By Trent Breward
Will Ospreay and the United Empire had sacrificed sleep in order to study up on all those who had managed to overcome the Rainmaker. After six losses to Okada he needed to win this. You could hear the desperation in his voice.
Sometimes no matter how much you want something, it remains out of reach.
It had been a mature performance from Ospreay. In years past he would get headstrong and rush into big moves, but this time he kept his head and picked his spots, reading Okada’s moves and knowing how to counter. It was just one moment of weakness – after countering the Cobra Flowsion he saw Okada in the perfect position for a Hidden Blade, but he hadn’t managed to stun him. He desperately launched into the killer strike, only for Okada to pop up and catching him a dazzling spinning Cobra Flowsion. The following Rainmaker made it all elementary.
Kazuchika Okada once more proved that he is an all time talent that is all but peerless. With this victory over Ospreay he notches his fourth G1 Climax tournament victory (behind only Masahiro Chono under the G1 designation) and became just the fourth person to win the tournament back to back. There was a calmness to this performance, even when the momentum swung Ospreay’s way. A true master at work.
He nearly had the match won early on. Ospreay was noticeably hindered entering the match after suffering several piledrivers to the outside in the week courtesy of Juice Robinson. Okada knew this, and landed successive DDTs on the outside that left the Ospreay struggling to find his feet minutes later. If Will was still a Junior Heavyweight that might have been it, but years of bulking up gave him the physical strength to survive the crushing blows and fight back.
That’s when he used the night’s worth of study to his advantage, calling upon the signature moves of men who felled Okada in the past. When perched on the top rope he decided against his usual Shooting Star Press or 450 Splash to hit the High Fly Flow of the incomparable Hiroshi Tanahashi. Then he dialled the clock back to the Phenomenal AJ Styles with a Styles Clash. Finally, on the day Kenny Omega returned to the ring in AEW, Ospreay landed a flush V-Trigger.
.@WillOspreay "High Fly Flow→Styles Clash→V trigger→?"
.@rainmakerXokada "Rainmaker"Sign up Now & Stay tuned to https://t.co/CcdQ1XamUA#njpw #G1FINAL #njpwworld pic.twitter.com/viH9Howkms
— njpwworld (@njpwworld) August 18, 2022
If he had managed to hit the One Winged Angel (a move he had already practiced on the independent scene just before the tournament) then it might have been enough. However Okada had learned long ago how important it is to avoid that finisher.
Okada now has his sights set on familiar territory. Wrestle Kingdom 17 will mark his eleventh IWGP Heavyweight Championship match at the Tokyo Dome, providing he can defend that right. JONAH owns the only victory over The Rainmaker throughout the tournament, but Okada named another person he was interested in facing. Tetsuya Naito – a long time rival who he’s butted heads with several times in 2022 already.
The main event of Wrestle Kingdom once more becomes as elusive as ever, with news earlier on the show that they were returning to just one night inside the Tokyo Dome. Momentum in the second half of the year will now be as important as ever with limited high profile spots being available on the biggest show of the year.
As it stands now a Dominion rematch could headline that show. However Okada’s not the only person who needs to defend his spot. IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Jay White had only one blemish in his tournament as well, but that was all it took to get knocked out in the block stages. His former Bullet Club comrade Tama Tonga now hangs in his rear view mirror, and after their tag team match he made his intentions clear to wrestle the title away from the Switchblade and continue an incredible run since leaving the faction.
It was not a good night for Bullet Club, losing three of their four matches and having their championships threatened from all corners. Alongside Tama Tonga targeting Jay White, KUSHIDA picked up the key victory over IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Taiji Ishimori, and a High Fly Flow from Hiroshi Tanahashi earned him a pinfall over the NEVER Openweight Champion Karl Anderson. Their sole bright spot came from El Phantasmo, who managed to pin Shingo Takagi for the third time in three nights inside the Nippon Budokan.
With the biggest tournament in wrestling finished for another year, everyone has a couple of weeks to lick their wounds ahead of the Burning Spirit tour kicking off September 2nd at the Yokohama Budokan. Then a month later their eyes stretch beyond Japan, with the Royal Quest shows in the UK and the just announced Rumble on 44th Street New York City show. Of course no matter how far they travel, all roads lead back to the Tokyo Dome.
2022 8.18 新日本プロレス 日本武道館#オカダ・カズチカ 選手
オカダ・カズチカ選手がG1 CLIMAX2連覇!!
プロレス界をもっと引っ張っていってください!#njpw #G1CLIMAX32 #G1BestPics32#G1FINAL pic.twitter.com/FwwmKSJzTj— taiga (@taigaPhoto_pw) August 18, 2022
Date:
August 18, 2022
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