New Japan Pro Wrestling 6/9/2024 Dominion 6.9 In Osaka-Jo Hall ~ Best Of The Super Junior 31 Final ~

New Japan Pro Wrestling 6/9/2024 Dominion 6.9 In Osaka-Jo Hall ~ Best Of The Super Junior 31 Final ~

Note - I didn't watch this years Best of the Super Juniors. I'm really not a fan of NJPW's juniors division and I hadn't enjoyed the tournament in the past so I just skipped it.

I saw all but one match here: 

Tetsuya Naito vs. Callum Newman

CN knocks Naito off the apron during his entrance. CN 2nd rope moonsaults him outside. CN is thrown into the rails but bounces off and dropkicks Naito. Naito armdrags him in the ring then neckbreakers him on the apron. Naito chokes him with his jacket outside.

Naito armdrags him and baseball slides his back inside. Naito wraps his legs around CN's neck and pulls. Naito cravates him then CN runs the ropes fast to hit a facekicks on him. CN corner dropkicks him then PK's him for 2.

Naito hits back elbows then 2nd rope hurricanrana's him. CN standing spanish flies him then tiger suplexes him for 2. CN spinning forearms him then is caught with destino for 2. Naito hits another destino and wins after CN tries some kicks.

Thoughts: Naito won in quick fashion as expected here. It was entertaining but not the really good match it should have been. Naito must not be feeling well if he's in this role on a show like this. 

TMDK (Kosei Fujita, Robbie Eagles & Zack Sabre Jr.) vs. BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney) & LJ Cleary

Kosei slaps Clark and everyone starts to fight. Clark uppercuts him and powerslams him. Kosei backrolls him into a bridge. Robbie springboards and does a double knee type of move. TMDK wristlock Clark and make tags. They then put submissions on Clark and rotate to the next limb.

Rob uses the ropes and armdrags Clark. Clark then pounces him. LJ 2nd rope double stomps Rob's back. Drilla hits slaps and stomps on Rob. Rob chops Drilla then spin kicks him. Drilla spinebusters him and does a double stomp into an elbow drop. Rob rolls up Drilla and pele kicks him.

Kosei flying kicks Clark then springboard dropkicks him. Clark northern lights suplexes Kosei then LJ pump kicks Kosei. Kosei chops down LJ then step up enzugiri's him. Zack hits euros on LJ then twists his neck with his feet.

LJ slingshot flips over Zack and Zack blocks a springboard armdrag with an armbar. Drilla and Clark break it up. Clark is sent into the rails. Kosei jumps over the rails and does something but the camera misses it. LJ headlock takeovers Zack nd rolls him into a pin attempt for 2. Zack euros LJ over then LJ crucifixes him for 2.

Zack is rolled up by LJ. LJ hits kicks. Zack catches LJ's springboard and Zack ankle locks him. Zack deadlift germans LJ then PK's him. Zack michinoku drivers LJ and pins him.

Thoughts: It was an okay trios match here the Noah wrestler losing in true NJPW fashion. It wasn't the best they could have done but they did okay with the time they had.  Zack worked well with LJ here.

NJPW King Of Pro-Wrestling Title Storm Catch Rules Match - Yuya Uemura (c) vs. Great-O-Khan

Khan wears MMA shorts and Yuya takes him down with a kimura. Yuya backdrops him then armbars him. Khan uses one of his ropebreaks to get out. Khan bites the arm then is hiptossed. Khan keeps his head and arm on choke on Yuya and Yuya ropebreaks.

Khan does a sleeper with a claw and Yuya snapmares him to get out. Yuya shoulder throws him and bangs Khan's arm off the mat. Yuya hammerlock slams him. Khan bites him and throws him back.

Yuya bites the ear. Khan hip throws him. Yuya belly to belly suplexes Khan over the top. Yuya armbreakers Khan then Khan armdrags him. Khan hits a uranage then does another head and arm choke. Yuya armbars Khan and Khan can't ropebreak or he will lose.

Khan rolls him up and is armdragged. Khan belly to belly suplexes him then claw suplexes him. Khan claw spinebusters him and pins him.

Thoughts: I really don't know what they were going for here. It was an okay wrestling match but I don't think it really did anyone any favors. I thought Yuya went down too easy here.

NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Title Match - Hiroshi Tanahashi, Oleg Boltin & Toru Yano (c) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Yota Tsuji)

Tana has a new hairstyle and lost some weight. Tana and Yota lock up twice then stare down. Bushi and Yano get in. Yano takes off a turnbuckle pad. He pushes HT into Bushi then takes a baseball slide from HT. Bushi yanks on Yano's arm then HT double axe handles Yano's arm. HT corner lariats Yano then baseball slides him. Yano drops HT on him for 2.

Yano grabs HT by the hair. Yano goes into the exposed buckle then atomic drops HT. Oleg gets in and shoulderblocks his opponents. He then splashes Yota and karelin's lifts him. Oleg double suplexes HT and Bushi then suplexes Yota.

Yota does his curbstomp combo on Oleg then falcon arrows him for 2. They trade forearms and Oleg dropkicks him. Tana flying forearms Yota then crossbodies his opponents while they are on the apron. Tana hits forearms on Yota then slams him. Tana 2nd rope swantons Yota for 2.

Yota pumping knees Tana then headbutts him. Tana slingblades Yota then Oleg shoulders over HT and Bushi. Tana misses a top rope splash then Yota spears him for the win.

Thoughts: This was a joke. It was super short and we saw little of note before it ended. Yeah, they made good use of the time they had but nobody even touched their better offense here in this one. 

Oleg gets up in Yota's face after.

NJPW World Television Title Match - Jeff Cobb (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii

They shoulder battle to start. Cobb knocks him over then crossbodies him. Cobb surfs on Ishii's back and Ishii shoulders him over. Cobb shoulders him over. Ishii hits chops and forearms on Cobb. Cobb flying euros him and drops him. Ishii seemed surprised by it.

Cobb hits forearms. Ishii forearms him back then suplexes him. They miss moves and Cobb release germans him. Cobb 2nd rope superplexes him then Ishii germans him. Ishii headbutts the buckle to fire up then backdrops Cobb. Ishii runs into a dangerous overhead belly to belly then is suplexed.

Ishii hits forearms. Cobb headbutts him then standing moonsaults him for 2. Ishii lariats and enzugiri's him. Ishii hits another lariat for 1. Ishii runs into a uranage. Ishii drops him with a uranage then sliding lariats him for 2.

Ishii headbutts him then takes a dropkick. Cobb single arm F-5's him for 2. They trade and Cobb spin cycle backdrops him. Cobb takes a headbutt then Ishii hurricanrana's him. Ishii flips him with a running lariat for 2. Cobb hits a swinging slam and wins it.

Thoughts: It was good as expected though they didn't have enough time here with a 15 minute time limit. They stiffed each other well and threw each other around before the finish. 

The G-1 this year has 2 blocks with 10 men a piece. They will have a qualifying tournament for some of the spots. The top 3 in each block advance to the quarterfinals.

Thoughts: The big problem with them having this many wrestlers is that injuries are going to be more likely especially with the older guys. I like that there's only 2 blocks this year as wrestlers will get to wrestle some different people than usual and we have a better chance at getting some of the bigger names against each other.

NEVER Openweight Title Match - Shingo Takagi (c) vs. HENARE

Shingo backs him up and chops him. They trade forearms. Henare elbows him in the head and is chopped. Shingo corner lariats him then hits a chop and punch combo. Henare hits chest kicks and they trade headbutts.

Henare PK's him then Shingo shoulders him over. They headbutt battle. Henare goes for the step up knee and is powerbombed. Shingo sliding lariats him then Henare knees him. Both go down. Shingo hits knees then ddt's him.

Henare hits a huge spear. Shingo ducks shots and takes a chest kick. They trade chops for chest kicks then short arm lariats for chest kicks. Henare knocks him down with chest kicks. Henare springboard kicks him then is lariated over.

Shingo corner lariats him then hits a punch and lariat. Shingo hits chops then Henare does a nice fisherman's suplex. Henare back elbows Shingo then step up knees him in the corner.

Henare PK's him but Shingo blocks it. Shingo hits a last of the dragon. Shingo hits lariats then a forearm combo. Henare hits him in the gut and spinning high kicks him. Shingo enzugiri's him and is PK'd. They slap each other and Henare drops Shingo. They trade headbutts then Henare knocks him down with one. Shingo lariats him down then Henare flying headbutts him down. Neither guy can answer the 10 count and we get a double KO draw.

Thoughts: It was a disappointing ending to a good looking match. It was what you would want with the two stiffing each other and doing little but strikes. The match kind of ended before they truly could go all out though and I didn't think they did enough to really justify the draw.

IWGP World Heavyweight Title Lumberjack Match - Jon Moxley (c) vs. EVIL

Evil spray paints the owner of NJPW before the match as the owner was saying they need to have less HoT.

This starts on the floor. Mox gets attacked on his entrance in and the lumberjacks all brawl on the floor. Mox throws Evil into the rails and then the match officially starts.

Mox hits forearms and chops then shoulders Eivl over. Makabe, Tiger Mask, Tenzan and Umino are with Mox. Mox neckbreakers Evil and hits kicks and elbows to the shoulder. Mox sliding lariats Evil. Mox goes for a hammerlock and is eye raked.

Mox fights the lumberjacks off ouside and sends Evil into the rails. Mox elbows Evil's shoulder on a chair then facekicks him over the chair. Mox trips him then figure fours him. Mox puts his knee into Evil's head. Evil eye rakes Mox and knocks him off the apron into the rails. HoT throw Mox back in then stomp on him when he's thrown out. The face lumberjacks help Mox.

Evil chokes Mox with a shirt then rakes Mox's back. Evil eye rakes him then the lumberjacks whip Mox with belts. Evil works Mox's leg then does Yuji Nagata's Nagatalock since Yuji is there. Mox rakes Evil's back and hits headbutts. Mox trades forearms with Evil then trades chops.

They trade forearms. Mox forearms and chops flurries him. Evil spinning lariats Mox then Mox lariats him. Mox hits corner punches then piledrivers him for 2. Mox topes Evil and HoT outside then whips Evil with a belt. Mox sets up a table and Togo throws salt in Mox's eyes.

Evil puts a chair around Mox's neck and chairs it with another chair. Evil corner lariats Mox then superplexes him. Evil puts the anaconda vice on Mox since Tenzan is there. Mox sleepers Evil. The ref goes to slap Evil when Evil grabs him but he slaps Mox instead on accident. Evil hits darkness falls on Mox for 2.

Evil tries lariats on Mox and Mox rebound germans him. Mox nagata lock 2's him and the lumberjacks fight outside and inside the ring. Kanemaru breaks up Mox's submission. Nagata kics the ref when Kanemaru moves. Togo chokes Mox with a weapon and the lumberjacks fight each other.

Moxt death rider ddt's Evil then is hit with Ren's push-up bar. Evil low blows Mox then Mox takes a triple powerbomb through a table. Evil hits a death rider ddt on Mox for 2. Mox hits everything is evil on Evil.

Mox grabs a barbed wire baseball bat and hits hoT with it. Evil sticks a pen in Mox's eyes then Mox cutters him. Mox hits Evil with the barbed wire bat and curbstomps him. Mox hits a death rider ddt on the bat and pins Evil.

Thoughts: It really wasn't that good as expected. The lumberjack rules made the match a little more tolerable. It was mostly weapons shots, ref shenanigans and the seconds fighting each other. It went on too long as well.

Tetsuya Naito comes out after. He challenges Mox to an IWGP Title match at Forbidden Door. 

Best Of The Super Junior 31 Final Match - Taiji Ishimori vs. El Desperado

TI wristlocks him. TI rolls out of a wristlock and hammerlocks him. Despy trips him and TI rolls him into a headlock. TI side headlock takeovers him. TI springboard diving hurricanrana's him then triangle moonsaults him outside. TI rams Despy's head into the post. TI takes off a turnbuckle pad then Despy is sent into it.

TI armbars him then drives his knees into Despy's arm. TI does a cobra clutch then Despy escapes a chickenwing. Despy punches him and TI pulls him down by the arm. Despy running back elbows him. TI goes for a handspring and is caught with a backdrop. Despy tope con hilos him through the ropes.

TI brainbusters him for 2. Despy headscissors him. TI sliding germans Despy while he sits on the 2nd rope. TI misses a 450 then TI drops Despy onto the knees chest first. TI misses a corner double knee then is backdropped. Despy dragon screws him then Despy is thrown into the post shoulder first. TI shoulderbreakers him.

TI goes for the la mistica and it gets turned into a stretch muffler. TI poisonrana's him then Despy spinebusters him. TI eye rakes him then handspring back corkscrew kicks him. Despy drops TI on both of his knees then stretch mufflers him. TI cranks Despy's arms then la mistica's him into a border city stretch.

Despy stretch mufflers TI and grabs the arm with it. Despy lifts him then TI hits a canadian destroyer out of it. TI pops up Despy into a low blow for 2. Despy forearms him and they trade forearms on their knees. 

They get up and trade. Despy forearms him down then TI jumping knees him. Despy olympic slams him then spears him. Despy hits angel's wings for 2. TI does a weird TKO onto the knees. TI lifting reverse ddt's him for 2.

Despy rams TI into the exposed buckle then Despy jay drillers him then angel's wings him to win it.

Thoughts: The canadian destroyer spot didn't bother me that much. They worked holds on each other for most of the match but in the end, the limb work meant little here. It also had the usual heel shenanigans with low blows and turnbuckles being removed. I wasn't a big fan of this one and stuff like this is why I didn't bother watching BOSJ.

Sho and Despy talk on the mic after. They talk for a while and seemingly agree to a steel cage match for the junior title.

Overall thoughts: I liked Ishii/Cobb and Henare/Shingo as expected. I didn't like the main or the lumberjack match as expected. Naito/Newman did what they could in the little time they got, but there's no reason for them to be getting no time on a show like this. The trios title match was a joke and Yuya/Khan worked shootstyle for some reason. The show could have been really good if they just had normal matches but having normal matches is just not what this company does anymore. I wouldn't recommend this.