10 Ups & 4 Downs From NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14

3. Welcome Back, Hiromu

You'd have never have known Hiromu Takahashi had just returned from a broken neck, watching the way him and Will Ospreay flung themselves around at Wrestle Kingdom 14.

Their match was outstanding. In the build-up, a cocky Ospreay had expressed his desire to take the Junior Heavyweight division to a level on par with his bigger, beefier counterparts in 2020, handwaving Takahashi's chances in the process. This was pertinent to the story. Ospreay brought this attitude into the bout, attacking Hiromu's neck and adopting straight-up heel work, softening him up for the Stormbreaker. This meant the disgusting Hidden Blade spot and ensuing near-fall had everyone biting, the match having long since escalated into explosive, kinetic craziness.

Takahashi re-established himself as one of the best in the world here. A top five wrestler before he went away, his astounding superstar charisma, colourful personality, and lunatic wrestling style erupted in beautiful, brutal cloudbursts. His triumph would go down as the night's most cathartic if not for stablemate Tetsuya Naito.

While these narrative points are the bout's most important takeaways, it'd be remiss not to mention the level of technique on display. That balletic Sasuke Special counter sequence would have looked awful in the hands of literally any other pair of wrestlers in the world. Here, not only did it look great, but it made sense in the context of a scripted fight as well. These guys killed it (and themselves) throughout.