This was the penultimate show in the G1 series, and the last show
featuring B Block Tournament matches, or any other tournament matches for that
matter save for the finals taking place BRIGHT and EARLY August 16. In fact,
the start time is listed as 15:00 (3:00 pm) in Tokyo, adjust to your time zone
accordingly. This really felt like a show with an equivalent energy to the
previous one. Opening matches, however, were less numerous and featured several
wrestlers crammed into multi man tags. Meanwhile, the opening two matches were
a quick and fun setup for the Junior Heavyweight tag title match on the next
show. Here is a rundown of the action, starting with the undercard.
Undercard
reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly) vs Sho
Tanaka and Ryohei Komatsu
O’reilly
and Komatsu started things off. Komatsu knocked Fish off the ring apron.
O’Reilly and Komatsu had a showdown of forearm till Komatsu knocked O’Reilly
down with a dropkick. The Young Lions hit a number of
double team attacks on each member of reDRagon. Tanaka got O’Reilly in a crab
and refused to break the hold even as Fish hit him with forearms. Komatsu then
got Fish in the hold and also refused to let go despite O’Reilly’s attempts to
break it up. Tanaka then grabbed O’Reilly from behind and hit a big German
Suplex.
After
landing a few of their double team maneuvers, reDRagon hit Chasing the Dragon
on Sho Tanaka to pick up the pinfall victory.
After
the match reDRagon’s opponents on the next show, The Young Bucks rushed the
ring and attacked them with their IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
belts. Then, The Bucks’ opponents in the next match, Jay White and David Finlay
rushed the ring and attacked the current champions. The referee called for the
bell to start the match between them.
The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) vs Jay
White and David Finlay
Finlay
and White hit a double drop kick on Nick Jackson to clear the ring. They then
mocked the Young Bucks’ muscle-flexing pose. The Bucks took control hitting
Finlay with kicks, slaps, and a back rake, and yelling obnoxious taunts.
The
Bucks each hollered a Ric Flair ‘Woo’ and missed Splashes to the corner. They
then each Back Dropped Finlay, with him landing on his feet each time till he
could make the hot tag to Jay White.
The
Bucks put Jay White away with the Indietaker (aTtombstone Piledriver hit by one Buck with an assisted Spike from the other Buck jumping over the ropes from the outside) to get the pin. They
continued stomping on White and Finlay till reDRagon returned to clear the
ring. Fish and O’Reilly got a hold of the title belts and dared the Young Bucks
to fight them.
Toru Yano, The Kingdom (Michael Bennet and Matt
Taven), Kazushi Sakuraba, and YOSHI-HASHI w/ Maria vs AJ Stylels, ‘Bad Luck
Fale, Doc Gallows, Tama Tonga, and Cody Hall
The
match started with the members of the Bullet Club launching an early attack and
clearing the ring of CHAOS and friends.
Tonga
kept up an attack on Yano in the ring, all the while snaking about and clicking
his fingers together malevolently. Maria hopped on the ring apron to distract
Tonga with her wares and he responded with a shrill cry of joy. Yano yanked
Tonga down to the mat by the hair off the distraction. Bennet and Taven
hit double team offense on Tonga, Styles, and Hall involving several kicks.
Styles
put Sakuraba in the Calf Killer but Sakuraba reversed it into a Cross Arm Bar.
Bennet nailed a Neckbreaker on Hall and then rolled to the outside to help keep
the other members of the Bullet Club out of the ring. YOSHI-HASHI hit a Swanton
Bomb off the top rope on Hall and pinned him for his team to pick up the
victory.
This was a somewhat strange
one with CHAOS’ B team plus famous friends fending off an attack from the
Bullet Club. It was somewhat surprising to see Styles on a team that took a
loss, but seeing he is not scheduled to have a match with the loser of the
B-Block final match somewhat clears that up. Likely, the multi-man tag he is
scheduled for on the next show will see him shine and begin to build profile
for his next program.
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Katsuyori
Shibata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, and KUSHIDA vs Kota Ibushi, Tetsuya Naito,
Manabu Nakanishi, Captain New Japan, and Ricochet
KUSHIDA
and Ricochet started the match. They evaded one other’s offensive maneuvers and
had a stare down. Abut and Makabe then briefly squared off. Shibata tagged
himself in to face Ibushi, and got some instant cheers from the audience.
Naito kicked Ibushi from the outside and then dropped to the floor, creating
instant tension between the two.
Captain
New Japan cast a Time Stop spell on Tanahashi, who shook himself out of it and
slapped the Captain. Makabe hit a Double clothesline to Ibushi and Captain New
Japan. Tanahashi would hit the High Fly Flow onto Captain New Japan for
the win. After the match, Shibata and Naito got into a pull apart fight after
the match. There is a possibility that aggression between the two of them will
lead to a feud in the near future.
This was also a
strange grouping, pitting the relative all stars against the ‘freaks and
geeks.’ Some people in the match really didn't have much to do, but the Junior
Heavyweight match scheduled for the next show was promoted and Tanahashi looked
impressive going into the finals tomorrow.
Tournament Matches
Tomoaki Honma vs Takashi Yujiro
Yujiro
came down to the ring with Mao, who gyrated, waved to the camera, and gave
Yujiro a ‘too sweet’ sign before disappearing into irrelevance.
There
was a tie up between the two that moved quickly toward the ropes. Honma
gave the clean break.Yujiro bit Honma's fingers and stomped on him by the
ropes. They traded chops. Honma knocked down Yujiro but
missed the kokeshi head butt. Honma landed the next kokeshi attempt successfully.
Yujiro
took Honma off the top rope with a Superplex.
Honma
countered a Suplex attempt and hit a diving kokeshi to the back of yujiro's
head.Yujiro moved out of the way of the top rope kokeshi. The two hit simultaneous Lariats on one another. Yujiro
went off the ropes and ran into a big diving kokeshi, which Honma aimed right at Yujiro’s taped up shoulder.
Honma lifted Yujiro up for a Piledriver but Yujiro escaped, pushed Honma into
the referee and hit Honma with a low blow. Yujiro hit the Miami Shine on Honma
and pinned him for the victory before leaving to the back, leaning heavily on
Mao.
This
match seemed to end in a strange result. After the previous B-Block show saw
Honma getting his first big triumphant win in a G1 match, the roll would seem
to continue easily with a win over Yujiro. I suppose the idea is to make Honma
someone who only wins the very big matches, and those not so often. Perhaps a
character trait is his frustration over losing matches he could seemingly win.
It also goes with a pattern I see forming of a lot of the wrestlers being
booked on somewhat even footing across the tournament save the break out
performers, something I will get into later. Yet this does not seem to apply to
Honma. While the ‘only win the occasional big one’ could be interesting, I
think all are ready for him to achieve higher status than where he is at now.
Yujiro:
6 points
Honma:
4 points
Tomohiro Ishii vs Michael Elgin
Both
wrestlers charged at each other and attacked with forearms. Elgin dropped Ishii
to the mat. Then Ishii knocked down Elgin. They had a stare down. After
colliding with each other, Elgin took down ishii with a boot.
Elgin
got Ishii up in a suspended vertical lift and then executed a Brainbuster. The
commentator exclaimed ‘shinjerarenai’
and clarified for the English speaking viewers, ‘unbelievable!'
Elgin
hit a Backdrop sending Ishii into the turnbuckle. Elgin then dived off the top
rope, flipping onto Ishii and attempted a pin.
Ishii
hit a German suplex to stop Elgin's momentum. He hit a Powerslam on Elgin. They
took turns blocking one another's forearms with head butts. Elgin rolled Ishii
into a German Suplex and a pin attempt.
Elgin
hits a Death Vallye Driver (FU) on the ring apron. He then hit a disturbingly
painful looking Powerbomb sending ishii into the guard rail outside the ring.
Elgin Deadlifted ishii into a slam off the top rope. Ishii wold then come back
from taking a lot of punishment. He hit Elgin with the Sliding D. Ishii Head
Butted Elgin’s chin and hit a Lariat for a near fall. Ishii then put Elgin up
into a Brainbuster and pinned him for the three count and win.
Ishii:
10 points
Elgin:
8 points
This was an
excellent match that showed each competitor going all out. Michael Elgin’s run
has been fantastic and this was a great way for him to end his last G1
tournament match, really showing off some hard-hitting offense. Ishii and Elgin
had a matching style making for an exciting match that probably could’ve been
higher on the card, as it outshined some of the other matches afterward.
Hiroki Goto vs Yuji Nagata
Fans
started cheering for Nagata as soon as the match started, perhaps recalling the
very tough fight he put up in his last match against Kazuchika Okada. There was
a tie up and chain wrestling between the two before they separated and circled
one another, looking for the advantage.
Goto
has an arm bar locked in on Nagata and then stomps his back.
Goto
keeps Nagata down with stomps, and pressure put on his arm. Nagata went for a
Kick but Goto caught it and hit a kick of his own right to the injured
ribs of Nagata. Negate clutched at his ribs and rolled to the outside,
where Goto continued attacking with a stomps and a toss into the guard rail.
Nagata hit a running boot to Goto in the corner. He then landed Side Kicks to
knock Goto down. Nagata hit an Exploder Suplex sending Goto into the corner.
Nagata then hit a Back Drop. Goto fought back with a Lariat, and then hit the
ushikoroshi. Goto positioned himself to hit the shouten kai, but Nagata
suddenly locked in the Fujiwara Armbar. Nagata blocked a Lariat and did a
Back Drop for a two count. Goto blocked another Back Drop and a Forearm
exchange between the two ensued. Nagata punched away a Head Butt by Goto and
hit a Rolling Kick. Nagata then nailed the Backdrop Hold to pin Goto for
the win.
After
the match Nagata saluted the audience from the turnbuckle and continued
emphasizing the pain in his ribs, the injury that has most consistently come
into play during the entire G1. This was an OK match but did not work as
well as other matches each of these two excellent wrestlers were involved in
prior to this. Goto tried to play a heel-ish part, attacking a vulnerable
Nagata’s ribs, but the audience didn’t really buy into the uncharacteristically
ruthless assault. While there was good reason for these two to not go all out,
a better story could’ve been told.
Nagata:
6 points
Goto:
12 points
Satoshi Kojima vs Karl Anderson
Anderson
out with Tama Tonga and partner Doc gallows. Anderson ran flying at Kojima as soon as they bell rang and hit a
flying boot to Kojima’s head. Anderson then went right for the Gunstun but
Kojima countered. Anderson missed a Lariat and Kojima knocked him down with a
shoulder block. Kojima flexed his pecks as Anderson bailed to the floor.
Anderson returned to ringside and dragged Kojima out by his feet. Kojima fought
Anderson off and tossed him back in the ring. Anderson snapped Kojima’s neck on
the top rope and hit s huge Bicycle Kick to send him back to the floor. While
Anderson distracted the referee, Tonga and Gallows worked Kojima over on the
floor.
Anderson
continued to attack Kojima’s arm, snapping it on the top rope repeatedly.
Anderson set up a chair in middle of the ring and sat down to pose as Kojima
lay on the ground. Anderson called for a
Brainbuster but Kojima sailed over it. Kojima landed rapid-fire chops and a
Lariat to Anderson in the corner. He then landed an Elbow off the top rope and
tried to pin Anderson. Anderson unloaded uppercuts on Kojima on the ring
apron. Kojima was able to block and hit a DDT onto the apron. They chopped each other outside and dove under the bottom rope at the
same time to beat the twenty count.
Anderson
hit a Reverse Gunstun from the too rope. There was a near fall. Anderson called
for the finish of the match and slammed the mat much like someone named Randy.
The RKO, I mean Gunstun was blocked and Kojima hit a Cojicutter.
Kojima
hit a big Running Lariat and pinned Anderson for the win. This was a good
match, somewhat lacking in drama, but featuring a very good sequence of moves
and counters between two, especially toward the end.
Kojima:
6 points
Anderson:
12 points
Kazuchika Okada vs Shinsuke Nakamura
The
two prominent members of the CHAOS faction circled each other. They engaged in
a tentative tie up. Shinsuke was knocked to the ground but stayed on guard.
Shinsuke got Okada down with a headlock. They wrestled to the ropes. Okada took
a long time, teased a chop and then gave the pats and the break. Okay then
struck a Rainmaker pose. There was a Forearm by Nakamura. There attempts at a bomaye and Rainmaker that both missed.
Okada
Drop Kicked Nakamura over guard rail on the outside. He hit a Draping DDT to
Nakamura onto the concrete floor. Okada put a Running Elbow to Nakamura in
the corner. Okada executed a DDT. Okada followed with a Rolling Elbow and tried
to pin but Nakamura kicked out. Okada put his own ‘electrified boot’ to
Nakamura in the corner and posed, receiving boo’s from the audience. Okada landed big Elbow Strikes to Nakamura in the corner. Okada hit a
Running Drop Kick to the head of Nakamura. Nakamura dragged Okada to the
outside. Nakamura draped Okada on the rail and hit a running knee to the chest.
Nakamura put the 'electrified boot' to Okada in the corner. He landed Knee
Strikes into the sternum of Okada.
Nakamura
put Okada on the turnbuckle and drove another knee into his chest. Nakamura hit
an enzuguri kick. He then went for
the Inverted Exploder but Okada countered into a Neckbreaker over the knee.
Okada hit Heavy Rain but could not pin for 3. Nakamura hit a Back Cracker. Then Nakamura executed the Inverted
Exploder followed by a Second Rope bomaye
for a two count.
Okada
got a drop toe hold in to avoid a knee. Nakamura kicked out of the pin attempt.
Okada then hit a Drop Kick to knock Nakamura from the turbbuckle to
the floor. Okada hit a Tombstone to Nakamura on the floor. Okada threw
Nakamura back in the ring. He climbed the turnbuckle and hit a huge elbow off
the top. He showed off a Rainmaker pose. Then Okada lifted Nakamura. Nakamura
blocked what was to come next with a kick to Okada’s shoulder. Okada put
Nakamura in a Backslide, but Nakamura stood out of it and hit a Knee Strike to
Okada's head. Both men were down.
The
two traded forearms. Nakamura leveled Okada with a knee to the chest and a kick
to the top of his head. He hit a running bomaye
but only got a two count. Nakamura hit an Avalanche and pinned for two.
Nakamura prayed with his hands together in the corner. Then he went for a
running bomaye, but Okada countered
with a beautiful Drop Kick. Nakamura stood up from a Backslide and walked
into a Rainmaker Lariat. Okada picked him up, blocked a bomaye and went for a German Suplex but Nakamura grabbed Okada's
arm to counter. Okada hit another Tombstone. Okada picked Nakamura up and swung
the arm for the Rainmaker but Nakamura grabbed his arm and countered into a
Cross Armbar. Okada struggled to remain standing while trying to break the
hold. Nakamura kept the pressure on, forcing Okada onto his chest. Okada tapped
out immediately. Nakamura wins and advances to
the finals.
Nakamura
and Okada bumped fists to show their continued solidarity before Nakamura
triumphantly addressed the audience and shouted ‘YeahOh!'
Nakamura:
14 points*
Okada:
14 points*
*Although Okada and Nakamura have a tie at 14 points a piece,
Nakamura being the winner of the match between the two of them advances to the
finals.
My
prediction for a Tanahashi/Nakamura final is coming true. While I've been
boasting about this, I realize my prediction for Tanhashi to win is feeling a
quite a bit less certain, especially looking at the emotion Nakamura carried
into his win on this show. I'm holding onto it, though, as the simplest most
powerful story available to tell I feel is Tanahashi fighting to regain the
title as Okada battles to prove he can beat Tanahashi in the 'big one.'
Although Nakamura deserves the spotlight at Wrestle Kingdom, I think he can
afford to wait a year...maybe. With Okada VS Nakamura in the books tonight, I
don't know how much of a clamor there would be for a rematch. Then again, Okada
could lose the title between now and Wrestle Kingdom. But nobody seems poised
to take it from him. Another match between him and Styles now would seem to run
that feud into the ground unnecessarily fast.
The
legitimate suspense of how it all plays out is a big part of NJPW's appeal. Til
then...
twitter:
@mondocurrymark
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