Goody Bag 44: When Okada Met Omega

IWPG Heavyweight Title Match: Kazuchika Okada v Kenny Omega: From NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11 on January 4 2017 in Tokyo Japan. Both guys cautiously feel each other out to start, with Omega getting the initial advantage. He works a headlock, so Okada tries to side suplex his way out, but Kenny hangs on to it even after the impact. Okada reverses to his own headlock, but Omega quickly back flips out of it, and a pinfall reversal sequence ends in Okada hitting a pair of armdrags into an armbar. Okada forces a criss cross to try and cream Kenny with a big boot, but Omega manages to stop short, and a reversal sequence sees him go for the One-Winged Angel, but Okada manages to slip away. Omega goes to the outside to regroup, and suckers Okada into giving up the high ground - only to run into that big boot as he criss crosses with the champion. Okada knocks him to the outside with a shining wizard, and he follows to whip Kenny into the guardrail, but Omega blocks a boot out there. Omega tries to suplex him onto the rail, but Okada counters with an elevated DDT on the floor instead, and the champ grabs a table. The referee intervenes, but while that's playing out, Omega has recovered, and he attacks. He tries to toss Okada into the rail, but gets reversed over it, and the champ gets a running start to dive at him with a bodypress into the crowd. That was pretty wild! I mean, the dude was flying, even without diving OFF of anything. Back in, Okada slams him to set up a slingshot somersault senton splash for two, and he grounds his challenger in a chinlock. Omega starts to escape, so Okada turns it into a neckbreaker for two, but Kenny just keeps coming. He hits a baseball slide into the leg to set up a bulldog for two, and a bodyslam sets up an elbowdrop, but Okada dodges. Okada tries a senton splash, but Omega dodges, and he drills the champ in the back with a forearm for two. Again, but this time Okada is able to block and fire off his own shots, so Omega drills him with a knee. He tries a muscle buster, but Okada slips free, so Kenny uses a nice rana to send him to the outside instead. He dives after his ass with a somersault suicida, and then keeps the hurt on the back with a bodyslam against the apron. Back in with a missile dropkick to the back of the head, but Okada is in the ropes to prevent a cover. Man, he really nailed him with that thing too. Okada is loopy, so the challenger tries to go for the submission with a clutch, but the champ makes the ropes. Omega keeps coming with a powerbomb, but Okada hangs on for dear life, and won't let him pull it off - instead countering to a death valley bomb to buy time. Both guys stagger up, and Okada manages to get in a flurry of shots as they criss cross, leading to a corner backelbow, followed by a DDT. Okada with a running backelbow for two, and a flapjack leads to a cross-legged STF, but Kenny makes the ropes to save himself. Okada responds by going upstairs, but Omega charges the corner before he can dive, so Okada hops down and grabs him for a nasty over-the-shoulder neckbreaker. That allows him to go back up to finish his earlier thought, but Omega blocks the resulting flying splash by lifting his knees at the absolute last second possible! He adds a backbreaker, so Okada wisely bails, but Omega is on him with a vicious baseball slide that sends the champ over the rail. Kenny dives after him with a wild springboard moonsault press, and man, they're really clocking each other in the brain with some of these moves. Also, for a country that's so far advanced in all things technology, why do their announce position electronics look like they're stuck in the 90s? Okada fights to get back in, so Omega covers him over with the table Okada was going for earlier, then dives off the apron with a flying double stomp onto it - right to the balls! What a prick! Okada probably won't beat the count, so Omega makes sure he does, but a powerbomb into a cradle still only gets two! He impressively dead lifts him into a sitout powerbomb next, but still only gets two! He drags Okada's limp body to the apron to put through a table, but the referee manages to talk him out of it, so Omega settles for simply walloping the shit out of the champion the old fashioned way. Cross corner whip rattles the ring, and Omega ups the ante with a rolling fireman's carry slam into a springboard moonsault for two! Full-nelson, but Okada escapes, and puts Kenny on the top turnbuckle for a standing dropkick that sends Omega violently bumping to the floor! Kenny fights to beat the count, so Okada grabs him on the apron, and a reversal sequence where both guys try to put the other through a table ends in them trading chops in the ring. Omega charges, but Okada is ready with a backdrop over the top, violently putting Kenny through a table in the process! Man, those tables look brutal. Kenny's probably getting counted out, but Okada forces him back in so he can finish properly, and absolutely obliterates him with a flying dropkick... for two. They're just destroying one another here. Okada with a flying elbowdrop, and poor Kenny is wrecked, unable to stay vertical even with Okada propping him up. Okada tries a German suplex, but Omega desperately falls into the ropes to avoid it, and he manages to railroad the champion into the corner a couple of times. He strains and muscles to get Okada up onto the top, but his back is just shot, and it's not happening. Okada starts slugging at him, pushing Kenny into a second wind that gets Okada to the top, but the champ manages to block whatever Kenny is going for, and Omega's frustration is visible. He fights his way back up to drive Okada down with an absolutely nasty dragon superplex, and the challenger is left CRAWLING for the cover, but still only manages a two count! How is neither man in a wheelchair right now? Omega powers through a fisherman neckbreaker, but the V-Trigger is countered with a German suplex. Okada shifts up into the Rainmaker, but Omega counters with the V-Trigger, leaving the champion hanging on the ropes. Omega goes in for the kill with another one, but Okada counters with a well placed dropkick, but Kenny drops him with an inverted rana before he can follow up. V-Trigger sets up the Angel, but Okada manages to block, and a reversal sequence ends in the champ hitting a tombstone. Rainmaker connects, but it's only worth two, and Okada is in shock, and possibly concussed. Omega won't stay down, but he's so battered that he can do little more that slug from his knees, so Okada blasts him with a running dropkick that sends Kenny crashing into the corner. And I mean CRASHING, wow! Tombstone, but Omega counters with a package tombstone for a dramatic two count! Both guys stagger to their knees for a slugfest, and Kenny manages to snap off a dragon suplex to set up a very quick V-Trigger, but it only gets two. Another V-Trigger leads to the Angel, but Okada again slips free, this time countering with the Rainmaker! It takes so much out of him that he can't cover though, and Omega has recovered enough to start drilling him with knees. Okada absorbs them long enough to pull out another Rainmaker, and a reversal sequence ends in Kenny hitting a dropkick. That sets up another V-Trigger, but Okada again avoids the Angel, this time countering with a corkscrew tombstone! Rainmaker, and that's all she wrote at 46:19! WOW! What a war this was! This was hyperrealism, with moves and bumps so brutal looking that I wasn't sure how much of it was them working, and how much of it was just them beating the piss out of each other for real. And it's not like they were destroying each other in a twelve minute sprint, they were doing it in a forty six minute marathon of brutality! I loved this match, though I think it falls just a hair shy of perfection due to a few awkward exchanges in the first half. I'm sure a lot of people can overlook those - and that's fine - but at this level, you have to pick nits. This is also totally how the Hart/Michaels Iron Man from 1996 should have been booked. Instead of telegraphing that it's going an hour, just book a regular match that happens to go an hour (or near it) like they did here. **** ¾

IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Kazuchika Okada v Kenny Omega: From NJPW Dominion on June 11 2017 in Osaka Japan. Omega taunts him during the feeling out process, trying to get Okada off of his game, but the champ sees through it. Criss cross sees Okada try a German suplex, but Omega blocks, triggering a reversal sequence that ends in Okada hitting a slam to set up a slingshot somersault senton splash, but Kenny lifts the knees to block. Angel, but Okada dodges, kicking off another hot reversal sequence that sees Omega avoid the Rainmaker, but run into a backelbow. Okada with a neckbreaker for two, and he tries grounding his challenger in a chinlock, but Omega escapes, and sends Okada to the outside with a rana. Kenny sets up a dive, but Okada rushes in with a big boot as Omega runs the ropes, knocking Kenny to the outside for a somersault plancha. Okada hurts his knee on the landing, however, slowing him down as he brings it back in, and allowing Omega to blast the leg with a running dropkick. Kenny goes to work on the part, and a kneebreaker leads to a springboard missile dropkick to the knee. Figure four follows, so Okada tries a reversal, but Omega rolls through it. He goes for the ropes, so Omega holds his arm to prevent him from grabbing it, but Okada eventually powers through. Omega responds by pulling him out of the ring for a kneebreaker across the apron, and he adds another one on the announce table. Back in, Kenny keeps punishing the knee, but a series of vicious kicks to the head only seem to rile Okada up, and the champ starts firing back with rights. Omega gets a criss cross going, but even on a bad wheel, Okada manages to dropkick him. Okada adds a flapjack, and a backelbow in the corner leads to a victory roll into a cross-legged STF! That was a neat sequence! Omega makes the ropes and bails to the outside, but Okada follows to whip him into the rail. Kenny tries stopping short and springboarding, but Okada shoves him into the crowd to set up a running bodypress - sending the challenger violently crashing into a second rail out there. Back in, Okada tries for a tombstone, but Omega reverses. Okada reverses back, so Omega counters with a victory cradle for two, but get killed with an over-the-shoulder neckbreaker. Okada has seemingly forgotten about the bad leg completely here, which is annoying. That allows him to go up for a flying elbowdrop, but Omega rolls out of the way, and hits a pump-handle backbreaker. Okada bails, so Kenny blasts him with a baseball slide out there, then follows with a springboard moonsault press! Omega with a vicious missile dropkick to the back of the head for two on the way back in, and he dead lifts the champion into a sitout powerbomb for two. Dragon suplex, but Okada manages to block, so Omega tries for the Angel instead, but Okada desperately blocks that as well. Omega responds with a rolling fireman's carry slam into a springboard moonsault, but Okada lifts the knees to block, and hits a diving backelbow. That leads to both battered men trading rights in a slugfest, until Omega cracks him with a chop, but Okada manages to block a charge. Both guys end up on the top fighting over a move, and after much back-and-forth, Okada ends up dropping his challenger with a brutal death valley driver on the apron. God, that looked absolutely devastating. Okada stalks after him out there for a running dropkick into the rail, and again, they're not holding back with these moves, like, at all. Just drilling each other again and again and again. And you don't usually see matches where they're working this stiff last nearly as long as this already has, almost a half hour into the action here. And it still feels like they're just getting warmed up! Inside, Omega tries a running powerbomb, but Okada manages to escape, so Omega charges. Okada is ready with a backdrop over the top, but this time Kenny lands on the apron to block, and dives back with a springboard - only for Okada to block with a dropkick! That allows Okada to go up with the flying elbowdrop, but Omega manages to railroad into the corner to avoid the Rainmaker, and he takes the champ upstairs with a fisherman superplex for two. Fisherman neckbreaker allows Omega to go for the V-Trigger, but Okada counters with a German suplex - only for Kenny to backflip out, and hit the Trigger anyway! A reversal sequence sees both guys go for finishers, but neither manages to land one, so Okada turns it into a two-alarm rolling German, shifted into the Rainmaker for two! He tries a rana next, but Omega catches him in a sitout powerbomb, in a wild counter. I mean 'powerbomb' as a counter to 'rana' is nothing new, but the execution here is so insane that it actually feels fresh. Dragon suplex, but Okada counters to the Rainmaker, countered back by Omega to the Dragon - which he hits. Okada manages to dropkick him out of the ring to buy time, and he puts Kenny on a table to set up a flying elbowdrop - these tables so sturdy that it barely even acknowledges the break. Back in, Okada hits a flying dropkick with pinpoint accuracy for two, and a series of three seated dropkicks leave Omega dead, but his carcass is in the ropes, so no pin. That was such a blistering sequence, with Okada mercilessly hitting him with one dropkick after another, having to prop Kenny back into a seated position between each one because the challenger is just so spent. Kenny keeps coming, slugging from his knees, but Okada brushes him off with the Rainmaker. He keeps hold of the wrist to force him into another one, poor Kenny fighting the whole way, but unable to block. Still, he refuses to stay down, even with the referee practically begging him to. That draws out Cody Rhodes to throw in the towel on his behalf, but the Young Bucks block his path, and Kenny manages to shock everyone by pulling out an inverted rana. He finds a second wind and tries the Trigger, but Okada counters with a dropkick - only to have the Rainmaker countered with the Trigger for a dramatic two! Another Trigger to the back of the head sets up the Angel, but Okada escapes, so Kenny throws another Trigger to block a charge. Angel finally - FINALLY - hits, but Okada gets into the ropes to avoid the pin at two! It's insane how well they built up that move here, taking Omega until forty five minutes of their SECOND MATCH to finally hit it. Omega knows he has him, but takes too long to polish him off, allowing Okada to bust out another Rainmaker. Of course, the champ is so beat up at this point that he has no follow-up. They both stagger up for a slow slugfest, with Kenny getting the better of it, and snapping off a dragon suplex. Trigger, but Okada blocks with a dropkick, and both guys are left looking up at the lights again. Another slugfest ends in Kenny hitting a pair of knee strikes for two, and he's able to capitalize with a stiff running kneesmash in the corner to set up the Angel, but Okada counters with a tombstone. He pulls himself up for the Rainmaker, but his speed has been so severely compromised that Kenny is able to simply slump down to avoid it, and Okada's own momentum puts him down. The champ tries for another tombstone, but he can't even lift Kenny up for it now, and neither can Omega when he tries to reverse. That leaves them slugging it out again, and Omega pops him with a pair of knees, since that's about all he has left for in the tank. V-Trigger is probably enough to finish, but Kenny wants to win with the Angel, and Okada is able to block with a dropkick. The champ musters the strength for a corkscrew tombstone, but he can't cover fast enough. He's able to grab a recovering but dazed Omega with a bridging German suplex, but it only gets two. Omega tries a small package to block whatever the next move is, but it only gets two, and Okada throws a dropkick at him to buy time. Rainmaker, so Omega latches onto the ropes to avoid it, and he hits a snap dragon suplex. Okada cuts off the follow-up with a dropkick into the Rainmaker, and he desperately crawls for the cover... only for time to expire at 60:00. Another day, another all time classic from these two. Like the first match, this largely pulled the same few moves out again and again, but they were able to string them together in such a way that it didn't really feel repetitive. Not everyone could pull that off, and it's a true testament to the level of workers involved here. As was their ability to live up to the insane expectations following the first round. This also built off of the first match, with many sequences from the Wrestle Kingdom bout playing out again, only with both guys learning from their previous mistakes this time around. It isn't flawless, though. For one thing, all the knee work in the early going was largely ignored by both Okada in selling and Omega in focus, and the non-decisive finish is generally a deduction as well. Normally, I would probably subtract a quarter-star for each, but this was just so painstakingly great that I have to go **** ¾

G1 Climax Block B Match: Kazuchika Okada v Kenny Omega: From NJPW G1 Climax on August 12 2017 in Tokyo Japan. Okada's IWGP Heavyweight Title is not on the line here. Big criss cross right off the bat here, with Omega able to hit a dragon suplex. He tries for the Angel early, but Okada dropkicks him over the top to avoid it, and follows after to whip Kenny into the rail. Big boot sends Omega into the first row, and Okada dives after him with a running bodypress into a sea of chairs. You'd think Kenny would learn to dodge that by the third match, but no. Okada with a flying elbowdrop on the way back in, but Omega dumps him to the outside to avoid the Rainmaker, and he dives after him with a plancha - poor Okada's head smacking into the rail on the landing. Kenny with a missile dropkick to the back of the head for two on the way back in, and he cranks on said head with a vice. Omega with a running backbreaker for two, and he throws a few stiff roundhouse kicks to the back for two. Chinlock, but Okada escapes and tries a senton splash, but Kenny lifts his knees to block. Piledriver, but Okada counters with a backdrop, and hits the over-the-shoulder neckbreaker. He whacks Kenny with a few backelbows to set up a DDT, and a diving European uppercut is worth two. Tombstone, but Okada's bad shoulder prevents it, and Kenny goes for his own, but Okada blocks. Kenny responds with a rolling fireman's carry slam into a springboard moonsault, but Okada lifts his knees to block. He charges, but Omega snaps off a rana as he does, and Okada ends up on the outside. Kenny starts running for a dive, but Okada slides back in to cut him off with a flapjack. Tombstone, but Kenny slips to the apron to avoid it, and he tries a springboard, but Okada blocks by dropkicking him off the top and to the floor. Okada follows for a tombstone on the floor, but Omega counters with an inverted rana out there, and Okada may be dead. The trainers come out to check on him, and poor Omega is going crazy as he's losing precious time. Finally, he just shoves past the trainers to force Okada onto the apron for a dragon suplex, dropping the poor guy neck first across the apron in vicious fashion! He doesn't give him so much as a breather from there, forcing Okada right in for a fisherman neckbreaker, but it only gets two. Kenny drills the battered Okada with a few knee strikes, but the Trigger is blocked, so Kenny throws another knee and goes to the Angel from there instead - only for Okada to counter with a tombstone! He can't follow up though, so Kenny takes him upstairs for a fisherman superplex, but Okada knocks him off to block, and dives with a flying dropkick. Running dropkick knocks Kenny into the corner, but he still manages to block the Rainmaker, and pulls out the Trigger. Again, but Okada counters with a dropkick, and a reversal sequence sees him use a German suplex into the Rainmaker, but Omega counters with a uranage. Angel, but Okada counters with the Rainmaker for a dramatic two count. Tombstone, but Kenny counters with a victory cradle for two. He hooks a backslide for two, but Okada hits him with the Rainmaker upon kicking out, and holds onto the wrist to force him through another one. Third one, but Omega counters with a two-alarm rolling German suplex, with Okada able to block the third alarm. Omega responds with an inverted rana for two, but Okada again blocks the Angel, so Kenny goes to a bridging German suplex for two. The timing on these nearfalls is nuts. I mean, they're waiting until 2.999999 to kick out each time. A frustrated Omega goes for the Trigger, but Okada blocks with a dropkick. Rainmaker, but Omega blocks with a knee, and hits a package piledriver for two. He stops to pray before attempting another Trigger into the Angel - landing it this time for three at 24:40! And so, he finally beats Okada - with the Angel no less - but the title isn't on the line this time! This wasn't quite up to par with the super dramatic epics that the first two matches were, but it was another fantastic encounter in its own right, basically a condensed version of those matches, but that also advanced the narrative and set the stage for a fourth match. **** ¼

IWGP Heavyweight Title Two-out-of-Three Falls Match: Kazuchika Okada v Kenny Omega: From NJPW Dominion on June 9 2018 in Osaka Japan. No time limit this time, to ensure this gets settled TONIGHT! Feeling out process to start, with neither guy really getting a defined advantage. Reversal sequence sees both guys block stuff they got hit with in earlier encounters, escalating until Omega counters the Rainmaker to the Angel, but Okada tips him into the ropes to send both guys tumbling over the top. They slug it out on the floor, where Okada manages to reverse Kenny into the rail, and he sends him over the top to set up his running bodypress - only to miss it for once. Finally. Though, it seemed that he clipped his leg going over the rail and wiped out less than Omega finally learned to avoid it. No matter, it still works within context. Kenny bodyslams him onto a piece of the rail, and takes the champ back in to cover, but it only gets two. Omega with a series of elbowsmashes for two, and he starts whacking the champion with roundhouse kick after roundhouse kick to the back, but Okada defiantly absorbs them, so Omega shines his wizard for two. Kenny with a series of chops and a running backbreaker for two, followed by a half camel clutch. Okada nears the ropes, so Omega shifts to a full on camel clutch to keep the arms from reaching, but Okada manages to lunge forward to force the break. Omega with more chops, but he runs into a flapjack, and Okada hits a corner backelbow to set up a DDT for two. I find it a bit annoying that he's able to do those same signature spots match after match in this series, with Omega still not figuring out a counter. At this stage in the series pretty much every signature move should be a war to hit. Okada goes for cobra clutch, but Omega dumps him to the outside to avoid it, only to miss a plancha, and get hit by one from Okada. The camera totally misses half that sequence, despite having more photographers at ringside that WrestleMania XI. Back in, Omega wins a reversal sequence with a rana that sends Okada right back to the outside, and Kenny drills him with a baseball slide to put the champ in the first row. Omega dives after him with a springboard bodypress out there, and he rolls Okada back in with a bulldog for two. Fisherman neckbreaker leads to the Trigger, but Okada dodges. German suplex, but Omega back flips to avoid it, and drills him with a pair of knee strikes - only to have the inverted rana blocked. That allows Okada to hit a bridging German suplex for two, but Omega railroads him into the corner to avoid the follow-up move, and they spill out onto the apron, where Okada plants him with a tombstone! Omega pulls himself up, so Okada knocks him off of the apron with a running dropkick into the rail, then rolls him in for an insanely well executed flying dropkick for two. I'll never cease to be amazed with his execution on those. Bodyslam sets up a flying elbowdrop, and I really wish they'd vary it up a little bit. Would it kill him to do a frogsplash or a senton or something? Okada prepares himself for the finish, but Kenny pops off to snap off a dragon suplex, and the champ bails. Omega dives after him with a somersault suicida, and it's not like Charlotte's moonsault press that barely makes contact - motherfucker STICKS that landing. Omega with a missile dropkick to the back of the head for two on the way back in, but Okada counters the Angel to the Rainmaker, so Omega counters back with the Trigger. Angel, but Okada blocks again, so Omega uses a bridging German for an unbelievably close two. Trigger sets up the Angel, but Okada slips free yet again, and he uses a dropkick to shake his challenger off. Another dropkick connects, but Kenny counters the Rainmaker with the Trigger for a close two. These bastards are redefining what a nearfall is. Package piledriver, but Okada counters with a rana, and he drops Kenny with a tombstone. Rainmaker, but Omega counters with a sunset cradle - only for Okada to reverse for the first fall at 28:47! I like how they built to that, with the same repetitive moves I was complaining about earlier getting used (or tried) again and again, but when Omega tried to mix in something different - something Okada might not have been training for - that's where the champ was able to counter for the fall. It's in those spaces where they do the unexpected that they're finally able to throw the other off of their game enough to score a fall, but you can't surprise the other guy without first lulling them into a false sense of security with routine. Okada sends him over the top with a dropkick, and he follows to choke Kenny with the rail on the outside. Omega tries to fight him off by springboarding off of the rail, but ends up getting shoved off, and Okada spikes him onto the floor with an elevated DDT. Omega strains to make it back inside, where a relatively fresh Okada taunts him by absorbing the increasingly ferocious chops his challenger throws. Finally, Omega charges, but Okada whacks him with a big boot to block, and slaps on the cobra clutch! Omega manages to escape with a stunner, and he adds a side suplex, so Okada bails before the challenger can follow up. That backfires when Kenny side suplexes him across the apron instead, and he slams a table onto him to set up a flying double stomp off of the apron onto the table covered champion - resurrecting a move not seen since the first match of this series. He sets the table up, but that time allows Okada to recover, and he sends Kenny into the post before they head back in. Okada hits a slam in there to set up a senton splash, but Kenny lifts his knees to block - only to have Okada escape the rolling fireman's carry slam, and hit a death valley driver! Now that's what I'm talking about! That fireman's carry slam into the moonsault spot worked in all three previous matches, and it shouldn't have worked by the fourth. In match three, Okada countered at the last second by lifting his knees to block the moonsault. Here, he avoids the slam altogether. Progress. I love when they tell a story like that, and have enough confidence in their audience to remember what they're saying with their spots, even with long stretches between the matches. Okada with a running dropkick into the corner, but a trip to the top backfires when Kenny brings him crashing down with a fisherman superplex. Omega drills him with a series of rights to soften him up for the rolling fireman's carry into the springboard moonsault, but that motherfucker Okada STILL lifts his knees to block! I love it! He drills Kenny back with a diving backelbow, but Omega avoids a flapjack, and manages a DDT during a criss cross. He takes Okada out for a German suplex off of the apron through a waiting table, but the champ holds on to the top rope for dear life to block, so Kenny slips off the apron and tries to grab him with the Angel, but Okada counters to the Rainmaker - only for Omega to counter with an inverted rana on the floor! Back in, Omega feels he can finally hit the Angel, but that slippery bastard Okada STILL counters with a tombstone! Rainmaker, but Kenny counters with a uranage, and they both stagger to their feet for a slow, deliberate slugfest. The tempo increases until Kenny manages to snap off a dragon suplex, but Okada pops up and fires off a dropkick, so Kenny throws one of his own. Okada tries firing back again with another dropkick, but this time Kenny catches him in a sitout powerbomb, with the referee diving down to count, but Omega not wanting to waste time with a pin attempt that would allow Okada even a breath to recover, instead shifting right into a knee strike! Cradle piledriver, but Okada counters with a backdrop, so Kenny counters with a sunset cradle - reversed by Okada... for two this time! Omega pops off the Trigger, and a rather vicious cradle piledriver is worth two. Shining wizard sets up the Angel, and Omega finally sticks it for three at 47:47! The brilliance of that move is that they've built it up so perfectly throughout the series that everyone knows that it's it for Okada if Omega can hit it, with absolutely no one more aware of that fact than Okada himself, who has a seemingly endless array of counters and escapes on hand. Until he doesn't. Omega immediately goes for it again to wrap this up, but Okada counters with the Rainmaker - only for Kenny to clip him with a kick to the back of the head while back flipping through the air! Wild! Okada crawls over to cover, but it only gets two. He tries for a tombstone, but can't quite muster the strength to get Omega up. Omega tries one, but runs into the same problem, so Okada tries again, before both guys abandon the effort, and settle for punching each other instead. Okada wins that with a European uppercut, but Omega stops short when the champ tries a dropkick, resulting in Okada wiping out. Kenny looks to capitalize with a powerbomb, but Okada counters to a rana, so Omega counters back with a styles clash for two - Okada managing to grab the ropes to break the count! Omega blasts him with a running kneesmash in the corner to set up the Angel, but Kenny is so battered at this point that his legs simply give out, and they collapse in a heap. He musters the strength to get him up on the second try, but Okada counters to a tombstone, only for Omega to counter back with a package tombstone for two! Omega goes up for a phoenix splash, but Okada dodges, and throws a dropkick at the dazed challenger. Tombstone, but Omega manages to slip free, and he blasts the champion with the Trigger. Pair of knee strikes hit, but he gets greedy with a third, and Okada is able to block. Pair of dropkicks set up the Rainmaker, but it takes so much out of Okada that he actually ends up going down first, despite being the one executing the move! What insanity this match is! They've turned it up to a whole new level, and it's insane to think that we're a freaking HOUR into it, and they still have the energy to pull this off! And it's not like the first half of the match was all mat-based, either. It's truly a testament to their incredible conditioning. Slugfest ends up Okada hitting another Rainmaker, but again, he's so battered that a cover never materializes. Third Rainmaker hits, leaving Omega crumpled up in a ball, but a fourth is countered with a German suplex! After some downtime, Kenny is able to roll it into a second alarm, but the third alarm is reversed! The struggle over the move to sell their absolute exhaustion is just fantastic here. Rainmaker, but Kenny again counters with a German suplex, and this time spikes Okada with an inverted rana! Trigger, but Okada finds the strength for a dropkick to block. Rainmaker, but Omega counters to the Angel, and Okada doesn't manage to slip free this time! He does land in the ropes though, and all that energy won't net poor Kenny even a cover. Omega screams in frustration, but gets his shit together with another shining wizard, and he delivers another Angel right in the middle to put this thing away at 64:50! Holy freakin' shit! This was absolutely incredible, somehow not only living up to the insanely high expectations surrounding it, and not only managing to equal the previous matches in the series, but managing to BETTER them! This was an absolute war to cap off (for now?) perhaps the greatest series of matches in history. The story! The athleticism! The stamina! The booking! This was just top notch in every conceivable way, and absolutely DELIVERED. This one has garnered widespread, universal acclaim, with many not only calling it one of the best matches of all time, but simply THE best match of all time. It has inspired all sorts of goofy ratings, like Dave Meltzer’s 'breaking the scale' seven-star rating. I don’t believe in such rating inflation, so don’t expect any of that silliness here. Five-stars is the ceiling. I do understand why some reviewers are going that route. There are matches I’ve rated very highly, and then I’ll revisit them years later, and realize that it doesn’t hold up, and I would no longer consider it a five-star match, or a four-and-three-quarter-star match, or whatever. Some matches stand the test of time, some don’t. But I don’t think the response should be expanding the rating system, but rather reevaluating past matches. That’s why I do Version II reviews or second look Goody Bags, because I believe the art form is ever changing and ever evolving. But the scale remains the same. Five-stars is still the highest rating I would/could give a match, and I'm very conservative with that rating. Over thousands of matches reviewed, you could count the number of matches I’ve awarded five-stars to without running out of fingers. Famed film critic Roger Ebert gave Casablanca four-stars (out of four). He also gave that same rating to Knowing. One is a career defining, genre defining, and monumentally influential classic. The other is a sci-fi action thriller starring Nicolas Cage. I didn’t know the man, but I seriously doubt Ebert believed Knowing to be the equal of Casablanca, despite both receiving the same perfect four-star rating. Just as this is undoubtedly a five-star match, that does not mean it's necessarily equal to other matches that have that same rating. This is, without question, one the best matches ever contested, and perhaps even the very best in the history of the art form. A true masterpiece that earned every bit of its acclaim, and satisfyingly paid off a story a year and a half in the making. Which is why it gets five-stars. The perfect rating. Anything more would just be silly, in the same vein as people claiming to give something '110%' effort. *****