Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay

[8.0] "It's one of those special occasions where the Junior Heavyweight Champion gets to prove himself against the Heavyweight Champion, and it's such a fascinating match-up. It starts off fairly uninteresting, but as soon as Okada starts targeting the neck, things get really good. Okada's work on the neck is great, his character work is great. Ospreay trying too hard and striking anime-like poses is annoying, and while his selling certainly is spotty, it's convincing enough and his offense looks pretty damn good. Him taking two Rainmakers and still countering the third one is kinda overkill but gives you a hint at Ospreay's direction while letting you know just how bright his future would be. ****"

[4.0] "I mean... I GUESS everything was executed fine, but it's just so fucking formulaic and feels just so much like every other New Japan main event I have problems with. Everything's technically impressive, but hell no I'm not taking this silly shit seriously when Ospreay's flipping and flopping around everywhere, and without his usual selling and thought put into his best performances to balance anything out. Okada was pretty mediocre too, and he just felt like he was going through the motions throughout this whole thing. Just a greatest hits routine all around. **"

[10.0] "[5 Stars] It was Ospreay's first match against Okada as a heavyweight contender. And they delivered."

[8.0] "Good encounter. The action was very solid, Ospreay did some cool moves and the last minutes were great."

[10.0] "One of the best matches that came from this G1. Ospreay was incredible here, Okada dominated but made Ospreay look insanely good, they teased the winner at multiple points in the match and the crowd just loved this. Absolutely amazing match."

[9.0] "Great final stretch of this match where for a moment, it might actually seem like ospreay could win but in the end it wasnt enough"

[6.0] "Both guys in their weakest periods as wrestlers in my opinion but there is a skeleton of something very interesting here that is better capitalized on in future matches. The AEW Continental Classic match specifically feels like what you get when you completely optimize the layout of this match. Okada works well on top domineering on Ospreay but he deviates from it too quickly. Ospreay's offense at first feels like it is constructed well but later, things tilt sideways and get kinda overkill without reason. Finishing stretch is very bells and whistle-y, technically executed well and has solid logical escalation to it but because of how repetitive the main event style was at the time, it rings a bit hollow."

[10.0] "I feel this was like the first time that Ospreay came out of the junior division and showed that he is clearly so fucking good and able to wrestle in a high level at the heavyweight division. Not only that, but this was the first time Okada and Ospreay REALLY connect in ring and did a amazing match, the other three was like...not in the same level. Insane chemistry with unbeliavable spots and a huge quality, NOT a five stars match, but insane to think that this start one of the best feuds in the pandemic era...insane. Shout out to both wrestlers."

[10.0] "Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada G1 2019 was amazing. Their in-ring chemistry was great. They wrestled at such a high pace. 20 mins of phenomenal wrestling."

[8.0] "There's an odd bit of hate for this match, but I personally believe this might be Okada and Opsreay's best match together. Even to this day you still feel like Opsreay can win, and finally overcome what is basically his big brother. There are so many incredible counters and reversals, and it takes place in front of another fantastic Korakuen hall crowd. 4.2+ Stars."

[10.0] "This was the match I was most looking forward to in this G1 and it didn't disappoint. Its always fun to watch stablemates go against each other in tournaments like the G1 but even among stablemates, Okada and Ospreay have such a special relationship, To top it off, they are also the Jr. (Ospreay) and Heavyweight (Okada) Champions at the moment. The Big Brother Vs Little Brother rivalry between Okada and Ospreay is a compelling dynamic, add to that, the wonderful chemistry between them, and they got me hooked with a captivating narrative. I also immensely enjoyed the presentation of Ospreay's growth as a wrestler here, the way he tweaks his style, his noticeable mass gain, and I wholly appreciate that he incorporated more strikes and power moves to his arsenal. Ospreay surprised Okada here, Okada thought this would be a relatively easy victory but Ospreay was able to match Okada's physicality and skill and at times even outwrestled him. The action here was fantastic, the match was beautifully structured, superbly paced and the execution near perfect, almost flawless from beginning to end. It wasn't a particularly long match, it was just a little longer than 20 mins, but they managed to packed in a ton of spectacular action and told an excellent story at the same time. Amazing crowd, more Pro Ospreay and a fantastic commentary work from Kelly, Romero and Charlton. One of the best G1 matches of all time and easily my favourite match from the 2019 G1 edition. *****"

[10.0] "Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada have had many matches over the last 5 years that have told a long-term story of Ospreay's growth as a wrestler. There's a lot of people who consider this match to be their best together and you might not be wrong there. This match also has a boost from a hot K-Hall crowd who were lit on fire by the GOAT-level nearfalls. The storytelling was different this time around because this wasn't the older/little brother dynamic like their other matches up until this point. Ospreay was on the level of Okada this time and a serious threat. The opening 5-7 minutes of the match had some mat wrestling and control work by Okada. He turned up his cockiness an extra notch to perfectly counter Ospreay's babyface energy. The pacing here was expertly done. It was on the slow side but they did small things to keep you hooked and gradually built up the pace and impact behind the moves. One outstanding moment was when Okada was no-selling Ospreay's chops but got brought to his knees with one blistering sounding chop later on. The counters got more creative and crazy in the second half. It was jaw-dropping at times as whenever they started to speed up it hit you because Okada had paced the match wonderfully. The tree of woe and Oscutter on the floor was a great transition into the closing stretch. This is one of the matches that has a closing stretch that is so unbelievably well worked it could compare to just about anything. The dropkicks from Okada, Ospreay backflipping out of lariats, Ospreay kneeing Okada in the head before hitting a Tombstone, it's downright incredible. Okada would even rotate out of midair to counter Ospreay's Stormbreaker and put himself back in control with a short-armed lariat. I almost jumped up when Ospreay attempted one last time for a Stormbreaker in the closing stretch but Okada would escape once again. I didn't even get a chance to mention Ospreay's selling of his neck and Okada's facial expressions, both of which added even more drama to the match. Both men have match styles that are rightfully criticized from time to time (Okada's being long and formulaic, Ospreay's being self-indulgent). But together they worked magic as they combined all of their best skills. *****"

[4.0] "Extremely dull and filled to the brim with reversals. I think Okada is a modern great, one of the best wrestlers I've ever seen in my life, but Ospreay brings out the most generic attributes of his style and none of the strongest aspects of his pacing, physicality and storytelling. I remember little about this match but feeling annoyed and bored throughout, which is a sadly common experience with their matches throughout the years, regardless of the circumstances or the position on the card. Sad."

[7.0] "The first fifteen minutes of this match were pretty uninteresting and this is the worst thing about NJPWs style. As much as I want to rate the match higher because of the incredible last 6 minutes, I just cannot rate it higher than 7/10. I really wish NJPW would start putting more effort into the entirety of their matches and not just the closing stretch."

[6.0] "Not terrible, just one where I'll never get the all-timer appeal. It's better than a total exhibition like Ospreay/SANADA but still suffers from me just not liking the guy's offence or mannerisms much. Okada is Okada, not really getting anything from him in this match that you haven't before. ***"

[10.0] "Okada vs. Ospreay is always sure of great matches, this was the first match I watched between them and at the time I thought by far the best match in that G1, what an incredible 2019 these two made especially Ospreay with great runs both in the BOSJ and in the G1 (*****)"

[9.0] "WOO what a match! The epitome of the appeal of a Heavyweight versus Junior Heavyweight encounter, especially when Kazuchika Okada is the arrogant figure in the larger role. Will Ospreay was in the midst of the most important year of his career, as he wrestled perhaps his greatest match against Shingo Takagi at Best of the Super Juniors and wrestled the arguable most influential as far as his character development was concerned against Kota Ibushi. As he walked into this G1 as the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, however, his block left one career-defining encounter looming: A battle with CHAOS stablemate and leader Kazuchika Okada. They played the dynamic up perfectly, with the typical G1 CHAOS intensity as stablemates through caution to the wind and did everything imaginable to secure the W. That includes Okada targeting the already injured neck of Ospreay. What unfolded was a captivating story that saw the crowd get completely behind Ospreay and both wrestlers deliver absolute insanity both in and out of the ring. I found it to also be of note that Ospreay really limited his high-flying in this one, albeit with attempts that Okada had a counter for. A nice wrinkle that continued to show how ready Ospreay was to become a heavyweight. Throw in an INCREDIBLE closing sequence and you have yourself yet another G1 classic. 4.5 stars, 9 out of 10."

[10.0] "While *****3/4 ( that means 11, 5/10) Is really too much this Is still a banger. The best think of this masterpiece Is the reverseals, they countered the rainmeiker and the stormbreaker in every way possible and while Okada started this match underrating Ospreay at the end It was constrict to fight at his best to beat Will that also showed us WTF of a superstars (Ospreay) he was/Is/Will be (look at the word pun) *****1/4 (5, 25)"

[10.0] "An incredible match, which confirms the excellent chemistry between Okada and Ospreay. In addition to a perfect duration (neither too condensed nor too excessive) those two gave us wonderful exchanges and a really fast pace (quite atypical for Okada, but it worked very well here)"

[10.0] "Best pacing I have ever seen in a match that went just above 20 minutes. The sequences were unbelievable and the near falls were just the right amount. An ideal match to be recommended for someone who is just getting into pro wrestling. Not sure it was at the same level as some of the other matches that got the same WON rating though. Don't get me wrong, it is still a 5+ star match in my book but *****1/4 is the rating I would give it."

[3.0] "Always feel strange about this super hyped NJPW/Ospreay matches when I watch them and they just... leave me cold. At least this one wasn't so long but frankly it still felt long, highly athletic but nothing we haven't seen and no real grit to it, at least not to my way of looking at it. Ospreay goofy exaggerated expressions kill it for me every time, can't take the guy seriously anymore."

[10.0] "This match was perfect. The pace and the reversals were fantastic. Ospreay was pushed to his limit by one of closest friends and has proved that he can hang with the heavyweights."

[9.0] "I was definitely underrated this the first time I saw it, I still don't see at is the earth shattering 5.75 stars match that it was hyped it as, but it was pretty damn fantastic. This felt much more well paced than any of their previous matches with the 22 minute runtime, no time feels wasted, and the smooth counters and tense near falls end just before things start to become excessive."

[9.0] "What a fantastic match between Ospreay and Okada. Per usual really. They do some good, good magic together. ****1/2"

[8.0] "This never had a dull moment and could have gone either way ? which allowed for some crazy nearfalls down the stretch. They had Korakuen buying every fall and the crowd reached a fever pitch with counter after counter after counter. Sure, some may call some of the final sequences dumb, but I loved every single one of them."

[10.0] "Awesome match between Ospreay and Okada here in what may be their best encounter together yet of all the ones they've had, and yet god knows they've had some great matches so it's a risky statement I'm making here because some people will probably disagree with me but personally I've never enjoyed an Ospreay vs Okada match as much as I did watching this one so that's my opinion. These two guys have a phenomenal chemistry for years, since the very first time they stepped into the same ring and it's not surprising considering the legendary wrestlers they are but I wanted to point it out anyway because with them you're sure to never be disappointed when you see them against each other. This match is a true masterclass and that's what all NJPW main events should be like instead of going on for forty minutes for nothing, here in twenty minutes they did everything they wanted to do and it was a blast to watch. Perfectly executed, smooth and rhythmic with suspense and an invested crowd, this match deserves all the praise it gets."

[7.0] "One of the reasons I cannot consider Okada the greatest wrestler of all time is his performance in matches like this. Ospreay is in his peak form as the guy who can do a lot of flips and also strike pretty hard when need be, but Okada's performance is extremely lackluster. The last 10 minutes feel less like an epic final stretch and more like both guys trying to fit as much of their stuff in as they can. The psychology of Ospreay fearing the Rainmaker was good enough, but Okada did not seem invested here in the slightest. The match falters from a decent amount of missteps in the early going, and I have never been fully sold on Ospreay as a seller. Decent enough match, but nothing really clicked for me."

[10.0] "This match took a while to get going, it had a couple of sloppy spots, but then it goes into completely insane territory. So many reversals of finishers. Definitely one of the best matches of the year. Anywhere from ****3/4-*****+"

[10.0] "This is a fantastic match, but *****3/4? Dang. Anyways Ospreay is crazy. He had a neck injury, has a classic against Ibushi and then this! The ending with the reversals of the Rainmaker and Stormbreaker were absolutely fantastic, and probably the best finishing sequence of 2019. I disagreed with the result as I feel Ospreay should have beat Okada or at least go to a time limit draw. It was great, but I do not think this is a 5 star match. For me something is missing, I have no clue what but that is just my opinion. ****3/4."

[9.0] "It's unbelievable to see that Will Osprey pruduced two great main event two rounds in a row. This match is great, two CHAOS members who knew each other very well could make the match very enjoyable. (*****)"

[10.0] "Okada has got to a point where I? m just speechless every time he has a big match. I just don? t have nothing to say but PERFECTION. *****1/2"

[4.0] "Again. again again and again. Where is the admiration from? We have already seen it. Time after time the same thing. A match trick is how Ospreay tries to get out of the Rainmaker and that's it. They have a personal friendship, but it is not felt at all in a match. ***1/2"

[9.0] "Really good match with very smart and slick counters in the finishing stretch, and really exciting spots throughout. That chop was blistering. I'm docking down a point because I didn't feel like there was much of a story told, and Ospreay's selling is spotty. He sold the neck like hell at the 5 minute mark then mostly shrug off a tombstone piledriver, etc. His facial expressions are in the over the top category, which is a style (Omega is another example), but contrary to Omega I feel like he takes himself seriously and feels the need to get the spotlight on him, which leads to selling like "sitting with wide eyes after getting dropkicked" and "moving lots on the floor with wide eyes after a rainmaker". I don't feel like Ospreay does exhaustion, being stunned, wooziness, etc. very well, while Omega could, and Okada can too (sometimes a bit too much). If your lows aren't that low, and you feel desperate to connect with the audience at all times, it's going to feel too much like performing and not enough like acting (or, you know, being in danger). But great match."

[10.0] "After a re-watch, i change my rating to a 10, that's gotta be one of the best matches of 2019. The neck work by Okada is great as well as Ospreay's offence and, my god, that's one of a chop by Ospreay. As usual, nothing really special happened at first, but everything accelerated during the middle and the end of the match with those beautiful sequences. One hell of a match between one of the best best wrestlers of 2019 Will Ospreay, and his mentor, one of the best wrestlers of 2010's decade, Kazuchika Okada. *****1/2"

[9.0] "The hype is real. This was extraordinary, but what else would you expect when the 2019 Wrestler of the Year and the 2010s' Wrestler of the Decade face off? This had the standard slow big-Okada-match start with only a few exciting blips thrown in, but the match eventually picked up quite a bit as both guys began introducing their signature moves and doing some subtle character work to put over their friendly rivalry as the backdrop to all their incredible interactions (since Okada is basically Ospreay's mentor, having brought him into NJPW and Chaos). That first 1/3rd was good but nothing special, while the middle 1/3rd was fantastic, and the final 1/3rd was just out-of-this-world beautiful. Both guys were at 100%, pulling off some incredibly creative and complex spots all with absolutely perfect chemistry. Not a single step was misplaced. Both men were equally incredible whether they were dominating or selling, since both knew exactly how to deliver moves with ridiculous impact and realistic technique as well as how to sympathetically sell and get the crowd (myself included) invested in their struggle. Okada's selling when paired with Ospreay's killer offence is a match made in heaven, and watching both guys go 50/50 at the end as they frantically countered and evaded each other while throwing out those absurdly powerful bombs was the sort of thing I could leave on replay for hours. My only criticism is that this blows their NJ Cup match out of the water, yet they nabbed a few spots directly from it, and those spots thus felt slightly underwhelming for being copy-and-pasted; basically, I would have preferred if the NJ Cup match never happened (even though it was great in its own right), since then this match would have felt even more special. ****1/4"

[5.0] "Mediocre for Ospreay, pretty poor for Okada. Man, Ospreay though. We know you can do moves and you are genuinely impressive, but would you mind telling a story or having believable fundamentals? This is the nearfall laden, finisher spamming Meltzerbait match that the internet seems to love. Good for them, I suppose. No hard feelings. I can't say I understand the appeal of it, though. Even so, as far as matches of this type goes, I enjoyed this far far more than other Meltzerbait. Possibly on Okada's influence or the fact that there seemed to at least be some semblance of pacing. Daps where it's deserved, but there's a certain ceiling I think this sort of maximalist wrestling can hit"

[9.0] "The rare sight of a mostly grounded, timid, cautious, and far more introverted Will brought an entirely different feel to this match, helping it stand out from their previous two bouts. Even working hurt, Will has put on two of the best matches of the tournament in a row, and is the only man more consistent in this G1 than Ishii thus far (truly a distinguished feat). I wish Okada worked bully more often, as Okada is, at heart, still that cocky punk he was years ago albeit validated with years of success and experience. Okada has been lightly jogging through this years G1, so a genuine struggle was a breath of fresh air. To all the irritating naysayers that claim Will can't effectively sell because apparently acrobatics invalidate limbwork, Will can *actually* flip around while *seriously* hurt. This match saw both men in irregular roles compared to their standard fare, and the ending sequences legitimately had me believing Will could pull off the upset. If this went to a draw and Okada had accentuated the bullying a bit more, this could've been even better than it was. Fuck Ishii vs Moxley, this is the match to watch. Exceptional. Both men's best match of the tournament thus far. ****1/2"

[10.0] "This match was fantastic, nearly at the Match of the Year level. And if Ospreay had won, it would have hit that mark with room to spare. Alas, it was not to be, but Will's time will come."

[9.0] "First 10 minutes: 6. 5/10 Last 10-12 minutes: 10/10 Overall: 8. 5 or 9/10 One of the best matches of this year's G1"

[7.0] "I gave this match *** 3/4 stars out of five. The most that this match did to me is show me that is show me that they could have an all-time great feud if given a proper series."

[8.0] "8. 7/10 - Best of G129 : Damn they were this close to giving me what I want. I am still waiting for anything this G1 to come even close to last year's G1's classics, in fact I'm still waiting for any match this year to come close to last year's best. NJPW has really not measured up in 2019. But still, it isn't completely devoid of great wrestling and this match is proof of that. My only problem with this match is that it went straight from "Act 1" to "Act 3". That forgotten "Act 2" left a mark and thus I couldn't get into what would have been an astounding Act 3. That's all really, other than that this match was an absolute treat. Top-notch wrestling ability just seeps out of these two, captivating work any way you look at it. It was one solid Act 2 away from being a classic."

[7.0] "This was solid but jesus Ospreay, get rid of this goofy shit. I'm so tired of seeing these dumb facial expressions and huge flips while his neck is supposed to be near dead."

[8.0] "There was a lot to like in this match: a good ring psicology by Okada focusing on Ospreay's neck; a compelling heavy vs. new heavy story, with Okada being an amazing storyteller first by no selling Ospreay's chops at all, and then falling victim to them some minutes afterwards; some awesome transitions and counters. Those elements made together a great match. But not a classic, and to me the issue is always the same: I struggle a lot to buy in Ospreay flipping around while being supposedly beaten up or injured. He must evolve, despite the fact that Meltzer is salivating to make him Omega's heir in 5+ stars matches as workrate goes. Nonetheless, this was extremely positive as a main event. ****"

[9.0] "I? ve been waiting for them to have their standout match now, after watching them have very good matches multiple times now. They finally did it with this one, and then some. I wasn? t thinking I was going to rate this as high as I did, but I adored the pacing they did the entire way through. The respect between the two CHAOS teammates early with both allowing the other to re-enter the ring, this devolving into Okada smartly working on Osperay? s neck (to which he sold very well throughout, along with pure exhaustion), the excellent looking counters peppered in until we got an electric finish that could rival any hot stretch of any match this year. There were some amazing moments here, like that MASSIVE chop Ospreay threw which crackled like a bolt of lightning, the amazing tombstone reversal by Ospreay, Okada reversing storm breaker into a rainmaker, god there was so much by the end to love here. Okada may not be my favorite guy in the company, but he damn well is the best closer in the business when it comes to the end of a really hot match. This was stellar and outstanding, one of the best matches so far and it? s amazing the quality we got so far, and the quality of match we keep getting from a now banged up Will Ospreay. ****3/4"

[8.0] "Another cap in the feather of Ospreay, who is in the middle of a great, great year. Both guys brought it big time, adding some extra ompf to their strikes, Okada throwing some forceful elbows and Ospreay threw a nasty chop that would make anyone cringe. The paced the match so well too. It was slow but they didn't save everything for the finish, there would be great sequences every so often which would then be followed up and built up as the match progressed. The transitions were extremely clever all match. The set up from the tree of woe into the tombstone countered into the moonsault off the guardrail was fantastic. The closing stretch was, of course, fantastic. Okada times the near falls to perfection. One of the best G1 matches of 2019. ****"

[6.0] "As I was watching this match unfold, I found myself getting angrier & angrier. I really hate this modern day booking trope where guys all too often strive to put on a Meltzer five star match. If every match is an epic encounter, then no match is an epic encounter. I feel like we've already seen a dozen of these "finisher-counter-kickout" style matches in this year's G1 & it's really watering down the industry as a whole. A match where guys are pushed beyond the limits of what you feel is humanly possible should be saved for the conclusion of a monumental story that has had months of build & emotion put into it. Okada & Ospreay seem to be given the "you're going to have a IWC five star match" booking regularly and I feel like both guys are worse for it."

[3.0] "I don't think this is good at all. Will Ospreay's facial expressions are incredibly goofy and fake, looks like he's never been in a real fight in his life. Okada is getting really stale and formulaic, all these reversals and counters have been done in his matches about 50 times before, I know exactly what is coming before he does it. There are a few flashes of fire in this match that make it just about watchable for me, but the overall impression is wrestling created by a soulless AI. The Ospreay vs. Ibushi match was far better."

[8.0] "This fell a little short of my expectations. The first part was generic New Japan stuff, but it really picked up towards the end. Ospreay generally delivers big in matches like this, and he definitely tried to have an instant classic here. But sometimes his flippitty offense takes you away from the overall physicality of the match. In terms of storytelling, they sold the perfect angle - Ospreay's transition from the Jr Heavyweight division to the Heavyweight division; and his eternal struggle to step out of the shadow of his CHAOS leader. I pretty much love it when Okada assumes the dominating role in a match, and this was no exception. I would have given it a 9, but I am just trying to balance the unnatural amounts of 10 people are spamming at this match. In my opinion this was not as good as it could have been, but still my third/fourth favourite match of the G1 so far, below Mox v Ishii, Ibushi v Ospreay. 4. 25*"

[1.0] "Pretty much exactly how I imagined this match would be. Okada doing some super forgettable work on top, Ospreay getting some flippy comebacks w/ a few strikes here & there, and then a finishing gear full of counters that we've seen about 10 million times already in New Japan. A match that felt longer than it was, and a match that sure wasn't for my tastes. Extremely generic & predictable stuff."

[9.0] "It was from the fourth match with Omega that Okada didn't enjoy me. He just had to find the opponent and the right motivation, then the rest followed. It was a riot of technique, agility, fighting spirit and determination. Absolutely fantastic"