NJPW G1 Climax 28 Night Twelve
August 1st, 2018 | Kagoshima Arena in Kagoshima, Japan | Attendance: 3,490
Time for some B Block action. Another relatively loaded card from the superior block. Can Kenny Omega remain perfect in a first time ever battle with Zack Sabre Jr? That’s the big question. We also must see if Tetsuya Naito can keep up.
Bad Luck Fale and Tonga Loa def. Michael Elgin and Shota Umino in 4:57
Chase Owens and Hangman Page def. Toa Henare and Togi Makabe in 6:40
SHO and YOSHI-HASHI def. Jay White and YOH in 6:37
BUSHI and EVIL def. David Finlay and Hiroshi Tanahashi in 6:55
El Desperado and Minoru Suzuki def. Gedo and Kazuchika Okada in 7:34
B Block: Tama Tonga [2] vs. Tomohiro Ishii [4]
Tama won their only prior G1 meeting, in 2016 (**¾). Of course, Tanga Loa was with his brother here and did another cheap TAKA Michinoku rip off introduction. For most of this match, we didn’t get the typical Firing Squad nonsense. In fact, most of this was a straight up one on one match. Unfortunately, Tama is just not interesting enough for that to make up for things. Loa did eventually get involved and we got things like a ref bump and steel chair antics. How come nobody from CHAOS chooses to help each other? That’s a stable I’d never want to be part of. Ishii survived their attacks once or twice, but it became too much for him. He got put down by the Gun Stun at 10:34. It was better than most Tama matches in the G1 so far. The back half was too much of the same and it was nothing special to begin with. [**]
B Block: IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Juice Robinson [2] vs. SANADA [6]
SANADA won their G1 match last year (***¼). Juice is fresh off his first win in this year’s G1. Like that match, this was good but never sniffed great. It was ripe with Gedo booking tropes, like the double countout tease. The interesting part of this might have also been the biggest issue. Juice had SANADA totally scouted. He was one step ahead of him from start to finish. That included him applying his own Skull End on the master himself. That would’ve been great, except it made for an awkward atmosphere as the crowd seemed unsure of how to react to this. Maybe it was because they like SANADA a lot. Anyway, as the match neared its end, we got the sense that SANADA was too quick for Juice. The US Champ had to remove his cast to get back on track and keep up with SANADA. It worked as he scored with Pulp Friction to win in 12:39. I dug the story they told, it just had a strange crowd and some redundant Gedo stuff to make it stand out in a crowded tournament like this. [***½]
B Block: Tetsuya Naito [8] vs. Toru Yano [2]
Naito won their G1 matches in 2016 (**¼), 2015 (**½), and a bloody one in 2014 (***) Yano won in 2010, 2011 and 2013 (**¾). Or maybe Naito got busted open in the 2013 one. I can’t remember. This time around, we got a fun twist on the usual Yano formula. This year, he’s been trying to be less of a cheat. So, it was Naito who was playing games. He refused the lockup, he taunted, he tied Yano up in the guardrail. Yano was in trouble, so he resorted to his old ways by removing the turnbuckle pad. It backfired as Naito swung it like a baseball bat at him. Yano survived that, but not Destino, losing in 8:28. The outcome never felt like it was in doubt, but this was silly fun. Naito looked like he had a blast. [***]
B Block: IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega [10] vs. Zack Sabre Jr. [6]
I praised the B Block for having versatility in their main events, but there’s no way this shouldn’t go on last over Ibushi/Goto. I understand this show is in Kota’s hometown. Kenny remained the one NJPW Big Four guy that Sabre hasn’t beaten in 2018. They only met once before and it was years ago before they reached the levels they’re on now. Omega held serve with Zack on the mat at the start, but was quickly proven to be out of his element. So, he moved to using his power and aerial offense. Sabre cut those off with his brand of picking apart a limb, choosing Kenny’s right leg. I loved how Sabre easily got out of Kenny’s “YOU CAN’T ESCAPE” spot. Only Naito has done it that I’ve seen and it hammered home how great Sabre was in that aspect. Zack had an answer for everything and like his match with Okada in April, it forced the IWGP Champion out of his comfort zone. That’s a good thing, folks. A lot of what Kenny did felt like it was out of desperation and not like his usual tendency to throw big moves for the sake of extra stars. The One Winged Angle countered into the European Clutch made for a tremendous near fall, while Zack catching a V-Trigger into a submission was stellar. Though Sabre dominated, Omega refused to give up and used a rollup to steal this in 15:16. Great match that showed a different side of Kenny. It was the kind of performance that we should get more often from him. There was a lot of emotion and sympathy here, as Omega felt more like a great wrestler than a moves machine. Sabre was spectacular. Booking wise, I liked how great Sabre looked, but it does take a lot of away from the drama of the block as Kenny is nearly unreachable. I’m also happy they kept this relatively short. [****¼]
B Block: NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto [4] vs. Kota Ibushi [6]
Goto won their only prior G1 meeting (***), which was last year. This is Kota’s hometown, so he was the clear favorite. Also, he’s Kota and his opponent is Goto. Goto worked a slow style early, feeling out Ibushi and seeing how he’d react to the pressure. If Kota lost, in his hometown, he’d be eliminated. Goto controlled most of the early stuff and seemed keen to take advantage of Ibushi landing on his neck. It’s not a true Ibushi tournament run if he doesn’t get dropped on his head. Goto focused on the neck. The crowd came alive for Ibushi’s big comeback sequences. Those were the best parts of the match and it admittedly got better as it went on. They gave us the strong exchanges late, with Kota using Kamigoye to win in 18:10 and stay alive. A strong main event, but it was hard to live up to the previous match. Plus, they’ve goth had better in this tournament. [***½]
Overall: 7.5/10. Guess what? The B Block put on another good show. Shocker. Tama Tongs wasn’t completely awful, helping the consistency of this show. It didn’t have as high a ceiling as many B Block shows, but Juice/SANADA and Goto/Ibushi were very good, while Yano/Naito was fun. Omega/Sabre was one of the better matches of the tournament so far. We’re about to hit the back third of the tournament, where things usually pick up again.
| A BLOCK | POINTS | B BLOCK | POINTS |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | 10 (5-1) | Kenny Omega | 12 (6-0) |
| Minoru Suzuki | 8 (4-2) | Tetsuya Naito | 10 (5-1) |
| Jay White | 8 (4-2) | Kota Ibushi | 8 (4-2) |
| EVIL | 8 (4-2) | SANADA | 6 (3-3) |
| Kazuchika Okada | 8 (4-2) | Zack Sabre Jr. | 6 (3-3) |
| Bad Luck Fale | 6 (3-3) | Tomohiro Ishii | 4 (2-4) |
| Togi Makabe | 4 (2-4) | Juice Robinson | 4 (2-4) |
| Michael Elgin | 4 (2-4) | Hirooki Goto | 4 (2-4) |
| Hangman Page | 2 (1-5) | Tama Tonga | 4 (2-4) |
| YOSHI-HASHI | 2 (1-5) | Toru Yano | 2 (1-5) |
NJPW G1 Climax 28 Night Eleven
July 30th, 2018 | Takamatsu City Gymnasium in Takamatsu, Kanagawa | Attendance: 2,555
Following another night off, the G1 Climax returns with just eight nights left until the finals. That’s kind of crazy. It feels like this just started, yet also somehow feels like it’s been on for a while. Anyway, I noted that due to the Firing Squad and this A Block, we’re only getting about half a great G1. Let’s see if the A Block can turn it around. On tap today is a rematch from something I feel got overrated last year (Okada/Elgin), the blandest guy in the block against the ace (Tanahashi/YOSHI), a WK8 rematch (Fale/Togi) and a Super Strong Style Evolved rematch (White/Page).
David Finlay and Juice Robinson def. Shota Umino and Toa Henare in 5:05
The Guerrillas of Destiny def. SHO and Tomohiro Ishii in 5:55
SANADA and Tetsuya Naito def. Gedo and Toru Yano in 6:43
Chase Owens and Kenny Omega def. TAKA Michinoku and Zack Sabre Jr. in 5:29
Kota Ibushi and Yujiro Takahashi def. Hirooki Goto and YOH in 6:31
A Block: Bad Luck Fale [4] vs. Togi Makabe [4]
These two met in the G1 last year (**½), in 2016 (**¾), and 2015 (**½), as well as at Wrestle Kingdom in 2014. Fale won all the G1 meetings but lost in the Tokyo Dome. Interestingly, only Fale and Omega have yet to be pinned in the G1, as all Fale losses came via DQ. So, Tanga Loa did the big intro for Fale, which was dumb. It made sense for Sabre/Tonga because of TAKA. Here, it was just a waste of time. Speaking of wastes of time, that was most of this match. They did the brawling we’ve come to expect from these two for most of the match. Fale continued to be a thorn in Makabe’s side. Makabe rallied and nearly won, but Tanga pulled out the referee and we got the typical Firing Squad nonsense. Only Tanga Loa can not be booked in the G1 and still be the worst part of it all. Fale hit Makabe with his chain and won in 7:51. This was bad, but at least didn’t last long. It’s tiresome to go over why the Firing Squad stuff is shit. [¾*]
Things have gotten hectic for me today, so the rest of this review will probably be shorter than usual.
A Block: Hangman Page [2] vs. Jay White [6]
Back in March, White retained his US Title against Page (***) on the US show. Page has only won via DQ, while White has dropped two straight after beating Okada, Tanahashi, and Elgin. This was another case of White playing up the cunning yet vicious heel, while Page continued to wow the live crowd with his athleticism. Page is basically eliminated, yet you never got the sense that he was willing to do anything to get some points on the board. There was some ref shenanigans again, as well as a few spots involving a steel chair. White got back on track with the Blade Runner in 17:10. Like their US match, this was fine but nothing special. The extra stuff with the chair and ref felt unnecessary. [**¾]
A Block: EVIL [8] vs. Minoru Suzuki [6]
Last year, EVIL bested Suzuki in the G1 (***). When you get these two in a match, you’ve come to expect some hard hitting brawling. It started just that way, with some around the ring. It was a lot of striking. In this match, bringing the chair into play worked and made much more sense than in the previous one. I always get a kick out of EVIL’s signature double chair spot. It just looks cool. EVIL won out during a forearm battle in the ring, before they moved into finisher counters and the bigger stuff. Minoru won out there and hit the Gotch Style Piledriver to tie him with eight points at 12:13. A good, stiff battle between two of the better brawlers out there. [***¼]
A Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi [8] vs. YOSHI-HASHI [2]
The man at the top of the block against the man at the bottom. Tanahashi won their match last year (**½). This was more of the same. Like the Page/White stuff earlier, you never got the sense that YOSHI-HASHI was bringing any sort of urgency to the table. I did like the note about how nervous he looked coming into the match and how his confidence grew as the match progressed. That was honestly about all I enjoyed about this. It’s just nearly impossible to buy HASHI as any kind of threat, especially to someone like Tanahashi. HASHI got his knees up on the High Fly Flow and went right into the Butterfly Lock. Tanahashi countered and rolled up HASHI to steal it in 12:36. HASHI got in Tana’s face after the match to argue the three count. This was fine but like the rest of the show, it never sniffed being great. [**¾]
A Block: Kazuchika Okada [6] vs. Michael Elgin [4]
Okada bested Elgin in the G1 25 and G1 27 (both ***¾). We’re still getting the Okada who doesn’t take things seriously. He flexed and mocked Elgin while having fun. I mean, I’d be the same way if my “struggles” involved me being 3-2 in the tournament so far. Like their match last year, Elgin caught him with the high impact offense he’s known for. He threw Okada around with ease at points. Yet, he could never do enough to keep Okada down. In fact, from the pure standpoint of moves being done, this was great. But there’s more wrestling than the moves. There was nothing behind any of them. The match lacked emotion or a true story that mattered or made sense. Okada won with the Rainmaker after 20:56. Man, for someone who is supposed to be struggling after losing the IWGP Title, Okada is doing well. [***]
Overall: 5/10. I’m sick of these mediocre A Block shows. Only Fale/Togi was flat out bad, but most of the other stuff wasn’t memorable. Okada/Elgin was solid, yet hollow and EVIL/Suzuki was the best match on the show, yet capped out at ***¼. There’s just nothing interesting going on with this block from an action or story standpoint.
| A BLOCK | POINTS | B BLOCK | POINTS |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | 10 (5-1) | Kenny Omega | 10 (5-0) |
| Minoru Suzuki | 8 (4-2) | Tetsuya Naito | 8 (4-1) |
| Jay White | 8 (4-2) | SANADA | 6 (3-2) |
| EVIL | 8 (4-2) | Kota Ibushi | 6 (3-2) |
| Kazuchika Okada | 8 (4-2) | Zack Sabre Jr. | 6 (3-2) |
| Bad Luck Fale | 6 (3-3) | Tomohiro Ishii | 4 (2-3) |
| Togi Makabe | 4 (2-4) | Hirooki Goto | 4 (2-3) |
| Michael Elgin | 4 (2-4) | Juice Robinson | 2 (1-4) |
| Hangman Page | 2 (1-5) | Toru Yano | 2 (1-4) |
| YOSHI-HASHI | 2 (1-5) | Tama Tonga | 2 (1-4) |
PROGRESS Chapter 73: Fourth Shade of Green
July 15th, 2018 | O2 Academy Birmingham in Birmingham, West Midlands
With a few days off from the G1 Climax, I’m taking the time to check out the latest chapter of PROGRESS wrestling. Chapter 73 continues things like the Thunderbastard Tag Team Series, Jimmy Havoc’s journey to rediscover himself, and the road to Wembley. However, it does have an interesting card, considering there are no titles on the line.
Jim Small started with one of his signature opening spiels.
El Phantasmo vs. Mark Andrews
It’s the chapter debut for Phantasmo, while Andrews looked for momentum heading into his eventual big showdown with Eddie Dennis. This was more lighthearted than anything relating to Andrews and Dennis. They opened by showcasing their athleticism. Phantasmo hung with Andrews, who is great in that department. There was a fun spot where Andrews broke free of a Phantasmo rope walk, so he completed it with the referee instead. Things kept going at the even playing field level, with Phantasmo showing that he could hang with one of the best from PROGRESS. However, the pace slowed down the stretch, which I didn’t expect given the two involved. Phantasmo had some near falls, but never truly threatened to pull out the big debut win. Andrews hit Stundog Millionaire and the Shooting Star Press to win in 8:46. A good way to start the show. I’m intrigued at seeing more Phantasmo at some point. Back and forth outing that didn’t go overboard with the spots, which is nice for your opener. [***]
Number One Contender’s Match: Rob Lynch vs. TK Cooper
The winner gets a shot at Doug Williams’ Atlas Championship. TK continued to push the idea that he’s bulked up to be 205 pounds+. Originally, it was a straight up singles match, but Lynch requested it be turned into a number one contender’s outing because of how he’s struggled since the London Riots split. This Atlas stuff for TK is a strange booking call. Seeing him clearly get overpowered was rather funny. However, he worked a more methodical pace and that doesn’t suit him. His ability to fly and be quick was key to why the South Pacific Power Trip worked so well. I understand changing things up after his injury last year, but this is a bit much. I’d rather he used the speed to stand out within the division. As for the match, it saw TK in control for most of it and that wasn’t too exciting. The crowd barely reacted to anything. TK did pull out a rather impressive avalanche Kiwi Krusher to win in 11:05. I just couldn’t get into this and it was a styles clash that didn’t work. [*¾]
Danny Jones vs. Eddie Dennis
Before the show, Dennis said he only wanted to wrestle if it was against Mark Andrews. Clearly, that wasn’t happening here. Dennis complained that he got booked against someone who considers him a mentor, which Jones clearly disagreed with. When the bell rang, Dennis clocked Dennis for an instant DQ in 0:03. [NR]
Dennis sarcastically congratulated Jones, who slapped him. They brawled and Dennis hit a crucifix bomb into the ring post. Mark Andrews ran out for the save and attacked Dennis, giving us the first bit of these two fighting, despite this being a long feud. Officials separated them while the fans chanted, “Let them fight!”
Non-Title Match: PROGRESS World Champion Travis Banks w/ TK Cooper vs. Tyler Bate
Since Bate refused to defend his title, he was punished by being on the mid-card. This is a rematch of the Super Strong Style 16 Finals from 2017 (****½), which Banks won. Bate opted for some strange gold shorts as his gear for this one. The roles have reversed since their SS16 match last year. Banks had no problem bailing outside when he found himself in trouble or taking shortcuts. Banks took control after some brawling outside. Bate would find openings to do his “BIG STRONG BOI” things. Those included stiff strikes and suplexes. Some of the exchanges were great, like Banks being ready for Bate’s rebound spot and suckering him into Slice of Heaven. When Banks realized Bate wouldn’t easy to put down, he went to use the title as a weapon. Referee Joel Allen took it from him, leading him to walk into BOP and BANG. Banks escaped outside and Bate went after him. TK got involved, so Bate beat him up and beat the count, but Banks took the easy countout at 15:41. A very good match, but nowhere near a mark on what they’re capable. Maybe they’re saving stuff for the rematch in Boston. Bate looked dumb for not thinking Banks would take the countout when that’s what he’s been all about lately. [***½]
British Strong Style vs. The Kings of the North
Pete Dunne looked to be in the mood to have fun. He was messing with the ring crew before the match. This is the first PROGRESS match for the Kings of the North in about a year. Surprisingly, the babyface BSS attacked before the bell. Still, they remained the crowd favorites. Commentary did a good job putting over how Trent Seven was unsure of what comes next. Dunne has Ilja Dragunov on his schedule, while Bate has another battle with Banks, making Seven kind of the forgotten man. BSS dominated the opening minutes and the Kings looks outmatched. The only way the Kings were able to get anything going was to work together and use tandem offense. The finish saw a bunch of moves get hit and Seven put down Bonesaw with Burning Hammer in 10:16. I’ve never been overly impressed with the Kings, yet this still felt like a disappointment. It wasn’t very competitive and didn’t serve much purpose with the tag team scene being dominated by the Thunderbastard stuff.[**¾]
Killer Kelly vs. Toni Storm
The PROGRESS debut of Killer Kelly. It’s odd to see a women’s match that doesn’t involve the House of Couture. There’s history, as Toni took Kelly’s wXw Women’s Title at the start of the year. Toni is known for hitting hard, yet Kelly was hitting her back just as hard. It was a good way to show that Kelly belonged in the division. They did a good combination of blending those big strikes with solid mat work and exchanges that played off how well they knew each other. Kelly’s highlight came with a sick looking hanging dragon sleeper from the top rope. It looked brutal. She added a Shibata style dropkick and straightjacket German for a near fall. Toni survived, won a chop battle, and hit Strong Zero to get back on the winning track after 9:58. My favorite match of the night. I love Toni and she continues to deliver. Kelly looked great in her debut and gained a lot here, showing she could hang. Toni was the perfect opponent for her thanks to their past. Great exchanges, an invested crowd, and good action. [***½]
Thunderbastard Tag Team Series: Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Haskins [4] w/ Vicky Haskins vs. Sexy Starr [0]
Haskins and Webster are 2-0, while this was the first series match for Sexy Starr, consisting of Jack Sexsmith and David Starr. Sexy Starr worked well together, though their penchant for playing to the crowd cost them a few times. For example, what should’ve been stereo dives got interrupted because they wasted time setting it up for a crowd reaction. It’s a good contrast to former babyfaces Haskins and Webster, who don’t care about that anymore and are doing well because of it. Sexsmith played the face in peril, which made sense because he’s better in the sympathetic role than Starr. To go hand in hand, Starr was great as the hot tag guy and the fans ate up everything he did. The 198 weathered the storm and Sexsmith eventually became the legal man again. Starr took a nasty spill on a missed dive when Vicky pulled her husband out of the way. Sexsmith fought valiantly, but had to tap to a Haskins Sharpshooter at 12:49. Most of this series has been good and this was another one. The Haskins/Webster team is really growing on me, especially after I was worried about them since I wanted Havoc/Haskins originally. [***¼]
Post-match, Webster got on the microphone and kind of put Haskins over as a mentor figure. He said Mark and Vicky gave him the support he needed to wear gold for the first time at Wembley. He hugged Vicky and Mark, after taking Vicky’s barbed wire bat away. Wild Boar hit the ring, returning for to PROGRESS for the first time in years. He attacked Mark while Flash held Vicky back. Flash and Boar left together and Flash said his best friend, brother, and mentor was Boar, not Mark, who he would win gold with at Wembley. Apparently, Boar is now replacing Mark in the Thunderbastard Series. I’m not sure what to make of this. I was excited for Haskins/Havoc and was just getting into Haskins/Flash, only for this to happen. Strange.
No Disqualifications Match: Drew Parker vs. Jimmy Havoc
The big Havoc/Ospreay Death Match has been postponed due to some contract issues, but the Havoc storyline pushes forward. He’s searching for the old Havoc. The one who was a king of Death Matches. Since the big Alexandra Palace win over Mark Haskins last year, Havoc has gone 0-5 in No DQ matches. Parker cut a promo before the match to say he didn’t want “James.” He wanted Jimmy FUCKING Havoc. The story of the match was Parker trying to both earn his stripes and bring out the best in Jimmy. They used cheese graters, chairs, staple guns, and more. Parker mimicked some of what Havoc did, since he idolizes him. He would do that while also giving Jimmy openings to get back on track as a Death Match guy. They racked up the wild spots as the match neared its conclusion, before Parker curb stomped Havoc into thumbtacks and add a 450 splash to win in 12:20. I enjoyed the story they told while throwing out some big spots. [***¼]
After the match, Parker said he didn’t want James and yet James showed up. He called Havoc an embarrassment and slapped him, before positioning himself for a shot with the axe on the ropes. Paul Robinson ran in and stopped Havoc from doing it. Robinson is head of security. Ring crew members came out and Havoc hit some of them before leaving in frustration.
Overall: 6/10. Possibly the worst PROGRESS Chapter of the year and still, not a bad show. Cooper/Lynch was a drag and I didn’t think too highly of the British Strong Style tag. However, everything else clocked in with at least three stars and the show was ultimately an easy watch, especially since it’s less than three hours. While PROGRESS has been consistently good this year, they haven’t come close to their 2017 highs and with questions heading into Wembley, it may not turn around soon.
NJPW G1 Climax 28 Night Ten
July 28th, 2018 | Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in Nagoya, Aichi
Typically, the middle nights of the G1 Climax are a cool down. We get lesser main events and guys take some nights off to rest before picking up the pace in the final stretch. However, this is the B Block, and it might be too loaded to have an off night. We have the IWGP Champion facing off against SANADA in our main event, plus the NEVER Openweight Champion against the man who has won everything in NJPW, and a battle of two of the best in the world. Yes, this block rules.
Bad Luck Fale and Tanga Loa def. Toa Henare and Togi Makabe in 6:14
Chase Owens and Hangman Page def. Jay White and YOH in 6:20
El Desperado and Minoru Suzuki def. BUSHI and EVIL in 7:06
SHO and YOSHI-HASHI def. Hiroshi Tanahashi and Shota Umino in 7:47
David Finlay and Michael Elgin def. Gedo and Kazuchika Okada in 8:40
B Block: Tama Tonga [2] vs. Zack Sabre Jr. [4]
Tanga Loa did an impersonation of TAKA’s hype intro for his brother, which included, “He doesn’t need to cock his fist.” The Roman/Tonga feud continues. Though, Tama wishes he was in Roman’s league as a worker. Tonga quickly realized that he wasn’t going to hang with ZSJ on the mat. Loa took out TAKA and Tama took control with some brawling tactics in the ring. Sabre’s comeback did see him get in some cool spots. Of course, we had to get a ref bump to set up some nonsense. Sabre got a visual submission win but there was no referee. That brought out Bad Luck Fale to hit him with the Grenade for another DQ after 10:59. This is just so stupid. Why are you in this tournament if you don’t care about wins? It’s so repetitive and dull. [*½]
B Block: IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Juice Robinson [0] vs. Toru Yano [2]
After losing to Kenny Omega, Juice cut a great promo and said if he goes 0-fer in this G1, he’ll hand the US Title in and go back home to Chicago. Juice beat Yano last year (**¼). Yano surprised many with a clean break, but didn’t keep it going when he offered Juice a handshake. He continued to be a man between styles, as he’d do some wrestling and some cheating, back and forth. They had some fun with this as we got a turnbuckle pad sword fight and an airplane spin that led to both dizzy men collapsing. Yano came close with several rollups and cheating spots, but fell to Pulp Friction in 8:28. This was entertaining. Though they threw out some comedy spots, it never felt like Juice wasn’t desperate to win. He brought out the new airplane spin and removed his cast despite the injury to hit a left hand. I can’t help but think this struggling story is what they should be telling with Okada instead of Juice. [***]
B Block: Kota Ibushi [4] vs. Tomohiro Ishii [4]
Ibushi beat Ishii in last year’s G1 (****¼), but Ishii won a NEVER Title match back in 2014 (****¾). Right from the opening bell, these two went to war. It was just what I wanted from them. They just delivered strikes, slaps, and kicks galore. All that while throwing in some strong style moments, a stalling avalanche vertical suplex, and a signature Ibushi balcony moonsault. The point of the match near the end where they just disrespectfully slapped each other and chopped one another in the throat was insane. It was a battle of two warriors trying to outdo each other. Ishii hitting his own Kamigoye was incredible and the powerbomb near falls had me on the edge of my seat. It reminded me of the awesome Shibata/Ibushi match from the G1 25. The crowd was fantastic, which was an issue with their match last year. They hung on everything these guys did. When they began stealing each other’s moves and bringing the dramatic near falls late, it sent this match over the edge. Ibushi finally hit the Kamigoye that was enough to rack up the win after 16:13. Ishii and Ibushi are two of the best in the world and they showed why. An outstanding match and the best of the tournament so far. Each time it seemed to peak, it got better. Tremendous wrestling. [****¾]
B Block: NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto [4] vs. Tetsuya Naito [6]
A lot of history here. Naito beat him in last year’s G1 (**¾) and the 2016 New Japan Cup Finals (***¾). Goto won at WK10 (***¼) and the G1 24 (***¾). I didn’t see it, but Goto won in the G1 22. These poor guys have to follow the last match. Goto feels like an A Block kind of guy at points. Matches like this are why. It was a good outing, but it lacked anything that felt like drama or urgency. Maybe it was because it follow Ibushi/Ishii, but they had a similar issue last year. They had some strong back and forth moments. It took two Destinos for Naito to win in 13:26. A good match, just one that felt extremely hollow. [***]
B Block: IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega [8] vs. SANADA [6]
Omega won a good match between these two last year (***½) in their only ever meeting. SANADA entered this with the momentum of three straight wins, including one over Ibushi. He felt like the most credible threat to Omega since Naito. Still, Omega took him lightly and slapped him around. SANADA got the upper hand and sent Omega outside, before holding the ropes to cleanly allow him back in. MIND GAMES. Though SANADA gave the clean opening, Omega, taking him more seriously now, didn’t let him back in and dropkicked him. It was a nice bit of him realizing that he was in some trouble. From there, the match was played out on a more even level. One thing that I didn’t care much for was how this felt extended. It seemed like they were working to extent this to the 20 minute mark purely because it was the main event. It’s an issue NJPW has too often. Their exchanges and counter sequences were great and very smooth. It was clear how great both men are. Omega struggled in Skull End, but avoided the moonsault and hit the One Winged Angel to win in 20:12. This was a very good match, though it suffered from some of the stuff I’m used to by now. It felt like they stretched it out a bit and Omega, great as he is, sometimes wrestles like he’s in WWE 2K18. Rather than do some logical things in matches, he can have a tendency to throw out moves purely in an attempt to raise his star ratings. Still, a strong main event that didn’t quite feel as big as it could have. [***¾]
Overall: 7/10. Even on a middle of the tournament night where the B Block didn’t fully deliver, they provided us with the match of the tournament. As expected, Tama Tonga delivered the worst match of the night. Goto/Naito lacked, but was fine, while Juice/Yano was entertaining. Omega/SANADA was a very good main event. Ibushi/Ishii is a must see match that was right up there with their 2014 classic.
| A BLOCK | POINTS | B BLOCK | POINTS |
| EVIL | 8 (4-1) | Kenny Omega | 10 (5-0) |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | 8 (4-1) | Tetsuya Naito | 8 (4-1) |
| Minoru Suzuki | 6 (3-2) | SANADA | 6 (3-2) |
| Jay White | 6 (3-2) | Kota Ibushi | 6 (3-2) |
| Kazuchika Okada | 6 (3-2) | Zack Sabre Jr. | 6 (3-2) |
| Michael Elgin | 4 (2-3) | Tomohiro Ishii | 4 (2-3) |
| Togi Makabe | 4 (2-3) | Hirooki Goto | 4 (2-3) |
| Bad Luck Fale | 4 (2-3) | Juice Robinson | 2 (1-4) |
| Hangman Page | 2 (1-4) | Toru Yano | 2 (1-4) |
| YOSHI-HASHI | 2 (1-4) | Tama Tonga | 2 (1-4) |
