G1 Climax 2015 Final Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW G1 Climax 25 - Day 19 - 16/08/2015
This is one of those matches that only showcases the disconnect I have to modern wrestling, where I hardly rate anything on a high level (which is 4.5 stars or above). I sometimes think maybe I’m being too harsh, but then I watch matches like these, something only 11 years earlier, with a style of wrestling not too dissimilar to today, and find it to be an outer-body experience of high proportions. The quality of the wrestling, the drama from the wrestling, the energy that exudes from both wrestlers as well as the crowd. And mind you, this was before New Japan was even reaching the peak of the audiences they would get a few years later. If you told me there were 30 thousand in the building, I’d believe you. Each screaming fan was like 3 fans in terms of what they gave to the wrestlers.
2015 is the era of Hiroshi Tanahashi. He never looked better, never wrestled better and seemed to be the pinnacle of the sport and yet Nakamura was just as good in this match. Both rose to the occasion like never before. The match began with some strong technical wrestling where they worked the mat, with Nakamura leading and leading to Tanahashi chop blocking Nakamura’s left knee for the advantage which he would further capitalise on. Nakamura’s selling was excellent and consistent throughout which is tricky when your primary offence is a kick. But Nakamura was able to convey the pain throughout. And it came into play in key moments, like Tanahashi catching a kick, throwing the right leg into the ropes, allowing for the opening to hit a dragon screw. A genius spot. The pacing of the match was excellent as well. It was always pretty steady, even early on and they never went too fast with the timing of the moves, which allowed each strike or move land with the deserved gravitas. And it just allowed for the underlying drama to reach the boiling point as it should do. The peak of the match for me was the sequence on the corner ropes where Tanahashi hit a high fly flow onto Nakamura, who was holding onto the top rope. It is insane the height and velocity they got on it and it deservedly led to the finish in the same breath. It was just an incredible match. What a G1 Final aspires to be. *****
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