[2017-07-26-NJPW-G1 Climax] Zack Sabre Jr vs Bad Luck Fale

[bradhindsight]

Talk about it here.

 

PTBN review:

 

 

Sabre tried to hook in a guillotine choke, then a sleeper, but Fale swatted him away and sent him to the floor. El Desperado was squished, leaving Sabre at the mercy of Fale, who drove him into the guardrail and ringpost, then he stayed on top of Sabre – literally – by standing on him. A slam and seated senton got two. Sabre’s attempted crucifix failed, but Fale was soon hit by a Penalty Kick and Sabre made inroads with European uppercuts. Octopus Hold applied, and when Fale tried to power out, Sabre transitioned to a sleeper. Fale backed into the corner with force, however, then crunched Sabre with a splash for two. Sabre slipped out of the Bad Luck Fall and rolled-through into a double heel hook, only for Fale to reach the ropes. Sabre continued to attack the legs until he was smashed with a lariat for two, but he countered the Grenade to a triangle choke. Fale lifted him, Sabre attacked the eyes, and the victory roll pin (just about) gave the Englishman the three-count!

I enjoyed this quite a bit. Both men are distinct in their styles and it ended up meshing very well. Fale’s having a good tournament so far, while Sabre Jr. brings a freshness to every match he’s involved in. ***

 

[William Bologna]

Eesh. Fale's really good at what he does, but he had to get out of his comfort zone here, and it didn't work. Worst match of the tournament so far.

[soup23]

This was a pretty fun cat and mouse match. Fale was pretty clumsy but seeing ZSJ try to put him into a variety of submissions and end up rolling him up for the finish was entertaining. ZSJ has good attention to detail such as his strikes to the leg of Fale right as he is able to roll him up from the leg buckling. I think with a more spirited and athletic Fale performance, this could have entered the very good stage but it was enjoyable to watch. ***