lastthingyouforget

[lastthingyouforget]

G1 Climax 27 Night 12: I Am The Table

More Block B action coming from Fukuoka Citizen Gymnasium.

Match 1: Syota Umino, Tomoyuki Oka vs. Ren Narita, Katsuya Kitamura

Two teams of Young Lions facing off here. Narita is isolated before making the tag to Kitamura who mows down Umino with a spear before delivering some of his trademark chops. Oka submits Narita with a Boston Crab.

Match 2: Hirai Kawato, Yuji Nagata vs. Tiger Mask, Kota Ibushi

Grapping between Ibushi and Nagata to start. Kawato and Tiger Mask tag in but it’s soon back to Nagata and Ibushi who exchange stiff kicks to the chest. Nagata hits an enziguri but Ibushi replies with a big high kick.

Tiger Mask hits Kawato with a Tiger Bomb but Nagata breaks the pin. Ibushi takes Nagata out of the equation with a dive on the outside allowing Tiger Mask to get the win with an avalanche Butterfly suplex.

Match 3: YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto vs. Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale

The CHAOS team is comprised entirely of tournament competitors (I wonder who’ll win). Fale shrugs off a series of chops and elbows by Ishii and his suplex attempt is countered with a body slam. Goto and YOSH-HASHI get involved but Fale takes them both down with a shoulder block.

Ishii continues to get worked over by Fale. YOSHI-HASHI is in and after Goto and Ishii take out Fale with a double headbutt and clothesline, he makes Owens tap with the Butterfly Lock.

Match 4: El Desperado, Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr vs. Hiromu Takahashi, BUSHI, Tetsuya Naito

Taichi parades around with BUSHI’s mask that he previously stole. LIJ leap from the ring and the two teams brawl on the outside. Naito and ZSJ exchange strikes in the ring. Taichi mocks Naito but is worked over by all of LIJ.

Suzuki-gun win after Taichi hits BUSHI with his cane and rolls him up. Taichi attempts to steal BUSHI’s mask again but gets chased off by the rest of LIJ.

Match 5: Jushin Thunder Liger, Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. David Finlay, Togi Makabe

Early air guitar from Tanahashi. Liger applies a Romero Special on Finlay before Tanahashi and Makabe get into it. Tanahashi hits a Dragon Screw on Finlay and applies a Cloverleaf but the hold is broken up by Makabe. Tanahashi wins after a High Fly Flow on Finlay and he has a nice pose with Liger in the ring.

Match 6: Juice Robinson (2 pts) vs. SANADA (6 pts)

Juice continues to sell the leg as he makes his way to the ring. Stalemate to start but SANADA gets the upperhand after targeting the leg. Juice fights back but takes too long running up for a cannonball in the corner and SANADA sweeps the leg and applies a Figure 4 leg lock. Juice rolls over to reverse the pressure but both men continue rolling and fall out of the ring. SANADA manages to keep the hold applied on the outside and Juice barely beats the 20 count.

Juice gets some offence in with a Spinebuster and falling Powerbomb. Both men trade finisher attempts before SANADA flips out of a German suplex, sweeps the leg again and applies the Skull End. Juice refuses to tap but SANADA lands a top-rope moonsault for the win. Really good match, Juice did a great job of selling the leg and there were some nice spots.

Match 7: Michael Elgin (4 pts) vs. Toru Yano (2 pts)

Yano rolls up Elgin for a nearfall after sending him into the exposed turnbuckle before a stalling suplex by Big Mike. Elgin teases a low blow but is stopped by the ref allowing Yano to hit one of his own. Yano then pretends that he’s been low blowed and wins after Elgin is DQed. Pass.

Match 8: Satoshi Kojima (0 pts) vs. Minoru Suzuki (6 pts)

Suzuki attacks Kojima from behind and they brawl outside. Suzuki-gun attack Kojima whilst Suzuki distracts the ref, Tenzan intervenes but gets chastised by the ref allowing the double team on Kojima to continue. Suzuki stays on the offensive and hits Kojima with a chair.

Back in the ring, Kojima gets in some offence and hits his corner chops with Suzuki asking for more. Suzuki continues to wear down his opponent with an abdominal stretch on the top rope and an armbar. More interference from Suzuki-gun, Tenzan has enough and clears house allowing Kojima to hit a Brainbuster for a nearfall. Suzuki catches Kojima with a sleeper hold, decks him with a big right hand and wins after a Gotch-style piledriver. Really solid match, told a good story and Tenzan taking out Suzuki-gun was a nice moment.

Match 9: Kazuchika Okada (10 pts) vs. Tama Tonga (4 pts)

Tonga attacks Okada whilst he poses on the turnbuckle and steals his lovely jacket again. Tonga gets the better of the fight on the outside before continuing to attack with mounted punches in the ring. Fairly even match as the two exchange moves before Okada gains the advantage and lands a top-rope elbow drop.

Pace picks up at the end as Gun Stuns and Rainmakers are repeatedly teased. Okada wins after countering a Gun Stun into a German suplex and rolling through into a Rainmaker. Finisher teases at the end were fun but match didn’t have a lot to it.

Match 10: Kenny Omega (8 pts) vs. EVIL (8 pts)

Quick start. Omega bails out of the ring, EVIL follows and chokes him with cables. EVIL rips up the padding from the ringside area but takes a body drop to the exposed surface and another onto the broadcasting table. Omega in control in the ring and begins to target the back after hitting a rolling firemans carry into a second rope moonsault.

EVIL heads to the outside and grabs a chair but Kenny bounces it into his face with a dropkick from the apron. Omega jumps off the barrier but gets caught with the chair and takes a con-chair-to. Action is briefly back in the ring as EVIL hits a Fisherman’s Buster and tries to apply the Banshee Muzzle but Omega fights out, sends EVIL to the outside and hits a big swanton dive to the outside.

Omega puts a table on top of EVIL and hits a diving double stomp from the apron. Kenny then attempts to suplex EVIL off the apron but EVIL hits a Uranage through the table causing it to explode. EVIL comes close after a top-rope senton and Darkness Falls powerbomb. EVIL applies the Banshee Muzzle again but Kenny gets to the ropes.

Closing sequence sees Kenny hit a V-Trigger and follow-up with a reverse frankensteiner, another two V-Triggers and finally the One-winged Angel for the win. EVIL looked worryingly out of it at the end and seemed like a struggle to get him up for the finish. Overall a very fun match with some memorable spots and didn’t drag despite pushing 25 minutes.

tldr;

EVIL/Omega, Juice/SANADA and Kojima/Suzuki are all worth checking out. Main event felt fresh and both men left it all in the ring.

[lastthingyouforget]

G1 Climax 27 Night 11: Star Road

We’re past the halfway point and this show at Kagoshima Arena has a stacked looking card with both Naito/Goto and Tanahashi/Ibushi competing.

Match 1: Jushin Thunder Liger, Michael Elgin vs. Syota Umino, Katsuya Kitamura

Nice to get to see Liger here and he starts the match. Elgin tosses Umino around for a bit before clashing with Kitamura. The Young Lion surprisingly gets the best of their exchange at first but Elgin wins after a lariat and sit down powerbomb (despite Kitamura clearly getting his shoulder up before the 3 count).

Match 2: Hirai Kawato, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima vs. El Desperado, Taichi, Minoru Suzuki

Suzuki-gun get the advantage early as Suzuki chokes Kojima with his cape on the outside and in the ring, Taichi performs Kojima’s signature chops on Tenzan. After an exchange with Kojima, Suzuki slaps Kawato around for a bit before El Desperado gets the win for his team after hitting an Angel’s Wings. Kojima/Suzuki brawl after the bell.

Match 3: David Finlay, Juice Robinson vs. BUSHI, SANADA

LIJ in control for most of the match. Juice tags in and hits a running cross body on both opponents and a cannonball in the corner. BUSHI takes Juice out with a suicide dive allowing SANADA to apply the Skull End to submit Finlay.

Match 4: Chase Owens, Kenny Omega vs. Hiromu Takahashi, EVIL

Bullet Club isolate and double team Hiroumi. EVIL gets the hot tag and after taking out both opponents with a clothesline/bulldog combo, pins Owens after an STO. Omega tries to hit the One-winged Angel on him after the bell but is unsuccessful and bails out of the ring.

Match 5: Toru Yano, Kazuchika Okada vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Tama Tonga

Tonga steals and wears Okada’s lovely robe whilst Yujiro does likewise with Yano’s uglier looking one. Yano gets worked over with Yujiro’s cane but pins the Bullet Club man after a low blow and a roll up.

Match 6: YOSHI-HASHI (2 pts) vs. Bad Luck Fale (6 pts)

Fale dominates early and after throwing his opponent over the ring barrier, drives him through a crowd of chairs. After multiple unsuccessful attempts, YOSHI-HASHI finally takes the big man off his feet with a neckbreaker before following up with a top-rope Blockbuster.

Fale counters the Butterfly Lock by powering up to his feet and throwing YOSHI-HASHI into the turnbuckle. Fale picks him up for a crucifix powerbomb but YOSHI-HASHI escapes into a sleeper hold before re-applying the Butterfly Lock. YOSHI-HASHI gets the win after a surprise roll up. Really enjoyed this, told a straightforward story of the smaller man having to wear down his bigger opponent before sneaking the win.

Match 7: Togi Makabe (6 pts) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (6 pts)

El Desperado unsuccessfully tries to get involved and is thrown into the crowd. Bulk of the match is ZSJ wearing Makabe down with submissions, specifically targeting the leg. They start favouring striking which suits Makabe fine giving him the upper hand. After missing with the king Kong knee drop ZSJ applies a double knee bar for the submission victory. Not a huge amount of action in this but was at least nice to see ZSJ get another big win.

Match 8: Yuji Nagata (0 pts) vs. Tomohiro Ishii (6 pts)

It’s no surprise considering the people involved that this match contains lots of stiff elbows, kicks and headbutts. Nagata hits an exploder suplex and Ishii replies with a brainbuster. After being on the receiving end of a superplex, Nagata applies the Fujiwara armbar before hitting a second rope exploder suplex.

Hot ending sequence as Ishii gets nearfalls from a powerbomb and lariat. Nagata gets a nearfall after countering a brainbuster with one of his own before Ishii wins after a second brainbuster. Ishii’s matches seem to stick to a formula but still some really good hard-hitting action here (especially at the end).

Match 9: Hirooki Goto (6 pts) vs. Tetsuya Naito (6 pts)

Naito immediately attacks Goto and repeatedly spits at him. Goto gets the advantage but Naito knocks him off the turnbuckle to the outside before hitting a neckbreaker onto the apron. Back in the ring Naito is in control. Ushigoroshi attempt is countered with a DDT by Naito but Goto succeeds in hitting it after countering a Destino.

Goto builds some momentum with a headbutt and an inverted GTR before stomping away on his opponent. Naito fights back and despite being on the end of another Ushigoroshi, he wins after hitting Goto twice with Destino. Really good match that was very well-paced and built to a satisfying finish.

Match 10: Hiroshi Tanahashi (8 pts) vs. Kota Ibushi (4 pts)

Big fight feel and the crowd is split as they chant for both men. Grappling to start, Tanahashi showing slightly more heelish tendencies as he slaps his opponent instead of breaking cleanly on the ropes and plays to the crowd. Ibushi lands the first big blow as he takes down Tanahashi with a high kick.

Tanahashi begins to work the leg but Ibushi gets in some high flying offence with a hurricanrana and a triangle moonsault to the outside. They fight on the apron, ibushi attempts a German suplex onto it but Tanahashi hits a rope-assisted Dragon screw. Tanahashi lands a High Fly Flow to a standing Ibushi on the outside before continuing to work the leg in the ring and applying a Cloverleaf submission.

Ibushi hits a snap German suplex and just about flips out of one attempted by Tanahashi before landing a standing double stomp. Intensity is increased as they begin to trade elbows, uppercuts and kicks. Tanahashi is caught on the top rope with a backflip kick and Ibushi attempts to lawn dart him into the turnbuckle (but doesn’t quite make it). Tanahashi rolls out of the ring but is brought back in with a second rope German suplex.

Tanahashi gets nearfalls from an arm-trap German suplex and a Slingblade that dumps Ibushi on his head. The Ace lands a High Fly Flow but Ibushi gets the knees up to block a follow up attempt. Ibushi hits an elevated sit down powerbomb for the closest of nearfalls, causing the commentators to go crazy. Ibushi then finally wins after a wrist-lock knee strike.

Again this was a very well-paced match with some really impressive spots. Only slight criticism was that the knee strike to finish was a bit anticlimactic considering what had come before (and that Omega hits about 10 every match) but overall this was two very talented wrestlers delivering a big main event.

tldr;

The final two matches definitely delivered based on the reputations of the individuals involved. The main event was one of my favourite matches so far and overall the show is very easy to recommend.  

[lastthingyouforget]

G1 Climax 27 Night 10: Kitamania Running Wild

More Block B action coming from the Gifu Industrial Hall.

Match 1: Tetsuhiro Yagi, Katsuya Kitamura, David Finlay vs. Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale

No English name plates so had to check the NJPW website to find out who Kitamura and Finlay’s partner was. Yujiro strokes the face of some women in the crowd whilst making his entrance.

Kitamura reconvenes his pose-off with Yujiro from the other night before shoulder blocking both him and Owens, knocking Fale off the apron and going full Ultimate Warrior and shaking the ropes. Kitamura gets isolated before making the tag to Finlay but Bullet Club win after Owens superkicks and package piledrives Nagi.

Match 2: Syota Umino, Togi Makabe vs. El Desperado, Zack Sabre Jr.

Umino gets beat up for a bit before Makabe and ZSJ tag in and trade strikes. Fiery offence by Umino but he taps out after a spinebuster and stretch muffler by El Desperado. Makabe/ZSJ continue to fight after the bell and ZSJ gives everyone the finger.

Match 3: Tomoyuki Oka, Yuji Nagata vs. YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii

Nagata and Ishii start off grappling but soon move to chops, elbows and boots. Oka tags in and continues the hard hitting action with Ishii. Nearfall from Oka after a belly-to-belly and spinebuster on YOSHI-HASHI but he taps to his Butterfly lock.

Match 4: Ryusuke Taguchi, Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hirai Kawato, Kota Ibushi

This tag reminded me that Tanahashi and Ibushi haven’t met yet and that match should be lovely. Kawato isolated after taking a bum to the face from Taguchi. Ibushi and Tanahashi are in together and after trading German suplexes, Ibushi takes his head off with a high kick.

Absolutely love Kawato’s running forearm where he ragdolls off his opponent. Ibushi dives onto Tanahashi on the outside. Kawato rolls up Taguchi for some nearfalls before tapping to his ankle lock. Ibushi and Tanahashi get in each others face. I’ve only just realized that Tanahashi rubbing his face on fans merchandise as he leaves is a thing.

Match 5: Gedo, Hirooki Goto vs. Hiromu Takahashi, Tetsuya Naito

Hiromu tries to blindside Gedo after a handshake but Gedo is smart to it. CHAOS double team Hiromu before LIJ work over Gedo’s beard. Goto hits an Ushigoroshi on Naito before the two fight outside. Hiromu taps out Gedo after a nice looking hurricanrana transitioned into a triangle choke.

Match 6: Toru Yano (2 pts) vs. EVIL (6 pts)

Yano goes for his usual shenanigans and low blows EVIL whilst the referee's view is obscured. EVIL immediately hits an STO and wins in about 90 seconds. At least it was quick.

Match 7: Minoru Suzuki (4 pts) vs. Tama Tonga (4 pts)

Tonga takes out El Desperado as Suzuki makes his entrance before attacking him from behind. Brawl in the crowd to start with chairs and cables soon involved. They make their way into the ring but they stay there for all of 10 seconds before heading back into the crowd. Chair shots by Suzuki but Tonga replies with oddly ineffective blows to the head with the ring bell hammer.

After brawling outside for 5 minutes the referee finally decides to start counting them out and they both head back into the ring. Referee gets squashed by Tonga as he attempts a corner splash and they both immediately go outside to grab chairs. Not sure why they had to wait for the referee to be down considering he was fine with them using chairs and hammers a few minutes earlier.

After duelling chair shots, Tonga hits a Stun Gun but the referee is still down. Suzuki counters another Stun Gun attempt with a sleeper hold and wins with a Gotch-style piledriver. Suzuki celebrates by hitting a Young Lion with a chair. In-ring action was pretty limited but it was a fun brawl that suited both men.

Match 8: Michael Elgin (4 pts) vs. SANADA (4 pts)

SANADA gets the upper hand early and mockingly hold the ropes open for Elgin. Elgin hits a stalling suplex and returns the favour as SANADA rolls outside. Elgin demonstrates his strength and hits a powerslam and deadlift German suplex.

Elgin catches SANADA mid-moonsault and hits a sit-down powerbomb as he tries to leapfrog over him. More big moves by Elgin as he German suplexes SANADA onto the apron and hits a Falcon Arrow off the turnbuckle. SANADA catches Elgin with his Skull End submission and gets the win after following up with a moonsault. Some nice spots but not much else to say.

Match 9: Satoshi Kojima (0 pts) vs. Kenny Omega (6 pts)

Action in the ring is interrupted by Omega heading outside to push Tenzan before dodging a dive from Kojima and body slamming him onto the apron. Kenny is in control and hits a nice looking rolling fireman's carry into a second rope moonsault before diving on Tenzan on the outside and goading him into a fight.

Kojima mounts a comeback and after hitting a Koji-cutter, lands a barrage of chops in the corner and rips off Kenny’s shirt in the process. Kenny cuts off Kojima as he heads up to the top rope and hits a big cross-legged Fisherman’s buster. Exchange of elbow strikes and Kojima twice evades the One-winged angel.

Kojima gets a nearfall after a lariat and an Emerald Flowsion. Kenny lands a snap Dragon suplex and a series of V-Triggers but Kojima kicks out. Omega wins after finally hitting a One-winged angel. Real good action (especially the ending sequence) but Kenny being a prick to Tenzan didn’t really go anywhere and overall lacked a bit of a spark to make it special.

Match 10: Juice Robinson (2 pts) vs. Kazuchika Okada (8 pts)

Action soon spills outside and Okada drop-toe holds Juice onto a chair before big booting him over the barrier. Juice takes a bit of a beating but manages to get a good amount of offence in before Okada slows the pace down with a modified figure 4 leglock.

Okada back drops Juice onto the apron before landing a diving elbow drop from the top rope. Rainmaker is reversed into a full-nelson slam but a Pulp Friction attempt is countered with a tombstone. Okada tries to get a reaction from Juice and repeatedly goads him with boots to the face. It seemingly works as Juice fires up and hits a big side kick and a falling powerbomb.

Another Pulp Friction attempt is escaped and Okada hits a series of short-arm lariats. Juice rocks Okada with a big punch but Okada wins after a German suplex into a Rainmaker. Crowd chant Juice’s name as he leaves which is nice and Okada/Gedo finish with a promo. Again some good action here (especially Okada trying to get a reaction from Juice) and a hot finish.

tldr;

Overall a pretty decent show but no real stand out matches. Tanahashi/Ibushi and Naito/Goto on the next show should both be really good though.

[lastthingyouforget]

G1 Climax 27 Night 9: Desti-NO

We’re at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium for the 5th round of Block A matches.

Match 1: David Finlay, Michael Elgin vs. BUSHI, SANADA

Elgin and SANADA mix it up including a nice spot where Elgin slingshots SANADA from the apron into a powerslam. Suicide dive from BUSHI takes out Elgin. LIJ win after SANADA moonsaults into his Skull End submission and forces Finlay to tap.

Match 2: Hirai Kawato, Katsuya Kitamura vs. Hiromu Takahashi, EVIL

Kitamura looks strong at the start as he knocks down EVIL with a shoulder block and hits big chops to both his opponents (watching Kitamura go crazy after hitting a move is currently my favourite thing in wrestling). Kitamura hulks up after receiving a series of chops from Hiromu. Some flashy offence from Kawato after he makes the hot tag but a superkick by Hiromu stops him in his tracks and he taps out to a Boston Crab.

Match 3: Taichi, Minoru Suzuki vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Tama Tonga

Yujiro is accompanied to the ring by someone cosplaying as Fran from Final Fantasy 12. Suzuki is attacked by Tonga before he even gets to the ring (depriving everyone of hearing his great theme in full) and they brawl into the crowd. Action makes it’s way back into the ring, Tonga swears a lot and they exchange elbows.

We have a cane-off as Yujiro and Taichi clash in the ring with their signature objects. Despite attempted interference from El Desperado, Yujiro wins it for his team by pinning Taichi after a DDT. After the bell Tonga does some twirly dance moves with a cane and Suzuki throws a chair at him.

Match 4: Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima vs. Chase Owens, Kenny Omega

Omega locates an abandoned cane on his way to the ring and uses it to mime along to his entrance theme. Kenny is double teamed by his opponents before throwing the referee in the way of a Tenzan Mongolian chop. Bullet Club double-team Tenzan and Owens channels his namesake by taking a big run-up only to apply a headlock.

Kojima gets the hot tag. Corner chops to both Omega and Owens, Koji-cutter to Omega and a lariat to Owens for the win.

Match 5: Tomoyuki Oka, Ryusuke Taguchi, Juice Robinson vs. Gedo, Toru Yano, Kazuchika Okada

Lovely moment as a man aggressively waves a fan in excitement as Okada walks past him. Taguchi and Gedo start out and what follows is approximately 5 minutes of various people using their bum as a weapon.

Okada diligently stacks up chairs on the outside only to throw Juice into them. Yano gets the win for CHAOS in typical Yano fashion with a double low blow on Taguchi/Oka and a roll-up on the latter.

Match 6: Togi Makabe (4 pts) vs. Yuji Nagata (0 pts)

Nagata’s cupping marks don’t look very pleasant. Hard hitting action to begin with some particularly stiff kicks from Nagata. Nagata shows real intensity and follows up an Exploder suplex and Fujiwara armbar with mounted punches.

Crowd fully behind Nagata and he gets nearfalls after a Brainbuster and a Saito suplex. Makabe gets back in it with a chop to the back of the neck and a German suplex. Makabe wins after a lariat and 2 King Kong knee drops, leaving Nagata winless. This was pretty good, Nagata ramped up the aggressiveness and his search for his first points adds an extra layer to the match.

Match 7: Kota Ibushi (4 pts) vs. Bad Luck Fale (4 pts)

Fale works the leg and pushes the referee over as he attempts to get him off Ibushi. Strikes by Ibushi take Fale down and he follows up with a standing moonsault. Fale attempts a Grenade thumb spike but Ibushi flips out of it and manages to hit an impressive German suplex on the big man.

Ibushi misses with a dive, Fale throws him into a barrier and the action goes into the crowd. Shades of ECW as Ibushi scales the balcony and hits a big moonsault into the crowd. Ibushi gets a lot of offence in but his piledriver attempt is reversed into a Samoan Drop. Running splash to a downed Ibushi, Grenade and crucifix powerbomb wins it for Fale. Fun clash of styles with some memorable spots.

Match 8: Hirooki Goto (4 pts) vs. Zack Sabre Jr (6 pts)

Goto has the upper-hand early but interference from El Desperado allows ZSJ a chance to get back into it and he immediately goes for submissions. Things go less technical with an exchange of hard open-handed slaps and uppercuts.

Octopus hold is countered with an Ushigoroshi but ZSJ avoids the GTR and hits a Northern Lights suplex that’s transitioned into an armbar. ZSJ tries to break Goto’s wrist and gets some nearfalls with bridging cradle pins. Goto wins after a stiff kick to the chest and a GTR. Not too much to say about this but it had good-looking offence from both men and a pretty brisk pace.

Match 9: Hiroshi Tanahashi (6 pts) vs. YOSHI-HASHI (2 pts)

Tanahashi demonstrates his athleticism with a dive to the outside before skinning the cat back into the ring (followed up with some less athletic air guitar). YOSHI-HASHI has his leg worked over and Tanahashi follows up a Dragon Screw with a Cloverleaf submission.

YOSHI-HASHI gets some offence in and gets nearfalls after a powerbomb and Swanton. Karma attempt is countered with a rolling neckbreaker by Tanahashi but he misses with a Slingblade. Tanahashi gets the win after a successful Slingblade and High Fly Flow. Good match, pretty definitive win by Tanahashi but YOSHI-HASHI came out of it looking better than in some of his other matches.

Match 10: Tomohiro Ishii (4 pts) vs. Tetsuya Naito (6 pts)

Lock-up to start. Naito fakes-out a clean break on the ropes before spitting in his opponent’s face. He then taunts Ishii, rolls out of the ring and takes his sweet time getting back in. Ishii has had enough and blasts Naito off the apron before carrying on the fight outside.

Elbows and chops by Ishii in the corner but Naito fires back with some hands of his own. Naito tries to slow the pace down with a headscissors but Ishii rocks him with headbutts and more elbow strikes. Naito gobs in his face again but gets squashed in the corner with a big clothesline.

Back and forth action as they progressively land bigger moves and continue to hit each other really hard. Naito hits a Destino but Ishii kicks out. Naito lands a second but Ishii immediately pops back up. Lariat and Brainbuster by Ishii for the win. Ishii can’t be bothered with the usual closing promo and just walks to the back.

This was really good. It didn’t hit the same level of crazy as something like Omega/Elgin but it built nicely to a hot finish and their two wildly different personalities played off each other well.

tldr;

Main event was match of the night but plenty of other good stuff scattered through the card. I’ve found myself looking forward to the Block B shows more than the A ones but there’s still plenty of interesting looking match-ups left in this half of the bracket.

[lastthingyouforget]

G1 Climax 27 Night 8: Are you saying "Boo" or "Boo-kada"?

Tonight’s show is from Nagaoka City Hall Aore and features the tasty sounding main event of Kenny Omega vs. Michael Elgin.

Match 1: Ren Narita, Syota Umino vs. El Desperado, Zack Sabre Jr.

The two Young Lions argue over who gets to start the match with Narita winning. He probably shouldn’t have bothered though as he gets beat up by Suzuki-gun for a while until tagging in Umino. The Young Lions get some offence in with double team moves on El Desperado. Narita taps to a stretch muffler by El Desperado to give Suzuki-gun the win.

Match 2: Ryusuke Taguchi, Togi Makabe vs. Hirai Kawato, Yuji Nagata

Nagata and Makabe scuffle to start and refuse to stop even after Taguchi tags in. Jumping bum to the face by Taguchi on Umino. Soon back to Nagata and Makabe hitting each other really hard. You live by the bum, you die by the bum as Nagata boots Taguchi in his behind. Kawato taps out to an ankle lock by Taguchi.

Match 3: Katsuya Kitamura, Tomoyuki Oka, Kota Ibushi vs. Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale

Ibushi manages to avoid the opening offence from Fale and takes the big man down with kicks. A pose-off between Kitamura and Yujiro is ruined by Owens who attacks the Young Lion from behind.

Lovely bastardry from Fale who tried to steal a stuffed bear from a woman in the crowd. A main event in any arena in the world as Kitamura and Fale clash (briefly). Oka gets the hot tag but has to sell a phantom neckbreaker from Owens and gets pinned after a package piledriver.

Match 4: Gedo, Tomohiro Ishii vs. BUSHI, Tetsuya Naito

Naito and Ishii trade elbows to start before Naito taunts his opponent and rolls out of the ring. Gedo, BUSHI and the referee do the same handshake spot as the other night. BUSHI chokes Gedo with his shirt before LIJ work over the beard of Gedo. BUSHI gets the win after reversing Gedo’s cradle pin into one of his own. Naito celebrates for a bit before deciding to rake the referee's eyes and dropkick him.

Match 5: David Finlay, Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. YOSHI-HASHI, Hirooki Goto

Finlay is isolated for most of the match. Tanahashi briefly enters the fray and takes out both members of CHAOS. Goto wins after an Ushigoroshi and GTR on Finlay. Next.

Match 6: Juice Robinson (2 pts) vs. Tama Tonga (2 pts)

Juice walks to the ring selling both of his legs, by the end of the tournament he’ll be coming out in a full body cast. Tonga quickly targets the injured body parts and hits some running corner splashes to the leg whilst Juice is caught in the tree of woe position.

Juice and Tonga’s finisher teases are always good and this is no different here as they unsuccessfully tease Pulp Friction and Stun Gun attempts. Juice rolls up Tonga for a nearfall but Tonga finally hits the Stun Gun for the win. Nothing too memorable but ending sequence was fun enough.

Match 7: Toru Yano (2 pts) vs. SANADA (2 pts)

SANADA initially catches Yano off-guard but Yano blinds him with his cape and gets a nearfall off a rollup. Yano starts doing typical Yano things. SANADA douses Yano with water but gets it spat back into his face for another nearfall.

Yano tries to introduce duct tape into the match again but SANADA uses it to apply a duct-tape assisted Paradise Lock. SANADA structs back to the ring and the fully immobile Yano gets counted out. This was surprisingly fun mainly because they managed to take all the signature Yano spots and condense it down to less than 5 minutes.

Match 8: Minoru Suzuki (4 pts) vs. EVIL (4 pts)

Brawl outside to start as EVIL is hit with chair shots and a water bottle. Suzuki stabs EVIL with a pen whilst El Desperado distracts the referee but EVIL fights back with an eye-rake and con-chair-to.

Wild start continues as El Desperado interference is stopped by BUSHI before Taichi’s involvement is evened out by Hiromu appearing. The referee stops Suzuki using a chair in the ring which allows EVIL to hit a lariat. Suzuki manages to apply his signature sleeper holder but a Gotch-style piledriver is reversed into an STO by EVIL for the suprise win. This wasn’t a technical masterclass but it was a really fun brawl.

Match 9: Satoshi Kojima (0 pts) vs. Kazuchika Okada (6 pts)

Crowd majorly behind Kojima with even Okada joining in the chanting. Okada gets some early offence in much to the crowd's displeasure before Kojima retaliates. Okada fully in control after dropkicking Kojima off the turnbuckle to the outside, big booting him over the barrier into the crowd and hitting a hanging DDT off the rail to the floor.

This might be one of the hottest crowds so far in the G1. Okada is fully heeling it up and after goading Tenzan to get into the ring, attempts to pin Kojima with a foot on his chest. Rainmaker pose by Okada to a chorus of boos.

Kojima mounts a comeback and follows up his signature corner chops with a top-rope Koji-cutter and brainbuster for a nearfall. Rainmaker attempt by Okada is countered with a lariat to the back of the head. Crowd completely buys the nearfall after a follow-up Rainmaker attempt is countered with another lariat. Kojima again interrupts a Rainmaker but Okada hits a Tombstone piledriver and finally delivers a Rainmaker for the win.

This was great. Really hot crowd, Okada was great at antagonizing them and the ending sequence had me on the edge of my seat. Lovely stuff.

Match 10: Michael Elgin (2 pts) vs Kenny Omega (6 pts)

Elgin demonstrates his strength advantage early, catching a jumping Omega with a belly-to-belly on the outside before hitting a spinning sidewalk slam as Kenny attempts a diving cross body in the ring.

Pace quickens as Kenny flips out of a German suplex and hits a snap Dragon suplex of his own. Rolling elbow by Elgin is countered with a pair of V-Triggers before Omega’s head is taken off with a sick sounding spinning backhand and massive lariat.

At this point I had to start pausing the match to keep track of what was going on. Spinning powerbomb reversed into a One-winged Angel that Elgin counters with a reverse frankensteiner before following up with another huge lariat and a crucifix powerbomb for an absolutely unreal nearfall.

Kenny hits a V-Trigger on the apron before Elgin powerbombs him onto the edge of the ring. Kenny hits another pair of V-Triggers to both the front and back of Elgin’s head before receiving a double underhook piledriver for a nearfall. Another unreal nearfall as Omega hits a jumping V-Trigger and a reverse frankensteiner of his own.

Trio of powerbombs by Elgin - Omega kicks out. Two saito suplexes by Elgin - Omega kicks out. Elgin murders Kenny with a Burning Hammer for the win. Crowd chant for Elgin who promises to win the G1.

This was exhausting to watch in the best possible way. Athleticism was off the charts and action was eminently giffable (what higher praise can you give in 2017?). There was a bit of kick-out fatigue at the end but I don’t want to point out flaws in something that was so stupidly fun.

tldr;

This was really good throughout (especially coming off the back of a bit of a dud show) and the final 2 matches were some of the best action in the tournament so far. Lovely.

[lastthingyouforget]

G1 Climax 27 Night 7: Ace Combat

We’re coming out of the Sendpai Sunplaza Hall for more Block A action. For reasons unknown some of the photos used in the match graphics at the start seem really out of date.

Match 1: David Finlay, Juice Robinson vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Tama Tonga

Juice walks gingerly to the ring after getting his leg destroyed by Suzuki the previous night. Most of the match is Bullet Club working over the leg. Finlay eventually tags in and builds up some momentum but Yujiro pins him after a DDT.

Match 2: Jado, Toru Yano vs. BUSHI, SANADA

LIJ attack CHAOS from behind with SANADA immediately wrapping Jado up in a Paradise Lock (where he stays for the entirety of the match). Surprise double low-blow and roll up on BUSHI by Yano gives his team the win in 45 seconds. Some of the opening tags can be a bit of a chore to sit through so it was quite nice that this went less than a minute.

Match 3: Taichi, Minoru Suzuki vs. Hiromu Takahashi, EVIL

EVIL enters with laser-pointers on his fingers which he seems pretty happy about. Wild start as EVIL chokes Suzuki with a cable before Suzuki retaliates with a good old pen to the eye. EVIL and Suzuki continue to hit each other really hard outside and inside the ring. Shenanigans to finish as interference by El Desperado backfires and Hiromu pins Taichi after hitting him with his cane. Suzuki has fun destroying some Young Lions with a chair.

Match 4: Ryusuke Taguchi, Michal Elgin vs. Chase Owens, Kenny Omega

More bum-based offence from Taguchi who also gets Elgin in on the act. Taguchi is isolated until Elgin tags in and hits a really impressive standing hurricanrana. Elgin gets the win with a buckle-bomb (with Kenny playing the role of the turnbuckle) and sit-down powerbomb on Owens.

Match 5: Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima vs. Gedo, Kazuchika Okada

Kojima and Tenzan beat up Gedo for a bit before Kojima pins him after a lariat. The match only went 5 minutes but I managed to fall asleep twice during it.

Match 6: Tomohiro Ishii (2 pts) vs. YOSHI-HASHI (2 pts)

It’s obvious right from the start that it’s going to be a typically hard-hitting Ishii match as an extended exchange of chops is followed up with some boots to the head by YOSHI-HASHI. YOSHI-HASHI gets a decent amount of offence including landing a Swanton. After an exchange of headbutts which must suck to perform, Ishii gets the win with a brainbuster. This was fine but neither man’s best outing so far.

Match 7: Zack Sabre Jr. (4 pts) vs. Bad Luck Fale (4 pts)

ZSJ immediately tries to make it a technical affair but Fale turns it into a brawl outside. Fale is in control in the ring but ZSJ attempts to wear him down with sleepers and other holds. ZSJ gets a surprise win with a roll-up. This could have been an fun clash of styles (as per Tanahashi/Fale) but never really had a chance to get going.

Match 8: Togi Makabe (2 pts) vs. Kota Ibushi (4 pts)

Elbows exchanged at the start before Ibushi dives onto his opponent on the outside. Match lulls for a bit before Ibushi gets to hit some of his signature moves. Top-rope piledriver is teased but it ends up with Makabe hitting a top-rope knee drop to a standing Ibushi. Powerbomb by Makabe gets a nearfall but a 2nd top-rope knee drop gets the win. Again this was fine but probably won’t last long in the memory.

Match 9: Yuji Nagata (0 pts) vs. Tetsuya Naito (4 pts)

Stalemate to begin with. Naito taunts Nagata before bailing to the outside. Naito then fakes-out locking up a couple of times much to his opponent’s annoyance. Naito in control early but after being slapped and spit at, Nagata fires back with stiff kicks.

Nagata is able to hit his big moves and applies a Fujiwara armbar. Naito counters a suplex into a Destino and gets the win after a 2nd. Simple story of the veteran competing against someone who openly disrespects tradition was told well. Both men were great in their roles (Naito in particular is always brilliant at being a cocky prick) and up to this point this was the best thing on the show by a distance.

Match 10: Hiroshi Tanahashi (4 pts) vs. Hirooki Goto (4 pts)

Fairly gentle pace to start as both men feel each other out. First big spot sees Goto lariat Tanahashi off the turnbuckle to the outside. Goto begins to target the injured right arm and intensity soon ramps up as the two exchange moves.

Nice spot as an Ushigoroshi is countered into a Slingblade by Tanahashi but he misses with a follow-up High Fly Flow. Ending sees a flurry of moves by Tanahashi as he follows up a series of rolling neckbreakers with another Slingblade and 2 High Fly Flows for the win.

Tanahashi closes the show with some air guitar. Match was well-paced and was nice to see the ace get a biggish win in a main event.

tldr;

Last two matches were really good with Naito/Nagata probably just pipping the main event as match of the night. Not much else on the show to recommend checking out.

[lastthingyouforget]

G1 Climax 27 Night 6: Duct tape!? Are you serious?

We’re live from the brilliantly named Big Palette Fukushima. Very different setup from the previous events which makes a nice change from the homogenous look of all WWE shows.

Match 1: Ryusuke Taguchi, Togi Makabe vs. Syota Umino, Kota Ibushi

Having to watch Yano wrestle five times in a week really makes you crave some new faces and we’ve got two debuts for this run of shows in the shape of Umino and the much more experienced Taguchi.

Bum-based offence from Taguchi. Big cheer as Ibushi tags in and clashes with Makabe. More bum-based offence from Taguchi who then channels Nakamura with an attempted Boma Ye. Taguchi gets submission with with an ankle lock on Umino. Ibushi and Makabe brawl but Ibushi retreats when Makabe gets his metal chains.

Match 2: Katsuya Kitamura, Tomoyuki Oka vs. Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI

Kitamura is back and teaming with fellow Young Lion Oka against Ishii/YOSHI-HASHI who compete against each other in the next round which makes a nice change of pace from the usual build of facing off in an opening tag.

Hard hitting action between Oka/Ishii. Oka is isolated for most of the match and Ishii is repeatedly stopped from murdering him by YOSHI-HASHI. Kitamura gets the hot tag and runs wild with chops and a big spear before tapping to a Butterfly lock by YOSHI-HASHI. Fine tag, Kitamura continues to have a strange charisma.

Match 3: Hirai Kawato, Yuji Nagata vs. Hiromu Takahashi, Tetsuya Naito

Nagata and Naito have consistently had some of the best reactions during these shows and they compete against each other here. Hiromu still looking dejected after losing Daryl.

Kawato spends most of the match getting beat up. We get to see an exchange between Nagata and Naito before Hiromu taps out Kawato with a boston crab. After the bell Naito spits at Nagata before taunting him.

Match 4: El Desperado, Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale

Taichi ripping his stripper trousers off is the only spot I can remember. Yujiro wins for Bullet Club after a DDT on Taichi. Blah.

Match 5: David Finlay, Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jado, Hirooki Goto

CHAOS double team Finlay for a bit. Slingblade by Tanahashi on Goto before he takes him out with a vaulting body press. Finlay gets the pin after a bad looking Stunner on Jado. Blah.

Match 6: Satoshi Kojima (0 pts) vs. Michael Elgin (0 pts)

Lots of chops and forearms thrown at the start including Elgin performing some of Kojima’s signature corner chops. Both men take it in turns to deliver big moves outside the ring as Kojima hits an apron DDT before Elgin powerbombs him onto the apron after he misses with a dive.  

Lariat exchange in the ring including Kojima taking Elgin out with one as he jumps off the turnbuckle. Elgin gets to show off his range of power moves and gets the win after a sitdown powerbomb. Fine match with some impressive spots throughout.

Match 7: Tama Tonga (2 pts) vs. EVIL (2 pts)

First half of the match takes place outside the ring as they brawl into the crowd. Tonga isn’t usually afraid to drop an F bomb which makes him grabbing the camera operator to tell everyone that Los Ingobernables de Japon suck a curiosity.

Tonga takes EVIL out with a metal post whilst in the crowd but the LIJ man manages to beat the count. EVIL’s turn to make use of foreign objects as he hits a con-chair-to whilst Tonga has a chair around his neck. Lots of reversals during the ending sequence before EVIL wins with an STO. Fun brawl but nothing too memorable.

Match 8: Juice Robinson (2 pts) vs. Minoru Suzuki (2 pts)

Juice does a great job of selling how gruelling the G1 is as he makes his entrance by hobbling to the ring. It was pretty obvious going in that match would be structured around Suzuki working the leg and that’s exactly what happens as he ruthlessly targets it from the off.

Suzuki applies a rope-assisted leg lock before working over the leg with a chair and metal barrier out in the crowd. Juice attempts to rally and make a comeback but Suzuki goes straight back to the leg with a knee bar transitioned into an ankle lock.

Suzuki wins after a stalling Gotch-style piledriver. Suzuki-gun get a few final shots in on Robinson before terrorizing the Young Lions. Both men have the perfect characters for this style of match with Suzuki looking ruthless as he consistently snuffed out any chance of a comeback by Juice.

Match 9: Toru Yano (2 pts) vs. Kenny Omega (4 pts)

Not one for the wrestling purists. Yano offers Omega a CHAOS DVD as a peace offering but it’s all a ruse as Yano throws the powder it contains into his face and gets a nearfall off a rollup. A blinded Omega then attempts to hit a One-winged onto the ref and again Yano nearly capitalizes with a rollup.

A wrestling match threatens to break out as Yano narrowly avoids a V-Trigger before escaping under the ring and hitting Kenny with a bucket. Yano then ties together Kenny’s legs with duct tape from under the ring before he returns the favour. Impressively Omega is able to run the ropes and hit a double foot stomp and dragon suplex with his legs still tied.

Chase Owens passes a pair of scissors to Omega so he can free himself. Yano is hit with a V-Trigger and rolled out the ring whilst still taped up and Omega gets the count out victory. The most enjoyable Yano has been so far by a distance and shows what a versatile worker Kenny is.

10. Kazuchika Okada (4 pts) vs. SANADA (2 pts)

Fairly gentle pace to start. Good old-fashioned cheating by SANADA as he pretends to injure his leg so he can blindside Okada before choking him with his shirt whilst the ref is distracted. Pace pickens up as Okada gets more offence in including a really impressive dive over the barrier into SANADA in the crowd.

Back half of the match is full of back and forth action and reversals. Okada reverses a Skull End into a Tombstone piledriver before SANADA reverses an attempted Rainmaker into a Tombstone of his own. After successfully landing a Mutoh-style moonsault another Skull End is escaped into a series of Rainmakers by Okada. Both men then attempt Rainmakers before Okada hits a rolling German suplex into a final Rainmaker for the win.

The slower pace at the start made me think they might have gone to a 30 minute draw with this. Match still ended up being over 20 mins but didn’t felt like it dragged at any point. Great chemistry at the end as the two traded big moves.

tldr;

The main event, Elgin/Kojima and Juice/Suzuki were all good but Omega/Yano will end up being talked about the most. Quality of the shows is still pretty good overall. Looking forward to the field separating a bit in both blocks so we can get a better idea of what is being built towards.

[lastthingyouforget]

G1 Climax 27 Night 5: Kawato Lives

First event away from Korakuen Hall since the opening night. The Tokyo Machida Gymnasium is dimly lit and has a brilliantly 90’s lighting setup giving the show a different vibe.

Match 1: Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima vs. Katsuya Kitamura, Michael Elgin

Kitamura is back in all his terrifying glory and his chops again sound like a shotgun going off. Hilarious selling of Kojima’s corner chops from him. Kitamura chops Tenzan into oblivion before taking the pin after a lariat and Koji-cutter. Chops.

Match 2: Hirai Kawato, David Finlay, Juice Robinson vs. El Desperado, Taichi, Minoru Suzuki

Suzuki adds to his G1 Young Lion death toll after taking a couple more out on the way to the ring. Juice walking gingerly to the ring after his previous round match with EVIL.

Juice and Suzuki exchange chops in the ring before Suzuki applies a leg lock. Suzuki continues to target Juice’s leg with a chair-assisted submission on the outside.

El Desperado gets the win after an Angel’s Wing on Kawato. After the bell Suzuki continues to attack Juice’s leg with a chair, boots Kawato for good measure and decides to take apart the ring barrier because why not.

Match 3: Chase Owens, Tama Tonga vs. Hiromu Takahashi, EVIL

Daryl doesn’t accompany Hiromu to the ring due to being murdered by Fale yesterday. Hiromu faces the ignominy of being worked over by Bullet Club whilst having the death of his stuffed cat mocked. EVIL taps out Owens with his Banshee Muzzle submission before avoiding a surprise Stun Gun from Tonga..

Match 4: Jado, Toru Yano vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Kenny Omega

It’s a Yano match so comedy spots, exposed turnbuckles and hair pulling galore. Bullet Club win after a DDT by Yujiro on Jado.

Match 5: Gedo, Kazuchika Okada vs. BUSHI, SANADA

Quick action between Okada and SANADA to start as they both trade reversals and finisher attempts. BUSHI offers a handshake to Gedo (after first demonstrating with the ref) but all he gets in return is a thumb to the eye. BUSHI gets the win for LIJ with a jumping codebreaker on Gedo whilst SANADA has the Skull End applied on Okada. The tournament match between these two should be great.

Match 6: YOSHI-HASHI (2 pts) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (2 pts)

Match is very much wrestled in ZSJ’s style and he’s totally in control for the first portion of the match.

Lots of holds and targeting of body parts as ZSJ works the arm. YOSHI-HASHI attempts a comeback but after missing with a Swanton it’s all ZSJ from then on.

ZSJ transitions from an armbar to a triangle choke. YOSHI-HASHI escapes but his arm is too damaged to hit Karma and he gets caught in an octopus hold. After wrenching the arm back to a pretty disgusting angle ZSJ gets the submission win.

Match told a logical story of the weak body part being exploited but didn’t have anything that made it really stand out from the other technically sound matches we’ve seen. ZSJ was made to look pretty dominant throughout and YOSHI-HASHI hasn’t shown much since his opening night win against Nagata.

Match 7: Hiroshi Tanahashi (2 pts) vs. Yuji Nagata (0 pts)

Really interesting dynamic in this as the usually fan-favourite Tanahashi works a more heelish style due to the overwhelming support Nagata has from the crowd. Nagata get’s the upper hand with strikes early but Tanahashi works the leg and taunts Nagata to a sea of boos.

Tanahashi slaps Nagata (when will people learn that this is a bad idea) causing him to fire back with a flurry of kicks. A Fujiwara armbar, top-rope exploder suplex and a brainbuster aren’t enough to put Tanahashi away. Nagata is bleeding from the face after taking a series of blows. Tanahashi get’s the win with a Slingblade and two High Fly Flows.

This was really good and showed how versatile Tanahashi is as a performer. Nagata consistently gets some of the best reactions each night but hasn’t picked up any points yet.

Match 8: Bad Luck Fale (2 pts) vs. Tetsuya Naito (4 pts)

Something didn’t click here. Fale in control for the first half of the match whilst Naito gets the upper hand in the later stages. A few ugly moments as Fale fumbles catching Naito. Destino is countered into a Grenade and the Bullet Club member gets a surprise win over Naito with a crucifix powerbomb. Not great.

Match 9: Kota Ibushi (2 pts) vs. Tomohiro Ishii (2 pts)

Hot start as both men narrowly avoid each other's moves. Ishii goads Ibushi into trading forearms before a series of brutal chops sends Ibushi to the ground.

Ibushi displays some of his high-flying skills with a diving body press to the outside and a standing moonsault. Vicious stomps to the head by Ibushi but Ishii gets to his feet and spits in his face. What follows is some of the hardest strikes seen in the tournament so far which is saying a lot considering the matches we’ve seen involving Ishii, Goto and Makabe.

Quick back and forth action with lots of stiff shots. Nearfalls are exchanged and both men take it in turns to show their fighting spirit and kick out of pinfall attempts at 1. Ishii rocks his opponent with a massive headbutt but Ibushi gets the win with a knee strike and a sitdown powerbomb.

Great match. Intensity really went up a level for this. Both men will be sore in the morning.

Match 10: Togi Makabe (0pts) vs. Hirooki Goto (4 pts)

As with Ishii/Goto and Ishii/Makabe this consisted largely of two lads running into each other really hard with shoulder blocks and clotheslines. Big spot early as Goto clotheslines Makabe off the turnbuckle to the outside to get the advantage. Makabe manages to turn Goto inside out with a lariat but Goto slows down the pace with a sleeper hold.

Makabe finally lands a top-rope knee drop on Goto (I think this might have been the first time he’s managed to hit it this tournament). Makabe then repeatedly bounces Goto’s head off the post whilst they’re both positioned on the turnbuckle before hitting a second-rope German suplex. A second top-rope knee drop wins it for Makabe and Goto misses his chance to go clear at the top.

The trouble with cramming so much good wrestling into a short space of time is that it soon reaches a point where something has to be truly brilliant to stand out. This was mostly fine but not overly memorable until the closing moments where Makabe had a chance to shine.

tldr;

Ibushi/Ishii was match of the night by some distance but Tanahashi/Nagata is also worth checking out due to the unique dynamic. The extra opening match made this show feel noticeably longer to sit through. Minoru Suzuki is still the best.

[lastthingyouforget]

G1 Climax 27 Night 4: As God Is My Witness, That Stuffed Cat Is Broken In Half

We’re still at Korakuen Hall for night 4 of action. I think this show was from Saturday but the concept of time has disappeared amidst all the forearms.

Match 1: David Finlay, Kota Ibushi, Togi Makabe vs. Gedo, Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto

Ishii wants Ibushi to start and gets him. Fast paced action with a lot of striking including brutal chops in the corner by Ishii. Intensity steps up a level when Makabe and Goto are in and their sequence ends after Goto takes a nasty blow to the mouth.

Ibushi displays his aerial ability with a springboard dropkick to Ishii followed up with a dive to the outside. Finlay gets the win for his team with a stunner on Gedo. Goto/Makabe brawl before being separated and Ibushi/Ishii stare each other down in the ring. Both matches should be great.

Match 2: Jado, YOSHI-HASHI vs. El Desperado, Zack Sabre Jr.

After being caught off-guard early and taken outside, YOSHI-HASHI’s screaming is picked up loudly on the mic whilst the camera is still in the ring leading you to believe ZSJ is murdering him. El Desperado gets heat from the crowd for refusing to ‘woo’ along with a chop before Jado Flair-flops whilst attempting to make the hot-tag to restore the Nature Boy balance.

El Desperado with the pinfall after hitting Jado with an Angel’s Wings. YOSHI-HASHI manages to avoid an attack by Suzuki-gun after the bell.

Match 3: Katsuya Kitamura, Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomoyuki Oka, Yuji Nagata

Both teams consist of a veteran and Young Lion competitor. Kitamura’s look is genuinely terrifying with enough tan and muscle definition to guarantee a contract offer for life from Vince McMahon. Trademark kicks from Nagata before Kitamura fires back with some insane chops.

Oka repeatedly knocks Tanahashi off the apron before getting a receipt from the Ace. Kitamura has Nagata in trouble after a spear and torture rack but the veteran gets the win after a Saito suplex.

Match 4: Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale vs. Hiromu Takahashi, BUSHI, Tetsuya Naito

Standard action in this Bullet Club vs. LIJ encounter until Fale tosses Naito over the barrier onto an announcer's table and proceeds to completely rip Hiromu’s stuffed cat Daryl to shreds to nuclear heat from the crowd. Bullet Club dominate as Hiromu gets isolated whilst stuffing debris litters the ring. Naito wins it with a low-blow and roll-up on Owens before gobbing on Fale.

Match 5: Satoshi Kojima (0 pts) vs. Toru Yano (0 pts)

Standard shenanigans from Yano with both men spraying each other with a water bottle and the turnbuckle padding getting removed within a couple of minutes. Signature chops and lariats from Kojima. Yano wins with a pair of low-blows and a roll-up in a match that played out exactly how you’d expect one involving Yano would.

Match 6: Juice Robinson (2 pts) vs EVIL (0 pts)

Juice is selling the effects of his first round match with Kojima. Hot start from him though as he hits a dropkick to the corner, cannonball and dive to the outside in the opening seconds. Big moves from both as Juice lands a top-rope headbutt that always looks like a terrible idea and EVIL hits a fisherman suplex into the turnbuckle.

Crowd is really into Juice as he gets a nearfall after a lariat and falling powerbomb. Really good ending sequence as Pulp Friction is continually reversed and EVIL STOs Juice for the win. Back half of the match was really fun and the two of them showed some good chemistry.

Match 7: Minoru Suzuki (0 pts) vs. SANADA (2pts)

Suzuki boots a Young Lion as he makes his entrance with El Desperado. SANADA is aggressive to start but Suzuki taunts him by asking for more. You don’t need me to tell you that a Suzuki match soon ended up in the crowd and SANADA receives chair shots from both members of Suzuki-gun.

Suzuki begins to dominate whilst pulling some nightmare-inducing faces. Brief comeback from SANADA but Suzuki get’s his sleeper hold locked in. SANADA escaped but after the two trade finisher attempts Suzuki gets the win with a Gotch-style piledriver. Suzuki stomps on SANADA and takes out another two Young Lions before heading to the back.

Fun brawl. Thought SANADA might get the win here but everything Suzuki does is great.

Match 8: Kenny Omega (2 pts)  vs. Tama Tonga (2 pts)

Bullet Club explodes. Tonga immediately takes offence to Omega not wearing a Bullet Club shirt to the ring and after dominating early, Tonga grabs a mic and cuts a sweary promo calling him out.

The rest of the Bullet Club members try and stop Omega from diving to the outside but he promptly ignores them and takes everyone out. Massive spear from Tonga as Kenny goes for a V-Trigger.

Lots of offence from Omega in the closing moments. Kenny hits a pair of V-Triggers but Tonga escapes a One-winged Angel attempt. Tonga’s Gun Stun is reversed into a snap dragon suplex and another V-Trigger that is kicked out of at 1. Omega finally gets the win with another V-Trigger and the One-winged Angel.

Tonga appears to bury the hatchet as he joins in a group too-sweet and hug. Kenny has looked good throughout and him against Naito seems like the obvious final at the moment.

Match 9: Michael Elgin (0 pts) vs. Kazuchika Okada (2 pts)

This was great. Okada looks really fired up as he makes his entrance. Back and forth reversals in the early going until Elgin gets the upper hand and clotheslines Okada out of the ring. In the first of many moments where Elgin looks like a monster, he catches Okada in the crowd as he dives over the barrier and unceremoniously dumps him back into the ringside area.

Deadlift suplex by Elgin as he catches his opponent in mid-air before continuing to dominate with great looking power moves. Most painful looking spot of the night sees Elgin catch Okada with a powerbomb as he comes off the top-rope with the back of Okada’s head bouncing off the mat.

Crowd seem to be firmly behind Elgin and he gets a nearfall after countering a Rainmaker attempt with a lariat of his own and hitting a sit-down powerbomb. Okada buys some time by drop kicking Big Mike out of the air as he comes off the turnbuckle but Elgin gets another nearfall after a buckle bomb and another sitdown powerbomb.

After trading reversals Okada gets the win with a tombstone piledriver and a Rainmaker. Okada and Gedo close the show.

Really great match. Everything Elgin did looked crisp and painful. Match went over 25 mins but easily could have gone to a time-limit draw without it feeling like it was dragged out.

tldr;

These shows continue to be an enjoyable watch largely due to how well paced they are. Main event was easily match of the night and probably match of the tournament so far. After tonight’s showing I’m really looking forward to seeing Elgin against Suzuki and Omega and hoping he makes a good run.

[lastthingyouforget]

G1 Climax 27 Night 3: YOSHI’s Story

We’re back in Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall for the third night of action featuring the Block A second round matches.

Match 1: David Finlay, Juice Robinson vs. Hiromu Takahashi, EVIL

Juice and EVIL start out with LIJ getting the advantage after Hiromu attacks Robinson from behind. Juice mounts a comeback with a running crossbody taking out both opponents but LIJ again get the upper hand when EVIL trips up Finlay from outside the ring.

The finish sees Finlay kick out after a lariat from EVIL but tap out to the Banshee Muzzle. After the bell EVIL applies the same submission on Juice ahead of their match.

Match 2: Taichi, Minoru Suzuki vs. BUSHI, SANADA

Suzuki catches SANADA unaware to start and in typical Suzuki-gun fashion the action immediately spills out into the crowd. Suzuki dumps a drink onto SANADA who attempts to out-bastard him with a rake to the eyes.

In the ring SANADA and Suzuki both throw forearms with the latter gaining the advantage and following up with a penalty kick. Suzuki applies a sleeper hold but his Gotch-style piledriver attempt is reversed.

BUSHI with a standing hurricanrana on Taichi who responds by trying to rip off his mask. Shenanigans to finish as Taichi throws the ref in the way of BUSHI before hitting him with a foreign object and rolling up for the win.

Taichi steals BUSHI’s mask before they’re separated. Fun opening match and SANADA/Suzuki should be a good watch.

Match 3: Yujiro Takahashi, Kenny Omega vs. Chase Owens, Tama Tonga

Comedy spots to start as both Bullet Club teams refuse to fight. Owens gets scolded for gingerly working Omega’s injured leg but after Tonga tags in he immediately targets it himself. Gun Stun from Tonga to Omega but Yujiro get’s the win for his team with a DDT on Owens.

Omega and Tonga continue to argue after the bell and have to be separated by their partners. Not much of a match but adds a bit more story for when Omega and Tonga face-off.

Match 4: Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Michael Elgin vs. Gedo, Toru Yano, Kazuchika Okada

Kojima and Tenzan double-team Yano with Kojima delivering rapid-fire chops in the corner. Yano does his routine of removing the turnbuckle padding but takes a cutter from Kojima.

Elgin and Okada both tag in and Elgin teases a buckle bomb into the exposed corner. Okada avoids it but can’t avoid a massive forearm. After some back and forth between Tenzan and Okada, Tenzan submits Gedo with the Anaconda Vice.

Match 5: Yuji Nagata (0 pts) vs. Hirooki Goto (2 pts)

Exchange of holds at the beginning. Like YOSHI-HASHI on night 1, Goto makes the mistake of slapping the veteran Nagata who retaliates with stiff kicks and an exploder suplex.

Goto is back in control after hitting an Ushigoroshi but Nagata escapes a GTR attempt. Nagata looks out of it but manages to lock in a Fujiwara armbar in the middle of the ring that Goto barely manages to get to the ropes to break.

Nagata has the momentum and after more stiff kicks gets a nearfall from a Saito suplex. The crowd are really behind Nagata as both men exchange forearms whilst trying to get to their feet. Goto counters another Saito suplex attempt with a sleeper and eventually gets the win with a GTR.

Nagata was the firm crowd favourite in this and the energy from the crowd gave it a big fight feel. Another good showing from Goto.

Match 6: Togi Makabe (0 pts) vs. Tomohiro Ishii (0 pts)

Lock-up to start before an exchange of shoulder blocks and forearms sees Ishii off his feet first. Ishii eventually takes control on the outside after throwing Makabe chest-first into the barriers on all four sides of the ring.

Chops and headbutts by Ishii are followed up with a huge superplex. Makabe takes more punishment but shows his fighting spirit by popping up and hitting Ishii with multiple lariats for a nearfall.

It’s Makabe’s turn to hit a suplex off the turnbuckle but he misses with a knee-drop from the top. The two lads repeatedly bounce off each other with clotheslines before Ishii gets the upper hand and gets the win with a brainbuster.

As with Goto/Ishii on night 1 it was going to be difficult for this not to be entertaining considering the hard-hitting style that both of them work. Makabe looked better than against Fale and I’m looking forward to seeing what Ishii can do against other types of opponents in future rounds.

Match 7: Kota Ibushi (0 pts) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (2 pts)

This is a first-time singles match between these two. ZSJ gets the better of it on the mat but Ibushi keeps him at bay with strikes when they’re stood up.

More unique submissions by ZSJ as he begins to work the neck. In a great spot Ibushi’s standing moonsault is countered into a triangle choke and a flurry of elbows. ZSJ counters a leapfrog into a bridging pin but Ibushi escapes an octopus hold and nails a standing double stomp.

Both men exchange kicks on the ground before getting in each others face and throwing uppercuts and foremans. A backflip kick from Ibushi is countered into a STF which looked great. A triangle choke applied by ZSJ is turned into a sitdown powerbomb to give Ibushi the win.

Really fun back and forth action with some novel spots. Ibushi toned down the high flying a bit and his emphasis on striking was a nice contrast to ZSJ’s technical style. Only criticism is that I think it could easily have gone longer at least 5 minutes longer.

Match 8: Hiroshi Tanahashi (0 pts) vs. Bad Luck Fale (2 pts)

Fale with the obvious size and power advantage but Tanahashi rolls him up for some early nearfalls. It’s not long before Fale begins to target the injured right arm including trapping it in the ringside barrier.

Fale continues to dominate in the ring but Tanahashi manages to hit a German suplex before unsuccessfully attempting to body slam his much bigger opponent. Sunset flip attempt by Tanahashi is interrupted with a hipdrop and running splash for a nearfall. Tanahashi is thrown out of the ring but manages to skin the cat, only to be immediately hit with a huge spear.

Great ending sequence as Tanahashi hits a High Fly Flow from the turnbuckle to Fale outside of the ring. Referee starts the count and as Fale attempts to get back in the ring, Tanahashi hits a Slingblade on the apron. Tanahashi then rolls into the ring whilst Fale is still down and wins by countout.

This was surprisingly great. Tanahashi bumped around and making Fale look like a monster. Finish made both guys look good as Tanahashi had to use all his experience to just squeak a win whilst not being at 100%.

Match 9: YOSHI-HASHI (2 pts) vs. Tetsuya Naito (2 pts)

Main event time. Naito takes control after catching Y-H off-guard early. The two trade reversals before Y-H hits a standing double stomp to the back and gets a nearfall from a powerbomb into a jacknife pin. Y-H is then cut-off as he goes up top and takes a super hurricanrana.

Destino attempt is countered. After an exchange of forearms Naito is hit square in the nose with a stiff kick. After an ugly looking mid-air collision Y-H applies a butterfly lock that he keeps applied as Naito attempts to roll through. Naito kicks out of a Swanton but gets caught in another butterfly lock before reaching the ropes.

Y-H goes for Karma but Naito lands a surprise Destino and gets the win after hitting a second. LIJ are out to celebrate and a promo by Naito closes the show.

It wasn’t for lack of trying but I don’t think this compared favourably to the main events from the first two nights (especially Naito/Ibush)i. Crowd were into Naito throughout and action was fine but there was no real throughline to get me invested.

tldr;

All five tournament matches were good to great with Ibushi/ZSJ and Tanahashi/Fale the most entertaining. Naito seems to be a lock to win Block A at the moment but it’ll be interesting to see who else they keep strong in the next few rounds.

[lastthingyouforget]

G1 Climax 27 Night 2: Friends Of Minoru Town

The second night of action is from the famous Korakuen Hall and sees the first round of matches in Block B.

1st Match: Hirai Kawato, Kota Ibushi vs. El Desperado, Zack Sabre Jr.

Kawato and ZSJ start out in this opening tag. Kawato gets isolated early as Suzuki-gun apply a variety of holds with the small flourishes of ZSJ making every submission he applies look painful.

Kawato finally creates some separation and tags in Ibushi who does a great job of selling the effects of his match with Naito from Monday. ZSJ and Ibushi are in together and give a preview of their match in the next round.

Penalty kick from ZSJ to Kawato who mounts a comeback and gets a nearfall with a small package. El Desperado applies a boston crab on Kawato whilst ZSJ gets Ibushi in an octopus hold to stop him from breaking the submission. Kawato eventually gets to the ropes but El Deperado gets the win after an Angel’s Wings.

Really good opener that built up Ibushi/ZSJ in the next round without giving too much away. Kawato also impressed. 

2nd Match: Tiger Mask, Yuji Nagata, Togi Makabe vs. Gedo, Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto

Heavy strikes from the start with slaps from Goto and kicks from Nagata. Really impressive how athletic Nagata is in the ring for someone who’s nearly 50.

Makabe and Ishii exchange shoulder blocks with Makabe coming out on top. Makabe gets isolated before Goto/Nagata get back in and continue throwing strikes.

Gedo unsuccessfully tries to get a pin on Tiger Mask with his foot on the ropes but the ref is wise to it. Tiger Mask then gets the win for his team with a crucifix pin on Gedo. Ishii/Makabe brawl after the bell before being separated.

3rd Match: David Finlay, Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Chase Owens, Bad Luck Fale

Fale takes out the announcer before his opponents are even out which was pretty great. 

Tanahashi and Finlay work well together hitting double team moves on both members of Bullet Club. Fale knocks Tanahashi off the turnbuckle and starts targeting the injured right arm outside the ring.

Finlay isn’t able to make the hot tag as Tanashi is taken out on the apron. Finlay manages to knock Fale off his feet and goes for a cover but is thrown halfway across the ring when the big lad kicks out. Fale then pins Finlay after the Grenade thumb spike.

Fale looked a lot better than on Monday as he had the much smaller Finlay to bounce off him and his match with Tanahashi should be an interesting clash of styles.

4th Match: Jado, YOSHI-HASHI vs. BUSHI, Tetsuya Naito

Not much to say about this one. YOSHI-YASHI catches Naito unaware as soon as the bell rings before Jado and BUSHI get in for a sexy pose-off. LIJ work well together before BUSHI gets the win after reversing Jado’s crossface into a pin. The crowd really like Naito.

5th Match: Satoshi Kojima vs. Juice Robinson

Much like Nagata on Monday, Kojima plays the role of the hard-hitting veteran here. He out-wrestles Juice to start before tossing him out the ring and DDTing him on the apron.

Juice tries to build up momentum with some strikes before Kojima interrupts with a rolling elbow. Kojima murders Juice with chops for the second time this week but Juice mounts a comeback with a spinebuster and cannonball in the corner.

Match really picks up at the end as Kojima lariats Juice’s leg whilst he’s on the turnbuckle and hits a top-rope cutter. Juice counters one lariat but takes another one to the back of the head before kicking out of a brainbuster. Juice fires up, Kojima cuts him off with another lariat but he manages to kick out. Finish sees another lariat countered into Pulp Friction and Juice gets the surprise win.

Juice helps Kojima to his feet and they shake hands. The match told a simple story of the younger guy taking everything the veteran could throw at him but the heart and fire that Juice showed really set it apart.

6th Match: Michael Elgin vs. Tama Tonga

Tonga tries to literally run ring around the bigger Elgin but takes a huge shoulder block for his troubles. Elgin controls early, demonstrating his range of power moves (including a really impressive stalling one-armed suplex) before Tonga tries to turn it into a brawl outside.

Slingshot splash from the apron to inside the ring by Elgin who continues to dominate with good looking offence. 

Really exciting ending sequence as another slingshot splash is countered into a Gun Stun. Elgin kicks out but Tonga gets this win with a mid-air Gun Stun after reversing an attempted move from Elgin off the turnbuckle.

Fun match and Tonga showed a lot more than I was expecting.

7th Match: SANADA vs. EVIL  

The two LIJ members go head to head after facing off in tag team action on Monday. EVIL offers a handshake to SANADA before catching him off gaurd. A chair is brought into the ring but doesn’t last long as EVIL breaks it in half via SANADA’s face.

Brawl continues outside the ring. EVIL wraps a chair around Sanada’s neck and hit’s it with another chair causing it to fly off and bonks a camera operator.

Back in the ring SANADA demonstrates his athleticism with some leapfrogs and a massive dropkick. EVIL applies a choke on the turnbuckle before SANADA counters with a leaping cutter to the outside and both men barely meet the 20 count.

More back and forth action. SANADA misses a top-rope moonsault and EVIL locks in the Banshee Muzzle crossface submission that he debuted on Monday. SANADA gets to the ropes and eventually catches his opponent with his own trademark submission that EVIL barely manages to break. SANADA gets the win after hitting a moonsault on his second attempt.

Another fun match with some fast action and novel spots. SANADA seems to have all the tools needed to be a bigger name so looking forward to seeing what he does in the rest of the tournament.

8th Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Toru Yano

The two CHAOS members are accompanied to the ring by Gedo and Jado respectively (with both men getting involved throughout). For the fourth time this week a handshake offer ends in shenanigans as Yano spins Okada around and slaps him in the back of the head.

Match starts off slow and mostly consists of Yano comedy spots with Okada hitting a few of his signature moves. All four men are down on the outside after a low blow party but Okada and Yano manage to beat the count. Yano gets a nearfall after countering a Rainmaker attempt into a schoolboy but Okada gets the win with his Red Ink submission.

Not much to write home about but the match acted as a nice breather before the main event and meant that we still have Okada’s first proper tournament match to look forward to.

9th Match: Minoru Suzuki vs. Kenny Omega

Omega is last year’s G1 winner and current US champion whilst Suzuki currently holds the NEVER Openweight belt. Suzuki gets right up in Omega’s face to begin. Kenny does a great job of selling Suzuki’s intimidation factor.

Suzuki opens with slaps, Omega fights back but Suzuki is in control and hits some brutal forearms and chops. Omega manages to hit a standing hurricanrana but his dive attempt is cut-off by Suzuki who locks in a rope-assisted arm submission on the apron before following up with a a running PK.

Throughout the match Suzuki does a great job of denying the crowd from seeing Omega’s flashy offence. An attempted moonsault off the barrier is stopped by Suzuki who targets his leg whilst it’s caught in the rail. Suzuki takes the action into the crowd and brings a chair into play but Omega retaliates with chair shots of his own.

Omega continues to sell the effects of the damage to his knee but manages to land a one-legged moonsault and a V-Trigger on the second attempt (after Suzuki pulled the ref in the way of the first).

Suzuki-gun swarm the ring to attack Omega but Owens and Fale come out to even the odds. Omega then takes flight and hits a springboard cross body from the ring into Suzuki-gun in the crowd.

Down to just Omega/Suzuki again and the latter continues to target the leg with a kneebar. Omega chops Suzuki who just smiles and asks for more. Kenny gobs in his face and after receiving a rush of strikes hits another V-Trigger. One-winged Angel attempt is reversed into an ankle lock and then transitioned into a sleeper hold by Suzuki but Kenny manages to survive.

Suzuki attempts to finish it with his Gotch-style piledriver but Omega hits a barrage of V-Triggers. Suzuki kicks out but another pair of V-Triggers and a One-winged Angel gives Omega the win.

Brilliantly overwrought promo by Omega to close and we’re done. Great contents with a logical story of Suzuki targeting the leg and Kenny having to do everything he could to end the match before any further damage could be done.

tldr;

Show was a really easy watch. The opening tags benefitted from having the previous round’s narratives to build-off and felt like a more integrated part of the card than on Monday. Omega/Suzuki had some great character work and in-ring action and was probably match of the night. Shout out to Kojima/Robinson for a surprisingly great match. SANADA/EVIL and Tonga/Elgin also had some real fun spots between them.

Back to Block A tomorrow night!  

[lastthingyouforget]

G1 Climax 27 Night 1: You Fale Me

Monday saw the start of the New Japan Pro Wrestling G1 Climax 27 where 20 of the company’s top stars compete in a month-long round-robin tournament. The winner gets to compete in the main event of the biggest show of the year at the Tokyo Dome and everyone has a bloody lovely time.

After being a fairweather NJPW fan I wanted to follow the shows as they aired and I’ve decided to write up the results in a futile attempt to appear productive.

Night 1 showcases the 8 wrestlers from Block A and we’re live from the Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center.

1st Match: Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Jushin Thunger Liger vs. Michael Elgin, Juice Robinson, David Finlay

First of the warm-up tag matches. Liger gets worked over for a bit. Elgin and Tenzan get in and hit each other really hard. Kojima murders Juice Robinson with chops and then pins Finlay after a lariat.

2nd Match: Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, El Desperado vs. Kenny Omega, Tama Tonga, Chase Owens

Suzuki looks like the baddest man on the planet. Brawl out in the crowd to start. In the ring Tonga gets hit in the head with a hammer which keeps him down for literally seconds.

Omega and Suzuki are eventually in together and trade finisher attempts. Suzuki gets double teamed by Bullet Club but gets the win after hitting Owens with a piledriver. Suzuki and Omega then brawl to the back to hype their Block B match on Thursday.

3rd Match: EVIL, Hiromu Takahashi vs. SANADA, Bushi

All 4 guys are part of the Los Ingobernables de Japon stable but you wouldn’t have thought it from the way they lay into each other. Handshake fake out by SANADA to EVIL leads to them brawling outside whilst in the ring Bushi chokes Takahashi with his shirt.

Quick action with both teams trading double team moves. EVIL submits Bushi with a chicken-wing before everyone fist bumps to show everyone that they’re still mates.

Obvious chemistry between this lot so EVIL/Sanada on Thursday should be pretty great.

4th Match: Kazuchika Okada, Gedo vs Toru Yano, Jado

More inter-stable action as both teams are representing CHAOS. Shenanigans from Yano to start which Okada has no time for. Rainmaker attempts from both before Jado/Gedo get in for some comedy spots.

Jado gets worked over. Yano exposes the turnbuckle and gets some near falls on Okada. After more shenanigans Yano hits a double low-blow and pins Gedo.

Time for an intermission before the tournament matches begin.

5th Match: Yuji Nagata vs. YOSHI-HASHI

This is the veteran Nagata’s last ever G1 tournament whilst YOSHI-HASHI made a name for himself last year with a surprise win over Kenny Omega in the first round.

Exchange of holds to start before moving onto strikes that Nagata gets the better of. YOSHI-HASHI gets the upper hand and then decides to slap Nagata which seems like a terrible idea. Nagata boots him around for a bit and they exchange overhand slaps.

Nagata locks in a nasty looking armbreaker. YOSHI-HASHI gets some near-falls and Nagata throws some more strikes. YOSHI-HASHI eventually gets the win after hitting a lungblower and Karma.

YOSHI-HASHI came out of this looking great after taking everything Nagata threw at him.

6th Match: Togi Makabe vs Bad Luck Fale

Commentators hype up Fale’s record in previous G1 tournaments. Don’t know much about Makabe other than NJPW World don’t have the rights to broadcast his theme

Match starts with shoulder blocks galore. Makabe gets choked with with his own chains which the ref seems fine with. Fale then hits some classic big lad moves, following up a samoan drop with a running splash.

Fale beats up Makabe a bit more, Makabe takes him down with a clothesline, repeat.

Finish comes as Makabe gets nowhere near with a top-rope knee drop and Fale hits thumb spike for the win.

This didn’t do much for me but looking forward to seeing what they can do against other opponents.

7th Match: Hirooko Goto vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Another match between CHAOS members. Goto was an unlikely finalist last year, Ishii is terrifying.

Quick pace to start. Goto knocks Ishii off his feet with a shoulder block before Ishii returns the favour. Overhand strikes from Goto before Ishii throws some headbutts.

They take it in turn to hit each other with some stiff clotheslines and Ishii is first down. Ushigoroshi by Goto but Ishii hits back with an enziguri, powerbomb and seated clothesline.

More stiff clotheslines and both are down. Crazy amount of forearms, more clotheslines and headbutts gets thrown. Ishii keeps popping back up but Goto finally gets the pinfall after a GTR.

Two tough lads hitting each other really hard was unsurprisingly very entertaining but hope they take it a bit easier in the next rounds for their own sake.

8th Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Narrative hooks are Tanahashi being prone to upsets on night 1 of G1 and his injured right arm being a target for ZSJ. ZSJ’s Suzuki-gun associate El Desperado accompanies him to the ring but can’t imagine he’ll get involved.

Both men trade holds to start. ZSJ counters an elbow drop into an arm submission and continues to work the right arm for the rest of the match. Exchange of european uppercuts is followed up by an octopus hold by ZSJ who then abandons his scientific approach and stomps away on the arm of Tanahashi.

Tanahashi hits his big moves following up a slingblade with the High Fly Flow. El Desperado gets involved leading to ZSJ countering a 2nd High Fly Flow into an ambar. After ripping off Tanahashi’s bandages and trying to break his wrist ZSJ gets the submission win.

In true Brits abroad fashion ZSJ sticks his fingers up to the crowd and poses with Tanahashi’s IC title. ZSJ got to look good working his trademark style and sets up Tanahashi looking for a comeback in the next round.  

9th Match: Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito

Naito won the G1 in 2013 but after being bumped from the main event started to act like a proper shit. Ibushi is back in NJPW after taking a break and popping up in WWE for a bit.

Naito gets his shenanigans in early. Moves galore as Ibushi follows up a rush of strikes with a standing hurricanrana and a moonsault from the turnbuckle to outside. Ibushi throws some stiff kicks as the commentators put over a more focused side of Ibushi.

Crazyness goes up a level as Naito hits a reverse hurricanrana off the top rope. Ibushi then counters a Destino attempt by torpedoing Naito into the turnbuckle before hitting a german suplex from the 2nd rope. Backflip kick from Ibushi as Naito is on the turnbuckle is followed up with a 2nd rope piledriver that Naito kicks out of.

After a rolling kick and exchange of strikes Naito finally manages to hit Destino. Ibushi kicks out but Naito gets the win with a 2nd.

The rest of Los Ingobernables de Japon are out to celebrate. Promo by Naito and another LIJ fist bump closes the show.

tldr;

Show was well-paced with the action peaking in the main event as it should. Nagata/YOSHI-HASHI and Tanahashi/ZSJ told the clearest stories but the physicality of Goto/Ishii and athleticism of Ibushi/Naito stood out.

Looking forward to the first round of Block B matches on Thursday. Only 18 more shows to go...