7 Ups & 5 Downs From NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 (Review)
1. Jay White (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada
It just about got there.
That'd be the best way to praise a match that wasn't always great, without criticising one that really, genuinely had gripping moments.
Were these moments thanks to Kazuchika Okada's typical wizardry? Perhaps. Jay White played his crucial part too - 'Switchblade' remains as divisive as ever, but Okada is still a magician in this context and the fans inside the Tokyo Dome came unglued every time he dropped into the Rainmaker/Switchblade reversal sequence now synonymous with the pair.
Maybe that's the problem - the two have wrestled a lot over the years and plenty of times in a similar context, and the specialness that once defined their rivalry has long gone. The result was part of a final touching tribute to Antonio Inoki, and had to be, but at seven reigns and no obvious gripping next chapter, could the peak of 'The Rainmaker' feel too more a part of NJPW's rich past than its bright future?