1. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Kazuchika Okada [c] vs. Tetsuya Naito
Star power. Credibility. AJPW Budokan main event atmosphere. Entrances. Theme music. Naito chants. Okada’s pants. Oh my GOD. Every wrestling maneuver that Okada and Naito do to each other is so smoth and beautiful, every step they take just has this extra credibility to it that makes this feel like they are truly wrestling professionally. I love it. What a match. One of the finest examples of high-end New Japan heavyweight professional wrestling. These are the two TOP GUYS and they are going to have rapid-fire exchanges as one tries to gain control, with Naito all “mmmmm hmm you know I’m the best” and Okada all “hooooo boy you might actually be right but I don’t think so.”
Tetsuya Naito is such a freak, so speedy and explosive when he wants to be. There’s a legsweep he does here that is among the finest ever legsweeps in pro wrestling. NECK WORK keeps the 25% or so vaguely interesting, and then the last 75% is just one of the all-time great New Japan finishing stretches. Frantic, beautiful, intense, hard-hitting, well-timed pro wrestling with crowd and commentary and myself going absolutely wild. The Stardust Press attempts, the stiff-ass shoulder tackle, a top 10 Okada dropkick, Naito’s wide-open mouth as he took a German suplex, the Rainmaker teases and near falls. Both guys are just SPENT and Okada’s selling of him just having NO ANSWERS was incredible stuff. Naito at one point hit some crazy headscissors piledriver off the top rope that made me think I was hallucinating. I wish Naito went for the Stardust Press once more towards the end, I wish the neck work had a little more oomph to it, otherwise this was completely utterly brilliant. An excellent match brought up by both guys just being absolute superstars. ****1/2
