paul sosnowski Posted September 23, 2018 Report Share Posted September 23, 2018 Talk about it here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmartMark15 Posted September 23, 2018 Report Share Posted September 23, 2018 Another fantastic addition to the Okada-Tanahashi rivalry and also a great way to round out their 2018 trilogy. Loved the early face-heel divide with Okada basically playing a far more ruthless and cocky heel against the inspiring comeback of Tanahashi. We like to complain on this forum about how inconsequential the first halves of NJPW main events are but I thought that was decidedly not the case with this match. Right off the bat, you have Okada foregoing his standard clean break fake out to just straight up whack Tanahashi in the face instead. From there you have Tanahashi hurting his knee off a plancha and that leads into Okada going after Tana's leg and a brilliant selling performance from Tanahashi. Easily his most consistent and exciting leg selling that I've personally ever seen. And from there, we already know what Okada and Tanahashi can do together when stringing together a finishing stretch. Awesome, awesome match followed by a great post-match angle to set up the next briefcase defense. ****3/4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nivvad Posted September 23, 2018 Report Share Posted September 23, 2018 While their 2018 matches have been far away from their best stuff, Tanahashi and Okada still know how to keep things fresh in and out of context of their matches. The tables had flipped in their characters from their Dontaku match, so the sense of struggle that came from both men was very intense. They wanted to make this match about selling the knees, and for the most part they did that, except Okada who was pretty mediocre at it. His character work more than made up for it though as he was a desperate man who wanted his chance at the spotlight again and would even take the crowds dismay to do it. They didn't rely on flashy tricks this time around as it felt more like a Tanahashi match in the best ways. I even love the nod to Nakamura with that Avalanche HFF finish. Don't even get me started on the after match storyline twist, ****3/4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin Posted September 23, 2018 Report Share Posted September 23, 2018 Yeah, this type of New Japan modern epic isn't for me. I was honestly not drawn in and it felt like it was really long. I guess what kills my interest in the current product is how it's constantly sold as the greatest wrestling ever and yet when I watch it it doesn't come across as such. Not to be overly critical, but neither guys selling was exactly mindblowing or anything. Those Rainmaker counters were embarrassing. They looked like they were dancing to Enrique Iglesias Bailamos. Also, that post match fiasco turned into a complete joke once Yoshi Hashi busted himself hardway on the botched run in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.