Dominion 6.20 (2009): WrestleFile Historical Verdict

Jushin Thunder Liger and AKIRA opened the inaugural Dominion show by defeating Koji Kanemoto and Nobuo Yoshihashi in 6:47. AKIRA pinned Yoshihashi following the Musasabi Press, a result corroborated by the June 20, 2009 New Japan results and Japanese BBM's contemporary event record. This was a short, non-title junior tag contest rather than the later IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team title-contender match. The Liger-AKIRA team was part of the established Legend grouping, while Kanemoto and the younger Yoshihashi supplied the opposing side. Its C grade fits a compact opener with an identifiable finish; assigning the pin to Liger or making Kanemoto the losing wrestler would erase the decisive details of the recorded result.

Takao Omori and Yutaka Yoshie beat Super Strong Machine and Mitsuhide Hirasawa in 5:26 in Dominion 2009's second tag contest. Omori pinned Hirasawa after the Axe Bomber, rather than Yoshie scoring the decisive fall on Super Strong Machine. This was another brisk, non-title undercard result, placed between the Legend junior opener and Apollo 55's consequential match for a future junior tag championship challenge. The pairing featured experienced heavyweights and a younger opponent, but neither the IWGP Heavyweight Championship nor the tag belts changed hands here. A C grade accounts for the short runtime and limited immediate stakes while retaining the real finish, which matters when distinguishing the show's two early tags from its championship contests.

Apollo 55, Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi, defeated Unione's Milano Collection A.T. and Taichi in 13:13 to earn the next IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship challenge. Taguchi pinned Taichi after the Dodon, giving the team a concrete contenders' result without awarding the actual belts on this night. The match followed two short non-title tag bouts and provided the first meaningful future-championship consequence of the June 20 Osaka card. Distinguishing title-contender status from a title change also separates this result from Team 3D's later successful IWGP heavyweight tag title defense and Tanahashi's IWGP heavyweight title win. Its C+ assessment credits the clear 13-minute decision and tangible division consequence without inventing a championship switch.

Tiger Mask defeated the fifth Black Tiger, revealed as Tatsuhito Takaiwa, with a chickenwing submission in 4:32 in a Mask vs. Mask match. The loser was unmasked afterward, giving an unusually brief singles contest an unmistakable stipulation consequence. Koji Kanemoto helped prevent Black Tiger from escaping the unmasking, linking the moment to the earlier junior undercard activity without changing the actual winner. The rivalry was neither an IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship bout nor a tournament final. The C+ grade recognizes that its short bell-to-bell duration limited the wrestling content even as the identity reveal made it a prominent historical event on the first Dominion card. A pinfall would misstate the recorded submission finish.

Shinsuke Nakamura, Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii and Jado won their eight-man CHAOS tag over Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue and Tomoaki Honma in 12:12. Nakamura pinned Inoue following a knee kick to the face; the finish was not scored on Tenzan or Nagata. The faction contest took place after Tiger Mask's stipulation win and before the first NJPW-versus-NOAH singles match between Go Shiozaki and Kazuchika Okada. Its C+ evaluation credits an established faction result with a definite fall and moderate runtime, without implying the victory earned an IWGP title or settled the junior tag title picture. The lineups and finishing wrestler give it a different purpose from the event's later championship bouts.

Go Shiozaki defeated Kazuchika Okada with the Go Flasher in 8:28 in the first NJPW-versus-NOAH Battle Diffusions singles match at Dominion 2009. Shiozaki represented Pro Wrestling NOAH and Okada represented New Japan, making the result an interpromotional win rather than a New Japan championship transfer. The future IWGP headline star was still appearing in a short undercard match here, long before his later rivalry with Hiroshi Tanahashi. The C+ grade recognizes the crossover attraction and decisive finish without attributing Okada's subsequent achievements to the June 2009 contest. This was distinct from NOAH wrestler Takashi Sugiura's later win over Hirooki Goto on the same card; the visiting promotion scored both of those singles victories.

Team 3D, Brother Ray and Brother Devon, retained the IWGP Tag Team Championship against CHAOS's Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson in an 18:04 hardcore match. Devon pinned Anderson after a super powerbomb through a table, giving the champions a successful third defense rather than a title change. The table finish belongs to the match's hardcore stipulation and should not be confused with the separate Apollo 55 junior tag title-contender win earlier in the show. Team 3D entered as champions and left holding the heavyweight tag belts, while the later IWGP Heavyweight Championship changed hands in a different singles match. The B grade recognizes the substantial match length and decisive stunt-driven result, without inventing a fourth member of either team or assigning the fall to Bernard.

Takashi Sugiura of Pro Wrestling NOAH defeated NJPW's Hirooki Goto in 14:42 with the Olympic Slam in the second Battle Diffusions crossover singles contest. Earlier, fellow NOAH wrestler Go Shiozaki had beaten Kazuchika Okada, giving the outside promotion two victories on this Dominion card. Sugiura's result was a singles pin, not a championship defense or a win awarded to Goto. The matchup helped distinguish Dominion 2009 from an ordinary succession of faction tags by placing the New Japan roster against high-profile visitors. Its B- evaluation credits the competitive runtime and clear crossover outcome without claiming the match awarded the IWGP Heavyweight title. That championship was decided later between Hiroshi Tanahashi and Manabu Nakanishi.

Toru Yano defeated Togi Makabe with the Oni Koroshi in 14:16 in the match billed as Dominion's Scepter. The contest added a CHAOS-centered rivalry result just before the night's IWGP Heavyweight Championship main event. Yano was the winner, and no title changed hands; a description presenting Makabe as the winner would misstate the recorded decision. The 14-minute runtime gave this singles feud more room than the early junior mask stipulation, though it lacked the championship consequences of Team 3D's defense or Tanahashi's title win. The C+ rating recognizes its specific placement and recognized finish without attributing the future KOPW concept or other later title histories to this 2009 stipulation.

Hiroshi Tanahashi pinned Manabu Nakanishi after the High Fly Flow in 31:18 to reclaim the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in Dominion 2009's main event. Nakanishi entered as champion and left without the belt, so this was a real heavyweight title change, unlike Team 3D's earlier successful tag defense. Tanahashi had held the championship before; regaining it gave the inaugural Dominion a direct consequence for New Japan's top singles division. The NOAH representatives' victories also connected to the aftermath: Takashi Sugiura challenged Tanahashi following the main event, setting up the new champion's next defense. The B+ grade recognizes the long title contest, decisive finish and next challenger without treating either Battle Diffusions match as an IWGP title decision.