ROH/NJPW G1 Supercard fallout: Okada reigns at MSG

A Reflection

It was a long night of professional wrestling, but G1 Supercard was overall a super fun event to experience live. Getting to see the likes of Okada, Naito and Ibushi, three Japanese superstars at the top of their game was surreal. Seeing all of them, really, was surreal, but those three in particular.

If there was perhaps worry that NJPW might struggle with a North American expansion without a high-profile North American talent, that feeling should be out the window. Okada was so completely over with the crowd the entire time. From the coin drop of his entrance music, to leaping over the barricade, to every breathtaking dropkick, to finally putting White down for good, he had all of Madison Square Garden in the palm of his hand. When he stood on a chair among the crowd, it was like Patrick Ewing in ‘94 after he sent the Knicks to the NBA Finals. On one of the biggest stages in the world, Okada proved why he is the greatest wrestler on the planet.

Really, it would have been a completely dynamite show if New Japan came over by itself. Replace any of the ROH matches with those six- or eight-man tag contests that are typical for a New Japan show, and probably no one would have complained. Nearly every NJPW wrestler that had a cameo in the Honor Rumble got a huge pop, and it would have been nice to see the likes of Ishii, Goto, Shingo Takagi, etc. get a real chance to shine.

Regardless, the most refreshing part of the marathon evening was getting to see people actually contend for championships at Madison Square Garden, for once.

Fans are looking forward to New Japan Pro Wrestling coming back to New York City, hopefully in the near future. The company’s next United States appearance: The G1 Climax at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on Saturday, July 6, marking the first time the event will take place outside of Japan.