NJPW G1 Climax 26 Night Fourteen
August 7th, 2016 | Act City Hamamatsu in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan
It hasn’t happened often, but the B Block has a tough act to follow. A Block had arguably their best night 24 hours earlier. The B Block combats it with another strong card featuring two stablemates, Tetsuya Naito and EVIL, going one on one in the main event, as well as some other intriguing matchups. As the tournament progresses, we get closer and closer to weeding out the contenders and start to eliminate some people. Anyway, let’s jump into this. As always, I’ll just be reviewing the tournament matches.
B Block: Toru Yano [8] def. IWGP Intercontinental Champion Michael Elgin [8] in 5:01
Both men have rebounded from slow starts, with Elgin winning four straight after an 0-2 start and Yano entering on a three match winning streak after an 0-3 start. They played off of Elgin being too strong and Yano being cowardly. BREAK. There was a lot of Yano being Yano and Elgin tossing him around a bit. Elgin set up for the buckle bomb, but Yano got free, hit a timely low blow and rolled him up to make it four in a row. Surprising result to me here. Either way, it was Yano stuff and again, it was fun. **¼
B Block: NEVER Openweight Champion Katsuyori Shibata [8] def. YOSHI-HASHI [6] in 11:11
These guys came out of the gates firing away on each other. Shibata took control early with a running boot that sent YOSHI outside. Thank goodness they didn’t do the typical countout tease. Instead, Shibata brought him back in quickly and worked a figure four. They ended up trading shots in the middle of the ring and kudos to YOSHI for hanging tough with Shibata. YOSHI ended up applying the butterfly lock but Shibata isn’t the kind of guy to submit. Shibata reached the ropes and kicked out of the swanton bomb shortly after. He blocked Karma and applied his own butterfly lock. YOSHI reached the ropes but quickly got put in the sleeper hold. A penalty kick later and Shibata got the win. A solid match here though I believe they are capable of more. It never reached that next level. It still featured hard hitting stuff from both guys, which I appreciate. ***¼
B Block: Katsuhiko Nakajima [8] def. Tomoaki Honma [4] in 13:01
Honma has lost four straight after winning his first two. Meanwhile, Nakajima has a case for B Block MVP (Ishii pretty much took a huge lead in overall tournament MVP). Honma missed an early Kokeshi, because that’s what he does, and Nakajima DDTed him on the apron. They traded shots in the ring until Nakajima went to another DDT. Honma ate some of Nakajima’s signature kicks, but fired up and wanted more. It kind of became Honma’s chops against Nakajima’s kicks. Honma nailed some leaping headbutts, but missed the top rope Kokeshi. Oh Honma, when will you ever learn? He survived a backdrop driver and several kicks before staying down after a Brainbuster. About what I’ve come to expect from Honma this year. Good, not great. Nakajima continues to be one of the best things about the entire tournament. ***¼
B Block: Kenny Omega [8] def. Yuji Nagata [6] in 14:20
Nagata entered on a three match losing streak. Omega has been really good at times (vs. YOSHI-HASHI, Shibata & Yano) and really disappointing at others (Honma, Elgin & EVIL). During his entrance, Omega noted that he likes Nagata’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” intro. Unfortunately, we don’t get to hear it as it is muted on NJPW World for copyright reasons I assume. Nagata did his leap frog fake out early before slapping and kicking away at Omega. Omega went to work on Nagata’s leg for what felt like a long time. They made it to the ten minute mark and almost nothing interested happened. They did a lengthy double countout tease spot and the leg work pretty much stopped mattering. Eventually, both guys blocked each other’s finishers before Omega connected on the One Winged Angel to win. Lackluster at best. The leg wok never really came into play, it felt like it dragged and even the crowd wasn’t very interested. **
B Block: Tetsuya Naito [10] def. EVIL [4] in 21:38
Los Ingobernables de Japon explodes! Two of my favorite theme songs in all of NJPW too. We got some early stalling before both guys did some signature stuff. Naito faked a dive and did his pose, while EVIL showed no favoritism and did his chair spot outside. EVIL took control inside for a bit until Naito went after the knee. It was much better knee work, from Naito’s offense to EVIL’s selling, than the previous match. EVIL had Naito’s rebound attack well scouted, catching him in a half nelson suplex and getting two on a lariat. A lot of this match was very 50/50. They built to a really good finish, where EVIL just beat the hell out of his leader. Destino failed and EVIL came back with some more big blows. Naito countered a big lariat into Destino and got the win to the crowd’s liking. This might have gone a bit long to be really great, but it was still really good. They worked at a slower pace than most G1 matches, which was a nice change of pace, and things really picked up down the stretch. ***¾
Overall: 6/10. One of the lesser B Block shows so far. The main event was relatively strong but nothing really stood out. Nagata/Omega was pretty garbage and Elgin/Yano was classic Yano. The middle matches (Shibata/YOSHI and Nakajima/Honma) were both solid. Even in a case like this show, where nothing was great, the B Block managed to be consistently good for the most part.
| A BLOCK | POINTS | B BLOCK | POINTS |
| Kazuchika Okada | 10 (5-2) | Tetsuya Naito | 10 (5-2) |
| Togi Makabe | 8 (4-3) | Katsuhiko Nakajima | 8 (4-3) |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | 8 (4-3) | Toru Yano | 8 (4-3) |
| Hirooki Goto | 8 (4-3) | Michael Elgin | 8 (4-3) |
| Bad Luck Fale | 8 (4-3) | Katsuyori Shibata | 8 (4-3) |
| Naomichi Marufuji | 8 (4-3) | Kenny Omega | 8 (4-3) |
| Tama Tonga | 6 (3-4) | YOSHI-HASHI | 6 (3-4) |
| Tomohiro Ishii | 6 (3-4) | Yuji Nagata | 6 (3-4) |
| Hiroyoshi Tenzan | 4 (2-5) | EVIL | 4 (2-5) |
| SANADA | 4 (2-5) | Tomoaki Honma | 4 (2-5) |
NJPW G1 Climax 26 Night Thirteen
August 6th, 2016 | EDION Arena Osaka in Osaka, Japan
This is one of the biggest A Block shows of the entire tournament. NJPW usually saves important shows and big matches for their trip to Osaka and that’s the case here. Ishii vs. Okada. Tanahashi vs. Marufuji. I wish Ishii was doing better so their match could really mean something special. Anyway, let’s jump into this. As always, I’ll just be reviewing the tournament matches.
A Block: Tama Tonga [6] def. SANADA [4] in 10:43
Tonga had to be wearing his worst pair of leggings so far. Meanwhile, SANADA has one of the coolest looks in wrestling right now. It’s the awesome Los Ingobernables de Japon against the shitty Bullet Club. Tonga used his elusiveness and knocked SANADA out leading to the typical G1 countout tease. I’ll mention it each time but SANADA’s leap frogs are very impressive. They traded stuff for a while with neither man gaining a clear advantage. SANADA busted out a tiger suplex for two and Tonga retaliated with the headshrinker DDT. Tonga countered the dragon sleeper into the roll of the dice, picking up a very close near fall. After having the Gun Stun blocked, Tonga ended up hitting it anyway and winning. Fine match. It started slow but picked up near the end. I just don’t get why SANADA is doing so poorly. He has future star written all over him. Tonga doesn’t. ***¼
A Block: Bad Luck Fale [8] def. Togi Makabe [8] in 8:38
Instead of beating up the ring announcer, Fale chose to just rip his sleeve off. SHIRT RIPPER! That was for anyone that has watched King Pow: Enter the Fist. They instantly brawled at the bell, which I like because it’s really all they’ve got. Fale ended up standing on a chair on top of Makabe on the aisle. Fale was in control throughout, but Makabe continued to fight back and get hope spots, playing off of his toughness. Makabe went up for the knee drop but Fale pulled him down for the Bad Luck Fall. Makabe slipped free and nailed a lariat. Fale survived a few more of those before hitting a spear and the Grenade to hand Makabe his third straight loss after starting 4-0. This was kind of just there. Not bad but it didn’t stand out either. It was about as good as I expected from these two. **¾
A Block: Hirooki Goto [8] def. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [4] in 12:03
Gedo has made it almost impossible to care about Goto. He’s also fumbled the Tenzan’s final G1 run angle so far, but at least the crowd still loves him. They wrestled an even match early on and, though the crowd was mostly into it, I just couldn’t really get behind it all. Tenzan applied the Anaconda Vice, Goto fought out but got hit with a big headbutt. Goto came back with ushigoroshi and looked conflicted before pinning. Tenzan survived and nailed a scoop tombstone but missed the moonsault. He did fire up on some of Goto’s biggest shots and sent him down with a series of headbutts. When he went for the Koji lariat though, Goto caught him in a sleeper and finished him with the GTR. The final few minutes had the feel this match was going for. Tenzan was fighting for his last shred of hope in his last G1, but Goto put him down like Old Yeller. That story down the stretch bumped this up and saved it after a lackluster start. The awesome duo of Tenkoji hugged and left together. ***
A Block: Tomohiro Ishii [6] def. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada [10] in 18:47
I thought their G1 match last year was a big disappointment. Speaking of disappointments, Okada has been coasting along in this G1, putting in minimal effort. Okada seemed to take this lightly but Ishii immediately woke him up with a lariat. He hit another and tried the Brainbuster but Okada slipped free and tried the Rainmaker, but Ishii avoided it. Both guys were throwing big blows early. Okada tried to man up and take Ishii chops but that didn’t work for obvious reasons. Okada began a comeback but Ishii cut him off before he could do the diving elbow. They spilled outside where Ishii started to sell the leg before taking a hangman’s DDT (not to be confused with Hangman Page) on the floor. Okada hit the elbow inside but Ishii got up and interrupted the Rainmaker pose with a chop. SO AWESOME. They went into a series of blocking and avoiding each other’s strikes. Ishii then pulled an Okada and struck with a dropkick. Ishii came close on a top rope superplex and sliding lariat while the crowd and commentary lost their minds. Okada blocked the Brainbuster twice and scored on a dropkick to the back of the head. After a near fall following three basement dropkicks, Okada hit the big one. Ishii avoided three Rainmakers and hit two sick headbutts. He also countered the tombstone into one of his own and then hit the lariat for the closest near fall of the night. Brainbuster connected and Ishii pulled it off! Easily the match of the tournament. Okada FINALLY decided to show up and Ishii is always tremendous. This was organically great, with the crowd being perfect and everything just clicking. It never felt long, had some fantastic exchanges and sequences. Right from the start, Ishii let Okada know that just because they’re stablemates, this wasn’t going to be easy. It felt like he was desperate to win and that he had Okada’s number tonight. Amazing work.****¾
A Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi [8] def. Naomichi Marufuji [8] in 19:06
The ace of NOAH against the ace of NJPW (yes, still over Okada). These guy had a tough act to follow for sure. They opened with a lengthy feeling out process, which is expected considering the two involved. A Tanahashi staple came into play as he began to work the leg. In a spot I can’t recall ever seeing, Marufuji hit Tanahashi with a piledriver ON THE APRON! Following a countout tease, Marufuji started working over Tanahashi, lighting him up with chops. Tanahashi started the comeback and got two on the second rope somersault senton. There was a cool moment outside when, after a Marufuji plancha, Tanahashi sent him into the guardrail and crawled back in. Unbeknownst to Tanahashi, Marufuji put the brakes on, went quick to the top and came off onto Tanahashi, stopping him from resting. Tanahashi blocked Shiranui twice, giving himself a breather after having his chest beaten red. Marufuji stopped High Fly Flow with a jumping high knee! Tanahashi managed to survive several more kicks and knees before hitting slingblade. He then hit two High Fly Flows to win. They had a tall task to follow the previous match but they did a good job. It was pretty much exactly what you’d expect from Tanahashi and Marufuji, playing to both of their strengths. ***¾
Overall: 8.5/10. I’m pretty sure this was my favorite A Block show so far. The middle portion does drag a bit but everything is pretty good. The main event was really good and Okada/Ishii proved to be the match of the tournament. My biggest grip with the A Block is still the booking though. Tenzan’s story has gone nowhere and Okada’s second loss looks like it sets up Tanahashi to beat him on the final night and win the entire block. Regardless, this is a very easy watch and pretty much everyone put in a strong effort.
| A BLOCK | POINTS | B BLOCK | POINTS |
| Kazuchika Okada | 10 (5-2) | Tetsuya Naito | 8 (4-2) |
| Togi Makabe | 8 (4-3) | Michael Elgin | 8 (4-2) |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | 8 (4-3) | Katsuhiko Nakajima | 6 (3-3) |
| Hirooki Goto | 8 (4-3) | Katsuyori Shibata | 6 (3-3) |
| Bad Luck Fale | 8 (4-3) | Kenny Omega | 6 (3-3) |
| Naomichi Marufuji | 8 (4-3) | Toru Yano | 6 (3-3) |
| Tama Tonga | 6 (3-4) | YOSHI-HASHI | 6 (3-3) |
| Tomohiro Ishii | 6 (3-4) | Yuji Nagata | 6 (3-3) |
| Hiroyoshi Tenzan | 4 (2-5) | EVIL | 4 (2-4) |
| SANADA | 4 (2-5) | Tomoaki Honma | 4 (2-4) |
NJPW G1 Climax 26 Night Twelve
August 4th, 2016 | Fukuoka Civic Gymnasium in Fukuoka, Japan
Tanahashi and Ishii had a great match on night eleven but we are now back to the great B Block. One of my most anticipated matches happens here when Tetsuya Naito and Katsuhiko Nakajima go one on one. Also, Kenny Omega faces Katsuyori Shibata for the first time ever. Add in a rematch of last year’s surprisingly good match between Michael Elgin and YOSHI-HASHI and there’s no reason this show shouldn’t deliver. As always, I’ll just be reviewing the tournament matches.
B Block: Toru Yano [6] def. Yuji Nagata [6] via countout in 4:21
These guys came in on opposite runs. Yano has won two straight after starting 0-3, while Nagata has dropped two in a row after a 3-0 start. Ever the agitator, Yano threw water at Nagata during his entrance. He did his usual BREAK stuff before stepping outside to avoid Nagata. Nagata went out and got him, kicking his ass in the ring. Things spilled back outside where Yano nailed a low blow. He then found tape and taped Nagata’s legs together. Yano beat the count inside and Nagata couldn’t. Pretty entertaining for what it was. You have to know what to expect when it comes to Yano and this was just that. **
B Block: IWGP Intercontinental Champion Michael Elgin [8] def. YOSHI-HASHI [6] in 12:29
At the G1 Climax Finals last year, these two exceeded expectations and had a really good match. YOSHI seems to have more tape on his shoulder with each passing show. They began with early chops before fighting outside. Elgin missed a lariat and caught the ring post, which sounded gross. That allowed YOSHI to take over a bit until Elgin hit a slingshot splash. Elgin blocked a sunset flip bomb but still got hit with a regular powerbomb with a bridge for two. YOSHI went high risk and it backfired as he missed the swanton bomb. Elgin pounced with a corner DVD, only getting a near fall. YOSHI continued to show resilience, even nearly stealing it with a jackknife pin. He applied the butterfly lock but Elgin reached the ropes. They started to exchange big blows in the center of the ring. Elgin nearly decapitated him with a lariat for two but quickly got up and won with the buckle bomb/Elgin Bomb combo. Slightly better than their G1 match last year once it picked up. They beat each other up, made you believe YOSHI-HASHI had a chance and had some really good near fall sequences without overdoing it. I don’t know if it was his wife or what, but a woman in the crowd was crying hard. ***¾
B Block: EVIL [4] def. Tomoaki Honma [4] in 9:57
EVIL’s standing in the tournament has been massively disappointing so far. Honma started hot, looking to get on the winning track. It’s Honma though, so of course he missed Kokeshi and it turned things around. EVIL took over a bit and we got a countout tease. Back inside, Honma started to rally. He actually connected on the Kokeshi but EVIL started bringing the heavy shots. He nailed a big German but Honma was quickly back up, only to get taken out again with a lariat. Honma blocked the STO and they traded headbutts. They continued to trade stuff until EVIL nailed a big time powerbomb like move and then the STO to win. Good match. EVIL has been consistently solid throughout and while Honma has mostly been the same, without his underdog story, his stuff has really lacked fire this year. None of the greatness from his past two G1 runs. ***
B Block: NEVER Openweight Champion Katsuyori Shibata [6] def. Kenny Omega [6] in 12:34
One of the more highly anticipated matches of the entire tournament. Omega’s game plan seemed to be to go after Shibata’s bad shoulder. Shibata responded by beating him down in the corner. Both guys threw each other in the guardrails. Omega then went to Shibata’s other injury, the knee, and dropped it on a table outside. It’s the G1, so of course this led to a countout tease. Omega went to a stretch muffler, continuing to work the knee, standing with it at one point to add pressure. He held serve until Shibata starting hitting big boots, selling the hurt leg the entire time. Just as Shibata seemed to gain a lot of momentum, Omega was back to attacking the leg to stop him. In an awesome moment, Shibata blocked the One Winged Angel and turned it into a submission. Omega reached the ropes and they began to kick away at each other, which worked since Shibata’s dominant arm is hurt but not the dominant leg. Omega won the exchange because of that and went for the One Winged Angel again. Shibata slipped free and locked in the sleeper. A PK later and he won. I came in just wanting Shibata to murder Omega but I really liked what we got too. Again, when Omega isn’t overly campy, his stuff is much more enjoyable. He was a smart villain, just going after hurt limbs and Shibata had to dig deep to beat him. ****
B Block: Tetsuya Naito [8] def. Katsuhiko Nakajima [6] in 19:13
Though a lot of people were excited for Shibata/Omega, this was the one I was most looking forward to. Their early standoff ended when Naito avoided a kick and did his trademark laid back pose. Spoiler alert: Tetsuya Naito is cooler than your favorite wrestler. He started playing mind games, stalling on the outside. He also hilariously told a loud fan to keep it down in the calmest fashion. Back inside, Naito worked the leg, looking to set up for his new knee bar submission. Luckily for Nakajima, his left leg was the focus, freeing up his right to kick the shit out of Naito. Nakajima dropped Naito’s leg on the guardrail, giving him a taste of his own medicine. Naito attempted his rebound attack only to leap right into a stiff kick. I love Nakajima’s kicks. Nakajima slapped on an ankle lock that Naito eventually reversed into the knee bar before Nakajima made it to the ropes. Naito hit a super rana and tried Destino but Nakajima blocked and hit a big DVD. They began to trade vicious forearm shots. The finishing stretch saw both guys bust out kicks, including a PK from Nakajima. He went for the Brainbuster only for Naito to turn it into Destino in mid-air. He added a second for good measure to get the 1-2-3. Another smart, great match to cap the show. This never felt long at all, they built to a good finish and both guys came out of it looking great. I’m all for a rematch somewhere down the line. ****
Overall: 8/10. Oh look at that. The B Block delivers yet again. As usual, Yano had a very Yano like match, but I give points to the creative finish. Honma/EVIL is good. Elgin/YOSHI was really good and continued YOSHI’s string of good matches in the G1. Then the two main events are both great. Omega/Shibata was kept to the right length and featured none of Omega’s terrible traits, while Nakajima/Naito lived up to my expectations.
| A BLOCK | POINTS | B BLOCK | POINTS |
| Kazuchika Okada | 10 (5-1) | Tetsuya Naito | 8 (4-2) |
| Togi Makabe | 8 (4-2) | Michael Elgin | 8 (4-2) |
| Naomichi Marufui | 8 (4-2) | Katsuhiko Nakajima | 6 (3-3) |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | 6 (3-3) | Katsuyori Shibata | 6 (3-3) |
| Hirooki Goto | 6 (3-3) | Kenny Omega | 6 (3-3) |
| Bad Luck Fale | 6 (3-3) | Toru Yano | 6 (3-3) |
| Hiroyoshi Tenzan | 4 (2-4) | YOSHI-HASHI | 6 (3-3) |
| Tama Tonga | 4 (2-4) | Yuji Nagata | 6 (3-3) |
| Tomohiro Ishii | 4 (2-4) | EVIL | 4 (2-4) |
| SANADA | 4 (2-4) | Tomoaki Honma | 4 (2-4) |
WWE Cruiserweight Classic
August 3rd 2016 | Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida
The opening video package recaps the four men who advanced last week, Zack Sabre Jr., Drew Gulak, Tony Nese and the Brian Kendrick.
Corey Graves takes us to the updated brackets before we get any actual action tonight.
Rich Swann def. Jason Lee in 3:44
Jason Lee represented China, while Rich Swann is there for the USA. Lee did not seem pleased with Swann's pre-match dancing. The crowd sung "All Night Long" for Swann at the bell. Jason Lee looked great early on until Swann nailed a big rana and rolling frog splash for two. Lee fell to a big 450 splash from Swann. I was not happy this was so short. They had a really good chemistry and Lee looked way better than his fellow China counterpart, Ho Ho Lun. Swann winning was the right move since he's under contract, but I would have rather he beat Lun and Lee go over on the first night. Swann meets Lince in the next round. ***
Noam Dar def. Gurv Sihra in 5:25
At 22, Dar is the youngest man in the tournament. Sihra is from India, while Dar is from Scotland. Like his brother earlier in the tourney, Gurv showed some personality early on. Gurv aggressively whipped Dar into the corner, so Dar responded with one of his own. Dar hit some dropkicks, including one in the corner for a near fall. Before a move off the second rope, Gurv acts like he's filming a movie and it costs him as Dar moved. He hit a fisherman suplex for two and went right into a kneebar that made Gurv tap. Decent at best. Dar looked alright but I still haven't been overly impressed by him. Dar meets Ho Ho Lun in round two. **
Jack Gallagher def. Fabian Aichner in 6:44
Gallagher represented England and Aichner is from Italy. Aichner must be all of the 205 pounds because he looks pretty jacked. Aichner played the strong man but Gallagher was very impressive with his technique and mat work. Bryan pointed out that he's outweighed by 40 points as he nonchalantly cartwheeled out of harm's way. Aicher tried a springboard kick and it came off awkwardly. We got a series of near falls and Aichner hit a big backbreaker. He did a lot better with a double springboard moonsault for two. Aichner also found a way to nail a huge powerbomb but Gallagher kicked out again. Gallagher avoided a headbutt and hit a dope corner dropkick to advance. While the dropkick was great, it felt a bit anti-climactic after all of Aichner's offense. One of the best first round matches for sure. Aichner looked impressive at times and Gallagher got to show off his resiliency and mat skills. In round two, he takes on Tozawa. ***1/2
Johnny Gargano def. Tommaso Ciampa in 10:46
Both guys rep the States. Ciampa from Milwaukee and Gargano from Cleveland. Both guys got interviewed beforehand. Dueling "Psycho Killer"/"Johnny Wrestling" chants. Their early wrestling exchanges ended when Ciampa delivered a vicious elbow that sent spit flying everywhere. From there on, these guys just hit each other hard. Ciampa especially stated killing Gargano with shots. He hit an air raid crash on the apron and removed his knee pad for a big knee. Remembering it is his friend, Ciampa decided against it and walked into a superkick. Ciampa came back with a vicious powerbomb lungblower combo that somehow got a near fall. Gargano looked out of it and tried to trade shots but Ciampa won out there with sick shots. Gargano ducked one and they rolled around on the mat where Gargano finally got a crucifix for the victory. Great work from both guys. Not on was it hard hitting, but they told a great story. Ciampa was brutal, but held back just enough at times to not injure his friend and partner. They knew each other well enough to counter constantly. Gargano also came across as the most resilient of babyfaces. Gargano takes on TJ Perkins in the second round. Best match of the first round. ****
Gargano offered a handshake to Ciampa, who walked away in frustration. He ended up turning back and sitting in the middle of the ring with Gargano before hugging him.
Next week, Tajiri vs. Gran Metalik and Cedric Alexander vs. Kota Ibushi in our first 2nd round match.
Overall: 8/10. Another good episode of the Cruiserweight Classic. The first two matches are nothing to write home about really. The opener was fun but too short and the Noam/Gurv match disappointed. It's the final two that really take this to the next level. Gallagher/Aichner was way better than expected and Gargano/Ciampa was all kinds of awesome.
NJPW G1 Climax 26 Night Eleven
August 3rd, 2016 | Kagoshima Arena in Kagoshima, Japan
The G1 Climax returns with more A Block action. These middle of the tournament shows weren’t anything to write home about last year, and so far, it has been more of the same this time around. However, this show has some big implications since the two guys tied atop the standings, Kazuchika Okada and Togi Makabe, face off for first place. As always, I’ll just be reviewing the tournament matches.
A Block: Bad Luck Fale [6] def. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [4] in 8:22
I still don’t get their thinking with the Tenzan story. His final run story should have handled much better than it has been thus far. Fale beat up the ring announcer during his introduction again. The match between these two was pretty terrible last year. This was better than that night, but I still didn’t find myself very interested. Fale used his power before Tenzan rallied and started nailing headbutts. He went up top but missed the moonsault. Tenzan then avoided some of Fale’s shots before ultimately falling to the Grenade. I would have written more about this, I just couldn’t bring myself to care enough. **
A Block: Hirooki Goto [6] def. Tama Tonga [4] in 12:31
Hirooki Goto started this G1 2-0, but has lost three straight since then. On the other hand, Tama Tonga began 0-2 before winning two of three. It looked like Tonga was going to give a clean break early, but he came back to get in a cheap shot. Shortly after, it was time for the typical G1 brawling on the outside and countout tease. I shouldn’t even call it a G1 thing since it happens so often in NJPW period. They even did another countout tease a little while later, though this one wasn’t as dramatic. They started slugging it out in the ring and Goto fired up around the ten minute mark. He hit a suplex/facebuster but Tonga countered his next move into the roll of the dice. Somewhere, Reno is proud. Tonga got two on the headshrinker DDT and then they went into a strange series of running the ropes. Both guys were stopping midway to run off of different ropes, which was kind of cool. Goto blocked the Gun Stun three times before winning via GTR. Like Tonga’s match with Okada, this started rather slow before picking up in the finishing stretch. It might have been Tonga’s best performance to date and another pretty good, but far from great Goto showing this year. ***
A Block: Naomichi Marufuji [8] def. SANADA [4] in 10:39
This was actually the match I was most excited about coming into this night. Their first exchange was pretty cool and saw the crowd come to their feet in appreciation. Marufuji nailed a dive outside onto SANADA but the crowd barely responded to it. They seemed less into this match than the others on the card. They engaged in a chop battle that saw SANADA remove his tank top and daring Marufuji to bring it. Marufuji certainly chops hard, so SANADA has some balls. SANADA did get tired of being lit up and resorted to an uppercut before scoring on his sweet dropkick. Both guys countered each other’s finisher a few times until SANADA got two on a TKO. SANADA should just use all moves with all uppercase letters so when I write about his matches, it’ll look insane. Marufuji got to the ropes to break the dragon sleeper and nailed a running knee. Marufuji then reeled off a series of kicks and Shiranui to pick up the win. Best match so far. I’d have switched match length around for this and the previous match since they felt like they were just about to really get going. Marufuji continues to deliver and SANADA has been solid throughout. I just don’t see why he continues to be at the bottom of the standings. Marufuji offered a post-match handshake but SANADA declined. ***½
A Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi [6] def. Tomohiro Ishii [4] in 16:15
I gave their match in the G1 23 ****½ and their G1 24 outing ***¾. These are two men that usually deliver, especially in the G1 Climax. The Tanahashi redemption rally story for this G1 isn’t very intriguing to me. He fought from behind here again, as Ishii started hot. Ishii even took a page out of Tanahashi’s book and busted out dragon screws. Ishii continued to go after the leg but Tanahashi answered that with some of his own leg work. Disrespectful kicks to the face by Ishii saw Tanahashi respond with a flurry of slaps. They fought up top where Tanahashi laid into Ishii with forearms until Ishii seemed to spit at him and fire up, leaning into each shot. Ishii hit the stalling superplex and both men were down. It was time to man up as they traded shots in the center of the ring and again, Ishii leaned into the shots BECAUSE HE’S A MAN. Tanahashi countered the Brainbuster twice but got hit with a dragon suplex. Once he got up, he hit Ishii with his own and a straightjacket suplex for two. Ishii rolled away from High Fly Flow and nailed the seated lariat for the closest near fall of the night. Tanahashi made the mistake of headbutting Ishii because Ishii’s retaliation headbutt made him crumple. Ishii kicked out of another dragon suplex but then Tanahashi got going. He nailed slingblade and two High Fly Flows to even his record at 3-3. Awesome match that is a contender for the best of the tournament so far. They always work well together and Ishii kicking ass at the start was great. It really felt like Tanahashi had to dig deep to win, which it sometimes doesn’t. Sometimes you just feel like it is a typical babyface rally but this worked extremely well. ****¼
A Block: IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada [10] def. Togi Makabe [8] in 15:04
I get this going on last since it A) includes the champion and B) is for first place, but I couldn’t see them topping the previous match. Makabe and Okada have a very weird chemistry and they always seem to do well together for some reason but neither guy has had a good tournament thus far. Guess what happened early in this match? That’s right, another countout tease. Considering their hair color and gear, this looked like Okada wrestling a meaner, bigger, tougher version of himself from 15 years in the future. Both guys did their standard offense and nothing felt important. Makabe nailed a spider belly to belly instead of a German but missed the King Kong Knee Drop. Makabe countered a Rainmaker into a German but still fell victim to one and took the loss. Look, I never expected Makabe to win but unlike Tanahashi/Ishii, these two were unable to make me feel like it was even a possibility. This was maybe our third straight A Block main event that lacked drama or intensity. This never felt like a battle for first place, instead seeming like two guys putting on a house show match. **¾
Overall: 6.5/10. A step from the last A Block show. Fale and Tenzan basically had the match I expected them to have. Tonga and Goto was better than expected and I found SANADA/Marufuji to be the second best match of the evening. The main event was severely underwhelming, which is becoming an A Block trend. The show stealer was Ishii/Tanahashi, which is a match of the tourney contender and is up there with Ishii/Tenzan from night one for best A Block outing so far.
| A BLOCK | POINTS | B BLOCK | POINTS |
| Kazuchika Okada | 10 (5-1) | Katsuhiko Nakajima | 6 (3-2) |
| Togi Makabe | 8 (4-2) | Tetsuya Naito | 6 (3-2) |
| Naomichi Marufui | 8 (4-2) | Michael Elgin | 6 (3-2) |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | 6 (3-3) | YOSHI-HASHI | 6 (3-2) |
| Hirooki Goto | 6 (3-3) | Kenny Omega | 6 (3-2) |
| Bad Luck Fale | 6 (3-3) | Yuji Nagata | 6 (3-2) |
| Hiroyoshi Tenzan | 4 (2-4) | Toru Yano | 4 (2-3) |
| Tama Tonga | 4 (2-4) | Tomoaki Honma | 4 (2-3) |
| Tomohiro Ishii | 4 (2-4) | Katsuyori Shibata | 4 (2-3) |
| SANADA | 4 (2-4) | EVIL | 2 (1-4) |
