G1 Climax 27 Night Ten
July 30th, 2017 | Gifu Industrial Hall in Gifu, Japan | Attendance: N/A
Honestly, this is one my more anticipated B Block shows. The main reason for that is Kazuchika Okada vs. Juice Robinson as I’m one of the few more interested in that than Omega/Okada III and some other, bigger matches. Speaking of Omega, he and Kojima should have a barnburner, while the rest of the card all sounds at least somewhat intriguing.
Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi def. David Finlay, Katsuya Kitamura and Tetsuhiro Yagi in 5:45
El Desperado and Zack Sabre Jr. def. Togi Makabe and Shota Umino in 7:23
Tomohiro Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI def. Tomoyuki Oka and Yuji Nagata in 7:04
Hiroshi Tanahashi and Ryusuke Taguchi def. Hirai Kawato and Kota Ibushi in 8:55
Hiromu Takahashi and Tetsuya Naito def. Hirooki Goto and Gedo in 8:24
Daryl update: Hiromu is still very sad about it. As am I. However, he didn’t carry an imaginary Daryl the entire way this time, so there’s improvement.
B Block: NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champion EVIL [6] vs. Toru Yano [2]
EVIL’s doing quite well so far and Yano isn’t, meaning this is the time we usually get a sneaky Yano in. He did to a hot Yujiro Takahashi in the G1 23 a few years ago. Last year, Yano beat EVIL in 2:57 (**) and ended up with two more points at the end of the tournament. Yano tried doing Yano things here, but EVIL turned it around on him and pulled his robe over his head. Yano still nearly rolled him up to steal it. EVIL said “fuck that” and put him down with the STO at 1:33. Not enough of a match to rate, but this is more what I want from Yano matches. EVIL topping his point total from last year already is cool. However, he’s just got that many to give a tease that this block isn’t a two horse race. Make no mistake, it’s an Omega/Okada battle. [NR]
B Block: NEVER Openweight Champion Minoru Suzuki [4] vs. Tama Tonga [4]
In a great twist, Tama Tonga jumped El Desperado during Minoru’s entrance. He carried the Suzuki-Gun flag for a bit, before brawling with the champ into the crowd. That lasted a few minutes, pissing off Suzuki. It took almost four minutes to get in the ring and start the match, which just led to them going back outside for more brawling. It led to quite the double countout tease, but they both ran back in just before twenty. They continued to beat each other up until we got a ref bump. Wouldn’t be a Suzuki-Gun match without one, right/ Tonga escaped the sleeper and hit the Gun Stun for the phantom pin. Tonga brought the ref back in, but had his Gun Stun countered to a sleeper. Suzuki finished him off with the Gotch Piledriver at 10:29. A different kind of match, as it was almost all wild brawling. The pre-match attack on Desperado was smart, too. Unfortunately, it wasn’t exciting enough to stick out. Maybe a bit less crowd stuff and a hotter finishing stretch, and I’d like it more. [**]
B Block: Michael Elgin [4] vs. SANADA [4]
Along with the final two matches on this show, this is a very interesting first time ever matchup. They have met in a bunch of multi-man tags, though. Like Elgin/Omega, these two went to the power vs. speed battle. We got the spot where one guy held the ropes open for the other to get in, and the other did the same shortly after. Big Mike had SANADA well scouted and had counters ready for his leap frog spot. I liked SANADA trying to powerbomb Elgin out of the corner and not having the power to do it, so he relentlessly attacked him and used a dropkick to weaken him enough to finally hit it. SANADA tried the leap frog stuff again, but again Elgin was ready, and countered with a sitout powerbomb for a near fall. Elgin delivered the apron German and the deadlift falcon arrow (HE DID THE SUPER DEAL) for another close call. SANADA fought off the powerbomb and locked in Skull End. Elgin wouldn’t tap, but he faded. SANADA let go, hit the moonsault and scored somewhat of an upset at 15:06. A very good back and forth match that played into the right dynamic. Elgin’s power (and scouting) was too much for SANADA, but the Skull End is just that deadly. I like him using it to wear down opponents before the moonsault, similar to Suzuki and Shibata using the sleeper before impactful moves. Good work, but it lacked some drama until the end. [***¼]
B Block: IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega [6] vs. Satoshi Kojima [0]
Omega came out in his “I don’t give a shit” colorful attire, which I don’t like. I get that he may not take winless Kojima seriously, but after losing and knowing Okada remains undefeated, he should be as serious as ever. Anyway, Omega was disrespectful and held serve. A body slam on the apron led to him looking for a countout win. Though that didn’t happen, Omega remained in control. He started talking smack to Tenzan at ringside, which helped fire Kojima up. He busted out the Mongolian chops, ripped Kenny’s shirt and lit him up with the rapid fire corner chops. Down the stretch, Omega hit a V-Trigger, but Kojima slipped free of the One Winged Angel. He got two on a brainbuster and there was a series of counters that saw Kojima wreck Omega with a lariat. He was too worn down to make a pin attempt, though. Emerald Flowsion got him two, which was his last hope. A snap dragon suplex, V-Trigger and One Winged Angel later and Omega won in 16:42. It took a while to get going and I liked almost none of the early stuff. The final third or so was really good though. It lacked some of the intensity and drama of earlier Kojima matches, unfortunately. You know, I gave all but one Omega singles match in 2017 at least four stars before the G1. I’ve yet to go four on any of his G1 stuff, which is disappointing. [***]
Side note, but I’m not a fan of Kojima being 0-5. I understand him coming up short against the younger talent, but it’s the same story being told with Nagata in the A Block and with Liger in the BOTSJ this year. If you run it too often, it loses some of its luster and makes things too predictable. That being said, Kojima and Nagata are both working hard to go out with quality performances.
B Block: Juice Robinson [2] vs. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada [8]
Juice won on night one, but has lost each match since due to a bum leg, while Okada remains perfect. Juice shined against Naito earlier this year and had very good outings with EVIL and Kojima in the G1. They started with some basic stuff inside, before going outside. I expected Okada to do his cross body over the guardrail, but he didn’t. Instead, he calmly went inside for a countout, like Juice wasn’t deserving of his full effort. I appreciated that. Too often, he does the same stuff. Okada worked the leg and Juice’s screams while in a modified figure four felt real. Juice survived and kept getting in hope spots. Okada back dropped him on the apron, to little reaction, leading to a countout tease. I know they’ve established the countout finish, but I can’t buy it during a main event. Juice avoided the Rainmaker, but had Pulp Friction blocked. Okada was pissed and yelled at Juice, as if he was frustrated that this match was still going on. Juice continued to fight, but was hit with the Rainmaker. You know what happened next. If you guessed Okada held the wrist, hit a second, had the third countered, countered his opponent’s move and then hit the third, then you were right. It’s not hard to guess, because it happens all the time. That ended things at 20:29. I enjoyed the story they told here, with brash Okada dismissing resilient Juice. Okada wanting to destroy him with three Rainmakers would’ve been cool if he didn’t do it in almost every match. The finishing sequence is overdone too, as I clearly noted. A very good main event and I appreciate the part it plays in the larger story (Okada’s desire to absolutely be the best and prove a point will eventually lead to his demise), but it’s too much of the same too often, to be truly great. [***½]
Overall: 6/10. Another average G1 Climax show. EVIL/Yano wasn’t really a match, though that was fine. Tonga/Suzuki didn’t work for me and I came away disappointed with Kojima/Omega. SANADA/Elgin was good, but not quite, while Okada/Juice had loads of potential, only for some of the same tropes I’m tired of to up and keep it from being great. The B Block shows make it clear who the stars are (Okada and Omega always are in the two main events and have relatively long matches) and everything else feels secondary.
| A BLOCK | POINTS | B BLOCK | POINTS |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | 8 (4-1) | Kazuchika Okada | 10 (5-0) |
| Zack Sabre Jr. | 6 (3-2) | Kenny Omega | 8 (4-1) |
| Tomohiro Ishii | 6 (3-2) | EVIL | 8 (4-1) |
| Bad Luck Fale | 6 (3-2) | Minoru Suzuki | 6 (3-2) |
| Tetsuya Naito | 6 (3-2) | SANADA | 6 (3-2) |
| Togi Makabe | 6 (3-2) | Tama Tonga | 4 (2-3) |
| Hirooki Goto | 6 (3-2) | Michael Elgin | 4 (2-3) |
| Kota Ibushi | 4 (2-3) | Juice Robinson | 2 (1-4) |
| YOSHI-HASHI | 2 (1-4) | Toru Yano | 2 (1-4) |
| Yuji Nagata | 0 (0-5) | Satoshi Kojima | 0 (0-5) |
G1 Climax 27 Night Nine
July 29th, 2017 | Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in Nagoya, Aichi | Attendance: N/A
Back to the A Block for another show, featuring one of my favorite match combinations in the world, Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii. The block is still very much wide open and Yuji Nagata continues to search for the elusive first win, just like Satoshi Kojima over in B Block.
BUSHI and SANADA def. David Finlay and Michael Elgin in 5:14
EVIL and Hiromu Takahashi def. Hirai Kawato and Katsuya Kitamura in 5:09
Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi def. Minoru Suzuki and Taichi in 5:24
TenKoji def. Chase Owens and Kenny Omega in 7:25
Gedo, Kazuchika Okada and Toru Yano def. Juice Robinson, Ryusuke Taguchi and Tomoyuki Oka in 8:25
A Block: Togi Makabe [4] vs. Yuji Nagata [0]
Surprisingly, these two haven’t met in any G1s that I’ve seen. We got some standard back and forth early on. Makabe focused on the neck and shoulders of Nagata as he wore him down. Nagata had a bunch of cupping marks down his back from recent therapy. As Makabe did things like an exploder and lariats, Nagata truly looked like someone desperately fighting for his life. Nagata fought back with the armbar and a relentless series of kicks. He got great near falls on a brainbuster and saito suplex. Makabe fought back and hit the standing knee strike he used on Ibushi. A lariat and King Kong Knee Drop kept Nagata down after 10:45. This was good and had a great crowd. Desperate Nagata on his last stand continues to be a great story, though I’d say this was his worst match yet. It wasn’t bad, it just shows the quality of his work so far. [***]
A Block: Bad Luck Fale [2] vs. Kota Ibushi [4]
Fale ripped up a fan’s Daryl during his entrance and my heart broke all over again. These two met in the G1 25 (***). Kota floated like a buttery and stung like a bee. His strategy of sticking and moving backfired once Fale caught him and stepped on his leg. Ibushi got worn down, but fired up with his quick strikes and kicks. They eventually fought into the crowd, with Ibushi nailing a moonsault off a railing. They beat the count back in and the fans felt like it was Ibushi’s to take, but he ran into a lariat. Ibushi escaped the Bad Luck Fall, but made a mistake by trying a powerbomb. Bad move. Fale countered and scored the win with a successful Bad Luck Fall at 11:37. It was laid out well and I enjoyed them going into the crowd, but it wasn’t either man’s best effort. [**¾]
A Block: Hirooki Goto [4] vs. Zack Sabre Jr. [6]
Sabre pinned Goto in a tag match during his first weekend with NJPW, before losing a NEVER Openweight Title shot against him at Sakura Genesis (***½). Sabre’s best friend El Desperado was with him and he tripped up Goto almost immediately. It allowed Sabre to work his submission style. Goto combated it by using his power at any opening. The NJPW crowds still seem wowed at times by Sabre’s submission work. His style has gotten over much better (and been done better to be honest) here than in the CWC. The technical vs. power battle continued and Sabre nearly beat Goto with the European clutch pin again for a top notch near fall. Goto blocked a PK and they traded big strikes. Goto won out with a lariat and a PK of his own at 10:10. Compact match with the right amount of action. I dug their styles clashing and the crowd continues to be into Sabre. Slightly below their April outing. Sabre’s been the most consistent guy (and Ishii) in the tournament so far. [***¼]
A Block: IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi [6] vs. YOSHI-HASHI [2]
After a night one victory, YOSHI-HASHI has struggled. Tanahashi’s gone in the opposite direction. HASHI fired up with strikes in the early stages, looking like a guy who was desperate to get back on the winning track. Tanahashi came back with the stuff we’re used to from him, including a plancha and skinning the cat. He went after the knee, looking to set up the Texas cloverleaf. He applied it, but HASHI survived. HASHI made a comeback, hitting the swanton for two. Tanahashi countered Karma and it started a series of reversals. Tanahashi scored with slingblade and High Fly Flow to win in 13:34. This wasn’t bad, but something about it didn’t click with me. It lacked something to get me invested and fell rather flat. The worst singles match I’ve seen either guy have in quite some time. [**½]
A Block: Tetsuya Naito [6] vs. Tomohiro Ishii [4]
It’s one my favorite in-ring rivalries ever. This combo and Shibata/Ishii are the only ones I’ve given at least **** each time they’ve met. ****¼ in both the 2014 and 2016 New Japan Cup, **** in the G1 Special earlier this month, ****¾ at New Beginning in 2014, ****½ at Invasion Attack 2014 and ****½ again at Wrestling Dontaku last year for the IWGP Title (the best IWGP Title match besides Shibata/Okada in years). Anyway, the crowd was pro-Naito here, chanting his name loudly during his entrance. We got the typical Naito antics to start, like spitting at Ishii and taking a powder outside. Naito grounded Ishii and held serve. Ishii had enough of his shit and kicked his ass in return. Naito focused on the neck in cutting off his hope spots. He hit his signature rebound attack and a gorgeous dragon suplex, but Ishii responded with a German. He got slapped, so he just headbutted Naito, before both men picked up more near falls. A series of counters led to Naito nailing a variation of Destino for a near fall. He hit another after a series of strikes, only for Ishii to pop right up with a lariat. Ishii turned him inside out with another lariat and won via BRAINBUSTER at 20:40. As usual, these two were great together. It started slow, but really picked up down the stretch. Naito working the neck was wise and well done. The hot crowd helped, as they loved Naito but couldn’t help but pop for Ishii’s stuff too.[****]
Overall: 6/10. Even with Tanahashi/HASHI being disappointing, this was another consistent outing from the A Block. Nagata/Makabe was solid, as was Ibushi/Fale, though neither was something to go out of your way to see. Sabre/Goto was an enjoyable match with both guys playing to their strength and another quality performance from Sabre. The main event is great, but there are better Ishii/Naito matches out there for sure.
| A BLOCK | POINTS | B BLOCK | POINTS |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | 8 (4-1) | Kazuchika Okada | 8 (4-0) |
| Zack Sabre Jr. | 6 (3-2) | Kenny Omega | 6 (3-1) |
| Tomohiro Ishii | 6 (3-2) | EVIL | 6 (3-1) |
| Bad Luck Fale | 6 (3-2) | Minoru Suzuki | 4 (2-2) |
| Tetsuya Naito | 6 (3-2) | SANADA | 4 (2-2) |
| Togi Makabe | 6 (3-2) | Tama Tonga | 4 (2-2) |
| Hirooki Goto | 6 (3-2) | Michael Elgin | 4 (2-2) |
| Kota Ibushi | 4 (2-3) | Juice Robinson | 2 (1-3) |
| YOSHI-HASHI | 2 (1-4) | Toru Yano | 2 (1-3) |
| Yuji Nagata | 0 (0-5) | Satoshi Kojima | 0 (0-4) |
A recap video catching us up opened the show.
Commentary officially announced that Rey Mysterio Jr. gets his Lucha Underground Title shot in four weeks.
Cueto Cup Second Round: The Mack vs. Texano
They worked in a mixture of hard hitting and fast paced stuff to start, leading to some mutual respect. Both guys got shine and picked up near falls. The Temple was really hot for this, which helped things along. They don't always love Texano (neither do I), but he was popular here. Famous B appeared (something I do like about Texano) and sprayed Mack with a water gun. Not a Super Soaker either. Mack hit him with a Stunner, but it distracted him enough to fall to a powerbomb at 6:13. Solid little match. Both guys did rather well, but it was nothing special. 4.5 stars for Famous B's appearance though. [**1/4]
Son of Havoc was shown at a bar, when Son of Madness arrived and stole his drink. They had a short fight, with Havoc saying he wasn't going back to the club. Madness promised he'd take him back, even if it was just his head.
Elsewhere, the Rabbit Tribe played checkers on Saltador's body. Mascarita Sagrada arrived with a gift. They still think he's their leader or some shit. They opened it to reveal a rabbit's foot, which freaked them out.
Cueto Cup Second Round: Lucha Underground Trios Champion Drago w/ Kobra Moon vs. Pentagon Dark
Surprisingly, this is their first match in Lucha Underground. Going back to season one, it'd be hard to imagine this with a heel Drago and face Pentagon, but here we are. Drago had control early, until Pentagon kicked his leg out and hit a belly to belly in the corner. Drago came back with his signature stuff, as this moved at a crazy pace. Pentagon survived a super rana and splash, before hitting an awkward looking Canadian Destroyer. Luckily, the camerawork was done in a way that made it look as good as possible. Drago was tripped up on the ropes and hit with the Package Piledriver, giving Pentagon the win at 7:55. Great back and forth sprint. Exactly what I want from these two. [***1/2]
Pentagon looked to break Drago's arm. Kobra Moon got in the ring and he murdered her with a superkick. He tried again, but Drago's former friend Aerostar came to his aid. Aerostar got booed for attacking Pentagon. Drago wasn't appreciative either, taking Aeorstar out. A pissed Pentagon then broke Aerostar's arm to a MASSIVE pop. Pentagon is so over, it's nuts. He should've won the title at Ultima Lucha Dos.
Pentagon walked backstage and Catrina appeared. She said she and Mil Muertes haven't forgotten that Pentagon cost Mil his chance in Aztec Warfare II. Pentagon responded with the "Cero Miedo" gesture. She did her weird disappear and reappear stuff, before saying Mil will be waiting for him in the Cueto Cup.
PJ Black vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.
Booking this was smart, as it adds to the build for Mundo/Mysterio. They had some solid exchanges in the early stages, with neither man gaining a clear advantage. In fact, almost each time one seemed to get something going, the other would cut him off. The pace quickened as things progressed, with Black nailing a Styles Clash and Rey hitting a tornado DDT. We got a ref bump, which brought out Mundo and Evans to jump Rey. Azteca made the save and sent them, as well as Taya, to the back. Rey countered a Razor's Edge and won with the 619 at 11:27. Solid main event, though some of the interference stuff late was annoying. I get that it fit the storyline, but it happens too often in Worldwide Underground matches. They're like, a way more talented Suzuki-Gun. [***]
Post-match, Rey promised to take the title in four weeks.
Overall: 7.5/10. The Cueto Cup has picked up in round two and that continued here. Mack/Texano was decent and gave us the incredible Famous B water gun spot. Black/Mysterio was solid despite the issues it had. The highlight was everything involving Pentagon. He killed it in a damn good match, an awesome post-match segment and the interaction with Catrina.
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G1 Climax 27 Night Eight
July 27th, 2017 | Aore Nagaoka Arena in Nagaoka, Niigata | Attendance: 2,821
The WON ratings for the G1 so far came out last night and they are as wild as I expected. Anyway, we’ve got more B Block action as Kazuchika Okada takes on Satoshi Kojima after making some disrespectful comments about his age, while Gedo gives us Kenny Omega vs. Michael Elgin for the fifth time in a year and a half.
El Desperado and Zack Sabre Jr. def. Ren Narita and Shota Umino in 6:11
Ryusuke Taguchi and Togi Makabe def. Hirai Kawato and Yuji Nagata in 6:51
Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi def. Katsuya Kitamura, Kota Ibushi and Tomoyuki Oka in 7:14
BUSHI and Tetsuya Naito def. Gedo and Tomohiro Ishii in 6:22
Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI def. David Finlay and Hiroshi Tanahashi in 7:18
B Block: Juice Robinson [2] vs. Tama Tonga [2]
Juice came in selling the leg again. After some even grappling, Tonga attacked the leg for an advantage. Some of Juice’s offense had to be altered due to the injury, which I appreciated. SELL THAT LEG! He completely crumpled on a chop block. Tonga placed him in the Tree of Joey Lawrence and ripped off his protective tape. Someone watched Sabre/Tanahashi from night one. They went into a good series of counters, with Juice surviving the Headshrinker. He picked up a great desperation rollup for two, but fell to the Gun Stun in 10:36. Solid work here. I continue to enjoy Juice’s selling and role as a resilient babyface. He’s earned his spot here and is making good on his opportunity. Tonga was fine here. [***]
B Block: NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champion SANADA [2] vs. Toru Yano [2]
SANADA has been consistently good so far, and the crowd has been way behind him. Typical Yano antics early on, complete with “BREAK” shouting. SANADA didn’t care and still grabbed him. SANADA missed his big moonsault and nearly lost via rollup. SANADA scored with a dive outside and took Yano up the ramp. He tied him up, literally, with the Paradise Lock to win by countout at 4:33. This is how Yano matches are supposed to be. Short and to the point. Not sure why he couldn’t get pinned, though. Establishing the countout as a legit finish is good so we can buy into the teases more, but it’s not like Yano needs protecting. [**¼]
B Block: NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champion EVIL [4] vs. NEVER Openweight Champion Minoru Suzuki [4]
This was a first time ever match I was excited for. They began exactly the way I hoped, with EVIL attacking instantly. They brawled to the outside and fought through the crowd. It’s a staple of the G1 and especially their matches, so you knew it was coming. Suzuki wailed on EVIL with several chairs while El Desperado looked on. It led to a countout tease and though that finish has been established, I can’t buy it in two straight matches. EVIL changed the tide with his own chair attacks. I loved EVIL going for the throat cut taunt, only for Suzuki to grab his hand and twist it around. Unfortunately, we got a ref bump, which led to Desperado attacking EVIL. BUSHI ran out to a pop to save him and hit a suicide dive on Desperado. That would’ve been okay, but then Taichi got involved and Hiromu took him out to a pop. With them gone, the ref stopped Minoru from using a chair. EVIL escaped the sleeper and won with the STO at 8:38. Before the ref bump, that was awesome. I didn’t hate the interference, especially since LIDJ got huge pops, but it’s not what I want to see in the G1. When Minoru was in the G1 24, his matches weren’t riddled with this stuff. Hopefully, EVIL gets a title shot from this and they kill it at Destruction or something. [***]
B Block: IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada [6] vs. Satoshi Kojima [0]
They met in the G1 23 (****) and exactly two years ago today in the G1 25 (***¼). Okada made note of how he felt guys like Kojima and Nagata shouldn’t be in the G1 because they’re old and have no chance of winning. Dick. The fans were way into Kojima and booed Okada’s early offense. The disrespectful little shit even goes after Tenzan. He got too cocky and opened the door for Kojima to wail on him with MONGOLIAN CHOPS! Okada did the Rainmaker pose and went for the elbow, but Kojima fired up and knocked him outside. Okada beat the count, only to get lit up with chops. Kojima came close with a bit Koji Cutter and brainbuster, but we know Okada survives a ton. Kojima avoided the Rainmaker and hit a lariat to the back of the head, before countering a second with his own lariat, leading to a great near fall. Okada avoided another lariat, hit a dropkick, tombstone and Rainmaker to win at 15:26. See? Okada doesn’t have to work 20+ minutes for it to be great. He didn’t use his tired formula, making for an interesting match. He was a dick throughout, which is when he’s at his best. The atmosphere was insane for Kojima, who fought valiantly but it wasn’t enough. This was my second favorite Okada match of the year, behind only the Shibata one. [****¼]
B Block: IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega [6] vs. Michael Elgin [2]
It’s the Gedo Special! This is their FIFTH match about 15 months. I rated them like this: Road to Wrestling Dontaku (****), Dominion (***½), G1 26 (***¼) and G1 Special (****¼). They’re tied 2-2. There was clear focus and intensity from Elgin, so Omega had to match it and couldn’t mess around. As usual, they played into the power vs. speed game. They know each other well enough that they had counters ready. Omega did his best to compete with Elgin’s heavy shots, but would just get overwhelmed at times. At one point, Elgin hit a backhand that sounded like something out of an Ishii/Shibata match. Omega exposed the floor outside, which I believe is a callback to their first match. He tried a rana off the apron, but Elgin countered with a powerbomb. He tried a super Elgin bomb, only to have it countered into a rana. They continued to bring the big blows, like a sick Omega Jay Driller, V-Triggers and Elgin hitting the Buckle Bomb/Elgin Bomb combo for a wild near fall. Since that wasn’t enough, Elgin pulled out the Burning Hammer to hand Omega his first loss at 24:39. Much better than their G1 match last year, but not quite their best work. A quality match where they had to alter things because of how well they knew each other. Lots of huge offense here, as they threw everything at one another. [***¾]
Overall: 7.5/10. Arguably the best B Block show thus far. It was the first to not feature an overly long Yano match and had two high quality matches. Tonga/Juice and EVIL/Suzuki were good matches, with the latter being on the way to great before the overbooking. Omega/Elgin was their third best match together, making for a fitting main event. However, Okada/Kojima is where this show shined brightest though. It was my favorite B Block match so far.
| A BLOCK | POINTS | B BLOCK | POINTS |
| Zack Sabre Jr. | 6 (3-1) | Kazuchika Okada | 8 (4-0) |
| Tetsuya Naito | 6 (3-1) | Kenny Omega | 6 (3-1) |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | 6 (3-1) | EVIL | 6 (3-1) |
| Bad Luck Fale | 4 (2-2) | Minoru Suzuki | 4 (2-2) |
| Tomohiro Ishii | 4 (2-2) | SANADA | 4 (2-2) |
| Togi Makabe | 4 (2-2) | Tama Tonga | 4 (2-2) |
| Kota Ibushi | 4 (2-2) | Michael Elgin | 4 (2-2) |
| Hirooki Goto | 4 (2-2) | Juice Robinson | 2 (1-3) |
| YOSHI-HASHI | 2 (1-3) | Toru Yano | 2 (1-3) |
| Yuji Nagata | 0 (0-4) | Satoshi Kojima | 0 (0-4) |
