I absolutely LOVE the finish to Takeshita VS Tsuji! The underlying story through the night was fighting spirit. Every nooj dojo graduate, Jay White, Juice Robinson, Okada, Tanahashi, Tsuji, etc has that fighting taught to them. Outsiders who became part of the roster (ZSJ, Ospreay, Omega, Shingo, Sanada) had that fighting spirit burned into them through years of wrestling.
Aaron Wolf? He has fighting spirit. He escaped and didn't tap to the darkness scorpion.
Tanahashi? He has fighting spirit. He escaped the boston crab Okada put him in.
Takeshita? No, he doesn't have fighting spirit. He has a lot else going for him, but in the clutch, he does not have the fighting spirit.
I love that kind of storytelling, and it goes back to Takeshita not making it into the dojo. Why couldn't he make it into the dojo? Because he didn't have the fighting spirit there in the first place, and he didn't have it in the moment. Truly amazing stuff
by goleaker