Whenever somebody asks for NJPW match recommendations, I always see Okada vs Omega, Shibata vs Ishii, Okada vs Tanahashi, etc. I’m baffled that I’ve yet to see someone recommend this match. Kota Ibushi vs Jay White from G1 Climax 2019 finale is one of the purest babyface vs heel matches of all time

26 comments

1. good call

2. Fair point, it’s unreasonably forgotten. I’d also add Ibushi vs Tanahashi from the G1 as a somewhat overlooked classic.

3. It’s a shame what transpired between Ibushi and NJPW as he and Jay brought the best out of each other, imo. One of the great Japanese/gaijin pairings of the modern era, along with Ospreay/Shingo and Okada/Omega.

4. NJPW match recommendations are bizarre.

   I wouldn’t recommend any of the matches I think are the best like this, Okada/Omega, Okada/Tana, Kenny/Naito. Etc etc etc

   It has so much story and build up. I’d pretty much always start with an Ishii or Shibata G1 slugfest or a BOSJ super action match like Ospreay/Ricochet.

   Something to grab their interest. My interested really started big with Okada/AJ Styles which wasnt layered in story. It was big heel star enters company and targets young champion. Boom. We are off. And Okada being Okada brought me back for more.

   If I’d started with Okada Vs Tana at WK10, sure it’s an excellent match but I’m missing LAYERS and LAYERS of story.

5. Ibushi vs White was an incredible pairing like you said they had a phenomenal dynamic

6. Also want to give a shout-out to Jay White vs Juice Robinson at the first US show as that was also a great pure babyface va heel match where I think a lot of people’s opinion on Jay White started to turn around and he hagan putting the pieces together. Also that’s the one where Josh Barnett almost went shoot on Jay for accidentally knocking over JR

7. This made Ibushi one of my all-time favorite wrestlers… arguably his best kamigoye too

8. absolutely loved that match

9. I know people highly tout their Wrestle Kingdom match, and rightfully so, but their G1 Final match is my favorite.

10. This was the first NJPW show I’d been to actually in Japan and the crowd for this match were *electrifing*. The gasps, the screams, the cheering… Man, I will never forget watching this.

    Also the same show that KENTA joined BC and Shibata ran in for the first time since his injury. Incredible.

11. I always suggest Shingo vs Ishii Never championship. Just an absolute slug fest

12. This is one of my favorite matches of all time and let me tell you why. I am an absolutely massive Jay White mark, always have been. Ever since the first time I saw him wrestle on an ROH card as a young lion he won me over instantly, he’s been my favorite wrestler ever since. I own several Switchblade t-shirts and openly root for him in every match, no matter the opponent.

    That is, except for the second half of this match. The psychology and story-telling in this match was so convincing and so powerful that halfway through the match I suddenly started pulling for Ibushi to beat my favorite wrestler. The main event of the Tokyo Dome was at stake and it didn’t matter, by the end of the match I found myself hoping that Ibushi would put his knee through Jay’s head despite the fact that Jay is the one guy I cheer for harder than anybody else. I’ve never turned on my own fandom like that before or since, and I think it’s a testament to the incredible work of both men that even the most ardent Switchblade diehard such as myself couldn’t help but get behind Kota. 5 fuckin stars man.

13. I hold Ibushi vs Jay at WK 16(15? It was night 2 main event) to be my fav match of all time, but to be fair a lot of it has to do with me being aware of Jays growth in NJPW and the context behind the match, somebody watching for the first time may not get what I got out of it.

    This is why recommending a starter is kinda difficult when youve been a fan for a bit because youre always prone to think of the history of each match and what it means, something a first time viewer wont get.

    For that reason I always show Ishii vs Shibata g1 23, its short, sweet and to the point brutal. After that I would usually want to sit down with them and watch a show, and try to explain some context in a way that person would get and not be overwhelmed.

14. I just want to be pure

15. This was a match that needed Ibushi to do something different. It was built around him being hamstrung and incapable of using his main weapon to its fullest. He would’ve really shown how good of a wrestler he was had he started using his arms and hands more. And it’s not like he isn’t a proficient striker, either; he throws a mean lariat and is as quick and hard-hitting with his hands as he is his with his feet. Instead, what we got was another case of Kota Ibushi doing his style of match while struggling to really make his opponent’s work mean something.

    Not a fan.

16. I miss knife pervert Jay white

17. I’m partial to Ibushi/White at Wrestle Kingdom 15, but take your pick.

18. I’m a huge Jay White mark and yet even I was somewhat rooting for Ibushi at the end.

    I love Jay/Naito goofy love/hate relationship

    I love Jay/Okada big brother relationship

    But Jay/Ibushi just hits different, there was a time where I seriously thought Ibushi would join BC or Jay would turn babyface by the reactions they would have post match

19. One of my favorite matches that I’ve ever watched. One I think doesn’t get recommended enough is Jericho vs Omega. It was so unexpected and the surprise of seeing jericho was something different. The story telling was perfect and the match was even better

20. One that I never see but loved dearly was Ibushi vs Okada and Okada vs Sanada of the same year. Both amazing fights imo

21. That’s funny, I came here just before posting my thread about people’s favorite full G1 tournament/s. I’ve only watched 2017 onward in full, but 2019 was so INSANELY stacked with talent, variety, debuts [FOUR (4!!) incredible world-beating wrestlers debuting in one year!], dream matches, drama, stories, multiple spectacular matches on every card…I think the chances I’ll ever love one as much as 29 is unlikely, but one can dream!
    You hit the nail RE: the final and its perfect dichotomy. Incredible match.

22. I think about this match a lot. As you say, it’s wrestling in its purest form – a good lad v the biggest prick imaginable.

23. Interesting combination of personalities. Jay’s over there like, “Look at how insidious and deeply psychological I am” while Ibushi is annoyed that you would even try to play games.

24. I find it unsurprising but sad that almost all the NJPW match recommendations that get thrown out there are from the World era. Nobody telling people to go on there and discover the Musketeers, or Hiroshi Hase, or Fujinami, or even the early Liger and the 1994 Super J Cup (which was the “how to get into Japanese wrestling” go to recommendation before the Okada era). A lot of it is recency bias, the IWC taking their cues from Meltzer’s recent star inflation, the fact that yeah, NJPW in the last 10 years has been really fucking good, and also it’s hard to get excited about characters that are no longer active, but do new fans a favor and turn them on to some stuff from the 70s (classic Inoki bouts) 80s (later-period Inoki, Fujinami, Maeda, Choshu) and 90s (Liger, Musketeers, Hase) too.

25. 5 star match but i think its too context heavy for a first time viewer

26. This is my 2nd favorite NJPW match of all time, only behind Okada vs Naito from WK 14.