Osaka BodyMaker Colosseum - 6.16.12 |
The 2012 Dominion show was a very solid PPV headlined by the company's big new drawing card, the Hiroshi Tanahashi-Kazuchika Okada feud. Tanahashi had carried the company on his back for five years already, dragging them out of their financial doldrums, but up until this point he hadn't yet faced a definitive opponent, the Rock to his Steve Austin. That opponent finally arrived in 2012, in the personage of Okada, a prodigiously gifted 24-year-old who had shockingly dethroned Tana at that year's New Beginning and announced himself as New Japan's future centerpiece. This edition of Dominion would center around the highly anticipated rematch, while the rest of the card would showcase the company's growing roster of supporting characters.
The opening six-man tag featured an insane amount of talent, as the DDT promotion's hottest stars crashed the party. Kota Ibushi, Kenny Omega and Daisuka Sasaki faced Prince Devitt, Bushi and Kushida. Ibushi and Devitt kicked off this incredibly athletic contest with mat-based grappling before tagging in Sasuke and Kushida, who demonstrated their impossibly quick Jr. style, and then Omega and Bushi paired off to hit the big crowd-pleasing moves. This match got plenty of time for an opener and built to some spectacular moves and counters. It boiled down to Ibushi and Bushi; the latter hit a top rope Spanish Fly but fell victim to Ibushi's Last Ride for the pin. This was a super-fun opener with tons of Jr. Heavyweight action. ***1/2
Another six-man tag followed, with a totally different style of wrestling, as Tomohiro Ishii led Chaos partners Yoshi-Hashi and Rocky Romero against Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue and Captain New Japan. Ishii and Nagata began and largely closed this match, with awesome stiff back-and-forth fighting. Inoue got a few moments to shine as well, at one pointing leveling Yoshi and Romero with a double rolling spear, but then Chaos got the advantage and Rocky and Yoshi had an amusing moment, arguing over taking turns with Rocky's signature corner clotheslines. Finally Captain New Japan tagged in and controlled the match for a bit, but while holding Ishii for a Nagata lariat, Ishii ducked and Nagata nailed the Cap. Ishii then hit his brain buster for the win. Ishii and Nagata continued fighting after the bell and had to be separated. Also a fun little match. **3/4
Third up was Taichi & Taka Michinoku vs. Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask IV. This started out with mucho stalling from the heels, who spent the first half cheating and double-teaming both masked opponents. Taichi tried on numerous occasions to unmask Liger, and after a ref bump Taichi used a chair and started tearing off pieces of Liger's headgear. But Liger had prepped for this, revealing that his face was heavily painted beneath the mask, and red-misted both Taichi and Taka before powerbombing Taichi through a table. Tiger Mask then hit the tiger suplex for the win and presented Liger with a new mask after the bell. This was chaotic but entertaining. **1/2