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Post by bossrock on Jan 6, 2018 15:03:43 GMT -5
I know the Invasion Attack match gets the most love from their series, but I'd argue that this one is the best. You have the normally face Tanahashi willing to bend the rules in what is (or at least was SUPPOSED TO BE) his last shot at the title. There's also some excellent limbwork with Tanahashi targeting Okada's arm which not only forces the champ to have to use just one arm in his offense, but also weakens the Rainmaker. Some excellent offensive sequences, selling and drama. Arguably the best match of 2013.
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Post by microstatistics on Jan 27, 2018 16:58:06 GMT -5
I'll second this for Tanahashi heel work and him turning up the aggression with regards to the armwork. Pretty good match but in some ways just feel like an inferior version of the Invasion Attack match. Okada's arm selling also wasn't as good.
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Post by bossrock on Jul 22, 2018 20:12:00 GMT -5
I'll go a bit more in-depth.
After Okada managed to defeat Tanahashi for the title at Invasion Attack, the two would go to a 30-minute draw in the G1 Climax. This match saw Tanahashi revert to his previous strategy of taking out the legs of Okada. And while it prevented Okada from winning, Tanahashi still couldn't finish him off. The rematch was set for King of Pro Wrestling in what Tanahashi claimed would be his final shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship (that obviously did not turn out to be the case, but I digress). With the stakes this high, the usual good guy Tanahashi would do anything to win.
Okada has a lot of confidence during the opening due to his triumph over Tanahashi at Invasion Attack but not so much that it would cause him to get too cocky. He knows Tanahashi is still his toughest opponent. The two spend a bit of time jockeying for position until Tanahashi fakes a leg injury jumping over Okada from the top rope. It's a brilliant bit of acting as it appears Tanahashi can't even stand or rebound off an Irish whip until he tries to steal the win with a small package. This earns the ire of the crowd and Tanahashi spends the majority of the match again attacking Okada's arm, this time with far more ferocity. There's a particularly nasty moment of Tanahashi just stomping Okada's arm into oblivion. His desire to remain the ace and ensure this won't be his last title match sees Tanahashi at his most aggressive and vindictive.
Okada again does a brilliant job selling the arm and can't maintain any kind of sustained momentum because of it. But he is resilient and defiant to Tanahashi's tactics, getting the crowd fully behind him. Against his better judgment Okada is drawn into firefights with Tanahashi he cannot win due to his injured arm. It gets to the point where Okada is content to get the count-out win with a tombstone to the floor. Tanahashi busts out every move he can think of to put Okada away (including a Rainmaker and Styles Clash) but the lack of damage to Okada's legs again allows him to counter the High Fly Flow and ultimately get the win.
While similar to the Invasion Attack match in terms of execution, I consider this the better match primarily due to the character work of both men. The normally clean-cut Tanahashi resorts to less than honorable tactics in order to win the title while Okada shows incredible tenacity while surviving Tanahashi's onslaught. The role reversal, selling, and offensive exchanges between these two make this match an absolute classic.
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Post by superstarsleeze on Jul 31, 2018 16:12:41 GMT -5
Great minds think alike, Micro! In my 2016 review, I wrote thinwas the inferior version of the Invasion Attack match. Still great mind you but I don't think this will be represented. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW 10/14/13 The series is at 2-2-1, but with Okada as champion going into the match and being 1-0-1 in the last two you can tell Tanahashi was feeling the pressure. He starts off more conservative with a headlock base. Then he even feigns a knee injury. He really milks it and even I think it is going to lead to an Okada heat segment so he had all fooled. He was prancing around doing air guitar to a big pop in the crowd and with me. He goes after the arm, but misses the somersault splash. Okada works the neck with the usual offense, the key highlights being the dropkick to the floor and the Hangmans DDT from railing. The match picks up when Tanahashi press slams him from the top. So if Tanahashi ever wrestles Flair people cant say Flair forced him to do that spot.  Tanahashi needs a strike exchange, missed dropkick before he can take over with arm work. This is some vicious arm work. You can really feel the desperation in Tanahashi that he needs to win this match as he brutally attacks the arm. The transition out is pretty lame with Okada hitting his two weird suplexes that he always hits. Okada sells the arm on the Rainmaker pose. Tanahashi gets a neato pinning combination to avoid the Rainmaker. RAINMAKER~! Woah! That was early. Okada arm hurts too much ala Invasion Attack. The submission move he uses is called Red Ink, but he tries that, but cant hold due to the bad arm. Tanahashi should stick with the arm strategy in future matches. Tanahashi hits a wicked Dragon Suplex and then Sling Blade. High Fly Flow to a standing Okada, but Okada rolls to the outside, but there is no escaping Tanahashi as he hits one on the outside. I think that's the best use of the High Fly Flow to the outside I have seen. Okada nails a Tombstone on outside! BALL GAME! They really milk this spot. They really do protect the Tombstone. It comes down to Tanahashi trying to use his arm work to save the match with Okada trying to nail a Rainmaker and both of them are pretty much out of it from all the punishment. If the tombstone is not enough, Okada hits two picture perfect dropkicks, which should be enough. RAINMAKER~! Wait that was a Tanahashi Rainmaker! He gets a nearfall, here comes the High Fly Flows, but Okada got his knees up. TOMBSTONE~! BALL GAME~! RAINMAKER~! This is the inferior version of the Invasion Attack match. It is a better template than they were using before, but the problem here was it was lacking the transitions of Invasion Attack and the drama. Instead they substituted bomb throwing. Here it felt my turn, your turn. Invasion Attack Okada's control was tenuous due to a bad wing, but Tanahashi could never really overcome the hole he was put in by the DDT on the apron and then subsequent headrops. Here, it was Tanahashi worked the arm really well and Okada sold, but then lets do bomb throwing. It sounds like I am being harsh, but I do think this is their second best match together because it is just plain more exciting than the previous ones and did think selling was great. I thought selling down the stretch was awesome. ****1/2 With six out of eight watched here are the rankings: 1. Invasion Attack 2013 ***** 2. Kings of Pro Wrestling 2013 ****1/2 3. G1 Climax 2013 ****1/4 4. Dominion 2012 ****1/4 5. New Beginnings 2012 **** 6. Wrestle Kingdom VII **** |
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Post by jamesap on Sept 30, 2022 8:48:05 GMT -5
My second favorite match between the two, and currently number 18 on my top 100. Tanahashi going half-heel here & still coming up short - what an amazing story. It just upset the drama to an even higher level.
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Post by elliott on Oct 7, 2023 13:08:57 GMT -5
These matches are just so long and boring. Sorry.
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