Across the history of Professional wrestling there stands a litany of matches that have been touted as "The Greatest Of All Time!". From one generation to the next, each incarnation of the so called, GOAT, has taken place on grand and glorious scales with the highest of stakes up for grabs.
For the 60's generation that match would most likely be Race vs Funk for the NWA title. For the 70's generation it could be anything from Race vs Rhodes for the NWA title to Funk vs Lawler in any one of their classic bouts. Still yet, for the 80's generation it would most likely be Savage vs Steamboat or Flair vs Rhodes or any number of untold bouts that I am leaving off the list. The list of matches is as long as it is littered with great names but of the last decade one match, at least in my mind, stands above all the others for its simplicity and execution as well as its legitimacy and uniqueness among the modern wrestling landscape.
I'm talking of course of Katsuyori Shibata vs Kazuchika Okada at Sakura Genesis 2017.
The modern wrestling product has produced untold numbers of great athletes but very few of them understand what it is that they are trying portray in the ring. For the last several years I have witnessed match after match play out in much the same way. The two men in the ring are using their time and surroundings as a means to show off the flashiest moves. Each hold is merely a step by which to go to the next one which will lead to the inevitable high spot to come. This has played out time and time again with most modern wrestlers forgetting what it is they are trying to portray or at least simulate: Combat.
It is here that Okada vs Shibata stands out as this was a factor not forgotten by either man and it was, at its core, the very reason why this match is so great.
Before I go into the match itself let me fill you in on some of the outside factors that added to the greatness of the matches build.
In Japanese wrestling circles its a well known fact that the idea of Strong Style lies at the core of their training. Legitimate toughness coupled with at least some basic knowledge in martial arts forms much of their early training. This could not be more exemplified than by Katsuyori Shibata.
Amongst the landscape of talent in New Japan, in the sea of Destino's, Rainmakers, Ace's and Best Bout Machine's, Shibata stood out as simply The Wrestler.
A disciple of the great Antonio Inoki, the father of New Japan Pro Wrestling, Shibata spent most of his career showcasing his skills at submission and hard hitting offence. He traveled the world seeking to improve his craft and even made a brief sojourn into MMA. His style developed into something to be feared, with each match he undertook looking like a true fight for survival. He gave no quarter and asked for none in return.
When he returned to NJPW after a seven year absence, little had changed in his appearance. Right up until his final match, Shibata continued to wear the simple black of a Young Lion with the single addition being that of a small Japanese flag being added to his trunks.
You may ask why I'm touching upon what might appear as an irrelevant point as ring gear. The truth is that Shibata's absence of a Gimmick or stage name or persona gave him a sense of legitimacy that is often sorely lacking in today's product. Even those wrestlers with legitimate MMA or Athletic backgrounds often give in to "Character Creation". Not so for Shibata, to him he was an ass kicker, no gimmick was needed.
By comparison Okada could not be more different. The man who has more or less carried the New Japan main event scene for the better part of the last decade is without a doubt flash in both appearance and style.
Known as the Rainmaker, a moniker her chose due to his bragging claims that while he was champion it rained money on New Japan his arrogant heelish persona showed an outlandish streak so completely different to that of his opponent. Okada, through his manager Gedo, would often brag about his accomplishments and not without good reason. Every match the Rainmaker has taken part in has been a classic, he has elevated younger talent and made older talent look better than ever. What he has lacked in promo skills he has more than made up for in ring intelligence; in short, Okada has been a multiple time world champion because he deserves it.
So if Shibata returned in 2012 why did it take a further five years to get this match? The answer is as simple as it is brilliant.
The main event of The New Beginning in Osaka, 2014, was Okada facing off against Shibata's best friend Hirooki Goto. The match would end in a win for Okada but as Shibata comforted his fallen friend he would make a challenge to Okada for the title. Being the cocky young champion, Okada simply stated that Shibata had not yet proven himself and that if he wanted a shot at the title then he was to win the New Japan Cup.
This challenge would sink deep into the mind of Shibata and would bear fruit three years later.
In 2017, Shibata would defeat the giant Bad Luck Fale in the finals of New Japan's single elimination tournament to earn a shot at either IWGP Heavyweight, Intercontinental or NEVER Openweight championships. As is custom, Shibata was given a microphone at the matches conclusion and asked which title he would challenge for. He would utter a single name and everyone knew the history by which he uttered it: OKADA.
The stage was set for Sakura Genesis in what was to be the greatest match of all time.
Its might be hard to imagine that a single match of this caliber could pack in ten thousand people at Ryōgoku Kokugikan, let alone that a man as bland and lacking of character as Shibata would command the support of the ten thousand strong. But this is Japan and the Japanese people respect tradition and Shibata exemplified that tradition. This being his first bout for the IWGP heavyweight title also made it feel extra special.
Once the bell rang, in direct opposition to how Shibata traditionally started his matches, The Wrestler stood his ground and simply stared daggers at the champion. In lieu of the traditional wrestlers lockup which would lead to the inevitable spot fest of shoot off, drop down etc, Shibata took Okada to the mat using traditional Greco-Roman wrestling techniques. The elegance of this use of traditional wrestling still stands out in my mind to this day as it broke with the norms of what we, the wrestling audience, have come to expect.
The two would exchange holds, trading positions in an effort that appeared more like a legitimate sporting event that would not have been out of place at the Olympics. Shibata would go for arm bars while mounting and wrapping his legs around his opponents more open body parts in a technical display that was a beauty to behold.
After several minutes Shibata would eventually gain the upper hand, sinking in a hard headlock using simple techniques to add to his opponents suffering. He would use the blade of his forearm to apply pressure on the orbital bone of Okada. When Okada finally does shoot him off for the drop down spot, Shibata puts the breaks on and immediately slaps on another headlock. Simple, elegant and effective.
It's only when Okada finally loses his temper and hits Shibata on a corner break does the match start to pick up pace.
It's from here that it goes from traditional wrestling to an all out fight. The two exchange strikes with Shibata inevitably gaining the upper hand. After a brief rope whip exchange, Okada would send Shibata to the outside with a top rope dropkick which showcased his agility and athleticism. On the outside, Okada would plant the Wrestler with a hanging DDT before heading back into the ring. In a moment of true craftsmanship, Shibata would sell the move right up until the count of 17 making the people of Ryogoku believe that he was done for the night... not so!
Shibata would re-enter the ring and Okada would immediately reapply the pressure, but with little effect. His submission holds did nothing as did his strikes and it looked more and more evident that Shibata was going to walk away as the champion. Shibata would challenge Okada to strike him and would receive no less than five forearm strikes from the champion but the singular strike The Wrestler would return sent the champ down to the mat.
For another ten minutes Shibata would continue his assault of dominance, beating down on Okada with victory seemingly in his grasp but wishing to take the title only when he saw fit.
It would then switch up to Okada finally gaining a measure of a come back which lead to the champion hitting the flying elbow. He would make to go for his patented Rainmaker finisher only to be blocked by Shibata. These simple exchanges heightened the crowds desire to see a title change and for Shibata to finally gain what many believed was his long overdue run with the title. With ten thousand voices chanting his name he rallied to the cause and what a stirring sight it was.
Both men had sunk to their knees and began exchanging blows, each man egging the other on to hit harder and stiffer. It was primal and it spoke to the natural instincts that exist in man. The simple desire to fight and not be defeated.
Exhaustion had taken its toll and even after Okada sent Shibata down to the mat and went for a cover Shibata managed to find the strength to slap on an arm bar. Even after the hold was broken the damage was done and Shibata sensed the kill and began to rain down sharp measured kicks on Okada's right arm.
This offence would continue on as would his concentration on wearing down Okada until the most fateful moment of the match, the moment that would overshadow the greatness of the effort of both men and ultimately end Shinata's career.
Shibata had been doing the stiff headbutt for several years, and even in the world of Professional Wrestling, where concussions are only just now being taken seriously, they are ill advised. But Shibata's use of this one move had such an impact on his life that it changed everything in a moment. There is very little to expand upon with the move other than he would headbutt someone so stiffly that it would cause him to bleed, usually only harmlessly but after so long using this move it finally proved almost fatal.
Had Shibata bled and bled profusely then there would be a chance that The Wrestler would still be working today. As it happens, the blood stopped flowing outwardly and instead turned into a Subdural Haematoma, a bleed on the brain. The effects of this would not be immediately apparent but we wouldn't have to wait long to see.
Even by wrestling standards and at close on the forty minute mark, Shibata began to sweat more profusely than would expected. Yet, in true Japanese style and true to his nature, Shibata continued for another seven minutes before finally falling to the Rainmaker closeline.
While no-one assumed that something was wrong, looking back at the footage of Shibata struggling to to walk from the ring under his own power is, to this day, a hard sight to see. The damage had been done as Shibata began to stroke out and had to be rushed to hospital for emergency surgery.
It's a shame that this singular moment should be the lasting impression that ended such an amazing match, a match that nearly cost the life of one of its participants. Had Shibata actually died then this match would be a cautionary tale, had he not suffered the brain bleed then he would most assuredly have won the title at some point, but these are questions to which we will never fully know the answers.
What is left behind though is one of the best worked matches in modern Pro Wrestling, a blueprint of what it is that wrestlers should be trying to convey between the ropes, a contest between two men doing their level best to fight and win. Sakura Genesis should not be remembered fully for what it did to Shibata but for what he gave the world of wrestling, the return of the struggle, the clash between two men as a primal force trying to defeat one another and not simply the rapid progression of one move into another.