Even New Japan Pro Wrestling purists were placing their cards on the table whilst the match was in progress - AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura didn't realise the dream their clash was promoted as, and a post-match heel turn for the 'King Of Strong Style' kicked off a creative decline many predicted for him since he first left NXT.
AJ had suffered similar fate against Chris Jericho two years earlier, but neither man here offered any kind of violence to break the crowd from their silence. Obvious and unfair comparisons to their Wrestle Kingdom 10 classic were unnecessary - this was objectively poor in contrast to other matches on this card.
Champion and Challenger did better against one another later that year, but like every targeted assault by Shinsuke going forward, the bar was extremely low.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back almost 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
