10 Best NJPW Matches Of 2016 (So Far...)

7. Kazuchika Okada Vs. Tetsuya Naito - Dominion 6.19

Will Ospreay KUSHIDA NJPW
www.wrestleview.com

Some have questioned the logic of putting the IWGP Heavyweight Championship back on Kazuchika Okada when Naito's momentum was at its peak, but those who have questioned Gedo's booking in the past have often come out looking silly. The stage is set now for a Naito G1 Climax win and and a third bout between the two at Wrestle Kingdom, which would not only be the biggest match New Japan has but also redemption for Naito after the embarrassment of Wrestle Kingdom 8.

As the Los Ingobernables/CHAOS gang war continued to get out of hand, Okada domanded this be a one-on-one match. Naito complied, and over the next half an hour the two put on an absolute clinic. It may sound strange but Okada wrestled this match like a grown man, a man no longer haunted by his troubles with Hiroshi Tanahashi and a man growing more and more comfortable as the ace of New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Naito was there all the way however, proving that he too belongs at the very top of the New Japan table. Naito kicked out of the Rainmaker, something which to my knowledge only Tanahashi has done without some form of interference, but three more of the vicious Lariats proved too much. Okada was back on the top of the hill, and the road to Wrestle Kingdom 11 began.

Contributor
Contributor

Born in the middle of Wales in the middle of the 1980's, John can't quite remember when he started watching wrestling but he has a terrible feeling that Dino Bravo was involved. Now living in Prague, John spends most of his time trying to work out how Tomohiro Ishii still stands upright. His favourite wrestler of all time is Dean Malenko, but really it is Repo Man. He is the author of 'An Illustrated History of Slavic Misery', the best book about the Slavic people that you haven't yet read. You can get that and others from www.poshlostbooks.com.