BRM Reviews NJPW Dominion 2013

[Big Red Machine]

NJPW Dominion 2013 (6/22/2013)- Osaka, Japan

TIGER MASK IV & JUSHIN "THUNDER" LIGER vs. TAKA MICHINOKU & TAICHI- 4.5/10
Good old, almost southern-style match with the heels needing to cheat to get the advantage, but being perfectly capable wrestlers on their own once they have the advantage.

IWGP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Forever Hooligans(c) vs. Time Splitters- 7.25/10
They told a good story about guys being isolated from their partners and had some good action. It definitely felt different from the other matches they have had. The real question is "who is next for Forever Hooligans?" I can't even think of another Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team that is anywhere close to title contention.

YUJI NAGATA, TAMAOKI HONMA, & CAPTAIN NEW JAPAN vs. BULLET CLUB (Tama Tonga, Bad Luck Fale, & Karl "Machine Gun" Anderson)- 4.75/10
The story here was that Nagata and Honma didn't want to tag Captain New Japan in (not surprising, since he seems to be a bit of a jobber), but were eventually forced to, and seemed very surprised when he did well. I really wish New Japan had English commentary for these, too. I know that Fale just came back as a the enforcer for Devitt, who just had a major heel turn, and now Fale is leading a stable of guys into battle, so I think there is some connection to Devitt, but I honestly have no idea. English commentary would help out a lot here. It would also make these marathon shows more tolerable, as sitting and listening to someone babble away in a language I don't understand takes away from my enjoyment of the match almost as much as watching it on mute without the sounds of the ring or the crowd does.

3 WAY MATCH FOR THE IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM TITLES: Ten-Koji(c) vs. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka vs. K.E.S (Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer)- 5.5/10
The heels cheated and dominated most of the match. Iizuka threw chairs a lot, then he and Yano taped the Americans to the guardrails. Iizuka pulled out some claws (like Vega from Street Fight) and actually hit Davey Boy Smith Jr. with them. Ten-Koji hit Archer with a 3-D but he kicked out, then Ten-Koji got the pin on him a seconds later. Bubba and Devon probably won’t be too happy about that one.

NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Rob Conway(c) vs. Manabu Nakanishi- 4.75/10

SHINSUKE NAKAMURA & TOMOHIRO ISHII vs. SHELTON BENJAMIN & MINORU SUZUKI- 7/10
Shelton seems to be adjusting to the New Japan style very well. Great selling by Ishii, though the heels working over his head all match made the spot earlier on where he was stuck in an armbar with Shelton using the ropes for leverage for an extended period of time feel like a waste. Great babyface in peril story, a good false finish or two, and a great match. Ishii and Suzuki continued to brawl after the match.

YUJIRO TAKAHASHI vs. TETSUYA NAITO- 4.25/10
Before the match Takahashi came out with two women dressed as a sexy nurses and cut what I assumed was a heel promo mocking Naito’s knee injury (he was the one who put Naito out back in October). I hated this match for one simple reason: it would have been a GREAT match… IF NAITO HAD EVER SOLD HIS F*CKING KNEE! Takahashi spent all match working his knee over… the same knee that Takahashi himself injured last year, forcing Naito to be stretchered out and costing him eight months of his career… AND NAITO BARELY EVER F*CKING SOLD IT!

KATSUYORI SHIBATA vs. HIROOKI GOTO- 6.75/10
Stiff match.

HIROSHI TANANASHI (w/Captain New Japan & some other guy) vs. PRINCE DEVITT (w/the Bullet Club)-7.25/10

IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Kazuchika Okada(c) vs. Togi Makabe- 8.25/10
An awesome match. Good storytelling and good selling from both guys. Makabe is always fun and Okada freakin’ rocks.

Overall, a good show from New Japan.