind this year. Bucks/LIJ tag should be good if not great. I'm not too hopeful for the NEVER match three ways are more miss than hit and Elgin has been devolving over the past year (plus he's a POS) but I hope Taichi wins. I hope Yano gets to continue his success against Suzuki cause I love that plot thread. Juice/Finlay vs CHAOS is the only match I might skip but Juice is always fun to watch and Knife Pervert is interesting to see develop but YOSHI-HASHI....

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40 minutes ago, EVA said:

My only prediction is that whoever wins the 1st fall won't win the match.  And I though that *before* they each did their special interviews talking up how important the 1st fall was going to be.

Honestly, I have no idea how they bring the first fall about in a satisfying way. Either it:

1) Takes place so late, after so much artillery has been traded, that neither can believably go much further--and yet, the drama probably insists that they would.

2) Or it takes place early, but we haven't been led to believe either guy is capable of that kind of coup. A flash pin could accomplish it, but that would probably feel contrived. At least the OWA has remained protected and the Rainmaker (at least the full windup, post-tombstone version) has been rebuilt.

Of course, either "problem" presupposes a relatively long match that comes down to a third fall. Should it only go 35-45 minutes, and have the winner simply sweep the falls, Option 1 looks easier to accommodate.

There's also the possibility that (as these matches usually go) the first fall takes a ton to accomplish, then the second comes suddenly, then the third is basically another mini-match. But neither guy really has an easy to hit finisher, nor do they traffic in roll-ups.

I guess it's also possible that either guy could just eat a DQ to go down a fall, but gain a significant advantage--though that seems really unlikely. And then there's the potential narrative implications of Ibushi being ringside, Cody and the Bucks being in the building, etc.

It's all really compelling to me, even before considering whether the match is mechanically good or not.

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Can't first fall end with submission? Suppose Okada gets Omega with Cobra Clutch and instead of trying to endure it and potentially risk injury Omega taps out knowing that he still got two 2 more rounds to get back at Okada.

So my wild prediction would be: Cobra Clutch, OWA, Rainmaker.

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Initially I was thinking that Omega was going to take the belt here but after thinking about it I'm not sure anymore mainly because idk how that would play into the G1. I feel that if Okada drops the belt before the G1 he would be the odds on fav to win the G1 and then main event WK against Omega (or maybe Naito) but at the same time if Okada keeps the belt who wins the G1?

I guess the big issue is that outside of Okada, Naito and Omega who else is there that is WK main event worthy? I think I'd like to see Omega win here and then Ibushi win the G1 leading to Omega/Ibushi at WK but then what about Naito and Okada do you run them at semi main for the IC belt? Give Okada/Suzuki and Naito/???. I feel like we're starting to really feel the hole that Shibata's injury has left since it seems like NJPW was planning on him being the fourth column to hold the main event scene up and they haven't found a replacement yet, maybe Ibushi will be that person. Suzuki was kind of that role but he has moved down the card and I don't know if Cody can fill that spot in Japan. 

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Cody won't.  Outside of Omega and the Bucks, no one gives a shit about BC in Japan anymore, they moved on to LIJ and Suzuki-gun.  Ibushi is really the only answer for the 4th pillar, 

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I can't imagine a scenario where Okada isn't in the WK main event.  That's his spot now, the way it was Tanahashi's before him.  The only variables are the opponent and if he'll be champion or challenger.

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6 hours ago, Beech27 said:

Yeah, I'm gonna watch this whole thing. Bucks/LIJ and Hiromu/Ospreay seem likeliest contenders for the "actually, I didn't even think Omega/Okada was MOTN" internet title, whereas I kinda expect Naito/Jericho to be a bit of a dud. All the title matches seem up in the air, which is nice, though I think this is Kenny's time. (And Taichi's!)

I've been on my usual vacation from wrestling the past two months because I get burnt out on it with all the happenings of Mania weekend and the NBA/NHL playoffs kicking into gear. I've been keeping up on what's going on and will do my best to catch up on the NJPW shows I've missed before the G1 starts, but I'm watching this bad boy live (or passing out half way and watching the rest Saturday morning). I do wish they would've found something for Kota to do but other than that, it looks pretty darn great.

Looking at the undercard and I can't help but think they really should have cut their losses with Elgin because they're lacking in top level gaijin talent beyond Omega and Ospreay in the junior division and the Bucks kind of/sort of in the tag division. White, Juice, and Finlay are nice undercard projects but they're missing that IC level hoss that ought to be Elgin. Cobb in his place would have been ideal. It feels like it's too late to go all in on him, he was outed for being an even bigger dickhead than most wrestlers thought in regards to the trash talking Cobb behind his back (and he is not well liked to begin with), he's lost all of his momentum he had in 2016, and there's the sexual improprieties issues (to put it as politely as one can) hanging over his head. The latter may not mean much in Japan but he sure isn't popular in North America right now. This is a very circuitous way of saying Taichi is the saviour we need right now. 

As for predictions, I'm opening myself up for inevitable disappointment, but perhaps with the weak ticket sales for San Francisco, they put the belts on the Bucks and Omega to drum up interest. That and it would make for fun concept of Okada having to chase in the G1 (and probably being the guy that breaks the streak of the G1 victor's Wrestle Kingdom failure).

I appreciate the early start time too.

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5 hours ago, Oyaji said:

As for predictions, I'm opening myself up for inevitable disappointment, but perhaps with the weak ticket sales for San Francisco, they put the belts on the Bucks and Omega to drum up interest.

I don't know. Here comes wrestling company from Japan and most of their champions are Americans. Weird visual.

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Would it be too soon to have Ibushi win the G1 and go on to WK to face Okada and WIN?

I could see a scenario where Kenny fails again and then Ibushi marches to the title. Lots of angles to take with that setup post WK.

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Well they have been teasing Okada/Ibushi for a while now and it is probably last match up that hasn't really been done so I think that either:

a) Omega beats Okada and Okada/Ibushi is G1 final with Okada going over.

or

b) Okada retains, Ibushi wins G1 and Okada/Ibushi for WK main event.

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I really want to stay up and watch it live, but with stuff going on in the afternoon my best bet is to catch this in the morning.  And I have a feeling some friends want to see the Jericho match so I'll be seeing that twice.  Really hoping it's a good one.

And I can't say I'm fully surprised that the card is so stacked.  I noticed last year it seems to be their version of Summerslam (with much better wrestling of course) and for their second biggest single show of the year it makes sense.

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