#g1 climax 2019 review

[hazyheel]

NJPW G1 Climax 2019 Day 7 Review

The opening contest of the night was Zack Sabre Jr vs. Bad Luck Fale. I was actually kinda looking forward to this one, because Sabre wrestles big men really really well. These two actually have a record, 1-0 in favor of Sabre after a G1 meeting 2 years ago. Before the match, Chase Owens got on English commentary and announced that Fale is going to storm Area 51, because they can’t stop the rogue general. I appreciated that. Sabre immediately charged at the bell and locked in a guillotine choke. This makes sense, because big men need more air and more energy to move around, so cut that off and Fale will fall. When Fale fought out, Sabre opted to attack the legs. I love the psychology of Sabre matches. Sabre tried to keep Fale on the mat, but Fale continued to power out of the submissions and throwing the smaller man around. At one point, Sabre reversed the Bad Luck Fall into a flying octopus hold, but Fale backed up into the ropes, allowing Jado to nail him in the back with the kendo stick. Owens got in a couple shots of his own, and Fale then beat the crap out of Sabre in the stands. The two battled a bit, with Sabre countering the grenade into a triangle hold as the ref started the count. He was able to force Fale down to his knees, and then he bolted to the ring, winning his first G1 match this year by count out. Sabre: 2, Fale: 2.

Grade: B. Fale isn’t the greatest wrestler in the world, but Sabre certainly kept it interesting. The countout victory didn’t feel cheap in the slightest, it felt smart. Sabre beat his much larger opponent through smart submissions and a tricky play in the end. Definitely deserving of his first two points.

Then we had Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Lance Archer. This is another match that I was looking forward to, as Tanahashi is awesome, and Archer is a goddamned anomaly when it comes to this G1. He is so cool to watch. These two have a record, although it is old. Tanahashi won both of their previous matches, both in the G1. However, their last match singles match was in 2013, which was long enough ago to think that they may have changed a lot about themselves. Shockingly enough, Tanahashi was the one to attack before the bell, and he went right for the knee. They soon spilled out to the floor and battled for a while, ending when Archer nailed an apron bomb. Archer destroyed Tanahashi’s back and chest on the outside and it really seemed like he had a shot in this match. Tanahashi tried to put Archer down with chops, but he kept no selling them and drilling with a huge chop of his own. Tanahashi kept switching strategies in this match, looking for power moves, strikes and submissions at varying points, each with minimal success. Even when Tana had a comeback, it would only take a shoulder tackle or another power move to get control back. Archer went for his very extra old school, but Tana countered with a twist and shout and a slingblade. He then went for aces high, but Archer caught him for a vicious chokeslam and a near fall. Archer then fought for the EBD claw, and although Tana tried to fight against it, he locked it in for just a second. Archer had Tana in the corner, and looked like he was going to get a muscle buster, but Tana locked in a victory roll for a flash pin and the win. Tanahashi: 4, Archer: 4

Naturally, after the match Archer attacked the ref.

Grade: B+. Really good between these two. Tana knew that Archer was the bigger man, and he was desperate for the win right from the start. He tried everything he could, but Archer wouldn’t go down. In the end, it was a lucky roll up that got the Ace the win here, and Archer was naturally furious. He had one of the biggest stars in the company in the palm of his hands, and then he ate a flash pin. I imagine that this will only fuel Archer’s rage going forward.

Next up was EVIL vs. KENTA. This was a first time ever match. On commentary, they talked about while Kenta has a striking advantage, the raw strength and brawling from Evil is nothing to laugh at. The two may be closer in that respect than you would think. The two were very violent right in the beginning, with Evil pulling no punches when he attacked, and neither did Kenta. The two started out getting tied up in the ropes, and although there was a clean break, Kenta wiped the eye makeup of Evil. That really pissed Evil off, and the two brawled to the outside. Evil even took Kenta to one of the entrances, before they brawled into the crowd. The two dueled for control with both wanting to suplex the other onto a stack of chairs, with Kenta coming out on top. Kenta began to destroy Evil with kicks back in the ring, only firing him up, and Evil started to nail huge lariats. At one point, Kenta even tried for a striking contest, but Evil blocked the first blow and shot back, downing Kenta in one hit. That was certainly an interesting interaction. the two started another striking contest later delivering wicked elbows over and over, until Evil won again with a headbutt. Kenta still fought back into the match, hitting an awesome running knee to counter a running lariat. He kept control from there, nailing a kick to the head, a pique kick and then go to sleep for the win. Kenta: 8, Evil: 4.

Grade: B+. This was a really good story, and a really hard hitting match. I was not shocked by the winner here, but I was shocked when Evil won two head to head striking contests. They beat the crap out of each other, as expected, and hit some brutal moves in the process. Kenta continues to lead the block, and it seems like Evil may end up being the spoiler of A block. He already beat Ibushi, and part of me thinks that he will beat Okada as well. He has before, I don’t see why he couldn’t again.

We went right into Kota Ibushi vs. SANADA. These two have some history, with Sanada winning their match last year in the G1, giving them a 1-0 record in favor of Sanada. The two started with some grappling and went hold for hold with each other. They then picked up the speed, but still ending in a stalemate. Then they competed for some cheers, and the crowd totally came alive. Japanese clouds are so cool when they get excited. They then started to go back and forth with big moves to try to outdo one another. Definitely an interesting story here. They eventually got into striking, with some great chops from Sanada followed by a deadly kick from Ibushi. They started to exchange some hard hitting signature moves as the excitement continued to build. Sanada at one point caught a kick, and started to attack the knee with a dropkick. He went for another, but Ibushi countered with a standing double foot stomp. That was when the two competed once again, with the heaviest hits that they could muster. Neither man went down. Ibushi went for the kamagoye about three or four times, but each attempt saw Sanada avoid it and Ibushi maintain wrist control. Eventually after some creative counters, Sanada nailed Ibushi with a kamagoye of his own, netting him a near fall. He then went for a moonsault, which he missed. it was also at a super low angle, and it was scary as hell. Anyway, after avoiding the moonsault, Ibushi hit a great bomoye. That was when they started to battle for skull end. Both wanted to choke out the other, and they continued to counter each other over and over. Sanada was finally able to lock it in for a while, but when he tried to get the hooks in, Ibushi attempted to reverse it into the kamagoye. They struggled a bit, before Ibushi absolutely whacked Sanada in the head with a roundhouse kick. Ibushi followed it up with a bomoye for 2, and then a kamagoye for 3. Ibushi: 4, Sanada: 2.

Grade: A-. This started out as a contest of one uppmanship, but eventually grew into a great match where both men refused to get hit by anything. Counters were flying all over the place and it was impossible to see who had the advantage for any length of time. This was all back and forth, and a great win for Ibushi. His ankle looked to be bothering him a bit during this match, so I hope that it doesn’t take him out, but it certainly didn’t take away from anything here. Sanada seems to be getting less emphasis this year than Evil, but he is still a force to be reckoned with.

And in the main event, we had Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay. IWGP Heavyweight Champion vs. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. They have a 3-0 record in favor of Okada, but all were great matches. They are friends from the same stable, and they respect each other a lot. They started out with some technical exchanges and a slow deliberate pace. After Ospreay won an early exchanged and forced Okada to the outside, he made sure to sit on the ropes for him when he came back in, which Okada rejected. Okada later did the same to him. They played it up as respect, but I saw it as the opposite. Okada targetted the already injured neck of Ospreay, while Ospreay just tried to up the pace. Ospreay tried to fight back with incredible strikes, but Okada stood strong and dropped him with a thunderous forearm. However, when Okada went for his signature DDT, Ospreay countered with a huge vertical suplex. Ospreay followed up with a huge chop, followed by a corner ensiguri, but when he went for the top rope tiger fang kick, Okada caught him and just dropped him on his neck to maintain the advantage. The two then picked up the pace quite a bit, constantly countering each other’s signature maneuvers until Okada dropped Ospreay with a beautiful standing dropkick. He followed up with a tombstone, and tried for a rainmaker, but Ospreay countered into a victory roll and then a robinson special. Ospreay went for the os cutter, but Okada caught him with a dropkick on the ropes, sending the smaller man tumbling to the outside. The two then battled on the apron, with anticipation building as to who will hit the big move first. It looked to be Ospreay after a big kick to the shoulder, but as he went up for a moonsault to the outside, Okada pulled him down to try for a tombstone. Ospreay fought out and sent him into the barricade. He followed that up with a hook kick and then an os cutter on the outside. Ospreay made it back in the ring, as did Okada, but Ospreay cut him off with a springboard dropkick to a crawling Okada. He then nailed a second os cutter in the ring, but Okada still kicked out! It was also the best os cutter I have ever seen. A desperate Opsreay tried for the top rope os cutter, but Okada caught him in midair and flattened him with a german suplex. He tried for the rainmaker, but Ospreay slipped out, so Okada dropkicked him instead. He tried again, but Ospreay hit a standing spanish fly for another near fall. Ospreay then hit a shooting star press for another near fall. Nothing was putting the champion down. Ospreay tried for the storm breaker, but Okada tried to get a tombstone. Ospreay fought out of it, nailed a couple knees to the top of the head, and hit a tombstone of his own. He nailed a ripcord hook kick, and went for the stormbreaker again, but Okada flipped out of it and hit a short rainmaker. He maintained wrist control, and hit another short rainmaker. Okada tried for the full rainmaker, but Ospreay reversed it into stormbreaker position, but Okada flipped out again and hit a spinning short rainmaker. And finally, with Ospreay all out of energy and having been spun around by those rainmakers 3 times, Okada finally hit a full rainmaker and put Ospreay down. Okada: 8, Ospreay: 2.

Grade: A+. Back to back A+’s from Ospreay. He is really delivering in this tournament. Okada is as well, its an awesome tournament this year. Ospreay was a perfect underdog here, and Okada was the staunch champion who wasn’t phased by anything. Ospreay put up the fight of a lifetime, but he just couldn’t finish it off. He had Okada beat a couple of times, but he is the IWGP Heavyweight Champion for a reason. Okada took several of Ospreay’s best shots and kept fighting, it was incredible. Even though Ospreay is now probably too far behind to even get in the top 5 of his block, he seems to be delivering the best matches in the G1 so far. Probably between him and Ishii. As for Okada, he and Kenta are still leading the pack with 8 points apiece, and they face off in the next block A show. Given that they are both two points ahead of the rest of the chasing pack, it feels like one of them will win the block, but we can’t be sure just yet. A block is getting very dramatic. Oh, and this was far and away the match of the night. Probably my favorite G1 match so far, even better than Ibushi vs. Ospreay.

Overall Grade:  A-.

Pros: All matches

Cons: Ibushi’s ankle injury seems to be flaring up. 

[puroresu-musings]

NJPW G1 CLIMAX 30 Day 5 Review (Sept 27th, 2020, Kobe World Memorial Hall)

Yota Tsuji vs. Gabriel Kidd  ***

A Block

Taichi vs. Yujiro Takahashi  **1/2

Jeff Cobb vs. Minoru Suzuki  ***1/4+

Kota Ibushi vs. Tomohiro Ishii  ****1/4

Will Ospreay vs. Shingo Takagi  ****1/2+

Kazuchika Okada vs. Jay White  ***3/4

photos.

This was one of the strongest cards of the tour on paper, and whilst it didn’t exactly reach its lofty anticipation, it was still a great show which was a breeze to sit through. Gabriel Kidd defeated Yota Tsuji in the prerequisite good Young Lion opener with his impressive Butterfly Suplex, which then gave us a match I was dreading in Taichi vs. Yujiro. However, I’m pleased to say that whilst this wasn’t especially good, it certainly wasn’t bad, so thats a definite plus. The crowd were into this late in the game, before Taichi hit a low blow, then scored the win in 11 minutes with the Gedo Clutch. The win makes Taichi undefeated thus far, but I can’t believe that will last much longer. Especially seeing who he’s got coming up in the rest of this thing. Hey, does anyone remember when Shelton Benjamin went on that inexplicable undefeated streak in 2014?

Minoru Suzuki defeated Jeff Cobb next in a match up that, whilst very good, was something of a disappointment (a theme will occur). It was very short for starters (9:24), and Cobb, who really hasn’t looked all that great in this tournament so far, sold for pretty much the whole match. Which is something he does entirely too much for my liking. I mean, he’s a big, athletic guy, who was a legitimate Olympian, and could probably shoot kill most guys in most locker rooms, but spends most of these matches getting his arse handed to him. I mean, fine when you’re talking about Suzuki, but would Dr Death have bumped all over and sold 80% of a match for Taichi? Would the Steiners? Or Kurt Angle? Anyway, you get what I’m saying. I just think he needs to come across more as a badass shooter rather than... whatever he is now. Which is literally “just a guy”. Regardless of my gripes, this was a good match (even if there were a few ‘clunky’ aspects), which Suzuki won after locking in a choke then transitioning to the Gotch Piledriver.

After a brief intermission it was time to go to war as Ibushi took on Ishii. These guys have had three matches previous to this, all of which were absolutely fab, so expectations were high. This was an excellent, heated, hard-hitting battle, but for various reasons, it couldn’t hit the heights of their previous bouts, and the most  obvious reason being that it’s incredibly hard to have an absolute blow-away classic in the current environment. Literally, there’s only been one in my book; the Naito/Tanahashi match from last week, and that’s it. Regardless, they still had a great match, beating the hell out of each other for 15:41 with hard chops, kicks, forearms headbutts and Lariats. Just as we’d all hoped they would. Ishii started chopping Ibushi in the throat, so Kota hit those scary throat punches in retaliation, then landed on his feet on a German attempt and scored a near fall with Boma Ye on the originators bestie. Ishii counters Kamigoye with headbutts, then a Lariat. They exchange hard strikes, Ibushi hits a high kick, then Kamigoye to take the 2 points and render Ishii winless in this G1. They continued beating each other up in the post match.

Next up was a rematch from the best match of 2019, when Shingo Takagi sought to avenge his BOSJ Finals loss to Will Ospreay. This really was a fantastic bout, but obviously couldn’t reach the heights of their match last year, but was easily MOTN, in the top 3 of this tournament so far, and amongst the best in the pandemic era. These guys work amazingly well together and it produces fairly amazing results. Their counter sequences alone are a thing of beauty. Ospreay got a near fall after a Corner to Corner dropkick and Shooting Star Press, before Shingo battled back with a Pumping Bomber and Made In Japan for near falls of his own. The Rampage Dragon hit his old Stay Dream middle rope Death Valley Bomb, but Ospreay kicks at 1. Shingo obliterates him with a Pumping Bomber which garners a near fall, and Last Of The Dragon follows, allowing Takagi to get his win back at the 22:03 mark. This was a really great match, and, look, people were tying themselves in knots trying to explain how Ospreay’s match with Ishii last week wasn’t very good (it was excellent), and I fear that these sort of views are because of how these people feel towards Ospreay personally. I’ve always tried to remove the person from the matches (I’ve often loved a Michael Elgin match, despite him being fundamentally loathsome in many regards), and thats my philosophy here. I get he’s a very divisive character, but he has great matches consistently. Anyway, thats all I have to say about that.

And in the main event, Jay White once again pinned Okada in a really good, though ultimately disappointing, encounter that couldn’t hope to follow its predecessor. Honestly, this Okada Cobra Clutch storyline is doing nothing for me. It’s even more alienating to me then the red-headed balloon bandit nonsense he had going on 2018. I understand the story they’re trying to tell; that Okada has ‘retired’ the Rainmaker in order to make this Cobra Clutch/Anaconda Vice thing his primary finish, and its all building to him using the Rainmaker again later down the road, but I just honestly don’t care. It just ruins the flow of his matches. You could work dramatic sequences around avoiding or getting out of a Rainmaker, or even trying to hit it, but this submission just isn’t hitting the same notes as far as I’m concerned. I’ve said since January that Okada just seems lost at sea when he’s not champion, and this is as glaringly obvious now as its ever been. White however has looked great since his COVID induced hiatus, and he looked really good in this one. This was marred slightly by too much Gedo involvement, who kept distracting Okada throughout. After Okada hit a Rolling Rainmaker, he locks the Clutch on for maybe the 7th time in the match, which prompted Gedo to distract Red Shoes whilst Jay hits a low blow (we’ve seen a ton of these in this G1 already, by the way, and we’re only five days in!), then tries for Blade Runner, but again gets caught in the Clutch. Dear Lord. White counters into a Sleeper Suplex, then hit Blade Runner to take the decisive win at 18:48. I mean, in terms of wins over Okada, this is almost as decisive as it gets. Switch Blade cut a promo in the post match, taunting the crowd and proclaiming the G1 to actually be the “Jay1″. 

NDT

[sithhoplite]

Shak’s SummerSlam 2019 Review

Becky(c) v Nattie for the Raw Women’s Title: I give this match a C, it was a bit boring, the crowd didn’t really pop all that much. While the reverse submission holds were neat and it did look like Nattie was wrenching Becky’s arm back the end was rather meh. Nattie “I won’t tap even if you break my arm” taps but looks utterly disinterested when she did. 

Goldberg V Ziggler: A..it was everything I wanted to see. Dolph sold the spear like the had been shot, the jackhammer was great and the match was under 2 minutes. Dolph still talking shit after getting almost murdered was amusing and I have no issues with Goldberg coming back to spear him again and again.

AJ(c) v Ricochet for the United States Title: B-, my son will be unhappy as he is a Ricochet fan but it was an alright match. Some good spots, timely involvment by the Good Brothers and Styles catching Ricochet and turning it into a Styles clash was nice. Keeps the momentum of the OC going. 

KO v Shane: B - Solid, Shane ended up getting his ass beat, Elias got his ass beat after being introduced as the special guest enforcer. Shane should disappear for a few weeks, I hope.

Bayley(c) v Ember Moon for the Smackdown Women’s Title: C and that is being generous. Too many botches in this match for my taste. Ember I can see as this is her first PPV match but Bayley should know better. They didn’t seem like they were on the same wavelength at all but a nice top rope Bayley to Belly Suplex to end it.

Kofi(c) v Orton for the WWE Championship: D: Match was ok, a few momentum shifts but it wasn’t the big win Kofi needed to solidify his reign as WWE champ and the ending was just, I have no workds for how moronic it was. 

Charlotte v Trish: C-: Ok match, Charlotte had to carry Trish for good parts of the match, thought for a moment when Trish hit the “Stratisfaction” finisher could she win but no, Charlotte won which is fine with me. The crowd after the match was cool and the loss doesn’t hurt Trish at all but doesn’t really help The Queen either.

Finn Balor v The Fiend: A+: The entrance for The Fiend, holy shitballs. The lantern that is his old face, the dreadlocks made into the handle was creepy AF and so worked for him. I was gobsmacked and loved it. Finn in all white as the “good guy” was a nice touch. Fairly quick match, nice finish with the mandable claw and the lights going out and Bray being gone when they came back on was awesome. Match of the Night for me.

and finally:

Seth Rollins V Brock Lesnar(c) for the Universal Title: B-: Not too bad, Brock sold for Rollins which is goo. When he picked up Seth with his rib tape and swung him around like a rag doll that was awesome. No surprise despite the beat downs Seth had taken that he won and re-claimed the Universal Title. After the match he looked rather good for a person who had “busted ribs” but whatever, its WWE and continuity isn’t a thing for them.

Overall I would give SummerSlam 2019 a B-, it had some good matches and not so good matches. The ending of the Kofi match put a bad stain on things. I also held onto my WWE Title for the match picks I do with my neighbor by one match! Now its time to relax for a hour then watch the finals of the NJPW G1 Climax.

[wrestlingisfake]

Destruction in Kobe preview

Tetsuya Naito vs. Jay White - Naito is defending the IWGP intercontinental championship.  White pinned Naito in the G1 Climax, eliminating Naito from the tournament and earning White this title match.  There’s a decent chance the winner of this match will defend the title at Wrestle Kingdom 14, seeing as there probably won’t be many more title matches between now and January.

Naito’s goal for months has been to hold the intercontinental title long enough to also secure the IWGP heavyweight title and be the first double champion with those two belts.  His best chance to do that was to win the G1 Climax, but Kota Ibushi won the tournament to qualify for the heavyweight title match at Wrestle Kingdom.  Since Ibushi lost the intercontinental title to Naito, and since he has a particular fondness for that belt, and since Wrestle Kingdom 14 is a two-day event, Kota suggested that he could challenge for the heavyweight belt on January 4 and then the winner could face the intercontinental champion on January 5 in a double title match.  That obviously got Naito’s attention. 

It looks like White also took notice.  Since he didn’t win the G1 Climax, the earliest opportunity he will have to regain the heavyweight title would be if he’s in the possible double title match on January 5.  (If it happens--technically it hasn’t been officially announced.)  But to be in that match he has to have the intercontinental title, which means he needs to beat Naito for it.  To that end, he attacked Naito on August 25 and declared his “destino” to be the first double champion.

The Big Five in New Japan this year are Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, Kota Ibushi, and Jay White.  (White’s mainly at that level because he filled in for the role of Kenny Omega earlier this year; it’s not clear if this current storyline was originally mapped out for Kenny.)  We already know Okada-Ibushi for the heavyweight title is set for Wrestle Kingdom, and Tanahashi vs. Chris Jericho is also clearly pencilled in.  So it’s a safe bet we’ll get White-Naito for the intercontinental title on January 4, with the winner facing the winner of Okada-Ibushi on January 5.  The only real question is whether Naito or White will enter the Tokyo Dome as the champion.  This match will likely decide that.

With all that in mind, I think it makes the most sense for White to win the title here, so Naito can earn his way into a rematch.  On the other hand, White is 1-0 against Naito in singles matches, so a Naito victory here would set up a rubber match in January.  But the image of White gloating at all of us with his shiny new belt for the next three months is just too perfect to pass up.  It’s Jay’s time now.

Hirooki Goto vs. Shingo Takagi - This is a rematch from their G1 Climax match on August 11, which Shingo won.  Takagi entered New Japan as a junior heavyweight and just went sickhouse on everybody’s ass.  Then he entered the G1, had a respectable 4-5 record, and said “fuck it, I’m a full-time heavyweight now.”  Meanwhile, Goto returned from a stint at the LA Dojo with a head of steam, going 5-4 in the G1 Climax.  If Goto is going to finish 2019 in a better position than last year, he needs to start by avenging his loss to Shingo.  That won’t be easy.

Their previous match was intense as fuck and very well reviewed.  This one is going to come down to which guy is getting a big push.  If Shingo is on track for a title run next year, he should probably just go 2-0 on Goto and move on to bigger stars.  The thing is, these two are so similar that there’s no real reason to push them both, so if Goto is fed to Shingo I don’t see any point to rehabbing him for some other storyline.  In short, Goto needs this win a little more than Shingo.  I can’t really be sure which one will get it.

Kazuchika Okada & Kota Ibushi & Robbie Eagles vs. SANADA & EVIL & BUSHI - Okada and Sanada are on course for a title match on October 14.  Now that Ibushi has defended his G1 title match contract against Kenta, Evil is next in line, so those two have a match coming down the line, which hasn’t been scheduled yet.  This could go either way, but count on Bushi or Eagles eating the pin.

KENTA & Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa & El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori vs. Will Ospreay & SHO & YOH & Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI - Roppongi 3K (Yoh and Sho) lost the junior tag title to Phantasmo and Ishimori a while back, but then everything got shook up on September 16 when Yoh pinned Tama Tonga.  Now R3K are in line for a heavyweight tag title match against the Guerillas of Destiny, who had just successfully defended against Ishii and Yoshi on September 15 with help from Kenta.  GOD is probably pretty pissed about it, and I would expect them to be on the warpath here.

Meanwhile, Phantasmo is looking to challenge Ospreay for the junior singles title at some point, and Kenta doesn’t have a challenger for his NEVER openweight title.  I could see someone pinning Kenta to set up a title match, but I don’t really see any of these guys doing it.  The smart money is on Yoshi losing this match.

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Jushin Thunder Liger & Rocky Romero & Tiger Mask vs. Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre, Jr. & Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI - Things are still heating up between Liger and Suzuki, although we still don’t know when they’re going to build to a singles match.  Suzuki managed to pull off Liger’s mask last week so I am more certain than ever (I was already pretty certain) that Liger is going to flip the fuck out and turn into Kishin Liger.  Could that happen tonight???  I mean, it could, but it could have happened half a dozen times before now, and it still could happen at King of Pro Wrestling or Power Struggle.  So my big question is, how much shit can Jushin Liger take before he loses his mind?  As for this match, I guess Douki or Tiger Mask loses, and between the two of them Douki is the bigger jobber.

Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma & Toa Henare vs. Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi - This is a trios match and Makabe is one of the NEVER trios champions, but he never actually teams with the other two champions anymore, so this isn’t a title match.  Anyway, forget all that shit, what matters is that Fale and Chase spent most of the G1 Climax tour talking up their plans to STORM AREA 51 to BEAT UP ALIENS.  I mean, that Storm Area 51 thing was kind of a dumb joke, but when BAD LUCK FALE is telling you about it, it seems a little more important.  They made a shirt and everything! 

So anyway these guys would have had about 48 hours to get from the 9/20 Kyoto show to Las Vegas, storm Area 51, and then fly back to Kobe for this match, so I am real real curious what they’re gonna tell us about that trip.  I assume Kevin Kelly will do his duty and try to get some comments from them about it.  I was about to say “before they get clobbered in this match” but actually for once they may be the favorites to win, so maybe the real aliens were Makabe, Honma, and Henare all along!

Syota Umino vs. Karl Fredericks - This is one of two Young Lion Cup tournament matchs on the card, and the last night of the tournament.  Umino and Fredericks are in a three-way tie with Ren Narita at 10 points.  Knowing how New Japan books these things, I would guess it all comes down to who wins this match.  My man Shooter Umino controls his own destiny, so if he wins this match he wins the tournament no matter what else happens.  Fredericks needs to win this match and he needs Narita to not win.  The big story of the tournament has been the New Japan dojo guys having a beef with the gaijin from the LA Dojo and Bad Luck Fale’s dojo.  It’s not New Gaijin Pro Wrestling so I’m pretty sure a Japanese guy is going to win, and my money is on the Shooter.

Ren Narita vs. Clark Connors - This is the other Young Lion Cup tournament match.  Connors can’t win the tournament even if he wins this match.  Narita could win, but he needs to win this match and he needs Umino to not win.  Ren doesn’t have to lose this match, but if he does Umino-Fredericks is for all the marbles, so I’m very sure that Connors will win to make that possible.

Yuji Nagata & Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Alex Coughlin & Michael Richards - Once again Nagata and Nakanishi are teaming with all the Young Lion Cup guys that don’t have tournament matches on this card.  I could see Nakanishi’s team winning just to let Coughlin and Richards have a little moment before they go back home, but NJPW prides itself on making these guys suffer so maybe not.

[gdwessel]

Strong Style Story Podcast Episode 48: WK13 Review + Fantasticamania Preview

Well, NJPW never put up the Fantasticamania lineups, but we did the show anyway. Please listen to Episode 48 of the Strong Style Story Podcast now on Pro Wrestling Only, which is now ALSO on Spotify!

We have experienced Wrestle Kingdom 13! Fantasticamania 2019 is next! Geoffrey & Chris are back to talk about it with special guest TheCubsFan! In this episode we:

* Review Wrestle Kingdom 13, and New Year Dash!!, and try to figure out where this is all going. * Talk smack and speculate what will become of Kenny Omega as the spectre of All Elite Wrestling looms large * Discuss the attendance of WK13 v. WK12, and whether or not splitting WK14 in 2020 will give Kidani the sell-out he's been craving * Talk Best of the Super Juniors 26 Final being in Ryogoku Kokugikan, as well G1 Climax 29 starting in Dallas AND an additional date for The New Beginning USA in Nashville * Preview Fantasticamania with TheCubsFan the best we can, given the lineups weren't out yet when we recorded * Discuss the relationship between CMLL and NJPW, and whether or not Penta 0M and Rey Fenix could ever appear in NJPW * Admit that maybe ending the show at Episode 50 was all for naught, and discuss whether or not we expand our scope outside of NJPW in the future?

All of this and much more! Tune in!

TheCubsFan can be found at @luchablog on Twitter, and at www.luchablog.com online!

Chris is @BrasilianFury on Twitter

Geoffrey is @StrongStylStory on Twitter, as well as @gdwessel for his personal account, and the blog is strongstylestory.tumblr.com

Thanks for listening!

[cousinmarcustalkswrestling]

A Cousin’s Review - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 15 Night Two

January 5, 2021

Toru Yano vs Bad Luck Fale vs Chase Owens vs Bushi - Fatal Four Way - 2021 KOPW Trophy

These were the last four of the New Japan Rumble and the winner is the current 2021 KOPW Trophy. Fale and Owens are both Bullet Club so they instantly do a Too Sweet of Doom to have Fale steal the title. Fun and goofy little opener. Of course, Yano takes off the turnbuckle pad. Bushi is kind of out of place here, Ishii might’ve been a better pick to make it an unofficial Bullet Club vs CHAOS match, plus I can realistically see Ishii being double champ with those two titles. Owens goes for a pin at one point and Chase stops him and goes for his own pin, then Fale stops him. BULLET CLUB IMPLOSION!! While they argue and attempt to attack the ref, Yano lowblows them both and pins Bushi. BAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!

**

El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru (CHAMPS) vs Ryusuke Taguchi and Master Wato - Jr Heavyweight Tag Titles

El Desperado is coming off an amazing performance against Hiromu Takahashi in the Best of the Super Junior Final. Kanemaru was supposed to be in the tournament, but he was injured throughout it. That has absolutely no bearing on this match, but you absolutely have to see Hiromu vs Desperado. This is a fun match, Wato starts off by flattening Desperado with multiple planchas. Taguchi becomes the face in peril and we get some of his fun antics like his infinite rope running, but Despy and Kane are in no mood for games and they’re super nasty targeting Taguchi’s leg. Taguchi makes a comeback and Wato assists gaining some nearfalls, but Desperado catches the ref distracted and straight cold cocks Taguchi then ends it with Pinche Loco. Good solid match.

***

Shingo Takagi (CHAMP) vs Jeff Cobb - NEVER Openweight Title

Shingo reclaimed the NEVER title from Minoru Suzuki at Power Struggle. Cobb set this up by attacking Shingo at the Super Juniors/World Tag League final. Cobb is a heel and apart of Will Ospreay’s Empire, so he’s much nastier now. I knew this would slap, because they’re both great hosses, but this heavily exceeded my expectations. They start out with a slugfest and Shingo quickly finds out he’s at a strength disadvantage when Cobb kicks out of a pin attempt and Shingo flies a few feet in the air, then Cobb slings him with a deadlift belly to belly on the outside. Cobb is so ridiculous that he teases a Razor’s Edge from the apron to the floor, but Shingo slips out, knocks him off the apron, and follows that with a somersault senton!! How old is Shingo again?!?!

Shingo’s back is too hurt for a Noshigami and Cobb drills him with a pretty Razor’s bomb. This is the hossfest to end all hossfests as these two recklessly toss each other around.Shingo is at the disadvantage and every time he manages to land something big on Cobb, it takes so much out of him and his selling is tremendous. He gets drilled with a German and rebounds with a lariat, but he immediately falls right out of the ring. Shingo eventually has to chop block Cobb’s knee and it pays off rather quickly when Cobb hits Tour of the Islands, but can’t immediately cover. Cobb tries to end Shingo with a superplex, but Shingo slips out and powerbombs him. Shingo desperately pulls Cobb’s hair to block another Tour, so Cobb casually gives him a full rotation fallaway slam. Shingo can’t get enough mustard on his Pumping Bombers, but he gives it one last go, turns Cobb inside out with a Pumping Bomber and ends it with Last of the Dragon.

This was start to finish fantastic power wrestling with storytelling, psychology, and selling. A must-see match.

****3/4

Sanada vs Evil

From something amazing to something I don’t really care for. The story is all the way there for this to be great; Former tag partners, one turns on the other, and they actually just met in a super high stakes match in the G1, so this is an even grudgier grudge match. But Sanada is a pretty emotionless guy who needs someone interesting to play off and Evil had a terrible G1 rife with annoying interference and the good matches he did have were because of energetic babyfaces like Naito, Tanahashi, Goto etc. One more thing, I hate how commentary is underplaying Sanada and saying he really needs this win to get into title contention. Has everybody forgotten that he actually beat Naito in the G1??

Sanada actually comes in super energetic and puts Evil in the Paradise lock relatively early. Evil muddies things up on the outside and of course gets some assistance from Dick Togo. SMH. They have a decent back and forth and Evil lands a big ol superplex then goes right to the Scorpion Death Lock, but Sanada gets the ropes. Darkness Falls from Evil gets two, TKO from Sanada gets two. Evil ducks the moonsault, escapes Skull End and rakes his eyes. Ref bump, Dick Togo interference, I DON’T CARE!! Sanada survives Togo interference and chokes Evil out with Skull End. He lands one moonsault to the back, but the second gets nothing but knees. Sanada works his way into Skull End, but garbage ass Evil has to cheat again and Dick Yogo tries to garrote him. Dick Togo takes a phony bumb through a table. Sanada blocks a lowblow and hits Evil with Everything is Evil. A pop-up TKO and another moonsault ends it.

The work was solid and Sanada was motivated, but the formulaic Evil/Togo nonsense annoyed me to no end. Better than the sum of its parts though, I can’t lie.

**3/4

Taiji Ishimori (CHAMP) vs Hiromu Takahashi - Jr Heavyweight Title

These two have excellent chemistry and history that now goes back a few years. Hiromu beat Taiji in a brilliant match in the 2018 Best of the Super Juniors Finals. Then a month later, he broke his neck and was out until late 2019. At Wrestle Kingdom 14, he beat Will Ospreay and reclaimed the Jr Heavyweight Title. At Summer Struggle in Jingu, Taiji beat Hiromu in a great rematch. On the first night of 2020’s Best of the Super Junior Tournament, Hiromu beat Taiji in another great match. Hiromu won the whole tournament then beat El Phantasmo on Night 1 to set up this rematch.

I probably should rewatch all their matches, before I watch this one, but nah. It starts super hot like usual with Hiromu teasing a German suplex on the apron. Taiji flips away from it, but runs directly into a hard powerbomb on the apron. Hiromu tries to show off and run the long ass ramp to a dropkick, but Taiji slams him in a messy spot. Taiji uses the exposed turnbuckle to attack Hiromu’s back and neck, but Hiromu comes back with a wheelbarrow slam on the floor and a running dropkick against the gate. Taiji catches Hiromu with the sliding German and a springboard 450 right on the arm then he immediately goes to the Bone Lock, but Hiromu makes the ropes. Taiji stays aggressive, but Hiromu catches him Taiji with the belly to belly throw to the corner then the DVD into the corner. They have a lightning fast sequence where Taiji gets a big boot, but handsprings into a German suplex. Taiji rebounds with a Destroyer then they slug it out.

Hiromu is too stubborn to die so Taiji goes for a true kill and crushes him with like 40 straight forearms that get progressively stiffer and scarier. Its by far the most violent thing I’ve seen in a New Japan junior match. After beating Hiromu to a pulp, he goes back to beating the shit out of the arm, then locking in the Bone Lock as Hiromu bleeds from the nose. Hiromu just barely gets his foot on the ropes. Hiromu armdrags away from Bloody Cross then counters another Bone Lock attempt to a flatliner. He turns Taiji inside out with a hard lariat then drives him into the exposed turnbuckles. Time Bomb gets two. Taiji counters another attempt and after a struggle, he locks in the Bone Lock once again. He tries to twist the Bone Lock into the Bloody Cross, but Hiromu gets another flatlioner suplex and ends it with the Time Bomb 2.

Ending was anticlimactic and I felt like they could’ve got even hotter, but definitely a great match. Just great action, great display of brutality by Taiji, and a great selling performance by Hiromu. And just taking a gander at the BOTSJ standings, it’d look like Sho has a strong chance of being the next challenger but because he’s the only person besides Desperado to beat Hiromu. We’ll see. Hiromu is suuuuuuuper high in whatever best wrestler in the world list you make.

****1/4

Kota Ibushi (CHAMP) vs Jay White - Heavyweight and Intercontinental Title

Quite the rivalry between these two. Ibushi beat White in a great match to win the 2019 G1 Climax. Then White beat Ibushi three straight times. First at Wrestle Kingdom in a loser vs loser match, then in the G1 in a great match, and finally at Power Struggle with the challenge briefcase on the line. Ibushi finally won the big one by beating Naito on night one, but can he keep it?

Of course, Jay starts by bailing to the outside. Gedo leaps on the apron and Jay surprisingly tells him not to do anything and that he’s gonna do this on his own. Of course like 20 seconds later, Gedo trips Ibushi up and Jay uses it to take over. What a bastard. White targets Ibushi’s neck with a draping DDT and a high backdrop on the apron. White consistently switches body parts to attack as the match goes along, first transitioning from neck to torso.

Ibushi comes back with a powerslam, but White has the moonsault scouted and crotches him then gives him a dragon screw. Ibushi elbows out of a Uranage attempt and snap ranas Jay out of the ring, but his leg gives going for thje Golden Triangle Moonsault and Jay knocks him off the apron. Jay’s varied attack adds so much to everything high impact because its affecting a body part that Jay has already targeted in some form. White tries to strike with Ibushi and predictably gets wrecked. They counter rolls ups and Ibushi stuffs him with the bastard driver. White dodges Boma Ye and hits a sick backdrop suplex, but he runs into a suplex and gets cracked by a Boma Ye that gets two. White punches out of the Golden Powerbomb and tries the rope-assisted backslide that beat Ibushi at Power Struggle but the ref catches it. White’s cheating attempt infuriates Ibushi and he wrecks White with kicks.

Gedo distracts Ibushi from a Phoenix Splash attempt and Jay tries a sleeper superplex, but Ibushi fights him away. White redirects his target to the leg with Dragon Screws and locks in the TTO, but Ibushi gets to the ropes. White slaps at Ibushi and Ibushi becomes God and wrecks him to the point that Jay just lays there and tells Ibushi to pin him. Ibushi gets a little too wild and knocks the ref away and White gets a low blow. White drills Ibushi’s back into the rail telling Ibushi “Fuck You!” every time, then he forearms him to death on the outside and waits for Ibushi to come to him. Ibushi drags his body back in and Jay immediately gives him an STO and a few brutal German suplexes. He wants to German him on the apron, but Ibushi kicks him away and pulls him in with a German from the apron to inside.

Golden Powerbomb only gets two. Jay counters Kamigoye to a hard suplex right on Ibushi’s head then another. Ibushi counters the Blade Runner to a backslide transition to Kamigoye, but Jay kicks out. Ibushi hits the beautiful Phoenix splash, but punk ass Gedo pulls the referee out. Gedo tries to hit Ibushi with brass knuckles, but he eats Kamigoye. Ibushi brings Red Shoes in and immediately eats Blade Runner but he kicks out. I totally saw that one coming and thats not a knock at all. White locks in the TTO again and man Ibushi sells the hell out of it. The closer Ibushi scoots towards the ropes, Jay looks like he’s gonna bust into tears. Ibushi finally gets the ropes and tries a V Trigger out of nowhere, but White counters to another Regalplex for two. Bloody Sunday sets up the Blade Runner, but Ibushi cracks him with a V Trigger. Two more V Triggers, a Kamigoye TO THE BACK OF THE FUCKING HEAD, THEN A KAMIGOYE TO THE FRONT OF THE FUCKING HEAD ends this epic match.

Wow. This was absolutely excellent. Down the stretch, I kept thinking “Man, this feels like a Bret Hart match!” The patience they had to just tell their story and stick to the psychology and not just kick it up a notch for the sake of kicking it up is ridiculously commendable. White’s strategy and characterization was excellent and Ibushi simultaneously looked indestructible while also selling how he was gradually being chopped down by White. Brilliant match and clearly best of both nights.

*****

OVERALL: Big step up from a really good day one to an excellent day two. The KOPW match and Sanada/Evil were just aight. Jr tag was good and three matches that I would’ve bet on being bangers all banged. Hiromu/Taiji Part 4 might be their best work since the first one, Shingo/Cobb was an epic hossfest, and Ibushi/White was an epic storytelling clinic. Awesome show.

OVERALL RATING: 4.5 OUTTA 5

[prphd]

G1 Climax 8/4/19 review

https://anchor.fm/richard-huang/episodes/G1-climax-August-4th-2019-part-1-review-e4svfs

[hazyheel]

NJPW G1 Climax 2019 Day 11 Review

Bad Luck Fale vs Kota Ibushi in A Block: Jado and Chase Owens were in Fale’s corner for this match. Before the match started, Fale attacked Ibushi and put him on the outside. While the ref yelled at Fale, Owens and Jado both attacked Ibushi together. Fale then started to attack him with a section of the barricade, and slid back into the ring just before the count was up, and Ibushi just barely made it back in as well. Fale then just toyed with him and worked over the back quite a lot. Ibushi had minimal comebacks due to Fale’s overwhelming power. Fale locked in a bear hug at one point, damaging the back and doing some extra work to the ribs. After escaping, Ibushi finally took some control back. He gave Fale kick after kick to the chest and took the big man off his feet. He went for a move off the top, but Chase Owens hopped up on the apron and distracted him just long enough for Fale to get a splash in the corner. Jado naturally got involved as well, nailing Ibushi in the back with a kendo stick as he ran the ropes, allowing Fale to hit the Grenade for a near fall. He tried for the Bad Luck Fall, but Ibushi slipped out. Jado then tried to run interference a bit as the two jockeyed for position near the ropes, and he ate a kick to the hand for it. Ibushi then got a rollup for a near fall, and started to finish things up. He gave Fale a buzz saw kick, a bomaye, and then Kamagoye for the win. Ibushi: 8, Fale: 2. 

Grade: D+. Fine match, the usual stuff that Fale pulls, but Ibushi will never feel like an underdog. It was clear from the beginning that Ibushi would win, despite the odds. And the interference wasn’t very interesting this time around. Although Ibushi still looked pretty good, he had some nice kicks. Ibushi is just able to put out such good work. Also, Fale has now been mathematically eliminated. 

Will Ospreay vs. Zack Sabre Jr in A Block: The animosity between these two was evident before the match even started. The two were right up in each other’s faces, and neither was looking too happy to see the other. They started with some nice looking lockups where Ospreay was flipping all around to escape, and Sabre escaped using his impressive technical prowess. These two continued to wrestle to a stalemate over and over again. Sabre targeted Ospreay’s neck during this match, as it has been bothering Ospreay a lot throughout the tournament.  It was really cool to see how well they know each other. They knew just about every move that the other would make, and they were able to counter it with some nice looking offense. Ospreay tried to go hold for hold with Sabre early on, but eventually he was just forced to transition into striking. Sabre was actually showing a lot of restraint in this match. He waited for Ospreay to make a move, and then locked in a submission when he missed. It still took Ospreay a very long time to really step up into this match, but when he did it was super impressive. At one point, Ospreay hit his pose for the Os cutter, and Sabre just crept up behind him and picked one of his arms, and started to viciously assaulted it. He then started to give Ospreay a series of pique kicks in the chest, and Ospreay just sat and took them, asking for more every time. Ospreay eventually caught one of his kicks and the two engaged in a series of counters and strikes that was so fast I couldn’t keep track of everything in it, but they both ended up on the mat. Ospreay quickly got up and went for a desperation Os Cutter, only for Sabre to catch him in a sleeper hold in a great looking counter. They jockeyed for position a little bit, and Ospreay was able to hit the a high roundhouse kick, and an Os Cutter, but he was too weak to get the pin in time. He then went for Hidden Blade, but Sabre had it scouted and locked in a low octopus, but Ospreay still got to the ropes. Sabre them tried to lock in a guillotine, so Ospreay powered him up into a vertical suplex. Ospreay followed up with Cheeky Nandos and a Reverse Bloody Sunday for a near fall. Ospreay then went for a shooting star press, but Sabre caught him in a triangle as they came down. Ospreay powered him up for a powerbomb, nailing it and a shooting star press, but Sabre still kicked out. He then spun Sabre out for a hook kick and went for Stormbreaker, but Sabre slipped out of it and locked in an octopus, forcing Ospreay to the ground and making the junior heavyweight tap out: Sabre: 4, Ospreay: 4. 

Grade: A. Great match. These two know each other so well that I would be more surprised if they put on a bad match. The counters were really exciting, the suspense was great, and they told a really good story. Two rivals who have known each other for years, with a clear advantage for Sabre considering their match history, but the underdog has gotten a hell of a lot stronger. He has more size now, some new moves, and a chip on his shoulder like no other. Just a phenomenal match, and definitely the kind of thing I wanted to see. Apparently they haven’t fought in like a year and a half, so it’s cool to see them kick their feud off again. Match of the night.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Lance Archer in A Block: Archer started with a body check before the bell and slammed the champion into the corner before he could even take off his cloak. Archer quickly put him on the outside and threw him around ringside, even taking a pot shot at a young lion that held the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.  Archer beat Okada into the crowd and yelled at a kid until he cried. Archer floored Okada with a huge forearm, and Red Shoes started the count, only for Archer to attack the timekeeper to bring it to a screeching halt. The two then fought back into the ring, where Okada would swing desperately at his much larger opponent, but Archer just kept putting him down. it took a lot for Okada to take the advantage, but he eventually got it using a flying back elbow, a basement dropkick and a splash to the outside. This did not keep Archer down though, as he continued to fight back. At one point, Okada hit Archer with two short rainmakers to bring Archer to a knee, Archer countered with a huge lariat of his own, followed by a chokeslam for a near fall. Archer then hit blackout, but Okada got his foot on the rope. Archer then started to look for a superplex, but Okada fought out of it and drilled Archer with a missile dropkick. Okada tried for a tombstone, but Archer reversed into a Blackout, but Okada slipped out into a spinning rainmaker, but Archer didn’t go down. Okada tried again, but Archer went for the EBD Claw. Okada was able to hold it at bay, and he grabbed the arm to spin Archer out for a final rainmaker and the win. Okada: 12, Archer: 4. 

Grade: B+. Good match between these two. Archer is still looking like a force of nature despite his lack of points. He must be in for a huge push after the tournament, because he is being booked incredibly strong. But of course he wasn’t going to beat the champion, his push isn’t that huge. Their match was really good, with Okada fighting from behind and showing a lot of heart to beat his monster of an opponent. So Okada is still undefeated, but he still has a lot of tough opponents on his way to victory. I’m still holding out hope for Ibushi. Also, with this win, just about half of the field is eliminated. Sanada, Sabre, Ospreay, Archer and Fale are all out. 

KENTA vs. SANADA in A Block: Sanada was the overwhelming favorite here, although Kenta did get some cheers. Sanada went up to the top for a second round of cheers, when Kenta took his feet out from under him and started the fight. Kenta beat down Sanada with well placed strikes all around ringside. At one point, he planted a long series of kicks into the chest of Sanada, but from there he started to get a bit cocky. He toyed with Sanada a bit until he got to his feet, where Sanada started to go to work on the knee a bit. However, even as he did, Kenta fought back into the match. He gave Sanada a hard powerslam, followed by a double foot stomp off the top. The two then jockeyed for position, before Kenta locked in Game Over.  Sanada was able to make it to the ropes, only for Kenta to drill him in the back with a knee. He went to follow up with the psycho knee, but Sanada gave him a spinebuster, followed by a TKO for a near fall. Then he went for the Moonsult, but Kenta got his legs up. The two then exhchanged big strikes in the middle of the ring. They just blasted each other with kicks and uppercuts, which ended went Sanada flipped into the Skull End. Kenta quickly countered with a sleeper. He brought Sanada to the mat, before drilling him with the psycho knee. He went to give Sanada the Go to Sleep, but Sanada slipped out and locked in the Skull End again. Sanada forced Kenta to pass out, before hitting him with a moonsault for the win, and quite the upset. Sanada: 4, Kenta: 8.

After the match, the two stared at each other from across the ring, and no handshake came out. 

Grade: B-. Fine match, with a pretty exciting closing stretch. I thought Sanada’s win was quite the upset, but it makes sense for him to start to fire up a bit. This was only his second win and he was eliminated from contention earlier in the night. He is pissed, so he went out there to play spoiler for anyone who stands in his way. Interesting stuff from these two.

EVIL vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi in A Block: I was pretty surprised that this was the main event. I think that New Japan executives see a lot in him, because I wasn’t sure if he had the star caliber to main event over the champion. However, Tanahashi is certainly the opponent that he needs to do so. The two started out with a bit of a lengthy feeling out process. They quickly started to pick up the pace, as Tana started to resort to some flying to take down Evil. Evil worked over Tana’s leg over and over again. His first submission was a figure four, although I think everyone knew where he was leading to with it. They built up the story here that Evil had the advantage when it came to stamina. So what he had to do was weaken Tana over the course of a long match and then take him down around the twenty minute mark. At one point, Tana went to skin the cat, but he botched it a bit and it took him an extra try. Evil took advantage of that, grabbing him by the waist for a german suplex. Tanahashi fought back into the match with a slingblade, and then gave Evil an Aces High to the outside, where he really hurt his knee in the process. Evil followed that up by using one of the Young Lions for a Magic Killer. The two were nearly counted out, but they both rolled back in just in time. As the two got in the ring, Tana began to work over Evil’s leg as well. he kicked it out from under him several times, and then went for the high angle Cloverleaf. Evil fought out, and the two traded some counters as they both desperately tried for some hard lariats. Evil was able to get the hit, but they both collapsed from exertion. Evil then brought Tana to the top rope with him, and they both crashed down to the mat with a superplex from Evil for a near fall. Evil then tried for Everything is Evil, but Tana countered into a trio of Twist and Shouts. The two slowly got back to their feet, and they exchanged stiff strikes in the middle of the ring, to the delight of the crowd. The two then both attempted an STO, but Evil got the better of the exchange with a headbutt. He tried again for Everything is Evil, but Tanahashi nailed him with a bridging dragon suplex for a near fall. Tanahashi then hit Aces High and High Fly Flow for the win. Tanahashi: 8, Evil: 6. 

Grade: A-. A great match that really highlighted the fact that Tanahashi is aging. They constantly talked about how Evil had the stamina advantage, and they really played up Tanahashi’s knee injury. I’m surprised that Evil didn’t lock in a scorpion death lock at any point, because that would have been an exciting sequence. But once again, Evil proves just how good he is against one of the best in the business. He brought a lot of intensity, but he couldn’t quite take out the Ace of New Japan. This tournament has been grueling for him, but this win proves that Tanahashi was still alive. He is definitely is still in this, and he progressed to the top of his block. 

Overall Grade: B

Pros: Ospreay vs. Sabre; Archer vs. Okada; Evil vs. Tanahashi

Cons: Ibushi vs. Fale

[hazyheel]

NJPW G1 Climax 2019 Day 2 Review

Our first match in B Block this year was Shingo Takagi vs. Juice Robinson. The two started with tests of strength, both men trying for shoulder tackles, but neither were successful. Takagi was able to use his strength to take down Robinson with lariats and suplexes. At one point, Takagi looked for a suicide dive, but Robinson nailed him with a slingshot spear and took control. There was an intersting interaction here where Juice went for the right hand to god, but Takagi countered it with a huge straight right of his own, and then a lariat, and then a giant wheelbarrow german suplex. This was interesting because during the press conference at Day 1, Takagi talked about how if Robinson was going to use closed fists, he would too. Robinson eventually went for Pulp Friction, but Takagi fought out of hit and landed a sliding lariat. Takagi was desperate to hit made in Japan, but Robinson got a rollup out of it. He then delivered two left hands to god, and hit Pulp Friction for the win. Robinson: 2, Takagi: 0.

Grade: A-. This match was booked really well. In Best of the Super Juniors, Takagi was untouchable. His matches were hard, but no one could beat him. He was special, he was strong and he was badass. However, he goes into the G1, and he loses his first match to Juice Robinson. Now, Robinson is a great wrestler and a former champion, so he is no slouch, but he is not an overly huge guy. Takagi is not special anymore, he is just one of the heavyweights now. What was his biggest strength has become just another mediocre thing about him. It is perfect child syndrome, and I’m interested to see where it goes from here.

Up next was Jon Moxley vs. Taichi. Moxley entered through the crowd, with Shota Umino in tow carrying his belt. However as he was walking to the ring, Taichi ran in through the crowd and attacked him. He beat him up with a chair and a fan’s umbrella as they battled through the ring. Moxley was fighting from behind the entire time, but he was still able to use hard strikes to beat down Taichi a bit. He even introduced a table, giving Taichi a rough looking Uranagi through the it. As the two continued to brawl in the ring, Taichi threw Moxley into the ref, who went down in the scuffle. Miho Abe slid Taichi a chair, which Moxley ended up smashing into his head. Moxley then fought out of a Gedo clutch and nailed a great looking Death Rider for the win. Moxley: 2, Taichi: 0.

Grade: B. Pretty good match. Moxley definitely had to win here, although I question whether Taichi should have been his opponent. A big win to help solidify his title reign, and also make him a bigger deal in Japan in general. Plus, champions shouldn’t lose all that much. Taichi looked good still, although the two didn’t seem to have the best chemistry in the world. I’m thrilled that both of these guys are in the tournament this year. 

Then we had Toru Yano vs. Tetsuya Naito. There was a bit of a story here, that Naito didn’t think Yano deserved to be in the tournament. Before the match, Naito really took his time taking off his entrance attire. When Naito refused to take off his undershirt, Yano decided to put his shirt back on as well. Yano kept yelling at Naito to look at him, because Naito seemed disinterested, and refused to engage. Naito only actually started the match when Yano wont for the turnbuckle pad. Naito actually went for a pad himself, and tried to beat Yano with a turnbuckle pad, only for Red Shoes to grab it out of his hands. Naito also tried to earn a rollup by pullling Yano’s shirt over his head, but Yano was able to kick out. In the finish, Yano pulled Red Shoe’s shirt over his head, and then gave Naito a low blow, followed by pulling Naito’s shirt over his head, and gave him a spear to the back, followed by the rollup for the win. Yano: 2, Naito: 0. 

Grade: B-. For what it was, this was fine. Obviously they could put on a better match, but with Yano, this is the type of match you will get. Naito tried to play Yano’s game, but Yano was far better at it. They had some funny spots as well, such as when Naito did his slingshot dropkick, but Yano tried to block it. So, Naito landed on his feet and gave him a low dropkick right when he lowered his guard. It sucks that Naito had to lose, given his star power and his champion status, but that is the Yano effect. Anyone can lose to him, and it doesn’t damage them too much. 

Then we went into Jeff Cobb vs. Tomohiro Ishii. Two of the best big men in wrestling today. The two started with various tests of strength, with shoulder tackles and the like. Cobb was able to win those first few tests of strength, but had some trouble putting him down with strikes and chops. Ishii put him in the corner with strikes and chops of his own, and absolutely battered Cobb. Cobb actually wanted to pick up the pace a bit, delivering suplexes from all over the place to Ishii. The two traded huge suplexes, with one particularly impressive spot where Cobb caught Ishii out of a splash and transitioned into a great vertical suplex. It looked like Ishii was too gassed and weak to continue, but that was when Ishii started to lean into Cobb’s blows, forcing him into the corner. Ishii then hit a huge superplex, but Cobb did him one better with a stalling superplex not long after. The adrenaline then hit the both of them, and they started to trade the hardest and strongest suplexes you have ever seen, including a particularly scary Dragon Suplex from Ishii, which only met a one count from Cobb. By the end of this match, Cobb could barely get Ishii up for his power moves, as his back was too damaged. However, Ishii did not have that problem. After a couple of headbutts from Ishii, he was able to lift Cobb up for the vertical drop brainbuster for the win. 

Grade: A-. “If you can do a suplex, I can do it better.” That was the story of this match. The two laid into each other with every bit of power that they could muster, and it was awesome. The striking too was insane, they looked like they could take each other’s heads off. Ishii made sense for the win, keeping the champions strong, but Cobb looked far from weak. Ishii hit just a little bit harder and was able to get the win. If only Cobb was the ROH World Champion for this tournament, it would add such a unique dynamic. But either way, this was a great match between two guys that could be the highlights of the tournament this year.  Match of the Night. 

And in the main event, Hirooki Goto vs. Jay White. These two guys totally hate each other, and have had a bit of a rivalry since White lost the world championship earlier this year. White immediately got out of the ring, and set up a chair for Gedo in the announcer area, saying that he didn’t need him. Goto looked great for this match, they weren’t kidding on commentary when they said he leaned out a bit. Goto also didn’t take kindly to White’s disrespect, chasing him right to the outside and beating him down. It did not take long for Gedo to get involved, as Goto tried to chase him out of the ring, only for him to grab at Goto’s leg when he had the advantage against White. That distraction allowed White to nail Goto with a facebuster on the apron. Goto just refused to stay down during this match, channeling all of his energy into hitting White with the hardest strikes that he could. White continued his disrespect throughout the match, with coy slaps to the face, and eventually making him so mad that Goto went for a huge lariat, but White saw it coming and countered it with a uranagi. Red Shoes kept trying to check on Goto, but White wanted to keep fighting, and ended up pushing the ref down, only for Goto to get up with a nasty lariat behind the ref’s back. Goto then nailed a yoshigaroshi, and White purposely stayed on the mat, making sure that Goto couldn’t hit the GTR. In the final minutes of this match, Goto and White continuously battled for their finisher, but neither could get it, but Goto was able to land a huge series of headbutts and a final cut. In the final moments, Gedo tried to interfere on White’s behalf, but he was chased off. White couldn’t even capitalize on the distraction, as Goto was so focused on getting his win that he just continued to batter white. Goto then nailed his big kick to the chest, and vanquished Jay White with the GTR. Goto: 2, White: 0. 

Grade: A-. Another great match between two guys who absolutely cannot stand each other. The hate here was so evident during the match, and both guys played off of it perfectly. White was a cocky dickhead who always told Goto he wasn’t good enough, and that just made Goto more and more furious as the match went on. Goto’s rage and fury was what got him the win here, and it made for an epic match. I don’t know how well Goto will do in the tournament, but he seems like he may be one of the major contenders for the finals. As for Jay White, this won’t set him back too much. He is one of the guys who could get to the finals from his block, so expect a lot more wins from him in the coming days. 

Overall grade: B+.

Pros: Takagi vs. Robinson; Moxley vs. Taichi; Cobb vs. Ishii; goto vs. white; yano got a win

Cons: Naito had to lose this time.

[hazyheel]

NJPW G1 Climax 2019 Day 6 Review

Our first match of the night in B Block was Shingo Takagi vs. Taichi in a first time singles match. There was an interesting story here, with Taichi being very vocal about Takagi’s inclusion in the tournament. He is jealous that it took two years of being a heavyweight to get into the G1 climax, whereas Takagi had one match and qualified for the tournament. In a shocking turn, Shingo Takagi was the one who attacked before the bell. He drilled Taichi with chops and strikes to open things up, before powering him up for a vertical suplex and a near fall. Early on as Takagi beat down Taichi on the outside, Taichi shoved Miho Abe towards Takagi, who nearly took her down. That distracted the ref long enough for Taichi to nail Takagi with the mic stand. The two then brawled into the crowd with chairs and other weapons, and Taichi maintained the advantage throughout. Taichi made a mistake however, trying to go strike for strike with Takagi, and he was extremely outmatched. Taichi still kept the advantage with well placed kicks to the head, but Takagi slowly fought back. The two traded huge lariats in the middle of the ring, which ended in a great roundhouse to the face from Taichi, and then an axe bomber. Taichi nailed a buzzsaw kick, and went for the black mephisto, but Takagi barely countered into last of the dragons, but Taichi kicked out. Taichi then gave Takagi a barrage of kicks, before hitting a last ride for another near fall. Taichi tried to go for a low blow, but Takagi caught the kick, hitting a straight right, a headbutt, and a pair of pumping bombers for a near fall. Finally, Takagi was able to hit another last of the dragons for the win. Takagi: 4, Taichi: 2.

Grade: A-. Every win that Takagi gets is a big deal. This was one of the times that we saw big match Taichi, where he wanted to win so bad that he just wouldn’t go down. He showed an incredible amount of strength and was able to get the better of Takagi on several occasions despite being in the disadvantage in terms of both striking and power. Takagi always has a chip on his shoulder in the tournament, so this win is really establishing him as a major player in the tournament. He is not just a junior that is trying to play heavyweight, he is the real deal.

Next up was Jeff Cobb vs. Juice Robinson, a gaijin showdown between two guys who have never met in singles. The two started with a hand shake, before quickly transitioning into a match where Cobb had a strength advantage, but Robinson just ignored that. He beat down Cobb with strikes, chops and even several big kicks. At one point early on, Robinson went for a splash to the outside, but Cobb caught him and attempted to transition into a vertical suplex, only for Robinson to slip out and throw him into the ring post. Robinson really showed his determination in this match. He just refused to let the strength advantage intimidate him, and was totally dominating his much larger opponent. Cobb did have an awesome counter to the Pulp Friction here. Robinson went for his finisher, but Cobb caught him out of the jump and drilled him with a pair of high angle German suplexes. That was a big turning point in this match, as Cobb rode that momentum all the way to a huge tour of the islands for the win. Cobb: 2, Robinson: 4.

After the match, Cobb went to shake hands again, and instead Robinson raised his hand in victory. Nice, how lovely. 

Grade: C. Yeah, this match just didn’t do it for me in a meaningful way. They both looked good, and it told an interesting story of Robinson’s new attitude. He was confident, and he beat down a much bigger guy. Although Cobb had most of the big moves, Robinson was the one who dominated. Cobb still pulled out the win here with a really nice closing stretch. I would be shocked if Cobb is one of the guys who only ends up with 6 points, but that may be what we are looking at. I still think that Robinson will be in the upper echelon this year. 

Then we had Jay White vs. Toru Yano, another first time singles match. Yano actually took his shirt off this time around, because we know that White likes to cheat just as much as Yano does. Yano was actually not interested when White moved to the outside, although Gedo eventaully taunted him enough to come out. The two traded rollups after Yano took off the turnbuckle pad. Gedo soon distracted the ref, allowing White to hit a low blow. When white then went for Bladerunner, Yano spit water into his face. Gedo then ran in with Brass Knuckles, but Yano took him down and took the knucks. Then he pushed White into both red shoes and Gedo, and then gave White a low blow with the knuckles, and then rolled him up for the win. This match was like 3 minutes, and it was just as long as it needed to be.  Yano: 4, White: 0. 

Grade: B-. This was so dumb and fun. I like how White’s story is that he is being screwed by the ref. It is an interesting one. He and Sabre are almost parelleling each other, both are super mad that they aren’t getting the results that they want. But maybe they will start to come back as we continue.  

Then we had Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuya Naito. Before he bell rang, Naito was inspected Goto’s “LA DOJO” shirt, which he was positive was an attempt at spanish. Goto eventually took off the shirt, but then turned around and choked him out with it before the match, kicking Naito while he was down. When the match actually started up, Goto targeted the back and chest with his tough kicks, while it took Naito a long while to gain control, doing do with a vicious dragonscrew leg whip into the apron. Naito then continued the assault on the knees during the mach, and even taunted Goto until he got too frustrated to be making great decisions. The two kept drilling each other with vicious offense, as Goto continued to attack the neck, but Naito was just hitting him wherever he could. The two got in a striking contest, which Naito ended with a swift kick to the knee. Naito followed it up with a reverse atomic drop, an ensiguri and a german suplex. He then went for Destino, but Goto countered into a yoshigaroshi onto the injured knee. The two men then jockeyed for position a bit, until Goto with the reverse GTR. Goto then went for another Yoshigaroshi, but Naito reversed into a great DDT. Naito then hit Destino, but Goto kicked out. So, he went for another one, and got the win. Naito: 2, Goto: 2.

Grade: B+. Really good stuff here, but their stories in the tournament didn’t really overlap much. They beat the crap out of each other for sure, and it was a brutal match with a great closing stretch. I’m glad Naito is on the board, but with two straight losses for Goto, I don’t know if he is going to end up in the high spot that I’d hoped for him. Now, I get that there are too many people in this tournament for everyone to score well, especially with the talent involved, but it sucks to see some of these big names miss out on having big tournament victories. 

And in the main event, we had Jon Moxley vs. Tomohiro Ishii. The two men started right at the bell. striking the crap out of each other. The two brawled through the crowd a bit, throwing each other into walls and chairs. Back in the ring, Moxley had the advantage, until kicks to the face and chest angered Ishii, and he started to hit back as hard as he could. The two then fought on the outside, Moxley grabbed two chairs, passing one to Ishii. They then fought with the chairs, until they were both destroyed and Moxley threw the empty frame at Ishii. Moxley then introduced a table, but it wasn’t used for a while. Both tried to pet each other through it, but it did not work until Ishii gave Moxley a splash through it on the outside. Ishii then gave Moxley a superplex for a great near fall. The two then exchanged headbutts in the middle of the ring, which Ishii got the better of with a huge headbutt to the chin. Ishii then drilled him with a pair of huge lariats, neither of which sent Moxley down, and was able to hit a death rider for a close near fall. Moxley then picked up Ishii, and hit a high angle Death Rider for the win. Moxley: 6, Ishii: 4.

Grade: A. Really good stuff here, This was the match I was most looking forward to in B block, and they totally delivered. They hit each other just as hard as Ishii hits Suzuki, and it was really really good. Moxley is looking great right now, although I still don’t think he will win the block. Ishii looked great too, and he will still be a frontrunner of the block. Match of the night right here, possibly even the match of B Block. 

Overall Grade: B

Pros: Takagi vs. Taichi; Goto vs. Naito; Moxley vs. Ishii

Cons: Robinson vs. Cobb

[hazyheel]

NJPW G1 Climax Day 10 Review

Hirooki Goto vs. Toru Yano in Block B: An battle within Chaos, although Goto always tends to be the odd man out in Chaos. Goto was immediately worried about Yano as they started out, even not being very willing to get in the ring to start. Yano led the crowd in a Chaos chant, and as Goto got into it, he stood on the top rope, only for Yano to wrap his shirt around his face for a pair of rollups. Yano removed the turnbuckle pad, and the two began their wild brawl. Goto locked up his legs and then locked him in a pinning predicament for the win.  Goto: 4, Yano: 4.

Grade: D+. I just wasn’t into this, and it was too quick to really get invested in. The story here was that they always have really quick matches, so the winner would be whoever could close it out in that time. I didn’t care, but good for Goto getting another two points. 

Juice Robinson vs. Tomohiro Ishii in Block B: the two started out with a series of shoulder tackles to each other, with Robinson actually holding his own with the much bigger man. They transitioned into a striking and chopping contest, and both men totally blistered each other’s chests. Robinson actually won that contest, before picking him back up and slapping him disrespectfully. That made ishii so mad that he started to utilize his angry throat chops and even push the ref around. Those chops propelled Ishii into the lead between the two, but Robinson was continuously defiant. He stood his ground and took all the punishment that Ishii had to offer. The two then traded headbutts over and over, before starting up again with the strikes. Again Robinson came out on top, following up with a Full Nelson bomb for a near fall. Robinson tried to continue the pressure with a rana off the top, but Ishii refused to fall and delivered a knee drop off the top and a saito suplex for a near fall. Ishii then gave his signature chop and strike combination in the corner for a while, before Robinson fought his way out and they traded brutal chops. Robinson was getting more and more worn down as they continued these contests. Each one was shorter than the last, and Robinson started to fade a bit. He fought back into the match using a throat chop right out of Ishii’s book. Robinson then gave Ishii a superplex, which Ishii stood right up after. Ishii then hit a powerslam, but Robinson stood right up as well. They continued to no sell each other’s huge power moves until they both just collapsed together. Neither man could even stand after absorbing that much punishment. The two then started to trade huge blows once again in the middle of the ring, this time Ishii faltered, allowing Robinson to hit Juice Box for a near fall. The tow then jockeyed for position a bit, both men wanted their finish. Ishii countered the Pulp Friction with a ripcord lariat, but Robinson didn’t even move. He gave him a nasty headbutt, a huge lariat off his own, and then a powerbomb for a near fall. He went for Pump Friction again, but Ishii still slipped out, so Robinson kept up the pressure. He didn’t stay down for anything, he just refused to lose this match. Ishii fought back into things with his unreal strength, but Juice then reversed the Vertical Drop Brainbuster into a jackhammer, but when he went for a Pulp Friction, Ishii countered with a tiger suplex. Ishii then hit a vertical drop brainbuster for the win. Ishii: 6, Robinson: 6

Grade: A. I never figured Juice for much of a brawler, but his matches these past few months have been changing my opinion on that. His brawling ability is crazy, and I thought if he won this match then he would be pushed into the upper midcard. But he lost, although he looked incredible in defeat. They destroyed each other with everything that they had, and those striking contests seemed like they could go either way every time that they started to hit each other. Juice showed a hell of a lot of heart in this match, and that counts for something. He says that his attitude has changed, and that sure as hell showed here. Great match, match of the night. 

Jeff Cobb vs. Taichi in Block B: In Taichi’s corner was Miho Abe, and also Yoshinobu Kanemaru. These two have a bit of history from earlier this year. They feuded over the NEVER Openweight Championship in may, with Taichi taking the belt from Cobb. He has since lost the belt, but the wound is fresh in Cobb’s mind. The two started with a handshake, which shockingly enough ended up being a normal handshake, no dirty tricks from Taichi were involved. Taichi then asked Cobb to shake Abe’s hand, but when Cobb went to do it, Taichi attacked. The two then started to brawl on the outside, and when Cobb went to give Taichi a lariat, he pushed Abe in his path and then hit him in the face with the mic stand. Taichi used anything that he could as a weapon as the attack on the outside continued, but Cobb made it back in the ring. Taichi continued the disrespect, which infuriated Cobb enough to completely lay into him in the corner with a hurricane of strikes. Taichi contested those strikes with his precise kicks to the body and the head. Taichi then tried for Black Mephisto, but Cobb countered into a series of gutwrench suplexes and even a piledriver. Any time that it looked like Cobb had things in his control, Taichi would wipe him out with a hard kick. In the finish, Cobb went for a superkick, but Taichi pushed the ref in his way. Cobb pushed the ref away, and then narrowly avoided a low blow by starching Taichi in the face. He followed up with a headbutt and then Tour of the Islands for a win. Cobb: 4, Taichi: 4. 

Grade: B-. Fine match, but there was a lot of downtime here. They didn’t feel like there was a lot of urgency, and that definitely affected things. They still had a nice match with some hard hits, but they don’t really have the chemistry for anything great. 

Jay White vs. Shingo Takagi in Block B: Gedo was in White’s corner for this match, and he would definitely be a factor. Also, Takagi had an injured knee coming into this match due to his recent confrontation with Jon Moxley. White rolled out of the ring right as the match started, and while it looked like Takagi wasn’t going to take the bate, he eventually did and ate some offense for it. Takagi then took control right back as they got in the ring with some of his great looking power moves. Takagi was about to hit a death valley driver on the apron, but Gedo grabbed his leg and stopped him. That distraction allowed White to get some hits in and leave Takagi laying on the outside. White worked over the back a lot as they kept up the fighting. He threw Takagi all around ringside and into any surface that he could hit. They got back in the ring, and they started a chopping contest. The second that they started to hit each other, White lost control, as Takagi was a far better striker than he. White mostly fought from behind and used his dirty tricks to score him some hits here and there. White constantly baited Takagi into parts of the ring that he wanted, The two then started to trade huge moves, from slaps to lariats to suplexes. At one point, after trading Saito suplexes, White hit a combination of a flatliner, a german suplex and a Kiwi Crusher for a near fall. The two then traded hard forearms in the middle of the ring, and white could not stand up to the strength of Takagi. Takagi brought him back up to his feet, when White gave him a weak slap, only to be destroyed by a Pumping Bomber. Takagi went for another, so white fell to the ground to avoid it, only for Takagi to hit a vicious wheelbarrow german suplex for a near fall. The two then battled for their respective finishers, and when Takagi went for another Pumping Bomber, Gedo tripped him up. So instead, Takagi drilled White with a lariat in the corner, a buckle bomb and a pair of pumping bombers for a near fall. Takagi went for last of the dragons, but white grabbed the ref. Gedo tried to run in, but Takagi took him out with a straight left. White then tried to hit a Bladerunner, but Takagi just punched him until he dropped it, and then hit Made in Japan for a near fall. The tow then continued to fight for position, and Takagi only went down after being wrecked by a pair of sleeper suplexes. He then hit Bladerunner and won. White: 4, Takagi: 4. 

Grade: A-. Another great match that had actually no leg work, which was interesting. I thought the knee injury would come into play more, but they still had a great match. Full of hard hits and tricky plays, White had to outsmart Takagi to get this win. It was full of dishonesty and cheating, although Gedo was never the exact cause of the problems for Takagi. Takagi dealt with him well, but he just couldn’t get it done against White. White hit his moves with precision, never wasting his strength and holding out to the end. White now has two in a row, and he needs six to make it to the finals. I like this story, gives us more reason to hate him. 

Jon Moxely vs. Tetsuya Naito in Block B: Another Champion vs. Champion main event in the B block. Naito took his time removing his ring attire, and it was actually making Moxley go insane waiting for him. He just stood there swearing at Naito as he took a comically long time to remove everything, only to throw his pants at Moxley at the last second. Despite Moxley being the block leader, Natio had no respect for him. Naito took his time stalling things out, staying on the outside for a while, and taunting Moxley. Moxley tried to keep calm, but his temper would flare up. That is when Naito would strike. It got to the point where Moxley was so frustrated that he pulled him into the crowd and beat him with just about anything he could find. He brought him back to the ring by blasting him through the barricade, but then threw him clean into the crowd and even took some fans out in the process. They probably were out of the ring for four or five minutes before finally starting a countout. When they finally got back into the ring, Moxley started to work over the arm, but Naito fought out of his several attempts at armbars. They fought into the corner, both men spitting in each other’s face. Naito constantly tried to fight back with his vicious strikes, but Moxley hit him right back and used his strength advantage to slam him down over and over again. Then Moxley trapped Naito’s ankle in a chair, but Red Shoes disarmed him as he tried to break it. Naito then removed the chair from his ankle and kicked it right into Moxley’s face. From there, Naito stole a chair from a fan, DDT’d Moxley onto it, and then gave Moxley a huge running dropkick down the ramp as he sat in that same chair. As the two battled back into the ring, Moxley took control and battered Naito in the corner, before delivering a butterfly superplex for a near fall. The two proceeded to have a striking contest in the middle of the ring, clocking each other over and over again, until Naito fell at Moxley’s feet. Naito desperately tried to pick up the face with a flying forearm and a kinda botched super rana, but he was met with a stiff lariat when he went for Destino. The two then exchanged both hard strikes and bites in the middle of the ring, which allowed Naito to hit a running Destino, but Moxley still kicked out! He tried for another, but Moxley countered into a short Death Rider, but the Naito kicked out! Moxley then hit the full death rider for the win. Moxley: 10, Naito: 4. 

Grade: A-. A great main event to close things out. They were street brawlers that wanted nothing more than to destroy each other. They got down and dirty with the strikes and the biting. They brawled all around the crowd, they used plenty of weapons and there was plenty of carnage to go around. Moxley is still undefeated, and now that he has beaten another one of the biggest names in his block, I am starting to think that he is going to win the block. Naito was my original pick, but after this it is tough to see it. A great match between these two, and hope that some of these losses translate into title matches for those who have beaten Naito. 

Overall Grade: B

Pros: Robinson vs. Ishii; Takagi vs. White; moxley vs. Naito

Cons: goto vs. yano

[hazyheel]

NJPW G1 Climax 2019 Day 5 Review

Our night kicked off with Lance Archer vs. KENTA. A first time matchup, given that Kenta has never been in New Japan before. Archer had a genuinely startling height advantage here. He is 6′8, while Kenta was 5′8. That is huge. Archer pushed Kenta to the ground to start things off, just a sign of disrespect. Kenta started to kick at the legs and midsection, which quickly brought Archer to his knees. However, whenever Archer wanted to take Kenta down, he would just give him a shoulder tackle and put him on the mat. Early on, Archer tried to give Kenta a chokeslam to the outside, only for some Young Lions to catch him, so Archer wiped them all out with a somersault senton. The ref started to count as Archer beat down Kenta on the outside, so he attacked the timekeeper to stop the count. Archer then started to mock Kenta by referring to him as Hideo. Archer was very violent towards the ref during the match, constantly threatening him and throwing him around, so Kenta was not the only one who found Archer challenging. Kenta kept trying to soften Archer up with kicks wherever he could land them, but Archer just refused to stay down. Archer tried for the EBD claw, but Kenta nearly reversed it into an armbar, so Archer opted for a huge lariat instead. Archer then went for blackout, but Kenta countered into a sleeper hold, lowering Archer to the mat and hitting a pique kick to the chest. Kenta then went for the Go to Sleep, but Archer reversed into the EBD Claw submission, and then even a muscle buster for a near fall. Archer then hit a last ride, but Kenta still kicked out. He then went for a chokeslam, but Kenta reversed it into a triangle choke. He transitioned the triangle into a game over for the submission win. Kenta: 6, Archer: 4.

Grade: B. Pretty good match. It was really fun to see how Kenta would deal with his much larger opponent. The answer was a lot of kicks to the midsection and legs, and finally wearing him down with submission holds. It was a gritty win, but Kenta made it to six points, still in the lead of the block. Good match that showed a different side of Kenta, and Archer had his first loss. Big stuff here. 

Next up was EVIL vs. SANADA. These two have only fought once before, with Sanada coming up with the win. Evil has been anticipating this match a lot recently, as he felt like he wasn’t given the same opportunity as Sanada, due to his championship match back in May. He wants to break out of the stable with this match, and create a new name for himself. Sanada started out with several dropkicks, and quickly went for the moonsault, but Evil got out of the way. Evil actually grabbed a chair after avoiding the moonsult, sliding it in and distracting both Sanada and the ref, using that to take down Sanada early. The two then battled for position, with Sanada looking for the paradise lock and Evil looking for a scorpion deathlock. Evil was able to lock Sanada in a paradise lock, posing with his foot on Sanada’s back before giving him the glut dropkick. The two were actually vicious here, totally ready to beat the living crap out of each other. They both know each other’s moves so well that they were constantly reversing and countering each other’s moves. Sanada quickly ramped up his attack after he realized that Evil wasn’t pulling punches and started to focus on Evil’s base. He constantly attacked Evil’s knees, which was mixed in with some of his usual offense. Evil opted to target the back of Sanada, throwing him into the barricades and generally assaulting him mercilessly. Evil even bent the rules a little bit, such as shoving the ref into Sanada, and even using the ref as a tag partner to hit the magic killer. It took the entire match, but Sanada was actually able to lock in skull end, but Evil reversed it into a skull end of his own, which prompted Sanada to drill Evil with everything is evil for a close near fall. Sanada again went for the moonsault, but was thwarted again when Evil got his knees up. Sanada was again able to lock in skull end, throwing Evil around but getting caught in a small package as he did. Evil went for everything is evil, but Sanada scored an inside cradle for a near fall. Evil then began to destroy Sanada with lariats, eventually nailing Sanada with everything is evil for the win. Evil: 4, Sanada: 2. 

After the match, Evil offered the fist bump, which Sanada answered. So the two are definitely staying together, both as a stable and as a tag team. 

Grade: A-. A great match between two teammates who know each other incredibly well. They had an interesting clash of styles that blended perfectly, along with the fact that they just kept countering out of each other’s signature offense. Evil had a huge chip on his shoulder coming into this match, so I think it makes a lot of sense for him to get the win. Maybe they are giving Evil a decent singles push, who knows? We will have to see if he is able to beat Okada again this year, we could see evil in the world championship picture.

Into Bad Luck Fale vs. Kazuchika Okada. They are 4:3 in favor of Okada, so very close, but it is interesting to note that Okada has never beaten Fale in a tournament. Before the match, as he was making his entrance, Bad Luck Fale attacked Okada on the way to the ring. Fale was beating down Okada even before he came out. It took Okada a while to get his wind back, and the second he started to beat down Fale, Fale distracted the ref and Chase Owens and Jado beat him down on the outside. Okada continuously tried to slam Fale, it worked as both a central theme of the match, and as a contstant downfall for Okada, At one point, Okada tried to hit the bodyslam, but he couldn’t keep him up and ended up eating a splash from Fale. He was finally able to give Fale a body slam, and then followed it up with a tope con hilo to Fale, Owens and Jado when Fale rolled out. Okada kept up the attack from there, focusing on the neck and chest. Okada had it won with a rainmaker, but Fale threw Red Shoes into him before Okada could complete the move. That allowed Chase Owens to run in and assist Fale in hitting the grenade. Even after Okada was able to dispatch Owens, Jado nailed Okada in the back with the kendo stick as he ran the ropes. He held Okada in place as Fale ran at him, but he dodged and took out Jado. He tried to give Fale a neckbreaker, but Fale rolled through, only for Okada to sit down on him and steal a pin. Okada: 6, Fale: 2. 

After the match, Fale tried to attack Okada, but Okada put him down with a dropkick and gave him a salute as he layed on the outside. 

Grade: C+. These guys always have a slow match, and while it was okay, it just didn’t really do it for me. For whatever reason, Bullet Club interference bothers me a lot more than Suzuki-Gun, so I guess they are either effective heels or just annoying. Okada deserves this win, and I like that it came in a non-dominant form. It keeps up the story that Okada cannot seem to beat Fale in the tournament, although he did score a victory here. I’m glad Okada won here. And Fale is untouchable, no losses actually hurt him.

Then we had Zack Sabre Jr vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi. These two have gone back and forth with wins, but Sabre leads their series with 3:2. As Tanahashi entered the ring, Sabre made sure to kick the young lion Tsuji off the ropes, just being a dick in general. Neither man has won a match yet, so both were battling for their first points. The two started to grapple early on, with Sabre starting the match off with the cravat, but quickly transitioning into a heel hook where both were jockeying for postiion. The interesting part of this match was the Sabre has two spots that he can focus on: both the formerly injured elbow and the ever decaying knees. However, as the match progressed, Tanahashi was really going hold for hold with Sabre. Both are great grapplers, but Sabre is considered the best at it in the world. The two then traded flash pins for a while, until Tanahashi was able to convert one into a twist and shout. The two then battled over a crucifix to a stalemate, with Tanahashi breaking it by hitting a slingblade. Tanahashi tried to get in a backbend pin, but Sabre kicked out and was able to lock in an armbar. He then transitioned into a sort of grounded octopus, targetting the repaired arm. Tanahashi sold it it great, like he was in too much pain to go on and barely made it to the ropes. Tanahashi fought back with Dragonscrew leg whips, a slingblade, aces high and almost the high fly flow, but Sabre got the knees up and locked in a triangle. While still in the triangle, Tanahashi stacked him up and got the pin. Tanahashi: 2, Sabre: 0.

Naturally, after the match Sabre threw a tantrum because he lost. I love this side of him, he is such a dick. 

Grade: A. This was leaps and bounds ahead of their match at the MSG show. I thought that match was much less smooth and didn’t have much of a story, while this showed the very entertaining grappler side of Tanahashi. He was in there showing the submission master what he could do, and actually nearly tapped him out at a couple of points. Sabre looked great here too, totally selling the frustration both during the match and after his loss. His story is certainly an intriguing one in this tournament. I’m happy to see Tanahashi finally get a win, because his story of going from the winner to the loser would not have been nearly as entertaining. 

And in the main event, we had Kota Ibushi vs. Will Ospreay in a Wrestle Kingdom rematch. That match earlier this year was their only match, and Ospreay came out on top. That was the match that I was most looking forward to at Wrestle Kingdom, and here in the A Block as well. The two traded clean breaks early on as they felt each other out. They started with some grappling, and the two of them actually looked pretty good on the mat. They then got into tests of strength, with Ibushi being much stronger. As the two started to pick up the pace a bit, Ospreay started to work over the ankle, a great strategy to both neutralize Ibushi’s kicks and to soften up his base. However, that did not stop Ibushi from delivering a blistering kick to Ospreay’s chest. When Ibushi had control, he targeted the neck, the subjuect of several injuries in the past. The two then traded signature moves and some counters, with everything looking way better with the two of them doing it. The two then traded both strikes and kicks in the center of the ring, at inhuman speeds. As Ospreay went for the stormbreaker, Ibushi countered with almost a deadeye variant on a piledriver that was very scary to see. Ibushi followed it up with an insane last ride for another near fall. Ospreay later tried for stormbreaker again, only for Ibushi to counter with a package piledriver, but Ospreay even countered that into a rollup. Ibushi kicked out and Ospreay nailed him with the high angle powerbomb of his own. Ospreay then peppered Ibushi with kicks and tried for the super os cutter, only for Ibushi to push him back into the post, leaving him hanging in a tree of woe and lighting him up with both kicks and hard slaps. The two jockeyed for position on the top rope, with Ibushi eventually hitting the second rope german, but Ospreay actually flipped out of it! Then he fucking rocked Ibushi with the hidden blade to the side of the face, but Ibushi barely got his hand on the rope. Ospreay then nailed Ibushi with a stiff kick to the face, and hit the os cutter for an incredible near fall. Ibushi then fought back into the match by sliding out of the stormbreaker and hitting a scary Michinoku driver for a near fall. Ospreay tried for another hidden blade, but Ibushi saw it coming and hit a back elbow, a great lariat and the bomaye for still another near fall! Ibushi finally hit the Kamagoye for the win after a war of a match. Ibushi: 2, Ospreay: 2.

Grade: A+. This was an incredible match and an incredible main event. For a relatively low stakes match in the tournament, they killed it in getting people invested. They absolutely destroyed each other in the ring and hit the biggest moves that they could think of. I hope that both of them were okay after this match, because it looked like a goddamn murder in that ring. The counters were off the charts, every move was smooth as glass, and every kickout had me changing my mind for who I wanted to win. This was my favorite match of the tournament so far, and possibly my favorite match of the year, regardless of promotion. They tore the house down, and they so deserve every push that they are getting. Ibushi finally got his first two points and can get on the road to winning the tournament, while Ospreay had a fantastic showing that proved he can hang with one of the best wrestlers in New Japan. Five stars, Match of the Night, match of the tournament, match of the goddamned year so far. If you couldn’t tell, these are my two favorite wrestlers in the world. 

[hazyheel]

NJPW G1 Climax 2019 Day 1 Review

We started the tournament with Lance Archer vs. Will Ospreay. This is a rematch from their meeting in the New Japan Cup earlier, which Ospreay did win. Right at the start, Larcher tried to charge Ospreay, who countered with a one handed spanish fly, before hitting a corkscrew moonsault to the outside and then a 450 in the ring, but only a near fall. Early on, Archer caught ospreay out of a suicide dive, and destroyed him with a chokeslam through a table at ringside, it looked like a brutal bump. Archer then maintained the advantage and completely battered Osrpeay with chops and strikes. Ospreay would get in flurries of offense, but Archer constantly just put him back down. At one point, he launched Ospreay across the entire ring with a shoulder tackle, followed by a buckle bomb and then a powerbomb on the apron. Ospreay was about to be counted out, but he springboarded into the ring with a missile dropkick, and followed it up with a shooting star press. He then drilled Archer with an Os Cutter, but Archer was still able to kick out. Ospreay tried to keep up the offense, but Archer intercepted him on the top rope and nailed a muscle buster for another near fall. Archer then hit Blackout, but Ospreay kicked out once again. Ospreay started to get desperate to put Archer away, but Archer refused to stay down and continuously countered out of Ospreay’s finishers. Ospreay went for the Os Cutter off the top, but Archer crotched him, hit a high knee, and then a super Blackout. He followed it up with the Iron Claw, forcing Ospreay to the mat for the pin. Archer: 2, Ospreay: 0.

Grade: A. What an opening contest! This was all action, and told a better underdog story than their New Japan Cup match. Ospreay sold like crazy and kept everyone believing that he could win, but ultimately fell short. Archer really impressed here too. He looked like an absolute menace and will probably be an important part of this years tournament. Really good stuff from these guys, they killed it. Hopefully this isn’t the kind of tournament that Ospreay will just get destroyed during, but I don’t think that will happen.

Up next was EVIL vs. Bad Luck Fale. Interestingly enough, Fale came out alone, so I don’t know if we will see as many disqualification nonsense. Once again, we have a start before the bell, as Evil attacked Fale right away, giving him a huge running lariat on the ramp, but not quite taking him down. Fale was able to get his footing and fight his way into the match a bit, but it was an exciting start. Fale slowed the match down a lot by nailing Evil with strong and deliberate strikes. Evil started to introduce chairs into the match while also capitalizing on his vast amount of strength, but Fale refused to stay down. The two traded strikes in the middle of the ring, and Fale was able to hit the Grenade, but Evil still kicked out. Evil then did the classic “catching the kick and passing it to the ref” move, following it up with a huge lariat that took the ref down with him. Evil then went for the home run, only for Fale to throw the chair into Evil’s face, nail a low blow, hit a home run of his own, and then hit Bad Luck Fall for the win. Fale: 2, Evil: 0.

Grade: B. It was a little slow in the middle, but it was still pretty exciting. Evil did everything he could to beat Fale, whether that meant out wrestling him or cheating. Evil is very motivated this year, and that should show an interesting tournament for him. As for Fale, he won mostly legit. No outside interference, and Evil cheated first, so I think he is going back to the days of just being a huge threat. But in a Block that already has a big threat in Lance Archer, I don’t know how entertaining that will be. I guess we will just have to wait and see. 

Then we had SANADA vs. Zack Sabre Jr. These two fought in last year’s G1 and had a great match, so I was excited to see them fight again. Sabre started the match by relentlessly fishing for a body part, eventually finding the neck and using that to force Sanada to the mat and take advantage of his positioning. Sanada was actually able to escape from Sabre’s various holds, showing off a lot of his technical prowess as well. The two then dueled for rollups, with both men scoring a near fall or two in the flurry, but ultimately ending in a stalemate. Sabre seemed to grow increasingly frustrated with Sanada as he continuously found himself locked in one hold after another from Sanada, and was almost being out wrestled here, something that the submission wizard was certainly not used to. So, he slowed down the pace quite a bit, pretending that he would be counted out before rolling back in the ring. Another story of this match was Sanada repeatedly going for the paradise lock, and Sabre using it as almost bait to get Sanada close to the ground for various submissions. There was one beautiful conversion where he popped Sanada off of him, and let him fall down into an armbar, but Sanada luckily made it to the ropes quickly. Sanada eventually got the paradise lock, using the ropes for an assist, which got a nice pop from the crowds. Oddly enough, that was almost a turning point, because Sabre was all over Sanada from that point on. He constantly found a submission counter to Sanada’s moves, nearly getting a submission win from an abdominal stretch. However, Sanada eventually got his advantage back with a twisting suplex and a TKO, but only a near fall. When Sanada went for his moonsault, Sabre got the knees up and immediately locked in a triangle. They two then dueled for submission control, Skull End versus whatever Sabre could come up with. In the finish, Sabre tried for one of his pinning combinations, only for Sanada to reverse it into a similar pin for the win. Sanada: 2, Sabre: 0.

After the match, Sabre beat the absolute crap out of the referee and some young boys. He was quite angry about the loss.

Grade: A-. This was a great match that showcased Sanada’s abilities on the mat. Sanada is an all around great hybrid wrestler, so it is interesting when one of his skills shines above the others. He put on a great show and showed everyone why he deserves to be IWGP World Heavyweight Champion someday. Zack worked awesome too, alternating between frustration and calm wrestling. He was either cocky and violent or completely smooth in his wrestling, reversing everything that came at him. Although he was extremely pissed early on in the match, he eventually got his cool, which was his downfall. He was far too confident in the end, and lost to one of his own moves. Really good match. 

Into KENTA vs. Kota Ibushi, a match that I’ve been hoping for since Kenta came to New Japan. The two dodged each other’s strikes early on, just feeling each other out, before turning the match into a very MMA style of match. They both had their guards up and were playing it very safe. When they actually were able to land a clean strike, the sound was shockingly clear, especially for such a large venue. There was an interesting dynamic here, where although their styles are so similar, their paces were not. Ibushi wanted to go as fast as he could, while Kenta was a much more calculated striker, which showed in the match. Kenta also showed an superior intelligence by being able to counter a lot of Ibushi’s moves. At one point, Ibushi went for a splash to the outside, so Kenta nailed him with a jumping knee strike. Kenta then followed it up by hanging Ibushi on the barricade and hitting a double stomp to the back of the head, and nearly got a countout win. Back in the ring, Kenta kept up the pressure with another double stomp, this one to the midsection. However Ibushi refused to be put way, fighting out of the GTS for a hard hitting brawl. They must’ve elbowed each other in the face for a minute before they started to kick. Kenta eventually put Ibushi on the mat, and just kicked the crap out of his head a couple times before trying for a pin, but no avail. Kenta then brought Ibushi up for the Go to Sleep and got the win. Kenta: 2, Ibushi: 0.

After the match, Kenta helped Ibushi to his feet in a touching show of respect. 

Grade: A-. Another great match! This was an awesome opening day, and I haven’t even seen the main event. They kicked each other bloody, exactly the type of match that I wanted to see from them. Kenta made sense for the winner, he is new to the company and Ibushi is a top guy. Kenta got over in America here, and I assume he was over in Japan too. He is now one of the biggest threats in his block, alongside Okada, Tanahashi and Ibushi himself. As for Ibushi, I doubt his tournament is over. I didn’t get to do predictions for this, but he is my pick to win this year. I am just realizing that I pick Ibushi for everything, but that isn’t the point. It is his time, and a loss this early won’t keep him down for long. 

And in the main event, we have Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada. The most legendary feud in New Japan today. Two of the greatest IWGP Heavyweight Champions of all time. They will go down in history, that is without a doubt. The crowd was chanting and cheering long before they even touched, and they deserved it. When they did finally come to blows, the energy was incredible. They fought to a stalemate early on several time, and it wasn’t long before the mindgames started. Okada targetted the knees a bit, hitting a dragonscrew leg whip of his own. The two wrestled a very deliberate and hard hitting match, filled with the two just trying to outsmart each other. Okada of course did his signature rainmaker pose, only for Tanahashi to try to roll him up during it for a near fall. Tanahashi even busted out the High Fly Flow to the outside. From there they kicked the match into another gear, with the two trading huge signature moves back and forth in very dramatic fashion. Okada went for the Rainmaker during that time, only for Tanahashi to hit a slingblade out of it, and then a standing high fly flow. He went for another high fly flow, but Okada was able to get his knees up in a brutal counter. The two then dueled for position with both men trying to hit a tombstone. Neither was able to hit it, but during the scramble, Okada was able to hit a short rainmaker, and then followed it up with another. He nearly hit another full rainmaker as well, but Tanahashi countered it with one of the closest rollups you will ever see. Okada continued to go for the rainmaker from her, refusing to let go of Tanahashi’s wrist, even when getting slapped in the face repeatedly. Tanahashi finally forced Okada to his knees from the strikes, but when he went to actually capitalize, Okada got him up for a jumping twisting tombstone, and then hit the rainmaker to finally beat Tanahashi in the G1.

Grade: A. Phenomenal match with an awesome finish. They played off their G1 history a lot in this match, so it was great to see them actually have a finish to this match outside of a draw. They were wrestling at a frantic pace, both men knowing that same history that we know. They played to each other’s weaknesses, constantly trying to get in each other’s heads and pulling out all the stops to get the win. This is a huge win for Okada, and puts him as a frontrunner in his block, if he wasn’t one already. As for Tanahashi, like Ibushi this will not keep him down. Either guy could still win the block, and I definitely think that someone in these last two matches will win the block. Great stuff, match of the night. 

After the match, Okada spoke. He said the name of the city, which got a huge pop, and he spoke english! So that was cool. He said that this would not be their last time hosting the G1 in the United States and vowed to come back, and vowed to win the G1 and remain the IWGP Heavyweight Champion.

Overall Grade: A-.

Pros: Ospreay vs. Archer; Fale vs. Evil; Sanada vs. Sabre; Kenta vs. Ibushi; Okada vs. Tanahashi

Cons: Fale vs. Evil didn’t seem to put on the best show that they could have.

[hazyheel]

NJPW G1 Climax 2019 Day 8 Review

We started up with Toru Yano vs. Juice Robinson. These two have met twice, both in the G1 and both with Robinson winning. Juice was very skeptical to even lock up in the early portion of this match, while Yano desperately tried for some rollups Juice wasn’t having any of his cheating ways and was mostly annoyed, but Yano nearly snuck a countout win early on, thanks to some athletic tape tying him to the barricade. Yano kept trying to hit a low blow to get the win, which only angered Robinson more and more. After Robinson caught a low blow, he nailed the left hand to god and hit pump friction for the win. Robinson: 6, Yano: 4. 

After the match, Robinson shook Yano’s hand as he lied on the ground. 

Grade: C-. Normally I really like the stupid Yano matches in the G1, but this was not really a fun one. They didn’t really blend together super well, and they didn’t go long enough to be very funny. That’s fine though, they won’t all be winners. Good for Juice to keep winning his matches. 

Then we had Taichi vs. Hirooki Goto. The record going into this match was 2:1 in favor of gotoBefore the match, Taichi made sure to beat the crap out of one of the LA Dojo guys, because Goto trained there for the G1. These two had a rivalry over the NEVER Openweight championship late last year, and that rivalry was renewed in this match. And naturally, anyone who has had problems with Taichi absolutely hate him, so Goto was vicious here. They quickly fought on the outside, Taichi continued to hit Karl Fredericks and even threw him into Goto to get the advantage. He brought the anger right out of Goto, who absolutely destroyed his chest with overhand chops. The two then exchanged a series of strikes and kicks, which Taichi actually came out on top of. We actually saw shades of big match Taichi in this match, as he busted out some huge kicks and often refused to let Goto put him down, but that didn’t stop him from cheating. At one point, Taichi pushed the ref into Goto to stun him, and then nailed a saito suplex for a near fall. Taichi then grabbed the mic stand, but Goto grabbed it and threw it out of the ring. Goto then nailed his mid kick, and went for the GTR, but Taichi grabbed the ref. They struggled a bit, and eventually the ref went down. Taichi then caught a kick to the gut and nailed a low blow, followed by a Gedo clutch for the win. Taichi: 4, Goto: 2. 

Grade: C. This match started off pretty week, but got better towards the end. They didn’t seem to have the fire or the chemistry that they had last year, but when Taichi started some shenanigans, I got into it a bit more. Goto’s run in the G1 this year makes sense. He hasn’t been doing all that much, but he beat a big rival already, and now he is just doing the job for a lot of his compatriots. Taichi was the correct winner here. He is having an entertaining run for sure, one that I am happy to watch. But this match was not the best. 

Then we had Jon Moxley vs. Shingo Takagi. Exciting stuff, and they were in the same stable in Dragon Gate USA a while back, so that is interesting. The two squared right up the second they were both in the ring together. And they started the brawl before the bell even started. Moxley quickly resorted to his now signature bit to the eyebrow. The two blasted each other with strikes and chops in the corner, before trying for a quick test of strength that Moxley came out on top of. Moxley then overextended a bit, going for a suicide dive, but Takagi caught it and hit a death valley driver on the outside. After Moxley gained the advantage again, he set up a table on the outside, but it wasn’t used right away. Instead, Moxley started to target the leg a little bit to weaken the base. Any time that Shingo started to get some momentum, Moxley went right to the leg and knee. It absolutely crippled Shingo’s offense. He was able to get flashes of offense, such as a nice german suplex, but it would be immediately countered, such as when Moxley responded with one of his own. At one point, Moxley tried for an Irish whip, but Takagi just collapsed as he ran. Moxley tried to follow that up with a regal knee, but Takagi caught him with a noshigami. He followed that up with a pair of pumping bombers, the adrenaline pushing the pain to the back of his mind. However, when he got Moxley up on his shoulders, Takagi couldn’t finish the move. That allowed Moxley to hit a short death rider for a near fall. The two then spilled to the outside, and Moxley started to use weapons to attack the knee. He dropped him knee first on the table, and then wrapped his knee in a chair and smashed it. He was nearly counted out, but when he got into the ring, Moxley blasted him with a regal knee. He tried for another short knee to the ribs, but Takagi grabbed it, and was able to twist him around for a short Made in Japan for a near fall. The two then battled in the middle of the ring, countering several attempts at finishers, before Moxley forced Takagi to the mat with shots to the knee, and then hitting a pair of regal knees to the back of the head, but still a near fall. Moxley then wrapped Takagi up in a cloverleaf for the submission victory. Moxley: 8, Takagi: 4. 

Grade: A-. Really good stuff between these two. Moxley is phenomenal with other brawlers, but it also showed an interesting side of him that has technical prowess. He worked the leg in an interesting and exciting way, which seemed like it was only to weaken the offense, but he got a submission win. It was such a great finish, because Moxley never gets submission wins. It came out of left field but it made a lot of sense. Takagi suffered his first submission loss, but it was to the strongest competitor in B block right now. Takagi is having a rough tournament, but moving up a weight class isn’t easy. Match of the night. 

Next up was Jay White vs. Jeff Cobb. Neither have had a particularly impressive tournament so far, sitting at 0 and 2 points respectively. Gedo was of course out to corner his protege. White started the match by retreating out of the ring, but unlike opponents before him, Cobb opted to stay inside of the ring. Cobb totally manhandled White, throwing him all over the place, and only pursuing him to the outside when White was on the backfoot. Gedo still tried to interfere, so Cobb threw him into the ring and was about to beat on him when White came soaring in with a knee to the back. White opted to target the neck of Cobb, which is an interesting part to isolate due to his massive neck muscles. Of course, White tried to intimidate Red Shoes when he went for a pin after an illegal move, which made me sad. He is just doing his job. The damage to the neck actually made Cobb slow down quite a bit. His power moves took that much more energy, so he couldn’t go as fast as he usually does. However that did not lessen the impact of his suplexes and throws. He still ragdolled White around like anyone else I’ve seen him handle. White too showcased his strength, giving Cobb both a saito suplex and an uranagi. At one point, Cobb was trying to give White a suplex out of the corner, but White was holding the ropes. So, Cobb popped him up into a cradle position and just chucked him halfway across the ring. He then tried to give Cobb a superplex, but Gedo held White’s leg. White thought he had escaped to the apron, but Cobb then gave him a deadlift superplex. He went for the pin, White kicked out with probably the weakest kickout that I’ve ever seen. He just barely lifted his shoulder off the mat. Cobb and White then battled as Cobb went for tour of the islands, which ended when White was accidentally sent into the ref. Was the ref down, Gedo tried to blast Cobb with the brass knuckles, but ate a slam for his troubles. However, the distraction landed white a low blow, which he converted into a sleeper suplex. White then went for a blade runner, but Cobb countered that into a German Suplex. Cobb went for Tour of the Islands again, only for White to slip out once again and land Bladerunner for the win. White: 2, Cobb: 2. 

Grade: C+. Very slow match. It was cool to watch all the power moves from Cobb and seeing how strong White is, but other than that it was just too slow for my liking. I thought the closing stretch was pretty nice, always love to see Gedo taking bumps. White’s losing streak is over, and I’m sure that will transfer right into a winning streak. As for Cobb, I don’t know. I don’t see him passing six points. But this match was fine, nothing worth going out of your way to see. 

And in the main event, we had Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii. Intercontinental Champion vs. NEVER Openweight Champion. These two are longtime rivals, and unfortunately, I can’t look up their record against each other because of spoilers. Drawbacks of falling behind in the G1. Of course, Naito took his sweet time removing his ring attire, but Ishii was cool as a cucumber. They started with a striking contest, going until one of them was worn out and then continuing as soon was they could. Naito was naturally fighting dirty during the match, stomping on Ishii as he was grounded and spitting in his face when the mood struck him. Naito targetted the neck in order to nullify some of his power moves. The attacks on the neck, however, did not affect his striking, where Ishii had an advantage. Both men took loads of punishment whenever they started to hit each other. The forearms were stiff, the chops were blistering and they moved very quickly.  Naito was taking advantage of his speed and agility edge in the match, using some high flying offense like in his junior heavyweight days. After escaping out of a powerbomb situation, Naito started to disrespect Ishii by slapping him lazily and spitting on him. In response, Ishii trapped him in the corner and destroyed him with chops and strikes. Even when he was about to collapse, Ishii would pick him back up and keep going. He followed it up with a saito suplex for a near fall. He tried for the powerbomb again, but Naito countered with a spike hurricanrana. Naito then tried for a flying forearm, but Ishii countered this time with a straight jacket suplex. Ishii then tried for a superplex, but Naito slipped out and hit a hangman’s neckbreaker off the top, and followed it up with a hurricanrana from the top rope for a near fall. Naito continued to target the neck with his offense, and Ishii was starting to slow down. The injuries were piling up. Naito went for Destino, but Ishii caught him. He tried to go for a lariat, but Naito countered with a high angle german suplex. Ishii popped right back up, but Naito nailed a poison rana. Ishii’s strikes became absolutely desperate, which is normally a bad thing, but with Ishii’s strength, he was still able to floor Naito. He converted those huge hits into a superplex for a near fall. That allowed Ishii to get his second wind, and he just annihilated Naito with various headbutts, strikes and lariats. The two exchanged blows back and forth, when Naito hit a short Destino out of nowhere, but Ishii kicked out! Naito tried for the full hit, but Ishii caught him. The two battled for control, each trying to hit their finisher, ending with Naito hitting a DDT, and Ishii popping right up and hitting the sliding lariat for a near fall. Naito then nailed a brainbuster of his own, but still Ishii kicked out. Neither man was willing to lose here. Naito then hit Destino one final time for the win. Naito: 4, Ishii: 4. 

Grade: A-. Another great match out of these two. Ishii was actually fighting from behind a lot in this match, and I think the only reason why he was actually able to stand up to Naito in this match was his raw strength and endurance. He was at a disadvantage from the start, because Naito picked the best body part that he could have to work over. It nullified a lot of his offense, and given how much he uses various suplexes, Ishii injured himself over time as well. Naito played this one smart. In the end, Destino did it. He broke the neck down and got the win. Good stuff from Naito, glad to see that he is coming into his own now. Ishii is still the MVP of the G1 in my opinion, delivering his fourth great match in as many matches. Definitely the best in the block. Great stuff from both guys, two of the best in the entire tournament. 

Overall Grade: B-

Pros: Moxley vs. Takagi; Naito vs. Ishii

Cons: Robinson vs. Yano; Cobb vs. White

[hazyheel]

NJPW G1 Climax 2019 Day 9 Review

We opened up with Lance Archer vs. Kota Ibushi. Archer floored one of the Young Lions as he came in. Archer had a wicked size advantage here, so naturally Ibushi opted to target the legs. Early on, Ibushi went for a hurricanrana, but Archer held on and tried for a powerbomb to the outside, but thankfully Ibushi countered with a rana over the ropes. Ibushi went for the moonsault, but Archer hung him up on the turnbuckle and beat him on the outside. Archer worked over the ankle a bit to soften Ibushi up, but it was clear that this was more of a way to hurt Ibushi rather than an endgame strategy. Archer was constantly trying for the EBD Claw, which left Ibushi to desperately counter it each time. Ibushi was just trying to halt Archer’s momentum, such as when he countered the derailer with double knees to the face. He was fighting at a severe disadvantage, but he did it well. He started to use more flying to keep the big man off his game, capitalizing on an agility advantage. At one point, Ibushi went up top, and Archer met him there. So, Ibushi slipped out and grabbed him for a powerbomb and a near fall. Archer fought back with a surprised somersault senton, followed by a great chokeslam for a near fall. Ibushi had was most effective when Archer was on the ground, such as when he nailed a bomoye to the back of the head. He tried to follow up with a kamagoye, but Archer nailed him with a knee of his own before Ibushi could hit it. Archer then tried for a moonsault, but crashed and burned. Ibushi nailed another bomoye, and then a kamagoye, but Archer didn’t even go down. It took a second Kamagoye right in a row to finish Archer. Ibushi: 6, Archer: 4.

Grade: B+. Good stuff here. If you are trying to have someone lose and look good doing it, this is what you need to do. Archer didn’t kick out of the Kamagoye, he no sold it. That is one of the most protected finishers in the company, and he no sold it. Archer has gotta go onto big things after the G1, because he seems to be getting over, and he looks like their biggest monster heel that they have. Ibushi got another victory using his cunning, speed and agility, and continues a winning streak. 

Up next was Will Ospreay vs. Bad Luck Fale. The two have only fought once, in the New Japan Cup this year. It was the biggest upset in the bracket. Fale had never been eliminated in the first round before, and he lost it to a junior heavyweight. Chase Owens and Jado cornered Fale in this match. During Ospreay’s entrance, Owens grabbed Ospreay’s leg as he entered the ring and Fale knocked him off the apron. The ref frantically started the match, but Fale intimidated him into looking the other way while Owens and Jado attacked Ospreay. Ospreay did fight out of their clutches, allowing Jado to hit Owens with the Kendo stick and knocking down Jado, before springing into the match. He started with the advantage, but Jado quickly hit him with a kendo stick to the back and allowed Fale to gain control. At one point, Ospreay was lying on the edge of the ring, and Fale distracted the ref, allowing Owens to tear off the athletic tape on Ospreay’s neck. Fale viciously targeted the neck here, harkening back to the various neck problems he has had in the past. Ospreay slowly fought back into the match and nearly hit the Os Cutter, but Fale shoved the ref into him and sent him tumbling out of the ring. On the outside, Ospreay flipped out of Owens’ package piledriver and hit a hook kick, then narrowly avoided Jado’s kendo stick, but was run over by Fale right after. Fale then hit the grenade, but the ref was still down. By the time the ref got back in the ring, Ospreay was able to kick out. Ospreay was desperately fighting a 3 on 1 match, and he was doing alright. He was able to hit Fale with the Os Cutter, but as the ref counted three, Owens pulled him out of the ring. Ospreay then fought off Jado and stole his kendo stick. He went to hit Fale with it, but Owens ambushed him. He attempted another package piledriver, but Ospreay slipped out. He went for the handspring flip kick, but Owens nailed him in the back with the stick and finally hit the package piledriver. Red Shoes then ran out, as the other ref was down for the count. Fale was in a cover on Ospreay, and Red Shoes counted two, only for him to hang up the count on three. He flipped off Fale, said “fuck you,” and disqualified him. Ospreay: 4, Fale: 2. 

After the match, Fale chased Red Shoes around, and he narrowly escaped. Although Red Shoes did take the time to raise Ospreay’s hand in victory. 

Grade: C+. Fine match. It was all about the story here: could Ospreay survive a 3 on 1 match, and the unfortunate truth was that he couldn’t. If it wasn’t for the heels over extending when it came to bending the rules. Both men had a visual pin in this match, so no one really got over here. The real hero of this match is Red Shoes, the most badass referee in wrestling today. But other than that, this was an overbooked gimmick of a match. Leave it to Ospreay to kinda pull it off too. 

Then we had Zack Sabre Jr vs. EVIL. These two have had quite the rivalry this year, ever since he and Suzuki wanted to take the tag titles from Evil and Sanada earlier this year. Evil has only beaten Sabre once, and Sabre holds at least two other victories over him. Sabre tried to lock up right away, and Evil obliged. Right from the bell, Evil tried to use his strength to keep Sabre on the defensive, and the second that Sabre started to reverse a hold, Evil transitioned into striking. Evil won a quick contest of strength early on, and targeted the shoulders with a submissions. Zack eventually escaped and forced the match to the canvas, opting to target the neck with strikes and submissions. The two jockeyed for position on the mat, with Evil nearly locking in a scorpion deathlock, only for Sabre to transition it into a triangle. Evil powerbombed him out of it and tried again, but Sabre reversed into a modified scorpion deathlock of his own. Evil escpaed to the floor and the brawl continued there. Evil gained the advantage after a swinging neckbreaker from the apron. He tried to capitalize in the ring, catching a kick and going for his superkick to the stomach, but Sabre caught his leg and locked in a kneebar. The knee seemed to be tweaked after the modified scorpion deathlock, so Sabre focused on that. The two scrambled for control, and Evil was able to reverse the kneebar into a kinda wonky scorpion deathlock, but Sabre still escaped. Sabre then opted to try some pinning combinations, but still nothing worked. Evil wasn’t staying down, and he was dealing a lot of damage with his strikes. In the finish, the two were constantly countering each other’s strikes, when Evil suddenly got himself in position for Everything is Evil, and the win. Evil: 6, Sabre: 2. 

Grade: B+. This year, I have praised Evil quite a bit. I wasn’t always a huge fan, but his brawling style really impressed me. In this match, I saw a new, technical side to Evil, and it was certainly interesting. He isn’t as naturally gifted at that as he is brawling, but it was still good. Sabre lost once again, and against an opponent that he was incredibly confident against. He was pissed, to say the least. Evil seems to be getting quite the push in A Block, and it makes me interested to see whether or not he beats Lance Archer. Both are monsters of their block, so that will be an exciting match. This was an interesting outcome in and of itself, because of the Royal Quest show coming up. Evil beat the Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion, so he may be in line for a title shot. Given how much he has fought Sabre this year, I think it is more likely that Sanada gets that shot, or someone who beats him later on, but it certainly could happen. But this was a very good match, probably their best together since they have been fighting. Also, Sabre’s tantrum was wonderful. 

We went right into Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. SANADA. The crowd was super loud at the beginning of the match, and the crowd was pretty evenly split between the two competitors. Interesting, I didn’t realize how much of a following Sanada has gained until this match. The two started with a bit of grappling on the mat, feeling each other out. Neither man wanted to commit to a strike, so they jockeyed for position from a knuckle lock. The two eventually escalated to strikes, and they both caught each other’s kicks. They went to put their legs down at the same time, but Sanada faked it and used it to attempt the paradise lock. So although Sanada is the favorite, he is acting a bit more heel. It took a while for Tanahashi to start with the dragonscrews, but he eventually did, and the match became a duel between two competitors trying to destroy each other’s knees. The two then exchanged strikes in the middle of the ring, ending with a twist and shout from Tanahashi. He held on, and hit another twist and shout, but Sanada countered the third into a hangman’s twisting neckbreaker off the top rope. The two then traded finishers, both missing their move off the top rope, and both crashing and burning. After that spot, Sanada started working towards a submission finish out of the skull end. Tana reversed the first one into a roll up, but Sanada kicked out. Tana then tried a bridging pin, which Sanada kicked out of and reversed it into a skull end. Tana then turned it around into his own, only for Sanada to do the same. Tana then flipped out of it, giving Sanada almost a Destino, but he neglected to go for a pin. Instead, he opted for a dragon suplex, but still a near fall. He went up to the top one more time, delivering Aces High, and finally hitting High Fly Flow for the win. Tanahashi: 6, Sanada: 2. 

Grade: B. Pretty good match, but they didn’t really have much urgency in here. It just felt like a lot of moves that were strung together. It was good in the beginning when it came to grappling, but it fell apart as they continued to develop their match. Still though, the counters here were very interesting. A lot of their moves required similar setups, so they were in constant series of reversals. It also showed that Sanada has the capacity to be the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, considering he is just as popular as the ace of the company. That is something to keep your eye on. 

And in the main event, we had the two block leaders facing off. KENTA vs. Kazuchika Okada. Naturally, this was one of the matches that I was most looking forward to. The two started a bit nervous. This is their first meeting in a singles match, so they were wary to over extend. They know each other’s reputation, so they know that the match could end quickly. Okada did his classic rope break early on, which Kenta didn’t seem to mind. He was shockingly stone faced in the early part of this match, when he is normally very expressive and aggressive. I ate my words almost right away, when Kenta had to break. He gave Okada the pats on the chest and then a hard slap to the face, prompting the two to start striking. Kenta seemed to have the striking advantage, but Okada was certainly no slouch. At one point, as the two traded hits to the face, Kenta baited one of those strikes and then went low and swept the leg. Kenta was constantly being disrespectful, knowing full well that not only is he in enemy territory, he is in the tent of their leader. They started to pick it up a bit, harder hits and a more urgent pace. Kenta seemed to constantly have an answer for Okada’s offense, peppering him with strikes only to lock in a submission when Okada tries to fight back. He was unpredictable, and it was throwing Okada off his game. The two continued to blast each other with the best shots that they had, constantly trying to outdo each other, both in ferocity and disrespect. Okada took the match to the outside to attempt a DDT on the floor, but Kenta fought back. He dropped Okada on the guard rail, delivered a pair of kicks to the head, and then gave him a flying double stomp. Okada barely beat the countout, and started to emulate Kenta’s moves. He gave Kenta a shotgun dropkick into the corner and then a delayed dropkick, which looks much more painful when it is a 6′4 guy. Okada then went for the elbow drop, but Kenta countered it, picking the arm and locking in a triangle, before quickly transitioning into Game Over. Okada was able to break out so Kenta nailed him with a double stomp off the top, but still only a near fall. The two then battled for position, Okada looking for a tombstone and Kenta looking for Go To Sleep, but Okada was able to slip out, nailing Kenta with a pair of dropkicks. The two went back to their striking contest, absolutely nailing each other with forearms and palm strikes. Kenta came out on top. Okada still fought back, nailing a twisting Tombstone and then the Rainmaker for the win, and for the lead in the block. Okada: 10, Kenta: 8.

After the match, Okada offered his hand, and Kenta took it. 

Grade: A. Phenomenal match. Okada adapted to a new opponent that he has never fought before, and one that seemed to have his number for a large portion of the match. He fought super hard against odds that seemed impossible. Eventually he was able to do it. This match shows why Okada is the IWGP Heavyweight Champion. He can fight against incredibly difficult opponents that should be able to beat him, adapting and figuring out their weaknesses so that he can come out on top. He waited for Kenta to make mistakes, and he capitalized on them. He refused to stay down, despite the wild amount of punishment that he took. Okada has amazing endurance and constitution. That is why he won here, and it is why he is leading the block, undefeated. As for Kenta, he is far from done. I imagine that he will end up second in the block, and he will go far in this company. Great match, one of my favorites of the tournament. Match of the night.

Overall Grade: B+

Pros: Ibushi vs. Archer; evil vs. sabre; sanada vs. tanahashi; okada vs. kenta; red shoes is a badass

Cons: sanada vs. tanahashi kinda disappointed considering the caliber of the wrestlers involved. 

[hazyheel]

NJPW G1 Climax 2019 Day 4 Review

We opened up the B block with Shingo Takagi vs. Toru Yano in a first time match up. The match started with Takagi insisting that Yano take off his shirt so that he couldn’t cheat, but when he actually started to take it off, Takagi attacked. He did not keep control for long, as Yano grabbed the turnbuckle pad and sent him into the exposed turnbuckle, before pulling his shirt over Takagi’s head and trying for the pin. Yano then retreated to the outside, and sat in a chair waiting for Takagi. Takagi still attacked, and ended up with a drop toe hold into the chair as the ref started his count. Yano then pulled the barricade and several announce tables into Takagi’s way to ensure the countout, but he blew right threw them. At the count of 18, Yano desperately threw the turnbuckle pad into Takagi’s face on the outside, but Takagi still made it back in the ring. Yano kept trying to pull out his old tricks, but Takagi kept fighting out of them. Yano then pushed Takagi into the ref, and threw a chair to Takagi, claiming to the downed ref that he was hit in the face with the chair. BUSHI then ran down to plead with the referee not to disqualify Takagi, while the two competitors battled over the chair. Takagi eventually got ahold of it and threw the chair at Yano’s face, following up with a pumping bomber for the win. Takagi: 2, Yano: 2. 

Grade: B-. Fun match, typical Yano comedy stuff, but it is always fun when someone super serious goes up against Yano. Takagi was not having any of Yano’s tricks. He was going to beat the crap out of him, and if that meant cheating, then so be it. Good win for Takagi, but lets hope that he can get some victories over some bigger names later on in the tournament. Good try Yano.

Next up was Juice Robinson vs. Hirooki Goto. These two have a 2:0 record in favor of Goto, clashing twice last year. The two started things up with a test of strength, which Juice actually came out on top of with a leg lariat. Goto quickly took control back with his fierce kicks and strikes to the back and chest. This match had a lot of back and forth to it. Neither guy could really keep the other on the ground for any length of time. In spite of this, Goto started to work over Robinson’s neck using a combination of strikes to the neck and neckbreakers to weaken him down, but Juice still was able to take control not long after. Goto simply wore Robinson down throughout the match using vicious kicks to the chest, eventually causing Robinson to just collapse to the mat. As Goto went to follow up with the reverse GTR, Robinson reversed into a huge jackhammer for a near fall. Robinson then went for left hand to god, but Goto countered with a headbutt on the hand. Goto then went for a left of his own, but Juice headbutt the hand in return, giving him another headbutt, left hand to God and then hit the Pump Friction for the win. 

Grade: B+. Really good match here, although it didn’t quite reach the heights of their first encounter. Both guys came into the match with more fire and determination than they have ever had, and that showed in their moves. Neither man wanted to go down, and they were fighting to the very end. I was shocked to see Robinson get the win here, but I’m glad he did. He is a genuine threat in the B block right now, and should be treated as such. And the same goes for Goto, but he was always a threat. Good stuff.

Then we had a battle of gaijin, Jeff Cobb vs. Jon Moxley. This is their first head to head contest in history, two of the hottest acts in wrestling today. Moxley tried to overpower Cobb early on, but he realized after one body check that he couldn’t hang with the much bigger guy, so he tried for some amateur wrestling, but still was overpowered. That was when Moxley started to fight dirty a bit, which allowed him to hand with his larger opponent. He started to work on the shoulder, which gave him a spot to attack in order to take control. The two battled out to the ramp, where Moxley tried and failed to hit a powerbomb, and opted for a striking contest instead. Moxley slammed Cobb’s shoulder into the ring apron, and he had the match won by countout, but he opted to just break the count instead. They then fought back in the ring, where Cobb had the advantage. Cobb was using every power move that he had, but every one of them injured the targeted shoulder. However, even when Moxley had the advantage, he couldn’t get Cobb up for deathrider. In the finish, the two fought on the apron, with Cobb threatening to German suplex Moxley onto the apron or even off of it, but Moxley fought back. Cobb eventually gave Moxley a vertical suplex back into the ring, and then tried to enter himself. However, Moxley caught him with a running knee, and then gave him a hanging deathrider for the win. Moxley: 4, Cobb: 0. 

Grade: C+. Not the greatest match in the world. The they didn’t have great chemistry together, but their match was okay. I loved how Moxley figured out how to beat down Cobb, and maintain the advantage during the match. He also hurt Cobb’s shoulder, which may come back to haunt him for the rest of the tournament. Moxley is looking good this tournament, I wonder how well he will end up doing. 

In another first time match, we have NEVER Openweight champion Tomohiro Ishii vs. Jay White. Somehow, these two have yet to have a singles match together. Just like his first match, White retreated to the outside right as the match started. Ishii followed him out, but White then hopped back in the ring, so Ishii got right up in Gedo’s face. White then tried to confront Ishii, but he kept the advantage. He had White on the ground on the outside, and was going to beat him with a chair, but got distracted by Gedo and was sent face first into the ring post. The two then got back in the ring, where Ishii continued to fight through any pain that White delivered to him. White kept trying to frustrate Ishii, which only led to Ishii delivering a series of chops to the throat which really shut up White. Ishii showed his durability in this match by just refusing to go down, whether White used lariats or strikes. That was when White started to show off his power game. He caught Ishii out of a lariat, giving him a flatliner followed by a huge German suplex. After finally and decisively putting Ishii on the ground, White again tried to taunt Ishii, which pissed Ishii off to no end. He started to no sell and even lean into White’s stikes, and then no sold a saito suplex, delivering a thunderous forearm of his own. Ishii then hit a stalling superplex for a near fall and it looked awesome. Stalling moves are so so cool. White then tried for Blade Runner, but it was countered into almost a short rainmaker. White immediately fought back with a sleeper suplex and went for blade runner, but Ishii then countered with a german suplex of his own. As White began to slowly lose more and more exchanges, Gedo again tried to get involved, which didn’t actually net him any offense, as Ishii scored a sliding lariat. The two then continued to jockey for position and countering out of each others finishers, before Ishii nailed a flatliner and a brutal lariat for a two count. Ishii then hit the vertical drop brainbuster for the win. Ishii: 4, White: 0. 

Grade: A. A hard hitting and awesome match. This match was almost total comeuppance for Jay White. He tried to play his usual games with Ishii, but he didn’t stand for them. Ishii constantly beat down White, but White really showed his strength in this match. He is a little cocky, but if he got his ego under control, he would be a huge threat in the block. More so than he already is. Ishii looked great here, a total menace and a badass all around. And this is probably one of White’s best matches that he has ever had, so I’m impressed with that. I am excited to see when White will actually start to pick up some points. Match of the night here. 

And in the main event, we had Taichi vs. Tetsuya Naito. These two have fought five times before, 3:2 in favor of Taichi. However, both of Naito’s wins came when the two became heavyweights, so Naito may have surpassed Taichi. Yoshinobu Kanemaru came out to be in Taichi’s corner, very interesting. In the preview tag match, Taichi teased using the iron glove that used to belong to Takashi Iizuka. The two took a while before they squared off, just circling each other in the ring. Eventually, Naito got frustrated and just lied on the mat, waiting for Taichi to pin him. When Taichi went down for the win, Naito tried for a rollup, and the pace quickened for just a moment before Naito slowed things down with mind games again. Naito eventually lured Taichi to the outside where they brawled a bit, until Taichi shoved Miho Abe into Naito to cause a distraction. Naito actually nearly hit her, but Kanemaru talked him down. While the ref was dealing with all those people at ringside, Taichi hit a low blow on Naito, taking the advantage and continuing to be a heel. Naito worked over Taichi’s neck during the match, using various neckbreakers and even a full Nelson. Taichi also focused on the neck, but used heavy kicks and suplexes. As Taichi maintained the advantage, Miho Abe passed him the glove. He started to motion to the crowd, calling someone down. The young lions all rushed to stop them, but it was just a diversion. Taichi tried to hit Naito with the glove, but Naito got the low dropkick, followed by a tornado DDT for a near fall. As Taichi went for black mephisto, Naito shoved Red Shoes into the corner, and gave Taichi a pop up low blow, a poison rana and a destino, with Taichi kicking out at 2! Naito tried again, but Taichi countered into black mephisto, but couldn’t make the cover. The two continued to fight, with Taichi no selling a german suplex, and even pulled Red Shoes in the way of a flying forearm. Kanemaru then went for the whiskey spit, but Naito closed his mouth and knocked him off the apron. Taichi went for the Iron fingers again, but was countered into almost a short brainbuster, but no ref was up for the count. Kanemaru continued to distract the ref, and Taichi finally hit with the Iron Glove. He then hit a huge last ride for the win. Taichi: 2, Naito: 0.

Grade: B+. A bit of a slow start, but this really got exciting by the end. As much as I love Naito, I found myself rooting for Taichi so that he could get a hit with the iron fingers. These two have very good chemistry, and can tell a really good story together. It also tells that Naito will have a very difficult road if he plans on winning the block now. Four points is a lot to be down, but he can make it up. Taichi is having an impressive run, and he will be entertaining to watch, but I don’t think he will win. Good stuff between these two, and I hope that Naito can recover and get into the upper Echelon of his block. 

Overall Grade: B

Pros: Robinson vs. Goto; White vs. Ishii; main event

Cons: Moxley and Cobb didn’t blend together super well; poor Red Shoes took like 10 bumps