15 Best Non-WWE Matches Of The Last Decade (According To Dave Meltzer)

5. Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs. Minoru Suzuki (5* - NJPW, 2012)

If you're wondering where the trend for five-star NJPW matches started, this was it.

It marked the first time, in fact, that a match put on by New Japan Pro Wrestling had been awarded the rating by Meltzer in about two decades - and when you consider how many it has managed since, it shows how quickly the promotion has grown over recent years.

It came at the aptly-named King of Pro-Wrestling 2012, in front of 9,000 Tokyo fans, and - surprise, surprise - it featured Tanahashi again, this time up against Minoru Suzuki at the ripe old age of 44.

Later voted "match of the year" by readers of the Wrestler Observer Newsletter, this one, perhaps more than any other, is required viewing for those who have caught the NJPW bug.

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