NJPW Dominion 2023 Results – June 4, 2023 – SANADA vs. Yota Tsuji

June 4, 2023
Osaka, Japan – Osaka-Jo Hall
English Commentary: Kevin Kelly, Chris Charlton, and Gino Gambino
Results via Chick Fritts of F4WOnline.com

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Quick Match Results

1. Pre-show: Young Lion Consecutive Battle (Gauntlet) match – Ryohei Oiwa, Boltin Oleg, & Yuto Nakashima defeated Oskar Leube via Boston Crab (submission 2:55)
2. IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender Tournament Final – Will Ospreay defeated Lance Archer via Hidden Blade (pinfall 8:01)
3. Titan, BUSHI, Shingo Takagi, & Tetsuya Naito defeated Just Five Guys via Llave Inmortal (submission 9:24)
4. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship – Catch 2/2 defeated Jet Setters (c) via 2/2 (pinfall 10:38)
5. NJPW World Television Championship – Zack Sabre Jr. (c) defeated Jeff Cobb via Crucifix Bomb (pinfall 8:46)
6. Vacant IWGP Tag Team Championship & NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship Three-Way match – Bishamon defeated United Empire and House of Torture via Shoto (pinfall 13:15)
7. NEVER Openweight Championship – David Finlay (c) defeated El Phantasmo via Into Oblivion (pinfall 18:51)
8. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship – Hiromu Takahashi (c) defeated Master Wato via Timebomb II (pinfall 19:50)
9. NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship – Tomohiro Ishii, Hiroshi Tanahashi, & Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Shota Umino, Claudio Castagnoli, & Jon Moxley via Rainmaker (pinfall 20:37)
10. IWGP World Heavyweight Championship – SANADA (c) defeated Yota Tsuji via Deadfall (pinfall 17:01)

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Pre-Show
Young Lion Consecutive Battle Match
Oskar Leube vs. Ryohei Oiwa, Boltin Oleg, & Yuto Nakashima

Oskar Leube was chosen this time as the Young Lion who had to run the gauntlet of three straight matches against Ryohei Oiwa, Boltin Oleg, and Yuto Nakashima and was required to win all of his matches in order to emerge victorious.

Leube faced off against Nakashima for the first match. During their brief match, Nakashima locked Leube in a Boston Crab forcing him to submit.

Winner: Yuto Nakashima via Submission.

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IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender Tournament Final
Will Ospreay vs. Lance Archer

This match was built around Ospreay surviving Archer’s physical advantage. It worked quite well and made for a great opener.

Archer opened the match by flatlining Ospreay and taking the fight to the floor. A forearm and a dive from Ospreay turned the match around, setting up an extended rally. 

Back in the ring, Archer regained control, using his size to maintain advantage. A blackout from the top rope scored Archer a near fall. 

Archer’s extended control ended when Ospreay hit a hidden blade. After the first, Ospreay landed multiple hidden blades to secure the win.

Winner: Will Ospreay via Pinfall.

After the match, Ospreay called out Kenny Omega, “in Canada”. 

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Just Five Guys (TAKA Michinoku, DOUKI, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, & Taichi) vs. Titan, BUSHI, Shingo Takagi, & Tetsuya Naito

The match opened with an LIJ-initiated brawl. J5G held their own, establishing an early control despite the early rush. From here, the teams struggled for the lead with multiple back-and-forths.

J5G used tandem attacks to maintain control when possible, which forced LIJ to rush the ring. Ultimately, J5G’s willingness to use tandem attack’s backfired as LIJ fired back, clearing the ring and allowing Titan to submit TAKA to win the match.

Winner: Titan, BUSHI, Shingo Takagi, & Tetsuya Naito via Submission.

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IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Catch 2/2 (Francesco Akira & TJP) vs. Jet Setters (Kevin Knight & KUSHIDA) (c)

The match opened with a rapid back-and-forth between the teams. IJS was the first to gain advantage, emerging from the four-way fight with a short lead, but Catch 22 was quick to fire back.

TJP and Akira worked to isolate Knight, forcing a hot tag. KUSHIDA’s attempt for a rally wasn’t met without resistance, as Catch 22 fought off his attempts to finish. Catch 22 connected with a double knee, forcing Knight to make the save and forcing KUSHIDA on the back foot.

A double stomp from Akira forced a nearfall, but IJS bounced back with an extended rally. Even with the rally, Catch 22 was able to hold on, landing a double knee to Knight and securing the win and securing a second tag title reign.

Winner: Catch 2/2 via Pinfall to become the new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions.

After the match Clark Conners and Dan Mahoney of Bullet Club attacked the new champions, almost definitely setting up a future title challenge. 

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NJPW World Television Championship
Jeff Cobb vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (c)

This was another fantastic ZSJ NJPW World TV Championship defense.

The match opened with a back-and-forth, favoring neither man. ZSJ attempted to take the match to the floor while Cobb tried using his power in an attempt to establish a lead. The totally fluid match featured nothing but back-and-forths from the men, a kind of trademark from the TV title scene.

A suplex from ZSJ allowed him to establish a lead around the halfway mark. Cobb answered back with a throw of his own, a spin cycle, and a suplex. Looking to close, Cobb attempted Tour of the Islands, but ZSJ transitioned into a pin and squeaked out with another win in his TV title reign.

Winner: Zack Sabre Jr. via Pinfall to retain the NJPW World Television Championship.

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Vacant IWGP Tag Team Championship & NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship Three-Way Match
Bishamon (YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto) vs. United Empire (Aaron Henare & Great-O-Khan) vs. House of Torture (Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL)

Before the match could begin, HOT rushed UE. YH and Goto helped to fight off the initial HOT rush, but the chaos continued for quite some time, with UE and HOT trading control with Bishamon providing a constant check.

UE eventually isolated Yujiro and scored a pin on him, but Dick Togo interrupted what would have been a title win. This led to an extended period of chaos, with all three teams trading momentum. Through the fog, Bishamon emerged, hitting Yujiro with Shoto to win the match and win the IWGP tag belts.

Winner: Bishamon via Pinfall to become the new IWGP Tag Team Champions and NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions.

After the match, Alex Coughlin and Gabrial Kidd Rushed the new champions while wearing Bullet Club colors.

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G1 Climax 2023 Full Field of Competitors Announcement

Kazuchika Okada, Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, Will Ospreay, Hiroshi Tanahashi, David Finlay, Shota Umino, Shingo Takagi, Tomohiro Ishii, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Hikuleo, Hirooki Goto, Yoshihashi, Toru Yano, KENTA, Zack Sabre Jr, TAICHI, Eddie Kingston, El Phantasmo, Ren Narita, EVIL, Chase Owens, Jeff Cobb, Great-O-Khan, Aaron Henare, Gabriel Kidd, Alex Coughlin, Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls, Yota Tsuji, & Kaito Kiyomiya

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NEVER Openweight Championship
El Phantasmo vs. David Finlay (c)

This match opened with a brawl on the outside, and ELP took advantage, landing a dive to wipe Finlay out. Back in the ring, ELP maintained this lead, landing everything he wanted for some time. Finlay took the lead by using the outside to establish a BC-style lead.

Back in the ring, Finlay picked ELP apart for quite some time. Finlay missed a hidden blade which opened the door for an ELP dropkick, resetting the match, but a BC distraction allowed Finlay to maintain control.

An ELP rally featuring a DDT and a strike exchange left the factionless competitor ahead for some time. Finlay fought back and led his extended period of control, but both were uneventful.

ELP tried fighting off Finlay’s backup, but this bought Finlay enough time to fight back and drive ELP through a table. Finlay closed the match with into oblivion to retain his title.

Winner: David Finlay via Pinfall to retain the NEVER Openweight Championship.

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IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Master Wato vs. Hiromu Takahashi (c)

The match opened with a back-and-forth that had both men fighting on the floor. In the ring, Hiromu managed to establish a lead before landing a suplex on the entrance ramp.

A short rally from Wato turned into a full-blown lead after Wato landed a dive. In the ring, Wato continued to make advances, securing a submission and forcing Hiromu into the ropes.

Hiromu reversed a Wato dive into a suplex, resetting the flow of the match. From here, both men traded advantage, but Hiromu led most of the exchanges.

Wato tried for multiple quick pins before locking in a submission in the center of the ring. Hiromu eventually found the ropes and reversed Wato’s attempt to finish with a barrage of heavy offense.

Wato bounced back and landed a German suplex for a convincing nearfall. Hiromu answered with a timebomb attempt, but Wato kicked out. To finish, Hiromu hit timebomb 2 and pinned Wato.

Winner: Hiromu Takahashi via Pinfall to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.

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NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship
Shota Umino, Claudio Castagnoli, & Jon Moxley vs. Tomohiro Ishii, Hiroshi Tanahashi, & Kazuchika Okada (c)

This tension-heavy match opened with Tanahashi and Claudio. Both men wrestled for control, but Claudio whipped Tanashi into the corner. CHAOS fired back, rushing the ring and establishing control over Tanahashi.

Once Tanahashi and Umino came to blows, Okada cemented his seniority. Shota fought back by slamming Okada into a table, buying the rest of BCC the opportunity to tag into the match.

BCC were able to isolate Okada as a unit, forcing Ishii to involve himself in the scuffle. Even with Ishii’s involvement, BCC worked to sequester Okada, eventually causing a hot tag.

The match broke down shortly after the tag, with every man getting in significant offense. Okada broke up a pin following a Moxley curb stomp, but BCC maintained control for some time.

Ishii dropped Moxley with a lariat, opening the match up for a Shota/Okada double tag. Shota and Okada traded moves, but it was clear Okada had his number at virtually every turn.

Claudio hit the ring to interrupt Okada’s advance. He swung Okada for a while before hitting a triple powerbomb with his team.

Umino tried continuing the advance, but Okada answered with a dropkick. This led to another free-for-all. Okada emerged from the fog in the ring with Shota. He planted Shota with a rainmaker to win the rematch and retain his team’s belts.

Winner: Tomohiro Ishii, Hiroshi Tanahashi, & Kazuchika Okada via Pinfall to retain the NEVER 6-Man Tag Team Championship.

After the match, Moxley teased Bryan Danielson before a video package played revealing Danielson as a future opponent for Okada. Okada answered by saying the forbidden door would be open, perhaps setting up a match a AEW’s upcoming PPV.

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IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
Yota Tsuji vs. SANADA (c)

The opening saw SANADA and Yota struggle for control in a typical wrestling match. SANADA fought back, but Yota was able to use his size to maintain a lead for some time. Yota hit a big spear to send SANADA to the floor, followed by a dive to secure control early.

SANADA interrupted a spear with a knee before locking in a submission to put Yota on the backfoot. When SANADA tried for a moonsault, Yota blocked with his knees, resetting the match.

Yota and SANADA traded strikes in the middle of the ring, with Yota winning out. Yota then locked in a Boston crab, furthering his lead.

Yota missed a moonsault, buying SANADA an opportunity to recover. SANADA then lead a substantial bounce back.

A strike exchange between the pair left Yota ahead once again. Yota hit a curb stomp and a spinning bomb for a nearfall. After nearly winning the match, Yota lifted SANADA to the top rope and hit a Spanish fly for another nearfall.

SANADA tried for finishes twice, but both times Yota avoided them. Yota then hit a leaping headbutt for a nearfall.

SANADA answered Yota’s advance with a moonsault and a shining wizard. SANADA then transitioned into deadfall, which he hit to retain the belt and keep New Japan’s newest challenger at bay.

Winner: SANADA via Pinfall to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.

After the match, SANADA cut a promo. He hyped up Yota and J5G before promising to win the G1 as IWGP champion.