G1 Climax 24 Finals
August 10th, 2014 | Seibu Dome in Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan
So here it is. After 11 shows I have reached the finals of the G1 Climax. This show is set up differently than the other cards as not everything is a singles match since the tournament is over outside of the finals between Nakamura and Okada. Actually, there is also a match to determine third place so there are some tournament implications here.
The opening to this show is a bit different as it shows various highlights throughout this breathtaking tournament. The show is being run in a baseball stadium so it looks pretty cool.
Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Ryusuke Taguchi, Satoshi Kojima and Tiger Mask vs. Suzuki-Gun (El Desperado, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Lance Archer and Taka Michinoku)
After their performances in the G1, I’m all about seeing more from Davey and Archer. On the flipside, the less I see of Taguchi, the happier I am. Being the heel group, Suzuki-Gun attacks at the bell. They start to work on Tiger Mask, with the Killer Elite Squad doing most of the damage. Tiger Mask manages to make a tag and Kojima comes in with his signature stuff. Everybody actually ends up kind of doing their thing, though it all seems rushed. I find out why when Taguchi hits Dodon and wins in short order.
Winners: Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Ryusuke Taguchi, Satoshi Kojima and Tiger Mask in 6:15
I think that this worked well as an opener in theory, but the execution was off. They knew they were only getting about six minutes and tried to cram a lot into that time. Due to that, it all felt rushed and nothing lasted long enough for anyone to really care. *¾
Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Doc Gallows and Yujiro Takahashi) vs. BUSHI, Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata
This is the first I’m seeing of BUSHI. Gallows and Nakanishi start, trying to overpower one another. BUSHI comes in and gives us a change of pace, quickening things until he eats a hot shot. Being the little man on his team, BUSHI starts to take the heat as the Bullet Club seem to have fun tossing him around. Nagata gets tagged and works some fun stuff with Fale before delivering suplexes to Gallows and Takahashi. He gets the armbar on Fale but Takahashi makes it in to break the hold. BUSHI rolls up Takahashi and rolls around to make him dizzy. Things break down as the other four men start brawling on the outside, meaning the finish is probably coming. The NEVER Champion and BUSHI stumble through their next spot before Takahashi wins with a buckle bomb and Miami Shine.
Winner: Bullet Club in 8:23
Better than the opener but still nothing you need to see. BUSHI seemed energized and Yuji Nagata was awesome as always, but everyone else seemed to be going through the motions. Decent at best. **
Chaos (Kazushi Sakuraba, Toru Yano and YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Suzuki-Gun (Minoru Suzuki, Shelton X Benjamin and Takashi Iizuka)
So far tonight, outside of a few moments, the crowd is pretty dead. I don’t know if they can get any more quiet than they are here. Shelton does some basic stuff with YOSHI-HASHI but nobody cares about it. Then, things went outside where Iizuka hit YOSHI with a chair. Iizuka and Yano do some stuff in the ring that isn’t very good. The match has pretty much just been all brawling, though there seems to be an emphasis on Suzuki and Sakuraba, who would meet about five months later at Wrestle Kingdom 9. These two grapple until Suzuki applies a submission on the ropes and doesn’t let go, causing the DQ.
Winners via disqualification: Chaos in 9:42
Man, I rarely write about disqualifications in New Japan. This might be my first actually. I enjoyed almost none of the match but I id like the finish here. It isn’t the best but it set up the Suzuki/Sakuraba WK9 match, which was contested under UWFI rules. *
Adam Cole and Mike Bennett w/ Maria Kanellis vs. Captain New Japan and Jushin Thunder Liger
The NJPW cameramen REALLY love Maria Kanellis and I love them for it. Cole and Liger start with a solid little exchange. Bennett comes in, and must know of Captain New Japan’s win loss record, because he wants to face him. Outside, he gets his face shoved into Maria’s breasts. I mean, there are worse ways for the match to go downhill for you. He starts to take the heat as Cole and Bennett work pretty well as a unit. Captain New Japan manages to fight out and make the hot tag to Liger, who the crowd is very into. He and Cole again work some fun stuff, including a near fall on a small package from Liger before going old school with a double clothesline spot. Both guys tag out and the Captain actually looks like he’s nearing a victory. Maria gets on the apron and pulls off a Miss Elizabeth at SummerSlam like distraction, which the cameraman nails. This leads to the finish following a Bennett piledriver.
Winners: Adam Cole and Mike Bennett in 10:56
Solid, good old fashioned tag team wrestling here. They didn’t try to do anything out of this world and just focused on classic tag formula, which worked well. I even liked how they managed to incorporate Maria into the match and Captain Ne Japan’s reaction to her adds at least ¼ of a star to the score. ***
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
The Time Splitters (c) vs. reDRagon
Since I began watching New Japan, the Jr. Divisions have been lacking, but these are easily my two favorite teams from the Jr. Tag ranks. This also happens to be the NJPW debut of reDRagon. Early on, the champs hold serve with a series of arm wringers and quick tags. The double teams move that they bust out come at a quick pace, reminding me of the Motor City Machine Guns. When reDRagon takes over, they are allowed to get their shit in, showing the fans of New Japan what they can do. A big spot comes as KUSHIDA goes to the top and hits a cross body to the outside over the guardrail onto the challengers. reDRagon comes very close on a top rope falcon arrow from Fish. Shelley then saves his partner from Chasing the Dragon, only to get taken out himself with a backbreaker/knee drop combination. O’Reilly hits a Brainbuster and when KUSHIDA kicks out, pulls his arm right into an armbar but it gets broken up. KUSHIDA and O’Reilly have a great exchange near the end. Their chemistry was on point from here, got better at their next match and was at its peak during their Best of the Super Juniors Final a year later. KUSHIDA gets him in Kimura as Fish desperately tries to make the save. Shelley holds him off, knocks him outside and hits a suicide dive. With no help in sight, O’Reilly taps.
Winners and Still IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions: The Time Splitters in 14:21
That’s the big upswing in quality that this show needed. This was about as good a debut as reDRagon could have hoped for. They looked great as a credible threat to the titles and it solidified them as a team to reckon with. They would go on to win the belts later that year. These two teams would have better matches down the line, but this was a good start. I liked how the previous match was old school tag style and this was much more of the modern style. ***¾
During intermission, Jeff Jarrett and Scott D’Amore come out to Jarrett’s old TNA theme like it’s Impact in 2005. They sign a contract forming a partnership between NJPW and GFW. All that really ever comes from this is that Wrestle Kingdom 9 was aired in the US with Jim Ross and Matt Striker on commentary. At least I think that was all. I’m not 100% sure.
Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomoaki Honma
Nothing on the line here but Honma is super over thanks to his G1 efforts. I don’t speak Japanese but I believe commentary talks about how Naito beat both Okada and Styles during the tournament. He gets a pretty grand entrance. As expected in a Honma match, he misses the early headbutt only this time it happens twice. Naito dropkicks him and them mocks his taunt, drawing heat from the crowd. I love seeing early signs of heel Naito, which has become one of my favorite things in all of wrestling. He continues to play the dick role with the crowd behind Honma. Honma gets a close call on a powerbomb followed by a Brainbuster but can’t put the 2013 G1 winner away. He misses Kokeshi, leading to a fun forearm battle and a big headbutt from Honma. He also gets two on a rollup that the fans bite on. Shortly after, Naito just hits Stardust Press and wins.
Winner: Tetsuya Naito in 8:56
I felt like this was a solid match that was missing something. Honma is a great underdog and Naito playing the role of the heel made that work even better. However, just as the match seemed to be getting to the good stuff, it ended kind of abruptly. ***¼
Karl Anderson vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Right from the start, Karl Anderson targets the legit injured shoulder of Ishii. It’s crazy that after hurting his shoulder, the quality of his matches didn’t see a drop. Takahashi gets in some cheap shots outside as Ishii sells the shoulder. I wasn’t able to see it happen but something has given Ishii a bloody nose. It may even be broken. Because he’s Ishii though, he fires up, giving us a cool visual with all of the blood on his face. In an extremely scary moment, Ishii tries a superplex but his shoulder gives out and he nearly breaks Anderson’s neck. It becomes hard to watch some of what follows as Ishii is clearly in a lot of pain through everything that they do. He does manage to hit a regular Brainbuster but Takahashi pulls the referee out and attacks Ishii. This brings out Ishii’s Chaos buddy YOSHI-HASHI to send Takahashi off. Anderson hits the Bernard Driver for a near fall. Ishii tries another Brainbuster but it is reversed into the Gun Stun to end things.
Winner: Karl Anderson in 9:39
Tons of props to Tomohiro Ishii for making it through that match. Despite the obvious issues that he was having, they managed to put on a good match, though it was hard to watch at times. The interference didn’t negatively impact this either, which isn’t always the case. ***
Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata
These two men would end up going on to win the IWGP Tag Team Titles at Wrestle Kingdom 9. There is an early battle of forearms, with neither man really giving an inch. Following this, things seem to slow down a bit, but that’s understandable given the nature of the early stuff. Both guys just start back suplexing each other in a row. Goto hits a backbreaker and a knee to the chest that seems to possibly really hurt Shibata. He takes a while recovering outside and even when he comes back in, he looks to not be in tip top shape. Shibata still manages to hit a GTS that looks like it really hurt Goto’s jaw. Goto comes back with shots but then Shibata just ends him with a sick spinning back fist. It’s up there among my favorite moves because it’s just so vicious. He hits a second GTS, that isn’t as good as the first, and wins with the PK.
Winner: Katsuyori Shibata in 11:16
A good match here, with a great finishing stretch. They started hot, cooled a bit towards the middle, but picked up the pace in the end. I’ve heard that they’ve had better matches together, which I’ll have to check out. Good to see Shibata win on the final show since he was so good throughout the tournament. ***½
G1 Climax Third Place Match
AJ Styles vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Tanahashi wants this to be a one on one encounter and AJ obliges by sending Doc Gallows and Bad Luck Fale to the back. The crowd is pretty umped as the two men go through a feeling out process. Tanahashi hits the first big move, a cross body, and forces AJ to regroup outside. Tanahashi taunts which clearly bugs AJ. He comes back with his signature dropkick and does his own taunt. AJ reminds everyone that he is absolutely the heel here, crotching Tanahashi and shaking the ropes while doing so. They go through a series of counters that ends when Tanahashi front suplexes AJ onto the top rope. It comes off wrong and AJ is nearly thrown straight to the floor. Outside, Tanahashi leaps over the guardrail to cross body the IWGP Champion. Back inside, they exchange kicks and strikes before Tanahashi gets two on a German. AJ comes back with some offense of his own, really hammering home that neither guy has a clear advantage. More strikes and then Tanahashi hits a dragon suplex for two. AJ nails a big top rope rana and looks for the Styles Clash but Tanahashi fights it so he just chooses to drop him on his head instead. He goes for a frog plash but Tanahashi gets his knees up, and AJ does the same when Tanahashi tries for High Fly Flow. Styles nails a great looking Bloody Sunday and goes for the Styles Clash, but Tanahashi counters into a cradle to earn the 1-2-3.
Winner: Hiroshi Tanahashi in 16:24
Just a really great match between these two. It was even throughout and made sure that neither guy came out looking better than the other, especially with how the finish came. I took this as AJ Styles, the current champion, wanting to prove that he was better than the “ace” of New Japan. AJ sending the Bullet Club back, the counters and close calls all worked towards this. ****¼
After the match, the Bullet Club show up to beat down on Hiroshi Tanahashi. AJ Styles caps this with a Styles Clash, until Jeff Jarrett and Scott D’Amore run in to send them packing. D’Amore takes out Jarrett’s guitar as he helps Tanahashi up. Jarrett’s guitar says “Bullet Club” and he breaks it over Tanahashi’s head before revealing a Bullet Club shirt. Yea, despite my love for AJ Styles, I’m not big on the Bullet Club. The crowd doesn’t even really boo this but it seems like they really don’t care.
G1 Climax 24 Finals
Kazuchika Okada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Just like the last match, this starts with the men jockeying for an advantage, but neither seeming to grab one. They spill outside for a short time, where Okada applies a chinlock on the guardrail. They are stablemates but things get more physical as the match progresses thanks to what’s at stake. Nakamura goes into some of his trademark stuff, hitting a knee drop on the apron. He stays in control until Okada awkwardly sets him up top and dropkicks him off and to the outside. Okada hits the elbow inside and calls for the Rainmaker. Nakamura is ready and counters into a lung blower though. They go back and forth for a bit, with Nakamura trying an armbar and delivering some more vicious knee strikes. He misses the Boma Ye and eats the Air Raid backbreaker. Okada then nails a dropkick to the back of the head followed by the tombstone. He looks for the Rainmaker again, but Nakamura counters it into a cross armbreaker in fantastic fashion. To break it, Okada has to get to his feet and stomp on Nakamura. Nakamura quickly hits Boma Ye but is too tired to cover instantly. When they get up, they trade blows and Okada hits another dropkick. Nakamura comes back with another Boma Ye but can’t get the win. A German from Okada can’t do the trick either and Nakamura goes for a third Boma Ye but it gets blocked. Okada then uses a backslide for two, but goes right into some short clotheslines. He finishes the flurry with a Rainmaker that Nakamura flips inside out for and wins the G1 Climax.
Winner: Kazuchika Okada in 23:18
A rather fitting end to this great tournament. I don’t believe it was up there with the absolute classics that this G1 has delivered, but it was still great. The first few minutes aren’t the most entertaining, but I like them building towards the bigger stuff. They would have a better match a year later, but this was a really good way to end things. ****
Overall: 7/10. If you cut out the first three matches, you’d have a pretty fantastic show. Outside of those relative stinkers, every match comes in around three or more stars. The final two matches are great, the other singles matches are good and the tag matches are enjoyable. Against the rest of this tournament, a disappointing show, but still pretty good.
G1 Climax 24 Day Eleven
August 8th, 2014 | Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
We’ve reached the second to last day of the tournament. After this show, we will figure out what the finals will be. Will AJ Styles make it as champion? Will it be Hiroshi Tanahashi? Can Shinsuke Nakamura make it in the midst of a great year? Will Kazuchika Okada manage to keep his lead? Hell, could Bad Luck Fale sneak in? Can Tomoaki Honma actually win a match? Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan have the night off.
Block A
Shelton X Benjamin (8) vs. Tomoaki Honma (0)
Right from the start, Tomoaki Honma looks for a rollup, which makes sense given his score in this tournament. He also nearly gets a countout win after hitting a headbutt to the outside. In a relatively neat spot, Honma eats a back suplex onto the guardrail but manages to avoid the countout. Shelton continues to bully Honma, but can’t put the resilient man down. Honma fires up while they trade shots only to eat a dragon whip. As Shelton tries for Paydirt, Honma headbutts him in the chest. He then hits the falling headbutt ON THE FIRST TRY! The fans go nuts for this, sensing a win as he climbs up top. He misses the top rope Kokeshi but then comes very close on a rollup. He then runs into a superkick and Paydirt finishes him off.
Winner: Shelton X Benjamin (10) in 8:08
A strong way to open the show. The fans absolutely bought into the possibility that Honma would finally get his win on the final night. It wasn’t in the cards though. Shelton played the bully role well and the close calls made this rather exhilarating. ***¼
Block B
Toru Yano (8) vs. Yujiro Takahashi (6)
Like a typical heel, Takahashi attacks while Yano is drinking water before the bell. Both guys try to cheat but it is Yano who gets his corner spot to work, only for it to end up backfiring. Some more typical Yano shenanigans as he hits a low blow but only gets two on it. Takahashi shoves him into the referee and hits some low blows of his own, which is enough to win. After the match, Takahashi reveals that he was wearing a cup.
Winner: Yujiro Takahashi (8) in 2:56
I figured Takahashi would win here as the NEVER Champion shouldn’t have that bad of a record in this thing. I liked that they played off of him being ready for the low blow, since nobody else prepped for it. Short, effective, but not very entertaining. *
Block B
Hirooki Goto (8) vs. Lance Archer (6)
Archer continues to impress as the imposing big man, overpowering Goto in the early stages. Goto busts out a plancha, which I don’t believe he has done all tournament. I’d like to point out that the “American Psycho” nickname for Archer is pretty rad. He takes control and really works over Goto for a while. As Archer looked for a Chokeslam of sorts, Goto used a headbutt to block. They fight up top where Goto gets back dropped off. Archer nails a big Chokeslam for two. He connects on his finish and puts Goto away.
Winner: Lance Archer (8) in 8:52
Solid match here. Lance Archer impressed me throughout this, though he was still on the lesser half of performers throughout this. After an unbeaten start, Goto proceeded to go 1-6 the rest of the way. Decent, but nothing more. **¾
Block B
Karl Anderson (8) vs. Tetsuya Naito (10)
Following his Bullet Club brother Takahashi earlier, Anderson attacks before the bell. He then powerbombs Naito onto the apron! Naito nearly gets counted out and when he breaks the count, Anderson sends him back out for a count of 19. Anderson goes to work inside, trying to keep the resilient Naito down, taunting him along the way. Naito goes into a flurry of offense, working at such a quick pace. He caps it with a missile dropkick, but his corner dropkick is blocked and turned into a TKO. Naito counters a powerbomb with a rana and hits the corner dropkick. He gets two on a bridging German as they are certainly working quickly. He goes for the Stardust Press but crashes and burns. Anderson wins an exchange of strikes and gets two on the Bernard driver. Their next exchange is as fast as the rest of the match and when Naito goes for his rebound attack, he is caught in a great Gun Stun that ends it.
Winner: Karl Anderson (10) in 7:51
An absolute blast of a sprint. They knew that had less than eight minutes to work with and made the best of it, fitting a ton into it without overdoing it. Naito bumped well throughout, Anderson was a total dick and the math was fun. The great finish was the capper. ***¾
Block A
Tomohiro Ishii (8) vs. Yuji Nagata (8)
They just go right at it, nailing each other with vicious forearms and kicks. Nagata’s kick give him an upper hand, while Ishii’s slaps and strikes do the same for him. The crowd comes unglued for a sequence of non-stop slaps. Nagata nails an exploder, tries for a Brainbuster, has that blocked and gets hit with a German. After a big suplex from Ishii, Nagata comes back with some of the hardest hitting shots I’ve heard all tourney. Nagata then catches Ishii’s busted shoulder and targets it, leading to some great selling on the part of Ishii. Ishii goes for a lariat on a seated Nagata, but it gets caught right into an armbar. Yuji wrenches back on it, which is made all the better by Ishii’s injury and facial expressions of pain. Ishii makes the ropes and their next series of strikes ends with a Yuji heel kick and Brainbuster for two. More strikes and a big headbutt to the chest by Ishii. A lariat gets him two. Ishii hits a second and then a Brainbuster to pull out the victory.
Winner: Tomohiro Ishii (10) in 11:46
Well that certainly was some badass shit. Just excellent efforts from both men. Yuji Nagata going after the injured arm was fantastic and Ishii did a tremendous job of selling it and having to find a way to win with one arm. He has easily been in the upper echelon of performers in the tournament and Nagata has been damn good too. Stellar stuff. ****¼
Block A
Doc Gallows (6) vs. Katsuyori Shibata (12)
I thought that Shibata had a shot at the finals, but looking at the standings, he can’t. Even if he wins and Tanahashi and Nakamura, the guys in front of him lose, that means Fale would have beaten Nakamura. Fale beat Shibata, giving him the tiebreaker. That sucks. Onto the match, despite being the smaller competitor, Shibata gives no fucks and aggressively attacks Gallows, even toying with him at times. Gallows takes advantage outside for a bit, but is locked in the sleeper inside. Shibata just lays into Gallows after that. The two men start trading blows and Gallows slips out of the GTS, hitting a pump handle slam. Gallows Pole is hit for two, and a second one keeps Shibata down.
Winner: Doc Gallows (8) in 6:30
The G1 Climax can be weird right? Shibata beats Nakamura and Tanahashi, but loses to Gallows. As with most of Gallows’ performances, this wasn’t great, but was really solid. I liked that he tried to go blow for blow with Shibata. **¾
Block A
Bad Luck Fale (12) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (14)
Here is where things get interesting. If Nakamura and Tanahashi win tonight, Tanahashi gets into the finals. If Tanahashi loses later, whoever wins this is in. There is also the fact that Fale took the IC Title from Nakamura so a lot is on the line here. The fight spills outside early, where Fale whips Nakamura with a belt until the referee takes it from him. Fale now plays the dominant big man, pounding away on Nakamura. A big running knee turns thing around for Nakamura. He seems to go into his offense but runs into a Samoan drop. Fale hits a series of moves and a splash gets him a near fall. Both men block some key moves by the other and Shinsuke misses the Boma Ye. Fale connects with the Samoan Spike for a near fall that the fans ate up. Nakamura hits a superplex and goes for Boma Ye again, but is met with a spear. When Fale sets for the Bad Luck Fall, the fans fear the end but Nakamura slips free. He takes a page out of Shibata’s book, using a sleeper hold to wear the big man down. Fale breaks it but takes a knee to the back of the head. He again avoids Boma Ye and tries the Samoan Spike. Nakamura dodges and hits a kick to the head. It takes two Boma Ye strikes but he’s finally able to get the three count.
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura (16) in 11:08
That was better than I thought it would be. It started a bit slow, but they built to a very good finish. Nakamura seems to know how to make things work with Fale and they delivered. They had the crowd eating out of the palm of their hands and this really felt like a big fight. The close calls and false finishes in the end were expertly done in the best Fale match I’ve ever seen. ***¾
Block B
AJ Styles (14) vs. Togi Makabe (8)
Another important match here as a loss by AJ Styles gives Kazuchika Okada the Block B win. He needs to win and have Okada lose. We get a feeling out process to start. AJ learns that he can’t overpower Makabe. As has been the case with a lot of matches, they go outside and AJ springboards off the guardrail with a forearm. Some ladies in the front row seems to love AJ, but he badmouths them because he’s become such a good heel. AJ works him over inside, until Makabe rallies with some of his hard hitting offense. He counters Bloody Sunday with a Northern lights suplex that earns two before taking out AJ with a lariat. AJ comes back and tries the Styles Clash but it is blocked and he gets powerbombed for two. Makabe nails the spider German and it looks like Styles is hurt, but AJ wisely rolls to the other side of the ring, avoiding the King Kong knee drop. Makabe slams him and tries it again but AJ avoids it. When they both get up, AJ hits two Pele kicks and the Styles Clash to stay alive.
Winner: AJ Styles (16) in 11:33
Another really solid match by AJ Styles who went the entire tournament without having one that I gave less than three stars. I liked that the heel Styles was the aggressor but would then get overwhelmed by how powerful Makabe was. ***½
Block A
Davey Boy Smith Jr. (8) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (14)
With Nakamura’s win earlier, Tanahashi must win this one to win their block. Right from the bell, Smith overpowers Tanahashi. Tanahashi tries to wear down Smith but misses a cross body and gets gutwrench suplexed for it. The miss looked weird so maybe it was a botch but if so, they covered it well. When Tanahashi is able to send Smith outside, he looks for High Fly Flow but Davey walks away. Tanahashi greets him with a baseball and plancha. Smith takes him out with a big powerslam on the outside, but surprisingly there is no countout tease. Things pick up now, with both guys hitting big moves and scoring near falls, highlighted by an impressive exploder from Smith. Tanahashi comes very close on a sunset flip and goes for a rana, but Davey blocks it and picks him back up into a sitout powerbomb to end Tanahashi’s hopes.
Winner: Davey Boy Smith Jr. (10) in 12:57
This was surprising to say the least. I mean, not only was the result an upset, but the fact that Smith was allowed to pretty much dominate. I think it was a better match for that as Tanahashi is good as the babyface selling and Smith played the powerhouse well. ***¾
Block B
Kazuchika Okada (14) vs. Minoru Suzuki (10)
Like the last few matches, there’s a lot on the line. Okada needs to win here to win the block. If he loses or goes to a draw, AJ Styles wins. Okada gives an early clean break, so Suzuki just puts him in multiple armbar variations. Suzuki spends the next few minutes twisting Okada’s arm in some messed up ways. When the fight moves outside, Okada uses a big boot and guardrail DDT to slightly turn the tide. He hits an elbow inside and does the Rainmaker pose, but Suzuki is up and kicks him in the arm. I’ve come to realize just how smart a wrestler Suzuki is. Everything that he does to the arm looks brutal and makes sense. He works an armbar for an extended period of time until Okada reaches the ropes with his foot. Just when it seems like Okada is going for his signature dropkick, Suzuki hits him with one of his own before going right back to the arm. He goes to a sleeper and tries a piledriver but Okada counters it. Both men trade shots, with Okada screaming to get himself on Suzuki’s level of aggression. He wins out with a dropkick to the back. Okada catches him in the tombstone. Suzuki won’t stay down though so it takes another dropkick and the Rainmaker to finish him off.
Winner: Kazuchika Okada (16) in 17:14
Awesome capper to the block competition. Minoru Suzuki came in with a plan and worked it to perfection. At times, Okada sold the arm well but at other times, he left something to be desired. I wish that he would have gone the route that AJ Styles did when Suzuki worked his arm and struck with the other one. I also wish he found a different way to win than the Rainmaker. That keeps this from being upper echelon, but it’s still a fantastic match. ****¼
Overall: 9/10. Another great show during this classic tournament. The first half of the show was solid as most guys worked hard despite those matches not having an impact on the standings, especially Nagata/Ishii, which was great. The second half was even better, with the final four matches feeling very important and the drama coming down to the wire. Great performances all around and I’m ready for the finals.
Final Block A Standings
Shinsuke Nakamura 16 points
Hiroshi Tanahashi 14 points
Bad Luck Fale 12 points
Katsuyori Shibata 12 points
Satoshi Kojima 10 points
Shelton X Benjamin 10 points
Tomohiro Ishii 10 points
Davey Boy Smith Jr. 10 points
Doc Gallows 8 points
Yuji Nagata 8 points
Tomoaki Honma 0 points
Final Block B StandingsKazuchika Okada 16 points
AJ Styles 16 points
Karl Anderson 10 points
Minoru Suzuki 10 points
Tetsuya Naito 10 points
Hiroyoshi Tenzan 8 points
Yujiro Takahashi 8 points
Toru Yano 8 points
Lance Archer 8 points
Hirooki Goto 8 points
Togi Makabe 8 points
1) Michael Elgin: Ring of Honor held their annual Survival of the Fittest Tournament this past week. The winner this year was former ROH World Champion Michael Elgin. Elgin now earned himself a shot at the ROH World Title and champion Jay Lethal. Winning Survival of the Fittest would normally be enough to top this list, but to add to his week, it was announced that Elgin gets his title shot at Wrestle Kingdom 10 in the Tokyo Dome. Granted that will depend on the outcome of Letahl vs. AJ Styles at Final Battle, but this is huge for Elgin and ROH. Wrestle Kingdom is a huge show and Elgin got super over with the Japanese audience during his fantastic G1 Climax run earlier this year.
2) Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson: The tag team division in NXT has been the weakest point for the brand. However, the division has certainly been improving as of late, with most of the teams on a level playing field. This week, the Vaudevillains lost their NXT Tag Team Titles to Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson. Their title win reminded me of the one by Blake and Murphy earlier this year. They kind of came from out of nowhere to win. I think they'll have a similar reign too where it gets better as time goes on. I like the duo and their old school style. Being the only title change of the week puts them in this spot.
3) Cesaro: My favorite match of the week was the one between Cesaro and Sheamus on Raw. It was the first round of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament. Cesaro and Sheamus always have good to great matches and this was another in a line of those. A lot of people expected Sheamus to win as Mr. Money in the Bank, especially considering Cesaro's penchant for losing. Cesaro was able to pull out the win though and set up a match against Roman Reigns in the second round. I don't expect to see Cesaro advance any further, but this was still a solid win for a guy that hasn't had many lately.
4) Kalisto: While I didn't love the match on Smackdown between Kalisto and Ryback, it featured a huge upset. A lot of people, myself included, questioned why Kalisto was in the tournament. Don't get me wrong, I like the guy, but I was unsure about tag guys like him and Titus O'Neil getting in. Titus took a quick loss to Kevin Owens but Kalisto did the opposite. He upset a former Intercontinental Champion on Smackdown. I was definitely surprised at the result, but Kalisto moved on for a showdown with United States Champion Alberto Del Rio. That should be a fun first time ever match. Similar to Cesaro, I don't believe he'll move on any further, but it's still nice to see him get some singles shine.
5) Sasha Banks: People may question why Sasha Banks made the list this week. A lot of people don't watch Main Event and because of that, they missed a really good match. Sasha Banks faced Becky Lynch in the main event, giving us their first singles match since the great one they had at TakeOver: Unstoppable back in May. While this match wasn't quite on that level, it was still my second favorite of the week. Not only that, but it was another win for Sasha Banks, who remains unpinned and unsubmitted in her main roster career. Between her work in NXT and the main roster, Banks is easily one of the WWE's top performers in the year 2015 and that continues as we get closer to the end of the year.
G1 Climax 24 Day Ten
August 6th, 2014 | Kanagawa, Japan
Just three shows left. That kind of makes me sad. On this show, Shelton X Benjamin and Hirooki Goto have the night off. I still expect another great show from this tournament.
Block A
Satoshi Kojima (8) vs. Tomoaki Honma (0)
As expected, the crowd is really hot for Honma. Also as expected, Honma misses his headbutt. Twice. They trade back and forth until he finally nails it and then hits a second rope blockbuster for two. I haven’t seen him hit that at all in the tournament, so it’s nice to see new things after ten nights. Kojima hits a diamond cutter/RKO and a Brainbuster for two. Honma stops a lariat with a headbutt and goes up top as the fans come alive. Of course though, he misses. Kojima keeps him winless with a huge lariat.
Winner: Satoshi Kojima (10) in 6:55
Fine opening contest. Tomoaki Honma is good for this since the crowd is always super into him. Nothing out of this world, but solid work. **¾
Block A
Bad Luck Fale (10) vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. (8)
They try to test which guy is stronger, and Smith does a good job in holding his own. Fale throws him around outside before going to my least favorite move in wrestling, the dreaded nerve hold. Smith fights out and shows off some impressive power by tossing Fale around. Smith avoids the Bad Luck Fale and goes for the Sharpshooter, but Fale quickly reaches the ropes. Fale hits a Samoan drop and then wins with the Grenade.
Winner: Bad Luck Fale (12) in 7:10
Well Bad Luck Fale has certainly racked up the points hasn’t he? Unfortunately, this was on the lesser scale of his matches as I wasn’t a big fan. It was a good little power battle, but nothing more. **
Block B
Hiroyoshi Tenzan (8) vs. Tetsuya Naito (8)
Unlike some other shows, Tetsuya Naito is fairly over here. He starts hot but then Tenzan just takes him down with a neckbreaker. Tenzan pounds away on Naito, with some of the shots being pretty stiff. He stays in control for a bit until Naito starts a rally with a basement dropkick but it is stymied. Tenzan does a weird move off the top that comes off looking very clumsy. Multiple Anaconda Vice attempts are countered and Naito gets close near falls on a bridging rollup and German. He finally gets the three on a successful Stardust Press.
Winner: Tetsuya Naito (10) in 10:23
Another match that I wish was better than it turned out to be. I mean, it wasn’t bad, but something about it just didn’t keep me very interested. **¾
Block B
Karl Anderson (6) vs. Minoru Suzuki (10)
This should be an interesting matchup. After the Suzuki/Styles match, I would have welcomed a Suzuki Gun/Bullet Club feud. Early on, Minoru shows that he is the superior mat wrestler, beating Anderson at every turn. He seems to target the arm and applies an armbar on the ropes. Being the vicious bastard that he is, he wraps it around the guardrail at one point. They trade shots inside and Anderson resorts to biting. Suzuki blocks the Gun Stung and nearly kills Anderson with a kick. When they get into another battle of strikes, Minoru does some sick sounding ones. He goes for a sleeper, but Anderson tries to counter into a Gun Stun twice, but Suzuki is ready both times. He runs off the ropes, but right into a Gun Stun.
Winner: Karl Anderson (8) in 8:35
Fine match here and my favorite of the night so far. I’ve always liked Anderson and Suzuki has really grown on me during this tournament. The strikes were vicious, the arm work was brutal at times and I loved seeing both guys resort to heel tactics. It was one of the occasions where heel vs. heel worked. ***¼
Block B
Togi Makabe (8) vs. Toru Yano (6)
Yano jumps Togi at the start, but it doesn’t last long as Togi just levels him. The fight goes outside for a short while, but inside, Yano goes for the buckle spot. Togi catches him in the act and clotheslines him. Yano flips Togi the double bird, which was pretty funny. Makabe misses the knee drop, and Yano uses multiple low blows to steal another one.
Winner: Toru Yano (8) in 2:48
The craft Toru Yano continues to find the cheapest ways to win. Some people may not like him getting so many wins but I like it as it makes his matches rather unpredictable. Still, not really a match that would get a high score. *¼
Block B
AJ Styles (12) vs. Yujiro Takahashi (6)
The Bullet Club members are friendly at the bell, but then Takahashi pokes the champ in the eye. AJ gives him one back, which kind of made me chuckle. We get a faux countout spot, reaching 19. AJ’s dropkick is a thing of beauty. Yujiro plays the cowardly heel, begging for mercy, only to sucker Styles in. Surprisingly, it is Takahashi that goes high risk first, with a suicide dive. He is in control for a short while, until AJ does a Russian leg sweep into the corner. Takahashi counters Bloody Sunday with a fisherman buster. They go through an exchange where the Styles Clash is blocked. AJ recovers though with a Pele, a sick Bloody Sunday and the Styles Clash to win.
Winner: AJ Styles (14) in 8:36
I like it. This didn’t overstay its welcome and was probably the best Takahashi match I’ve ever seen. Styles has not had one bad match in this entire tournament and delivers again here. The biggest issue was that the crowd was kind of dead throughout. ***
Block B
Kazuchika Okada (12) vs. Lance Archer (6)
I’ve made sure to give props to Lance Archer for impressing me in this tournament and he does so again early on here. He seems to like playing the big vicious heel, as he enjoys tossing Okada around outside. He relishes in the trash talk between moves, doing so before hitting a huge slam for two. Okada starts the comeback, complete with elbow drop and Rainmaker pose. It is of course blocked. Okada looks funny as he has to reach way high for a big boot. Archer takes him outside and hits a massive overhead suplex. Archer continues with the high impact offense, hitting a Chokeslam that gets two. The fans bite hard on this near fall. Archer ties for the moonsault but misses and eats a dropkick. Archer still gets him up for his finish but Okada slips out and nails the Tombstone. Rainmaker hits and it’s a wrap.
Winner: Kazuchika Okada (14) in 11:05
Not on the level of Styles/Archer, but probably the second best Archer match of the tournament. He got to play the aggressive monster heel and he did so to perfection. Okada having to rally from behind was well done and the crowd completely bought into it. ***½
Block A
Hiroshi Tanahashi (12) vs. Yuji Nagata (8)
The fans are very much into Nagata here. There are some serious strike exchanges in the early goings, with Nagata going after the leg before applying a figure four. Tanahashi escapes and goes into his offense with a slingblade. They trade some back and forth until Tanahashi applies an elevate cloverleaf. He misses the High Fly Flow, allowing Nagata to lock in his armbar. More strikes come, which again features Nagata just clobbering Tanahashi. Somehow though, it is Nagata who is bleeding from the lip. Nagata goes for the backdrop suplex, but Tanahashi counters with a rollup for the 1-2-3.
Winner: Hiroshi Tanahashi (14) in 12:34
Really good stuff here. Both guys brought their game faces and produced a quality match. I enjoyed seeing a battle of strikes, especially since Nagata was pretty stiff with his shots. I do feel like something was missing to take it this over the top though. I can’t put my finger on what though. ***½
Block A
Katsuyori Shibata (10) vs. Tomohiro Ishii (8)
At the time of this writing, the only match from the G1 23 that I’ve seen was between these two. It was incredible and I gave it the full five stars. Like last time, they just beat the fuck out of each other from the start. Even when they both go down, they get right back up in each other’s faces. Ishii hits Shibata with multiple forearms, but one from Katsuyori lays him out for a moment. When Shibata powers up from a kick that Ishii delivers, Ishii voluntarily sits down, giving Shibata a free kick. Shibata does the same back to Ishii, but both men power up until Shibata hits one so sick that Ishii can’t get up. We get a reverse of earlier now, as Ishii eats a bunch of forearms from Shibata, but one from him knocks his opponent down. They destroy each other with forearms, but a lariat and a kick each only get counts of one. There’s a slap from Shibata that sounds like it would kill a man. Shibata locks in an armbar, which is brutal due to Ishii’s injured shoulder. Ishii reaches the ropes and sells it well outside. To even things out, Shibata puts his arm behind his back and gives Ishii free shots as they trade blows. Brainbuster is countered into the sleeper, but Ishii has a counter for that. Shibata lights him up with a slap and a kick, but only gets a near fall. They trade headbutts, including one from Ishii that is ungodly in how it sounds. Shibata somehow survives that long enough to hit the GTS and penalty kick for the win.
Winner: Katsuyori Shibata (12) in 12:24
My goodness, these two just work so well together since their goal is to just be as brutal and violent as fuck. I don’t think was on the level of their classic the year before, but it deserves a lot of praise. The fact that Ishii, with a recently busted shoulder, was able to go at that level for the duration of this match is one badass thing to do. His selling of the arm, legit or not, was great. ****¼
Block A
Doc Gallows (6) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (12)
I have no idea why this is the main event. I get that it’s Nakamura but Tanahashi/Nagata or even Shibata/Ishii, considering their match last year, could have gone on last. A bit of a feeling out process here, with Gallows establishing that he is the stronger competitor. He taunts Nakamura in the middle of working him over. Nakamura begins to rally, but Gallows is ready to stop it with a clothesline. Even when Nakamura goes for the Boma Ye, Gallows greets him with a high kick. He hits the Gallows Pole, but Nakamura kicks out. He nails a bicycle kick and goes for a second Gallows Pole, but Nakamura counters into an armbar. Gallows counters that with a powerbomb but Nakamura comes back with a running knee. He follows with a few more and then the Boma Ye for two more points.
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura (14) in 11:35
A solid match but not really one that I would consider main event worthy. Gallows was fine as the big man, but the outcome of this was never really in doubt, taking out any potential drama. ***
Overall: 7/10. Not the best show in this tournament, but again, that doesn’t make it a bad show. The bar has just been set insanely high. The first half of this even if rather skippable, with only Anderson/Suzuki sticking out to me. The second half is where it picks up though, with nothing being under three stars and Ishii/Shibata being a must-see match. Only one more show before the finals!
Block A Standings
Hiroshi Tanahashi 14
Shinsuke Nakamura 14
Bad Luck Fale 12
Katsuyori Shibata 12
Satoshi Kojima 10
Yuji Nagata 8
Shelton X Benjamin 8
Tomohiro Ishii 8
Davey Boy Smith Jr. 8
Doc Gallows 6
Tomoaki Honma 0
Block B Standings
Kazuchika Okada 14
AJ Styles 14
Minoru Suzuki 10
Tetsuya Naito 10
Hirooki Goto 8
Hiroyoshi Tenzan 8
Toru Yano 8
Togi Makabe 8
Karl Anderson 8
Yujiro Takahashi 6
Lance Archer 6
