Hiromu Takahashi vs KUSHIDA (NJPW, 4/9/2017)

The whole trilogy (WK 11 - Sakura Genesis - Dominion) deserves discussion, so here we go. This is the second one, the rematch of the crazy WK match (my least favourite of the three, but I'll nominate it sooner or later anyway), one that presented Hiromu as a kamikaze totally different of what the Jr division has been about.

And it lasts 1 minute and 56 seconds.

This has KUSHIDA fucking diving onto Hiromu from the top rope while the champ is making his entrance, and it's an insane spot, beautifully executed and looked brutal as fuck. KUSHIDA beats the shit outta Hiromu before throwing him inside the ring, because now he knows what kind of wrestler Hiromu is and is saying "fuck it, I'm gonna fight fire with fire!". He inmediately kicks the living shit out of his arm and puts him in his Kimura, and this might be the first ever non-RINGS match that you could say a submission attempt at the first few seconds is a believable false finish. Hiromu is too close to the ropes, so KUSHIDA rolls, but Hiromu uses that to his advantage and stands up with KUSHIDA on his shoulders. He puts him on the apron, and that could be interpreted as a way of putting space between them, but Hiromu FUCKING RUNS INTO HIM, JUMPS OVER HIM AND POWERBOMBS HIM ONTO THE FLOOR. Hiromu freaking planned it, he used KUSHIDA's roll as a way to change the flow of the match drastically. KUSHIDA s fucking out. Three more big Hiromu spots, Ticking Time Bomb, and it's over.

I LOVE this match. It is 100% the best squash ever to me. You have a fiery challenger doing a risk bet, going all out against the master of going all out, and it doesn't pay off. Hiromu manages to turn the tables of the match and win decisively, putting him much more over as a champion and a pretty dangerous dude to try to mess up with. A wonderful short match, very unique for 10s NJPW, and that leads to the absolutely MOTDC final showdown at Dominion, after KUSHIDA redeems himself by winning the BOSJ and earning the right to challenge Hiromu one last time. Thanks to this match, that one is even better because now we all know this could end at any moment! But I'll review that one later on, because I want people to focus on this one first. It's literally less than four minutes overall (including the initial, pre-ring bell, KUSHIDA attack) and they beat the shit out of each other so badly that I had no trouble buying such an early on finish. Brilliant match.