The Best of the Super Juniors finals and a lumberjack death match headline NJPW Dominion in Osaka-jo Hall in a double main event.
El Desperado faces Taiji Ishimori with the Best of the Super Juniors 31 crown on the line in one-half of the double main event bill.
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley defends his title against EVIL in a lumberjack death match in the other half of the main event.
NEVER Openweight Champion Shingo Takagi defends against HENARE in another title bout set for the show.
Both the IWGP Tag Team and NJPW Strong Tag Team titles are on the line in an elimination tornado four-way featuring Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls, El Phantasmo & Hikuleo, KENTA & Chase Owens, and Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI.
NJPW World TV Champion Jeff Cobb defends against Tomohiro Ishii.
NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Team Champions Hiroshi Tanahashi, Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano defend against Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI.
KOPW 2024 Champion Yuya Uemura defends against Great-O-Khan in a storm catch rules bout.
Zack Sabre Jr., Kosei Fujita & Robbie Eagles face Clark Connors, Drilla Moloney & LJ Cleary in a trios bout.
The show opens with Tetsuya Naito vs. Callum Newman in a special singles match.
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Tetsuya Naito defeated Callum Newman
This was really the match you would expect it to be. Newman tried to keep up with Naito, but the veteran put him down for trying. Simple as.
Newman kicked off Dominion by attacking Naito ahead of the opening bell. This led to a short stint of offense on the floor.
Naito turned the match around by driving Newman into the apron, kicking off a prolonged period of Naito control. After surviving a Frankensteiner, Newman hit a Spanish fly, launching into a short rally. Naito brought it to an end with a Destino variation, but Newman kicked out.
Newman fired up, landing a handful of strikes. Naito responded by brutalizing the neck with strikes of his own before hitting Destino. Naito then pinned Newman to win the match.
TMDK (Kosei Fujita, Robbie Eagles & Zack Sabre Jr.) defeated BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney) & LJ Cleary
Fujita and Connors opened the match with a short sequence. When Fujita gained the upper hand, Moloney hit the ring, leading to a short breakdown. With the numbers advantage, TMDK emerged with control.
Once Cleary involved himself, the War Dogs were able to gain some footing. Eagles and Moloney had a competitive back-and-forth before tagging into Fujita and Connors. Fujita retook control for TMDK, forcing Cleary to tag back in.
A stray slap from Cleary enraged ZSJ. ZSJ beat down Cleary, forcing the War Dogs to make the save. The match breakdown that followed was chaotic, leaving Cleary alone to fend for himself.
Cleary tried for multiple quick pins, but ZSJ kicked out time after time. When Cleary attempted a springboard kick, ZSJ reversed into an ankle lock. ZSJ then turned the ankle lock into a suplex before finishing Cleary with the Zack Driver.
NJPW King Of Pro-Wrestling Title Storm Catch Rules Match: Great-O-Khan defeated Yuya Uemura (c)
This “Storm Catch Rules Match” featured a two-rope break/ring-escape limit and a 15-minute time limit.
Uemura launched into an attack on the arm as soon as the opening bell sounded. This forced O-Khan to use his first rope break.
Once O-Khan gained separation, he bit Uemura before locking in a head-and-arm choke. This forced Uemura to use his first rope break, evening the odds.
After the second break, Uemura gained an advantage once more. He continued attacking the arm while utilizing basic slams. O-Khan fired back by biting Uemura again, creating a bit of separation. Uemura responded by bitting O-Khan himself.
Uemura threw O-Khan to the floor, stealing O-Khan’s second allotted escape. This allowed Uemura to lock in an armbar in the middle of the ring that O-Khan had to bridge out of. O-Khan fired back, hitting an eliminator to win the match and the belt.
NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Title: Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Yota Tsuji) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Oleg Boltin & Toru Yano (c)
The match kicked off with Yano removing a turnbuckle pad before being beaten down by all three of his opponents. Once Oleg tagged in, he returned the favor, taking out all of the challengers with ease.
Tsuji and Oleg had a powerful back-and-forth, trading strikes and slams in an attempt to establish a strong lead. Oleg eventually hit a massive dropkick before tagging out to Tanahashi.
Yano tried to prevent Tsuji from hitting the Geneblast. This led to LIJ hitting the ring, occupying the champions long enough for Tsuji to put Tanahashi back on the defense. He then landed the Geneblast on Tanahashi and pinned him to win the match and the NEVER Six Man belts for LIJ.
For the first time in his career, Tsuji is a champion in NJPW.
NJPW World Television Title: Jeff Cobb (c) defeated Tomohiro Ishii
This match kicked off with both men running at each other. Cobb was the first to score a knockdown, but Ishii responded with a tackle of his own that floored Cobb.
Cobb landed an elbow in the corner, leaving Ishii staring at the ceiling. Ishii fired back with a suplex. Cobb kept Ishii from taking advantage, hitting a German and Superplex in quick succession to retake the lead.
Ishii powered through, landing two suplexes in response. Cobb landed another suplex of his own, followed by a lariat for a nearfall. A standing moonsault from Cobb scored him another nearfall.
Ishii dropped Cobb with a forearm to retake control. When Ishii tried to follow up, Cobb answered with a dropkick and F5000 for another nearfall. Cobb then tried for Tour of the Islands, but Ishii slipped free, hitting a rana and a lariat for a convincing false finish.
With the end in sight, Ishii tried for the brainbuster. Cobb slipped free and transitioned into Tour of the Islands. Cobb hit the finisher and pinned Ishii to retain his NJPW World TV Championship.
G1 Climax 34 Format
This year’s G1 will have two blocks, with a total of 20 participants. A tournament will be held to determine the 10th man in each block.
The top three from both A and B blocks will advance to a final bracket, with the points leader advancing straight to the semi-finals.
IWGP Tag Team Title / NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team Title Four Way Elimination Tornado Match: TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste) defeated BULLET CLUB (Chase Owens & KENTA) (c), Guerrillas Of Destiny (El Phantasmo & Hikuleo) (c), & Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI)
The opening minutes of this match featured everyone trying to gain an upper hand. The chaotic opening came to a close once TMDK hit Hikuleo with Tank Buster and pinned him to score the first elimination of the match.
Once GOD was eliminated, Bullet Club took control of the match. They systematically picked apart TMDK and Bishamon with relative ease.
Eventually, Bishamon fired back. Their tandem offense was enough to put Bullet Club on the back foot. Once they had the lead, Bishamon were able to hit Shoto, eliminating Bullet Club.
Once we were down to the final two teams, the intensity increased tenfold. TMDK hit YH with the Power Bottom and Tank Buster, but Goto kicked out of both. In order to close, TMDK hit YH with a super Tank Buster.
For the first time in their careers, TMDK are IWGP champions.
NEVER Openweight Title Match: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. HENARE (Draw)
This match kicked off with an intense, striking battle. Once forearms and kicks proved to be insufficient, the pair turned to headbutts. Once headbutts proved inadequate, they returned to forearms and kicks.
After minutes of back-and-forth striking, Shingo landed a pumping bomber to reset the match. Shingo then worked to maintain his lead with a combination of strikes before attempting Last of the Dragon. Henare avoided the finish, reversing into Streets of Rage.
During Henare’s follow-up, Shingo cut him off with a Last of the Dragon, resetting the match. Shingo and Henare traded more heavy strikes, ending with a leaping headbutt from Henare. This knocked both men to the mat. Neither was able to answer the referee’s count, resulting in a draw.
IWGP World Heavyweight Title Lumberjack Match: Jon Moxley (c) defeated EVIL
This match kicked off with a short brawl on the floor. By the time the action was in the ring, Moxley had a significant lead. Moxley took his time beating down EVIL with next to no challenge until EVIL knocked Moxley to the floor.
Once Moxley was alone on the outside, H.o.T. attacked him, giving EVIL a strong advantage. Back in the ring, EVIL utilized his normal tactics, such as choking Moxley with a shirt, to maintain his lead.
A striking battle let Moxley regain some footing against the challenger. After working EVIL into the corner, Moxley hit him with a piledriver for a two-count. EVIL rolled to the floor to recover, only for Moxley to take him and all of HoT out with a tope.
As soon as it seemed like Moxley got rid of H.o.T., Dick Togo threw a handful of powder into the face of Moxley. EVIL then took Moxley’s head off with a chair before landing a superplex. EVIL then turned to the choke, but Moxley reversed into one of his own.
A mix-up with the referee ended with Moxley eating Darkness Falls. Moxley managed to hold on, securing the Nagata lock. H.o.T. hit the ring to break up the hold, leading to an all-out brawl between the lumberjacks.
EVIL dropped with Moxley with a low blow. This left H.o.T. free to hit Moxley with a triple powerbomb through a table. EVIL then hit Death Rider for a false finish.
After Moxley kicked out of his own finish, he hit EVIL with Everything is Evil. Moxley then grabbed a barbed wire-wrapped bat, which he used to take out all of H.o.T. Once the ring was cleared, Moxley hit EVIL with a cutter, a curb stomp, and a Death Rider on the bat to win the match and retain his belt.
IWGP World Heavyweight Title Lumberjack Match: Jon Moxley (c) defeated EVIL
This match kicked off with a short brawl on the floor. By the time the action was in the ring, Moxley had a significant lead. Moxley took his time beating down EVIL with next to no challenge until EVIL knocked Moxley to the floor.
Once Moxley was alone on the outside, H.o.T. attacked him, giving EVIL a strong advantage. Back in the ring, EVIL utilized his normal tactics, such as choking Moxley with a shirt, to maintain his lead.
A striking battle let Moxley regain some footing against the challenger. After working EVIL into the corner, Moxley hit him with a piledriver for a two-count. EVIL rolled to the floor to recover, only for Moxley to take him and all of HoT out with a tope.
As soon as it seemed like Moxley got rid of H.o.T., Dick Togo threw a handful of powder into the face of Moxley. EVIL then took Moxley’s head off with a chair before landing a superplex. EVIL then turned to the choke, but Moxley reversed into one of his own.
A mix-up with the referee ended with Moxley eating Darkness Falls. Moxley managed to hold on, securing the Nagata lock. H.o.T. hit the ring to break up the hold, leading to an all-out brawl between the lumberjacks.
EVIL dropped with Moxley with a low blow. This left H.o.T. free to hit Moxley with a triple powerbomb through a table. EVIL then hit Death Rider for a false finish.
After Moxley kicked out of his own finish, he hit EVIL with Everything is Evil. Moxley then grabbed a barbed wire-wrapped bat, which he used to take out all of H.o.T. Once the ring was cleared, Moxley hit EVIL with a cutter, a curb stomp, and a Death Rider on the bat to win the match and retain his belt.
After the match, Moxley cut a promo, opening the door for his next challenger. Naito walked out from the back to challenge Moxley for Forbidden Door.
Best Of The Super Junior 31 Final: El Desperado defeated Taiji Ishimori
The opening feeling out process ended with a moonsault from Ishimori to the floor. Back in the ring, Ishimori whipped Desperado into an exposed corner to cement his lead. He then turned his attention to Desperado’s arm, working it over on the mat.
A back suplex and follow-up tope from Desperado left him in a seemingly-strong position, but it didn’t take long for Ishimori to fire back. After landing a sliding German suplex and a facebuster, Ishimori drove Desperado into the exposed corner and his knee.
Desperado caught Ishimori with a spinebuster. This left Desperado free to focus on Ishimori’s leg before locking in the stretch muffler.
Once Ishimori escaped, he floored Desperado with a destroyer for a match reset. After a short scramble, Ishimori bumped the referee, delivered a low blow, and nearly stole the win with a Gedo clutch. Desperado fired back with a strike, knocking Ishimori to the mat. A back-and-forth forearm exchange followed.
Desperado landed a spear and Pinche Loco for a nearfall. After Ishimori kicked out, he landed a reverse Bloody Sunday for a nearfall of his own. Ishimori tried to follow up with a Bloody Cross, but Desperado pushed him into the exposed corner.
With the end in sight, Desperado landed a snug tiger driver. He then transitioned into Pinche Loco. After hitting Pinche Loco, Desperado pinned Ishimori, winning the match and Best of Super Junior 31.
After the match, SHO came to face the winner. After a bit of back-and-forth, Desperado challenged SHO to make their title bout a steel cage match.
