LogFAQs > #933741825

We continue.

#45 - Ben-K vs Masato Yoshino - Dragon Gate - Gate of Destiny, November 4th
It's gonna be tough watching Yoshino retire this year, but the fact that he managed to claw three or four more years out of his career after what, by all accounts, should've been an immediately career-ending injury is a luxury we've gotta feel grateful for. And what an important few years it was. Dragon Gate, the most consistent company in Japan in terms of both quality and business since its inception, was in a bad way in 2017 into 2018. Some of their most reliable stars in CIMA and Shingo were leaving the promotion. The younger guys couldn't get over to the level they wanted or needed. Business wasn't at emergency levels yet, but for the first time in a long time, DG felt directionless and stale. They put the top title back on the older stalwarts like Masaaki Mochizuki and then Yoshino, which felt like a panic move. It ended up being brilliant.

These reigns, Yoshino's especially, bought the company time. They weren't making progress at the gates (no pun intended), but they weren't falling either. Then, they finally found a little good luck when the artist formerly known as PAC got out of his WWE contract and returned to the promotion that had made him, winning the belt and kickstarting one of the best title reigns of 2019. Then, at long last, one of the new stars got hot at the right time. Ben-K won the belt from PAC and the promotion had new life at last.

Which brings us to this match, a rematch from Gate of Destiny 2018 when Yoshino successfully defended the Dream Gate belt against then-heel Ben-K. Though it's "only" #45 on the list, this will probably go down as one of the most important matches of the year. This was Ben-K's coming out party, where he proved that he had the right stuff to put on an incredible match in-ring in addition to his overflowing charisma. Yoshino, one of my all-time favorites, was at his best here too with the high-speed precision offense that's served him so well over his many years. Callbacks to the match a year prior, memorable spots, and one of the absolute best finishing sequences of the year - this was everything a big-time title match should be.

#44 - Shingo Takagi vs SHO - NJPW - Best of the Super Juniors Night 1, May 13th
I remember when I first started watching New Japan and, having no idea what the Young Lion system entailed, was nonetheless always impressed by the in-ring acumen of a couple of unassuming, fresh-faced guys on the cards named Yohei Komatsu and Sho Tanaka.

I always preferred Komatsu, but ever since the two returned from their excursion as Roppongi 3K, SHO's been trying to make me look stupid.

This match here was the culmination of what I suppose could be called a mini-feud. Shingo and SHO were frequently paired off in the numerous tag title matches that involved them both, but nobody, SHO included, had been able to put Shingo down yet. The theme here, from the opening lockup on, was "aggression." SHO was out to prove that he was every bit on Shingo's level, and he tries everything to do it. Targeting the arm to take away Shingo's deadly lariats, throwing some big-time bombs himself, but Shingo, as he would for the entirety of the tournament, just keeps coming.

But what this match also was was a signal that SHO is in store for big things down the road. He had new gear, new music, and a star aura. He's a surefire future Jr. Heavyweight champion, and when that comes to pass, this is one of the matches people will talk about as the heralding of a new junior ace.

#43 - Tetsuya Naito vs Kota Ibushi - NJPW - NJPW/ROH G1 Supercard, April 6th
These two had a series of matches in 2019 and, appropriately, based on who they are as wrestlers, they all had a very palpable feeling of danger. You couldn't check your phone or look up the score of some sports game that was on at the same time - if you looked away for half a second, you were risking missing an outrageous spot or two. Or, in the worst case scenario, you could be distracted from the last match one of them would ever wrestle. Ibushi, to a certain extent, always has that sort of feeling in his matches, but it seems to be amplified when it's Naito standing across from him where they try to upstage each other's neck bumps and pull off increasingly insane spots that no one's ever seen before.

I don't feel like I have to sell this one too hard. It's two of the best in the world at doing crazy stuff in the ring - you know what you're getting.

#42 - Dragon Lee vs SHO - NJPW - Best of the Super Juniors Night 3, May 15th
A lot of what I said about SHO in the writeup of Shingo's match could just apply here as well, but there was also sort of a role reversal in this one where it was SHO throwing the vicious strikes and Lee trying desperately not to get overwhelmed by them.

Dragon Lee is someone who I feel works to the level of his opponent. He had some dreadfully boring matches in this tournament with lower-tier guys, but his output against the top workers is never less than great, and that held true here as well. This was violent and exciting, and it never felt slow despite being fairly long. The elevation of SHO was off to a hell of a start on those first couple nights.

#41 - Masaaki Mochizuki vs Katsuhiko Nakajima - NOAH - N-1 Victory Night 1, 8/18
Masaaki Mochizuki is fifty (that's five-zero) years old and still legitimately one of the ten or fifteen best wrestlers in the world. Nakajima is 31 years old and thus, having 16 years of experience, has officially been wrestling for more than half his life.

NOAH feels like it's been in a constant state of upheaval and rebranding for about five years now, but one thing that's remained pretty consistent is that their matches, particularly in the heavyweight division, are always gritty, full of stiff strikes and disrespect and well-placed no-selling. Mochi fits into that style like a glove, especially when he's matched up with a similarly athletic striker like Nakajima, who by this point has pretty much perfected the grimy, dickish, Naito-esque heel character he's been playing recently. If you're familiar with either or both of these guys, you probably have a pretty solid idea of what this match looks like, and it doesn't disappoint. Also has a pretty cool finish that I won't spoil in case anyone's interested enough to watch it.

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https://imgur.com/UYamul2
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