10 Must-See NJPW Matches From 2019

Shingo Takagi vs. Tomohiro Ishii – G1 Climax Day 16 (August 8, 2019)

If there are two men on the NJPW roster who need to have a feud it would be these two. Tomohiro Ishii and Shingo Takagi are made to work with each other and they proved it in their first singles encounter. If you want to see the best brawl of the whole year, look for further.

Takagi had a hell of a year in 2019 with great performances in the Best of the Super Juniors and the G1 Climax and this was one of his very best. Takagi more than proved himself as a viable main eventer this year and he proved himself as a heavyweight in his match against Ishii. Neither man came especially close to winning the G1 Climax but they were both able to put on some of the best matches of the year.

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Kota Ibushi vs. Kazuchika Okada – G1 Climax Day 17 (August 10, 2019)

Since the departure of his Golden Lover, Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi has been on a rocket ship to the top of NJPW. He won the IWGP Intercontinental Championship at G1 Supercard and he followed up that performance by winning seven straight matches to win the G1 Climax A Block. The last of those matches was his battle against Kazuchika Okada.

We may not have known at the time, but this match was a preview of their next meeting at Wrestle Kingdom 14. This match did feel like a preview, however. They managed to pull off a classic match while saving a good amount of what they had in store. It is perhaps even more impressive to consider what they were able to accomplish while leaving the people looking forward to their next encounter. If you need something to put you in the mood to see Wrestle Kingdom 14, this is a pretty good place to start.

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Kota Ibushi vs. Jay White – G1 Climax Final (August 12, 2019)

The roles of babyfaces and heel are reduced in NJPW. There is much more of a spectrum where wrestlers will fall somewhere between the traditional heel and babyface roles. Wrestlers like Shingo Takagi, Tomohiro Ishii and SANADA all work dependent on their situation, but there are some exceptions. Kota Ibushi and Jay White are the prime examples of these exceptions.

As far as bell to bell, White may be the best heel on the planet. On the flip side, Ibushi may be the best babyface in NJPW. These two men fall on the polar opposite ends of the babyface-heel spectrum. What resulted was one of the most unique matches of the year as the dastardly White fought to cheat his way through the G1 Climax Final. Fortunately for the fans of truth and justice, Ibushi was able to fight off Bullet Club’s interference and win his first G1 Climax.

If you are a fan of old school wrestling drama, you cannot miss this one. If you are a fan of NJPW, you cannot miss this one. Just watch the match, trust me.

What was your favourite NJPW match of 2019? Let us know on Twitter or on Discord!

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