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| The man of the month Photo via Culture Crossfire |
SPOILERS BELOW
Tetsuya Naito vs. Kenny Omega (Night 19, 8/13)
It's a no-brainer that the final match of the G1 Climax would be on this list. It is one of the most important matches all year in New Japan Pro Wrestling, and the two guys privileged enough to be in that spot perform like their entire careers hang in the balance. Naito and Omega are both at the peak of their powers, both in athleticism and in their character work. They walked to the ring oozing confidence and relaxation, while quite possibly scared out of their wits knowing what they were about to do.
They punished each other with precision, though the one moment with no precision (a muffed piledriver on an announcers table) came off fine anyway. There were few rest holds and very little working of the limbs. Naito and Omega just wrestled a phenomenal back and forth, with the final ten minutes being particularly thrilling. Naito won, securing his second G1 victory, but really, it felt like both guys were champions.
Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada (Night 18, 8/12)
The third match this year between Omega and Okada, on the final night of the B Block, almost didn't feel special enough beforehand. We were really going to get another masterpiece, after all these nights of incredible pro wrestling? It seemed too good to be true, but it absolutely was. With the constraints of a 30-minute time limit, Omega and Okada turned their match into a full-on sprint. By 10 minutes in, it felt like it had gone 30. They left nothing on the table. It was wild. And in the end, Omega didn't even need the full 30 minutes to conquer his great white whale and defeat Okada. Except, of course, it wasn't for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Will this be enough for him, or is Kenny still unsatisfied?
Kazuchika Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki (Night 16, 8/8)
In any other universe, I would be calling this the best match of the month. Being as it's a little overshadowed now, it might get forgotten. But don't let this slip by you. It was completely insane. Knowing that days later he would be in for a grueling match with Omega, Okada still went all out against Suzuki, culminating in a final stretch that featured more legit face-slapping than I've ever seen in a match. The wonderful thing about NJPW's production quality is that you can perfectly see the sweat mists that go flying off a guy's face when he gets slapped. There were about 90 of those mists in this match, and not a single one felt wasted. The only 30-minute draw of the tournament earned its spot, as both Okada and Suzuki had nothing more to give.
Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (Night 17, 8/11)
I don't know that I've ever heard a NJPW crowd more split than at the beginning of this one. Sure, they love their bad boy Naito, but they also love that handsome ace Tanahashi. Luckily, Tanahashi helped them find their allegiance by slapping Naito unnecessarily out of a couple rope breaks. From there, they put on a furious match that earned an equally feverish reaction from the crowd. At 40, and with a slightly torn bicep, Tanahashi is still performing like a company leader.
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tomohiro Ishii (Night 17, 8/11)
In a rematch from the G1 Special in Long Beach, Sabre was out for revenge against the human bowling ball, Ishii. It was similar to their previous match, but Sabre was even more frantic in his pursuit of getting Ishii in any submission hold or roll-up pinning combination he could think of. Most brawlers wouldn't know how to work with Sabre, but Ishii treats his offense with the right kind of panic it deserves. Both men brutalized each other, with Sabre being just tenacious enough to get a submission from Ishii, though it sure looked like he really just passed out from the pain. Move over, Stone Cold.