Omega v Okada II - Better Than 6 Stars?
Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada were the first two men to be credited with having a six star match on Dave Meltzer's "star rating system". Out of the many great matches to be rated by Meltzer in the long and storied history of the Meltzer Scale, on the night of January 4, 2017, at the Tokyo Dome, Omega and Okada took the bar and raised it to another level entirely. Is it even possible to top one of the greatest matches ever in the history of pro wrestling? These two men were made to answer that question in the main event of NJPW Dominion, and they obviously decided that the best way to go about it was to bump like a pair of lunatics and hit every move with even more ferocity than their original encounter.
Omega has been constantly demonstrating to the entire world exactly why he is one of the best professional wrestlers alive, and perhaps even one of the greatest of all time. This time around was no different, with him hitting a dazzling moonsault to the outside of the ring and an absolutely masterful superplex along with his usual display of absolutely sickening offense. A particular highlight being one of the hardest dropkicks to the back of Okada's head that was shocking to now didn't result in a horrible injury. That said, Okada is no slouch, and came back with his own flurry of attacks to combat every effort put forth by Omega including a seriously painful series of german suplexes that made it every bit apparent that these two were out to up the ante in every way possible.
The Rainmaker continued to come across as slightly less bulletproof, pun intended, the short lariat failing to get the three count for the champion. Okada kept at it however, giving Omega an elbow-drop through a table on the outside. Bullet Club at one point did run in for the interference, allowing Omega to finally hit the One-Winged Angel on Okada. Even then, the Rainmaker was able to escape the pinfall by getting his foot to the ropes in time.
Omega continued to taunt Okada and ended up leaving himself open to a third Rainmaker, even this wasn't enough to put him away. Meanwhile the match drew closer and closer to the one hour time limit, both men looking absolutely spent, to the point where a fourth Rainmaker attempt left Okada swinging at nothing as Omega crumbled to the floor, unable to hold his own weight up to stand.
Time was running out and in the final Moments Okada made contact with one last Rainmaker but was too late in making the pin, which led the match to a one hour time limit draw.
Dave Meltzer went so far as to say this match had surpassed the last battle at Wrestle Kingdom II. It may very well be true, although the reality is that it would be almost impossible to top a match the caliber of their first affair. That match had the feel of it being the most important thing to ever happen in pro wrestling, which could be attributed to the general atmosphere of Wrestle Kingdom, a huge stage and essentially NJPW's version of Wrestlemania. So in the end was this match even greater than the highest rated match of all time? In short, not necessarily, but it certainly stands out as an absolute classic and a testament to why Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada are two of the best to step foot in the ring. They have the ability when together to almost flip a switch that guarantees magic happens between those ropes.
Bro I do indeed love the professional wrestling. Enjoyed your play by play. I watched this match a couple times. And yes o yes it was 5 stars. Both these guys are incredible and don't need WWE. That said, I'm sure it will happen someday, somehow, at least for The Cleaner. follow'd fo sure.
Good review! I haven't seen the match yet, but I'll have to watch it soon!