NJPW Dominion

Jerichoholic

This show is going to deliver.

NJPW's biggest show since Wrestle Kingdom takes place overnight, and the card looks similar to the Tokyo Dome show. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega will meet in their first singles match since their classic earlier this year, with IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi and IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi vs. KUSHIDA also being rematches from Wrestle Kingdom.

Just rewatched Omega/Okada from the Dome. There is no doubt it was a 6 star match, the last 15 minutes are BRUTAL.

Jim Cornette **** all over that match which proves to me that he's a complete hack of the highest order.

Also, it's only €8 euro to subscribe for a month. It's cheaper than WWE Network and so much much better.

Jerichoholic

Easy 5 stars for Okada and Omega there, unbelievable. It really can't get any better than NJPW these days.

Neil3030

Wow, what a match. Several solid matches on the card but what a main event!

Andersonisgod

Great show, certain contender for show of the year with Tana/Naito, Kushida/Hiromu and both the Jr and Heavyweight Tag Title matches delivering.

I thought Okada/Omega at WK 11 was the best wrestling match I'd ever seen, then Okada had that emotional heartstopper against Shibata and it put some doubt into my mind about what was the best wrestling match I'd ever seen, and then Okada and Omega go out and do that and complicate it even further! What I have absolutely no doubt about is that Kazuchika Okada is the best pro wrestler in the world, that this IWGP Heavyweight Title reign of Okada's is the best heavyweight title run I can recall in pro wrestling and that Okada's 2017 is a legendary year of performances, a year like no other. Absolutely loved the main event, the finish to the match could not have been more beautiful from an execution point of view, the storytelling camera work and the prior work all combining to make just a great moment. I'm not always sure he's the ace that the fans necessarily want, but he's the ace NJPW needed. All the stars!!

A Rogue Hobo

Just finished the show there. Didn't think they could match Wrestle Kingdom and i was delighted to be proven wrong. Great show from top to bottom.

Omackeral

Someone explain to me how this didn't kill Okada? The f*cking noise of that knee strike.


https://streamable.com/85xz6

Neil3030

Pretty sure that sound was Kenny slapping his thigh with his right hand.

Shot still looked stiff as a board though.

[EDIT] More likely his right than his left, actually[/EDIT]

Mr.Nice Guy

I thought the main event was excellent. Probably would rank it slightly below the Tokyo Dome match but both are very close to one another in quality.

Interesting to see where things go with Cody from here.

Neil3030

I am still a bit of a NJPW newbie - are they known to ever have a screwy finish for a title change?

Just that Okada has been build like a freakin monster over the last while, so I can't see any logical scenario where Cody Rhodes can go over him clean. Meltzer said they could book it like all these long physical matches finally take their toll on Okada and he has eventually been warn down... but I just don't buy Rhodes as a legitimate contender even if they play that angle...

A Rogue Hobo

Neil3030 wrote:

Just that Okada has been build like a freakin monster over the last while, so I can't see any logical scenario where Cody Rhodes can go over him clean. Meltzer said they could book it like all these long physical matches finally take their toll on Okada and he has eventually been warn down... but I just don't buy Rhodes as a legitimate contender even if they play that angle...

Well the thing is since Wrestle Kingdom all of his defences have been long and really physical and obviously in this match he couldn't do it again with Kenny. So if you're thinking that way, Okada is already showing fatigue and Cody I think has yet to be defeated in NJPW? So it sort of makes sense from that way. I don't think they'll go down that route though. Seems a bit too soon for Cody to both win the title but also have a bullet club leadership feud with Kenny seeing as he's only really been with them in person a handful of times. But that's just my personal opinion!

LeeJM

No way Cody wins the IWGP Title. Omega is going to be the man to beat Okada. My guess is they do Okada Omega III at the Dome in January and thats where Kenny finally gets his win.

Andersonisgod

Neil3030 wrote: »

I am still a bit of a NJPW newbie - are they known to ever have a screwy finish for a title change?

Just that Okada has been build like a freakin monster over the last while, so I can't see any logical scenario where Cody Rhodes can go over him clean. Meltzer said they could book it like all these long physical matches finally take their toll on Okada and he has eventually been warn down... but I just don't buy Rhodes as a legitimate contender even if they play that angle...

Yes is the short answer. Particularly a couple of decades ago, because puroresu (and NJPW by extension) is quite heavily influenced by southern "wrasslin'" cheap finishes to big matches were far from uncommon. That changed as fans attitudes changed, they wanted to see clean, decisive winners and losers of big matches, this trend being influenced by the popularity of the UWFI. While you may see the odd screwy finish or some outside interference when it comes to heel stables like Suzuki Gun or to a lesser extent LIJ and Bullet Club, they are less prevalent than in western wrestling.

That's the story of this Okada reign. He's coming closer and closer to losing this title, his grip on it weakens with each passing match, it's a question of who.

SureYWouldntYa

LeeJM wrote: »

No way Cody wins the IWGP Title. Omega is going to be the man to beat Okada. My guess is they do Okada Omega III at the Dome in January and thats where Kenny finally gets his win.

Only if Omega commits to staying in NJPW long term, can't see being in the main event at all if his contract situation is unsure past WK12

Neil3030

SureYWouldntYa wrote: »

Only if Omega commits to staying in NJPW long term, can't see being in the main event at all if his contract situation is unsure past WK12

Wasn't his contract up on January 31st this year, with no confirmed extension, yet they put him in the WK11 main event?

SureYWouldntYa

Neil3030 wrote: »

Wasn't his contract up on January 31st this year, with no confirmed extension, yet they put him in the WK11 main event?

Surprised they even done that, especially after they got burned by AJ and Nakamura just before WK10

No chance they'd give him the belt with his contract potentially up 3 weeks after winning it

LeeJM

Neil3030 wrote: »

Wasn't his contract up on January 31st this year, with no confirmed extension, yet they put him in the WK11 main event?

Well it depends who you believe. Some would have you believe he was torn between NJ and WWE and it was a huge decision to be made. Others would say the whole contract thing was made up and Omega and his friends worked Meltzer.

So you either believe he has a new contract which for sure would be for more than one year so no reason he shouldnt main event WK again or you believe he worked Meltzer and we could get another bout of WWE potentially woooing Kenny.

For what its worth I think Kenny and the Bucks played Melty like a fiddle and Kenny become the hottest commodity in wrestling because Dave never stopped talking about him. I would feel fairly secure in saying Kenny has a long high paying contract which isnt going to expire anytime soon.

Neil3030

Meltzer ratings:

Young Lions/Finlay 6-man tag: 2.75
8-man tag: 2.75
Gauntlet Match - Chaos v Bullet Club: 1.5. Suzuki Gun v Chaos - n/a. Taguchi Japan v Suzuki Gun: 1.5. LIJ v Taguchi Japan: 2.5
IWGP Jr Tag Championship match: 4.00
IWGP Tag Championship match: 3.5
Cody v Elgin: 3.5
Kushida v Takahashi: 4.75
Suzuki v Goto: 3.5
Tanahashi v Naito: 4.5
Okada v Omega: 6.25

Bounty Hunter

Neil3030 wrote: »

Meltzer ratings:

Young Lions/Finlay 6-man tag: 2.75
8-man tag: 2.75
Gauntlet Match - Chaos v Bullet Club: 1.5. Suzuki Gun v Chaos - n/a. Taguchi Japan v Suzuki Gun: 1.5. LIJ v Taguchi Japan: 2.5
IWGP Jr Tag Championship match: 4.00
IWGP Tag Championship match: 3.5
Cody v Elgin: 3.5
Kushida v Takahashi: 4.75
Suzuki v Goto: 3.5
Tanahashi v Naito: 4.5
Okada v Omega: 6.25

That is probably my only issue with the 6/6.25 rating, it is so far above what great matches normally are. I mean Kushida vs Takahashi looks like it is probably well worth searching out going by these rating but then again it is a whole 1.5 stars below the main event, usually when something is 1.5 stars below something it is a good but not great match but in this case it's almost 5 star.

I get the Meltzer thing of getting a reacting and in essence trolling but even if he thinks this match is better than the last one why not just give another 6* rating considering he used to give 5* matches as his best rating and even if he rated one match on this level above another it'd still have been 5* not 5.25*

Omackeral

Just give 5 and explain why it's a perfect match. That's what 5 Stars is. That's why they should be near unattainable.

Neil3030

I guess it depends on your perspective. For me, you have to acknowledge the fact that Okada and Omega are doing things in their matches that the likes of Flair and Steamboat simply couldn't. And yet they still have masterful psychology and storytelling. To me, this warrants a higher score. But on the flip-side, breaking the score ceiling risks lessening the importance of historic matches from the past.

That said, Okada and Omega are such special talents, with the perfect creative forces behind them, having the programme of their lives. It's likely we won't ever see matches this good again in our lifetime.

Andersonisgod

Without context these ratings seem like nonsense. Je broke the scales in 81, in 89 and then again in 94. He did that because he saw in those years matches, and wrestlers, who were changing the business and wrestling was evolving with them. Same gas happened here twice in the space of 6 months. Okada and Omega are ahead if the rest and they are doing something special and ahead of it's time. Their match rating shouldn't diminish your enjoyment of past 5 star matches but it's an acknowledgement of the quality of the work of Okada and Omega and where they are bringing pro wrestling.

For my money, Kazuchika Okada, before his 30th birthday, is a real contender for greatest pro wrestler ever.

sky88

I really think there going to have cosy win then break up the bullet club with elite vs the rest. Omega wins it off cody then wrestlekingdom is omega/okada built around Kenny can't beat okada