|
Post by stunninggrover on Jan 5, 2018 1:33:55 GMT -5
Alpha vs. Omega. Winnipeg vs. Winnipeg (and New Japan World commentator Don Callis is also from Winnipeg). This was a dream match. It was for Kenny Omega's IWGP United States Title. This was Chris Jericho's first non-WWE match since 1999 (and his first New Japan match since 1998). The 47-year old veteran Jericho gave a tremendous performance. Omega showed his versatility by being able to work a more brawling type match, which is not his usual type match. 2018 Match Of The Year Candidate.
|
|
|
Post by smartmark15 on Jan 5, 2018 3:43:13 GMT -5
Jericho puts in the performance of a lifetime. Brutal, cocky, just old school heel work complimented by a furious pace and some really memorable spots. Completely shocked by how fantastic this way and definitely worth discussion.
|
|
|
Post by bossrock on Jan 5, 2018 16:41:04 GMT -5
No doubt a great match and showing for both guys, but I won't be surprised if it's not even a MOTYC.
|
|
|
Post by maddog1981 on Jan 6, 2018 10:14:07 GMT -5
Probably one of the best heel Jericho performances ever. This felt like those old Austin Attitude Era main events. I liked how it started out with them trying to brutalize each other and then turned into a game of trying to one up each other with their big moves. I think 10 years down the road this will get held up as a definitive heel Jericho performance.
|
|
|
Post by fadu on Jan 7, 2018 13:13:34 GMT -5
A match where I admire the effort but just goes on way too long (36 minutes!). Also had probably unrealistic hopes of them trying to replicate Rush/LA Park in a NJPW setting and it didn't happen.
|
|
|
Post by Cap on Jan 7, 2018 16:12:04 GMT -5
I liked this match a lot. i really enjoyed it and thought they pulled something pretty great off, esp considering the context. That said, this has zero shot at my list. Its my third favorite match on the show probably. I support this as a candidate for the project for others, if we are thinking top 100 of all time.... I'm not revisiting it to be honest.
|
|
|
Post by gordi on Jan 7, 2018 19:59:47 GMT -5
I loved this match, but it wasn't even the best match on the show (MiSu vs Goto was better, IMO). Zero chance of making my all time list. That's not really a knock, it has a decent chance of making my list for this year, and maybe for this decade. There are just so many Great Matches, and a lot of matches I love will fall short.
|
|
|
Post by gordi on Jun 4, 2018 11:28:46 GMT -5
You know what? I re-watched this match in preparation for watching Dominion this weekend... and this match really holds up! It has a slight shot at making my list and I still think MiSu vs Goto was better... but this match belongs in the discussion.
|
|
|
Post by Kadaveri on Sept 24, 2020 7:13:36 GMT -5
If this match ended around 24 minutes in this would be a serious contender for my list. It's frustrating because they managed to put together a match with all the best aspects of modern NJPW plus a bit extra so it stands out.
Firstly, Jericho looks great here. I really have to admit this because this was just at the time that I was getting really sick of him because I felt he spent much of 2014-17 constantly trying to keep up with younger wrestlers having athletic workrate matches like he's still in his 20s and embarassing himself. I thought the matches with AJ Styles were cringing to watch at times how blatantly AJ was having to move at like 60% speed just so Jericho could keep up with doing spots that were clearly outside his athletic range. But finally, Jericho has accepted reality and has changed his style very similar to how La Park wrestles nowadays. Now he's just a grumpy mean old bastard who looks like he doesn't even want to be here and is just gonna beat the hell out of his opponent out of sheer malice. He's so much fun and it's quite refreshing on the card to see something this different, while at the same time Omega gets to keep his high octane offense because it's so much more oriented around strikes and bombs rather than anything that requires his opponent to do anything particularly difficult to take.
But then we get the worst aspect of modern NJPW creep in, with the fact that every big match for some reason has to go 30+ minutes, or 35 in this case. This is especially true for Kenny Omega. So in this match especially, it feels like the last 10 minutes were a totally different match just stuck on the end. The brawling disappears and they go into taking turns to hit each other with their biggest moves for huge nearfalls, until eventually someone Kenny hits his finisher to win. There's something a bit anticlimatic about how you just know that no matter what new brutal bombs they pull out, a NJPW match will still always end with someone hitting their regular finisher and a pinfall. Zack Sabre Junior's the only real exception, seeing how he doesn't really have a regular finisher. This is a match which totally would have been better if they'd stayed clear of that formula and just kept it going like the opening 20 minutes.
|
|
|
Post by elliott on Oct 13, 2023 23:52:12 GMT -5
Crazy over the top match but I enjoyed it when it happened and I still do.
|
|
|
Post by [Darren] on Dec 7, 2023 9:18:02 GMT -5
Prior to this match, the WCW loving Jerichoholic still existed. I didn’t yet groan at the sight of Jericho. His late era WWE stuff was better than a lot the company was putting out and I hadn’t yet soured on NJPW. I was pretty psyched for this match and I remember being thrilled with the execution. It’s almost 6 years later and I’m not sure how I’ll Be. But it’s going on my watchlist because I don’t think I was crazy.
|
|