NJPW G1 Climax 28 Night Eight
July 26th, 2018 | Aore Nagaoka Arena in Nagoka, Niigata | Attendance: 3,106
After a whopping three days off, the G1 Climax returned with a B Block show. The A Block has been lackluster in almost every way, but the B Block has delivered on almost every show. Today, an intriguing first time ever matchup is on tap (SANADA/Ibushi), and rematches from two bangers in last year’s G1 (Ishii/Sabre and Juice/Omega).
El Desperado and Minoru Suzuki def. Michael Elgin and Ren Narita in 9:24
BUSHI and EVIL def. Chase Owens and Hangman Page in 5:16
Bad Luck Fale and Tama Tonga def. Rocky Romero and YOH in 5:10
David Finlay and Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Toa Henare and Togi Makabe in 6:56
SHO and YOSHI-HASHI def. Gedo and Kazuchika Okada
B Block: NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto [2] vs. Toru Yano [2]
Will we get “wrestler” Yano or “sublime master thief” Yano? After his matches with Omega and Ishii, Goto needs the latter for a night off. He got that version of Yano. In their G1 24 meeting, Yano won a fun 1:21 match. Here, he went after the turnbuckle early and hit Goto with it before the bell. Yano hit a nice belly to belly, but that was about the total of his offense. Goto hit the GTR and won in a quick 2:17. It went short, barely had any fun Yano gimmicks, and was still better than the Firing Squad stuff. [*¾]
B Block: Tama Tonga [2] vs. Tetsuya Naito [4]
They’ve never met in the G1 before. They teased Tanga Loa heading to the back, only for Tama to hit Naito from behind and call his brother back. Oh, joy. He tripped up Naito early to give Tama the upper hand. Thankfully, he kind of stayed out of it for a while. When he did, he powerbombed Naito onto the aisle. Wouldn’t you think that Naito, a smart guy with a stable, would have LIDJ guys ready to watch his back? Eventually, EVIL arrived for help, which triggered a Bad Luck Fale run in, and then one by BUSHI, who misted Fale. That left it down to a one on one encounter. Tama hit a low blow but Naito blocked the Gun Stun and returned the favor. A Destino later and Naito won in 10:06. The best match involving Tama Tonga. It had a lot of action and though some of the early stuff lacked, it picked up late. I enjoyed Naito turning the tables on Tama with the low blow. [**¾]
B Block: Tomohiro Ishii [4] vs. Zack Sabre Jr. [2]
In the G1 Special in USA last year, Ishii won (****½), while Sabre won the rematch in the G1 (***¾). However, earlier this year, Ishii won the RevPro Title from Sabre in a match I didn’t get to see. Ishii came in throwing his usual array of strikes. Sabre was ready, catching some into submissions. Sabre’s a smart, wily wrestler like that. Not to be outdone, Ishii also showed smarts, doing his own holds and goading Sabre into a strike battle. The cool thing is, each man can hold their own when it comes to the strength of the other. Sabre targeted the arm, while Ishii went after the ankle. This built to the bigger submission and strike spots. They know each other so well that nearly everything they tried saw a counter or fake out. It made for some stellar close calls. Commentary noted how Ishii has fallen to ref stoppages before, but has never tapped out. The finish was fantastic. Ishii tried to powerbomb out of an armbar, only to get caught in a more vicious looking armbar and he tapped out at 14:35. Tremendous psychology and great plays off their previous outings. Better than last year’s G1 match, but not quite on the US match level. [****]
B Block: IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Juice Robinson [0] vs. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega [6]
Last year, Juice scored a massive upset over Kenny (****), though Kenny won the US Title rematch later in the year (***¾). Juice, with a broken hand, is now US Champ but winless, while Kenny is Heavyweight Champ and unbeaten. They shook hands before the match, because they’re both lovable babyfaces now. Due to that, Omega avoided the cheap shots on the broken hand. That put him on the defensive, as Juice came out desperate to get the two points. Rollups played a part, considering that’s how Juice beat him last year and how Juice won the title. Omega avoided Pulp Friction, but Juice kept finding ways to avoid V-Triggers. And you know Kenny likes to throw a lot of those. They went into a ton of counters late, including one to call back to Juice’s upset win last year. Kenny wasn’t going to let that happen again, and he eventually hit a V-Trigger leading into the One Winged Angel at 15:31. I really liked this. They played off last year well and Juice showed the desperation you want when you’re winless. I did prefer last year’s though. [***¾]
B Block: Kota Ibushi [4] vs. SANADA [4]
See, this is a reason I love the B Block. A Block is dominated by Okada main events, while B Block is versatile enough to give us this. It’s a first time ever meeting I’m stoked for. They opened with a standoff exchange that would’ve made RVD and Jerry Lynn jealous. It was a way to showcase how evenly matched they were. The comparisions are there, from athleticism to hybrid style to their dashing good looks. There were great spots, like Ibushi missing the Golden Star moonsault and SANADA answering with his own moonsault off the apron into Skull End. SANADA kept hitting a low dropkick, but Ibushi learned and avoided one late into a big double stomp. SANADA continually had the Kamigoye scouted, while Ibushi kept finding ways to survive the Skull End. There were so many great exchanges down the stretch and things were helped by the fact that neither man is a dominant wrestler. We had no clue who would win and fans bought into most close calls. SANADA avoided another Kamigoye and applied the Skull End again. Ibushi faded and SANADA hit the moonsault to win in 22:23. SANADA gets a massive main event win in his hometown. Excellent match featuring guys mirroring one another and working in front of a hot crowd. [****¼]
Overall: 7.5/10. Every single B Block show features at least three very good to great matches. The same held true here. Yano/Goto wasn’t much, but at least it was short. You need those in a tournament like this. Naito got the best match out of Tama Tonga so far. Then, the show picked up. Ishii/Sabre was a fantastic match, while Juice/Omega delivered a very good battle. The main event was the best part of the show and showed the versatility and depth of this B Block field.
| A BLOCK | POINTS | B BLOCK | POINTS |
| Jay White | 6 (3-1) | Kenny Omega | 8 (4-0) |
| EVIL | 6 (3-1) | SANADA | 6 (3-1) |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | 6 (3-1) | Tetsuya Naito | 6 (3-1) |
| Minoru Suzuki | 4 (2-2) | Kota Ibushi | 4 (2-2) |
| Michael Elgin | 4 (2-2) | Zack Sabre Jr. | 4 (2-2) |
| Kazuchika Okada | 4 (2-2) | Tomohiro Ishii | 4 (2-2) |
| Togi Makabe | 4 (2-2) | Hirooki Goto | 4 (2-2) |
| Bad Luck Fale | 2 (1-3) | Toru Yano | 2 (1-3) |
| Hangman Page | 2 (1-3) | Tama Tonga | 2 (1-3) |
| YOSHI-HASHI | 2 (1-3) | Juice Robinson | 0 (0-4) |
NJPW G1 Climax 28 Night Seven
July 22nd, 2018 | Tokyo Esforta Arena Hachioki | Attendance: 4,399
We’re getting to that point of the G1. You know the one. It’s when people watching their first G1 get confused because they’re led to believe that everything in the G1 is great. However, when we hit these middle of the tournament nights, things tend to slow down. The B Block has delivered in spades so far, but this is an A Block. A middle of the tourney A Block show, so I don’t have high hopes. Let’s see if they can prove me wrong.
The Guerrillas of Destiny def. Toa Henare and Shota Umino in 4:36
Hirooki Goto and YOH def. Gedo and Toru Yano in 5:09
SHO and Tomohiro Ishii def. TAKA Michinoku and Zack Sabre Jr. in 4:47
David Finlay and Juice Robinson def. Chase Owens and Kenny Omega in 6:30
Tetsuya Naito and SANADA def. Kota Ibushi and Yujiro Takahashi in 7:32
A Block: Michael Elgin [4] vs. YOSHI-HASHI [0]
I enjoyed their G1 26 match and match during the G1 25 finals (both ***½). Elgin won both. They’ve been booking YOSHI as kind of a sympathetic underdog, only nobody cares because it’s YOSHI-HASHI. He had momentum in the G1 two years ago. Now, he’s just a scrub. Elgin dominated the early stages, with HASHI looking especially rough. It’s not just that he’s losing, he’s also looked sloppy at points. His injury plays a factor in that. At least HASHI’s comeback stuff looked better. He seemed to figure out that bringing the fire in those spots is better than having early fire that dies out. He saved his best stuff for when it mattered more. YOSHI had great last second kickouts and survived a lot, before getting his first win with Karma in 14:22. These guys work well together, even when this year hasn’t been strong for either one. Like Elgin/White, if you shave off a few of the early minutes, this would’ve been better. YOSHI got going and things picked up in the back half. [***¼]
A Block: Bad Luck Fale [2] vs. EVIL [4]
Fale defeated EVIL in the New Japan Cup Semi-Finals last year (**¾). This is their first G1 meeting. EVIL is the one guy so far to be smart against Fale. He opened by baiting Tanga Loa into possibly hitting him for the DQ. He used their numbers against them, though it backfired after a bit. Still, at least he came in with a game plan. It played off previous Firing Squad matches, which is probably the most positive thing I can say about matches involving that group so far. The brawling outside was fine, though the in-ring stuff lacked. Following another ref bump, Tanga got involved. That brought out BUSHI, Tama Tonga, and eventually Tetsuya Naito, since Naito faces Tama on the next G1 show. EVIL hit the STO but the ref was out. Tama then hit EVIL with a Gun Stun right in front of the official for a DQ in 12:13. If you were just going for the DQ, why waste so much of our time? I get wanting to make an impact, but this is the wrong place. The Firing Squad don’t care about winning the G1, so why even be in it? It makes it feel unimportant to these guys. This was better than Tama/Kenny since EVIL at least had a plan, but was still shit. [*]
A Block: Jay White [6] vs. Minoru Suzuki [2]
White is the lone unbeaten man left in the A Block. This is a first time ever meeting and White was lucky enough to be a Young Lion during the time when Minoru was over in NOAH. Jay came in with a plan to frustrate Suzuki. Minoru is a guy who likes to fight, so when Jay stalled, it bothered him. However, Suzuki is no idiot. He’s been around the block and didn’t let Jay get into his head. Once the match got going, it was clear that it was Jay who may have been outmatched for the first time from a psychological standpoint. Even with all the preparations he made, once White got in there with Suzuki, he learned the hard way. Suzuki destroyed his arm. The heel/heel dynamic meant there wasn’t a major comeback sequence, but they made up for it with the psychological story. White took his first loss to the Gotch Piledriver in 10:35. Not the most exciting of matches, but I appreciated the time taken to tell this narrative. [***]
A Block: Hangman Page [2] vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi [4]
I heard many were excited for this. They had a match in ROH recently, but I can’t bring myself to care enough about ROH to check the results. There was a light start to this with some air guitar antics. However, Page quickly got serious. He came close to beating Okada and understood that a win over one of the top guys in the block could go a long way. His only win has come via DQ. Interestingly, both men went after the leg. Page did it because Suzuki ripped Tanahashi’s apart and Tana did it because, well, he’s Tana. However, going this route kind of limits what you can do since both men will have bad legs. Anyway, Page called out Cody on a Figure Four spot. Despite that, he had the crowd behind him at points. Just when the match seemed to be kicking into the next gear, Tanahashi hit his signature flurry and won with High Fly Flow in 12:08. That was…lackluster. It was not the big star making performance Page needed. Tanahashi is usually game for that (See SANADA and Sabre the last two years), but this never truly got going. When it seemed like it might, it abruptly ended. [**¾]
A Block: Kazuchika Okada [2] vs. Togi Makabe [4]
These two usually have better chemistry than you’d expect. Okada beat him in a title match at Dominion 2013 (****), but Makabe evened score in the G1 23 (****¼). Okada won again in the G1 24 (****) and G1 26 (**¾). Makabe always gets a main event or two towards the middle of the tournament, against guys like Tanahashi, Okada, or Goto. They’re not very good. This was more of the same. Okada still feel uncertain about how to handle his new character. He can hit the carefree attitude at certain times, but look kind of lost at others. He randomly reverts back to RAINMAKER Okada before realizing it. It’s understandable, as it’s potentially a big change. It felt like a paint by numbers, middle of the G1, Okada match. Slow start, lots of using your popularity to carry the action, and a pretty hot finish. The Rainmaker ended it in 15:11. It felt like a house show main event and a match that both men were using to take a rest before picking it back up late. [**½]
Overall: 4/10. The A Block underwhelms again. They already had the worst night of the tournament on night five and this was a fair amount worse. Elgin/HASHI was pretty good and that was the match of the night. I quite enjoyed White/Suzuki, too. Okada/Makabe felt like they were sleepwalking, while Page/Tanahashi didn’t hit the levels it probably had the potential to. EVIL/Fale was another bad Firing Squad match. At least the B Block has SANADA/Ibushi, Omega/Juice, and Ishii/Sabre on the next show.
| A BLOCK | POINTS | B BLOCK | POINTS |
| Jay White | 6 (3-1) | Kenny Omega | 6 (3-0) |
| EVIL | 6 (3-1) | Kota Ibushi | 4 (2-1) |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | 6 (3-1) | Tetsuya Naito | 4 (2-1) |
| Minoru Suzuki | 4 (2-2) | Tomohiro Ishii | 4 (2-1) |
| Michael Elgin | 4 (2-2) | SANADA | 4 (2-1) |
| Kazuchika Okada | 4 (2-2) | Hirooki Goto | 2 (1-2) |
| Togi Makabe | 4 (2-2) | Zack Sabre Jr. | 2 (1-2) |
| Bad Luck Fale | 2 (1-3) | Toru Yano | 2 (1-2) |
| Hangman Page | 2 (1-3) | Tama Tonga | 2 (1-2) |
| YOSHI-HASHI | 2 (1-3) | Juice Robinson | 0 (0-3) |
NJPW G1 Climax 28 Night Six
July 21st, 2018 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 1,734
The awesome B Block is up tonight! The card looks mostly great, especially when compared to a night five that was the worst of the tournament so far. We’ve got a rematch of a Wrestling Toyonokuni banger last year, a Bullet Club battle with some heat after the San Francisco show, and a main even pitting two guys who usually deliver against each other.
SHO and YOSHI-HASHI def. Michael Elgin and Ren Narita in 6:40
Bad Luck Fale and Tanga Loa def. BUSHI and EVIL in 6:06
El Desperado and Minoru Suzuki def. Jay White and YOH in 6:00
Chase Owens and Hangman Page def. David Finlay and Hiroshi Tanahashi in 7:01
Toa Henare and Togi Makabe def. Gedo and Kazuchika Okada in 6:54
B Block: Kota Ibushi [4] vs. Toru Yano [0]
Yano has been one of the tournament MVPs so far. Of course, so has Ibushi. Yano has promised to wrestle a more traditional style, and while the matches have been so much fun, he sits at 0-2. In 2013, Ibushi beat Yano in the G1 (**¼), but in 2015, Yano evened the score with a win in 0:50. Yano went right into rollups and was back to being our favorite Sublime Master Thief. Kota proved to be a good opponent, willing to get involved with the turnbuckle and ringside tape spots. Another slight ref bump came towards the end to set up a low blow and chop block. Yano then used a rollup to get his first win in 8:25. OG Yano is back! It was cool to see him go back to what has worked for him in the past. Ibushi played his role perfectly, making for a fun, light opener. Variety is key in a tournament, folks.[***]
B Block: SANADA [2] vs. Zack Sabre Jr. [2]
Sabre made SANADA tap out during the New Japan Cup (***½). SANADA came in prepared. He was honestly outwrestling Sabre and winning the technical battle. It threw Zack way off his game. He’s not used to this. The Korakuen crowd reacted perfectly to each instance of SANADA outwrestling Sabre. Nearly every exchange featured some sort of cool moment. It would be crisp or SANADA would frustrate Sabre. The Sabre Driver into the Skull End into the European Clutch sequence was delightful. That was followed by another Skull End into rollup spot, only for SANADA to counter that into his own rollup and take the win in 10:52. Sabre was infuriated at being outwrestled. Tremendous storytelling and wrestling here. Sabre’s usually confident because he can best anyone on the mat. But, SANADA had his number after learning from the New Japan Cup. [****]
B Block: IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Juice Robinson [0] vs. Tetsuya Naito [2]
Juice pinned Naito in a tag at Sakura Genesis last year, before losing an IC Title match to Naito at Wrestling Toyonokuni (****¼). Right off the bat, commentary did well to explain some of the history between these two. Naito honed in on Juice’s hand to the point where he got booed. Juice is such a great babyface that he got Naito booed. Naito brilliantly modified pieces of his offense to target the hand, like his corner dropkick. He worked this like a genius. When Juice fired up, Naito spat at him, trying to entice him to use the cast and get DQed. The things Naito did lit a fire under Juice, but his momentum would get stalled by Naito attacking the hand. Juice was prepared for Destino, countering into Pulp Friction, but Naito had an answer for that as well. In the end, Juice survived Destino, but couldn’t get up after a second, falling to 0-3 after 16:38. I loved that. The work on the hand made sense and was masterfully done. Naito was a vicious, arrogant bastard, while Juice continued to shine as an underdog babyface. The crowd was molten for this and it was better than their IC Title match last year. Outstanding. [****½]
B Block: IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega [4] vs. Tama Tonga [2]
Omega beat Tonga in last year’s G1 (***), but there’s more at stake here after the Firing Squad’s attack in San Francisco. Of course, the Firing Squad jumped Omega before the bell until Chase Owens and Hangman Page made the save and allowed this to be a one on one contest. Or so we thought. They had some back and forth until Tanga Loa returned to attack Kenny. Chairs got involved and Tama teased a Styles Clash on a chair. When Red Shoes moved the chair out of the way, Tama hit him with a Gun Stun for a DQ in 9:52. Hot garbage. It’s been three years and Tama still hasn’t stepped up in the G1. He’s just not that good. Throw in MORE shenanigans from the Firing Squad and I’m over this. They’re ruining shows and the Bullet Club story is a drag. I’m done with this shit. [¼*]
As Larry Csonka pointed out today, 12 of the 29 G1 matches up to this point had some form of a run-in, low blow, interference, or a ref bump. “Genius Booker” Gedo is at it again.
B Block: NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto [2] vs. Tomohiro Ishii [2]
They had a NEVER Title banger in 2014 (****½), a wild match in the G1 25 (****½), a good one in the G1 26 (***½), and a great one in the G1 27 (****). Ishii won the title match, but Goto won all three G1 meetings. This was just what you want from these two. They went to war. WE just got nearly twenty minutes of them beating the shit out of each other. Sometimes, that’s all you want. I’ve seen some call it a MOTY contender, though I wouldn’t go that far. Not that it wasn’t a banger, I just think their G1 25 and 2014 matches were better. Anyway, This was kind of a case of two guys trying to see who can dish out more punishment and who could take more. Lots of strong style here. The dueling headbutts spot near the end were great and the crowd popped for everything. Ishii finally got one over on his CHAOS stablemate with the Brainbuster in 18:20. Great match, providing us with one of the better HOSS battles you’ll see anywhere. [****¼]
Overall: 8/10. This had potential to be an all-time great G1 show. It had the variety you hope for. We had a fun Yano match, a technical battle, a hoss fight, a classic in Juice/Naito, and a shenanigan filled match in Omega/Tonga. However, the Tonga match was so bad, it brought the show down as a whole. I was probably the low man on it and was extra harsh, but I’m over it. Skip that match and watch the rest of the show.
| A BLOCK | POINTS | B BLOCK | POINTS |
| Jay White | 6 (3-0) | Kenny Omega | 6 (3-0) |
| Michael Elgin | 4 (2-1) | Kota Ibushi | 4 (2-1) |
| EVIL | 4 (2-1) | Tetsuya Naito | 4 (2-1) |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | 4 (2-1) | Tomohiro Ishii | 4 (2-1) |
| Togi Makabe | 4 (2-1) | SANADA | 4 (2-1) |
| Hangman Page | 2 (1-2) | Hirooki Goto | 2 (1-2) |
| Bad Luck Fale | 2 (1-2) | Zack Sabre Jr. | 2 (1-2) |
| Kazuchika Okada | 2 (1-2) | Toru Yano | 2 (1-2) |
| Minoru Suzuki | 2 (1-2) | Tama Tonga | 2 (1-2) |
| YOSHI-HASHI | 0 (0-3) | Juice Robinson | 0 (0-3) |
NJPW G1 Climax 28 Night Five
July 20th, 2018 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 1,683
I woke up to the news that Dave Meltzer gave Omega/Goto and Omega/Naito five stars. I mean, I can kind of see it on the latter, but the former? Dave’s such a parody. Anyway, the A Block is up today, with Kazuchika Okada looking to get his first two points against G1 rookie Hangman Page, Jay White trying to go to 3-0, and the annual Bad Luck Fale/Hiroshi Tanahashi match.
TAKA Michinoku and Zack Sabre Jr. def. Shota Umino and Toa Henare in 7:04
Kota Ibushi and Yujiro Takahashi def. Gedo and Toru Yano in 4:36
SANADA and Tetsuya Naito def. David Finlay and Juice Robinson in 7:58
The Guerrillas of Destiny def. Chase Owens and Kenny Omega in 5:40
SHO and Tomohiro Ishii def. Hirooki Goto and YOH in 6:58
A Block: Jay White [4] vs. Michael Elgin [4]
Two guys entering unbeaten. Something has to give. White’s coming off wins over Okada and Tanahashi, but this is his toughest physical challenge yet. He’s been great as a heel and the crowd was way into this. They badly wanted him to get his comeuppance. Early on, White learned that he couldn’t match Elgin and the pace was slow. Around ten minutes, things picked up as White found ways to level the playing field. If there’s one thing his character has done well, it’s being cunning/smart. We got a frightening spot where they tried some sort of suplex on the apron and both tumbled to the floor in a heap. Elgin beat the countout back in and went wild with offense, but a Buckle Bomb saw him throw White into the referee. Someone should keep count of the ref bumps in this tournament so far. A low blow and Blade Runner kept White unbeaten after 17:44. If you cut off some of the early stuff and make this around 13 minutes, it would’ve been better. The final ten or so minutes are strong, but I’m already over ref bumps here. [***¼]
A Block: Minoru Suzuki [0] vs. YOSHI-HASHI [0]
Both men entered 0-2, but Minoru has kind of dominated his matches. They met in a NEVER Title match last year (**½], which Minoru won. YOSHI brought fire at the start again, this time jumping Minoru before the bell. Suzuki responded by attacking his bad shoulder. It took away a lot of YOSHI’s signature offense. He lost a lot of the energy he brought at the start and the match suffered. Parts of it were dull and other parts saw some ugly bumps. YOSHI kept going for the Butterfly Lock, which has failed him in the tournament thus far. Minoru wasn’t about to fall victim to that shit. He survived that and an inside cradle, before putting YOSHI out of his misery with the Gotch Piledriver in 13:44. Most of what HASHI did felt flat and it killed the middle of this match, which felt way longer than it was. [**¼]
Minoru hilariously threatened to fight Kevin Kelly after the match.
A Block: EVIL [2] vs. Togi Makabe [4]
First time ever meeting here. You know what this was? A good old fashioned HOSS FIGHT. And yes, they fought this like one. It was two big dudes beating the hell out of each other all over Korakuen. They fought where Hiromu and Desperado did twice earlier this year. Of course, their war was much different. When things got back to the ring, EVIL took control and wore Makabe down. Just as Makabe was fighting back and starting to get things going, EVIL delivered the STO to get the win in 10:16. They kept this short and to the point. I’m a sucker for a good battle of big lads. [***]
A Block: Bad Luck Fale [2] vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi [2]
This is Fale’s fifth G1. He’s faced Tanahashi each year. In 2014 (***½) and 2015 (***½), Fale won. In 2016 (***¼) and 2017 (***), Tanahashi won. That’s not counting two matches outside of the G1 in 2016 (***¼ and ***) and one in 2015 (***¼). Tanahashi knows how to get the best out of Fale. This was standard for them. Fale dominated at points, with Tanahashi garnering the sympathy from the crowd. Fale threw him around outside and Tanga Loa got in some cheap shots. Tanahashi made his big comeback and the fans ate it up. He hit the High Fly Flow and would’ve won, but Tanga pulled the referee out. Oh, look. Another ref bump spot. Tanahashi fought them off, but got hit with a Gun Stun when Tama Tonga arrived. Fale draped an arm over Tana, but Red Shoes flipped off the Firing Squad and called for the DQ at 16:27. This was every Fale/Tanahashi match ever, but with a finish that made the Firing Squad regret their actions. Maybe they cut it out because they’ve been a drag all tournament. [**¾]
The Firing Squad jumped Tanahashi after the match. Fale complained to commentary that they can’t win with refs like this. Dude, you just had a 3-on-1 beating.
A Block: Hangman Page [2] vs. Kazuchika Okada [0]
Page’s first main event. Okada’s been a different man since losing the IWGP Title. I predicted he start 0-3, with this being the biggest upset, before winning out the rest of the way. Okada was all smiles, which angered Page. He said this wasn’t the Okada he wanted. Page started beating on him, but went overboard with the, “THIS IS OKADA NOW” stuff he shouted. Less is more, buddy. He does better with the action portions, stealing Okada’s signature spots and coming across like he was better. It seemed like getting outclassed by this G1 rookie finally woke Okada up. He got going and began to look a bit more like the Okada we’ve seen for the past few years. It took only one Rainmaker for Okada to put down Page in 17:31. A good match. It was another strong showing for Page, who has had two in a row. Okada has looked and wrestled differently, which is appreciated. [***¼]
Overall: 5.5/10. The worst night of the G1 so far by a wide margin. The opener and main event were both good, but never seemed to sniffed greatness. I enjoyed the EVIL/Makabe fight. Fale/Tanahashi was nothing we haven’t seen before and I didn’t care much for Suzuki/HASHI. I’m ready for a new B Block show.
| A BLOCK | POINTS | B BLOCK | POINTS |
| Jay White | 6 (3-0) | Kenny Omega | 4 (2-0) |
| Michael Elgin | 4 (2-1) | Kota Ibushi | 4 (2-0) |
| EVIL | 4 (2-1) | Tetsuya Naito | 2 (1-1) |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | 4 (2-1) | Hirooki Goto | 2 (1-1) |
| Togi Makabe | 4 (2-1) | Tomohiro Ishii | 2 (1-1) |
| Hangman Page | 2 (1-2) | SANADA | 2 (1-1) |
| Bad Luck Fale | 2 (1-2) | Zack Sabre Jr. | 2 (1-1) |
| Kazuchika Okada | 2 (1-2) | Tama Tonga | 2 (1-1) |
| Minoru Suzuki | 2 (1-2) | Juice Robinson | 0 (0-2) |
| YOSHI-HASHI | 0 (0-3) | Toru Yano | 0 (0-2) |
