Masahiro Chono vs. Keiji Mutoh (NJPW, 8/11/91)

I'm sure there are other early examples but this match, to me, felt like the blueprint for the epic NJPW G1 Climax style that still persists today, full of nearfalls and one-upmanship. They work through the early minutes of the match trying to establish dominance, with Mutoh going after the leg and Chono controlling the arm. It's slow, it's methodical, it doesn't really pay off in the end but there is some cool moments, especially from Mutoh. I loved him dragging Chono back to the middle of the ring in the Indian deathlock to set up the sickle hold. He works that awhile before transitioning into a dope Cattle Mutilation (possibly the earliest example?). After Mutoh piledrives Chono on the concrete, the match shifts into the next gear, with both guys working in some bigger offense. Mutoh is able to deliver a German and a dragon suplex but misses the moonsault press, while Chono locks in the STF and hits a sick backdrop but can't finish him off before it escalates into the big back-and-forth. Loved Chono trying to sneak in the final STF attempt but Mutoh gets to the ropes. After blocking the Mutoh's moonsault, Chono powerbombs him for the win in what may be one of his best singles performances. Normally, I'm not a big fan of this layout but the build was great, both guys worked their asses off, and the crowd was buying into almost everything down the stretch. Plus, the flying seat cushions raining down on a victorious Chono. Sweet.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW, 8/12/17)

Like the Tanahashi/Naito match from the night before, these two put together the best match of their series by working a simple but effective formula. It was still a nutty Fire Pro Omega match but they managed to work in the spots without being too self-indulgent and it followed the thread of Okada's injured neck and Omega just blasting it with his high-impact offense. Omega as the movez aggressor works so much more than him cartoonishly selling a limb, whereas Okada, who has historically been spotty in his selling, has improved a lot since the Shibata match and his performance here really sold this match for me. The real turning point was the reverse frankensteiner on the floor, which Okada sold beautifully and it injected some drama into the final half with Omega cranking up the aggression on Okada's neck. One of the best parts of the match was Omega repeatedly kneeing Okada in the head with a distraught Gedo on the outside, covering his head. The crowd was buying the nearfalls and of course, both guys were bumping like crazy. I mean, that uranage/side suplex counter to the Rainmaker was awesomely brutal.

Obviously, they were going to ramp it up for the finishing stretch and when Omega hit the double arm piledriver for a nearfall, I thought this was going to either draw or venture into an endless waltz of counters and nearfalls...but it had me guessing and the hot atmosphere of Sumo Hall made it feel important. Omega still isn't my favorite dude in pro-wrestling but he thankfully kept the histrionics to a minimum and by telling a true and tried story rather than trying to impress the pants off of everyone, he wrestled his best match of the year. This was a top notch performance from Okada and yet another shining feather in his cap as he continues to have possibly the best year of his career thus far. Like him or not, you have to at least put Okada's name in serious contention for "Wrestler of the Year"...you know, behind Hideki Suzuki, of course.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW, 8/11/17)

The final contest in their trilogy of matches, and quite possibly, the best of the bunch. Maybe. I don't know. Tanahashi and Naito have such good chemistry together, and it really worked here, with the Sumo Hall pro-Naito and Tanahashi turning the crowd early with a couple of bad boy slaps to Naito's face in the ropes. Kiss that ace guitar bye-bye. Then he attacks Naito during his tranquilo pose and it's on, with nasty open hands exchanged in the corner and Naito taking the first seat behind the wheel with an awesome basement dropkick counter to Tanahashi's rounding body press. It's dueling limbwork, which I can totally get behind given it's done well and thankfully, these two make it work. Tanahashi's torn bicep has been the story of his G1 run and Naito being Naito exploits that injury.

On the other side, Tanahashi is looking to submit Naito with the cloverleaf hold he used to win the IC title back at Dominion, using his variety of dragon screws. There were some neat counters, like the legwhip off the slingshot dropkick and then the frakensteiner roll through into the legwhip. After he delivers a big top rope dragon screw, Tanahashi locks in the cloverleaf hold and essentially sits on Naito's head, bending exerting a ton of pressure in the most memorable part of the match. Naito's able to escape to the relief of Sumo Hall and after going back the arm, he hits a few swinging DDTs to set-up the Destino but Tanahashi counters with three consecutive whiplashes! But when he tries for the slingblade, Naito hits the Destino counter into the Destino to finish off the old ace. A simple story told exceptionally without the need to drift into the usual NJPW main event overkill territory. Great stuff.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Satoshi Kojima (NJPW, 7/27/17)

I've said it before but smug shiteating ace, Kazuchika Okada, is the best Okada. He brings much more personality to his match when he's turning the heel knobs up a bit and against the lovable Satoshi Kojima, you want to boo Okada along with the fans. The way he mock claps for Kojima, only to turn around and attack him. Or how he goads Tenzan and grins like a total dick when Tenzan's forced out of the ring. The shitty boots to Kojima's back as he plays to the crowd. There's a lot to love about his performance here and of course, it all builds to Kojima getting some payback. Kojima channels his partner with the Mongolian Chops. When he's machine gunning him in the corner, the look on Okada's face is priceless. Kojima's able to hit a top rope Koji Cutter and a brainbuster but it's that final stretch that solidified this as one of the more memorable matches in the tournament thus far. Kojima strips the elbow pad and goes for the lariat, but Okada ducks it, delivering the German suplex to set-up the Rainmaker but Kojimda counters with a lariat to the back of the head and when Okada tries for it again, Kojima blasts him with the lariat for a nearfall. He's able to duck another Rainmaker attempt, connecting with a rolling elbow, but the ace is able to tombstone Kojima to deliver the Rainmaker nail in the coffin. Great stuff. 

Yuji Nagata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (7/23/17)

Yuji Nagata has been busting his ass for his final G1 Climax appearance and this was easily his best match and performance of the tournament (and a personal favorite of mine). These two have great chemistry together. You had Tanahashi heeling it up with his limbwork, tossing the proverbial ace guitar out of the ring to focus on attacking the veteran's leg. Nagata was as spirited as ever, with the crowd firmly behind him. Tanahashi starts in on the leg, kicking the knee when he can and embracing the boos. Nagata fights through the pain to land some stiff kicks and slaps, his facials always so terrific. Tanahashi tries going after the leg again with the cloverleaf hold but Nagata fights him off, going after the arm and building to a big top rope Exploder. He tries to finish Tanahashi off with the backdrop but Tanahashi counters with a crossbody and once more cuts off Nagata at the knee. That final slap exchange is awesome, with Nagata getting busted open and his exhausted swings and misses before collapsing face-first on the mat. Tanahashi's able to put Nagata away with the High Fly but Nagata wasn't going down without a fight. Loved this match. 

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Osamu Nishimura (NJPW, 8/7/04)

This is a pretty neat little Nishimura formula match-up with Tanahashi holding his own against the veteran early on, really working a side headlock, supplemented with a couple of flashy moves, before going right back to it. When Osamu tries to work in his octopus hold, Tanahashi counters with a side suplex. The narrative here is the legwork, which is smartly introduced when Tanahashi gets tangled in the ropes and Osamu shoves the ref out of the way so he can attack the vulnerable leg. After a kneebreaker on the guardrail, Osamu puts him in the figure-four leglock back inside the ring. Tanahashi's selling is pretty great, especially when he's trying to charge Nishimura in the corner, which allows Nishimura to take him out at the knee with a dropkick. When Nishimura has him back in the figure-four, the desperate Tanahashi is grabbing onto the ref as Nishimura arches back to exert more pressure. The finish is...well, typical of Nishimura matches, seemingly coming out of thin air as Nishimura misses the diving kneedrop and Tanahashi capitalizes with a Shining Wizard and dragon suplex hold to put the veteran away. See-ya.

Jun Akiyama vs. Osamu Nishimura (NJPW, 8/11/03)

This wasn't quite at the same level as the Takayama match for me but it was still a good match, with an especially well-sold performance from Jun Akiyama. Gone is Nishimura's slicked back hair and he's now sporting a fresh buzz for the 2003 G1 Climax. This took a little while to get going as the two go through a few counters and reversals on the mat while looking for an opening. Akiyama takes over on offense with a DDT on the apron and then piledriving Osamu onto the floor to set-up the neckwork. His stuff looks pretty brutal, whether it's the stunner on the ringpost, the stalling piledriver, or the way he viciously cranks on a facelock. Nishimura's subsequent legwork is pretty aggressive too. He kneebreakers Jun onto the timekeeper's table and follows up with a diving knee drop from the apron. He lands another diving knee back inside the ring, setting up the figure-four legwork with a couple of spinning toeholds. Akiyama's selling of the leg is fantastic as Osamu dropkicks his knee out from him and reapplies the figure-four, this time arching back to exert more pressure on the hold. When Akiyama sidesteps a missile dropkick, he goes back to the neck with a dragon sleeper and there's a really awesome moment where he counters the Japanese rolling clutch with a choke sleeper, eventually transitioning into his front necklock. He's able to connect with the high knee > Exploder combo but when he goes for another knee in the corner, Nishimura's able to cradle him for the pinfall in a bit of an upset. Not as nuanced as the Takayama match but still some really neat stuff with Akiyama being the standout here.

Osamu Nishimura vs. Yoshihiro Takayama (NJPW, 8/10/02)

Another fantastic performance from Osamu Nishimura, who gets to showcase his technique against lurch Yoshihiro Takayama. Nishimura's in-ring awareness in this match is phenomenal with his reversals and escapes. He has an answer for whatever Takayama's posing, to the point where a frustrated Takayama sits up after Nishimura counter like "how I keep him down?". There's a lot to love in this match, from Nishimura's run-around reversal or his many bridging escapes -- always having another option in the back pocket. Takayama working the mat is fun but he mostly lays around while Osamu goes to work on him. Nishimura does a good job of keeping the big man down and focusing on the legs to neutralize Takayama's big kicks. Love Osamu's sickle hold but Takayama plays a good counter of his own.

He finally says fuck the grappling and starts kicking Nishimura but when he tries for the big boot in the corner, he gets hung up in the ropes and Nishimura attacks with elbows, hitting a diving knee to set-up the figure-four leglock. And when Takayama reaches the ropes, what does Osamu do? Drags him to the middle, gives the leg a couple of spinning toeholds, and puts the figure-four right back on, bridging this time to put more pressure on the hold. When he's not laying there, Takayama's in-the-moment selling and facials are really good but it's short term.When Nishimura starts kicking the leg, Takayama smacks the shit out of him and hits a pair of belly-to-belly suplexes. After a couple of more counters, Takayama is finally able to snatch Osamu and pin him with the German suplex hold. The finish came out of nowhere but also made the msot sense for the cat-and-mouse game they played throughout.

Tetsuya Naito vs. Kenny Omega (8/13/2016)

This match was ridiculous in all the best ways possible. I'm not a fan of Kenny Omega and although some of his silly histrionics pop up, I thought this was easily his best performance and his selling was, for the most part, top-notch. I could nitpick a few of his bonehead decisions like hitting the fisherman buster onto the injured knee, but he did a lot to balance that and show the effects of Naito's impeccable legwork. The high drama surrounding the One-Winged Angel played out really well and Omega did some small things that I appreciated, like actually trying to protect himself against the elbow shots and hitting that knee counter to the kneebreaker attempt. Naito was so good here, being the unbearable thorn in Omega's side as he attacks the leg at any given opportunity. His facials are always great and you gotta love that shit-eating grin during the final slap battle. I wish I had stayed spoiler-free heading into this but even knowing the end result didn't affect my enjoyment of that finishing stretch, which was absolutely nuts and beautifully overkill. Fun fun fun! 

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW, 8/6/16)

On paper, I wasn’t overly excited about this match-up but Ishii is such a maestro in the ring, crafting a really fun underdog tale (although I don’t know if I would call a stone pitbull an underdog) and making Okada’s offense look like a million bucks (i.e. the guardrail-hung DDT). There’s something satisfying about watching Ishii bully Okada with chops, boot scrapes and headbutts. Okada realizes he can’t hang with Ishii in the striking department so he’s got to tap into his movez database to try and defeat him. Okada is fine here, he gets in his usual spots, but Ishii elevates this thing to another level. Little things like the chop during the Rainmaker post and stomping on the foot to get out of the tombstone piledriver attempt. And that finishing stretch was something else, with Ishii ducking and dodging the Rainmaker attempts before landing the big headbutt and ultimately pinning the champ following the brainbuster. Great stuff.