10 Awesome Times Wrestlers Learned From Their Mistakes
6. Kenny Omega Gets Into The Shape Of His Life
At NJPW Dominion 2017, Kenny Omega took Kazuchika Okada to his limit in a legendary one-hour draw. In the process, he discovered his own.
In the sort of incredible sports-oriented storytelling that Omega rarely receives credit for, his fabled stamina deserted him. In the original encounter, at Wrestle Kingdom XI, he had identified the exact method of defeating Okada, but his opponent's mastery of the counter prevented him from winning the IWGP Heavyweight Title. At Dominion, in a longer match, Omega's own body failed him. Exhausted, he serendipitously avoided Okada's Rainmaker by passing out and falling to his knees at the last possible nanosecond. This was a sensational use of the spaces between moves devised to inform the seminal heft of his eventual triumph.
At Dominion 2018, in a decision that put over Okada's genius character, Omega entered the match in the most astonishing, shredded shape of his career. He learned that he needed to improve upon his already formidable athletic prowess to last over an hour. In an ingenious twist, Okada winded Omega to neutralise the threat, and Omega instead drew on his soul and spirit as much as his stamina.
Kenny Omega got seven stars, and a bunch of non-sports numbnuts cried.