Boss Rock

Going back to Okada giving folks their best matches, I dont agree with that necessarily but he's usually going to get at least get something decent out of his opponent even if tends to stick a bit too much to his formula at times. The 2018 G1 saw the biggest talent disparity between blocks in recent memory and yet he gave nearly everyone their best match.

That's where I'm at I think. Okada's body of work has become increasingly impressive over the years and barring any sort of major injury or drop-off, he will definitely solidify himself as an all-time great but not quite a number 1 contender.

I'll have more to say, but I will say that I think Misawa, one of my all-time favorites, is better than Okada, my current favorite.

Thought the show was terrific. Hager-Dustin and Nyla-Statlander disappointed and Cody-MJF was a bit of a mixed bag, but everything else I think fired on all cylinders. The tag title match in particular was tremendous. Solid MOTYC for me and honestly one of the best U.S. tags I've ever seen.

Looks like Wrestle-1 might be finished. They're suspending operations indefinitely on April 1st and all their talent will be released.

Archer could definitely be a big deal. Crazy how much he was able to raise his stock this past year.

Agreed on Shingo-Ishii. RPG3K vs. Mega-Coaches was good but by God did it feel 10 minutes longer than it actually was. Golden Aces-G.O.D. was pretty good if not great and actually makes the tag scene interesting. Think this is the first time since starting to watch NJPW 4 years ago are every single title held by people I like and would push.

Dragon Lee and Hiromu will also be in contention if both guys' bodies hold up.

Really good show with Hiromu-Lee being MOTN. Those Phoenix Plex teases man...They got a bit destroyer-happy near the end but another excellent chapter to their neverending rivalry. Mox-Suzuki was the violent brawl I hoped it would be although the final chair sequence felt a bit contrived. Since Mox wore an eyepatch in NJPW I expect his arm to be bandaged up tomorrow on Dynamite, heh. Roppongi 3K-SZGK was really good and hopefully a sign that 3K will get a decent reign this time. The main event was really good but felt like they didn't really kick things into a new gear until Naito got busted open. I liked that they worked a more consistent pace without your usual padding, but I think there could have been more escalation. All in all, a great week of shows for NJPW and 2020 continues to get off to a great start.

Probably the first War Games, Sting's Squadron-Dangerous Alliance, all three Flair-Steamboat matches, both Funk-Flair matches, Magnum-Tully, and Rey-Eddie.

Most would point to the 2001 Triple Crown match as their best and I would agree. Grumpy, hard-hitting Tenryu is my favorite Tenryu but he's also terrific in these more technical championship matches. It's a bit slow in the beginning but builds extremely well. I love escalation in longer matches like these because it makes everything feel earned and that the slow start was worth the wait. I would probably still go Park-Santo as the 2001 MOTY but this is an extremely close second.

I think that nails it.

Ospreay-Sabre was definitely the best match of the weekend. Their matches in the past have been really good but tend to be a bit too "go-go-go" at times. They worked a much more methodical pace this time without sacrificing any of their normal spots or offense. Ospreay really showed off his development as a complete wrestler in how he went to the mat with Zack and targeted the leg.

It's definitely not a match that needed to be 30 minutes long, but they actually did a really good job maximizing their minutes. Taichi repeatedly targeted Okada's injured neck who sold it beautifully as he could never properly follow-up on his normal offense to maintain momentum. And the normal Taichi shenanigans were used rather sparingly and for maximum effect to either swing the match back in his favor or tease a pinfall. Quite possibly Taichi's best singles match ever as he stepped up big time.

Very sad. I loved the Colon feud in WWC.

Nice!

This was very good and sort of the hard-hitting encounter you would expect, but it never quite hit that next level for me. Which is a shame, as Goto is know for overachieving at the Dome. The first 10 minutes or so felt like the typical "this is fine but nothing special" Goto match but to their credit, they definitely ramped things up in the last five minutes or so. KENTA does a great job embracing the heel role and Goto pulled the fire out down the stretch. Very good but I wish they had done a little more in the first two-thirds. ****

This is one of the few matches that actually got better each time I watched it. It's still a bit too slow in the beginning but I like that there's still clear escalation in building to each big spot. I also wasn't quite as high on Okada my first viewing, but on repeats I really think Okada was terrific in his selling and making Kenny seem like a major threat when he was still barely a year into his heavyweight push. It's also a "best in the world"-level performance from Kenny in terms of offense. It's been over a year since I last watched this but I went ***** on it. Still not the best match of 2017, but it's damn great.

I was expecting this match to either be really good or be a slow, boring trudge. Thankfully it was the former. It's truly a testament to both guys that they knew how to work around their physical limitations and yet still deliver a really entertaining match. It's also a case study in physical charisma and knowing how to make your offense, flashy or not, count. ****1/4

These two could have just settled for the high-octane spotfest we all expected, and while we more or less got that, it was the storytelling that took everything to the next level. Hiromu is the returning hero who is still struggling to adjust after such a long layoff due to injury. Meanwhile, Ospreay is the confident hotshot who's ruled the roost in Hiromu's absence. Ospreay seemed one step ahead almost the entire time and yet Hiromu just would not be denied. He held on just long enough each time to find an opening and he made the most of each one. Simple yet effective storytelling. And oh yeah, the spots were insane. ****3/4

I would agree with anyone who says Naito should have won at WK 12. That being said, probably the biggest reason this match was so tremendous was how it built off Naito's past disappointments and his loss two years prior. These two have struggled with chemistry before but here they complimented each other perfectly. Naito pushed the pace whereas most Okada matches start off much slower, while Okada has the stamina and athleticism to make any finishing stretch captivating. But as I mentioned before, this match truly succeeded because of the story it told in Naito overcoming every failure he's endured. Okada attacking the knee was a great wrinkle to the match which saw him fully embrace the heel role and while at first it was used for a count-out tease, him repeatedly slamming the knee near the end really drove the whole thing home as Naito the conquering hero and Okada the cocky yet desperate heel. The callbacks to WK 12 were tremendous as well, first with Naito surviving the spinning tombstone/Rainmaker combo which put him away before and then not only attempting Stardust Press, but FINALLY hitting it. One of the greatest title matches of the 21st century. Bravo. *****

Sorta feel like it had the same padding issues as a lot of other Okada matches, but overall they did a great job building to the second half of the match and escalating everything. Ibushi snapping was of course the highlight but the last five minutes or so were terrific. Love Okada making the Michinoku Tombstone a part of his arsenal. Their G1 match was better as it was more compact but this was absolutely a worthy sequel. ****1/2

Terrific weekend of wrestling overall. Sort of devastated Ibushi lost two nights in a row and while I'm sure he'll get his moment down the line, Jay beating him in the end after the year he's had was a drag. Mixed feelings about the ending angle but Naito winning was the most important thing. Everything else ranged from solid to fantastic. Okada-Naito in particular was booked to perfection. So many great callbacks to the WK 12 match and they really knew how to milk the drama. Going to be a tough MOTYC to top.

Arguably the greatest in-ring rivalry of the 2010's and maybe the most important. While Okada is probably more responsible for NJPW's return to prominence, it was his feud with Tanahashi that was essential to his ascent. A lot of newer fans (myself included) can probably point to this feud as their introduction to the promotion. While you could argue they've had too many matches over the past 7 years and that Okada's coronation should have happened at WK 9 instead of WK 10, the storytelling and booking was for the most part perfect and made for one of the greatest passing of the torches in recent memory. In terms of how I would rank them as wrestlers, I would put Tanahashi ahead as he has more volume but that's really a credit to his longevity in the business. With Okada, it feels like he's only just entered his prime so it's a bit tough to compare. While I would put his peaks ahead of Tanahashi's, he could be inconsisent until around 2017 or so when he had a pretty solid claim to best in the world. Here's my ranking of their matches: 1. King of Pro Wrestling 2013 ***** 2. Invasion Attack 2013 ****3/4 3. Wrestle Kingdom 10 ****3/4 4. Destruction in Kobe 2018 ****3/4 5. Wrestling Dontaku 2018 ****3/4 6. G1 Climax 2016 ****1/2 7. G1 Climax 2018 ****1/2 8. G1 Climax 2019 ****1/4 9. G1 Climax 2013 ****1/4 10. New Beginning 2012 ****1/4 11. Dominion 2012 ****1/4 12. Wrestle Kingdom 9 ****1/4 13. Wrestle Kingdom 7 ****

I honestly don't think any of them looked much better than Janela when it comes to physique. And I don't really think he comes off as a jobber either. He's fine in that midcard position to lose to Mox and Omega but go over someone like Spears.