14 Ups & 3 Downs From NJPW/ROH G1 Supercard
7. The Junior Heavyweights Go NUTS
Coming in at a shade under nine minutes, the Taiji Ishimori vs. Dragon Lee vs. Bandido IWGP Junior Heavyweight Triple Threat was much shorter than most expected. It didn't matter. This, like last year's ALL IN main event, was a berzerk blitzkrieg that actually benefitted from its shorter runtime, with three of the world's foremost high-flyers cramming all kinds of madness into the curtailed runtime.
If you like sprints, you need to check this out. It was one of the most gif-worthy matches of the year, and with moments like Bandido nailing his top rope Moonsault slam on both men and Lee hitting one of the best Canadian Destroyers your writer has ever seen, it is crammed with beautiful set pieces. Jim Cornette types will likely be appalled, but that's their loss.
Dragon Lee scored the win with a pin on Bandido, so the prospect of a singles match between him and Ishimori remains. This is his first IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title reign. He's a stellar performer, he deserves it, and earned it on the back of another breakneck NJPW performance.