NJPW G1 Climax 2019 Night 9 (July 27) - A BLOCK: Every Match Ranked From Worst To Best
1. Kazuchika Okada Vs. KENTA
A brilliant, bombastic battle from reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and man-that-couldn't-break-out-from-the-Royal-Rumble-Kickoff-in-January KENTA, this echoed the excellence of arguably the greatest top title reign in wrestling history without once straying into indulgent territory or losing a crowd built carefully into a show-closing frenzy.
At 26:53 it was the longest match from this year's tournament, tiptoeing close enough to a draw many had assumed considering the perfect records of both going in. The booking, as it turned out, was substantially more nuanced.
KENTA didn't give a single f*ck about the prestige of his opponent early doors, throwing ungodly kicks at the 'Rainmaker' with the confidence that's been steadily building since the beginning of the tournament. A coming out party for the reimagined former NXT struggler, this went beyond the result of the match and into a realm that felt realer than pro wrestling.
Obnoxiously painful open-handed strikes late in the contest left Okada in a state of visible shock before he countered through repeated Go2Sleep attempts to hit a wicked Rainmaker to remain unbeaten in the tournament, but this was KENTA's night. Accepting acceptance offered to him by Okada he'd yet to earn from Tanahashi was another important step in this remarkable new venture.