Shinmaru007

Didn't think they could, but Okada and Marufuji absolutely topped their G1 match. The closing run in particular is SO good, they put in some killer work. Shibata/O'Reilly was as good as expected; I'm excited for EVIL to get his shot, and the next step of the NOAH feud to happen with Go Shiozaki stepping up against Shibata. Really enjoyed those NOAH punks against the New Japan dads, too. I'm always game for punk ass wrestlers being unbelievable dickheads to beloved veterans.

@redyoshi: Everyone says this every year, but I honestly think Shibata is a strong contender to win the G1 next year. He's finally fully committed to New Japan, and they clearly have big plans for him -- he's THE guy in the New Japan vs. NOAH feud that's brewing right now, and he's earned the respect of the old guard. The fans are pretty clearly ready to accept Shibata as a top guy. It'll happen in 2017, I think.

As for Goto, man, I really hope Gedo's playing the long game with him rather than just making him the new babyface Naito (i.e. the upper card guy who exists to put over dudes taking the next step). Goto's character has the potential to be SO INTERESTING: a guy with so much talent and heart who's just destined to fail, and who's lost his way. Being a sidekick to Okada because he's just failed so many damn times is such a demeaning position for Goto. I hope New Japan uses that!

So now that folks have hopefully seen the G1 matches that matter, what were your favorites? If I had to pick a top 10 off the top of my head, I'd go...

-- Kenny Omega vs. Tetsuya Naito
-- Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada
-- Tomohiro Ishii vs. Kazuchika Okada
-- Kenny Omega vs. Hirooki Goto
-- Naomichi Marufuji vs. Kazuchika Okada
-- Michael Elgin vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima
-- Michael Elgin vs. Kenny Omega
-- YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tetsuya Naito
-- Naomichi Marufuji vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
-- Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tetsuya Naito

And there's a bunch of good-to-great matches I could slot in here. What a fun tournament.

It's wild that Naito/Omega is so good that it's overshadowing what a fantastic match Katsuhiko Nakajima and Michael Elgin had just before them. Those two fucking BRUTALIZED each other. Shibata/EVIL was strong, as well, exactly what I hoped for from that matchup.

WWE specifically said that six draft picks will be made from NXT.

Day 1 of the G1 Climax delivered about as expected (a good thing). I was skeptical about Tenzan going in, but fuck it, I'm all in on Tenzan's run -- rooted for him super hard against Ishii, who's one of my favorites in New Japan. SANADA vs. Tanahashi is very good and super interesting for both guys. For my money, though, Marufuji vs. Okada was match of the night. Marufuji brought it big time, while Okada's selling is always top tier. Loved the story, loved the execution. Good shit.

Austin quickly became my favorite guy in his time here -- his tremendous insight combined with his appreciation for the ridiculous and weird really struck a chord with me. Sad to see him leave, but very excited to see how Austin and the team he puts together executes on the opportunity he's been given.

This is even bigger than I thought it would be, holy crap! Giant opportunity for Austin, hope he crushes it.

Best of the Super Juniors time! All four matches in Block A today were a ton of fun, particularly Kyle O'Reilly vs. KUSHIDA. Only the lower stakes kept that match from being as good as their bout in the finals last year. Tremendous stuff from those two. Can't see any outright bad matches happening in this block -- everyone is at least extremely solid.

I honestly can't believe they nailed something that could've easily been horribly self-indulgent. Also, it's been so long since I played Crash Bandicoot that it was actually as exciting as Uncharted, somehow -- I actually cheered a bit when I nailed all the platforming and finished the level.

Also loved Drake's "shootout" with the toy gun in the attic. You adorable scamp.