NJPW G1 Climax 2019 BLOCK FINALS & GRAND FINAL (Aug 10, 11 & 12): Every Match Ranked From Worst To Best
1. Kota Ibushi Vs. Jay White
A phenomenal match rich in rewarding those following the various loose threads booker Gedo had intentionally left frayed just to be tied back up here, Kota Ibushi Vs Jay White was a substantially more satisfying epic than another neckshibition between 'The Golden Star' and Tetsuya Naito.
Not least because seeing 'Switchblade' finally get some comeuppance was as pure in traditional pro wrestling intent as anything New Japan Pro Wrestling will achieve all year. Gedo took some grief for the pairing, but was presumably grinning from ear to ear half an hour later, even if his character had to sell the savagery of war.
After laughably promising not to employ dirty tactics before zeroing in on Ibushi's ankle the night before, White used and abused every opportunity to cheat to win before being forced to actually do it on his own when it mattered. Brilliantly, his Climax form following a string of early losses had highlighted that he could - yet more logic that spoke to the magician holding the pencil as well as the performers working the actual tricks, and what tricks they played. Trading finishers and near falls at the - ahem - climax, the nervousness and terror within Budokan at the prospect of White winning the whole thing was as intense an in-ring moment the company could ever dream of conjuring.
Ibushi's win lines up a Wrestle Kingdom rematch against the man he defeated here, and who could bet against him doing what his Golden Lover Kenny Omega never could next January 4th?