11 Ups & 4 Downs From ALL IN 2018

5. Scurll Proves Himself In Defeat

Though Marty Scurll vs. Kazuchika Okada ran a little too long, and suffered from several slowdowns throughout the first 10-15 minutes, it ultimately succeeded by telling the story it needed to tell, with 'The Villain' proving his worth against the consensus best wrestler on the planet.

This was a simple tale told well. Scurll, the Junior Heavyweight, was considered no match for Okada, who's coming off the greatest IWGP Heavyweight Title reign of all time. 'The Rainmaker' had disrespected his p*ssed-off opponent, taunting him with "205 Live" suggestions in the build-up. This manifested in the match too, but Scurll showed great fire, and refused to go down to his celebrated opponent without the fight of his life.

The duo built towards an exciting closing stretch that had Scurll on the edge of victory several times. He snapped Okada's fingers, pulled him into the Crossface Chickenwing, filling the building with the anticipation of an upset. Marty even blasted Okada with his own Rainmaker for a two-count, resulting in the bout's best near-fall.

It wasn't enough, though. Three Rainmakers later, Scurll was felled. It was the right outcome, and while the bout would have benefited from better pacing, 'The Villain' lost nothing in defeat.