Tomohiro Ishii vs. Kenny Omega (5/3/17)
Ishii beat Omega in the NJ Cup to set this up. This match was a freak show, reminded me in a weird way of Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn at Battleground 2016 in that it had plenty of shit that might annoy the VETS – head drops, dives, no-sells, all that – but god damn was it a blast. Not everybody is capable of having a credible match with that stuff, but these two are. Omega’s athleticism and for once compelling douchebaggery vs. Ishii’s hard-hitting insanity = good shit. Suplexes and bomb-throwing right from the bell. Awesome moment of selling bliss early where Omega powerbombs Ishii on the apron at the 16-count, so Ishii desperately rolls back in at 19 then rolls back out for more rest. Omega was straight-up assaulting Ishii for a lot of this – slaps, boots, spit in the face. Ishii at one point puts his back to him – GIMME MORE, BOI. Omega chopping at Ishii and Ishii just WALKING THROUGH IT was an awesome spot, as was Ishii leaning into Omega’s elbows then hitting his own and getting a receipt by spitting in his face. Finish is just straight madness – big near falls, stiff-ass lariats and knees, a reverse rana from both guys just because. Finish really put over the One-Winged Angel too, as Kenny threw everything at Ishii and couldn’t get it done until he hit it. Tremendous. ****
IWGP Heavyweight Title: Kazuchika Okada [c] vs. Bad Luck Fale (5/3/17)
This match, in which the undersized fighting champion took on the big mean fat fella, had a dynamic that worked more than the actual wrestling. Some good stuff here and there – liked an early spot where Okada ran at Fale with a back elbow in the corner, only for Fale to just walk forward like an undead zombie and elbow him down. Okada also kept going for the tombstone which gave the match a nice little thread, paying off when he hit it towards the end and SCREAMED! But a lot of stuff just didn’t get the reaction it could have due to Fale being immobile or Okada’s stuff by proxy looking pretty telegraphed. A big near fall off Fale’s Grenade towards the end barely got a pop. Like, Fale has a place, and they did get some decent drama going towards the end, and this match definitely stands out as something unique within Okada’s reign, but it was also at times a real fake piece of shit wrestling match. **3/4
