Ranking Each Wrestler’s Performance in NJPW G1 Climax 28

17. Toru Yano

One must appreciate the ambition and creativity behind Yano’s showing in this year’s G1. Watching his repeated attempts to wrestle more of a clean style unravel into classic “Master Thief” shenanigans was fun and made each bout feel fresh. His matches against Ishii, ZSJ, and SANADA were particularly great. Also, he pinned the IWGP Heavyweight Champion. So that’s certainly something.

16. Tama Tonga

I love the Firing Squad. I think they served as a nice change of pace throughout the G1, and all the drama with twitter and cursing and attacking innocent fans… I’m into it. I’m sorry. I can’t help it. I’ve always felt like Tama Tonga is capable of so much more than random, mostly irrelevant Bullet Club member, so it’s been great to see him given more of a spotlight in this new role. Admittedly, the first half of The Bad Boy’s tournament felt pretty uninspired, but he picked it up down the stretch with great matches against Naito, Ishii, and Ibushi.

15. Minoru Suzuki

Suzuki’s finally starting to slow down. He’s still incredible. He’s one of the best storytellers in all of wrestling, his character work is legendary, and he still pulls off an occasional feat of athleticism that makes it hard to believe he’s halfway to 100. However, his age has never been more apparent than it was in this year’s G1. Many of his matches went short and, as a result, felt somewhat incomplete and stale. Nevertheless, he’s still Suzuki. He’s the King and he’s awesomely terrifying and we all adore him. His mere presence alone is completely invaluable.