G-1 Climax 26

[Fando]

Yeah, that's not what happened.

[NintendoLogic]

I was surprised at how much I liked Ishii/Okada. Since Ishii was involved, I was afraid the match would involve a bunch of endless strike exchanges and pop-up no-selling. But there was none of that, just great hard-hitting wrestling. MOTYC for sure. I have to say, though, that I didn't recognize Gedo with his beard. At first, I was wondering what Jay Briscoe was doing at ringside.

[pol]

Yeah, that's not what happened.

 

My bad. I didn't remember and didn't want to go back and check.

 

I was surprised at how much I liked Ishii/Okada. Since Ishii was involved, I was afraid the match would involve a bunch of endless strike exchanges and pop-up no-selling. But there was none of that, just great hard-hitting wrestling. MOTYC for sure. I have to say, though, that I didn't recognize Gedo with his beard. At first, I was wondering what Jay Briscoe was doing at ringside.

 

Ishii only works matches with Makabe, Goto and Shibata like that. Admittedly he's been matched up with those guys a lot, but it's a total myth that that's all he does.

[soup23]

Omega vs. Goto

 

It all comes down to this. I really wanted to like this match but at best it only was a very good one. Omega’s performance here was more inconsistent than the previous night but overall was still what I would classify as good. There was more overselling and that can be linked into the fact that I think Goto didn’t do enough of top so that when Omega is really emoting, it feels insincere. This was compared to the dickish onslaught Naito was doing to Omega the night before. Goto didn’t bring much to the table here and I see him as really a lost hope in numerous ways to be a main player in the main event picture. The structure here had Omega working as more of a traditional heel which also took me out of the match. A good match, but a disappointing ending compared to the bonafide classic from the night before. ***1/2

[pol]

Omega's emoting almost always feels insincere to me, lol.

 

The NOAH vs. NJPW tag from the undercard is worth a watch. Had that sloppy, vaguely uncooperative vibe you expect from a heated interpromotional match. Felt like something from the days before Japanese wrestling lost its way.

[soup23]

Omega's emoting almost always feels insincere to me, lol.

 

The NOAH vs. NJPW tag from the undercard is worth a watch. Had that sloppy, vaguely uncooperative vibe you expect from a heated interpromotional match. Felt like something from the days before Japanese wrestling lost its way.

 

It can feel that way for sure due to Omega is always going to be giving a "big" performance playing to the cheap seats so to speak. It felt amplified for me in this match because I thought Goto was unable to match any decent character work or viciousness in attacking the limb to justify the emotion.

[drew wardlaw]

Re-watched Naito/Omega, really enjoyed it again. One thing though.... I dont fully understand the term "self conscious epic", but I kind of got that feeling here, and I can't really articulate why. It felt like there was a missing dynamic to the match. There was some heel/heel stuff at the beginning but then Omega worked from underneath and hit some big babyface moves, but it didn't really feel like a face turn. I don't know, it started to feel like they were trying to have a great match rather than trying to win to advance to the finals. Is that what that term means? I don't want to take away from the match too much because it was really awesome, there was just a little something off about it to me.

[soup23]

That is essentially the same point that Timothy brought up on This Week in Wrestling. I can see that to a degree but I did take it that as of the two of these guys, Omega is the face. Omega "tries" to act like the big bad as leader of Bullet Club but deep down he wants to win. Naito has perfected the I dont give a fuck character and that was on displayed here where he gets more satisfaction in the smile he gives when Omega lands on his leg than if he would have actually won. Winning gives him respect but respect isn't something he clamors unlike Omega deep down.

[drew wardlaw]

Oh haha okay I'll have to check that out to hear what he says. Yeah I can see that now. It's not something I picked up on but that makes total sense.

[AstroBoy]

I never would have expected Omega vs. Naito to be that spectacular. All things considered, Omega sold the knee extraordinarily well. The two personalities played off each other so well. The huge spots down the stretch felt earned, the work involving the One Winged Angel was fantastic. Such a great match and definitely my favorite of the tourney. I did enjoy Okada vs. Ishii a good bit as well.

 

Honestly I hope they just pull the trigger on Omega and give him a run with the IWGP belt. We shall see.

[joeg]

I'll be the first to say it. I didn't like Omega vs Naito. At all. They did a lot of cool shit don't get me wrong. But I found Omegas selling uneven and there were several times where after limping around Omega did something super human on that knee like a dive into the 3rd row. That shit just takes me out of it. Also I haven't watched a lot of NJPw the last few months I thought they were both heels so the whole way the match played out confused me

[El-P]

Watching G1.

Japanese puroresu so fresh.

Sweet memories of autumn 99.

 

Tenzan vs. Ishii

Tenzan, the most cursed of the cursed generation. Old and broken down, his offense looking as crappy as ever. Still love the hissing of the crowd. Ishii I remember from WAR. How in the hell did he get so far ? How in the hell did this match got so good after such a lame beginning ? I forgot that it was always Tenzan's game. Never think it's gonna get anywhere, yet, after some point, it often did. Very good indeed. Liking the touch of Kojima at ringside clapping for his old mate.

 

Makabe vs. Tonga

The son of Haku. Way to make me feel either old or wise. Never was a big fan of King Kong Makabe. How old is he by now ? Was part of that gordfosaken mid-00's NJPW before Tanahashi & Co got it back on the tracks of wrestling greatness. Tonga's got some nice phantom running around spots. Match doesn't get good. Tama's got nice make-up, he looks like the bass player for a Trve Polynesian Black Metal band. Make it happen.

 

Bad Luck Fale vs. Goto

I remember Hirooki. He looks like a short samurai. Hey ! This is good ! Simple dynamic, well worked. Fale is mix between Abby, Viscera & Fatu. Angry Samoan I would guess, he's good at his role, like they say. Favourite match thus far, minus the epicness of the last minutes of Bulldog vs Bull earlier on. I want more Fale, he's big, fat, ugly and tatooed and works super well with Goto.

 

SANADA vs. Tanahashi

Last time I saw SANADA, he was an All Japan Rookie in the Playboy tournament, coming out to Saint Seya theme. What happened ? Tanahashi still looks like one of the best wrestler in the world apparently. Maybe he is. Arm selling, beautiful. Leg selling, not so much, but Tanahashi didn't work on it for too long either. Damn, Hiroshi makes this guy look like a star. Excellent match. Interesting result too.

 

Okada vs. Marufuji

The two favourite wrestlers on this board. Marufuji still looks creepy. Okada still looks like an effeminate and sexy version of Christopher Walken in To Live and Let Die. Brutal arm work. Marufuji is ruling it. Yeah, I know why people hate him, but don't count on me. He's sudden, it's a rare breed. Okada is selling his arm with every shot, that's really good. Excellent match again.

 

Apart from Makabe vs Tama, all winners here, with two very strong matches. A Block, nice.

[El-P]

B Block. Session 1.

 

Yano vs. Nakajima

Still have no idea what the hell is Yano supposed to be. Movie producer ? Evil spirit ? Ace tight though. Nakajima, the adopted lovechild of Sasake & Hokuto ? I'm digging the comedy and sneaky work by Yano. I'm digging the stern kicks. Totally decent for what it is. Yano never gets boring.

 

Omega vs. YOSHI-HASHI

Ah, Omega, the DDP-on-coke meta worker. They sure know how to do shit gracefully, although Omega overdoes pretty much everything. Nice trashing YH on the barricades to the horror of some lonely japanese housewifes. Then, stopfest. Spot-spot-spot-spot-spotspotspotspot-spot-spot-spot-spotspotspots. Spots. Stop ! Nice spotfest though. YH is over like a mofo with the Korakuen crowd. Good spotfest. But just that.

 

Elgin vs. EVIL

So, Elgin is NJ's Matanza or something ? Bomb throwing hoss match, which I like. Starts kinda slow and not engaging, but eventually kicks into high, powerful, stiff, gear. Kicking out of many bombs. Too many maybe ? STO should not be a finish after this barrage, but what the hell, EVIL is wearing purple, my favourite color. Good power vs power match.

 

Nagata vs. Naito

Instead of trying to follow Tanahashi's path in becoming the best Muto ever, Naito became a troll heel. Smart. Classy white tuxedo. Old veteran Nagata, from "try to save NJ from Inoki's insanity fame", always a pleasure, always goofy. Naito's attitude is pretty awesome, laid-back motherfucker and tricky as hell. Yeah, Nagata doesn't sell the leg like Tanahashi & Tanahashi sold the arm, but Nagata never sold that well. He still kicks great and knows how to make for an exciting match. How old he is now ? Damn, these old fucks from the 00's do deliver. Very good match.

 

Shibata vs. Honma

Machismo shit and virility contest. Beat. The. Shit. Out. Of. Each. Other. Homna is even more grotesque looking with the balding on the front. Too many failed headbutts I guess. Macho contest = no-selling big spots and "hit me again Johnny". Why not. They do it well, very well. Kinda epic but not too much. Hot finish, Honma is over like crazy too with that Korakuen crowd. Very good indeed, if one likes the testosterone overload. (what the fuck happened to Homna's voice ? Health issues ? Operation ? It gives "raspy" a new meaning)

[El-P]

Thus far.

 

A Block B Block

 

Quite excellent

 

SANADA vs. Tanahashi

Okada vs. Marufuji

 

Damn fine

 

Tenzan vs. Ishii Nagata vs. Naito

Bad Luck Fale vs. Goto Shibata vs. Honma

 

 

Good it is indeed

 

Omega vs. YOSHI-HASHI

Elgin vs. EVIL

 

Unoffensive

 

Yano vs. Nakajima

 

Not good

 

Makabe vs. Tonga

[El-P]

DAY 3. A Block

 

Tenzan vs. Tonga

The one thing I thought watching Tonga : Dollar Bill Y'all ! Dollar Bill Y'all ! So, ok, he's a jobber and dresses like one. Seems to be somewhat of a Randy Orton fan too, which is a no-no with me, especially when using that stupid DDT where the other guy has to pretend he can't do anything while hanging on the ropes. Tenzan's old underdog story is nice and all, but this is a nothing match. Never believed that Tonga could beat Tenzan, never cared that Tenzan would beat Tama.

 

Ishii vs. Goto

I wonder if those slugfest Goto match ever get old. They sure don't with me yet. Hit me ! Hit me again ! No, you hit me ! Again ! This is the inheritance of Kobashi vs Sasaki I guess, for better of worse. Ishii is also quick and smooth working fast counter sequences toward the end. This never cease to be brutal. I like Goto's warrior like aura. Really, really good, if you're into two guys really laying it in and asking for more.

 

Fale vs. Marufuji

Simple story, executed perfectly. Bad Luck Fale warms my heart of tall & fat monster who know how to finally drop down. Marufuji works both around (geometricaly) and with (as a craftman) big Fale and it's quite fun to see him try to take the big tree down. Stinging like an annoying mosquito. Classic stuff. I sure did not expect that ending either. Very good match, the kind that seems so easy and basic but when done well and with reasonable creativity (those kicks from everywhere) produces the most enjoyable experience.

 

SANADA vs. Okada

Damn, that SANADA looks good. He knows when to throw away the T-shirt too. He's got star written on his forehead. And he can work like a mofo. Okada's style is going back to some very basic stuff, like making a dropkick seems big time. Transition wise, a bit on the shaky time early on. Finishing stretch is godlike though, tons of great counters and major offense. Best match of the G1 so far ?

 

Makabe vs. Tanahashi

"Makabe" sounds exactly like a french word which means "dead body". Fitting as Makabe looks like he couldn't give less of a fuck for a while. And those punches through the air, ouh, ugly, King Kong Man. Eventually turns into a decent match with heated ending stretch, after a whole lot of nothin'. Not kicking out of a Spider Twist suplex + flying knee = me happy. A bit late to amount to much of anything but hard to sink Tanahashi.

 

So, Tama Tonga looks like the stinker of the G1 already. Don't tell his father I just said that.

[El-P]

DAY 4. B Block

 

YOSHI-HASHI vs. Honma

I don't get YOSHI-HASHI. At all. Please, NJ regular fans, explain YH to me. I don't get the random capitalization of his first name. I don't get the giant cheerleader baton. He's with CHAOS,so I guess he's a... popular heel ? He's got average ability, average body. He's average ugly. He's like a WAR midcarder. Still, this gets really good, because, as grotesque as he is, Honma is actually that good, even if he's a dick. Interesting how even against ugly, lumpy, average YH, Honma manages to get sympathy for himself.

 

EVIL vs. Nagata

EVIL is quite the generic name. Only in Japan. He's wearing purple though, my favourite color. Nice follow-up attack on Nagata's injured knee. Nagata sells, Nagata feeds and EVIL goes onto other things. EVIL is all over the place here. Nagata still delivers. No, really, EVIL's work is going in every direction. Decent little match. I like old Nagata, he's still way good.

 

Omega vs. Yano

So, what is Yano all about ? I have no clue. He's got great timing though, which is essential for comedy. Omega made an interesting career choice. He told to himself : DDP-circa-95. On-coke. That's what I want to be. They manage to do some really funny goofy shit. Yano is clearly knowing what he's doing. Omega is more than willing to play along. And they still work a match around the ga-ga. I laughed. It worked. Really good actually.

 

Nakajima vs. Shibata

Kickpads that actually mean something. Nakajima looks stoic in classic All Japan style, then has some kind of shit eating grin when he fucks up Shibata. Nice. Shibata is a bit of a machismo show-off though. No-selling here, no-selling there. Hey, Shibata, you can register a bit more than this at times. Intensity and stiff kicks, harite & busting a shoulder. Some of this is excellent. Some would need some pondering. Still very, very, good.

 

Elgin vs. Naito

Love legit strenght feats, so Elgin is my guy. Wonderful hipster beard too. Naito's laid back style leads to slow build, with excellent and focused work on the knee. Which will play a part in the finishing stretch. Good selling by the big guy. Yeah, Naito does blow one spot, and so ? Shit happens. This builds and builds. This is a great match. False finish ! A true false finish, not just a stupid finisher kick-out. Oh yeah, this is a legit great pro-wrestling match. I love Naito's character. I love Elgin's modern agile power man's work. This ruled.

 

First great match of the tournament. And yes, I enjoy comedy.

[El-P]

A Block B Block

****+ as they say

 

Elgin vs. Naito

 

Quite excellent

 

SANADA vs. Tanahashi Nakajima vs. Shibata
Okada vs. Marufuji

SANADA vs. Okada

 

Damn fine

 

Tenzan vs. Ishii Nagata vs. Naito
Fale vs. Goto Shibata vs. Honma

Ishii vs. Goto YOSHI-HASHI vs. Honma

Fale vs. Marufuji Omega vs. Yano

Good it is indeed

 

Omega vs. YOSHI-HASHI
Elgin vs. EVIL

 

Unoffensive

 

Makabe vs. Tanahashi Yano vs. Nakajima

EVIL vs. Nagata

 

Not good

Makabe vs. Tonga

Tenzan vs Tonga

[El-P]

Day 5 A Block

 

Ishii vs. Fale

Fale as Samoan One Man Gang, I like. Fale trying to exchange a-la Vader, much less. Ishii's style can get repetitive and weary if you see too much of him, I can see that now. Don't mesh that well together, the two bullies. Fale looked plodding for the first time. Ended up decent. Disapointment.

 

SANADA vs. Makabe

Makabe more motivated it seems. Too much crappy elbow/punches exchange. Nice finishing stretch like with the Tanahashi match, but Makabe doesn't do a whole lot for me at this point. SANADA without a really worker doesn't deliver quite the same way. Yup yup, weakest G1 card yet, including the rather dismal undercard. What city were they in ?

 

Tenzan vs. Marufuji

Hey, the 00's guys are saving the day. Fuck, Marufuji knows how to chop. Kobashi-like brutal. Tenzan's skin is melting away. Niiiiiice. Tenzan's such an odd beast. He's not very good at anything, yet manages to have good matches with everyone, mostly. Maru is pushing the old vet, who doesn't give in. This is Strong Style^tm. Counters and shit, hit me again and I'll headbutt you in the stomach, rat faced punk. Some of those kicks are safe like Lance Storm, but crowds eats it. Very good. Hell, maybe excellent after all. Yeah ! Respect match of sorts.

 

Tonga vs. Tanahashi

Tonga is doing the Stalker gimmick. I wish this was Windham. Dearding Tonga's match at this point. Well, Tanahashi does a Liger here, giving his opponent way more than he deserves. Tonga just isn't a good worker, sorry. Still his most watchable match, because Tanahashi looks like one of the best worker in the world, still. That upset didn't go over too well. Deflating actually.

 

Goto vs. Okada

I see some Rock influence on Okada. Which are not the best parts of his work. This feels like a routine my-turn your-turn 10's NJ match, from what I've seen. It's really good action but… something is missing for me. Crowd wakes up though. Dunno, this show was though to get through, so this was still a hot finishing stretch at least. Very good stuff, overall, but unengaging to me.

 

Weakest G1 show, undercard & G1 matches. Isn't the G1 way too long these days ?

[Childs]

I'm catching up on the G1 and got to Omega-Naito yesterday. I have to agree with Chad and Shoe that it was a genuinely great match. I've had major reservations about Omega ever since he emerged as a touted wrestler. But his performance here was absolutely convincing; felt like he'd give everything in his body and soul to win the tournament and make his name. It was a consciously "big" match, but that felt right for the setting, and the fans took the ride with them.

[El-P]

YOSHI-HASHI vs. Nagata

Everything YOSHI-HASHI does seems so random to me. Nagata can still have a good match with anyone with enough ability, so there you go.

 

EVIL vs. Nakajima

Best EVIL match by far. Nakajima has a Naoki Sano quality to him, he looks stoic and polite, then at some point kicks you really hard and shows unexpected intensity. Maybe kicked out of too much stuff, but this was really good.

 

Naito vs. Yano

So, no one wants to explain me Yano ? *sigh* This was bullshit but too short to amount to anything. Funny enough though.

 

Honma vs. Omega

Omega is trying way too hard. This didn't click with me. Probably burned out a bit already. They overdid the epicness at the end. Too much no-selling of big stuff like double nelson suplex. Good match but… Omega is really odd. Just settle down A BIT.

 

Shibata vs. Elgin

Stiff as fuck, as we used to say. So, the whole "please, hit me hard" is a new trope that is fun for awhile but can get silly quickly. Lots of cool strenght and kicking stuff. Some really ridiculous selling too. Good. expected better.

Yeeeeeah, I'm getting burned out and tired of some stuff that are cool when fresh but tiresome when not fresh anymore. A bunch of good matches but nothing going to the next level. maybe that was the issue for this show. The G1 Climax is officially WAY too long.

[El-P]

A Block B Block
****+ as they say

 

Elgin vs. Naito

 

Quite excellent

 

SANADA vs. Tanahashi Nakajima vs. Shibata
Okada vs. Marufuji
SANADA vs. Okada

Tenzan vs. Marufuji

 

Damn fine

 

Tenzan vs. Ishii Nagata vs. Naito
Fale vs. Goto Shibata vs. Honma
Ishii vs. Goto YOSHI-HASHI vs. Honma
Fale vs. Marufuji Omega vs. Yano

Goto vs. Okada YOSHI-HASHI vs. Nagata

EVIL vs. Nakajima

 

Good it is indeed

 

Omega vs. YOSHI-HASHI
Elgin vs. EVIL

Honma vs. Omega

Shibata vs. Elgin

 

Unoffensive

 

Makabe vs. Tanahashi Yano vs. Nakajima
Ishii vs. Fale EVIL vs. Nagata

SANADA vs. Makabe Naito vs. Yano

Tonga vs. Tanahashi

 

Not good
Makabe vs. Tonga
Tenzan vs Tonga

[topropepodcast]

Finally caught Omega vs. Naito. I've never liked Omega, and this match didn't change that. He's just so fucking hammy, even later day HBK would tell him to take it down a notch. And to piggyback off others, yeah, the "oh, my knee hurts so much, so here's a giant fucking springboard" spot really, really didn't work for me.

[El-P]

Yeah. I kinda gave up on the whole thing because knowing it's Omega going to the finals… He's a better comedy worker than a legit one. Mucho potential, but settle the fuck down.

[El-P]

Back to the G1 after Day 6 almost killed my urge.

 

Makabe vs. Tenzan

Two old broken down fuckers beating teh hell out of each other, I can like that. Although it's not exactly Tenryu vs Choshu. Damn, this match is ugly, but the simplistic tone carried by Tenzan makes it the best Makabe has looked thus far, no need to kill time with useless nothing. They just do at it, it doesn't look good, it's not very stiff but they do sell well enough to make me buy it. So, that was good in a butt-ugly way.

 

SANADA vs. Goto

Goto is really the middle-road man, good, never bad, never great. SANADA seems to be as good as his opponent, so this was good in a very middle-of-the-road way. Like, nothing engaging, nothing repulsive. Not a productive pairing, that's all.

 

Ishii vs. Marufuji

Stiffness alert. I love MAru as a heavy veteran stiffing the shit out of everyone. Ishii is so much more than just stiff elbows and headbutts BTW, he does so many little things right, selling, reacting, even quick sequences demanding athleticism and crazy timing. Maru must be the most brutal chopper this side of Kobashi. I guess he figured "Ok, I can't fly like I used to, what can I do instead ? Oh yeah, this. *wham*". I pity his opponents. This match is the kind that builds a regular climb to excellence. Clap clap clap.

 

Okada vs. Tonga

Now that's I'm at the stage where the novelty wore off, I kinda know what to expect. So Tongo = Stalker facepaint + bad pants + boring match. This is actually the best he looked (along with the Tana match), thanks to a very giving Okada. Maybe a bit of lack of hierarchy sense in these matches, Okada, IWGP champ, should run over our favourite son-of jobber. Finishings stretch was not bad at all. Match was not exactly good.

 

Bad Luck Fale vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Big Samoan brute vs Tanahashi palying underdog. That works on paper. And holy shit, Fale is an angry Samoan ! Those barricades shots are wicked. Tanahashi makes Fale look liek he never did before, but Fale does work his ass off, sweating a whole bunch and overworking himslef into what is probably his best single match ever. The one thing I don't care for is his finisher, but he's one big monster who knows how to use his body and also take offense (he bumped well for that frankensteiner, damn !). Tanahashi is probably still a top 5 worker in the world from what I've seen thus far, he's everything right about pro-wrestling. Really, really good stuff ! Fale with the right guy = garanteed fun. Plus he looks Abbyesque.

 

Hey, Day 7 got me back on track. Tanahashi & Marufuji are awesome.

[El-P]

DAY 8 - B Block

 

Honma vs. Yano

Standart Yano bullshit, which works well with goofy-grotesque Homna. It's interesting how Japanese wrestlers are so much better on average at working comedy than US guys. I mean, from guys who can also work serious, very good matches. Anyway, this is Yano doing his thing. Ya know the drill.

 

EVIL vs. YOSHI-HASHI

Both guy from the middle of the card I'm slowly learning to enjoy more, although I'll never be a fan of YH indierrific tendencies. EVIL is much more solid it seems. This pairing works though, as YH makes a good underdog and the equal footing creates a nice dynamic in which I can buy YH actually going to the extent he does to win a match. Hell, I was disappointed for him when EVIL kicked out at one point, so they made it work nicely. Really good match indeed.

 

Nakajima vs. Nagata

Kicks. Lots of them. And Nakajima actually being a dick by jumping old man Nagata. Damn. Those knees in the chest, he had it coming. This is my kind of stuff, especially when a grumpy guy kicks a young punk really hard and the young punk retaliates. This is where slaps exchange work too. Simply excellent.

 

 

Omega vs. Elgin

I hate to be negative about a match that had so much really good stuff going on. Best Omega has looked. But really, when you make a bunch of headropping and powerpomp neck first into the corner look irrelevant, you lose me completely. To the point the kick outs at teh end annoy me because it's like nothing matters. Yes, indeed it reminds me of Cena vs Owens, and it's not a compliment at all. So there, it built as being very very good and ended it doing ROH no-sell/kick-out galore bullshit. No idea what to do with this. I guess I'd say it was good, because it was really good then really stupid.

 

Naito vs. Shibata

And this is the exact opposite. Everything made sense, the selling was great and consistent, the work was smart. Naito was like a trolling shark, with great stalling and great attacks on the injuries. They milked the submissions like crazy. The counters were on point, beautiful and at the right time. Naito got dropped on his head and guess what ? He stayed laying down face against the mat. Man, this match was terrific. Leaning on MOTYC to me. Naito really is something else despite not having the most crisp or impressive offensive repertoire. But his facials, sellinga dn body language is beautiful. And Shibata did an ace job as the injured warrior pulling through. Yeah, beautiful match.

 

One hell of a card, with a super hot crowd. Day 8, what a day.