NJPW G1 Climax 2019 Night 12 (August 1) - B BLOCK: Every Match Ranked From Worst To Best
3. Toru Yano Vs. Jon Moxley
Jon Moxley’s latest triumph almost took Match-Of-The-Night honours yet again despite being rooted in the style of comedy Toru Yano’s G1 Climax battles are famed (and occasionally acclaimed) for.
Yano’s had a great tournament on any of his typical metrics - the contests have been uniformly hilarious, relatively short and perfect for tinkering with the ever-changing standings in a fiercely competitive B Block. It was, somewhat paradoxically, rather predictable that he’d serve ‘Mox’ his first defeat not just in the tournament but in New Japan Pro Wrestling so far.
Taped to sidekick Shota (“SHOOTER!”) Umino by the ‘Sublime Master Thief’, the ‘Purveyor Of Violence’ was rendered completely powerless on the arena floor after Yano beat the 20 count following a table-based brawl. Victory for the United States Champion here would have knocked Jay White and Tetsuya Naito out of contention with three matches still remaining - from a dramatic and mathematical perspective, it was the only logical way to go.