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

3. Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs. SANADA

Kazuchika Okada KENTA
NJPW

A energetic battle underpinned - as these contests so often are - by Hiroshi Tanahashi's impossibly charming spirit and heroic selling, this match was almost certainly the moment SANADA's G1 chances dissolved, but further example of why the New Japan's world remains his oyster.

More over than 'The Ace' in certain sections of the crowd, 'Cold Skull' still didn't warm to his fiery babyface role all that well early on but did at least equal his opponent for determination towards of the end of a contest that took a while to get going but went hard when it got there.

SANADA looked a broken towards the conclusion of their clash, but had taken enough from his iconic opponent that Tanahashi could barely make it over the top rope to hit one of two match-winning High Fly Flows. As noted by Kevin Kelly, last year's winner hadn't yet scored with his finisher, but used it here to score vital points as he continues to build on a slightly rocky start.

It seems impossible that he can defend and retain his G1 crown, but those and other terms were used to rate his chances in 2018. It'd be foolish to count him out yet.

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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