5 Best NJPW matches of 2020

#1 Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 Day 1)

Main event set for night one of Wrestle Kingdom 14!IWGP Heavyweight ChampionshipKazuchika Okada (c) vs Kota IbushiDetails: https://t.co/0y1R7myr61#njpw #njwk14 pic.twitter.com/ymHYaVD4zv

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) October 15, 2019

The other main reason for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 Day 1 being one of the best major shows of 2020 was the main event with Kazuchika Okada defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Kota Ibushi. "The Golden Star" earned his first Tokyo Dome main event by winning the G1 Climax 29, while Okada entered sixth one.

These two men competed in an excellent encounter that grew in intensity and nearly lasted for 40 minutes. Ibushi would enter into a trance of violence as this NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 main event went on. Okada overcame this by using his cunning and incredible ability to find his opponent's weakness.

'It's strange when you think about it, but however big the building might be, in the end, the ring is always the exact same size.' Tetsuya Naito talks about big match experience in our revealing interview: https://t.co/PMjvNrJy2p#njpw #njnbg #njwk14 pic.twitter.com/DyjdLjc20t

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) January 25, 2020

This contest had strike exchanges, awe-inspiring sequences and callbacks to Okada's career rivals in Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kenny Omega. The layers to this bout were superb and intricately placed to allow every fan to go on this ride. In the end, Okada pulled out a final Rainmaker to get the pinfall and move on to Day 2 of NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 to face Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Dual Gold.

Kazuchika Okada had a down year following his loss of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship with his main event spots few and far between, but there was no denying that this was his best match of 2020. Okada added another classic to his phenomenal NJPW Wrestle Kingdom legacy, while Ibushi proved himself worthy of being a top star.