Two Wrestle Kingdom 14 Matches Receive 5-Star Ratings

This past weekend we saw the first ever two-day Wrestle Kingdom show, with 20 matches spanning over 10 hours of pure Japanese wrestling brilliance.

There were several matches on the card which received high praise from fans and critics, but there were two matches that really stood out, and both received 5+ star ratings from Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

The first match to receive the illustrious rating was the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match between Will Ospreay and Hiromu Takahashi, which the latter won to win the belt. The match was given a 5.25 star rating, making it the highest rated match of 2020…for about half an hour.

That’s because the main event of night one between challenger Kota Ibushi and now former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada, which was given a massive 5.5 stars.

This will have come as a surprise to some, as many believed the Ospreay match was the best of the weekend, but as with everything, this is just Meltzer’s opinion so please don’t see this as 100% fact. You are allowed to enjoy whatever matches you want.

These are the first 5-star ratings of the year, but with the way modern wrestling is going, they’re likely to be the first of very many in 2020.

• Wrestle Kingdom
• Kazuchika Okada
• NJPW
• Will Ospreay

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