Night Thirteen 10/10
1. Cobb vs Ishii ****1/4
2. Kota vs Suzuki ****3/4
3. Okada vs SHINGO ****1/2
Night Seventeen 10/16
4. White vs Ishii ***3/4
Night Nineteen 10/18
5. Finals: Kota vs SANADA ***3/4
Thoughts:
With these, I am finished with my dive into this year's G1. I know I missed a lot of decent stuff still, but I always have to make some hard choices with the tournament simply because of how much amazing content there is and how little time I have to watch it all.
Up first, three pulls from night 13.
Cobb is a dude that should be a star in Japan but something didn't click right last time. Here against the Meatball God, he looked like he more than belonged. I fucking love hoss battles and love both of these dudes so this was right up my alley. In all, it was simplistically beautiful and a fantastic display of the genre!
Next, murder hobo versus sexy fly boy! They went tech with this early on which worked very well and accelerated perfectly as it progressed, adding up nicely to a true MOTYC and an overall amazing display. The brilliant nature of both was showcased perfectly here, not a second wasted, and both came off looking like gods of the art as a result. Watch this NOW!
Say what you will about Okada's 2020, but the dude is still legit one of the absolute best workers of all time and even when he was "down" he was still ace levels. We're spoiled, us fans. Anyway, here he and the almighty SHINGO went to battle here and it was truly fantastic. Honestly, add a few more minutes and change the finish and this could have been an all-time epic. Still, this too was well worth the watch.
Over to night 17, and White took on Ishii in pull 4 of the set. Jay honestly is far better in my opinion than most are willing to give him credit for. He stepped up big in the Omega spot when Kenny left for AEW and has been a great worker in the role he's been given. He and the meatball god worked well here, with Tomohiro selling well throughout and Jay's heel work being done at a good rate versus overdone. In all, it was great stuff.
Closing this out, we have Kota and SANADA in the finals. I have to say, it's cool seeing both as finalists and it speaks to the fact that NJPW is looking to the future. Kota winning also suggests they finally, fully trust him in the major player role (further proven by WK's outcome). That said, I would mention that despite enjoying SANADA as a worker, I don't see him as a dude that should ever really be a top name in the company. He's good in his role and all, but like EVIL I just don't know if I think of either as "that" guy. Even if I don't see it, I still give props to the company for at least trying new things. Anyway, this was a fun cap to the latest G1 and a great match. That sitout catch powerbomb was a thing of beauty and the final two minutes or so rocked.
This year's tournament featured a lot of excellent content so if you missed it, check out my three part review covering my pulls and check out what sounds interesting!