NJPW Dominion 2019: Results, Grades, and Analysis

Chris Jericho vs. Kazuchika Okada (CHAOS) (c) – IWGP Heavyweight Championship

Okada threw his coat at Jericho, laughing, and Jericho was not happy. It looks like Okada isn’t taking this as seriously as he should. Both men lock up and struggle for leverage at the start of the match. Okada went for his dropkick, but Jericho rolled to the outside and avoided it. Okada chased Jericho around the ring, but Okada managed to hit a big boot once they got back in the ring.

Okada went for a dropkick off the top, but Jericho blocked it and locked on the Walls of Jericho. Okada made it to the ropes and rolled to the outside. Jericho hit a baseball slide dropkick and sent Okada over the announce table, sending everyone flying. Jericho then hit a DDT on the announce table and declared himself the winner.

Jericho dragged Okada’s limp body back over the guardrail and hit some heavy punches at ringside. Jericho set up a table at ringside, shoved the ref aside and went for a powerbomb through the table. Okada fought out twice and send Jericho into the guardrail, but Jericho kicked him, grabbed a camera, and flipped off Okada while filming him. Jericho hit a flying crossbody on Okada and got a two count.

Jericho hit a back suplex and posed with his foot on Okada’s chest. Jericho started hitting a series of hard elbows to Okada’s head and then slapped Okada. That seemed to wake Okada up, and Okada started with some forearms, but Jericho hit a dropkick of his own, posing like Okada! Jericho choked Okada on the ropes and keep on Okada with the brutal brawling offence. Jericho hit a big stalling suplex on Okada, but only got a 2 count.

Jericho hit the ropes, but Okada hit a flapjack and kicked up. Okada hit two elbows, and a third, looking like he’s making a comeback. Okada hit a DDT, and Jericho rolled to the outside. Okada hit a big boot, sending Jericho over the guardrail. Okada went for his flying cross body, but Jericho leaped into the air and hit a Code Breaker!

Jericho limped his way back to the ring as Okada lay on the outside. In NJPW, titles can and do change hand on count outs and DQs, so letting the count out happen would result in Jericho winning the title. Okada made it back to the ring, but Jericho continued his assault with hard punches. Jericho went for a tombstone, but Okada floated over and went for his own. Jericho floated over again, and Jericho rolled through and locked on the Walls of Jericho again.

Jericho trash talked the referee after Okada made it to the ropes, and Okada hit a dropkick as Jericho turned around. Jericho stopped Okada from dropkicking him off the top rope, but as Jericho went for a dive, Okada hit another one. Okada managed to hit a tombstone, but Jericho ducked a Rainmaker and hit a butterfly suplex, digging deeply back into his old moveset for a 2 count.

Jericho went for the Code Breaker again, but Okada hit a neckbreaker on the knee. Okada slowly went towards the top rope, selling his back. He didn’t make it there as Jericho cut him off. Jericho sent Okada’s head right into the turnbuckle and followed it with his springboard dropkick right to the face of Okada. Jericho drove Okada’s head into the turnbuckle bolt and went for a superplex. Okada countered into a face first suplex and hit a flying elbow to the chest of Jericho.

Okada called for the Rainmaker, but Jericho ducked and hit an enziguri. Okada and Jericho started exchanging forearms, and Jericho chopped the crap out of him but Okada hit some hard forearms and a European uppercut. He sent Jericho to the ropes, went for the dropkick, but Jericho stopped himself from running, hit the ropes and hit a lionsault on Okada. Jericho kicked Okada into the corner and shoved the ref as he was warned again.

Okada hit a shotgun dropkick and began to give Jericho a tasted of his own medicine. Okada ran at Jericho, but Jericho hit the Code Breaker! Okada kicked out at 2, but just barely. Jericho yelled that Okada should “stay down” before taking off a turnbuckle pad. Jericho went for a snake eyes into the exposed turnbuckle, but Okada slipped behind and hit a German suplex! Okada hung on, went for the Rainmaker, but Jericho ducked and went for a Rainmaker of his own! Okada ducked and hit a Code Breaker! Jericho kicked out!

Okada hit a tombstone and went for the Rainmaker again, but Jericho ducked and rolled through into a Walls of Jericho yet again. Jericho dragged Okada back to the middle of the ring and turned it into the Liontamer, but Okada struggled out and twisted out of it. Jericho managed to sent Okada into the exposed turnbuckle and called for the Judas Effect. Okada ducked, went for the Rainmaker, but Jericho ducked, and Okada managed to cradle Jericho for the pinfall! Okada out wrestled Jericho and still stands at the top of NJPW!

Result: Kazuchika Okada

Rating: ****1/2 (4.5 stars out of 5)

Jericho attacked Okada after the match and hit him right in the face with a steel chair! Jericho hit the Judas Effect, and Okada crumpled to the mat, unconscious. Jericho may have lost the match, but Okada looks far worse off. Jericho dragged Okada to the ringside area and wrapped a chair around Okada’s head before sending him flying into the ring post, attacking Okada’s throat. Jericho went to powerbomb Okada through the table that was setup earlier, but Tanahashi jumped from the announce table and attacked Jericho!

Jericho grabbed a mic and called out Tanahashi and told Okada that he wasn’t done with him yet. It looks like we’re going to see Chris Jericho vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi down the line, and Okada and Jericho are far from finished. NJPW definitely has big plans for Jericho going forward, and I think this is far from over. The story of this match with Jericho was that Okada was going to out wrestle him. Okada did out wrestle Jericho in the end, but there is no question that Okada lost this fight. Jericho beat him up, and it was simply a small technical move that ended with Okada getting the win. This, from a storytelling perspective, does a lot to set up future matches between Okada and Jericho in NJPW.

Show Rating: **** (4 stars out of 5)

This was a very unusual ending to an NJPW show, with a major angle instead of a promo from the main event winner. Okada was left destroyed by Jericho, and an angle with this kind of heavy heat without setting up future stories. I am convinced that we will see Jericho against Okada again, and a match with Tanahashi too. The main event was not as good as the previous matches, but it was primarily focused on storytelling and setting up future matches. NJPW is definitely setting things up for the G1 and beyond, and I think we are far from done with Jericho and Okada. NJPW always does things for a reason, and the heavy angle show sets up many potential matches for the future.

NJPW also made the huge announcements that KENTA has joined NJPW and would be in the G1 Climax. In equally big news, Moxley and Shingo will also be entering the G1. I can only imagine that Ospreay wants to prove that the Juniors can wrestle the heavyweights too in NJPW, just like Shingo did, so I expect that we will see him in the G1 Climax as well. NJPW has many stories going forward, and while this show was not as good as last year’s Dominion, it still provided the type of action we’ve come to expect from NJPW.