1. Vs. Kota Ibushi - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9 - 2015
There are only so many superlatives that one can throw at a professional wrestling match, and the IWGP Intercontinental Championship match between Nakamura and Kota Ibushi at Wrestle Kingdom 9 in 2015 truly deserves all of them. The story was that Ibushi wanted to prove himself in the heavyweight division, whereas Nakamura was reluctant to show him the respect held for the big boys. The quality of the match was never in doubt, but it was the atmosphere and feeling that came with it that truly brings the chills. Ibushi well and truly stepped up to the plate here, bringing a more aggressive style than many were used to from the high flyer. it wasn't enough however, and when Ibushi got a little cocky things would come back to haunt him. He copied Nakamura's mannerisms, he hit him with the Boma Ye, but it felt like an overexcited teenager getting his first taste of big boy life. Nakamura bided his time, waited for his moment and eventually hit the Boma Ye for the victory. It was poetry in performance, two artists putting together perfection on the canvas. The facial expressions, the mannerisms, the counters and the story were all entirely on point, and a better wrestling match from last year you will not find. If you aren't convinced by Nakamura with this, then maybe you never will. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2qnx33
Born in the middle of Wales in the middle of the 1980's, John can't quite remember when he started watching wrestling but he has a terrible feeling that Dino Bravo was involved. Now living in Prague, John spends most of his time trying to work out how Tomohiro Ishii still stands upright. His favourite wrestler of all time is Dean Malenko, but really it is Repo Man. He is the author of 'An Illustrated History of Slavic Misery', the best book about the Slavic people that you haven't yet read. You can get that and others from www.poshlostbooks.com.
