NJPW put Ospreay/Shingo from last year's BoSJ tourney up on YouTube, and it made me remember that not all New Japan is the Okada/Naito/Tanahashi forced epic stuff. Most of the match was built around Ospreay aiming for the Stormbringer and Shingo just being his usual bully self, ultimately to his detriment. If it ended 5-10 minutes earlier than it did then I'd have given it the full 5, probably. **** as it is.
I also realized while watching it that there are three key elements that made me love this.
1) Consistent tempo. It didn't follow the common move, lie down sell, move, lie down sell, etc. The few moments of that in Ospreay/Shingo came after lengthy stretches of action, and found either Shingo hamming it up or Ospreay selling the beating and exhaustion.
2) No real "my turn, your turn" strike exchanges. There were a few, but nothing too egregious, as they were kept short and spaced out. The story of Shingo winning each stand up fight and Ospreay needing to bob n' weave to get his shots in certainly helped.
3) A finishing stretch that felt properly built. Like I said, the build was Ospreay looking for the Stormbringer and Shingo being a dick. Shingo, as has happened multiple times in his career, let his ego get carried away, leading to Ospreay getting a few choice shots that, ultimately, allowed Ospreay to gain the advantage. The surprise Oz Cutter on the apron was a great comeback spot, and the way that Shingo sold the second Oz Cutter toward the end, by stiffening his body like he'd just been legitimately knocked out for a moment, made a ton of difference.
Shingo is awesome. Ospreay, when allowed to fight from underneath, is awesome.
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