NJPW G1 Climax 2019

[FMKK]

Just catching up on yesterday's show. This needs to be the end of Fale in G1. Throw in Henare or something instead. Fale's went from being a guy who wasn't good but could be carried to something by a quality worker to being someone that Okada, Ospreay and Ibushi haven't managed to get a thing out of. Dogshit. 

I know they probably feel like they need more than one Bullet Club guy in there but surely they can come up with something better.

[El-P]

The only saving grace of Fale this year is that he's a jobber, at least. But yeah, last year, please. I couldn't be bothered to pay attention to his match with Ibushi. Henare has grown on me recently (probably him cutting down his tribal act to a minimum), at this point I wouldn't be opposed to him being throw in there instead of Fale, who's been useless.

Ospreay vs Sabre was as terrific as it looked on paper. I love those two.

Archer is easily the biggest surprise of this G1. Who could have guessed he would be so freaking good ? I loved him terrifying that little kid at ringside too, then say "shut up" to that old lady who made a remark. I thought he could beat Okada, but Okada is Choshu, so no way. Although I would rather have Okada drop this one than a match to Sanada, who's not been that good.

Speaking of which, I thought KENTA looked really good again here, while Sanada was kinda there. The sequence where he dropped KENTA after blocking the explosive knee had him look lost for a few seconds, while KENTA immediately punched him in the head to cover up, so we saw who the veteran is here. I dunno, I'm not feeling Sanada. 

EVIL however is someone I never cared for, but he's having a really good G1. Tana of course is still an awesome worker despite looking physically shot at times. This match exceeded my expectations, with a great finishing stretch in which I believed EVIL could actually beat the Ace.

So, three guys at 8. Interesting.

[FMKK]

I would've preferred Archer to get the win and a future title match as well but I guess they're rolling the unbeaten run as far as it can go to get the maximum drama from the turnaround. In the end, I think Ibushi wins this block with equal points to Okada but with the head to head advantage.

[FMKK]

In another world, this Archer is a huge drawing opponent for Hogan in 1987 or Cena in 2007.

[SmartMark15]

Just now, FMKK said:

In another world, this Archer is a huge drawing opponent for Hogan in 1987 or Cena in 2007.

Was just thinking that the Okada match followed the big WWE babyface formula to a tee and was pretty great for it!

[Makai Club #1]

If he was younger and there was no Jay White, he would be one of the top gaijins in the company. 

[Jmare007]

He might've changed his name but fuckery is still Mox's kryptonite

[Migs]

1 minute ago, Jmare007 said:

He might've changed his name but fuckery is still Mox's kryptonite

Thought the finish was hilarious. His closeness to Shooter was his downfall!

[FMKK]

I think Dave is over-egging the pudding a bit when he was talking about this but the finish and post-match from the Tanahashi match really was something special.

[El-P]

2 hours ago, FMKK said:

 the finish and post-match from the Tanahashi match really was something special.

Oh yeah. Tanahashi thanking seemingly *everyone* at ringside was something else.

BTW, I was right about Yano.   Really funny finish too which played on the fact Mox carried Shota for the entire tour. At some point I was expecting to beat him up out of frustration.

Takagi vs Cobb was the second best Cobb match to me, as Takagi is just that good.

Naito vs Juice had a lot to love, although they did screw up a few spots. Naito, Naito, Naito, how broken down are you gonna get soon....  

White vs Taichi was a tremendous Battle of the Douchebags. Excellent finishing stretch too. You know, I think White is the closest thing to a modern day Jake Roberts as far as how he works.

I was not expecting Goto to win. I guess everything is open still, but to me Mox won one match too many. I mean, if he goes to 12, it's already over for Naito, isn't it ? 
 

Anyway. Prediction : White beats Mox then goes on to 12. Mox beats Goto. On the last day White beats Naito and Juice beats Mox, White goes in the final to do the job to Ibushi.

[Boss Rock]

Gave Tanahashi-EVIL another watch and it's definitely better the second time around though I'm probably still not quite as high as most on it. I think I'd go ****

Cobb-Shingo **** Hard-hitting sprint which is exactly what it needed to be. Shingo was a good match for Cobb who, while still not great, is proving that he's still capable of a strong performance here and there. Very good stuff.

Mox-Yano ***1/2 Yano special! Super fun match aided by the fact that Mox indulged in Yano's schtick. Finish was great.

Naito-Juice ***3/4 Though I've been more optimistic than most about Naito's future, the 2-3 flubs we saw in this match definitely gave me cause for concern. Still, these guys have really good chemistry together and Juice's continued focus and aggression is very welcome. Sloppiness aside there's a lot to love as El-P said.

Taichi-Jay **1/2 Not terrible but just really didn't have much going for it. I actually thought the overbooking shenanigans at the end helped though as it really put the finish in doubt (which is not easy to do when the winner isn't in doubt). Still, this just fell really flat for me. Maybe due to the fact that they're both conniving heels, it just never got the right kind of heat for me.

Ishii-Goto ****1/4 If you liked their match last year then you'll love this. Hard-hitting war of attrition. Nothing more really to be said other than watch this.

[Jmare007]

And there it is, night 1 at Budokan is gonna have one hell of a main event.

[Boss Rock]

Fale-KENTA *** This actually wasn't bad! Fale still sucks in heat segments (and in every other regard quite frankly) but KENTA's aggression was very good against a bigger opponent and made this watchable. The shenanigans were also not as prevalent this time around and Fale using a roll-up on a smaller opponent was actually pretty smart.

Sabre-Archer ***3/4 Really good stuff. Sabre attacking any available limb and Archer still finding ways to overpower him. The counter of the pounce into the guillotine was great.

Ibushi-EVIL ****1/4 EVIL is such a frustrating wrestler to watch because there are times when he's a pretty effective bruiser and other times where he's really just "there". It helped immensely that he was working a quicker opponent like Ospreay so he could counter all his high-flying stuff with power moves. Ospreay's selling continues to be on point and when it comes to output this year, Ishii is really the only one who comes close.

Ibushi-Tanahashi ****3/4 Match of the tournament. Sort of like Okada-Tana they worked the hits a bit, but there was more of a narrative here was as Okada-Tana was more of a showcase. Surprisingly brisk match (by G1 standards) with tons of action and drama. Ibushi's leg selling continues to be iffy but thankfully Tana working it over wasn't a huge part of the match.

Okada-SANADA **** It's a shame the first 15-20 minutes were worked so slowly because the last 10 were incredible. Not to say everything prior was bad and I wouldn't be surprised if they knew they had to let the crowd cool following Tana-Ibushi, but there was just no urgency for much of this. This could be seen as a more cautious approach for SANADA as he knew he was behind the 8-ball, but man this could've been the best match of the year had they stepped on the gas earlier. Still, there may be no wrestler better than Okada at creating drama and putting the result of  a match in doubt.

[Boss Rock]

Also, am I missing something or haven't Tana and KENTA been eliminated? There are only two block matches left and they're both two wins down to Okada who's already beaten them. Why did Kevin Kelly keep saying they were still in contention?

[FMKK]

I definitely read elsewhere that Tana is eliminated. Think Kelly was just mistaken.

[El-P]

Ibushi vs Tanahashi was masterpiece pro-wrestling. Although I gotta say, in the grand scheme of things, I don't think Ibushi is close to Tanahashi (or Okada or Naito) in term of a worker. He's the most spectacular of the bunch and still "great" though. But Tana is just on another level.

I really didn't mind the slower, more deliberate approach of Okada vs SANADA. Reminds me of old-school NJ stuff, Chono vs Muto from the early 90's, which I loved. The final minutes though, were absolutely brillant. Just brillant.

5 hours ago, Boss Rock said:

Still, there may be no wrestler better than Okada at creating drama and putting the result of  a match in doubt.

Totally agree. That motherfucker had me hook line and sinker that 1/he was gonna lose 2/he was gonna win 3/he was maybe not gonna win and a draw was coming 4/he was gonna lose 5/fuck no ? Ok yes. While the booking made all the sense in the world that he had to lose, so the end result was actually predictable (which is not a bad thing at all). Just a fantastic job.

Honestly, time stood still for the ending stretch of those two matches.

Also, EVIL probably is working the best series of matches of his entire career. It probably helps that he's getting Tana & Ospreay back to back. Wait, Okada now ? Hopefully the streak may continue.

And Fale is soooo useless. Put Chase Owens in the G1 next year if you need a jobber, at least we'll get good matches. 

Archer vs ZSJ was everything he could have been and more. Damn, Archer has been a revelation on this, and there's no way ZJS is not one of the most fun guys to watch (unless he's paired with Fale).

[El-P]

5 hours ago, Boss Rock said:

Also, am I missing something or haven't Tana and KENTA been eliminated? There are only two block matches left and they're both two wins down to Okada who's already beaten them. 

Yes, they can get 12 at most, but Okada is already at 12 and beat them both.

5 hours ago, Boss Rock said:

Why did Kevin Kelly keep saying they were still in contention?

Probably confused and exhausted. I must say, like last year, he and Rocky are doing a fantastic job overall.

[FMKK]

57 minutes ago, El-P said:

Ibushi vs Tanahashi was masterpiece pro-wrestling. Although I gotta say, in the grand scheme of things, I don't think Ibushi is close to Tanahashi (or Okada or Naito) in term of a worker. He's the most spectacular of the bunch and still "great" though. But Tana is just on another level.

I really didn't mind the slower, more deliberate approach of Okada vs SANADA. Reminds me of old-school NJ stuff, Chono vs Muto from the early 90's, which I loved. The final minutes though, were absolutely brillant. Just brillant.

Totally agree. That motherfucker had me hook line and sinker that 1/he was gonna lose 2/he was gonna win 3/he was maybe not gonna win and a draw was coming 4/he was gonna lose 5/fuck no ? Ok yes. While the booking made all the sense in the world that he had to lose, so the end result was actually predictable (which is not a bad thing at all). Just a fantastic job.

Honestly, time stood still for the ending stretch of those two matches.

Also, EVIL probably is working the best series of matches of his entire career. It probably helps that he's getting Tana & Ospreay back to back. Wait, Okada now ? Hopefully the streak may continue.

And Fale is soooo useless. Put Chase Owens in the G1 next year if you need a jobber, at least we'll get good matches. 

Archer vs ZSJ was everything he could have been and more. Damn, Archer has been a revelation on this, and there's no way ZJS is not one of the most fun guys to watch (unless he's paired with Fale).

ZSJ managed to pull out the most fun Fale match of the tournament as well, the countout in Korakuen

[Boss Rock]

2 minutes ago, FMKK said:

ZSJ managed to pull out the most fun Fale match of the tournament as well, the countout in Korakuen

Agreed, really liked the approach of that one and the fact that it was short.

[SmartMark15]

My problem with SANADA is that he adds very little to the Okada formula. He plugs into it a little too well that the flaws of that style get accentuated like the slow start and not-super-great looking offense.

[Migs]

9 hours ago, SmartMark15 said:

My problem with SANADA is that he adds very little to the Okada formula. He plugs into it a little too well that the flaws of that style get accentuated like the slow start and not-super-great looking offense.

I thought the 30 minute time limit really ended up improving on their usual match.

[Migs]

13 hours ago, El-P said:

Yes, they can get 12 at most, but Okada is already at 12 and beat them both.

What are the rules when multiple people are tied, though? There's a chance that a lot of guys are at 12, and their losses to Okada might not be deciding factors.

(Not saying this is at all likely, just that the math would be that they haven't officially been eliminated.)

[Boss Rock]

4 minutes ago, Migs said:

What are the rules when multiple people are tied, though? There's a chance that a lot of guys are at 12, and their losses to Okada might not be deciding factors.

(Not saying this is at all likely, just that the math would be that they haven't officially been eliminated.)

They look at the tiebreaker wins for each tie. They had something similar last year with Kenny, Ibushi, Naito, and Sabre all being tied at 12 but since Ibushi beat the other three, he went to the finals.

[Boss Rock]

Ishii-Yano ***3/4 They recaptured the magic of their match last year with Yano having more of a traditional match with Ishii interspersed with his usual cheating. Thought it was a bit strange for Yano to get the better of Ishii in some of the exchanges, but it's always great to see Yano prove he's more than just a comedy wrestler.

Juice-Taichi *** This was fine and some the shenanigans worked better here than they did in the Jay match because Juice is a likable babyface. Juice also having the kicks scouted was a nice touch. Still, this never rose above "fine".

Cobb-Goto *** These two have had much better matches together, but this was still solid. I still don't really see the "Goto is underrated and underutilized" argument as he's been quite inconsistent this tournament.

Moxley-Jay ***3/4 As good as I think Jay has gotten, his tournament has been a tad disappointing. This was still a really good match though, although not on the level of a lot of Mox's other matches. Mox baiting Gedo to use the brass knucks was awesome as was his attacking Jay before the bell.

Naito-Shingo ****1/2 Started off strong but then took off to a completely different level down the finishing stretch. Excellent bombfest with Naito busting out some new moves. Just a shame Shingo is the only one still at 4 right now although I expect that to change (possibly with a win over Ishii).

[NintendoLogic]

KENTA beat Ibushi, so they can't use head-to-head as a tiebreaker if there's a three-way tie between Okada/KENTA/Ibushi since they'd all be 1-1 against each other. I'm pretty sure the tiebreaker would go to KENTA in the event of a four-way tie with them and EVIL. He and EVIL would both be 2-1 against the other two while Okada and Ibushi would be 1-2, and KENTA has the head-to-head advantage over EVIL. Same deal if Tanahashi wins out and creates a five-way tie. KENTA would be 3-1 against the others, Okada/Ibushi/EVIL would be 2-2, and Tanahashi would be 1-3.