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Zen Arcade Reviews: More NJPW Matches I Decided To Watch
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Loading...G-1 Climax Final: Kenny Omega vs. Hirooki Goto
G1 Climax 26 FINAL. I don’t really know why I didn’t watch this match directly after Omega’s classic with Naito, but that match tired me out something fierce and considering this match has been said to be on the level of the Naito match, I had to space things out a bit. But here we are as Omega attempts to become the first gaijin to win the G1 Climax against the perpetual runner-up in Goto…
Omega gives Goto a light paw to the face en route to a fairly clean break in the earlygoing, but Goto doesn’t let it faze him. First bit of real action sees Omega giving Goto a Frankensteiner to the floor, but as Omega prepares for a big dive, Goto slides back in and takes out Omega’s bad knee from the Naito match. The crowd hilariously BOOS Goto for doing this as they were doing the clapping routine in anticipation for the dive. Goto clotheslines Omega out of the ring and works him over at ringside, but Omega battles back before kissing the G1 trophy and hitting a Quebrada off of the guardrail and bodyslamming Goto on the ring apron. Omega breaks the count to go outside and feign powerbombing Goto into the second row, but instead pulls a Big Kev and slams him on the apron once more. Needless to say, Kenny’s in the driver’s seat for the time being. Goto dodges a running Omega in the corner, but runs right into a boot and falls victim to a leapfrog bulldog for a 2 count. Omega loses track of Goto, who uses a lucha passe to help lariat Omega out of his boots before a Backdrop Driver creates separation. Goto heads up top for a diving elbow that gets 2. Omega spits in Goto’s face in response, followed by a Finlay Roll and a second rope moonsault for 2. Goto dares Omega to hit him, and of course Kenny obliges by going after Goto’s eyes much to the crowd’s UTTER DISGUST. Goto looks for another lariat, but Omega knows the routine by now and sends Goto outside for the TOPE CON HILO! Omega follows with a nasty missile dropkick to the back of the head, but Goto resists a Dragon Suplex and hits Ushigoroshi! Kenny tries to find peace on the apron, but Goto knocks him loopy with a lariat and sets him up top for AVALANCHE USHIGOROSHI~! Omega kicks out! Goto tries for a Sleeper to keep Omega down for a German, but Omega backflips out and hits the Fisherman’s Last Shot! Switch Knee scores and he looks for the One Winged Angel, but Goto slides out and puts on the Sleeper again! Omega can’t shake him, so he climbs to the top rope AND FALLS WITH GOTO ON HIS BACK! They both stagger up and trade shots in the center of the ring until Omega drops Goto with another knee and hits the LAST RIDE LIGERBOMB! Goto kicks out. Goto dodges a Phoenix Splash and whacks Kenny in the chest with a kick for two, and hits a spinning facebuster that gets another nearfall! Omega fights back and hits a couple Switch Knees and a Dragon Suplex for two! Goto catches another knee, but Omega persists… only to RUN INTO A LARIAT FROM GOTO! SHOUTEN KAI FROM GOTO! OMEGA KICKS OUT! BLOODY SUNDAY FROM OMEGA! STYLES CLASH~! GOTO KICKS OUT! ONE WINGED ANGEL! Kenny Omega wins the G-1 Climax in 26 minutes. ****1/4 I hate to throw any negatives on a match that’s so great, but after hearing this match might be as good as the Naito encounter, I came in expecting more than what I got. It seemed like Goto working on Kenny’s knee was an easy way to go, and they started on that route, but kind of abandoned it as the match wore on and seemed a bit pointless. Also, as good in the ring as Goto is, he just doesn’t have the personality of Tranquilo Tetsuya Naito and while Kenny Omega has tons of charisma, this one didn’t quite come together like I thought it needed to on that end either. But with that being said, let’s not pretend this match wasn’t all sorts of great. The crowd reaction for both men was really interesting at times, as this Sumo Hall audience adored Kenny Omega despite his disgust at them cheering for Tetsuya Naito the night before. Sure, they booed when he went after Goto’s eyes about mid-way through the match, but Goto was the heroic babyface who didn’t cheat and still got booed for cutting off Omega’s dives. I thought that crowd support for Omega really helped his momentum as the match wore on, even if it didn’t feel as urgent as the home stretch of his match with Naito. And a lot has been said about that awesome finishing sequence of Omega using every Bullet Club leader’s finisher to put Goto away, with the only one that kept him down being the One Winged Angel. That’s the sort of storytelling and symbolism Kenny Omega needs to put forth to truly wiggle his way into a Top Guy position, and it came off perfectly and made him look like a complete and utter star. Was this the best match of the tournament? No. But it didn’t really need to be. It ushered in an era of Kenny Omega that most weren’t thinking could happen a year beforehand, and I think Gedo and New Japan should be commended for being so forthright about making Kenny Omega a star, because he came off like the best in the world during this G-1 Climax. Great stuff.
Kazuchika Okada vs. Tomohiro Ishii
G1 Climax 26. I’ve already reviewed the other supposed five star match of 2016’s G1, and it indeed was quite the five star match, so I might as well try and see how this one holds up. I have seen it, but didn’t pay that much attention because I suck at a lot of stuff, so I’m coming in with relatively fresh eyes as it goes.
Okada does his whole fake clean break deal, which earns him a nasty lariat from Ishii, who gets a couple nearfalls out of Okada in the earlygoing. Okada escapes a Brainbuster and nearly hits the Rainmaker, but settles for his wacky Emerald Flowsion to the knee. Ishii recovers first as a flustered Okada rolls to the floor, and Ishii nearly chops the Rainmaker’s lungs into raw hamburger. Okada is game to trade strikes with the Pitbull, but Ishii catches him on the rebound with a powerslam. Ishii runs into a boot from Okada, who catches him on a rebound with a flapjack that lets Okada catch his breath a bit. Okada starts building a head of steam, hitting Ishii with a sliding dropkick for a two count. Okada drops Ishii on his melon with a DDT before kipping up and starching him with a running uppercut for another nearfall. Okada heads up top, but has to dodge a running Ishii who ends up catching him with a spinning Backdrop Driver. Ishii backs the champ up in the corner for a Violence Party, but Okada dodges him running and sets him on the top rope for a dropkick that sends Ishii out to the floor. Okada follows him to the floor where he KILLS HIM with a DDT! Okada brings him back to the ring and strikes the Rainmaker pose, but Ishii pops up and CHOPS HIM as the hard camera zooms out! Ultimate disrespect. Ishii necks Okada with a German Suplex and hits a Powerbomb for a nearfall. Ishii keeps his momentum going, but walks right into Heavy Rain. Okada throws a boot at Ishii, who brushes it off and dodges a dropkick, but misses a sliding lariat on Okada who ends up walking into a dropkick from Ishii! Ishii puts Okada up top for a HUGE Superplex, but Okada kicks out! SLIDING LARIAT! Okada kicks out again. Okada escapes a Brainbuster twice and hits his dropkick to the back of Ishii’s head! Okada hits THREE SLIDING DROPKICKS, but Ishii kicks out. Okada looks for the Tombstone, but Ishii escapes and throws his Misawa elbows, but runs right into a Dropkick! Okada looks for the Rainmaker, but Ishii escapes and HITS AN ENZUIGIRI! LARIATOOO… COUNTERED INTO A GERMAN! RAINMAKER COUNTERED… INTO A HEADBUTT! ANOTHER ONE SENDS OKADA DOWN! TOMBSTONE FROM OKADA… COUNTERED INTO A SITDOWN TOMBSTONE FROM ISHII!~! LARIATOOOO! OKADA KICKS OUT! BRAINBUSTER! Ishii pins the IWGP Champion in 20 minutes. ****1/2 The wrestling world simply does not deserve Tomohiro Ishii. This bowling ball of a man is 41 years old, and works harder than 95% of the youngest wrestlers to have the best match on every show. He doesn’t particularly look like a wrestler, isn’t very large, nor does he have the best technical acumen; but he doesn’t need to be. He’s a superb psychological wrestler in the sense that no matter who he’s working against and what that wrestler’s style is, he can blend his own idiosyncracies in with a guy like Okada, who doesn’t normally do the knockdown, drag-out fights. He doesn’t carry the guys, but can adjust ever so slightly to a less furious style while still not betraying what brought him to the dance. It helps that Okada is so ridiculously great, because I really did enjoy the smoothness he brought to even out the insanity of Ishii. He’s like Randy Orton, but a lot better, motivated, and not boring. He was forced to fight Ishii at his own game and tried his hardest, but once the Pitbull had him dragged into the fight, Okada didn’t stand much of a chance. It’s an easy story, one supplemented by the tremendous efforts of Tomohiro Ishii especially into coming a credible win against the perennial top dog.
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Destruction in Kobe 2014. Two of NJPW’s early 2000’s “Three Musketeers” along with Shinsuke Nakamura, Katsuyori Shibata was the only one to stray away from the wrestling game, where he had a future top spot waiting for him. Instead, he mostly embarked on an MMA career that basically saw him become not much more than a jobber in DREAM before coming back to New Japan in 2012 along with much, much more successful MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba as a part of the shooter tag team Laughter7. Meanwhile, Tanahashi basically became one of the best to ever step inside of a wrestling ring and is a huge reason why New Japan overcame the hole Inoki sunk them in in the mid-2000’s into what is now the second-biggest wrestling promotion in the world. So that’s a great story going into this match between two incredible – but very different – talents. Basically, it’s Tanahashi vs. Shibata and it’s going to be great.
Shibata grabs an armlock early, forcing Tanahashi to back him into the ropes… before Tana SLAPS THE SHIT OUT OF HIM in lieu of a clean break! That’s not something you do to Katsuyori Shibata, who starts throwing leather on general principle. Tanahashi backs him up in the corner and they trade some pretty snug forearms before Shibata ends up dropkicking a springboarding Tanahashi to the floor, whipping him into the barricade for a running boot. They trade forearms all the way back into the ring, until Shibata whips Tanahashi down and puts in a Figure Four. Shibata shit talks him the entire way through, causing Tanahashi to try and slap his way out of the hold. Tanahashi eventually rolls away to the ropes, but Shibata stays on him. Shibata keeps the momentum, but runs right into a flying forearm from Tanahashi, followed by a basement dropkick. Tanahashi throws more forearms at a cornered Shibata, who follows him into the opposite corner with a running boot, and dodges a Tanahashi Stinger Splash before BRINGING THE PAIN with forearms in the corner! Shibata knocks Tanahashi into next week with his corner dropkick. Tanahashi looks for a Dragon Screw and Shibata STARCHES him with slaps, but it’s a futile effort as Tanahashi brings his leg down hard. Tanahashi looks for High Fly Flow, but Shibata DESTROYS HIM with a boot that knocks him to the floor. Tanahashi recovers enough to catch a lagging Shibata coming inside with a Dragon Screw in the ropes, but Shibata catches a Slingblade into a Backdrop Driver! Tanahashi fights back up and hits a German of his own, but Shibata pops up and STIFFS HIM WITH A PK! Shibata heaves Tanahashi up in a Fireman’s Carry, but Tanahashi counters into a Sling Blade! He hits another one, but the High Fly Flow eats knees! Shibata looks for the Sleeper, but Tanahashi counters into a bridging O’Connor Roll… that SHIBATA COUNTERS INTO A REAR NAKED CHOKE! PK… COUNTERED INTO A GERMAN SUPLEX! Tanahashi goes back after the leg to keep Shibata grounded, and puts in a Cloverleaf, but Shibata finds the ropes. Tanahashi looks for another Slingblade presumably, but runs into a Shibata dropkick that leaves both men down. They reach their knees and immediately start trading forearms until TANAHASHI FOLDS SHIBATA WITH A SLAP! SHIBATA CRUMBLES TANAHASHI WITH A BACKFIST! TANAHASHI COUNTERS THE GO 2 PK WITH A DRAGON SCREW! HUGE CORNER DROPKICK FROM TANAHASHI! HIGH FLY FLOW CROSSBODY! HIGH FLY FLOW! Tanahashi picks up the win in 18 minutes. ****3/4 Yet another storytelling masterpiece from Hiroshi Tanahashi, this time against a man who many thought would be his contemporary in NJPW forever. And you could tell immediately that Tanahashi wasn’t exactly happy with Shibata, given the perennial babyface Ace threw the first slap in an unclean break, setting the bar for the rest of the match. Instead of going through the feeling-out process, Tanahashi drew Shibata into what looked like muddy waters for the former, but Tanahashi’s work on Shibata’s leg wore him down enough to allow Tana to put the finishing touches on after knocking Shibata silly with his own corner dropkick. It’s tricky doing finishes like that because you don’t want to make the guy the babyface is copying look like a jabroni, but Tanahashi did such a great job throughout the match selling and picking spots for his comeback. He got utterly massacred through a lot of this match, taking shots you don’t normally see him take to the point where you sort of wondered why this beat up guy was getting the hell beat out of him so badly. It paid off in an incredible match of course, but some of the punishment he took in this match may make you cringe. But that’s the charm of a Shibata match. He’s not a shooter in the sense that he’ll lay with you on the ground and slightly wrench your leg because it looks more real than doing a Shooting Star Press. He just beats the living Jesus out of you, makes it look real, and has the psychology chops to back it up and make everything come together logically. He pops up from moves sure, but when he DOES sell, it makes everything so much more meaningful and adds to the narrative of the match. When you put that against a guy in Hiroshi Tanahashi who can eat away at your stamina with every move, a wonderful match abounds. What a beautiful clash of styles this turned out to be.
IWGP Intercontinental Title: Shinsuke Nakamura © vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
Wrestle Kingdom 7. We just visited a match with Shibata, who came back into the New Japan fold with the Gracie Hunter Sakuraba. Sure, he made his name initially beating Royce Gracie in that infamous 2-hour fight in PRIDE, but he started out as a UWFi at the height of its popularity in 90’s, which probably gives you an idea as to what his style might be. And given Nakamura – while not very good at legitimate MMA quite truthfully – is a damn good shoot-style worker himself, I’d imagine this one holds up.
Sakuraba offers a handshake, and we’re off. It’s what you’d expect in the early moments, some catch wrestling to close distance and a few clean breaks to let Shinsuke strut a little bit. Nakamura shoots for a double leg, but Sakuraba sprawls into the ropes and is able to force another break. Sakuraba gets side control, but Nakamura is able to pull guard quickly enough to get out of danger. Saku postures up and gets to half guard, and brings the champ up with a front facelock in the ropes, forcing Nakamura to break and take a break outside. Nakamura can’t get much of a striking advantage, so he clinches into the corner and throws a disrespectful slap as he breaks to egg Sakuraba on a bit. And it works, as we break INTO A BIG EXCHANGE OF STRIKES! Sakuraba catches a kick and trips Shinsuke down, and instead of dealing with upkicks, Saku JUMPS OVER HIM AND DOUBLE STOMPS HIS HEAD! Nakamura corners him and throws some knees, followed by the vibration boot and the running knee to the gut, only for Sakuraba to dodge and put in a Sleeper over the ropes! Sakuraba corners Nakamura and throws a barrage of strikes followed by a German Suplex, but Nakamura pops up… AND RUNS RIGHT INTO A KNEE THAT KNOCKS HIM ON QUEER STREET~! It’s THAT knee, yes. Sakuraba locks on a mounted triangle and turns it over, but Nakamura postures up and stomps out of it, before HITTING BOMAYE TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD! BOMAYE COUNTERED INTO A GERMAN… NO, INTO A CROSS ARMBREAKER! KIMURA! NAKAMURA COUNTERS INTO A CROSS ARMBREAKER! Sakuraba has mount and looks for the Kimura again, but Nakamura gets a leg on the rope. Sakuraba won’t break, so NAKAMURA COUNTERS IT INTO LANDSLIDE! Nakamura looks for a German, but SAKURABA ROLLS INTO THE KIMURA! NAKAMURA KNEES OUT! CROSS ARMBREAKER! Nakamura won’t let him extend, and powers out to KNEE HIM IN THE NOSE! BOMAYE! Shinsuke Nakamura picks up the win in an INSANE 12 minutes. ****1/2 I will never claim to be an expert on the UWFi-esque shoot style just because I haven’t seen enough, but boy oh boy was this an incredibly worked shoot-style match. It really did an incredible job of combining the MMA aspects with traditional wrestling psychology in a way guys like Timothy Thatcher or Drew Gulak aren’t really able to figure out because while they’re great and all, this match was a completely different level in terms of heat, quality, and psychology. The big story of this match was Nakamura not being able to quite get the upperhand on the ground with Sakuraba, who defending every takedown and pretty much maintained the dominant position at all times in the earlygoing. Nakamura figured he’d draw Sakuraba’s ire and piss him off with a slap, which dragged him into the gutter fight he was almost assuredly attempting to avoid with the explosive Nakamura. Nakamura’s explosiveness helped him in the waning moments, as he was able to outlast Sakuraba in the more tense grappling exchanges, eventually using his Bomaye knees to get the win at the end. It ain’t rocket appliances, but it does make for an incredible pro wrestling match, a style we truthfully don’t see enough of. But then again, I’m not sure there are too many guys who can pull it off so well.
IWGP Heavyweight Title: Kazuchika Okada © vs. Kenny Omega
Wrestle Kingdom 11. It’s fresh on everyone’s mind and I was fighting sleep watching it live at 6 AM, so what harm can it do to re-visit an alleged SIX STAR match? For what it’s worth, even with my eyes feeling like they had anvils attached to them, this was an easy five star match for me on first watch and one of the best matches I’d ever seen. I’m watching it for the first time with English commentary too, just to get a new perspective.
It’s a tentative start in the beginning, as neither man wants to make a mistake in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom. Kenny speeds it up a bit with an urgent backslide, but Okada wiggles out and starts gaining a tentative upper hand. Okada tries the top rope dropkick, but Kenny rolls out and attempts a One Winged Angel, only for the champ to grab the wrist and try a Rainmaker, which Omega escapes by spitting in Okada’s face. Omega tries some mind-games, but Okada gives him a stiff boot to the face that has Kenny retreating. Okada whips the challenger hard into the guardrail, and reverses out of a suplex into the English announce table so he can NECK Kenny with a hanging DDT off of the guardrail. Okada pulls out a table, which referee Red Shoes objects to, nearly allowing Kenny Omega to take over via distraction. Okada is able to keep on his toes, sending Omega beyond the guardrail for a running crossbody into a vacant section of the Tokyo Dome. Kenny battles back and throws some concentrated, slow strikes at Okada to slow things down after Okada’s wild burst of offense. Okada is fresh enough to put up a fight, but Omega catches him with a Kitchen Sink knee on the rebound. Okada fights back with a boot, but Kenny responds with a hurricanrana that sends the champion to the floor for the TERMINATOR TOPE CON HILO! Omega goes back to work on the lower back afterwards, scoop slamming Okada on the ring apron before chucking him back into th ering for a DISGUSTING missile dropkick to the back of the head! Okada won’t go up for a powerbomb, so Kenny throws a few knees until Okada catches one and hoists Kenny up for Heavy Rain. Okada follows up with a slick DDT, followed by a running lifter that gets a two count. Okada follows with Red Ink, but Kenny is able to find the rope. Omega charges at Okada wildly, which proves to be a bad idea as the champ catches him with an Emerald Flowsion on the knee. A dive eats knees, and Omega sends Okada packing with a pumphandle backbreaker. A nasty baseball slide sends Okada over the guardrail… for A TRIANGLE MOONSAULT OVER THE GUARDRAIL FROM OMEGA~! Kenny catches Okada stumbling over the guardrail trying to break the count, so he puts the table Okada pulled out over the champ and comes off the apron with a NASTY DOUBLE STOMP! Omega doesn’t wait for the countout, bringing Okada back in for a powerbomb that gets a nearfall. Omega hits a GORGEOUS Sitout Doctor Bomb for another 2 count. The Young Bucks set up the table at ringside so Omega can put Okada through it with a One Winged Angel, but Red Shoes forces him back into the ring before he can murder young Kazuchika Okada. Okada is able to lift a couple boots to a running Omega, who recovers immensely with the Finlay Roll into the second rope moonsault for two count. Omega isn’t hot enough on the trail though, and Okada puts the challenger up top for the dropkick, sending Omega cashing to the floor. Okada looks for Heavy Rain through the table, but nearly takes the One Winged Angel! Okada slithers out into the ring and eats a few chops, but HE BACKDROPS A RUNNING KENNY OMEGA THROUGH THE TABLE OUTSIDE!~! Jesus CHRIST. Okada breaks the countout and rolls Omega back into the ring himself, as just murdering a man isn’t okay; he has to do it honorably. And what better way to follow that up than by KILLING Kenny with a missile dropkick? Okada hits the elbow and signals for the Rainmaker, but Kenny is forced to retreat to the ropes to break the wrist-clutch. Kenny ducks another Rainmaker and goes back after the abdomen, but can’t hoist Okada up on the top rope after the crash and burn into the table. He eventually musters up the strength to put him up top and he DROPS OKADA ON HIS FUCKING HEAD WITH A DRAGON SUPERPLEX!~! OKADA KICKS OUT! Omega follows up with an 2K1 Bomb into an Ushigoroshi, but Okada counters a V-Trigger into a German! RAINMAKER COUNTERED INTO A V TRIGGER! OMEGA RUNS INTO A DROPKICK! V-TRIGGER FROM OMEGA! REVERSE RANA! V-TRIGGER AGAIN! ONE WINGED ANGEL… COUNTERED! RUNNING ACE CRUSHER COUNTERED INTO A TOMBSTONE~! RAINMAKER~! OMEGA KICKS OUT!~! Okada is at a loss, but he runs through a couple punches to try and hoist Omega up… and SHOTGUN DROPKICKS HIM into the corner! Tombstone… BUT OMEGA COUNTERS INTO A PACKAGE TOMBSTONE! OKADA KICKS OUT! These two are spent, throwing leather from their knees in the center of the ring, soon devolving into a furious slugfest. SNAP DRAGON SUPLEX! V-TRIGGER! OKADA KICKS OUT! V-TRIGGER AGAIN! ONE-WINGED ANGEL… COUNTERED INTO A RAINMAKER~! THIRD RAINMAKER COUNTERED… BUT HE KEEPS WRIST CONTROL! V-TRIGGERS FROM OMEGA! RAINMAKER AGAIN~! RAINMAKER COUNTERED! RAINMAKER FROM OMEGA… COUNTERED! DROPKICK FROM OMEGA!~! RAINMAKER V-TRIGGER~! ONE-WINGED ANGEL… COUNTERED INTO A JUMPING TOMBSTOOOOONE! RAINMAKER NUMBER FOUR! Kazuchika Okada retains his title in 47 minutes. ***** That’s one of the all-time great professional wrestling matches, no doubt about it. The key reason why this match resonates so clearly with me is because every moment in it felt like it escalated the story. And within that, there were so many small sidebar bits of psychology that everything felt fully fleshed out beyond a big picture narrative. In the beginning proportions, we had a very cerebral battle over who got to dictate the early pace. The commentary got over suberbly the advantages each man had if they were able to dictate where the match went. Omega wanted to slow it down, and wear the champion down by targeting his back. Okada wanted to throw the kitchen sink at Omega, chopping him down with wild offense and a gameplan that ended up paying off. He fired hard, early, and often and ended up scouting Kenny Omega’s only surefire path to victory in the One Winged Angel. But on the same token, he didn’t account for the fact that Omega wrestled this match like he was fighting for his life, and it took an unprecedented FOUR Rainmaker lariats to keep Omega on the mat for three seconds. And even the small threads made so much sense in context to the bigger story and were a joy to watch unfold. You had the battle of the V-Trigger Knee against the wrist-clutch of the Rainmaker. You had Kenny Omega trying to steal Okada’s moves to get one over on him. You had Okada taking out a table after Omega put him through one last month, and it ended up paying off for the champ with that maniacal backdrop to the outside. And perhaps the biggest question mark of all, Kenny Omega not being able to hit the One Winged Angel. It’s that sort of long-term, seed-sewing psychology that puts these elite New Japan matches above 99% of the wrestling products in the world. And in this case, I don’t know if there’s going to be a match even in the NJPW world that can top the sheer amount of quality Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada displayed on January 4th, 2017. If you were to tell me Kenny Omega was the best wrestler in the world, I wouldn’t disagree after watching this match. If you were to tell me Kazuchika Okada is the best wrestler in the world after this match, I might agree. Kenny Omega was utterly breathtaking and while deep down I do wish he won this match, he came out of this match a mega-star, to the point where I almost think him losing was better, so long as he had THIS match. And in kayfabe, what’s a better way to lose a match than to do immense damage to the guy you lose to? He has that feather in his cap, and there’s always a question of whether or not Omega can pull it off the next time after going 45 minutes the first. This was like a UFC fight with two guys who go out there, and leave every bit of blood, sweat and tears in the cage… and when the final bell rings, neither man comes out of it a loser. That’s immediately where my mind went when Okada won. Kenny Omega is a star for going out in the main event of the Tokyo Dome and for 46:49, having what some people call the best match this business has ever seen. Would I go that far? I don’t know. There’s so much wrestling in the world that I couldn’t possibly say with confidence whether or not this is the best match I’ve ever seen. But it’s ONE of the best matches I’ve ever had the privilege of seeing, and bravo to Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada for giving wrestling fans something to remember. It really doesn’t get much better than this match.
