Post by tactician on Aug 23, 2018 21:53:50 GMT -5
The G1 Climax Final. The Kamigoye vs. The God in Nippon Budokan. Everything about this was great. From the entrances, this match had a special atmosphere. Kenny Omega came out to support Kota Ibushi. But Tanahashi comes out with a returning KATSUYORI SHIBATA. This match really felt like a titanic struggle and I was locked in the whole time watching it and that feeling remained on a rewatch.
Tanahashi’s usual routine early of matwork and leg work doesn’t work. Ibushi isn’t affected as he continues to blast Tanahashi with high impact maneuvers. Normally, I would rag on the no selling but it fit perfectly into the story here. Tanahashi’s same old thing wasn’t gonna work that night. He would have to adapt. That’s what he did. Ibushi dealt the all the bombs to Tanahashi and Tanahashi survived. Tanahashi goads Ibushi into a strike battle which leads to Ibushi going into murder mode but Tanahashi powers through it leaving Ibushi horrified. The slapping sequence is one of the best that I’ve ever seen. The crowd was electric as both just kept throwing shots at each other. This was a different Tanahashi, this was a far cry from the fading Ace that we had seen over the last few years. He was revitalized and nothing was going to stop him from winning this match. The finish is a work of art as Tanahashi absolutely overwhelms Ibushi as Ibushi manages to stumble into one final act of defiance.
The post-match is beautiful. Tanahashi on Shibata’s shoulders is an all-time heartwarming moment in wrestling. Tanahashi and Ibushi face to face after the match when Ibushi was looking at his god who shattered his dreams. The Kamigoye could not surpass God. While after their past match, they had a warm embrace, that is not what happened here. Ibushi gave Tanahashi the spotlight and stumbled to the back in tears. Budokan was in the palm of Tanahashi’s hands as he danced and pulled out the air guitar. THE ACE IS BACK!
Tanahashi’s usual routine early of matwork and leg work doesn’t work. Ibushi isn’t affected as he continues to blast Tanahashi with high impact maneuvers. Normally, I would rag on the no selling but it fit perfectly into the story here. Tanahashi’s same old thing wasn’t gonna work that night. He would have to adapt. That’s what he did. Ibushi dealt the all the bombs to Tanahashi and Tanahashi survived. Tanahashi goads Ibushi into a strike battle which leads to Ibushi going into murder mode but Tanahashi powers through it leaving Ibushi horrified. The slapping sequence is one of the best that I’ve ever seen. The crowd was electric as both just kept throwing shots at each other. This was a different Tanahashi, this was a far cry from the fading Ace that we had seen over the last few years. He was revitalized and nothing was going to stop him from winning this match. The finish is a work of art as Tanahashi absolutely overwhelms Ibushi as Ibushi manages to stumble into one final act of defiance.
The post-match is beautiful. Tanahashi on Shibata’s shoulders is an all-time heartwarming moment in wrestling. Tanahashi and Ibushi face to face after the match when Ibushi was looking at his god who shattered his dreams. The Kamigoye could not surpass God. While after their past match, they had a warm embrace, that is not what happened here. Ibushi gave Tanahashi the spotlight and stumbled to the back in tears. Budokan was in the palm of Tanahashi’s hands as he danced and pulled out the air guitar. THE ACE IS BACK!
