19 Ups & 4 Downs From NJPW G1 Climax 2019

1. As Dry As Prohibition (Night 4)

Juice Robinson Hirooki Goto
NJPW

The G1's fourth night was, by most promotion's standards, a decent little show, but "decent little shows" aren't enough when it comes to wrestling's biggest tournament and long, long portions weren't exactly riveting viewing.

Shingo Takagi vs. Toru Yano was every Yano match you've ever seen, so your mileage will have varied depending on whether or not you enjoy CHAOS' DVD-flogging banter merchant. Hirooki Goto and Juice Robinson got hot towards the end but the bout's first two acts dragged. Elsewhere, we got a fun clash of styles in Jeff Cobb vs Jon Moxley (though it was too short to really get going), Taichi's tedious gubbins in the main event, and an awesome sh*tbird heel vs. grizzled, fired-up babyface slugger pitting Jay White against Tomohiro Ishii, which almost single-handled dragged night four towards the Ups. Almost.

Shows of this calibre are part of what can make the G1 such a grind. They're fine, but there's too much great wrestling out there to make the time investment worthwhile.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. 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.