#152: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada, NJPW Invasion Attack (4/7/2013).
This is for Tana's IWGP Heavyweight Championship.
Just over a year since their initial bout, Okada has transformed into one of the very best wrestlers in the world. And though he lost the championship to Tanahashi at Dominion the previous June, as well as failing to capitalize on his G1 Climax 22 title shot at Wrestle Kingdom 7 in January, Okada bounced back by winning the New Japan Cup. Here, he was looking to silence any and all doubt about his position as the new Ace.
The bell rings, and we are under way! This is the fourth singles meeting between the two since Okada’s return from excursion. They lock up, and both look for the first advantage. Okada gets Tana in the ropes and feigns an attack, and Tana does the same thing, and now both are reversing one another. Tana kicks Okada in the gut, and they both exchange side headlocks with one another. Okada knocks Tana down with a shoulder tackle, and goes for the Rainmaker, before Tana goes for one of his own.
Okada slaps Tana and boots him in the face. He grabs the neck and drives his knee into Tana’s back. Cranking hard on it, he’s setting up for the Rainmaker later in the match. Tana fights out, and forearms Okada in the jaw. Tana goes to kick at the leg, but Okada sees it coming and gets out of the way. Tana locks in an armbar to Okada, looking to weaken the effect of the Rainmaker finisher. Tana then slams Okada’s arm off of the mat repeatedly. Tana kneels down and cranks back on the arm, looking to torque on it. He wraps his legs around now, putting a hammerlock on The Rainmaker.
Okada gets to the ropes, and Tana holds on to the submission – a rare heel move from the beloved Ace. They fight on the apron now, as Tana goes for a Dragon Screw leg whip, but Okada is able to counter out of it and he hits a DDT right on the apron! Both are back inside the ring, and Okada drops him with a neckbreaker, before trapping the arms behind Tana and flipping himself over, putting all his weight on Tana’s neck while stretching both arms out. A unique move, for sure. It took him a few tries.
Okada traps the arms again and looks to stretch Tana’s upper body, before hitting a neckbreaker. He throws Tana in the corner and starts unloading on him with kicks and stomps to the chest and face. Tana fights out of the corner, and tries to dive off the top rope, but Okada moves out of the way and locks Tana in another neck submission, stretching his shoulder out once again. Tana is able to get his foot on the bottom rope though.
Tana kicks at the arm of Okada, but Okada counters with his own Dragon Screw Leg Whip! Okada follows that with a diving dropkick to Tana’s head, which takes him outside of the ring. Okada wraps Tana’s head around the barricade, and stretches it to cause more pain. He even kicks the barricade with Tana’s head still in it. Okada goes for a Tombstone on the outside, but Tana is able to push out of it and send Okada into the barricade. Tana smashes Okada’s arm off of the ring post outside, looking to further hinder the effect of Okada’s finisher. Tana heads to the top rope, and hits the High Fly Flow to the outside onto Okada. That never gets old.
Okada is back in the ring, and Tana comes flying at him in the corner with a splash and then a diving forearm. Tana does a Dragon Screw to the arm this time, as his targeting of the arm starts to heat up. Okada tries to come back with forearms, but Tana’s focus on the arm is slowing him down. Tana comes off the ropes, but Okada is able to catch him and flapjack him. Okada brings Tana’s head down over his knee, furthering the injured neck. A power slam follows, as Okada heads to the top rope. He connects with his signature elbow drop. Now, it’s time for the Rainmaker Pose, and the camera panning out to show off the venue. Nice.
He goes for the Rainmaker, but Tana counters out. Okada goes for a Tombstone, but Tana escapes and slaps him several times. Tana runs off the ropes again, but Okada catches him with a beautiful drop kick. Okada then locks in a sort of STF submission, but Tana manages to get to the ropes. Okada lifts Tana up, and Tana is able to counter with a variant of the Sling Blade. Tana with a dropkick, and he goes for a Tiger Suplex, but switches into a Straightjacket Suplex, but that only gets a 2 count. Tana hits a Falcon Arrow, and then goes to the top for the High Fly Flow. Okada is quick to get up and he dropkicks Tana down to the ringside area below. Okada sends Tana into the barricade, and then boots him into the crowd. He balances Tana on the barricade, and hits a DDT to the ringside mat. Both are now back in the ring, and Okada hits the Heavy Rain for a close 2 count. Okada sets up for the Rainmaker, but Tana goes right back to attacking the injured arm. Okada goes for a dropkick, but Tana sees it coming, and goes to hit a dropkick on the arm. Tana goes for Sling Blade, but Okada counters into a Rainmaker, and Tana counters out of that! He goes for a Dragon Suplex, but Okada is able to hit the Rainmaker finally! However, he is too hurt to capitalize immediately!
Okada makes the cover, and Tana kicks out! You have to believe that if Okada had covered sooner, this would be over. Okada lifts Tana back up and goes for a Tombstone, but Tana counters into a pinfall attempt! Okada follows that with another STF submission hold. After a minute or so, Tana is finally able to break the hold and make it to the ropes. With Tana in the corner, Okada goes to dive on him, but Tana is able to move out of the way, and then he jumps down to attack the extended arm of Okada. On the apron, Tana hits a Dragon Screw on the arm against the ropes. His attack of the arm this match has been great.
Tana is up to the ropes, and hits the High Fly Flow to a standing Okada. A Sling Blade follows, and Tana finally hits a nice Tiger Suplex, but Okada is able to kick out! Tana goes back to the top, and hits the High Fly Flow to the back of Okada! One more time, but Okada gets the knees up at the last possible second! The crowd in Sumo Hall is molten for this action! Okada with a dropkick to the back of the head of Tana, and he goes for a Tombstone, but Tana is able to counter out of it. Tana goes for the arm again, but Okada slips out and looks for a Rainmaker again. Tana counters and he has Okada up for a Tombstone, but Okada counters THAT into a Tombstone of his own!
Okada finally hits the Rainmaker, and even with the injured arm, he’s able to keep Tana down and win the match! Okada is a 2 time IWGP Heavyweight Champion! He celebrates, as his arm is wrapped with tape. Tana is helped to the back, as Okada is presented with trophies and the championship title.
Any doubts that anyone had about the ability of Kazuchika Okada as a top player in New Japan Pro Wrestling were washed away with this match. I’ve said it many times already, but it’s super important to this story to remember that Okada was once considered a major flop in the eyes of the fans. He came in looking poor, and he just happened to get lucky in beating Hiroshi Tanahashi the first time. But two decisive losses later, and many believed that Okada was a flash in the pan.
But here, in Ryogoku, he proved that Gedo’s confidence in him was warranted. He wrestled like a true ring general, slowly but surely tearing away at Tanahashi’s neck throughout this match. He had one goal in mind – hitting the Rainmaker Lariat finish – and he never left that plan in the dust. He may have seemed cocky coming in, but this man played the long game and had a smart game from the beginning.
Tanahashi put in another amazing performance here, showing why he was already on the way to being one of the best wrestlers to ever do it. His vicious gameplan of torturing the right arm of Okada was done very well, and some of the shots taken to the arm looked particularly nasty. If anyone else were in this match, Tanahashi would’ve likely walked away with the win and kept his title in tact. But this night belonged to Okada, who was hell bent on reaching the mountain top again – and staying there.
The chemistry between these two cannot be understated. The amount of reversals and counters between them was off the charts. You’d think these two were decades long rivals. They’d only been against each other for just over a year. That’s a testament to their abilities, both singular and against one another. It was a tug and pull affair, and at any given moment, one could have taken the other out with victory.
This win would mark the beginning of Okada’s mammoth 2nd reign as IWGP Heavyweight Champion that would last for a whopping 391 days. And this match was only the beginning for the Rainmaker and the Ace, as their rivalry was to last for several more years. The Battle to see who the true Ace of New Japan was to be was only beginning, and as for the fans, that was the best news possible. If this amazing match was only just the start, could you imagine how much better they would become?