Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has awarded his latest five-star match to a New Japan Cup match from this past week.
The March 14 bout between Will Ospreay and Zack Sabre Jr, which saw Ospreay pick up the win, was given five stars in the latest WON.
Here’s what Meltzer wrote about the match:
Ospreay opened with a pescado and phenomenal forearm, while Sabre used the European clutch all in the first 40 seconds. Ospreay would throw chops and then sell his own shoulder injury. The idea is he needed to hit hard but every time he did, he was in more pain. Even a basic armdrag by Sabre saw Ospreay sell the shoulder injury. Sabre did all kinds of twisting stuff to the right shoulder. Then he used hard kicks. Ospreay’s selling was unreal here. He’s come back and then sell his shoulder. Both talked back-and-forth. There were a series of reverses ending up in a choke by Sabre. Ospreay hit the Oscutter, a spinning elbow and a power bomb. The big spot is Sabre used a Mistica and somehow in doing the move broke Ospreay’s nose. So he’s bleeding everywhere. Sabre used a triangle and Zack driver for near falls. He did a hammerlock and superplex into an armbar. It did a Fujiwara armbar and a double armbar shoulder lock but Ospreay made the ropes. It continued with near falls and submissions by Sabre until Ospreay used a top rope Oscutter, the hidden blade and stormbreaker. After winning, Ospreay said he was the greatest British wrestler the world has ever seen. This was one of the best matches so far this year.
This match is the seventh so far this year to be awarded five stars or more.
Two matches have been awarded more than five stars, with both Kazuchika Okada vs Will Ospreay, and Kota Ibushi vs Jay White, both at Wrestle Kingdom, getting 5.25 stars.
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