ShittyLittleBoots Posted February 13, 2023 Report Share Posted February 13, 2023 Kazuchika Okada defends the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. It's a NJPW main event, so of course there's some filler-padding in there that's super forgettable & really just a bunch of absolutely nothing, but man, when Okada & Shingo kicked it up to another gear, this shit got fantastic. Awesome reversals, selling, moments. If you're into the NJPW big match formula, this really (probably) is an exceptional match, because even for someone like me who is very much tired of that said formula, it still ended up being a big time banger. ***1/2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makai Club #1 Posted February 16, 2023 Report Share Posted February 16, 2023 The match began with some solid wrestling spots between the two, which included a roman knuckle lock battle between the two. Okada also drew the ire of the Osaka crowd with some unclean attacks on Shingo Takagi’s neck, using the rail. Following the little smattering of boos, Okada went more aggressive towards Shingo and more antagonistic against the crowd in a rather subtle way. He didn’t taunt them but he wasn’t friendly while playing to them either. Shingo was much more receptive to his crowd, by comparison. Some of the middle portions of the match felt a little too methodical but the story didn’t stray too far - Okada continued his targeted assault on the neck, using the money clip several times and dropping Shingo on the floor with his tombstone. I thought the match truly kicked into another gear when Shingo was trying to mount a comeback, first besting Okada slightly coming out of the elbow exchange and hitting a Made In Japan on Okada. Some of their sequences were really good, both bringing something new and exciting to a tired match routine. I liked how Okada hit a german suplex when Shingo had blocked his rainmaker attempts and returned back to an attempt that was then blocked. And that was followed up with a terrific counter by Shingo from the rainmaker into the last of the dragon. The crowd made a heck of a noise at the close two count. And of course, they concluded a terrific ending with a Rainmaker and Okada getting his first title defence in the books. My feelings are the same. This was a great match and a fantastic closing stretch, along with some good character work. But some of the wrestling felt a little too methodical and slow. **** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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