Ranking The Top 50 WWE, NJPW, ROH, Impact Wrestling Moments Of July 2018

NJPW: Juice Robinson vs. Tetsuya Naito

On the same night as Tomohiro Ishii and Hirooki Goto tore the house down, Juice Robinson and Tetsuya Naito also delivered an instant classic in the G1. Robinson’s in-ring work has been breathtaking this year, to the point where he’s arguably one of the 20 best wrestlers on the planet. Meanwhile, Naito has solidified himself as a top-five talent over the past year, and the 2017 G1 winner once again shined in this bout.

Naito wins this match after needing a second Destino to put away Juice, who showed off his resiliency by kicking out of the move. There were so many Destino counters in this match, too.

This is a match worth watching over and over again, and it’s a reminder of how good these two are. Naito is on another level when he’s at his best, and this was one of those instances.

WWE: Randy Orton Wipes Away Jeff Hardy’s Facepaint

After his despicable beatdown of Jeff Hardy, Randy Orton cut a scathing promo on the WWE Universe, in which he called the fans the real “Legend Killers” for the type of high-risk wrestling they support. To Randy, Hardy represents what’s wrong with wrestling.

Orton delivered another highly uncomfortable beatdown of Hardy, who was stomped on repeatedly and hit with two Elevated DDTs, including one on the floor. The crowd chanted for the RKO, but Orton ignored them, not wanting the crowd to cheer the move.

A truly great heel, Orton then laid Hardy out on the announce table and poured water over him to wipe off his face pain. It was another heinous and disrespectful act from one of WWE’s most callous performers, and it was another example of how depraved of virtue Orton is as a villain.

The real Viper is back, and he’s out to end careers.