Tanahashi vs. Okada. It's one of the greatest rivalries in modern wrestling history. The story is simple: Tanahashi is The Ace and wants to continue maintaining his position as NJPW's top act. Meanwhile Kazuchika Okada is the young upstart trying to unseat Tanahashi as the top man in New Japan. These two, at this point, have faced each other for years with each getting victories over the other in key moments.
Tanahashi is 2-0 against Okada when it comes to Wrestle Kingdom events, but there's a wrinkle to this year's match: He's the challenger. Having won the G1 Climax 25 tournament in August 2015, Tanahashi was cashing in his chance to both win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for an 8th time and to crush the soul of Kazuchika Okada. Okada looks to not only defeat Tanahashi to retain his title but to also vanquish his greatest foe at New Japan's biggest event for the very first time.
Let's do this!
Wrestle Kingdom 10
1/4/16
Tokyo Dome Tokyo, Japan
IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Tanahashi comes out first with the title shot in the briefcase he won from the G1 Climax 25 tournament. Okada's entrance starts up and then lights go out. He shows up on stage and opens his arms to restart the music. And there are those Okada Bucks flying around. The Rainmaker is living up to his name.
The bell rings. And the crowd is thunderous. Okada gets Tanahashi into the ropes. After avoiding a punch by The Ace, Okada gets the first shot in. Another forearm smash knocks Tanahashi down. Tanahashi answers with one of his own. Slap by Tanahashi. Okada goes on the attack. Big boot by Okada. Mat wrestling now going on with Okada and Tanahashi reversing each other's submission holds. 5 minutes have passed. Okada tries to throw off Tanahashi from a headlock, but The Ace holds on. Okada reverses into a headlock of his own. Knee attack by Tanahashi now including a chop block.
Tanahashi now goes to work on the right leg of Okada. Knee lock by Tanahashi is broken up by a rope break by Okada. Kicks, stomps, and jumping attacks on that leg. Springboard Crossbody by Tanahashi rolled through by Okada. Springboard Dropkick to Tanahashi on the apron by Okada. Tanahashi is on the floor. Tanahashi gets whipped into the guard rail and kicked over it. Okada does the running dive over the rail (almost a High Fly Flow by Okada), taking out Tanahashi. Okada rolls Tanahashi in the ring. Slingshot Senton by Okada. 2 count. Okada puts Tanahashi in the corner. Tanahashi kicks Okada down and goes for the Somersault Senton. He misses Okada. Okada nails a DDT and kips up. Running uppercut by Okada only gets a 2. Okada has Tanahashi in a Straight Jacket Headlock. Tanahashi gets out. Okada avoids a dropkick to his knee, but he misses a senton splash onto The Ace. Flapjack blocked by Tanahashi. Dropkick to the knee of Okada.
Tanahashi starts fighting back with more momentum. Dragon Screw by The Ace. Okada rolls to the floor. Tanahashi RUNS UP THE CORNER! Okada catches him before he can jump off. They are fighting on the top of the corner. Dragon Screw to Okada on the middle turnbuckle by Tanahashi. Same move is done on the middle rope. Sling Blade on the ring frame!!!!! Okada is on the floor. TANAHASHI RUNS BACK UP THE TOP OF THE CORNER!!!! HIGH FLY FLOW TO OKADA ON THE FLOOR!!!!!! Okada milks getting back into the ring until the 19 count. Tanahashi slams him in the ring. HIGH FLY FLOW ONTO THE LEGS OF OKADA! Cloverleaf attempt by Tanahashi, but Okada maneuvers himself into the ropes before he can be turned over.
Kicks to the leg of Okada. Dropkick to the leg in the corner. Okada hits the White Noise onto the bad knee. (They have this crowd worked to a frenzy.) They exchange shots in the ring with the crowd reacting to every one. Dropkick by Okada. A few sliding dropkicks to Tanahashi. 2.5 count. OKADA HITS ONE HELL OF A MISSILE DROPKICK OFF THE TOP ROPE TO TANAHASHI. 2 count only. Flying Elbow Drop by Okada off the top rope. RAINMAKER POSE! Rainmaker avoided. Tombstone rolled through by Tanahashi. 2 count only. Dropkick to the LEFT leg of Okada now by Tanahashi. Dragon Screw to the right leg of Okada. Okada goes for a dropkick, but Tanahashi avoids it. Dragon Screw to the leg again. Cloverleaf is now on Okada. And Okada gets caught deep into the hold. Okada gets to the rope!
Twist and Shout! Sling Blade! TANAHASHI GOES UP TOP! HIGH FLY FLOW MISSES!!!!!! Crazy reversals by both men until Okada gets the Tombstone in finally on Tanahashi. RAINMAKER!!!! 1-2-KICKOUT! Tanahashi is lifeless in the center of the ring for a good few seconds. OKADA NAILS HIGH FLY FLOW TO TANAHASHI!!!! 2 COUNT ONLY! RAINMAKER COUNTERED! RAINMAKER BY TANAHASHI!!!!!! (This is incredible. These guys are literally pulling every trick out of the book to get this crowd worked up. Okada and Tanahashi are milking this crowd for every fiber of attention and desire they can get.)
Okada gets to his feet first. Kick to the knee by Tanahashi to get space. Two more. Tombstone escaped! SLING BLADE!!!! DRAGON SUPLEX! 1-2-KICKOUT! HIGH FLY FLOW TO THE BACK OF OKADA!!!!! TANAHASHI GOES BACK UP!!!! HIGH FLY FLOW! 1-2-KICKOUT!!!! (What a great false finish here! You can totally buy that as the end of this.) Tanahashi goes back up again! HIGH FLY FLOW INTO A DROPKICK BY OKADA!!!!!!! Tanahashi is rolling in pain! Okada is up! Tanahashi is trying to escape Okada's grasp! He slaps Okada, but he runs into a dropkick by Okada! RAINMAKER AVOIDED! GERMAN SUPLEX! Tanahashi avoids a Rainmaker with a slap. But Okada still holds Tanahashi's wrist! RAINMAKER! ANOTHER RAINMAKER!!! A THIRD RAINMAKER!!!! 1-2-3!!!
Winner: Kazuchika Okada (Still IWGP Heavyweight Champion)
Match Grade: A+. Wow! Such a great story being told here. Tanahashi works the leg the entire match trying to slow down Okada and use that to gain the victory. Okada just would not stay down and finally his youth and desire were too much for Tanahashi to keep down. These guys are absolute masters of working the New Japan crowd as they had them in the palm of their hand and going nuts the entire 35+ minutes of this match.
I don't care how many times I see Okada and Tanahashi wrestle. This never gets old.
Until next time, take care of yourselves. Spread some awesomeness. Make it rain.
Tanahashi is 2-0 against Okada when it comes to Wrestle Kingdom events, but there's a wrinkle to this year's match: He's the challenger. Having won the G1 Climax 25 tournament in August 2015, Tanahashi was cashing in his chance to both win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for an 8th time and to crush the soul of Kazuchika Okada. Okada looks to not only defeat Tanahashi to retain his title but to also vanquish his greatest foe at New Japan's biggest event for the very first time.
Let's do this!
Wrestle Kingdom 10
1/4/16
Tokyo Dome Tokyo, Japan
IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Tanahashi comes out first with the title shot in the briefcase he won from the G1 Climax 25 tournament. Okada's entrance starts up and then lights go out. He shows up on stage and opens his arms to restart the music. And there are those Okada Bucks flying around. The Rainmaker is living up to his name.
The bell rings. And the crowd is thunderous. Okada gets Tanahashi into the ropes. After avoiding a punch by The Ace, Okada gets the first shot in. Another forearm smash knocks Tanahashi down. Tanahashi answers with one of his own. Slap by Tanahashi. Okada goes on the attack. Big boot by Okada. Mat wrestling now going on with Okada and Tanahashi reversing each other's submission holds. 5 minutes have passed. Okada tries to throw off Tanahashi from a headlock, but The Ace holds on. Okada reverses into a headlock of his own. Knee attack by Tanahashi now including a chop block.
Tanahashi now goes to work on the right leg of Okada. Knee lock by Tanahashi is broken up by a rope break by Okada. Kicks, stomps, and jumping attacks on that leg. Springboard Crossbody by Tanahashi rolled through by Okada. Springboard Dropkick to Tanahashi on the apron by Okada. Tanahashi is on the floor. Tanahashi gets whipped into the guard rail and kicked over it. Okada does the running dive over the rail (almost a High Fly Flow by Okada), taking out Tanahashi. Okada rolls Tanahashi in the ring. Slingshot Senton by Okada. 2 count. Okada puts Tanahashi in the corner. Tanahashi kicks Okada down and goes for the Somersault Senton. He misses Okada. Okada nails a DDT and kips up. Running uppercut by Okada only gets a 2. Okada has Tanahashi in a Straight Jacket Headlock. Tanahashi gets out. Okada avoids a dropkick to his knee, but he misses a senton splash onto The Ace. Flapjack blocked by Tanahashi. Dropkick to the knee of Okada.
Tanahashi starts fighting back with more momentum. Dragon Screw by The Ace. Okada rolls to the floor. Tanahashi RUNS UP THE CORNER! Okada catches him before he can jump off. They are fighting on the top of the corner. Dragon Screw to Okada on the middle turnbuckle by Tanahashi. Same move is done on the middle rope. Sling Blade on the ring frame!!!!! Okada is on the floor. TANAHASHI RUNS BACK UP THE TOP OF THE CORNER!!!! HIGH FLY FLOW TO OKADA ON THE FLOOR!!!!!! Okada milks getting back into the ring until the 19 count. Tanahashi slams him in the ring. HIGH FLY FLOW ONTO THE LEGS OF OKADA! Cloverleaf attempt by Tanahashi, but Okada maneuvers himself into the ropes before he can be turned over.
Kicks to the leg of Okada. Dropkick to the leg in the corner. Okada hits the White Noise onto the bad knee. (They have this crowd worked to a frenzy.) They exchange shots in the ring with the crowd reacting to every one. Dropkick by Okada. A few sliding dropkicks to Tanahashi. 2.5 count. OKADA HITS ONE HELL OF A MISSILE DROPKICK OFF THE TOP ROPE TO TANAHASHI. 2 count only. Flying Elbow Drop by Okada off the top rope. RAINMAKER POSE! Rainmaker avoided. Tombstone rolled through by Tanahashi. 2 count only. Dropkick to the LEFT leg of Okada now by Tanahashi. Dragon Screw to the right leg of Okada. Okada goes for a dropkick, but Tanahashi avoids it. Dragon Screw to the leg again. Cloverleaf is now on Okada. And Okada gets caught deep into the hold. Okada gets to the rope!
Twist and Shout! Sling Blade! TANAHASHI GOES UP TOP! HIGH FLY FLOW MISSES!!!!!! Crazy reversals by both men until Okada gets the Tombstone in finally on Tanahashi. RAINMAKER!!!! 1-2-KICKOUT! Tanahashi is lifeless in the center of the ring for a good few seconds. OKADA NAILS HIGH FLY FLOW TO TANAHASHI!!!! 2 COUNT ONLY! RAINMAKER COUNTERED! RAINMAKER BY TANAHASHI!!!!!! (This is incredible. These guys are literally pulling every trick out of the book to get this crowd worked up. Okada and Tanahashi are milking this crowd for every fiber of attention and desire they can get.)
Okada gets to his feet first. Kick to the knee by Tanahashi to get space. Two more. Tombstone escaped! SLING BLADE!!!! DRAGON SUPLEX! 1-2-KICKOUT! HIGH FLY FLOW TO THE BACK OF OKADA!!!!! TANAHASHI GOES BACK UP!!!! HIGH FLY FLOW! 1-2-KICKOUT!!!! (What a great false finish here! You can totally buy that as the end of this.) Tanahashi goes back up again! HIGH FLY FLOW INTO A DROPKICK BY OKADA!!!!!!! Tanahashi is rolling in pain! Okada is up! Tanahashi is trying to escape Okada's grasp! He slaps Okada, but he runs into a dropkick by Okada! RAINMAKER AVOIDED! GERMAN SUPLEX! Tanahashi avoids a Rainmaker with a slap. But Okada still holds Tanahashi's wrist! RAINMAKER! ANOTHER RAINMAKER!!! A THIRD RAINMAKER!!!! 1-2-3!!!
Winner: Kazuchika Okada (Still IWGP Heavyweight Champion)
Match Grade: A+. Wow! Such a great story being told here. Tanahashi works the leg the entire match trying to slow down Okada and use that to gain the victory. Okada just would not stay down and finally his youth and desire were too much for Tanahashi to keep down. These guys are absolute masters of working the New Japan crowd as they had them in the palm of their hand and going nuts the entire 35+ minutes of this match.
I don't care how many times I see Okada and Tanahashi wrestle. This never gets old.
Until next time, take care of yourselves. Spread some awesomeness. Make it rain.
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