Summary

Yota Tsuji is headed back into the IWGP Heavyweight Championship picture after pinning Callum Newman in the main event of New Japan Road - Ignition to Dominion on May 6.

The show closed with United Empire's Jake Lee and Newman taking on Unbound Company's Shingo Takagi and Tsuji. Because of the stipulation Newman set after Wrestling Dontaku night two, Tsuji or Takagi needed to pin the champion to earn a title shot at Dominion on June 14.

How Tsuji earned the match

Newman had already raised the stakes on the road to Dominion in a high-stakes tag challenge. If United Empire won, neither Takagi nor Tsuji would be able to challenge for the title again. If Unbound Company won, a pinfall over Newman would secure the next championship bout.

The finish came after Newman tried to repeat the same shortcut that helped him beat Takagi at Wrestling Dontaku night two. He went for a low blow with the referee distracted, but the attempt backfired when Takagi turned it around on him. Takagi then kept Jake Lee occupied, leaving Tsuji free to hit the Gene Blast spear and pin the champion.

What this means for Dominion

Callum Newman and Yota Tsuji now head into Dominion with recent history on both sides. Newman beat Tsuji at Sakura Genesis in April to become the youngest IWGP Heavyweight Champion in New Japan history, but Tsuji now has a direct pin on the champion heading into their rematch.

That gives Dominion a cleaner main-event hook than the original tag stipulation alone. Tsuji did not just get named the next challenger, he earned it by beating Newman in the center of the story's deciding match.

Sources

As reported by Fightful.