Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay & KENTA vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16 - Day 2 - 05/01/2022

 

IWGP United States Heavyweight Title No Disqualification Match: KENTA (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

There are two possible scenarios when a No DQ stipulation is introduced. Either unforgiving violence will take place or interference, thankfully it was the former. Its hard to be genuinely scared for the wrestlers with ladders being overused in modern wrestling but the unfamiliar surroundings allowed for more fresh and simple ideas. KENTA was on top of a massive ladder, reading to hit a foot stomp with Tanahashi shaking the ladder, which caused KENTA to fall face first onto a steel bin. This was clearly by accident and it split KENTA up in a gnarly way. Fortunately for KENTA, the match was brought to an end afterwards by an equally insane High Fly Flow off the ladder. I found the whole match to be very enjoyable with them finding interesting ways to use the assorted weapons, including the broken US Title Match Briefcase which was a small attempt at comedy. Even the Kendo stick exchange didn't feel out of place as it might seem to be on paper. Everything surprisingly hit home with this. Great No DQ match. KENTA seemed to rise to the occasion. ****

IWGP World Heavyweight Title Match: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Will Ospreay

Absolutely fantastic main event. It's hard to say whether a match can be too much or not. This had a lot packed in at an intense pace for a fairly long period of time but the balance was there for me to make it a classic match. Okada and Ospreay have immense chemistry that always delivers. It did last year at Wrestle Kingdom 15 and they did again, this time in the main event. Ospreay’s presentation is rather obnoxious and off putting but his performances are top class and full of energetic, innovative wrestling that Okada thrives on. Not only were they cleverly done, their work was on a level where you could enjoy the work as a spectacle, too. This followed a formula of the two trying to outdo each other - Ospreay hits a Rainmaker, Okada does a Stormbreaker, reversals and counters galore, a meaningful elbow exchange with great selling. I would think that a moonsault of a scaffolding structure would be one of the best spots of the match but Okada, for me, bested it by countering a Sasuke Special into a Tombstone. This has many moments of compelling action that's hard to top. It did come at the expense of the selling within the moment where, for example, Ospreay would be hit with a Tombstone only to counter a rainmaker attempt immediately after. These moments prevent it from being among the great, great matches in history. However, this was an elite contest that truly felt special to the wrestlers and the fans in attendance. Furthermore, it felt like this was Okada returning to his best. Him as champion is truly a special match within itself. Okada said after the match that he wants Inoki to see him wrestle in person just once. That will be a truly legendary moment should it ever happen. ****1/2