[2018-04-24-NJPW-Road to Wrestling Dontaku] Jay White vs David Finlay

[Boss Rock]

Wow. I knew Jay and Finlay had good chemistry, but considering how disappointing White's return to New Japan has been, I was not expecting this. This is legitimately one of the best NJPW matches this year. Finlay is aggressive from the onset and dominates for the first few minutes, eager to prove he's on Jay's level. Jay is eventually able to turn the tide and works over Finlay's back, all the while mocking him for still being a "young boy". The disrespect only serves to fire Finlay up even more and he nearly puts Jay away with his own finisher. However, Finlay's desire for revenge is ultimately his undoing as he introduces a table that just refuses to break.

 

Considering how promising White looked last year, it really seems that his inability to decide what the Switchblade gimmick has hindered his in-ring work. Here he looked much more like the Jay White of 2017 but with a cocky and condescending edge. This made his heat segments far more effective as he alternated between working the back and mocking Finlay. It also helped that Finlay is a very good babyface and had a clear motivation of not only proving himself to the guy who surpassed him, but also get revenge for his constant disrespect.

 

Hard-hitting action, good storytelling, and both guys understanding and playing their roles to perfection made this a great match. Let's just hope Jay can keep it up.

 

****1/2.

[SmartMark15]

Now there's the guy everyone seems to have some faith in. I've been really low on the Switchblade gimmick because it reeks of adolescent indy geekiness but this was a damn good match. Finlay was a great bumper, a good seller, and made for a good fired up babyface. White had some good control segments and seemed to have a real good sense of urgency in this match. Some great moments from White too like catching Finlay's hair in the finishing stretch to regain control. Just little moments like that are really nice to see.

 

This felt like a really good ROH main event that went just a tad too long. Dragged a little in the middle but picked up enough at the end and with a hot opening. Overall, very promising stuff from both guys and certainly better than pretty much any of Okada's title matches this year.

 

****1/4