NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 2019: Results, Highlights and Analysis

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Kazuchika Okada vs SANADA – IWGP Heavyweight Championship 

To start, Okada and SANADA respect each other as rivals to a degree that isn’t often talked about. Okada has expressed his delight that someone as cool as SANADA would consider him a rival, they’ve rested on the apron next to each other as their teammates continue to fight, they give each other room in the same spotlight. It just works.

SANADA beat Okada in the G1 Climax – the first time in seven singles matches they’ve faced each other. The audience lights up the arena with cell phone flashlights, as they had for his win in the G1.

To say this fight is important to SANADA is a vast understatement, but the same goes for Okada – once again, one man has everything to win and the other has everything to lose. Side note: My favorite part about Okada/SANADA fights is because of their very similar-sounding names, the dueling chants drown each other out.

Within a minute of the fight, both of them attempt their finishers. There’s no feeling each other out, no tests of strength – they know each other well by now. A double drop kick leaves them both staring the other down before the fight has really even started.

Following that, the typical pace takes over their match. It’s this calculated, deliberate wrestling that almost timed them out in the G1, and here it’s a slow burn of cautious submission holds and lazy pins.

By the time that Okada has to stop Unno from counting SANADA out, SANADA is hardly able to physically stand up to Okada’s strikes. This is a turning point for both of them: for SANADA to rally and retaliate, and for Okada to encourage him with chilly but earned arrogance.

Okada’s ego is turned up to eleven at this point and it’s because SANADA has slowed down. As soon as Okada’s opponent fails to demand the best from him, he loses interest, and as soon as he begins to slip in this match, SANADA knocks him down with a dive off the top rope.

Then: SANADA holds Okada in Skull End for a combined time of over two minutes with two brief escapes, and they grapple for a moment before Okada hits SANADA with a sudden Rainmaker.

This match has an incredible pace. Every bout of quickness and strong attacks is countered with careful submissions and exchanges of blows. They give each other room to rest between high energy moments, although these low energy moments can come at a cost.

SANADA delivers a series of crushing uppercuts that drop Okada to the floor and puts him in another Skull End for which Unno nearly calls the match. Okada doesn’t move except to weakly kick out of a pin and pull his knees up when SANADA gets ahead of himself and attempts a second Mutoh Moonsault.

Just after 35 minutes, Okada pulls a piledriver out of nowhere and hits SANADA with a Rainmaker for the win.

Okada and SANADA adapt to and compliment each other so well that the veil between winning and losing is gossamer thin. While SANADA, as with his tag partner in the last match, can absolutely walk away from this proud and confident in his talent and his place within the wrestling world, he takes the loss particularly hard this time.

The purpose of Okada’s awkward thumbs up still eludes me, but SANADA’s open display of the pain of losing something that he’s wanted for so long and that has been within his reach yet unattainable is a sentiment that any person on this earth can relate to.

In the end, this makes seven losses and one win for SANADA against Okada.

And now, Okada has 29 successful combined defenses, putting him one over Tanahashi.

The cycle continues.