NJPW's Dominion: 14 Biggest Stories Ahead Of The G1 Climax And More

2. Chris Jericho Unsuccessful In IWGP Championship Challenge

Chris Jericho had previously taunted Kazuchika Okada with video messages in the lead-up to their meeting in Osaka. Dubbing himself “The Painmaker”, he vowed to defeat and brutalize Okada at Dominion. Ultimately, Jericho failed in his quest to capture New Japan’s top title, but he did fulfill his promise to leave “The Rainmaker” laying by the night’s end.

Somewhat surprisingly, the main event match saw Jericho dig deep into his thirty-plus year repertoire of moves as he attempted to out-wrestle the defending champion. He sprung off the ropes with a dropkick, unleashed a Lionsault, and even hit a modified Tiger bomb. However, whenever Jericho's wrestling failed to get the job done, he quickly resorted to brawling outside the ring, spiking the IWGP Champion with a DDT onto the commentators' table and landing a Codebreaker on the floor.

Still, “The Rainmaker” fired back with a leaping tombstone piledriver and picture-perfect dropkick. Despite multiple attempts, however, Okada never managed to land his signature lariat, while Jericho failed to hit his own Judas Effect elbow. The bout then ended suddenly when Jericho was caught going for another Codebreaker before Okada dropped to the mat and clutched his legs for the surprise three count.