'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
NJPW: Dominion 6.9 was brilliant and quite arguably was the pay-per-view of 2018 so far. The Osaka-jo Hall event was headlined by two of NJPW’s current biggest stars in Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada, who squared-off in another classic IWGP Heavyweight Championship match.
Only Sportskeeda gives you the latest Wrestling News, rumors and updates.
Elsewhere on the card, former nine-time WWE Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho was looking forward to becoming a 10-time Intercontinental Champion, when he squared-off in the co-main event of the evening against Tetsuya Naito.
The rest of the card also featured numerous title matches and some of the top competitors from both NJPW and around the world as well, including the much-awaited debut of The King of Lucha Libre, Rey Mysterio.
Trending
New Champs in WWE! More RIGHT HERE
#1. Suzuki Gun (El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) vs Roppongi 3K (Sho and YOH)- IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championships
Dominion 6.9 kicked-off with a big IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title rematch between former champions Roppongi 3K, who went toe-to-toe with Suzuki Gun representatives El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru.
The Jr. Heavyweight Title matches are always fun to watch and this one was no different either, after a lot of back-and-forth exchange between the two teams, Suzuki Gun eventually used their signature heel tactics to retain their straps after Sho was hit with a Whiskey Bottle allowing Desperado to get the three count via a Roll-up pin.
Another successful title defense for Kanemaru and Despy, who will now look forward to a fresh set of challengers.
Result: El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru def. Roppongi 3K
#2. Juice Robinson and David Finlay vs CHAOS (Yoshi-Hashi and Jay White)
The on-going issues between Juice Robinson and IWGP US Heavyweight Champion Jay White have been growing and the two men finally had the chance to square off against one another in a tag team match from earlier today.
On this occasion, however, Robinson was the one who came out on top, when he surprisingly pinned White following The Blade Runner, in order to pick up a huge win.
Result: Juice Robinson and David Finlay def. CHAOS
#3. Suzuki Gun (Minoru Suzuki and Zack Sabre Jr.) vs CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano)
Minoru Suzuki and Tomohiro Ishii have been literally looking to beat the living hell out of each other for a while now and the two once again laid it down in the third tag team match of the evening.
Suzuki Gun is most notably known for their brutal in-ring style and as expected, this bout was no different either, as the submission wizard Zack Sabre Jr. looked to twist and turn both the CHAOS members in every way possible and in the closing stages of the contest, the 2018 New Japan Cup winner locked in the Orienteering With Napalm Death on Yano for the submission win.
Result: Suzuki Gun def. CHAOS
#4. Michael Elgin vs Taichi vs Hirooki Goto- Never Openweight Championship
A solid well and fast paced match between three of NJPW’s most underrated stars right now. Goto, who initially won the Never Openweight Title at Wrestle Kingdom 12, had the uphill task of retaining his title belt against not one, but two challengers, in the very talented Michael Elgin and Suzuki Gun’s Taichi, who has been a different competitor since coming up to the Heavyweight Division.
All three men showed an immense amount of resiliency in this contest and at one point, it definitely seemed like Taichi would eventually walk out with the belt when he used his microphone to take out both men. But, a valiant effort from Michael Elgin saw him capture the Never Openweight Title, following the Revolution Elgin Bomb.
Personally, I’d also love to see a one-on-one match between Elgin and Goto, following their tremendous exchange in this contest.
Result: Michael Elgin def. Taichi and Hirooki Goto
#5. The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (Evil and Sanada)- IWGP Tag Team Championships
After winning the IWGP Jr. Tag Titles for a record seven-times, both Matt and Nick Jackson now had the opportunity of winning the heavyweight version of the IWGP Tag Titles for the very first time in their careers.
Matt Jackson continued to do some tremendous selling of his bruised back, whereas, Nick on the other hand, also did some great selling of his injured right leg that eventually led to a failed attempt at The Bucks’ finishing maneuver, that is, The Meltzer Driver.
The Young Bucks eventually went on to win the match after connecting with The More Bang For Your Buck in order to pin Sanada and win the illustrious IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Titles for the very first time in their careers, in what was an absolutely amazing tag team match.
This was truly a magnificent and symbolic achievement for The Young Bucks, who are arguably the most successful tag team in the world right now.
Result: The Young Bucks def. Evil and Sanada.
#6. Bullet Club (Cody, Hangman Page, and Marty Scurll) vs Rey Mysterio, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger
In what was Rey Mysterio’s first match in an NJPW ring, this Legends vs Bullet Club was certainly worth all the hype, as all six men put up a fun tag team match. Mysterio, who without a doubt was the star of this contest and already seems to be very popular among the Japanese crowd as well.
In the closing stages of the bout, Mysterio hit a Double 619 on Page and Scurll, which was followed up by a Slingblade from Tanahashi as all four men seemingly took the action to the outside of the ring. Meanwhile, back in the ring, Liger looked to seal the win with Brainbuster on Cody, only for ‘The American Nightmare’ to counter it with the Cross Rhodes, allowing him to pick up a huge win for The Bullet Club.
This also seemingly could set up a few potential singles matches for the future between the likes of Scurll and Mysterio or Page and Tanahashi.
Result: Bullet Club def. Rey Mysterio, Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger, and Hiroshi Tanahashi.
#7. Hiromu Takahashi vs Will Ospreay- IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship
Following his recent Best of Super Juniors success and a stellar match against Taiji Ishimori, LIJ member Hiromu Takahashi was on the verge of becoming a two-time IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion.
‘The Ticking Time Bomb’ subsequently continued his rise to the top on NJPW’s Jr. Heavyweight Division, when he pinned ‘The Aerial Assassin’ with the Time Bomb in order to reunite with ‘Mr. Belt’ and become a two-time IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion.
Another amazing match in the Jr. Heavyweight Division, that saw the end of Will Ospreay’s amazing run as Jr. Heavyweight Champion and in doing, CHAOS suffered yet another loss on the evening, without a single win on the night so far.
Result: Hiromu Takahashi def. Will Ospreay
#8. Chris Jericho vs Tetsuya Naito- IWGP Intercontinental Championship
By this point of time, it seems like all of Chris Jericho’s NJPW matches will turn out to be some of the most brutal matches in the promotion’s recent history, as Y2J once again put up another destructive performance, following his WK 12 loss to Kenny Omega.
Jericho initially started the match even before the bell rang and went on to attack Naito, as the two men brawled all over the place with the latter even taking a powerbomb through a table. Naito, however, successfully ignited a comeback into this match when he hit a Destino on Jericho, but was unable to make the cover. In a similar manner, Y2J was also unsuccessful to pick up the win after hitting with the first Codebreaker of the match, reversing a Destino attempt in the process.
Despite that, a cunning Chris Jericho did manage to hit the second Codebreaker, when he low-blowed the leader of LIJ behind the referees’ back and won the IWGP IC Title in what the biggest upset of the night and arguably one of the biggest shocks in recent NJPW history as well.
Following the match, Jericho kept on attacking Naito, only for his LIJ stablemate Evil to step in and get in some offense. Looks like we’re now in for a Naito vs Evil match at the Cow Palace in San Francisco.
Result: Chris Jericho def. Tetsuya Naito
#9. Kenny Omega vs Kazuchika Okada- IWGP Heavyweight Championship (2 out of 3 falls/no time limit match)
Simply incredible, words cannot define how awesome and amazing this IWGP Heavyweight Title bout was between Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega. In the opening stages of the matches, we witnessed some gruesome spots with Okada hitting ‘The Best Bout Machine’ with a Tombstone Piledriver on the ring apron, but we did not witness any of the competitors hit their finishing moves. Okada eventually got the first fall when he trapped Omega’s shoulders with his knees and went 1-0 up, much to the latter surprise.
A frustrated Kenny Omega then took the action to the outside of the ring and delivered a brutal double foot stomp on Okada, who was lying underneath a table. Omega looked to put away the champ, after trying to catch him with a V-Trigger and the One Winged Angel, but Okada successfully reversed it and the action continued for a while. Omega eventually hit the V-Trigger and the OWA to even the score at 1-1.
In the third portion of the match, both competitors were pretty tired and exhausted by this point of time, as Omega continued to attack the champion and looked to seal the deal with another OWA, but Okada once again dug deep and countered the move, allowing Omega to eventually hit The Styles Clash on Okada, leading to chants of “AJ Styles” at the Osaka-jo Hall.
It was Okada’s turn to fire back as he caught the challenger with a Cradle Tombstone, as Kota Ibushi then climbed up the ring apron in order to guide his fellow Golden Lover, who then attempted Ibushi’s Phoenix Splash from the top rope, only for Okada to get out of harm’s way.
The champ then eventually connected with The Rainmaker and maintained wrist control to hit another one on Omega, but after an awesome reversal, the challenger hit another brutal V-Trigger on Okada, followed up by one final One-Winged Angel to become the new champion and bringing an end to Kazuchika Okada’s legendary 720-day run as IWGP Heavyweight Champion.
After the match, Kenny Omega hugged out with The Young Bucks and Kota Ibushi as the four men celebrated, as Omega’s rival Cody came down the aisle, only to head backstage to the locker room area seconds later. The celebrations continued as Omega thanked everyone with a mesmerizing promo and we finally witnessed the birth of The Golden Elite to end an absolutely amazing Dominion show.
Result: Kenny Omega def. Kazuchika Okada
