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#3 Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kota Ibushi
What happens when two men, with similar fighting styles, collide at the grandest stage of New Japan Pro Wrestling? Devastation.
Nakamura bumped heads with Kota Ibushi, defending the IWGP Intercontinental Title at Wrestle Kingdom 9 in a highly anticipated main-event match! For the most part, Ibushi tried to ridicule Nakamura’s Strong-style and “borrowed” some of his moves including the corner vibration boot, the bomaye strike and even the reverse powerslam.
This infuriated Nakamura who retaliated by mixing a variety of knee-based strikes to turn the game in his favour. Nakamura then proceeded to mock Ibushi by stealing some of his moves including an elevated sit-out powerbomb, a standing corkscrew moonsault and a double stomp to the chest!
The match-up had all the right ingredients to enthrall the 38,000 fans in attendance at the Tokyo Dome. The finishing sequence included Ibushi suplexing the champion from the apron, to which Nakamura kicked out.
Nakamura got out of Ibushi’s bomaye, turning it into a landslide and then proceeded to administer a bomaye of his own. Nakamura retained the title after sweating it out for 20 minutes and 12 seconds.
