Kazuchika Okada's 10 Best Wrestling Matches

3. Vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - Invasion Attack 2013

Kazuchika Okada Hiroshi Tanahashi Invasion Attack 2013
njpwworld.com

Okada vs. Tanahashi once again. The match between the two at Invasion Attack in 2013 was their fourth battle, and once again they managed to set the bar higher than was previously thought possible. Tanahashi worked on Okada's arm, hoping to negate the threat of the Rainmaker, debilitating the limb enough to pose a challenge to him.

The crowd were rabid to say the least, elevating the match in that way that only Japanese crowds are capable of doing. Okada and Tanahashi's previous three matches were all great to holy moly, but this was the first time it felt like a true happening. This was the biggest match in Japanese wrestling, right before our eyes. The crowd knew it.

Okada picked up the win after a second Rainmaker, and the story progressed further. Tanahashi had dominated New Japan for so long that the arrival of Okada became even more pronounced, but the matches still needed to live up to those expectations.

This was the moment that Okada vs. Tanahashi became legendary.

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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.