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

The IWGP Heavyweight strap wasn't defended at February's The New Beginning in Osaka - defending champ Okada having presumably been given a well-earned rest after January's mega-clash with Omega - which meant that the Intercontinental title, ostensibly a second-rate prize, took centre-stage instead.

But Tetsuya Naito and Michael Elgin - whose previous encounter, at Destruction in Kobe in September, fell half a star short of the full five (a disgraceful showing, really) - helped ensure that the promotion's exacting standards were maintained in his absence.

This time, Meltzer, feeling a little more generous, awarded them five out of five. And given that one of them nearly died after being power-bombed into the guard-rail, that's probably the least they deserved.