A solid effort from NJPW’s Dominion event that was highlighted with fantastic matches regarding the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight championship bout between Dragon Lee and Will Ospreay, and the IWGP Intercontinental title bout between Tetsuya Naito and Kota Ibushi.
In all honesty, you can easily skip the first four matches of the event. None of them were horrible whatsoever, with Takagi vs. Kojima being the standout between the Moxley/Umino, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson, and Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Jay White, Taiji Ishimori, and Chase Owens, and Jushin Liger and Yoshi-Hashi vs. Minoru Suzuki and Zack Sabre Jr matches; however, these bouts didn’t have much substance to them regarding NJPW.
Moxley was just there to announce that he’ll be at the G1 tournament and Takagi ‘s match was a way for him to bounce back after losing to Ospreay at the Best of the Super Juniors finals.
I feel NJPW missed the boat with Hiroshi Tanahashi, as they could’ve easily run a veteran questioning his career storyline after White defeated him at the Best of the Super Juniors show.
I’m also curious to see where Juice Robinson will go from here. Personally, I feel Robinson vs. Moxley should’ve been saved for Dominion; however, I’m liking the story that the former IWGP United States Champion has changed since his battle with Moxley.
The new haircut and change in attitude are what Robinson needed, though I never had a problem with Juice’s flamboyant character. However, his recent development is indeed intriguing and I’m looking forward to seeing how he does as a heel, should they go that route.
The NEVER Openweight championship match between Taichi and Tomohiro Ishii was a really good bout, though I question the quick title change once again. I’m a big fan of the ‘Stone Pitbull’, but we’ve had eight different title reigns in a 12-month time span.
I’m a big proponent of lengthy reigns as it’s a great way to add layers to a character, and with the right long-term champion, it can easily elevate everyone involved. Hopefully New Japan slows down on the title changes and gives Ishii a solid reign going forward.
The IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team title match between the Guerillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) and EVIL & Sanada was good, but nothing special. The only thing of note here is the announcers making a fuss about EVIL and Sanada leaving separately. Sanada has had a standout year thus far so I wouldn’t be surprised if New Japan decides that it’s time for him to break away from Los Ingobernables de Japon.
The main event between Jericho and Okada was very good, but the match ended a bit abruptly before the two wrestling veterans could go into third gear. I did like the post-match sequence as it teases an obvious rematch and a future bout with Hiroshi Tanahashi as well; however, I do feel that it took too long for the former IWGP Heavyweight champion to save Okada, especially since he was there at ringside watching the whole moment transpire.
The IWGP Intercontinental Championship match between Tetsuya Naito and Kota Ibushi was a damn good bout and the second-best match on the show. I feel that their match-up at the MSG show was a tad better; however, don’t let that discourage you from checking this match out.
I will say that the german suplex from the ring to the floor was hard to watch. Considering that Ibushi is just returning from a concussion earlier this year, I would’ve preferred that spot to not happen. Other than that, these guys worked their asses off and I’m excited to see where both men go from here.
And finally, the match of the night for me was Will Ospreay vs. Dragon Lee. The England native has been giving tremendous performances as of late and his bout with Lee was just another memorable showcase for the new IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion.
Lee was no slouch himself, and deserves as much praise and credit for the tremendous match as Ospreay. Nothing was over the top crazy insane, but both guys pulled off a beautifully crisp and fast paced bout that had me on the edge of my seat until the very end.
I do question why Lee was given the title at MSG if the plan wasn’t to have him face a returning Hiromu Takahashi. His title reign just didn’t feel like it had any meaning behind it other than that. Ospreay is clearly in the midst of a big push, thus I hope it translates to a lengthy and meaningful reign for ‘The Aerial Assassin’.
Overall, a very good show that flew by quickly. The event is only 4 hours; however, if you’re pressed for time then you can easily skip the first four matches of the pay-per-view.