10 Things We Learned From NJPW At Korakuen Hall
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi And Kazuchika Okada Are The Most Beloved People In Wrestling
Simply put, one of the loudest pops I have ever heard live. They were in an eight man tag match that pitted Okada, Tanahashi, KUSHIDA and Rocky Romero against Bad Luck Fale, Gedo, Jay White and Taiji Ishimori, and they could honestly do no wrong. Every time they tagged in, the crowd came alive and they loved them more and more with every move they made.
It was a wonderful atmosphere to be involved in and when the heels won, the disappointment and anguish in the crowd was palpable. As a consequence, Jay White garnered so much heat that I’m pretty sure you could have the nicest guy in the world beat them and he would immediately become the most hated man in wrestling.
You hear a lot of talk about the ultimate babyface. If Tanahashi isn’t on that list - if not at the top of it - then you are just plain wrong. Likewise, if Okada got a reaction like that whilst he is still in the midst of his “broken” gimmick, I would absolutely love to see what their reaction is for the Rainmaker. I’ve got goosebumps just thinking about it.