Kazuchika Okada Had the Best Year Ever
On best-of lists in pro wrestling.
It’s the end of another year, which means an onslaught of a thing that is both my most and least favorite: pro wrestling best-of lists.
Lists are subjective things. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Your idea of the best match or best wrestler or best event of any given year is probably different than mine, different than Dave Meltzer’s, different than Wade Keller’s, different than Ryan Satin’s. And that’s fine, because that’s the beauty of pro wrestling: there’s a lot of stuff out there, and a lot of it is wildly different in style and substance. You might like the Young Bucks and their insane, highspot-filled matches, and if you don’t, that’s perfectly fine. Maybe someone like Keith Lee or Walter is your cup of tea. Maybe you prefer the WWE style.
All of these things are fine. Because, again, that’s the beauty of pro wrestling.
But then you have a list like the one Justin Barrasso’s Wrestler of the Year for Sports Illustrated.
Here’s the full condensed list:
1. Kenny Omega
2. AJ Styles
3. Roman Reigns
4. John Cena
5. Braun Strowman
6. Kazuchika Okada
7. Kevin Owens
8. Matt Riddle
9. Cody Rhodes
10. Keith Lee
So, here’s the the thing. You know how I wrote about pro wrestling being subjective? Forget about it. Because in 2017, any list that has Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns and John Cena listed higher than Kazuchika Okada is ridiculous, if not downright laughable.
Okada had, by pretty much any measure, the greatest single year of any pro wrestler in history. If we’re going by Meltzer’s ratings — and let’s be honest, they’re considered the holy grail by the industry — then Okada’s 31 matches in 2017 came up to an average rating of 4 stars. (Actually 4.00806452, if we’re being specific). He averaged *four stars* over the course of an entire year. And on top of that, he participated in not only the first six-star match in pro wrestling history, but had three matches rated six stars or higher for the year.
I mean, seriously. This actually happened.
I can’t write about Okada’s three six star matches without mentioning the other participant. Kenny Omega had a ridiculous year as well, and in any other year, he’d be the runaway wrestler of the year. And he’s my personal favorite wrestler to watch.
But it was Okada’s matches with the people not named Kenny Omega that cements his year as the greatest ever. Okada had insane matches with all sorts of people, with all sorts of styles and emotions. The man had **** or better matches with Bad Luck Fale and Cody Rhodes. Those matches would be the high point of a year for most wrestlers. It’s probably the best match of Rhodes’ career and helped him start to change the public narrative surrounding his in-ring work.
For Okada, they’re just part of the fabric of a masterful run. And he’s just 30 years old.
If you’re trying to tell me that you somehow believe Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns somehow had better years than Okada, I have a hard time accepting you as an authority on professional wrestling. And if you’re writing for a publication like Sports Illustrated, with a substantial reach and a considerable voice, I feel it’s your duty to be better informed. If Barrasso had placed Omega at #1 and Okada at #2, well, okay. I don’t agree, but I can see why you’d feel that way. But moving Okada down the list, behind a very-entertaining-but-not-good-in-the-ring Strowman, Reigns (who has gotten so much better) and a part-time John Cena? And giving Tetsuya Naito an honorable mention?
I don’t know what to say, other than to offer a piece of advice: watch more pro wrestling.
