Ranking Who Was Really The Man In Wrestling Every Year 1990-2020
8. 2013 - Kazuchika Okada
2013 saw Kazuchika Okada ascend from prodigy to best in the world calibre.
The Rainmaker reigned with the IWGP Heavyweight Title from April onwards, not losing it all year, in a period of steady business growth. He was a true Champion, having long since evolved from the almost awkward-looking man who had first challenged Tanahashi the previous year. He embodied the superstar aura thrust immediately and very ambitiously onto him.
He was also a true in-ring genius.
A psychological phenomenon with an uncanny ability to drive fans into a meltdown crescendo in the last five minutes of his classic main events, Okada worked two of his best matches with Tanahashi in 2013, the second of which, at King Of Pro Wrestling, was informed by the Red Ink finisher he debuted at the New Japan Cup.
Okada, arm battered, earned a gasp of shock by failing to apply the hold louder than most of his peers drew for a finisher kick-out.