#g1 climax 29 review

[hazyheel]

NJPW G1 Climax 2019 Day 7 Review

The opening contest of the night was Zack Sabre Jr vs. Bad Luck Fale. I was actually kinda looking forward to this one, because Sabre wrestles big men really really well. These two actually have a record, 1-0 in favor of Sabre after a G1 meeting 2 years ago. Before the match, Chase Owens got on English commentary and announced that Fale is going to storm Area 51, because they can’t stop the rogue general. I appreciated that. Sabre immediately charged at the bell and locked in a guillotine choke. This makes sense, because big men need more air and more energy to move around, so cut that off and Fale will fall. When Fale fought out, Sabre opted to attack the legs. I love the psychology of Sabre matches. Sabre tried to keep Fale on the mat, but Fale continued to power out of the submissions and throwing the smaller man around. At one point, Sabre reversed the Bad Luck Fall into a flying octopus hold, but Fale backed up into the ropes, allowing Jado to nail him in the back with the kendo stick. Owens got in a couple shots of his own, and Fale then beat the crap out of Sabre in the stands. The two battled a bit, with Sabre countering the grenade into a triangle hold as the ref started the count. He was able to force Fale down to his knees, and then he bolted to the ring, winning his first G1 match this year by count out. Sabre: 2, Fale: 2.

Grade: B. Fale isn’t the greatest wrestler in the world, but Sabre certainly kept it interesting. The countout victory didn’t feel cheap in the slightest, it felt smart. Sabre beat his much larger opponent through smart submissions and a tricky play in the end. Definitely deserving of his first two points.

Then we had Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Lance Archer. This is another match that I was looking forward to, as Tanahashi is awesome, and Archer is a goddamned anomaly when it comes to this G1. He is so cool to watch. These two have a record, although it is old. Tanahashi won both of their previous matches, both in the G1. However, their last match singles match was in 2013, which was long enough ago to think that they may have changed a lot about themselves. Shockingly enough, Tanahashi was the one to attack before the bell, and he went right for the knee. They soon spilled out to the floor and battled for a while, ending when Archer nailed an apron bomb. Archer destroyed Tanahashi’s back and chest on the outside and it really seemed like he had a shot in this match. Tanahashi tried to put Archer down with chops, but he kept no selling them and drilling with a huge chop of his own. Tanahashi kept switching strategies in this match, looking for power moves, strikes and submissions at varying points, each with minimal success. Even when Tana had a comeback, it would only take a shoulder tackle or another power move to get control back. Archer went for his very extra old school, but Tana countered with a twist and shout and a slingblade. He then went for aces high, but Archer caught him for a vicious chokeslam and a near fall. Archer then fought for the EBD claw, and although Tana tried to fight against it, he locked it in for just a second. Archer had Tana in the corner, and looked like he was going to get a muscle buster, but Tana locked in a victory roll for a flash pin and the win. Tanahashi: 4, Archer: 4

Naturally, after the match Archer attacked the ref.

Grade: B+. Really good between these two. Tana knew that Archer was the bigger man, and he was desperate for the win right from the start. He tried everything he could, but Archer wouldn’t go down. In the end, it was a lucky roll up that got the Ace the win here, and Archer was naturally furious. He had one of the biggest stars in the company in the palm of his hands, and then he ate a flash pin. I imagine that this will only fuel Archer’s rage going forward.

Next up was EVIL vs. KENTA. This was a first time ever match. On commentary, they talked about while Kenta has a striking advantage, the raw strength and brawling from Evil is nothing to laugh at. The two may be closer in that respect than you would think. The two were very violent right in the beginning, with Evil pulling no punches when he attacked, and neither did Kenta. The two started out getting tied up in the ropes, and although there was a clean break, Kenta wiped the eye makeup of Evil. That really pissed Evil off, and the two brawled to the outside. Evil even took Kenta to one of the entrances, before they brawled into the crowd. The two dueled for control with both wanting to suplex the other onto a stack of chairs, with Kenta coming out on top. Kenta began to destroy Evil with kicks back in the ring, only firing him up, and Evil started to nail huge lariats. At one point, Kenta even tried for a striking contest, but Evil blocked the first blow and shot back, downing Kenta in one hit. That was certainly an interesting interaction. the two started another striking contest later delivering wicked elbows over and over, until Evil won again with a headbutt. Kenta still fought back into the match, hitting an awesome running knee to counter a running lariat. He kept control from there, nailing a kick to the head, a pique kick and then go to sleep for the win. Kenta: 8, Evil: 4.

Grade: B+. This was a really good story, and a really hard hitting match. I was not shocked by the winner here, but I was shocked when Evil won two head to head striking contests. They beat the crap out of each other, as expected, and hit some brutal moves in the process. Kenta continues to lead the block, and it seems like Evil may end up being the spoiler of A block. He already beat Ibushi, and part of me thinks that he will beat Okada as well. He has before, I don’t see why he couldn’t again.

We went right into Kota Ibushi vs. SANADA. These two have some history, with Sanada winning their match last year in the G1, giving them a 1-0 record in favor of Sanada. The two started with some grappling and went hold for hold with each other. They then picked up the speed, but still ending in a stalemate. Then they competed for some cheers, and the crowd totally came alive. Japanese clouds are so cool when they get excited. They then started to go back and forth with big moves to try to outdo one another. Definitely an interesting story here. They eventually got into striking, with some great chops from Sanada followed by a deadly kick from Ibushi. They started to exchange some hard hitting signature moves as the excitement continued to build. Sanada at one point caught a kick, and started to attack the knee with a dropkick. He went for another, but Ibushi countered with a standing double foot stomp. That was when the two competed once again, with the heaviest hits that they could muster. Neither man went down. Ibushi went for the kamagoye about three or four times, but each attempt saw Sanada avoid it and Ibushi maintain wrist control. Eventually after some creative counters, Sanada nailed Ibushi with a kamagoye of his own, netting him a near fall. He then went for a moonsault, which he missed. it was also at a super low angle, and it was scary as hell. Anyway, after avoiding the moonsault, Ibushi hit a great bomoye. That was when they started to battle for skull end. Both wanted to choke out the other, and they continued to counter each other over and over. Sanada was finally able to lock it in for a while, but when he tried to get the hooks in, Ibushi attempted to reverse it into the kamagoye. They struggled a bit, before Ibushi absolutely whacked Sanada in the head with a roundhouse kick. Ibushi followed it up with a bomoye for 2, and then a kamagoye for 3. Ibushi: 4, Sanada: 2.

Grade: A-. This started out as a contest of one uppmanship, but eventually grew into a great match where both men refused to get hit by anything. Counters were flying all over the place and it was impossible to see who had the advantage for any length of time. This was all back and forth, and a great win for Ibushi. His ankle looked to be bothering him a bit during this match, so I hope that it doesn’t take him out, but it certainly didn’t take away from anything here. Sanada seems to be getting less emphasis this year than Evil, but he is still a force to be reckoned with.

And in the main event, we had Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay. IWGP Heavyweight Champion vs. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. They have a 3-0 record in favor of Okada, but all were great matches. They are friends from the same stable, and they respect each other a lot. They started out with some technical exchanges and a slow deliberate pace. After Ospreay won an early exchanged and forced Okada to the outside, he made sure to sit on the ropes for him when he came back in, which Okada rejected. Okada later did the same to him. They played it up as respect, but I saw it as the opposite. Okada targetted the already injured neck of Ospreay, while Ospreay just tried to up the pace. Ospreay tried to fight back with incredible strikes, but Okada stood strong and dropped him with a thunderous forearm. However, when Okada went for his signature DDT, Ospreay countered with a huge vertical suplex. Ospreay followed up with a huge chop, followed by a corner ensiguri, but when he went for the top rope tiger fang kick, Okada caught him and just dropped him on his neck to maintain the advantage. The two then picked up the pace quite a bit, constantly countering each other’s signature maneuvers until Okada dropped Ospreay with a beautiful standing dropkick. He followed up with a tombstone, and tried for a rainmaker, but Ospreay countered into a victory roll and then a robinson special. Ospreay went for the os cutter, but Okada caught him with a dropkick on the ropes, sending the smaller man tumbling to the outside. The two then battled on the apron, with anticipation building as to who will hit the big move first. It looked to be Ospreay after a big kick to the shoulder, but as he went up for a moonsault to the outside, Okada pulled him down to try for a tombstone. Ospreay fought out and sent him into the barricade. He followed that up with a hook kick and then an os cutter on the outside. Ospreay made it back in the ring, as did Okada, but Ospreay cut him off with a springboard dropkick to a crawling Okada. He then nailed a second os cutter in the ring, but Okada still kicked out! It was also the best os cutter I have ever seen. A desperate Opsreay tried for the top rope os cutter, but Okada caught him in midair and flattened him with a german suplex. He tried for the rainmaker, but Ospreay slipped out, so Okada dropkicked him instead. He tried again, but Ospreay hit a standing spanish fly for another near fall. Ospreay then hit a shooting star press for another near fall. Nothing was putting the champion down. Ospreay tried for the storm breaker, but Okada tried to get a tombstone. Ospreay fought out of it, nailed a couple knees to the top of the head, and hit a tombstone of his own. He nailed a ripcord hook kick, and went for the stormbreaker again, but Okada flipped out of it and hit a short rainmaker. He maintained wrist control, and hit another short rainmaker. Okada tried for the full rainmaker, but Ospreay reversed it into stormbreaker position, but Okada flipped out again and hit a spinning short rainmaker. And finally, with Ospreay all out of energy and having been spun around by those rainmakers 3 times, Okada finally hit a full rainmaker and put Ospreay down. Okada: 8, Ospreay: 2.

Grade: A+. Back to back A+’s from Ospreay. He is really delivering in this tournament. Okada is as well, its an awesome tournament this year. Ospreay was a perfect underdog here, and Okada was the staunch champion who wasn’t phased by anything. Ospreay put up the fight of a lifetime, but he just couldn’t finish it off. He had Okada beat a couple of times, but he is the IWGP Heavyweight Champion for a reason. Okada took several of Ospreay’s best shots and kept fighting, it was incredible. Even though Ospreay is now probably too far behind to even get in the top 5 of his block, he seems to be delivering the best matches in the G1 so far. Probably between him and Ishii. As for Okada, he and Kenta are still leading the pack with 8 points apiece, and they face off in the next block A show. Given that they are both two points ahead of the rest of the chasing pack, it feels like one of them will win the block, but we can’t be sure just yet. A block is getting very dramatic. Oh, and this was far and away the match of the night. Probably my favorite G1 match so far, even better than Ibushi vs. Ospreay.

Overall Grade:  A-.

Pros: All matches

Cons: Ibushi’s ankle injury seems to be flaring up. 

[puroresu-musings]

NJPW G1 CLIMAX 29 FINAL Review (Aug 12th 2019, Tokyo, Nippon Budokan)

Yota Tsuji & Ren Narita vs. Clark Connors & Karl Fredericks  ***½

Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask & Jeff Cobb vs. Lance Archer, Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru  **½


Will Ospreay & Roppongi 3K vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Taiji Ishimori & Chase Owens ***1/4

Juice Robinson & Toa Henare vs. Jon Moxley & Shota Umino  **½

Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI vs. Togi Makabe, Hirooki Goto, Toru Yano, Tomoaki Honma & Ryusuke Taguchi  ***1/4

Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & KENTA vs. Guerrillas Of Destiny & Bad Luck Fale  ***

Kazuchika Okada & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr.  ****1/4

G1 CLIMAX 29 FINAL: Kota Ibushi (A Block Champion) vs. Jay White (B Block Champion)  *****

Photos.

The 29th annual G1 Climax climaxed with an excellent and beyond newsworthy show, which capped off the best Tournament in history. In notable happenings from a jam-packed Nippon Budokan; The L.A. Dojo Young Lions of Connors and Fredericks were victories over the New Japan Dojo Lions of Tsuji and Narita in a great little opener. This was a physically intense, and heated 9:53 encounter, in which it was made apparent that New Japan’s future is incredibly bright with these guys on the rise. Connors locked Tsuji in a Boston Crab for a mighty struggle, before Yota had to tap. Jon Moxley put Juice Robinson through a table in the post match of their brief doubles match, to undoubtedly set up an impending rematch for the US. Title. 

In probably the most talked about thing coming out of the show, KENTA turned on Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI, in their Six Man against the Bullet Club Tonga squad, and joined the nefarious B.C. The match was good, but the angle that followed more than elevated this. After jumping off the apron when refusing an Ishii tag, KENTA hit the ring, laying his supposed tag partner out with a Busaiku Knee, followed by the Go 2 Sleep to allow Tama Tonga to get the pin at 8:35. Before KENTA could cut a promo, explaining his actions, his ‘good friend’ Katsuyori Shibata hit the ring like a man possessed and destroyed him with some stiff strikes. The Bullet Club tried to intervene, but Shibata sent them packing, and landed a devastating corner dropkick to KENTA’s face. He locked on a rear naked choke, then went for the PK, but Jado nailed him in the back with his kendo stick, which allowed KENTA to lock his own choke in, then nail Shibata with his own PK. KENTA then sat, cross legged, on Shibata’s chest, as the Bullet Club celebrated their new recruit. This was an amazing angle, probably the best I’ve seen in some years, and the crowd were going crazy for all of this. Obviously, Shibata’s physical involvement (his first of any kind since April 2017) will provoke a lot of discussion as to what happens with him next. The logical conclusion to jump to is a Shibata/KENTA match for WK14, but given the severity of the injury he received (it nearly cost him his life), it could be unlikely we will see him back in the ring. But we shall see. It’s also worth noting that all involved were very careful not to hit Shibata anywhere near the head. My guess is the Bullet Club beating down a retired wrestler, one who is retired because of a serious injury, was to get them over as evil dicks who stooped to new lows. Regardless of where this goes from here, Shibata looked great out there, and it was an unbelievable, and unforgettable moment.

The previous angle was going to leave a lot to follow, but with this being New Japan, they certainly managed to. Suzuki and ZSJ were victorious over the Okada/Tanahashi dream team, in an excellent doubles clash next. This was an all-action contest, which had a great closing stretch. The story here was Zack vs. Tana and Suzuki vs. Okada, both of which are likely to be the top matches at Royal Quest in London on August 31st. The finish saw ZSJ and Tanahashi brawling on the outside, whilst in the ring Okada and Suzuki nailed each other with hard forearms. The King dodged an Okada dropkick, nailed a PK, then went for the Gotch Piledriver, but Tanahashi broke it up with a Sling Blade. Suzuki took an Okada dropkick to the back, then blocked a Rainmaker, and countered another dropkick attempt into an unbelievable la mistica (think about that), and transitioned into a choke. Once he had put Okada sufficiently to sleep, Suzuki turned it into the Gotch Piledriver, as Zack had Tana tied up in submissions, to cleanly pin the IWGP Heavyweight Champion at the 15:27 mark, and firmly stake his claim as the next challenger for the belt. Suzuki looked great here, having quietly waited in the weeds having been snubbed a G1 spot, waiting for the perfect time to strike, and found it here. Suzuki tells Okada it must be pretty embarrassing to lose to a guy not deemed good enough to be in the G1, then informs him he’s coming for his Title. Everything about this was tremendous.

But as tremendous as it all was, it paled in comparison to the absolute wrestling masterpiece that was the G1 Climax Final. Look, I know some people hate Jay White. I know people hate all the heel stuff, all the interference and shenanigans, but that is something New Japan have always done, and will always do. There’s literally never been a period of NJPW history that hasn’t had some no good son of a bitch heel at the top of the card, using nefarious tactics to win. Now yes, I agree that it all gets a bit much when you have three guys in one Block doing this, but only one of those guys is a main eventer, and that’s Jay. And at the end of the day, all of that cheating and chicanery paid off here, helping to weave a masterful story. White came out with the entire Bullet Club, but Red Shoes kicked all of them bar Gedo out of ringside. Not long after, Gedo was ejected too, meaning Switch Blade had to go it alone (nudge, nudge). Jay slowly, and meticulously, worked over Ibushi’s injured left ankle that he helped to destroy the night before, but Ibushi would always battle back. It wasn’t long before Gedo made his way out again, after Jay escaped a Lawn Dart attempt, and bumped Kota into Red Shoes. Jay chop blocked Ibushi’s knee, then Gedo held him down whilst Jay nailed his injured leg with two chair shots, then locked in the TTO, as Gedo rolled Red Shoes back in. After an epic, and totally believable struggle (Jay had beaten Juice Robinson the exact same way in Yokohama), Ibushi finally made the ropes, which popped Budokan. White tries the Sleeper Suplex, but Ibushi escapes by hitting a (one-legged) moonsault kick, finally hit the lawn dart, and scored a near fall with the dead lift German off the ropes. Ibushi tries the Last Ride, but Jay frees himself by hammering Ibushi’s ankle, and slaps Ibushi hard across the face. This brought out “psycho Ibushi”, who devastated White with a flurry of hard strikes. Ibushi goes for the wind-up lariat, but White hits a snap Dragon Screw out of nowhere, tries another, but Kota finally hits his big Lariat for the double down. A (one-legged) Last Ride gets a near fall for Ibushi, who then looks for Boma Ye, but Jay does his collapse gimmick to avoid it. White distracts the referee as Gedo comes in with the brass knucks, but Kota K.O.’s him with a head kick. The distraction allows Jay to hit the Sleeper Suplex, but Ibushi popped up and hit a Boma Ye to the back of White’s head as Budokan goes crazy. Red Shoes instructs Rocky Romero at the English Commentary booth to dispose of the unconscious Gedo, which he duly does, and we’re now down to just the two finalists. Kota finally hits the Boma Ye to the face, then tries Kamigoye, but again White hammers away at the ankle. Ibushi fights back, flooring Jay with two big head kicks, then tries Kamigoye, but White, the master strategist, reverses it into Blade Runner to the horror of the crowd. He’s too beat up to make the cover though, so lifts Ibsuhi up to hit the cross-arm Bloody Sunday, but Kota frees himself with a big headbutt and hits the straight jacket German, rolls through into a Kamigoye attempt, but Jay escapes by hitting two massive Sleeper Suplexes, dumping Kota right on top of his head both times. Jay hits the cross-armed Bloody Sunday, as you can hear everyone in Budokan lose their collective minds at the prospect of White being on the cusp of victory. This was such an amazing atmosphere. White goes for Blade Runner, but Ibushi escapes by hitting a standing Kamigoye, then dodges another Blade Runner attempt, and hits a jumping version. Kota holds on to the wrists and finally waffles White with Kamigoye for one of the greatest near falls you’ll ever see. Kota drops the knee pad and hits a second Kamigoye to end a phenomenal match at 31:01, vanquish the evil heel, and win the whole G1. Wow.

I absolutely loved this. It was just perfect, classic storytelling. Good overcoming evil. White cap vs. black cap. It was just one guy, who everybody wanted to win, against another who nobody wanted to win, it was simple and incredibly effective, and it lead to probably my favourite match of the entire year (it’s either this or the BOSJ Final, but they’re both completely different types of matches). Ibushi looked like the biggest star in the company here, as he becomes the first man to ever win the BOSJ, the New Japan Cup, and now the G1 Climax, and earns his shot at whomever will be IWGP Heavyweight Champion come Wrestle Kingdom. Honestly, it’s going to take some doing to surpass this tournament, and New Japan (and Gedo) surprise us once again by offering us a whole bunch of new directions and scenarios that we never knew we needed. It’s pretty damn great being a New Japan fan in 2019. Long may they reign.

NDT

[djvillain]

NJPW G1 Climax 29 Finals Review: KENTA, Shibata, Suzuki, and Ibushi vs W...

[gdwessel]

Strong Style Story Podcast Episode 48: WK13 Review + Fantasticamania Preview

Well, NJPW never put up the Fantasticamania lineups, but we did the show anyway. Please listen to Episode 48 of the Strong Style Story Podcast now on Pro Wrestling Only, which is now ALSO on Spotify!

We have experienced Wrestle Kingdom 13! Fantasticamania 2019 is next! Geoffrey & Chris are back to talk about it with special guest TheCubsFan! In this episode we:

* Review Wrestle Kingdom 13, and New Year Dash!!, and try to figure out where this is all going. * Talk smack and speculate what will become of Kenny Omega as the spectre of All Elite Wrestling looms large * Discuss the attendance of WK13 v. WK12, and whether or not splitting WK14 in 2020 will give Kidani the sell-out he's been craving * Talk Best of the Super Juniors 26 Final being in Ryogoku Kokugikan, as well G1 Climax 29 starting in Dallas AND an additional date for The New Beginning USA in Nashville * Preview Fantasticamania with TheCubsFan the best we can, given the lineups weren't out yet when we recorded * Discuss the relationship between CMLL and NJPW, and whether or not Penta 0M and Rey Fenix could ever appear in NJPW * Admit that maybe ending the show at Episode 50 was all for naught, and discuss whether or not we expand our scope outside of NJPW in the future?

All of this and much more! Tune in!

TheCubsFan can be found at @luchablog on Twitter, and at www.luchablog.com online!

Chris is @BrasilianFury on Twitter

Geoffrey is @StrongStylStory on Twitter, as well as @gdwessel for his personal account, and the blog is strongstylestory.tumblr.com

Thanks for listening!

[whatifitscool]

Shingo Takagi: Charting the Progress of the Dragon with the Mighty Mullet

By Timmy Daytona

To say that Shingo Takagi had a stellar introduction in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), one need only review his impressive record.

Introduced as the sixth member of Los Ingobernables de Japon in late 2018, Takagi looked as menacing as his Dragon moniker implied.

With the physique of a barrel-chested strongman, he is also the proud owner of the most magnificent mullet in pro wrestling today.

Though Takagi was already familiar to Dragon Gate audiences and the independent wrestling scene abroad, 2019 was the year that mainstream wrestling fans were put on notice.

The Dragon had arrived and he was here to dominate.

Steamrolling through the competition of Block A in the Best of the Super Juniors (BOSJ) 26 tournament, Takagi was the first man to ever reach a perfect 9-0 record on his way to the finals.

As storylines went, this was nothing new seeing a performer go unpinned or unsubmitted for so long. Same with the way he shook off almost all challengers that stood in his path.

But it was a real delight seeing how casually and expertly he dismantled the competition.

They were all insects compared to this beast of a man.

His performance with Will Ospreay in the 2019 BOSJ final was a David vs Goliath encounter of epic proportions. 33:36 of brilliance.

The power of Takagi paired well with the fancy acrobatics of Aerial Assassin Ospreay in a dynamic bout of might vs flight. Their first meeting left an indelible impression, leaving fans craving more.

Ospreay had to unload his entire arsenal before he slew the Dragon at Ryogoku.

This was a match of the year contender and for both men, the best of their careers (at the time). Especially Takagi, who, despite coming up short in the final, nonetheless impressed in his debut year.

Following BOSJ 26, Takagi’s steady rise in NJPW continued when he announced that he was moving to the heavyweight division at Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-Jo Hall 2019.

Fighting bigger opponents, the big man found foes almost as immovable as him.

His final standing in the G1 Climax 29 of 2019 of 4 wins and 5 losses included impressive wins over reliable heavy hitters Tomohiro Ishii and Hirooki Goto in brawny, big hoss battles. He’d finally met true challenges in NJPW.

While 2020 started off in memorable fashion with Takagi defeating Goto for the NEVER Openweight Championship at The New Beginning in Sapporo, everything came grinding to a halt.

In response to the global pandemic, NJPW closed their doors for a significant period last year.

When they returned, Takagi would again put in spirited efforts in the G1 as well as in defences and pursuit of the slippery NEVER Openweight title.

In his third defence, Takagi lost the title to Minoru Suzuki at Summer Struggle in Jingu on 29 August 2020 before reclaiming it from him at Power Struggle on 07 November 2020.

Between those dates, he took part in the G1 Climax 30 where he equalled his previous year’s performance. His efforts however, were even more notable as Takagi brought his fighting spirit in the rematch with Will Ospreay as well as in two matches that Kevin Kelly looked forward to most in the tournament against Kota Ibushi and Kazuchika Okada.

In their rematch on 27 September 2020, a major talking point involved Ospreay’s increased size and power. In a neat reversal of roles, Takagi was no longer the dominant aggressor while Ospreay played the overconfident larger man.

Despite moving up a division, the two did not miss a step with their sequences. The match still featured the swiftness of their 2019 confrontation, though this time with Takagi the victor as he avenged his loss from BOSJ. The two have amazing chemistry together so additional classics are sure to be achieved should this rivalry be reignited in the future.

In his first meeting against Kota Ibushi on 07 October 2020, Takagi again looked highly competitive. In a hard-hitting bout, Takagi emerged victorious when he blocked the Kamigoye and immediately converted it into Last of the Dragon for an amazing upset.

On 10 October 2020, Takagi met Kazuchika Okada. While the Rainmaker refused to use his trademark finisher, Takagi took him to the limit and outshone him in several exchanges. Most notably was his immediate recovery following a shotgun dropkick to answer Okada with a sliding lariat.

Takagi had also grown more comfortable in the lens of the camera, sometimes looking directly into it with a cheeky grin or when pumping himself up. And although Okada teased its appearance, Takagi was the one who utilised the Rainmaker – complete with pose – much to the crowd’s amusement.

Ultimately, he would fall to Okada. He sold the Money Clip’s effects beautifully as his eyes displayed his fighting spirit slowly being extinguished. Takagi still looked great even in defeat.

Wrestle Kingdom 15 featured the big hoss battle for the NEVER Openweight title against the now villainous Jeff Cobb. In a strange sight, Takagi was manhandled by Cobb like nobody else, looking visibly smaller than the former Olympian. Having lost to Cobb in previous meetings, the Dragon had to switch gears.

Memorably, Takagi hit a Tope con Giro on Cobb on the outside. Receiving just as much punishment as he dished out, Takagi had to – as Chris Charlton said – summon the will of the people on more than one occasion to make it through the war.

He eventually found a weakness to exploit and after targeting Cobb’s knee, he cut down the human tree. A late stage Pumping Bomber turned Cobb inside out before Last of the Dragon saw Takagi finally overcome Cobb to retain the title.

Most recently at The New Beginning in Nagoya on 30 January 2020, the former top heel of Dragon Gate met the Ace of NJPW, Hiroshi Tanahashi, in a dream match-up.

On commentary, Kevin Kelly noted that there were a lot of physical similarities between Tanahashi a decade ago and Shingo now.

In this later stage of his career, the Ace had to wrestle smarter to take on the power of the Dragon.

In a highlight reel of the hits, Tanahashi and Takagi brought their entire arsenal to Nagoya. A monstrous Made in Japan looked like it crushed Tanahashi’s head and neck while a later stage Pumping Bomber looked like it knocked him right out of his boots.

He even had room for some more copycat antics similar to his match against Okada, this time imitating Twist and Shout on Tanahashi.

Tanahashi on the other hand executed a perfect game plan to target Takagi’s knee, using the Dragon Screw Leg Whip to devastating effect multiple times, also hitting a huge Aces High from the top turnbuckle to Takagi on the outside. The final sequence of Tanahashi’s Aces High, Dragon Suplex with a bridge and High Fly Flow sealed the Dragon’s fate.

Unluckily for the Dragon, he lost the NEVER Openweight title to the Ace but in a sign of respect, he blessed Tanahashi as the new holder of the belt and both agreed they should do this at least one more time.

What also stood out in this epic were the more frequent flashes of Takagi showing off his more charismatic side. Fist pumping for the camera or firing himself and the crowd up, he is fast becoming a badass fan favourite.

With the Ace in the NEVER Openweight picture, Tanahashi together with Shingo could bring a level of prestige to this title and elevate it to greater heights.

While it would be great to see them fight forever, one could also see Takagi’s chase of this title as laying the groundwork to segue to the heavyweight title picture.

Years back, Okada lost to Tanahashi in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 9 but returned a year later to defeat the Ace for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 10.

What if this Nagoya classic and further battles with Tanahashi are to prepare Takagi for the richest prizes of the Intercontinental and IWGP Heavyweight championships?

Despite this recent loss, mark these words. This isn’t the Last of the Dragon. The man with the mightiest and classiest mullet in pro wrestling lives to fight another day and 2021 and 2022 will see improved performances from Takagi in the G1.

Perhaps he will pin the current champion once more to set up a program where he gets a match for the top prize? Hopefully it’s not just as a temporary challenger like Ishii was to Omega in 2018.

But based on Takagi’s performances against top tier wrestlers like Ibushi, Okada and the Ace, he is more than capable of standing toe to toe with the upper echelon of talent. Defeating them is within his grasp and it’s only a matter of time before the Dragon finally holds the gold that he covets.

[neoraven]

NWA TNA Episodes 2+3, June 2002

Here are my thoughts on the next two weekly PPV episodes of NWA:TNA.

this move won two titles

There's a lengthy recap package of last week's major stuff. Sign spotted- "Heyo I’m Drunko 4:20". Same. Don West is wearing the same Hawaiian shirt as they are not hiding that this is the same taping as last "week". A TNA chant overcomes the announcers until Jarrett kicks us off.

Challenge Match Jeff Jarrett vs Scott Hall w/ Jackie Fargo and Toby Keith

At least some Total Nonstop Action starts in the ring. It's a little blatant that Jarrett, the evil heel, is still playing the hero face role. But whatever. Scott Hall is still trying decently hard here. Southern wrestling crowds, god bless 'em, pop pretty huge when Hall reverses a sleeper into a sleeper. The announcers are selling the exchange of punches at the 5 minute mark like it's trading headbutts at minute 29 of a G1 climax match. K-Krush saves Jarrett from The Edge (not U2), and all hell breaks loose at ringside, including a camera man getting run over by Brian Christopher. Eventually Toby Keith low blows Double J before he can pull off The Stroke (phrasing) and the ref doesn't care.

Scott Hall via Angry American in 7 minutes. *1/2

Cheex w/ The Brown Eyed Girl vs Frank Parker

Cheex' gimmick is weighing over 400 pounds. The announcers tell us about Hall/Christopher vs Jarrett/K-Krush next week, and Alicia returns to ringside to get a wad of money from ring announcer Jeremy Borash for some reason. They also put over next week's tag team title tournament during the finish. This is not good.

Cheex via gravity in 2 minutes.  1/4*

Grudge Match K-Krush vs Brian Christopher w/ Hermie Sadler and Sterling Marlin (NASCAR)

K-Krush does not rap to the ring. I'm ready for Ed Ferrara to leave the announce booth. They're giving us a match worthy of 2001 Sunday Night Heat. The NASCAR fellas crotch poor K-Krush with the middle rope to set up the Hip Hop Drop.  More faces cheating like heels via celebrities.

Brian Christopher via Hip Hop Drop in 5 minutes. *1/2

Announcers again put over the tag match next week, making the previous bits seem even more meaningless. Well, speaking of important things, time for the Lingerie Battle Royal for the title of Miss TNA. The women are all wearing odd scrubs/pajamas over their lingerie. Sign spotted "NWA Nonstop Whoop Ass"

Lingerie Battle Royal

Forgive me for not catching every move and elimination in order. The announcers are saying too many awful things for me to keep up with. Francine gets triple teamed fairly early and dumped leading to Ed Ferrara abandoning the announcer booth to console her. She starts whipping him with his own belt while the cameramen and announcers ignore the rest of the battle royal in the ring. Taylor Vaughn takes it, Francine strips and whips her anyways.

Taylor Vaughn in 5 minutes. ZERO.

Goldylocks is backstage with Apolo. Bobcat and David Young interrupt her chat and argue until Goldylocks 'cuts' the segment.

Apolo vs David Young w/ Bobcat

Apolo's music sounds like generic Carlos Santana, and David Young's is Motley Crue knockoff. Bobcat distracts David Young by flirting with every official at ringside. David Young hits his spinebuster finisher, but takes too long talking to Bobcat before missing a moonsault and falling to Apolo.

Apolo in 5 minutes via F5/stunner. *1/2

These matches are all kind of short, forgettable nothing affairs. I'm still on board for the X Title thing later, but this is very dire. Speaking of dire, Joel Gertner is in the ring talking about the Rainbow Express and homosexuality.

Rainbow Express w/ Joel Gertner vs The Dupps w/ Fluff Dupp - buuuuut The Dupps refruse to come out, lamenting wrestling hippies and "left-wingers", a frantic official convinces Chris Harris and James Storm to team up and run out.

Rainbow Express w/ Joel Gertner vs Chris Harris and James Storm (Not America's Most Wanted)

What a start to the best tag team storyline I can remember for the length of the TNA Asylum years. After some back and forth, Lenny takes control and tags via kiss to Bruce. They keep control beating up Storm with a couple more kiss tags. Chris Harris is able to get his own clever cheating on to break up Lenny's "Tiger Tamer" submission. After a couple traded roll ups for 2, Harris is able to win yet another 5 minute match.

Harris and Storm in 5 minutes via Miscommunication Rollup. **

Ricky The Dragon introduces the champ, Ken Shamrock. The Sinister Minister finally interrupts a really boring promo asking all the "crackers in Huntsville Alabama to shut up" and introduces his Disciples of the New Church. Malice eventually ends up getting Shamrock with the chokeslam, holding on to the choke part until officials swarm the ring. We finally get to hear the New Church theme song, which is really great. At some point I'm going to add a theme song power ranking to these reviews. X Division time.

Double Elimination Round Robin for the X Division Title AJ Styles vs Jerry Lynn vs Low Ki vs Psichosis

AJ comes out to a very bad Born in the USA rip-off. It's some kind of Round Robin / double elimination format, and AJ and Psichosis start us off. Styles survives the Guillotine Leg Drop and then quickly hits the Styles Clash for the first fall in about 2 minutes. Lowki speeds into the ring. AJ takes him out in about 3 minutes flat. Jerry Lynn speeds in, pouncing on AJ Styles and hitting a Cradle Piledriver in about 10 seconds. Psichosis enters the ring with a dropkick on poor Jerry Lynn's head. Jerry ends a fun sprint with the cradle piledriver in about 3 minutes. Psichosis is now eliminated. Low Ki and Jerry Lynn start going at it. Don West is calling this the greatest show on earth every other move. Low Ki reverses the cradle piledriver into an armbar, but still gets a gut wrench power bomb. After 4 minutes, Jerry reverses Low Ki's muscle buster finisher into a sick DDT, and cradle piledrives him away. AJ is in the ring, and we're down to two. Styles has to get two falls on Lynn to capture the title and end the match. The young gun is throwing everything at Jerry and getting 2 counts. The Styles Clash finally gets Lynn away after another 4 minutes. Ricky Steamboat rolls in the ring as the final fall begins. They tease a couple double knockout spots before brawling to the outside, including Styles hitting a moonsault reverse DDT from the apron. AJ Styles wriggles out of a spinning vertebreaker, then Lynn hits some kind of powerbomb facebuster for 2. AJ gets out of the cradle piledriver, and survives a brainbuster by Lynn. The last fall is really benefitting from some time to breathe after the early blitz.  Lynn's superplex only gets 2, frustrating the veteran. Lynn goes back up top but AJ is able to fight him off and hit the Spiral Tap, which is odd to see as a higher-tier finisher than the Clash, and it beats Lynn after 10 minutes.

AJ Styles finally eliminates Jerry Lynn via Spiral Tap after 27 minutes to become the new and first X Division champion. ****1/4  Easily the best match in the short history of TNA, and worthy of the double taping main event.

The crowd goes wild, pyro, terrible Born in the USA theme blares, Ricky raises both of their hands. Tenay puts over all the tag team action and Shamrock vs Malice next week at ringside.

EPISODE 3

I lied, we are not actually at the TNA Asylum yet. We are live from the Municipal Auditorium in Nashville for a one night tag team tournament though to crown the tag champions.

Tag Tournament Match Cowboy James Storm and Chris Harris vs The Johnsons w/ Mortimer Plumtree

The announcers put over that the future America's Most Wanted was a last-minute addition last week. We are blessed with a Mortimer Plumtree promo on the way to the ring. Sign spotted: LET'S GO DICK. Also, the announcers are now calling him "Wildcat" Chris Harris. The Johnsons look infinitely better here than their first match. However, the Johnsons suffer a flash pin after the future AMW hits a good crossbody/dropkick combo move in 5 minutes. **  The Johnsons beat up their nerd manager when he tries to spank them after the match.

Scott Hall comes out to a live mic wearing an elementary school t-shirt. Jeff Jarrett interrupts with the zinger "Hey yo my ass!" The NWA President gets sweaty and yells at Jarrett; this heel vs authority storyline never makes sense. K Krush attacks Hall during the confusion unsuccessfully. Goldylocks is with a bloodied Chris Harris in the back.

David Jobber vs Monty Brown

The poor jobber in the ring doesn't get an entrance and also gets a last name drowned out by Monty Brown's entrance as we are introduced to The Alpha Male. He runs through a few impressive power moves in 2 minutes and ends with a fallaway powerbomb. 1/2*

Goldylocks is looking for Jim Miller backstage. The Hot Shots have no idea. Puppet the Psycho Dwarf is angry and not leaving tonight until he makes a midget bleed.

Tag Tournament Match Rainbow Express w/ Joel Gertner vs Buff Bagwell and Apolo

The surprise no one ever wanted: Buff Bagwell. Alicia comes down during the match to get some cash from Ed Ferrara. The Stuff botches a cross body out of the ring awkwardly after a few minutes of boring action. Apolo and Buff hit their finishers, but the latter walks into a superkick that ends it in 7 minutes. *1/2 I think this means there's a rematch from last week for the tag titles. Apolo seemingly abandons Buff after the match, then he whines about being called Marcus since Buff has ruined his career.

Ken Shamrock comes out with a mic and the belt. He gets heavy WHAT chants as he goes over all the challengers he's already concerned with for his title, including the new Monty Brown. Thankfully, the lights cut him off and the Sinister Minister appears in section C3. The lights come back on showing Malice standing over a writhing in pain Ken Shamrock.

Goldylocks is backstage talking to NWA officials and Jerry Lynn about the tag situation, but he shoos them away.

Midget Showcase Match Puppet vs Stone

Sign spotted: Midgets scare me. Puppet issues an open challenge answered by vanilla dork Stone who slowly gets in the ring and takes a few weapons shots. Puppet wins with a TKO on a trash can after 3 minutes, then attacks the ref, the announcer, and Stone some more. Don West offers a high five and gets kendo sticked in the face. *

Francine vs Miss TNA Taylor Vaughn

Francine starts belt whipping Taylor immediately until the ref pulls it away. Taylor steals the belt from the ref and then whips Francine to the ground until the ref tries to take it back, then whips him too. The ref throws out the match before it starts. Zero.

Hermie Sadler comes out for another nothing segment until K-Krush interrupts in a hilarious t-shirt with a huge airbrushed image of his face.  He talks smack until Hermie walks away and unleashes a spear on the entrance ramp. They get pulled apart and K-Krush challenges for next week.

NWA World Heavyweight Championship Match Ken Shamrock (champ) vs Malice

A very sweaty Ken Shamrock saunters to the ring and Malice takes control stomping and beating immediately as the announcers put over that Shamrock is not at 100%. After a slow round of ringside brawling, Shamrock hits his signature moves ending with the belly to belly to pin Malice in 6 minutes and keep the title.

NWA X Division Championship Match AJ Styles (champ) vs David Young w/ Bobcat

Not sure why David Young deserves a title match after losing last week, but oh well. The Bobcat thing is still going on. AJ Styles hits some great stuff, and Young even does a nice middle rope moonsault to the outside that gets a 2 count in the ring. There's another good exploder suplex into the corner for 2. Young mostly keeps control despite some flurries from AJ. After going back and forth, Young spikes a great twisting spinebuster for only two. AJ rebounds from Young's finisher and ends up winning with a second rope Styles Clash in 9 minutes. **1/2. Pretty solid match, but it felt like AJ was in too much trouble in his first defense over a mostly jobber. David Young and Bobcat have more drama in the ring as the latter celebrates the loss.

Gertner and the Rainbow Express celebrate being the Tag Team champs in the back since all the teams are injured.

NWA Tag Team Championship Match The Rainbow Express w/ Joel Gertner vs Jerry Lynn and AJ Styles

Borash announces they must have opponents.  Jerry Lynn spends a lot of time getting worked over by Rainbow Express while AJ sells his immediately previous title defense. The cradle piledriver gets reversed thanks to Gertner, and at long last, AJ Styles gets the hot tag and starts to go wild. Everything breaks down and Lynn hits the cradle piledriver inside and then takes the other tag member outside. AJ Styles hits Spiral Tap as Gertner trips over himself trying to break up the pinfall and they win in 11 minutes. *** Very solid match, setting up a cool simple story and putting AJ Styles even further over as a star and double champ.

Main Event Tag Match Jeff Jarrett and K Krush vs Scott Hall and Brian Christopher

We start almost immediately with a crowd brawl. Hall and Jarrett trade punches in the TNA Girls' Dancer Cages. They eventually circle back to ringside and Hall throws Jarrett across the announcer table. Christopher misses a Hip Hop Drop and after Hall and Jarrett finally return to ringside, it slowly settles back into a tag match. The bad guys isolate Hall for a really long beatdown segment. After an agonizing 10 count, Christopher gets tied up with the ref in the corner and misses a Hall tag attempt. Hall makes it back at long last and Brian pulls his hand and decks Hall. He still cleans house, including a ref bump, as it degrades into a 1v3. He drops K Krush with an Outsider's Edge, but Jarrett gets saved and goes right into the Stroke, plus a Brian leg drop for good measure. Jarrett pins at 12 minutes. *1/4. The turn was good and somewhat saved the idiotic middle of the match, but it still went on way too long.

The bad guys celebrate, with Jeff getting real "You ain't worth a shit!" He takes the dumb trophy from the opening and cracks it over Scott Hall as his stealth face turn continues. Double J continues talking about whooping the whole Titans offensive line as they sell Hall's injuries on a stretcher, with an elbow drop out of the ring added on. He exits after pushing Hall's stretcher off the entrance ramp just for good measure.

[foreverwrestling]

Keepin It Strong Style - EP 89 - G1 Climax 29 Finals Review

[vulturehound]

NJPW “G1 Climax 29” Night 10 Review

(more…)

[placetobenation]

The 27th edition of New Japan’s G1 Climax tournament begins on Monday and if you’ve ever thought about dipping your toe in the water now’s the time to do it. The format provides a great opportunity for new viewers to familiarise themselves with the heavyweights of the company and will set up the next six months of feuds, taking us all the way up to Wrestle Kingdom in January. I hope this guide will encourage some of you to get in on some of the best wrestling in the world. Let’s get to it!

The Tournament

New Japan has held annual tournaments under various guises since 1974, but following a year off, it was rechristened the G1 (Grade One) Climax in 1991 and has remained that way ever since. The night of the finals is second only to the company’s January 4th Tokyo Dome show in terms of prestige. The current format (since 2012): a round-robin tournament split into two blocks of ten wrestlers. The winners of these blocks will face each other in the final and the winner of that match, assuming it’s not IWGP champion Kazuchika Okada, gets a title shot at Wrestle Kingdom in January. Every match has a 30-minute time limit with two points for a victory, one point for a draw, zero points for a loss.

As with the last few years, the tournament is taking place over 19 shows, running A Block one night, B Block the next. There are five G1 contests per card, with the participants from the other block, plus the rest of the roster, wrestling in undercard tag matches (note: for most shows I’ll only be reviewing the G1 matches). The benefit of this layout is that it ensures everyone has a decent number of days off from wrestling hard-fought singles matches and it’s easier to keep track of standings.

The Wrestlers

A Block

Bad Luck Fale (4th year)

            It’s been a decent 2017 for the big Tongan. The Bullet Club stalwart reached the final of the New Japan Cup in March and though he lost that match he went on to challenge Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP title a few months later. Both that title challenge and the Cup final against Katsuyori Shibata were very good matches, proving he can still bring it with the right opponents. In fact, at this point he’s surely underrated in his ability to deliver in big matches. He also remains a believable monster – a giant compared to most in the company – and is capable of beating anyone.

Hirooki Goto (10th year)

            In my primer for last year’s tournament I said Goto’s time had passed and it was hard to see him doing well. Not so. Goto was a surprise finalist, losing to Kenny Omega, and then went on to beat former tag partner Shibata for the NEVER Openweight title at Wrestle Kingdom. His run with the belt was not exactly inspired and he recently lost it to Minoru Suzuki, but despite general apathy towards him and his reputation as a choker, the guy can go in the ring. Still, a repeat of last year’s slightly fortuitous run is hard to see.

Kota Ibushi (3rd year)

            Ibushi hasn’t wrestled in New Japan since September 2015, although I’m reliably informed that he’s been getting inside tips about goings-on from his good friend Tiger Mask W. Thanks in part to his participation in WWE’s Cruiserweight Classic last year, Ibushi is among the best-known entrants in the G1 and his official return to the New Japan ring is a rare treat. Having somehow been convinced to take part in this gruelling month-long tour, I would imagine the high-flyer known as the Golden Star will be eager to remind the world just how good he can be.

Tomohiro Ishii (5th year)

            A quiet year for the Stone Pitbull in general, although as always he has delivered in the tournaments, reaching the semi-final of the New Japan Cup and the final of the recent US Championship tournament in Long Beach. The diminutive badass also enjoyed (I assume) a brief run as tag champion with fellow CHAOS stablemate Toru Yano. He always delivers in the G1 and has arguably been the MVP of last two editions, so even if he’s not going to win it, it’ll be worth keep an eye on his matches.

Togi Makabe (14th year)

            Aside from a few recent tag match appearances, Makabe hasn’t been seen much lately. Unfortunately, that’s partly because his Great Bash Heel tag partner, Tomoaki Honma, suffered a career-threatening neck injury earlier in the year. The one-time IWGP champion is a Bruiser Brody-inspired brawler, still one of the most well-recognised faces of the company thanks to his TV show and his reputation is such that he could believably claim a win against anyone in the block. Just don’t expect him to sell.

Yuji Nagata (19th year)

            The age-defying veteran has had a fairly quiet 12 months, with his focus now firmly on the development of future talent through the dojo. As he demonstrated in his 2016 run with the NEVER title, however, Nagata is still able to match the level of his opponent, and given who he shares the block with that could mean some very good matches over the coming weeks. As this is his last G1 tournament and I expect him to go out on a high.

Tetsuya Naito (8th year)

            The insolent and aloof trickster who leads the Los Ingobernables de Japón stable recently lost the Intercontinental title to Hiroshi Tanahashi after holding it since last September. Perhaps it’s for the best, since he was terribly abusive towards that poor belt and now that he’s out of that relationship he can set his sights on the IWGP title. A heavy favourite for the block, if not the whole thing.

Zack Sabre Jr. (Debut)

            The technical expert debuted with the company in March and made an immediate impact by beating Shibata and joining the heel stable Suzuki-gun. It’s proven to be a natural fit for the 29-year old Brit and I’m excited to see him in the ring with everyone in the block, such is the uniqueness of what he brings to the wrestling ring. His pure grappling ability gives me the feeling he’ll be pushing for a place in the final.

Hiroshi Tanahashi (16th year)

            Much like last year the Ace of the Century is going into the tournament at less than 100%. On this occasion the injury is a partially torn bicep and he’s forgoing surgery at the moment because he’s still an essential draw for the company. Still, that didn’t stop him from beating Naito for the Intercontintal title at Dominion. His star power and popularity is seemingly undiminished and he’ll main event many of these shows despite not being one of the favourites for the first time in a long time.

YOSHI-HASHI (2nd year)

            The puppyish underdog of CHAOS has an innate ability to draw sympathy from crowds, something he was able to harness in an impressive run in the G1 last year. That momentum has largely stalled in the time since, but a recent challenge for Minoru Suzuki’s NEVER title suggests he has a role to play in singles competition. Translating the fire he discovered last year into wins this year is going to be tough, though, and in such a block like this a solitary win would be an achievement.

B Block

Michael Elgin (3rd year)

            Two years on from his debut, Big Mike remains a crowd favourite thanks to his feats of strength and consistently good matches. But 2017 hasn’t been Elgin’s year, not in New Japan at least, and a failed Intercontinental title challenge and first round losses in the New Japan Cup and US title tournament will surely only spur him on to better last year’s 5th place finish. The Canadian has been a quality addition to the roster and a run to the final would be no less than he deserves.

EVIL (2nd year)

            Despite coming to the ring dressed as the grim reaper and firing lasers from his fingers, the Los Ingobernables member has straight-ahead brawling style (when he’s not using chairs to gain an advantage, that is). A very short run with the NEVER belt and a New Japan Cup semi-final are the standout singles moments for a man who’s mostly been plying his trade in multi-man tag matches, but even those brief opportunities suggest to me that there’s been improvement. A repeat of last year’s four wins would be a decent showing given the competition.

Satoshi Kojima (15th year)

            Last year, Kojima selflessly gave his spot in the tournament to long-time tag partner Hiroyoshi Tenzan – the latter’s final G1. Now, the founder and lone member of Bread Club (not counting his Twitter followers) is back with a point to prove. He won the tournament in 2010, which isn’t so long ago that it’s out of the realm of possibility that it could be repeated, but now that he’s firmly in the veteran category Kojima might consider slapping down some of the young upstarts to be a job well done.

Kazuchika Okada (6th year)

            The reigning IWGP champion, leader of the CHAOS stable, and New Japan’s Ace. His ongoing title reign, now 13-months long, has been an extraordinary run of hard-fought battles against a wide variety of challengers and has demonstrated a level of fortitude and determination befitting The Man. It has been ten years since a reigning IWGP champion won the G1 (Nagata in 2007) and it would be the cherry on top of this outstanding reign if Okada could manage that feat this year.

Kenny Omega (2nd year)

            Kenny won the G1 last year, becoming the first-ever non-Japanese person to do so. And in his debut appearance, no less. As you may have heard, he went on to unsuccessfully challenge Okada for the IWGP title at Wrestle Kingdom and recently pushed the champ to the limit in a one-hour draw at Dominion in June. A few weekends ago he became the inaugural United States Heavyweight Champion, beating Ishii in the final of a two-day tournament in Long Beach, and while he’s not yet claimed the big belt, he has become one of the Top Five guys in company. After his rise in the past 18 months, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Bullet Club leader reach the final once more. But a back-to-back winner? We’ll see.

Juice Robinson (Debut)

            In his time with New Japan the former CJ Parker of NXT has improved beyond measure. His endeavour has been rewarded this year in the form of title shots against Goto and Naito, neither of which he won, but both of which did enough to demonstrate that if the development continues the company will have a serious prospect on their hands. He’s going into the tournament hungry and I expect him to pull off an upset or two, while undoubtedly being outmatched most of the time. Go Juice!

SANADA (2nd year)

            Los Ingobernables de Japón’s stoic submission specialist has spent most of the last year teaming with his stablemates in multi-man tag matches. A bit of a shame, since last year’s tournament had him looking like a breakout star thanks to some notable victories and strong performances. His singles matches have been limited in 2017, but there are plenty of fresh opponents here and plenty of opportunities to remind people of what he has to offer.

Minoru Suzuki (7th year)

            The terrifying Suzuki returned to New Japan (along with his namesake stable) the night after Wrestle Kingdom following a two-year stint in NOAH. He went straight for the top dog, attacking Okada and coming close to besting him in a title match in February. Since then, he’s won and successfully defended the NEVER Openweight title, and given his stable’s propensity for interference of the most blatant fashion I fully expect him to (unnecessarily) cheat his way to several big wins.

Tama Tonga (2nd year)

            In the time since last year’s tournament, Tama’s tag team with real-life brother Tanga Loa – Guerrillas of Destiny – has really clicked and by now they have held the titles three times. Last year I predicted a winless run but he came away with four, including a victory over Tanahashi, so despite being a tag team specialist he will be regarded as an unpredictable and dangerous proposition for his block opponents.

Toru Yano (12th year)

            The Sublime Master Thief remains comfortingly consistent in his style, that being to cheat at all costs and win via low blow whenever possible. As a serial member of odd couple tag teams, it was no surprise that he and CHAOS stablemate Ishii managed to win the tag titles at Wrestle Kingdom, though their glory wasn’t long-lived. For those of you who haven’t encountered Yano before, know that he’s a spoiler and will almost certainly beat one of your favourites. Oh, and he’ll try to sell you his DVDs while he’s at it.

How To Watch

The opening show on Monday will be FREE to watch on New Japan World and features Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. and Tetsuya Naito vs. Kota Ibushi. Not bad, right?

New Japan World is 999 Yen (currently under $9) per month and will be streaming all 19 shows, with the opening four and final three getting English commentary from Kevin Kelly and Don Callis.

Here’s the English sign-up page.

Due to a kind of logic I don’t quite understand, a customer is charged at the turn of the calendar month and not on a monthly basis from the sign-up date. Because of this, it’s wise to sign-up as early in the month as possible to avoid being charged twice in quick succession. What I’m saying is: do it, do it now!

The site was recently overhauled and is now easier to navigate, but I would still recommend using Google Chrome if you’re watching on a computer. The video seems to run more smoothly and the auto-translate feature is helpful on occasion too. Also, this year the company launched a dedicated English-language website, which is a great resource for information and I’d recommend its use in keeping up to date with the tournament.

There we go, you’re ready to enjoy a month-long feast of great wrestling. See you on Monday for the opening night.

[hazyheel]

NJPW G1 Climax 2019 Day 11 Review

Bad Luck Fale vs Kota Ibushi in A Block: Jado and Chase Owens were in Fale’s corner for this match. Before the match started, Fale attacked Ibushi and put him on the outside. While the ref yelled at Fale, Owens and Jado both attacked Ibushi together. Fale then started to attack him with a section of the barricade, and slid back into the ring just before the count was up, and Ibushi just barely made it back in as well. Fale then just toyed with him and worked over the back quite a lot. Ibushi had minimal comebacks due to Fale’s overwhelming power. Fale locked in a bear hug at one point, damaging the back and doing some extra work to the ribs. After escaping, Ibushi finally took some control back. He gave Fale kick after kick to the chest and took the big man off his feet. He went for a move off the top, but Chase Owens hopped up on the apron and distracted him just long enough for Fale to get a splash in the corner. Jado naturally got involved as well, nailing Ibushi in the back with a kendo stick as he ran the ropes, allowing Fale to hit the Grenade for a near fall. He tried for the Bad Luck Fall, but Ibushi slipped out. Jado then tried to run interference a bit as the two jockeyed for position near the ropes, and he ate a kick to the hand for it. Ibushi then got a rollup for a near fall, and started to finish things up. He gave Fale a buzz saw kick, a bomaye, and then Kamagoye for the win. Ibushi: 8, Fale: 2. 

Grade: D+. Fine match, the usual stuff that Fale pulls, but Ibushi will never feel like an underdog. It was clear from the beginning that Ibushi would win, despite the odds. And the interference wasn’t very interesting this time around. Although Ibushi still looked pretty good, he had some nice kicks. Ibushi is just able to put out such good work. Also, Fale has now been mathematically eliminated. 

Will Ospreay vs. Zack Sabre Jr in A Block: The animosity between these two was evident before the match even started. The two were right up in each other’s faces, and neither was looking too happy to see the other. They started with some nice looking lockups where Ospreay was flipping all around to escape, and Sabre escaped using his impressive technical prowess. These two continued to wrestle to a stalemate over and over again. Sabre targeted Ospreay’s neck during this match, as it has been bothering Ospreay a lot throughout the tournament.  It was really cool to see how well they know each other. They knew just about every move that the other would make, and they were able to counter it with some nice looking offense. Ospreay tried to go hold for hold with Sabre early on, but eventually he was just forced to transition into striking. Sabre was actually showing a lot of restraint in this match. He waited for Ospreay to make a move, and then locked in a submission when he missed. It still took Ospreay a very long time to really step up into this match, but when he did it was super impressive. At one point, Ospreay hit his pose for the Os cutter, and Sabre just crept up behind him and picked one of his arms, and started to viciously assaulted it. He then started to give Ospreay a series of pique kicks in the chest, and Ospreay just sat and took them, asking for more every time. Ospreay eventually caught one of his kicks and the two engaged in a series of counters and strikes that was so fast I couldn’t keep track of everything in it, but they both ended up on the mat. Ospreay quickly got up and went for a desperation Os Cutter, only for Sabre to catch him in a sleeper hold in a great looking counter. They jockeyed for position a little bit, and Ospreay was able to hit the a high roundhouse kick, and an Os Cutter, but he was too weak to get the pin in time. He then went for Hidden Blade, but Sabre had it scouted and locked in a low octopus, but Ospreay still got to the ropes. Sabre them tried to lock in a guillotine, so Ospreay powered him up into a vertical suplex. Ospreay followed up with Cheeky Nandos and a Reverse Bloody Sunday for a near fall. Ospreay then went for a shooting star press, but Sabre caught him in a triangle as they came down. Ospreay powered him up for a powerbomb, nailing it and a shooting star press, but Sabre still kicked out. He then spun Sabre out for a hook kick and went for Stormbreaker, but Sabre slipped out of it and locked in an octopus, forcing Ospreay to the ground and making the junior heavyweight tap out: Sabre: 4, Ospreay: 4. 

Grade: A. Great match. These two know each other so well that I would be more surprised if they put on a bad match. The counters were really exciting, the suspense was great, and they told a really good story. Two rivals who have known each other for years, with a clear advantage for Sabre considering their match history, but the underdog has gotten a hell of a lot stronger. He has more size now, some new moves, and a chip on his shoulder like no other. Just a phenomenal match, and definitely the kind of thing I wanted to see. Apparently they haven’t fought in like a year and a half, so it’s cool to see them kick their feud off again. Match of the night.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Lance Archer in A Block: Archer started with a body check before the bell and slammed the champion into the corner before he could even take off his cloak. Archer quickly put him on the outside and threw him around ringside, even taking a pot shot at a young lion that held the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.  Archer beat Okada into the crowd and yelled at a kid until he cried. Archer floored Okada with a huge forearm, and Red Shoes started the count, only for Archer to attack the timekeeper to bring it to a screeching halt. The two then fought back into the ring, where Okada would swing desperately at his much larger opponent, but Archer just kept putting him down. it took a lot for Okada to take the advantage, but he eventually got it using a flying back elbow, a basement dropkick and a splash to the outside. This did not keep Archer down though, as he continued to fight back. At one point, Okada hit Archer with two short rainmakers to bring Archer to a knee, Archer countered with a huge lariat of his own, followed by a chokeslam for a near fall. Archer then hit blackout, but Okada got his foot on the rope. Archer then started to look for a superplex, but Okada fought out of it and drilled Archer with a missile dropkick. Okada tried for a tombstone, but Archer reversed into a Blackout, but Okada slipped out into a spinning rainmaker, but Archer didn’t go down. Okada tried again, but Archer went for the EBD Claw. Okada was able to hold it at bay, and he grabbed the arm to spin Archer out for a final rainmaker and the win. Okada: 12, Archer: 4. 

Grade: B+. Good match between these two. Archer is still looking like a force of nature despite his lack of points. He must be in for a huge push after the tournament, because he is being booked incredibly strong. But of course he wasn’t going to beat the champion, his push isn’t that huge. Their match was really good, with Okada fighting from behind and showing a lot of heart to beat his monster of an opponent. So Okada is still undefeated, but he still has a lot of tough opponents on his way to victory. I’m still holding out hope for Ibushi. Also, with this win, just about half of the field is eliminated. Sanada, Sabre, Ospreay, Archer and Fale are all out. 

KENTA vs. SANADA in A Block: Sanada was the overwhelming favorite here, although Kenta did get some cheers. Sanada went up to the top for a second round of cheers, when Kenta took his feet out from under him and started the fight. Kenta beat down Sanada with well placed strikes all around ringside. At one point, he planted a long series of kicks into the chest of Sanada, but from there he started to get a bit cocky. He toyed with Sanada a bit until he got to his feet, where Sanada started to go to work on the knee a bit. However, even as he did, Kenta fought back into the match. He gave Sanada a hard powerslam, followed by a double foot stomp off the top. The two then jockeyed for position, before Kenta locked in Game Over.  Sanada was able to make it to the ropes, only for Kenta to drill him in the back with a knee. He went to follow up with the psycho knee, but Sanada gave him a spinebuster, followed by a TKO for a near fall. Then he went for the Moonsult, but Kenta got his legs up. The two then exhchanged big strikes in the middle of the ring. They just blasted each other with kicks and uppercuts, which ended went Sanada flipped into the Skull End. Kenta quickly countered with a sleeper. He brought Sanada to the mat, before drilling him with the psycho knee. He went to give Sanada the Go to Sleep, but Sanada slipped out and locked in the Skull End again. Sanada forced Kenta to pass out, before hitting him with a moonsault for the win, and quite the upset. Sanada: 4, Kenta: 8.

After the match, the two stared at each other from across the ring, and no handshake came out. 

Grade: B-. Fine match, with a pretty exciting closing stretch. I thought Sanada’s win was quite the upset, but it makes sense for him to start to fire up a bit. This was only his second win and he was eliminated from contention earlier in the night. He is pissed, so he went out there to play spoiler for anyone who stands in his way. Interesting stuff from these two.

EVIL vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi in A Block: I was pretty surprised that this was the main event. I think that New Japan executives see a lot in him, because I wasn’t sure if he had the star caliber to main event over the champion. However, Tanahashi is certainly the opponent that he needs to do so. The two started out with a bit of a lengthy feeling out process. They quickly started to pick up the pace, as Tana started to resort to some flying to take down Evil. Evil worked over Tana’s leg over and over again. His first submission was a figure four, although I think everyone knew where he was leading to with it. They built up the story here that Evil had the advantage when it came to stamina. So what he had to do was weaken Tana over the course of a long match and then take him down around the twenty minute mark. At one point, Tana went to skin the cat, but he botched it a bit and it took him an extra try. Evil took advantage of that, grabbing him by the waist for a german suplex. Tanahashi fought back into the match with a slingblade, and then gave Evil an Aces High to the outside, where he really hurt his knee in the process. Evil followed that up by using one of the Young Lions for a Magic Killer. The two were nearly counted out, but they both rolled back in just in time. As the two got in the ring, Tana began to work over Evil’s leg as well. he kicked it out from under him several times, and then went for the high angle Cloverleaf. Evil fought out, and the two traded some counters as they both desperately tried for some hard lariats. Evil was able to get the hit, but they both collapsed from exertion. Evil then brought Tana to the top rope with him, and they both crashed down to the mat with a superplex from Evil for a near fall. Evil then tried for Everything is Evil, but Tana countered into a trio of Twist and Shouts. The two slowly got back to their feet, and they exchanged stiff strikes in the middle of the ring, to the delight of the crowd. The two then both attempted an STO, but Evil got the better of the exchange with a headbutt. He tried again for Everything is Evil, but Tanahashi nailed him with a bridging dragon suplex for a near fall. Tanahashi then hit Aces High and High Fly Flow for the win. Tanahashi: 8, Evil: 6. 

Grade: A-. A great match that really highlighted the fact that Tanahashi is aging. They constantly talked about how Evil had the stamina advantage, and they really played up Tanahashi’s knee injury. I’m surprised that Evil didn’t lock in a scorpion death lock at any point, because that would have been an exciting sequence. But once again, Evil proves just how good he is against one of the best in the business. He brought a lot of intensity, but he couldn’t quite take out the Ace of New Japan. This tournament has been grueling for him, but this win proves that Tanahashi was still alive. He is definitely is still in this, and he progressed to the top of his block. 

Overall Grade: B

Pros: Ospreay vs. Sabre; Archer vs. Okada; Evil vs. Tanahashi

Cons: Ibushi vs. Fale

[hazyheel]

NJPW G1 Climax 2019 Day 6 Review

Our first match of the night in B Block was Shingo Takagi vs. Taichi in a first time singles match. There was an interesting story here, with Taichi being very vocal about Takagi’s inclusion in the tournament. He is jealous that it took two years of being a heavyweight to get into the G1 climax, whereas Takagi had one match and qualified for the tournament. In a shocking turn, Shingo Takagi was the one who attacked before the bell. He drilled Taichi with chops and strikes to open things up, before powering him up for a vertical suplex and a near fall. Early on as Takagi beat down Taichi on the outside, Taichi shoved Miho Abe towards Takagi, who nearly took her down. That distracted the ref long enough for Taichi to nail Takagi with the mic stand. The two then brawled into the crowd with chairs and other weapons, and Taichi maintained the advantage throughout. Taichi made a mistake however, trying to go strike for strike with Takagi, and he was extremely outmatched. Taichi still kept the advantage with well placed kicks to the head, but Takagi slowly fought back. The two traded huge lariats in the middle of the ring, which ended in a great roundhouse to the face from Taichi, and then an axe bomber. Taichi nailed a buzzsaw kick, and went for the black mephisto, but Takagi barely countered into last of the dragons, but Taichi kicked out. Taichi then gave Takagi a barrage of kicks, before hitting a last ride for another near fall. Taichi tried to go for a low blow, but Takagi caught the kick, hitting a straight right, a headbutt, and a pair of pumping bombers for a near fall. Finally, Takagi was able to hit another last of the dragons for the win. Takagi: 4, Taichi: 2.

Grade: A-. Every win that Takagi gets is a big deal. This was one of the times that we saw big match Taichi, where he wanted to win so bad that he just wouldn’t go down. He showed an incredible amount of strength and was able to get the better of Takagi on several occasions despite being in the disadvantage in terms of both striking and power. Takagi always has a chip on his shoulder in the tournament, so this win is really establishing him as a major player in the tournament. He is not just a junior that is trying to play heavyweight, he is the real deal.

Next up was Jeff Cobb vs. Juice Robinson, a gaijin showdown between two guys who have never met in singles. The two started with a hand shake, before quickly transitioning into a match where Cobb had a strength advantage, but Robinson just ignored that. He beat down Cobb with strikes, chops and even several big kicks. At one point early on, Robinson went for a splash to the outside, but Cobb caught him and attempted to transition into a vertical suplex, only for Robinson to slip out and throw him into the ring post. Robinson really showed his determination in this match. He just refused to let the strength advantage intimidate him, and was totally dominating his much larger opponent. Cobb did have an awesome counter to the Pulp Friction here. Robinson went for his finisher, but Cobb caught him out of the jump and drilled him with a pair of high angle German suplexes. That was a big turning point in this match, as Cobb rode that momentum all the way to a huge tour of the islands for the win. Cobb: 2, Robinson: 4.

After the match, Cobb went to shake hands again, and instead Robinson raised his hand in victory. Nice, how lovely. 

Grade: C. Yeah, this match just didn’t do it for me in a meaningful way. They both looked good, and it told an interesting story of Robinson’s new attitude. He was confident, and he beat down a much bigger guy. Although Cobb had most of the big moves, Robinson was the one who dominated. Cobb still pulled out the win here with a really nice closing stretch. I would be shocked if Cobb is one of the guys who only ends up with 6 points, but that may be what we are looking at. I still think that Robinson will be in the upper echelon this year. 

Then we had Jay White vs. Toru Yano, another first time singles match. Yano actually took his shirt off this time around, because we know that White likes to cheat just as much as Yano does. Yano was actually not interested when White moved to the outside, although Gedo eventaully taunted him enough to come out. The two traded rollups after Yano took off the turnbuckle pad. Gedo soon distracted the ref, allowing White to hit a low blow. When white then went for Bladerunner, Yano spit water into his face. Gedo then ran in with Brass Knuckles, but Yano took him down and took the knucks. Then he pushed White into both red shoes and Gedo, and then gave White a low blow with the knuckles, and then rolled him up for the win. This match was like 3 minutes, and it was just as long as it needed to be.  Yano: 4, White: 0. 

Grade: B-. This was so dumb and fun. I like how White’s story is that he is being screwed by the ref. It is an interesting one. He and Sabre are almost parelleling each other, both are super mad that they aren’t getting the results that they want. But maybe they will start to come back as we continue.  

Then we had Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuya Naito. Before he bell rang, Naito was inspected Goto’s “LA DOJO” shirt, which he was positive was an attempt at spanish. Goto eventually took off the shirt, but then turned around and choked him out with it before the match, kicking Naito while he was down. When the match actually started up, Goto targeted the back and chest with his tough kicks, while it took Naito a long while to gain control, doing do with a vicious dragonscrew leg whip into the apron. Naito then continued the assault on the knees during the mach, and even taunted Goto until he got too frustrated to be making great decisions. The two kept drilling each other with vicious offense, as Goto continued to attack the neck, but Naito was just hitting him wherever he could. The two got in a striking contest, which Naito ended with a swift kick to the knee. Naito followed it up with a reverse atomic drop, an ensiguri and a german suplex. He then went for Destino, but Goto countered into a yoshigaroshi onto the injured knee. The two men then jockeyed for position a bit, until Goto with the reverse GTR. Goto then went for another Yoshigaroshi, but Naito reversed into a great DDT. Naito then hit Destino, but Goto kicked out. So, he went for another one, and got the win. Naito: 2, Goto: 2.

Grade: B+. Really good stuff here, but their stories in the tournament didn’t really overlap much. They beat the crap out of each other for sure, and it was a brutal match with a great closing stretch. I’m glad Naito is on the board, but with two straight losses for Goto, I don’t know if he is going to end up in the high spot that I’d hoped for him. Now, I get that there are too many people in this tournament for everyone to score well, especially with the talent involved, but it sucks to see some of these big names miss out on having big tournament victories. 

And in the main event, we had Jon Moxley vs. Tomohiro Ishii. The two men started right at the bell. striking the crap out of each other. The two brawled through the crowd a bit, throwing each other into walls and chairs. Back in the ring, Moxley had the advantage, until kicks to the face and chest angered Ishii, and he started to hit back as hard as he could. The two then fought on the outside, Moxley grabbed two chairs, passing one to Ishii. They then fought with the chairs, until they were both destroyed and Moxley threw the empty frame at Ishii. Moxley then introduced a table, but it wasn’t used for a while. Both tried to pet each other through it, but it did not work until Ishii gave Moxley a splash through it on the outside. Ishii then gave Moxley a superplex for a great near fall. The two then exchanged headbutts in the middle of the ring, which Ishii got the better of with a huge headbutt to the chin. Ishii then drilled him with a pair of huge lariats, neither of which sent Moxley down, and was able to hit a death rider for a close near fall. Moxley then picked up Ishii, and hit a high angle Death Rider for the win. Moxley: 6, Ishii: 4.

Grade: A. Really good stuff here, This was the match I was most looking forward to in B block, and they totally delivered. They hit each other just as hard as Ishii hits Suzuki, and it was really really good. Moxley is looking great right now, although I still don’t think he will win the block. Ishii looked great too, and he will still be a frontrunner of the block. Match of the night right here, possibly even the match of B Block. 

Overall Grade: B

Pros: Takagi vs. Taichi; Goto vs. Naito; Moxley vs. Ishii

Cons: Robinson vs. Cobb

[hazyheel]

NJPW G1 Climax Day 10 Review

Hirooki Goto vs. Toru Yano in Block B: An battle within Chaos, although Goto always tends to be the odd man out in Chaos. Goto was immediately worried about Yano as they started out, even not being very willing to get in the ring to start. Yano led the crowd in a Chaos chant, and as Goto got into it, he stood on the top rope, only for Yano to wrap his shirt around his face for a pair of rollups. Yano removed the turnbuckle pad, and the two began their wild brawl. Goto locked up his legs and then locked him in a pinning predicament for the win.  Goto: 4, Yano: 4.

Grade: D+. I just wasn’t into this, and it was too quick to really get invested in. The story here was that they always have really quick matches, so the winner would be whoever could close it out in that time. I didn’t care, but good for Goto getting another two points. 

Juice Robinson vs. Tomohiro Ishii in Block B: the two started out with a series of shoulder tackles to each other, with Robinson actually holding his own with the much bigger man. They transitioned into a striking and chopping contest, and both men totally blistered each other’s chests. Robinson actually won that contest, before picking him back up and slapping him disrespectfully. That made ishii so mad that he started to utilize his angry throat chops and even push the ref around. Those chops propelled Ishii into the lead between the two, but Robinson was continuously defiant. He stood his ground and took all the punishment that Ishii had to offer. The two then traded headbutts over and over, before starting up again with the strikes. Again Robinson came out on top, following up with a Full Nelson bomb for a near fall. Robinson tried to continue the pressure with a rana off the top, but Ishii refused to fall and delivered a knee drop off the top and a saito suplex for a near fall. Ishii then gave his signature chop and strike combination in the corner for a while, before Robinson fought his way out and they traded brutal chops. Robinson was getting more and more worn down as they continued these contests. Each one was shorter than the last, and Robinson started to fade a bit. He fought back into the match using a throat chop right out of Ishii’s book. Robinson then gave Ishii a superplex, which Ishii stood right up after. Ishii then hit a powerslam, but Robinson stood right up as well. They continued to no sell each other’s huge power moves until they both just collapsed together. Neither man could even stand after absorbing that much punishment. The two then started to trade huge blows once again in the middle of the ring, this time Ishii faltered, allowing Robinson to hit Juice Box for a near fall. The tow then jockeyed for position a bit, both men wanted their finish. Ishii countered the Pulp Friction with a ripcord lariat, but Robinson didn’t even move. He gave him a nasty headbutt, a huge lariat off his own, and then a powerbomb for a near fall. He went for Pump Friction again, but Ishii still slipped out, so Robinson kept up the pressure. He didn’t stay down for anything, he just refused to lose this match. Ishii fought back into things with his unreal strength, but Juice then reversed the Vertical Drop Brainbuster into a jackhammer, but when he went for a Pulp Friction, Ishii countered with a tiger suplex. Ishii then hit a vertical drop brainbuster for the win. Ishii: 6, Robinson: 6

Grade: A. I never figured Juice for much of a brawler, but his matches these past few months have been changing my opinion on that. His brawling ability is crazy, and I thought if he won this match then he would be pushed into the upper midcard. But he lost, although he looked incredible in defeat. They destroyed each other with everything that they had, and those striking contests seemed like they could go either way every time that they started to hit each other. Juice showed a hell of a lot of heart in this match, and that counts for something. He says that his attitude has changed, and that sure as hell showed here. Great match, match of the night. 

Jeff Cobb vs. Taichi in Block B: In Taichi’s corner was Miho Abe, and also Yoshinobu Kanemaru. These two have a bit of history from earlier this year. They feuded over the NEVER Openweight Championship in may, with Taichi taking the belt from Cobb. He has since lost the belt, but the wound is fresh in Cobb’s mind. The two started with a handshake, which shockingly enough ended up being a normal handshake, no dirty tricks from Taichi were involved. Taichi then asked Cobb to shake Abe’s hand, but when Cobb went to do it, Taichi attacked. The two then started to brawl on the outside, and when Cobb went to give Taichi a lariat, he pushed Abe in his path and then hit him in the face with the mic stand. Taichi used anything that he could as a weapon as the attack on the outside continued, but Cobb made it back in the ring. Taichi continued the disrespect, which infuriated Cobb enough to completely lay into him in the corner with a hurricane of strikes. Taichi contested those strikes with his precise kicks to the body and the head. Taichi then tried for Black Mephisto, but Cobb countered into a series of gutwrench suplexes and even a piledriver. Any time that it looked like Cobb had things in his control, Taichi would wipe him out with a hard kick. In the finish, Cobb went for a superkick, but Taichi pushed the ref in his way. Cobb pushed the ref away, and then narrowly avoided a low blow by starching Taichi in the face. He followed up with a headbutt and then Tour of the Islands for a win. Cobb: 4, Taichi: 4. 

Grade: B-. Fine match, but there was a lot of downtime here. They didn’t feel like there was a lot of urgency, and that definitely affected things. They still had a nice match with some hard hits, but they don’t really have the chemistry for anything great. 

Jay White vs. Shingo Takagi in Block B: Gedo was in White’s corner for this match, and he would definitely be a factor. Also, Takagi had an injured knee coming into this match due to his recent confrontation with Jon Moxley. White rolled out of the ring right as the match started, and while it looked like Takagi wasn’t going to take the bate, he eventually did and ate some offense for it. Takagi then took control right back as they got in the ring with some of his great looking power moves. Takagi was about to hit a death valley driver on the apron, but Gedo grabbed his leg and stopped him. That distraction allowed White to get some hits in and leave Takagi laying on the outside. White worked over the back a lot as they kept up the fighting. He threw Takagi all around ringside and into any surface that he could hit. They got back in the ring, and they started a chopping contest. The second that they started to hit each other, White lost control, as Takagi was a far better striker than he. White mostly fought from behind and used his dirty tricks to score him some hits here and there. White constantly baited Takagi into parts of the ring that he wanted, The two then started to trade huge moves, from slaps to lariats to suplexes. At one point, after trading Saito suplexes, White hit a combination of a flatliner, a german suplex and a Kiwi Crusher for a near fall. The two then traded hard forearms in the middle of the ring, and white could not stand up to the strength of Takagi. Takagi brought him back up to his feet, when White gave him a weak slap, only to be destroyed by a Pumping Bomber. Takagi went for another, so white fell to the ground to avoid it, only for Takagi to hit a vicious wheelbarrow german suplex for a near fall. The two then battled for their respective finishers, and when Takagi went for another Pumping Bomber, Gedo tripped him up. So instead, Takagi drilled White with a lariat in the corner, a buckle bomb and a pair of pumping bombers for a near fall. Takagi went for last of the dragons, but white grabbed the ref. Gedo tried to run in, but Takagi took him out with a straight left. White then tried to hit a Bladerunner, but Takagi just punched him until he dropped it, and then hit Made in Japan for a near fall. The tow then continued to fight for position, and Takagi only went down after being wrecked by a pair of sleeper suplexes. He then hit Bladerunner and won. White: 4, Takagi: 4. 

Grade: A-. Another great match that had actually no leg work, which was interesting. I thought the knee injury would come into play more, but they still had a great match. Full of hard hits and tricky plays, White had to outsmart Takagi to get this win. It was full of dishonesty and cheating, although Gedo was never the exact cause of the problems for Takagi. Takagi dealt with him well, but he just couldn’t get it done against White. White hit his moves with precision, never wasting his strength and holding out to the end. White now has two in a row, and he needs six to make it to the finals. I like this story, gives us more reason to hate him. 

Jon Moxely vs. Tetsuya Naito in Block B: Another Champion vs. Champion main event in the B block. Naito took his time removing his ring attire, and it was actually making Moxley go insane waiting for him. He just stood there swearing at Naito as he took a comically long time to remove everything, only to throw his pants at Moxley at the last second. Despite Moxley being the block leader, Natio had no respect for him. Naito took his time stalling things out, staying on the outside for a while, and taunting Moxley. Moxley tried to keep calm, but his temper would flare up. That is when Naito would strike. It got to the point where Moxley was so frustrated that he pulled him into the crowd and beat him with just about anything he could find. He brought him back to the ring by blasting him through the barricade, but then threw him clean into the crowd and even took some fans out in the process. They probably were out of the ring for four or five minutes before finally starting a countout. When they finally got back into the ring, Moxley started to work over the arm, but Naito fought out of his several attempts at armbars. They fought into the corner, both men spitting in each other’s face. Naito constantly tried to fight back with his vicious strikes, but Moxley hit him right back and used his strength advantage to slam him down over and over again. Then Moxley trapped Naito’s ankle in a chair, but Red Shoes disarmed him as he tried to break it. Naito then removed the chair from his ankle and kicked it right into Moxley’s face. From there, Naito stole a chair from a fan, DDT’d Moxley onto it, and then gave Moxley a huge running dropkick down the ramp as he sat in that same chair. As the two battled back into the ring, Moxley took control and battered Naito in the corner, before delivering a butterfly superplex for a near fall. The two proceeded to have a striking contest in the middle of the ring, clocking each other over and over again, until Naito fell at Moxley’s feet. Naito desperately tried to pick up the face with a flying forearm and a kinda botched super rana, but he was met with a stiff lariat when he went for Destino. The two then exchanged both hard strikes and bites in the middle of the ring, which allowed Naito to hit a running Destino, but Moxley still kicked out! He tried for another, but Moxley countered into a short Death Rider, but the Naito kicked out! Moxley then hit the full death rider for the win. Moxley: 10, Naito: 4. 

Grade: A-. A great main event to close things out. They were street brawlers that wanted nothing more than to destroy each other. They got down and dirty with the strikes and the biting. They brawled all around the crowd, they used plenty of weapons and there was plenty of carnage to go around. Moxley is still undefeated, and now that he has beaten another one of the biggest names in his block, I am starting to think that he is going to win the block. Naito was my original pick, but after this it is tough to see it. A great match between these two, and hope that some of these losses translate into title matches for those who have beaten Naito. 

Overall Grade: B

Pros: Robinson vs. Ishii; Takagi vs. White; moxley vs. Naito

Cons: goto vs. yano

[hazyheel]

NJPW G1 Climax 2019 Day 5 Review

Our night kicked off with Lance Archer vs. KENTA. A first time matchup, given that Kenta has never been in New Japan before. Archer had a genuinely startling height advantage here. He is 6′8, while Kenta was 5′8. That is huge. Archer pushed Kenta to the ground to start things off, just a sign of disrespect. Kenta started to kick at the legs and midsection, which quickly brought Archer to his knees. However, whenever Archer wanted to take Kenta down, he would just give him a shoulder tackle and put him on the mat. Early on, Archer tried to give Kenta a chokeslam to the outside, only for some Young Lions to catch him, so Archer wiped them all out with a somersault senton. The ref started to count as Archer beat down Kenta on the outside, so he attacked the timekeeper to stop the count. Archer then started to mock Kenta by referring to him as Hideo. Archer was very violent towards the ref during the match, constantly threatening him and throwing him around, so Kenta was not the only one who found Archer challenging. Kenta kept trying to soften Archer up with kicks wherever he could land them, but Archer just refused to stay down. Archer tried for the EBD claw, but Kenta nearly reversed it into an armbar, so Archer opted for a huge lariat instead. Archer then went for blackout, but Kenta countered into a sleeper hold, lowering Archer to the mat and hitting a pique kick to the chest. Kenta then went for the Go to Sleep, but Archer reversed into the EBD Claw submission, and then even a muscle buster for a near fall. Archer then hit a last ride, but Kenta still kicked out. He then went for a chokeslam, but Kenta reversed it into a triangle choke. He transitioned the triangle into a game over for the submission win. Kenta: 6, Archer: 4.

Grade: B. Pretty good match. It was really fun to see how Kenta would deal with his much larger opponent. The answer was a lot of kicks to the midsection and legs, and finally wearing him down with submission holds. It was a gritty win, but Kenta made it to six points, still in the lead of the block. Good match that showed a different side of Kenta, and Archer had his first loss. Big stuff here. 

Next up was EVIL vs. SANADA. These two have only fought once before, with Sanada coming up with the win. Evil has been anticipating this match a lot recently, as he felt like he wasn’t given the same opportunity as Sanada, due to his championship match back in May. He wants to break out of the stable with this match, and create a new name for himself. Sanada started out with several dropkicks, and quickly went for the moonsault, but Evil got out of the way. Evil actually grabbed a chair after avoiding the moonsult, sliding it in and distracting both Sanada and the ref, using that to take down Sanada early. The two then battled for position, with Sanada looking for the paradise lock and Evil looking for a scorpion deathlock. Evil was able to lock Sanada in a paradise lock, posing with his foot on Sanada’s back before giving him the glut dropkick. The two were actually vicious here, totally ready to beat the living crap out of each other. They both know each other’s moves so well that they were constantly reversing and countering each other’s moves. Sanada quickly ramped up his attack after he realized that Evil wasn’t pulling punches and started to focus on Evil’s base. He constantly attacked Evil’s knees, which was mixed in with some of his usual offense. Evil opted to target the back of Sanada, throwing him into the barricades and generally assaulting him mercilessly. Evil even bent the rules a little bit, such as shoving the ref into Sanada, and even using the ref as a tag partner to hit the magic killer. It took the entire match, but Sanada was actually able to lock in skull end, but Evil reversed it into a skull end of his own, which prompted Sanada to drill Evil with everything is evil for a close near fall. Sanada again went for the moonsault, but was thwarted again when Evil got his knees up. Sanada was again able to lock in skull end, throwing Evil around but getting caught in a small package as he did. Evil went for everything is evil, but Sanada scored an inside cradle for a near fall. Evil then began to destroy Sanada with lariats, eventually nailing Sanada with everything is evil for the win. Evil: 4, Sanada: 2. 

After the match, Evil offered the fist bump, which Sanada answered. So the two are definitely staying together, both as a stable and as a tag team. 

Grade: A-. A great match between two teammates who know each other incredibly well. They had an interesting clash of styles that blended perfectly, along with the fact that they just kept countering out of each other’s signature offense. Evil had a huge chip on his shoulder coming into this match, so I think it makes a lot of sense for him to get the win. Maybe they are giving Evil a decent singles push, who knows? We will have to see if he is able to beat Okada again this year, we could see evil in the world championship picture.

Into Bad Luck Fale vs. Kazuchika Okada. They are 4:3 in favor of Okada, so very close, but it is interesting to note that Okada has never beaten Fale in a tournament. Before the match, as he was making his entrance, Bad Luck Fale attacked Okada on the way to the ring. Fale was beating down Okada even before he came out. It took Okada a while to get his wind back, and the second he started to beat down Fale, Fale distracted the ref and Chase Owens and Jado beat him down on the outside. Okada continuously tried to slam Fale, it worked as both a central theme of the match, and as a contstant downfall for Okada, At one point, Okada tried to hit the bodyslam, but he couldn’t keep him up and ended up eating a splash from Fale. He was finally able to give Fale a body slam, and then followed it up with a tope con hilo to Fale, Owens and Jado when Fale rolled out. Okada kept up the attack from there, focusing on the neck and chest. Okada had it won with a rainmaker, but Fale threw Red Shoes into him before Okada could complete the move. That allowed Chase Owens to run in and assist Fale in hitting the grenade. Even after Okada was able to dispatch Owens, Jado nailed Okada in the back with the kendo stick as he ran the ropes. He held Okada in place as Fale ran at him, but he dodged and took out Jado. He tried to give Fale a neckbreaker, but Fale rolled through, only for Okada to sit down on him and steal a pin. Okada: 6, Fale: 2. 

After the match, Fale tried to attack Okada, but Okada put him down with a dropkick and gave him a salute as he layed on the outside. 

Grade: C+. These guys always have a slow match, and while it was okay, it just didn’t really do it for me. For whatever reason, Bullet Club interference bothers me a lot more than Suzuki-Gun, so I guess they are either effective heels or just annoying. Okada deserves this win, and I like that it came in a non-dominant form. It keeps up the story that Okada cannot seem to beat Fale in the tournament, although he did score a victory here. I’m glad Okada won here. And Fale is untouchable, no losses actually hurt him.

Then we had Zack Sabre Jr vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi. These two have gone back and forth with wins, but Sabre leads their series with 3:2. As Tanahashi entered the ring, Sabre made sure to kick the young lion Tsuji off the ropes, just being a dick in general. Neither man has won a match yet, so both were battling for their first points. The two started to grapple early on, with Sabre starting the match off with the cravat, but quickly transitioning into a heel hook where both were jockeying for postiion. The interesting part of this match was the Sabre has two spots that he can focus on: both the formerly injured elbow and the ever decaying knees. However, as the match progressed, Tanahashi was really going hold for hold with Sabre. Both are great grapplers, but Sabre is considered the best at it in the world. The two then traded flash pins for a while, until Tanahashi was able to convert one into a twist and shout. The two then battled over a crucifix to a stalemate, with Tanahashi breaking it by hitting a slingblade. Tanahashi tried to get in a backbend pin, but Sabre kicked out and was able to lock in an armbar. He then transitioned into a sort of grounded octopus, targetting the repaired arm. Tanahashi sold it it great, like he was in too much pain to go on and barely made it to the ropes. Tanahashi fought back with Dragonscrew leg whips, a slingblade, aces high and almost the high fly flow, but Sabre got the knees up and locked in a triangle. While still in the triangle, Tanahashi stacked him up and got the pin. Tanahashi: 2, Sabre: 0.

Naturally, after the match Sabre threw a tantrum because he lost. I love this side of him, he is such a dick. 

Grade: A. This was leaps and bounds ahead of their match at the MSG show. I thought that match was much less smooth and didn’t have much of a story, while this showed the very entertaining grappler side of Tanahashi. He was in there showing the submission master what he could do, and actually nearly tapped him out at a couple of points. Sabre looked great here too, totally selling the frustration both during the match and after his loss. His story is certainly an intriguing one in this tournament. I’m happy to see Tanahashi finally get a win, because his story of going from the winner to the loser would not have been nearly as entertaining. 

And in the main event, we had Kota Ibushi vs. Will Ospreay in a Wrestle Kingdom rematch. That match earlier this year was their only match, and Ospreay came out on top. That was the match that I was most looking forward to at Wrestle Kingdom, and here in the A Block as well. The two traded clean breaks early on as they felt each other out. They started with some grappling, and the two of them actually looked pretty good on the mat. They then got into tests of strength, with Ibushi being much stronger. As the two started to pick up the pace a bit, Ospreay started to work over the ankle, a great strategy to both neutralize Ibushi’s kicks and to soften up his base. However, that did not stop Ibushi from delivering a blistering kick to Ospreay’s chest. When Ibushi had control, he targeted the neck, the subjuect of several injuries in the past. The two then traded signature moves and some counters, with everything looking way better with the two of them doing it. The two then traded both strikes and kicks in the center of the ring, at inhuman speeds. As Ospreay went for the stormbreaker, Ibushi countered with almost a deadeye variant on a piledriver that was very scary to see. Ibushi followed it up with an insane last ride for another near fall. Ospreay later tried for stormbreaker again, only for Ibushi to counter with a package piledriver, but Ospreay even countered that into a rollup. Ibushi kicked out and Ospreay nailed him with the high angle powerbomb of his own. Ospreay then peppered Ibushi with kicks and tried for the super os cutter, only for Ibushi to push him back into the post, leaving him hanging in a tree of woe and lighting him up with both kicks and hard slaps. The two jockeyed for position on the top rope, with Ibushi eventually hitting the second rope german, but Ospreay actually flipped out of it! Then he fucking rocked Ibushi with the hidden blade to the side of the face, but Ibushi barely got his hand on the rope. Ospreay then nailed Ibushi with a stiff kick to the face, and hit the os cutter for an incredible near fall. Ibushi then fought back into the match by sliding out of the stormbreaker and hitting a scary Michinoku driver for a near fall. Ospreay tried for another hidden blade, but Ibushi saw it coming and hit a back elbow, a great lariat and the bomaye for still another near fall! Ibushi finally hit the Kamagoye for the win after a war of a match. Ibushi: 2, Ospreay: 2.

Grade: A+. This was an incredible match and an incredible main event. For a relatively low stakes match in the tournament, they killed it in getting people invested. They absolutely destroyed each other in the ring and hit the biggest moves that they could think of. I hope that both of them were okay after this match, because it looked like a goddamn murder in that ring. The counters were off the charts, every move was smooth as glass, and every kickout had me changing my mind for who I wanted to win. This was my favorite match of the tournament so far, and possibly my favorite match of the year, regardless of promotion. They tore the house down, and they so deserve every push that they are getting. Ibushi finally got his first two points and can get on the road to winning the tournament, while Ospreay had a fantastic showing that proved he can hang with one of the best wrestlers in New Japan. Five stars, Match of the Night, match of the tournament, match of the goddamned year so far. If you couldn’t tell, these are my two favorite wrestlers in the world. 

[hazyheel]

NJPW G1 Climax 2019 Day 8 Review

We started up with Toru Yano vs. Juice Robinson. These two have met twice, both in the G1 and both with Robinson winning. Juice was very skeptical to even lock up in the early portion of this match, while Yano desperately tried for some rollups Juice wasn’t having any of his cheating ways and was mostly annoyed, but Yano nearly snuck a countout win early on, thanks to some athletic tape tying him to the barricade. Yano kept trying to hit a low blow to get the win, which only angered Robinson more and more. After Robinson caught a low blow, he nailed the left hand to god and hit pump friction for the win. Robinson: 6, Yano: 4. 

After the match, Robinson shook Yano’s hand as he lied on the ground. 

Grade: C-. Normally I really like the stupid Yano matches in the G1, but this was not really a fun one. They didn’t really blend together super well, and they didn’t go long enough to be very funny. That’s fine though, they won’t all be winners. Good for Juice to keep winning his matches. 

Then we had Taichi vs. Hirooki Goto. The record going into this match was 2:1 in favor of gotoBefore the match, Taichi made sure to beat the crap out of one of the LA Dojo guys, because Goto trained there for the G1. These two had a rivalry over the NEVER Openweight championship late last year, and that rivalry was renewed in this match. And naturally, anyone who has had problems with Taichi absolutely hate him, so Goto was vicious here. They quickly fought on the outside, Taichi continued to hit Karl Fredericks and even threw him into Goto to get the advantage. He brought the anger right out of Goto, who absolutely destroyed his chest with overhand chops. The two then exchanged a series of strikes and kicks, which Taichi actually came out on top of. We actually saw shades of big match Taichi in this match, as he busted out some huge kicks and often refused to let Goto put him down, but that didn’t stop him from cheating. At one point, Taichi pushed the ref into Goto to stun him, and then nailed a saito suplex for a near fall. Taichi then grabbed the mic stand, but Goto grabbed it and threw it out of the ring. Goto then nailed his mid kick, and went for the GTR, but Taichi grabbed the ref. They struggled a bit, and eventually the ref went down. Taichi then caught a kick to the gut and nailed a low blow, followed by a Gedo clutch for the win. Taichi: 4, Goto: 2. 

Grade: C. This match started off pretty week, but got better towards the end. They didn’t seem to have the fire or the chemistry that they had last year, but when Taichi started some shenanigans, I got into it a bit more. Goto’s run in the G1 this year makes sense. He hasn’t been doing all that much, but he beat a big rival already, and now he is just doing the job for a lot of his compatriots. Taichi was the correct winner here. He is having an entertaining run for sure, one that I am happy to watch. But this match was not the best. 

Then we had Jon Moxley vs. Shingo Takagi. Exciting stuff, and they were in the same stable in Dragon Gate USA a while back, so that is interesting. The two squared right up the second they were both in the ring together. And they started the brawl before the bell even started. Moxley quickly resorted to his now signature bit to the eyebrow. The two blasted each other with strikes and chops in the corner, before trying for a quick test of strength that Moxley came out on top of. Moxley then overextended a bit, going for a suicide dive, but Takagi caught it and hit a death valley driver on the outside. After Moxley gained the advantage again, he set up a table on the outside, but it wasn’t used right away. Instead, Moxley started to target the leg a little bit to weaken the base. Any time that Shingo started to get some momentum, Moxley went right to the leg and knee. It absolutely crippled Shingo’s offense. He was able to get flashes of offense, such as a nice german suplex, but it would be immediately countered, such as when Moxley responded with one of his own. At one point, Moxley tried for an Irish whip, but Takagi just collapsed as he ran. Moxley tried to follow that up with a regal knee, but Takagi caught him with a noshigami. He followed that up with a pair of pumping bombers, the adrenaline pushing the pain to the back of his mind. However, when he got Moxley up on his shoulders, Takagi couldn’t finish the move. That allowed Moxley to hit a short death rider for a near fall. The two then spilled to the outside, and Moxley started to use weapons to attack the knee. He dropped him knee first on the table, and then wrapped his knee in a chair and smashed it. He was nearly counted out, but when he got into the ring, Moxley blasted him with a regal knee. He tried for another short knee to the ribs, but Takagi grabbed it, and was able to twist him around for a short Made in Japan for a near fall. The two then battled in the middle of the ring, countering several attempts at finishers, before Moxley forced Takagi to the mat with shots to the knee, and then hitting a pair of regal knees to the back of the head, but still a near fall. Moxley then wrapped Takagi up in a cloverleaf for the submission victory. Moxley: 8, Takagi: 4. 

Grade: A-. Really good stuff between these two. Moxley is phenomenal with other brawlers, but it also showed an interesting side of him that has technical prowess. He worked the leg in an interesting and exciting way, which seemed like it was only to weaken the offense, but he got a submission win. It was such a great finish, because Moxley never gets submission wins. It came out of left field but it made a lot of sense. Takagi suffered his first submission loss, but it was to the strongest competitor in B block right now. Takagi is having a rough tournament, but moving up a weight class isn’t easy. Match of the night. 

Next up was Jay White vs. Jeff Cobb. Neither have had a particularly impressive tournament so far, sitting at 0 and 2 points respectively. Gedo was of course out to corner his protege. White started the match by retreating out of the ring, but unlike opponents before him, Cobb opted to stay inside of the ring. Cobb totally manhandled White, throwing him all over the place, and only pursuing him to the outside when White was on the backfoot. Gedo still tried to interfere, so Cobb threw him into the ring and was about to beat on him when White came soaring in with a knee to the back. White opted to target the neck of Cobb, which is an interesting part to isolate due to his massive neck muscles. Of course, White tried to intimidate Red Shoes when he went for a pin after an illegal move, which made me sad. He is just doing his job. The damage to the neck actually made Cobb slow down quite a bit. His power moves took that much more energy, so he couldn’t go as fast as he usually does. However that did not lessen the impact of his suplexes and throws. He still ragdolled White around like anyone else I’ve seen him handle. White too showcased his strength, giving Cobb both a saito suplex and an uranagi. At one point, Cobb was trying to give White a suplex out of the corner, but White was holding the ropes. So, Cobb popped him up into a cradle position and just chucked him halfway across the ring. He then tried to give Cobb a superplex, but Gedo held White’s leg. White thought he had escaped to the apron, but Cobb then gave him a deadlift superplex. He went for the pin, White kicked out with probably the weakest kickout that I’ve ever seen. He just barely lifted his shoulder off the mat. Cobb and White then battled as Cobb went for tour of the islands, which ended when White was accidentally sent into the ref. Was the ref down, Gedo tried to blast Cobb with the brass knuckles, but ate a slam for his troubles. However, the distraction landed white a low blow, which he converted into a sleeper suplex. White then went for a blade runner, but Cobb countered that into a German Suplex. Cobb went for Tour of the Islands again, only for White to slip out once again and land Bladerunner for the win. White: 2, Cobb: 2. 

Grade: C+. Very slow match. It was cool to watch all the power moves from Cobb and seeing how strong White is, but other than that it was just too slow for my liking. I thought the closing stretch was pretty nice, always love to see Gedo taking bumps. White’s losing streak is over, and I’m sure that will transfer right into a winning streak. As for Cobb, I don’t know. I don’t see him passing six points. But this match was fine, nothing worth going out of your way to see. 

And in the main event, we had Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii. Intercontinental Champion vs. NEVER Openweight Champion. These two are longtime rivals, and unfortunately, I can’t look up their record against each other because of spoilers. Drawbacks of falling behind in the G1. Of course, Naito took his sweet time removing his ring attire, but Ishii was cool as a cucumber. They started with a striking contest, going until one of them was worn out and then continuing as soon was they could. Naito was naturally fighting dirty during the match, stomping on Ishii as he was grounded and spitting in his face when the mood struck him. Naito targetted the neck in order to nullify some of his power moves. The attacks on the neck, however, did not affect his striking, where Ishii had an advantage. Both men took loads of punishment whenever they started to hit each other. The forearms were stiff, the chops were blistering and they moved very quickly.  Naito was taking advantage of his speed and agility edge in the match, using some high flying offense like in his junior heavyweight days. After escaping out of a powerbomb situation, Naito started to disrespect Ishii by slapping him lazily and spitting on him. In response, Ishii trapped him in the corner and destroyed him with chops and strikes. Even when he was about to collapse, Ishii would pick him back up and keep going. He followed it up with a saito suplex for a near fall. He tried for the powerbomb again, but Naito countered with a spike hurricanrana. Naito then tried for a flying forearm, but Ishii countered this time with a straight jacket suplex. Ishii then tried for a superplex, but Naito slipped out and hit a hangman’s neckbreaker off the top, and followed it up with a hurricanrana from the top rope for a near fall. Naito continued to target the neck with his offense, and Ishii was starting to slow down. The injuries were piling up. Naito went for Destino, but Ishii caught him. He tried to go for a lariat, but Naito countered with a high angle german suplex. Ishii popped right back up, but Naito nailed a poison rana. Ishii’s strikes became absolutely desperate, which is normally a bad thing, but with Ishii’s strength, he was still able to floor Naito. He converted those huge hits into a superplex for a near fall. That allowed Ishii to get his second wind, and he just annihilated Naito with various headbutts, strikes and lariats. The two exchanged blows back and forth, when Naito hit a short Destino out of nowhere, but Ishii kicked out! Naito tried for the full hit, but Ishii caught him. The two battled for control, each trying to hit their finisher, ending with Naito hitting a DDT, and Ishii popping right up and hitting the sliding lariat for a near fall. Naito then nailed a brainbuster of his own, but still Ishii kicked out. Neither man was willing to lose here. Naito then hit Destino one final time for the win. Naito: 4, Ishii: 4. 

Grade: A-. Another great match out of these two. Ishii was actually fighting from behind a lot in this match, and I think the only reason why he was actually able to stand up to Naito in this match was his raw strength and endurance. He was at a disadvantage from the start, because Naito picked the best body part that he could have to work over. It nullified a lot of his offense, and given how much he uses various suplexes, Ishii injured himself over time as well. Naito played this one smart. In the end, Destino did it. He broke the neck down and got the win. Good stuff from Naito, glad to see that he is coming into his own now. Ishii is still the MVP of the G1 in my opinion, delivering his fourth great match in as many matches. Definitely the best in the block. Great stuff from both guys, two of the best in the entire tournament. 

Overall Grade: B-

Pros: Moxley vs. Takagi; Naito vs. Ishii

Cons: Robinson vs. Yano; Cobb vs. White

[hazyheel]

NJPW G1 Climax 2019 Day 9 Review

We opened up with Lance Archer vs. Kota Ibushi. Archer floored one of the Young Lions as he came in. Archer had a wicked size advantage here, so naturally Ibushi opted to target the legs. Early on, Ibushi went for a hurricanrana, but Archer held on and tried for a powerbomb to the outside, but thankfully Ibushi countered with a rana over the ropes. Ibushi went for the moonsault, but Archer hung him up on the turnbuckle and beat him on the outside. Archer worked over the ankle a bit to soften Ibushi up, but it was clear that this was more of a way to hurt Ibushi rather than an endgame strategy. Archer was constantly trying for the EBD Claw, which left Ibushi to desperately counter it each time. Ibushi was just trying to halt Archer’s momentum, such as when he countered the derailer with double knees to the face. He was fighting at a severe disadvantage, but he did it well. He started to use more flying to keep the big man off his game, capitalizing on an agility advantage. At one point, Ibushi went up top, and Archer met him there. So, Ibushi slipped out and grabbed him for a powerbomb and a near fall. Archer fought back with a surprised somersault senton, followed by a great chokeslam for a near fall. Ibushi had was most effective when Archer was on the ground, such as when he nailed a bomoye to the back of the head. He tried to follow up with a kamagoye, but Archer nailed him with a knee of his own before Ibushi could hit it. Archer then tried for a moonsault, but crashed and burned. Ibushi nailed another bomoye, and then a kamagoye, but Archer didn’t even go down. It took a second Kamagoye right in a row to finish Archer. Ibushi: 6, Archer: 4.

Grade: B+. Good stuff here. If you are trying to have someone lose and look good doing it, this is what you need to do. Archer didn’t kick out of the Kamagoye, he no sold it. That is one of the most protected finishers in the company, and he no sold it. Archer has gotta go onto big things after the G1, because he seems to be getting over, and he looks like their biggest monster heel that they have. Ibushi got another victory using his cunning, speed and agility, and continues a winning streak. 

Up next was Will Ospreay vs. Bad Luck Fale. The two have only fought once, in the New Japan Cup this year. It was the biggest upset in the bracket. Fale had never been eliminated in the first round before, and he lost it to a junior heavyweight. Chase Owens and Jado cornered Fale in this match. During Ospreay’s entrance, Owens grabbed Ospreay’s leg as he entered the ring and Fale knocked him off the apron. The ref frantically started the match, but Fale intimidated him into looking the other way while Owens and Jado attacked Ospreay. Ospreay did fight out of their clutches, allowing Jado to hit Owens with the Kendo stick and knocking down Jado, before springing into the match. He started with the advantage, but Jado quickly hit him with a kendo stick to the back and allowed Fale to gain control. At one point, Ospreay was lying on the edge of the ring, and Fale distracted the ref, allowing Owens to tear off the athletic tape on Ospreay’s neck. Fale viciously targeted the neck here, harkening back to the various neck problems he has had in the past. Ospreay slowly fought back into the match and nearly hit the Os Cutter, but Fale shoved the ref into him and sent him tumbling out of the ring. On the outside, Ospreay flipped out of Owens’ package piledriver and hit a hook kick, then narrowly avoided Jado’s kendo stick, but was run over by Fale right after. Fale then hit the grenade, but the ref was still down. By the time the ref got back in the ring, Ospreay was able to kick out. Ospreay was desperately fighting a 3 on 1 match, and he was doing alright. He was able to hit Fale with the Os Cutter, but as the ref counted three, Owens pulled him out of the ring. Ospreay then fought off Jado and stole his kendo stick. He went to hit Fale with it, but Owens ambushed him. He attempted another package piledriver, but Ospreay slipped out. He went for the handspring flip kick, but Owens nailed him in the back with the stick and finally hit the package piledriver. Red Shoes then ran out, as the other ref was down for the count. Fale was in a cover on Ospreay, and Red Shoes counted two, only for him to hang up the count on three. He flipped off Fale, said “fuck you,” and disqualified him. Ospreay: 4, Fale: 2. 

After the match, Fale chased Red Shoes around, and he narrowly escaped. Although Red Shoes did take the time to raise Ospreay’s hand in victory. 

Grade: C+. Fine match. It was all about the story here: could Ospreay survive a 3 on 1 match, and the unfortunate truth was that he couldn’t. If it wasn’t for the heels over extending when it came to bending the rules. Both men had a visual pin in this match, so no one really got over here. The real hero of this match is Red Shoes, the most badass referee in wrestling today. But other than that, this was an overbooked gimmick of a match. Leave it to Ospreay to kinda pull it off too. 

Then we had Zack Sabre Jr vs. EVIL. These two have had quite the rivalry this year, ever since he and Suzuki wanted to take the tag titles from Evil and Sanada earlier this year. Evil has only beaten Sabre once, and Sabre holds at least two other victories over him. Sabre tried to lock up right away, and Evil obliged. Right from the bell, Evil tried to use his strength to keep Sabre on the defensive, and the second that Sabre started to reverse a hold, Evil transitioned into striking. Evil won a quick contest of strength early on, and targeted the shoulders with a submissions. Zack eventually escaped and forced the match to the canvas, opting to target the neck with strikes and submissions. The two jockeyed for position on the mat, with Evil nearly locking in a scorpion deathlock, only for Sabre to transition it into a triangle. Evil powerbombed him out of it and tried again, but Sabre reversed into a modified scorpion deathlock of his own. Evil escpaed to the floor and the brawl continued there. Evil gained the advantage after a swinging neckbreaker from the apron. He tried to capitalize in the ring, catching a kick and going for his superkick to the stomach, but Sabre caught his leg and locked in a kneebar. The knee seemed to be tweaked after the modified scorpion deathlock, so Sabre focused on that. The two scrambled for control, and Evil was able to reverse the kneebar into a kinda wonky scorpion deathlock, but Sabre still escaped. Sabre then opted to try some pinning combinations, but still nothing worked. Evil wasn’t staying down, and he was dealing a lot of damage with his strikes. In the finish, the two were constantly countering each other’s strikes, when Evil suddenly got himself in position for Everything is Evil, and the win. Evil: 6, Sabre: 2. 

Grade: B+. This year, I have praised Evil quite a bit. I wasn’t always a huge fan, but his brawling style really impressed me. In this match, I saw a new, technical side to Evil, and it was certainly interesting. He isn’t as naturally gifted at that as he is brawling, but it was still good. Sabre lost once again, and against an opponent that he was incredibly confident against. He was pissed, to say the least. Evil seems to be getting quite the push in A Block, and it makes me interested to see whether or not he beats Lance Archer. Both are monsters of their block, so that will be an exciting match. This was an interesting outcome in and of itself, because of the Royal Quest show coming up. Evil beat the Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion, so he may be in line for a title shot. Given how much he has fought Sabre this year, I think it is more likely that Sanada gets that shot, or someone who beats him later on, but it certainly could happen. But this was a very good match, probably their best together since they have been fighting. Also, Sabre’s tantrum was wonderful. 

We went right into Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. SANADA. The crowd was super loud at the beginning of the match, and the crowd was pretty evenly split between the two competitors. Interesting, I didn’t realize how much of a following Sanada has gained until this match. The two started with a bit of grappling on the mat, feeling each other out. Neither man wanted to commit to a strike, so they jockeyed for position from a knuckle lock. The two eventually escalated to strikes, and they both caught each other’s kicks. They went to put their legs down at the same time, but Sanada faked it and used it to attempt the paradise lock. So although Sanada is the favorite, he is acting a bit more heel. It took a while for Tanahashi to start with the dragonscrews, but he eventually did, and the match became a duel between two competitors trying to destroy each other’s knees. The two then exchanged strikes in the middle of the ring, ending with a twist and shout from Tanahashi. He held on, and hit another twist and shout, but Sanada countered the third into a hangman’s twisting neckbreaker off the top rope. The two then traded finishers, both missing their move off the top rope, and both crashing and burning. After that spot, Sanada started working towards a submission finish out of the skull end. Tana reversed the first one into a roll up, but Sanada kicked out. Tana then tried a bridging pin, which Sanada kicked out of and reversed it into a skull end. Tana then turned it around into his own, only for Sanada to do the same. Tana then flipped out of it, giving Sanada almost a Destino, but he neglected to go for a pin. Instead, he opted for a dragon suplex, but still a near fall. He went up to the top one more time, delivering Aces High, and finally hitting High Fly Flow for the win. Tanahashi: 6, Sanada: 2. 

Grade: B. Pretty good match, but they didn’t really have much urgency in here. It just felt like a lot of moves that were strung together. It was good in the beginning when it came to grappling, but it fell apart as they continued to develop their match. Still though, the counters here were very interesting. A lot of their moves required similar setups, so they were in constant series of reversals. It also showed that Sanada has the capacity to be the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, considering he is just as popular as the ace of the company. That is something to keep your eye on. 

And in the main event, we had the two block leaders facing off. KENTA vs. Kazuchika Okada. Naturally, this was one of the matches that I was most looking forward to. The two started a bit nervous. This is their first meeting in a singles match, so they were wary to over extend. They know each other’s reputation, so they know that the match could end quickly. Okada did his classic rope break early on, which Kenta didn’t seem to mind. He was shockingly stone faced in the early part of this match, when he is normally very expressive and aggressive. I ate my words almost right away, when Kenta had to break. He gave Okada the pats on the chest and then a hard slap to the face, prompting the two to start striking. Kenta seemed to have the striking advantage, but Okada was certainly no slouch. At one point, as the two traded hits to the face, Kenta baited one of those strikes and then went low and swept the leg. Kenta was constantly being disrespectful, knowing full well that not only is he in enemy territory, he is in the tent of their leader. They started to pick it up a bit, harder hits and a more urgent pace. Kenta seemed to constantly have an answer for Okada’s offense, peppering him with strikes only to lock in a submission when Okada tries to fight back. He was unpredictable, and it was throwing Okada off his game. The two continued to blast each other with the best shots that they had, constantly trying to outdo each other, both in ferocity and disrespect. Okada took the match to the outside to attempt a DDT on the floor, but Kenta fought back. He dropped Okada on the guard rail, delivered a pair of kicks to the head, and then gave him a flying double stomp. Okada barely beat the countout, and started to emulate Kenta’s moves. He gave Kenta a shotgun dropkick into the corner and then a delayed dropkick, which looks much more painful when it is a 6′4 guy. Okada then went for the elbow drop, but Kenta countered it, picking the arm and locking in a triangle, before quickly transitioning into Game Over. Okada was able to break out so Kenta nailed him with a double stomp off the top, but still only a near fall. The two then battled for position, Okada looking for a tombstone and Kenta looking for Go To Sleep, but Okada was able to slip out, nailing Kenta with a pair of dropkicks. The two went back to their striking contest, absolutely nailing each other with forearms and palm strikes. Kenta came out on top. Okada still fought back, nailing a twisting Tombstone and then the Rainmaker for the win, and for the lead in the block. Okada: 10, Kenta: 8.

After the match, Okada offered his hand, and Kenta took it. 

Grade: A. Phenomenal match. Okada adapted to a new opponent that he has never fought before, and one that seemed to have his number for a large portion of the match. He fought super hard against odds that seemed impossible. Eventually he was able to do it. This match shows why Okada is the IWGP Heavyweight Champion. He can fight against incredibly difficult opponents that should be able to beat him, adapting and figuring out their weaknesses so that he can come out on top. He waited for Kenta to make mistakes, and he capitalized on them. He refused to stay down, despite the wild amount of punishment that he took. Okada has amazing endurance and constitution. That is why he won here, and it is why he is leading the block, undefeated. As for Kenta, he is far from done. I imagine that he will end up second in the block, and he will go far in this company. Great match, one of my favorites of the tournament. Match of the night.

Overall Grade: B+

Pros: Ibushi vs. Archer; evil vs. sabre; sanada vs. tanahashi; okada vs. kenta; red shoes is a badass

Cons: sanada vs. tanahashi kinda disappointed considering the caliber of the wrestlers involved.