In the wake of a fantastic Super Juniors tournament, NJPW is ready for Dominion. New Japan Pro Wrestling had a very entertaining year in 2019. A lot of people call it New Japan’s Summerslam for its importance in the NJPW calendar. For example, in the last two years, we had all-time great main events between Okada and Omega. This is a special show in the New Japan calendar. NJPW Dominion will have nine matches, some exciting feuds, and five titles on the line. It is truly a stacked card for the second biggest New Japan show of the year. Let us look at this exciting night in Osaka. Here is our Preview: for NJPW Dominion 2019.
Preview: NJPW Dominion 2019
Jon Moxley vs. Shota Umino
Poor Shota Umino.
Umino, a Young Lion, has had some success in 2019. He had a fantastic showcase match against Tanahashi in the New Japan Cup. To many, he seems to be the most talented of the up and coming prospects. However, he is coming up against Jon Moxley on Sunday.
Moxley, a new AEW talent, shocked many by joining New Japan as well. Could the long-time WWE main event star, fit into the New Japan style? His match with Juice Robinson at Best of Super Juniors Final show has received universal acclaim. Can the Young Lion keep up with the hottest name in professional wrestling? It should be a fun clash of styles.
Satoshi Kojima vs. Shingo Takagi
Shingo Takagi won every match in the Super Juniors “A” block. That is a rare feat that hasn’t been accomplished since Prince Devitt did so in 2013. It was made all surprising when he lost in the final against Will Ospreay in a classic match.
But what Takagi did after the match was interesting as well. He demanded a match with a heavyweight. Who answered that challenge? It is none other than Satoshi Kojima, the 48-year-old veteran and former IWGP Heavyweight Champion. It should be fun to see Takagi getting his heavyweight chance against a reliable veteran on such a big stage.
Preview: NJPW Dominion 2019
Jyushin Thunder Liger and Yoshi-Hashi vs. Minoru Suzuki and Zack Sabre Jr.
We should enjoy every Liger match while we have the chance. Seeing him in a tag match against the likes of Suzuki and Sabre Jr. should lead to a fun tag match. Yoshi-Hashi should be an interesting wild card in the match. He made it all the way to the New Japan Cup quarterfinals this year. It will be interesting to see what he will do against the likely dirty tactics of Suzuki-gun.
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson, and Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Jay White, Chase Owens and Taiji Ishimori
It is time for Taguchi Japan versus Bullet Club. The storylines in this six man tag team match are endless. Tanahashi just had a wonderful match with Jay White at the Best of the Super Juniors Finals show. It will be a storyline to watch and see their interactions going forward.
Juice Robinson will be another story to watch as well. How will he act just four days after losing his IWGP United States Championship to Jon Moxley at the Best of Super Juniors Final? He delivered an intense promo after the loss. This will be his first chance to back up his words.
NEVER Openweight Championship Match:
Taichi (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii
In the first title match of the night, we have quite a mixture of styles. Ishii is one of the most underrated performers in New Japan today. Taichi is one of the most hated heels in New Japan and only recently has won his first singles title at Wrestling Dontaku.
Ishii beat Taichi at New Japan Cup in the second round and naturally wanted a shot at the new Champion. After Wrestling Dontaku, Taichi offered a title shot to the “Stone Pitbull”. Will Taichi’s title reign prove to be a brief one?
Preview: NJPW Dominion 2019
IWGP Tag Team Championship Match:
Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) (c) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Evil and Sanada)
The two longtime rivals are fighting yet again. These two teams have a combined seven IWGP Tag Team Championship reigns between them. At this year’s Honor Rising, Guerrillas of Destiny defeated Evil & Sanada for the Tag Titles for the fifth time.
G.O.D. beat them again at G1 Supercard to retain the titles in a Fatal Four Way tag match. But Evil & Sanada haven’t really gotten a one on one rematch since they lost the titles. That will change at NJPW Dominion. We might have seen these two teams square off a lot but their encounters never disappoint.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match:
Dragon Lee (c) vs. Will Ospreay
This is one of the potential show stealers.
Will Ospreay seems to have all the momentum in the world. He just won his second Super Juniors title in three years with a fantastic final against Shingo Takagi. After the show, he confirmed he would be living in Japan full-time. It looks like Will Ospreay will be staying in New Japan for a long time.
Dragon Lee shouldn’t be the forgotten champion. He won seven matches at the Super Juniors and has recently won the Junior Heavyweight title at the G1 Supercard. It should be interesting to see what happens when these two talented wrestlers face off.
Preview: NJPW Dominion 2019
IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match:
Kota Ibushi(c) vs. Tetsuya Naito
This should be the best match on the card.
Two of the best wrestlers in the world are having a second title match this year over the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. Ibushi seems to have Naito’s number this year. He defeated him in the first round of New Japan Cup. He proceeded to defeat him and win the Intercontinental Championship at G1 Supercard. It seems Naito is desperate to win the title back as he demanded a rematch only weeks after his loss. I doubt any fan wouldn’t want to see these two lockups again.
Preview: NJPW Dominion 2019
IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match:
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Chris Jericho
The main event of the evening of NJPW Dominion is between a Rainmaker and a Painmaker. It was quite a surprise when Chris Jericho was announced as Okada’s opponent at Wrestling Dontaku in May. Chris Jericho hasn’t been seen in New Japan since Wrestle Kingdom in January when he lost the Intercontinental Championship to Naito. He quickly signed with All Elite Wrestling and it seemed his successful run in New Japan was over.
It should be a great main event to end this show. Okada, arguably the best wrestler in the world, regained his Heavyweight Championship back at G1 Supercard from Jay White in April. Okada is certainly in need of new challenges after defeating the likes of White, Tanahashi, and Sanada in recent months. Will Jericho’s new aggressive style work again the technical stylings of Okada? It should be a fun way to end a great night as NJPW presents Dominion.
