Kazuchika Okada’s IWGP Title Reign - Every Match Ranked from Worst To Best
1. Vs. Kenny Omega (Dominion 6.11)
NJPW Dominion 2017's main event between Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega for Okada's IWGP Heavyweight Championship was maybe the greatest professional wrestling match of all time. This itself was unconscionable considering how in love pundits, purists and punters alike were with their Wrestle Kingdom 11 war just six months earlier. Far from just kicking off a series that would elevate the art-form, their maiden masterpieces redefined what even classified a match as such.
Wrestling Observer head honcho Dave Meltzer gave the original ******, buckling his own five star formula to highlight how good the contest was. He rewired it again to find an extra 1/4* where there previously seemed no possible further improvement.
The match began cautiously, but Omega pounced on an early Okada leg injury, hitting a series of moves including a top rope Asai moonsault to the floor and a brutal snap dragon suplex.
After scoring on Kenny with some inhuman dropkicks, Okada took control but was unable to put his gutsy opponent away. After failing to manage it in their first encounter, 'The Cleaner' hit the One Winged Angel for an agonising two-count as the pair moved into the final third playing off their own exhaustion.
It's effort enough for two performers to keep pace for 60 gruelling minutes, but the spots around their collective fatigue were absolutely sensational. At one point, Omega avoided a Rainmaker inadvertently after collapsing to his knees, and the finish saw a drained Okada just miss out on victory as he attempted a last ditch cover. Their third battle in the 2017 G1 Climax was a halved sprint equivalent