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Captain Lou’s Review: NJPW G1 Climax – Finals (8/12/2019)

Captain Lou
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Kota Ibushi vs. Jay White – G1 Climax (Finals)

There’s a very strong possibility that Shin’ya Hashimoto was rolling in his grave during several parts of this match. The mere thought of putting ref bumps and manager run-ins in a G1 Climax final would’ve once being considered sacrilegious. And it still kind of is. That being said, the magical G1 finals atmosphere and berserk Budokan heat helped make this the most exciting RAW is SHIN NIHON episode of all time, Gedo overbooking silliness and all.

In a lot of ways, it was exactly the match I was hoping Jay and Naito would have. They took full advantage of Jay’s mega heel heat and turned Ibushi into the ultimate New Japan savior. Ibushi’s flipped from higher stages and done crazier shit, but this might’ve been his most inspired pure babyface performance. He carried himself with the intensity of a guy that belongs on top of this company and turned out to be a note perfect foil for all of the Jay White-ISM shenanigans.

We’ve already established that Leg Work Jay White is the best Jay White, so I was very happy to see them head down that path here. Jay’s leg onslaught was on point and Ibushi made it all click with his most consistent selling ever. Trust me, I’ve been talking shit about Ibushi’s leg selling for years and this was right on the money. I literally cringed when Jay dodged the backflip kneedrop and Kota destroyed his own legs.

Some of the Kamigoye /Sleeper suplex spamming near the end bordered on overkill and I obviously could’ve done without all of the Gedo spots, but I would still call this match a huge success. Ibushi and Jay gave the Budokan fans a blockbuster G1 Climax happy ending by leaning fully into the tired old trope of the babyface vanquishing the heel.

A whole heap of guys were elevated during this G1 Climax, but none more than Ibushi. There was a really special aura to him after the match, like the cool supporting character was finally ready to become the protagonist. Bring on the Double Dome. ****1/4

Captain Lou’s G1 Climax 29 Match Rankings

  1. Tetsuya Naito vs. Shingo Takagi (Block B) – ****3/4, 8/4/19
  2. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi (Block A) – ****1/2, 8/3/19
  3. Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay (Block A) – ****1/2, 7/20/19
  4. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Shingo Takagi (Block B) – ****1/2, 8/8/19
  5. Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi (Block A) – ****1/2, 8/10/19
  6. Kota Ibushi vs. Will Ospreay (Block A) – ****1/2, 7/18/19
  7. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Will Ospreay (Block A) – ****1/2, 8/10/19
  8. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Jon Moxley (Block B) – ****1/2, 7/19/19
  9. Kota Ibushi vs. Jay White (Finals) – ****1/4, 8/12/19
  10. Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii (Block B) – ****1/4, 7/24/19
  11. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. KENTA (Block A) – ****1/4, 7/14/19
  12. Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (Block A) – ****1/4, 7/6/19
  13. EVIL vs. Will Ospreay (Block A) – ****1/4
  14. Hirooki Goto vs. Tomohiro Ishii (Block B) – ****1/4, 8/1/19
  15. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Taichi (Block B) – ****1/4, 8/11/19
  16. Kazuchika Okada vs. SANADA (Block A) – ****1/4, 8/3/19
  17. Tetsuya Naito vs. Jon Moxley (Block A) – ****1/4, 7/28/19
  18. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Juice Robinson (Block B) – ****1/4, 7/28/19
  19. Juice Robinson vs. Shingo Takagi (Block B) – ****, 7/13/19
  20. Kota Ibushi vs. Lance Archer (Block A) – ****, 7/27/19
  21. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Jay White (Block B) – ****, 7/15/19
  22. Juice Robinson vs. Jay White (Block B) – ****, 8/8/19
  23. Will Ospreay vs. KENTA (Block A) – ****, 8/7/19
  24. Kota Ibushi vs. EVIL (Block A) – ****, 7/13/19
  25. SANADA vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (Block A) – ****, 7/6/19
  26. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Lance Archer (Block A) – ****, 7/20/19
  27. Kazuchika Okada vs. KENTA (Block A) – ****, 7/27/19
  28. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. EVIL (Block A) – ****, 7/30/19
  29. Shingo Takagi vs. Hirooki Goto (Block A) – ****, 8/8/19
  30. Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre Jr (Block A) – ****, 8/7/19
  31. Shingo Takagi vs. Jay White (Block B) – ****, 7/28/19
  32. Will Ospreay vs. Lance Archer (Block A) – ***3/4, 7/6/19
  33. Jon Moxley vs. Shingo Takagi (Block B) – ***3/4, 7/24/19
  34. Kazuchika Okada vs. EVIL (Block A) – ***3/4, 8/7/19
  35. Kazuchika Okada vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (Block A) – ***3/4, 7/13/19
  36. Shingo Takagi vs. Taichi (Block B) – ***3/4, 7/19/19
  37. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (Block A) – ***3/4, 7/18/19
  38. Will Ospreay vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (Block A) – ***3/4, 7/30/19
  39. Jon Moxley vs. Juice Robinson (Block A) – ***3/4, 8/8/19
  40. Tetsuya Naito vs. Hirooki Goto (Block B) – ***3/4, 7/19/19
  41. EVIL vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (Block B) – ***3/4, 7/27/19
  42. Jon Moxley vs. Jay White (Block B) – ***3/4, 8/3/19
  43. KENTA vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (Block B) – ***3/4, 8/10/19
  44. Zack Sabre Jr. vs Lance Archer (Block B) – ***1/2, 8/3/19
  45. Jeff Cobb vs. Shingo Takagi (Block B) – ***1/2, 8/1/19
  46. EVIL vs. SANADA (Block A) – ***1/2, 7/18/19
  47. Jeff Cobb vs. Taichi (Block B) – ***1/2, 7/28/19
  48. Jon Moxley vs. Taichi (Block B) – ***1/2, 7/13/19
  49. Will Ospreay vs. SANADA (Block A) – ***1/2, 7/13/19
  50. Kota Ibushi vs. SANADA (Block A) – ***1/2, 7/20/19
  51. KENTA vs. EVIL (Block A) – ***1/2, 7/20/19
  52. Kazuchika Okada vs. Lance Archer – ***1/2, 7/30/19
  53. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. SANADA (Block A) – ***1/2, 7/27/19
  54. Tetsuya Naito vs. Taichi (Block B) – ***1/2, 7/15/19
  55. Juice Robinson vs. Hirooki Goto (Block B) – ***1/2, 7/15/19
  56. Hirooki Goto vs. Jay White (Block B) – ***1/2, 7/13/19
  57. Kota Ibushi vs. KENTA (Block A) – ***1/2, 7/6/19
  58. EVIL vs. Lance Archer (Block A) – ***1/2, 8/8/19
  59. Hirooki Goto vs. Jeff Cobb (Block B) – ***1/4, 8/4/19
  60. Hirooki Goto vs. Taichi (Block B) – ***1/4, 7/24/19
  61. Tetsuya Naito vs. Jeff Cobb (Block B) – ***1/4, 8/8/19
  62. Tetsuya Naito vs. Toru Yano (Block A) – ***1/4, 7/13/19
  63. SANADA vs. Lance Archer (Block A) – ***1/4, 8/7/19
  64. Hirooki Goto vs. Jon Moxley (Block A) – ***1/4, 8/8/19
  65. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Toru Yano (Block A) – ***1/4, 8/4/19
  66. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bad Luck Fale (Block A) – ***1/4, 8/7/19
  67. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Jeff Cobb (Block A) – ***1/4, 7/13/19
  68. Tetsuya Naito vs. Juice Robinson (Block A) – ***1/4, 8/1/19
  69. Tetsuya Naito vs. Jay White (Block A) – ***1/4, 8/11/19
  70. EVIL vs. Bad Luck Fale (Block A) – ***, 7/6/19
  71. Juice Robinson vs. Toru Yano (Block B) – ***, 7/24/19
  72. Toru Yano vs. Jon Moxley (Block B) – ***, 8/1/19
  73. Toru Yano vs. Shingo Takagi (Block A) – ***, 7/15/19
  74. SANADA vs. Bad Luck Fale (Block A) – ***, 8/10/19
  75. Jay White vs. Taichi (Block A) – ***, 8/1/19
  76. KENTA vs. Lance Archer (Block A) – **3/4, 7/18/19
  77. Kazuchika Okada vs. Bad Luck Fale (Block A) – ***, 7/18/19
  78. SANADA vs. KENTA (Block A) – **3/4, 7/30/19
  79. Juice Robinson vs. Taichi (Block B) – **3/4, 8/4/19
  80. Jay White vs. Jeff Cobb (Block B) – **3/4, 7/24/19
  81. Juice Robinson vs. Jeff Cobb (Block B) – **3/4, 7/19/19
  82. Lance Archer vs. Bad Luck Fale (Block A) – **3/4, 7/13/19
  83. Toru Yano vs. Taichi (Block A) – **1/2, 8/8/19
  84. Jon Moxley vs. Jeff Cobb (Block B) – **1/2, 7/15/19
  85. Kota Ibushi vs. Bad Luck Fale (Block A) – **1/2
  86. KENTA vs. Bad Luck Fale (Block A) – 8/3/19 **1/2
  87. Will Ospreay vs. Bad Luck Fale (Block A) – **1/2, 7/27/19
  88. Zack Sabre Jr. vs Bad Luck Fale (Block B) – **1/2, 7/20/19
  89. Jeff Cobb vs. Toru Yano (Block B) – **1/2, 8/11/19
  90. Hirooki Goto vs. Toru Yano (Block B) – **1/4, 7/28/19
  91. Jay White vs. Toru Yano (Block B) – *3/4, 7/19/19

 

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