10 Best NJPW Matches Of 2017 (So Far...)

2. Kazuchika Okada Vs. Kenny Omega - Wrestle Kingdom 11

Kazuchika Okada Kenny Omega Wrestle Kingdom 11
NJPW.co.jp

Respected wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer gave this match six stars, and it isn't difficult to see why. That rating led to a hipster-esque rejection of the match, of people prefacing a review of the match by saying 'maybe it's just me'. Fans jumped to say that they preferred Naito/Tanahashi, or even Shibata/Goto.

The simple fact is that those who watched this match live, either in the Tokyo Dome or on New Japan World, knew they were watching something truly special. Okada and Omega had threatened to put on one of the all time great wrestling matches, and somehow they managed to exceed expectations.

They both put their bodies on the line to do so, with sickening spot after sickening spot bringing fans to the edges of their seats. At one point it seemed as though they were moving towards the final stretch, only to continue wowing fans for another 15 minutes. This was a pro wrestling masterpiece, and it didn't need a hugely respected journalist to tell fans that.

This was the perfect mix of drama, action and tension, three things that must come together for any borderline perfect wrestling match. Okada picked up the win after lord knows how many Rainmakers, but this match was bigger than a winner and a loser. This set the tone for what would follow for New Japan in 2017.

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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.