Loss Posted March 10, 2014 Report Share Posted March 10, 2014 Talk about it here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted July 24, 2016 Report Share Posted July 24, 2016 Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW G-1 Climax 2013 Did Gedo learn English from Chris Jericho? He sounds a lot like him when he was screaming from ringside. Going into this match they were all knotted up at 2 apiece so this would be the rubber match. Given this was just a G1 Climax match with no championship implications it made sense for them to go to a draw and then have the real rubber match in October. I thought this was their second best match together thus far and just a smidge better than Dominion the previous year. Again they start out with the I know you. Tanahashi avoiding the Okada dropkick and Okada avoiding the Tanahashi dropkick to the knee. Tanahashi slaps the mat in frustration as Okada points to his head. Classic. Tanahashi gets a armdrag out of the corner looks to work the arm like at Invasion Attack, similar good stuff. He ends up on the middle rope, but knows the dropkick is coming, blocks, but still gets a Hangmans DDT. Okada is in his element working the neck. Tanahashi has a brief hope spot going for his somersault splash, but he flaunts and Okada dropkicks him to the floor where he works the neck again. Pretty standard Tanahashi/Okada is great, but it feels like it has been done before. I think where this gets better is on an Irish Whip attempt Tanahashi finally dropkicks the knee and goes to town on the leg. Okada's selling of the leg here is so much better than before. He was collapsing on Irish Whip attempts and falling down in strike exchanges. That was the one great thing about Tanahashi/Okada matches is NO strike exchanges! Well this match featured strike exchanges for the first time and yeah these two should avoid them. Like the Invasion Attack, it is the flapjack that kickstarts Okada's run. The flapjack is so lame. The strike exchange is here I will say Okada's selling is exquisite and hits the DDT to win that and put him in the drivers seat. Elbow drop and it is Rainmaker time. They start throwing moves out at each other, which is uncharacteristic for them as usually there are better transitions. Tanahashi restores order with a Texas Cloverleaf. Okada tries as he might could not avoid Sling Blade, but did avoid the High Fly Flow. Okada wants the Tombstone. The Tombstone has been the key to all their matches. He nails it! He is going to win just needs to...Tanahashi HITS THE RAINMAKER?!?!?! The count is on, but they get up at seven. I would have done the double countout there. Dragon Suplex and Styles Clash do not lead to High Fly Flow succeeding. Dropkick, but Tanahashi ducks (perhaps collapses) the Rainmaker. Great match. If you have read my reviews, you noticed how I have picked up on the importance of the Tombstone in this series. I think the draw should have gone off with both men struggling over the Tombstone. Tanahashi/Okada have chemistry and it is impressive that they have no stinkers. ****1/4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmartMark15 Posted October 30, 2017 Report Share Posted October 30, 2017 Gotta disagree. Thought this was actually their worst one yet. Despite the good leg work, I feel like there was a serious pacing issue. They never felt like they quite committed to upping the ante for the finish. I liked the crumble selling, the Rainmaker steal, and not much else. ***3/4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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