[2017-07-21-NJPW-G1 Climax] YOSHI-HASHI vs Tetsuya Naito

[bradhindsight]

These guys took the main event slot seriously, thought this was really hard hitting and a great Naito performance carrying YH to a ***3/4 match.

 

From Ioan's review at PTBN:

 

 

Yoshi started well, using a couple of shoulder blocks, a scoop slam and chops, but Naito’s pace allowed him to score a low dropkick and the rope-hung over-the-knee drop. After a brief trip to the floor, Naito continued to target Yoshi’s neck with back elbows and a neckbreaker, but his cockiness eventually gave Yoshi an opening for a running blockbuster. The ‘rana connected, and Yoshi fired up to hit a rope-hung dropkick for two, although Naito cut him off with another over-the-knee drop and the reverse version of his slingshot dropkick. Naito’s tornado DDT was blocked, as was Yoshi’s neckbreaker, but the latter scored a double stomp instead. Shoulderbreaker and a pinning powerbomb for two. Naito again used his pace to block the follow-up and hit a German suplex, but was unable to land Gloria.

 

Yoshi’s mule kick led to the suplex-neckbreaker and he headed up top, only to get cut off, with Naito scoring a super frankensteiner. Gloria – two-count only! Yoshi countered Destino into a face-first slam and both men were down. Once up, they pummelled each other with elbows and strikes, Naito was wobbled by Yoshi’s kicks, and Yoshi followed a counter-Codebreaker with the Butterfly Lock. Naito powered up, so Yoshi hit a backstabber then landed the swanton! Two-count only. Back to the Butterfly Lock, with Naito twice pulled to the middle of the ring, and just when he looked to be fading he dragged himself to the ropes. Naito desperately blocked Karma, and hit a Koppu kick, but was turned inside-out with a lariat for a near-fall! Karma was countered mid-air into Destino – two-count only! Destino! One, two, three!

I thought this was very good. The crowd reaction – firmly in favour of Naito, cheering him as though he were the underdog – made for an interesting dynamic in a YOSHI-HASHI match, and it seemed to me they were playing off Naito still suffering the effects of Monday’s match with Ibushi. The build was steady, but eventually, somehow, they had the crowd believing that Naito would have to escape with the win. Which he did. ***3/4

 

[soup23]

This had a weird vibe to it. The neck work by Naito was good and YH sold it well. Then YH made his comeback and I was excited as I thought this would be a nice 15 minute affair to end the night. Unfortunately, the match goes about 7 minutes beyond that and I never found YH credible. Add to that him kicking out of things like a Destino which feels ill advised and this was the least successful match of the whole night in my eyes. Really good in some parts but uneven in others. ***