13 Ups & 3 Downs From NJPW Dominion 6.9 2019

2. A New Level

Dominion 6.9 was already a strong show before Dragon Lee and Will Ospreay hit the ring, but this was there the pay-per-view went to a different level.

Four days removed from a blistering final Best of the Super Juniors bout with Shingo Takagi, Ospreay did it again, delivering another world-class performance against the Junior Heavyweight Champion. Lee, too, was phenomenal. A prodigious luchadore who doesn't always get the credit he deserves, he was on Ospreay's level throughout, matching the Englishman's video-game violence - even escalating it at times.

One particularly scary spot saw Lee tie Ospreay up on top of the barricade then leap all the way over the top, hitting his challenger, falling over the top of the announce table, then landing on the concrete. It was nuts. Osaka Jo Hall lost its sh*t, and the moment really helped put the stakes over.

More than a stunt show, Lee vs. Ospreay felt like two hyper-athletic daredevils doing everything it took to immobilise the other man - even if that meant risking their own health. It wasn't as frantic as could have been expected and that worked to the match's benefit. Rather than coming in flurries, the biggest bombs, for the most part, were spaced out, giving each one time to resonate. Disposable they most certainly were not.

NJPW's 2019 MVP triumphed, blasting Lee with Stormbreaker after top rope OsCutter, earning his third IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title reign. Ospreay is made of steel. How he's able to go so hard, so frequently is beyond your writer, though matches like this are a gift.