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

5. Tetsuya Naito Vs. Michael Elgin - The New Beginning In Osaka

Naito Elgin III
NJPW

It is difficult to properly convey just how important NJPW has been to the resurrection of Michael Elgin. In 2015 Elgin was a something of a spent force in wrestling. When Big Mike was announced for the G1 Climax in 2015, many fans rolled their eyes. Those fans were wrong, and NJPW and #BigMike were a match made in heaven.

Elgin has put in some impressive performances over the last few years, but his most eye-catching matches have been against the leader of Los Ingobernables de Japon, Tetsuya Naito. The Ungovernable One has dominated the rivalry when it comes to victories, but Elgin has more than held his own inside the ring.

These two are another example of two workers in New Japan with remarkable chemistry. Elgin's speed and agility always comes to the fore in matches with Naito, and this main event also showcased Naito's renowned ability to construct a brilliant pro wrestling match.

Naito picked up his third straight win over #BigMike, but this was all about the journey as opposed to the destination. Elgin controlled the match, but then he should - he is physically superior, after all. This was Elgin's best performance to date, and it should have been the launching pad to bigger things for the Canadian.

It took three Destinos to keep #BigMike down, but keep #BigMike down they did.

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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.