Joseph and Colette Discuss Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Yoshihiro Takayama

Canonically the 21st best match we've covered on BIG EGG.

NJPW

If you watched Joseph and I assemble the BIG EGG MASTERLIST last week, you know that the main event of Wrestle Kingdom IV fell into “the void,” a vast expanse of matches that, while undeniably better than Triple H vs. The Undertaker, we were otherwise fairly far apart on. After some hemming and hawing, we sorted things out, placing it between El Satanico vs. Pirata Morgan and Volk Han vs. Mitsuya Nagai, making it the 21st best match we’ve covered here on BIG EGG.

We did our talking about placement on the livestream, which will be available to all paying subscribers of BIG EGG soon, so this discussion is the last one where the two of us won’t be arguing about where these matches rank in the grand scheme of things. Moving forward, these discussion posts will be part of an ongoing discussion about what we’ve seen throughout the course of this project, holding these matches up to the same light as classics like Atsushi Onita vs. Hayabusa and Sami Zayn vs. Johnny Knoxville, both of which are not ranked highly enough for my taste. Boy oh boy does that conversation start off with a bang.

Next Up: For the next four matches on our plate: LUCHA LIBRE! We're taking an excursion to Mexico to hit up some heralded classics and a few matches dug up through sheer curiosity on YouTube. Next week, it's one of the most famous apuesta matches of all time. Chronologically speaking, it may just be the first classic status lucha match that we have available to us in complete footage. It's the bloodbath between Sangre Chicana and MS-1! The hair is on the line and so is their pride!

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Joseph Montecillo
Today, we're talking about a match that has recently been scientifically determined to be the 21st best match covered on BIG EGG up to this point. Interestingly enough, I ended up coming away a fair bit higher on this match than you. What would you say separates this from Nakamura's other Tokyo Dome epics, especially those in the mid 2010s or so?

Shinsuke Nakamura Runs Into Yoshihiro Takayama

Colette Arrand
The easy answer is, of course, “the crowd.” They’re noticeably hushed, and I don’t think it’s just a matter of the stands not being filled out as much as you’d like for the setting. I think the other thing is that his other epics are coming at a point where this particular iteration of Nakamura’s is at its peak. I also watched those matches and fell in love with them in real time, so it’s kind of like going back and watching a prequel, if that makes sense. It’s not that it wasn’t thrilling in its own way, but it holds less novelty, even if Takayama is the guy feeling the Nakamuraness.

Shinsuke Nakamura Summits Everest for the Second Time