NJPW G1 Climax 2019 Night 10 (July 28) - B BLOCK: Every Match Ranked From Worst To Best

5. Jeff Cobb Vs. Taichi

Jeff Cobb used his Tour Of The Islands slam to score a vital victory over Taichi and keep himself just about alive in this year’s G1 Climax, but his prospects of making more of his run with NJPW following the tournament still felt deader than the remains of his opponent’s microphone stand after another deeply disappointing display.

It’s been hard to pinpoint what hasn’t worked for Cobb this year - his efforts at New Year Dash and the MSG Supershow speak to a performer refining his offering for something just like this, but in match and personality quality, the SPLX rep has gone missing once too often.

It’s possible that he was dropped into the wrong block for his style, but that’s arguably all the more reason to mourn what could have been a stand-out showing.As is, this particular outing went through the motions at every level - Taichi’s early cheating eventually subdued before the tearaways came off and the strikes got serious. The crowd got up for the nearfalls, but there’s no raising either of these beyond moribund midcard between now and the end of the tournament.