NJPW: The Best & Worst of G1 Climax 29 So Far

The Best: Toru Yano

You probably either love or despise Toru Yano, and if you despise him you’re completely wrong and need to start evaluating where you are in your life. Yano brings an aspect to New Japan unique from anyone else on the roster and his placement in the G1 each year is one of the most entertaining parts.

Sure, we probably won’t get a 5-star match out of Yano throughout this series, but he gets another star in my heart every time I see him.

Not only are Yano’s antics fun to watch, but he’s also been used in such a smart way so far. His only loss has come at the hands of Shingo Takagi who absolutely should be protected and pushed as a legitimate threat at this point. Still, though, there were some close calls.

In defeating Naito on the first night of B Block matches, Yano proved yet again that he has the answers to the question of Tranquilo. After getting riled up by Naito’s painstakingly slow entrance gear removal, Yano channeled his frustration into a sneaky rollup via low blow.

Against Jay White, Yano plays the role of spoiler against a former IWGP Heavyweight Champion who is coming apart at the seams. White is still without a victory in the tournament so far, dropping losses to Goto and Ishii in drawn-out wars before being out-cheated by YTR in just over 3 minutes.

Yano has another tall order ahead of him next with Juice Robinson and on paper, it would seem like an easy win for the former US Champion. New Japan, though, continues to do a masterful job at portraying Yano as equal parts trickster and threat.

I wouldn’t expect Yano to walk away with a victory over Jon Moxley, but their match is one of my most anticipated matches of the tournament for completely different reasons than I’m anticipating a match like Ibushi/Okada. When you can have that kind of variety and unpredictability on different in a series like the G1, something’s being done right.