Ospreay was looking to regain the IWGP United States Championship he lost at Wrestle Kingdom 17 when he stepped back into the ring with Omega for only their second singles match.
Both men got great reactions during their entrances, but Omega was clearly the fan favorite. Not only was he the babyface champion, but he was also in his home country.
The first match they had on January 4 stole the show and you could tell they were looking to do the same thing here just from their posture and facial expressions. They were as serious as it gets.
They seemed like they were pacing themselves at first, but after about a minute, both men started trying to hit some of their biggest moves on each other.
Callis tried to grab Omega's leg and the ref booted him from ringside. That allowed everyone to focus solely on the match in the ring from that point forward.
Anyone who is familiar with the abilities of Omega and Ospreay already knows this was a great match. It's tough to say if they outdid their previous performance because they felt like totally different matches. The first one was all about the tension of their first-ever singles bout whereas this one was about them trying to hurt each other.
The Cleaner was busted open when Ospreay slammed his head into the announce table several times. Omega did the same thing to him on the steel steps a few minutes later. They were both a bloody mess by the time they got back into the ring.
They each scored several near-falls as they started showing signs of the wear and tear they had suffered. Each time they went down, it took a little longer to get to their feet again. Callis made another appearance and hid behind his security guards in the aisle as Omega drilled Ospreay with a stiff knee.
Callis passed Ospreay his screwdriver while he was keeping the ref busy. He used it to escape the One-Winged Angel and hit the Stormbreaker, but Omega got his foot on the rope to break the pin.
Ospreay used Omega's own V-Trigger and One-Winged Angel against him, but The Cleaner kicked out at one to get a massive pop from the crowd. The challenger dumped him right on his head with a Tiger Driver 91 but still couldn't get the pin. He finally got the three-count after another Stormbreaker to regain the IWGP U.S. title.
Winner: Will Ospreay
Notable Moments and Observations
- Callis and a pair of masked security guards flanked Ospreay for his entrance.
- The crowd was chanting before they even did anything interesting. That is how hyped the fans were for this bout.
- Ospreay had a beautiful counter for a hip toss into an abdominal stretch.
- The way Ospreay slammed Omega's head into the announce table was nuts.
- Ospreay disrespected the Canadian flag in several ways, but Omega turned him inside out with a clothesline to make him pay for it.
- There were too many cool spots here to list them all.
ncG1vNJzZmianJqupLTEq6meqJ%2BnwW%2BvzqZmmqqknrCtsdJoaGloaGWCeIWMmpywZahiu6u81madqKqSnrGlsc1mm6inomJ%2FcX6SZqmeq6WhwbR51qKlp52iqHqttdWeZKCqkZmytHnRnpicrJmku260yKCfpaGXncG0