Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall

Promotional poster featuring SANADA and Yota Tsuji

**Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall** was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on June 4, 2023, in Osaka, Osaka, at the Osaka-jō Hall and was the fifteenth event under the Dominion name and nine in a row to take place at the Osaka-jō Hall. The event was headlined by SANADA defending the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Yota Tsuji.

## Production

### Background

Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall was officially announced on January 4, 2023, during Wrestle Kingdom 17 in Tokyo Dome. The event is NJPW's biggest between Wrestle Kingdom 17 and July–August's G1 Climax. The event aired through NJPW's internet streaming site, New Japan Pro Wrestling World, and featured English commentary.

### Storylines

Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall featured professional wrestling matches that involve different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portray villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches.

Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall was headlined by SANADA making his second title defense of the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Yota Tsuji. On May 3, 2023, at Wrestling Dontaku, SANADA successfully defended the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against former *Los Ingobernables de Japon* stablemate Hiromu Takahashi. After the match, Yota Tsuji, made his returned to NJPW from his excursion as the mysterious wrestler, who had been teased for the past several months, making a surprise appearance after the title match, attacking all members of Just 5 Guys, including SANADA, before singalling his intentions to join *Los Ingobernables de Japón*. The following day, title match was made official for Dominion. On June 3 at a press conference, Tsuji was officially accepted into *Los Ingobernables de Japon*.

On April 9, NJPW announced a tournament where the winner would receive a future IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship match with the participants being former title holders; Lance Archer, Juice Robinson, Will Ospreay and Hiroshi Tanahashi. On April 16, NJPW suspended Juice Robinson for attacking Fred Rosser before their match at Capital Collision, as a result Rosser took Robinson's place in the tournament. Archer would defeat Rosser on April 16 at Collision in Philadelphia in order to advance to the finals. Opsreay and Tanahashi would face each other at Resurgence on May 21, with the winner facing Archer at Dominion. At Resurgence, Ospreay defeated Tanahashi to advance to the finals.

In the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match, Hiromu Takahashi made his fifth title defense against Master Wato. On May 28, Wato defeated Titán in the finals to win the 2023 Best of the Super Juniors. After the match, Wato challenged Hiromu Takahashi in his hometown of Osaka at Dominion. The title match was announced on June 1.

At Wrestling Dontaku, Shota Umino challenged Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tomohiro Ishii to a title match for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship, with one of his partners being his mentor Jon Moxley, who would make his return for the promotion in Japan since February 2020. Afterwards, Moxley, who had his own sights set on Okada, following a heated encounter at Resurgence, encouraged a harder edge to Umino, leading to vicious fights between him and Okada during the Best of the Super Jr. tour. On May 28, Umino viciously attacked Okada, throwing him a table, before revealing that Moxley's Blackpool Combat Club stablemate Claudio Castagnoli would be the third mystery partner for the match. The title match was announced on June 1. The match marked Castagnoli debut in NJPW.

In March 2023, David Finlay took over the leadership of Bullet Club. Afterwards, El Phantasmo began questioning Finlay's leadership of the stable, following the recent departure of previous leader Jay White. On April 8 at Sakura Genesis, after trying to stop Finlay and KENTA from attacking Tama Tonga, Phantasmo was kicked out of Bullet Club, after Finlay and Phantasmo's own allies in the stable KENTA and Taiji Ishimori also turned on him. At Wrestling Dontaku, Phantasmo made his first appearance since being expelled from Bullet Club, after Finlay won the NEVER Openweight Championship, he attacked him and challenged him to a title match on June 4 at Dominion, as he promised to eliminate every member of his former group.

On April 29 at Wrestling Satsuma no Kuni, Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) successfully defended the IWGP Tag Team Championship against TMDK (Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste). After the match, former champions Bishamon (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi) confronted Aussie Open, before House of Torture attacked both teams and posed with the IWGP Tag Team Championship belts, only to be saved by the United Empire, with EVIL affirming the House of Torture's title challenge. Afterwards, EVIL and Yujiro Takahashi began repeatedly attacked Aussie Open from behind, and repeatedly interfered in their matches, until at Wrestling Dontaku, Aussie Open relented and allowed the House of Torture to join a three-way at Dominion. On May 21 at Resurgence, Fletcher announced that Aussie Open would be forced to vacate the IWGP Tag Team and Strong Openweight Tag Team Championships, after Davis suffered an injury and, as such, Fletcher announced that Bishamon and House of Torture would face each other for the vacant titles at Dominion. On May 28, a six-man tag team match between Bishamon and House of Torture ended in a no contest, when United Empire's Aaron Henare and Great O-Khan got into the ring and started attacking them. Afterwards, O-Khan proclaimed that the titles belonged to the United Empire, issuing their claim to the title match. On June 1, NJPW made the three-way match official.

At Sakura Genesis, Aussie Open won the IWGP Tag Team Championship. Afterwards, in a post-match interview, as they were celebrating their title victory alongside their United Empire stablemates, they were confronted by Zack Sabre Jr., who challenged them to a title match on the behalf of his TMDK stablemate Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste. However, since Sabre was issuing a title match for his stablemates, Aussie Open's United Empire stablemate Jeff Cobb decided to challenge also Sabre to a title match for the NJPW World Television Championship. Due to also having to defend the title against Tom Lawlor on April 15 at Capital Collision, Sabre promised Cobb that if he successfully defended the title, he would get the next title match. After successfully defending the title against Lawlor, Sabre defended his title against Cobb at Wrestling Dontaku, which ended in a time limit draw. Afterwards, Cobb who was not satisfied with the result, challenged Sabre to a rematch, which led to Sabre proposing the same, as shared the same frustration as Cobb. On June 1, NJPW made the three-way match official.

On April 2, in a pre-taped vingette, KUSHIDA went on to teach Kevin Knight how to spell and speak Japanese before naming their team the "Jet Setters" and subsquently challenging Catch 2/2 (Francesco Akira and TJP) to a title match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships. Two days later, in a pre-taped vingette, Akira and TJP answered KUSHIDA and Knight's challenge by mocking the duo for teaching Knight how to spell, Akira then in Italian enraged at Knight for the way he did the promo in a gym. Kevin proceded to further denigrate the duo's tag name and KUSHIDA's WWE career before leaving their answer up in the air. This led to a title match on April 27, where Knight and KUSHIDA defeated Akira and TJP to become the new champions. On May 26, following a six-man tag team match between Catch 2/2 and Jet Setters, Akira and TJP challenged Knight and KUSHIDA to a rematch at Dominion, which they accepted. On June 1, NJPW made the three-way match official.

## Notes

1. ↑ Juice Robinson was originally scheduled to face Archer in the first round but was suspended due to attacking Rosser before their match at Capital Collision, as a result Robinson was replaced by Rosser.