NJPW G1 Climax 2019 Night 4 (July 15) - B BLOCK: Every Match Ranked From Worst To Best
3. Juice Robinson Vs. Hirooki Goto
Juice Robinson wants to make 2019 his year.
A damaging United States Championship loss to Jon Moxley last month put him at a crossroads - the former NXT escapee had loved and lost the title once already in a feud with Cody Rhodes and wasn't really ideally placed to absorb such a damaging loss to a well-promoted NJPW newbie. This year's G1 might provide him with substantial vindication.
Robinson maintained his maximum tally with a victory over Hirooki Goto in a match better than Goto's first passable scrap with Jay White. A steadily-paced scuffle engineered to peak at exactly the right moment, a respectful, atritional battle came undone when the two took to countering each other's biggest strikes with their own heads - it was as gripping as it was gruesome, though appeared well-worked in the interest of CTE safety at least.
Robinson's Pulp Friction finisher is well protected within the tournament, and scored him a win here when it appeared as though a Left Hand Of God wasn't going to get it done. He moves on to the meaty Jeff Cobb next, hopefully empowered by two extremely impressive offerings thus far.