FEEDBACK: NJPW Dominion 2019

What did you think of Dominion? John and I will be back on the Café feed late Sunday/early Monday with our review of the show.

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0 voters

Michael from Newfoundland living in Korea.

I watched this in the afternoon. I really enjoyed this show. I liked the G1 reveals of Jon Moxley, Shingo, and Kenta. I enjoyed all the matches especially the Ospreay/Dragon Lee match. I swear Kota Ibushi isn’t going to stop until he’s paralyzed in the ring. The suplex on the ring apron was almost sickening to watch. The Jericho/Okada match was about as good as I thought it would be. Jericho’s recent stuff hasn’t been that great, certainly not five star worthy, but of the PPV main events this weekend, it was by far the best.

I am really looking forward to the G1. The lineup thus far looks great.

1 Like

Decent show overall. The G1 announcements of Moxley, KENTA and especially Shingo really help freshen up the lineup this year, though KENTA appearing today of all days is no doubt going to send shockwaves in Japan.

The Jr Heavyweight title match was spectacular, Dragon Lee is incredibly talented but even that is secondary to the momentum behind the megastar that is Will Ospreay.

The IC Title match was incredible, Ibushi’s selling and facials really are some of the best in the business and Naito looked like a monster, top tier storytelling. The neck bumps however need to go, when you’re as talented as Ibushi you don’t need to legitimately risk your health and future to sell that you’re hurt.

The IWGP title match was disappointing. Way too long and way too ambitious for someone limited like Jericho. Okada did what he could but Jeridad looked like he was moving in slow motion for a lot of the match and Okada looked stupid having to wait for Y2J to catch up with him. The finish was flat and I’ve never heard a crowd boo so much at the end of a New Japan show. Did Vince McMahon book the finish? It’s such good shit Pal, think of the heat! This wasn’t Undertaker/Goldberg bad, but it was closer to the Super Showdown main event than it was to Okada’s usual standard. Given how rough Tanahashi looked earlier in the night I’m not looking forward to the likely dome match between the Ace and Y2J.

7/10

Dave from Lancaster, UK.

First time posting on the forum. I’m very much a lapsed pro wrestling viewer, getting most of my coverage from Post Wrestling. I’ve not watched full events in some time, aside from Wrestlemania each year. I attended Dominion at Osaka-jo hall, having been in Japan on business. I’m not incredibly familiar with the NJPW product, but enough to be excited about a card with Okada/Jericho and Ibushi/Naito on it. When I knew I was in Japan at the start of June, I had to find a way to make it to Osaka.

The video packages were excellent, and a great primer for someone with limited knowledge of the product.

Big pops for both Moxleys G1 announcement and helping Umino to the back. Pretty basic though. Somersault plancha out of the gate was amazing.

The lariat battle and Kojima kick out of Shingo Takagi’s cradle shock type driver was really cool. The crowd bit hard on the kick out.

I’d previously seen Zach Sabre Jr in the Cruiserweight Classic and so was excited for the Suzuki-Gun/Chaos clash. Everything Minuro Suzuki was involved in was great.

In the six-man, the finish seemed a bit messed up. The crowd were deflated with whatever Tanahashi hit at the end. Takugchi’s continual running hip attacks were a bit overdone for me but the rest of the crowd laughed at every attempt.

NEVER Openweight: Taichi’s gimmick confuses me. Popstar, reincarnated pharaoh (from his entrance video), oddity? Although I wasn’t into the early comedy, the second half of the match was excellent, and this was the first time the crowd truly came alive.

Tag titles: Whoever accompanied the GoD got the only real boo of the evening (until right at the end of the night) for the cane shot. Tama Tonga has amazing facial reactions. I recall from the G1 reviews last year that John was really down on the GoD at that time, but Tama impresses me. Samara reminds me of surfer Sting!

The place went nuts for Shibata. And doubly so when KENTA appeared. The Takeover shirt was a nice touch.

Jr heavyweight title: This was insane. The tope suicida through the announce desk was incredible. Storm breaker into tornado DDT into stunner, wow. This was worth the price of admission alone. Second best match of the night.

Intercontinental title: I saw the press conference for this, where both said they were tired of wrestling each other. I thought that was an odd build, but maybe I missed something. As with ZSJ, I’m familiar with Ibushi from the CWC. The German suplex on the apron was nasty. Ibushi opening his eyes at a count of 17 to realise what was happening was an incredible visual. Crazy bumps from Ibushi; his selling of shots to the head is exceptional (as is the number of head shots he takes).

Main event: showing all the champions gave such a feeling of prestige and importance to the match and title. Jericho’s continual reinvention is very clever and keeps his character fresh even though he must be getting towards 50. Match was only okay though, Jericho tried to be a heel, but no one was really buying it. Anti-climatic finish, but I guess they want to keep Jericho strong for Tanahashi. The slow-motion Tiger Driver was particularly sad. Bit of a let down given all that had come before it.

Things that stuck out as a newcomer to NJPW:
Everyone was super over with the crowd.
True heels are few and far between in NJPW.
Forearm shots can be really good or really bad.
The progression from start to end is perfect, the increasing levels of drama towards the main event is so different from a WWE show. All of the title matches (with the exception of the tag titles) were layered, with the drama increasing to the end.

This was a great event, and I think I’ll be signing up to NJPW world. 17/20.

3 Likes

Chris from Queensland, Australia.

I watched live, however I found Don jarring on commentary after not hearing him in what feels like forever on NJPW World.

So Moxley, Shingo & Kenta have all announced for the G1 Climax 29 is amazing but isn’t Dominion normally the time when we hear a official list of who’s taking part?

Lastly, "Ospreay-Eagles 4", at Southern Showdown, inside Festival Hall, for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, TAKE MY MONEY! Personally I popped hardest for this all night and while I can’t be there in person I’ll be watching live on FITE TV. (As NJPW has stated they won’t be able to add it to NJPW World as VOD for some time).

Question: If you could select one person from a NJPW partner promotion (ROH, CMLL, or RPW) who isn’t a full time NJPW wrestler as your “Wild Card” selection for the G1, who would it be and why?

Hello John and Wai! Long time first time here. Been listening since the (name redacted) days. I’m a big fan of your work. Thanks for everything you guys do. Keep on keeping on!

I thought this was a solid show. Not as exciting as the BOSJ26 finals, but it did a great job building toward the G1 and teasing at a Jericho/Tanahashi match later on… I’m thinking Wrestle Kingdom?
Moxley is quickly becoming one of my favorites, and I was never a big fan of his in WWE. When Kenta came out with Shibata to announce he’ll be in the G1 I got goosebumps. And Shingo is a stud… future IWGP champ? Hope he’s paired in the same block with Okada. Moxley and Kenta already feel like way bigger stars now than they ever did in WWE. Moxley has had 3 appearances, 2 matches. And I think this was Kenta’s first appearance post WWE… unless he’s been in NOA?
Move over Omega… Will Ospreay is the best wrestler in the world… and maybe the most over guy in NJPW at the moment. I hope he’s in the G1.
I’m usually not a big fan of babyfaces winning and then the heel beating their ass after the match… but it kinda made sense with Jericho and Okada. It keeps Jericho strong for Hangman at All Out and it moves him away from the title picture and into a long term program with Tanahashi. Jericho and Tanahashi will have crazy heat if they save that for the Tokyo Dome. It kinda makes the IWGP champ look like a bitch, though… and Jericho actually called Okada one at the end of his post match ranting and raving.

Admittedly, I didn’t watch much of BOSJ26 past the first couple nights… but heading into the BOSJ finals and Dominion, I wasn’t very enthusiastic about G1… really NJPW as a whole with the departure of the Elite. But after this week, I can’t wait to see where NJPW is going!

A few questions…

Do you see them going back to Jericho/Okada ever again? The post match beatdown makes me kinda want Okada to get revenge. Maybe Jericho beats Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom and goes on to challenge Okada again at Dominion next year?

Do you think AEW will acknowledge Moxley as the IWGP US champ? I hope so… even if that means he just shows up to Fyter Fest wearing it and the commentary team doesn’t mention it. It would just be insulting their base audience if they didn’t. Most of their die hard fans know he’s the IWGP US champ anyway and him showing up with a championship belt that he won in Japan only makes him seem like a bigger star to those that don’t.
I know AEW and NJPW don’t have any kind of partnership or anything… yet. But I actually think it would make a ton of sense for NJPW to let AEW have the US championship, to push and promote as their secondary men’s championship. Would bring prestige to a title that, until Moxley really hasn’t seemed like a big deal in Japan since Omega held it. And it would put a big spotlight on NJPW when AEW starts on TNT. ROH has too many championships for something like this to work… what do you guys think as a hypothetical?

And last question… has the Jr. Heavyweight champ ever been in the G1 before? I imagine so, but just curious if either of you know who and when.

Cheers guys and go Raptors!

  • Bryan from Ohio

This was on track to be show of the year until the main event. I think Jericho has now overstayed his welcome in New Japan unfortunately.

On the plus side, New Japan is doing an incredible build towards the G1 and we are getting several new entrants. I am excited to see KENTA in particular. And to the NOAH fans angry at this, well I’d say take a look at the circumstances that led to the creation of your favourite wrestling company.

Think it might be time for Naito and Ibushi to tone it down. Judging by some of the responses on Twitter, it was not lost on many people that these guys are dropping each other on their heads the same day that NOAH held their Misawa 10 year memorial show.

And despite winning the IC title here, I wouldn’t count Naito out of winning the G1. I don’t think he would be talking about wanting to win the IC and Heavyweight titles at the same time unless they were planting the seed for something.

I’m not really looking forward to Jericho vs. Tanahashi given Jericho’s performance tonight and the fact Tanahashi is looking like his injuries are catching up with him more than ever.

Andrew from Cape Breton

I want to learn the exercises that Kota Ibushi does to keep his neck strong. This man could be put in a guillotine and the blade would break. That being said, hopefully he is ok but I don’t think he has much left with bumps like that. The show was pretty good. I’m really excited for the G1 this year, especially with Moxley, Kenta and Shingo joining the ranks this year. With the amount of talent New Japan has this year, they should look at doing 22 participants like they did a few years back. The only potential disappointment would be Will Ospreay not making it. Ospreay’s body is a lot like his twitter. It’s a mess. So maybe having him compete in such a vicious tournament wouldn’t be for the best for him. Granted, it wouldn’t be good for Ibushi either. 16 out of 20 show.

Roger D

I declined watching Super Showdown, despite it airing at a highly convenient time for me. On the flip side of that, Dominion aired at a very inconvenient time of 3 am, but I had no issues staying up so I could see the show live. With all the G1 announcements, and especially the surprise appearance of KENTA, I was glad I did. The only disappointment on the show was the main event, but I still didn’t hate it as much as most people seemed to.

Question: With the G1 shaping up to be one of the most stacked ever, which potential matchups are you both looking forward to seeing? I for one am hoping for Moxley vs Suzuki and KENTA vs Ibushi. I also hope and pray they keep Naito and Ibushi in separate blocks.

David from Washington

This was a very entertaining and newsworthy show. The G1 names already announced has me was jacked for this years tournament already. Hoping that with Ibushi losing the IC title it means he will be winning G1. Also holding out hope that Will Ospreay is going to be in it too.

Speaking of Ibushi I really hope he’s not majorly concussed. After Scurll tried that spot with Ospreay last year I was hoping we wouldn’t see that happen again.

Jericho and Okada was actually kind of disappointing to me. Not sure if I’m in the minority or not but it felt like it never really kicked into the next gear. Surprise endings are fun but this one was a letdown because I was ready for more. Still a good match but just didnt meet my high expectations.

I know everyone wants to know who you want to see in G1, but is there anyone you hope they leave out of the tournament?

Charly from Maryland

Very decent show very surprised that Moxley shingo and the debuting Kenta said they want to be in the G1 I remember calling you guys about kenta’s Future I didn’t think he would be in new japan I always thought he would go back to NOAH cause it seemed like a fit but this reveal with Shibata was a shocker

Tachi as never champion was really never my cup of tea good thing Ishii won cause I was getting bored of tachi

GOD and LIJ put up a good match in the end I liked that Sanada just left his LIJ members in the ring showing how upset he is

The iwgp jr championship match was amazing high spots to its best will ospreay really showing that he is going for best wrestler in 2019 do you guys think he will be in the G1

The IC championship match was really good but the neck dropping really gives me a weird feeling but if they trust each other then go for it I didn’t think Naito would win I really enjoyed ibushi run as champ but who knows

The main event wasnt spectacular but it was okay Jericho really to me doesn’t look as good as a year ago but I still liked the match it was more of Okada helping him get through the match the finish caught me off guard but the after match was great beating okada up until tanahashi came in and interfered over all a really good show

Andy from North Carolina

This was largely a fun show, although I am okay with my decision to watch it Sunday afternoon instead of at 4am.

I thought the junior championship match was the best of the night, with the NEVER Openweight and Intercontinental title matches just a notch behind. The neck bumps in the Intercontinental match distracted me from a match that was already super high intensity - it didn’t really need an additional element of danger. I generally assume that the performers know what they’re doing, but this one tested that rule.

The undercard singles matches were fun, and I think I liked the tag championship match more than most. I think I have a high tolerance for Jado nonsense, and I liked the Bushi run-in.

The main event was just about what I expected. A spectacle, but a little sloppy and too long. I think that Okada isn’t necessarily the best match for Jericho stylistically, and I think that matching Jericho with Tanahashi could have the same problem. So I don’t have high hopes for a future Jericho and Tanahashi match.

How do you think that that they will resolve the issue of too many people competing for not enough G1 spots?

Alex from Maple

Decent show overshadowed by a poor main event.

I don’t understand the booking of the tag division. It’s worse than WWE. Same two teams and stupid finishes.

I did like the Ishii and Naito matches and of course Osprey was great.

The main event was disappointing. Jericho just seems to work too slow a style and it didn’t work here for some reason. Why did it go so long? Really dragged down the end of the show. I think he should be done with NJPW

Brandon from Oshawa

You’ve got a lot of feedback on the matches, so I want to take this in a different direction. At the G1 Supercard, I thought RoH did a really terrible job, highlighting that they were at MSG. Sure, they mentioned it over and over, but if they didnt do that, I never would have known. I remember watching different WWE events in the past and if I just walked into the room without knowing, I could tell they were in MSG.

At Dominion and really most New Japan shows, they shoot a lot of action from under the bottom rope and it makes the performers look larger than life and gives a great view of the roof(especially the beautiful looking roof of Osaka-Jo). RoH tends to shoot a lot of the action, from above their performers, which is why I think they failed at MSG.

Do you guys notice stuff like this? What are your thoughts on how the 2 companies shoot their matches?

2 Likes