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
G1 Climax 24 Day Nine August 4th, 2014 | Aichi, Japan
I honestly don’t even know what more to say about this tournament that I haven’t said yet. It’s been phenomenal. Tonight, Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano have the night off. It works out for Ishii, who injured his shoulder the previous night.
Block A Davey Boy Smith Jr. (6) vs. Tomoaki Honma (0) The fight spills outside pretty quickly. We get the guardrail spot but Smith chokes him with some wires, adding a nice twist to it. Smith wisely goes to wear down Honma and take the crowd out of it but they are, as always, way too into Honma for that to be effective. Honma sends Smith outside and does his headbutt to a standing Smith out there. He hits the headbutt inside, but Smith comes back with his dad’s stalling vertical for two. Honma rallies but adds to his streak of missed Hokeshis. One day he’ll nail it in a G1 match. His near fall on a rollup is COMPLETELY bought into by the fans. Smith ends his hopes with a sitout powerbomb.
Winner: Davey Boy Smith Jr. (8) in 8:53 Solid opening contest. Not on the level of Smith/Ishii, but still good. The crowd is always hot for Honma, which helped. This was fun but didn’t wow me. Honma has been a joy to watch during this thing and Smith doesn’t seem to have any bad matches. ***
Block B Lance Archer (6) vs. Yujiro Takahashi (4) Both guys haven’t had the best win/loss record but at least Archer has impressed and has the great match with Styles. Takahashi has been the worst performer in the tournament so far. Takahashi must have seen the AJ match as he goes right after the leg. It doesn’t work as well as Archer just tosses him. Takahashi does manage to get in control with leg work, it just isn’t as well executed as it was the night before. Archer rallies and nearly hits his finish, but Takahashi slips out. He shoves the official and nails two low blows, followed by a small package for the two points.
Winner: Yujiro Takahashi (6) in 9:00 This was pretty much just there. It was two guys that I don’t love seeing and it played out that way. I appreciate the leg work from Takahashi since it would make sense given what happened the night before by Takahashi’s Bullet Club stablemate, but it wasn’t as interesting. **½
Block A Doc Gallows (4) vs. Yuji Nagata (8) Yuji Nagata having the Pirates of the Caribbean theme is still tremendous. An early test of strength gives Gallows an advantage until Nagata just suplexes him over. Gallows turns the tide inside, clubbing away on Yuji. Gallows steals Yuji’s taunt, which the crowd reacts to as if he fucked Yuji’s mom or something. Nagata attacks the leg to rally, but it’s different from what AJ and Takahashi did in recent matches. This was more out of desperation than as a strategy. Nagata nails a nice German for two and then Gallows hits the Gallows Pole from out of nowhere, getting the three.
Winner: Doc Gallows (6) in 7:53 Similar to the last match, this wasn’t anything special, but I liked it more. Doc Gallows has been down there with the lesser performers but this was solid. **¾
Block B Togi Makabe (6) vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (8) They start hot, just charging at each other with stiff shots. The fight spills outside and guess what? We get a countout tease spot. Someone has to lose quickly by countout for anyone to buy into these. Back inside, Makabe works over Tenzan with some of his rather stiff offense. Tenzan rallies, leading to a top rope headbutt for two. He applies the Anaconda Vice but Makabe breaks free. They exchange blows in the middle of the ring, with Tenzan taking him down with Mongolian chops. Makabe turns it around, hits a powerbomb and the King Kong Knee Drop that finishes things.
Winner: Togi Makabe (8) in 8:22 Solid match here but nothing special. I enjoyed their hard hitting exchanges but outside of that, I didn’t find much to it. **½
Block B Minoru Suzuki (8) vs. Tetsuya Naito (8) It begins in clean fashion, with Suzuki even giving a clean break. Then Taka Michinoku grabs Naito’s leg at ringside and Suzuki takes over. Suzuki is great as the dick heel, just choking Naito with his towel and kicking his ass outside. No countout tease here as Minoru rolls him inside. Naito no sells some vicious kicks to start a comeback. His offense is pretty fun but something just doesn’t click sometimes for me. Suzuki catches his corner dropkick and wraps it into a high angel half crab. The leg becomes Minoru’s focus. He works it so well. Naito tries to rally and goes up top, but Suzuki pulls him down in a masterfully executed armbar. Naito uses his quickness to get a rollup, but Suzuki kicks out into a sleeper. Naito breaks free and goes up for the Stardust Press, but it again proves to be too big a risk for him. Naito tries another rollup but gets caught in fantastic fashion with a headbutt and saka otoshi. Naito has to submit.
Winner: Minoru Suzuki (10) in 12:16 Best match of the night so far. Naito’s fast paced offense proved to be a great contrast with Suzuki’s style. The leg work was viciously done and Suzuki continues to impress. ***¾
Block A Bad Luck Fale (8) vs. Katsuyori Shibata (10) The Under Boss attacks before the bell and just pounds away on Shibata. By the way, thanks to wins over Nakamura and Tanahashi, Shibata leads the entire Block A at this point. He begins to trade forearms with Fale, which proves to be tough given his size disadvantage. Fale looks for the Bad Luck Fall but Shibata counters and starts to pummel the big man in the corner. He then kicks Fale over and to the outside. Fale pulls Shibata outside and levels him. He gets in and when Shibata tries to beat the count, Fale clotheslines back down, resulting in our first countout finish.
Winner via countout: Bad Luck Fale (10) in 7:14 Well that certainly was something. We got the countout finish that I knew was coming, I just didn’t think it would be in this match. I expected it to come for Yano or Gallows or someone who didn’t get many clean pinfall wins. The match itself was decent but they would have a better one in the G1 a year later. **½
Block A Satoshi Kojima (8) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (10) Some back and forth chain grappling kicks this match off. It moves outside and the crowd actually bites on the countout tease, most likely due to the previous match. Kojima is in control until Nakamura turns the tide and does whatever the fuck he does in the corner. That foot choke like move where he violently shakes. Kojima hits a cutter and Nakamura hits a lung blower but neither is enough. Nakamura hits a Boma Ye for two and misses a second attempt. Kojima wallops him with a big lariat and both men are down. Kojima nails a Brainbuster but again only gets two. He turns Nakamura inside on a lariat for a near fall. Frustrated, he goes into a series of strikes but unfortunately runs into a huge running knee by Nakamura that finishes things.
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura (12) in 12:51 Really good match between two really good wrestlers. It was stiff and there were some really good near falls in there. Both guys delivered in a match that could be argued as the best of the show so far. ***¾
Block B AJ Styles (10) vs. Karl Anderson (6) The Bullet Club buddies go to start and Anderson lays down for AJ, but chooses to roll him up for a quick two. Their reactions after are absolutely priceless. AJ tries a rollup as well before they get into the actual wrestling. Some of the stuff they do is pretty funny, which is welcome on a show with no Toru Yano. In a great spot that I haven’t seen yet, AJ suplexes Anderson into the guardrail outside. Inside, AJ stays in control with a dropkick and the Indian deathlock. Anderson comes back with a spinebuster and loudly calls for a BRAINBUSTER but AJ blocks it. You probably shouldn’t call for it like that then Karl. He does get two on a leaping neckbreaker. He only yelled “AJ” on that one. AJ came back with his backflip reverse DDT for another near fall. They fight up top, where Anderson nails a massive second rope Gun Stun but can’t put down the champ. They trade blows in the middle of the ring, which AJ wins with a Pele. Anderson is quickly up and tries the Gun Stu but that gets blocked and they do a double clothesline like this is the 80’s or something. When they get up, Anderson tries a powerbomb but it is nearly countered into a Styles Clash. Anderson was ready for it and blocks it, but ends up in the Calf Cutter. He tries to elbow out of it, but AJ yanks harder, so he has to go to the ropes. Anderson hits a Rikishi Driver like sitout piledriver for two. He goes for the Gun Stun but AJ shoves him off and connects on Bloody Sunday. The Styles Clash hits for the 1-2-3.
Winner: AJ Styles (12) in 14:33 There goes another great AJ Styles match that felt different than any of his other matches in the tournament so far. They started with some fun stuff but the match progressed into a really good back and forth encounter between friends trying to prove who is better. Overall, that made it a very enjoyable contest. ****
The two Bullet Club members embrace after the match and Karl Anderson, holding an ice pack to his neck, allows AJ to celebrate alone.
Block A Hiroshi Tanahashi (10) vs. Shelton X Benjamin (8) After starting 4-0, Shelton X Benjamin is 0-4. They go through a feeling out process early, with neither man gaining a clear advantage. As they spill outside, Shelton press slams Tanahashi onto the guardrail and looks for the countout win. Inside, Shelton applies an abdominal stretch and mocks Tanahashi’s air guitar stuff on his ribcage, which is pretty cool. Shelton wisely continues to target the midsection, which Tanahashi does a good job of selling. Tanahashi skins the cat back in the ring and Shelton charges, only to do the same right back. He hits the dragon whip kick for two. He applies the ankle lock but Tanahashi gets free. He counters the slingblade into a German for another near fall. Tanahashi knocks Shelton off the top, but misses the High Fly Flow. Shelton goes for the ankle lock but Tanahashi counters into a rollup for two. He hits slingblade this time and then two High Fly Flows to score the win.
Winner: Hiroshi Tanahashi (12) in 12:32 Fun match here but nothing spectacular. They found a body part and worked it, though I wish that Tanahashi found another way to win to avoid hurting his ribs more. I liked Shelton as the dick heel mocking Tanahashi at least. ***¼
Block B Hirooki Goto (8) vs. Kazuchika Okada (10) Some fast paced back and forth starts things and Goto clotheslines Okada to the outside. Out there, Okada hits a DDT that brings a 19 count, which the fans buy into. I guess that countout finish earlier did the job. Okada stays in control until Goto busts out a big lariat. From there, they continue to go back and forth. Okada nails the diving elbow and poses for the Rainmaker. Goto counters twice, leading to a frantic series of counters, ending with him hitting a neckbreaker. Okada does try for the tombstone but Goto is able to block. They continue to just have an answer for each thing that each guy does. They stand across the ring from each other and Goto charges, but gets gently placed up top. Goto tries something up there but is back dropped and then dropkicked in the back of the head. Okada hits the tombstone and calls for the Rainmaker again. Goto is ready again and hits a big headbutt. He tries Shouten Kai but Okada reverses into a German for two. He holds the bridge, gets to his feet and scores with the Rainmaker.
Winner: Kazuchika Okada (12) in 15:34 A fitting main event tonight. The constant countering of each other’s offense made for some really exciting work from both men. As usual with Okada matches, the finishing stretch was magnificent, but here, I actually enjoyed the opening stuff as well, making for a well-rounded great match. ****
Overall: 7.5/10. This was on the lesser half of shows in this tournament, but there is nothing wrong with that. The bar has been set so high that when you see a good show like this, it kind of feels like a letdown. Some of the matches on this show certainly disappointed, but some were great. As usual, the second half of the show was superior.
Block A Standings Shinsuke Nakamura 12 Hiroshi Tanahashi 12 Bad Luck Fale 10 Katsuyori Shibata 10 Satoshi Kojima 8 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 12 AJ Styles 12 Minoru Suzuki 10 Hirooki Goto 8 Togi Makabe 8 Tetsuya Naito 8 Hiroyoshi Tenzan 8 Toru Yano 6 Karl Anderson 6 Yujiro Takahashi 6 Lance Archer 6
To open Slammiversary, TNA went with their X-Divison and two of the top guys to ever step foot in that division. Samoa Joe and Austin Aries, who actually had quite the memorable and historic match in ROH, where Aries won their World Title from Joe. Here you have your classic case of powerful big guy vs. determined smaller guy. They did a very good job of portraying the strength against speed aspect of the match. Joe would hit big offense and Aries would find a way to combat it. At one point, Joe went for elbow suicida, but Aries used his speed to dodge, run in and hit the heat seeking missile. Aries also did a good job in selling just how much Joe's offense took out of him. I appreciate that they didn't overdo the false finishes, with only Joe, the monster, kicking out of Aries' 450. The finishing sequence was also really good as Aries had to hit a flurry of moves, including a sick brainbuster, to finally put down the dominant challenger. Performances like this are why Aries would win the World Title less than a month later.
G1 Climax 24 Day Eight August 3rd, 2014 | Osaka, Japan
More than halfway through the tournament, New Japan somehow either continues to top themselves or at the very least, maintain the very high level of this thing. From what I’ve seen, Osaka is a pretty great crowd usually and the card looks good, telling me that this show should deliver again. Two Bullet Club members, Karl Anderson and Bad Luck Fale, have the night off here.
Block A Davey Boy Smith Jr. (6) vs. Tomohiro Ishii (6) Out of the gate, Tomohiro Ishii came out firing, setting the tone for what would be a hard hitting fight. Each shot from both guys was pretty damn stiff. Ishii is well known for this but I give Davey Boy Smith Jr. a ton of credit for holding his own. Both guys busted out cool suplex variations. The hot crowd added a ton to this. Smith nailed an absolutely beautiful German suplex for a close near fall before doing the same with a tiger suplex. The finish came as Ishii busted out a damn rana to counter a bomb. He followed with a lariat for a near fall that the fans bought into. A Brainbuster put away Smith in a great match.
Winner: Tomohiro Ishii (8) in 10:24 I did not expect that. I knew that Tomohiro Ishii has been delivering and that Smith has been consistently good, but this clicked in a way I didn’t expect. It was hard hitting, had a red hot crowd and was just all around awesome. The best Smith match I’ve ever seen. Seeing Ishii hit a rana was pretty sweet too. Ishii injured his shoulder during the match, but soldiered on. ****¼
Block B Hiroyoshi Tenzan (6) vs. Toru Yano (6) A quick attack started this match, which, as expected, wasn’t very long. It featured the typical Toru Yano shenanigans including the turnbuckle spot. It was funny to see Yano steal Tenzan’s trademark chops. It was different than when, say, AJ Styles did it as it was more fun here. The finish was cool as Yano had his low blow attempt blocked and he was put in the Anaconda Vice. He got out, they did a slight ref bump and then Tenzan turned the tables by hitting Yano with a low blow before applying the Vice and winning.
Winner: Hiroyoshi Tenzan (8) in 4:33 Fun little match here. It was kept short and did the job of acting as a cool down after the hot opening contest. The finishing sequence helped me bump up the score a bit. **¼
Block A Shelton X Benjamin (8) vs. Yuji Nagata (6) Right from the get go, you could tell there would be a fair amount of counters in this. Shelton caught an early kick and slapped on the ankle lock. He also had the backdrop very well scouted, reversing two of them, one into a DDT and the other into another ankle lock. Nagata was ready for Shelton’s finish as well, turning Paydirt into the armbar. All of this was pretty damn good. There were a few more ankle locks attempts until Nagata put him down with a crossface finish.
Winner: Yuji Nagata (8) in 10:52 I’ve seen people pretty split on this online. Some people loved it and some people found it boring. I really enjoyed it and the series of counters. Shelton using the ankle lock throughout the G1 has been cool and I’m glad it played a part in this. I also like how he had the backdrop scouted so well that Nagata had to find another way to win. ***¾
Block A Doc Gallows (4) vs. Satoshi Kojima (6) Honestly, this match was kind of just there. I watched it but most of it wasn’t memorable. Granted, it was actually rather solid. Doc Gallows normally isn’t very exciting, but was better than expected here. Satoshi Kojima bumped well for Gallows’ offense throughout, helping him look more like a monster than some. Gallows survived a Brainbuster and blocked the big lariat, but couldn’t continue to do so. He would eat a vicious lariat from Kojima that ended things.
Winner: Satoshi Kojima (8) in 7:11 Better than I expected, but still nothing great. It was a solid match that again, was kept rather short and sweet. They didn’t overstay their welcome and worked about as a good a match as I expected from them. **¾
Block B Hirooki Goto (6) vs. Tetsuya Naito (8) After starting 3-0, Hirooki Goto has hit a rut and lost a few in a row. The crowd was really into it from the start. They were very much behind Goto, which kind of forced Tetsuya Naito to act a bit heelish. That made it fun for me because I love heel Naito in 2015. I wonder if his dick tendencies here were part of the eventual decision to turn him. Goto pounded on Naito and they tried to build to a Naito rally. He did so, but the crowd wasn’t behind him in the way they wanted. The counters that both guys pulled out were great, including a particular one where Goto stopped a trademark corner dropkick of Naito’s. Naito took a risk with the Stardust Press and paid for it when he missed. Goto nailed Shouten Kai and ended his losing streak.
Winner: Hirooki Goto (8) in 12:21 This is one of those cases where I love the time that G1 matches get. This was brisk and they packed a ton into their twelve minutes, meaning that everything they did mattered. ***¾
Block B AJ Styles (8) vs. Lance Archer (6) TNA! TNA! TNA! Anyway, throughout this tournament, AJ Styles has been incredibly versatile. That happened again here as he played right into Lance Archer’s strengths. Styles bumps like crazy for Archer, in the best possible way. It really hammered home the point that Archer was a monstrous threat, which he himself has done a good job of during the tournament. Styles used a favorite of mine, the ring post figure four and then focused on the leg. I always appreciate when the smaller guy goes after the leg. Archer kept things simple throughout, relying on just throwing AJ around and allowing AJ to make sure the bump looked vicious. He did reach into his bag of tricks by trying a moonsault, which is impressive considering his size. He missed it though, leading to the finish, where AJ made him submit to the calf cutter.
Winner: AJ Styles (10) in 12:52 Far better than I ever thought it would be. I’ve gone on record in saying that I don’t particularly enjoy Lance Archer, but this just clicked. I liked the big man/little man dynamic and loved that the leg work played into the finish. It also made sense because Archer was too big to hit the Styles Clash, so AJ had to pull something else out to win. ****
Block B Minoru Suzuki (6) vs. Togi Makabe (6) This absolutely worked in the sense that it felt way different than everything else on the card tonight. They just had an intense brawl that spilled all around the ring and involved weapons. Makabe went after the leg and applied a figure four variation. He was more seated instead of laying and Suzuki would try to sit up but get slapped back down. Each shot was pretty damn brutal. Suzuki reached the ropes, but the brutality didn’t stop. Suzuki straight up punched Makabe, hit a kick and locked in Saka Otoshi for the win. Makabe was turning colors from the hold.
Winner: Minoru Suzuki (8) in 12:21 These are two of the baddest dudes in the G1, so their match being this style was very fitting. As I noted, I loved that this had a different feel to the rest of the card as the best cards usually give you a little bit of everything. I dug the finish of Togi passing out instead of submitting since he is too much of a badass to tap. ***½
Block A Katsuyori Shibata (8) vs. Tomoaki Honma (0) Going into this, I knew it would be awesome and it delivered. The crowd is always molten hot for Tomoaki Honma. The start of this match was intense, as Shibata beat the fuck out of Honma with some shots, only for Honma to just scream at him and take it like a man. The mixture of the hot crowd with the vicious hard hits of the match made for something really enjoyable to watch. Near the end, Shibata hit a sick slap on Honma but Honma came right back with that headbutt. Honma caught the Penalty Kick attempt so Shibata lit him up with slaps only for Honma to hit one major one of his own that took down Shibata. Shibata then finally won with a GTS and PK, ending a fantastic match.
Winner: Katsuyori Shibata (10) in 10:47 The more I watch Shibata, the more I like him and I can honestly say the same for Honma. The fans just eat up everything Honma does and they buy into the possibility of him winning, hook, line and sinker. He did have some really close calls here too. I feel like I’m going to have bruises just from watching this. It was two guys who didn’t let up and worked the whole match at a fantastic breakneck pace. ****½
Block B Kazuchika Okada (8) vs. Yujiro Takahashi (4) Takahashi attacked Okada during his entrance. This allowed him to be in the driver’s seat far longer than I expected. Okada did a good job in selling Yujiro’s offense and there have been more than a few upsets in this tournament, but I never believed the outcome of this match was in doubt. Takahashi did a good job of avoiding some of Okada’s signature moves and then hit Tokyo Pimps for two but I never bought it as the finish. Okada would counter a buckle bomb with a rana before going into his finish. Dropkick, tombstone and Rainmaker ended this.
Winner: Kazuchika Okada (10) in 12:49 I thought this was a fine wrestling match but it did nothing to stand out on this crowded show. Maybe on a different card it would have come off better, but I never fully got into this.**¾
Block A Hiroshi Tanahashi (8) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (10) Earlier in the year, these two headlined in the Tokyo Dome, which was won by Tanahashi. Their rematch at Invasion attack was won by Nakamura. They went in knowing each other very well and played right into that, with neither man gaining a clear advantage. It seemed like they might be heading into time limit draw territory early on due to the slow pace, but that picked up quickly. Tanahashi stole Nakamura’s signature corner move/taunt only for Nakamura to turn it around. Nakamura had a cool submission applied, only for Tanahashi to find a way to counter it into the cloverleaf. In the best spot of the match, Tanahashi countered the Boma Ye into a dragon screw, only for Nakamura to spin out of that and hit one anyway, for an incredibly close near fall. Tanahashi then pulled out the win with an O’Connor roll.
Winner: Hiroshi Tanahashi (10) in 17:00 I’ve seen three matches between these two and they always manage to deliver. This felt different than the other two. They knew that were going less than 20 and made sure to work within those confines. I liked them playing off their past and some of the near falls were great. I love that the finish came on a rollup, since in the past, it has taken so much for these guys to beat each other, that if the match had to go under 20, it should end with something like that. ****
Overall: 9/10. Somehow they keep either topping themselves or equaling their already amazing efforts. This show was fantastic, featuring four matches that clock in at over four stars. Again, there was nothing bad on this show, the incredibly hot Osaka crowd and the performances of nearly everyone made this another special show. I don’t see how they could possibly keep up this pace.
Block A Standings Katsuyori Shibata 10 Hiroshi Tanahashi 10 Shinsuke Nakamura 10 Satoshi Kojima 8 Yuji Nagata 8 Shelton X Benjamin 8 Bad Luck Fale 8 Tomohiro Ishii 8 Davey Boy Smith Jr. 6 Doc Gallows 4 Tomoaki Honma 0
Block B Standings Kazuchika Okada 10 AJ Styles 10 Tetsuya Naito 8 Minoru Suzuki 8 Hirooki Goto 8 Hiroyoshi Tenzan 8 Togi Makabe 6 Lance Archer 6 Toru Yano 6 Karl Anderson 6 Yujiro Takahashi 4
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.
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.
