NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2018 Night 1: Review, Grades, and Analysis

Kenny Omega (Bullet Club) vs. Hangman Page (Bullet Club)

Before the match Cody ran out and attacked Kenny. Kenny fought him off and dropkicked a table into Cody. Omega then hit the Rise of the Terminator on Cody, but Hangman attacked from behind and hit a Rite of Passage onto the table! Kenny Omega ended up busted open from the top of his head.

Hangman started to get the heat on Omega with the blood starting to poor down Omega’s face. Page hit a big moonsault to the outside, taking Omega out. Back in the ring, they began to exchange strikes. Kenny, being great, sold each blow like he was getting rocked, and Hangman went right back to the cut.

Omega managed to hit a V-Trigger, but Hangman recovered and managed to hit a big neckbreaker from the top rope. Omega hit a huge V-Trigger afterwards, and followed with another one as Page went for his slingshot clothesline. That was incredible. Hangman kicked out. Omega hit another V-Trigger, followed by a Jay Driller, but Hangman kicked out again. Omega killed him with another V-Trigger, and hit the One Winged Angel! Kenny Omega wins!

Result: Kenny Omega

Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

This was an excellent match. Omega had a main event Kenny Omega match, and Hangman Page proved he can have a great main event match. It wasn’t as heated as a usual main event, but it was still great. Omega got a huge win here, and looked awesome.

Final Thoughts

There are a few things that have become clear here, watching the difference between Kenny Omega and Cody. Cody walked out with his own custom robe, drawing attention to himself. Kenny Omega walked out wearing the Bullet Club 5th Anniversary Robe, drawing attention to the Bullet Club. When analyzing this story, it’s so clear that Kenny is the real leader of the Bullet Club, and while Cody is trying to oust him, he just can’t. Cody talks a big game, and is definitely louder, but Kenny, in let’s his silence and actions do the talking.

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Cody is isolating himself further by making this who thing about him. He has neglected his wife, planted seeds of doubts between The Young Bucks, encouraged Marty Scurll to break off on his own, and tried to demand fealty from the OG Bullet Club. Everyone knows that Cody is the problem here, and yet he is utterly delusional in thinking that he has a firm grip on the leadership. Like a dictator in danger of losing power, he is frantic in his condemnation of anything he sees as a threat, while not realizing that he’s digging his own grave.

Cody has only succeed in slowly pushing everyone to not trust him, but the payoff for that hasn’t been seen quite yet. The biggest success he had was driving a wedge between The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega. When they reunite, it will spell the end for Cody. However, Cody, not realizing his mistake, in driving the wedge between Omega and The Bucks, has eventually secured his own defeat. In doing so, he has left himself exposed, and like the villain in every good story, he has overplayed his hand. This will come back to bite him, as The Bucks no longer trust him like they did. They know he drove that wedge for his own purposes. The only question for us now, as we get taken along on this ride, is when will The Elite reunite and destroy Cody?

Show Rating: 3 stars out of 5

This was a really solid showing from NJPW. NJPW has built a series of intriguing stories moving forward, and I haven’t even talked about Ospreay/KUSHIDA, or the rest of the juniors. What’s happen with Naito, Tanahashi, Okada, Omega, and Cody is so interesting and fun to follow. Everything that is happening here makes NJPW must watch, as everything is building towards the NJPW Best of the Super Juniors, NJPW Dominion, and NJPW G1 Special at the Cow Palace. The mid year for NJPW is always exciting, and you can expect everything to start becoming clear soon. The next few months in NJPW will be must see for any wrestling fan, and I can’t wait to see what happens.

Next: Women of Honor: Purrazzo vs. Klein at War of the Worlds

NJPW has an abundance of riches with the stories they’re telling with all their top guy,s and so many stars are standing out as interesting. Outside of the wrestlers mentioned above, I haven’t even talked about Ospreay becoming the Junior’s Ace, Hiromu Takahashi trying to redeem himself, The Young Bucks attempting to build a heavyweight legacy, KUSHIDA trying to show that he hasn’t been left behind, and so many more. NJPW has a series of very interesting stories, and it’s so fun to watch.