10 Most Controversial Wrestling People Of 2018

In theory, New Japan's idea to leverage the G1's reputation for stirring snowstorms on Dave Meltzer's spreadsheets by having the Guerrillas of Destiny play spoiler was a touch of minor ingenuity. In practice, it just sort of stank up the tournament - even if that was the point.

Naturally, there was only so low the generally lukewarm Bad Luck Fale could drop against Minoru Suzuki and Hiroshi Tanahashi, but it was hard to escape the feeling that he and his fellow BCOG buddies were purposefully putting on bad matches to generate heel heat. Though it achieved its stated objective in winding up New Japan fans tuning into a tournament famed for its work-rate, it fell flat on its arse in making any of them want to see anything more from the saboteurs. Effectively, Gedo was tapping into the WWE's unwanted heel formula.

There was a reasonable argument to be made for the Firing Squad firing on fewer cylinders: it offered a few moments of respite from the cup's gruelling schedule for New Japan's top-line performers. But was it worth dampening the momentum of the brilliant Bullet Club schism at the previous month's G1 Special for such a limited return? Probably not.