Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega

[10.0] "What a fucking physical match man, this was also freaking amazing. Jericho and Omega demolished one another in order to win the match. Jericho had probably his best match in a long time at that point and Omega added another instant classic to his resume. Also, knowing the fact that this match was one of the key factors to leading to the creation of AEW makes me love this match even more. This had several amazing factors, strikes, reversals, brutality, drama, sequences, moments, and many more. Jericho smoothly countered a hurricanrana attempted from Omega and he reversals it by locking in at the Walls of Jericho. Omega then went for a springboard crossbody of some kind on Jericho but he moved out of the way and Omega came crashing down hard through the table, it looked brutal for Omega. To make things worse, Jericho quickly locked in another walls of Jericho, and just for the heck of it, he shoved the ref and attacked a random crew member. Both just continued to brawl on the floor and use anything to hurt each other with, and Omega delivered a wicked jumping stomp onto Jericho while he was under a table. I just stop writing cause I'm just locked in to the match after that point, but I will say I started dying when Jericho just said "shut your mouth fuck face." It caught me so off guard it cracked my shit up. After getting cracked in the skull with the chair within the corner several times, Omega started bleeding badly. The knee strikes Omega were delivering to Jericho were so freaking stiff and brutal sounding."

[10.0] "Match Quality alone its a 9 to me , but when everything is factored in Jericho being a WWE Superstar wrestling Tokyo Dome vs the Best Wrestler to not go to WWE in Omega, the factor that this match itself made TK realize a counter product to WWE was still possible and we got AEW , that and this match very much living up to the hype makes it a 10 for me just a great one here Jericho plays the heel so well as the Alpha, he was in NJPW in the early 90s so its a proper return for one of the best, Omega is the top guy here and he shows it as he sells most of this match beautifully, Jericho sidesteps a dive putting Omega through the English Commentary Table slaps Red Shoes then Slaps Young Lion Umino and locks him in the walls for his daddy to see was one of my fav spots of this, Omega gets going with some brutal sounding V-Triggers before ending it with a Chair to the back of Jericho as he was going for the lionsault and then One Winged Angel onto that same Chair for the 3, I like how Jericho likely wouldve won if he wasnt struggling to et the cover off the codebreaker, so much in this match was perfect."

[10.0] "[5 Stars] What a classic match, Jericho really came through with the best match of his career. And to think that without this match, we might not have had AEW. In short, legendary."

[10.0] "Whole build-up to this match was absolutely glourious considering Jericho's return to the New Japan's ring after over two decades and match itself also delivered. Chris was still able to handle a great bout and offer some extras to the general reception."

[10.0] "I remember the build for this. Felt like a huge crossover dream match that just never happened before AEW came along, and the match itself also delivered big time. Mainly thanks to Y2J actually; attacking Red Shoes' son and mocking the Kenny chant are just a couple of the things he did that stuck with me long after the match ended."

[10.0] "Awesome match with a heated build that deliverd on all fronts and it also kick started a whole ass promotion in the united states. Jericho unlike the last couple of years is at his best here and Kenny is as great as he always is. Fantastic match."

[9.0] "Minus a point for a miscommunication with the rope, maybe I don't know something about NO DQ rule in NJPW, otherwise a delightful match. Jericho is showing class even at this age, Omega is awesome as always. Both showed some fun brawling and flashy spots."

[7.0] "This match was cool. I expected to be wowed with such a high rating but the match wasnt the greatest. There were some confusing spots, like how are there count-outs and rope breaks but this is no dq match? Also, why was Chris taking pictures of Kenny instead of attacking him. Spots that are nonsensical ruin the match for me."

[6.0] "When I first watched this match back in 2018 it felt like a big deal, but I've become more discerning over time and it really doesn't live up to the acclaim. Nonsensical psychology, loud spotcalling, and sloppy brawling define this match and it doesn't justify an over 30 minute runtime. In retrospect, this match feels like the death knell of NJPW's hot period overseas because it prefigures the formation of AEW. It's hard to buy this match as some sort of brutal bloodfeud when Omega and Jericho are obviously chummy and Omega ran to Jericho's podcast to discuss how they put the match together at the first opportunity he had. At least Jericho's heel work is kinda amusing."

[9.0] "This was an awesome match. The stipulation played a big part to hide some of Jerichos weaknesses. Both men brought the intensity and the weapon use was great. I dont understand how there were rope breaks and count outs, but that doesnt totally take away from the awesome experience."

[5.0] "I will say, this was a good idea to make this a no DQ match to kind of hide some of Jericho's deficiencies as he's gotten older. I get New Japan don't do lots of no DQ matches but there doesn't seem to be any consistency in the rules here. Rope breaks suddenly matter when its convenient, there's count outs for some reason? I don't get it. They also just obviously screw up a spot where Omega's supposed to blade when he hits the chair in the ropes and so they do the spot 3 times until Omega actually gets it right. Incredibly bloated runtime too for what's largely just brawling in between big spots. The big table spot looks so bad because Jericho obviously is just jumping into it."

[6.0] "I believe this was my first exposure to Kenny Omega and I have to say that I remember it being a great one. However upon rewatch of this there I believe that although this was a good match, it is far from each of these guys best as Jericho is pretty out of is prime here, but he does make up for it with some great character work though it does get a bit much at times. Also I really hate that rope break out of the One-Winged angel."

[10.0] "Amazing match with brilliant intensity and brutality throughout and loads of big, memorable, spots too. Kenny and Jericho had perfect timing on every move and sold really well. I love Jericho asking the young boys for a towel after Omega sprayed him in the face with cold spray lol"

[9.0] "Jericho proves he can still go, great match. Only few gripes- too much from red shoes here, lots of thigh slaps, and is it no dq or are there rope breaks? Stuff like this definitely keeps it from being a 10, but otherwise it was fun and compelling, with a great finish."

[8.0] "A rope break, count out, telling Jericho to let Kenny go when Omega grabbed the rope...what kind of No DQ match did I just watch? What was New Japan thinking? Such a good match left a bitter taste in my mouth, because of those nonsense "rules". At least Jericho and Omega did their job well"

[8.0] "The structure was excellent, but the match was far too long for what it wanted to express. It was meant to be violent, which is a bit at odds with the "Alpha vs. Omega" or "let's see who's the best" motto. Another problem was the match stipulation, it was a no dq. At the beginning Jericho was scolding the referee for wanting to end Walls of Jericho when Omega touched the ropes, and towards the end Jericho used the ropes to interrupt Omega's pin. Returning to the structure. Okay, a few minutes of brawling outside the ring is good, especially with Omega hitting Don Callis, one of the people closest to him. After that you go into the ring to set up the big spots in the match, the one where Omega does the blade job, the one where Jericho falls through the table, where he had a restraint before he threw himself down. I'm not saying they weren't executed properly, but there was too much dragging. In my opinion, the match should have been a little over 20 minutes. I didn't look at the clock, but it felt like over half an hour. Omega's selling to the back seemed insufficient to me with how long Jericho kept him in submission moves."

[10.0] "Really good no dq match this was a monumental moment in wrestling it set up aew plus it was a really good match Jericho is a top 10 heel all time *****"

[9.0] "This was actually the match that made me check out NJPW for the first time all those years ago. It's not as good as I remember it, but it was still an amazing match. Kenny has had many classics better than this one, but even so Jericho held his own in a New Japan ring really well and the two had a great fight. I don't just say fight in the context of a wrestling match either, these two had a FIGHT. I also noticed a lot of similarities between this and the Omega/Ospreay match from WK17, a match that was definitely influenced by this one. The outsider challenging the homegrown gaijin for the US title and giving him the beating of a lifetime. Other than that, it can't be understated how important this match has been to wrestling as a whole, as without it, I don't think the wrestling world looks the way it does today. This was one of the dominoes that led to the thriving world of pro-wrestling today. ****1/2"

[9.0] "Seeing an attitude era style match worked in NJPW is crazy , it's not the best match of this kind that'd you see but this was really good. Jericho can't keep up with some of the stuff that Kenny does, so there were some sloppy moments but nothing really too bad. I enjoyed Jericho heel antics of going after the young lions in this, and trash talking the crowd/Kenny in this, but Omega was easily the man of the match with his bumping selling and comebacks, he even juiced in this match! .Although I really enjoyed Kenny having to fight his all just to get to the bottom rope after Jericho locked in the walls so late in the match, the logic of rope break in no DQ will always make no sense to me. The OWA on the chair was a really good finish, thankfully it didn't go any longer because it was about to start dragging.****1/2"

[10.0] "The match that made me start following NJPW, Jericho was the perfect draw to face Kenny in his preparation for the world title run, and the best of all is the weight that this match had for PW, thanks to it we had a glimpse of what would become All In and in the future AEW. For the action itself, sensational WK's best match (*****)"

[10.0] "Might be too high for some people, but I don't care. Yes, Jericho was not in his prime anymore, but he delivered as much as I could hope for. Omega meanwhile was at the peak of his powers to many and he showed why he was nearly main eventing the show. A brutal match, helped by the stipulation which allowed both men to think outside of the box in terms of moves, counters and development for the contest. A gritty mix of old school brawling and modern wrestling, this was an important match for the landscape of wrestling we? re currently in, but it also stands on its own."

[6.0] "I cannot wrap my head around all the praise this match has received. I suppose if you look at it in terms of this being a spectacle match or an encounter more than a normal 1v1, then it deserves hype for just how hard it would be to imagine such a match ever taking place just a few years prior. But the thing is as insane as it is to see Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega wrestle one another, the match itself doesn't hold up its end of the bargain. It feels like a completely normal wrestling match. The type of match that these days would main event a Dynamite, not co-main a Tokyo Dome show. Omega's V-Triggers don't feel as impactful, Jericho's Walls don't look all that convincing, it all feels like going through the motions. The mere idea of this match is insane, but the match in execution is normal."

[9.0] "Debut of the painmaker, and Kenny's WK follow-up outing to the classic at 11. Both guys delivered huge and put on a very enjoyable match."

[10.0] "Yeah, I understand that Jericho can't keep up to the speed with Omega but it really doesn't take away from the quality of this match, which is more of a brawl than anything else."

[7.0] "Ive never been a fan of these Jericho New Japan matches, starting from the first one with Omega. Its not just that they are different with more smokes and mirrors from the usual new japan big match, moxley does that too and has worked plenty of matches over there that I enjoyed. I just dont like any of Jericho's matches. They feel very cold to me and formulaic, where I've never been able to see Jericho on anywhere the same level as his opponent where I buy him credibly winning. On top of that, every time I've watched one of these matches, all i can think about is the laundry list of guys who I'd rather see and think deserve to be in the same spot against the same opponent. This match specifically was better than most of his later matches, not only because it was new and novel but also because of the hard work especially from Kenny. Despite my complaints, I do want to acknowledge the importance of this match. There were other factors in the works beforehand (like new japan getting more promotion in the us), but to me this match is one of the most important matches for the industry in at least the last couple decades, setting the stage for so much to come with new japan's exposure/expansion out west, proving the viability of stars outside of wwe, and of course, the formation of aew."

[10.0] "One of the most important matches in wrestling history and the catalyst (along with others) to the creation of AEW. Also, Jericho's best ever match without question for me. Kenny was absolutely untouchable at this time. GOAT. Classic. *****"

[10.0] "The best match of Jericho's career was made with the help of his Winnipeg compatriot, Kenny Omega. They put an awesome brawl that had me hooked throughout it. (*****)"

"[9.0] "It was a great match with many incredible spots. Jericho was dominating the major part of the match, which was perfect decision. Also amazing ending with One-Winged Angel on the chair. Why not 10' Because it was kinda slow in the middle of the match. Moreover, I don't understand no DQ rules in Japan. Why rope breaks and count-outs work' But still entertaining match that stole the show. Not Top-100 for me."

[9.0] "A historic match that would have implications for years to come. Jericho wasn't up to speed with Kenny, hence the stipulation, and it showed in the match but it was still magical to see this."

[9.0] "A great buildup led to an up to grudge match with some incredibly violent spots that made the crowd gasp. Not my favorite bout from a great WK12, but it's one that has some obvious rewatch value. I think the story leading to the match enhanced the actual match itself, but I also don't believe that should take away from it? but instead be a credit to the wrestlers. 4. 5 stars, 9 out of 10."

[9.0] "Definitely not the cleanest match but I still thought it was excellent. Omega bumped like crazy for Jericho and Jericho's heel work here was great. They got around his physical limitations and just had an intense brawl, not sure if it was MOTN, it's very close to Okada/Naito for me but I loved it ****1/2."

[8.0] "An outstanding effort by Jericho in his first match away from WWE since the 1990's. His violent nature and use of weapons not only gradually weaken the top gaijin of New Japan, but also work to Jericho's strengths as a character. In this, Jericho is able to level the playing field without trying to match the in-ring level of the "Best Bout Machine" in Kenny Omega. The No DQ stipulation allowed for the creative juices of both men to seep into the match, making for a style different to both of their norms and one of the most entertaining brawls in recent memory. The high spots, near-falls, reversals, comedic moments are more were effective and didn't feel out of place, a testament to their storytelling capabilities. The third act really puts the feud back into perspective nicely though, with Omega getting busted open finally releasing a sense of urgency to win now, hitting his patented Dragon Suplexes and V-Trigger Knees before attempted the One-Winged Angel. In response, Jericho resorts to whatever means necessary to stop The Cleaner in his tracks: numerous chair shots, a miraculous rope-break, the Codebreaker and a stellar counter into the Walls of Jericho. But after an exhausting 34 minutes, Kenny catches Jericho on the ropes for a definitive One-Winged Angel. This wouldn't feel too out of place if it happened 20 years ago in the Attitude Era, but it still has the excellent match structure of today's standards with minor faults along the way. ****1/4"

[10.0] "This was great and if it wasn't for the creation of AEW this could have easily been Y2J's last match."

[10.0] "There are some minor complaints with this match like Jericho spending too much time playing to the crowd, the 2nd table spot that could've been better, and that Jericho broke the Walls despite the match being no dq. Otherwise, it surpassed the immense hype and became one of the most memorable matches in each of their accomplished careers. It went from ferocious hatred at the beginning to slowing things down, to building slowly to a dramatic finish, that featured the most picture perfect one-winged angel on a chair to finish things off. I don't know if I'd give it 5 stars, but it sure stole the show at Wrestle Kingdom 12. ****3/4"

[7.0] "A little too brawl-heavy for my tastes. Omega bumped his arse off as per usual but a guy like Chris Jericho brings Omega's usual high speed down. I don't think there was really a whole lot here to justify the no DQ stupilation as refs in New Japan are pretty lenient anyway. This match also featured an incredibly obvious dropping and passing of the blade followed by Jericho and Omega repeating the blade job spot three times until they finally got it right. Other than a few decent transitions into the Walls of Jericho, this match was entertaining but not emotionally engaging. You get a certain feeling when a match enters into "good" territory, but I just didn't feel it in this one."

[10.0] "Fantastic match! Chris Jericho played the bully and Omega played the white meat baby face. Jericho destroyed Omega for the entire match and Omega made one of his perfect comebacks. So happy for Jericho in this one! *****"

[9.0] "I expected less from this match. But it was really great. It was almost epic. But the storyline was almost minimal with just the name Y2J and Kenny Omega hyping this match. The match itself was quite good from a no disqualification match which I don't like very much. I prefer a traditional singles match. Although I don't think it deserves a 5 star. Dave thinks so. Anyway great match ****1/2"

[9.0] "A great brawl. Almost (Keyword: Almost) reminiscent of Memphis days. A lot of botches and non-believable spots, but some good hardcore angles, and blood. The crowd was very invested too. Arguably better than their AEW encounter. A 9."

[9.0] "The much anticipated 'co-main event' to Wrestle Kingdom 12 delivered a fantastic and chaotic brawl that was a complete departure, in terms of style, to everything else on the card."

[10.0] "There is a lot of brawling early on until Jericho caught Omega out of a hurricanrana into the walls of Jericho which was kinda nice. It was probably the first real move in the match. I thought it was cool when Omega crashed through the announce table after the dive to the outside. Jericho was a good heel hitting the ref and then attacking his son and putting him in the lion tamer. There was mainly brawling with some spots in between. Another nice one was the foot stomp by Omega on top of Jericho. The two had lots of great counters throughout the match. I really liked when Jericho hit the lionsault and the fans cheered and he smiled because of it. I also liked him doing the standing pin like he used to. I loved when Omega brought out the spray like old times. The crowd was good during the match especially one fan who cheered louder than all the others. I thought it was cool to see Omega bleed. I really liked the spot when Omega V-triggered Jericho from the turnbuckle through a table. Kenny hit a lot of V-triggers that sounded great. The crowd went crazy when Kenny got Jericho up for the one winged angel and Jericho made a great reversal by rolling through into the lion tamer. It was great how Kenny struggled while in the lion tamer. Kenny got a great win when he countered the lionsault and hit the one winged angel onto the chair. The match started slow but really got going midway and kept going from there and had an excellent match."

[5.0] "I really don't understand the appeal of Chris Jericho's NJPW matches in 2018. They're just hardcore brawlfests with little to no actual wrestling. I love both guys involved but this match did nothing for me."

[4.0] "Incredibly overrated match. Nothing special at all. The match spends most of its runtime as a longer version of a brawl you'd see every week in a RAW main event during the Attitude Era, complete with table spot. It tries to be a slow and methodical match and Omega puts in an excellent performance, but Jericho is slow and uninspiring. Match does nothing interesting with the NoDQ format and slowly plods from one spot to the next. Final few minutes are better, but again nothing special or interesting."

[7.0] "The build up of the match and Jericho's heel work on the night were the highlights for me. In the ring it was a bit sloppy, which isn't a huge surprise as Chris is 47. It was a smart move having it be a no DQ match. It was the second to last match on the card so that explains the run-time but it was probably 10-15 too long for the type of match it was."

[9.0] "Phenomenal brawl here, Chris Jericho is in full asshole-heel mode and is just a wrecking ball here, attacking youngboys and throwing tables around. Meanwhile Kenny is... Kenny, and doesn't hold back against Jericho in the slightest. Once the action got back into the ring it resembles more of a regular wrestling match, with Omega and Jericho working fantastic babyface and heel roles, respectively. Overall a fantastic match, although not a MOTYC. ****1/2 PS The hairspray spot was glorious"

[8.0] "This did not hold up too well on a re-watch. Back in January I thought it was a bonafide classic & had a legendary performance by Chris Jericho, but that's all changed now. I think Kenny absolutely SMOKED him performance wise; his selling, bumping & overall superb babyface performance is what makes the match as enjoyable as it is. I still very much like the sense of chaos in the first third of the match, with them going at it right away & the outside madness that went on. Once they return to the ring, the action still remains very enjoyable, but it's at least 95% because of Kenny. Jericho didn't really do it for me when he was in control. Right around the One Winged Angel nearfall, the match starts to drag pretty damn badly, too. It's definitely a really good match, but certainly not the MOTYC I saw it as when it happened. ***3/4"

[4.0] "I dont see what was special with this match. It was a standard brawl, the likes of which has bee often seen only with finisher kickouts. Also, Omega spraying perfume inside his pants, that was pretty gross which itself would knock a star of for me."

[7.0] "There was a lot of hype surrounding this match, with one of WWE's biggest names getting to work one of NJPW's top stars. There's a lot of dream matches that one can come up with by pitting both companies' wrestlers together, and this one happened to come true. I liked the match, I do think it's good, but my excitement dwindled with repeated viewings. There's a lot of brawling going on in this match and not a whole lot of technical prowess on the side of Jericho, who has been showing his age with a lack of agility. He did well in playing the role of heel, and I think Omega made him look great by taking a lot of bumps for him. There were some memorable spots, but the match did feel a bit long and quite unfocused at times. Wouldn't mind seeing Jericho at least one more time in NJPW, but I'm not going to get my hopes too high for a five-star classic."

[7.0] "Oh no, no, no. If this match had happened in WWE, I would have gave 9 points. But this match occurred in NJPW. And this is not how NJPW makes matches. This was absolutely disappointing."

[10.0] "Vale vale vale... Meltzer con su sistema de calificación pero Chris Jericho tiene mas combates de 5 estrellas en toda su carrera, Pues para mi y de verdad, es uno de los mejores en el mundo y es que se merece ese titulo porque ir a NJPW con dos enormes pelotas a enfrentarse Kenny Omega... Wow, casi nadie se lo espero, pues desde ese momento ya no queria esperar por ver Wrestle Kingdom 12, Las Promos fueron una delicia y ya para el momento del combate... Se lucieron, Chris Jericho ya esta viejo pero todavía puede hacer un combate de mayor calidad al estilo Y2J, por otra parte, Kenny Omega es uno de los mejores luchadores de esta generación y aprovecharon al máximo esto, WWE vs NJPW tan solo lo veo como algo que dicen desde la comunidad del wrestling... Pero algo me dice que va llegar una realidad donde de verdad las estrellas máximas de cada empresa... Habra Guerra, NJPW esta Creciendo conjunto a ROH, entonces Jericho vs Omega lo hicieron Perfecto con Sangre, Movimientos Clasicos y Hardcore. Ver este combate me quede satisfecho con todo el evento y eso que iba llegando Okada vs Naito. Simplemente Excelente Combate."

[8.0] "A pretty excellent match, though I can't quite agree with those who see it at 5 star level. They did a good job working in hardcore elements to cover Jericho's age, and evoked a bit of an Attitude feel that worked in favor of the match, though at times it was clear they were working very gingerly for Jericho's sake (the later table spot being a prime example). I also had a sense that the match was stretched out just to match the New Japan main event style, which demands extremely long matches regardless of circumstances, and thus it felt like it was dragging at times. Still good, but probably won't hit my MOTY list in the end, and I'd say Jericho (and Omega too) have many better matches to their names over the years."