Oh yes it's block final night(s) and the feeling's right oh yes it's (block) final night oh what a night (ooh what a night). Welcome to the security blanket of Sumo Hall, noticeably smaller than the Seibu Dome, though spread over three nights perhaps not that different. We'll do a big assessment of how this tour has gone on the post that heralds the official final this coming Sunday, in which all of the night will be covered as there are many interesting bouts set to occur including the return of BUSHI from injury, the return of Ricochet from underneath a mask purloined from an underground temple in Boyle Heights and a match between Young Bucks and reDRagon, which is a regular occurrence but always FUN.
 |
Look at this awesome image I forgot to use the other day because I was
in such a rush! Look at it! This is incredible. For this and more, go
and look at Punkrockbigmouth's Tumblr bcs you will not be disappointed. I mean in life you will be disappointed, that is inevitable, but briefly it will be allayed.
G1 CLIMAX 25: DAY SEVENTEEN DEAR LORD WHEN WILL IT END
Ryōgoku Kokugikan, Tokyo
14th August 2015
The card for the Block A conclusion is, competitively-speaking, a one
match affair. Hiroshi Tanahashi takes on AJ Styles, with neither man
able to be overtaken by a lower-ranked competitor. Should they draw,
they will probably need to continue beyond the limit as all usual
deadlock-breakers do not apply.
DOC GALLOWS vs. KATSUYORI SHIBATA
Dun dun dun dun dun dun! NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING! *synth stab*
AWWW YES THANK YOU SWEET HUSBAND FOR THESE TICKETS TO THIS EXCELLENT WRESTLING COMPANY I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE WHO IS THE FIRST WRESTLER OUT
*synth noise, martial beat, buried vocoder vocal*
"I gotta a human and I shot him with my gun / I gotta a human and I shot h..."
"DOC-UUH GALLOWS-AAHH!"
"I gotta a human and I shot him with my gun / I gotta a human and I shot h..."
"DOC-UUH GALLOWS-AAHH!"
I HATE YOU HUSBAND
Only joking. Doc is fine, just fine. That said he goes over Shibata for the second consecutive G1 after Bullet Club sort of ran rings around the Goto/Shibata tag team save a couple of minor face-saving reverses. I'm sure the lads behind the curtain have their reasons but Shibata is absolutely awesome and Gallows would lose little with a loss here.
It's not a bad match. Shibata's error here is abandoning the clinical strategy he starts with; as he did against similarly-large man Fale he crabs and then forward rolls into shooting the leg for a F4 leglock. Confidence raised much too soon, he trades blows with the man approx. 100lbs heavier and gets splattered with a couple of Gallows Poles, the second of which takes the fall after Shibata fighting spirits his way off the ropes on four consecutive occasions only to be met with a Size 134 in the face. Stupid, stupid, stupid. **3/4
TORU YANO vs. BAD LUCK FALE
A comic brawl for the most part with Fale dominating, unimpressed with Yano's new video package (a still of the price and availability of the new CHAOS DVD) and water bottle. Yano's usual tactics fail as bailing to the outside sees Tama Tonga laying it in.
However, the Man With The Noblest Brain catches the Bullet Club high on their own hubris outside the ring, hitting low blows to both Tonga and Fale and jumping back inside to beat the 20 count. Fale fails to match Yano, who wins. **1/2
HIROYOSHI TENZAN vs. TETSUYA NAITO
I remember Tenzan when he was something of a jerk character, a solid bully jerk rather than a chickenshit, but a jerk nonetheless. Faced with the newly-jerky Naito, there's a note of paternal "this is a bad road, kid" sourness about Tenzan's rage (contrast: Tanahashi's "how dare you besmirch New Japan I will put you across my knee").
If we zoom out a little, the essence of Tenzan is an uncomplicated man with a straightforward solution to victory: crash around, look angry, take your lumps, get on with it. This appeal to basicness works better on me than it does others.
The trope of the simple man is not necessarily the best star material, true, but to examine how basic values hold up in the meandering of time is compelling. When Tenzan was young, his strategy was attached to the body of a freshly-minted warrior that sliced through opponents and made off with gold as an everyday occurrence.
Now his body deceives him. He is nearer the end than the beginning. Smaller men dance around him and spear him with kicks and jump at him from angles he has never seen. Their values and friendships change seemingly as if aligned to barometric pressure. But he maintains faith in the only thing he knows, and sports an ugly sticking plaster on his recently-slashed forehead to prove it.
I've enjoyed watching Tenzan in this tournament in a way I probably haven't enjoyed since returning to New Japan earlier this decade. Against a phlegmatic Naito given extra reason to cheat and not to care about the consequences as a result of his inability to progress is where the quiet heroism of Tenzan is painted in the best light. Two guys you have never seen can turn up in a rec centre and one can be 'heel' by doing 'heel' things and the other can be babyface by default, but goodness seems to be a trait that plays out in the years.
It partially explains why Kenta Kobashi is my favourite wrestler - he was a babyface, yes, but he also proved himself a real hero battling against more existential goals such as life and decay. Tenzan is also fighting the same ghosts and fighting them with the same stoicism and refusal to stop. If you can't bring yourself to love him, he at least deserves your respect and admiration.
The mark for this match may not seem like it is warranted after that exposition, but if there's a chance that Tenzan is working his final G1, then I don't want to miss the chance to commemorate that. Tenzan wins with Anaconda Max. ***1/4
KOTA IBUSHI vs. TOGI MAKABE
The result was arguably more important than the process by which it was attained. Ibushi won, marking another victory over a senior wrestler who does not trade in easy falls (he took three straight wins against Ishii this year, lest we forget). The match was decent, but more of a palate cleanser for what was to come. Ibushi flew, Makabe battled, but we knew it was ultimately for naut. ***
HIROSHI TANAHASHI vs. AJ STYLES
If I were to go back and reappraise all of their matches since Styles joined New Japan in 2014, I would downgrade the lot of them. Their 4.25 match from last year's G1 Final (which I called "the best of their three to date) is not something I am dying to see again, which damns the match they had in TNA and in New Japan in 2008 somewhat. The rematch at Kings of Pro-Wrestling for AJ's IWGP Heavyweight champion gained 4.25 and wasn't bad but also not 4.25. I gave their match in Osaka back in February where Styles became 2-time champion a mere 3.25. I've seen it since and hated it.
What was wrong? In the instances of the recent trio of matches: overbooking and overwriting. The matches all existed to support a supplementary storyline which were, in chronological order, the joining of Bullet Club by Jeff Jarrett and Scott D'Amore (worked out great), the return of Yoshitatsu (worked out great) and the return to pre-eminence of Bullet Club (worked out great).
Maybe there was more. The pressure of hype? The similarity of the wrestlers? It is hard to put a finger on. I really enjoy the work of both guys and have done for years. I saw AJ Styles live in June and he was outstanding. Like in love, despite apparently compatible attributes, sometimes people just do not click. In the light of all the above, I was not looking forward to this match much and set the bar relatively low.
Boy do I feel like a dunce. This was great. And yeah I know I said that about their other matches but this was GREAT. Shed of the weight of the dopey tales and outside rubbish, the two just went about business. Picking up my NJPW World video, I noticed at the outset of the match there was still 60 minutes on the video. I began to anticipate a draw, sudden death, all the tropes of the 'epic-on-paper'.
They didn't do any of that. They started at a low-to-medium lick but gradually turned it up. And up. And up. It was expert-level. No crunching through the gears to signify the home stretch, but a smooth and natural (yes I am aware given the artform how idiotic this sounds) transition that drops us to the best conclusion available.
A lot of popular main event tropes were thrown into this one in a method that made it all the better: imitation of opponent finisher (both men), false finishes, the lesser-spotted elements of the moveset (that backflip DDT that AJ does, christ). It was very good you guys, please go and watch this!
Hiroshi Tanahashi won with a couple of High Fly Flows. This leaves some deflated as the only NEW and EXCITING match that we can have in the G1 Final (AJ v Nakamura) is done for. There is still time for that match to take place and any number of avenues by which we can reach it. Please try to recall that every time Tanahashi faces either Nakamura, or especially Okada, it is usually lights-out stuff. ****1/2
BLOCK A RESULTS
Hiroshi Tanahashi 14
AJ Styles 12
Katsuyori Shibata, Bad Luck Fale, Tetsuya Naito 10
Toru Yano, Kota Ibushi, Togi Makabe 8
Doc Gallows, Hiroyoshi Tenzan 6
It partially explains why Kenta Kobashi is my favourite wrestler - he was a babyface, yes, but he also proved himself a real hero battling against more existential goals such as life and decay. Tenzan is also fighting the same ghosts and fighting them with the same stoicism and refusal to stop. If you can't bring yourself to love him, he at least deserves your respect and admiration.
The mark for this match may not seem like it is warranted after that exposition, but if there's a chance that Tenzan is working his final G1, then I don't want to miss the chance to commemorate that. Tenzan wins with Anaconda Max. ***1/4
KOTA IBUSHI vs. TOGI MAKABE
The result was arguably more important than the process by which it was attained. Ibushi won, marking another victory over a senior wrestler who does not trade in easy falls (he took three straight wins against Ishii this year, lest we forget). The match was decent, but more of a palate cleanser for what was to come. Ibushi flew, Makabe battled, but we knew it was ultimately for naut. ***
HIROSHI TANAHASHI vs. AJ STYLES
If I were to go back and reappraise all of their matches since Styles joined New Japan in 2014, I would downgrade the lot of them. Their 4.25 match from last year's G1 Final (which I called "the best of their three to date) is not something I am dying to see again, which damns the match they had in TNA and in New Japan in 2008 somewhat. The rematch at Kings of Pro-Wrestling for AJ's IWGP Heavyweight champion gained 4.25 and wasn't bad but also not 4.25. I gave their match in Osaka back in February where Styles became 2-time champion a mere 3.25. I've seen it since and hated it.
What was wrong? In the instances of the recent trio of matches: overbooking and overwriting. The matches all existed to support a supplementary storyline which were, in chronological order, the joining of Bullet Club by Jeff Jarrett and Scott D'Amore (worked out great), the return of Yoshitatsu (worked out great) and the return to pre-eminence of Bullet Club (worked out great).
 |
| from last year |
Boy do I feel like a dunce. This was great. And yeah I know I said that about their other matches but this was GREAT. Shed of the weight of the dopey tales and outside rubbish, the two just went about business. Picking up my NJPW World video, I noticed at the outset of the match there was still 60 minutes on the video. I began to anticipate a draw, sudden death, all the tropes of the 'epic-on-paper'.
They didn't do any of that. They started at a low-to-medium lick but gradually turned it up. And up. And up. It was expert-level. No crunching through the gears to signify the home stretch, but a smooth and natural (yes I am aware given the artform how idiotic this sounds) transition that drops us to the best conclusion available.
 |
| I WINS LOL |
Hiroshi Tanahashi won with a couple of High Fly Flows. This leaves some deflated as the only NEW and EXCITING match that we can have in the G1 Final (AJ v Nakamura) is done for. There is still time for that match to take place and any number of avenues by which we can reach it. Please try to recall that every time Tanahashi faces either Nakamura, or especially Okada, it is usually lights-out stuff. ****1/2
BLOCK A RESULTS
Hiroshi Tanahashi 14
AJ Styles 12
Katsuyori Shibata, Bad Luck Fale, Tetsuya Naito 10
Toru Yano, Kota Ibushi, Togi Makabe 8
Doc Gallows, Hiroyoshi Tenzan 6
G1 CLIMAX 25: DAY EIGHTEEN NEARLY HALF OF ONE JESUS IN A DESERT
Ryōgoku Kokugikan, Tokyo
15th August 2015
Block B is closer because Karl Anderson and Hirooki Goto can potentially win or at least figure in the reckoning (is this right?) but let us face it is all coming down to Okada vs. Nakamura and would stake everything I own on it (which is a small wager as I own little). There's also more interest outside of the G1 matches as reDRagon take on Yohei Komatsu/Sho Tanaka and The Young Bucks take on David Finley Jr/Jay White in what must constitute the first non-title, non-tournament junior tag matches for approximately six years. We go into the interval on the back of a big 10-man tag match, the highlight of which was AJ Styles mixing it up with Kazushi Sakuraba and everyone realising they wanted to see that in a proper match.
YUJIRO TAKAHASHI vs. TOMOAKI HONMA
After the triumph, the fall. Honma loses again. It would be unfair to rate this right now as I am at peak-Yujiro boredom and mentally switch off when he arrived on screen. OH BUT HE'S SUCH A FANTASTIC HEEL. Snore. N/R
TOMOHIRO ISHII vs. MICHAEL ELGIN
Ye gods. Remember last year when, with absolutely NOTHING at stake as well as a fucked shoulder into the bargain, Ishii had a total barnstormer on the last night of the blocks with Yuji Nagata? Well the same goes here. This is bananas.
Elgin doesn't just look comfortable here. He looks like a future champ. He looks like a star. He dominates the opening portion comfortably, with Ishii only able to make attempts at comebacks before #BIGMIKE slams the door shut. It's not just control though; it's brutality.
There's an apron drop spot and then things go really gruesome with a buckle bomb. Into the guard rail. I am sort of glad that a Young Lion stepped in front of the camera at the moment of impact, though my mind painted a picture that was almost too ghastly for words.
From this severe beating, strangely enough, is where Ishii decides to wake up. The two set about each other like a pair of stags butting heads over the only doe for miles. Elgin's strength, stability and tidiness means that New Japan have their own Daisuke Sekimoto in effect, able to perform moves like Stalling German Suplexes without much effort.
Ishii wins a gripping bout full of torment and torture to end strongly after losing to Honma nights before. Elgin may end with a record the wrong side of .500 but I'm struggling to see anyone who doubts him. ****1/2
YUJI NAGATA vs. HIROOKI GOTO
No easy feat to come on behind that. If Goto wins it gets messy at the top, with no time to sort it out, so realistically Nagata is set to win and indeed does. If you can get past such contrivances, and I can, then sit down and enjoy this match for what it is; pleasantly atritional and hard-hitting. ***1/4
SATOSHI KOJIMA vs. KARL ANDERSON
If Karl wins then Nakamura can't win (I think) but again, they're not going to sell such a huge main event down the river. Get past that and enjoy Anderson taking time off being a jerk to target Kojima's big lariat arm and two guys generally mixing it up well for ten minutes. There's some outside bullshit that we could all live without but it's a satisfying conclusion as Kojima wins with the lariat. ***1/4
SHINSUKE NAKAMURA vs. KAZUCHIKA OKADA
It would be crass to accuse Nakamura of 'phoning it in' through the tournament. His elbow looks like a golf ball has grown inside. If you watch him bump, he rolls away from it. Clearly he's in a bit of distress and some of it must be overplayed but no one has less good matches on purpose here (in my view). Besides which - Nakamura's phoning it in is streets ahead of many people's level best.
Last year's G1 Final between the same men was outstanding, a worthy cap to a major success in wrestling history. It had a brave and unequivocal ending between two major stars in their wrestling prime. A year later I semi-advocated the cooling of Nakamura's push to the top the other day. Please Fujiwara, shut the fuck up. This match is why.
After seeing this I strongly believe Okada-Nakamura as a feud has the potential to match Tanahashi-Okada. It's a different kind of feud, more a rivalry between brothers rather than a generational battle, but it has all the compelling elements in place. Not least that both are undisputed stars who can wrestle, really wrestle. This might seem laughable to some, but I believe that current/recent NJPW is of a similar vintage to 90s AJPW, bolstered by its own era-defining feuds between any two of Kobashi, Misawa and Kawada.
Shinsuke Nakamura wins and with the win takes the block after a shoddy start including a loss and a forfeit. Kazuchika Okada doesn't lose anything by this; he remains champ, he beat Nakamura last year, and finishes on the same amount of points as Nakamura. At 1-1 and with nothing decided and people hungry for more, it is poised to grow. This is booking, people.
Like yesterday's main event, they grow into the match and accelerate toward a tremendous, tremulous home straight. Unlike yesterday's main event, the two break up the pace with smart accelerations or outbursts which punctuate the generally good with bursts of the breathtaking, like Okada's sick dropkick on the outside or Nakamura roaring before suddenly dragging Okada out onto the ring, tossing him over the desk and hitting a sprinting knee to the chest.
The sprint down the stretch is unbelievable, with Okada hitting a Rainmaker but cockily refusing the pin and attempting to match his G1 winning trio of lariats. After a terrific struggle, Nakamura hits his incredibly exciting flying armbar into jujigatame. Like last year, Okada struggles and turns. Unlike last year, Nakamura does not let go and Okada taps in agony.
Of course Nakamura has long been performing the armbar, deploying it in the mid-match as a work-over technique in the manner of Tenzan's standard Anaconda Vice, Nagata's Demon Armbreaker or anyone's Abdominal Stretch. Noting the excitement of the crowd every time it hits, it seems only right to elevate this rightfully crushing judo waza to the state of DEATH BULLET.
The two CHAOS honchos bump fists to close. They did it again. ****3/4
BLOCK B RESULTS
Shinsuke Nakamura*, Kazuchika Okada 14
Karl Anderson, Hirooki Goto 12
Tomohiro Ishii 10
Michael Elgin 8
Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima, Yujiro Takahashi 6
Tomoaki Honma 2
Final tomorrow is Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. Also don't forget this:
I'd say 'take my money' but they very much have it already.
Ryōgoku Kokugikan, Tokyo
15th August 2015
Block B is closer because Karl Anderson and Hirooki Goto can potentially win or at least figure in the reckoning (is this right?) but let us face it is all coming down to Okada vs. Nakamura and would stake everything I own on it (which is a small wager as I own little). There's also more interest outside of the G1 matches as reDRagon take on Yohei Komatsu/Sho Tanaka and The Young Bucks take on David Finley Jr/Jay White in what must constitute the first non-title, non-tournament junior tag matches for approximately six years. We go into the interval on the back of a big 10-man tag match, the highlight of which was AJ Styles mixing it up with Kazushi Sakuraba and everyone realising they wanted to see that in a proper match.
YUJIRO TAKAHASHI vs. TOMOAKI HONMA
After the triumph, the fall. Honma loses again. It would be unfair to rate this right now as I am at peak-Yujiro boredom and mentally switch off when he arrived on screen. OH BUT HE'S SUCH A FANTASTIC HEEL. Snore. N/R
TOMOHIRO ISHII vs. MICHAEL ELGIN
Ye gods. Remember last year when, with absolutely NOTHING at stake as well as a fucked shoulder into the bargain, Ishii had a total barnstormer on the last night of the blocks with Yuji Nagata? Well the same goes here. This is bananas.
 |
| Artist's impression |
There's an apron drop spot and then things go really gruesome with a buckle bomb. Into the guard rail. I am sort of glad that a Young Lion stepped in front of the camera at the moment of impact, though my mind painted a picture that was almost too ghastly for words.
From this severe beating, strangely enough, is where Ishii decides to wake up. The two set about each other like a pair of stags butting heads over the only doe for miles. Elgin's strength, stability and tidiness means that New Japan have their own Daisuke Sekimoto in effect, able to perform moves like Stalling German Suplexes without much effort.
Ishii wins a gripping bout full of torment and torture to end strongly after losing to Honma nights before. Elgin may end with a record the wrong side of .500 but I'm struggling to see anyone who doubts him. ****1/2
YUJI NAGATA vs. HIROOKI GOTO
No easy feat to come on behind that. If Goto wins it gets messy at the top, with no time to sort it out, so realistically Nagata is set to win and indeed does. If you can get past such contrivances, and I can, then sit down and enjoy this match for what it is; pleasantly atritional and hard-hitting. ***1/4
SATOSHI KOJIMA vs. KARL ANDERSON
If Karl wins then Nakamura can't win (I think) but again, they're not going to sell such a huge main event down the river. Get past that and enjoy Anderson taking time off being a jerk to target Kojima's big lariat arm and two guys generally mixing it up well for ten minutes. There's some outside bullshit that we could all live without but it's a satisfying conclusion as Kojima wins with the lariat. ***1/4
SHINSUKE NAKAMURA vs. KAZUCHIKA OKADA
It would be crass to accuse Nakamura of 'phoning it in' through the tournament. His elbow looks like a golf ball has grown inside. If you watch him bump, he rolls away from it. Clearly he's in a bit of distress and some of it must be overplayed but no one has less good matches on purpose here (in my view). Besides which - Nakamura's phoning it in is streets ahead of many people's level best.
 |
| What is Shuji Kondo doing? |
After seeing this I strongly believe Okada-Nakamura as a feud has the potential to match Tanahashi-Okada. It's a different kind of feud, more a rivalry between brothers rather than a generational battle, but it has all the compelling elements in place. Not least that both are undisputed stars who can wrestle, really wrestle. This might seem laughable to some, but I believe that current/recent NJPW is of a similar vintage to 90s AJPW, bolstered by its own era-defining feuds between any two of Kobashi, Misawa and Kawada.
Sequence.
Okada's tap face.
#G125 pic.twitter.com/RftlWgQ36r
— jūdokirugā (@judekilgour) August 15, 2015
Shinsuke Nakamura wins and with the win takes the block after a shoddy start including a loss and a forfeit. Kazuchika Okada doesn't lose anything by this; he remains champ, he beat Nakamura last year, and finishes on the same amount of points as Nakamura. At 1-1 and with nothing decided and people hungry for more, it is poised to grow. This is booking, people.
Like yesterday's main event, they grow into the match and accelerate toward a tremendous, tremulous home straight. Unlike yesterday's main event, the two break up the pace with smart accelerations or outbursts which punctuate the generally good with bursts of the breathtaking, like Okada's sick dropkick on the outside or Nakamura roaring before suddenly dragging Okada out onto the ring, tossing him over the desk and hitting a sprinting knee to the chest.
The sprint down the stretch is unbelievable, with Okada hitting a Rainmaker but cockily refusing the pin and attempting to match his G1 winning trio of lariats. After a terrific struggle, Nakamura hits his incredibly exciting flying armbar into jujigatame. Like last year, Okada struggles and turns. Unlike last year, Nakamura does not let go and Okada taps in agony.
Of course Nakamura has long been performing the armbar, deploying it in the mid-match as a work-over technique in the manner of Tenzan's standard Anaconda Vice, Nagata's Demon Armbreaker or anyone's Abdominal Stretch. Noting the excitement of the crowd every time it hits, it seems only right to elevate this rightfully crushing judo waza to the state of DEATH BULLET.
The two CHAOS honchos bump fists to close. They did it again. ****3/4
BLOCK B RESULTS
Shinsuke Nakamura*, Kazuchika Okada 14
Karl Anderson, Hirooki Goto 12
Tomohiro Ishii 10
Michael Elgin 8
Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima, Yujiro Takahashi 6
Tomoaki Honma 2
Final tomorrow is Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. Also don't forget this:
I'd say 'take my money' but they very much have it already.
No comments:
Post a Comment