New Japan "Dominion in Osaka Castle Hall"
A Review by Kevin Wilson

Dates: July 5th, 2015
Locations: Osaka Castle Hall in Osaka, Japan
Announced Attendances: 11,400 (Super No Vacancy Full House)

This is a late because I was out of town for the holiday, but better late than never! This is of course a massive show for New Japan, with all six IWGP Championships up for grabs. Many of these are re-matches, with the only exception being Omega vs. KUSHIDA. Besides Championship matches we also have two special singles matches, with Tanahashi facing Yano and Shibata going up against Sakuraba. Here is the full card:

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: The Young Bucks vs. Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly vs. Rocky Romero and Barreta
- Bad Luck Fale and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito and Tomoaki Honma
- Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Kenny Omega vs. KUSHIDA
NEVER Openweight Championship: Togi Makabe vs. Tomohiro Ishii
IWGP Tag Team Championship: Michael Bennett and Matt Taven vs. Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows
- Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Toru Yano
IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Hirooki Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
IWGP Heavyweight Championship: AJ Styles vs. Kazuchika Okada

This is a long event so it will be a long review. Just an advanced warning. I am skipping the dark match because it was a nothing match and this review will be wordy enough as it is, even though my man Liger was in it. 

(c) The Young Bucks vs. Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly vs. Rocky Romero and Barreta
This match is for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.  This may get crazy so we will see how much play by play I end up doing.  Matt starts off with Barreta and tells him to suck it, Barreta does not so Matt tags in O’Reilly.  Nick kick O’Reilly from the apron and gets on Cody Hall’s shoulders, but Barreta and O’Reilly hit a baseball slide on Hall which sends them both crashing to the floor.  Back to it, Barreta elbows O’Reilly and tags in Romero.  They double team O’Reilly but O’Reilly gets away and tags in Fish.  Matt tags Fish in a blind fashion and covers Romero, getting two.  Romero elbows Matt, Matt tries to tag out but O’Reilly bails.  Hurricanrana by Romero to Matt and he hits a pair of lariats in the corner.  Nick pulls Matt out of the ring and they walk up the ramp, Fish and O’Reilly hold them for Barreta and Romero, but The Young Bucks move so O’Reilly and Fish eat the pescados.  They go up the ramp as Barreta and Romero follow them, and they both hit superkicks.  They run back into the ring to try to get the 20 count double Countout, but Romero makes it back into the ring with O’Reilly and Fish’s help.  Nick hits a tope con hilo down onto everyone as things somewhat return the normal as Matt covers Romero for a two count.  Matt slaps Romero into the corner and applies a side headlock before tagging in Nick.  Romero fights back but Barreta won’t let him tag out (not sure why), Romero goes for a Shiranui but Matt catches him.  Romero avoids Matt so he falls out of the ring, Nick comes in but Romero ducks the kick and knocks Nick off his feet.  Romero tags in O’Reilly, Matt runs in the ring but so does Fish and they double team Matt and then Nick. 

They go for Chasing the Dragon but Nick pushes them away, Barreta and Fish are tagged in and Barreta hits a tornado DDT.  Matt pulls Barreta out of the ring but Nick kicks Matt by accident, Barreta gets Matt on his shoulders and Romero hits a knee off the apron.  Back in the ring Nick is double teamed in the corner and Romero hits the swandive missile dropkick.  Nick gets away and Fish tags himself in, Fish goes off the ropes but he gets his with a double jumping knee by Barreta and Romero.  O’Reilly comes in and kicks both Romero and Barreta but he gets a double knee too.  Pendulum Lariat by O’Reilly to Barreta as things get chaotic again, Romero goes up top but is kicked by both Fish and O’Reilly.  Fish goes up with him and hits an avalanche Falcon Arrow, cross kneelock by Fish but Nick and Matt go up top and hit stereo 450 Splashes.  Matt tags in and hits a cannonball on Romero in the corner, Nick goes up top and he hits a senton.  Matt grabs Romero and powerbombs him into the turnbuckles, he puts Romero up top but Barreta runs in and suplexes Matt off the turnbuckles.  Matt lands on his feet and hits a superkick, Romero jumps off the top turnbuckle but he is hit with a double superkick.  The Young Bucks force O’Reilly to tombstone Fish then hit him with a double superkick too, they grab Romero and nails the More Bang For Your Buck!! For the three count!  The Young Bucks are still your champions.  This was about as complete a win as a team can get in a three way match, they just beat up everyone.  The Young Bucks are ridiculous but in a good way, and these types of matches is how I like shows to start as it is mindless fun that gets the crowd into the event without taking away from any of the other matches.  Probably one of the better matches like this we’ve seen this year but we have seen a lot as it feels like these teams have been feuding for an eternity.  They need some fresh blood but as a match I was entertained.  Recommended

Bad Luck Fale and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito and Tomoaki Honma
Poor Naito. Honma is attacked before the match starts while Naito stands on the ramp, elbows by Takahashi to Honma in the corner as Naito finally gets on the apron, and Takahashi elbows Honma in the corner.  Honma slams Takahashi but Takahashi avoids the Kokeshi and Fale runs in to help.  They stomp on Honma, Takahashi picks up Honma and chops him in the chest.  Fale is tagged in but Honma avoids his charge, he goes for a tag but Naito won’t tag in.  Irish whip by Fale and he tosses Honma up into the air.  Fale picks up Honma but Honma wiggles away, elbows by Honma and he hits a lariat but Fale doesn’t go down.  Honma finally knocks Fale off his feet and goes for a tag, which Naito finally accepts.  Naito kicks Fale and he dropkicks him in the knee, Takahashi comes in but Naito gives him a hiptoss followed by a dropkick.  Takahashi and Fale fall out of the ring, Naito goes up top and hits a twisting senton down onto both of them.  Fale gets back in, slingshot dropkick by Naito and he applies a figure four.  Fale quickly gets two the ropes, dropkick to the knee by Naito but Fale levels him with a lariat.  Fale tags in Takahashi but Naito hits a jumping elbow and he tags in Honma (reluctantly).  Honma hits a jumping elbow in the corner on Takahashi followed by the face crusher, but Takahashi avoids the Kokeshi.  Fale comes in and they double team Honma, Honma fights back with elbows but Fale hits a lariat.  Takahashi hits a Fisherman Buster on Honma, cover, but it gets two.  Takahashi picks up Honma but Honma lands on top of Takahashi, he holds Takahashi for Naito and Naito hits a missile dropkick.  Cover by Honma but it gets two.  Takahashi and Honma trade strikes, jumping Kokeshi by Honma and he goes up top, nailing the Diving Kokeshi for the three count!  I don’t really know what Naito was doing, he was helping at times but not at others, he mostly just seemed disinterested rather than being against Honma.  Building to something I am assuming.  And at least it gave the match a purpose of sorts since otherwise it was just a standard tag match.  We’ll have to see where New Japan goes from here.

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
Shibata gets Sakuraba into the ropes early on but he lets him off, they trade strike attempts but neither gets a clean blow.  Snapmare by Shibata but Sakuraba ducks the PK and rolls out of the ring.  Back in, Sakuraba knees Shibata into the corner but Shibata elbows him in return, running knee by Sakuraba and he applies a guillotine choke.  Shibata slams out of it and kicks Sakuraba in the chest before booting him into the corner.  Elbows by Shibata and he dropkicks Sakuraba twice in the head.  More kicks by Shibata but Sakuraba eventually knees him into the corner, kicks by Sakuraba to the chest and he leaves Shibata lying on the mat.  Shibata gets up but Sakuraba promptly knees him in the midsection and Shibata rolls out of the ring.  Sakuraba goes to the ropes and hits a pescado out of the ring, they get back in the ring and Shibata hits a big boot.  Sakuraba quickly applies a kneelock but Shibata rolls to the ropes to force a break.  Sakuraba applies a choke sleeper, Shibata reaches for the ropes so Sakuraba grabs his arms, making Shibata gets to the ropes using his mouth.  That’s special.  Kick by Sakuraba but Shibata fires off a big lariat and both wrestlers are on the mat.  Suplex by Sakuraba and he goes for an armbreaker, choke by Sakuraba but Shibata gets to the ropes.  Fireman’s carry takeover by Sakuraba and he applies a kimura but Shibata shakes him off and hits a release German suplex.  Kick to the chest by Shibata but Sakuraba applies a sleeper, Shibata elbows out of it and slaps Sakuraba, sending him to the mat.  Sleeper by Shibata, he goes off the ropes and he nails the PK, picking up the three count.  This isn’t my favorite match style but it was good.  Sakuraba I can do without in general but at least Shibata is the right opponent for him so there wasn’t a weird styles clash like we sometimes see in his matches.  They also kept it short-ish so it didn’t get old, and everything felt like it had meaning.  A solid match, and probably a must see if you are into shoot-style type of wrestling as in that regard it delivered.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Kenny Omega vs. KUSHIDA
This match is for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship. KUSHIDA kicks The Young Bucks off the apron to start and he knocks Omega around the ring until Omega dumps him out to the floor.  KUSHIDA pulls Omega out of the ring and they exchange blows, Omega gets a trash can but KUSHIDA dropkicks it into him.  KUSHIDA snaps Omega’s arm over the railing, he goes for a swandive move back into the ring but Omega dropkicks him on the way in.  KUSHIDA rolls back out, Omega goes off the ropes and he sails out onto KUSHIDA with a tope con hilo.  Omega drives KUSHIDA into the guardrail  and he throws KUSHIDA hard into the apron.  Looked sloppy but hurty at the same time.  Omega removes KUSHIDA’s kneepad and starts clubbing at KUSHIDA’s leg before dropping him knee-first onto a table.  Back in the ring Omega works over KUSHIDA’s leg and applies the figure four in the middle of the ring but KUSHIDA makes it to the ropes.  Omega continues the leg work, he gets KUSHIDA on his shoulders and hits a fireman’s carry roll, but KUSHIDA gets his knees up on the moonsault attempt. Which naturally hurt his leg.  Omega picks up KUSHIDA but KUSHIDA hits a vertical suplex, he flips himself out to the apron and kicks Omega over the top rope.  Swandive missile dropkick by KUSHIDA, Omega kicks him back but KUSHIDA delivers the handstand kick to the head that sends Omega out of the ring.  KUSHIDA goes up top and dives out on Omega (and The Young Bucks) with a tope con hilo.  Back in the ring, KUSHIDA dropkicks Omega as he goes between the ropes, moonsault by KUSHIDA but Omega kicks out of the cover.  Kick by KUSHIDA but Omega blocks the tilt-a-whirl and rams KUSHIDA into the turnbuckles.  Roaring elbow by KUSHIDA, he goes for a punch but Omega ducks it and hits a snap release dragon suplex.  KUSHIDA kicks Omega as he charges in, kicks by KUSHIDA but Omega boots him back. 

KUSHIDA catches Omega with a reverse STO into the turnbuckles, and KUSHIDA hits a running knee in the corner followed by the tilt-a-whirl into the Hoverboard Lock.  Omega rolls to the ropes to force the break, jumping kick by KUSHIDA but Omega kicks him in the leg when he goes for a handspring attack.  Omega puts KUSHIDA up top and joins him, but KUSHIDA pushes him off.  Jumping knee by Omega, he goes back up and he delivers the superplex.  Cover by Omega, but KUSHIDA kicks out.  Omega picks up KUSHIDA and with his good arm he hits a sit-down powerbomb for a two count.  Omega gets KUSHIDA onto his shoulders but KUSHIDA slides away and hits an overhead kick.  Hard punch by KUSHIDA, he picks up Omega and he hits a dragon suplex hold for a two count.  KUSHIDA goes up top but Omega moves when he dives off, jumping knee by Omega and he gets KUSHIDA on his shoulders, but KUSHIDA grabs his arm and applies an armbar.  KUSHIDA flips Omega to the mat and he applies the Hoverboard Lock, he rolls Omega back to the middle of the ring and Omega submits!  KUSHIDA is your new champion!  This was an interesting match but still really good.  I saw rumblings of people complaining about selling issues but I thought it was fine, KUSHIDA grabbed at the leg enough that I could suspend belief that he could brush away the pain at times long enough to do some moves.  Loved Omega selling the arm by doing a one armed Liger Bomb, that was quality.  It might have gone a bit long this early in the card as some of the leg work probably could have been snipped, but overall I definitely enjoyed it and I am looking forward to KUSHIDA’s title reign.  Recommended

(c) Togi Makabe vs. Tomohiro Ishii
This match is for the NEVER Openweight Championship.  Ishii starts off with a quick lariat for a two count, and Makabe rolls out of the ring to re-group.  Ishii goes up top and goes for a cannonball, Makabe doesn’t catch him too well and he splats to the mat with little contact made.  Ishii gets back in with Makabe slowly following, chops by Ishii and he hits a vertical suplex for a two count.  Back up they trade elbows until Makabe hits a powerslam.  Northern Lights Suplex by Makabe and he punches Ishii in the head, but Ishii chops Makabe into the corner.  Powerslam by Ishii, cover, but it gets two.  Chops by Ishii and they trade blows again, and Makabe levels Ishii with a lariat.  Powerbomb by Makabe but Ishii kicks out of the two count.  Makabe elbows Ishii in the back of the head and they club on each other.  Powerbomb by Ishii, but Makabe gets a shoulder up.  Ishii puts Makabe up top and joins him, hitting a superplex down to the mat.  Makabe gets Ishii on his shoulders and hits a Samoan Drop, landing Ishii on his banged up shoulder.  They trade elbows again until Ishii hits a release German suplex.  Lariat by Makabe and he hits a German suplex hold for two.  Makabe goes up top but Ishii moves when he dives off and hits a German suplex into the turnbuckles.  Back up Ishii goes off the ropes and he lariats Makabe in the back of the head, but Makabe comes back with a back fist.  Headbutt by Ishii, he goes off the ropes and hits a sliding lariat for a two count.  Another lariat by Ishii, cover, but it gets two.  Ishii picks up Makabe but Makabe knees him away and drops Ishii on the top turnbuckle.  Dragon suplex by Makabe and he hits a lariat, but Ishii kicks out at one.  Makabe goes off the ropes and lariats Ishii in the back of the head.  Another lariat by Makabe but Ishii chops him in the head.  Makabe returns fire and he lariats Ishii into the corner, Makabe puts Ishii up top and he drops Ishii on his head with a Spider German Suplex.  King Kong Kneedrop by Makabe, and he picks up the three count! Makabe is still your champion!  This felt very definitive, which I hope it is because I need a break from these two.  This is the 52nd time they have faced off this year and it’s barely July, I have seen all they have to offer at this point.  It was hard hitting, and I like Ishii (indifferent on Makabe), but aside from a few memorable moments it was just more of the same.  It was good and very watchable but not on the level as some of their other recent encounters.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Michael Bennett and Matt Taven vs. Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows
This match is for the IWGP Tag Team Championship.  Bennett and Taven attack Gallows as the match starts and double team him in the corner.  They lariat Gallows out of the ring before going off the far ropes and hitting stereo dives onto Anderson and Gallows.  Maria is of course at ringside looking hot as always.  Back in the double teaming of Gallows continues until he hits a double lariat.  Gallows punches Bennett in the head and he tags in Anderson.  Anderson beats around Bennett before tagging Gallows back in, Gallows punches Bennett into the corner and elbows him in the back of the head.  Amber Gallows gets on the apron and slaps Bennett, Gallows goes for a lariat but Bennett catches him with a side slam and tags in Taven.  Taven hits a swinging neckbreaker on Anderson but Anderson avoids the quebrada. Springboard kick by Taven, Gallows comes in but Bennett joins the fray also.  Bennett and Taven double team Anderson and then Gallows, sending Gallows out of the ring.  Anderson fights them off but Bennett catches Anderson with a spinebuster.  Moonsault by Bennett, but the cover gets two.  Bennett puts Anderson on the top turnbuckle but Anderson pushes him off and throws Bennett out of the ring.  Gallows comes back in and he hits a body avalanche in the corner.  Assisted neckbreaker to Bennett, cover by Anderson but it gets a two count.  Fireman’s carry into a Gun Stun by Anderson, but Bennett gets a shoulder up.  Maria gets on the apron and distracts Anderson, until Gallows comes in and argues with him.  Maria gets back down to the floor as Anderson goes out after her, but Maria runs away.  Amber hits a lariat on Maria and then slides Maria into the ring, Anderson picks up Maria and holds her for Gallows, but Gallows punches Anderson by accident.  Maria kicks Gallows low but Amber comes in and throws Maria back out of the ring.  IWGP Titles on the line, folks.  Anderson goes up top but Taven kicks him in the head, Gallows gets on the apron but he eats a double superkick.  Bennett and Taven go for the Hail Mary but Taven is crotched on the top rope.   Maria gets on the apron but is knocked off of it, and Bennett elbows Gallows on the apron.  Anderson joins them and he hits a Gun Stun on the apron, sending Bennett out to the floor.  Gallows and Anderson go for the Magic Killer on Taven, but Taven gets out of it and punches both of them.  Gallows tosses Taven in the air so that Anderson can hit a Gun Stun, the Magic Killer comes next and Anderson picks up the three count!  Anderson and Gallows are your new champions!  I am the odd person that doesn’t have an issue with silly shenanigans like this in the midcard, but I don’t like it in title matches.  The IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship means next to nothing in New Japan right now as the feud has really been as much about Maria and Amber as it is about anything else.  The action was generally decent but there was no real flow to it since they were constantly being interrupted by something.  Hopefully this is the end of this feud and the belt can go back to being more of a focus for the promotion.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Toru Yano
Exciting use of Tanahashi for the big event.  Yano avoids Tanahashi to start but Tanahashi finally catches him and chops Yano in the corner.  Rebound crossbody by Tanahashi but Yano rolls through it, Yano ducks his head but Tanahashi sneaks in an inside cradle for two.  Yano unties a turnbuckle and hits Tanahashi with it, Tanahashi charges Yano in the exposed corner but Yano moves out of the way.  Yano trips Tanahashi to the mat and kicks him out of the ring, and Yano throws Tanahashi into the railing out on the floor.  Tanahashi fires back with elbows, he goes for a crossbody but Yano moves and Tanahashi crashes to the floor.  They eventually return to the ring with Yano continuing his beatdown of the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion, but Tanahashi throws Yano into the exposed corner.  Punches by Tanahashi and he hits a jumping elbow smash.  Elbow drop by Tanahashi and he hits a somersault senton for two.  Yano grabs Tanahashi by the hair and kicks him low, but Tanahashi pulls down Yano by his hair.  Tanahashi goes off the ropes, Tanahashi tries to throw him over the top rope but Tanahashi skins the cat.  Yano blocks the suplex attempt and gets to the ropes, but the referee kicks his arms and Tanahashi hits the German suplex hold for the two count.  Tanahashi goes up top but Yano pushes the referee into the ropes to knock him off.  Atomic drop by Tanahashi but Yano hits the powerbomb for a two count.  Dropkick to the knee by Tanahashi but the referee gets knocked out of the ring and Yano hits Tanahashi with a chair.  Irish whip by Yano but Tanahashi hits the Sling Blade.  Tanahashi goes up top but Yano gets the chair up when Tanahashi goes for the High Fly Flow.  Tanahashi goes off the ropes but Yano hits an atomic drop before catapulting Tanahashi into the exposed corner.  He then hits a powerbomb onto the chair and tosses the chair out of the ring, cover as the referee gets back in but it gets a two count.  Yano picks up Tanahashi but Tanahashi slaps him, Tanahashi charges Yano but Yano drop toeholds him into the exposed corner and sneaks in a schoolboy for two.  Low blow by Yano but again his cover gets a two count.  Tanahashi pulls down Yano by the hair after hitting him low for his own cover, and both wrestlers get up gingerly.  Cyclone Neckbreaker by Tanahashi and he hits the Sling Blade.  High Fly Flow by Tanahashi, and he picks up the three count!  Hopefully another feud that is over.  I find Yano pretty humorous but this is just too much.  And it wasn’t even always sold well, Tanahashi hit the HFF onto a chair and is still the first wrestler up, something like that should do more damage, they were just in a rush to get all their spots in within the time they were given.  I’ll give them credit for making Yano seem like he can beat Tanahashi with all his devious methods but I’d rather see Tanahashi in something with more substance.

(c) Hirooki Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
This match is for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.  They start with some arm work until Goto slams Nakamura to the mat, covering him for two.  Chinlock by Goto and he elbows Nakamura in the head before going back to the neck.  Goto elbows Nakamura into the corner, Irish whip by Goto but Nakamura knees him and puts Goto up in the ropes.  Goto avoids Nakamura’s running knee, he grabs Nakamura from the apron and goes for a suplex, but Nakamura lands on the apron as well and pulls Goto out of the ring.  Nakamura gets back in and hits a baseball slide, Nakamura puts Goto on the rail and he delivers a running knee.  Nakamura throws Goto into the guard rail and then hits a jumping knee to the back, sending Goto over the rail.  Nakamura returns to the ring with Goto following, Nakamura picks up Goto and he hits a knee drop for a two count.  Chinlock by Nakamura and he kicks at Goto, he throws Goto into the corner but Goto elbows him as he charges in.  On their feet they trade elbows, sleeper by Nakamura but Goto gets out of it with a backdrop suplex.  Lariat by Goto and he kicks Nakamura in the chest, spinning heel kick by Goto in the corner and he hits the bulldog.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Knee by Nakamura and he connects with the heel kick, another kick by Nakamura and he knees Goto in the corner.  Nakamura goes for the knee in the corner but Goto moves, Nakamura knees Goto anyway and he covers him for two.  Goto elbows Nakamura back but Nakamura nails the jumping Boma Ye. 

Front suplex by Nakamura and he knees Goto in the ribs.  Nakamura hits a perfect cross armbreaker takedown and he applies the triangle choke but Goto gets to the ropes.  Nakamura picks up Goto and applies a guillotine, sleeper by Nakamura and he hits a Backstabber.  Reverse powerslam by Nakamura, he waits for Goto to get up but Goto levels him with a lariat.  Goto grabs Nakamura and he hits the Jigoku Kuruma for a two count cover.  Goto puts Nakamura on the top turnbuckle and he hits a neckbreaker down to the mat, he goes for the Shouten but Nakamura elbows him off.  Lariat by Goto in the corner, he puts Nakamura up top and joins him but Nakamura slides under him and hits a powerbomb.  Nakamura gets on the second turnbuckle and he hits a jumping Boma Ye, they both slowly get up and they trade elbows.  Knee by Nakamura and a heel drop, they get back up but Nakamura punches Goto in the face.  He goes for a Boma Ye but Goto catches him and hits an Ushigoroshi.  Ura Shouten by Goto, he picks up Nakamura as Nakamura goes for a punch, but Goto blocks it and headbutts Nakamura.  Goto drags Nakamura to his feet and he nails the Shouten Kai, picking up the three count!  Goto is still your champion!  This was a really good match but a step down from their match in May.  The first section of the match went pretty slow but they have great chemistry together so once it got flowing it turned into an enjoyable match.  The last few minutes really saved the match from just being a good but forgettable match, overall I thought it was really fun and worth a watch.  Recommended

(c) AJ Styles vs. Kazuchika Okada
This match is for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.  They tie-up to start, Okada gets Styles in the ropes and he gives a clean break.  Okada works the headlock but Styles slides out of the ring to avoid the dropkick.  He returns after a moment, chop by Styles and he slides over Okada’s back, but Okada hits a back bodydrop.  Okada elbows Styles into the corner, snapmare by Okada and he hits the sliding kick.  Cross arm submission by Okada and he slams him in front of the corner before hitting a senton atomico.  The Bullet Club gets on the apron and jaws with Okada, Styles grabs Okada from behind but Okada elbows him.  Okada tries to go off the ropes but Amber Gallows grabs his leg from the floor, giving Styles time to recover.  Jumping lariat by Styles and he hits a knee drop, elbow by Okada but Styles catches him with a backbreaker.  Styles catapults Okada into the bottom rope, and Okada rolls out of the ring.  All of Bullet Club stomps on Okada, Styles rolls him back in and he hits a snap vertical suplex.  Big dropkick by Styles and Bullet Club stomps down Okada again outside the ring.  This time the referee seems them however and he sends them all to the back, telling them to “Suck It” in the process.  Back in the ring, elbows by Styles and he rakes at Okada’s face as he applies a reverse chinlock.  Okada goes off the ropes but Styles hits an elbow, big boot by Okada but Styles kicks him back.  Running uppercut by Okada, and both wrestlers are down on the mat.  Elbows by Okada and he snaps off a quick DDT.  Jumping elbow by Okada in the corner, he puts Styles on the top turnbuckle and he hits a flapjack as Styles jumps off at him.  Scoop slam by Okada, he goes up top but he jumps off as Styles charges him.  Phenomenal DDT by Styles, he throws Okada into the corner but Okada drops him onto the apron.  Styles goes for a swandive move but Okada kicks the ropes before dropkicking Okada out of the ring to the floor.  Okada goes out after him but Styles throws Okada over the guard rail, he then goes to the rail and jumps off of it with an elbow smash. 

Styles slides Okada back in and he hits a wheelbarrow facebuster for a two count.  Styles throws Okada into the corner and he goes for a swandive move but Okada catches him with a dropkick on the way in.  Okada goes up top and hits the diving elbow drop, he picks up Styles but Styles elbows out of the Rainmaker setup. Styles kicks Okada and suplexes him into the turnbuckles, he goes out to the apron and this time he hits the swandive forearm strike.  Styles picks up Okada but Okada hits a reverse neckbreaker, and both wrestlers are down on the mat.  Okada is up first, he goes for the tombstone but Styles blocks it.  Okada and Styles trade elbows, uppercuts by Okada but Styles elbows him down near the ropes.  Styles goes off the ropes but Okada drops him with a dropkick.  Okada goes for the tombstone but Styles reverses it.  Okada reverses it back but Styles reverses it again and he plants Okada’s head into the mat.  Styles goes out to the apron and he nails the swandive 450 splash, but Okada kicks out of the cover.  Styles picks up Okada, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and drags Okada up with him, but Okada gets Styles on his shoulders and drops him out of the ring onto the apron, sending Styles flopping to the floor.  Okada goes back up top as Styles gets in the ring and he hits a missile dropkick.  Okada grabs Styles and he hits a tombstone piledriver, he goes for the Rainmaker but Styles gets out of it and hits the Pele Kick.  Styles picks up Okada and goes for the Styles Clash, Okada gets out of it but Styles hits a backslide.  He goes for the Styles Clash again and then the Bloody Sunday, but Okada gets out of both.  Lariat by Okada but Styles ducks the next one, Okada gets behind Styles and he hits a German suplex.  Okada picks up Styles and he nails the Rainmaker, and he picks up the three count!  Okada is your new champion!  This was definitely a quality match, due to the fact they work really well together and both are great wrestlers.  I liked Bullet Club getting involved and then exiled, it wouldn’t have worked if Styles had lost and they did nothing to try to help. The end stretch was so good, no near falls, just lots of reversals and smooth action that kept the crowd on the edge of their seats.  A match any fan of New Japan needs to see and a fitting way to end this mega show.  Highly Recommended

Final Thoughts:

This event, including the dark match, had over 150 minutes of in-ring action.  That is a ridiculously high number and is just a ton of wrestling to pack into one show.  I was exhausted by the end.  That being said there were a lot of great matches here, you really can’t go wrong as the last two matches delivered as did both of the Jr. Heavyweight matches.  There were some things you can safely skip over (such as the heavyweight tag match) and other matches that are just getting stale (Yano/Tanahashi and Ishii/Makabe) but overall it was still a great show.  Definitely recommend watching it, but you may want to break it up and not do it all in one sitting just so you don’t get burned out.

Grade: A-

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event reviewed on 7/9/15