NJPW Dominion 2018 Preview and Predictions

6/5/2018

We are four days away for the second biggest show of NJPW behind Wrestle Kingdom during their calendar year: Dominion! Live at Osaka Jo Hall we will be treated with a 9 match card all featuring fantastic match ups from top to bottom!

Rey Mysterio will finally be making his long awaited NJPW debut, Chris Jericho is back again, of course who can forger the anticipated fourth battle between Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship!

All of that and more shall be discussed in this blog, so sit tight, relax, and read along as we go through match by match, detailing storylines within the wrestlers involved, my personal predictions, and sarcastic jokes in between.

Without further ado, here is the official MWC Preview & Predictions for NJPW Dominion 2018!

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag-Team Championships:
Kanemaru & Desperado (c) vs. Roppongi 3K

Story:
Ever since becoming IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag-Team Champions, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and El Desperado of Suzuki-Gun have been dominant forces of the Juniors Division.

In the recent BoSJ Tournament, both men did pretty well despite not making it to the finals, with Desperado especially having some hard hitting bouts that really showcased his talents! My personal favorite match of his was against Dragon Lee. The drama between the masks alone is enough for me to deem it as one of the best matches of the entire tournament.

SHO and YOH, Roppongi 3K did not hesitate on showing off throughout the entire tournament as well! Both men solidified their positions as future stars of the division!

But now it is back to tag-team business. The rivalry between these two teams has been brewing for quite some time now. Mainly with Hiromu & BUSHI being mixed along before too, but now it's just up to Desperado & Kanemaru against Roppongi 3K.

Prediction: Roppongi 3K

Every time Kanemaru & Desperado have successfully defended their belts, it's always via shady shenanigans. But this time I think it won't work for their favors. In a short span of time since their return from excursion, we might see Roppongi 3K already as 3x Jr. Tag-Team Champs!

Rocky would be proud and the sales of those "photo albums" would surely skyrocket!

Tag-Team Match:
Jay White & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Juice Robinson & David Finlay

Story:
Jay White surprised the world by defeating Kenny Omega earlier this year to become the IWGP US Heavyweight Champion! Ever since getting a hold of that belt he has successfully defended it three times already against the likes of Hangman Page, David Finlay, and Punishment Martinez of ROH.

After a short feud with former dojo classmate David Finlay, Juice Robinson is the one next in line for The Switchblade's title. The Flamboyant One has continously impress the NJPW fans with his consistent in-ring work and charisma!

The eventual bout between the two is gonna be hyped more with this tag match as Juice will team up with his pal Finlay to take on CHAOS mates Jay White and YOSHI-HASHI.

Prediction: Jay White & YOSHI-HASHI

The two bland men will probably be involved with the finish as YOSHI-HASHI will be pinning Finlay for the victory. Then we might see some brawling between White & Juice.

Some real talk for a second here, I gotta be honest, I'm just not feeling the US Championship anymore. When Kenny had it, the belt definitely felt important, prestigious if you will. But White's reign has been disappointing so far, his matches are good at best but the crowds are not invested.

He is slowly getting comfortable with the character but he's still not there yet. I'm intrigued with the whole story of him joining CHAOS and the obvious inevitable betrayal, but with how he is currently doing, I'm not sure the payoff would be amazing. Here's hoping the tables would turn around sooner rather than later.

Tag-Team Match:
Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano vs. Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr.

Story:
The long history between stables CHAOS and Suzuki-Gun are gonna be continuing again with this match, the current RevPro British Heavyweight Champion: Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano will be facing Minoru Suzuki and Zack Sabre Jr, the RevPro British Tag-Team Champions.

2018 has continued to sprinkle glory for Zack Sabre Jr. both in good and bad ways. He won the New Japan Cup Tournament, taking upset victories over favorites! Unfortunately, despite his efforts, was unable to dethrone Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.

During Mania Season at RevPro WrestleCon, his historic 396 Day reign as RevPro British Heavyweight Champion was ended by none other than "Stone Pitbull" Tomohiro Ishii! Ever since then Ishii has held on to the belt and is seen bringing it along his NJPW matches.

Besides Young Lions, Minoru Suzuki has also eyes towards Ishii, but not in a romantic sense, but in a "I want to kill you!" kind of sense! Both men are highly regarded as two of the toughest individuals in the whole NJPW roster today and whenever they lock horns against one another, expect a lot of stiff shots to get thrown around!

Oh and Toru Yano is also involved because he is BFF's with Ishii! Not the most interesting reason in the world, but it is a reason nonetheless. So here we are, getting this tag match between these two teams.

Prediction: Suzuki & ZSJ

Who would've thought that Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr. would make for such a great tag-team? They've certainly been a deadly combination and I think they will continue to plow through the opposition.

I was a little disappointed that we are not getting a singles match between Ishii and Suzuki instead for the RevPro Championship but this is good enough of a match for me not to write on a tirade and complain for hours like it's a Roman Reigns booking scenario!

NEVER Openweight Championship - 3 Way:
Hirooki Goto (c) vs. Michael Elgin vs. Taichi

Story:
Ever since winning the NEVER Openweight Championship from Suzuki at Wrestle Kingdom, Goto has finally proven his haters wrong about him being a "choke artist" and losing high profile matches. So far he has had three successful title defenses against the likes of EVIL, Beer City Bruiser, and Juice Robinson.

But now his biggest challenge yet is coming at Dominion where he is going to face two other top caliber opponents for the NEVER Openweight Championship! Those two wrestlers are Michael Elgin and Taichi.

After getting involved in some scandals online, Michael Elgin's position at NJPW has sorta floundered. What was once a dominant gaijin of the division, has really gotten stale at the eyes of many fans, the Western fans to be specific. But now he's finally find his position at the spotlight again being given a chance for the NEVER Openweight Championship, a title he is yet to held although he is already a former IC Champion.

Meanwhile the other challenger is the Almighty Lord Taichi himself! Since transitioning from junior to heavyweight, Taichi surprisingly enough has gained respect of some of the fans! There are still those who cant for him to go home, but they are countered now with some "Let's Go Taichi" chants!

It's really not all that surprising though for Taichi turned into a new leaf and became a whole new wrestler since becoming a heavyweight! Earlier this year he had killer bouts against Tetsuya Naito and Hiroshi Tanahashi! He wasn't carried by those two greats and actually managed to hang on against them! I'm sure somewhere in his ramen shop, Toshiaki Kawada-senpai is proud.

Prediction: Taichi

This is just a prediction out of bias really. I've hopped on the Taichi bandwagon as well and became a fan of his after those matches with Naito & Tana! I like Goto, but I think Taichi would make for a fun champion! But there's also a dark possibility where he's the one to eat the pin. So sad. I'm hopeful though.

IWGP Heavyweight Tag-Team Championships:
EVIL & SANADA (c) vs. Young Bucks

Story:
Taichi isn't the only one who transitioned from junior to heavyweight this year, but Matt & Nick Jackson; The Young Bucks have as well! Now for their second big bout as heavyweights, they are already challenging EVIL & SANADA for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag-Team Championships.

The Young Bucks are without a doubt, the greatest Junior Heavyweight Tag-Team in NJPW history! A record 7x IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag-Team Champions, they've definitely solidified their careers already. But that is not enough for them, they are in the hunt for more accolades to add in their careers!

On Strong Style Evolved, their first big challenge as heavyweights were there former best friend Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi, The Golden Lovers. Although they fell short in gaining a victory, it was still one of, if not the best tag-team match this year so far! Definitely a must watch if you haven't yet.

Matt & Nick also regained the NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag-Team Championships with their Bullet Club bretheren; Marty Scurll defeating their fellow BC members: Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, and Tanga Loa.

EVIL & SANADA of Los Ingobernables de Japon, on the other hand have proven that they are the rulers of the Heavyweight tag-team scene in NJPW right now. They've defeated the "super team combo" of Okada and Goto in their first defense, and taking down their nemesis KES as well.

At Wrestling Dontaku, The Jackson Brothers confronted EVIL & SANADA and challenged them for the belts, which the latter team oblidged. Of course it wouldn't be the Bucks without Superkicks and they delivered those to their future opponents! So the match is set.

Prediction: EVIL & SANADA

This one is really hard to predict, it could literally go either way! But I'm sticking with EVIL & SANADA, one of course is I'm an LIJ fanboy. The other reason is that Young Bucks are still fresh in the division, losing here would be a lesson for them that the heavyweights are a much different scene than in the juniors. It would make their eventual title victory that much more memorable & impressive!

Plus a part of me wants this night to end with all of LIJ holding belts, sans BUSHI, unfortunately.

6 Man Tag-Team Match:
Rey, Tanahashi, Liger vs. Bullet Club

Story:
Rey Mysterio's long awaited debut for NJPW was set to take place at Strong Style Evolved on March this year but unfortunately he suffered an injury before the match could take place against Jushin "Thunder" Liger.

Now that Rey has finally fully healed from said injury, he is back and will be debuting at Dominion but this time in a 6 man tag-team match instead! He'll be teaming up with NJPW legends: Jushin Liger, his supposed opponent and none other than the 7x IWGP Heavyweight Champion: Hiroshi Tanahashi!

On the BoSJ Finals show, Marty Scurll proclaimed a challenge against Rey. After winning his tag-team match with Yujiro Takahashi against Tana and Toa Henare, the Bullet Club duo beat up Tana post match with Liger coming off the commentary table to make a rescue!

Marty has chosen his fellow Bullet Club brothers: Cody and Hangman Page to be on his side against this high profile match. A classic legends vs. current stars storyline and it never gets old!

Prediction: Rey, Tana, Liger.

The legends will certainly take the win on this one. It won't hurt the BC trio in any way, plus it's Rey's debut for New Japan. Be a shame if he were to lose. Marty will probably receive a 619 for his troubles! WOOP WOOP!

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship:
Will Ospreay (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi

Story:
Alright first match of the three biggest headliners for the event. The IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship between the defending Will Ospreay and the challenger Hiromu Takahashi!

Ospreay has really solidified himself as one of the best Junior Heavyweight Champions in NJPW history. His run has been enjoyable with great and exciting title defenses one after another!

He has already defeated Hiromu before for the belt at New Beginning in Osaka. Then he had that killer match against Marty Scurll on Sakura Genesis! The term "killer" can't get any more appropriate for that as those two damn near murdered one another! His latest defense was against KUSHIDA what turned out to be an expected solid outing between the two.

Just yesterday as of the writing of this blog, the 25th Annual Best of the Super Juniors Tournament concluded with the finals between Hiromu Takahashi and the new star "Bone Soldier" Taiji Ishimori. An alumnus of Pro Wrestling NOAH and has been since recruited to Bullet Club. Both Hiromu and Ishimori put on an instant classic with the Ticking Time Bomb gaining victory at the end!

It was a well deserved victory for Hiromu and he has finally found his momentum back again after floundering for quite some time since losing "belt-san."

Ospreay and Hiromu have an "odd rivalry" with one another to say the least. They often show their feline sides against each other both in a comedic way via social media and in the ring due to their high fast pace actions every time they go at it! Although there definitely is a mutal respect between both wrestlers.

Prediction: Hiromu Takahashi

Hiromu is going to continue riding this momentum till it's final breaks. I want him to finally win back "belt-san" again and what better way to do it than becoming a BoSJ winner and just a few weeks later crowned as the new IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion! Plus I'm bias like I said because I'm an LIJ fan, but I think most of you will agree too in wanting to see Hiromu win.

Ospreay has had a great run, I enjoyed his reign to be honest, did not really expect that although it's my fault since this is Will Freaking Ospreay were talking about! The man always has matches like it could be his last. But my heart just says Hiromu must win and I must go with him!

IWGP Intercontinental Championship:
Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Chris Jericho

Story:
The Alpha is back! Chris Jericho is once again returning to NJPW this time facing another member of the company's "Big 4 Stars" in Tetsuya Naito, the reigning and defending IWGP Intercontinental Champion!

It all started at the New Beginning Show post Wrestle Kingdom where Y2J attacked Naito after the latter's match. It was a declaration of war, everyone was hyped, another dream match is upon us... or is it?

After those events took place, Y2J sort of went "lowkey" with his whole NJPW dealings. He made appearances for the WWE again, at RAW's 25th Anniversary Show and participating in the Greatest Royal Rumble Event in Saudi. Throughout this duration, Y2J has claimed multiple times that he is no longer returning in NJPW. But of course who actually believed him? What a terrible liar!

Tetsuya Naito on the other hand has found himself to be the IWGP Intercontinental Champion again, much to his disdain. For the unaware, Naito has a "no love, just hate relationship" with the IC Belt. During his first reign he always threw the belt around and never cared about it's prestige and what it represented. It even got to the point where the belt was nearly torn into pieces until Hiroshi Tanahashi won it from him at WK 11.

Suffering a disappointing loss at the hands of Kazuchika Okada in the main event of WK 12 a year later for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, Naito got into a feud with Minoru Suzuki. Whom earlier this year defeated Tanahashi for the IC Belt and even put Tana out of commission for a while! Naito and Suzuki are total opposites, one is a calm "no fucks given" man while the other is a sadistic "I will kill you" mob boss-esque figure.

At Wrestling Hi No Kuni, Naito defeated Suzuki for the belt. But ever since regaining it, we haven't seen him carry the belt around. Hell, he even left it in the ring after his title match!

Now we proceed at Wrestling Dontaku, after the members of LIJ celebrating their win over Suzuki-Gun, Naito was walking back to the locker room when a mysterious masked fan grabbed him and continously attacked him! Unmasking time, it is none other than Chris Jericho! This time beating Naito into a pulp until he wore a crimson mask. The war is official between the two.

They've continued to talk trash against one another whether by video vignettes or social media. It's been a great rivalry so far and it will all be settled in the ring as it should be at Dominion, for the first time; Naito vs. Jericho. An infamous IC Champion taking on the record 9x WWE IC Champion. A dream match for the ages!

Prediction: Tetsuya Naito

This is Naito's first title defense as the IWGP IC Champion again. Plus a victory over Y2J will definitely put him back to the huge spotlight again, not that I'm implying he loss it because he is still consistently one of the most over wrestlers in the roster. I'm just saying he will finally take back a huge momentum that was momentarily stopped after his crushing defeat against Okada.

Y2J isn't at NJPW to make himself the top star, he is there to put over the current stars of this generation and give the fans what they want. First against Omega, and now Naito. It will be cool to see him complete the cycle of fighting against "The Big 4" with Tanahashi and Okada being left unachallenge by Jericho.

IWGP Heavyweight Championship - 2 out of 3 Falls:
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Kenny Omega

Story:
Last but certainly not the least, the main event of the evening, it is a 2 out of 3 Falls Match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, the champion; Kazuchika Okada vs. "The Best Bout Machine" Kenny Omega! The two are destined to meet again for the fourth time.

First let's talk about Okada. Last month he has set the record for being the IWGP Heavyweight Champion at 716 days and counting! Obviously the longest single reign of said belt and is really putting himself up there as the best champion in company history, I bet he is already that to some fans!

This year alone he has already defeated 4 formidable challengers for the belt. First is of course Naito at the main event of Wrestle Kingdom. Another LIJ member in the form of SANADA at New Beginning, he also took down New Japan Cup Winner Zack Sabre Jr. Lastly, he finally put an end to his storied rivalry against Hiroshi Tanahashi, defeating The Ace with one Rainmaker on their main event match at Dontaku.

Speaking of Wrestling Dontaku, post match Okada announced who he wants as his next challenger for the belt. He has beaten 'em all it seems like, naming wrestler after wrestler that he has defeated until the name of Kenny Omega pops up for the third time. Okada feels like he has unfinished business against Kenny and rightfully so, after all their singles match record is an unbelievable: 1-1-1.

While Okada is busy reigning as the champion, Kenny has some issues of his own regarding his status as the leader of Bullet Club. Him and Cody have an ongoing clash against one another. Although trying to reconsile now, he is having a "bittersweet" relationships with his bestfriends The Young Bucks. Speaking of best friends though, the world was filled with shock and joy when Kenny reunited with his old pal: Kota Ibushi, re-forming The Golden Lovers!

Ever since their reunion, The Golden Lovers have been one of the hottest tag-teams across the world of pro wrestling! In the middle of it though, the problems within BC are still somewhat felt, especially if you've been catching up with the "Being The Elite" series. It's also an interesting note that Kota Ibushi is nowhere to be seen on this card, perhaps we will see him get involved in this match one way or another?

But now Kenny once again has to put aside his friendship with Ibushi for another opportunity is knocking on his door. This could very well be his final chance to become the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, and with a 2 out of 3 Falls stipulation, it wouldn't be any easier for him this time.

Prediction: Kazuchika Okada

I was really torn in making this decision. I've been making predictions post ever since this site has been around, but this has got to be the hardest match I've ever chosen a winner for. It's a testament to how great of a booker Gedo is too, but alas I've chosen The Rainmaker. I actually wrote Kenny first, but then thinking about it again, I think the narrative NJPW would go is for a 2-1-1 scenario between the rivals with Okada of course being the one at top!

This golden goose is yet to die and if you think "he is being shoved down our throats" you're wrong in my opinion. THIS is how you book a long term champion, never have we seen something as legendary since Bruno Sammartino. Don't take this Okada reign for granted, this is history being shown right before our faces! I know I want Kenny to win as well but I think Gedo just might pull off another disappointing yet acceptable decision in having Kazuchika Okada remain the champion.

Catch the NJPW Dominion 2018 on June 9 live at njpwworld.com

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