NJPW G1 Climax 2018, Week 3: Every Match Ranked From Worst To Best

5. Michael Elgin Vs. Kazuchika Okada (30 July)

Tomohrio Ishii Kota Ibushi
NJPW

Rating: ****1/4

A wild final third made up for a slightly slow start as Kazuchika Okada continued to try and find the 'Rainmaker' within him and release it back to his waiting world.

Rather arrogantly going for big moves on 'Big Mike' early, Okada came unstuck against his larger opponent's dynamic power game, but an enthused near-the-knuckle kickout from a Splash Mountain effort energised the audience into a galvanising force for the former IWGP Champion. Still a broken man, Okada called himself a "Big Boy" in the post-match promo - he got at least one step closer to becoming the man he once was with such an emphatic victory.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett