10 Words That Most Accurately Describe Wrestling Right Now
4. Seminal
Kazuchika Okada's fourth reign with the IWGP Heavyweight Title is already the stuff of legend. We haven't yet arrived at the G1 Climax tournament, an insane p*ssing contest in which the best in the world try to outdo themselves and each other, and Okada is already having a year to rival Ric Flair in 1989, Bret Hart in 1997, Kenta Kobashi in 2003.
What's most impressive about the reign is how eclectic his title defences have been with, as is New Japan custom, no stipulations in sight. He reclaimed his throne from Tetsuya Naito on June 19, 2016. That match improved upon their relegated Wrestle Kingdom 8 minor classic by yards. Both had advanced so much in the character department. His blistering victory over NOAH regular Naomichi Marufuji was so suspenseful that it felt at times that an inconceivable switch was imminent. His Wrestle Kingdom XI classic opposite Kenny Omega shattered both Dave Meltzer's star rating system and an already phenomenal NJPW main event standard with its brutality, next-level precision and strategy-based plot.
Perhaps more impressive was his next match, with Minoru Suzuki; in 2017, the era of the suicide dive and the apron bump, Okada spent the majority of the 40 minute duration selling a knee injury. The stripped-down authenticity and will-he-tap drama was something you simply don't see enough of in wrestling nowadays.
That's before he positioned Shibata as his equal in an ebbing and flowing masterclass of crowd manipulation, bettered the Omega match and carried Bad Luck Fale and Cody to easily the best matches of their careers.