NJPW G1 Climax 2019 BLOCK FINALS & GRAND FINAL (Aug 10, 11 & 12): Every Match Ranked From Worst To Best
Golden Stars.
With his genius immune to question for the umpteenth year in a row, New Japan Pro Wrestling booker Gedo shaped the final night of another amazing G1 Climax not just around a controversial final, but an angle that will feature high on lists ranking the best of the year.
KENTA - fresh from a solid run in the tournament that saw him fight for the respect of the NJPW locker room - f*cked all of that off entirely by shockingly joining Bullet Club at the conclusion of his team's undercard clash. Katsuyori Shibata brought the former Hideo Itami to the company in an effort to facilitate a second chance similar to the one he received before his unfortunate 2017 retirement, but suffered the consequences when he suffered a brutal beatdown after thrillingly attempting to kick some sense into his former charge.
It was scintillating stuff, and a reminder that New Japan will, as always, remain in grand health following on from another sensational series of matches in this year's tournament. Despite the lack of stakes and ramifications, make time for Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Will Ospreay and Taichi Vs Tomohiro Ishii before closing the book completely on 2019's event. And as for the final matches that mattered...
5. Juice Robinson Vs. Jon Moxley
A match that made a little too much fun out of some serious stakes and two supposedly serious competitors, Juice Robinson and Jon Moxley's second encounter couldn't quite live up to their spectacular opener nor did it massively service their eventual rubber match over the United States Title.
Juice Robinson's life and career took a turn the moment 'Mox' was revealed as the payoff to the mysterious Death Rider vignettes, with his increased intensity a welcome addition to this year's midcard. Consistently improving, he'll be elevated by this programme in the long run, but the middle chapter will surely be remembered as the weakest.
Moxley winning would have secured him near-certain victory in the tournament, but it was the pair's task to remove the obviousness of this not occuring. In this aim - arguably the most important - the match missed the mark, but the work was worthy nonetheless. A good brawl that never quite reached the level both have managed to find more often than not in the tournament, this lacked a certain spark that should have present considering the points permutations.