NJPW/CMLL/AEW
Wrestle Dynasty 2025
January 5, 2025
Tokyo Dome
Tokyo, Japan
Watch: NJPW WORLD
MEET YOUR REVIEWER:
Suit Williams: You can read Suit’s long-form previews and reviews of wrestling from around the world here at Voices of Wrestling. You can also find his weekly reviews of AEW Collision over at F4WOnline. Check out his brand-new wrestling blog Williams Watches Wrestling, where he’ll engage in watch projects and review requests like Williams Watches WrestleMania every Wednesday. This past week, he reviewed Wrestlemania 22, featuring Rey Mysterio wrestling with the Eddie Guerrero buff and Triple H turning the smarks on John Cena. Follow Suit on all social media platforms @SuitWilliams.
Wrestle Dynasty 2025 Pre-Show
International Women’s Cup Final Four Way Match
Momo Watanabe (w/ Thekla) def. Athena, Willow Nightingale, Persephone
This match rocked! The match being put on the pre-show probably allowed for it to get some real time here, as these four went balls to the wall and kept up a good pace. I had never seen Persephone, but her power spots were impressive. Athena was a pinball here, flying around for everyone’s work and getting back in my good graces as I’ve tired of her ROH schtick. Willow and Momo were as good as they usually are, making this a quality opener. Athena had Willow dead to rights with the O-Face, but Watanabe’s stablemate Thekla ripped the referee out of the ring. That allowed Watanabe to pin Athena with the Peach Sunrise to win the Cup, as she’s the first person to pin Athena since July 12, 2023. Athena will be sticking around in Japan for a while to deal with HATE, as she’s challenged Thekla to a ROH Women’s Title match in Korakuen Hall on January 13th. Great opener. ****
Wrestle Dynasty 2025 Pre-Show
ROH World Tag Team Title Match
The Sons Of Texas (Dustin Rhodes & Sammy Guevara) (c) def. House Of Torture (SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
What an odd group of names. Resurgent legend Dustin Rhodes & flippy-doo guy Sammy Guevara vs. Japanese junior stalwart Kanemaru & New Japan homer Sho Tanaka. This was a rock-solid tag match, with standard issue cheating from House of Torture instead of the clown-car interference. The House worked over Sammy until he got the tag in to Rhodes, who ran wild until Kanemaru caught him with the whiskey spit. Dustin got his shot back with the whiskey before Sammy finished him off with a swanton bomb. AEW has found a good spot for Sammy, as a flier in a tag team with a guy who’s too respected to hate. Another cool match on this pre-show match. ***1/2
Lucha Gauntlet Match
Taiji Ishimori def. Hechicero, Kosei Fujita, Soberano Jr., Master Wato, Mascara Dorada, Titán, El Desperado
This is an AEW Casino Gauntlet Match, a timed gauntlet match where it can be won by pinfall or submission at any time. The first two men were Hechicero and Kosei Fujita. The next two out were maybe the biggest swag difference in the world, as perennial geek Master Wato followed the always icy Soberano Jr. Mascara Dorada dazzled in his entrance, as he had incredible sequences with Hechicero before Taiji Ishimori shut him down. Titán and El Desperado were the final two. Everyone waited for Desperado to get in the ring, including the very much not a junior Hechicero doing the belt motion in the ring.
The other seven men ganged up on Despe and kicked his ass until Hechicero went for a pin, after which it became a free-for-all. This was basically the Rambo if it was only open to people with two working knees. As per usual with New Japan, they picked the boring option and had Ishimori pin Despe to set up the next Jr. Title match. This match rocked, and the Casino Gauntlet Match is a winner of a concept on any continent. ****
Special Exhibition Grappling Match
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi ended in a time-limit draw
They did something very cool here in this five-minute match, where these two started grappling before eventually throwing strikes. The deeper the match went, the harder their chops got. It was less like they were trying to win and more like these two wrestlers were trying to make the most of their final time against each other in a spot like this. The time expired, with the two shaking hands and hugging afterward. Shibata indicated one more match between the two, but if this was it, they went out the only way they could. This Tanahashi retirement tour is a great showcase of his mind for wrestling, as he’s found ways to have two awesome singles matches at the Dome. ***½
Winner Take All Match for both NJPW STRONG Women’s & RevPro Undisputed British Women’s Titles
Mercedes Mone (NJPW STRONG) def. Mina Shirakawa (British)
Mercedes Mone is all the way back, as this match was fantastic. Shirakawa was awesome here, as she took about 90% of this match working over Mone’s knee like a dog with a bone. She was constantly on it, whether using Dragon Screws or continually locking on the Figure Four. Mone was great at selling the legs too, as most of her offense involved her beaten up knees. Shirakawa ran through all of her big offense, including the Glamourous Driver Mina, but Mone survived it. Mone countered a final Figure Four attempt into an inside cradle, then caught Shirakawa with the Mone Maker to score the win and two more belts to add to her collection. With all the Championship Celebrations she’s been throwing on Dynamite, it’s no wonder Party City is going out of business. ****1/4
David Finlay def. Brody King
I can’t think of a bigger winner of the weekend than David Finlay. He had the match of the night at Wrestle Kingdom last night against Yota Tsuji, then he had an awesome match here against Brody King. Finlay’s stock and trade during the last year has been being the big, domineering bully Global Champion. He ran into a bigger, more domineering bully in Brody King, who whipped his ass for a lot of this match. Finlay couldn’t hit his big powerbombs, nor could he lift King for Into Oblivion. Finlay felt like he was fighting for his life here, and he was eventually able to cut King down with a spear. Finlay eventually got King in powerbomb position and dropped him head first on the turnbuckles. Finlay herked King up for a powerbomb before hitting Into Oblivion for the win. ****
Shota Umino def. Claudio Castagnoli
Umino is still meant to be a babyface here, as he had his big motorbike entrance before Castagnoli jumped him on the ramp. Castagnoli worked him over as if he was a babyface, and Shota fought from underneath like the babyface does in these matches. Umino survived the Giant Swing and the Neutralizer and won with the Death Rider. It was a solid win for Umino, but Umino still has the same issues as he did last night. He’s a babyface that people don’t want to cheer, and we’re quickly finding ourselves in a cycle that New Japan needs to break if they want to do something productive with the guy. ***1/2
Winner Take All Match for both NEVER Openweight & AEW International Title
Konosuke Takeshita (c) def. Tomohiro Ishii
Look at the names. Picture the match. You got it. After last night’s slightly disappointing match with Shingo Takagi, Takeshita came back tonight and had the exact match you would want him to have with Tomohiro Ishii. Takeshita won with the Raging Fire. Dudes rock. ****1/2
IWGP Tag Team Title Three Way Match
The Young Bucks (Matthew Jackson & Nicholas Jackson) def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito), United Empire (Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb)
While the Bucks may have spent a chunk of last year being bad on purpose if you take them at their word, they were out to impress here in their return to Japan. O-Khan and his mystery partner, who was just Jeff Cobb as New Japan didn’t want to spoil the TV Title result, were impressive in this match as well, throwing suplexes like their last name was also changed from Steiner for no reason. Naito & Hiromu…were also there. I’m still sour from the match from last night. I would’ve preferred seeing the Bucks work against the power team in Khan on the Cobb, but Naito & Hiromu got in where they fit in here to make a fun mayhem match. The Bucks won with the Tony Khan Driver on O-Khan. ****
IWGP Global Heavyweight Title Match
Yota Tsuji (c) def. Jack Perry
This was probably the best singles Scapegoat match I’ve seen him have. I mean it wasn’t great, but low bars can still be cleared. These two had a perfectly fine professional wrestling match that Tsuji won with the Gene Blaster. The crowd wasn’t interested in the match, but they were polite enough. I’m still holding strong to my Perry stocks, and I will be vindicated one day. Not on this day. But one day. ***1/4
Kenny Omega def. Gabe Kidd
There were people worried about what Kenny Omega’s output would be when he returned from his nearly fatal encounter with diverticulitis. People wondered if his style would change, and if he could even be a percentage of what he used to be. When his return match was booked for the Tokyo Dome, I knew this man would not be slapping on rear chinlocks and playing the hits, and I was right. Kenny Omega is fucking BACK, and he’s back with a bang.
On the other side, I wrote months ago about Gabe Kidd’s upside as a babyface in New Japan. Behind the swear words and the crowd brawling was a man who truly loved New Japan and was angry at what he believed it had become. This feud was not only about the disrespect Kenny had shown Gabe, but the disrespect wrestlers and fans around the world had shown New Japan. He came here to fight for what he believed was best for the promotion that he loved more than anything else. He literally wore the Lion Mark on his sleeve, with his gear having the New Japan logo on the leg. Gabe Kidd was here to fight against Kenny Omega, and just as importantly, he was here to fight for New Japan.
This match was an absolute spectacle. From the moment Kidd revealed that Lion Mark on his gear, the crowd knew this was special. The moment I saw Kenny Omega on that stage, I knew this was special. And these two had an incredibly special match. The hate came out of Omega early, as after Gabe set up two tables on the floor, Omega got a hold of Gabe and flung him through the tables off of the elevated stage. When referee Bryce Remsburg tried to get medical attention for Kidd, Omega responded with a classic springboard dive to Kidd, the other War Dogs, and the young lions at ringside. He hurt his hip on the dive and shoved a young lion for taking too long to present him with ice to big heat.
Kidd was bloodied on the dive, but he came up swinging and put Omega through another table at ringside with a powerbomb. He hit Omega with part of the broken table to bloody him up, and Omega hit a gusher. I don’t remember seeing Omega bleed before, but if he has, he’s never bled like this. This was high on the Muta Scale, and it sent the match to a whole new level.
From here on, this match was a classic New Japan war of attrition. It’s everything I want in pro wrestling. Two dudes fighting, telling a story with their actions instead of cheating by screaming the story at you. No cheap interference. There was plunder in this match, but none of it felt needless or like taking a shortcut. It was pro wrestling at its purest, and pro wrestling at its absolute finest. This is why New Japan reached the heights it did in the Golden Era. Maybe the Bullet Club stuff got people in the door, but it was guys like Omega and Naito and Okada and Tanahashi that kept them there by having excellent professional wrestling matches that did it the way it’s meant to be done. As someone who has had genuine fears about the future of pro wrestling, and pro wrestling in America especially, it’s fulfilling to be reminded that pure professional wrestling can still excel when great wrestlers are given the chance.
For God’s sake, this match had Hiroshi Tanahashi in tears on commentary. That is how fucking incredible this match was.
I can run through the rest of the big spots, but I can’t do this match any type of justice no matter how hard I try. Gabe Kidd is a made man. Kenny Omega is all the way back. Omega won with the Kamigoye and the One Winged Angel. Five days into the year, the bar has been set for Match of the Year. *****
IWGP World Heavyweight Title Match
Zack Sabre Jr. (c) def. Ricochet
So, these two poor guys had to follow a match that reinvigorated my love of professional wrestling. I felt so bad watching Omega and Kidd stagger off and watching Tanahashi wipe tears from his eyes at the desk, immediately followed by Ricochet’s Spider-Man music and this comparatively ice-cold main event. I was so worried that Ricochet wouldn’t be able to step up to the plate, and that for the second night in a row, Zack Sabre Jr would have a lackluster main event in the Tokyo Dome and forever have that blemish on his record.
However, these two came out here and worked their asses off to have a good Tokyo Dome main event. I had some gripes, as they went about one or two nearfalls too far. But this was leagues better than the main event last night, and it successfully kept a crowd that just saw THAT match engaged in their match. Ricochet never really got that close nearfall, but he did kick out of a Zack Driver. Zack put him away with a nasty double-arm submission to close an incredible Tokyo Dome show. ****
