Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW, 6/11/17)

I thought this was shade under their Wrestle Kingdom match but still probably the match of the night, with a fantastic performance from Naito and Tanahashi doing his best to sell the injured arm. I thought Tanahashi’s selling was good at best but for the amount of work Naito put into the arm, it could have been much better – especially during the home stretch. Naito in true Naito fashion latches onto the arm and goes back to it time and again in moments of weakness or desperation. He exudes arrogance throughout the match in the good times and panic during the bad, to a point where he overshadows Tanahashi on an expressive level. Tanahashi’s offense seems like a reprieve from Naito’s onslaught, with his release German and dragon screws, but the legwork didn’t really add much to the match.

As Tanahashi’s offense ramps up heading into the final minutes, the injured arm doesn’t feel like much of a factor, like when he’s catching Naito off the ropes and planting him with a swinging side slam. He’s able to counter the swinging DDT with back-to-back whiplashes but misses the High Fly Flow. They trade hard slaps and Tanahashi ducks a swing and delivers the shutdown German suplex for a nearfall. There’s a hiccup or two during their final dance-off but otherwise, a decisive win for Tanahashi. After a big Naito German suplex, he tries for the Destino and Tanahashi counters with a release dragon suplex. Two slingblades and a High Fly Flow later, Tanahashi has him in the elevated Texas cloverleaf hold, putting the pressure on Naito’s back. To nitpick, it’s a hold that requires a lot from the applier’s arms, especially at that angle, but…whatever, Naito ruled here and the submission finish was a cool surprise.