[2018-07-16-NJPW-G1 Climax 28] Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Jay White

[MoeTWrestling]

This was heading towards a great match and while I understand they layout for Jay's character doesn't mean I enjoy it. It became too much in the end for me. Outside of one match, Jay has yet to really show that he has that extra gear to make a match great, and when he figures that out, he will be great, but for now he'ss just good-really good. Not on the level of most Tanahashi main events but he was still really good as well and a perfect foil for Jay. Better than their WK match. ***3/4

[nivvad]

Not as good as the night 1 main event, but still a pretty good match. This wasnn't your standard quality Tanahashi match as once again, the match was more about getting Jay over as a heel. His pacing still needs work, but I guess it works for his current character. I could do without the weapons finish, but it is what it is, ****.

[William Bologna]

I guess I like Jay White now. This was not as good as either man's previous match, but I'm still not tired of White being sadistic.

It was too long, and White going and getting a chair made absolutely no sense. He had Tanahashi down and ready for the finish, so he gets himself a weapon that will disqualify him if he uses it. It seemed perfunctory - "I use chairs now, so I'd better get one before the match is over."

[Childs]

They basically did the right stuff, but the match nonetheless got a bit long in the tooth. White has a lot of tools. He just needs to learn to be more dynamic on top. I also thought they lost the thread a little bit when he went away from the knee that had been established as Tanahashi's weakness going into the match. I get that White's best offense is more neck-focused. But I thought his sadism would have come across better if he'd tried to cripple the old man. Still, they've done a pretty good job with the overall story. 

[Boss Rock]

Jay White continues to acquit himself well this tournament. He seems to have a better idea of working heat segments rather than just aimlessly chop and do saitos (instead using the latter as sort of a turning point move). Went a bit longer than it needed to and the ref bumps and shenanigans were a bit much (I usually only have patience for one), but it was a HUGE step-up from their Wrestle Kingdom 12 clunker. It's just a shame the crowd still hasn't really bought into White yet.

[asteroidcitizen]

There were things I liked about this, and for the first half Tanahashi was doing an absolutely heroic job trying to trade on his beloved status to get White over - him stumbling backwards and falling into the corner after landing on his worked-over knee drew an audible gasp - and White, for his part, was generally looking focused and heeling it up well, though he did seem a bit lost at points, and did that irritating thing of doing a spot, getting a pop for it, and so doing it twice more to diminishing returns. 

And then it sort of takes a turn (as I felt that White's match with Okada did) to him suddenly forgetting about the knee so he could start hitting his big moves and dropping Tanahashi on his head a bunch of times - a saito suplex on the outside (I'm really not digging him doing this every single match), a half-nelson suplex, and a deadlift german that looked like it about killed him. It all felt like it just had to be there because he's got his big moves and he's got to use them even when it doesn't really make sense. And from there, again, another weird turn to him deciding to cheat - again, as though, because he's the guy who cheats his way through the tournament, he's just gonna do it regardless of if there's any logic to it. As in the Okada match, the shenanigans were too convoluted with the multiple ref bumps, and overall the finish came off flat.

So yeah, I know some people have turned around on Jay White with his first two matches in this G1, but I'm not seeing it at all. I will grant that he's looking a bit more comfortable and doing some nice things when working on top, but he has a bunch of bad habits in terms of just doing stuff to try and get a reaction, and the OTT bullshit finishes haven't helped.

[Wahoos Leg]

This was shaping up as one of my favorite matches of the tournament, even with White switching tactics mid-match, until that goofy finishing stretch. "My opponent is down and ready to be beaten, so surely this is the time I should go get a chair." Bah... still thought it was a good match, but the finish really detracted. White has grown on me with his recent efforts, but I'm curious if he can sustain them when he isn't in the ring with all-timers like Okada and Tanahashi.

I've actually enjoyed White's tag stuff with Yoh as much as, if not more than, these first two block matches.