10 Best Wrestling Matches Of 2017
8. Kenny Omega Vs. Tetsuya Naito - NJPW G1 Climax Final
Not a mere exhibition of athletic brutality, this, the classic final of a classic 2017 G1 Climax tournament, acted as Tetsuya Naito's absolution.
Naito won the 2013 tournament to apathy at best, resentment at worst: he simply did not get over as the manufactured successor to company Ace Hiroshi Tanahashi. His self-proclaimed status as the top star of New Japan Pro Wrestling rang hollow. In order to do, and not say, he adopted the aloof attitude of his latter CMLL Los Ingobernables faction mates en route to capturing the imagination of NJPW fans as a tranquilo wrestler for the millennial generation.
The 2017 final, opposite Kenny Omega, subverted that career arc. He feigned insouciance in the early exchanges before, in a pacing masterclass, putting his physical wellbeing on the line in a spate of insane spots. In something unprecedented, Naito even took a DDT into the ring post for his art. Naito emerged from the match as the undisputed top star of New Japan. He d*mn near destroyed himself to prove himself worthy of the accolade, and he d*mn near detroyed Omega to put himself on his Best In The World level.
As unbelievably good as this was, even by New Japan's meteoric 2017 standard, Omega drilled Naito with such brutal, crunching V-Triggers that anxiety superseded the drama at the finish. The aural sensation experienced by the viewer was almost as sickening to absorb as the impact must have been to Naito. Moreover, Omega's neck looked like an accordion following a gruesome top-rope reverse Frankenstein spot.
It was a match that, because and in spite of itself, generated concern and optimism for the future.