15 Wrestling Matches You Won't Believe Happened In 2018
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Kazuchika Okada (NJPW Destruction In Kobe)
Despite the slavering vitriol of certain comments sections and Dave Meltzer’s twitter responses, New Japan Pro Wrestling is neither a perfect product nor received as such by its supporters.
You are likely to find as many devotees that would tell you June’s Dominion card was the finest pro wrestling pay-per-view ever as you are those that believe Kenny Omega subsequent title reign emerging from it has damaged the IWGP Championship.
What NJPW and its head booker Gedo cannot be faulted for though, is the 2018 story of Kazuchika Okazaki Vs Hiroshi Tanahashi.
’The Rainmaker’ humbled ‘The Ace’ in an evocative Dontaku clash in May. He even humbled his legacy - Tanahashi’s title defence record was surpassed by that very match. But June and July were big months for both. As Okada’s life fell to pieces in the wake of his aforementioned Dominion defeat, Tanahashi’s restarted when he overcame PTSD during a G1 Climax beating from Minoru Suzuki.
He’d simply told people that ‘The Ace Is Back’ for too long. On that night, he showed it. He conquered the tournament, inching closer to reclaiming a modicum respect against the still-broken Okada in a scintillating G1 draw.
He took it back for real at Destruction In Kobe. Their absorbing brawl was a thing of beauty, won by Tanahashi to ensure the safety of his Wrestle Kingdom title shot. The battle even seemed to reinvigorate Okada and, remarkably, forge a union between the historic rivals against new sh*thouse heel Jay White and his insurgent BC OG friends.
So ignore laboured assaults on those that supposedly only enjoy NJPW because of an imagined blind workrate fetish. These wrestlers, these matches and this wonderful surprise of a storyline are all, collectively, what can often make this product the best in world.