Joseph and Colette Discuss Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kazushi Sakuraba

A BIG EGG consensus pick for one of the greatest wrestling matches of all time.

Hope y’all had a nice January 4, whether you stayed up to watch live or pecked your way through NJPW’s overlong extravaganza at a more reasonable hour. For BIG EGG, that meant peering back into Wrestle Kingdom past, with an Intercontinental Championship match between Shinsuke Nakamura and Kazushi Sakuraba. We both heaped praise on it in our individual essays, and will continue to do so here.

Joseph: Nakamura and Sakuraba Prove Wrestling Is the King of Sports
Colette: Against Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazushi Sakuraba Fails to Smother a Flame
Also from Colette: Happy 1/4 to All Who Celebrate (Mankind vs. The Rock)

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Joseph Anthony Montecillo
So this week, I went with a very sentimental pick of mine, Nakamura vs. Sakuraba. Sentimental because back in the mines of the old puroresu.tv forums, this was a favorite among the members, and one of the most universally loved matches of 2013. It was my introduction to both men and Bushiroad New Japan in general, which was probably a bad thing because it actually feels incredibly separate from so much of what they were doing both stylistically and even just booking-wise. How do you see this match in comparison to the wider New Japan landscape at the time?

AsianMMA.com

Colette Arrand
I'm in the same boat. That particular slice of time is marked by the Okada/Tanahashi feud, obviously, but I've always liked NJPW's secondary titles more, the Intercontinental and my beloved NEVER Openweight Championship. The Intercontinental Championship wound up being a kind of secondary world title thanks to Nakamura's association with it, but the fact that he wasn't feuding with someone over the identity of New Japan meant that he was able to carve out a little piece for himself. From here, the IC Title main events Wrestle Kingdom, then is on the line against Kota Ibushi and AJ Styles in two matches that are also extremely highly regarded, especially by people who came to NJPW at that time. Each of those matches feels entirely different than the main event, not just title matches, but a clash of ideologies, a dream match of sorts, whether promoted that way or not. I love this match. I love Shinsuke Nakamura. I don't think there's another wrestler like him from this period of time.