Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay (NJPW - 01/04/2021)
Dec 28, 2021 13:48:39 GMT -5
Post by makaiclub on Dec 28, 2021 13:48:39 GMT -5
Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 15 Day One - 04/01/2021
Of course. These two had to knock it out of the park. That's what was expected of them and they absolutely delivered to that standard. Not only did they have a great classic match but they were able to mix and incorporate some of the elements of their grudge feud in with it which isn't easy to do. Okada started off like a rocket, hitting a relentless assault on Ospreay with his brutal running back elbow and then hitting a gorgeous tope con hilo. Okada's main issues are his execution of certain things but none of that showed. He laid in his strikes, tightened up his ring position and brought his A-game. That and his amazing chemistry with Ospreay gave us an outstanding Okada performance with Ospreay bringing it as well. He knew how to adapt to a heel style, slowing down the tempo after initially being overwhelmed but also adding enough flair and speed to his offence to keep it from being mundane. But what really impressed me was his selling for the closing stretch. It's hard to sell as a heel because you could get sympathy but he didn't come off like that. Ospreay came off like someone who wasn't going to let a chance to overtake Okada, who plays into it by booting the shit out of the back of Ospreay's head, slip. This match packed a lot in with a near 40 minutes run time; including a nailed-on suplex on the table, Bea Priestley being knocked off the apron by Okada via Ospreay, a plethora of suplexes and counter wrestling sequences that came off really well and fluid, etc. It also went a risky route of changing (slowing down) the match flow instead of ramping it up to tell the story, and it ws as executed it perfectly. It was a tremendously worked match that brought the restricted Dome crowd alive. A Dome classic. ****1/2
My 2021 MOTY (Unless Konosuke Takeshita vs. Yuji Okabayashi II blows me away)
Of course. These two had to knock it out of the park. That's what was expected of them and they absolutely delivered to that standard. Not only did they have a great classic match but they were able to mix and incorporate some of the elements of their grudge feud in with it which isn't easy to do. Okada started off like a rocket, hitting a relentless assault on Ospreay with his brutal running back elbow and then hitting a gorgeous tope con hilo. Okada's main issues are his execution of certain things but none of that showed. He laid in his strikes, tightened up his ring position and brought his A-game. That and his amazing chemistry with Ospreay gave us an outstanding Okada performance with Ospreay bringing it as well. He knew how to adapt to a heel style, slowing down the tempo after initially being overwhelmed but also adding enough flair and speed to his offence to keep it from being mundane. But what really impressed me was his selling for the closing stretch. It's hard to sell as a heel because you could get sympathy but he didn't come off like that. Ospreay came off like someone who wasn't going to let a chance to overtake Okada, who plays into it by booting the shit out of the back of Ospreay's head, slip. This match packed a lot in with a near 40 minutes run time; including a nailed-on suplex on the table, Bea Priestley being knocked off the apron by Okada via Ospreay, a plethora of suplexes and counter wrestling sequences that came off really well and fluid, etc. It also went a risky route of changing (slowing down) the match flow instead of ramping it up to tell the story, and it ws as executed it perfectly. It was a tremendously worked match that brought the restricted Dome crowd alive. A Dome classic. ****1/2
My 2021 MOTY (Unless Konosuke Takeshita vs. Yuji Okabayashi II blows me away)
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