Prefectural Gymnasium, Akita
26th July 2014
Akita, famed for the large breed of hairy mountain dogs whose roots were unearthed in this region, lies on the north-west coast of Honshu. The last major show to visit these parts was a show of the year contender on the 2013 Kizuna Road tour, taking place at the nearby Municipal Gymnasium, with Kazuchika Okada defeating Prince Devitt in front of a hot crowd in the main event. I miss Devitt in New Japan already.
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| Prince Devitt: don't be a stranger |
Things are shaping up now, with Hiroshi Tanahashi, Shelton Benjamin, Hirooki Goto and Kazuchika Okada all undefeated. At the foot of their blocks are Tomoaki Honma and Karl Anderson, both of whom are yet to register a win in three matches apiece. There's still a long way to go and anything can happen and indeed it would be best to suggest that is the case to sell those Seibu Dome tickets!
Day four has been touted by some as a potential show of the year candidate, with at least five matches of particular intrigue and potential quality. Clubhouse leader Tanahashi takes on Shinsuke Nakamura vanquisher Katsuyori Shibata in a match thought to contain some legitimate heat owing to a fracas explained farther down the page. Doc Gallows and Yujiro Takahashi have the night off to buff their fingernails and rewrite the Bullet Club manifesto.
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| "Shibata (l) is like a junior high student who has just entered his rebellious age" ~ Hiroshi Tanahashi (credit: Yottsume) |
Previous beef: None really. Kojima defeated King Fale twice in 2011 but Bad Luck Fale is effectively a character reboot.
Both men are having good tournaments thus far compared with their expectation level; night after night, Fale is stringing together something beyond mere competency as he grows into the role of midcard enforcer. Kojima, emerging to his awesome Jean-Luc Ponty-esque dubbed theme tune, is such a likeable presence, half of the NWA Tag Team Championship around his waist a reminder that he can still totally go.
Kojima's got a style that doesn't really date in the world of wrestling; hard-hitting and convincing with a side order of panache. Other top rope elbows in the business such as Okada or Randy Savage may attempt maximum aesthetics via altitude; Kojima looks like a sack of bricks falling into the mid-section. In an entertaining match with a lot of give and take, Kojima emerges victorious after escaping Fale's death-knell finisher to drill home a lariat. ***1/4
Kojima [4] d. Fale [4]
Both men are having good tournaments thus far compared with their expectation level; night after night, Fale is stringing together something beyond mere competency as he grows into the role of midcard enforcer. Kojima, emerging to his awesome Jean-Luc Ponty-esque dubbed theme tune, is such a likeable presence, half of the NWA Tag Team Championship around his waist a reminder that he can still totally go.
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| Satoshi Kojima: 5 time world champion, SUCKAHHHHHH |
Kojima [4] d. Fale [4]
Block A: Davey Boy Smith Jr. - Shelton Benjamin
Previous beef: the two are stablemates in Suzuki-gun and are more likely to be found on the same team. This the first singles encounter between the two.
Benjamin goes after Smith Jr. from the bell, with Smith Jr. preventing Benjamin hitting Paydirt both literally and figuratively. The match spills outside, where Benjamin attempts to level his stablemate with a chair, but bannerman TAKA Michinoku won't let either man cheat. However, his prevention proves ineffectual as Smith Jr. chokes Benjamin beneath a chair of his own.
This was a match that grew in confidence, winning the respect of the fans along the way, sometimes because of the ideas more than the execution: Smith Jr. is trapped in Benjamin's Ankle Lock and threatening to tap, but in one mighty push he manages to regain the vertical and flip Benjamin over into a (loose) Sharpshooter. Benjamin makes the ropes, but not without damage.
One problem here, for me at least, is the facial expressions of Smith Jr. His act bears more resemblance to the wrasslin' days of the '80s, big 'heel' gestures in gigantic air-quotes with slightly awkward and unconvincing poses. I realise that one of the po-faced problems with western wrestling fans getting into NJPW is this crazy expectation of someone notionally pure style when in fact it's a very varied programme, but even I have a problem not thinking of Davey Boy Smith Jr. as being corny.
Looping all the way back around to the beginning, Benjamin does eventually hit Paydirt for the win and the cementing of one of the unlikeliest runs in recent wrestling history. After the match, Suzuki-gun remain friends, with Smith Jr. venting his frustration not on his friend but as his master may: on a hapless ring boy. **3/4
Benjamin goes after Smith Jr. from the bell, with Smith Jr. preventing Benjamin hitting Paydirt both literally and figuratively. The match spills outside, where Benjamin attempts to level his stablemate with a chair, but bannerman TAKA Michinoku won't let either man cheat. However, his prevention proves ineffectual as Smith Jr. chokes Benjamin beneath a chair of his own.
This was a match that grew in confidence, winning the respect of the fans along the way, sometimes because of the ideas more than the execution: Smith Jr. is trapped in Benjamin's Ankle Lock and threatening to tap, but in one mighty push he manages to regain the vertical and flip Benjamin over into a (loose) Sharpshooter. Benjamin makes the ropes, but not without damage.
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| Suzuki-gun minus Benjamin: (clockwise from top left: Davey Boy Smith Jr., Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archers, TAKA Michinoku, Taichi) |
Looping all the way back around to the beginning, Benjamin does eventually hit Paydirt for the win and the cementing of one of the unlikeliest runs in recent wrestling history. After the match, Suzuki-gun remain friends, with Smith Jr. venting his frustration not on his friend but as his master may: on a hapless ring boy. **3/4
Benjamin [8] d. Smith Jr. [2]
Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan - Minoru Suzuki
Previous beef: Approximately even over years of occasional conflict. Tenzan defeated Suzuki at this stage in 2013, edging toward parity after defeats to Suzuki in the 2005 and 2011 editions. Outside of the G1, Tenzan twice defeated Suzuki in 2004, the first occasion as an IWGP Heavyweight Championship defence. There have also been too many tag battles to count.
Suzuki, generally not a bundle of respectful kindness to begin with, stomps to the ring looking to get points on the board after two defeats by pinning predicament. A legitimate tough-nut with a shoot promotion to his name, let alone a few fights, there aren't many in NJPW who could credibly outlast Suzuki.
Tenzan is one of those few names, but Suzuki is in no mood to play; having already booted a ring attendant, he goes after Tenzan on the outside with the ring bell and dazes the Raging Bull further with a running kick. Though the match develops slowly, Suzuki's trademark rope-assisted juji gatame and slaps and laughter in the face of returned fire brings this match closer to the boil.
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| Hiroyoshi Tenzan locks in the Anaconda Vice on a stricken Montel Vontavious Porter |
It's not a match for fans of prettiness, with two veterans whaling on each other mercilessly. It is Suzuki who proves to have the iron will, capitalising on Tenzan's missed diving headbutt by hitting the awesome saka otoshi (sleeper takedown) and forcing the man with the razor sharp mullet to tap. ***1/4
Suzuki [2] d. Tenzan [4]
Block B: Hirooki Goto - Toru Yano
Previous beef: For all Yano's deviousness, he has struggled to get inside Goto's head since 2004. Goto defeated Yano at the 2009 Resolution PPV, during the 2008 G1 Block stage and on the 35th Anniversary tour in 2007. However, Yano leads Goto in their lifetime singles encounters, registering four consecutive wins in Goto's debut year.
Goto is sitting pretty in Block B, undefeated and tied with Okada, in whose shadow Goto has loomed since Rainmaker's singular emergence. A routine dispatch of the tricksy Yano should prove no obstacle, with Goto going straight to work and preventing Yano from his usual trick of removing the turnbuckle padding. Yano can't even save himself by pulling the referee into shared jeopardy, with Goto smashing the ushikoroshi (fireman's carry neckbreaker across the knee).
Victory is a mere formality here. Except, that is, if the opponent is YTR, who manages to hit a dastardly and brilliant-looking roll up for the shock win inside 90 seconds! Rating this seems hard as it wasn't much of a match, but in the moment and within the context I was laughing my head off. Cheating is a legitimate style so purists be damned, it was fine entertainment. Yano also managed to sell a copy of his DVD to a fan on the way out. **
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| Goto lariatooooo! |
Yano [4] d. Goto [6]
Block A: Tomoaki Honma - Tomohiro Ishii
Previous beef: not 'beef' as such but the pair met at the Dontaku event in May for Ishii's NEVER Openweight Championship, which was won by Ishii. Additionally, Ishii bested Honma in a Korakuen show during 2009 and a dojo show in the same year. Travelling much of the same circuit in the early 00s, Ishii has also faced Honma in Fighting World of Japan, also gaining a victory. The pair were also tag partners in Great Bash Heel.
Ohhh snap. This damn match.
A standard encounter at first, with the two feeling each other out with forearms and running shoulder blocks. However, a few minutes in, an absolutely furious chop battle rages. Not exactly beginning at a polite level of intensity, the two repeatedly hammer at each other with metronomic timing and unsparing violence, bringing the crowd into the palm of their (very-reddened) hands.
From this moment on this golden pair can do no wrong. Even Ishii, now one of the more beloved wrestlers in NJPW, has to play heel to Honma. Inhabiting this dynamic (and playing off the closure of their previous match, where Honma looks to Ishii for help and sympathy even in defeat and is brutally rebuffed) allows this match to go to a special place beyond moves and reversals.
Honma's expressions at his continual dismay at his own inability to put Ishii away are the opposite end of the spectrum to Smith Jr.'s fairground cartoonishness; beyond all the artifice and construct of the industry, there's a real nugget of sincerity and pathos that you'd have to passively watching or unable to interpret to miss.
Ishii sells incredibly well once again, allowing Honma more offence to give the house, now roaring, the opportunity to believe. One reversal into a DDT, which Ishii takes atop his dome and remains vertical for an extra half-second to make it look extra-devastating, sees Ishii kick out at 2.9999.
What gives this underdog/bully dynamic an extra layer is that Ishii himself i. was the underdog just this time last year and ii. needs the win after two early defeats of his own. So Ishii's kickouts are not just the story of Honma thwarted in his singular quest, but the desperation of someone who thinks he can still go on and challenge for the overall win.
Ishii eventually takes the win with a Brainbuster and I have failed in my task to sum up this match. Of course it wasn't the most technical or original 12 minutes of wrestling but its emotional payload was devastating. Two guys with a great story to tell and years of chemistry coalescing perfectly.
And to think before this match I was questioning whether I was overrating Ishii because I like him so much. AHAHAHAHAHAHA. ****1/2
Ohhh snap. This damn match.
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| YES YES YES YES YES YES YES REMATCH |
From this moment on this golden pair can do no wrong. Even Ishii, now one of the more beloved wrestlers in NJPW, has to play heel to Honma. Inhabiting this dynamic (and playing off the closure of their previous match, where Honma looks to Ishii for help and sympathy even in defeat and is brutally rebuffed) allows this match to go to a special place beyond moves and reversals.
Honma's expressions at his continual dismay at his own inability to put Ishii away are the opposite end of the spectrum to Smith Jr.'s fairground cartoonishness; beyond all the artifice and construct of the industry, there's a real nugget of sincerity and pathos that you'd have to passively watching or unable to interpret to miss.
Ishii sells incredibly well once again, allowing Honma more offence to give the house, now roaring, the opportunity to believe. One reversal into a DDT, which Ishii takes atop his dome and remains vertical for an extra half-second to make it look extra-devastating, sees Ishii kick out at 2.9999.
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| courtesy of Bootaaay on NEOGAF |
Ishii eventually takes the win with a Brainbuster and I have failed in my task to sum up this match. Of course it wasn't the most technical or original 12 minutes of wrestling but its emotional payload was devastating. Two guys with a great story to tell and years of chemistry coalescing perfectly.
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| "Will I ever win? Probably not." |
Ishii [4] d. Honma [0]
Block B: Lance Archer - Togi Makabe
Previous beef: Makabe beat Archer at this stage last year, on the path of revenge for Archer's G1 wins in 2011 and 2012. Makabe defeated Archer in the 2012 New Japan Cup and in a non-competitive match on the 2011 G1 tour.
Archer's 'psycho' facials and general demeanour come over a little less pat than his partner in Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr.) but next to Makabe's likeable thug routine it still looks a teeny-tiny bit Crockett Promotions. Thankfully Archer is out of his all-white WCW midcarder trousers. The story of Makabe's jaw is threaded back in halfway through this one, granting parity to a match between a large but inexperienced guy and a smaller but experienced ex-champion.
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| Makabe and Archer: this time last year |
The insertion of this psychological aspect combined with Makabe's grittiness bumped this match up the scale, considering the in-ring stuff was nothing extraordinary. Maybe looking back this match won't seem so special, but I think ratings are best given as part of the narrative. Makabe knows he needs something to stand out given so much talent and it's to his credit that he's found something simple and believable that can help explain potential shock losses. Not that that needs to occur here as Archer took the fall, taking the now lethal Spider German/King Kong Knee combination. ***
Makabe [4] d. Archer [2]
Block A: Shinsuke Nakamura - Yuji Nagata
Previous beef: Nakamura defeated Nagata at this stage in 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2013. In addition, Swagsuke made a successful defence of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Mr. Blue Justice in 2009. Nagata has defeated Nakamura in the final of the 2011 New Japan Cup, the 2010 G1 Climax blocks and the 2007 G1 Climax semi-final and a 2004 tour show.
Getting only five seconds less time than the night's main event, Nakamura and Nagata cranked the dial steadily throughout their encounter. Unexpectedly, Nakamura worked a little heelishly, jibing and taunting the veteran Nagata with boots and slaps.
Whilst the match had no epic scope or superlative moments, this was a minor masterclass in character work and ring chemistry. The submission sequence that ran from Nagata dropping Nakamura into the Nagata Lock II (crossface) into a reversal into Nakamura's cross armbreaker and then rolled through into Nagata's Eye Roll Armbreaker (see pic) was incredible stuff though.
Shinpei Nogami on commentary seemed to agree. His permanently excited tone makes you think that something unbelievable is happening at all times. Even though during this match it wasn't, it was a really good see-saw battle between two of the company's biggest personalities. Nakamura, tipped to win the entire tournament, picked up the win with Boma Ye. ***3/4
Nakamura [4] d. Nagata [2]
Block B: AJ Styles - Tetsuya Naito
Previous beef: None. The pair were in a Steel Cage Gauntlet in TNA in 2008, won by Samoa Joe.
The 2013 G1 Climax winner versus the current IWGP Heavyweight Champion. Whether this not being the main event says something about the matches after this or the not-quite-fully-over status of either man we can decide later over drinks and nibbles. What we need to take quite seriously is the status and potential quality of this match.
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| AJ Styles |
Styles is, as expected, growing into his role in New Japan. His range of opponents can still be counted on one hand but there's variety within the sample size and he's managed to catch the eye alongside all of them. Naito is probably the most similar in style to Styles, which doesn't always make for the best match, but given the general quality these guys are known for you'd hope for something special.
What we get isn't quite special though nonetheless fine. Yano's chairshot yesterday still has not healed, so Naito bleeds from his covered wound early into the match. Styles tears off the sticking plaster and Naito dons the crimson mask. NJPW's ring doctor takes a concerned glance during a momentary pause, but Naito is actually just doing his job and selling pretty well.
Once the tentative opening exchanges are in the past and the blood concern is over the match develops into something that could be used as a basis for something seriously good. Occasionally I have concern for the 'hardness' of Naito's offence, consisting as it does of some fairly light-looking stuff (in comparison with most), but his Bridging German Suplex is one of the best in the business.
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| Naito and the way he'd like to be remembered |
Dominant for lengthy periods, with a bloody Naito at his mercy, Styles taunts the crowd, the referee and his opponent to good heat. Styles tries to hook in the top rope Styles Clash but Naito wriggles out, eventually catching Styles with his weird Gloria set-up (it looks like a person throwing a spear into the ground with both hands) and a Stardust Press to take an unlikely victory. ***3/4
Naito [6] d. Styles [2]
Block B: Karl Anderson - Kazuchika Okada
Previous: this match, a battle between the seconds of the two most prominent factions in NJPW, is a repeat of the 2012 G1 Climax Final won by Okada. Okada also defended his IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Karl Anderson at Power Struggle 2013. Okada also got the better of Anderson in the 2013 New Japan Cup second round and a #1 Contendership match in 2012. Anderson defeated Okada on the BOSJ tour in 2009 and on two other smaller shows in 2008 and 2009.
Desperation stakes for Anderson. He targets Okada as he does his pre-match poses...and then wastes time mocking the champ once he's grounded. I really don't like to overly-criticise wrestlers but if you're telling the story of how much you need the win, your cheap heel heat can just wait. Everybody hates you already!
Okada was put through the wringer against Makabe just yesterday so his slow start can be reasonably justified. The match eventually climbs the mountain after another railings spot (estimate that of the 39 matches thus far, 30 have used the railings. Minor gripe) and settles into a nice groove between two guys who know each other's stuff and execute with a pleasing balance of smoothness and violence.
The end sequence is a particularly rehearsed-looking series of counters and reversals between Okada's deadly Rainmaker and Anderson's Gun Stun, with each evading two attempts of the other's finisher before Anderson unleashes his move to take a fairly-surprising victory. He registers his first win and inflicts Okada's first defeat. ***1/2
Anderson [2] d. Okada [6]
Desperation stakes for Anderson. He targets Okada as he does his pre-match poses...and then wastes time mocking the champ once he's grounded. I really don't like to overly-criticise wrestlers but if you're telling the story of how much you need the win, your cheap heel heat can just wait. Everybody hates you already!
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| File under: PREVIOUS BEEF |
The end sequence is a particularly rehearsed-looking series of counters and reversals between Okada's deadly Rainmaker and Anderson's Gun Stun, with each evading two attempts of the other's finisher before Anderson unleashes his move to take a fairly-surprising victory. He registers his first win and inflicts Okada's first defeat. ***1/2
Anderson [2] d. Okada [6]
Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi - Katsuyori Shibata
Previous beef: despite only one singles match against each other (in last year's G1 blocks, won by Tanahashi), the presumed-real enmity between these two is one of the great unexplored rivalries of New Japan. In his autobiography, Tanahashi criticised Shibata extensively for his style, claiming the only reason it had won new fans is that his own style was established as the basis for NJPW.
Furthermore, Tanahashi has criticised Shibata's legitimate credentials, claiming that Nakamura was a better pure wrestler, as well as deriding him for leaving during NJPW's lull in the previous decade. More on this can be read here, courtesy of Yottsume. In response, Shibata has stated "I care more about you than the title, Tanahashi" and believes that only he is able to make Tanahashi act in such a critical and direct manner.
Furthermore, Tanahashi has criticised Shibata's legitimate credentials, claiming that Nakamura was a better pure wrestler, as well as deriding him for leaving during NJPW's lull in the previous decade. More on this can be read here, courtesy of Yottsume. In response, Shibata has stated "I care more about you than the title, Tanahashi" and believes that only he is able to make Tanahashi act in such a critical and direct manner.
Though there are lingering dislikes and feuds in New Japan, singles contests are relatively rare for much of the year. The approximate presentation of matches as a sporting contest of sorts leads to championships being prized above all. Hate, given the extremity of its nature, is minimised and saved for rare moments that can't be ignored.
Shibata seems to uncork the hatred in his opponents better than most. Upon his return to NJPW, his ex-schoolmate Hirooki Goto stood in his way, leading the vanguard of guys who didn't leave to do MMA or work for another promotion. The matches that the pair had were brutal and the feelings clearly based on something real, whatever the ratio of shoot to kayfabe actually is.
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| Shibata (r): takes this shit SERIOUS |
Hiroshi Tanahashi's distaste of Shibata compared to Goto's nearly breaks the scale. It's the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti of hate compared to Goto's mid-range Audi. But given how comparatively rare these kind of feuds are (compared to, say, WWE), it gives the match a pre-hype that could become impossible to live up to.
As Tanahashi enters, Shibata takes the centre-ring. One of the key factors (for me) is not that Tanahashi is an outright aggressive figure when he has that anger in his heart, rather he becomes a grandstanding passive-aggressive caricature. His book is full of insults by proxy: not without good reason is it called 'Why I Was Able To Change NJPW'. He thinks of himself as the centre of this universe, the sun around which everything revolves. Shibata waits patiently for the fight, the real settling of the score. Tanahashi takes extra time to play his air guitar, pose on the turnbuckles and slap hands with the fans, knowing the impatience of his opponent.
Writing about the match itself at length would do it a disservice. It needs to be seen and it needs to be felt. There are some fantastic moments, such as Shibata's sprinting lunge kick to Tanahashi on the railings, and some vitriolic slapping and forearming from both men. It manages to retain shape as a professional bout more than the match one year ago where Tanahashi looked vaguely irritated after taking a barrage of stiff kicks, jumping to the finish a little early.
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| Hiroshi Tanahashi and the two things he's a mark for: NJPW and himself |
In this match, Tanahashi hit the High Fly Flow to
Shibata's back and rolled him over for the second attempt which missed.
On regaining their footing, Shibata connected with a spinning chop that
made me physically cringe in pain for Tanahashi. The Once In A Century
Talent (his choice, not mine) was hoist into the Go 2 Sleep position but
managed to roll through for a Small Package for the near-fall. Shibata
chased the finish again, managing to land both the G2S set-up and the
sprinting PK to put Tanahashi away as he did Nakamura. Woah.
What made this really special is that there's a real sense that they kept something back. Okada and Tanahashi's later matches in their first-rate six-match series had intricate callback sequences that ramped up expectation, changed things around and controlled the crowd expertly. There was little such expectation in this contest but much to pore over in the final analysis, meaning that next time (and there must be a next time) the pair can add new dimensions to an already ornate construction. An instant classic. ****1/2
Let's save the craziness of Shelton Benjamin being the only undefeated guy and the absolutely lamentable performance of my predictions for the day five preview because that was one hell of a card. The best night of the G1 so far and probably a contender for show of the year. Shibata beating Tanahashi AND Nakamura in one tournament is huge. It has to put him in the contendership ranks regardless of how the G1 story pans out.
I don't really have a big summary here. It was too much, conclusions are just going to be trite. See this show.
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