[2018-07-15-NJPW-G1 Climax 28] Tomohiro Ishii vs Toru Yano

[Boss Rock]

Yano tends to be a pretty polarizing wrestler but count me among those who love his antics and G1 sprints. That being said, I was expecting a decent match and nothing more. How wrong I was. Yano's declaration that he would not cheat this entire tournament led to one of the most creative and fun NJPW matches I've seen in some time. Yano stays true to his word from the beginning by trading forearms with Ishii and even getting the better of him by relying on his rarely-used grappling skills. He even no-sold a German suplex! Still, Ishii being tougher and stronger would force Yano's hand as he found himself straying back to his old ways (eye rakes and using the exposed turnbuckle). Still, he avoided the low blow and chair and on at least five separate occasions had Ishii nearly beat with tight pinning combinations. The finish to the match ended up being a brilliant bit of poetic justice.

You couldn't ask for a better match to start off the second day.

[klhare]

I loved this. It was a lot of fun. Yano trying to wrestle a straightforward match and not revert to his normal tendencies was much more fun than his standard comedy stuff. I audibly reacted to the finish. Not a great match or anything but a blast. 

[G. Badger]

1 hour ago, Boss Rock said:

Yano tends to be a pretty polarizing wrestler but count me among those who love his antics and G1 sprints. That being said, I was expecting a decent match and nothing more. How wrong I was. Yano's declaration that he would not cheat this entire tournament led to one of the most creative and fun NJPW matches I've seen in some time. Yano stays true to his word from the beginning by trading forearms with Ishii and even getting the better of him by relying on his rarely-used grappling skills. He even no-sold a German suplex! Still, Ishii being tougher and stronger would force Yano's hand as he found himself straying back to his old ways (eye rakes and using the exposed turnbuckle). Still, he avoided the low blow and chair and on at least five separate occasions had Ishii nearly beat with tight pinning combinations. The finish to the match ended up being a brilliant bit of poetic justice.

You couldn't ask for a better match to start off the second day.

Great recommendation Boss! This is some pro wrestling right here. Favorite match of the G1 thus far. Yoshinari Ogawa like performance from Yano. They did so much with so little. It'll be fun to see if Yano can keep from cheating.

[nivvad]

Very short yet very fun. It's funny to forget that Yano is still a New Japan trained wrestler, so of course he could be able to stand toe to toe with Ishii of all people. Neat storytelling with Ishii knowing Yano so well, that he countered the latters funny business into his own dirty pin for the win, ***1/2.

[WingedEagle]

6 hours ago, Boss Rock said:

Yano tends to be a pretty polarizing wrestler but count me among those who love his antics and G1 sprints. That being said, I was expecting a decent match and nothing more. How wrong I was. Yano's declaration that he would not cheat this entire tournament led to one of the most creative and fun NJPW matches I've seen in some time. Yano stays true to his word from the beginning by trading forearms with Ishii and even getting the better of him by relying on his rarely-used grappling skills. He even no-sold a German suplex! Still, Ishii being tougher and stronger would force Yano's hand as he found himself straying back to his old ways (eye rakes and using the exposed turnbuckle). Still, he avoided the low blow and chair and on at least five separate occasions had Ishii nearly beat with tight pinning combinations. The finish to the match ended up being a brilliant bit of poetic justice.

You couldn't ask for a better match to start off the second day.

You nailed just about everything here.  This was tremendous fun and a change of pace from Yano's usual G1 schtick while the finish was a great wrinkle.  

***1/4

[ShittyLittleBoots]

This was very fun. Yano being more serious & not cheating brought a good dynamic to the match; he was busting out arm drags like his last name was Steamboat or something. The finish was absolutely awesome w/ YTR actually giving Ishii real trouble during their strike exchange, which lead to Ishii having to basically "Toru Yano" Toru Yano himself. Good stuff. ***

[Wahoos Leg]

I like comedy wrestling when it is done well but I've never really found the appeal in Yano's schtick. That said, holy crap was this fun. Serious Yano is best Yano. He threw out some great counters and throws and a few of the near falls were completely believable as potential finishes.