NJPW G1 Climax 2019 Night 8 (July 24) - B BLOCK: Every Match Ranked From Worst To Best
2. Tomohiro Ishii Vs. Tetsuya Naito
Tetsuya Naito returned to something of a spiritual home in Hiroshima thanks to his affection for baseball team Hiroshima Toyo Carp as well Sun Plaza Hall being the site of the Destino's invention several years earlier, and a renewed aura seemed to do much for the pre-tournament favourite in a hard fought victory over Tomohiro Ishii.
In a contest that got f*cking magnificent in the final third, Naito's failed efforts to fell the 'Stone Pitbull' early on were met with more oomph from the ringsiders than the LIJ leader himself seemed to want to summon. This, for better and worse, has been Naito's entire existence since losing to Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 2018 - pointed efforts to remain 'Tranquilo' in the face of continued loss and suffering that the character has gradually felt chip away at the man he once didn't even care to be.
Battling through that physical and existential crisis late on, Naito didn't so much aim for the Destino as he did campaign for it. Work work work from the man too cool to give a sh*t was exceedingly cute, and a lowkey tell that he really does need the glory of this G1 Climax after all. Via one violent high angle Michinoku Driver ahead of his match-winning finisher, he registered what could prove to be the most important points of his 2019 run.