NJPW G1 Climax 2019 Night 9 (July 27) - A BLOCK: Every Match Ranked From Worst To Best

4. EVIL Vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Kazuchika Okada KENTA
NJPW

Going longer than needed for the finish the pair eventually had lined up, EVIL and Zack Sabre Jr had a good-not-great match stretched somewhat needlessly over 16 minutes instead of being wrapped in seven.

This was neither elegant exhibition of 'ZSJ's immense ground game nor the Los Ingobernables de Japon's power game, but a half-baked version of both. Sabre - in a defeat that conclusively removed any chance of him winning this years tournament - took more bumps than he had in any other match, seemingly to help remind the crowd that EVIL had a sh*tkicking in him, if needed. It came, sadly, at the expense of any genuinely thrilling submission teases, despite holds and counters being the key to the British Heavyweight Champion picking up his second win.

EVIL looked knackered in victory, but that could just be tournament exhaustion as a whole - it's not been a terribly riveting tournament for the former Tag Team Champion, more just another series of matches that have highlighted his strengths in the near-death doubles division.

And speaking of his partnership...

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 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. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, 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