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3 August 2014

G1 CLIMAX 24: Day 8

G1 CLIMAX 24: DAY EIGHT
BODYMAKER Colosseum, Osaka
3rd August 2014

It's quite possible that I'm not fully ready for Day 8 after such an excellent show at the Korakuen on the 1st. Reports I've seen online suggested that after cheering themselves into a frenzy for Tenzan-Goto, Styles-Suzuki and Nagata-Shibata, the crowd was pretty much blown out for the main event. I wasn't but I can understand if someone else was: it was insane. People aren't even really talking about Naito-Makabe and it was brilliant.

I SIGNED KENTA RIGHT HERE IN OSAKA JAPAN BROTHA
The wrestlers, hopefully, will have no such problems tonight. They absolutely bloody love their wrestling in Osaka and people who consider such things consider the Osaka crowd for New Japan Pro Wrestling to be the gold standard in worldwide audiences. A little bit smarky, sure - they wrongly hate Naito - but vocal as hell and capable of pushing the in-ring work on to greater heights.

Tonight's main event, though the fourth battle between the two in 2014, sells the night on its own. Three battles over the IWGP Intercontinental Championship between Hiroshi Tanahashi and Shinsuke Nakamura saw the former take the first two battles at Wrestle Kingdom and New Beginning. Upon winning the New Japan Cup, Swagsuke could not let it lie, cashing in his ducats on Tanahashi's title rather than stablemate Okada. That match, won by Nakamura, was probably the best of the three.

From Day 7 (credit: KRNFLX on NEOGAF)
The undercard presents a few possible sleeper candidates for Match of the Night: Tomoaki Honma is gunning for his first win, but Katsuyori Shibata is looking to take the Block. Either way, it will be violent and the crowd will be primed to explode. Hirooki Goto and Tetsuya Naito contains plenty of promise too, not least because Stardust Genius will be longing for the days of Korakuen's 'mixed heat'. Bullet Club brethren Bad Luck Fale and Karl Anderson have the night off to restock those t-shirt supplies.

Author's note. I am a little bit ill. I wrote the above when I was not ill. I realise no one is actually making me churn this out in a timely manner but once you get locked into a process it's hard to turn back. Anyway, this might be a little shorter than usual. But it might not. 

Block A: Davey Boy Smith Jr. - Tomohiro Ishii 
Previous beef: Smith Jr. beat Ishii at this stage in 2013 in their only singles bout.

Maybe I've been a little harsh on Davey Boy Jr.. Since my whine about his corniness, he's had some good matches with a definite reduction of the slightly hammy heel routine. This match is also probably the best individual performance I've seen from the guy, though it does come up against my personal wrestler of the year to date. Perhaps it's an age thing? Smith Jr. is only 28, which in Japanese wrestling terms is still pretty young. Anyway, I promise to cut the lad a bit of slack from now on. Even though he is a bit hammy here too.

From last year's match, but you see what I mean? (credit: ProWresBlog)
Ishii wins with the Brainbuster to keep his slim hopes of progression alive and either performs the sell job of the century or is genuinely injured, leaving the ring in much worse shape than his giant opponent. In a match with a lot of intensity and crowd heat (a constant throughout the night), the two exchange sick barbs and blows: Smith Jr. hits a lovely Tiger Suplex, Ishii cows his man with that stomach-turning headbutt. Ouch. ****

Ishii [8] d. Smith Jr. [6]

Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan - Toru Yano 
Previous beef: Tenzan defeated Yano at the G1 in 2013, returning the favour for a 2008 defeat in the Block stage.

It's another fine palate-cleansing, audience-relaxing, funny and brief Toru Yano match. I'm not tired of watching it because it's a naturally charismatic guy doing his thing, though I must confess I can't find too many ways to put a new spin on it. Tenzan is too over to lose and makes YTR tap with his Anaconda Vice variation, the Anaconda Max (same move but it looks less like a glorified rest hold). **1/2

Tenzan [8] d. Yano [6]

Block A: Shelton Benjamin - Yuji Nagata
Previous beef: Benjamin upset the legend at the 2013 event in this very building, though the lifetime score is 1-1, with Nagata defeating the ex-WWE Intercontinental Champion at the 2012 tournament.

Nagata's biggest cheerleader Shinpei Nogami is sat ring-side in a Nagata t-shirt whilst calling the match. It's amusing to see Suzuki-gun henchman Benjamin playing the young rube to Nagata despite them only being about six years apart, but it's a good and familiar dynamic for the match. There was some really great grappling during this match, with excellent submissions and reversals and roll-throughs. 

From last year's match (credit: ProWres Blog)
Nagata was super-over throughout, with the fans at fever pitch during his Eye-Roll Armbreaker spot. The increase in submission spots during this tournament has been a real plus point for me, given their quality. Though Benjamin nearly wrenches Nagata's leg off in the Angle Lock, Nagata's countless variations seize the day, making Benjamin tap to the Nagata Lock II. ***1/4 

 Nagata [8] d. Benjamin [8]

Block A: Doc Gallows - Satoshi Kojima
Previous beef: Occasional tag opponents but never as a singles bout.

As the tournament grinds on, Kojima, one of the few wrestlers not to have had a break yet, does appear a little more weary than most. Ever the professional, he reaches deep to drag another decent performance out of Gallows. There's not a great deal about this match to say: it flies by with plenty of fun, everyone gets their spots in and Kojima, with the fans at his back, takes the win with his trademark lariat (note: he does lariats with left and right arm. His left arm is KAYFABE weaker, so if they kick out of a left arm lariat, it's not a big deal. If they kick out of a right arm lariat, Kojima is probably fucked). ***1/4

Kojima [8] d. Gallows [4]

Block B: Hirooki Goto - Tetsuya Naito
Previous beef: Goto defeated Naito during the 2012 tournament and at the 2011 New Beginning PPV, representing their only two singles matches.

I've rhapsodised about this moment before but one of my favourite wrestling moments comes from this very building in February: in his losing effort against Tomohiro Ishii, Naito catches a whiff of the turning sentiment against him as they cheer the underdog heel Ishii and greet every move by Naito as if he'd walked into the arena wearing a t-shirt saying OSAKA REALLY SUCKS. Naito, a thoughtful and self-deprecating chap by all reports, changes his facial expression and sets about reversing the face/heel polarity and allowing the match to reach new vistas of greatness which peaked upon his eventual loss.

There's no clear reason why Osaka hates Naito so much: it's not a smarkish anti-babyface thing because Tanahashi is still loved here. Yes, he has a slightly goofy look and a rubbish hairstyle and is probably being groomed a little too hard for the Tanahashi-replacement role (futile). If you want to be critical of his style then fine, he does sell a bit oddly and lacks in powerful moves. Personally, and criticise me if you want, I believe he's this generation's Keiji Mutoh. Obviously he has less charisma, but who doesn't?


The commentary team say the word 'booing' at least three times during Naito's entrance, just to put over how strong the dislike is. At least he gets strong reactions these days. There are pockets of love, but the positivity is broadly reserved for Goto. 

The match the two have is tremendous, with an easy meshing of styles and a 12 minute thrill ride breezing us to intermission. Goto hits the stomach-churning Reverse Ushikoroshi, leaving Naito looking dazed. The Stardust Genius attempts to battle back, but Goto snaps his losing streak with a great-looking Shouten Kai, the quality of which depends greatly on the taker. There are not many better. Check this one out. ****1/4

Goto [8] d. Naito [8]

Block B: AJ Styles - Lance Archer
Previous beef: nothing in NJPW and only minor conflicts in TNA.

With Killer Elite Squad partner Smith Jr. having his best match ever (in my opinion) earlier in the night, what better opportunity for Archer to do the same against arguably the MVP of the tournament? We're going to gush about AJ Styles at some point before the end of the G1 so you can wait for that: this is about Archer.

Comment beneath if you have a clue
This was an honest-to-goodness good-to-excellent match, essentially a more triumphant version of the match Naito had with Archer - the big man utilises his power to hurl his opponent around whilst the smaller champion uses guts and wiliness, working forcefully on the giant legs of the American Psycho. Styles even breaks out one of my favourite spots: the Figure 4 wrapped around the ring post.

The leg work of Styles also comes to a smart narrative conclusion: Archer is too big to be defeated by Styles Clash, so Styles looks for the submission victory utilising the excellent Calf Killer manoeuvre. Archer tapped out but got to look like a big deal in defeat, maybe the shared language helping both men tap into greater reserves of communication and planning. ***3/4

Styles [10] d. Archer [6]

Block B: Minoru Suzuki - Togi Makabe 
Previous beef: Makabe defeated Suzuki in their most recent match at Dominion 2012, a follow-up to the same result in the New Japan Cup second round match of the same year. They have never met in the G1 Climax.

So it seems that Suzuki has realised that he is indeed one of the finest wrestlers in the world and has opted to show this to the new fans gained since his instant classic with AJ Styles. The story of Makabe's jaw is well-established now and what better person to take advantage of a fucked mandible than someone who has made more people tap than Roy Castle?

As a result, this match was possibly the most realistic (in parts) and dramatic. Makabe's superior brawling meshed well with the clinical matwork of the Suzuki-gun boss. Suzuki continued to utilise every ounce of malice to target his opponent's weak spot but Makabe fired back with bombs galore. Suzuki trapped Makabe in his rope-trap armbar, leading Makabe to do this:



Makabe trapped his submissions-expert opponent in a figure-four variation, cinching back on his legs and straddling his man so he could rain down bruising punches to his face. Suzuki screamed and yelled and attempted to no-sell, firing insults and slaps back before opting to pursue the rope break. Suzuki does these kinds of spots better than anyone since the days of UWF, full of grinding intensity and gritty realism.

Suzuki picks up the win in controversial fashion. Suzuki chinned Makabe and then hit a sliding boot to the face. Applying the sleeper and the saka otoshi takedown, Makabe appeared to power out. Suzuki kept the sleeper applied as the colour drained from Makabe's face. Makabe did not tap, but the referee stopped the match. Fantastic and brutal. ****

Suzuki [8] d. Makabe [6]

Block A: Katsuyori Shibata - Tomoaki Honma 
Previous beef: Shibata defeated Honma at Power Struggle 2013 as his rehabilitation into the NJPW fold continued. That was their only meeting in singles contests.

Now that six houses have more-or-less screamed themselves sick at Honma's underdog babyface routine, can we now agree that it might have been a bit of an oversight not to include the guy in the first place? A combination of great writing (we give a fuck about a guy who was eliminated ages ago), crowds willing to buy into the Ibushi replacement and the worker himself have led to the point where we can all now don the following t-shirt.
 
KNEEL
This match is exciting and brutal and heart-stopping as you expect and demand and want it to be. In front of the Osaka crowd you begin to think that the hurricane-force HON! MA! chants will push the guy over the line, even against a dominant and impassive figure such as Shibata. It's a perfect confluence of events and personalities and even jaded old bastards like me start to believe in miracles.

Shibata dominates from the off but Honma gradually fights his way back in on spirit alone. He misses, as ever, a couple of Kokeshi attempts but finds his mark with a third. The striking power of Shibata often overwhelms the underdog but his reserves of desire can never be questioned. Shibata attempts the PK to finish the contest early, leading to this:



It displeases me greatly to report that Honma did not win, taking the fall with Shibata's fine-looking G2PK combination. However, it pleases me greatly to report that this was another seriously excellent match that would have blown the house down anywhere, though the Osaka crowd made it that extra bit special. ****1/2

Shibata [10] d. Honma [0]

Block B: Kazuchika Okada - Yujiro Takahashi
Previous beef: Takahashi's betrayal of Okada at Dontaku 2014 led directly to Okada surrendering his IWGP Heavyweight Championship after a reign longer than one year. 

Life is possibly a bit too short to gripe about Takahashi's shortcomings but against Okada he really, that beautiful Stalling German Suplex aside, comes up short as a worker. All he can do to counter the former champion is cheat and stall momentum. Yes, it's part of his gimmick, but also his gimmick is starting to rub me the wrong way. "Oooh, I like sex and I have an unlikeable face." GREAT. GET IN LINE.

Yujiro Takahashi pulling his least annoying facial expression
The key piece of information from this match is that Okada kicks out of Tokyo Pimps, the move that effectively ended his second IWGP Heavyweight Championship reign, before powering to victory with the Tombstone set-up and the Rainmaker lariat finisher. When Okada was in charge it was fine and controlled. When Takahashi took over in the early stages, the pace slowed, though toward the end the back and forth ensured the match did not look out of place with the beauty that surrounds it. In defeat Takahashi is eliminated, unable to overtake Okada from here, though an unlikely series of results could see him take the runner-up spot. ***1/2

Okada [10] d. Takahashi [4] 

Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi - Shinsuke Nakamura
Previous beef: the constant tension between the two has been, to a certain extent, the glue around which the revival in New Japan's fortunes has been based. It is worthy of a chapter of a decently-written history of the company. In 2014, the rivalry (it is more of a rivalry than a feud) renewed and seemingly ended with Nakamura recapturing his IWGP Intercontinental Championship after consecutive defeats to the self-proclaimed Ace of the Century.

Emerging at approximately the same time into the company, Nakamura was branded the 'Super Rookie' and pushed strongly as a wrestler with MMA credentials whilst the more obviously pro-wrestling indebted Tanahashi, though hardly ignored, had a more steady incline toward the top of the company. As Nakamura's 'serious' character grew stale, Tanahashi rose to the top of the company. Tanahashi spent nearly 3.5 years cumulatively as champion (six reigns) compared just over one year for Nakamura (three reigns). Their matches main-evented several top shows.

The birth of the CHAOS faction allowed Nakamura to develop his current persona whilst Tanahashi dominated the spotlight. However, the emergence of Okada has brought Tanahashi back into the pack, with Nakamura's popularity growing once again. Former tag partners, co-holding the IWGP Tag Team Championship, the record against each other is 7 wins for Tanahashi to Nakamura's 6, with one time limit draw.

Describing Nakamura as 'indispensible to my way up', Tanahashi has expanded upon the basis of the rivalry in his book (thankfully translated by Yottsume here)

To me, Nakamura was an object of jealousy. He stands 6 foot 2 and is athletically gifted. He has achieved success in amateur wrestling, MMA, and won the IWGP Heavyweight so early in his career. Nakamura had everything that I didn’t. Hence, I utilized my feeling toward him. I didn’t envy him secretly, but exposed it instead. “I’m jealous of Nakamura for topping me!”
 
And by exposing my feelings honestly, I was able to find my theme for fighting. And by sharing my feelings with the fans, some fans bought into that “Tanahashi” persona. This situation doesn’t occur only in pro-wrestling. Your juniors getting an advance or promotion faster than you could happen in any company. I think a lot of male fans sympathized with my feeling of jealousy and struggle, and felt like they were in my shoes.
Add on top of all of this their matches in this calendar year alone and the current state of the block and you have a pretty tasty match.

Though many great bits of wrestling occur in this great wrestling match between two great wrestlers on a great stage in front of one of the greatest crowds in the panorama of wrestling, the one thing I will remember from this match is this.




Tanahashi has wreaked havoc with that Dragon Screw down the years. In his classic encounter with Minoru Suzuki, when broken down into pieces by his methodical and callous opponent, that wrenching Screw was the tool that unlocked his opponent and allowed him to go in for the kill. On several occasions on this evening, Tanahashi halts Nakamura's momentum with the move. But, ever the inventor, Nakamura finally comes up with a counter for the thing that targets his own knees and prevents his own offence. Everyone in the crowd goes up knowing that they've just seen a new piece of the story.

The match between the two was probably, all things considered, their second best of the four this year, behind the Nakamura victory at Invasion Attack. Whether this is because it was a better match or because a Nakamura victory bumps things along so much more I am not at liberty to say. When you've got two guys like this who are so talented in their own right, used to the spotlight and have proof of how well they mesh, it doesn't make sense to talk of all the things that went right. It was another great match between the pair.

Personally I think Tanahashi is a worker whose better matches have a slightly grander scope as he works cleanly through the gears and sequences. NJPW matches in 2014 have generally been truncated compared to the avalance of 25+ min epics in years gone by without any discernible drop in quality. However, this is one occasion where four or five more minutes in the middle might have caused minds to melt in joy.

Instead, people 'merely' screamed themselves hoarse as the two worked their asses off to put a full stop on yet another great bill of G1 Climax wrestling. Nakamura thought he had sewn it up with a second Boma Ye, but Tanahashi powered out. Looking for the third, the same amount that it took to put Ishii away, Tanahashi countered with a pinning predicament invented by Karl Gotch (who would have been 90 today) and the win from behind. Much fucking respect.

Tanahashi joins Nakamura and Shibata on ten points. In the post-match, Tanahashi goes full Hogan with another impromptu air guitar concert and celebration session. Why not? He's just shown why he's one of the greatest main-eventers of all time. Again. ****1/4

Tanahashi [10] d. Nakamura [10]
 
And with that the G1 Climax of 2014 was two-thirds over. Another card that was great from top to tail. I joked on Twitter after Day 4 or 5 that I felt that the $110/£65 I stumped up for the tournament was pretty much paid for now and we were cruising into bonus content territory. I seriously feel that is the case now and can't believe we're one week from the Final.
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