We have reached NJPW Dominion 2024, today the winner of Best of the Super Junior 31 will be decided.
It was a loaded card from top to bottom, some of the highlights include Great-O-Khan becoming the new provisional KOPW Champion, Los Ingobernables de Japon winning the Never Openweight Six Man Tag Team titles and TMDK taking home all the tag gold.
In the co-main event, Jon Moxley continued his IWGP World Heavyweight Championship reign by taking down another member of House of Torture, EVIL.
Then it all came down to the Best of the Super Junior 31 finals, in a grueling match El Desperado defeated Taiji Ishimori to become this year’s winner.
The match began with some chain wrestling until Ishimori sent Desperado to the floor with a hurricanrana and he followed that with a diving moonsault. He drove Desperado head-first into the ring post and threw him into an exposed turnbuckle. Ishimori now turned his attention to Desperado’s left arm, wrenching at the arm and locking in a submission. Desperado battled out of the holds by getting to the ropes, but Ishimori then drove the injured arm into the exposed turnbuckle. Ishimori next went for a back handspring, but he was caught in mid-air with a back suplex from Desperado.
Ishimori focuses on the arm. Credit: NJPW
That sent Ishimori out of the ring and Desperado dove through the ropes with a flipping suicide dive. Desperado followed that with a vertical suplex and a hurricanrana, but he then got hung on the ropes and Ishimori dropped him with a sliding German suplex. Ishimori now hit Depserado with the Cipher and went for the double knees, but Desperado moved out of the way and dropped him with a back suplex. However, Desperado could not gain control as Ishimori went back after Desperado’s arm as he delivered a shoulder breaker.
He continued with a poisonrana, but Desperado quickly responded with a spine buster. Desperado now attempted an Irish whip and Ishimori bounced off the ropes with a back handspring into an enzigiri. Ishimori then went back after Desperado’s arm as he snapped it back before hitting Mistica and locking in the Bone Lock. Against the odds, Desperado rolled out of the hold and locked Ishimori into Numero Dos. However, Ishimori battled his way out and spiked Desperado with the Canadian Destroyer.
Ishimori now pushed the referee so he would not see him low blow Desperado, but that was not enough to steal a win and Desperado then delivered a right hook. Both men now stood in the middle of the ring trading forearms and it was Desperado delivering the deciding forearm, but he then ran into a stiff knee from Ishimori. As both men got back up Desperado delivered an Olympic Slam and a spear before finally hitting Pinche Loco, but Ishimori somehow kicked out at two.
Pinche Loco. Credit: NJPW
He went for a second Pinche Loco, but it was reversed into a new move from Ishimori, an almost twisting GTS and he followed that with a Reverse Bloody Sunday. Ishimori now wanted the Bloody Cross, but Desperado pushed him into the exposed turnbuckle and hit a reverse Tiger Driver. Desperado now hit a second Pinche Loco to get the victory and be crowned the Best of the Super Juniors 31 victor!
NJPW Dominion-Best of the Super Junior Final Results
Tetsuya Naito vs. Callum Newman
Naito connected with plenty of elbows before hitting Destino for the win.
Winner: Tetsuya Naito
TMDK (Kosei Fujita, Robbie Eagles & Zack Sabre Jr.) vs. Bullet Club War Dogs (Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney) & LJ Cleary
Sabre dropped Cleary with a German suplex, hit a PK and then finished him off with the Zack Driver.
Winners: TMDK (Kosei Fujita, Robbie Eagles & Zack Sabre Jr.)
NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling Championship Storm Catch Rules Match: Yuya Uemura (c) vs. Great-O-Khan
Great-O-Khan is the KOPW Champion. Credit: NJPW
One of the special rules included in this match was that there were no rope breaks allowed, if either man grabbed the ropes they would be disqualified. O-Khan took advantage of that by dropping Uemura on his neck with the GFO and a Super Eliminator to win the title.
Winner: NEW KOPW Provisional Champion, Great-O-Khan
Never Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano (c) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Yota Tsuji)
LIJ get some new gold. Credit: NJPW
Tsuji reversed the High Fly Flow by rolling out of the way and as Tanahashi got back to his feet he was split in half with a Gene Blaster from Tsuji. LIJ are the new Six Man Tag Champs!
Winners: NEW Never Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champions, Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Yota Tsuji)
NJPW World Television Championship Match: Jeff Cobb (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Cobb overcomes Ishii. Credit: NJPW
Ishii caught Cobb with a headbutt, a hurricanrana and then turned him inside-out with a clothesline. However, Cobb reversed the Brainbuster into a pop-up Tour of the Islands to retain his title.
Winner: Still NJPW World Television Champion, Jeff Cobb
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship/NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championship Four Way Elimination Tornado Match: Bullet Club (Chase Owens & KENTA) (IWGP c) vs. Guerrillas of Destiny (El Phantasmo & Hikuleo) (STRONG c) vs. TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste) vs. Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI)
TMDK win all the gold. Credit: NJPW
TMDK earned the first elimination of the match when ELP accidentally hit Hikuleo with Sudden Death and TMDK followed that with a Tankbuster to eliminate GoD. That was one set of champions gone and the other were next to go when Bishamon eliminated Bullet Club by hitting Owens with Shoto. We were down to two teams and TMDK capitalized on this opportunity when they dropped HASHI with a diving Tankbuster to win the titles!
Winners: NEW IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions & NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team Champions, TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste)
Never Openweight Championship Match: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. HENARE
Double knockout. Credit: NJPW
This was a war between two of the strongest men in NJPW, but unfortunately, no winner would be crowned today. Both men stood in the middle of the ring trading forearms, lariats and headbutts until they took each other out and both men laid out on the mat. Neither man could make it back to their feet and the referee called the match a draw due to a double knockout.
Winner: Double Knockout Draw
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Lumberjack Match: Jon Moxley (c) vs. EVIL
Mox is still on top. Credit: NJPW
With the lumberjack rules, House of Torture had plenty of interference, so to even the odds, Moxley took out the faction with a barbed wire-wrapped bat. He then used that same bat on EVIL since the referee was down and he finished that attack off by dropping EVIL with a Death Rider onto that bat to retain his title.