Ranking The Top 50 WWE, NJPW, ROH, Impact Wrestling Moments Of July 2018
NJPW: SANADA vs. Kota Ibushi
SANADA has been right up there with Jay White, Hangman Page, and Juice Robinson as NJPW’s breakout stars this year, and I’d argue that he’s had the fastest ascent in 2018 of all of them except for White. Like White, SANADA’s shine started at Wrestle Kingdom, because while he didn’t have a match against Hiroshi Tanahashi for the Intercontinental Championship (as White did), he was the hero in a memorable tag match earlier in the show.
During the G1, SANADA continued to increase his star power, and the best of his matches may have been his bout on Night 8 against Kota Ibushi. Everyone knows how brilliant Ibushi is in that ring, and he and SANADA gave the fans a legitimate 4.5-star match.
This match had to follow an excellent battle between Juice Robinson and Kenny Omega as the night’s main event, but SANADA and Ibushi were more than up to the task. There’s no doubt that this was a battle between two great athletes to see which of them is the best, and it was impressive for SANADA to continue to raise his profile by winning here.
NXT: Tommaso Ciampa Wins The NXT Championship
As Mauro Ranallo says, Tommaso Ciampa is the “scourge” of NXT, and the brand is in its darkest hour right now after Ciampa defeated Aleister Black to win the NXT Championship on a television episode ahead of NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV.
Ciampa was impressive, hanging with Black, who had previously never been beaten in one-on-one competition. That all changed, because after referee Drake Wuertz took a nasty tumble to the outside, Ciampa tried to take advantage by grabbing the NXT Title. Johnny Gargano wanted to save the day by running in to stop Ciampa, but he ended up hitting Black in the head. And ensuring that the man he hates the most would win the title.
This has to be one of the most memorable moments of the year, and while NXT is in its darkest hour, it is indeed exciting to see the hated Ciampa as the brand’s “representative” (ick).