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Despite being in lockdown for over three months due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, NJPW once again produced another terrific year of in-ring work in 2020. It has been an up and down 12 months for the industry and that has been clearly evident with New Japan Pro Wrestling as well.
They started 2020 on a high with the first-ever two-night Wrestle Kingdom 14 event. Following their self imposed lockdown, NJPW came back strong with the New Japan Cup 2020 in the summer. They also became the first major wrestling promotion to invite fans back to their events.
With 78 events and 100,000 fans in attendance over that time, the company can proudly be praised for having zero cases of COVID-19 for their crowds. Even with restrictions, the fanbase has brought something unique in wrestling this year, which has brought an added energy to their in-ring action. In this article, we will take a look at the five best NJPW matches of 2020.
Honorable mentions:
- Shingo Takagi vs. Will Ospreay (NJPW G1 Climax 30 Day 5)
- Kazuchika Okada vs. Shingo Takagi (NJPW G1 Climax 30 Day 13)
- Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Desperado (NJPW Best of Super Juniors 27 Finals)
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article belong to the writer and doesn't necessarily represent Sportskeeda's stand.
#5 Jon Moxley vs. Minoru Suzuki for the NEVER Openweight Championship (NJPW New Beginning in Osaka)
At the NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14, Jon Moxley regained the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship by defeating Lance Archer and successfully it defended against Juice Robinson. Following his win, Minoru Suzuki confronted Moxley and laid him out to challenge him for the gold.
At NJPW New Beginning in Osaka, these two men competed for the title in an incredible match. It was the battle of the sadist that is Suzuki against the masochist that is Moxley. Both men inflicted pain on each other during this hard-hitting affair that generated an awesome reaction from the crowd in Osaka-Jo Hall.
For over 17 minutes, Moxley and Suzuki traded strikes, steel chair hoisting, and impactful moves in a memorable spectacle unlike anything seen this year. Jon Moxley had one of the best years in his career in the wrestling business between his brief time in NJPW and his stellar run as the AEW World Champion and this barnburner with Suzuki had to be his best match of 2020.
#4 Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships (the NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 Day 2)
The NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 was built on the chase for dual gold with the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships on the line to determine the first double champion. After defeating Jay White on Day 1, Tetsuya Naito looked to finally realize his Destino by defeating his arch-rival, Kazuchika Okada, in the main event inside the Tokyo Dome.
On the other hand, Kazuchika Okada went through a grueling war with Kota Ibushi the day prior and looked to beat Naito for the third time at the Wrestle Kingdom. These two competitors have been battling since early in their careers. For Naito, this would be the culmination of a seven-year journey from his first loss to Okada all the way back at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8.
With that much buildup to this all-important clash, expectations were high and both men delivered a splendid bout that consistently built for well over 35 minutes. Okada and Naito battered one another with strikes and put together spellbinding sequences that captivated the fans in attendance at the NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 Day 2.
There were callbacks to their previous encounters as well as superior character moments not always seen in a match. This was truly a contest where every move mattered and elevated what the fans were witnessing. This excellent battle ended with Naito hitting the Destino to finally defeat Okada and become the first-ever IWGP Dual Gold Champion.
The main event of NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 Day 2 received the vaunted 5-star rating from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and was awarded the Tokyo Sports Match of the Year. This culminated Naito's long journey to triumphant and brought an end to his classic rivalry with Okada for now.
#3 Kota Ibushi vs. Minoru Suzuki (NJPW G1 Climax 30 Day 13)
The G1 Climax 30 was the most unique edition of the tournament that NJPW has presented. Due to the global pandemic, there were limited fans in attendance for the events with restrictions preventing them from chanting during the matches. Despite those things, Day 13 of the tournament was not only the best, but it also was one of the better shows in all of wrestling for this year.
This show featured Jeff Cobb's best match of his time in NJPW as well as his career against Tomohiro Ishii and the tremendous main event between Kazuchika Okada and Shingo Takagi.
However, it was Kota Ibushi vs. Minoru Suzuki that has received the most praise as the best content on this event as well as the best G1 Climax 30 encounter.
These two men exchanged in a stirring bout that featured so many strike exchanges that some pundits have compared the match to a live-action fight scene.
Ibushi had so many classic NJPW battles in 2020, but this may have been the most hard-hitting of them all. This bout received five and a quarter star rating from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter as well.
At 52 years of age, the leader of Suzuki-Gun had a career-best year featuring many fantastic contests in NJPW. However, the best of the lot came in this G1 Climax 30 Day 13 co-main event. Suzuki and Ibushi produced a physically intense and dramatic spectacle that will be remembered for years to come.
#2 Will Ospreay vs. Hiromu Takahashi for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 Day 1)
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 Day 1 may have been the promotion's best major event of the year. One of the main reasons for that has to be the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship bout with Will Ospreay defending his title against Hiromu Takahashi. These two men had quite the history heading into this show.
Hiromu Takahashi was making his long awaited return to the ring after 18 months away due to neck surgery. After winning the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship at Dominion 2018 against Ospreay, Takahashi broke his neck against Dragon Lee a month and half later.
In his absence, Will Ospreay won the Best of Super Juniors 26 against Takahashi's Los Ingobernables de Japon stablemate Shingo Takagi. "The Aerial Assassin" then moved on to defeat Dragon Lee for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title at NJPW Dominion 2019. Ospreay spent his reign elevating the title and continuously calling out Hiromu for his return before he finally came back at Power Struggle 2019.
These two men competed in a spectacular match that was filled with amazing sequences, counters and reversals that kept the Tokyo Dome crowd captivated. The champion attacked the previously injured neck of the challenger, while Takahashi tried to overcome the arsenal of Ospreay.
In the end, Takahashi pulled out a new finisher, Time Bomb 2, to gain the victory and become the new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. This NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 contest received a five and a half star rating from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and universal praise as one of the greatest junior heavyweight matches in the promotion's history.
#1 Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 Day 1)
The other main reason for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 Day 1 being one of the best major shows of 2020 was the main event with Kazuchika Okada defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Kota Ibushi. "The Golden Star" earned his first Tokyo Dome main event by winning the G1 Climax 29, while Okada entered sixth one.
These two men competed in an excellent encounter that grew in intensity and nearly lasted for 40 minutes. Ibushi would enter into a trance of violence as this NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 main event went on. Okada overcame this by using his cunning and incredible ability to find his opponent's weakness.
This contest had strike exchanges, awe-inspiring sequences and callbacks to Okada's career rivals in Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kenny Omega. The layers to this bout were superb and intricately placed to allow every fan to go on this ride. In the end, Okada pulled out a final Rainmaker to get the pinfall and move on to Day 2 of NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 to face Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Dual Gold.
Kazuchika Okada had a down year following his loss of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship with his main event spots few and far between, but there was no denying that this was his best match of 2020. Okada added another classic to his phenomenal NJPW Wrestle Kingdom legacy, while Ibushi proved himself worthy of being a top star.
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