NJPW G1 Climax 2019 Night 15 (August 7) - A BLOCK: Every Match Ranked From Worst To Best

2. Kazuchika Okada Vs. EVIL

Will Ospreay KENTA
NJPW

As fans (and commentators) grappled with the mathematical machinations of Evil’s position in the tournament, Kazuchika Okada and the Los Ingobernables de Japon man engaged in some hold/counter-hold action of their own as ‘The Rainmaker’ started deliberately slow against the partner of the man that took almost 30 minutes to beat him just days earlier.

Evil has over-performed in the A Block standings, if not always between the ropes, but looked assured and in control against the IWGP Champion for much of their main event once he’d absorbed the early-match shine. Loaded with a G1 victory over his opponent in 2017, he was permitted to feel confident after such a slaughtering midway through the match...until a dropkick/tombstone combo briefly allowed the Champion to kickstart an exhilarating finisher theft sequence.

Evil won that battle to line up some strong two-count teases, but he kept his eyes on winning the war. Passing the 25-minute mark, a lariat had the entire arena already mapping out his unlikely route to Wrestle Kingdom, but it proved to be the turning point for Okada instead.

Against an ear-piercing wall of noise, he nailed three Rainmakers to secure a godlike winner-take-all A Block finale with a man making a habit of utilising divine inspiration in his own right...

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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