NJPW Dominion 6.9: Star Ratings For All 9 Matches
Okada and Omega redefine pro-wrestling... AGAIN.
For the second consecutive year, New Japan Pro Wrestling's Dominion pay-per-view rivaled the seemingly impossibly high standards set at January's Wrestle Kingdom event, delivering a perfectly paced night of action that'll take top billing on many a 'Show Of The Year' ballot.
Highlighted by IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega's fourth singles match, Dominion 6.9 was sensational, and its talking points are legion. The main event wasn't just a cathartic moment for 'The Cleaner,' but the spectacular culmination of three major New Japan storylines. Chris Jericho, the vile foreign invader, destroyed Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito. Rey Mysterio finally debuted. Hiromu Takahashi delivered another blitzkrieg performance just days after his starring Best of the Super Juniors turn. The list goes on.
The stories were on point, and NJPW feels fresher than ever after Dominion, but what about individual match quality?
For reference, **1/2 should be considered mediocre. Anything lower is bad, ***+ is good, ****+ is great, and ***** represents one of the greatest matches of all time. Criteria can include, but isn't restricted to, in-ring work, heat, psychology, and storytelling.
With that in mind, let's dive into another blockbuster night of cutting edge action...
9. El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (C) Vs. Roppongi 3K (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Titles)
Two of NJPW's scuzziest met the Junior Heavyweight tag division's bright young things, Roppongi 3K, in the night's opener, and successfully warmed the crowd up with a 10-minute scramble rife with fun action, but ultimately decided by the champions' heelish ways.
Fresh off an outstanding Best of the Super Juniors run, R3K's Sho was in strong form once again. His partner, Yoh, stood out with some great face-in-peril selling, but Sho is fast emerging as the star of the group. He's fire on the hot tag, and whether brawling on the floor or hitting big tandem moves with Yoh, Sho now looks incredibly polished in every aspect of his performance, marking him as a potential ace in the JHW singles division.
Though R3K fought valiantly, they had no answer for the Suzuki-gun duo's shenanigans. El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru short-cutted their way through the match like they always do, dragging the bout into the crowd early on, and capitalising on a referee bump to score the win. Kanemaru belted his opposite number with a whiskey bottle. The official counted 1-2-3, and it was over.
Exactly what you need from an opening match, if nothing blow-away.
Star Rating: ***1/4