NJPW G1 Climax 2019 Night 15 (August 7) - A BLOCK: Every Match Ranked From Worst To Best
1. Kota Ibushi Vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
A match as beautiful as it was brutal, Kota Ibushi’s physically intense win over submission maestro Zack Sabre Jr spoke to an iron will to go one place better than he managed in last year’s tournament and win the entire G1.
Robbed of full use of his right leg thanks to ‘ZSJ’s laser-focussed attack on every limb throughout the first ten minutes of this wicked and wonderful match, the ‘Golden Star’ went from burning bright to nearly burning out after the British Champion caught a Kamigoye and locked him in an eye-watering stretch that bore more than a passing resemblance to his Orienteering With Napalm Death disasterpiece.
His arrogance from that point was his undoing. Slapping Ibushi back into life, Zack awoke the god within his opponent just as his opponent awoke his gods. A Bomaye was followed up on with a flash Kamigoye as Ibushi swallowed his agony to gobble up two more precious points.
The win completely confounded Kevin Kelly as he tried to work out the mathematical ramifications at such a crucial stage. Following a luxurious encounter that put little stock in the statistics as it occurred, it was an inadvertently obtuse advert for arts over sciences, so not all was lost for the struggling Brit - if nothing else, that would almost certainly at least p*ss off Zack’s actual biggest rival Boris Johnson.