Hardcore Heaven 1995
July 1st, 1995 | ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Attendance: 1,150
For the most part, the shows I watch for this review series are from the Pay-Per-View section of the WWE Network. This one is different. A while back, the Network ran an ECW Exposed special with Joey Styles and Paul Heyman. With that, they uploaded a ton of old ECW clips and three non-PPV events. This is the earliest of those events. It was considered a big show by ECW but they hadn’t reached PPV just quite yet.
As usual with ECW events, Joey Styles is on commentary.
Dudley Dudley and Snot Dudley w/ Big Dick Dudley vs. The Pitbulls w/ Beulah McGillicutty, ECW Champion and ECW Tag Team Champion Raven and ECW Tag Team Champions Stevie Richards
Yes, Raven is a double champion here. This also happens to be the debut of the Dudley family, though no Buh-Buh Ray or D-Von quite yet. Pitbull #1 just beats up on Snot Dudley, showing that is a bit of a lopsided fight. Joey Styles does a good job of selling how badass the Pitbulls are. Stevie Richards is drawing attention to himself by showing off his belt and jawing with the fans. Snot makes the tag to the double named Dudley, which he needed pretty badly. Dudley actually gets in some offense, faring much better than his brother. Snot gets tagged back in for some reason and just gets murdered with some chair shots. Francine is in the front row and ends up making out with Stevie, causing Beulah to get into a catfight with her. Francine was playing a superfan of Stevie. Raven drags both Beulah and Stevie by the hair to the back and the Pitbulls hit a top rope powerbomb on Snot. Dudley comes off the top with a shot to the head of Pitbull #2, puts Snot on top and they steal this one.
Winners: Dudley and Snot Dudley in 5:52
This was more of an angle than a match. It did the job in that sense. It built tension between Raven and the Pitbulls, showed off Francine and introduced the Dudley family. The match itself wasn’t very good however. *½
After the match, the Pitbulls cut a very angry promo about how they are tired of Raven and Stevie Richards. Honestly, they seem more upset at Stevie.
Broad Street Bully and Chad Austin vs. Dino Sendoff and Don E. Allen
JOBBERMANIA! “You all suck” chants. Joey Styles even flat out says “this match isn’t very good.” As they mess up some spots, Styles calls this WCW Slamboree. Ouch. Paul E. Dangerously shows up with 911 and you know what that means. 911 just destroys everyone in the match and lay them all out with Chokeslams.
Match ends in a no contest
There was no official bell, so I can’t give it a time. It was here as an angle, just showing off 911.
Big Malley vs. Hack Myers
Oh, I don’t expect this to be good at all. Big Malley is not at all popular. He weighs 510 pounds though. There are some very unflattering chants towards Malley. They just wail away on each other in slow fashion. The only thing interesting is the crowd’s reactions to all of this. I’ve seen Malley do about six avalanches in the corner, and he has to take plenty of breathers in between. Malley misses an elbow, Myers rolls over onto him and wins.
Winner: Hack Myers in 6:17
Who the hell thought that should go as long as it did? It was absolutely dreadful. I’ll never be able to get those precious minutes of my life back. DUD
2 Cold Scorpio vs. Taz w/ Paul E. Dangerously
Okay, this should be interesting. Styles points out that Scorpio is wearing Taz’s trademark orange and black to get in his head. Scorpio avoids the Tazplexes and Tazmission early on by escaping to the outside. It looks like this is a heel Scorpio, which I don’t think we saw often enough. Scorpio and Taz exchange holds, trying to wear one another down. Scorpio takes control and starts getting in some actual offense while the fans chant “Virgil” at him. That’s cold. Scorpio tries a second rope move but Taz gets his knees up. Taz finally hits a Tazplex, but Scorpio kicks him away as he tries another. Scorpio nails an odd looking Tombstone and climbs to the top. Tumbleweed connects but instead of pinning, he gets up to dance a bit. Taz gets right up, which the crowd loves, and he Tazplexes Scorpio over. Taz gets a three though Scorpio got his foot on the bottom rope. They think it’s over, but Bill Alfonso shows up to call out the foot being on the rope and restarts things. Paul threatens to fight Alfonso, giving Scorpio the opening to hit Taz with a chair. Alfonso cheap shots Heyman right before Scorpio leg drops the chair onto Taz. Alfonso counts the three.
Winner: 2 Cold Scorpio in 10:13
Man, I take back what I said about seeing more heel 2 Cold Scorpio. It’s like, he tried to take out most of his high flying offense to get less pops, but what he was left with was dull. This seemed to have a surprisingly dead crowd just waiting for something to happen. They finally got involved for the last third, but the start was just so boring. **
Joey Styles is in the ring to hype the ECW Hotline for news on Shane Douglas. Douglas shows up and admits to being in negotiations with the WWF because he’s too good for ECW. Man, if only he would be able to see how bad his WWF run as Dean Douglas would turn out to be. To get under Shane’s skin, the fans chant “we want Flair”. Shane runs down the crowd for an absurdly long time. It got the time of a current day Rock promo in the WWE. Woman shows up and offers Shane a proposition to join her and Sandman. Shane calls her a hoe bag…or at least I think he does. It gets bleeped out. Woman slaps him and Douglas seems like he’s going to retaliate but Sandman runs out to hit him. Cactus Jack is out to chase Sandman off. Before leaving, Douglas promises to make Sandman pay.
ECW Tag Team Championship
Raven and Stevie Richards (c) w/ Beulah McGillicutty vs. Luna Vachon and Tommy Dreamer
The challengers make for on strange pairing. This is part of the never-ending Dreamer/Raven rivalry, so they brawl instantly. Raven takes down Luna and Richards looks to take advantage quickly. He gets in offense on Luna, bragging while doing so. Raven eats a DDT on the concrete outside. Dreamer holds Stevie for Luna, who applies the testicular claw and even flips him out of it. Luna and Dreamer take turns beating Stevie up because he’s so weak. Once Raven is able to turn the tide on Dreamer, he can help Stevie and Luna starts to take a bit of a beating. Tommy gets back in and Raven gets tied up in the ropes. Luna nails a superplex but Beulah gets involved and throws powder in Luna’s eyes. Stevie covers her in missionary position, getting the 1-2-3.
Winners and Still ECW Tag Team Champions: Raven and Stevie Richards in 7:26
Fine little brawl here. It was chaotic and frantic. It made Stevie look weak like he should, while also furthering the Raven/Dreamer angle. **¼
Taipei Death Match
Axl Rotten vs. Ian Rotten
For those unaware, a Taipei Death Match means that both men have their fists taped and glue shards of broken glass to them. Bill Alfonso has been trying to enforce all of the rules in ECW, so he has been tasked with handling this match, which has no rules. Axl jabs Ian once and he gets cut above the eye. Alfonso gets on the microphone and stops the match because of Ian’s lost vision. Clearly, both Rotten brothers are pissed. In the entrance, the Gangstas and Public Enemy are brawling before their match later tonight. Alfonso wants those men arrested and heads out of the building with them. Todd Gordon decides to restart the match. The new few minutes sees these men just making each other bleed. Each punch is violent, meaning they don’t have to do much to get the desired result. Ian is absolutely gushing. Thumbtacks get brought into play and Ian is back body dropped onto them. Axl nails a splash and wins.
Winner: Axl Rotten in 9:13
Well almost none of that was even remotely entertaining. This was the kind of unnecessary gore that ECW didn’t need. It was senseless abuse and two guys just basically punching each other for ten minutes. ¾*
We come back to see Tommy Dreamer, Luna Vachon, Raven and Stevie Richards brawling again. The Pitbulls show up and help the Tag Team Champions. Raven and Stevie want them to super powerbomb Luna but they decide against it and attack the champions. The crowd is hot for this. Stevie nearly takes the super bomb but the Dudleys show up and attack the Pitbulls. While they go at it, Tommy and Luna are back at the throats of Raven and Stevie, fighting through the crowd and on the outside.
ECW Championship
The Sandman (c) w/ Woman vs. Cactus Jack
This feud has been going on for a bit. To spice it up, Sandman is allowed to start with his Singapore cane, while Cactus has his forearm wrapped in barbed wire. Sandman gets in the first shot after Woman throws a drink in Cactus’ face, and then just continually abuses him with the cane for a few minutes. Cactus comes back with some chair shots but again falls victim to the cane. The cane seems much more practical than wrapping your arm in barbed wire for so many reasons. Sandman nails a hideous DDT on a chair and starts to clutch his elbow. I guess its fine because he stops holding it shortly after. Sandman hits a flying leg drop before wrapping his entire body in barbed wire and splashing Cactus with it. Cactus lives, and does his signature apron elbow with a chair. He then uses the barbed wire around Sandman’s body against him, which is smart. Cactus is trying to do whatever it takes to win the belt, using a leg drop on a chair and even choking Sandman with the barbed wire. Woman jumps in but Cactus shoves her to the mat. The referee goes down and Shane Douglas appears, dropping an elbow on him. He then piledrives Sandman. He then also goes after Cactus, hitting him in the eye with the cane. Douglas puts Sandman on top of Cactus and the three is counted.
Winner and Still ECW Champion: The Sandman in 13:11
For a match involving canes and barbed wire, it didn’t really hold my interest and even the usually rowdy ECW crowd seemed kind of out of it. Also, why did this need a ref bump? Douglas could have done what he did either way. Disappointing. *¾
Todd Gordon comes out and Shane Douglas says he’ll stay in ECW if Todd gets on his knees and begs him. Todd declines and instead fires Shane. Douglas decks the commissioner and starts to assault him, even ripping up his clothes. Officials try but fail to stop Douglas. 911 comes out to a pop and Chokeslams Douglas out of ECW.
The Gangstas vs. Public Enemy
This is something that is pretty hyped up as the fans are rabid for it. Ugh, the dubbed over themes for these teams are dreadful. They brawl right from the start and I swear, it’s not even two minutes in and everyone is busted open. Like most New Jack matches, this involves some strange weapons. Johnny Grunge hits him with an open umbrella. That’s bad luck sir. Rocco Rock nails the Drive-By off the stage and through a table on Mustafa. They continue to brawl until it become Grunge’s turn to put someone through a table, leg dropping New Jack through one. Neither team is really even trying to pin the other because of the hatred between them. New Jack does some flying now, coming off the top with a flying shoulder block. Another big spot comes as Rocco does a moonsault through a table on New Jack and Grunge covers, but Mustafa breaks it up. The Gangstas start pounding away on Grunge until Rocco comes off the top with a croquet mallet to the back of Mustafa’s head. That is enough for the duo to win the first match in this rivalry.
Winners: Public Enemy in 11:31
I’d say that was the best thing on this show but it isn’t for everyone. To me, it was the kind of brawl that I like to see in ECW. It was violent, while not being over the top like the Taipei Death Match. The style of match worked too because this was billed as such a personal and serious rivalry. Insane brawl to close things out. ***
Overall: 2.5/10. On the whole, the show itself isn’t very good. Only two matches are pretty good and the rest is pretty much absolute garbage. Then there’s the overly long Shane Douglas promo that kind of kills the mood. I was also disappointed at the ECW crowd, which was less excited than expected. Up next on “Random Network Reviews” will be Spring Stampede 1998!
NJPW G1 Climax 27 Night Fifteen Review
August 6th, 2017 | Act City Hamamatsu in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka | Attendance: 3,567
The final A Block show before heading to Sumo Hall for the final three nights. Yuji Nagata’s still looking for that elusive first win, as he remains the only winless man in the tournament after Satoshi Kojima won yesterday. The battle between rivals Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tetsuya Naito continues atop the standings, while guys like Tomohiro Ishii, Bad Luck Fale, Zack Sabre Jr., Hirooki Goto and Kota Ibushi remain alive.
David Finlay and Juice Robinson def. Katsuya Kitamura and Tomoyuki Oka in 5:27
EVIL and Hiromu Takahashi def. Hirai Kawato and Michael Elgin in 4:55
Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi def. TenKoji in 8:34 (that just makes me sad)
BUSHI and SANADA def. Chase Owens and Kenny Omega in 5:06
Gedo, Kazuchika Okada and Toru Yano def. El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki and Taichi
A Block: Yuji Nagata [0] vs. Zack Sabre Jr. [8]
It’s a young punk against a New Japan Dad. These are usually fun. Lots of ground based stuff to start, which made sense. Sabre went after the arm, while Nagata chose to lay into him with kicks. Nagata eventually also targeted the arm, looking to set up his armbar. He managed to lock it in after countering a triangle. He only countered because Sabre got too cocky and tried a headstand while holding the submission. They continued to work a very even match, filled with counters and escapes. After surviving a Brainbuster, Sabre nearly stole it with the European Clutch on a near fall I totally bought into. Nagata fired up and finally nabbed his first win with a Backdrop Driver at 15:08. Sabre and Nagata have been two consistently good performers in this G1 and they did it again here. I enjoyed the dual arm work and the veteran finally getting one over was a great moment. [***½]
A Block: Kota Ibushi [8] vs. YOSHI-HASHI [4]
Ibushi needs to win to stay alive, but also needs help in later matches. I appreciate that the last match didn’t feature the usual G1 fight outside, but it came roaring back here, complete with countout tease. HASHI grounded Ibushi inside for a bit. Ibushi found hope in stiff kicks, a moonsault and springboard dropkick, but HASHI cut off each attempted rally. The best spot came when Ibushi went for the knockout knee, only for HASHI to counter into a powerbomb. Ibushi escaped Karma, leading to a more even finishing stretch. The Golden Star Bomb got a near fall, because that no longer has match ending abilities. He won with a successful knee in 14:28. HASHI got in way more offense than expected. Typically, I like HASHI better when he’s wrestling from behind. It was rare to see him control a match and it didn’t work out as well. [***]
A Block: Bad Luck Fale [8] vs. Hirooki Goto [8]
Last year, they had a good match in the G1 (***). This traveled outside early, as expected. Fale slammed Goto’s knee into the ring post and did some limb work, which was unexpected. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Fale do that. I could just be forgetting stuff. Fale made a mistake and missed a corner attack, opening the door for Goto to turn things around. Though he hit a saito suplex, he couldn’t connect on USHIGOROSHI or the GTR. Goto escaped the Bad Luck Fall, only to still lose to the Grenade in 9:34. This was totally average. Not bad, not something you need to seek out. Credit for Fale for trying something different here. After his first two matches with Ishii and Nagata, Goto’s stuff felt like his 2016 G1 run, which was largely mediocre. [**½]
A Block: Tetsuya Naito [10] vs. Togi Makabe [6]
A Naito win officially eliminates Sabre and Ibushi if my math is right. These two have met five times in the G1, with Makabe holding a 4-1 advantage. The ones I’ve seen were in the G1 24 (****) and 25 (***¼). They brawled before the bell and, of course, had to fight outside. Makabe hit Naito hard throughout, including nearly decapitating him with a brutal lariat. Naito avoided the next one and scored on a neckbreaker. Most of his stuff focused on the neck to set up Destino. Makabe hit the Spider German, but missed the King Kong Knee Drop. He avoided Destino a few times, but eventually got hit with two (because why make a finisher an actual finisher?) and Naito won in 11:31. Solid match. I enjoyed the neck work and some of the hard hitting stuff. Good back and forth. [***]
A Block: IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi [10] vs. Tomohiro Ishii [8]
A Tanahashi win would eliminate Ibushi, Ishii and Fale here, making for a lackluster feel for the final A Block show. In the G1 23 they killed it (****½), the G1 24 was not their best but still high quality, (***¾) and the G1 26 was back to form (****¼). We got some great back and forth to start, with Ishii as the aggressor. He screamed at Tanahashi, only for the champ to dropkick the knee. When Ishii avoided the Texas Cloverleaf, Tanahashi made the mistake of trading strikes. Ishii clearly won out there, leading to a battle of suplexes. Tanahashi eventually applied the Texas Cloverleaf, but Ishii fought free. Then, in a great twist, Ishii delivered a dragon screw and went to a Sharpshooter! Tanahashi made it to the ropes after a dramatic struggle, though I never fully bought into him tapping out. Maybe if it was work on the injured arm. Both men racked up good near falls late, before they each kicked out at one from signature moves (Ishii on slingblade and Tana on a lariat). Tanahashi used a series of High Fly Flows to pick up the win in 23:30. As usual, these two are awesome. Some good drama mixed in with great exchanges. The intensity was great throughout, and I believed Ishii would win more than once. With one match left against Sabre (their G1 Special match was excellent), Ishii’s my pick for tournament MVP. [****¼]
I must question the booking. If Ishii and Makabe won, five people would enter the final night tied with 10 points. That makes things harder to predict and allows for the last show to be fully engaging. You could still have it come down to Tanahashi/Naito, but there’d be reason to care for everything else.
Overall: 7/10. Night fifteen was a good outing from the A Block, but not one of their best. Nothing on the show is bad, with consistent entertainment. Though Ibushi/Goto and Naito/Makabe were underwhelming, they were still very solid wrestling matches. Goto/Fale was about what I expected. Nagata winning was a cool moment and the match was Sabre was my second favorite of the night. Ishii/Tanahashi was clearly the best thing about this show, with them delivering as always.
| A BLOCK | POINTS | B BLOCK | POINTS |
| Tetsuya Naito | 12 (6-2) | Kazuchika Okada | 12 (6-1) |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | 12 (6-2) | Kenny Omega | 10 (5-2) |
| Bad Luck Fale | 10 (5-3) | EVIL | 10 (5-2) |
| Kota Ibushi | 10 (5-3) | Minoru Suzuki | 8 (4-3) |
| Tomohiro Ishii | 8 (4-4) | SANADA | 8 (4-3) |
| Hirooki Goto | 8 (4-4) | Toru Yano | 6 (3-4) |
| Zack Sabre Jr. | 8 (4-4) | Michael Elgin | 6 (3-4) |
| Togi Makabe | 6 (3-5) | Tama Tonga | 4 (2-5) |
| YOSHI-HASHI | 4 (2-6) | Juice Robinson | 4 (2-5) |
| Yuji Nagata | 2 (1-7) | Satoshi Kojima | 2 (1-6) |
NJPW G1 Climax 27 Night Fourteen Review
August 5th, 2017 | EDION Arena in Osaka, Japan | Attendance: 5,490
Typically, Osaka gets one of the bigger G1 Climax cards each year. On paper, this isn’t a bad show, but it looks to be below the last few years. The G1 24 (Tanahashi/Nakamura, Shibata/Honma, Styles/Archer, Ishii/DBS), G1 25 (Nakamura/Ishii, Okada/Goto, Elgin/Honma), and G1 26 (Marufuji/Tanahashi, Okada/Ishii, Goto/Tenzan) all had bangers in Osaka. There’s serious potential in Juice/Omega and Okada/EVIL if handled right, so let’s see how that goes.
Chase Owens def. Katsuya Kitamura in 4:57
El Desperado, Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. def. Shota Umino, Tetsuhiro Yagi & Yuji Nagata in 7:01
Bad Luck Fale and Yujiro Takahashi def. Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Tomoyuki Oka in 7:41
BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito def. Hirai Kawato, Tiger Mask IV & Togi Makabe in 7:03
Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI def. David Finlay, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi in 7:15
B Block: Tama Tonga [4] vs. Toru Yano [4]
In multi-man tags, we tend to get some funny moments from these guys, with Yano always playing up how scared he is of Tama. That happened again here, as Tonga frightened him during his entrance. He tied Yano up for a countout win, but the sublime master thief escaped. Tonga mimicked Yano’s “BREAK” spot and tried removing the turnbuckle pad, but couldn’t. That’s why Yano’s a master. After some more wackiness, Yano won via low blow and rollup at 3:15. This is more I like it from Yano. They kept it short and made me laugh. [*¾]
B Block: SANADA [8] vs. Satoshi Kojima [0]
These are my two favorite wrestlers from the B Block. Early on, Kojima showed that, despite his age, he could hang with SANADA. SANADA responded by mocking his machine gun style chops in the corner. Kojima took him to the opposite corner and showed him how it was done. He came close with a Koji Cutter and Brainbuster, but it wasn’t enough, which has been the case all tournament long. When SANADA applied Skull End, it looked to be over. However, he missed the moonsault and Kojima still had life. He missed another and Kojima leveled him with a lariat to the back of the head. Kojima no selling SANADA’s dropkick was one of the coolest things all tournament long. SANADA kicked out at one from a lariat, so Kojima came back with another for his first win at 12:09. Osaka erupted when Kojima got his first win and it was a great moment. I still wish he did better in the G1, as he’s been one of the better performers. He showed he could not only hang with the stars of the future, but he could beat them, too. Great crowd, energy and action. [***½]
B Block: Michael Elgin [4] vs. NEVER Openweight Champion Minoru Suzuki [8]
Knowing Suzuki-Gun’s style, Elgin immediately took out El Desperado. That made Taichi reconsider getting involved. Despite Elgin’s efforts, they still cheated and it led to Suzuki being in control outside. Go figure. He used chairs and the usual stuff to wear Elgin down. The fans rallied behind Elgin, wanting him to overcome the odds. He powered out of an armbar with a powerbomb and both men fell to the mat. As part of his comeback, Elgin DID THE DEAL, but it still wasn’t enough. There was a ref bump and more interference from Desperado and Taichi. Elgin ended them with a fall away slam/Samoan drop combo at the same time. Elgin fought off the sleeper and won with the Elgin Bomb in 11:13. I liked the story of Elgin fighting for a big win despite being eliminated, but there was, as always, too much Suzuki-Gun nonsense to really enjoy this. Without it, this probably would’ve ruled. [**½]
Of note, Elgin hasn’t had the best G1 in terms of wins and losses, but has now defeated the US and NEVER Champions. If Kenny wins the whole thing, Elgin also has claim to a shot at the briefcase.
B Block: Juice Robinson [2] vs. IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega [10]
Honestly, I feel like this and the SANADA match are the two best potential Kenny matches in the G1. Juice continued to limp, but surprised Omega with a quick takedown. Omega threw small insults at Juice, which just fired him up. They took the work outside (man, a lot of the G1 is the same thing over and over, huh?) where Kenny busted out the RING POST FIGURE FOUR! I love that move. Inside, Kenny continued the leg work, which Juice sold like a champ. It reminded me of his match with Naito. Omega blocked the powerbomb a few times, before finally getting hit with it. Omega countered Pulp Friction and Juice cut off V-Trigger with a leg lariat. They continued with a series of counters and blocks, leading to a big right hand from Juice. They countered each other’s finisher, with Kenny hitting a reverse rana and V-Trigger. However, his One Winged Angel attempt got reversed into a cradle, scoring Juice the biggest win of his career at 15:36! That got a huge pop and Juice’s reaction was priceless. Great match, about on par with the Juice/Naito one. I like how it didn’t completely follow the big match Omega formula. He didn’t throw a million V-Triggers, it didn’t go too long and the finish was great. Omega was pissed on his way out, knowing he may have just blown the tournament. [****]
B Block: EVIL [8] vs. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada [12]
In his previous match, EVIL looked like he got legit knocked out by Omega. A win here keeps him alive. This started the way you’d expect, with solid exchanges inside before things moved outside. Instead of that leading to the Okada cross body spot, we got EVIL’s chair stuff. I prefer that as it does a lot to weaken an undefeated guy. It felt like, for the first time in a while, Okada wasn’t in control. He fought from behind and EVIL had an answer for most of his stuff. There was a wild spot where EVIL hit Darkness Falls onto a bed of chairs outside, which had to hurt. They both beat the countout, leading to a more traditional Okada finishing stretch. He surprised with a Rainmaker and, though it was subtle, he hilariously positioned himself to fall on his back so he could do the wrist hold spot like normal. Another Rainmaker hit and guess what? He went for a third and it was countered. Like almost every other match. However, someone finally bested Okada, as EVIL avoided another Rainmaker and hit an STO for the 1-2-3 at 22:47. Parts of it felt like an Okada match, but I appreciated how it was more set up for EVIL to be the man. Okada’s overconfidence finally bit him in the ass and I’m all for a big win for EVIL. I worry the rematch may not be as good, but for now, this ruled. [****]
Overall: 8/10. Guess what? There are other guys in the B Block not named Okada and Omega. And when given the chance to shine, they helped produce the best B Block show so far. To get the lackluster out of the way, I was disappointed in Elgin/Suzuki, while Yano/Tonga accomplished what it needed to. I was all for the other three matches, though. SANADA/Kojima was damn good and both guys deserve more praise for their work so far. I’m glad they got some focus. Juice and EVIL beating Omega and Okada is one of my favorite things all year and both came in great, high quality matches. If the B Block were booked a bit more like this consistently, I’d have enjoyed it more.
| A BLOCK | POINTS | B BLOCK | POINTS |
| Tetsuya Naito | 10 (5-2) | Kazuchika Okada | 12 (6-1) |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | 10 (5-2) | Kenny Omega | 10 (5-2) |
| Hirooki Goto | 8 (4-3) | EVIL | 10 (5-2) |
| Zack Sabre Jr. | 8 (4-3) | Minoru Suzuki | 8 (4-3) |
| Bad Luck Fale | 8 (4-3) | SANADA | 8 (4-3) |
| Tomohiro Ishii | 8 (4-3) | Toru Yano | 6 (3-4) |
| Kota Ibushi | 8 (4-3) | Michael Elgin | 6 (3-4) |
| Togi Makabe | 6 (3-4) | Tama Tonga | 4 (2-5) |
| YOSHI-HASHI | 4 (2-5) | Juice Robinson | 4 (2-5) |
| Yuji Nagata | 0 (0-7) | Satoshi Kojima | 2 (1-6) |
NJPW G1 Climax 27 Night Thirteen Review
August 4th, 2017 | Ehime ITEM in Ehime, Japan | Attendance: 2,130
After a night off, the G1 Climax returns with A Block action. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a show in this venue, which should be interesting. Though I’ve preferred the A Block so far, this card doesn’t have me excited other than Ibushi/Nagata and Naito/Sabre. Still, with the tournament winding down and the A Block still more open than the B Block, it’ll be interesting to see where people end up.
Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi def. Katsuya Kitamura and Tomoyuki Oka in 6:23
El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki and Taichi def. Hirai Kawato, Michael Elgin and Tiger Mask IV in 5:52
TenKoji def. BUSHI and SANADA in 7:15
David Finlay and Juice Robinson def. Chase Owens and Kenny Omega in 6:19
Kazuchika Okada and Toru Yano def. EVIL and Hiromu Takahashi in 5:21
A Block: Kota Ibushi [6] vs. Yuji Nagata [0]
They met almost three years ago to the date in the G1 23 in a very good match (***¾). Nagata looked to keep things slow at the start, knowing Ibushi has a huge quickness advantage. He worked the arm, cutting off Ibushi at several points. Kota fired up and delivered the Golden Triangle Moonsault, only to eat an exploder inside. It eventually broke down into a battle of strikes, which Ibushi won by nailing the Pele kick. Nagata swiftly caught him in his signature armbar. Ibushi survived, but Nagata took it to him for not giving up. Ibushi looked out of it. He also survived a Backdrop Driver, but Nagata kicked out of the Golden Star Bomb. That must be the new thing to do. Ibushi ended him with a killer knee at 15:54. Nagata is on quite the roll in terms of performances, as is Ibushi. Nagata was the veteran giving his all, despite being eliminated. Ibushi was just too much for him, winning a hard fought, hard hitting battle. [***½]
A Block: Bad Luck Fale [6] vs. Tomohiro Ishii [8]
I like this matchup. They had good matches in both the G1 24 (***) and G1 26 (***½). The size difference was clear and came right into play. Ishii couldn’t knock Fale down and got put on his ass. Fale worked the DREADED NERVE HOLD for a bit to wear him down. Ishii kept trying for suplexes and failing. When he finally got one to work, they crowd popped big. I liked the little things he did, like running the ropes a few times to gain enough momentum to knock Fale down. Fale blocked the sliding lariat by grabbing Ishii for the Grenade, but Ishii countered into a triangle and then armbar. Fale had to get the ropes to escape. Ishii slapped it on again, but this time Fale powered out with a powerbomb. Ishii won a strike exchange, but got cut off with a spear. The Bad Luck Fall finished him in 11:58. Another highly enjoyable match. I’d say it was the second best Fale match this year (in between the Shibata and Okada ones). It wasn’t the typical big man/little man outing, because Ishii isn’t a typical little guy. He brought the fight to Fale, while still selling like a boss for him. There’s a reason Ishii’s the second or third best wrestler in the world, folks. [***½]
A Block: Hirooki Goto [6] vs. YOSHI-HASHI [4]
CHAOS buddies do battle. I typically enjoy YOSHI-HASHI, but something about his matches in this tournament haven’t clicked. Same goes for Goto, to be honest. Goto held serve early, bullying HASHI, who had to cut him off. They went back and forth, with Goto surviving the Butterfly Lock and HASHI getting put in the sleeper. Goto did his best Shibata, delivering a PK, but that and USHIGOROSHI weren’t enough. HASHI fired up but Goto escaped Karma and hit two GTRs for the win in an uneventful 11:26. Again, something just didn’t connect with me. I appreciated that HASHI fought hard, but I just wasn’t feeling it as much as other stuff in the tournament. [**½]
A Block: Tetsuya Naito [8] vs. Zack Sabre Jr. [8]
This is one of the most interesting matchups in the whole tournament. It could be great or a bad matchup of styles. This started with the usual tranquilo Naito pose after he sent Sabre outside. It was clear early that Sabre had him scouted, countering his signature dropkick in the corner and wrenching him into submissions and putting focus on the neck. Sabre had counters for everything, from key stuff like Destino, to little things like rollups. He dominated, forcing Naito to get serious and not play his usual games. Sabre got a near fall on the European Clutch pin that everyone seemed to bite on. Even when Naito gained momentum, like after a desperation German, Sabre would catch him in a submission or something, right after. Naito finally managed to avoid the PK and hit Destino for the win at 14:20. I loved how this was laid out. Naito wasn’t in control like usual, so he had to change things up. Sabre continues to look great in this tournament. He dominated Tanahashi and Naito, but left one opening against Naito, and it cost him. After a string of mostly lackluster matches, Naito seems ready for a hot finish. [****]
A Block: IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi [8] vs. Togi Makabe [6]
I feel like these two meet in every G1. I was almost right as they met in 2013 (***½), 2015 (***½) and 2016 (***). They started with some basic back and forth, nothing to get too interested in. Makabe took control for a bit, but got stopped by the dragon screw. We got some of heel Tanahashi here, less than recently, with him flipping Makabe the double bird. Togi leveled him with a big lariat for stealing his shit. Makabe missed the King Kong Knee Drop, to the dismay of Honma on commentary. Tanahashi was next to miss on the High Fly Flow, evening things up. They both tried for Germans, with Tanahashi slipping and hitting one off the ropes. He followed with his usual finishing stretch, winning via High Fly Flow in 13:34. Tanahashi’s working hard, but with his busted arm, some of the results just aren’t quite there. This reminded me of his matches with Goto and YOSHI-HASHI, in that they’re not bad, they just aren’t very good either. Especially in the main event slot. Never fear though, as Tanahashi has Ishii and Naito on the final two A Block shows if I’m right. [**¾]
Overall: 6/10. About what I’ve come to expect as the G1 winds down. A lot of the guys take it easy at this point, gearing up for a big final few shows in Sumo Hall. Three out of the five matches here are high quality. Ibushi/Nagata, Fale/Ishii and Naito/Sabre are all worth checking you. You can avoid Goto/HASHI and Makabe/Tanahashi.
| A BLOCK | POINTS | B BLOCK | POINTS |
| Tetsuya Naito | 10 (5-2) | Kazuchika Okada | 12 (6-0) |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | 10 (5-2) | Kenny Omega | 10 (5-1) |
| Hirooki Goto | 8 (4-3) | Minoru Suzuki | 8 (4-2) |
| Zack Sabre Jr. | 8 (4-3) | SANADA | 8 (4-2) |
| Bad Luck Fale | 8 (4-3) | EVIL | 8 (4-2) |
| Tomohiro Ishii | 8 (4-3) | Toru Yano | 4 (2-4) |
| Kota Ibushi | 8 (4-3) | Tama Tonga | 4 (2-4) |
| Togi Makabe | 6 (3-4) | Michael Elgin | 4 (2-4) |
| YOSHI-HASHI | 4 (2-5) | Juice Robinson | 2 (1-5) |
| Yuji Nagata | 0 (0-7) | Satoshi Kojima | 0 (0-6) |
