Kazuchika Okada vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

[10.0] "One of the best pieces I've ever seen in any sport. The match was as perfect as it gets, and both guys are the best at their craft. I could watch them go an hour long like 20 times and I know all of them would be excellent."

[9.0] "[4.75 Stars] I don't know if people believed Zack would win during the match, but in any case, the in-ring action was excellent, which isn't surprising when you have two generational talents in the ring."

[10.0] "My fucking god what a match Okada retains over ZSJ 5* ZSJ is legit the best technical wrestler in the world and it shows here so lay ways he finds a way to get Okada in a submission from a drop kick even after taking a move he still can, reverses into roll up's , Okada is just that damn good that even if you do everything perfect you still can't beat him and it shows here Okada just would not quit on the arm damage , his arm was so damaged he could barley muster the final rainmaker , a great mainevent and it leads to Okada tying Tanahashi record Which he later breaks and up to 700 days for Okada just what a match I really wish ZSJ would've gotten more of a push around here and won the strap pre 24, Even with knowing the result I was on the edge of my seat with that final 10 mins"

[10.0] "IMO one of the best Sabre matches that you can find. If you wanna know what ZSJ is all about this is it. He is in his bag in this match and it leaves me completely shocked that it took 6 and a half more years for him to not only win the world title but at the very minimum for him to be a consistent in the NJPW world title scene this match shows he was well over ready even at this time. Okada winning and adding to his historic reign against a guy that works a style he doesn't normally wrestle was great and seeing Okada have some of that legit wrestling ability come out of him was super fun to see. To this point back in 2018 this was probabaly sabres best worked match. I love this match a lot man. (****3/4)"

[10.0] "This was perfect. Everyone knew Zack wasn't gonna win, but holy hell did Zack ever make us believe he would. The submissions he used that almost made Okada tap and Okada coming back as an underdog for the first time since his battles with Suzuki were awesome. Zack and Okada is an underrated rivalry from NJPW and they will always have great chemistry together."

[7.0] "ZSJ puts on yet another mat wrestling masterclass here, with his counters to Okada's moves into submissions being the bright spot. The crowd got really into it at the end too, but the strikes and rainmakers all left a bit to be desired with how they looked. 3.75 Stars."

[10.0] "Counters galore encounter. Even though Okada has a decent grappling background, Sabre takes his opponents to a place they've never been in before. Okada had to think outside the box to secure the win and that's what I expected. Brilliant match"

[9.0] "It was a good match, but it was completely sidelined by the fact that Ospreay vs Scurll had a classic before, 4 rainmakers to finish it was a good demonstration that ZSJ is a respectable guy (****3/4)"

[7.0] "Not a bad match but compared to the other matches of Okada's reign, this one feels a bit one sides and filler. It was incredibly obvious Okada had this one which kinda killed the tension."

[10.0] "I am a bit wary of big New Japan matches as the style isn't my favorite, but I figured as a big Sabre fan I should check this out at last, and I'm happy to say it didn't let me down! The crowd was all in favor of Okada but I was very much behind my man Sabre, who I thought elevated the match tremendously not only with his technical prowess but also his unmatchable attitude, just overflowing with confidence and at times petty meanness. I appreciated the story that when Okada tried to outwrestle him on the mat he was caught by Sabre every time, but through endurance and sheer willpower he managed to come through Sabre's offense and batter him down in the end to retain his title. Worthy of the 4.75 rating I'd say."

[8.0] "Now the day and time I'm doing this: Okada and ZSJ are set to duke it out again for the big belt so I thought why not go back to their first encounter. Zack is just coming off his 1st New Japan Cup win beating Tanahashi in the finals and challenges Okada here in the main event. This match starts off a little on the slow end but given Okada and Zack's styles, a technical, slow, methodical style to start out makes sense. It initially starts out with ZSJ getting the upperhand on Okada in the grappling exchanges and then a bit after moving onto Okada's left leg. That part doesn't last too long so its natural Okada doesn't sell it much. We move slow but its slowly telling a story with ZSJ countering Okada's moves with submissions at every turn whether it be his Air Raid Neckbreaker, his signature Dropkick or even his Elbow Drop. Eventually, ZSJ has been working the left arm for a lot of the match and it plays into the contest's biggest moments. When we get into the late phases of the match, Okada picks up his pace with more Dropkicks and other big moves whilst ZSJ is fantastic on his counters allowing for great moments in the contest such as the 3 Rainmaker reversals in the match the most important being the Armbar calling back to Okada's submission loss to Shinsuke Nakamura in 2015's G1 Climax. Eventually, Okada manages to get out of ZSJ's Octopus Stretch with a super long name I can't bother reciting atm, hits a spinning Tombstone and follows up with the Rainmaker to pick up the win. Great match but maybe with better pacing and not taking too long to pick up a little it could've gotten even better given the two workers involved. ****1/4"

[8.0] "It was quite a main event. But I felt it was the weakest of all Okada's main event. I felt that the pacing was off and it was a little clunky although still a good match all in all. ****1/4"

[9.0] "Unbelievable. Zack Sabre Jr. wrestled the match of his life and Kazuchika Okada genuinely shocked me with just how proficient his mat wrestling truly is. All set against the backdrop of history. Okada entered this match in the midst of the greatest IWGP Heavyweight Championship reign of all time. More then 650 consecutive days as champion, which ranks No. 1 in the history of the title. Over the course of that unprecedented run, 10 consecutive successful title defenses. And countless all-time classics. What Okada faced in this one, however, was the chance to eradicate all doubt pertaining to whether or not it truly was the greatest reign ever. Yes, Okada had the days. But one title defense away was the last record that he had yet to match: The 11 consecutive title defenses by Hiroshi Tanahashi. A win secured Okada the place in the history books that he cared about most. A loss and he would likely never get another chance to reach Tanahashi. Sure, there would likely be future reigns. But how could he possibly expect to rediscover this historic form? On the other side of the ring was a man in the midst of a legendary run of his own. Zack Sabre Jr. had just completed what may have been the most impressive New Japan Cup run in the history of the tournament. Sabre won the NJC and did so by submitting four wrestlers who made up the resounding majority of the upper echelon of New Japan Pro Wrestling: Kota Ibushi, Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, and Hiroshi Tanahashi himself. All that was left was defeating the one man he had yet to submit: Okada. It was Sabre and his unrivaled technical wizardry against Okada and his invaluable Toryumon training. An unexpected technical masterpiece that evolved into a captivating brawl that even converted the skeptics into ZSJ believers. Simply put: A career-defining performance by Zack Sabre Jr. And the very definition of versatility and adaptability by Okada. A classic in every sense. 4.75 stars, 9.5 out of 10. I hope we see another World Title match in the future between them?"

[9.0] "Liked this better the second time around, it's a predictable match but probably one of the best in ZSJ's career, finishing stretch was fantastic ****1/2."

[9.0] "This match exceeded my expectations by a long shot. the counter wrestling from zack was fantastic and almost thought he was gunna take it multiple times"

[9.0] "Another great grappling contest from Sabre. He's at his best when he's countering Okada's signature moves into submission holds. Just when you feel Sabre might be securing a submission like he had all during the New Japan cup, Okada escapes, hits the Rain Maker, and it's all over. The Rain Maker was a little weak, as well as a few exchanges earlier in the match, but it doesn't take away from the great work they do for over a half hour. ****1/2"

[3.0] "My Zack Sabre Jr. hate is well documented in here. My hate for 30+ predictable New Japan main events is also well documented in here. What happens when you combine the two? Well, you get the worst, most lethargic match in that Okada reign (yes, even worse than the SANADA match). Nothing happens. There is nothing explosive. Sabre just tries to get his shit in for the first 15 minutes (and you know, not like Cage does it, where he just does his big exciting moves, Sabre's shit is literally "look how exciting, we are in the pretzel position for 30 seconds"). Really really bad. *1/2."

[6.0] "I'm not the biggest fan of Sabre's wrestling style, and while I do hold the opinion that he is one of the most technically gifted wrestlers today, I often struggle to get invested in his matches. You already have a good enough idea of what's going to happen: Zack will outwrestle his opponent at the start, then begin applying some unique submission holds (sometimes not even targeting the same body parts), some kicks and European uppercuts mixed in for good measure, some more crazy submission holds before the finishing sequence. This isn't bad every time and there's been plenty of matches where this works, but not here. Okada sells Zack's offense here consistently and believably but not enough to warrant a 30+ minute match where you know Okada will somehow pull out a victory. It doesn't have the sense of urgency that Sabre/Tanahashi or Sabre/Sanada had, nor was it the kind of intense contests Okada has had with Suzuki and Shibata. It's too long, exposing some of Sabre's weaknesses (awkward bumps, lack of purpose behind moves) and Okada's worst tendencies as of late (same predictable offense, drawn out matches). While it's certainly one of Okada's most unique matches in his title reign, it never clicked with me."

[10.0] "This was one of the best matches that Kazuchika Okada had in his 24 month reign. Zack Sabre Jr was one of the most dangerous opponents Okada ever had, behind SANADA. Also, Okada using submissions of Negro Casas was very cool and a good story, he was trying to defeat Zack with his own poison. *****"

[10.0] "This match was incredible, a compelling and engaging piece of storytelling, with the English commentary doing a great job of getting over that story."

[10.0] "Unbelievable match, even better than Scurll/Ospreay before it. NJPW managed to make ZSJ look unbeatable coming into this match, and it led to a really intriguing match here. Okada, being the cocky prick he is, wanted to challenge Zack on the mat, and while he traps him a few times, Zack ends up getting the better there. The match then picks up, with some of Zack's best work yet very nearly tapping out the rainmaker over and over, until finally Okada was able to use his determination and his brains to put Zack away. I especially liked the psychology here, how Okada kept goading Zack into striking contests, which he isn't that good at, and how TAKA admonished Zack every time he fell for it. ***** easy"

[10.0] "This was a close second to the earlier junior heavyweight title match. Really super. A true technical classic. Zack Sabre Jr was the real mvp of the match and really impressed me. It starts off with Sabre and Okada locking up and Sabre really showing his technical prowess over Okada and just getting control. He looked really good. Sabre was just really fun to watch as he got going. Sabre really made Okada wrestle his kind of match as when Okada got control he would have to use submissions as well which were pretty good. This is also Okada showing he can work submissions too. Sabre really impressed me in this match with his submission superiority. He really targeted many areas of Okada's body throughout the match such as the leg and the back. He would target his arm throughout the match and it was really good. A great spot in the match was Sabre countering Okada's dropkick into an STF. Okada got some control and spiked Sabre with a DDT which led to Sabre going to the apron to check his arm. Okada went over and Sabre got him into an octopus stretch on the ropes which was cool. The match eventually became less one sided and allowed for Okada to get some offense in like his cross body over the guard rail. Again, Sabre impressing me countering an air raid crash into an octopus into other submission variations and looked excellent. And again when he countered Okada's flying elbow into an arrmbar. Nearing the end Okada was going for finishers and Sabre had counters for every one and it was just awesome. Sabre made a callback to the last time Okada tapped out when he countered the Rainmaker into an armbar. I enjoyed the ending and Okada looked great as he hit two Rainmakers but got countered into a submission then countered into a tombstone and a final Rainmaker for the pin."

[9.0] "Extremely well executed match. I easily consider this zack's best match with all of the submission and okada's selling. The only flaw i see is the finish with okada still being able to get the pin with a rainmaker but it doesn't bother me since okada constantly sold the arm."

[8.0] "Just a really good match. I loved the Okada reign so damn much... he really was havin great matches with everybody while holding the belt. This was a rather slow but great technical match with some really awesome transitions and imo the two men will never have a 5 star match bcuz the chemistry for that just doesnt exist. I loved ZSJ countering every Okada move into a submission hold and also it was a great setup for a bigger title defense - ****1/4"

[9.0] "Not as good as I first thought but still a great match and title defence by Okada. The are a few criticisms of the match, Okada didn? t do much offence for most of the match which is a shame and when he did, it didn't seem to phase Sabre at all. The crowd was silent for when ZSJ was on offence which was most of the match unfortunately. Other than the Okada chants every 5 minutes and the last 5 minutes of the match, the crow was silent and it did take away from the match. They knew ZSJ wasn't winning and it showed. Which was another criticism of the match on the rewatch. Now onto the praises, there was some great storytelling with Okada, a trainee of the Toryumon Mexico Dojo trying to use his initial training to match Sabre move for move and submission and submission, getting overwhelmed and having to find other ways to beat Zack Sabre Jr in the match. Okada's selling was great. He sold his arms really well and it showed in those final rainmakers in the end, just a shame it resulted in a odd looking rainmaker. Some of the reversals were really well done by Sabre and the submissions looked very snug and tight for the majority of the match. Some neat call backs to the Shibata and Nakamura matches with Okada as well. Went far too long without much heat from the crowd and poor selling from Sabre. Great match nonetheless. ****Œ"

[9.0] "The opening minutes were the most I've ever actually cared about ZSJ doing his thing on the mat. He kept it fresh to try and get around the submission knowledge Okada has in his back pocket from training in Mexico; Okada going to that training and still losing exchanges lead to Zack controlling most of the first half. I think it's a shame that the very good leg work didn't matter in the second half at all, but the story of focusing on the arm to neutralize the Rainmaker was the right way to go. Zack really impressed me with his focus here, not just switching around different holds but doing a good job of reading to positioning and layering holds. This wasn't Zack's best match, but it's one of his strongest performances I'd say. All of his counters were smooth as hell too, he really made it feel like he had scouted the champion thoroughly. On top of all that, the pacing wasn't as bad as most Okada defenses, even if some time in the first gang could go, mostly the stuff on Okada's leg that doesn't matter later on. 2nd best defense if the reign after Shibata. ****1/4"

[10.0] "ZSJ in story was the better wrestler this night but Okada still found a way to prevail. It's not the way it was last year against Shibata with how he kicked Okada's ass but ZSJ just broke Okada down the entire match. It was nice to see the crowd invested in all the little twists and cranks ZSJ applied to Okada as they knew he could end it at anytime. Best Okada match this year and ZSJ continues his great 2018. ****3/4"

[8.0] "What a month it has been for ZSJ. Running through the competition in the New Japan Cup and now challenging Okada for the title. After a great hype promo by Taka the match is underway. Okada, being the cocky superstar that he is, decides to grapple with ZSJ which predictably results in Zack countering his every move, locking in submissions and just generally dominating him. The contest thus becomes a long cat and mouse game of Okada trying to withstand the, at times, brutal submissions applied on him and make a comeback. Eventually, after showing great fire, he does manage to swing the momentum in his favour and make the match competitive resulting in a tremendous finishing stretch, as is the norm with Okada main events. My one gripe with the match was that despite the buildup Zack, to me, never felt like a legitimate threat to the champ, a fact which significantly took away from the submissions employed by Sabre. Still, this was an awesome main event. ****1/4"

[6.0] "I've enjoyed these latest big ZSJ matches. The New Japan run was great and the final against Tanahashi the best of the bunch. This one wasn't so good and it began to really drag and expose ZSJ's weaknesses. Decent enough though."

[8.0] "This was just another Zack Sabre Jr. match to me. It was good, but I expected so much more out of a match with Okada. I can't blame that on Okada either, he's shown the ability to adapt and work with any style of wrestler. Okada sold everything well, but there was never a time where I thought "oh man he could actually lose. " ZSJ's style needs unpredictability to deliver good matches. Had this been an IC match, NEVER Openweight match, or a match against anybody except Okada (AKA any match that Sabre has a chance of winning) I would have liked it more. For the entire match and all of ZSJ's submission teases, grappling sequences, etc. there's never a feeling that he can win. Maybe if he had made Okada tap out in a tag match leading up to this the match would have been better."

[7.0] "7. 45/10 : This was finally the most different Okada match of 2018, I am starting to fear that 2017's Okada is long gone, I hope not cause he gave us some of the best matches in pro wrestling history, whereas now he is simply very good at delivering strong main event formula matches. It saddens me because he is not bad or anything, and same goes for ZSJ (who by far was the main factor in making this match a fun watch), but he is just above-average now. He is definitely out of my top 5 wrestlers in the world currently but I really really hope that changes before I lose hope on him. As for this match, my review of it is that it is a fun watch for a technical masterpiece but not much more."

[1.0] "I don't understand why this match have a average rating of 9. Someone think that this match is awesome, but not me. I think this match is very boring. For three quarters of the match there is only a series of submissions made by Zack Sabre Jr. For the other quarter there is a awful Okada's offensive. 1/2*"

[10.0] "Great main event that left both men coming away stronger. Zack seemed to have an answer for everything Okada threw at him with his wicked submissions, while also getting frustrated by his frequent attempts at submitting Okada due to Okada's quickness in getting to the ropes. Okada sold brilliantly here for Zack, especially the right arm, highlighted by the fact he didn't raise his arm once during his post match promo, despite doing so in the past, and despite trying to outwrestle Zack at the start, realised that all he could do against him was endure and play smart, which he did. Another great main event for New Japan and this legendary title reign. (****3/4)"

[9.0] "I haven't been big on ZSJ. I thought his NJ Cup run was alright, with a few very good albeit overrated matches. I was really not excited for this match. Okada is my favourite wrestler, but I wasn't excited for a match between him and ZSJ because I assumed it would either be the usual ZSJ formula of dominating 90% of the match before (a) Okada simply powers up and hits the Rainmaker to pin him, or the worse option, (b) ZSJ actually succeeds and wins the IWGP Heavyweight title. I mean, in my mind the latter did some possible to some extent. Dominion was coming up, and we know Gedo loves a swerve, so I thought maybe ZSJ would shockingly beat Okada here in order to transition the title to someone else at Dominion or Dontaku. That fear played in my mind this entire match long, leading to the final 10 minutes of this match being totally nerve wracking, as I was constantly in fear that this guy who I thought was supremely overrated would beat my favourite wrestler to become IWGP Heavyweight champion. And I love that I experienced that fear. It was similar to what made Okada vs Cody so great. This was the first time ZSJ really impressed in NJPW. He did go overboard with submission holds a few times, but not as frequently, and thus his sudden creative counters felt more impactful. It also helped that Okada managed to brush off quite a few of ZSJ's holds, and even showed off his own innovative submission holds. Okada didn't look like a chump, unlike many of ZSJ's previous NJPW opponents, and thus ZSJ's work was much more tolerable; even great! Okada's selling was fantastic as always. Him and Red Shoes are a dynamite combo when it comes to teasing tap outs. In those final few minutes my heart constantly skipped beats as it appeared like ZSJ was on the brink of submitting the champ. Luckily Okada's resilience came through. The finish was very hype, even if the impact of the Rainmakers was weak (only real flaw of the match). ****1/4"

[10.0] "This was total different from your usual okada matches. No surprise here when ZSJ dominated his opponent like he did at NJC. I love how Zack countered every single move that okada did. But okada was comfortable enough to reach the ropes. I really like how camera caught the reactions from the crowd who were really worried about okada getting dominated by zack's submissions. This really added the drama for the match. I also love the spot that zack turned into another submission while selling the tombstone before and did 2 quick bridge pins. Okada sold the right arm really well, too. Although you can complain about usual okada's comeback formula, this was still an amazing match. Zack was really established as a main eventer and got more over for sure."

[9.0] "Awesome main event. Zack looked like a star in this match. Having a counter to every single one of Okada's signature moves and outclassing him in the mat wrestling department. The only time Okada had any chance was when Zack would get to cocky and would give him and opportunity to knock him loopy. There were multiple points in this contest were the audience actually believed Okada might actually tap out and Okada was selling it perfectly. Okada proving to be one of the best storytellers in wrestling and Zack proving he might be the best pure wrestler on the face of the planet. Great way to close out the show. ****1/2"

[10.0] "This was a star making performance. Zack showed why, although he may not look like other top level wrestlers, he is a main event player. The counters and submissions were unbelievable, my favourite part was from when Okada hit that tombstone. Zack rolled through and grabbed Okada's arm, all the while selling the Tombstone then getting a Jim Breaks Special and a bridging Gedo Clutch. My tinest complaint was that Okada did bring out his superman mode a little teensy bit, I'm probably just salty that Zack didn't win. A Rainmaker, held into another one. The full one got countered, more counters, a spinning tombstone, one last Rainmaker for the 1, 2, 3. I think this match was perfect for what it had to do, very well done to these two. (*****)"

[10.0] "The best Okada title defense since at least June in my opinion. This was incredible stuff with Zack putting on his best match in New Japan to date, and after the killer month he had that is saying a lot. The layering in this match was very detailed as Zack dominated Okada on the mat, which led to some very smart storytelling with Okada challenging Zack to a striking battle, and as we all know isn't where Zack shines the best. Zack put on a phenomenal effort though at leading a big time New Japan main event match with his intricate limb work and awesome storytelling like the Shibata and Nakamura call backs. Okada sold his arm pretty well, at least until the end. That is probably the blemish on this match with the typical "break out of opponent's move > spinning Tombstone > Rainmaker" sequence. I get it, but it was pretty anticlimactic. That complaint doesn't take away much though as this was still a phenomenal match to start off the spring season, ****3/4."

[10.0] "The best IWGP title match in many months. ZSJ and Okada worked very hard in this match and ZSJ? s submissions were great as usual. A must watch for any one who? s a fan of ZSJ. *****"

[9.0] "First of all, can we talk about that pre-match hype video where they linked ZSJ's submission style to Fujiwara & Fujinami? ! So awesome! The match itself was crafted in very compelling fashion; Okada wants to challenge ZSJ on the mat to see what the hype is all about & quickly he finds out that it was probably the wrong move to make. ZSJ outgrapples him & works all over him, as he did to everyone during his New Japan Cup run leading up to this match. Okada gets some brief comebacks in, but Zack has counters for pretty much everything. Okada refuses to give up though, and in the finishing stretch he makes the usual Okada Superman deal where he wins the match after getting his shit kicked in for 30 minutes. That sounds negative when I put it that way, and it's certainly starting to annoy me a little bit, but yeah overall a fantastic match. The 2nd best title defense of Okada's reign. ZSJ's the fucking man. ****1/4"

[10.0] "Absolutely incredible. Had a similar style to the Shibata match last year. First half was Okada trying to grapple with ZSJ but ZSJ catching him in submissions. The second half was a wild ride that traded Shibata'a strikefest into ZSJs submission fest. But the back half was very dramatic and really brought the intensity. Fantastic match that may have been 5* had it had just a few more submission teases at the end ****3/4."

[8.0] "Brilliant stuff as Okada let Zack get over really strongly. I sometimes get frustrated by Zack only ever wrestling one style of match, but it works when he has an opponent good enough to match him. This was perfect end to Zack's NJC run as he looks as strong as possible in defeat. Another awesome title defence from Okada who adapted brilliantly to Zack's style of match, and hopefully Zack's momentum turns into an IC or NEVER title run in the near future."