It's June and that means it's time for NJPW's second-biggest show of the year, Dominion!
As with all things NJPW in 2026, the "instant classic" vibe wore off a while ago when it comes to the Dominion card, but it does include some promising bouts. The company followed up its biggest Tokyo Dome show in three decades with some questionable booking moves and haven't really been able to hook new viewers on their latest crop of top stars, partly due to the inconsistent booking of said stars. Taking both titles off Yota Tsuji within a few months of his coronation as the new Ace was....certainly a choice. Fans don't want to see this much parity when you're trying to establish a new top tier. If no one is presented as special what's the point? But maybe they'll get back on track with Tsuji here.
Anyway let's look at the lineup.....
NJPW TV Championship: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Sanada
After seemingly departing the company a few months ago, Sanada is back. And now he's in the House of fuckin' Torture. So his matches will go from "kinda boring" to "fast-forwarding this shit." I still don't understand why the company keeps this goddamn stable around. Yes they sell some merch, but they aren't significant ticket movers and they keep turning off fans who just want to see good wrestling. Ya know, New Japan's core audience? This could honestly go either way and if Takeshita lost here he'd likely be protected by HoT bullshit anyway.
Pick: I guess Sanada?
No DQ: El Phantasmo vs. Jake Lee
Another act the company inexplicably keeps pushing is Jake Lee. This guy stinks, dude. He had his shot against Tsuji back in February and didn't deliver. This match could be alright since they'll have the stip to provide bells and whistles, but meh....
Pick: I think Lee probably wins
Yuya Uemura & Taichi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Ryohei Oiwa
Good talent in this one. Not sure how much time it will get, but on paper it looks like a fine match. ZSJ just challenged Kenny Omega to a singles match at Forbidden Door (Holy shitballs!), so I suspect his team wins to give him momentum.
Pick: Zack & Oiwa
El Desperado vs. Mistico
Well this should be fun. Mistico's had a handful of NJPW matches this year but prior to that it had been a while since he'd appeared in a NJPW ring. Few wrestlers can work a crowd like Mistico and this one could be a standout if given enough time.
Pick: Mistico
NEVER Openweight Championship: Ren Narita vs. Aaron Wolf
Another case of questionable booking coming off WrestleKingdom was the baffling decision to have Wolf lose a bunch of times after he came off like a huge deal at the Dome. Granted the guy is very limited, but the crowd was into him and his involvement brought a lot of new eyes to that show. So why would you cut his legs off for the next five months? What is this, WWE?? Anyway I think he'll win the title back and hopefully they'll figure out how to use him in a way that both hides his shortcomings and maximizes his audience appeal.
Pick: Wolf
IWGP Tag Team Championship: Knock-Out Brothers vs. Great-O-Khan & Henare
KOB has been a great asset for the company's barely-existent tag team division. When you have an over pairing as your centerpiece you can simply line up a slew of makeshift teams to challenge them and it keeps the division going. Hopefully NJPW can figure out a few more permanent tandems to actually round things out before KOB's title run gets stale. But I don't think it's time for them to lose yet.
Pick: KOB retain
IWGP Global Championship: Andrade El Idolo vs. Shota Umino vs. Drilla Moloney
This should be pretty great. Andrade rules right now, and Umino and Drilla are both quite capable workers. I say it over and over again, but the rebirth of Andrade needs to be studied. His is one of the great career turnarounds of the last ten years. I say keep the belt on him awhile.
Pick: Andrade retains
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Douki vs. Yoh
Yoh is coming off the Super Juniors tournament win and the Jr. division is desperate for some new stars at the top. Douki's had this title for many months so it's probably a good time to give Yoh a chance at running with the ball. Yoh-Douki should be really good and will get a lot of time given its place on the card. Hold on though..... "Yoh-Douki! Pick up the phone! WHASSSUUUUUP!"
Pick: Yoh
IWGP Championship: Callum Newman vs. Yota Tsuji
Look, I'm not against Newman getting a run with the belt at all. Newman's great and has the potential to really fill the void left by Will Ospreay the last couple years. But taking the title off Tsuji only three months after he finally won the thing just seemed insane to me. He's a new top guy and you need to condition the fans to see him as such before you start fucking with his win-loss record. NJPW is in a very fragile place where several young guys are on the cusp but no one's bringing in that lost revenue from all the departures and retirements yet. Tsuji should win this back and then have a dominant reign.
Pick: Tsuji
So this show has the potential to be a better overall show than WrestleKingdom. There won't be anything as huge as Tanahashi's retirement, and probably nothing as good as Tsuji vs. Takeshita, but we have a slew of potentially very good matches on tap. Let's get this top title back on your new Ace and set him up to really succeed, shall we?
No comments:
Post a Comment