NJPW/CMLL
Korakuen Hall (Toyko, Japan)
NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship
The best way to describe the action in this match is that the match passed through the ring more than it took place in it. The in-ring action during the body of the match was brief and simply designed to set up the next out-of-the-ring dive. The dives were largely excellent and far too plentiful to cover them all in this space. Move-for-move, this was one of the greatest high-flying spectacles in recent memory. Is that enough to make it a great overall match? That opinion will likely vary widely from person to person.
Some will be quick to label the match a spot fest and while that is true by the broad definition, one thing the match did have going for it was that there was an identifiable pace and structure to it. Dorada and Volador established early on that their offense was going to be dive-based and for the entire body of the match, they didn’t stray from it. The viable “action taking place through the ring rather than in it” vibe helped it from ever feeling completely disjointed and like a collection of moves, as opposed to say the Volador/La Sombra mask match from last year which felt like just one move after another with no rhythm by the end.
This match came close to that territory in the later stages, but the stretch run was contained enough that it never felt like it got out of control. This was a must see match because the moves were so spectacular, but how an individual fan feels about the match in general will vary a great deal I imagine. It is one of those polarizing matches that some will love, some will hate, and some will appreciate for what it was while also recognizing the match’s obvious flaws.
High Flying | Must Watch | Spectacle/Quality
