wrestling / Video Reviews
From The Shelf- NJPW WrestleKingdom 10
Loading...New Japan Pro Wrestling Wrestle Kingdom 10
1-4-16
Tokyo, Japan
Your hosts are Kevin Kelly, Matt Striker, and Yoshi Tatsu.
Pre-Show
New Japan Rumble
Jushin Liger is #1 and Yoshiaki Fujiwara is #2. Fujiwara goes for his famous arm bar but Liger quickly goes to the ropes to block. Tiger Mask is #3 and Fujiwara catches both of them in grape vines but Liger gets to the ropes to force a break. Cheeseburger is #4 and everyone fights over him when he enters. Cheeseburger and Liger double team Fujiwara in the corner but Fujiwara ends that with a slap. Hiro Saito is #5 and he blocks a suplex attempt from Tiger Mask. Saito knocks Liger down and hits a back senton. Yoshi-Hashi is #6 and he goes after Saito. Liger slams Yoshi-Hashi into a back senton from Saito. Cheeseburger fires away on Yoshi-Hashi but that has no effect. Mascara Dorada is #7 and Liger catches him with a tilt-a-whirl slam. Rear abdominal stretch by Liger but Dorada is able to escape. Captain New Japan is #8 and he fires away on everyone. Fujiwara catches him in the Fujiwara arm bar and Captain taps. Everyone piles onto Fujiwara for 3 to eliminate him!!! Manabu Nakanishi is #9 and he goes up. Tomohawk chop off the top to Yoshi-Hashi and he goes back up. Liger shakes the ropes to bring him down. Yuji Nagata is #10 and he brawls with Dorada. Tiger Mask and Saito fight on top and Saito fights him off. Back senton off the top by Saito gets 3 to eliminate Tiger Mask. Everyone piles up on Saito for 3 to eliminate him. Satoshi Kojima is #11 as Liger and Nakanishi are dumped by Yoshi-Hashi. Kojima goes after Yoshi-Hashi and CHEESEBURGER DELIVERS RAPID CHOPS~!!! With no effect, of course. Hiroyoshi Tenzan is #12 and he goes for a lariat but misses Yoshi-Hashi and nails Kojima!!! They argue before trading chops. Ryusuke Taguchi is #13 and everyone goes right after him. Nagata kicks him square in the ass a few times. Shiro Koshinaka is #14 and he throws hip checks at everyone to the delight of Taguchi. KING HAKU IS #15!!!! He attacks Kojima from behind and he charges at Nagata, knocking him off the apron to eliminate him. He dumps Kojima as well. Great Kabuki is #16 and Dorada is eliminated during his entrance. Tenzan makes Haku tap to the Anaconda Vice and everyone piles on top of Tenzan for 3 to eliminate him. Kazushi Sakuraba is #17, fresh off his beating in RIZIN. He throws some kicks at the leg of Kabuki but Kabuki fires back with a strke. He blows mist at Sakuraba and is DQ’ed!!! Taguchi rolls up Sakuraba for 3 to eliminate him. Jado is #18 and is the final entrant. Yoshi-Hashi hits a Swanton Bomb on Cheeseburger for 3 to eliminate him. Yoshi-Hashi is eliminated during Jado’s long entrance. Taguchi and Koshinaka double team Jado and they hit stereo hip checks. Taguchi covers for 2 as Koshinaka breaks for no reason. Koshinaka goes up and hits a flying hip check on Jado for 2 as Taguchi breaks. Taguchi goes for a second rope hip check but he nails Koshinaka by mistake. Jado dumps Koshinaka to eliminate him. Hip check by Taguchi and he charges but Jado low bridges him to win it!!!
Winner- Jado *1/2 ( Considering Jado isn’t even in the promotion right now, he wouldn’t have been his first choice to win this but it’s the pre-show match so whatever. This was what you expected as it had terrible wrestling, fun surprises, and CHEESEBURGER! It was what it was. )
Main Show
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship- reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly) © vs. Roppongi Vice (Rocky Romero and Baretta) vs. Ricochet and Matt Sydal vs. Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) w/Cody Hall
The Bucks attack right away and Hall helps clear the ring. Matt officially starts with Fish. He hammers away and tags Nick. Double hip toss into the double dropkick by the Bucks. Fish comes back with a Samoan drop and O’Reilly tags in. Sydal catches Fish with a spinning heel kick and O’Reilly throws some strikes at him. Lariat in the ropes by Sydal and RPG Vice hit a guillotine double stomp on Sydal. Super kick by Sydal but Baretta comes back with an enzuigiri. Release German suplex by Baretta and he hits a summersault plancha onto everyone on the floor!!! Back in, Baretta goes up but Nick sweeps the leg, driving Baretta into the top turnbuckle for 2. SUPER KICK PARTY~!!! A double super kick to Baretta gets 2!!! Matt toys with Baretta and Nick knocks reDRagon off the apron. Nick catches Baretta with a dropkick and he toys with Romero using his worn out partner, so Romero slaps him. Matt super kicks him off the apron to return the favor and he runs into a standing double stomp from Baretta. He catches Nick with a Tornado DDT and he tags Ricochet in. Springboard clothesline by Ricochet and he and Sydal charge at Matt in the corner. Standing SSP/moonsault combo by Sydal and Ricochet and Matt eats stereo kicks from the champs. Cross arm breaker in the ropes to Matt as Nick takes out everyone with a summersault plancha!!! He super kicks O’Reilly to break the hold and Sydal hits an Asai moonsault to the floor!!!! Hall trips up Ricochet to prevent him from diving and HE HITS THE RAZOR’S EDGE SENDING RICOCHET ONTO EVERYONE ON THE FLOOR!!!! Back in, they hit the buckle bomb/enzuigiri combo and follow up with the guillotine Swanton Bomb on Ricochet for 2. Sydal hits a standing Frakensteiner off the top on Nick and Ricochet hits the rolling suplex on Matt. Pump handle driver by Sydal into the SSP by Ricochet for 2 as Matt saves!!! Stereo slams and Sydal and Ricochet go up. reDRagon stop them and charge at Sydal in the corner. Tilt-a-whirl back breaker/knee drop combo by the champs. Rolling butterfly suplexes on Nick and they hit Double Dragon on Nick for 2 as Hall pulls Fish to the floor. O’Reilly takes him out with a flying knee strike off the apron. We have a suplex battle and it’s won by reDRagon and RPG Vice. Springboard missle dropkick by Romero and he catches Fish with a hurricanrana. Rapid corner clotheslines by Romero and he catches the champs with a double clothesline. He hits one on the Bucks as well. One more for Sydal and Ricochet!!! Guillotine Swanton Bomb into the basement knee strike by RPG Vice gets 2. Knee strike by Sydal but Romero returns the favor. Ricochet prevents Strong Zero and he hits the Benedryller on Romero. Sydal and Ricochet hit the stereo SSP on RPG Vice!!! Matt sneaks in and covers Romero for 2. More Bang for Your Buck on Romero gets 3!!!
Winners and NEW IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions- Young Bucks ***1/2 (Probably the second best of the three year run of four way tags. They’ve gotten the most time to date and tried to get a long Bucks heat segment on Baretta but it wasn’t all that interested. The wild, non-stop final stretch got the crowd hot and everyone was given a chance to shine. A perfect opener to get things going. )
NEVER Openweight Trios Championship- Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale, and Tama Tonga) vs. Toru Yano and the Briscoes (Jay and Mark Briscoe)
Bullet Club attacks to start and the Briscoes double team Tonga. Flying knee strike by Mark to Yujiro and Jay clotheslines him to the floor. Cactus Elbow off the apron by Mark and back in, Yano toys with Fale. Tonga scares Yano, allowing Fale to knock him down. The Bullet Club work over Yano in the corner and Yujiro hits a basement dropkick for 2. Tag to Tonga and he hits a single leg dropkick. He knocks the Briscoes off the apron and Fale tags in. Slam by Fale and he sits on Yano for 2. Yano exposes the top turnbuckle and Fale charges but misses and hits the corner. Yano again outsmarts the Bullet Club until Fale trucks him. Avalanche in the corner by Fale and he misses a Big splash. Tag to Mark and he chops away on Yujiro in the corner. Exploder suplex by Mark gets 2. Big boot by Yujiro and he hits a Fisherman’s Buster. Tag to Tonga and he stomps away on Mark in the corner. Mark catches Fale off the apron with a Blockbuster and Jay hits the DVD on Tonga for 2. Sitting neck breaker by Jay gets 2. Flapjack by Tonga gets 2. Alabama Slam by Tonga gets 2 as Yano saves. Jay puts Tonga on top and follows up. Tonga fights him off but Jay catches him. Tonga tries to grab the ropes to block but Yano breaks that up with a chair and the Briscoes hit the Doomsday Device for 3!!!
Winners and NEW NEVER Openweight Trios Champions- Toru Yano and the Briscoes **1/4 ( I’m happy the Briscoes are getting a shot in New Japan and Mark in particular worked his ass off to get a good showcase in. The match was fine but went a bit too long and I’m unsure about these Trios titles. Yano and Briscoes will make for a fun unit for awhile but I feel like these are essentially going to be placeholder belts just for the sake of having championship bouts on secondary shows going forward. )
ROH World Championship- Jay Lethal w/Truth Martini © vs. Michael Elgin
Elgin uses his strength to start and he catches Lethal with a power slam. Corner clothesline by Elgin and he hits the delayed suplex for 2. SINGLE ARM PRESS SLAM BY ELGIN!!!! Martini distracts Elgin with the Book of Truth, allowing Lethal to knock Elgin off the apron with a springboard dropkick. Suicide dive by Lethal and he connects with a second one. Back in, Lethal hits a back elbow for 1 and he hits a basement dropkick for 2. Lethal tries to slingshot in but Elgin catches him and hits a rolling elbow. Hip toss into the basement dropkick by Lethal gets 2. Sitting chin lock by Lethal but Elgin backs him into the corner to break. Elgin blocks a Tornado DDT and he hits an exploder suplex. Forearm smashes by Elgin and he slams Lethal. Slingshot splash by Elgin and he presses Lethal into the power slam. Deadlift German suplex by Elgin gets 2. Elgin throws some lariats and Lethal comes back with an enzuigiri. Lethal Combination and Lethal goes up. Flying elbow drop by Lethal gets 2. Rolling German suplexes by Elgin and he hits a lariat on Lethal. Deadlift Falcon Arrow by Elgin gets 2!!! Buckle Bomb by Elgin and he knocks Martini off the apron. Elgin goes for the Elgin Bomb but Lethal nails him with the Book of Truth to block. Lethal Injection by Lethal gets 3.
Winner and Still ROH World Champion- Jay Lethal *** ( Solid match but it underachieved by ROH World Title match standards. This was the third straight match with interference which is getting annoying and the crowd wasn’t familiar with Lethal, so they weren’t into him getting heat on Elgin. Elgin at least continues to gain the crowd’s approval and him winning the championship, even for a short reign, probably would have been the better booking decision here.)
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship- Kenny Omega w/Young Bucks © vs. KUSHIDA
KUSHIDA BROUGHT DOC BROWN WITH HIM!!!!! It’s Taguchi dressed as Doc but this is still awesome. OMEGA AND THE BUCKS TRIPLE SUPER KICK DOC!!!! They triple team KUSHIDA and Omega dropkicks the leg of KUSHIDA. KUSHIDA comes back with one of his own and he hits a basement dropkick, forcing Omega to bail. Omega sprays hair spray at KUSHIDA but KUSHIDA answers back with a baseball slide. He leaps off the apron but Matt Jackson CREAMS him with a trash can. Rolling senton on the floor by Omega and he uses a garbage can for a moonsault off the barricade onto KUSHIDA!!! Back in, Omega hits a back breaker. Summsault plancha to the floor by Omega!!! Back in, Omega hits the leap frog bulldog for 2. KUSHIDA tries to fight back but Omega cuts him off. Pele kick by KUSHIDA and he hits an enzuigiri from the apron. Springboard Tomahawk Chop by KUSHIDA and he hits a handspring back elbow. KUSHIDA goes for the Hoverboard Lock but Omega goes to the ropes to break. Capo kick by KUSHIDA and he goes up. Summersault plancha to the floor onto Omega!!! KUSHIDA catches Omega coming in with a dropkick and he goes up. Moonsault off the top by KUSHIDA gets 2 and he attempts the Hoverboard Lock again. Omega rolls out and hits a release German suplex. Omega puts KUSHIDA on top and follows up but KUSHIDA brings him down with a super Divorce court!!! Spin kick by Omega and KUSHIDA comes back with a straight right!!! KUSHIDA goes up and misses the Corkscrew moonsault. KUSHIDA throws some kicks to the bad arm and Omega counters the handspring into Croyt’s Wrath for 2 as KUSHIDA catches Omega in the Hoverboard Lock!!! The Bucks try to pull Omega to the ropes but Doc Brown takes them out with the trash can!!! Rolling elbow by KUSHIDA and Omega answers back with a knee strike. Sit-out power bomb by Omega gets 2!!! Knee strike by Omega and he goes for the One Winged Angel but KUSHIDA rolls through for 3!!!
Winner and NEW IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion- KUSHIDA ***1/2 ( Can’t tell if the finish was botched cause Omega’ right shoulder was clearly up but the ref was on the other side, so we’ll see if there is any follow up to that. This is the fourth match with interference but at least it played into the story of the match and made KUSHIDA’s win all the more sweeter. This was the right balance of wacky Omega and after his initial goofiness, they had an excellent contest that finally gave KUSHIDA his big moment and his hopefully real run with the championship. )
IWGP Tag Team Championships- Guns and Gallows (Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows) w/Amber O’Neal © vs. Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma)
Anderson and Honma start. Anderson rakes the eyes but Honma comes back with a slam. Missed standing Kokeshi #1. Tag to Gallows and he pounds away on Honma in the corner. Tag to Anderson and he slams Honma. Back senton misses and Makabe tags in. Punches in the corner by Makabe and he overpowers Anderson. Everyone brawls on the floor and Gallows nails Makabe with a chain. Back in, Anderson works over Makabe and he rakes the face of Makabe. Anderson hammers Makabe on the mat and Gallows tags in for some of the same. Tag to Anderson and he hits a bicycle kick. Makabe blocks a TKO attempt and he catches Anderson with a lariat. Tag to Honma and he cleans house. DOUBLE STANDING KOKESHI WORKS!!!! Gallows trips up Honma and the champs charge at him in the corner. Back suplex/neck breaker combo and they follow up with a flapjack/sick kick combo for 2 as Makabe saves. TKO by Anderson gets 2. Makabe blocks the Magic Killer attempt and he clotheslines Gallows to the floor. Flying battery ram by Honma and he slams Anderson. Honma goes up but Gallows stops him and Anderson follows up. Honma blocks the super Gun Stun and Anderson hits a running sit-out powerbomb for 2. Uppercut by Anderson but Honma answers back with a head butt. Tag to Makabe and he hits some lariats on Gallows. Super kick by Gallows and he hits Gallows Pole for 2!!! Double clothesline by Makabe and he nails Gallows with a lariat. Battery ram head butt to Anderson and GBH hit a DOOMSDAY KOKESHI!!! Slam to Gallows and Honma goes up. Kokeshi off the top by Honma and Makabe goes up. King Kong Knee Drop gets 3!!!
Winners and NEW IWGP Tag Team Champions- Great Bash Heel ***1/2 ( Really good match that was elevated by the great moment of Honma winning his first championship. This was a good brawl with Honma going wild with his Kokeshis, doing everything in his power to get this win. This is a breath of fresh air for the tag division and hopefully these two become the staple of the division for a little while.)
Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuya Naito w/EVIL and Bushi
EVIL and Bushi attack from behind to start and Naito takes advantage of it. Hip toss by Goto and he throws a kick to the chest, forcing Naito to bail. EVIL sends Goto into the barricade and he works Goto over on the floor. EVIL puts a chair on Goto’s head and he nails him with another chair!!! Naito hits a neck breaker off the apron through a table on Goto!!! Back in, Naito grabs the head scissors on Goto but Goto goes to the ropes to break. Back elbow into a basement dropkick by Naito gets 2. Chin lock by Naito but Goto fights out. Lariat by Goto and both men are down. Kicks to the chest by Goto and he hits a spinning heel kick in the corner. Bulldog by Goto and he hits a Saito suplex for 2. Inverted atomic drop by Naito and he goes up. Missile dropkick by Naito and he hits the slingshot basement dropkick. He puts Goto on top and follows up but Goto fights back in order to hit the Code Red off the top for 2!!! Enzuigiri by Naito and he hits a Capo kick. Flying forearm by Naito and he puts Goto on top. Naito follows up with a Frankensteiner off the top for 2. They trade blows and Goto hits the DVD neck breaker. Hard forearm by Goto and Naito blocks a kick, swinging Goto into the ref instead. Discus lariat by Goto and Evil attacks from behind to prevent Shouten Kai. Bushi goes to spray the mist but misses and nails EVIL by mistake!!! DVD back breaker by Goto to Bushi and Naito goes low before grabbing a jackknife roll-up for 2!!! Head butt by Goto and he hits Shouten Kai for 3!!!
Winner- Hirooki Goto ***1/4 ( Five matches with interference and hopefully the last time. Before the ref bump and ridicoulousness, I was really digging this match. Naito scrapped his “I don’t give a fuck” attitude and put on a hot contested contest and was actually holding up better without his associates being involved, which backfired in the end for him. Hopefully this puts Goto into the World Title picture again as it’s time for some fresh faces back in the main event scene. )
NEVER Openweight Championship-Tomohiro Ishii © vs. Katsuyori Shibata
They trade slaps to start and Ishii overpowers Shibata before they reach a stalemate. They trade blows and Shibata hits a knee to the midsection. Kick to the back by Ishii and he lets Shibata throw one in return. They have a friendly kick to the back contest which Shibata wins. Chops by Shibata but Ishii fires back with his own. Hard forearm by Shibata and Ishii catches him with a Saito suplex. Ishii fires away in the corner and he hits a corner lariat. Shibata peppers him in the corner and he hits a knee strike on Ishii. Chin lock by Shibata and he converts it into the abdominal stretch. Ishii makes the ropes to break. Face washes by Shibata and he throws some chops in the corner. Forearms by Shibata but this fires up Ishii!!! Hard forearm by Ishii and he delivers some face washes of his own. Hard forearms by Ishii but this time it fires Shibata up!!! Hard forearm by Shibata and he peppers Ishii in the corner. Hesitation dropkick by Shibata but Ishii answers right back with a clothesline. Dropkick by Shibata and both men are down. Butterfly suplex by Shibata gets 2 and he grabs the cross arm breaker. Ishii gets to the ropes to break. Kicks to the chest by Shibata and Ishii catches him with a hard forearm. Big boot by Shibata but Ishii answers back with a lariat. Big boot by Shibata and he hits a Release German suplex. Ishii hits his own but Shibata answers back with a big boot. Lariat by Ishii and both men are down again!!!! Powerbomb by Ishii gets 2. Ishii puts Shibata on top and follows up but Shibata snaps Ishii’s arm off the ropes to block. Ishii goes back up and hits a missile dropkick to the back of Shibata. Lairat by Ishii gets 2!!! Sliding D by Ishii gets 2!!! Suplex by Shibata and he throws more shots at Ishii. Pele kick by Shibata and he hits a lariat. DVD by Shibata gets 2. Chin lock by Shibata and Ishii tries to roll out of it but Shibata maintains control of the hold. Kick to the chest by Shibata and he throws a kick to the back. Ishii blocks the PK Kick and throws a head butt!!! Ishii throws a lariat and head butt but Shibata throws his own. THEY BOTH NAIL EACH OTHER WITH SIMULTANIOUS HEAD BUTTS!!!! Dropkick by Shibata gets 1. Lariat by Ishii gets 1!!! Lariat again by Ishii gets 2!!! Pele kick by Ishii but Shibata throws a kick to the chest in return. Flying kick to the chest by Shibata and he hits the PK Kick for 3!!!
Winner and NEW NEVER Openweight Champion- Katsuyori Shibata ****3/4 ( Good god. That was one of the manliest, stiffest matches I have ever seen. They literally threw every hard strike, every stiff blow they had in them and did this for almost TWENTY MINUTES!!! Some of the exchanges and sequences are mind blowing and this match only misses some semblance of selling and after effects of their blows to make this perfect. Bravo for these two for what they just put themselves through. )
IWGP Intercontinental Championship- Shinsuke Nakamura © vs. AJ Styles
They grapple on the mat to start and we reach a stalemate. Nakamura targets the arm but Styles escapes his clutches and we have another stalemate. Styles pretends to shoot a gun at Nakamura but NAKAMURA CATCHES THE BULLET AND EATS IT!!! Awesome. Styles catches Nakamura with a dropkick and Nakamura catches him with a stomp. Knee drop by Nakamura and he throws some knees at Styles. Nakamura pulls Styles off the second rope and he seems to aggravate his bad back on the floor. He was faking it and Nakamura backing away allows him to attack and take control. Slam by Styles and he hits a knee drop. Bow and Arrow chin lock by Styles but Nakamura makes the ropes to break. Corner clothesline by Styles and Nakamura drives Styles into a back breaker to come back. Styles bails to regroup and Nakamura drives Styles into the barricade right away. Back in, Nakamura throws some kicks at Styles and catches him with an enzuigiri. Nakamura throws some knees on the mat and he hits the Gordbuster. Boma Ye! Misses and Nakamura puts Styles on top for the knee lift TO THE BACK for 2!!! Nakamura misses the knee lift a second time and Styles catches him with the springboard forearm. Styles suplexes Nakamura into the corner and he goes for the Calf Killer but Nakamura quickly makes the ropes. Backstabber by Nakamura and he hits the release back suplex. Boma Ye! Misses again and Styles rolls Nakamura into the Calf Killer!!! Nakamura counters and attempts the cross arm breaker but Styles is able to block. Hard forearm by Styles and he hits the Torture Rack Bomb for 2. Nakamura goes up and hits the Boma Ye off the second rope!!! They trade blows on the mat and Styles hits the back suplex into the gordbuster for 2. Styles throws some strikes and he catches Nakamura with the Pele. Nakamura answers right back with Boma Ye for 2!!! Crucifix by Styles gets 2. He catches Nakamura with a knee strike and he goes up. 450 Splash by Styles gets 2!!! Back fist by Styles but Nakamura catches him in the cross arm breaker!!! He converts it into the Triangle Choke but Styles POWERS IT INTO THE STYLES CLASH FOR 2!!!!! Bloody Sunday by Styles and he hits an Axe Kick. Styles goes up with Nakamura but Nakamura escapes and catches Styles with a high kick. Nakamura HITS A DVD OFF THE TOP FOR 2!!! Boma Ye to the back of the head by Nakamura!!! Another Boma Ye gets 3!!!
Winner and Still IWGP Intercontinental Champion- Shinsuke Nakamura ****1/2 (What a war. I loved Nakamura focusing on the well known bad back of Styles which allowed him to flat out destroy Styles at the finish when he had nothing left. Styles had great anticipation of Nakamura was able to counter and block Nakamura’s best stuff for some close near falls. Some slip ups here and there but otherwise this was an incredible contest and if this was Styles’ farewell in NJPW, he went out on yet another high note.)
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship- Kazuchika Okada w/Gedo © vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Forearm shot by Okada sends an early message. Tanahashi returns one of his own. Tanahashi slaps Okada so Okada fires away with forearms. Big boot by Okada and he works over the neck of Tanahashi. Tanahashi takes control on the mat and he catches Okada with a knee breaker. Chop block by Tanahashi and he stomps away on the leg of Okada. Tanahashi drops some elbows on the leg of Okada and he works the leg until Okada goes to the ropes to force a break. Springboard crossbody by Tanahashi but Okada rolls through. Tanahashi blocks the Tombstone and Okada knocks him off the apron with a springboard dropkick. Okada sends Tanahashi into the barricade and he hits a Yakuza kick knocking Tanahashi into the front row. Okada leaps into the front row with a crossbody onto Tanahashi!!! Back in, Okada slams Tanahashi and he follows up with the Hilo for 2. Okada grabs a chin lock but Tanahashi fights out. Okada puts Tanahashi on top but Tanahashi blocks the dropkick attempt. Summersault senton misses and Okada catches Tanahashi with a DDT. Running uppercut by Okada gets 2. Japanese strangle hold by Okada but Tanahashi starts to fight out again so Okada throws an uppercut. Okada avoids the dropkick to the leg but he misses on a back senton attempt. Tanahashi finally gets the dropkick to the leg and he hits the Dragon Screw leg sweep. Okada bails so Tanahashi goes up but Okada cuts him off. He follows up but Tanahashi catches him with a Dragon Screw leg sweep on the second turnbuckle!!! Dragon screw leg sweep in the ropes by Tanahashi and he hits a Slingblade on the apron!!! Tanahashi goes up and hits the standing High Fly Flow to the floor!!! Okada is able to make it back in just before the 20 count. Slam by Tanahashi and he goes up. Second rope Frog Splash onto the legs by Tanahashi and he goes for the Texas Cloverleaf but Okada makes the ropes to break. Tanahashi dropkicks the leg in the ropes and they trade roll through attempts until Okada catches him with the Air Raid back breaker. They trade blows and Okada catches him with a shotgun dropkick. Basement dropkick by Okada and he hits a second one!!! A third one by Okada gets 2!!! Okada goes up and hits the missile dropkick for 2. Slam by Okada and he goes up. Flying elbow drop by Okada and Tanahashi counters the Tombstone into the Victory roll for 2!!! Dropkick to the leg again by Tanahashi and he hits the Dragon Screw leg sweep. Tanahashi counters the dropkick and hits a rear Dragon screw leg sweep. Texas Cloverleaf by Tanahashi but Okada makes the ropes to break!!! Swinging neck breaker by Tanahashi and he follows up with Sling Blade. Tanahashi goes up and misses High Fly Flow. Another swinging neck breaker by Tanahashi but Okada holds on and catches Tanahashi with the Tombstone!!!! Rainmaker gets 2!!! Okada goes up and hits High Fly Flow for 2!!! Tanahashi hits the Rainmaker!!!!! Tanahashi clips the knee of Okada but Okada catches him for another Tombstone attempt. Tanahashi escapes and he counters the Rainmaker with Sling Blade!!! Dragon suplex by Tanahashi gets 2!!! Tanahashi goes up and hits High Fly Flow to the back. He goes back up and hits High Fly Flow for 2!!!! Tanahashi goes up and leaps but Okada catches him with a dropkick on the way down!!!! Tanahashi slaps Okada but Okada catches him with the dropkick. German suplex by Okada and he rolls through. Tanahashi SLAPS HIM AGAIN!!! OKADA HOLDS ON TO THE ARM FOR THE RAINMAKER!!!!!! He hits a second one!!!! A THIRD ONE!!! Okada covers for 3!!!!!
Winner and Still IWGP World Heavyweight Champion- Kazuchika Okada ***** ( The torched has finally been passed and we may have seen the final chapter of one of the greatest in ring feuds ever. An unreal match, as the first half featured both men being self aware of what the other was going to do and had counters ready to go for their signature spots. The second half of the match was a pure dogfight, a war of attraction hwere Okada refused to be denied, making sure he destroyed Tanahashi with all he had at the finish to finally take his place as the face of the company. This is now Okada’s promotion and he earned his top spot. You can’t ask for more from pro wrestling than this. )
