5 Best Wrestling Matches Of 2018

2. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi – G1 Climax 2018

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6rwdh5

If you’ve been keeping up with these match lists, you’ll notice that Hiroshi Tanahashi’s name keeps popping up. There’s a good reason for that: Tanahashi is simply incapable of having a bad singles match. He has so much experience, charisma, technical skill and raw talent that he might as well rename himself ‘Midas’, because everything he touches turns to gold.

This was the case yet again for Tanahashi in the G1 Climax 2018 final match, as he took on Kenny Omega’s close friend, Kota Ibushi. There were two great stories that unfolded in this marvelous wrestling match.

First, there was the possibility that we’d get Omega versus Ibushi at Wrestle Kingdom if Ibushi won this match. That is a dream match for many people, given the extensive history between those two.

The second was whether Tanahashi could still ‘go’. He, like Cena, was in his early forties and was no longer the company ace. So people wondered if he could still wrestle at the standard expected of him, especially since his opponent was younger, healthier, and faster.

Needless to say, Tanahashi proved any and all doubters wrong by wrestling at an incredible pace. He moved around with such grace and precision that it was like he hadn’t aged at all in years. He took Ibushi to the next level, and Ibushi hit him with everything he got.

It was such a close match that it was impossible to guess who’d win, which left the audience split right down the middle, cheering for both wrestlers equally. It is simply a masterpiece, and it set the standard incredibly high for the now-much-anticipated Omega vs. Tanahashi encounter on January 4th, 2019.