Night 9
Date: July 27, 2019
From: Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium (Aichi, Japan)
Undercard Results:
Taichi, Suzuki, & Kanemaru def. Cobb, Narita, & Tsuji
Jay White, Yujiro, & Chase def. Juice, Honma, & Henare
Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii def. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI
Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi def. Jon Moxley & Shota Umino
A Block Matches:
Kota Ibushi def. Lance Archer
Once again, Archer continues to impress with another terrific match against Kota Ibushi. As expected Ibushi worked mainly as the underdog in peril to the much bigger opponent. If anything, Ibushi plays that role perfectly and I couldn’t think of a better big mean villain to go along with that than Archer. In comparison to the other Archer matches though, this one had a faster pace than usual. It did not overstay it’s welcome and it took two Kamigoye’s to actually put Archer down at the 11 minute and 42 second mark. A nice way to set the bar for the rest of the matches.
Will Ospreay def. Bad Luck Fale
The match itself? Not much happened other than your usual Ospreay moveset and Fale shenanigans with Jado and Chase. The only noteworthy thing really is the finish, original referee which I believe to be Marti Asani gets knocked out, Fale does a lot of B.S. and then Red Shoes goes in for the count, but wait… He hates the Bullet Club just as much as Yoshi Tatsu and disqualifies Fale, getting the first DQ finish of the entire tournament this year! DQ’s were a frequent occurrence in last year’s G1 with Fale and Tama, but if they do it in small doses like this, it actually means something. Red Shoes is the true MVP of this match.
EVIL def. Zack Sabre Jr.
Many times they’ve faced each other in the past, ZSJ always had EVIL’s number. But this year it’s a different story for Zack. Everyone in the field has experienced his submission techniques and have found solutions to counter them, EVIL is no different. While I prefer their past matches, this one isn’t a slouch either. A solid 16 minute bout with two drastically different styles and they never disappoint. Everything is Evil for the win.
Hiroshi Tanahashi def. SANADA
This match felt like it had it all. A story of the young star going against the veteran Ace of the universe. Technical holds to strong strikes. While Okada is the current face of New Japan right now and rightfully so, during this match it felt like SANADA is the honorary successor to Tana, at least that’s how I felt. Both idolized Keiji Mutoh as well so there’s that. A great back and forth between them and my only complaint is for SANADA to actually get the win but I understand he is going against the defending G1 winner so they don’t want Tana looking weak and he is still capable of being a good wrestler after all, his G1 sendoff is still pretty far. After 18 minutes of action, the High Fly Flow was effectively used to take home the victory.
Kazuchika Okada def. KENTA
A dream match at least a decade in the making. One man is the greatest champion in company history while the other is still treated as an outsider, trying to redeem himself at home. Anytime New Japan visits America for Mania weekend, I always see photos of Okada not only hanging out with his mentor Shinsuke Nakamura, but KENTA as well. Always had this as one of my dream matches and boy did it deliver. Probably my favorite KENTA match so far, even better than the ones he had with Ibushi and Tanahashi earlier on. Instead of being the disrespectful wrestler to veterans, he’s the one playing the vet role this time against a much younger and faster opponent. Going into this match both men are undefeated, this one had the most glimpses of the KENTA of old. His past matches you may see moves or spots that remind you of what has been, but this one throughout the match, I felt the intensity a young KENTA would’ve exuberated. Okada really does bring out the best out of anyone. There were instances where KENTA could’ve won and I wouldn’t mind actually since Okada does need a fresh challenger for his title but I guess it’s not meant to be right now. KENTA’s streak on New Japan has been ended with a Rainmaker after a glorious 26 minute match. Imagine if his younger self would’ve wrestled here, it could very well rival if not be better than Okada vs. Omega but alas that will only be a dream for eternity.
