G1 Climax: Every Modern Final Ranked

It's hard to say goodbye to an old friend. Some people have a going-away party to have a good time and reminisce on all they've done together. For what would be his final match with eternal rival Hiroshi Tanahashi, Shinsuke Nakamura did something different: repeatedly try to decapitate the Ace with knee strikes.

One of three 5-star matches from 2015, Tanahashi/Nakamura feels very much like the blueprint for modern 'big' New Japan matches (and yes, that does say three; it wasn't that long ago it was actually hard to get 5 stars from Dave). The match starts off very slow as Nakamura and Tanahashi feel each other out and exchange holds. Eventually, the tension builds as the competitors try riskier moves before the match has a final 10-minute stretch of nearfalls and hard strikes.

It's that final stretch that makes this match amazing. The crowd are on fire as Nakamura pretty much tries to kill Tanahashi, while Tanahashi tries everything in his power to blow out Nak's knees. It's during these stretches you see why there was so much hype surrounding Nakamura as he came to WWE. For these matches, he seems like the best wrestler in the world, with Tanahashi not far behind.

And it's because they're the best that this match is a must-watch.