NJPW World Tag League 2015 Night One

NJPW World Tag League 2015 Night One
November 21st, 2015 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan

Earlier today, New Japan started their World Tag League Tournament. This tournament will go on for a few weeks and the winners get an IWGP Tag Team Title shot at Wrestle Kingdom 10. I was able to watch the entire show and I will try to watch the whole tournament but I can’t guarantee that I will have the time to do so. If I can’t, I will do my best to at least watch the tournament matches.

David Finlay and Mascara Dorada def. Sho Tanaka and Yohei Komatsu in 5:36
Originally, this was planned to feature the return of BUSHI. For some reason, he didn’t make it here and was replaced by David Finlay. I was okay with this because Finlay is one of the Young Lions and they almost always deliver on these shows. Due to there not being two luchadores on the other side, Dorada kind of seemed like the odd man out. Still, these guys worked very well together and provided a fun short opener. Dorada won for his guys with the Dorada Screwdriver. I wish the other guys won though, since this was a last minute thrown together duo. **¾

The Addiction def. Juice Robinson and Tiger Mask IV in 7:41
Here we had the New Japan debut of the Addiction. Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian will be participating in the Tag League, but this was here to establish them as a heel team and give them a win. In that respect, it did the job it had to. Still, it was worst thing on the show. The Addiction did the little heel things you’d expect them to do to garner heat. Juice Robinson did his usual hot tag stuff, which I feel like I’ve seen a thousand times already, even though it’s only been a few times. He ate Celebrity Rehab to end this. *½

Gedo and the Kingdom w/ Maria Kanellis def. Captain New Japan, KUSHIDA and Ryusuke Taguchi in 8:58
Normally, I hate seeing Ryusuke Taguchi but that was offset by the sight of Maria. She’s pretty much perfect. Looking at this match, there were really only two people that I would say I like, which were KUSHIDA and Michael Bennett. The fact that KUSHIDA isn’t still the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion is a travesty. The dude is fantastic. Captain New Japan came out wearing Taguchi like glasses, which was pretty funny. The match itself was kind of just there. KUSHIDA was the only person on his team to not fall for the charms of Maria, with Captain New Japan even taking off his belt at the sight of her. This led to the Kingdom hitting the Hail Mary for the win. **

AJ Styles, Bad Luck Fale, Cody Hall, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi def. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Jay White, Manabu Nakanishi, Satoshi Kojima and Yuji Nagata in 11:25
Outside of AJ Styles, this wasn’t exactly the best unit the Bullet Club could put forth. Well, I do enjoy Tama Tonga. Anyway, this was a pretty basic contest. It was cool to see Jay White team with the veterans of New Japan. There wasn’t much work from AJ Styles, leaving this to the lesser guy. There was a power battle between Bad Luck Fale and Manabu Nakanishi shortly before the finish. Yujiro Takahashi and his newly dyed hair picked up the win for his team in a match was kind of just there. *¾

World Tag League Block A
Kazushi Sakuraba and Toru Yano (2) def. Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma (0) in 7:22
Coming into the World Tag League Tournament and knowing some of the card for Wrestle Kingdom, I’m expecting Tomoaki Honma and Togi Makabe to win the whole thing. This looked like it would be a win for them but that damn Toru Yano struck and changed those thoughts. There was some fun back and forth between Kazushi Sakuraba and Honma, where Sakuraba had an answer for everything Honma did. Yano being Yano, he rolled up Honma and stole two points. **½

World Tag League Block B
EVIL and Tetsuya Naito (2) def. Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson (0) in 12:06
EVIL came out with his ridiculous grim reaper gear. Then, we thought Tetsuya Naito was out but the man removed his mask and turned out to be BUSHI, the newest member of Los Ingobernables. EVIL is also sporting a purple streak in his hair. This was a good old fashioned battle of two heel teams. It was cool to see both of them playing the role and trying to outdo each other. BUSHI was kind of just there at ringside for most of the match but got involved in the finish. He spit mist into Doc Gallows’ face, allowing Naito to nail Destino and pick up the win over the IWGP Tag Team Champions. After the match, Naito beat up the official because Los Ingobernables give zero fucks. Overall, this was a solid bout. ***

World Tag League Block B
Meiyu Tag (Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata) (2) def. Shinsuke Nakamura and Tomohiro Ishii (0) in 12:48
I expect to see Shinsuke Nakamura and Tomohiro Ishii pick up a lot of wins during this tournament since they hold the Intercontinental and NEVER Titles. Meiyu Tag won the entire thing last year before winning the belts at Wrestle Kingdom 9. This was pretty great because every interaction delivered. Everyone had good chemistry with each other and there was never a dull moment. Katsuyori Shibata and Ishii have had some of my favorite matches in the last few years, while Ishii and Goto had a great match during the G1 this year. Nakamura has also had great matches with both opponents. There were a lot of good to great spots throughout this and everything done was hard hitting. Ishii hit Shibata with a sick headbutt for a close call before Shibata beat him with the PK. This was tremendous and one of the better tag matches I’ve seen all year. ****

World Tag League Block B
Hiroshi Tanahashi and Michael Elgin (2) def. Kazuchika Okada and YOSHI-HASHI (0) in 17:10
After his performance during the G1 Climax, Michael Elgin is very over with the Japanese crowd, especially the fans in Korakuen Hall. He started with YOSHI-HASHI and had a fine exchange before tagging Hiroshi Tanahashi. Tanahashi put YOSHI in Kazuchika Okada’s corner and demanded Okada come in. That’s so great. It adds to their Wrestle Kingdom match and both men just tore into each other. I don’t know how the build was for some of their other matches, but if the WK10 match ends up being anything like the build, it should be much more physical and personal than the past ones. Okada is a smug dick throughout this, even smirking when Elgin attacks him. This was chaos throughout, pun intended, and Elgin press slammed Tanahashi into High Fly Flow out onto Okada. He then hit a buckle bomb and a spinning powerbomb on YOSHI-HASHI for the victory. ****

Overall: 7/10. As is the case with a fair amount of New Japan shows, the first half, outside of the Young Lions, left something to be desired. However, the actual Tag League matches were all pretty good to great. The final two are among the best tag matches I’ve seen all year long and show that there is some serious potential for greatness during this tournament. The main event also did a fantastic job in building towards Wrestle Kingdom 10, which is always appreciated.

Kevin's Final Look at the G1 Climax 24

Kevin's Top G1 Climax 24 Matches

1) AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki - Night Seven - ****¾

2) AJ Styles vs. Tetsuya Naito - Night Four - ****½

3) Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomoaki Honma - Night Eight - ****½

4) Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata - Night Four - ****½

5) Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohiro Ishii - Night Ten - ****¼

6) AJ Styles vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - Night Twelve - ****¼

7) Tomohiro Ishii - Tomoaki Honma - Night Four - ****¼

8) Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito - Night Five - ****¼

9) Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Tomohiro Ishii - Night Eight - ****¼

10) Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - Night One - ****¼

11) Katsuyori Shibata vs. Yuji Nagata - Night Seven - ****¼

12) Kazuchika Oakda vs. Minoru Suzuki - Night Eleven - ****¼

13) Tomohiro Ishii vs. Yuji Nagata - Night Eleven - ****¼

14) Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomohiro Ishii - Night Seven - ****¼

15) AJ Styles vs. Lance Archer - Night Eight - ****

16) Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - Night Eight - ****

17) Kazuhika Okada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - Night Twelve - ****

18) Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shelton X Benjamin - Night Five - ****

19) Tetsuya Naito vs. Togi Makabe - Night Seven - ****

20) AJ Styles vs. Karl Anderson - Night Nine - ****

21) Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomoaki Honma - Night Five - ****

22) Katsuyori Shibata vs. Satoshi Kojima - Night Six - ****

23) Kazuchika Okada vs. Togi Makabe - Night Three - ****

24) Hirooki Goto vs. Kazuchika Okada - Night Nine - ****

Kevin's Top G1 Climax 24 Performers

Basically, out of a possible five stars, I've rated each match in the tournament. I did the match and averaged out the amount of stars that each person got during their ten or eleven tournament matches. I am counting the third place Tanahashi/Styles match as well.

Katsuyori Shibata - 3.9 (Best match: Two tied at ****½. Worst match: vs. Bad Luck Fale **½)

AJ Styles - 3.8 (Best match: vs. Minoru Suzuki ****¾. Worst match: Two tied at ***)

Tomohiro Ishii - 3.8 (Best match: Four tied at ****¼. Worst match: vs. Bad Luck Fale ***)

Shinsuke Nakamura - 3.8 (Best match: Two tied at ****¼. Worst match: vs. Doc Gallows ***)

Hiroshi Tanahashi - 3.7 (Best match: vs. Katsuyori Shibata ****½. Worst match: vs. Doc Gallows ***)

Kazuchika Okada - 3.6 (Best match: Two tied at ****¼. Worst match: vs. Yujiro Takahashi **¾)

Yuji Nagata - 3.6 (Best match: Two tied at ****¼. Worst match: vs. Doc Gallows **¾)

Tetsuya Naito -3.5 (Best match: vs. AJ Styles ****½. Worst match: Three tied at **¾)

Tomoaki Honma - 3.5 (Best match: vs. Katsuyori Shibata ****½. Worst match: Two tied at **¾)

Satoshi Kojima - 3.3 (Best match: vs. Katsoyuri Shibata ****. Worst match: Three tied at **¾)

Hirooki Goto - 3.2 (Best match: vs. Kazuchika Okada ****. Worst match: vs. Toru Yano **)

Minoru Suzuki - 3.2 (Best match: vs. AJ Styles ****¾. Worst match: vs. Toru Yano *¼)

Shelton X Benjamin - 3.2 (Best match: vs. Katsuyori Shibata ****. Worst match: vs. Doc Gallows **¼)

Davey Boy Smith - 3.1 (Best match: vs. Tomohiro Ishii ****¼. Worst match: vs. Bad Luck Fale **)

Karl Anderson - 3.0 (Best match: vs. AJ Styles ****. Worst match: vs. Lance Archer **¼)

Togi Makabe - 2.9 (Best match: Two tied at ****. Worst match: vs. Toru Yano *¼)

Bad Luck Fale - 2.9 (Best match: vs. Shinsuke Nakamura ***¾. Worst match: vs. Doc Gallows **)

Hiroyoshi Tenzan - 2.8 (Best match: Two tied at ***¾. Worst match: vs. Yujiro Takahashi **)

Lance Archer - 2.7 (Best match: vs. AJ Styles ****. Worst match: Two tied at **¼)

Doc Gallows - 2.7 (Best match: vs. Tomohiro Ishii ***¼. Worst match: vs. Bad Luck Fale **)

Yujiro Takahashi - 2.4 (Best match: vs. AJ Styles ***. Worst match: vs. Toru Yano *)

Toru Yano - 2.2 (Best match: vs. Kazuchika Okada ***¼. Worst match: vs. Yujiro Takahashi *)

NXT Report

Welcome to another NXT Report!

Carmella vs. Nia Jax

Nia Jax’s theme is so unfitting. Carmella charges but gets knocked back by Nia’s power. Nia traps Carmella in the corner, so she fires out with forearms but runs into a body block. Nia then hits a lame looking tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. She attacks with headbutts while talking smack. She locks Carmella in a bearhug but Carmella manages to counter into a submission of her own. Nia reaches the ropes and then catches Carmella. She looks for a Samoan drop but Carmella slips free and starts hitting some dropkicks. Nia shoves her away but runs into a kick. Carmella tries a head scissors but Nia counters into a spinebuster. A leg drop finishes things.

Winner: Nia Jax in 2:47
Even though Caremlla is an actual name and not a faceless jobber, this was still a relative squash.

Backstage, BAMF is standing by. Alexa says that her hand is fine after slapping Bayley but her ears hurt from hearing about the Ironman match. She claims that she’s “Blissed off”. She mentions that the other Horsewomen left Bayley behind and the Alexa era is going to begin. A referee shows up to inform her that Blake and Murphy are banned from ringside tonight as per William Regal.

The Ascension vs. Chad Gable and Jason Jordan

Chad Gable and Jason Jordan have some new attire. Gable starts with Viktor while Corey Graves plugs the big NXT taping in January in Orlando. Viktor has an advantage and tags Konnor. All four men come in and have a staredown but nothing comes of it. Gable is left with Konnor. Konnor tries to use his power but Gable slips free a few times. Jordan blind tags in as Gable leaves the ring and tries to slam Konnor but can’t. He gets Konnor in the corner and we see quick tags from Gable and Jordan. Gable ends up in trouble, taking stomps in the corner. The crowd is still into the Ascension. Viktor slingshots Konnor into a spinebuster from Konnor before following with a fist drop. The former NXT Tag Team Champions continue to double team Gable and use quick tags to cut him off. Gable finally gets his boot up to take down Konnor and backdrops Viktor outside. Viktor comes in to cut off the tag but Gable slams him over and tags Jordan. He comes in hot with dropkicks and a flapjack. THE STRAPS ARE DOWN! Jordan snaps off an overhead belly to belly suplex but Konnor breaks the pin. He sends Gable out and Jordan clotheslines him out. Jordan charges into a knee from Konnor, who then hits a knee from the second rope. Gable now breaks up the pin. Viktor sends Gable to the apron, but Gable somersaults onto Konnor. Viktor tries to suplex Jordan but he slips free and tags out. The assisted back suplex on Viktor gets the 1-2-3.

Winners: Chad Gable and Jason Jordan in 6:21
A solid little tag team match here. Nothing out of this world, but pretty fun. The chemistry of Gable and Jordan makes anything they do an absolute joy to watch though, adding to this. The Ascension also seemed to up their game, excited to be back in front of the NXT audience. **3/4

Now, we go back to seeing how the Bayley/Alexa Bliss program started. Bayley talked about the history that she and Sasha Banks made before Alexa Bliss interrupted. It does a good job showing how Bayley tries to be a role model and Alexa doesn’t care about things like that.

Tom Phillips is standing by with Bayley. Bayley says that being champion isn’t easy, but if Alexa thinks taking it from her will be easy, she’s got another thing coming. She says that respect is earned but that Alexa is out of her league.

Emma vs. Mary Kate

They lock up as commentary talks about hwo Emma has upped her aggressiveness with Asuka on her radar. Her opponent pulls her tights and right into a right hand. Emma is taken down but uses some kicks to turn it around. She then hits a vicious looking pair of dropkicks. Emma stands on the hair and pulls Mary up. Mary tries to fight back with right hands but Emma slams her face into the turnbuckle. She hits the Emmamite sandwich and then wins with the Emma lock, complete with a vicious stomp.

Winner: Emma in 3:08
Aggressive Emma continues to be a highlight of the show. Her showdown with Asuka should be excellent.

We get recaps of the stuff between Baron Corbin and Apollo Crews. Corbin speaks backstage saying that he doesn’t like Apollo and challenges him to a match at TakeOver: London.

Non-Title Match: NXT Tag Team Champions Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson vs. Corey Hollis and John Skyler

Commentary tries to make this seem like a threat, saying that Skyler and Hollis have faced the champions before. We are told that the Vaudevillains get their rematch next week. Scott Dawson picks apart Corey Hollis in the corner. Dawson hits a sick looking dragon screw and applies a single crab variation before tagging Dash. He doesn’t do much but tags quickly, showcasing their teamwork. Dawson hits a shinbreaker and tags back out. Dash stomps on Hollis and continues to work the leg. Dawson comes in and hits a clothesline. Another tag leads to an assisted leg drop for two. They pull Hollis to the corner, so his leg is on the steel steps and Dawson stomps on it. They take too long and allow Hollis to kick away and make a mild tag. Skyler walks right into the Shatter Machine for the win.

Winners: Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson in 5:02
This went on a bit too long, but got the point across that the champions are vicious. The finish coming right after the tag was funny.

Tom Phillips interviews Asuka about her mask. She’s wearing it and doesn’t respond. Dana Brooke interrupts and says that Asuka earned her respect. She doesn’t like Asuka patting her on the head though and wants to prove the naysayers wrong, challenging Asuka to a rematch. Asuka says yes and walks away. Dana pats Tom and shoos him away. Emma shows up to say bye to Tom. She asks Dana if Asuka bough it and Dana says that she bough it hook, line and sinker.

We get told that Finn Balor will offiicially defend the NXT Title against Samoa Joe in London. Next week they sign the contract. Earlier today, Samoa Joe says he isn’t there because William Regal has a fear that Finn would retaliate. Joe finds that funny.

NXT Women’s Championship: Bayley (c) vs. Alexa Bliss

We get the dim lighting like Finn Balor and Apollo Crews got two weeks ago. The women lock up and Bayley backs Alexa into the corner but surprisingly doesn’t give a clean break and stomps a mudhole in two corners. Alexa turns it around and just stands on the back of Bayley. Bayley turns it around this time and fires away before slamming Alexa’s face into the top buckle multiple times. Bayley leaps over Alexa and goes for a slam but Alexa slips free. She tries a backslide but Bayley blocks and hits a running clothesline. Bayley avoids a shot in the corner and hits a shoulder thrust before a dropkick. She hits a running bulldog for two. Alexa rolls outside so Bayley looks for her baseball slide spot but Alexa avoids it before sending her into the apron. Back inside, Alexa hits an arm wringer onto the bottom rope. She grinds her foot on Bayley’s head heading into commercial. Returning, Alexa is working an arm submission. The fans chant “hey we want some Bayley” to rally her but Alexa goes with another arm wringer. “Alexa’s ratchet” chants. Alexa gets a near fall and goes back to the arm submission. Bayley finally breaks free and takes Alexa over but sells the arm. She starts to go after the arm, firing up. Bayley hits some double axe handles but Alexa ducks one and slaps Bayley to the mat. She hits the Bliss flip for two. Alexa climbs up but Bayley stops her. Alexa kicks her away but Bayley comes back with a right hand. She powerslams her down for two. Bayley hits a suplex and then some shots in the corner. Alexa dodges one and uses a sunset flip for two. Alexa shouts for Bayley to stay down. She picks Bayley up but gets slapped before the Bayley to Belly puts her down.

Winner and Still NXT Women’s Champion: Bayley in 9:29

Probably the best match of Alexa Bliss’ career. A solid match with some well done arm work and an aggressive Bayley. Fun stuff and helped show that there is certainly potential in Alexa Bliss. **3/4

Bayley’s celebration is cut short by the worst possible thing. Eva Marie. She gets in the ring and has a microphone. “No” chants from the fans. Eva blows the fans a kiss but the fans won’t stop booing. Bayley has to get real close to hear Eva. Eva keeps telling the fans to be quiet but they won’t. Eva says that the inevitable is happening because Bayley will be defending the title against Eva next week. The promo is very awkward even though she only says a few words.

Top Ten Thursday: Survivor Series World Title Matches

We're back with another "Top Ten Thursday". In keeping with the Survivor Series theme for one final week, we'll be looking at World Titles matches in the history of the Pay-Per-View. It could be matches for the WWF/WWE Title or World Heavyweight Championship and had to be contested at a Survivor Series event.

10. WWE Championship: Triple H (c) vs. Edge vs. Vladimir Kozlov - 2008

To get this out of the way, I don't consider this to be a great match. There aren't that many World Title matches in Survivor Series history for each to be a standout. This just makes the list over matches like Cena/ADR, Angle/Taker, Cena/Jericho and a short list of others. Now, this match was originally scheduled to be Triple H defending against Jeff Hardy and Vladimir Kozlov, but early in the show, it was announced that Jeff was found unconscious in his hotel. This led to HHH and Kozlov having a match that was kind of just there. Then, Vickie Guerrero showed up and announced that "he" was here. The crowd popped for Jeff, but got a returning Edge instead. Jeff still showed up and got involved, but it all ended with Edge capturing the WWE Title. So yea, this wasn't a great match and it had a seriously convoluted ending, but as a huge Edge fan, this is one of my favorite Survivor Series moments.

9. WWF Championship: Mankind vs. The Rock - 1998

A decade before our previous entry, Survivor Series featured a giant one night tournament to crown a new WWF Champion. After some controversial finishes at Breakdown and Judgment Day the past two months, a fourteen man tournament was put together at Survivor Series: Deadly Game. A lot of people expected Steve Austin to end up as champion again, but when he went out (through more controversial terms), it opened the door. The finals came down to Mankind, a sympathetic character despite being aligned with Vince McMahon, and the Rock, fresh off of a babyface turn. On a show filled with quick matches, Rock and Mankind got the most time and managed to have a good match. Granted, their future matches were more memorable but this was a solid start. It ended with a repeat of the infamous Montreal Screwjob as Rock turned heel to become the "Corporate Champion" and plant the seeds for the first Rock/Austin WrestleMania bout.

8. WWF Championship: Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Sycho Sid - 1996

The 1996 edition of Survivor Series is my second favorite in the history of the show. The Madison Square Garden crowd was molten hot and that was possibly never clearer than in the main event. Shawn Michaels reigned as the WWF Champion, which he won back in March of 1996, and faced his former bodyguard, Sid. This is one of the earliest times I can recall the crowd being very positive in the direction of the heel. The New York crowd wanted almost nothing to do with Michaels and were firmly behind Sid, giving this a unique feel. There are certainly some missteps in the match, but it is the best one I've ever seen SId have. He would take out Jose Lothario and then Michaels to win the belt and earn a massive pop from the crowd.

7. WWE Championship: Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. CM Punk - 2011

Oh look, another Survivor Series in Madison Square Garden. In 2011, CM Punk was the hottest thing in all of pro wrestling following his infamous promo in Las Vegas. He would defeat John Cena in one of my all-time favorite matches at Money in the Bank to become WWE Champion. Then SummerSlam came, Kevin Nash appeared and Alberto Del Rio cashed in to take the belt. Del Rio feuded with John Cena while Punk was relegated to afterthought status, taking a loss as the next two Pay-Per-Views. Finally, the WWE righted the ship and Punk faced Del Rio for the title at Survivor Series. These two almost always had good matches and this was no different. Punk won the title for a second time with the Anaconda Vise, kickstarting a 434 day reign that is my favorite in company history.

6. WWE Championship: Randy Orton (c) vs. Shawn Michaels - 2007

The first of two matches from this edition of the Survivor Series again sees the WWE Championship on the line. After being handed the title, losing it minutes later and winning it back the same night, Randy Orton could finally start the "Age of Orton". At his first Pay-Per-View with the belt, Cyber Sunday, Shawn Michaels was chosen by the fans as his opponent. Orton retained via disqualification, setting the stage for this rematch. If Orton got DQed, he would lose the belt and Michaels was banned from using Sweet Chin Music. They worked around that very well and produced their best match together that I can recall. Orton was able to retain the title, which he would for another five or so months. It was another instance of Michaels doing hsi best to help get someone over rather than win the title for himself.

5. WWE Championship: John Cena (c) vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H - 2009

Three of the greatest of all time competed in this WWE Championship match. Coming off of a lengthy feud with Randy Orton where they traded the belt, John Cena needed a new opponent. What he got was the tandem of D-Generation X in a Triple Threat match. I feel like this is a pretty overlooked match despite having some of the strongest name power in history. I loved the start of this as Shawn MIchaels just laid out Triple H with Sweet Chin Music, showing that the WWE Title meant more than their team and friendship. It was something that just showed how important the belt was. The rest of the match gave us cool moments and false finishes while being excited until the very end, which saw Cena retain.

4. World Heavyweight Championship Hell in a Cell: Batista (c) vs. The Undertaker - 2007

In 2007, Batista and Undertaker waged war during a rivalry that was miles better than I ever thought it would be. I remember not being excited at the prospect of this feud but they had a great match at WrestleMania and continued to deliver throughout the year in various match types. Their final fight would be inside the Hell in a Cell at Survivor Series. It wasn't their best match, but damn it was great. These two just had a chemistry that not a lot of people have with each other. Edge would end up getting involved in this match before Batista retained his title. Despite his involvement, this was a great capper to an even better rivalry.

3. WWF Championship: Bret Hart (c) vs. Shawn Michaels - 1992

People love to talk about the rivalry between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels and some call it the greatest ever. I strongly disagree with that notion. Yea, they had some legit personal heat but I didn't love most of their matches. I thought the WrestleMania 12 and Survivor Series 1997 matches were okay but this one is the best by a fair amount. Growing up, the 1992 Survivor Series was an event that I rented very often from my local video store, so I've seen this match tons of times. Michaels came in as the Intercontinental Champion but only Bret's recently won WWF Title was on the line. This was a great match that helped to show that Bret Hart was going to be a great champion and that Shawn Michaels was going to be a major player.

2. WWF Championship: Diesel (c) vs. Bret Hart - 1995

Maybe I like this match more than some but dammit, I love this. Actually, almost every match between Bret Hart and Diesel was great but this was my favorite. For one thing, it was the first one of their Pay-Per-View encounters to have an actual finish. For another, Diesel was coming up on a year as champion and looking pretty dominant. Enter Bret Hart, who unjustly spent most of the year in the midcard. He came into the match as a desperate challenger and it showed as he busted out heel tactics. From tying Diesel up in the corner, to bringing a steel chair into play, Bret was fantastic. Diesel more than held his own as always and put Bret through the announce table, which was the earliest announce table bump I can recall. Bret played possum to pull Diesel into an inside cradle and win the belt. Despite all of the heel tactics from Bret, it was a frustrated Diesel that turned heel coming out of this.

1. World Heavyweight Championship Elimination Chamber: Triple H (c) vs. Booker T vs. Chris Jericho vs. Kane vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Shawn Michaels - 2002

We've seen a ton of Elimination Chamber matches in the past thirteen years but none have topped the original for me. Eric Bischoff came up with the concept of the Elimination Chamber, which is honestly one of my favorite gimmick matches in the WWE. The original headlined Survivor Series 2002 in Madison Square Garden and featured six future Hall of Famers. These guys went out and put on a tremendous match for nearly forty minutes featuring almost everything you would want. Kane had an MVP level performance, doing it all. Booker T and Chris Jericho more than held their own throughout this match. Rob Van Dam nearly killed Triple H at one point, and Triple H still made it to the end of the match, culminating in an epic showdown. A few months earlier, Shawn Michaels made his return and beat Triple H in a classic Street Fight at SummerSlam, only for Triple H to attack him with a sledgehammer and take him back out. Shawn returned and it came down to them two, with Shawn winning the World Title for the final time in his career to end a phenomenal match.

G1 Climax 24 Finals Review

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 Review

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