WWE Vs. NJPW: Head To Head

10. Match Quality

There is no comparison.

WWE main roster matches can excel. But, stifled and over-produced and wrestled in a certain gear, they rarely bang.

The best WWE matches, that aren’t wrestled with the richest of depth by Daniel Bryan, tend to follow a strict pattern culminating in an exciting if somewhat hollow succession of near-falls. New Japan matches erupt in a similar way, but not before the danger of the finish is first put over. Whether through agonising struggle or frantic escape, the counter-heavy New Japan norm excels in the space between moves as much—if not more so—than the moves themselves. New Japan matches tend to build in a more logical and exhilarating fashion than the methodical WWE norm.

The actual moves in design and execution surpass those seen in a WWE ring. The impact of Kazuchika Okada’s Rainmaker lariat is bracing. Will Ospreay’s Stormbreaker is a death spiral. But Jon Moxley’s Death Rider is the best illustration, in that its gruesome head-first impact is a literal elevation of his old Dirty Deeds finish. And if it feels to some WWE loyalists like “cheating”—a dangerous betrayal of the work—that isn’t untrue, but the head-rattling impact of a superplex isn’t exactly safe. Hiroshi Tanahashi’s dragon screw also kills that argument. A very safe move, it thrillingly alters the flow of a match like a superbly-timed footballing counterattack, and you never see it coming.

The fighting spirit philosophy of belated selling and awesome last-ditch comebacks is far more dramatically effective than the shocked-kickout-face melodrama of WWE, too.

Scorecard: WWE 0-1 NJPW