The History of Wrestle Kingdom

Battle 7 (1995)

IWGP Heavyweight Title
Shinya Hashimoto vs Kensuke Sasaki

Masahiro Chono won the G1 the previous year, but he found himself at this show teaming with Sabu (what a crazy pairing there) to defeat Tatsumi Fujinami & Junji Hirata. Other matches saw Hawk defeat Scott Norton, Hase & Mutoh get their win back from the previous year over The Steiners, a young Yuji Nagata falling to Koji Kanemoto and finally the "Final Countdown BVD" Tournament (BVD was a New Japan sponsor) which had Sting defeat Tony Palmore & Antonio Inoki over UFC 1 participant Gerard Gordeau in the semis and Inoki defeat Sting in the finals.

This one more than made up for last years match. It didn’t take long for Hashimoto to do what he does best, throw some serious shots as Tenzan fired back & even moved the ref out of the way to continue his attack. Tables were turned as Hashimoto did the exact same thing, only to be punted down to the mat repeatedly by Sasaki. Shoulder block/lariat combo gets a 2 count early as Sasaki wears his opponent down. Sleeper transition into an arm bar, but Hashimoto gets the ropes. Sasaki wisely trying to keep Hashimoto grounded as he has full mount & starts raining down shots before Hashimoto explodes up & throws a lariat THROUGH Sasaki’s lariat (if that makes sense, it did if you saw it) as he then targets Tenzan’s arm with submissions aplenty. Superkick by Hashimoto followed by a wild high kick as he goes to the top and hits a missile dropkick! Headbutt/DDT combo as Hashimoto goes to the top yet again, but gets cut off as Tenzan nails a superplex (borderline flux capacitor!)!! Both landed hard as Tenzan nails a DDT then a brutal powerbomb as he connects with a snap powerslam & locks in the Power Special submission as Hashimoto doesn’t quit & is bleeding bad from the nose. Hashimoto hits a snap belly to belly to answer, wants the brainbuster to end this, but Sasaki fights him & turns it into a release Northern Lights Suplex. Back to the Power Special as Hashimoto is legit screaming in pain, but refuses to quit once more. Insane looking judo throw drops Hashimoto right on his head as Tenzan gets only a 2 count. Leg sweep out of nowhere takes Tenzan down & follows with a DDT for a near fall of his own. Huge momentum as Hashimoto connects with a spinning leg kick for another 2, then plants Tenzan on his head with a Fisherman’s Buster for the 1…2…3! Post match it is pretty cool seeing Inoki present Hashimoto with the belt and the camera zooming in as he's shaking his blood stained hands as the crowd cheers. Incredibly fun match with two guys who beat the crap out of one another.

Wrestling World 1997

IWGP Heavyweight Title
Shinya Hashimoto vs Riki Choshu

This was a weird card as they had a Best of 4 series between New Japan and Big Japan with New Japan winning 3-1. Ohtani defeated Yoshihiro Tajiri, Masahiro Chono over Shoji Nakamaki (in 1 minute!) & Masa Saito over Shinya Kojika with the sole Big Japan win coming from Kendo Nagasaki defeating Tatsutishi Goto. We also had Jushin Liger defeating Ultimo Dragon for the J-Crown, Antonio Inoki winning a MMA match, Jinsei Shinzaki (Hakushi) deafeating Michiyoshi Ohara and also we got Super Liger (Chris Jericho) beating Koji Kanemoto. The 3 main matches saw Kengo Kimura & Tatsumi Fujinami defeating Tenzan & Chono for the Tag Titles and Power Warrior (Kensuke Sasaki) defeating The Great Muta, leading to our main event.

We get a good old fashioned test of strength early on as Choshu powers Hashimoto down, who gets a rope break, I legit in all my years of wrestling I don’t think I have never seen a rope break on a test of strength. Hashimoto throws some kicks, but only pisses Choshu off, who hits clubbing forearms & stiff punches that drops the big man. Choshu shows off his power by hitting a vertical suplex, then back to punches before Shinya fires back with his overhand chops & punts Choshu down. I love me a pissed off Shinya Hashimoto as he watches Choshu struggle to his knees only to kick him back down over & over again. This happens to the point where the referee has to pull Hashimoto away as Choshu is staring daggers through him & starts throwing shots in retaliation, especially to the knee. Choshu sinks in the Scorpion Deathlock that Hashimoto almost submits to, but Choshu releases the hold for some reason. He does proceed to murder Shinya with a lariat so perhaps he wanted to do more damage, but Hashimoto would regain control & starts throwing violent overhand chops & kicks. This is so back & forth that Choshu fires back with wild shots that drop Hashimoto & hits a friggin superplex!! Choshu goes to the top, but Hashimoto cuts him off & hits a superplex of his own!! DDT gets a 1 COUNT as Choshu has a lot of fight left in him as Hashimoto hits another DDT for a 2 count! Hashimoto signals for the end as he wants his brainbuster, but Choshu goes dead weight, after 3 tries though, Hashimoto connects with it for the 3 count! Holy shit that was an insanely hard hitting war! This will be the last of Hashimoto on this list & I’m sad. He died way too young & I didn’t appreciate his work until well after he passed away. He was so damn great.

Wrestling World 1999

IWGP Heavyweight Title
Scott Norton vs Keiji Mutoh
3 of the 4 title matches at this show changed hands as Dr Wagner Jr & Kendo Kashin won the Jr Tag Titles from Otani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa, Tencozy (Tenzan & Kojima) won the Heavyweight Tag Titles from Tenryu & Koshinaka and finally we’ll get to the main event. The only one who defended their title was Jushin Liger who had a 23 minute showdown with Koji Kanemoto. For the second year in a row Don Frye scored a referee stoppage win in his match, Shinya Hashimoto & Naoya Ogawa went to a no contest and Kensuke Sasaki beat hardcore legend Onita via DQ, which had to be disappointing for an Onita match to end that way.

NWO member vs NWO member. You would think that being an American & main eventing the Tokyo Dome would at least get Scott Norton a push in WCW, but alas, it never happened. The first 5 minutes saw Norton try to use his power to wrestle down his smaller opponent, but Mutoh would get free & use his speed to avoid the offense & take Norton down targeting the arm. He tried for a cross arm breaker, but Norton’s strength wouldn’t allow that as he powered Mutoh up with a powerbomb. Shout out to a Bill Apter sighting ringside with his camera! Anyways, Mutoh hits a back handspring elbow in the corner, but Norton cuts the momentum off with a huge flying shoulder tackle for 2. Norton hits a shoulderbreaker, the move he ended most his WCW matches with, but didn’t go for a cover, shaking out his knee. He tried a powerbomb, but Mutoh turns it into a hurricanrana. Missile dropkick to the knee by Mutoh, who hits a dragon screw leg whip off the apron to the floor! Norton fell down like a ton of bricks super awkwardly as he makes the count only for Mutoh to hit another dragon screw. From there Mutoh hits multiple dropkicks to the leg & locks in the figure four twice as Norton gets the ropes both times & hits lariats, then a massive powerbomb, but can’t capitalize due to the bad wheel. Whenever in trouble, Mutoh goes right back to the dropkick/dragon screw/figure four combo as he’s done it 3 times now. Springboard dropkick as Norton answers with a snap powerslam for a 2 count. Scott Norton…is going…to the TOP ROPE, on a bad leg, as he actually connects with a flying shoulder tackle!! He only gets a 2 count, looks for another powerbomb, but his leg gives way, allowing Mutoh to hit a dragon screw, then moonsault to the back for 1…2..KICK OUT! Mutoh to the top, springboard dropkick to the leg & we’re back to the figure four for the 4th time. Norton is screaming in pain & verbally submits. While I wish Mutoh would’ve done more offense instead of pretty much the same 5 moves, it worked. This was a lot more fun than you’d think as Mutoh is bigger than the cruiserweights Norton would toss around in WCW. Scott Norton is insanely underrated when talking about big men.

Wrestling World 2001

IWGP Heavyweight Title
Kensuke Sasaki vs Toshiaki Kawada
This show was completely different as it was dominated by a 1 night tournament for the IWGP Heavyweight Title after it was vacated due to champion Sasaki losing a non title bout to Kawada. Ironically enough, that’s what the tournament final came down to this night after Sasaki defeated Kojima & Chono while Kawada bested Hiroyoshi Tenzan in the semis. So having only had to wrestle once prior, obviously Kawada had the deck stacked in his favor. Also on the card Keiji Mutoh & Otani defeated Jushin Liger & Manabu Nakanishi and also Riki Choshu was back & wrestled Shinya Hashimoto to a no contest in the co-main event, which would sadly be Hashimoto’s last January 4th Tokyo Dome show after being fired later this year & starting Pro Wrestling Zero-One the following year.

Kawada quickly hits 2 enzugiri kicks & a backdrop driver as Sasaki is already in trouble. Kawada kicks to the dome (VINTAGE KAWADA!), as he gets a near fall off a 3rd enzugiri. Kawada doing what he does best, kick the living crap out of you before Sasaki fires back with multiple lariats, flooring Kawada. Powerbomb gets a close 2 as Kawada looks pissed as he fights back with the 4th jump kick to the back of Sasaki’s head, but Sasaki hits a snap powerslam, then starts slapping the hell out of Kawada, who hits a snap German & lariat to counter. This match has gone 5 minutes and it’s been hard hitting as a son bitch as they start lighting each other up with slaps. Kawada continues to boot Sasaki in the face, then gets scolded by the ref for punting him in the face. Kawada starts raking his elbow across the face of Sasaki while in a Dragon Sleeper position, releases it & gets a 2 count. Kawada takes 3 attempts, but finally gets a powerbomb, stacking Sasaki up for a close 2. He wants another, but Sasaki hits an Alabama Slam, then sinks in a Boston Crab deep. Kawada, busted nose & all, gets the ropes, is up & hits a 5th enzugiri! Both men slowly up & hit dueling lariats, sweat explodes, as Sasaki connects with a release German, then murders Kawada with a lariat for 1…2…KICK OUT! Sasaki plants him with a Brainbuster for the 3! 10 minute match and they look like they went 45, especially Sasaki who has wrestled 3 times on the night against strong opponents. Super hard hitting & a lot of fun. What a year for Sasaki!

Wrestling World 2003

IWGP Heavyweight Title
Yuji Nagata vs Josh Barnett
This was a mix bag of the undercard as we had the semis & finals of a Young Generation Cup tournament that featured some newer names to the roster, most notably Togi Makabe. Tencozy defeated Chono & Nakanishi while the co-main event saw Yoshihiro Takayama win the vacant NWF Heavyweight Title over Tsuyoshi Kosaka, which brought us to our main event, a super unique match to say the very least.

Bell sounds and Barnett immediately hits a head kick that drops Nagata. They’re playing this off like it could be a flash KO, but Nagata is up super slowly. This is a weird, albeit fun match as they’re literally doing every single possible finish to a MMA match in this one as Barnett has locked in heel hooks, kimuras, guillotines, hit flying knees, judo throws, they’ve traded stiff kicks, it’s pretty cool because of how different this is compared to any other Tokyo Dome main event on this list. Finally Nagata sinks in a rear naked choke, but Barnett luckily falls into the ropes to break. Nagata tries for a T-Bone suplex, but the Babyface Assassin sinks in a guillotine. Nagata fights out & gets his T-Bone as both are down as Nagata is up first, hits a spin kick for the 1…2…3?? Barnett pops right up & applies a Crossface as he releases and is stunned. This was a super weird & surprising finish. It oddly goes with the match though as multiple times Barnett almost ended it quickly, so Nagata winning the way he did was kind of fitting. That said, Nagata's selling at the start took up a few minutes, so aside from that, this main event went probably a little under 8 minutes? I'm really conflicted with this one as I wanted it to go longer, but then I think about it, they did everything they could've done by incorporating MMA into this. With that being Barnett's specialty, I don't think a longer match would've really held together great. So maybe this was the perfect way to go? This was by far the most confusing main event thus far, but I in no way disliked it. It was entertaining for what it was.

Toukon Festival: Wrestling World 2005
IWGP U-30 Openweight Title
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura
Despite coming up short in the G1 final against Tenzan, it was Hiroshi Tanahashi who found himself in the main event as Tenzan would be in a 3 way with Chono & Riki Choshu under “Dog Fight” rules. This show also would feature an 8 man Submissions Only tournament which Ron Waterman won by last defeating Yuji Nagata. Other matches saw Jushin Liger once again defeat rival Koji Kanemoto, Tiger Mask besting Heat for the Jr Title, Minoru Suzuki battled Takashi Iizuka and Satoshi Kojima defeated Osamu Nishimura.

Here we go the first of ultimately 3 Tokyo Dome main events from these two as this is like the Muppet Babies version as they’re both so young looking. Right out the gate they trade snap Germans & have a standoff as we cut to a shot of Shibata in the front row as the two men have some chain wrestling before another standoff. Tana works the left arm & gets a headlock, slowly wearing Nakamura down, but they start trading forearms & knees before Tana hits a flying forearm, elbow & spinning somersault senton for 2. Nakamura hits a superplex, but Tana no sells it & hits a backbreaker. Tana dropkicks Nakamura to the floor & hits a suicide dive that sends Tana himself flying into commentary row. Nakamura breaks the count & tries to suplex Tana from the inside to the floor, but Tana lands on the apron & hits a DDT flooring Nakamura. Back inside Tana wants a dragon sleeper, but Nakamura counters into a cross arm breaker. Tana immediately rolls into the ropes, is up, but walks into a leaping triangle by Nakamura in the center of the ring. Tana slowly gets up & turns it into a crab as Nakamura is the one who gets the rope break. Tana applies a Scorpion Deathlock, but Nakamura escapes, tries for a victory roll, but rolls into a dragon sleeper. Ref checks the arm, but Nakamura barely makes the ropes. Pace has slowed tremendously as Tana is putting the boots to him, sinks in the dragon sleeper again, but Nakamura uses the ropes to float over & lock in his own! Foot on the rope as Nakamura hits a flying knee & a powerbomb for 2. He scales the ropes & connects with a moonsault, but Tana moves avoiding the knee drop follow up. Tana with a stiff dropkick as he fires chops & slaps the hell out of Nakamura, who stares him down & takes him down with a choke. Tana with an enzugiri & powerbomb of his own, but Nakamura turns it into a triangle, only for Tana to powerbomb out again. Full Nelson suplex nets Tana a close 2, he wants another, but Nakamura counters into an arm bar deep! Tana luckily gets a toe on the ropes & the ref pulls Nakamura off his opponent. Rear Naked applied in the middle of the ring as Nakamura transitions into the arm bar & Tana taps! This was the only one of their Tokyo Dome matches I hadn’t seen and knowing what’s to come, I’ll say this was a really good match, but not great. We’ll get to the great stuff in a couple of years. This was a really good first chapter of their trilogy.

Wrestle Kingdom 1
Keiji Mutoh & Masahiro Chono vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima
The very first show with the Wrestle Kingdom name had Hiroshi Tanahashi defending the IWGP Heavyweight Title over Taiyo Kea in the co-main, Minoru Suzuki kept his Triple Crown Title stopping Yuji Nagata, Kawada beat last year’s main eventer Shinsuke Nakamura , 10 man tag saw Team Kanemoto beating Team Liger, Voodoo Murders won (Giant Bernard, Ro’z, Suwama & Taru) an 8 man tag over 4 New Japan veterans (Nakanishi, Yamamoto, Choshu & Iizuka), one of my favorite heel factions Togi Makabe, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano (Great Heel Bash) beating Bull Buchanan, D’Lo Brown & Travis Tomko (the Sunday Night Heat All Stars pretty much).

In an unusual curveball to the January 4th show, we get a tag team match that saw Mutoh & Chono team for the first time in 8 years and post match they paid tribute to the late Shinya Hashimoto, as they were the Three Musketeers, all in the class of 84 in the New Japan dojo. It was a really cool tribute. The veterans got the upper hand in the early going with dueling figure four leg locks & seem to be focusing on isolating Tenzan, targeting the leg. That really was the story for the first half of this match as they are just wearing Tenzan down as Kojima waited for the hot tag. It came after Tenzan dodged a back drop & allowed Kojima to hit the Kobashi machine gun chops, then a top rope elbow on Mutoh for 2. Mutoh tried cutting Kojima off with a Shining Wizard, but it was blocked as Kojima hit a dragon screw on Mutoh. To the corner as Kojima connects with a hurricanrana for a near fall. Mutoh ducks a lariat nails a dropkick as Chono gets a tag & a big time shoulder tackle off the top. Kojima cut off the momentum with a suplex & roaring elbow, but Chono fired back with a Kenka Kick. Tenzan in now & takes it to his former NWO Japan running buddy with a knee off the top for 2. Chono wanted another Kenka Kick, but Tenzan hit a spinning wheel kick. In comes Mutoh, but he’s met with an assisted cutter, while Chono ate a double team move as Tenzan applies an Anaconda Vice on Chono, but he gets the ropes. Really sloppy looking 3D on Chono as they look for a double tombstone on Chono, but Mutoh leaps over the official & hits a Shining Wizard on Kojima. All 4 men are down as Tenzan hits a top rope headbutt while Kojima hits a Koji Cutter on Chono. Brutal lariat on Chono as Kojima hits a plancha outside on Mutoh. Tenzan looks to end it with a Tombstone, but pulls Chono up at 2. Oddly Mutoh is up outside & just watching as Tenzan hit a moonsault & got a 2 count. Now Mutoh is back in as he dragon screws Tenzan down & chops the crap out of Kojima. Gnarly DDT on Kojima as Chono nails one on Tenzan as Mutoh & Chono nail dueling Shining Wizards, sink in the Figure Four & STF respectively as Tenzan taps to Chono. Boy, this one was fine to start, but the wheels fell off at the end, super duper sloppy second half, which is a shame because I’ve seen some great Mutoh (no pun intended) matches thus far in this list. However, the overall tribute to Hashimoto post match really was more important than the actual match.

Wrestle Kingdom 3
IWGP Heavyweight Title
Keiji Mutoh vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
Once again the TNA working relationship was on display at this show as TNA stars Team 3D beat Makabe & Yano for the IWGP Tag Titles, The Motor City Machine Guns won the Jr. Tag Titles from Naito & Yujiro and Kevin Nash & Kurt Angle would team with Riki Choshu & Masahiro Chono to defeat Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson, Iizuka & Ishii (that’s a match I need to see, Ishii in the same ring as Kevin Nash). Unfortunately that match isn’t on NJPWWorld due to being TNA guys involved. Other matches saw Tiger Mask win the Jr. Title from Low-Ki, Liger & Sano defeated Kanemoto & Inoue, Yuji Nagata defended his Zero1 World Heavyweight Title over Masato Tanaka, Jun Akiyama defeated Manabu Nakanishi and in the co-main Shinsuke Nakamura & 2008 G1 Winner Hirooki Goto defeated Takashi Sugiura & Mitsuharu Misawa just a few months before Misawa’s tragic death.

It’s been 10 years since Mutoh has been in a singles match in the Tokyo Dome main event. After they feel each other out, they immediately target each other’s knees as I have a feeling we’re going to get about 100 dragon screws. Tana gains early advantage, going for the left knee, even posting it, knowing what he has to do to put his mentor away, even at one point hesitating as to whether he needs to be this aggressive, but he keeps it up, only for Mutoh to take him down with a dragon screw of his own. We then get a dragon screw off the apron from Mutoh, then another outside. Shining Wizard into the railing then Mutoh dragon screws Tana through the railing! Tana beats the count at 14 as Mutoh repeatedly dropkicks the leg before hitting another dragon screw in the ropes (that’s 5, I’m going to keep count for Mutoh). 6 screws & a Figure Four applied, which Mutoh keeps slapping the mat as if that’s applying more pressure, which it isn’t. Brief striking battle ends with both dropkicking each other’s knees over & over, 7 screws now for Mutoh, now 8 and we’re back to the Figure Four. Shit this is getting repetitive and I think we’re only ½ way through. Tana chop blocks Mutoh & hits a somersault senton out of the corner flush, but Mutoh answers with a Shining Wizard in the corner right to the jaw. 8 screws & 2 more Shining Wizard, but Tana blocks a 3rd & hits a Dragon Screw of his own. Tana wants a Cloverleaf but opts for leaping Mutoh-like elbows until he hits Sling Blade for 2. Tana wants a straight jacket German & hits for another 2, wants another, but Mutoh chop blocks him this time, only for Tana to fire back with another Sling Blade & another. High Fly Flow blocked as Mutoh hits his 9th dragon screw, only this time off the top! Shining Wizard 1…2…NO! Mutoh springs to the top, but falls & his leg collapses as Tana collapses at the same time. Whether a botch or not, I almost dug that with the amount of damage done to both men’s knees. Figure Four again by Mutoh but Tana gets the ropes. Ego Trip off the ropes by Mutoh, but Tana hits a desperation hurricanrana. Tana then hits his own super sloppy Ego Trip, hits a German, but can’t hold him down because his leg is thrashed. Full Nelson German gets 2, Sling Blade, High Fly Flow, he wants another, but misses as Mutoh looks for a moonsault & misses! Tana to the top High Fly Flow to the back, then hits a proper for 1…2…3! Last sequence was fantastic, but my goodness was this match repetitive for about 25 of the 30 minutes. Tanahashi is a star & Mutoh is a legend, but it was the same thing over & over. The last 60 second sprint was great, but this match can’t be classified as great, despite both being exhausted. I know Mutoh’s knees are shot at this point, but 10 dragon screws, probably 7-8 Shining Wizards, I just wish it was more. This certainly was the new school overtaking the old school though as Tanahashi is a star.

Wrestle Kingdom 5

IWGP Heavyweight Title
Satoshi Kojima vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
When looking at this card that had TNA involved once again, one match really stands out & I really want to see it, that being a Hardcore Match with Rob Van Dam & Toru Yano, that would be crazy to see. Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson kept their Tag Titles over Beer Money and Nakanishi & Strong Man. Mascara Dorada (Gran Metalik) & La Sombra (Andrade) beat Hector Garza & Jushin Liger, in a unique Deep Sleep to Lose Match where you win by choking your opponent unconscious, Tenzan beat Iizuka, Yuji Nagata defeated Minoru Suzuki, Jeff Hardy kept his TNA Title over Tetsuya Naito, Shinsuke Nakamura beat Go Shiozaki, Togi Makabe beat Masato Tanaka in the co-main and also Prince Devitt beat Kota Ibushi (w/Kenny Omega) to keep his IWGP Jr. Title.

Back & forth action kicks us off as neither really got the upper hand for very long until Tana zones in on the right arm. Stiff uppercuts in the corner as Tana nails a springboard cross body, but Kojima cuts him off with a dragon screw as we know what part he’ll be targeting in this one. Tana slowly gets up on the apron & Kojima goes to the floor & chop blocks him hard. Tana beats the count, but rolls into a Scorpion Deathlock, but Tana gets free. Kobashi machine gun chops by Kojima as he taunts the crowd before hitting a top rope elbow for 2. Tana is able to fire back with offense including a somersault senton off the second, tries for a German, but Kojima spins out & hits a DDT. Tana counters a Koji Cutter into a Sling Blade & starts dropkicking Kojima before going back to the right arm. Kojima wants the lariat, but Tana avoids it & hits a straightjacket German for a close 2. Tana does a dragon screw to the arm & another before connecting with a High Fly Flow to the back. Tana wants a proper one as he leaps, but eats all of Kojima’s awaiting knees. Kojima wants that lariat, but Tana again counters into a Sling Blade, goes to the top & hits High Fly Flow for 1…2…KICK OUT! Kojima absolutely demolishes Tana on the apron with a lariat sending Tana crashing hard & awkwardly on the floor, but as the ref gets to 17, Kojima stops the count. He opts to brainbuster Tana from the apron into the ring & gets a super close 2 count. Frankensteiner out of the corner, but Kojima is exhausted & holding the bad arm. He gets up, but poses allowing Tana to block a lariat & hit dragon screws to the arm once more. Tana ducks one lariat, but gets starched by the other 1…2…NO!! 20 minute mark as Kojima levels Tana with another lariat, but it’s his bad arm, so not as much for a 2 count. He wants another, but Tana hits two snap full nelson suplexes. Tana ducks a lariat & hits a Sling Blade, goes to the top & hits a High Fly Flow cross body, quickly springs to the top & hits a proper one for the 1…2…3!!! I like how both guys stuck to one body part to work for the match & it came into play for both as it went on. Tana wisely worked the arm & as the match progressed, Kojima lost the amount of force he was able to put behind his lariats. Simple & such effective storytelling.

Wrestle Kingdom 7
IWGP Heavyweight Title
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuchika Okada
Pretty strong card on this night that featured Tencozy defeating Mutoh & Otani, Prince Devitt defending his Jr. Title over Kota Ibushi & Low-Ki, Masato Tanaka defended his NEVER Openweight Title over Shelton Benjamin, title defenses continued as Davey Boy Smith & Lance Archer kept their Tag Titles over Hirooki Goto & Karl Anderson, Shinsuke Nakamura defended his IC Title over Kazushi Sakuraba, Yuji Nagata bested Minoru Suzuki & Togi Makabe defeated Katsuyori Shibata. In fact every single title was successfully defended on this show. While I enjoy the sheer enthusiasm of Japanese commentary, I’d be lying if I said Kevin Kelly on commentary wasn’t a welcome sound. The Tanahashi vs Okada rivalry began early this year with Okada winning the IWGP Title at New Beginning and Tana regaining the title at Dominion. So this is the 3rd singles match for these two (first of their Wrestle Kingdom trilogy) so they already know each other well.

Slow & methodical pace in the first 5 minutes as each tries grounding their opponent with Tana finally hitting a crossbody, goes to the top, but gets crotched & Okada hits his draping DDT flush. Tana to the floor as Okada bends his neck over the guard rail & snaps it. Gedo could be heard saying “break the fucking neck!” which isn’t very nice. Snap dropkick to Tana back inside gets Okada 2, then just wrenches away at the neck as Okada remains in firm control before Tana slaps the shit out of Okada, skins the cat, charges, but Okada with a flapjack for another 2. Another crazy neck vice applied, but Tana rolls into the ropes. Tana gets a chance to recover off a flying forearm & he targets the knee, finally getting a body part to attack for himself. Striking battle ensues with uppercuts & forearms, Okada tries for a big boot, but gets dragon screwed & rolls to the floor. Tana hits a picture perfect High Fly Flow cross body, missing the guard rail by inches as both break the count at 16. Tana wants the Cloverleaf, but Okada fights back & hits a dragon screw of his own. Another cool looking neck tie by Okada as he’s really targeting the neck as Tana gets the ropes again. Okada goes to the top & wants his elbow, but Tana with the knees up. Tana does the Rainmaker pose, pops up to the top, but gets cut off & Okada hits a standing dropkick sending Tanahashi crashing outside. We go to the ramp and Okada wants a Tombstone out there, but luckily Tana avoids it & hits a Sling Blade on a charging Okada! The sound of that bump was sick as we’re back inside now. Okada had Tana in a fireman’s carry, but Tana turns it into a wonky Sling Blade. Falcon Arrow by Tana who wants High Fly Flow, but Okada with the knees up & Tana crashes! Air Raid Crash by Okada, but he’s clutching his bad knee in the process so he can’t capitalize. Deep in Debt by Okada, who connects this time with his top rope elbow as he strikes a Rainmaker pose, tries for it, but Tana turns it into straightjacket German & a Dragon suplex for 2. Beautiful Sling Blade as Tana wants High Fly Flow & hits it for the 1…2…NO!! Tanahashi can’t believe it as he hits two dragon screws & sinks in the Cloverleaf, but Okada desperately makes it to the ropes. 30 minute call as Tana wants a Sling Blade, but Okada fires off a dropkick! Kevin Kelly points out Okada lifted with one leg with so much damage being done (hooray storytelling!) to the other. Okada with a dropkick to the back of the head then drops Tana with a Tombstone. Rainmaker pose, he wants it, but Tana counters into a Sling Blade! They both slowly rise simultaneously as Okada wants another Tombstone, Tana fights out & hits one of his own! Tana to the top High Fly Flow cross body, pops to the top & hits a proper High Fly Flow for the 1…2…3!!! This was a fantastic match & knowing this is arguably their worst (not a fair word, but you know what I mean) of their 3 WK matches, that shows you how crazy & legendary their other two are.

Wrestle Kingdom 9 2015
IWGP Heavyweight Title
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuchika Okada
For the second time, Okada had won the G1 Climax, this time last defeating Shinsuke Nakamura in a thriller. Other matches on this card saw ReDragon defend their Jr. Tag Titles over Time Splitters, Forever Hooligans & The Young Bucks, Makabe beat Ishii for the NEVER Openweight Title, Kenny Omega beating Taguchi for the Jr. Title, Goto & Shibata winning the Tag Titles over Gallows & Anderson, AJ Styles besting Naito & the co-main saw Nakamura defend his IC Title over Kota Ibushi. Oh and Jeff Jarrett wrestled a 6 man tag as a member of Bullet Club, which I still find hilarious. He, Fale & Yujiro lost to Kojima, Honma & Tenzan. I loved the pre-match video package showcasing how Tanahashi has become The Ace of New Japan & how he got there (main eventing his 7th Wrestle Kingdom in the last 8 years) & the tears he’s shed along the way to get there. We cut to Okada, walking in what looks like a bank, looking like a sharp dressed son of a gun, which makes sense since he’s the man who makes it rain money.

Beautiful back & forth start us off, as much like their first match, this was filled with counters as they know each other so well at this point. The pace is a little faster from their 2013 match as we get a lot of clean breaks, but we’re just waiting for who will strike first & in this case, it was Okada with a forearm. Tana shoves Red Shoes out of the way & we have a slugfest on our hands with forearms & uppercuts. Okada sends Tana crashing to the floor & hits his big boot into the railing & hits a draping DDT out there! To the ramp we go as Tana fights back, running up the ramp doing some air guitar, charges, but runs right into Deep in Debt on the ramp by Okada! Back inside at 17 as Okada hits a snap dropkick, but misses a standing senton. Tana with a flurry, ending in a flying forearm as he goes to the corner & nails his somersault senton for a 2 count. Flapjack cuts off the Tana momentum as he applies a necktie submission, the same he applied in their WK7 match. Tana gets a rope break, but Okada nails a slingshot senton for 2. Okada is daring Tana to hit him, just no selling some forearms as Tana fires back, but Okada shows he has more behind his shots. Tana refuses to fall though as the forearm battle continues, they trade flurries until a shotgun dropkick by Okada, who wants Deep in Debt again, but Tana gets a Sling Blade off it. Tana goes to the top, Okada cuts him off, Tana drops him to the mat, but crashes & burns off a High Fly Flow attempt. Okada with a perfect Air Raid Crash on the knee for a 2 count. Top rope elbow by Okada, who hits a Rainmaker pose to the delight of Gedo ringside. Rainmaker attempt into a roll up by Tana for 2, who hits an inverted dragon screw to slow down Okada. Even off an Irish whip attempt, Okada has nothing behind it due to the bad wheel as we go to the floor again. Tana dropkicks a charging Okada’s leg out from him & Okada takes a somersault bump over the railing! Tana to the top & hits a High Fly Flow OVER THE RAILING TO THE FLOOR!! Back inside at 15, Tana rolls through a dive, avoids a Rainmaker with a Sling Blade, goes to the top High Fly Flow cross body is rolled through into a Tombstone attempt, which Tana reverses himself & connects with it! Tana to the top, High Fly Flow to the back, he wants a proper one & hits it for 1…2…NO!!! Okada fights off a Cloverleaf, but he’s still feeling the effects of Tana’s recent offense. Tana with a Sling Blade & he mocks the Rainmaker pose, tries for one, but Okada levels Tana with a Rainmaker for 1…2…NO!!! First time he’s hit that at Wrestle Kingdom on Tanahashi. Both men to their knees, forearms by both as Okada starts laughing at Tana’s shots. Tombstone attempt into another roll up for 2 by Tana, who catches a big boot & dropkicks the leg. Tana starts slapping the hell out of Okada, who just takes them before collapsing at Tana’s feet. Okada ducks one, hits a backslide for 2, misses Rainmaker, Tana with a German for a super close 2. Okada avoids a Dragon Suplex with a German, but misses a Rainmaker & Tana gets his Dragon Suplex for 2. Tana charges, but Okada with his dropkick! Tana ducks a Rainmaker with an inverted dragon screw, then one through the ropes. High Fly Flow onto a hung up Okada in the ropes, Tana with another one, then does a third for good measure for 1…2…3!!! This match ruled, I love the pace set & it was different from their previous WK main event. Tanahashi wasn’t ready to pass the torch as the top of the company just yet as Okada is now 0-2 against him at Wrestle Kingdom. Can he finally beat The Ace next year?

Wrestle Kingdom 11 2017
IWGP Heavyweight Title
Kazuchika Okada vs Kenny Omega
A very strong card top to bottom saw the final 4 matches reach a whole other level as Naito retain his IC Title in the co-main event against Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto won the NEVER Openweight Title over Shibata, Hiromu Takahashi won the Jr. Title from KUSHIDA. Also we saw Ishii & Yano win the Tag Titles from Tonga & Loa and Makabe & Honma, Adam Cole won the ROH Title from Kyle O’Reilly, Cody defeated Juice Robinson, Roppongi Vice defeated The Young Bucks for the Jr. Tag Titles and BUSHI, EVIL & SANADA won a gauntlet for the NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Titles.

I’m so happy I get to watch this match again. Strap in folks, this is going to be a small novel. Kenny had a friggin great entrance in his Terminator gear & Okada had his usual awesome raining money entrance. Start of this match was slow, feeling each other out, trading finisher attempts, but we went to the floor where Okada hit his hanging DDT off the railing onto the floor. Okada got a table from under the ring, but Kenny cut him off. Okada sends him over the railing & does his patented cross body over it. Slingshot senton back inside as Okada slowly wearing Kenny down, but Omega fights back with brutal chops & forearms to the back. They trade missed senton attempts before Kenny goes right back to the small of the back. Snap rana sends Okada outside as The Bucks start the Terminator chant as Kenny connects with a picture perfect Rise of the Terminator suicide dive. Okada is slammed on the corner of the apron, then dropkicked right to the back of the head inside the ring as Kenny gets 2. Okada fights back with a fireman’s carry into a suplex, which allows Okada to get time to recover. Leaping elbow & a flying uppercut by Okada gets him 2 as Steve Corino on commentary points out how gingerly Okada is moving getting up (I miss Corino on New Japan commentary). Sort of a step over toe hold applied by Okada, but Kenny got free, fought off a Tombstone attempt, but Okada hits an Air Raid Crash. Top rope elbow is blocked as Kenny gets a knee up, then plants Okada with a pumphandle backbreaker. Baseball slide sends Okada over the railing into commentator row by Masahiro Chono & company. They’re pulling the tables back as Kenny hits a GOLDEN TRIANGLE MOONSAULT OVER THE RAILING TO THE FLOOR!! Back inside Kenny folds Okada up with a powerbomb 1…2…NO! Another gut wrench sit out powerbomb gets Kenny 2 as we see The Bucks set the table up outside. Red Shoes stops Kenny from using it, so Kenny just drives knees over & over into the ribs of Okada. Kenny really working the ribs as he hits You Can’t Escape, but gets only 2. Okada fights back, dropkicking Omega out of the corner to the apron, Okada fakes a slam onto the table, Kenny fakes a One Winged Angel through the table, but they get back inside. Kenny chops Okada, charges and OKADA BACKDROPS KENNY OVER THE TOP THROUGH THE TABLE!!

The table explodes as Kenny’s back is jacked up as Red Shoes barely gave Kenny any chance to recover before putting the count on him. Okada breaks the count & tosses Kenny inside, hitting a beautiful missile dropkick for 2. Top rope elbow by Okada, who does a Rainmaker pose, but Kenny sends Okada into the corner. Both are exhausted as Kenny can’t even hoist Okada into the corner, so he settles for slapping the shit out of Okada. Finally Omega goes to the corner & the top, DRAGON SUPERPLEX DROPS OKADA RIGHT ON HIS HEAD!!! Holy shit I forgot about that spot, it’s sickening as Omega gets 1…2…KICK OUT!! Aoi Shoudou connects for Kenny, who gets another 2, he hits a V-Trigger, charges for another, but Okada hits a Million Dollar Dropkick! Okada blocks the first V-Trigger, but not the second as Kenny follows with a poison rana, then V-TRIGGER flush. Okada hoisted up for a One…Winged…Okada floats over & hits a Tombstone! Okada with a Rainmaker 1…2…NO!!! Kenny desperately rakes the eyes, but Okada hits a John Woo dropkick sending Kenny flying into the corner. Kenny floats over a Tombstone into one of his own for another 2! They are throwing forearms on their knees as they slowly rise & continue throwing as it only gets faster with the crowd popping big as Kenny hits a snap German, V-Trigger for the 1…2…NO! Yet another V-Trigger by Kenny, who goes for One Winged Angel, Okada grabs the wrist & hits a Rainmaker, but can’t cover him! Instead he maintains wrist control, Kenny tries to fight out with multiple knees, but Okada won’t let go & hits another Rainmaker!! They both block Rainmaker attempts, Kenny with a dropkick & a Rainmaker Pose of his own. He hits a RainTrigger, then hoists Okada up for One Winged Angel, but Okada falls back into a jumping Tombstone!! Wrist clutch, RAINMAKERRRRR 1…2…3!!!

To think at the time I said this was my all time favorite New Japan match, not realizing we’d still have 3 more matches involving these two. Including 2 of which that went 60 minutes. I still think their 2 out of 3 falls match at Dominion when Kenny finally won the title is my favorite of their matches, but it all started with the first & this remains my favorite match on this list. I can’t recommend it enough, any of them for that matter. The fact that these two have wrestled 4 singles matches, over 3 hours total time and not 1 second of it boring (to me) is a testament to them being two of the best of all time.