Dominion 6.11 in Osaka-jo Hall

Promotional poster for the event, featuring various NJPW wrestlers

**Dominion 6.11 in Osaka-jo Hall** was professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). The event was scheduled to take place on June 11, 2017, in Osaka, Osaka, at the Osaka-jō Hall and was the ninth event under the Dominion name and third in a row to take place at the Osaka-jō Hall. The event was headlined by Kazuchika Okada defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Kenny Omega in a rematch from the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome.

## Production

### Background

Dominion 6.11 in Osaka-jo Hall was officially announced on January 4, 2017, during Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome. The event is NJPW's biggest between Wrestle Kingdom 11 and July–August's G1 Climax. The event aired through NJPW's internet streaming site, New Japan Pro Wrestling World, and was featured English commentary.

### Storylines

Dominion 6.11 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 6.11 in Osaka-jo Hall was main evented by Kazuchika Okada making his sixth defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Kenny Omega. This will be a rematch from Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome, where Okada successfully defended the title against Omega in a match that earned critical acclaim, including a six-star rating (on a scale of zero to five) from Dave Meltzer of the *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Following Wrestle Kingdom 11, Omega took a hiatus from NJPW to "reassess [his] future", stating he was "weighing all options". Despite interest from WWE, Omega eventually decided to remain with NJPW and returned to the promotion in late February. Upon his return, Omega set himself a deadline to claim the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, planning to be the champion when NJPW presents shows in Long Beach, California on July 1 and 2, 2017. His quickest way to another title shot was through the 2017 New Japan Cup, but his plan was derailed by Tomohiro Ishii, who eliminated him from the tournament in the first round. Meanwhile, Okada continued defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, defeating Minoru Suzuki and New Japan Cup winner Katsuyori Shibata. On May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2017, Omega avenged his loss from the New Japan Cup by defeating Tomohiro Ishii and following the main event of the show, where Okada successfully defended the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Omega's Bullet Club stablemate Bad Luck Fale, he was nominated by the champion as his next challenger at Dominion 6.11 in Osaka-jo Hall. The match was officially announced two days later. Okada stated that he decided to nominate Omega due to wanting to face the strongest possible challenger. The match was officially announced two days later. In an out-of-character interview, Omega stated that he thought that it was "too soon to revisit [the match]", but recognized that "there comes a time in business when it's just important to move numbers, put asses in seats, as the saying goes, and you have to come out guns blazing".

Dominion 6.11 in Osaka-jo Hall will also feature another rematch from Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome, where Tetsuya Naito will defend the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against Hiroshi Tanahashi. After successfully defending the title against Juice Robinson on April 29, Naito was challenged by Tanahashi, who had defeated his *Los Ingobernables de Japon* stablemate Evil earlier that same day. Naito, however, tried to turn down Tanahashi's challenge, noting that he and Evil were only tied 1–1 in their series against each other. Tanahashi had lost to Naito at Wrestle Kingdom 11, but was compelled to challenge him to a rematch due to disliking how Naito was treating the championship belt, throwing and kicking it around. Others like Jushin Thunder Liger had also voiced their displeasure over Naito's actions. The match was officially announced on May 5.On May 18, NJPW announced that Tanahashi had ruptured his right biceps tendon during a recent tour of North America, but stated that he was scheduled to return to the ring in time for Dominion 6.11. In the weeks leading to Dominion 6.11 in Osaka-jo Hall, Naito criticized NJPW's decision to introduce the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, stating that it had the same concept as the Intercontinental Championship. Feeling that the Intercontinental Championship was now worth less than a ¥10 coin, Naito stated that if he won at Dominion, he wanted the title retired and if that was not accepted by NJPW, he would vacate the title. Tanahashi appeared at NJPW's June 3 show, stating that he was going to be ready by Dominion, while adding that he was going to save the IWGP Intercontinental Championship from Naito.

The NEVER Openweight Championship will also be defended at Dominion 6.11 in Osaka-jo Hall with champion Minoru Suzuki taking on challenger Hirooki Goto. Suzuki captured the title from Goto on April 27 with help from El Desperado, a member of his Suzuki-gun stable. Afterwards, Goto repeatedly requested a rematch with Suzuki. On May 3, Suzuki called out Goto and his entire CHAOS stable, declaring war between his and Goto's stables. On May 8, NJPW announced the rematch between Suzuki and Goto, adding that the match would be contested under lumberjack deathmatch rules, where the ring is surrounded by members of Chaos and Suzuki-gun.

On May 8, NJPW also announced matches for both of the promotion's tag team championships for Dominion 6.11 in Osaka-jo Hall. In the IWGP Tag Team Championship match, War Machine (Hanson and Raymond Rowe) faces Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Roa). War Machine made their first title defense on May 3 in a three-way match, involving Tencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima) and Guerrillas of Destiny. After pinning Tenzan to retain the title, War Machine was attacked from behind by Guerrillas of Destiny, which led to the champions challenging Tonga and Roa to confront them face-to-face. In the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match, Roppongi Vice (Beretta and Rocky Romero) defends against The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson). The match was made as a result of a challenge made by Romero after he and Beretta captured the title from Suzuki-gun's Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru on April 27.

Dominion 6.11 in Osaka-jo Hall will also feature a match between Cody and Michael Elgin. After debuting for NJPW on January 4, 2017, Cody has picked up singles match wins over Juice Robinson and David Finlay. After defeating Finlay on May 3, Cody challenged NJPW to find him a stronger opponent, which led to the promotion announcing on May 8 that he would face Elgin at Dominion 6.11. Both Elgin and The Young Bucks make their NJPW returns, after being sidelined earlier in the year due to the size of the promotion's roster.

     On June 3, KUSHIDA defeated Will Ospreay in the finals to win the 2017 Best of the Super Juniors (BOSJ) tournament, his second BOSJ win in three years. Afterwards, KUSHIDA, while acknowledging that BOSJ is not technically a tournament for the number one contendership, stated that he wanted to face Hiromu Takahashi for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. KUSHIDA had been NJPW's top junior heavyweight wrestler until the emergence of Takahashi in 2017. After losing the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship to Takahashi on January 4 at Wrestle Kingdom 11, Kushida received a rematch for the title on April 9 at Sakura Genesis 2017, but suffered a "humiliating" loss by being defeated in just 116 seconds. Kushida started his resurgence in May by capturing the Ring of Honor (ROH) World Television Championship during NJPW's North American tour and his confidence was boosted during the BOSJ, when he met WWE's William Regal, who praised his 2015 Best of the Super Juniors final match with Kyle O'Reilly. After completing his comeback by winning the BOSJ, Kushida again set his sights on Takahashi, promising to avenge his previous losses. Prior to the BOSJ final, Takahashi stated that he had chosen Ospreay, who had eliminated him from the tournament, as his challenger at Dominion 6.11. Despite this, NJPW elected to make KUSHIDA the number one contender, officially announcing the match between him and Takahashi for Dominion 6.11 on June 5. Takahashi left the press conference where the match was announced in tears, after failing to overturn the decision.

On June 5, NJPW also announced that the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship would be defended at Dominion 6.11 in Osaka-jo Hall in a five-team gauntlet match with defending champions *Los Ingobernables de Japon* members BUSHI, EVIL and SANADA taking on Bullet Club's Bad Luck Fale, Hangman Page and Yujiro Takahashi, Chaos' Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano and Yoshi-Hashi, Suzuki-gun's Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Zack Sabre Jr. and Taguchi Japan's Juice Robinson, Ricochet and Ryusuke Taguchi. This marks the second NEVER Openeweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship gauntlet match of 2017; the previous took place at Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome and was won by the *Los Ingobernables de Japon* trio.

## Reception

Dave Meltzer of the *Wrestling Observer Newsletter* wrote that Dominion 6.11 was "from a match quality standpoint, one of the best shows in company history", offering particular praise to the main event, stating that Okada and Omega "followed one of the greatest pro wrestling matches of all-time, with an even better sequel", awarding it a rating of six and a quarter stars. Comparing the main event to Okada and Omega's first match at Wrestle Kingdom 11 as well as a 1994 match between Mitsuharu Misawa and Toshiaki Kawada, two matches he previously thought were the best matches he had seen, Meltzer concluded that the Dominion 6.11 match was better than either of them, featuring better selling, more drama and a better story. Meltzer wrote that the Dominion 6.11 main event featured "the two best wrestlers in the world at this point in time, both in the best match of their lives" and went on to compare the program between Okada and Omega to the 1989 series of matches between Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat.

Meltzer also praised several other matches on the card, awarding the IWGP Intercontinental Championship match four and a half stars, the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match four and three quarter stars and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match four stars.

Matthew Macklin of *Pro Wrestling Insider* called the main event "one of the best pro wrestling matches ever" and the event "one of the best top to bottom pro wrestling shows ever". *Pro Wrestling Torch'*s Sean Radican called the main event "the best match [he had] ever seen".

## References

1. ↑ NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11 live results: Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter* (2017-01-04). Retrieved on 2017-05-03.
2. ↑ Namako, Jason 2017-01-04. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11 Results – 1/4/17 (Live from the Tokyo Dome, Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega) . *Wrestleview*. Retrieved on 2017-05-03.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Meltzer, Dave 2017-01-13. NJPW announces English commentary broadcast schedule . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2017-05-03.
4. ↑ Grabianowski, Ed. How Pro Wrestling Works . *HowStuffWorks, Inc.*. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on 2013-11-18. Retrieved on 2017-05-03.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 ja:【6月11日（日）大阪城ホールの2大カードが正式決定！】“IWGPヘビー級選手権”オカダvsケニー！“インターコンチネンタル選手権”内藤vs棚橋！ (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2017-05-05). Archived from the original on 2017-05-05. Retrieved on 2017-05-05.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Currier, Joseph 2017-05-04. Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega rematch set for NJPW Dominion . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2017-05-05.
7. ↑ Fiorvanti, Tim 2017-01-05. Okada-Omega classic highlights Wrestle Kingdom 11 card for NJPW . *ESPN*. Retrieved on 2017-05-03.
8. ↑ Schwartz, Nick 2017-01-08. John Cena trolls wrestling fans worldwide on his Instagram . *Fox Sports*. Retrieved on 2017-05-03.
9. ↑ Allen, Taylor 2017-01-23. Winnipeg wrestler Kenny Omega wins 'greatest match in pro wrestling history' . *Metro Winnipeg*. Retrieved on 2017-05-03.
10. ↑ Omega teases exiting New Japan, Fantasticamania lineups released . *Pro Wrestling Insider* (2017-01-06). Retrieved on 2017-05-03.
11. ↑ *ja:【新日】２６、２７日後楽園大会にケニー参戦* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2017-02-04). Retrieved on 2017-05-03.
12. ↑ *ja:【新日ＮＪＣ】優勝候補筆頭ケニーまさかの初戦敗退* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2017-03-13). Retrieved on 2017-05-03.
13. ↑ NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo live results: Okada vs. Suzuki . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter* (2017-02-04). Retrieved on 2017-05-03.
14. ↑ Rose, Bryan 2017-04-08. NJPW Sakura Genesis live results: Okada vs. Shibata . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2017-05-03.
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Rose, Bryan 2017-05-02. NJPW Wrestling Dontaku live results: Okada faces Bad Luck Fale . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2017-05-03.
16. ↑ *ja:ＩＷＧＰ王座Ｖ５のオカダ　ケガ人続きの新日に緊急提言* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2017-05-04). Retrieved on 2017-05-03.
17. ↑ *ja:【新日】棚橋が右上腕二頭筋腱遠位断裂で今シリーズ欠場　６・１１インターコンチ戦へ治療専念* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2017-05-18). Retrieved on 2017-05-18.
18. ↑ *ja:【新日本】“いまや小銭以下の価値”…内藤がＩＣ王座封印宣言* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2017-05-29). Retrieved on 2017-05-29.
19. ↑ *ja:負傷欠場中の棚橋登場！内藤を挑発でブーイング「オレのことが嫌いらしいな」* (in Japanese). *Daily Sports Online*. Kobe Shimbun (2017-06-04). Retrieved on 2017-06-05.
20. ↑ 20.00 20.01 20.02 20.03 20.04 20.05 20.06 20.07 20.08 20.09 20.10 20.11 20.12 ja:【6月11日（日）大阪城ホール大会・追加カード決定！】鈴木と後藤が“ランバージャック・デスマッチ”で決着戦！ウォーマシンとタマ＆タンガが激突！ロッポンギvsヤングバックス！Cody vsエルガンも実現！ (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2017-05-08). Archived from the original on 2017-05-08. Retrieved on 2017-05-08.
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Currier, Joseph 2017-05-08. NJPW announces more matches for Dominion . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2017-05-08.
22. ↑ Macklin, Matthew 2017-05-08. Updated lineups for New Japan's Best of the Super Junior, Dominion 2017 . *Pro Wrestling Insider*. Retrieved on 2017-05-08.
23. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (April 10, 2017). "April 10, 2017 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Wrestlemania 33 review, WWE financials, more". *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Campbell, California: 64. ISSN 1083-9593.
24. ↑ *ja: 【新日】Kushidaがジュニアの祭典で頂点に　次はヒロムへのリベンジ狙う* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2017-06-04). Retrieved on 2017-06-05.
25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 ja:【6月11日（日）大阪城ホールの全カード決定！】“IWGPジュニア選手権”ヒロムvsKushida！ NEVER6人タッグは5ユニット参戦のガントレットマッチに！タイガーマスクWも参戦！ (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2017-06-05). Archived from the original on 2017-06-05. Retrieved on 2017-06-05.
26. ↑ *ja:【新日本】ヒロムがKushidaを116秒殺* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2017-04-10). Retrieved on 2017-06-05.
27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 *ja:【新日本】Kushidaが「スーパージュニア」２度目のＶ！次はヒロムに雪辱だ* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2017-06-05). Retrieved on 2017-06-05.
28. ↑ *ja:Kushida復活のV2達成　ヒロムにリベンジ宣言* (in Japanese). *Daily Sports Online*. Kobe Shimbun (2017-06-04). Retrieved on 2017-06-05.
29. ↑ *ja:【新日本】ヒロムＩＷＧＰジュニアＶ５戦にオスプレイ指名* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2017-06-03). Retrieved on 2017-06-05.
30. ↑ *ja:【新日】Kushida　6・11大阪城ホール大会で王者ヒロムに挑戦* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2017-06-05). Retrieved on 2017-06-05.
31. ↑ NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11 live results: Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter* (2017-01-03). Retrieved on 2017-06-05.
32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Meltzer, Dave (June 19, 2017). "June 19, 2017 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Conor McGregor/Floyd Mayweather on, Okada/Omega classic, more". *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Campbell, California: 6–19. ISSN 1083-9593.
33. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Dominion611PWI`
34. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Dominion611PWT`
35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 35.3 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Dominion611`

## External links

* The official New Japan Pro Wrestling website