Wrestling’s Greatest Rivalries: Okada vs. Tanahashi Part 2

NJPW Dominion 6.16: “The Rematch”

Just as the competitors’ entrances expressed their attitudes in their first match, Tanahashi and Okada wore their emotions on their sleeves for this contest. Tanahashi emerged first and while he did acknowledge the crowd, the Tanahashi who paid more attention to the audience than his opponent in the first match was gone. This time Tanahashi walked to the ring a focused man who had a game plan and was no longer taking his foe lightly. On the other hand, Okada was now the overconfident one. Okada appeared on the stage and hit his rainmaker pose as hundreds of dollar bills fell around him. The roles had been reversed for this rematch and the bell rang to mark the start of the match.

As the match began, it was clear that it would be far different from their last. This was the opportunity for Tanahashi to showcase the “total package” he was at the time: now, he was able to employ his in-ring experience, natural ability and pre-match preparation in concert in an attempt to regain his title. In their first match, Tanahashi ignored preparation and relied on his experience and his ability to carry him through the match and it cost him. In this match, however, Tanahashi proved that at that time in his career he was unbeatable if he combined all three attributes and used them to his advantage.

During the first portion of the match, the feeling out process was accelerated as both men were familiar with the other’s style. Their preparation appeared to be equal as both competitors managed to counter each of the other’s moves but before long Tanahashi’s preparation would outmatch Okada’s. They exchanged counters until Tanahashi’s gameplan was put in motion. Tanahashi swept the legs of Okada and wrapped Okada’s previously injured knee around the ring post. Tanahashi targeted Okada’s knee with precision, as he landed a series of chop blocks, elbows and dragon screws taking Okada off his game.

The injury hindered Okada’s performance going forward as his high-impact maneuvers caused him to further damage his knee. Okada was able to halt Tanahashi’s momentum by hitting his top rope dropkick but he came down hard on his knee. As Tanahashi lay on the arena floor, Okada lay in the ring clutching his knee in pain. It is worth noting that while in many ways this was Tanahashi’s match, Okada showed that the two are much more evenly matched than it would appear at first glance. Okada managed to take control of the match and hit his (now famous) signature dropkick to the shock and awe of the crowd. They were seeing the skill of a young man who would go on to become the world’s best wrestler and they were starting to take notice.

Despite his immense skill, Okada was still incredibly arrogant. He attempted to pin Tanahashi with a boot on the Ace’s chest to the disdain of the crowd. Tanahashi managed to regain the momentum in the match with a pair of dropkicks to Okada’s injured knee and a High Fly Flow from the top rope to the floor. From here Tanahashi’s strategy paid off as he was able to mount an onslaught on Okada’s knee with multiple dragon screws and cloverleaf holds. It appeared that Tanahashi had the match locked up but Okada was not going to let his IWGP Heavyweight Championship slip away so easily.

Okada hit his over-the-knee neckbreaker for a near fall, but in doing so, put further stress on his own injured knee. Okada was not going down without a fight; while he managed to counter many of Tanahashi’s signature moves — like the flying forearm and the High Fly Flow — Tanahashi had counters for Okada’s Tombstone Piledriver and Rainmaker clothesline as well. The see-saw nature of the action proved that Tanahashi simply had more tricks in his bag than Okada; after reversing a Rainmaker into a Slingblade and hitting the High Fly Flow, Tanahashi pinned Okada to successfully regain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to a monstrous ovation from the crowd in Osaka.

Experience, ability, and preparation; Hiroshi Tanahashi was able to put all three traits together in this match to redeem himself from his previous performance. However, these three elements would continue to play a crucial role in this rivalry, as this match proved that Kazuchika Okada had just as much if not more skill than Tanahashi and it would only be a matter of time before his experience would catch up to the Ace’s. At this moment Tanahashi possessed more experience than Okada, but matched him in ability and preparation. In their coming matches the story between the two men would evolve from a simple “who is better” story into a tale of asking what you do when your best tricks are not enough anymore.

In this sequel, however, Tanahashi and Okada improved upon the story created in their first encounter and furthered both of their characters leaving audiences satisfied with what they had seen and made them salivate for more.

Rating: ****3/4

Part 3 of this series will focus on Tanahashi and Okada’s third battle in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 7.

What is your favorite match in the Tanahashi/Okada rivalry? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter!

• IWGP Heavyweight Champion
• Tetsuya Naito
• IWGP Heavyweight Championship
• wrestlings greatest rivalries
• new japan pro wrestling
• Hiroshi Tanahashi
• dominion
• Kazuchika Okada
• Hirooki Goto
• New Japan
• NJPW

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