Wrestling Headlines
No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
    • HEADLINES
  • NEWS
    • WWE News, WWE Rumors and Spoilers
    • AEW News and Rumors
    • IMPACT Wrestling News and Rumors
    • ROH News and Rumors
    • NJPW News
    • MLW News
    • NWA Wrestling News
  • RESULTS
    • WWE Raw Results
    • WWE Smackdown Results
    • WWE NXT Results
    • WWE 205 Live Results
    • WWE PPV Results
    • WWE House Show Results
    • AEW Results
    • IMPACT Wrestling Results
    • IMPACT PPV Results
    • Ring of Honor Results
    • NJPW Results
    • MLW Wrestling Results
    • NWA Results
    • Lucha Underground Results
    • Indy Wrestling Results
  • COLUMNS
    • Hustle
    • Sir Sam’s Court
    • The Brand Extension
    • Tim Rose Jr
    • Cool Points
    • The Main Event
    • El Gringo Loco
    • Imp’s Adventures
    • Doctor’s Orders
    • Column of the Month
    • LOP Hall Of Fame
  • PODCASTS
    • Imp’s LOP Radio Adventure
    • Kingdom of Honour
    • LOP Aftershock
    • All Night Long Wrestling Podcast
    • Quick and Painless Pro Wrestling Podcast
    • The Legacy Series
    • The Doc Says
  • FORUMS
  • CONTACT
Wrestling Headlines
No Result
View All Result

Home » COLUMNS » Imp's Adventures » Imp’s NJPW Adventure – 46th Anniversary Show: Okada vs Ospreay

Imp’s NJPW Adventure – 46th Anniversary Show: Okada vs Ospreay

by The Implications
March 6, 2018
in Imp's Adventures
A A
0
1
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Follow @TheDamnImplicat


ice_screenshot_20170929-143918
Credit to Ash from Wrestling Shorts, support the talented bastard on Patreon here: Wrestling Shorts Patreon

Imp’s NJPW Adventure – 46th Anniversary: Okada vs Ospreay

1972, New Japan Pro Wrestling was born. 46 years – and a whole lot of Inoki – later, the promotion is on one its hottest runs to date. Branching out to the West has so far been a tremendous success, with the second US show taking place in Long Beach on March 25th. It may only be a 5,000 seat venue, but as we speak Bullet Club are trying to prove they can fill a 10,000 seat arena in Chicago for their All In show this September. The New Japan brand is hot, if anything they’re undervaluing themselves. Quite a place to be in, ey?

The likes of Naito, Omega and Okada have really carried NJPW into a new Golden Era. But March often gives way to a rising star, or finally gives that guy who’s been knocking on the main event’s door that final kick through it, via the New Japan Cup. A single elimination tournament, where the winner gets to challenge for either the NEVER Openweight Championship, IWGP Intercontinental Championship or IWGP Heavyweight Championship.

Pretty much everyone goes for the latter, but the choice is there if you desire to bash a particular skull in. Shinsuke Nakamura is the only man to have chosen a different title, choosing instead to challenge for the Intercontinental Championship held by Hiroshi Tanahashi in 2014. That was the year he’d lost said title to Tanahashi in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom, so the logic for bashing said particular skull in was indeed there.

The New Japan Cup starts later this week, first on the calendar we have NJPW’s 46th Anniversary event. Headlined by the clash of two CHAOS champions, IWGP Heavyweight Champion Okada vs IWGP Jr Heavyweight Champion Ospreay. With the legendary champion finally being game for putting the title on the line against those within his own stable. Adding to the narrative of CHAOS being at the helm of the company, hand in hand with those steering the NJPW ship. At the same time LIJ are left fighting for opportunities on the lower decks, drinking rum whilst Okada and his friends dine with fine wines in the Captain’s quarters.

Within the not so pirate ship themed CHAOS vs LIJ feud, Okada vs Ospreay gets across that story of hierarchy whilst simultaneously closing the gap between the Junior and Heavyweight divisions. While Ospreay may not have won, and there not be another Junior/Heavweight clash any time soon, the fact this match even happened gives so much credence to the Junior division. If the Ariel Assassin can get a Heavyweight Championship opportunity, why can’t someone else down the line? It’s simple logic really, once a wrestler has proven themselves, why not give them an opportunity to dance with the ‘big boys’?

IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Kacuchika Okada vs Will Ospreay

Junior vs Heavyweight, CHAOS vs CHAOS, Champion vs Champion. A mouth-watering bout on paper, but how was it in reality? Well, oddly, very Japanese. A slow build, with hot moments occurring more and more often, finishing with a hot flourish of counter wrestling where both competitors truly feel like the talented bastards they really are. And for a split second I believed the challenger could actually win, they were never going to but the fact I was able to suspend that for even a second shows the level of talent on display.

Ospreay was never going to win, Okada’s essentially in ‘filler mode’ whilst we wait for the New Japan Cup to conclude. But in the meantime he’s had two matches with strong up and comers that’ll do wonders for their respective careers going forward. In its essence, wrestling is always building to the future and Okada’s 2018 has so far exemplified that. Over the course of 2016 and 2017 New Japan were solidifying Okada as the future, but the future is now the present so I guess it’s time to start building to the future again.

And like SANADA last month, Ospreay got one hell of a boost from this match. Going toe to toe with one of the greatest champions of the decade should help your stock a little, the high flying Sword of Essex well and truly brought it to the champion. With the ending sequences being damn impressive! Especially Ospreay’s reversal of the Rainmaker into a Powerbomb, which might quite possibly be the greatest clothesline reversal I’ve seen. The fluidity of it was a marvel, showing off both Ospreay’s strength and athleticism. Basically how WWE bill Apollo ‘no Crews’, all rolled up into one manoeuvre.

On Okada’s side, we once again got see a little bit more of that cockiness seeping through. Not putting all his weight down on a few of the pin covers, most notably at the end after the spinning Tombstone and Rainmaker combo. It’s a combination no one has kicked out of and that list is getting longer by the month, a slice of nonchalance is appearing on Okada’s plate. Just another minor detail being added, that will surely play a vital role in his eventual downfall. Nothing lasts forever, and more and more cracks are starting to show.

Post-match Okada claimed he is the best, he will be the one to carry NJPW forward. Not Tanahashi, not Omega, not Naito. He and Gedo will be there for the 47th, 48th, 49th, 50th Anniversary shows, it’s Okada you can trust with New Japan’s future. Again, an awesome speech that adds a few more notches to that cockiness dial. Will there come a time when Okada is too confident for his own good? Or will he fall to a more Suzuki esque tactical deconstruction? After all, the wear and tear over the length of his reign is surely going to loosen a few bricks for someone like Senior Kaze-san to kick right down.

As for this match, Ospreay really brought it with the inventive reversals and captivating flippy shit. Okada also got to show off athletic counters he doesn’t really pull out very often, like a perfectly timed drop kick to counter the Brit’s OsCutter. The match never went crazy with kickouts like a lot of main events, instead established the big moves each wrestler was desperate to counter. A running theme with Okada’s title defences so far this year.

His opponents may have started to figure out how to counter/kick out of the Rainmaker, but he’s so far had a 100% success rate when it’s combined with the spinning Tombstone. And Okada respected Ospreay’s OsCutter in the same manner, doing everything in his power to not be hit by the move. Creating a weakness, Okada can be brought down if you hit your finisher. It’s just actually hitting it that’s the problem. So once again, Okada’s cracks a slowly starting to show, but they’re hidden behind a sturdy brick wall of confidence.

However, with the New Japan Cup just round the corner, you never know…

And that’s it! The future of the feud between CHAOS and Los Ingobernables de Japon looks like it’s evolving nicely, but it is a long road to January 4th 2019. A story of respect, a company champion and the man carving their own paths. Ospreay really established himself, Okada asserted his dominance, but Los Ingobernables de Japon also continued to pick up wins and momentum. The titanic CHAOS vs LIJ clash is getting closer by the day, and I’m expecting an enormous land shift when the dust settles.

Side note: Suzuki-Gun continued to pick up titles in the background, with El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru winning the Jr Tag Titles in dastardly fashion. With Minoru Suzuki holding the Intercontinental Championship and now this, don’t underestimate the underlying cunningness of that group. They could yet have a bigger role to play in all this.

Follow Imp on Twitter: @TheDamnImplicat

RECENT POSTS

Impact Wrestling Announces Rebellion PPV Date, Former Referee Returns

Kevin Owens Says Paul Heyman Denied His Request For Brock Lesnar Match

Impact Wrestling Star Gets Unmasked During Hard To Kill Match

Madison Rayne Announces Her Retirement From Pro Wrestling

New Impact Wrestling Knockouts Tag Team Champions Crowned

Matt Cardona Debuts With Impact Wrestling At Hard To Kill

Previous Post

WWE Monday Night RAW Results 3/5/18

Next Post

Doctor’s Orders: The Match That Defines YOUR WrestleMania Experience (w/ Raw Thoughts)

COLUMNS

Can’t Knock The Hustle: Can Paul Heyman Bring Out The Best (Or Worst) In Apollo Crews?

Can’t Knock The Hustle: Can Paul Heyman Bring Out The Best (Or Worst) In Apollo Crews?

January 13, 2021
Kota Ibushi, ‘Switchblade’ Jay White Story is Timeless

Kota Ibushi, ‘Switchblade’ Jay White Story is Timeless

January 12, 2021
Wrestling Headlines 2020 End of Year Awards Results

Wrestling Headlines 2020 End of Year Awards Results

January 11, 2021
Can’t Knock The Hustle: Wrestling’s 30 Under 30 List (WWE, AEW, NXT, New Japan, and more)

Can’t Knock The Hustle: Wrestling’s 30 Under 30 List (WWE, AEW, NXT, New Japan, and more)

January 6, 2021
Mitchell, Disco Inferno Commentaries on Brodie Lee Were Completely Tone Deaf

Mitchell, Disco Inferno Commentaries on Brodie Lee Were Completely Tone Deaf

January 4, 2021
Doctor’s Orders: The Top 10 Wrestlers of 2020

Doctor’s Orders: The Top 10 Wrestlers of 2020

January 3, 2021

PODCASTS

WWE NXT

WH Radio WWE NXT Review, Jan. 14th, 2021 – IMPACT Stars Makes NXT Debut!

January 14, 2021
RAW

WH Radio WWE RAW Review, Jan. 12th, 2021 – Alexa Bliss Fireballs Randy Orton?!

January 12, 2021
WWF: The Legacy Series – Warrior vs. Creative (07-90)

WWF: The Legacy Series – Warrior vs. Creative (07-90)

January 10, 2021
Kingdom of Honor–AEW, G1 Climax 30, and the Pure Title

Kingdom of Honor–Reviewing an amazing week of pro wrestling

January 10, 2021
ANLWP: 5 Best Royal Rumble Matches

ANLWP: 5 Best Royal Rumble Matches

January 9, 2021
End of Year Awards

Wrestling Headlines 2020 End of Year Awards w/Imp & SirSam

January 9, 2021

HOME

Wrestling Headlines

ABOUT US

WrestlingHeadlines.com is your daily source for pro wrestling news headlines. Our coverage includes WWE, AEW, IMPACT, NJPW, ROH, MLW and more. Formerly Lords of Pain (LOP), we have been publishing WWE news and rumors since 1998! We are an independent news outlet and are not affiliated with any wrestling promotion.

STAY CONNECTED

  • 144.7k Fans
  • 11.2k Followers
  • 3.2k Subscribers

Home | News | Results | Columns | Radio | Contact | Privacy Policy

No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
    • HEADLINES
  • NEWS
    • WWE News, WWE Rumors and Spoilers
    • AEW News and Rumors
    • IMPACT Wrestling News and Rumors
    • ROH News and Rumors
    • NJPW News
    • MLW News
    • NWA Wrestling News
  • RESULTS
    • WWE Raw Results
    • WWE Smackdown Results
    • WWE NXT Results
    • WWE 205 Live Results
    • WWE PPV Results
    • WWE House Show Results
    • AEW Results
    • IMPACT Wrestling Results
    • IMPACT PPV Results
    • Ring of Honor Results
    • NJPW Results
    • MLW Wrestling Results
    • NWA Results
    • Lucha Underground Results
    • Indy Wrestling Results
  • COLUMNS
    • Hustle
    • Sir Sam’s Court
    • The Brand Extension
    • Tim Rose Jr
    • Cool Points
    • The Main Event
    • El Gringo Loco
    • Imp’s Adventures
    • Doctor’s Orders
    • Column of the Month
    • LOP Hall Of Fame
  • PODCASTS
    • Imp’s LOP Radio Adventure
    • Kingdom of Honour
    • LOP Aftershock
    • All Night Long Wrestling Podcast
    • Quick and Painless Pro Wrestling Podcast
    • The Legacy Series
    • The Doc Says
  • FORUMS
  • CONTACT

Home | News | Results | Columns | Radio | Contact | Privacy Policy