By Jhester Metchado@SuperMastodon
Night 17
Date: August 10, 2019
From: Nippon Budokan (Tokyo, Japan)
Undercard Results:
Jon Moxley & Shota Umino def. Juice Robinson & Ren Narita
Jeff Cobb & Toa Henare def. Toru Yano & Tomoaki Honma
Taichi, Suzuki, & Kanemaru def. Ishii, Goto, & YOSHI-HASHI
Naito, Shingo, & BUSHI def. Jay, Yujiro, & Chase
A Block Matches:
Lance Archer def. EVIL
A Block Finals was kicked off with a match between Lance Archer and EVIL. Thought it was a nice matchup to set the bar. Both men had a great tournament up to this point with Archer being the standout star amongst everyone else in the block. While EVIL tried to fight off the much bigger opponent, the American Psycho finally got a third victory before he caps off his 5th G1 with the EBD Claw at the 10 minute mark.
Bad Luck Fale def. SANADA
All throughout the tournament I’ve been nothing but negative on Fale but this time, I gotta give credit where credit is due. He actually had a decent match against SANADA to end the tournament. Obviously it wasn’t a 5 star classic or anything, but serviceable enough for me to rate it as good. There’s still that dojo trained man inside of Fale, he just rarely busts it out nowadays but when he does, you get a fun little match like this one. Ring General at it again though with his upsets, pinning SANADA with an Inside Cradle also at the 10 minute mark with 38 seconds to add. So yeah not a bad way to conclude his possible final G1 for Fale, as for SANADA, a title shot could be on the horizon once more.
Zack Sabre Jr. def. KENTA
Quite the history between these two men and fittingly enough, it takes place in the Budokan. For those who don’t know, KENTA and ZSJ were in Pro Wrestling NOAH, with the latter even training at the promotion’s dojo. One of the trainers at said dojo who really made it feel like hell for the students was KENTA. ZSJ had a nice little run over at NOAH in their junior heavyweights division, at this point KENTA was already on his way out to go to the WWE. Years later as their paths diverged, they meet again this time in an NJPW ring. Budokan was the home of All Japan Pro Wrestling for many years, NOAH of course can trace its roots back to AJPW so many dots are connected with this one match. I just love stuff like this so forgive me for ragging on for too long but anyways onto the match.
Knowing his background of injuries, ZSJ really exploited KENTA’s right arm and shoulder. At some points, the shots he was taking were even making me cringe just for how real they looked like. Felt like s**t regardless for him. It was a really great match, one of KENTA’s best performances, while Zack did his usual submission moves, he got into some strike exchanges with the opposition too. In the end, the kohai got the best of his senpai with ZSJ making KENTA give up with an armbar straight to the injured spot. Very intense match, couldn’t think of a better way to cap off their respective G1’s.
Will Ospreay def. Hiroshi Tanahashi
One of the most anticipated matches in the A Block is this one. Hiroshi Tanahashi, The Ace of the Universe taking on someone who is willing to do anything to reach a similar spot in his career, The reigning IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion: Will Ospreay. As we know already, Ospreay is arguably the Wrestler of the Year for 2019. He had flawless performances in the NJ Cup, BOSJ, the Australian tour, and now the G1! Him defeating a superstar in the caliber of Tanahashi would cement his own legacy forever in the history of New Japan Pro Wrestling. He was able to accomplish that after such an intensified and fast paced match. Both men clearly gave it their all, even Tana who we know can still deliver instant classics despite the state of his body. The shots both men hit each other, especially from Ospreay to Tana such as the missile kick to the face were just crazy. Tana also reversing Ospreay’s move into a Slingblade was a thing of beauty as well. The Hidden Blade is one of the most devastating looking maneuvers in wrestling today, the way Ospreay hits his opponent with it make you feel like he would literally cut their heads off! Just insane stuff from top to bottom, all compacted into a nicely timed 17 minute affair.
Ospreay is being groomed as the next top babyface gaijin after Kenny Omega. After defeating The Ace with a Stormbreaker, that spot could truly be his one day.
A Block Finals:
Kota Ibushi def. Kazuchika Okada
A match 6 years in the making. That’s how long it has been since the last singles encounter of The Rainmaker and The Golden Star. A lot has happened in between those years and now, they face off with a chance to headline the Tokyo Dome. It’s winner takes all, if it went down to a time limit draw however, Okada wins. But of course that wasn’t what happened, a match they’ve been protecting for a long time, Kota Ibushi is finally able to get a win over Kazuchika Okada. The match itself was obviously good, I mean it’s two of the very best wrestlers in the whole world today BUT. It’s clear they aren’t going all out. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a fantastic match, borderline 5 stars even, but they’re saving up for more to come. As they say in Dragon Ball, their final form or full potential haven’t even been released yet.
The action was mainly contained inside the ring. They definitely got you glued throughout the 25 minutes of the entire match. I was a little underwhelmed though because I know both men are capable of so much more but I guess we all have to be patient to witness the true greatness these two have to offer. Still, it is undoubtedly one of the best G1 matches this year and a perfect way to conclude the A Block. Ibushi gained one step closer to the top and enters the finals second year in a row by defeating the man at the very top. It took two Kamigoye’s to secure one of the most important victories of his entire career.
A Block Final Leaderboard:
14 Points = Kota Ibushi (Finalist), Kazuchika Okada
8 Points = Tanahashi, Ospreay, KENTA, SANADA, EVIL, Fale, ZSJ
6 Points = Lance Archer
