New Japan presents a stacked card this Saturday with one of the biggest shows of the year and all 7 NJPW titles on the line. Okada vs Omega in the 6-month anticipated rematch from Wrestle Kingdom. Naito vs Tanahashi in an epic title rematch. Cody Rhodes in his first big New Japan singles match against the returning Michael Elgin. KUSHIDA cashing in his Best Of The Super Juniors win against Hiromu Takahashi. Before the G1 Climax tournament this summer, who will be the champions and who will have all the momentum?
NJPW Dominion 2017 Preview
Tiger Mask W, Togi Makabe, Tiger Mask IV and Yuji Nagata vs Jushin Thunder Liger, Nakanishi, Kojima and Tenzan
An 8-man tag will surely open the show between the veterans and Kota Ibushi under the mask as Tiger Mask W getting to shine. Liger just competed in his last ever Best Of The Super Juniors tournament so these tags will be in Liger’s future. Kojima and Tenzan can still go just not as fast as Tiger Mask W’s team. Nagata is a wild card because he tends to keep these matches running smoothly and could pick up the win at any time. A match full of stars in this tag match but Tiger Mask W should come out looking the best.
Predicted winners: Team Tiger Mask W in 10 minutes.
Gauntlet match for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man tag team titles: SANADA/EVIL/BUSHI vs Ricochet/Juice Robinson/Taguchi vs Tomohiro Ishii/Toru Yano/Yoshi-Hashi vs Bad Luck Fale/Adam Page/Yujiro Takahashi vs Taichi/Kanemaru/Zack Sabre Jr
Los Ingobernables meets Bullet Club meets Taguchi Japan meets Suzuki-Gun. LIJ has become the major force in NJPW but things may be swaying another way. This trio of Bullet Club have never challenged for the 6-Man tag team titles and neither has the Suzuki-Gun trio. Sabre and Ishii are the big players and could be better served in a singles match but they may be the team MVP’s as well. SANADA and company do not have a good chance of retaining at all.
Prediction: Ricochet/Juice Robinson and Taguchi become the new IWGP 6-Man tag team champions in 20 minutes.
IWGP Jr tag team title match: Roppongi Vice vs The Young Bucks
Trent Barretta and Rocky Romero have been lackluster tag champions because of the shallow tag division for the Juniors but this rematch is going to be excellent and they have great chemistry together. The Young Bucks are as good as any tag team gets so it’s no wonder they keep finding themselves in title matches, it’s almost a sure thing they win here. Roppongi Vice could use the win to solidify themselves as champions but they are not scheduled for the G1 Long Beach shows next month,could be an omen.
Prediction: The Young Bucks become the new IWGP Jr tag team champions in 15 minutes.
IWGP tag team title match: War Machine vs The Guerrillas Of Destiny
War Machine have been a real shot in the arm to the NJPW tag scene and they would really benefit from retaining. G.O.D have been champions before and their dirty tactics and brawling makes this hard to call. Rowe and Hanson have become more popular and everything could come crashing down to the Bullet Club. Ray Rowe and Hanson need to dominate or this could become a heated feud.
Prediction: War Machine retain in 15 minutes.
Michael Elgin vs Cody
Cody has the Bullet Club behind him but Elgin is a former IWGP Intercontinental champion and returning to NJPW, looking to take the first-ever IWGP US title this summer. Cody has been getting some big tag wins in his short NJPW career so far, he is undersized but could still win on his own. Could Crossroads keep Elgin down? We will see. The winner could be a title contender. Both could really use the win to move up the card but Elgin could use a push against the NJPW top heavyweight dogs.
Prediction: Elgin in 15 minutes.
Lumberjack Death Match for the NEVER Openweight title: Minoru Suzuki vs Hirooki Goto
Suzuki took the title from Goto and ended his 5 month reign as champion, the Lumberjack stipulation will help Goto. Hirooki Goto was taken out by Suzuki-Gun time after time and he needs his revenge or Suzuki attempts to run NJPW. There are many factors in this match but any way it goes, and no matter how stiff it gets, Suzuki has the edge. It has been a long time since Suzuki has been a champion, it would be a crushing defeat for either man.
Prediction: Suzuki retains in 15 minutes.
IWGP Jr heavyweight title match: Hiromu Takahashi vs KUSHIDA
Hiromu has been the kingpin of the Jr’s, not losing a match until the Best Of The Super Juniors tournament. These 2 had a Wrestle Kingdom rematch and KUSHIDA was squashed in 2 minutes in shocking fashion. KUSHIDA made a huge comeback, having awesome matches in Best Of The Super Juniors and defeating Will Ospreay in the finals in a classic. All signs point to KUSHIDA regaining his spot as the “ace” of the Juniors but Hiromu has done a lot for the title, and not just himself, co-main eventing most NJPW shows. Smart money says KUSHIDA loses and moves to the heavyweight division. Either way, this will be a masterpiece.
Prediction: Hiromu Takashi retains in 20 minutes.
IWGP Intercontinental title match: Tetsuya Naito vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
Ever since Naito pinned Tanahashi and fist-pumped his heart, Tanahashi has been on the decline health-wise. Tanahashi has been the main eventer for so long, his body is feeling wear and tear. This could still be an incredible match, these men always pull out all the stops in a big match. Tanahashi is money so he could get another landmark victory but Naito has been the best IWGP Intercontinental champion since Shinsuke Nakamura, he may not lose for a long time.
Prediction: Tetsuya Naito retains in 25 minutes.
IWGP heavyweight title match: Kazuchika Okada vs Kenny Omega
You could say this is the biggest rematch of the decade, and you would not be wrong. The 50 minute acclaimed Wrestle Kingdom match between Omega and Okada is a rematch 6 months later and Okada is the one to challenge Omega, instead of the champion being pursued. Omega has had Bullet Club undercard tag matches so he may not be the favorite everyone thinks he is. Okada has been the champion for a year and has turned the best away, time and time again with The Rainmaker.
An interesting note about the last match,Omega never hit the One-Winged-Angel on Okada and the finisher is very protected. What happens if Omega hits it? Omega has made statements that this will be a very different match, with NJPW coming to America this summer, Omega may finally become a world champion. This will be the match to see who NJPW sees faith in for the future.
Prediction: Kenny Omega becomes the new IWGP heavyweight champion in 40 minutes.
Thanks for reading, ring the bell!
