NJPW Dominion - June 15, 2025

[Chris]

Four huge matches set for Dominion!​

Three titles, dog collar deathmatch set

After a Dontaku weekend full of twists and turns, eyes are starting to head to Dominion on June 15, and Osaka Jo Hall playing host to the midway point of 2025. Four huge matches are set, with the IWGP World Heavyweight title chief among them.
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Shingo Takagi will challenge the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion at Dominion. After Hirooki Goto recorded his fifth defence of the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Dontaku, he was confronted by the man he beat for the title at New Beginning in February, Zack Sabre Jr. ZSJ was affronted that Goto had broken the defence record he had only been able to tie, and demanded a shot at the gold for Resurgence Friday in Ontario. Goto accepted, but then both men were interrupted by Shingo Takagi. The Dragon feels like he has unfinished business with both men; in the case of Sabre a failed challenge in Osaka last November, and with Goto, memories of his first singles gold in NJPW at Goto's expense five years ago still linger.

So, too, do memories of Dominion in 2021. In the midst of a pandemic and with the event itself delayed due to its affects, Shingo captured the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship in Osaka Jo Hall. Takagi went on to be the MVP of a very challenging time for professional wrestling, but wants his flowers on a much more vocal stage. Will the Dragon rise once more in Osaka?

Yota Tsuji will defend the IWGP Global title against Gabe Kidd. At Dontaku, the Gene Blast put away Yuya Uemura to retain the Global gold for his fourth successful defence, but his record has a Gabe sized blot on it. Last time a major event was in Osaka, New Beginning saw the two battle to an intense double knockout draw, one that had the fans in EDION Arena chanting "New Japan" in praise of the heart and passion both competitors showed. Both knew that their issues were far from over; as Tsuji took the microphone in victory in Fukuoka, he began to call out the Mad Man, but Kidd was already at ringside. Now, Kidd and Tsuji take their fight to the next stage of Osaka Jo Hall, and the future of not only the Global title, but NJPW as a whole may be distinctly shaped by the winner.

Also on the line in Osaka Jo Hall will be the IWGP Tag Team Championships. At Wrestling Redzone in Hiroshima, Callum Newman became the youngest man to win IWGP Tag Team gold not once, but twice. It was all part of a spring campaign that saw the Prince of Pace step up in the face of Jeff Cobb's sudden departure from New Japan and firmly assert himself in the main event mix after a valiant challenge to IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Hirooki Goto. Now Newman is as good as his name, and alongside Great-O-Khan, looks for a successful first defence against the combination of Tomohiro Ishii and Taichi.

It was a handshake nobody expected in Nagaoka at the New Japan Cup finals back in March that led to the Ishii and Taichi team. Many speculated over whether these two fierce rivals could function as a team, but function they did in Hiroshima at Redzone with a stunning victory over tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi. Victorious over the former tag champions, the two moved to challenge the new champs by the end of the night; will their heavy hits outdo the United Empire's team of skill and speed?

Also official for Dominion is David Finlay facing EVIL in a Dog Collar Chain Deathmatch. At Dontaku, BULLET CLUB War Dogs finally managed to vanquish HOUSE OF TORTURE in the Dogpound Steel Cage, banishing H.O.T from BULLET CLUB. In the aftermath of the match though, EVIL choked at a handcuffed David Finlay with a dog collar and chain, before storming out of the building alone. After coming to, the livid Finlay demanded that this brutally violent matchup be made; both men will be connected at the neck via dog collars and a length of chain, which can be used as a weapon just as any of the environment can be in this no DQ matchup. Pinfall, submission, or perhaps most likely, a knockout will finally see this blood feud settled once and for all.​

 

[Chris]

More matches set for Dominion June 15!​

Takagi vs Goto official as Osaka Jo card fills out

The card for Dominion June 15 in Osaka jo hall continues to fill out as more stacked action is made official in the wake of the weekend's big matches in Ontario California.
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After Hirooki Goto's defence of the IWGP World Heavyweight title at Dontaku, he was confronted by Zack Sabre Jr. for a Resurgence rematch of their fateful New Beginning in osaka title change. Shingo Takagi soon also emerged, demanding a match against whoever emerged the champion. After a controversial double pin in Ontario, Goto did not emerge the victor, but he did leave California with the world title, and now Shingo Takagi will be next in line to try and stop the Goto Revolution.

Back in 2020, Takagi's first singles title in NJPW came, in the form of the NEVER Openweight belt, at the expense of Goto. The next year, Takagi would win the vacant IWGP World Heavyweight title in a deciding match with Kazuchika Okada in Osaka Jo Hall. Now in 2025, the historical stars could well align, and with the first clearly visible crack appearing in Goto's to now flawless championship reign, could Takagi become a two time champion June 15?

NEVER Openweight Champion Konsouke Takeshita will have a big home defence in Osaka when he collides with Boltin Oleg in his second challenge. At New Beginning in Osaka, Takeshita and Boltin had a rafter shaking match full of incredible hard hits that saw Takeshita emerge victorious. Yet The Alpha's win only brings the score between the two even, with the Big Man From Kazakhstan having defeated Takeshita during last year's G1 Climax. Will this rubber match see a new champion crowned, or Takeshita's record run continue?

Also added to Dominion in another match on Hiroshi Tanahashi's Final Road, this time a Connection bout with Yuya Uemura. Uemura's bright disposition and positive outlook has given many to consider him the 'sun' of a generation in NJPW. Tanahashi was once known as the 'genius of the sun', and has brought the same kind of positive energy to the wrestling world for over 25 years. Now the to do battle in what could be a passing of the brightest of torches- or a lesson being dealt by the Ace to the Heat Storm.​

 

[Chris]

Dominion (June 15) Full card, Preview​

Full card set for Osaka Jo Hall showdown


With Best of the Super Jr. 32 in the books, the card is now set for Dominion on June 15. The first half of the year in NJPW is capped off with one of the calendar's biggest events in the shadows of the historic Osaka Castle!
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Main event: IWGP World Heavyweight Championship- Hirooki Goto vs Shingo Takagi
Singles record: 3-1 Takagi

IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Hirooki Goto seeks his sixth defence of the gold in the main event of the evening when he takes on Shingo Takagi in the main event. It's a full circle moment for both champion and challenger; it was in Osaka, up the road in EDION Arena where Goto captured the richest prize in professional wrestling after a decades long ascent to the top, while Osaka Jo Hall was the site of Shingo Takagi's own IWGP World Heavyweight Championship victory, at Dominion in 2021.

Takagi's impressive 2021 reign, and MVP status of the year was marred by the subdued nature of the pandemic, and the Dragon has been determined to get back to the top to savour the limelight ever since. His challenges, most recently last November, again in Osaka against Zack Sabre Jr. have thus far come up short, but Hirooki Goto is an opponent he knows he historically has had the best of.

A 3-1 record for Shingo against Goto includes his first career singles title win in NJPW in the form of the NEVER Openweight Championship back in 2020. Takagi knows how to beat Goto, and he knows how to do it with a title on the line. On Goto's part, a tremendously demanding defence schedule has given the champion precious little breathing room; after Callum Newman pushed him harder than anticipated at Dontaku on May 4, Goto headed to the US where Goto barely escaped with the gold after a double pin draw.

Yet as 'beatable' as Goto may appear to Takagi, there is a hell of a fight that awaits the Dragon if he's to become a two time World Champion. Goto's reign has gone from being perceived as a brief transition to becoming the most commanding in the world title's relatively brief history, history that Goto continues to write by the day. Are there more chapters to come, or will it be Takagi's time coming in Osaka Jo Hall?

8th Match: IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship Match: Yota Tsuji vs Gabe Kidd
Singles Record: 11- 9 - 2 Yota Tsuji

As the 'new era' of New Japan becomes the current era of New Japan, several rising stars have fought to establish themselves at the top, but none have done so with more ferocity and conviction than Yota Tsuji and Gabe Kidd. Bound by a long-standing rivalry and parallel paths, these two have collided time and again, as black tight clad Young Lions , and as established stars.

Yota Tsuji's star was cemented at Wrestle Kingdom, where a victory over IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion David Finlay saw him earn his first singles gold. Tsuji would state that this would be the championship of a new direction for NJPW, one where the title would only be contested in the undisputed best matches of the night by champions and challengers who truly believe in New Japan's future.

New Beginning in Osaka was just such a battle, as Tsuji faced the challenge of Gabe Kidd, fresh from bearing the Lion Mark in the Tokyo Dome against Kenny Omega and with a fan base that had grown to an intensely passionate following. Neither Kidd nor Tsuji would back down an inch and the result, after one of the hardest fought matchups of this or any other year was a double KO. Chants of 'Shin Nihon' echoed through EDION Arena in the match's wake, and it was clear that champion and challenger had to go at it one more time.

In the mean time, diversions have come up for both men. Both Tsuji and Kidd found themselves waylaid by EVIL and HOUSE OF TORTURE. Kidd would surprise the world by appearing at AEW, despite his open hatred for the organization; on the motivation for his appearances, and on his alignment with Jon Moxley, Kidd is still conspicuously and uncharacteristically reticent.

Despite those diversions, Kidd and Tsuji's paths have crossed once more, in the same city as their February draw, in the site of Yota Tsuji's excursion return match, and the birthplace of the War Dogs in Osaka Jo Hall. With no room for outside distractions and speculation, all that's left is the pure combat that only these two athletes can provide, and what could well be the match of the entire year in Osaka.

7th Match: Dog Collar Chain Deathmatch- David Finlay vs EVIL
Singles record: 2-0 Finlay

The war between the BULLET CLUB War Dogs and HOUSE OF TORTURE reached a boiling point at Wrestling Dontaku, where a "Loser Leaves BULLET CLUB" Steel Cage Match saw the War Dogs emerge victorious, and H.O.T in theory forever banished from BULLET CLUB. Yet it was EVIL, unwilling to accept defeat, attacking David Finlay with a chain after the bell—refusing to let warring dogs lie Now, Finlay seeks finality. In a Dog Collar Chain Deathmatch, both men will be linked together with a heavy metal chain that, along with anything else the men can get their hands on can be used as a weapon. There will be no escape, and no disqualifications, with the match only ending by pinfall, submission or knockout.

At the Best of the Super Jr. final in Ota, EVIL and the House would send a violent message to David Finlay, with a vicious beat down of Gedo and the War Dogs troops that were still in Japan. Now the Rebel will be coming to Osaka full of righteous fury, but with the numbers game likely against him, can Finlay persevere?

6th Match: NEVER Openweight Championship- Konosuke Takeshita vs Boltin Oleg
Singles record: 1-1

Boltin Oleg’s victory over Konosuke Takeshita during the G1 Climax 2024 was seen by many as a shock upset, as the much acclaimed Alpha was put away by the large but relatively unexperienced Kazakh monster. That win earned Oleg his first title shot at the NEVER Openweight Championship at The New Beginning in Osaka 2025. Though he fell short, Oleg walked away with the respect of both the champion and the crowd.

Now, they meet again in a rubber match with the score tied at 1–1. This is Oleg’s chance to show just how far he’s come—and perhaps to finally capture his first singles championship. Still, Takeshita is no idle champion. The triple contracted Takeshita has rapidly become the most successful NEVER Openweight Champion of all time at six defences, and has cemented himself as one of the world's absolute best, with or without the outside distraction that Rocky Romero has played in recent outings. Takeshita presents an imposing obstacle for Boltin, but an obstacle the Big Man From kazakhstan has beaten before. Can he do so with the title on the line?

5th Match: IWGP Tag Team Championships- United Empire (Callum Newman & Great-O-Khan) vs Taichi & Tomohiro Ishii

The IWGP Tag Team Championships have seen nothing but chaos since the end f 2024. After HENARE's injury stripped the Maori Warrior and Great-O-Khan of the belts, the Young Bucks captured gold at Wrestle Dynasty, that transitioned to Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi before one defence was even recorded. From there, United Empire recaptured the belts with Callum Newman and Jeff Cobb victorious at Sakura Genesis, but their reign was cut short when Cobb departed New Japan shortly afterward, forcing the titles to be vacated.

Callum Newman, now teaming with fellow United Empire member Great-O-Khan, reclaimed the vacant belts by defeating Bishamon in Hiroshima in April, but the very same night, the new team of former rivals Tomohiro Ishii and Taichi tore the house down to defeat Naito and Hiromu and stake their own claim for the titles. Two of the hardest-hitting veterans in NJPW, Taichi and Ishii are former tag champions in their own right, albeit never before together. Will chaos continue to rule the tag title picture, or can Newman and O-Khan emerge victorious?

4th Match: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships- Master Wato & YOH vs HOUSE OF TORTURE (Yoshinobu Kanemaru & SHO)

A bittersweet Best of the Super Jr. for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions saw YOH put in the performance of a lifetime in the final to just come up short against Kosei Fujita, while Master Wato found himself tortured at the hands of Yoshinobu Kanemaru. A tweaked knee sustained during his bout with Hiromu Takahashi saw Wato enter his final league match against Kanemaru already hobbled, and the Heel master used steel chairs and a whiskey bottle assisted figure four to put the Grand Master out of the running.

Fast forward to the final night in Ota, and Wato seemed to be on the road to revenge against Kanemaru until SHO attacked the Hontai member from behind with his wrench to force another Figure Four submission. With SHO also having beaten YOH earlier in the tour, the H.O.T claim for junior tag gold was strong enough without the excessively violent and illegal attack from the House, but with the damage done to Wato's knee, are new champions all but guaranteed?

3rd Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi Final Road ~Connection~ Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Yuya Uemura
Singles record: 1-0 Tanahashi

As Hiroshi Tanahashi’s legendary career enters its final chapter, he continues to face opponents who represent the past, present, and future of New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Up next is a man many have seen as a spiritual successor to Tanahashi in Yuya Uemura. The only time he faced Tanahashi was during his Young Lion days, a bout that ended in a loss, but has received high praise from the Ace, who has proclaimed Uemura 'more than strong enough to carry New Japan'. Will the 'sun' that is Yuya Uemura rise against the sunsetting Tanahashi at Dominion?

2nd Match: El Phantasmo & Shota Umino vs TMDK (Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr.)

What was ostebnsibly a fairly friendly encounter in Ota at the Best of the Super Jr. finals between Hontai and TMDK turned a lot more hostile in the post match. Thanks to impressive teamwork between Shota Umino and NJPW World TV Champion El Phantasmo, ELP was in position to hit a remarkable CR II on Hartley Jackson to come out victorious. Afterward though, Oiwa would be aggressive in trying to stop ELP's celebration, and Zack Sabre Jr. seemed to be egging on the TMDK young charge with regards to ELP's TV title. Tonight, a chance for Oiwa to tangle with Phantasmo again, and perhaps to cement a claim to that gold.

1st Match: BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Taiji Ishimori, Chase Owens, Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney) vs HOUSE OF TORTURE (SANADA, Ren Narita, Yujiro Takahashi & X)

With EVIL and David Finlay set to collide in the Dog Collar Chain Match later in the evening, the War Dogs go once again to battle against HOUSE OF TORTURE in our opener. This is no mere preview however; EVIL has promised a new addition to H.O.T will be revealed tonight. Who will X be?

Kickoff Match: Katsuya Murashima & Shoma Kato vs Daiki Nagai & Masatora Yasuda

We start the evening with a special Young Lion tag team kickoff. As Daiki Nagai and Masatora Yasuda mark the first anniversary of their debuts, the rivals want to pick up a win under their own power in Osaka, while Kato and Murashima want to show their seniority, especially as new Young Lions are waiting in the wings. Who makes the loudest statement in our opening bout?​