Kazuchika Okada's 10 Best Wrestling Matches

by John Bills

1. Vs. Kenny Omega - Wrestle Kingdom 11

Kazuchika Okada Kenny Omega Wrestle Kingdom 11
NJPW.co.jp

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The Wrestle Kingdom 11 main event is one that will go down in history, one of the greatest professional wrestling matches ever constructed. It was a true moment in time, the first meeting between two men and one that managed to cover 46 plus minutes yet still leave fans wanting more.

Thousands of words have been written about this match already in the almost five months of 2017, but none of those words properly convey what Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega gave us on January 4. The heart-stopping false finishes came as expected, but by the time the bout ended it was clear that those were false finishes before things had truly begun.

This match is what happens when you take a wrestling genius and a wrestling perfectionist and give them free reign over the biggest match of the year. Much like Tool's iconic 'Lateralus', Okada vs. Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 11 was the sound of the rest of the industry holding their hands up and saying 'well, where the f*ck do we go from here?'

The table spot, the brutal dropkick, Omega's inability to hit the One Winged Angel and Okada's unmatchable ability to learn, all of the components of this match added up to create something legitimately special. The universal adulation this match has been showered in has led to some critics beginning the backlash early, with many saying Okada's 2017 bouts with Shibata and Suzuki were better and following it up with 'but that's just me'. That isn't anyone.

Omega has received the majority of plaudits for this match, but Kazuchika Okada's status as a legend of Japanese wrestling was confirmed here. Okada is a special wrestler, and we are lucky to be watching at this time. Whether or not he can keep up a better than perfect match average in 2016 remains to be seen.

TNA, what were you thinking?!

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Contributor
Contributor

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.