NJPW Road to Dominion results: NEVER Six-Man title match
NJPW’s Road to Dominion tour continued today with a show in Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.
The NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championships were on the line in the main event as Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI of CHAOS defended against Tetsuya Naito, SANADA and BUSHI of Los Ingobernables de Japon.
Below are results and a report on today’s show.
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Recommended matches —
- NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship: Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI
- Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan vs. Kota Ibushi & Master Wato (at least the post-match angle)
Report —
EVIL, Chase Owens, Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo (w/Dick Togo) Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomoaki Honma, Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura (11:47)
This was a fun opener. Lots of action and everyone worked hard.
EVIL and Uemura started off. Uemura out-wrestled EVIL, then tagged Honma. Honma tagged in and was cut off right away. EVIL hit a senton. Owens tagged in to continue the attack. Honma hit a back elbow and tagged Tsuji.
Tsuji hit Owens with a senton. He went for a splash, but Owens got his knees up. While the other six guys brawled on the floor, Owens worked on Tsuji in the ring. Tsuji got tossed outside and hit with a Togo right hand.
ELP tagged in for some break dancing and comedy offense. Ishimori tagged in and continued with back rakes on Tsuji. Owens tagged in. He hit a pump kick. Tsuji came back with a suplex, then tagged Tanahashi.
Tana hit a jumping forearm to Owens, cleared the Bullet Club apron, then hit a baseball slide to Togo. Tana hit Owens with a dragon screw. He went for his Texas Clover Hold. He got it applied. ELP tried to break it up, but Honma intercepted him. EVIL jumped in to break it up.
Owens blocked a slingblade attempt and hit a jewel heist. Ishimori got a tag. Tana blocked a handspring kick and hit twist and shout.
Uemura tagged in and hit a running forearm and a back suplex for two. He went for an overhook suplex, but ELP jumped in to break it up. Uemura avoided an airplane spin neckbreaker. He went for a crab, but Ishimori blocked.
Ishimori then connected with the Bloody Cross for the pin.
YOH, SHO & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI (10:48)
This was good. I expect YOH and Desperado to have a great match on Monday. Desperado really upped his game at the end of 2020 and has been very good this year.
YOH and Desperado began with a striking battle. Suzuki-gun turned it into a ringside brawl and cut SHO off. It was his role again tonight to sell most of the way. He came back with a spear to Kanemaru and Taguchi got a hot tag.
Taguchi ran wild with hip attacks. He used three amigos to set up an ankle lock. Taguchi gave up the hold and went for Dodon, but Kanemaru blocked. Taguchi hit a hip attack, then missed a bumaye.
YOH and Desperado tagged back in. YOH hit a flying forearm, then used a neckbreaker for a two count. Desperado blocked Direct Drive with a hair pull. YOH hit a jumping knee. Desperado countered with a spinebuster, then tagged DOUKI.
DOUKI, Kanemaru and Desperado tripled up on YOH. DOUKI hit a springboard double stomp for a near fall. He used a triangle, but SHO saved. Kanemaru took out SHO. Taguchi took out Kanemaru. Desperado took Taguchi out with a spear. YOH hit a dropkick to Desperado.
YOH blocked DOUKI’s Suplex de la Luna, then used the Stargazer calf killer for the submission.
YOH and Desperado faced off after the match. Desperado pie-faced YOH, but there was no physicality in the angle besides that.
Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & Minoru Suzuki defeated Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Gedo (2:24)
They couldn’t top their effort last night, so they didn’t even try.
Bullet Club jumped Suzuki-gun in the ring before Taichi’s song had finished playing. They fought around the ring on the outside. Sabre was briefly cut off in the ring.
Tonga and Loa went for a Magic Killer on Sabre. Suzuki and Taichi saved. Sabre used a neck crank and a Clarky Cat to quickly submit Gedo.
***** Intermission *****
Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan defeated Kota Ibushi & Master Wato (9:07)
O-Khan tried a sneak attack before the bell. Ibushi fought it off and landed a flying mid kick. Wato tagged in, but O-Khan came back on him with an elbow and Mongolian chops. O-Khan and Cobb traded tags and continued beating down Master Wato.
Wato managed a dropkick and a reverse bulldog. Cobb and Ibushi got tags for a crazy sequence. Ibushi blocked a pop-up powerslam with a hurricanrana. Cobb did some of his impressive power spots and landed a deadlift throw out of the corner. Cobb landed another huge slam and tagged out. That spot was ugly.
O-Khan tied Ibushi to the tree of woe. He missed a basement dropkick. Ibushi popped up to the top rope and hit a double stomp. Wato tagged in and hit O-Khan with a springboard uppercut forearm and a dreamcast for a near fall.
Wato used a rolling heel hook, but Cobb broke it up. Cobb just started throwing Wato and Ibushi around. Cobb used a spinebuster on Wato.
O-Khan used the iron claw to set up the Eliminator on Wato for the pin.
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Ibushi and Cobb had a wild brawl after the match. Tsuji and Uemura jumped in to try to pull them apart. Just when you thought it was over, one of them would break free and the brawl would start all over again. They fought in the ring, then all around the arena.
This was intense and awesome, a great angle.
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NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship: Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI to retain the titles (31:15)
This was an excellent six-man. The first ten minutes were slow, but they had to go quite a long time and that’s to be expected.
Goto pinned SANADA in a tag yesterday, so those two began here. SANADA broke cleanly off the opening lock-up. They briefly grappled to a stalemate.
Naito tagged in and demanded Ishii. Ishii tagged in, then Naito immediately tagged out to BUSHI. Ishii tried to go after Naito on the apron. As soon as Ishii turned his back, Naito jumped him. LIJ tried a 3-on-1 attack, but Goto and YH saved. CHAOS then went 3-on-1 against BUSHI.
BUSHI found himself isolated in the CHAOS half of the ring. YH tagged in for some chops. Goto tagged in and the pace slowed. YH tagged back in for a vertical suplex. They were pacing themselves to go a long time.
Naito grabbed YH from the apron and turned the tide in LIJ’s favor. A brawl broke out on the arena floor between Ishii and Naito. Naito used a kravate over the barricade. YH was then isolated in LIJ’s half of the ring. Ishii and Goto tried to make saves, but Naito and SANADA sent them to the outside.
YH came back with a headhunter to Naito. Ishii got a tag and beat up all three members of LIJ on his own. Naito was the legal man. Ishii hit a back suplex for a near fall. Naito and Ishii had a crazy striking battle in the middle of the ring. Ishii got the better of the strikes. Naito hit a back elbow and sliding dropkick at the 15 minute call.
SANADA tagged in for a cool sequence with Ishii. Ishii worked for a German suplex. SANADA avoided it once. Ishii got it on the second attempt. Goto tagged in and dispatched an interfering BUSHI, then hit a wheel kick in the corner on SANADA for a two count.
Goto teased an ushigoroshi, but SANADA blocked. SANADA took his corner flip bump and hit Goto with an atomic drop. SANADA put Goto in the paradise lock, then broke it with a dropkick. BUSHI and SANADA cleared the CHAOS apron. Goto avoided a TKO and grabbed a sleeper hold. Goto used the sleeper to set up the rolling cradle he won with yesterday, but SANADA kicked out.
Goto and YH doubled SANADA up and used the finish from yesterday for a near fall, with Naito making the save for SANADA. SANADA kicked at Goto’s spine. SANADA tried an O’Connor roll, but Goto blocked with a kick to the spine. SANADA hit a TKO into a double down.
YH and BUSHI got tags. BUSHI hit a missile dropkick and a tope suicida. All six guys were down and out on the floor just past the 20 minute mark.
Back inside, BUSHI used a DDT for a two count. CHAOS went 3-on-1 against BUSHI. Naito saved BUSHI from a headhunter. Naito hit Ishii with a dropkick off a BUSHI sunset flip. LIJ went 3-on-1 against YH. BUSHI hit a swinging neckbreaker for a two count.
BUSHI missed an MX. Everyone jumped in and hit each other with a big move. Goto hit BUSHI with an ushigoroshi. YH hit a meteora for a two count.
YH locked BUSHI in the Butterfly Lock at the 25 minute call. YH rolled through and hit a sit-out powerbomb for a two count. BUSHI blocked Kharma and rolled YH up for two.
Ishii and Naito jumped in and teased their finishers on each other. Naito blocked a brainbuster with a DDT. Ishii no-sold it. Naito hit a flying forearm. BUSHI hit YH with a codebreaker and an MX. Goto jumped in to break it up. SANADA hit a plancha to Goto.
BUSHI tried the MX again, but jumped off the ropes into a YH lariat. BUSHI went for a tag to SANADA, but Goto pulled SANADA off the apron. Ishii and Goto went for stereo ushigoroshis on Naito and SANADA, but they blocked. BUSHI used the BUSHI roll on YH for a super near fall. BUSHI and YH traded kicks. YH hit a lariat for a near fall at 30 minutes in.
YH went for Kharma. BUSHI tried to turn it into a codebreaker, but YH got him in the Butterfly Lock. Naito tried to save, but Ishii caught him in a heel hook. BUSHI verbally submitted or the referee called for the stoppage with the Butterfly Lock still locked in.
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Naito and Ishii stared each other down after the match. The best part of all of this is that it looks like a Naito-Ishii singles match will happen at Dominion if they ever get around to announcing a card.
YOSHI-HASHI cut a quick promo and the champs posed with their titles to close the show.
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Here is the announced lineup for Dominion. More matches will be announced at a later date:
NJPW Dominion, Monday, June 7, 5 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
- IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada vs. Shingo Takagi
- IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: El Desperado (c) vs. YOH
- Kota Ibushi vs. Jeff Cobb