NJPW Dominion 2025 Preview: Tsuji vs. Kidd, Goto’s Title Defense & Takeshita’s NEVER Run

Peter Klein

NJPW Dominion hits Osaka Jo-Hall with a stacked card—we break down Yota Tsuji’s high-stakes Global title defense against Gabe Kidd, Hirooki Goto’s World Heavyweight battle with Shingo Takagi, and Konosuke Takeshita’s NEVER Openweight challenge against Boltin Oleg. Plus: Why this show is critical for New Japan’s rebuilding era.    🔥 Key matches:   - David Finlay vs. EVIL (Dog Collar Deathmatch)   - Tanahashi vs. Uemura (Passing the Torch?)   - Junior Tag Titles: Yoh/Wato vs. House of Torture    #NJPWDominion #NJPW #ProWrestling #TsujiVsKidd #IWGP, #JapaneseWrestling, #WrestlingAnalysis, #GlobalTitle    🔗 Stay Connected & Support the Show Tip → https://streamelements.com/couchpotatodiary/tip 🎧 Listen & Subscribe:  Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/couch-potato-diary/id1564122189  Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/3QgazeHcSKSteZbBIubcuM 🧠 Partners & Promos:  C of Dead Apparel → https://www.cofdead403.ca/  Swift Energy → https://www.swiftenergy.gg/?ref=mriusnqm  🎁 Use Promo Code: PKPrimetime for 25% off! 📲 Follow Me:  Twitter (X) → https://x.com/primetimeklein  Instagram → https://instagram.com/primetimeklein  Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/Couchpotatodiary  Twitch → https://twitch.tv/primetimepk 📬 Business Inquiries & Fan Mail:  Email → couchpotatodiary@yahoo.com

Transcript

00:00So, while North America is really popping off, New Japan Pro Wrestling is in a bit of a filthy role right now.

00:19Let's take a look at New Japan Dominion. This one's coming to you from Osaka-Jo Hall.

00:24Coming up very late tonight, early tomorrow morning for those of us here in North America.

00:31Let's just run through this card here right now.

00:33Again, a reminder for those of you who are watching on YouTube and on Dailymotion.

00:38This one is available now for podcast listeners exclusively on the Living Room Lariat podcast.

00:46That is going to be a podcast that is an accumulation of all the wrestling content from Couch Potato throughout the week with a few originals.

00:53Much like this. So, that's where a lot of New Japan TNA type of breakdowns are going to live.

00:58So, Living Room Lariat definitely going to be for the hardcore wrestling fans out there.

01:03So, let's dive right in.

01:04You have the Bullet Club War Dogs.

01:08Drilla Maloney, Clark Connors, Taiji Ishimori, and Chase Owens taking on House of Torture.

01:12Sonata, Ren Narita, Yujiro Takahashi, and an opponent to be determined.

01:17I'm happy we are getting this out of the way early, which I can't believe I am saying about a match that features Taiji Ishimori and Sonata.

01:24But I, like everyone, have been over the Bullet Club stuff for a very, very long time.

01:29And this Bullet Club Civil War, neat, is the extent of what I feel of that. Neat. Let's move on.

01:38You have El Phantasmo and Shota Umino with Jato taking on TMDK's Zack Sabre Jr.

01:43and Ryoye Iwa with Hartley Jackson in a tag team bout.

01:48On the one hand, it is interesting that Umino is going from main eventing Tokyo Dome to second on the card.

01:56But a few intriguing pieces in this with El Phantasmo, who has the amazing moment at Wrestle Kingdom,

02:04and Zack Sabre Jr., the former champion, Oiwa, who is one of the up-and-comers that this company is very excited about.

02:13And so, it's a good spotlight still. Umino is obviously still a very polarizing figure when it comes to this company.

02:20I think that he is one that the company still has very high hopes for, but it just, it hasn't clicked at all.

02:26And I think a lot of that is on how they used him. I think a lot of that is on the performer.

02:30So, there's a lot of high-level talent around him in this match. He has a lot to live up to getting into it.

02:37You have Hiroshi Tanahashi taking on Yuya Uimura in a singles bout.

02:44Sorry for the pronunciations here, folks. I'm a bit out of practice saying a lot of these names.

02:48Haven't talked as much New Japan on the show this year as I would like.

02:51Tanahashi continues the retirement tour. It's a match, an elevating opportunity here for Uimura,

02:57who is, again, another one of those young pillars that this company wants to build up on.

03:02This is a company in a rebuilding time, you know?

03:04Like, obviously, they lose Okada and Ospreay, and I don't think they were anticipating that.

03:10Naito, I think, very clearly showed at Wrestle Kingdom that his best work is behind him,

03:16and now he's just gone from the company along with Bushi.

03:18Like, there is now a real need to build up stars in a way that this company just hadn't before.

03:25And so now for Tanahashi in his final year to try to give at least a bit of that rub to Yuya Uimura is interesting.

03:32It does feel like a little bit too little too late, but I think it's going to be an interesting match.

03:37The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles on the line as Yo and Master Wado

03:43defend the titles against Sho and Yoshinobu Kanemura from House of Torture.

03:48Yo and Master Wado, it's a fun tag team.

03:52I want more for Sho, obviously.

03:56We talked before about where I'm at with House of Torture.

04:00Not positive.

04:01So I would like more coming out of that.

04:03And I certainly would like more for a Master Wado.

04:07I think that the gimmick has ran its course a little bit,

04:11and I think with something a little bit more serious, there is star potential in Master Wado

04:15because he has really developed into a phenomenal in-ring performer.

04:18And I think Yo is very good as well.

04:20There's a lot of talent here right now as they build up the Junior Heavyweight Tag Team division.

04:25The IWGP Tag Team titles on the line with the United Empire of Great Okan and Callum Newman

04:30defending against Tomohiro Ishii and Taichi in what is a tag team that I never thought I would see

04:37and I am so endlessly fascinated by.

04:40I think this match is going to be great.

04:41I think the world of Great Okan as a performer, Ishii, is obviously one of the greats of all time.

04:48And Taichi is just fun.

04:51And Callum Newman is very, very strong as well.

04:52This is going to be a very fun match.

04:55And that is one thing here with New Japan is the stars have not been built up in time

05:00to kind of keep the role going that they had.

05:02So they did have to take a step back.

05:04But there is still a lot of very, very talented wrestlers in this company to build on.

05:11And I think that is something they maybe need to get back to is being that high work rate,

05:15strong style type of a company.

05:16Not that they've fully gone away from that.

05:19You still need the star power to go with it.

05:21Like there was an aura to Shinsuke.

05:22There was an aura of Tanahashi.

05:24There was an aura to Okada.

05:26There isn't as much to a Great Okan or a Taichi.

05:29But you still have the high level wrestling with this company to build off of.

05:33And I would just like to see them get a little bit more out of that.

05:38Konosuke Takeshita.

05:39Holy cow.

05:40Tongue not helping me out on this one.

05:42That's what I've said before.

05:44Konosuke Takeshita taking on Bolton Oleg for the Never Openweight Championship.

05:47Takeshita, you talk about potential aura and star power.

05:51This guy has all of it.

05:53He is phenomenal in ring.

05:55He has every bit of the aura to back it all up.

05:58Bolton Oleg I thought was a real star.

06:00Not star, but a real project for them to work on coming out of Wrestle Kingdom and Dynasty

06:09and New Year's Dash and all of that.

06:12And so this is a really fascinating match for me.

06:16If Takeshita isn't going to be doing a whole lot in New Japan as he's off in AEW right now,

06:22then maybe you just kind of let Oleg have this and have it be a big moment for him.

06:27But this is one of the things we talk about with the partnership.

06:29There isn't a whole lot for Takeshita right now as AEW is building up towards all in.

06:35So let this guy have an extended run here in New Japan.

06:40He went off and got married.

06:42Let him go hang out in New Japan for a little bit and continue that run and continue to be a star

06:47and stay active in that way.

06:49David Finley against Evil in a dog collar chain deathmatch.

06:56This will have all of the violence.

06:58And man, again, it's the Bullet Club thing that I just can't with.

07:02I was so interested in Evil when they made the turn.

07:07They gave him the championship.

07:09I know a lot of people were a little sour on that.

07:11I was with it.

07:11I thought the character was amazing.

07:13And I thought it fit all that perfectly.

07:15I was like, this is going to be a great, great thing.

07:17And just the way they have done it and the way they have turned it into like it has become

07:23a descriptor for bad interference is just, oh, this is a House of Torture match.

07:28Like they have become a way to describe something that is not good.

07:32That feels like a miss from this company with him.

07:35David Finley, I will admit, I didn't see it with this guy at first, but he has elevated

07:40himself to a level I didn't think he could get to.

07:42So like, do I see this guy being at the same level of an Omega and AJ Styles or any of those

07:48guys as the leader of the Bullet Club or anything like that?

07:52I do not.

07:53But has he already gotten to a level that I didn't think he could get to?

07:56Yes, he has.

07:57So maybe there is a little bit more for him.

07:59I imagine he gets the win in this.

08:01Yonah Tsuji taking on Gabe Kidd for the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship.

08:05I think like of all the pillars that they're building around right now, I think Tsuji's the

08:09one.

08:09I think there is so much with this guy.

08:12The look, he's got the character down.

08:14I think the in-ring is obviously there.

08:17Going up against Gabe Kidd, who is having a breakout year of his own, and now he is getting

08:21some opportunities with AEW.

08:23He has stated he is New Japan, like for life.

08:27We will see.

08:28I think if he gets this belt here, then there is certainly an aspect of that.

08:32If he doesn't, then it does make you wonder if we're going to be getting the All Elite

08:36graphic sometime soon.

08:37And in the main event, it is Hiroki Goto taking on Shingo Takagi for the IWGP World

08:43Heavyweight Championship.

08:45I am forever a fan of Shingo Takagi.

08:48I think he is one of the better performers in the world.

08:51I think you talk about it factor, the way he carries himself, the character, all of it.

08:56The in-ring is excellent.

08:58I think this is going to be a hard-hitting, fantastic match with him and Goto.

09:02I love Goto as the champion currently.

09:05I think when you are looking to build up this new era of New Japan, we talked about it on

09:10the Wrestle Kingdom breakdown.

09:12But this is a guy who, he is not like a new wave.

09:16But he never got this opportunity before.

09:19So it still feels new.

09:21It still feels fresh.

09:22Even though he is 40 and not a young up-and-coming prospect, this feels different.

09:28This feels new.

09:29This feels exciting.

09:30Takagi has had the belt before.

09:32And I think it might be a little quick to make that turn with Goto giving the belt off

09:36to Shingo.

09:37Although again, like it has, like it's January now.

09:39So it's been six months.

09:40But it just, or I guess it wasn't.

09:41It wasn't Wrestle Kingdom.

09:42Sorry.

09:42It was the next one after that.

09:45Sorry.

09:45New beginning.

09:45That he gets the belt at.

09:47So it still feels a little bit quick to do this.

09:50If you put it on Shingo, you are never going to get an argument from me.

09:53But I think Goto does get the win here.

09:54So my predictions for this, Bullet Club War Dogs gets the win in the tag match.

10:00Sure.

10:00I think that TMDK probably get the win over Phantasmo and Shota Umino.

10:05Uemura probably gets the win over Hiroshi Tanahashi.

10:08I will say House of Torture does not get the tag team belts in the junior division.

10:14So I will say Yeo and Master Watto retain.

10:19There's just something about Ishii and Taichi that has me thinking they're going to, you

10:23know what, final change.

10:24New tag team champions.

10:25We'll predict it with Ishii and Taichi.

10:29I think Bolton Oleg does get the Never Openweight Championship.

10:32We will have David Finley really finish off the House of Torture thing in the dog collar

10:37match.

10:37I will say that Yodosuji retains the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship, and I think

10:43Goto retains the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.

10:47So that is the preview for Dominion at Osaka Joe Hall.

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