SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
NJPW DOMINION REPORT
JUNE 14, 2026
OSAKA-JO HALL
OSAKA, JAPAN
AIRED LIVE ON NJPW WORLD
Announcers: Walker Stewart and Chris Charlton.
Sanada had a cool entrance where people came out dressed like him from different eras of his character holding different titles. Eight total versions of Sanada came out. The real Sanada came out wearing a clown mask and underneath it was a Sanada mask. Smoke went up and when it stopped, Sanada appeared dressed in red. He came out with the NJPW World TV Championship that had been stolen from Konosuke Takeshita.
(1) KONOSUKE TAKESHITA vs. SANADA – NJPW World TV Championship match
They wrestled at a brisk pace during the early going. Sanada hit a shining wizard and the Muta Moonsault, but Takeshita kicked out at one. Sanada sold his injured shoulder after hitting the moonsault. He ended up baiting Takeshita into thinking he was injured and he rolled him up by surprise for a nearfall. Sanada shoved Takeshita into the ref. He then went under the ring and sprayed something into Takeshita’s eyes.
The fans booed Sanada. Sanada got a guitar and smashed it over Takeshita’s head. The guitar didn’t give at all. Sanada revived the ref and Takeshita kicked out at the very last second. They traded counters and Takeshita got a rollup for a nearfall. He ducked a shining wizard and hit a power drive knee on Sanada. They traded counters again and Takeshita hit raging fire for the win.
WINNER: Takeshita at 8:24 to retain the NJPW World TV Championship. (**¾)
(Radican’s Analysis: Sanada had a cool entrance, but it was more of the same for him in the ring minus the red hair and gear. Sanada wrestled like he was still in House of Torture as well. This was not the fresh start I was hoping for with Sanada, who had been out of action for most of 2026.)
(2) EL PHANTASMO vs. JAKE LEE – NO DQ
ELP threw a bunch of plunder into the ring while he was making his entrance. They had a chair battle during the early going and ELP got the better of Lee. ELP hit a slingshot splash to the outside a short time later. The announcers said ELP might have come back too early from a cancer scare, but he had gotten his body and mind right during his recent time away from NJPW. ELP set up a ladder outside the ring and climbed to the top for a splash onto Lee. ELP ended up playing air guitar for too long back inside the ring and Lee wiped him out from behind. Lee then got an air guitar of his own and played while doing the Pennywise emote.
Lee put on his glove to give ELP his mouth check. Lee went after Jado, who was at ringside. ELP set up a big chair structure, but Lee managed to escape a cross face by biting his fingers. He then gave him a Rock Bottom style slam through the chair structure. Jado gave ELP a metal plate to load his boot for Sudden Death. He took so long that Lee nailed him with a running kick. He then choked him out with a front neck lock.
WINNER: Jake Lee at 9:40. (*½)
(Radican’s Analysis: They went for a mix of comedy and action here and didn’t succeed. I don’t know why the match was designed to make ELP look so bad, but he was constantly distracted during the match whether it was playing air guitar or taking too much time to put the loaded pad into his booth for Sudden Death. The booking made him look stupid and Lee capitalized and got a shockingly easy win in the end. This was a bit of a mess.)
(3) YUYA UEMURA & TAICHI VS. TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr. & Ryohei Oiwa)
This match featured some solid action, but was a bit of a letdown given that it wasn’t given enough time to amount to much. Oiwa had a headlock on Taichi and really cranked it on the mat. Sabre had Uemura in an anklelock on the floor. Taichi teased Black Mephisto, so Oiwa went for a sunset flip. Taichi then sat down on Oiwa and got a flash pin for the win.
WINNERS: TMDK at 13:15. (***1/4)
(Radican’s Analysis: This was a solid match. It felt like it was just getting going when it ended. That being said the action was good while it lasted.)
(4) EL DESPERADO vs. MISTICO
The announcers talked about this being a dream match between the current IWGP Jr. Hvt. Tag Team Champions. They had a fast exchange early and then traded dives to the outside. Desperado went after Mistico’s mask inside the ring, but did not remove it. Desperado got the better of the action with some striking, but Mistico used his athleticism to mount a comeback. He sent Desperado to the floor again and wiped him out with a torneo.
Mistico went up top for a moonsault, but missed. He landed on his feet only to eat a spear from Desperado for a two count. They went at it up top and Mistico hit a super one man Spanish Fly for a nearfall. Mistico set up Desperado on the ropes and then he went up top and hit a jumping hurricanrana for a nearfall. WOW! Mistico missed a springboard senton a short time later. Desperado then applied Numero Dos and Mistico quickly tapped out.
The announcers mentioned Mistico had been injured recently and that might have played into the quick tap. They teased some tension between the two after the match, but they ended up shaking hands and hugging.
WINNER: El Desperado at 9:34 via submission. (**¾)
(Radican’s Analysis: This was just getting going when it abruptly ended. It seems like the undercard matches are going shorter, so I’m guessing that means the matches on the second half of the card will get a lot of time. Mistico doesn’t lose a lot, so this was a bit of a surprise result. Although the announcers played up Mistico might still be feeling the linger effects of an injury, he moved quite well during the match)
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
Check out the latest episode of “Worse or Better” with Stephanie Chase and Josh White, part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “pwtorch” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
A video package played for G1 Climax 36. It showed 10 men in each block with question marks representing a spot in the field. The blocks were then revealed for G1 as follows:
A block: Konosuke Takeshita, Yota Tsuji, Sanada, Shingo Takagi, Jake Lee, Boltin Oleg, Hirooki Goto
B block: Callium Newman, Zack Sabre Jr., Shota Umino, Yuya Uemura, Ren Narita, Drilla Maloney, Gabe Kidd
Play-in matches: Yuto-Ice & Oskar vs. Great-O-Khan & Henare
Other play-in matches will take place on June 23 & July 6.
The video ended with six spots to be filled.
The announcers mentioned that Aaron Wolf would have to qualify to make the G1 Climax field as he made his entrance to face Ren Narita for the NEVER Openweight Championship.
(5) REN NARITA (w/House of Torture) vs. AARON WOLF – NEVER Openweight Championship match
Narita sent Wolf to the floor and hit a big chairshot to his leg. He then rolled back into the ring and grabbed the ref so that House of Torture could put a beating on Wolf on the outside. They tossed Wolf back into the ring and Narita went after Wolf’s leg. Wolf tried to mount a comeback, but Narita grabbed the ref. House of Torture came into teh ring to wipe out Wolf, but he mounted a comeback and took them all out. He then wiped out Narita.
The fans fired up, as Wolf went after Narita inside the ring. He hit a big running elbow drop on Narita for a two count. Narita kicked out Wolf’s leg and grabbed a headlock, but Wolf escaped and hit a Landslide for a nearfall;. Wolf then grabbed a triangle, but House of Torture distraced the ref. They then put the boots to Wolf. Takeshita and Yano ran down to help Wolf. Narita tried to throw the ref at Wolf and then kick him, but Wolf blocked it. He wiped out Narita with a big clothesline. Wolf then hit a reverse Angle Slam, but Narita kicked out.
Narita used the ref as a distraction to hit a Double Cross for a nearfall, but Wolf kicked out. He then grabbed a leg submission, but Wolf got to the ropes to break it up. Wolf ducked Hell’s Guillotine and caught Narita charging at him with a powerslam. Wolf sold his leg after hitting the powerslam and could not capitalize. Narita charged at Wolf, who nailed him with a Rock Bottom. He then hit an Angle Slam for the win.
WINNER: Aaron Wolf at 9:27 to become the new NEVER Openweight Champion. (*¾)
(Radican’s Analysis: This match was riddled with House of Torture interference. Wolf actually looked good when he had the chance to wrestle Narita one-on-one with no shenanigans. His timing looked improved and he didn’t miss a beat going from spot to spot. All of the interference made this a slog to get through.
I don’t think working these matches over and over is helping Wolf improve as a singles wrestler. At this stage of his development I wouldn’t put him in a G1, but I’m not sure NJPW will show restraint when it comes to keeping him out of the field.)
(6) THE KNOCKOUT BROTHERS (Oskar & Yuto-Ice) vs. UNITED EMPIRE (Great-O-han & Henare) – IWGP Hvt. Tag Team Championship match
The announcers pointed out that it has been less than a year since The Knockout Brothers came back from excursion. Ice and Henare went right at it trading blows. Ice grounded Henare with a running boot, but O-Khan tripped him from the floor to halt his momentum. The action broke down in the ring when Oskar went at it with O-Khan and Henare alone. They ended up hitting a double boot to knock Oskar off the apron to the floor. O-Khan then went after Ice’s leg back inside the ring. O-Khan taunted Ice and he took a swing, but stumbled and missed on his bad leg. O-Khan laughed at him and pointed to his own head indicating he was smart.
Ice finally slammed O-Khan down to the mat and tagged Oskar in. Oskar went to town on O-Khan and Henare. Oskar freed himself from the Iron Claw and eventually hit a big legdrop on O-Khan for a two count. Oskar set up for a running kick, but O-Khan rolled to the floor. O-Khan tried to dive back into the ring when Oskar went after him, but Oskar grabbed his foot and dragged him back to the floor. They ended up back in the ring and O-Khan got the upper hand and tagged in Henare. He then knocked Ice off the apron.
Oskar went at it against O-Khan and Henare alone once again, but they nailed him with a double superkick. O-Khan slammed Oskar face-first into the mat. Oskar finally tagged in Yuto, who went after Henare. Ice hit the Bomboclast knee on Henare in the corner. They traded blows and Henare caught Ice coming off the ropes a short time later with a Berserker Bomb for a near fall. Ice knocked O-Khan off the apron. He then stood over Henare and taunted him. He hit a headbutt and that fired up Henare. Henare hit a series of blows on Ice and sent him crumpling into the corner.
Oskar ran into the ring, but Henare cut him off. He hit a big clothesline on Ice, who kicked out at one. Ice hit a high kick and a penalty kick, but Henare kicked out at one. They traded slaps and then forearms in the middle of the ring. The ref tried to intervene and both men pushed him down before going back to trading blows. Ice finally hit some big overhand chops and Henare went down. Ice then collapsed and the fans applauded. That was just a crazy exchange of blows!
Oskar and O-Khan went at it. Oskar sent Ice to the floor. The Knockout Brothers hit The Rumbling on Henare, but O-Khan made the save. Oscar applied the Nightmare Sleeper and tossed O-Khan to the floor. O-Khan fired up and hit a hammerhead headbutt on Oskar, who spilled to the floor. Henare charged at Ice, but ate a knee to chin for a super close nearfall. WOW! Ice went fora knee, but Henare ducked it and pushed him into a chairshot on the floor from O-Khan. Henare had the cover, but Oskar made the save. The ref tried to take a chair from Oskar, but he shook him off only to turn around right into O-Khan kicking the chair into his face. Henare and O-Khan then hit The Imperial Bomb for the win.
AFter the match, O-Khan was going to blast Ice with a chairshot to the head, but Oskar dove into the ring to protect him. O-Khan blasted him with several chairshots to the back. He then put a chair on top of Oskar and Ice and posed with the titles.
WINNERS: Great-O-Khan & Henare at 21:33. (****¼)
(Radican’s Analysis: This was a great tag match with both teams going at it from bell-to-bell. There was seemingly action all over the place during the match and both teams made some great saves before United Empire came out on top in the end. These two teams have great chemistry and I really enjoyed the chaotic pacing of the match.)
(7) ANDRADE EL IDOLO vs. SHOTA AMINO vs. DRILLA MALONEY – IWGP Global Hvt. Championship match
It was clear that Umino and Maloney weren’t going to work together anymore than they had to in order to target Idolo during the early going. At one point, Andrade hit a Moonsault off the top to the floor to wipe out both of his opponents. Andrade had a figure 4 on Umino at one point, but Maloney broke it up with an elbow drop off the top. Maloney went for a Drilla Killa, but Umino slipped out and went for Second Chapter, but Maloney escaped his grasp.
Maloney caught Idolo with a Gore for a two count. He set up for a Drilla Killa, but Umino broke it up. Maloney got Idolo up for a piledriver. Idolo tried to fight out of it. Umino was in no condition to make the save, so Maloney hit it for a near fall. They went to a sequence that ended with Umino hitting a poison rana and all three men were down. Andrade hit a DM on Umino, but Maloney made the save at the last second!
Andrade landed on his feet to avoid a Drilla Killa from Maloney. They went to an exchange off the ropes and Maloney hit a Gore on Andrade. He then hit the Drilla Killa, but Umino came out of nowhere with a flying knee to the back of Maloney’s head to break it up. Umino hit second chapter on Idiolo. Maloney ran at them to break up the pin, but he couldn’t get there in time and Umino got the three count.
WINNER: Shota Umino at 16:24 to become the new IWGP Global Hvt. Champion. (****)
(Radican’s Analysis: This was a lot of fun from start to finish and the crowd was into it. I enjoyed the pacing of the match as they brought things up and then slowed the action down when needed. I’m a bit surprised that Umino won, but NJPW is clearly interested in pushing him still. All three men looked good here.)
Umino was about to cut a promo after the match, but he was attacked from behind Gabe Kidd. Kidd hit a piledriver on Umino. He told Maloney it should have been him. He told Umino he was never a Death Rider. He told Maloney not to fall for the cheers of the fans. He said they turned on him. He took off his jacket and flexed. Gabe took the belt and threw the title to the floor.
Umino was shown wiping off the Lion Mark logo where Kidd had spit. Maloney urged the crowd to cheer for Umino after Kidd left the ring.
(8) DOUKI vs. YOH – IWGP JR. HVT. Championship match
>Sho came down to distract Yoh and Douki jumped him from behind to start the match. Douki blasted Yoh with a belt shot on the floor. He barely beat the 20 count. Yoh finally hit a dragon screw to Douki’s leg to get the upper hand. He also hit one on Sho before whipping him into the guardrail. Douki fired back and got the Darkness Stretch. Yoh tried to escape, but rolled right back into the submission. Yoh finally dragged himself under the ropes to break the submission.
Douki hit Daybreak for a two count. Yoh managed to hit a dragon screw and both men were down on the mat. Douki ended up pushing the ref down. He shoved Yoh into the exposed corner. Sho then came into help him with the ref down. Master Wato came down to help. You hit a double low blow on Douki and Sho. He sent Sho packing to the floor. Douki turned the tide again and got the Darkness Stretch again. Yoh finally escaped and bit another dragon screw to his leg. He then hit one on the other leg.
Yoh locked in the Cloverleaf hold. Douki reached for his staff on the floor, but Tanahashi took it away. Sho then wiped him out. Yoh hit the Direct Driver for the win inside the ring a short time later.
WINNER: Yoh at 17:54 to become the new IWGP Jr. Hvt. Tag Team Champion. (***3/4)
(Radican’s Analysis: I could have done without all of the constant outside interference, but other than that this was a a fantastic match. They told a good story with Yoh overcoming the odds and going after Douki’s leg throughout the match to weaken him. Yoh looked really good here overcoming all of the interference and he didn’t tap out despite the crowd calling for him to give up down the stretch.)
The fans applauded Sho’s win after the bell rang. This is his first run with the title. Sho got in Yoh’s face, but he shoved him aside. He stared at Kosei Fujita, who was on commentary. Wato wiped out Sho with a belt shot. Fujita got into the ring and jawed with him. You yelled at them to give him the title. Francesco Akira ran down and wiped out everyone. Yoh went after him and he bailed a short time later.
Yoh said it seems like they all want to challenge him next. He said maybe they should play a game. He said they should play a Yoh game. He said they should have a four-way match and the winner gets him.
(9) CALLUM NEWMAN vs. YOTA TSUJI – IWGP Hvt. Championship match
Tsuji had new theme music.
Newman threw his belt down instead of handing it to Tanahashi before the match started. Tsuji worked over Newman’s midsection during the early going. Newman mounted a comeback and he set up Tsuji in a chair. He got a big running start and wiped out Tsuji with a big dropkick and the fans fired up. Tsuji fired back and caught Newman with a backbreaker a short time later. Newman really began to favor his back at this time. Tsuji set up for Marlowe’s Crash, but Newman countered. Tsuji sent him to the floor and hit a suicide dive.
Newman countered Tsuji on the floor and whipped him into the barricade. He then dropped him back-first over the apron. They went at it on the entrance ramp. Newman charged at Tsuji, but he took a backdrop and landed on his knee. Tsuji stopped the ref from counting to 20, as he didn’t want to win the title that way. The announcers said Newman would not have done the same thing. Newman fired back on the entrance ramp a short time later and hit a running flip dive off the ramp to the floor to wipe out Tsuji. They both went crashing into a guardrail.
Newman hit a double stomp to Tsuji’s midsection. He sold his stomach and arm after Newman landed. Newman made the cover and got a two count. They traded counters and Tsuji countered an Os-Cutter with a dropkick. He then hit a falcon arrow variation for a nearfall. Newman hit Made in Essex for a nearfall a short time later. They went to the apron and traded blows. Newman caught Tsuji with Excalibur on the apron after blocking a Gene Blaster attempt. The announcers said Tsuji landed badly on his arm on the floor. Tsuji barely beat the 20 count and Newman definitely didn’t try to break the ref’s count.
They traded blows and Newman grounded Tsuji with another shot to the gut. Newman charged at Tsuji, but ended up taking a suplex into the turnbuckles. The fans fired up and chanted for Tsuji. Newman came off the ropes and Tsuji surprised him with a GEne Blaster for a two count. Tsuji went for another Gene Blaster, but Newman blocked it. He went for an Os-Cutter, but Tsuji hit a Gene Blaster. He then charged at Newman again and hit a rolling Gene Blaster. Newman was turned away from him when he started his launch.
WINNER: Yota Tsuji at 24:34 to become the new IWGP Hvt. Champion. (****½)
(Radican’s Analysis: This was excellent. They wrestled at a really good pace for nearly 25 minutes with both guys working a body part. In Tsuji’s case he worked over multi body parts. Newman kept spamming the Os-Cutter for some reason during the match and it never worked out for him and in the end it led to him losing the title.
NJPW is going to have to build multi wrestlers at the same time, so in that sense putting the title on Newman and having him drop it back to Tsuji makes sense. On the Radican Worldwide Dominion preview show, I leaned towards Tsuji winning slightly because if he had lost, it would have been three straight title matches for him in a row heading into G1 Climax. I didn’t think the “sad sack” storyline would be the way to go with him heading into G1. The fans definitely responded well to Tsuji throughout the match, which hasn’t always been the case in the past.)
Tsuji cut a promo. He put Newman over as a beast that stepped in his path and took his title. He said he would take Newman’s challenge anytime. He said you can say on a lot of levels this is a new era of NJPW. He said it is truly a new generation that has arrived with him on top. He asked if the fans were ready. He said of course they’re all ready and the fans applauded. He said it isn’t just him that’s ready. He asked if the rest of NJPW was ready. He said he believes in everyone. He said he’s ready to represent all of them. He asked if they’re ready to follow him. The fans applauded. He said he thinks they’re all ready. He said he is the IWGP Hvt. Champion.
Charlton said Taichi challenged Yuto-Ice to a play in match for a spot in the G1 Climax in a backstage segment earlier in the show.
Contact Sean at pwtorchsean@gmail.com. Follow him on bluesky @SeanRadican and on X @SR_Torch.
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