Okada-Tanahashi Part VI: MOTY?
I've been a huge fan of the wrestling scene in Japan for just under a decade now, but when I first started this blog, I centred most of my writing around the WWE's product. The reason being that my knowledge for the promotion's history ran much deeper at the time. Since 2009 though, I've been consistently following along with New Japan Pro Wrestling and I've slowly been leaning more in their direction as far as my overall superfan status goes. Last year, the company made their iPPV debut with the now classic "King Of Pro Wrestling" event and it blew the wrestling landscape to bits with everyone claiming NJPW to be the best wrestling promotion on the planet Earth. So I then figured that there would be no better moment to begin reviewing their shows with their much more accessible product. In the year that followed, Kazuchika Okada replaced CM Punk as my current favorite active pro wrestler and Hiroshi Tanahashi has been the biggest magnet of praise in my writing with his consistently brilliant performances. The rivalry between Okada & Tanahashi has been nothing short of spectacular and thus far in 2013 alone, one of their matches has already earned a five star rating from me. With that kind of acclaim, you'd be a broke smark to bet against them when they clashed for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in their biggest matchup to date. Ladies & gents, it is my honor to review such an epic encounter, but to get there we'll have to drudge through what could be New Japan's weakest iPPV offering since their breakthrough began just 365 days prior. Find out how this event ranks among their other efforts after the jump!
