14 Ups & 3 Downs From NJPW/ROH G1 Supercard

2. Kelly Klein's Big Moment Falls Flat

Mayu Iwatani Kelly Klein
NJPW/ROH

Mayu Iwantani and Kelly Klein's Women Of Honor Title match failed for two reasons:-

1. Bret Hart was assaulted at the WWE Hall Of Fame seconds after it had kicked off. This caught the whole arena's attention, with hordes of fans attached to their phone screens, desperate to get the scoop on an absurd situation across the East River in Brooklyn. Klein and Iwantani could've wrestled a modern classic and nobody would've given them a lick of notice, those poor, poor souls. A real shame for them.

2. Kelly Klein doesn't wrestle to what should be the modern working standard for women's wrestling. At a time when the likes of Io Shirai, Becky Lynch, and Charlotte Flair can genuinely be considered among the best in the world regardless of gender, her clunky, slow, mistimed movements don't cut it.

The match was a misfire. It didn't land, and the performers didn't seem to be on the same page, either. It made a phenomenal talent in Iwantani look normal and boring. this division needs to get its sh*t together, because having a subpar women's scene in 2019 isn't good enough.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.