How do you get under the skin of perhaps the greatest IWGP Heavyweight Champion of all time? Throw him around like a small child and call him a ‘Young Boy’. This is what Jeff Cobb has been doing to Kazuchika Okada over the last tour, and tonight we finally see them clash in singles action.
Under the bright lights of the Tokyo Dome, Cobb will look to prove he’s better than Okada, and perhaps should be in line for a shot at the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Last time they met, Okada vanquished Cobb in a mere 11 minutes, but Cobb is not the same man anymore.
Anything Okada Can Do, Jeff Cobb Can Do Better
Cobb would be standing tall and focused as the bell rang, before locking up with Okada and shoving him to the ropes. He’d allow a clean break before taunting Okada once again. Okada would get Cobb to the ropes next and allow a clean break, before hitting a running big boot and sliding dropkick. Cobb was dropped with a quick neckbreaker, but this would barely get a one count.
Okada would send Cobb into the corner and look for the leaping back elbow, but Cobb dodged and hit a spear. Cobb would put Okada on the top rope, and pull a page from Okada’s book by taking him off the top rope with a dropkick. On the outside, Cobb kept the attack coming with a spinebuster onto the ring apron. The back of Okada has been an issue all year, and is a major target.
Back in the ring, Cobb would hit some backbreakers before throwing Okada aside like a bale of hay. In the corner, he’d nail some chops that followed through with a lariat, and got a two count on the mat. Okada has had a hard time getting going, but he’d block a backdrop and manage to drop Cobb with a flapjack to get some distance.
Some big forearm strikes would follow before Okada hit the fast back elbow strike off the ropes. Another would follow in the corner before the DDT, a classic Okada combo before he’d shove Cobb into the corner. Cobb went up top, before being dropkicked off the top, sending Cobb tumbling to the floor. On the outside, Okada nailed a big boot to send Cobb over the barricade, before pulling him over into a DDT right onto the wooden ring platform.
Kazuchika Okada Digs Deep Into His Back Of Tricks
Back in the ring, Okada would hype Cobb up to get him up to look for the neckbreaker, before Cobb slipped free. Instead, Okada had to go for the Money Clip, and was driven right into the corner. Cobb would look to superplex Okada right out onto the floor from the apron, but Okada was able to save himself.
Okada would dive to the outside only to be caught by Cobb, who would set up a delayed vertical suplex. Cobb would have been fine with a count out victory, but Okada was able to get back into the ring at 19. An Oklahoma Stampede was followed by a standing moonsault from Cobb, getting a two count.
Okada was pulled into the Spin-Cycle, but was able to kick out once again. Cobb followed up with a German Suplex, but got greedy and wanted to set up another only to take a shotgun dropkick before the vertical dropkick. Okada hit the backslide into a lariat, before nailing a second after maintaining wrist control.
He’d look for the Rainmaker but missed, with Cobb looking to counter into a Tombstone. Okada slipped out and looked at the spinning rainmaker only to be dropped with a lariat from Cobb. They’d both hit the mat, before nailing some big strikes. Okada won the strike exchange at first before Cobb hit an elbow to the back of the head and a doctor bomb for a two count.
Cobb went for Tour Of The Islands but was countered, before just hitting a battering ram headbutt. Okada would look to fire back with a Rainmaker after blocking another Tour Of The Islands, before Cobb dodged. The neckbreaker was set up and Cobb rolled down into a sunset flip attempt, but Okada countered into a pinfall for the win!
This was a dominant performance from Cobb, with Okada showing that he was simply a better wrestler on this night with a flash counter in the end. Both men looked fantastic here, and the final stretch was intense and close. Okada had to dig deep, and Cobb is only going to get more vicious after this loss. Cobb did everything to Okada but beat him tonight. Match Rating: 3.75/5 (*** 3/4)
What will be next for Okada after this major win? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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