Minoru Suzuki vs Kazushi Sakuraba (NJPW - 1/4/2015)

For shoot-style fans, this was a memorable tribute to the UWF and catch wrestling roots both of these guys came from. Suzuki was representing the UWF/Pancrase branch influenced by Karl Gotch, and Sakuraba was representing the UWFi/Kingdom branch influenced by Billy Robinson. In a lot of ways, this felt more like a brawl to settle that philosophical feud than an actual UWF match, but that made it very unique and captivating if you ask me. They actually fight on the stage ramp for a bit before getting back into the ring, where they trade knockdowns and submission exchanges. Suzuki's arm-selling here was good, and added a bit of drama to the match as Sakuraba kept looking to tap him. Another nice spot where Sakuraba beats down Suzuki with palm strikes. Suzuki has the heroic comeback against the outsider (if you can say that) for the submission victory and the two embrace afterwards with the UWF theme playing in the background. While Suzuki vs Tanahashi from KOPW 2012 made me a NJPW fan, this really cemented my appreciation for the promotion. I think this is a serious contender for my top 100 and its unique aspects in terms of the storyline here make it a worthy contender. ****1/2