NJPW G1 Climax 2019 Night 2 (July 13) - B BLOCK: Every Match Ranked From Worst To Best
4. Tomohiro Ishii Vs. Jeff Cobb
Disappointing if still very good in patches, a promoted Andy Murray beef-slapper between Tomohiro Ishii and Jeff Cobb was flawed by its failure to reach its potential despite a hard-hitting climax.
Either through first night pressure or genuine exhaustion, Cobb appeared to run out of steam at the exact wrong moment - Ishii G1 Climax clashes are defined by how they graduate in violence that emerges from exhaustion. The Ring Of Honor star unfortunately appeared to run out of gas before he could finish dishing out the brand of big bomb-dropping that's made him such a viable option for this year's event.
Ishii's selling almost put it beyond the passable - few can make heavy-hitting offence look quite as cruel as the 'Stone Pitbull' - but Cobb couldn't find the aggression to double down on the sympathy for the NEVER Openweight Champion. His eventual loss may beget a wider arc of his unpreparedness for the rigors of the event, but an all-or-nothing opener wasn't really the best match to begin telling that tale.