Worst in the World: El Gigante vs Nailz-G1 Climax 1994 (Day 1)

(Special thanks to Otter Empire for suggesting this match. If you'd like to see a match covered on the Worst in the World, leave a comment down below.)

Considering how I cover a lot of bad wrestling on this site, it's not surprising that I rarely talk about New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Often considered the best professional wrestling in the world right now, New Japan often delivers in the ring, and even when they don't, the standard of quality is so high that an underwhelming match is still pretty good. That being said, NJPW has not gone without some major blunders. I've already covered one match from the ill-fated Final Countdown BVD tournament where half of the participants were shootfighters and not wrestlers. That tournament laid the groundwork for "Inoki-ism" where Antonio Inoki put the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship on guys like Tadao Yasuda and Bob Sapp, one of which was a mediocre veteran while the other wasn't even a wrestler, purely because they could legit fight while sending Yuji Nagata to get his head kicked in by some of the best MMA fighters of all-time. In the mid-2000s, New Japan tried to capitalize on Brock Lesnar's return to wrestling after a failed NFL career by giving him the world title in his debut match, only for him to wrestle seven total matches before leaving for Inoki's new company, Inoki Genome Federation, while he still had the physical belt. And just last year, we saw NJPW's attempt to elevate EVIL from midcard/tag team wrestler to legit main eventer and leader of the Bullet Club overnight fall flat. Also, Cody Hall. Nothing particular about him, just...Cody Hall.

While all those decisions are failures, the reasoning behind them makes sense. The MMA/shoot-fighting push was Inoki's attempt to capitalize on the rise in popularity of MMA in Japan in the 2000s. Brock Lesnar was less than two years removed from being one of the WWE's top stars, and he had the potential to be the company's next top gaijin. COVID-19 travel restrictions had kept a good portion of the roster out of the country, so it's understandable they'd try to build a new star in EVIL given the circumstances. And hell, why not give Cody Hall a chance? We know now he's not very good and also a dipshit, but back in 2015, it seemed like a no-brainer to sign the gigantic son of a legend in Scott Hall. So yeah, bad ideas, but understandable ones. This match, however, has no logic behind it. El Gigante vs Nailz. In a New Japan ring. On a G1 Climax card. Granted, this wasn't part of the actual tournament, just an additional match on the card, but still. How did we get here?

El Gigante and Nailz are both best known for their times in the WWF. Although both of them were only with the company for a cup of coffee (Gigante was there for eight months, while Nailz was only there for six), their two of the more infamous wrestlers of the 90s, both for different reasons. I've talked about Gigante, the professional basketball player turned Ted Turner pet project in WCW, a couple of times here (and even on my basketball blog), but Nailz is someone new to the series. Kevin Wacholz began his wrestling career in 1982 before joining the AWA in 1984. After a decent run as "Mr. Magnificent" Kevin Kelly (not the announcer), Wacholz would join the WWF in 1991 as Nailz, a former prisoner who claims he was abused by the Big Boss Man in prison. 

What might be surprising is that Nailz actual debut in the WWF is...kind of great. Following a squash match victory for the Boss Man, Nailz ran in from the crowd and attacked him. Handcuffing Boss Man, first to the ropes then behind his back, what followed was over five minutes of Nailz beating down the Boss Man brutally, far more than the average beatdown you'd see in the WWF at the time, repeatedly striking him with his nightstick before choking him with it. However, a debut on such a high note meant that there was only one for Nailz to go in the WWF, especially given his level of "talent." Once he had to actually wrestle, it was painfully apparent that Nailz was an awful wrestler whose move set seemed to consist of choking his opponent...and that's about it. Nailz was not long for this world after his feud with the Boss Man ended at Survivor Series 1992. And I mean that quite literally.

One month later, Nailz met with Vince McMahon over a financial dispute, a meeting that, according to Bret Hart, consisted of Nailz cornering McMahon and screaming at him for fifteen minutes before violently choking him (life imitating art, I guess), and would end with Nailz out of job. Nailz filed multiple lawsuits against the WWF, claiming that McMahon gave him steroids and had sexually assaulted him, but none led to anything. Nailz's battles with the WWF in court weren't done, however, as he was called as a witness during the steroid trial to testify against McMahon. During that trial, Nailz would quickly kill his credibility after being asked if he had any personal animosity against McMahon. Nailz said no, only to immediately answer the next question, "Do you hate Vince McMahon?" with a yes. Top-notch work there.

Wacholz would actually continue to use the gimmick of a former prisoner throughout the rest of his career before retiring in 2001, just with different names. In 1993, he'd face Sting at Slamboree 1993 with zero build after Scott Norton quit the company as The Prisoner. A year later, he'd join Jim Crockett Jr's World Wrestling Network as The Convict. And a few years later in 1996, he'd sign with the American Wrestling Federation, where he'd go by Nails. Just toeing the line of copyright infringement as much as humanly possibly. But why stop there, as he was just flat-out Nailz in his brief run with New Japan with no alterations to the name. I'm guessing this is kind of a Simon Gotch situation where the WWF just let their trademark on the name expire, so it was fair game for Wacholz to use as he pleased.

So, with that backstory out of the way, it still begs the question of why these two are having a match in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Granted, New Japan wasn't quite the crown jewel of in-ring work in the '90s (All Japan had surpassed them in that regard for a bit) that they are now, but it's not like they didn't have some legit workers in the company. The actual G1 tournament in 1994 featured guys like Masahiro Chono, Kensuke Sasaki (as Power Warrior), Keiji Mutoh, Hiroshi Hase, and Shinya Hashimoto. Those guys were all mega-talented. An El Gigante/Nailz match was never going to be good, but when it's on the same card as matches like Hase vs Hashimoto, it's going to stick out even more.

And to be fair, having giant dudes who can't really work isn't a foreign concept in Japan. Andre the Giant might have ended his WWF career at WrestleMania VI, but he actually continued to wrestle sporadically in All Japan until 1992. One of the men he shared the ring with during that time was Giant Baba, who was also huge but well past his prime at that time. But the difference between those two and El Gigante & Nailz is that Andre & Baba were big names in wrestling. Who the fuck was clamoring for El Gigante and Nailz to wrestle each other? Who the fuck was clamoring for them to wrestle at all?

Well, this intro has gone far longer than I ever thought it would, so let's just get into this.

Nailz rushes Gigante as soon as the bell rings, giving him forearms to the back that Gigante doesn't sell. In fact, neither of them sell any of the strikes in the opening exchange, as they both trade blows. Gigante eventually starts to choke Nailz. This act of move thievery annoys Nailz, who rakes the eyes before bringing him in real close.

I don't what he's supposed to be doing here. Nailz continues to go for the eyes before choking Gigante in the corner. Gigante is able to break the choke with a choke of his own, which is less of a choke and more of an aggressive shoulder grab.

Nailz is able to break the "choke" with another eye rack, and continues to work the eye in the corner as the referee continuously tries to count him out. On that note, this ref is stuck on fast forward or something, because he's counting them out lighting fast.

Nailz tries to throw Gigante into the ropes, but Gigante blocks it and grabs Nailz by the throat, causing Nailz to let out quite a cheesy 80s action movie death scream. Gigante forces Nailz into the corner, where the referee just kind of lets him choke Nailz for a long time despite counting him out. He'll get to three, then stop, and then just start again without Gigante breaking the choke. The two trade strikes again before Gigante goes back to the choke, which Nailz breaks once again with an eye rake. Nailz tries to whip Gigante across the ring, but Gigante blocks it and throws Nailz across instead. Gigante hits a clothesline before locking in the Claw hold. He doesn't clutch his wrist so it doesn't go Magna, but it's still enough for Gigante to knock down Nailz, get the three, and the win.

The Verdict

Jesus, what a nothing match. Granted, it's not nearly as bad as a lot of the matches on this list, and with a svelte runtime of under three minutes, it's a pretty easy watch. That being said, it's still bad. No moves whatsoever. Just punching, choking, and eye rakes with zero actual wrestling thrown in. It's...pretty much exactly what you'd expect from an El Gigante-Nailz match. And thankfully, New Japan knew not to put giants as clunky as Gigante & Nailz together in one of their rings again...right?

Yes, Giant Singh is in fact, the Great Khali

Dear God.

Rankings (Best to Worst)

1. Rick Rude vs Jake Roberts-WrestleMania IV
2. Too Much vs Al Snow & Head-King of the Ring 1998
3. Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns-Greatest Royal Rumble
4. Ernest Miller vs Norman Smiley-Fall Brawl 1998
5. Shane McMahon vs Eric Bischoff-SummerSlam 2003
6. The Tag Team Gauntlet-Extreme Rules 2010
7. Randy Orton vs Bray Wyatt-WrestleMania 33
8. Vampiro vs Sting-Great American Bash 2000
9. T&A vs Head Cheese-WrestleMania 2000
10. Triple H vs Sgt. Slaughter-D-Generation X: In Your House
11. Konnan vs One Man Gang-SuperBrawl VI
12. Ultimate Warrior vs Hercules-WrestleMania IV
13. Rick Rude vs Hawk-Clash of the Champions XXV
14. Shelton Benjamin vs Viscera-New Year's Revolution 2006
15. Steve McMichael vs Reggie White-Slamboree 1997
16. Lars Sullivan vs Lucha House Party-Super Showdown 2019
17. Alexa Bliss vs Bayley-Extreme Rules 2017
18. The Tag Team Fatal 4-Way Match-WrestleMania 13
19. Tag Team Battle Royal-WrestleMania XIV
20. The Chamber of Horrors-Halloween Havoc 1991
21. The Natural Disasters vs Money Inc.-WrestleMania VIII
22. Ivan Koloff vs Paul Jones-Clash of the Champions IV
23. ODB, Taylor Wilde, and Roxxi vs The Kongtourage-Genesis 2009
24. Ivory vs Tori-SummerSlam 1999
25. Giant Baba vs Bulldog Bob Brown-WrestleRock
26. The Reverse Battle Royal-Impact! (10/26/2006)
27. Jerry Blackwell vs Boris Zhukov-SuperClash II
28. Nikita Koloff vs Bobby Eaton-Bunkhouse Stampede
29. Alex Wright vs Steve McMichael-Halloween Havoc 1997
30. The Great Khali vs Kane-WrestleMania 23
31. Savio Vega vs Crush vs Faarooq-Ground Zero: In Your House
32. The Shockmaster vs Awesome/King Kong-Starrcade 1993
33. Total Divas vs Other Divas-Survivor Series 2013
34. The Oddities vs Kaientai-SummerSlam 1998
35. Hulk Hogan vs Sid Justice-WrestleMania VIII
36. Paul Ellering vs Teddy Long-Capital Combat
37. Dusty Rhodes vs Big Boss Man-Saturday Night's Main Event (10/31/1989)
38. Konnan vs Scott Hall-Fall Brawl 1998
39. Tyson Tomko vs Stevie Richards-Unforgiven 2004
40. Kane vs The Great Khali-SummerSlam 2009
41. Rick Steiner vs Scott Steiner-Fall Brawl 1998
42. Hollywood Hogan vs The Giant-Hog Wild
43. Hollywood Hogan vs The Giant-Souled Out 1997
44. Dustin Rhodes & King Kong vs Awesome Kong & The Equalizer-Battlebowl
45. Finlay & Little Bastard vs The Boogeyman & Little Boogeyman-No Way Out 2007
46. Jake Roberts vs Andre the Giant-WrestleMania V
47. El Gigante vs Nailz-G1 Climax 1994 (Day 1)
48. Yokozuna vs King Mabel-In Your House 4
49. Dusty Rhodes vs The Honky Tonk Man-SummerSlam 1989
50. Sting & Hawk vs Meng & Kurasawa-Clash of the Champions XXXI
51. Hulk Hogan vs Randy Savage-Uncensored 1998
52. Al Snow vs Big Boss Man-Unforgiven 1999
53. Mickie James vs Ashley-Royal Rumble 2006
54. Christy Hemme vs Big Fat Oily Guy-Against All Odds 2007
55. British Bulldog & Jim Neidhart vs The Dancing Fools-Fall Brawl 1998
56. Stevie Ray vs Konnan-World War 3 1998
57. Vampiro vs The KISS Demon-Bash at the Beach 2000
58. Team WCW vs nWo Wolfpac vs nWo Hollywood-Fall Brawl 1998
59. Vampiro vs Oklahoma-Starrcade 1999
60. Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant-WrestleMania III
61. Jinder Mahal vs Randy Orton-Battleground 2017
62. Van Hammer vs Terrance Taylor-Clash of the Champions XVI
63. Junkyard Dog vs Moondog Spot-Wrestling Classic
64. Chris Jericho vs "Goldberg"-Fall Brawl 1998
65. Roman Reigns vs The Undertaker-WrestleMania 33
66. The Undertaker vs Goldberg-Super ShowDown 2019
67. Hiroshi Wajima vs Tom Magee-All Japan Pro Wrestling 1988
68. Jim Duggan vs Big Boss Man-Royal Rumble 1990
69. Meng vs Jim Duggan-Uncensored 1995
70. Jim Steele vs The Equalizer-SuperBrawl IV
71. The Undertaker vs Giant González-WrestleMania IX
72. Sting vs Tony Palmore-Battle 7
73. D-Generation X vs Brothers of Destruction-Crown Jewel
74. Wendi Richter vs Leilani Kai-WrestleMania
75. Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar-WrestleMania XX
76. Edge vs Triple H vs Vladimir Kozlov-Survivor Series 2008
77. Kevin Sullivan vs Dave Sullivan-SuperBrawl V
78. Steve McMichael vs Brian Adams-Road Wild 1998
79. Scott Hall vs Roddy Piper-SuperBrawl IX
80. Boris Zhukov vs Paul Samson-Beach Brawl
81. Roddy Piper vs Hollywood Hogan-Halloween Havoc 1997
82. Kane vs The Great Khali-Breaking Point
83. Hollywood Hogan & Dennis Rodman vs Diamond Dallas Page & Karl Malone-Bash at the Beach 1998
84. PN News & Bobby Eaton vs Steve Austin & Terrance Taylor-Great American Bash 1991
85. Scott Steiner vs Sid Vicious vs Jeff Jarrett vs Road Warrior Animal-Sin
86. Hollywood Hogan vs Roddy Piper-SuperBrawl 1997
87. Batista vs The Great Khali-SummerSlam 2007
88.  Sable vs Tori-WrestleMania XV
89. Super Invader vs Todd Champion-WrestleWar 1992
90. Brock Lesnar vs Cain Velasquez-Crown Jewel 2019
91. King Kong Bundy & Jim Neidhart vs Yokozuna & Jake Roberts-Heroes of Wrestling
92. Sid Vicious vs The Nightstalker-Clash of the Champions XIII
93. The 8-Divas Tag Match-Survivor Series 1999
94. The Fabulous Freebirds vs The Renegade Warriors-Halloween Havoc 1990
95. The Knockouts Gauntlet-One Night Only: Live! 2016
96. AJ Styles vs Frank Trigg-No Surrender 2008
97. Rick Rude vs Masahiro Chono-Halloween Havoc 1992
98. Mike Awesome vs Vampiro-Halloween Havoc 2000
99. Bray Wyatt vs John Cena-Extreme Rules 2014
100. Brothers of Destruction vs KroniK-Unforgiven 2001
101. Mabel vs The Undertaker-King of the Ring 1995
102. Wendi Richter vs The Fabulous Moolah-The Brawl to End it All
103. David Flair vs Kimberly Page-Mayhem 1999
104. The Truth Commission vs The Disciples of Apocolypse-Survivor Series 1997
105. Daffney vs Miss Hancock-Bash at the Beach 2000
106. The Bushwhacker vs The Fabulous Rougeaus-WrestleMania V
107. The Beverly Brothers vs The Bushwhackers-Royal Rumble 1992
108. Teddy Long vs Eric Bischoff-Survivor Series 2005
109. Greg Valentine vs George Steele-Heroes of Wrestling
110. Abdullah the Butcher vs One Man Gang-Heroes of Wrestling
111. Major Gunns vs Miss Hancock-New Blood Rising
112. Bradshaw & Trish Stratus vs Christopher Nowinski & Jackie Gayda-RAW (7/8/2002)
113. Triple H vs Scott Steiner-Royal Rumble 2003
114. Goldberg vs "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt-Super ShowDown 2020
115. Santina Marella vs Vickie & Chavo Guerrero-Extreme Rules 2009
116. Kevin Nash vs Scott Steiner vs Goldberg-New Blood Rising
117. Hollywood Hogan vs The Warrior-Halloween Havoc 1998
118. Mr. T vs Roddy Piper-WrestleMania 2
119. The Royal Family vs Clowns R' Us-Survivor Series 1994
120. The House of Horrors Match-Payback 2017
121. The Blacktop Bully vs Dustin Rhodes-Uncensored 1995
122. Team Dos Caras vs Team El Canek-Leyendas Mexicanas 2017
123. Pat Patterson vs Gerald Brisco-King of the Ring 2000
124. The Wyatt Swamp Fight-The Horror Show at Extreme Rules
125. The Four Doinks vs Team Bigelow-Survivor Series 1993
126. Sting vs Jeff Hardy-Victory Road 2011
127. Bret Hart vs Mr. McMahon-WrestleMania XVI
128. Oz vs Tim Parker-SuperBrawl
129. Brock Lesnar vs Braun Strowman-Crown Jewel 2018
130. Brock Lesnar vs Ricochet-Super ShowDown 2020
131. The Mighty Maccabee vs The Iron Sheik-Maccabiah Mania II: Shekel Slam
132. Van Hammer vs Doug Somers-Halloween Havoc 1991
133. Ultimate Warrior vs Andre the Giant-Saturday Night's Main Event (11/25/1989)
134. Jeff Jarrett vs Sting-Halloween Havoc 2000
135. The Doomsday Cage Match-Uncensored 1996
136. Kane vs The Undertaker-Judgement Day 1998
137. Rebel vs Shelly Martinez-One Night Only: Knockouts Knockdown
138. Kaitlyn vs Maxine-NXT (10/19/2010)
139. Sabu vs The Sandman-November to Remember 1997
140. Seth Rollins vs "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt-Hell in a Cell 2019
141. Michael Cole vs Jerry Lawler-WrestleMania XXVII
142. The Bushwhackers vs Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff-Heroes of Wrestling
143. James Storm vs Chris Harris-Lockdown 2007
144. John Laurinaitis vs John Cena-Over the Limit 2012
145. Hulk Hogan vs The Giant-Halloween Havoc 1995
146. Ultimate Warrior vs Goldust-In Your House 7
147. Los Villanos vs Los Psycho Circus-Triplemania XXIII
148. Jenna Morasca vs Sharmell-Victory Road 2009

Thanks for reading! Be sure to share if you enjoy and leave any suggestions for matches you'd like to see covered in the Worst in the World in the comments. Next time, I'm sticking with New Japan and going back to 1977 to look at one of the most infamous examples of pro-wrestling turning into a real fight. Until then...