Night 11
Date: July 30, 2019
From: Takamatsu City General Gymnasium #1 (Kagawa, Japan)
Undercard Results:
Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, & Tsuji def. Ishii, Honma, & Uemura
Toru Yano & Ren Narita def. Jon Moxley & Shota Umino
Jay White, Yujiro, & Chase def. Taichi, Suzuki, & Kanemaru
Naito, Shingo, & BUSHI def. Juice, Cobb, & Henare
A Block Matches:
Kota Ibushi def. Bad Luck Fale
A forgettable match. Just a slog. It’s harsh but a Honma match would’ve been more entertaining. Okada and Ibushi can’t get a good match out of Fale, hopefully this is a sign it’s over for him next year. I don’t really do match ratings but if I were to follow the Meltzer scale, this is what you can call a DUD.
Zack Sabre Jr. def. Will Ospreay
Kevin Kelly mentioned on commentary that this is the first British vs. British matchup in the entire history of the G1. It’s pretty crazy but I don’t know any other British wrestlers besides these two and Lord Steven Regal that have competed so there you go, a fun little fact. What was also fun is the match itself, man was it good! After that nothing match between Ibushi and Fale, we were treated with a nice clash of styles between ZSJ and Ospreay. One wrestles in the classic submission World of Sport way while the other has a heavy influence from the rich history of lucha libre. The match was worked perfectly from top to bottom. ZSJ mainly working on Ospreay’s injury and the latter really sold me on his underdog run throughout the match. In theory a matchup between a highflyer and technical wrestler may not work but these are very much familiar with each other at this point and as Rocky said they are two of the best British wrestlers today so it’s no surprised that they brought one helluva match to the table! Lots of counter wrestling as well, just every second mattered and got you glued to the screen. In the end Zack got another win over the junior heavyweight champ. I was hoping for an Ospreay victory and maybe get a re-match down the line at Royal Quest but it doesn’t look like it’s going to head that way. “Hurrah! Another Year, Surely This One Will Be Better Than the Last; The Inexorable March of Progress Will Lead Us All to Happiness” managed to get ZSJ the win, plus imagining Ospreay as Boris Johnson probably helped too.
Kazuchika Okada def. Lance Archer
Before Okada could even remove his glorious gear, Archer attacked him and that’s mainly the story for the first half of this match. Okada getting decimated by the American Psycho. Lance is even more crazier than usual, attacking and scaring anyone in his sights. Young lions, camera men, referee, and even a little kid! Archer making kids cry, just another weekday for him. Anyway Okada would rally back and eventually get the win after a single Rainmaker. There were some complaining about that but you have to remember, Okada is being presented as the greatest wrestler alive in New Japan. Having his finisher get kicked out often would diminish it so I didn’t mind it at all. I was surprised when it first occurred but it just goes to show you we are pretty much used to false finishes at this point, so yeah a one hit KO isn’t so bad. Later on Okada went to the kid and cheered him up, can’t get any more babyface than that.
SANADA def. KENTA
Another match wherein KENTA is going up against a New Japan talent for the first time in SANADA. I have to address this somewhere so I’ll go on ahead and do it here, apparently some Japanese fans are really not welcoming of KENTA according to the Super J-Cast twitter, especially in the YouTube comments where he isn’t exactly treated nicely, getting sentiments such as “he should’ve stayed in NOAH” and “be gone from the company” stuff like that. It just opened my eyes that there are those typical fans in Japan as well, I guess having “smart marks” if you will isn’t solely a Western idea but for the rest of the world. I for one like KENTA and what he’s been doing so far but from their perspective and if they are long time New Japan fans I get it but they might have to deal with it for I see KENTA staying for a long time.
Now with that out of the way, onto the match. I thought it was just another decent match. Nothing really stands out, it had a similar pace to his Ibushi match at opening night. At least that’s how I felt. SANADA actually wins with the Mutoh Moonsault and I guess they’re building him up to be Okada’s first defeat or draw and eventually face again for the title. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always liked Okada and SANADA matches but it feels like it’s been overdone in such a short span of time. I would’ve preferred KENTA challenging for the title instead as it is something new but that may be on the back burner for now.
Hiroshi Tanahashi def. EVIL
Main event of the night is between The Ace and The King of Darkness. For the fans who just got into New Japan this year, I think this is the best showcase for you to understand why Tana is such a beloved figure. You can see how instantly he can get the crowd riled up and cheer him, leading to a victory or at the very least a solid comeback. Men, women, children, all are rooting for Tana despite knowing the damage that has taken a toll on him for the past decade, carrying the company in his back and saving New Japan from obscurity. Have to give props to EVIL as well for playing the heel role for the most part, it’s like him in Naito’s shoes during this match, another one of Tana’s rivals. He is very much past his prime now but it shows you that with proper story and opponent, Tanahashi can still bust out instant classics if he damn well pleases. Another High Fly Flow gets the win but how much more can he take?
A Block Leaderboard:
12 Points = Kazuchika Okada
8 Points = Hiroshi Tanahashi, KENTA, Kota Ibushi
6 Points = EVIL
4 Points = SANADA, Lance Archer, Will Ospreay, Zack Sabre Jr.
2 Points = Bad Luck Fale
