10 Times A Wrestler Went On An Insane Streak Of Matches
2. Kenny Omega's 2018 G1 Climax Run
The G1 Climax is, in better times, the best time to be a pro wrestling fan.
It is the elite tier of pro wrestling structured in a dramatic, high stakes competition, with a puzzle quality that somehow contrives to make mathematics exhilarating. It is considered by fans and talent alike as the pinnacle of all of this. The sacred respect it is afforded manifests as a series of totally committed and motivated performances, and in 2018, Kenny Omega set another impossible standard.
His match with Tetsuya Naito was consistent with their insanity. This was expected to be as great as it was; what wasn't was Omega's match against the fading Hirooki Goto, in which the IWGP Champion's boundless creativity materialised quite literally with a scorching, brutal and spectacular sequence in the bleachers. Omega, in wondrous, preening form, annoyed Tomohiro Ishii into unleashing the full, unhinged extent of his hard c*nt aura by playing his bald head like a bongo.
And Ishii unleashed it, in a terrifying and intoxicating war, but not before Omega's impeccable craftsmanship saw him engineer a diving double foot stomp spot that didn't rely on any rope-holding bullsh*t. This was Omega extracting art where everybody else added contrivance. An incredible match with Kota Ibushi capped the run, and for all of the complaints levelled at Omega's apparent histrionic approach, this was a gorgeously understated battle of reluctance.
He worked through all of this - and consider Omega's explosiveness, and how he launches into it - with a badly injured achilles tendon.