#228: Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega, NJPW Dominion (6/11/2017).
This is for Okada’s IWGP Heavyweight Championship.
As May of 2017 came around, Kazuchika Okada was nearing one year as IWGP Heavyweight Champion, having won his 4th championship from Tetsuya Naito in June of 2016 at Dominion. He’d been consistently setting the bar incredibly high with a string of performances, and he was far and away the best wrestler in the world. For this year’s Dominion event, Okada chose his opponent, and he picked none other than Kenny Omega, a man he made history with just six months prior.
In January at Wrestle Kingdom 11, Okada walked into his first Tokyo Dome main event as the undisputed Ace of the company, and he defended the title against Omega, who was entering his very first Tokyo Dome main event. Obliterating all expectations, the two men put on what many called the greatest match of all time. It created a conversation about international wrestling that hadn’t been this heated in decades, and it caused Meltzer to rate it six stars instead of five, something he hadn’t done since 1994, when he awarded six stars to the legendary All Japan battle between Mitsuharu Misawa and Toshiaki Kawada.
Both men’s stock skyrocketed in the aftermath of the match, and the anticipation for the rematch was heating up. Not many expected it to come so soon, but that’s just the nature of things. Now, in front of the historically raucous Osaka crowd, Okada and Omega were looking to at least match what they accomplished in the Dome – and maybe even exceed it. Okada hoped to continue his current reign past a year, and Omega was looking to finally defeat a man who had quickly become his greatest rival. And wrestling fans everywhere were curious if these two men could create magic again, or if what happened at Wrestle Kingdom was simply a one off.
Osaka is hot already, as the Cleaner makes his way to the ring first, with the Young Bucks by his side. He looks to be in great shape, and just as determined as he was at Wrestle Kingdom.
The coin drops, and money falls from the roof. The Rainmaker has arrived, just days ahead of the one year anniversary of the beginning of his 4th reign as IWGP Heavyweight Champion.
The ring announcer gives the proper introductions, as both men keep their eyes on the other. The fans are hyped for this one, as it is unknown whether or not these two will capture the magic once again or not.
The bell sounds, and this highly anticipated rematch is officially under way. They lock up, and Omega is first on the offensive, twisting the arm of Okada up and driving his elbow into the shoulder. Okada is quick to roll out of that and go after the leg of Omega. Okada has top position, and he bends Omega’s leg across his knee. Omega kicks him in the back to break it up, and both men are back to their feet. They lock up again, and Omega takes the back of Okada. The champion grabs the arm of Omega, and twists it around his back.
Omega continues to move by locking in a side headlock to the Rainmaker. Okada sends him off the ropes, and Omega delivers a nice shoulder tackle, bringing Okada down. He slaps Okada in the face, and shoves him back several times. He kicks him in the gut, and they exchange side headlock takedowns. They lock up once again, and Okada drives Omega against the ropes. He goes to attack Omega, but he slaps his head instead and backs away.
Okada shoulder tackles Omega down to the mat, and quickly attempts the Rainmaker, but Omega fights it off. Okada gets Omega on the mat and attempts his senton from the apron, but Omega gets the knees up. They exchange several counters and transitions, before Okada tackles Omega down again. Okada with the neckbreaker to Omega for a 2 count. He digs the knee into Omega’s back, and pulls back on his head, focusing his attack on the neck.
Omega is back to his feet, sending his elbows into Okada’s midsection. He responds with a forearm to the back. Omega is quick to respond with a nice hurricanrana. With Okada on the outside, Omega prepares his senton to the outside, but as he gears up for it, Okada is back in the ring with a big boot to the face. Then, Okada busts out his own senton to the outside onto Omega! He landed awkwardly on the leg, though. He sends Omega back into the ring, and he immediately hits a shotgun dropkick into the leg.
Now Omega is targeting the leg, driving Okada’s knee into his own. Omega dives into the ring from the apron with a dropkick to the leg. Next, he puts Okada in the Figure Four Leglock submission. Despite the pain he is clearly in, Okada is fighting through it. Omega does all he can to keep the hold on, but Okada is able to get to the bottom rope to break the hold. Omega drags Okada to the outside of the ring and sends his knee directly onto the ring apron.
Omega brings Okada over to the announcer’s table, and sends him crashing into one of them, knee first! Okada makes it back to the ring, only for Omega to meet him with a chop in the corner. Omega drops all of his body weight directly into Okada’s knee, which was hanging off the ropes. Now he’s kicking away at Okada’s back and head, to which the Rainmaker takes in stride. He responds with forearms to Omega, and a nice drop kick to the head of a prone Omega.
Okada with a nice flapjack, dropping Omega chest first into the mat. More forearms from Okada, and he runs the ropes before delivering a nice shoulder tackle into Omega. He attempts his corner DDT, but Omega fights out of it. Okada sends him into the opposing corner, and avoids Omega’s next wave of offense before locking in an STF variation submission. Omega fights and crawls and eventually makes it to the bottom rope to break the hold.
On the outside now, Omega attempts a move off of the barricade, but Okada sends him flying over it. Okada runs towards the barricade, and jumps over it, landing right on Omega. He brings Omega back over the barricade and into the ring. He scales the top rope, and goes to jump at Omega, who blocks it. Okada lands on his feet and each man attempts a Tombstone Piledriver, and Omega reverses it into a roll up for a 2 count. Okada drops Omega on his knee, back of the head first. Okada is back on the top rope, and he goes for the elbow drop, but Omega rolls out of the way to avoid it. Omega hits a pump handle backbreaker to the champion next. Okada rolls to the outside, and Omega is quick to hit a baseball slide, sending Okada to the ground. Then, Omega jumps to the top rope and delivers a beautiful moonsault to the outside, landing right on Okada!
Back in the ring, Omega comes off the top rope with a dropkick to the back of Okada’s head, which gets a 2 count. A dead lift powerbomb is next, and Okada kicks out again. Omega goes for the snap dragon suplex, and Okada fights out of it. Omega slaps Okada’s back and attempts the One Winged Angel, but Okada punches his way free. He forearms Omega, who grabs him and goes for his You Can’t Escape fireman’s carry/moonsault, but Okada gets the knees up in time to block up. He follows that with a runner uppercut.
Both men meet in the middle, exchanging forearms next. Omega slaps Okada in the face, and Okada gives a nasty sounding forearm to the jaw. Omega with one of his own and a chop next. Omega runs at Okada in the corner, and sends him face first into the turnbuckle pad. Omega climbs the top rope, and Okada is quick to meet him up there. Omega fights back, and he tries to lift Okada up for something! Okada is fighting back, though, as he holds onto the ropes.
Omega is back on the mat, and he attacks the back once again. Now behind Okada, he looks to repeat his Snap Dragon spot from Wrestle Kingdom, but Okada remembers it too well. One too many times to try, Omega is eventually grabbed by Okada, and dropped on the apron with a Death Valley Driver! The impact on Omega’s back is nasty. Omega attempts to get back into the ring, but Okada prevents him from doing so. Okada runs at Omega, and shotgun dropkicks him into the steel barricade! While referee Red Shoes keeps the Bucks back, Okada goes under the ring and grabs a table.
He sets it up, as Omega is back in the ring now. Okada looks to back drop Omega to the outside through the table, just like in the Tokyo Dome, but Omega sees it coming and sets Okada up for a powerbomb to the outside! Okada escapes, and Omega chops away at his chest against the ropes. He runs at Okada, who tries it once again, but Omega fights back. He attempts a dive off the rope, but Okada is quick to hit a beautiful dropkick to Omega.
Okada goes to the top rope and hits his elbow drop clean on Omega’s chest. The Rainmaker pose follows, as the Osaka faithful show their approval. Okada attempts the Rainmaker next, and Omega sends him into the corner. Omega sets Okada onto the top turnbuckle. He drives his elbow into the side of Okada’s head, and then hits a nice superplex to the mat below! Omega makes the cover, but Okada kicks out. Omega drops Okada’s head across his knee next, as he looks to maintain this level of control.
He signals for the V Trigger, but Okada moves out of the way and attempts a German Suplex. Omega counters out and hits the V Trigger. He goes for the One Winged Angel, and Okada counters with a Rainmaker attempt. Omega gives Okada a back slide and looks for another V Trigger, but Okada catches his leg instead. He flips Omega around and hits several German Suplexes. He goes for the Rainmaker again, and hits it this time! Red Shoes makes the cover, but Omega kicks out! Not many were kicking out of the Rainmaker at this time, so Omega doing so again after Wrestle Kingdom is very cool.
Okada sends Omega against the ropes, preparing for a dropkick. Omega sees it coming and counters into a sit out powerbomb instead! Osaka is loud for this one, as both men look for the next step. Omega comes at Okada, who responds with a boot to the face. Omega hits a hard chop to the chest, and goes for the Snap Dragon Suplex again. Okada counters into a Rainmaker attempt, but Omega avoids it again and finally hits the Snap Dragon.
Okada grabs Omega and places him on the top rope, and dropkicks him to the outside. Okada follows him to the ringside area, and he places Omega across the table still set up. He climbs back on the apron, and scales the top turnbuckle. He dives off, hitting an elbow drop onto Omega, and that barely broke the table! The impact of that move seems to have taken as much out of Okada as it did to Omega. Okada brings Omega back into the ring, and he’s right back on the top turnbuckle. He hits a shotgun dropkick to Omega that drops him instantly. That’s only enough for a 2 count for the Rainmaker. Sliding dropkicks to Omega from Okada, and Omega is able to get his arm under the rope to break the count.
Omega tries slapping the chest of Okada, but the champion just shrugs it all off. He grabs the wrist and hits a short arm Rainmaker, while maintaining wrist control. Another one by Okada, despite Omega’s attempts to fight it off. Omega is fighting to get back to his feet, as Okada just watches like a predator closing in on its prey. Cody Rhodes and the rest of Bullet Club have arrived, and Cody is looking to throw in the towel to save Omega – or rather, screw up his chances, as Cody’s jealousy of Omega at this time is apparent. A power play in Bullet Club.
Omega is back up though, with a V Trigger and a Poisonrana! Bullet Club, and most of Osaka, are willing Omega on to continue. He is back to his feet, and he goes for the V Trigger again, but Okada catches him with a nice dropkick! He goes for the Rainmaker, and Omega crushes him with a nice V Trigger! Another to the back of the head, and Omega gets Okada up for the One Winged Angel, but Okada is able to flip out of it and hit an uppercut. He runs the ropes, and Omega hits him again with a V Trigger! Omega gets Okada up and finally hits the One Winged Angel! Red Shoes counts, but at the very last possible second, Okada gets his foot on the rope! Osaka is losing their fucking minds.
The replay shows just how hard Red Shoes had to catch himself on that nearfall. Cody on the outside looks pissed. Omega brings Okada to his knees, and sets up for the V Trigger, but Okada grabs his wrist and hits the Rainmaker out of nowhere! Okada is up first, and Omega follows closely behind. They stand in the middle, and exchange forearms once again. The fighting spirit of both men should never be in question. Omega’s forearms drop Okada to the mat, and he hits a Snap Dragon Suplex to follow up. He runs at Okada, who hits him with another beautiful dropkick!
Forearms from Okada follow, as Omega collapses to the mat. Back up, he hits two V Triggers to Okada, who somehow kicks out! Okada is in the corner, and Omega comes at him with a vicious V Trigger to the back of the head. He places Okada on the top rope, and gets him in position for the One Winged Angel, but Okada counters out of it with a Tombstone! Okada screams to the heavens and gets Omega in place for the Rainmaker. As he goes to hit it, Omega doesn’t avoid it, but simply collapses out of pure exhaustion. Okada’s force sends him across the ring.
Okada grabs Omega and tries for the Tombstone once again, but Omega is fighting it off using all of his body weight. Omega explodes with several forearms to the jaw. Cody looks on from the outside in total disgust. Omega drives his knee right into Okada’s face, as we hit the 55 minute mark. Only 5 minutes remain. A V Trigger takes Okada to the mat and he tries the One Winged Angel again. Okada slips out and dropkicks Omega on the back of the head. Okada hits the spinning Tombstone to Omega. He hits a German Suplex that only gets a 2 count.
Both men are down, fighting on sheer will and adrenaline. Okada is up first, and he brings Omega back to his feet, who grabs Okada in a small package for a razor close 2 count. Okada dropkicks Omega into the turnbuckle! Okada goes for the Rainmaker again, but Omega grabs the ropes to stop him. He elbows the head of Okada to break free. He hits the Snap Dragon Suplex, and Okada again with that damn great dropkick! Okada hits the Rainmaker flush, but he’s too exhausted to capitalize! Omega is completely out, but Okada is also down. The time keeper counts down, as Okada crawls towards Omega. Just before he can make the cover and claim victory, the time limit expires! A motherfucking 60 minute draw.
What a battle. First off, let’s get this out of the way: this wasn’t a genre breaking watershed moment in the same vein as their Wrestle Kingdom match. That said, this was still a fantastic piece of business, and a worthy followup! Both Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega showed excellent grit here, pushing and shoving each other to the furthest limits either man had been to up to this point in their careers. Kenny once again proved his doubters wrong in delivering a fantastic showing against the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, and showing once again how he is one of the best wrestlers on the planet.
As for Okada? Like he needs more proof of being the greatest of all time, but he happily added to his resume on this occasion. This match built on the themes of their first encounter, with Okada slowly picking Omega apart, and Omega responding in kind with explosive offense. Okada even surprised everyone with that elbow drop to the outside. Some of Hiroshi Tanahashi clearly rubbed off on him.
Kenny looked incredibly gutsy, taking all of Okada’s no nonsense offense, but coming back stronger each time. Still, the clock got the better of him, and he simply couldn’t keep to his feet against the best big match wrestler in the business. To his credit, Omega held Okada off long enough for the match to go to the time limit, and that in essence is the story of this match.
Omega may have once again failed to defeat Okada for the championship, but unlike in the Tokyo Dome, Okada didn’t defeat him, either. Omega wasn’t strong enough this time to take the title away, but by going the full 60 minutes, he proved that he was worthy enough to stand toe to toe with the best damn wrestler on the planet.
A match this good doesn’t have many negatives, but they do exist. All of the work done in the beginning of the match to Omega’s back and Okada’s leg meant nothing by the finishing stretch. I think adding that layer back in during the finish line would’ve brought this match an air of unpredictability that it did not have once the 55 minute call was announced. Oh, and Cody Rhodes’ involvement here was not needed for the story being told in the ring.
While these two men didn’t destroy the world like they did in January, what they did do was avoid sequelitis – in that this sequel was damn fine. Up until the 5 minute call, it didn’t feel needless drawn out. It felt natural, like a true tug of war between two artists. The crowd was into it all night long, and both men put on tremendous individual performances. You really can’t ask for much more than that.