7 Reasons You Should Watch NJPW Dominion This Weekend

It's summertime, which means wrestling's about to get crazy. From supercards to tournaments to even more supercards, almost every promotion is gonna be pulling out the big guns, such as WWE with their Money in the Bank and SummerSlam supershows. However, no company is gonna be as busy as New Japan Pro Wrestling. Every summer is when they hold the G1 Climax tournament, which usually yields multiple MOTY candidates, but before that, they'll once again be holding a show in America at the Cow Palace.

But before that is Dominion. Held every June, Dominion signals the start of the second half of the New Japan calendar year, as it's around six months following their Wrestle Kingdom show, and takes place just before the G1 tournament. It's a card that's usually stacked with important title matches and is always held in Osaka, which features some of New Japan's most wild and unpredictable crowds (think of it like Chicago or anywhere in Canada for WWE).

This year's Dominion seeks to top them all, though. From huge rematches to New Japan debuts to Chris Jericho, Dominion 2018 aims to dominate the wrestling conversation - and here's why you should be in on it.

Part of the very popular Los Ingobernables de Japon stable, SANADA and EVIL unseated Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer at Wrestle Kingdom 12 to become the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team champions. However, after that victory, their reign has been mostly quiet and uneventful due to the tag division lacking any real dynamic opponents.

Enter the Young Bucks, who after years of carrying New Japan's Junior tag division, have been granted their request to become heavyweights. Their first major showcase as a heavyweight team came at Strong Style Evolved, where the two put on a 5-star classic with the Golden Lovers. Now, at Dominion, Matt and Nick Jackson have the opportunity to capture heavyweight gold as they take on SANADA and EVIL.

To those who may be incredulous at the Young Bucks and their personas, I highly recommend brushing up on their work in New Japan. Beneath their sometimes irritating veneer of forced anti-establishment irreverence is one of the best tag teams in all of wrestling. With them facing off against the very popular LIJ stable, this match is set to ignite the crowd in a big way.