NJPW G1 Climax 2019 Night 12 (August 1) - B BLOCK: Every Match Ranked From Worst To Best

1. Tomohiro Ishii Vs. Hirooki Goto

Jon Moxley
NJPW

Though not quite at the level of their Match-Of-The-Tournament contender in last year's G1 Climax Tomohiro Ishii and Hirooki Goto went so hard at one another for the full duration of their 18 minute beef-slapper that Goto's pleather pants were sticking to the inside of his legs as he bounced the 'Stone Pitbull's neck off his knees.

They just didn't give a f*ck. This wasn't a battle for points, nor a fight to impress the crowd as headliners of the show - it was a case of two older, wiser men going to war as if they had the engines of soldiers half their age. And maybe they still do - the relentless pace never let up, with Ishii yet again taking ungodly punishment as the tournament's Ace without the grand payoff of an all-important win.

Goto's GTR was enough to see off the NEVER Openweight Champion to set up a rematch for that title down the road, and it can't come soon enough - their chemistry brings out something in him that few others in all of NJPW can. Goto, against Ishii, still looks like he belongs.

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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