Battle of the two most advanced wrestlers among the new generation in my view. In kayfabe, battle of the left arm workers.
The early mirror spots depict their similarities. Neither can impose rhythm or seize control. They cancel each other and find themselves in a stalemate. Oiwa transitions to headlocks. Defensive maneuver to buy time at first, it turns into an offensive one when he infuses neck manipulation and tries pin attempts. Unable to get out of the trap, Yuya strikes back, literally: he resorts to physicality. In a wonderful touch, he draws Oiwa on that field too, when the latter moves away briefly from holds to more impactful and dynamic actions. Terrific bait because while doing so, he lets his guard down and actually, that's all Yuya was hoping for. Oiwa distracted by a different plan of attack, Yuya can now impose his left arm stuff and not see them being neutralized. Game on! Small victory for Oiwa who forces Yuya to do more to follow his usual gameplan; small victory for Yuya who proves his resourcefulness, he who as the senior can backdoor his way to his routine. Yuya sometimes uses direct offense to open up Oiwa for arm stuff or to cut him off. Oiwa pushes back like he can but the thread is slowly slipping through his fingers. In what can be perceived as panic or lack of experience, he alternatively opts for blows or goes back to the head and the arm. None as a featured plan, none in a manner sustained enough to get him closer to the finish line. All he can do is delay the inevitable because he now firmly plays into his opponent's hand. Yuya has beaten him to the arm, progresses faster thanks to it, dictates the tempo and after a couple of tensed reversals and escapes, connects the groundwork to his Deadbolt Suplex. One, two, three. Amazing!
On the one hand, there are the matches that kill time in order to go artificially long, with wrestlers doing things they won't care about past a certain point. On the other hand, there are the matches that take their time to contextualize the characters and build the plot. This one clearly falls in the second category. It's not long; it's slow. It's not boring; it lays thoroughly the foundations upon which the entire edifice reposes.
The most impressive thing to me is how these relatively two young wrestlers are able to, and I quote a wise man, "eschew company convention and bastardization". No shallow epic, no big run of bombs, no barrage of nearfalls. They do what's best for the story, commit to their idea(s), never deviate and go home at the right moment. No filler, all killer. Tight and efficient. One of those mission statements about what and how wrestling should be according to the participants; one of those matches that basically embody Wrestling on the philosophical and spiritual levels to me.
The New Japan match I enjoyed the most since 2/11/2025. Wow, I'm floored!
by Joshi_Fan