By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Dynasty”
January 5, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan at the Tokyo Dome
Streamed live on New Japan World and TrillerTV.com
NJPW Dynasty Pre-Show
This is the second straight night here. The lighting is good. Chris Charlton and Walker Stewart provided commentary.
1. Athena vs. Willow Nightingale vs. Momo Watanabe vs. Persephone in a four-way for the International Women’s Cup. My first time seeing the masked Persephone; she’s taller than average. Willow got Momo on her shoulders at 1:00 and hit a backbreaker by dropping to her knees. Persephone hit a fallaway slam. Athena hit a superkick on Willow. Persephone hit a spear at 4:00. Willow hit a double suplex. Athena hit a senton to break up a pin. Momo hit a Meteora to the floor. Athena hit a somersault splash from the corner to the floor. Persephone hit a corkscrew press to the floor onto everyone at 5:30. In the ring, Willow hit a missile dropkick on Persephone but she missed a rolling cannonball.
Persephone has removed her mask; I missed when that happened. Momo hit a piledriver along her back on Willow, but Athena made the save. Athena hit a double Lungblower move to the chins at 8:30. She slammed Persephone onto Willow and covered them both for a nearfall. Willow and Persephone traded rollups, and Persephone hit a Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall. Athena slammed Persephone onto the ring apron at 10:00. Momo hit a spin kick to Willow’s head, then another. Willow hit a Death Valley Driver on Momo into the corner. However, Athena nailed the O-Face flying stunner on Willow for a visual pin, but Thekla pulled the ref to the floor. Meanwhile, Momo hit Athena with a bat! She hit a back suplex and pinned Athena! The commentators noted it has been a long time since Athena was pinned.
Momo Watanabe defeated Athena, Willow Nightingale, and Persephone in a four-way at 11:25 to win the International Women’s Cup.
2. Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevera vs. “House of Torture” Sho and Yoshinobu Kanemaru for the ROH Tag Team Titles. Sammy wore his Wolverine-themed gear. Dustin hit a double clothesline in the opening seconds. Sammy hit a standing moonsault, then a top-rope crossbody block, then an impressive springboard moonsault to the floor on Kanemaru. However, he was thrown into the guardrail at 2:30. The HoT began working over Sammy in the ring, throwing him into an exposed corner. Kanemaru hit a suplex for a nearfall, then he applied a Boston Crab, but Sammy reached the ropes at 4:30. The HoT stepped on the title belts and were booed.
Sammy hit a Lungblower move to Sho’s face but he still couldn’t make the tag. He hit an enzuigiri on Kanemaru. Rhodes got the hot tag at 6:00 and hit a powerslam on Sho, then on Kanemaru. Sho tried a spear but bounced off of Dustin. Kanemaru got his whiskey bottle, but Dustin blocked him from spraying it. Moments later, Kanemaru sprayed it in Dustin’s eyes, and got a rollup for a nearall. Kanemaru hit a moonsault for a nearfall at 8:30. Sammy hit a running stunner. Dustin hit a Canadian Destroyer on Sho. Dustin now took a swig of the alcohol and sprayed it on Kanemaru. Sammy hit a superkick; Dustin hit a Final reckoning (twisting suplex), and Sammy hit a high-angle Swanton Bomb to pin Kanemaru. Good action.
Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevera defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Sho to retain the ROH Tag Team Titles at 9:26.
NJPW Dynasty Main Card
* NOTE: When Douki was injured at Wrestle Kingdom 19 and the win was awarded to Desperado, he also won the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship.
1. An eight-man lucha gauntlet. Like an AEW casino gauntlet match, this can end at any time with a pin, even if all eight men aren’t out yet. Hechicero and Kosei Fujita opened. Soberano Jr. was No. 3; he wore all white today. Hechicero tied up Fujita in a pendulum. Soberano Jr. hit a Fosbury Flop to the floor on Hechicero. Master Wato was No. 4 and he traded chops with Soberano Jr., then he hit a huracanrana. Mascarado Dorada was No. 5 at 5:30. (Again, this is NOT former WWE wrestler Gran Metallik, who briefly used that name as well. This guy is younger with a different frame.) He hit a huracanrana on Fujita, then one on Hechicero, and a dive through the ropes onto Soberano Jr., then one on Hechichero!
Taiji Ishimori was No. 6 at 7:00, and he hit a Lethal Injection on Dorada, then a shoulder-breaker over his knee, and he went for a Bone Lock, but Dorada reached the ropes. Titan was No. 7, and he hit a springboard crossbody block on Ishimori. Titan hit a tornado DDT on Dorada. El Desperado was No. 8 at 11:00, and everyone in the ring paused their fighting, got out of the ring, and attacked Desperado on the entrance ramp! Hechicero hit a modified Death Valley Driver on Desperado. Everyone took turns picking up Despe and slamming him to the mat. Hechicero spun Desperado to the mat and got a nearfall at 13:30. Kosei hit a flip dive to the floor. Ishimori hit a moonsault off the corner to the floor.
Soberano hit a top-rope corkscrew splash to the floor. Titan hit an Asai Moonsault onto everyone. Wato hit a flip dive to the floor on everyone. Dorado hit an inverted dive onto everyone at 15:30. In the ring, Despe got a rollup out of nowhere for a believable nearfall on Fujita. Ishimori threw the ref onto Despe and Fujita. Ishimori immediately got a Gedo Clutch rollup and pinned Desperado! Ishimori celebrated and left. Desperado clutched his belt as he headed to the back.
Taiji Ishimori won the eight-man gauntlet at 16:26.
2. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyora Shibata in a five-minute challenge. Charlton said Shibata has still not been cleared by NJPW to compete in a regular match. An intense lockup to open. They traded chops, and it just went on and on, until the time limit expired. Yeah, neither guy took a bump.
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata went to a draw at 5:00.
3. NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Mercedes Mone vs. Undisputed British Women’s Champion Mina Shirakawa in a title vs. title match. Standing switches, and Mina hit a basement dropkick. Mone applied the Statement Maker (Bank Statement crossface). Mone hit a dive to the floor on Mina and others at 1:30. In the ring, Mina hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip off the top turnbuckle and she wrapped Mone’s leg around the ring post. Mone hit a second-rope Meteora for a nearfall at 3:30. She hit a running Meteora, then a Lungblower to the back, and she kept Mina grounded. She hit another second-rope Meteora, but Mina grabbed a leg and repeatedly rammed the knee into the mat at 6:00. She went for a Figure Four but Mone quickly got to the ropes.
Mina hit a flying knee for a nearfall. Mone hit a Lumbar Check-style double knees to the gut. They traded forearm strikes while on their knees. Mina hit a discus forearm and a tornado DDT at 8:30. Mone hit the Three Amigos rolling suplexes. They fought on the top rope, and Mina hit a DDT to the mat at 10:00. Mina hit another Dragonscrew Legwhip, then a faceplant, and this time she got in the Figure Four, but Mone reached the ropes to break it. Mina hit a DDT for a nearfall. Mone hit a Lungblower to the chest at 12:30 for a nearfall. Mina went back to a Figure Four; Mercedes rolled her over for a nearfall. Mercedes hit the Mone Maker swinging faceplant for the pin! Good action.
Mercedes Mone defeated Mina Shirakawa in 14:02 to retain the NJPW Strong Women’s Championship and to win the Undisputed British Women’s Championship in a title vs. title match.
4. David Finlay (w/Gedo) vs. Brody King. No title on the line now, so I feel either man could win. They locked up at the bell and Brody shoved him to the mat. He charged and crashed into a corner. Brody hit a chop that sent Finlay to the ropes to recover, and David snapped King’s neck across the top rope. In the ring, Finlay stood behind King and hit some crossface blows at 2:00. They went to the floor, where King hit a running crossbody block, flattening Finlay against the guardrail. Back in the ring, King hit some chops and the 5:00 call was spot-on. They fought on the ring apron and traded forearm strikes.
Brody went for a sleeper; David raked the eyes to escape and they fell to the floor. Now it was David’s turn to barrel into Brody and send King crashing into the guardrail. Finlay leapt off the top rope and crashed onto King at 7:30. Back in the ring, Brody nailed a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. He hit some clubbing blows that knocked Finlay down, then a clothesline for a nearfall, then a piledriver for a nearfall at 10:00. Brody hit a Death Valley Driver into the corner, then a rolling cannonball at 12:00. Finlay was able to drop underneath and hit snake-eyes on Brody, then a powerbomb and an Overkill pop-up knee strike to the sternum for the pin. That wrapped up suddenly!
David Finlay defeated Brody King at 12:52.
5. Shota Umino vs. Claudio Castagnoli. Jon Moxley sent Claudio as his emissary to teach his former student a lesson. We saw Umino drive into the dome on a motorcycle. Claudio attacked him from behind on the entrance ramp; I started my stopwatch at first contact. They got into the ring at 0:40 and traded forearm strikes. Umino went for a plancha but Castagnoli caught him and threw him into the guardrail, and they brawled around ringside. In the ring, Claudio hit a doublestomp to the chest for a nearfall at 4:00, then a gut-wrench suplex for a nearfall. He hit some chops and stayed in charge. Charlton reminded viewers that Shota went 43 minutes a night ago. Umino hit a spike DDT onto the ring apron at 6:30. Shota placed Claudio’s feet on the guardrail and hit a DDT onto the thin mat at ringside.
In the ring, Shota hit a side slam for a nearfall at 8:00, then a swinging neckbreaker, but he couldn’t hit a Death Rider. Claudio hit a second-rope bodyslam to the mat, then a clothesline for a nearfall, and he started hearing some cheers. (The fans are just not buying Shota!) Claudio did the Giant Swing at 10:00 and that got a pop, and the crowd counted 15 rotations. He applied a Sharpshooter, but Shota reached the ropes. They fought on the ropes in the corner, and Shota hit some elbow strikes to the head, then a tornado DDT to the mat at 14:00. He hit a Hidden Blade to the back of the neck for a nearfall. Claudio hit a pop-up European Uppercut, then a release powerbomb for a believable nearfall. Shota nailed the Death Rider double-arm DDT and scored the pin. Good match.
Shota Umino defeated Claudio Castagnoli at 15:15/official time of about 14:30.
6. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Tomohiro Ishii for the NEVER Openweight Title and the AEW International Title. They traded shoulder tackles at the bell. Takeshita took control and hit some forearm strikes. Ishii hit some chops, then a back suplex at 4:00. Takeshita missed a senton, but he nailed a release German Suplex, then a sliding forearm for a nearfall. He hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. Takeshita hit a second-rope Raging Fire (falcon arrow) for a believable nearfall, and they were both down at 7:00. Takeshita hit a wheelbarrow German Suplex. Ishii hit a German Suplex but Takeshita popped to his feet; Ishii hit a clothesline and they were both down. “This is the spirit of professional wrestling!” Stewart shouted.
Ishii dropped him with a forearm strike at 9:30! Takeshita got up and dropped Ishii with one. Ishii hit a Frankensteiner; yes, you read that right! Ishii hit some headbutts and a clothesline, then a hard decapitating clothesline for a nearfall at 11:30. Takeshita hit a brainbuster. Ishii hit a sliding clothesline. Takeshita nailed a Poison Rana. Ishii missed an enzuigiri; he hit one seconds later. Takeshita hit a mid-ring Raging Fire for the pin. Very good, hard-hitting match.
Konosuke Takeshita defeated Tomohiro Ishii to retain the AEW International Title and the NEVER Openweight Title at 13:31.
* Rocky Romero joined commentary.
7. “United Empire” Jeff Cobb and Great-O-Khan vs. “Los Ingobernables de Japon” Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi vs. “Young Bucks” Nicholas Jackson and Matthew Jackson for the vacant IWGP Tag Team Titles. Again, Henare’s recent knee injury led to the belts being stripped, and O-Khan has replaced Henare with faction teammate Cobb. The Bucks came out last; Nick wore black and Matt wore white. All six were in. Cobb and Hiromu traded chops. The Bucks slammed Hiromu onto the edge of the ring. The Bucks each hit a dive to the floor. (Both wore necklaces and earrings and I just hate that. Seems unnecessarily dangerous.) Cobb hit a dropkick at 2:00. The Bucks hit stereo superkicks on Cobb. Nick hit a top-rope flip dive on Cobb on the floor.
O-Khan slammed Hiromu to the mat, and he hit his Mongolian Chops on Naito at 4:00. Matt hit a spin kick on O-Khan. Cobb hit Naito’s kick sequence in the corner, and that drew a pop. Nick hit an X-Factor on Cobb, then a frogsplash as Matt also was hitting a standing moonsault. Jeff hit his own superkick. Matt hit a series of Northern Lights Suplexes on Hiromu. Nick hit a Swanton Bomb for a nearfall on Hiromu at 6:30. Hiromu tossed one Jackson onto the other. Naito hit a DDT. O-Khan hit a series of belly-to-belly suplexes. Cobb hit a release German Splex on Hiromu, then one on Naito, then one on Matt. The Bucks went for the EVP Trigger but Cobb caught their knees, and Jeff hit a German Suplex on both of them at 9:00!
Jeff hit a standing moonsault on Matt. Matt and Hiromu agreed to work together and hit a team superplex on Cobb at 10:30. Of course, Matt then superkicked Hiromu. Matt hit a mid-ring Sliced Bread. Naito hit a Destino on Matt (the cameras completely missed!) for a nearfall. Naito flipped Jeff to the mat. The Bucks hit the EVP Trigger on Naito for a believable nearfall at 13:00, but O-Khan made the save. The Bucks superkicked O-Khan. Nick hit a springboard moonsault to the floor, then the Bucks hit the Meltzer Driver to pin O-Khan! New champions! Matt leaned into the camera and said “I guess you haven’t seen the last of the Young Bucks in Japan.”
“The Young Bucks” Matthew Jackson and Nicholas Jackson defeated Great-O-Khan and Jeff Cobb, and Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi to win the IWGP Tag Team Titles at 13:45.
8. Yota Tsuji vs. Jack Perry for the IWGP Global Title. Jack came out first and wore the demonic goat head. Jack hit a dive through the ropes at 1:30 and barreled onto Yota. In the ring, he hit some chops and remained in charge. Yota hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker over his knee at 5:00. The crowd was quiet early on. Perry hit an elbow drop as Yota was tied in the ropes and got a nearfall at 7:30. Tsuji hit a top-rope Spanish Fly for a nearfall, and that woke up the crowd. He went for the Gene Blaster but Perry blocked it with a jumping knee, and they were both down, with the 10-minute call spot-on. Perry hit a DDT for a nearfall. Perry hit a low blow uppercut and a modified Angle Slam for a believable nearfall at 12:30. Jack hit a German Suplex. Yota nailed the Gene Blaster (spear) for the pin. They got the crowd back by the end.
Yota Tsuji defeated Jack Perry to retain the IWGP Global Title at 13:14.
9. Kenny Omega vs. Gabe Kidd (w/Clark Connors, Drilla Moloney). Kidd came out first and wore some NJPW trunks. The crowd was hot as they opened in a feeling-out process, and throwing punches that didn’t connect. Gabe knocked him down with a shoulder tackle. They traded chops. Bryce Remsburg was our ref. Omega hit a forward Finlay Roll and a moonsault at 2:30; he patted his own ribs, indicating he’s feeling fine. Kenny hit some stiff kicks to the spine. They did the spot where they both got suplexed over the top rope to the floor at 4:30. They fought at ringside, and Gabe whipped Omega into the guardrails.
Kenny hit a plancha to the floor at 6:00, and they fought more at ringside. They traded punches on the ring apron. Kenny hit a backbody drop at 9:00 with Kidd getting caught in the ropes, then rolling to the floor. Kenny hit a snap suplex on the thin mat at ringside. Omega picked up Kidd and powerbombed him OVER the guardrail and through a table on the other side at 10:30! Bryce shouted that “we need some help!” Several officials checked on Kidd, but Kenny grabbed him. Kidd was bleeding from the forehead. (How did that happen? His back went through the table!) Kenny hit a springboard swanton bomb, flying over the guardrail and onto all the officials/Young Lions at ringside. Insane spot, especially for a guy who just returned from a year off.
Both men struggled to get to their feet. Kenny sold a hip injury. Gabe picked up a chair and jabbed it into the stomach, then cracked it across the back at 14:30. They made their way back to ringside, where Kidd suplexed him onto a table at 16:30. Kidd cracked a table shard over Omega’s head. Kidd threw several chairs into the ring. Omega was now bleeding from his forehead. They got back into the ring, and Kidd again jabbed a chair into Kenny’s stomach. Kenny slammed Kidd onto a pile of folded chairs at 18:30. Kidd hit a second-rope superplex, with them both crashing onto the folded chairs, and we hit the 20:00 mark; Charlton reminded viewers there isn’t a time limit. Kenny’s face was coated red now, but he hit a Dragon Suplex. They traded stiff chairshots over the head; I hate that, I don’t care who does it.
They traded forearm strikes, then open-hand slaps. Kenny hit a jumping knee; Gabe hit a clothesline, and they were both down. Kenny snapped off a mid-ring huracanrana at 24:00. Kenny nailed a flip dive to the floor. In the ring, he hit a top-rope missile dropkick, then a running V-Trigger in the corner. Kenny hit a top-rope Dragon Suplex, with Kidd rotating so he landed on his knees and face. Omega hit a Jay Driller for a believable nearfall at 26:30. This crowd was really hot now. Kenny hit another V-Trigger. He went to pick up Kidd for the One-Winged Angel but he buckled and fell, and he sold pain in his ribs. He tried again, but Gabe escaped and tied him in an abdominal stretch!
Gabe hit a release German Suplex. Kidd hit a running knee, then a piledriver for a nearfall. (By the way, we have a Japanese ref now. I think Bryce was taken out on that dive to the floor.) Kidd hit a standing powerbomb and a piledriver for a nearfall, but Omega got a foot on the ropes at 29:30. Kidd hit an enzuigiri. Omega hit a V-Trigger and a powerbomb, then another running knee but only got a one-count. Omega hit the Ibushi-style Kamigoye kneestrike, then the One-Winged Angel for the pin. That was fantastic, absolutely fantastic. You wouldn’t know that Omega has been out of the ring for more than a year. They worked in the concern over his ribs/stomach issues perfectly. If there was one flaw in this match, it was some bickering between pro-AEW Romero and pro-NJPW Charlton.
Kenny Omega defeated Gabe Kidd at 31:53.
10. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Ricochet for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Ricochet kicked Sabre as Zack was getting into the ring, then he dove onto him, then he hit a Sasake Special, then a springboard 450 splash for a nearfall at 0:30. Zack finally was able to take off his jacket! Charlton said they last fought in 2017, but he added that so much has changed for both of them, their prior record doesn’t really matter. Sabre hit some European Uppercuts on the floor. Sabre snapped Ricochet’s neck between his ankles as they got back into the ring at 2:00. Zack tied up the legs and leaned backward for added pressure, and he kept Ricochet grounded. Ricochet hit a handspring-back-elbow at 4:30.
Ricochet hit a Lionsault and he was now in charge, hitting some kicks and keeping Sabre grounded. Walker reiterated that Sabre was in a 43-minute match a day ago. Sabre hopped on the back and applied a sleeper, but Ricochet barreled into a corner to escape at 7:00. Ricochet hit some kicks and a discus lariat, then another clothesline for a nearfall. He hit a jumping knee and a back suplex for a nearfall. Sabre hit a running European Uppercut, then a running penalty kick at 9:30. Sabre hit a Dragon Suplex, then another one, for a nearfall. Ricochet hit a knee to the jaw, then a brainbuster. He hit a suplex on the ring apron, and they fell to the floor, still tied up, and Ricochet hit another suplex on the thin mat at 12:00! Sabre dove back into the ring at the 19-count.
They traded slaps to the face and Ricochet swore at him. Sabre hit a European Uppercut at 14:30; Ricochet returned it, so Sabre hit some more. It has hit 2 a.m. CST so we have reached the five-hour mark. They got on the turnbuckles, and Sabre tied up the arms, then he hit a second-rope Zack Driver, and he immediately applied a Fujiwara Armbar. He stomped on the left elbow, and Ricochet cried out in pain. He hit the Pele Kick on the shoulder at 17:30. Ricochet hit a sit-out slam for a nearfall, then a top-rope Shooting Star Press for a nearfall. He hit another sit-out slam for a nearfall at 19:00, but he missed a top-rope 630 Splash! Sabre hit a Zack Driver for a nearfall. Ricochet threw some punches and was admonished by the ref. Sabre tied up the arms behind the back. The ref checked, and Ricochet verbally submitted. Another great match.
Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Ricochet to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at 21:17.
* Sabre got on the mic and spoke in Japanese. He switched to English and said “New Japan Pro Wrestling is the best wrestling company on this round earth.” He added that the future of the company “is orange,” saying TMDK will be on top for a long time. He pointed to Kosei Fujita and Ryohei Oiwa and said they will be champions in the future. All of TMDK stood on the stage as fireworks went off.
Final Thoughts: Well, Omega-Kidd was easily the best match of either night. Like Saturday’s Sabre-Umino match, there wasn’t any mystery over who was winning, but the fans didn’t care, and Kidd put in an epic performance. I loved Sabre-Ricochet for second place, but once again, the outcome wasn’t really in question. The hard-hitting Takeshita-Ishii takes third, with Mone-Mina getting honorable mention.
Definitely a better show than Wrestle Kingdom. Perry-Tsuji didn’t quite meet expectations, but it picked up at the end. Charlton also apologized to Romero for getting a bit heated during the Omega-Kidd match, and he praised Rocky for “bringing us all together” for this special night. I want to add I find it intriguing that NJPW didn’t use former roster members like Kazuchika Okada, Will Ospreay, Kyle Fletcher, Mark Davis or Jay White.
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