Have you ever seen something that just defines what a genre should be? Like people look at this one thing and go "yeah X is as good as this is ever going to be." Well last week that happened for pro wrestling, during New Japan Wrestling's Wrestle Kingdom 11. A quick disclaimer here, I don't watch Japanese wrestling at all really so there really won't be much of an overview of all of NJPW but just a look at this one match.

So like any good wrestling match, story accounts for a major part of the match. Here is no exception, the background here is that with NJPW becoming more popular not only in Japan but also around the world the match between champion Kazuchika Okada and challenger Kenny Omega is not just for the championship title, but really to decide who the top guy in the company is. Which is a huge deal because the top guy gets all the interviews, merchandise, and press. The story is on display from the introduction of the match to its closing both wrestlers do everything they can to carry the narrative. Both are very distinct from each other. Omega firstly, is a Canadian guy so it's going to be hard to mix him up, but color-wise Omega is predominately Black and Silver, and Okada is mostly gold with a mishmash of red and blue trimmings. Omega comes out with half of a Terminator mask and a fake lever action rifle to do his signature gunshot pose, while Okada's entrance features "Okadadollars," which are basically yen with his face on them, raining from the sky. The entrances do a lot to separate the two wrestlers from one another.

Now onto the actual wrestling, and man was it good. A good match focuses on making both guys look as strong as possible while also telling its own little story. Omega takes the role of the bad guy or "heel" for the match. He rakes Okada's eyes, spits in his face, grabs his hair,and gets in sucker punches after playing possum. Okada being the good guy or the "face" tries to fight clean and overcome the dirty tricks. Both guys go all out, despite being a heel who resorts to dirty tactics, Omega is not a coward in the match. Both wrestlers have their fair share of stiff hits where they actually hit each other full force. Japanese wrestling is know for being more rough than standard American wrestling, there are a lot of hard knees, kicks, and moves that result in someone landing on their neck. And this is an almost fifty minute match. When going through a table is not the most dangerous part of the match, it really sells how important the match is in the context of the story. Really the most I can say without spoiling the match is get a drink, get a snack, settle in, and go watch it for yourself you won't regret it.