Yuji Okabayashi

[Grimmas]

Discuss here.

[InYourCase]

Don't think he'll make my list this time around, but I could see him being a #98-99 pick if he does something unreal within the next three months. He went from being really good to really GREAT this past year and surely, the next time something like this is done, he'll be on my list. Now is just a little too soon, though.

[Jmare007]

I thought he lacked the singles run to push him in a ballot and I hadn't seen much of his 2013-16 work yet. By the time the vote was done Yuji we barely had a couple of his matches of his first run as BJW Strong Heavyweight champion.

From the time we did the vote till today, Yuji has enough of a resume to be in "best wrestler on the planet" in almost every year he has worked (sadly we've lost him to injuries a couple of times). I'll eventually pimp his case with a whole bunch of recommendations (or add to what other people will be pimping). As of now, I'm just going to say the Okabayashi has a case for best wrestler of the 2010's.

An incredible tag team worker (best tag team in the world with Sekimoto), an amazing fiery babyface, an amazing bully/monster heel, and every time he had the chance to have a singles matches, he took advantage of it. AND he has a couple of classics.

Might get into my top 30, lock for top 50.

[Boss Rock]

I have to watch more of his early stuff, but his 2019 was phenomenal and Strong BJ is a really fun tag team.

[WingedEagle]

Stone cold lock for my list.  No clue where, but he's been one of the best wrestlers in Japan for nearly a decade.  Have always preferred him to Sekimoto.

[Childs]

Somebody rip off a pimping post on Okabayashi at some point. What little I've seen didn't make a GWE-type impression, but I'm weak on that strain of modern Japanese wrestling.

[WingedEagle]

1 hour ago, Childs said:

Somebody rip off a pimping post on Okabayashi at some point. What little I've seen didn't make a GWE-type impression, but I'm weak on that strain of modern Japanese wrestling.

This week I'll get you a list at least a couple dozen matches long to check out.

[Jmare007]

13 hours ago, Childs said:

Somebody rip off a pimping post on Okabayashi at some point. What little I've seen didn't make a GWE-type impression, but I'm weak on that strain of modern Japanese wrestling.

Don't take this as a definitive list but I'll throw you some matches.

Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs Seiya Sanada & Manabu Soya - AJPW 3/21/11

This is Yuji in year 2 (well, three if we are being technical about it) of his career. It's a long match but it's impressive how they were able to take some of the excess these four had in a previous match and make it better.

Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs Manabu Soya & Ryota Hama - BJW 4/28/11

A heated inter promotional tag in Korakuen. You might come out of this more interested in Hama as I think he delivers the performance of his career but I think it worth to watch it for Yuji because it's a great match and they later have a singles match that makes you appreciate Yuji more.

Daisuke Sekimoto, Shinobu & Yugi Okabayashi vs. Yoshihito Sasaki, Shinya Ishikawa & Ryuichi Kawakami - BJW 6/27/11

To be completely honest with you, I could recommend literally dozens of fun 6 man tags from Big Japan. I'll give you just a couple so you can get a taste, if you like them, tell me and I'll go all in with them.

Yuji Okabayashi vs Yoshihito Sasaki - BJW 6/21/2012

I think this is Yuji's first big singles match in terms of quality, it does help Yoshihito is with him though. The last couple of minutes are ridiculous.

Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs. Yuji Okabayashi - BJW 8/27/2013

Yuji Okabayashi, Hideyoshi Kamitani & Ryuichi Kawakami  vs Daisuke Sekimoto, Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa - BJW 5/22/2015

More 6 man goodness, this is trying to build up to an eventual match he would have with Sekimoto in Sumo Hall.

Yuji Okabayashi, HARASHIMA & Yuji Hino  vs. Daisuke Sekimoto, Masato Tanaka & Takashi Sugiura - BJW 6/30/2015

We keep build it up and now we had better wrestlers to the mix.

Yuji Okabayashi vs Daisuke Sekimoto - 7/20/2015

I think this is the best match against each other, though it's not as good as it could've been.

Yuji Okabayashi vs Ryota Hama - BJW 1/24/2016

Yuji gives Hama the best singles match in his career.

Yuji Okabayashi vs Hideyoshi Kamitani - BJW 7/24/2016

Yuji gives young Kamitani to what this day still is the best singles match of his career.

Yuji Okabayashi vs Daichi Hashimoto - BJW 4/9/17

Yuji gives young Hash the best singles match of his career up to that point.

Yuji Okabayashi vs Hideki Suzuki - BJW 5/5/2017

Suzuki is fucking great but he has a big problem in that he not always is able to jell with his opponents, so his mat based stuff sometimes kills a match. Well, not here. This is a game of human chess between a technical master that was taught by Billy Robinson, and the brute force and fire that is Yuji fucking Okabayashi.

Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs Shuji Ishikawa & Suwama - BJW 1/13/2019

I'd think you could've seen this one already but if you haven't, please do.

Yuji Okabayashi vs Shuji Ishikawa - AJPW Champions Carnival Day 1 4/4/19

Good example that even if he normally plays the monster, he can also be an underdog an deliver a pretty great match.

Yuji Okabayashi vs Zeus - AJPW Champions Carnival 4/21/19

More than a hoss battle, this is basically a damn kaiju battle, so be advised.

 

 

There's TON more stuff and I have no doubt Winged Eagle will bring the goods too with more matches. Hopefully he also includes the ones building up the Nomura match in 2019 that I'm too sleepy to search for the dates right now.

 

 

[concrete1992]

I think the 5/5/17 match against Hideki Suzuki is one of the greatest matches of all time. When pointing to Great matches for a wrestler they don't always work at showing you specifically what a wrestler does well. Sometimes there is a perfect storm going on or they work against type or they lean into one characteristic and our good enough to make that work. This match I think gives you a really good idea of how Yuji is as a worker.

He was probably the WOTY in 2019. At worst second to Timothy Thatcher.

Yuji is part of probably the best tag team in Japan for 2010s. I don't think the competition is particularly stiff, sure, but personally when I think GWE these are the sorts of things I'm trying to piece together. A tag team that can called upon whenever some promotion not even always BJPW needs a more than credible team to either take on the home team or maybe even heat up a territory real quick.

[Clayton Jones]

And I think the 5/28/2015 Sekimoto tag VS Twin Towers (Sato/Ishikawa) is one of the greatest matches of all-time! Okabayashi being my favorite part.  I actually prefer that feud to the Violent Giants matches. I'm surprised I didn't put him on my rough draft, I guess it was the injuries derailing his momentum so often, but he's definitely going to get reevaluated.

[WingedEagle]

Apologies if I'm doubling up on anything Jmare already highlighted.  I tried not to dig for too many B-side tracks but can certainly provide a bunch of those if people want as well.  There's more than enough here to get a sense of just who Big Yuji he is and how he works.  If he's not for you, you're wrong!  Hope folks enjoy.  

Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs. Manabu Soya & Seiya Sanada (AJPW 2/6/2011)

Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs. Manabu Soya & Ryota Hama (AJPW 4/28/2011)

Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs. Manabu Soya & Seiya Sanada (AJPW 6/19/2011)

Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Yuji Okabayashi (BJW 2/26/2012)

Shuji Ishikawa & Kohei Sato vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (BJW 5/28/2015)

Yuji Okabayashi vs. Hideyoshi Kamitani (BJW 12/20/2015)

Yuji Okabayashi vs. Ryota Hama (BJW 1/24/2016)

Yuji Okabayashi vs. Shuji Ishikawa (BJW 3/6/2016)

Yuji Okabayashi vs. Shuji Ishikawa (BJW 5/5/2016)

Yuji Okabayashi & Go Shiozaki vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Hino (Fortune Dream 3 6/14/2016)

Yuji Okabayashi & Shuji Ishikawa & Kohei Sato vs. Hideyoshi Kamitani & Daisuke Sekimoto & Ryota Hama (BJW 6/29/2016)

Yuji Okabayashi vs. Hideyoshi Kamitani (BJW Ryogokutan 7/24/2016)

Yuji Okabayashi & Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Shuji Ishikawa & Kohei Sato (BJW 10/31/2016)

Yuji Okabayashi & Shingo Takagi vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Kohei Sato (BJW 9/20/2017)

Yuji Okabayashi & Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Hideki Suzuki & Takuya Nomura (BJW 9/22/2016)

Shuji Ishikawa & Kohei Sato vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (BJW 1/2/2017)

Hideki Suzuki vs. Yuji Okabayashi (BJW 5/5/2017)

Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs. Kai & Naoya Nomura (AJPW 8/27/2017)

Shuji Ishikawa & Suwama vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (BJW 1/13/2019)

Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs. Shuji Ishikawa & Suwama (AJPW 3/19/2019)

Shuji Ishikawa vs. Yuji Okabayashi (AJPW 4/4/2019)

Yuji Okabayashi vs. Daichi Hashimoto (BJW 4/14/2019)

Yuji Okabayashi vs. Dylan James (AJPW 4/20/2019)

Yuji Okabayashi vs. Zeus (AJPW 4/21/2019)

Yuji Okabayashi vs. Kento Miyahara (AJPW 4/25/2019)

Yuji Okabayashi & Kazumi Kikuta vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Takuya Nomura (BJW 6/30/2019)

Yuji Okabayashi vs. Takuya Nomura (BJW 7/21/2019)

Yuji Okabayashi & Hideyoshi Kamitani & Daichi Hashimoto vs. Takuya Nomura & Kohei Sato & Fuminori Abe (BJW 7/30/2019)

Yuji Okabayashi & Shigehiro Irie vs. Takuya Nomura & Fuminori Abe (BJW 9/25/2019)

Yuji Okabayashi vs. Daichi Hashimoto (BJW 1/2/2020)

Yuji Okabayashi vs. Chris Dickinson (GCW 2/4/2020)

 

[DylanZero]

The better of Strong BJ easily and one of the best and most consistent guys in what's largely a wasteland of a company. As recently as last year, in an empty arena, in 2AW, he still was bringing the goods against a bunch of indie guys. I also agree with the earlier post about him vs. Hideki being a ***** match and one of the best ever.

 

Of the modern candidates, he has to be one of the strongest ones. He wasn't someone I had pegged early on but thinking about his career more I'd be really surprised if he didn't make it and who knows how far he can rise in 5 years?

[Jetlag]

He has had some good matches over the last couple years that stand out over the usual output, but man watching infinitely more violent 1950s French wrestling and WAR handhelds has killed my interest in guys like him.

[smoldoink]

A fun hot tag, but his singles work is bland and repetitive unless you think rope running and forearms are the height of wrestling (looking at you Shingo fans)