Satoshi Kojima vs. Kazuchika Okada (27/7/2017) {English}

 Satoshi Kojima vs. Kazuchika Okada (27/7/2017)

This was a GREAT "Heelish ace vs. Beloved Underdog" Match between the two, Since the bell Rang Okada made it very obvious he isn't taking Kojima Seriously and mocked the "KOJIMA!" chants, Okada Tried to go for the Rainmaker early on but Kojima ducks and tries to go for his own Lariat but Okada ducks that, As the match went on Kojima tried to go toe to toe with Okada but let's be honest, You CANNOT go toe to toe with 2017 Okada, Okada played a great heel role along the match as he tried to pin Kojima with his boot on Kojima's chest but the ref refused to count to a pin so humiliating on a Legend like Kojima, Okada capitalized on the crowd to set up his spots as he wasn't really planning to go hard on Kojima, He tried his best to get as much heat as possible, Even attacking Tenzan to do that, He barley sold for Kojima in the first part of this match, Okada mocking the crowd every chance he got, Making fun of them for being STUPID enough to cheer for Kojima over him was really phenomenal and the crowd had more reasons to go all in for Kojima in this one, Kojima's selling for Okada's Strikes was otherworldly, He looked Knocked out cold multiple times in this match but he kept fighting which made the crowd go even more behind them, The best thing you can do as a babyface is to keep fighting and proving to the crowd that they are cheering for a Fighter, and when Kojima finally saw an opening and his that Lariat... The crowd popped so hard because THAT LARIAT made it seem that he actually had a chance of winning, He made the impossible possible for once in this match, It's Easily noticeable how Kojima used every chance he got to target Okada's Neck and Head so whenever he hit a Lariat, it was DEADLY, and Kojima's Lariats were truly deadly in the final stretch of the match, But nothing is more deadly and can end a match more than a fucking rainmaker.

This is one of Okada's most interesting performances that i have seen from him, this wasn't a "5 Star banger" by any means and it didn't need to be one, Okada proved that he could work the Crowd and played them like a fiddle in this one, And the old, Battered, Injury destroyed Kojima did what he did best, This was a great match between the two and one of the most underrated of 2017.

4.25*