NJPW DOMINION 7.5 - OSAKA-JO HALL - 2015 JULY 5
TEN-MAN TAG TEAM PRE-SHOW MATCH
Manabu Nakanishi, Mascara Dorada, Rysuke Taguchi, Sho Tanaka & Yuji Nagata vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask & Yohei Komatsu
***
This match picked up right from the start. Very fast pace. Everyone was flying. Short and sweet opener.
IWGP JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Nick & Matt Jackson (The Young Bucks) (c) vs Rocky Romero & Beretta (RPG Vice) vs Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish (reDRagon)
****1/4
Epic match. Everyone got a chance to shine, even Beretta. :lmao reDRagon was awesome. But Young Bucks were the most impressive. I think they superkicked everybody, including each other. The thing about these teams is that they are so innovative, no matter how many matches they have, they always find new things to do in the ring.
Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma vs Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi (Bullet Club)
****
This match was surprisingly good. I marked out at a lot of the spots. Takahashi came out with a hot chick. And Naito gave no fucks. :lmao The story is that Naito's time in Mexico changed him and turned him heel. And his former tag partner Takahashi is on the other side of the ring. As a baby face, Honma worked most of the match. I love his diving headbutt. Naito had some cool character development.
Katsuyori Shibata vs Kazushi Sakuraba
****
Shibata's entrance music is so chill. It sounds like something from a Zelda game. But this match was crazy. Lots of mat wrestling, submissions, and stiff striking. It was like a brutal UFC fight. Didnt expect it to be so good. That soccer kick tho! :banderas
IWGP JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Kenny Omega (c) vs KUSHIDA
*****
Phenomenal fuckin match! :clap Omega has been cleaning up the junior division for the past six months. Now he has to try and beat the winner of the 2015 Best of the Super Juniors, KUSHIDA. There was an awesome video package for KUSHIDA before the match. So this match was one of the best junior matches of the year. The match started with both guys taking nasty bumps outside the ring. Inside the ring Omega focused on KUSHIDA's lower limbs and KUSHIDA focused on Omega's upper limbs. Great selling and psychology from both guys. Omega is an awesome heel. At one point, he performed a powerbomb with one arm. The match had lots of back and forth action. Lots of counters and reversals. The ending was a mark out moment. :mark:
NEVER OPENWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Togi Makabe (c) vs Tomohiro Ishii
****
This is the third match in the series between these two. The feud started with Makabe beating Ishii for the title. When Makabe relinquished the title due to illness, Ishii took the title back. Makabe then regained the title from Ishii at Wrestling Hinokuni in April. This is Ishii's rematch. This match was a strong style war filled with stiff lariats, headbutts, and hard suplexes. Holy shit. No selling can be just as effective as good selling, but only if done right, and these guys know how to do it right. Both guys showed true Japanese fighting spirit in this match. The finish was crazy! :mark:
IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Matt Taven & Michael Bennett w/Maria Kanellis (The Kingdom) (c) vs Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows w/Amber Gallows (Bullet Club)
***1/2
This feud has been more about the silliness of Anderson’s obsession with Maria than it has been about The Kingdom ascending to the top of the NJPW tag division. But it was still a pretty good match. I like how the girls had a strong influence on the match. Anderon's stun gun finisher is insane though! :banderas:
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Toru Yano
****
The story here is that Yano shockingly eliminated Tanahashi from the New Japan Cup in only a few minutes. That was the first of many wins that Yano stole from Tanahashi, with more coming in the form of tag matches. Tanahashi was forced to play Yano’s game and steal a few underhanded wins of his own. Now we have the rubber match. Even though I don't like Yano, I have to admit that this was an unexpectedly great match. Yano tried every trick in the book, forcing Tanahashi to do the same. The referee was awesome in this match too.
IWGP INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Hirooki Goto (c) vs Shinsuke Nakamura
****1/4
Goto took the intercontinental championship from Nakamura at Wrestling Dontaku. This is Nakamura's rematch. The match started off slow, but began to pick up after. These guys simply beat the living shit out of each other. Crazy spots everywhere, inside and outside the ring. Goto did some cool moves. Great match. :clap Those nearfalls though!
IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Kazuchika Okada vs AJ Styles (c)
****1/2
When Okada lost to Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom in January, The Rainmaker entered a slump and went on a losing streak, losing repeatedly to Bad Luck Fale. Since then it has been about Okada getting back on track. Okada finally got his big win over Fale at Invasion Attack. Now it makes logical sense for him to conclude his story, by beating Styles for the title, the man he lost the title to over one year ago. This match was excellent. Okada and Styles have fantastic chemistry in the ring. LOL @ Okada taking a Bullet Club beating every time he fell out the ring. The referee told Styles to SUCK IT and banned Bullet Club from ringside. :lmao This was hilarious to watch. Styles performed a lot of cool moves, but Okada did moves that were just as impressive. The ending sequence was like a dream. Holy fuckin shit. I have never seen anything like that before. :clap