Dave Meltzer’s Insane Star Rating For Kenny Omega Vs. Will Ospreay

Dave Meltzer’s Insane Star Rating For Kenny Omega Vs. Will Ospreay NJPW

Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer continues to praise Will Ospreay, this time for his match with Kenny Omega at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17.

In the current issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (subscription required), Meltzer said of the match for the IWGP United States Championship between Ospreay and Omega:

“Kenny Omega pinned Will Ospreay in 34:38 to win the U.S. title. Omega was the first U.S. champion, winning it in a tournament in Long Beach, CA, where he beat Ishii in the finals. Among the amazing aspects of this is Omega going so long at such a high pace in his second singles match in 14 months. This was an incredible mix of drama, storytelling, superstar auras, symbolism and athleticism. It was also quite dangerous in spots.”

He would then go into a deep dive of the match itself, stating:

“Omega used his old New Japan theme at the press conference and Ospreay used his current one. But here, Omega came out dressed as Sephiroth, the bad guy in Final Fantasy 7, whose theme Omega came out to is the song “One Winged Angel,” which is the song that inspired the name of Omega’s finishing move. He was clearly the heel. Ospreay, usually a heel, came out as a babyface to his babyface theme music when he was the Aerial Assassin. Don Callis was on commentary.

“Omega immediately hit a snap hurricanrana and Ospreay landed on his feet and came back with one of his own. Omega knocked Ospreay off the apron into the barricade and used You Can’t escape for a near fall. Omega undid the turnbuckles padding in the corner and gave Ospreay a teep kick into the exposed metal, followed by a hard backbreaker. Ospreay dropped Omega on the top rope and did a running kick. Ospreay used a stunner and a phenomenal forearm. Ospreay used hard chops and his dropkick and enzuigiri combination. They traded chops on the apron and Ospreay missed an Oscutter on the apron.

“Omega put Ospreay under a table and did a double foot stomp through the table on Ospreay. Ospreay suplexed Omega on the ring frame and did a sky twister off the top rope to the floor. Ospreay did a hard forearm smash to the back of the head. Omega blocked an Oscutter and hit a V trigger. Omega hit a poison rana and a fisherman suplex into a knee to the back. Omega worked over the kidneys. Omega went for a dragon superplex but Ospreay thankfully landed on his feet and used a Paul Robinson special.

“Ospreay did all kinds of cheeky nandos kicks to the face while Omega was tied up in the corner. The last one was brutal. It busted Omega’s eye which started swelling shut. Omega’s face actually had Ospreay’s footprint on it hours after the match was over from that kick. Omega was back working on the kidneys and then used a DDT on the top of the exposed metal. Ospreay came up bleeding like crazy. New Japan does not generally allow blood so its effect is very pronounced these days when it happens. Omega used a Terminator dive, some snap dragon suplexes and all kinds of palm blows out of the old 90s Pancrase and UWFi playbook. Omega hit the J driller and Ospreay got his foot on the ropes. He hit a brutal V trigger. Omega went to the top rope and Ospreay stumbled into the rope and Omega crotched himself on the top rope.

“Ospreay tried a top rope Frankensteiner but Omega blocked it and dropped him on the exposed metal buckle. Omega did a V trigger to the back and a Croyt’s Wrath off the top rope, which Ospreay kicked out of. Omega hit three V triggers but Ospreay blocked the fourth one. Ospreay came back with Kawada kicks and chops. Omega went for a clothesline and Ospreay used a Spanish fly into a Liger bomb. Ospreay hit the hidden blade twice and an Oscutter off the top rope. Ospreay hit the One Winged Angel for a near fall and the Spanish fly for a near fall, which was the story that he used the finisher of the two men who preceded him as the superstar foreign star of the company. Ospreay hit another hidden blade and Omega barely kicked out.

“Ospreay went for Stormbreaker but Omega escaped. Ospreay used another hidden blade. They traded elbows and Omega used a cross-arm German suplex. Ospreay then was just about done, spit on Omega and Omega used the kamigoye, the finishing move of Kota Ibushi. Ibushi was part of the storyline as Omega teased it wearing the Ibushi T-shirt on Dynamite last week and in his promos talked about what Ospreay did to his best friend at the 2019 Wrestle Kingdom show when he gave Ibushi a concussion when he started using the hidden blade. Omega then hit the One Winged Angel for the pin. Both guys were really beat up from this.”

After, after that in-depth, move for move review of the match, Meltzer would issue the match a star rating:

“******1/4”

Six and a quarter stars!

Dave Meltzer had also previously reported that both men “held back” with the knowledge that their Wrestle Kingdom 17 match wasn’t the only planned match for them together.

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1 year ago by Dave Adamson

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