NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING
DOMINION 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall
JUNE 4, 2023
OSAKA-JO HALL
OSAKA, JAPAN

Watch: NJPW World

In a show full of intrigue and interest, the main event World Title match on this Dominion show is what had most fans buzzing going in. Whoever won the title would be carrying it into two high-profile co-promoted shows in All Together Again and Forbidden Door. They would also be the champion for the G1 Climax, back in front of cheering crowds for the first time since 2019. The IWGP World Champion going into these major events would either be SANADA, a known-but-unproven commodity, or Yota Tsuji, a massive question mark in every regard. Who would New Japan trust to take that responsibility? How big of a splash is New Japan willing to make?

I’ll say this first. Yota Tsuji is going to be a very big deal. The combination of size and athleticism is amazing, and this Osaka crowd was all in on him after about 5 minutes. If he can put it all together against the top names, then New Japan has a top guy on their hands. His first hurdle will be impressing the men in Los Ingobernables. They seem more confused by Tsuji than anything. Tsuji called for the LIJ fist bump in the corner at the start of the match, with the rest of the unit obliging slowly and unsurely. And after Tsuji’s loss, they bailed on him, with Naito telling the young lions at ringside to help him. Maybe this is a red herring, like Jay White in CHAOS before he joined Bullet Club after the G1. But Tsuji is going to be LIJ-adjacent in the near future, which certainly won’t hurt him.

Meanwhile, this was SANADA’s second title defense and the second time the fans were living and dying for the challenger. He’s not getting superstar reactions at any point in his matches. Neither show has been a box office smash, with this show getting 7,040 in Osaka-jo Hall. The crowds aren’t repelled by SANADA, but they don’t seem enthused by him as champion so far into this run. Gedo will give him every chance to succeed, as his patience has paid off in the past. But it’s so far, so meh in the SANADA as IWGP World Champion experiment.

IWGP UNITED STATES HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE #1 CONTENDERSHIP: WILL OSPREAY DEF. LANCE ARCHER

Man, I missed Will Ospreay. New Japan has had a great year in 2023, and they didn’t necessarily miss Ospreay during his injury time. But as an unabashed Will Ospreay fan, I missed having Will Ospreay wrestle on these shows. He’s fairly good at this whole wrestling thing.

Archer started the show honoring his Suzuki-gun roots by getting a jump start on Ospreay. What followed was an awesome sprint, a sprint that wouldn’t be out of place in a G1. An 8-minute battle where Ospreay worked complete babyface, bumping around for the monster Archer until he got his big shots in. Ospreay kicked out of a Black Out and a chokeslam, but avoided the big close-range lariat Archer has been using as a new finish. Ospreay hit a Hidden Blade, but Archer kicked out at one. Ospreay then hit three more Hidden Blades to win the match and the title match against Kenny Omega.

After the match, Ospreay grabbed the mic and said that he was ready to walk into Omega’s home field and bring back the IWGP US Title. It’s Ospreay vs. Canada. The most anticipated rematch in wrestling will be coming to North America, and most likely AEW. Maybe they’ll do it on Collision? ****

LOS INGOBERNABLES DE JAPON (BUSHI, SHINGO TAKAGI, TETSUYA NAITO & TITÁN) DEF. JUST 5 GUYS (DOUKI, TAICHI, TAKA MICHINOKU & YOSHINOBU KANEMARU)

If there was another one of these multi-mans on this card, this would’ve been on Tales From The Undercard. There was no Douki Chokey in this match, which is surprising considering Gino Gambino was back on commentary for this show. Titán scored the win with Llave Inmortal on Taka. ***

IWGP JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM TITLE: CATCH 2/2 (FRANCESCO AKIRA & TJP) (W/ DAN MOLONEY) DEF. INTERGALACTIC JET SETTERS (KEVIN KNIGHT & KUSHIDA) ©

The Intergalactic Jet Setters fall in their first defense. Catch 2/2 are the 72nd IWGP Jr. Tag Team Champions.

This was a surprising decision for me, as I felt there would be more logic in just keeping the titles on Catch 2/2 and letting them break the record for longest reign. But they seem to be telling a story that after KUSHIDA’s disappointing Best of Super Juniors run that KUSHIDA has fallen a step behind in this new generation of juniors. Combine that with Catch 2/2 knowing what to expect from the Jet Setters now, they were able to get a better game plan. Knight went for his big top rope rana but Catch 2/2 caught him with the Leaning Tower. Akira and TJP hit the 2×2 knees on Knight to win the match and regain the tag titles. ***3/4

You wanna talk about surprising? Post match, Clark Connors made his way to ringside. He looked to make a challenge for the tag team titles. His partner would be…DAN MOLONEY, who jumped Akira and TJP from behind. The crowd was pissed, telling Moloney to go home as they laid out Catch 2/2. This was a stunning swerve, but one that fits perfectly. Moloney is an excellent fit for this new all-killer version of Bullet Club, and these two as a team is a great fit.

NJPW WORLD TELEVISION TITLE: ZACK SABRE JR. © (w/ Kosei Fujita) DEF. JEFF COBB

This was Sabre’s 10th successful defense of the NJPW TV Title.

An issue I’ve had with some of Sabre’s early title defenses is that there did not seem to be a strong sense of urgency in the early portions. Sabre was more toying with his food than working at a pace. That was not a concern in this match. These two went hell for leather from the bell, picking up where they left off from their match at Dontaku. It was more of the same, as Sabre struggled dealing with Cobb’s power advantage. Cobb continually fought his way out of Sabre’s submissions, whether it was turning an armbar into an overhead throw or squishing Sabre on a rear naked choke attempt.

Cobb looked like he was on the road to victory after a Spin Cycle, but Sabre countered a Tour of the Islands into a crucifix pin to win and retain the titles in a great finish. ***3/4

IWGP TAG TEAM & NJPW STRONG TAG TEAM TITLE – THREE WAY MATCH: BISHAMON (HIROOKI GOTO & YOSHI-HASHI) DEF. UNITED EMPIRE (AARON HENARE & GREAT-O-KHAN) & HOUSE OF TORTURE (EVIL & YUJIRO TAKAHASHI)

Bishamon become the 99th IWGP Tag Team Champions and the 4th NJPW STRONG Tag Team Champions.

This match exceeded expectations in a big way. House of Torture’s shenanigans helped build a real sense of tension, as Yujiro had a few nearfalls that both the crowd and I bit on hard. The crowd was really afraid at the idea of House of Torture winning these titles here, and that helped make this an exciting match here. Henare & O-Khan made for a very good makeshift team, pairing off well and having some great offense. Bishamon were their usual great selves. In the end, Bishamon isolated Yujiro and hit Shoto to win both sets of tag team titles. This was a lot of action and energy and a fun title match as a result. ****

After the match, Bishamon’s celebration was cut off by the introduction of Bullet Club’s War Dogs, the team of Alex Coughlin & Gabriel Kidd of the New Japan Dojo. My goodness, Bullet Club has reloaded in a massive way. Young bulls, killers only. This is a revitalized unit with a ton of fresh talent. This new Bullet Club excites me greatly.

G1 CLIMAX ANNOUNCEMENTS!

Get your spreadsheets ready! It’s G1 season!

  1. Kazuchika Okada (12th appearance, 4-time winner – 2012, 2014, 2021, 2022)
  2. Tetsuya Naito (14th appearance, 2-time winner – 2013, 2017)
  3. SANADA (8th appearance, 2020 finalist)
  4. Will Ospreay (4th appearance, 2022 finalist)
  5. Hiroshi Tanahashi (22nd appearance, 3-time winner – 2007, 2015, 2018)
  6. David Finlay (2nd appearance)
  7. Shota Umino (DEBUT)
  8. Shingo Takagi (5th appearance)
  9. Tomohiro Ishii (11th appearance)
  10. Tama Tonga (6th appearance, 2022 semi-finalist)
  11. Tanga Loa (2nd appearance)
  12. Hikuleo (DEBUT)
  13. Hirooki Goto (16th appearance, 2008 winner)
  14. YOSHI-HASHI (7th appearance)
  15. Toru Yano (18th appearance)
  16. KENTA (5th appearance)
  17. Zack Sabre Jr. (7th appearance)
  18. Taichi (5th appearance)
  19. Eddie Kingston (DEBUT)
  20. El Phantasmo (2nd appearance)
  21. Ren Narita (DEBUT)
  22. EVIL (8th appearance)
  23. Chase Owens (3rd appearance)
  24. Jeff Cobb (5th appearance)
  25. Great O-Khan (3rd appearance)
  26. Aaron Henare (2nd appearance)
  27. Gabriel Kidd (DEBUT)
  28. Alex Coughlin (DEBUT)
  29. Shane Haste (DEBUT)
  30. Mad Mikey Nicholls (DEBUT)
  31. Yota Tsuji (DEBUT)
  32. Kaito Kiyomiya (DEBUT, 2018 NOAH Global League winner, 2022 NOAH N-1 Victory winner)

Unless we’re going Super Junior style and having 8-match shows with all singles matches, it looks like we’re having 4 blocks of eight. This is quite the field, with ten men making their G1 debuts. It depends on how the names are split up, but the high-end talent is there, as it always is with New Japan. Kingston and Kiyomiya will get the headlines here, but I’m also excited for all three members of Guerrillas of Destiny being back, as well as the young bulls like Kidd and Coughlin getting big opportunities in the G1. Exciting times are ahead for New Japan, starting July 15th.

NEVER OPENWEIGHT TITLE: DAVID FINLAY (C) (W/ GEDO, CLARK CONNORS, DAN MOLONEY, GABRIEL KIDD, & ALEX COUGHLIN) DEF. EL PHANTASMO

This was Finlay’s 1st successful defense of the title.

At the start of the night, the idea of ELP vs. Bullet Club was much more manageable for Phantasmo. Bullet Club had 5 members before the show started. As a bonus, KENTA was in America wrestling for DEFY, and Taiji Ishimori was on the shelf with a neck injury from the Best of Super Junior tour. It was easy for Phantasmo to say he would take on Bullet Club. With three new members added over the course of the prelims, what started as a molehill quickly became a mountain.

That mountain was just too tall for Phantasmo to climb on this night. He put up a great fight, as he started this match with a massive dive over the barricade. But the Bullet Club members at ringside made themselves known, cutting off another Phantasmo dive to give Finlay an advantage. Finlay picked Phantasmo apart, but Phantasmo fought back with a pair of Sudden Death superkicks for a nearfall. Phantasmo went to the top rope, but more Bullet Club distractions led to Phantasmo taking them all out with dives to the floor. But when Phantasmo went back to the top rope, Finlay shoved him off the top to the barricade, just like he did against Tama Tonga to win the title.

And just like Finlay’s match against Tama Tonga, we got an extended Finlay beatdown of his opponent instead of a hot New Japan style closing stretch. He put Phantasmo through a table, hit a powerbomb and Into Oblivion to retain. It isn’t the best for STARZ, but it is beneficial in building Finlay up as a relentless, remorseless NEVER Champion, and a violent leader of the new Bullet Club. Finlay has the closing stretch in him, but him doing this is more beneficial to him and Bullet Club.

As for El Phantasmo, don’t worry about him. In my preview, I said that this wouldn’t be the time for him to win the title. He must work through Bullet Club before he gets his glory against David Finlay. Now he’s just got more bodies to go through. But this story isn’t over, not at all. ***1/2

IWGP JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE: HIROMU TAKAHASHI © DEF. MASTER WATO

This was Takahashi’s 5th successful defense of the title.

With the shifting landscape in New Japan, this felt like Master Wato’s time to step up and stand tall as IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion. Wato had elevated himself with an incredible Super Junior final, winning the tournament and getting himself in place for a Jr. Title shot in his hometown. But there are levels to this game, and right now, Hiromu Takahashi is on another level. He’s made it clear that his goal is not just to be champion, but to become the greatest Jr. Champion in history. He wants to break the V11 defense record set by Minoru Tanaka – then known simply as Heat – and with this one, he gets one step closer to the magic number of 12.

Wato’s major offense targets the neck and shoulders, which are two areas that Hiromu’s has had notable issues with over the years. The Vendoval stretched Hiromu’s shoulder, which still sports a nasty scar from his previously torn pec. Wato’s Recietemente got a big nearfall, which is where the match really picked up steam. Hiromu avoided the Tsutenkaku German with everything he had, including several Hiromu-chan Bomber lariats. Wato reversed his way out of Time Bomb 2 and eventually hit the Tsutenkaku, but Hiromu kicked out. Hiromu hit the regular Time Bomb, but Wato kicked out. Hiromu would hit Time Bomb 2 to retain. The road to V12 continues for Hiromu. Meanwhile, the road to the top will be a little bit longer for Master Wato, but Wato’s proven over the past few weeks that he can hang at the very top of the division. ****1/2

NEVER OPENWEIGHT SIX MAN TAG TEAM TITLE: KAZUCHIKA OKADA, TOMOHIRO ISHII, & HIROSHI TANAHASHI © DEF. THE BLACKPOOL COMBAT CLUB (CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI & JON MOXLEY) & SHOTA UMINO

This was the champion team’s 1st successful defense. This was meant to be third from the top, but Castagnoli’s flight was delayed, causing this slight card change.

This match was stellar from the moment all six men took the ring. The English commentators did a great job laying out the histories of the men in the ring. From Okada and Umino’s current issues, to Ishii and Moxley’s G1 war from 2019, to Moxley and Tanahashi’s bloody battle from Forbidden Door, to the fact that Umino’s father was the referee. This match was dripping in history. Then, the bell rang.

This was not a visit to Japan. This was not a night off. This was six men going to fucking war. Umino and Okada were at each other’s throats. Ishii and Moxley went at each other like rabid dogs. The more neutral parties were still Claudio Castagnoli and Hiroshi Tanahashi, who y’know, are Claudio Castagnoli and Hiroshi Tanahashi. This was an intense, high-energy battle to the finish. My highlights include Ishii headbutting Moxley squarely in the fucking face, the BCC hitting a triple powerbomb on Okada, and the closing stretch that ended with Okada hitting the Emerald Flowsion and the Rainmaker on Umino to retain the titles. A must-watch match. ****3/4

After the match, Moxley had a message for Kazuchika Okada.

Pardon me while I change my shorts. Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Danielson is the single biggest dream match I have had for these Forbidden Door shows, and now we are three weeks away from getting it. Between that match and Omega/Ospreay II, Forbidden Door isn’t just going to match last year’s quality, it’s going to surpass it.

IWGP WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH

SANADA © (w/ TAICHI, TAKA MICHINOKU, DOUKI, & YOSHINOBU KANEMARU) DEF. YOTA TSUJI (W/ TETSUYA NAITO, HIROMU TAKAHASHI, SHINGO TAKAGI, BUSHI, & TITÁN)

This was SANADA’s second successful defense of the title.

Where to start with this one? This match was SANADA overcoming this unknown but massive threat to his title. After a long staredown, Tsuji caught SANADA with a spear on a leapfrog attempt. SANADA rolled to the floor, but Tsuji followed him with a Fosbury Flop. I thought this was going to be a take on the Goldberg/Brock Lesnar match from that Survivor Series, where Tsuji would just dominate SANADA as soon as they made contact and beat him in an instant. Instead, the match continued.

From here on, SANADA was fighting an uphill battle. Tsuji got his knees up on a moonsault attempt, and his hands up on a Shining Wizard. He cartwheeled out of a Deadfall attempt. He hit SANADA with moves like a release Falcon Arrow and a top-rope Spanish Fly. And the whole time, Tsuji had this shit-eating grin on his face, like he knew he had the title won already. But he tipped his hand when he made his debut at Wrestling Dontaku. For all the secrecy, for all the hiding, all SANADA knew was that he had to avoid the spear at all costs. Tsuji caught him at the start of the match. But he never got him again.

SANADA avoided the spear, evading multiple attempts before catching a charging Tsuji with a dropkick. He then hit the Shining Wizard before sticking Tsuji with the Deadfall to retain in what was a fascinating match. There was a lot of dead time, as SANADA spent a good chunk of the match selling Tsuji’s offense. But there was never a point where I was bored because I had a real feeling that this thing could end at any time. This is a hard one to rate, but this was a memorable match with a red-hot crowd that I do recommend watching, if only to see Tsuji’s work. ****