5 Most Insane Things Happening In Wrestling Right Now (August 10)
3. New Japan Fails To Heed Old Lessons
The stars of New Japan Pro Wrestling are playing a very dangerous game.
Over the weekend, Tomohiro Ishii defeated Kenny Omega in an all-time classic. It was superb. Omega, buoyed by his IWGP Heavyweight Championship win and host of victories in out-of-this-world matches throughout the G1, slapped Ishii's head like a bongo. This...p*ssed Ishii off, adding more fuel to the flames of his f*cking fire Strong Style game. Omega tried to gain an advantage by kicking the skin off his back and scalp, but Ishii would not be moved. Omega was only able to strike his signature offence after narrowly evading at warp speed his now incredibly motivated and hostile opponent.
Kenny Omega is a wrestling genius. Even the very best wrestlers in the tier below him, like Andrade 'Cien' Almas, rely on a certain contrivance to execute their most spectacular hits. This is what separates Omega from everybody on the planet, and arguably anybody who has ever lived on the planet: Omega conceived of a double foot apron spot that did not require his opponent to clutch the ropes conspicuously. The blast radius of his V-Trigger to back to the head saw Ishii spill over the ropes. It was then, prone and positioned brilliantly and seamlessly, that Omega struck the move. Making the spectacular genuinely feasible is just what Kenny does.
It was also very, very reckless. Incredibly so. Even more dangerous was the main event between Tetsuya Naito and Kota Ibushi, in which Ibushi, being just utterly impervious to sense, took several gruesome head-first bumps.
We know, from the lessons taught by All Japan, where this style leaves its practitioners: hospitals and morgues. But those who actually need to learn them aren't.