29th July 2015.
We’re in Fukuoka, Japan. The main talking point of G1 so far is the injury to Shinsuke Nakamura, which has seen one of the tournament favourites miss two nights of action. Seeing as he was scheduled in tag action tonight his six-man tag has been turned into a straight up tag. No need to hype a match with Tomohiro Ishii. Meanwhile the puroresu world waits with baited breath to see if Nakamura will make it back into the tournament. The focus is on Block A tonight with Shibata-Ibushi, Fale-Tanahashi and AJ-Naito. Here’s the Block before we get underway; BLOCK A: AJ Styles 4 Hiroshi Tanahashi 4 Tetsuya Naito 4 Kota Ibushi 4 Bad Luck Fale 4 Katsuyori Shibata 4 Hiroyoshi Tenzan 2 Togi Makabe 2 Toru Yano 2 Doc Gallows 0 Everyone that’s wrestling in those top three matches has four points. That makes this a huge night for block positioning. By the end of the night we’ll have three clear cut top guys in this block. BLOCK B: Tomohiro Ishii 6 Kazuchika Okada 6 Karl Anderson 4 Hirooki Goto 4 Yuji Nagata 2 Satoshi Kojima 2 Shinsuke Nakamura 2 Yujiro Takahashi 2 Michael Elgin 2 Tomoaki Honma 0 Tiger Mask IV & Mascara Dorada vs. Jay White & David Finlay This is the second young lions match of the tour. First one saw them dominated by Liger & Tiger Mask but Jay White is developing into a serious talent, almost in front of our eyes. He even seems to be running the matches for those around him. Here he yells “get him grounded” to Finlay, when he’s struggling with Tiger Mask’s kicks. Last night I noticed him yell “attack, attack” to his teammates when he was going for a pinfall. This chap is going to be a ring general. Finlay isn’t developing at the same rate but his basics are strong. His combination of mat work and striking will be ideally suited to Japanese wrestling. My one complaint about Jay to this point is that he talks too much and he’s a bit too obvious about it. Tiger Mask is up to his old tricks here and randomly inserts a Tiger Driver where it has no place being. I don’t understand his logic at all. Dorada generally steals the show with his flashy move set, popping the crowd and he pins Finlay for the win. Not bad at all and as I mentioned earlier Jay White is advancing a lot quicker than expected. There’s a moment after this match where he bows to Tiger Mask and gets a handshake. The Japanese guys respect him. Final Rating: **1/2 Bullet Club (Karl Anderson, Yujiro Takahashi, Tama Tonga & Cody Hall) vs. Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima, Ryusuke Taguchi & Yohei Komatsu This is to set up Anderson vs. Nagata and Kojima vs. Yujiro, both taking place on Day Eight. Anderson’s confidence has taken a dent from defeat to Ishii and he plays a lot of this for comedy. As if his role in the tournament has dramatically changed. The useless Taguchi gets picked off for Bullet Club heat and because of his stupid gimmick, it’s hard to get any sympathy going for him. Mainly because I want to see him get beaten up. Even by Yujiro, my second least favourite wrestler in New Japan. Kojima putting a beating on Yujiro is also good fun, which perhaps bodes well for their match…as long as Yujiro doesn’t win. Anderson brings some more comedy and mockery, irritating Nagata and causing Kojima to get violent. Komatsu looks good here too, flying into his spots and looking like a genuine competitor rather than a young boy. Tama hooks him with the double arm DDT for the win though, just to reinforce that Komatsu is the low man on the totem pole and will be for a while. Another decent match, good effort all round and both Nagata and Kojima look seriously motivated going into the middle of G1. Always a good sign. Final Rating: **1/2 Tomoaki Honma & Michael Elgin vs. CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI) This was due to be a six-man tag until Nakamura was ruled out with injury. It’s a bit of a weird way to build to Day Eight as Elgin faces Honma there, while Ishii faces Nakamura. No prizes for guessing YOSHI-HASHI’s role in this one. Even if he has won three matches on this tour. His role this evening is to be thrown around by Michael Elgin, like a small child. Ishii vs. Honma was MOTY for me, or if not it’s definitely *****. Seeing them clash again brings some of that magic back. They do not pull any punches. I love how Honma goes for Kokeshi only to turn around and see Ishii standing again. That block match is going to be brilliant. Elgin gets to look strong again here, bossing CHAOS with his double Samoan drop spot and he looks strong elbow duelling with Ishii too. I sense two very good Ishii matches in our future. The match has wonderful flow and bags of effort. It’s probably my favourite undercard tag match of the entire G1 so far. It culminates in me thinking YOSHI-HASHI might actually get a pin on Honma, because he’s such a loveable loser. Honma gets the duke with the SUPER KOKESHI though and look at how goddamn happy he is about it. Great match. An unbelievable amount of effort for a throwaway tag to shill a match in a few days time. Final Rating: **** KOKESHI COUNT – 2 missed. 2 hit. SUPER KOKESHI – 1 hit. Hirooki Goto & Jushin Liger vs. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Gedo) Okada vs. Goto headlines Day Eight. Interesting choice of partner by Goto, selecting a veteran junior to take on Okada’s own veteran junior. Okada vs. Goto is usually pretty good with them having similar strengths and solid chemistry. It’s Okada’s match to control and he seems comfortable with Goto. As if he’s not a threat but more of a warm up for another match. Gedo is brilliant in his quasi-heel role as Okada’s cheerleader. “FUCKING LIGER!” he screams before trying to punch Jushin in the face. This is right after a little show of respect handshake. Okada vs. Liger is actually quite wonderful. Why do they not have Liger interact with the top heavyweights more often? That heavyweight/junior divide is even more unsettling in Japan than it is in the WWE. Okada and Goto have their usual match, and it’s pretty darn good. Nothing exceptional and nothing like the effort levels present in the last match. Liger busts out some classic stuff on Gedo and ends up pinning him for the sneaky veteran win. Okada and Goto make a big deal about how they’re both champions and wave belts around. Okada wins that dick measuring contest because he’s the IWGP champion. Final Rating: **3/4 G1 Climax Block A Doc Gallows vs. Toru Yano Pre-Match pick: Gallows. Because he hasn’t won yet. Their tag interactions were quite funny so hopefully they’ll go the comedy route. Gurning troll Yano seems upbeat despite his bashed up face. Yano tries for a power handshake (“I’m gentle, I’m gentleman!”) and gets beaten down (“BREEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK”). Gallows is in no mood to play this for laughs and goes after Yano’s injured face, which makes for somewhat uncomfortable viewing. Their timing is way off on some of the spots, including the big YTR pointing spot so Yano goes back to working Doc’s ears (because Gallows has no hair to pull). Bullet Club get involved with Karl Anderson flat out jumping into the ring for Magic Killer and Gallows gets the pin for his first points. Hey, I got that right through logical deduction! Final Rating: ** Picks: 21/31 G1 Climax Block A Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Togi Makabe Pre-Match pick: Makabe. This is another close call. If Tenzan loses he can always blame the head injury sustained against Yano. These two had a great little brawl in their set-up tag match last night so it might be a sleeper hit. That said I’ve never really been a fan of either of them. Naturally there is extensive clubbering. Tenzan has head damage from destroying Yano’s skull. You’d think Tenzan would have come away unscathed as his head resembles one of the rock sculptures from Easter Island. Togi is equally hard, resembling a granite gorilla. Togi, subtle as a fucking brick, spends the entire match bashing Tenzan in the head. Which would make sense, if he was working the cut but he’s not. He’s just doing his usual punching thing and can’t even dislodge Tenzan’s cut-covering plaster with his ‘punches’. Tenzan gets pissed off with Makabe’s tactics and straps him in the Anaconda Vice. Togi’s response is an half-assed powerslam where he almost drops Tenzan on his dome. Oh sure, work the punches but then nearly cripple the poor guy! The match works better when they’re just wailing away on each other and Togi looks a bit the worst for wear, in terms of energy and lack of it, so he takes it home with the King Kong Kneedrop. Totally wasn’t feeling this one. Both guys looked exhausted after a few minutes. Final Rating: **1/4 Picks: 22/32 G1 Climax Block A Kota Ibushi vs. Katsuyori Shibata Pre-Match pick: Shibata. This is a tough match to call. Shibata has been on fire and Ibushi just took out AJ Styles. Both guys are capable of winning the tournament and the crowd see this as a hugely important match for both guys and their ambitions. Effectively the loser will struggle to make the final. The opening kick-fest is gorgeous as they test out their speed and strength. Kota finds himself getting the sympathy after his opening gambit goes wrong and Shibata takes over. Shibata is ruthless, grabbing Kota by the hair and just smashing his face with forearms. But Ibushi isn’t just a pretty boy, he’s one of the most gifted wrestlers in the world and he proper winds Shibata up by stealing his corner dropkick. Shibata’s reaction is amazing, grabbing his jaw and then marching headlong into a few elbows. Oh, you pissed him off! Shibata starts unloading his A game and Ibushi struggles to stay in it. In terms of speed, aggression and excitement it’s one of the matches of the tournament. I love the way Shibata starts shaking his head to tell Ibushi his kicks aren’t shit. It’s brilliant. Even Ibushi’s usual tricks, like his overhead kick, are countered by the speedy and creative Shibata. Then they start no selling and kicking out of shit at one. The energy levels and destructive forces at play are sick and the crowd LOVE IT. They run a sequence that’s so good I don’t want to put it into words because you need to see it. There’s a bit after that where Shibata covers up with Ibushi just peppering him with punches. It’s great. Sleeper. PK! Shibata wins! Holy shit. Fantastic match, not quite as good as Ibushi vs. AJ but the second best match of the G1 so far. Kota came after Shibata with Shibata’s strengths; full-on Strongstyle, which is exactly how he attacked Nakamura at Wrestle Kingdom. Noticeably; same outcome. Ibushi loses but looks incredibly badass in the process. Final Rating: ****1/2 Picks: 23/33. Not wanting to blow my own trumpet but that’s eight picks in a row I’ve got right. I’ve totally jinxed myself by even thinking about it. G1 Climax Block A Bad Luck Fale vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi Pre-Match pick: Tanahashi. Always Tanahashi. He has his hair tied up here, so you know he means business. Plus Fale sucks. I worry that NJPW plans to have Fale feud with another top heavyweight after ‘successful’ series against Nakamura and Okada. After the thrills and spills of Ibushi vs. Shibata this match delivers little. Tana spends most of the match bouncing off the big man and hitting the odd Hogan vs. Andre spot. Bullet Club get involved, as they’ve been doing a little too much for my liking. It’s ok against Yano but against a genuine contender like Tana, it’s unwelcome. The match grinds along until the Slingblade. High Fly Flow press. High Fly Flow. That’ll do it but where’s the ref? Bullet Club pulled him of the ring? Oh, fuck this shit. Fale teases Bad Luck Fall a couple of times, making me extremely anxious as I don’t want big fat Fale to go over anyone, even if it’s just because NJPW need a spoiler in the tournament. Fale then hits the High Fly Flow (of sorts) to win clean. Urgh. Final Rating: * Picks: 23/34 G1 Climax Block A AJ Styles vs. Tetsuya Naito Pre-Match pick: AJ. Well, after that last match I hope to Christ that AJ wins but this being Gedo and his wacky booking you never know. Naito is wearing his stripper suit and silver mask so you know he means business. “He looks like an idiot anyway. He’s even worse. PUT THE MASK BACK ON!” – AJ is not a fan of Naito. Because Naito is such an unbelievable asshole the crowd chant “AJ Styles”. The leader of the Bullet Club, NJPW’s biggest heel faction, is getting cheered over Naito. Now, that is a heel turn. AJ revels in the spotlight, as he’s got plenty of babyface offence that he can throw out there and he generally works face on the Indies. It’s always a bit weird seeing the American heel getting popped over the Japanese wrestler in Japan but AJ is a special wrestler. He demonstrates this with some great strike combos. Meanwhile Naito runs heat like he’s contemplating having a nap. Naito still has moments of explosive offence, left over from his babyface run, but there’s just something about his languid pacing that winds me up. It has transformed him into a completely different, and less effective, worker. AJ is the one who forces the pace, which is his role as the pseudo babyface. But the match never feels special like Naito vs. Tanahashi did. Then Naito finishes with Destino out of nowhere and that’s that. Didn’t enjoy this one much. I haven’t been into Naito since his change in Attitude and the break-through Tanahashi match was better than this. Final Rating: ***1/4 Picks: 23/35. 3/5 tonight, thanks to Fale and Naito. Bastards. Let’s take a look at the Block before we leave. BLOCK A Tetsuya Naito 6 Bad Luck Fale 6 Katsuyori Shibata 6 AJ Styles 4 Hiroshi Tanahashi 4 Kota Ibushi 4 Togi Makabe 4 Hiroyoshi Tenzan 2 Toru Yano 2 Doc Gallows 2 Some drastic changes in the last two contests. Naito, Shibata and Fale have come on strong. They now share the lead in Block A, while favourites AJ and Tanahashi go 0-2 and drop into the mix. Ibushi’s defeat isn’t as bad as I first thought as he’s still only one win off the top. Block A has become genuinely intriguing. Could they actually pull the trigger on fresh heel Naito? Or permanently over ass-kicker Shibata? The push for Fale is the most underwhelming thing about Block A and I’d rather he’d stayed stuck in the mire with Gallows and Yano. You can’t always get what you want. Summary: Obviously Shibata-Ibushi is the one to watch, an absolute blow-away contest with breathtaking exchanges. The Elgin & Honma vs. CHAOS tag was also a cracker. Some of the G1 matches were quite poor though. Tenzan vs. Makabe wasn’t too good, with both guys looking winded. Togi in particular. Also, Fale vs. Tanahashi wasn’t good. Largely because of Fale, who’s been pretty awful during this tournament. He’s just carrying too much weight. The main event didn’t come across too well either, with Naito’s usual issues taking all the heat out of things. I’m well aware other people like Naito more than me but I just don’t get him. It wasn’t a bad match, by any stretch of the imagination, but it wasn’t great. Verdict: 73
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AuthorArnold Furious Archives
April 2016
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