10 Best Wrestling Matches Of The Week (July 22)

When Satoshi Kojima gave up his G1 Climax spot to Hiroyoshi Tenzan, the overwhelming majority of New Japan's international fanbase rolled their eyes. Despite being the older man, Kojima is objectively a better worker at this stage in their careers. A fire had been lit under Tenzan following his initial snubbing, but questions remained (and still remain) about his ability to perform in such a gruelling format.

Well, if the first night is anything to go, Tenzan is more than ready to put his body through hell one last time. Okay, so he was in there against Tomohiro Ishii, arguably one of the best strong style wrestlers in the world and a man who consistently puts on 4* matches when on the big stage.

This was a brutal slugfest in the best possible way, with a particularly hard-to-watch series of headbutts throughout. Tenzan survived the Ishii onslaught and managed to pick up the win via moonsault, something that I will never tire of seeing.

It remains to be seen whether Tenzan can produce matches of this quality when up against Bad Luck Fale or Togi Makabe, but this was as good a start as you could hope for.