Dominion is not only one of the biggest New Japan events each calendar year, but also tends to be one of the best shows in wrestling yearly, too. This year's card is pretty stacked, so let's take a look at the card and make some predictions.
1.Moxley vs Shota
After a fantastic debut match in which he won the IWGP United States Championship, Jon Moxley follows it up taking on one of the hottest young lions. This will be a fun, hard hitting 10-minute match that Jon largely dominates before getting the win.
2.SHINGO vs Kojima
The dragon has finally lost a match, but it's time to get back on track. This will be better than people expect, and a fun match in general. SHINGO will win in about 10.
3.YOSHI-HASHI, Liger vs Suzuki, Sabre Jr
The Liger retirement tour continues. It'll be decent, but nothing major. Suzuki-gun wins.
4.Tanahashi, Taguchi, Juice vs White, Ishimori, Chase
Bullet Club versus Taguchi Japan. White took out Tanahashi in controversial fashion at the BOSJ Finals, and they're building that up further with this one. I say Bullet Club win, but flip a coin and you have a 50 percent chance of being right. Likely decent, but nothing must-see.
5.NEVER Openweight Title: Taichi(c) vs Ishii
Which Taichi will we get? This will either be fantastic or average. There is no other option. I say Taichi wins, sadly, after a bunch of circus act bullshit.
6.IWGP Tag Titles: GOD(c) vs EVIL, SANADA
The belts change hands way too often, especially between these two teams. So, let's just say LIJ win them back in a pretty good match. I love both of these duos, but I do wish the division could be spiced up a bit because this is 100th time they've met.
7.IWGP Jr Title: Dragon Lee(c) vs Ospreay
This is the first potential MOTYC of the night. Dragon Lee has proven his worth and had a nice run as champ, but I don't see him winning this one unless they do so to set up a rematch versus Hiromu at Destruction or something. That's possible, of course, but they just had Ospreay beat SHINGO, giving him his first New Japan L and I have to believe they aren't going to turn around and have Will fall right after. Ospreay wins and then enters the G1 as champ.
8.IWGP IC Title: Kota(c) vs Naito
The second potential MOTYC of the night. Naito has been victim of some of the strangest booking choices in NJPW the past few years so it's hard to know who's getting the nod here. I say Tetsuya takes it home, heading into G1 season as IC Champ, getting a pin over the Heavyweight Champ in the tournament to set up a champion versus champion match later. We'll see, but it'll be a crazy contest either way.
9.IWGP HW Title: Okada(c) vs Jericho
Moxley is US Champ. Can another AEW talent take home New Japan gold? Nope. This will be fun, and has MOTYC potential, but I just don't see a title change. Okada wins, heading into the G1 as champ is just a smart move as he's the most reliable name they have. Expect a ***3/4 level match to close a great show.
If I were asked to make a bold prediction, I'd say Omega pops up during the show. This is based off of nothing specific and is simply a random, bold prediction, but it'd be a great idea and he'd fit in nicely to two different spots on the card for a pop in.
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