NJPW Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall results: Hiromu Takahashi squeaks by Master Wato

Hiromu Takahashi had just enough to retain his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Master Wato at NJPW Dominion 6.4.

Carrying his Best of Super Juniors trophy, Master Wato heads down the ramp first. The English announce team reminds viewers of how Wato made his debut during the pandemic and finally has a chance to make it to the top of the mountain tonight. Hiromu Takahashi makes his entrance next as only he can.

Wato hears the cheers from his hometown fans as the bell rings, bringing a wry smile from Hiromu. He gets the better of the early exchanges, but the champ drags him to the floor and hammers him into the barricades several times. A dropkick off the apron sends Wato through the gate, and Hiromu brings him back in the ring to cover for a quick two.

Chops and a corner charge set up a low dropkick for Takahashi. He brings Wato up the ramp in the fireman’s carry position, then suplexes him on the ramp. The ref orders them back to the ring, then starts a count for Wato. Hiromu is amused as Wato rolls himself back down the ramp to help him get back there quicker and beats the 20 counts.

Wato retaliates with a dropkick to compose himself, then hits a nice tope con hilo to the outside. A bulldog follows, and he covers for a two count. They roll around on the floor until Hiromu can force a rope break.

A short series of counters ends with a falcon arrow for Hiromu. He picks up Wato and smashes him into the corner pad, but gets countered on the mat with a lot of pressure on his neck. Takahashi has to scoot forward on his backside to get his legs to the ropes for a break.

Hiromu gets in trouble on the apron, and ends up on the floor where he is a sitting duck for a torneo, Wato tries to come off the top rope but is countered and hits the mat hard.

It takes some doing, but Hiromu scores a near fall with the Dynamite Plunger. He connects with a clothesline, but his Time Bomb II is countered and leaves Wato looking for the RPP. Hiromu meets him in the corner and they battle back to the center of the ring. Wato hits Recientemente and gets another near fall.

A big German suplex and a bridge force Takahashi to kick out, then he nerly gets rolled up. Wato switches to Vendaval, and Hiromu looks like he’s fading but manages to hang in there. He’s not tapping out, and he summons up all the strength he has left to get his foot on the middle rope for a break.

Wato’s waistlock forces a series of elbows from the champ, who finds the mark with a series of kicks and a big lariat. Wato hits a spinning kick to the head and hits the Tsutenkaku German for two. Hiromu nearly rolls him up for the win, then hits a pair of kicks but can’t hit Time Bomb II. He hits the original Time Bomb instead, and that’s not enough to win it.

The fans are louder now as they get behind Wato. But the Time Bomb II is on the mark, and the hometown challenger goes down to defeat.

Click here for full NJPW Dominion 6.4 results from Osaka.

Two title matches confirmed for Wrestle Kingdom 17

Participants from the first two of many title matches for Wrestle Kingdom 17 had their say.

With Wrestle Kingdom 17 once again looming as the biggest show of the NJPW calendar year on Jan. 4, there are guaranteed to be a number of title matches. Thanks to a press conference held late Monday night, U.S. time, we officially know what two of them will be.

In what figures to be the show’s main event, IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Jay White will defend his title against Kazuchika Okada. It will be the latest in an interesting series of singles matches between the two that has seen White take four victories in five meetings, even when Okada was the unquestioned top star in the promotion.

They’ve met twice before for the world championship, with Okada beating White at ROH/NJPW G1 SuperCard in 2019 and White returning the favor at NJPW Dominion 6.12 In Osaka-Jo Hall earlier this year. White then successfully held off Okada, Adam Cole and Hangman Adam Page in a four-way match to retain the title at Forbidden Door, the crossover event with AEW in Chicago.

Okada secured his spot for Wrestle Kingdom in August, pinning Will Ospreay in the G1 Climax final. Yet he didn’t know who he’d face until this week, when White turned back Tama Tonga in an IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match. At the press conference, White seemed annoyed that Okada didn’t have the same stakes in his match with JONAH.

“I’m still confused as to why his match against the monster JONAH, why that wasn’t for the right to challenge me at Wrestle Kingdom,” White said. “It doesn’t make sense to me, but then I’m not surprised, or shocked because of course this man is going to get that treatment.”

The other Wrestle Kingdom 17 match made official was a four-way bout for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship that will see champion Taiji Ishimori try to retain against Hiromu Takahashi, El Desperado and Master Wato.

The junior heavyweights’ portion of the press conference was a bit wilder, with Hiromu passing out a flier he made for a proposed “Miyakojima tour” for the four combatants, as well as confusion over the actual rules of the four-way.

“When we’ve done tag team three ways and four ways there’s always been tags and two guys in,” El Desperado said.

“This is singles, so it’s got nothing to do with it,” Hiromu replied. “Five years ago when I had a four-way, everyone was all over the place.”

They also bickered a bit over a Nov. 5 show in Osaka where the four of them will be in a tag team match with the sides decided by random draw. No one seemed eager to tag up with anyone else, and Wato ended up posing for photos intended for the whole group by himself.

Wrestle Kingdom 17 is set for the Tokyo Dome on Jan. 4, returning to a single-night event for the first time since 2019. Other matches already expected to be confirmed will be the final bout in a tournament to determine the inaugural NJPW World Television Championship, as well as an IWGP Women’s Championship match after that title is first awarded at the Historic X-Over show on Nov. 20.