{"id":13169,"date":"2019-08-09T15:18:40","date_gmt":"2019-08-09T14:18:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/?p=13169"},"modified":"2019-08-09T15:26:09","modified_gmt":"2019-08-09T14:26:09","slug":"g1-climax-29-night-15-and-16-results-and-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/2019\/08\/09\/g1-climax-29-night-15-and-16-results-and-review\/","title":{"rendered":"G1 Climax 29 Night 15 and 16 – Results and Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Jhester Metchado@<\/strong>SuperMastodon<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Night 15<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Date: August 7, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From: Hamamatsu Arena (Shizuoka, Japan)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Undercard Results:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taichi, Suzuki, & Kanemaru def. Yano, Tsuji,\n& Uemura<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI def. Jon Moxley &\nShota Umino<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jay, Yujiro, & Chase def. Juice, Honma, &\nHenare<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naito, Shingo, & BUSHI def. Ishii, Cobb, &\nNarita<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Block Matches:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SANADA\ndef. Lance Archer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To kick things off with Night 15 of the G1, we got a\npretty fun solid match between SANADA and Archer, which is to be expected from\nboth workers of their caliber at this point. Archer dominated the majority of\nthe early going as expected, even attacking SANADA before he could even remove\nhis entrance gear. I personally wanted Archer to win because despite looking\nlike a big tough monster, he does still need a solid win here or there but\nwe’ve faced a dilemma with SANADA fresh off a victory beating Kazuchika Okada\nso you don’t want the man who defeated the World Champion getting defeated by\none of the wrestlers losing the block. Still though, a good match to start the\nnight of action, Archer is yet to find a solution for sneaky wins as SANADA\ngets him with an O’Connor Roll at the 10 minute and 28 second mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bad\nLuck Fale def. Hiroshi Tanahashi<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ragging on Fale at this point is pretty much my\nversion of beating a dead horse. I mean if a prime Okada and Ibushi couldn’t\nget a good match out of him, a broken down Tanahashi certainly couldn’t and man\nI just wanted this match to be over as soon as it started. It was your usual\nFale match with him dominating with interferences sprinkled in from Jado and\nChase. He wins with another wrestling move believe it or not, a backslide pin\ntowards The Ace. Fale didn’t need the win but whatever. A meh match with a meh\nfinish. I can’t believe I’m hating on a match involving Tanahashi but here we\nare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will\nOspreay def. KENTA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two of the best junior heavyweights of their\nrespective generations finally collided. A fun tidbit on social media when\nOspreay tweeted he watched the classic KENTA vs. Kanemaru match from NOAH 2005,\nif you haven’t seen that yet I recommend you doing so, one of the greatest\nmatches ever in Puroresu of the past decade! Anyway, as for the match itself, I\ndid not expected it to be as hard hitting as it went. The parts where KENTA is\ndoing a solid on Ospreay’s injured neck such as dropping him on it or kicking,\nit makes me cringe. I guess it’s the good kind of cringe though? But yeah,\npretty brutal stuff. There were some obvious botches here and there, the\ninjuries and wear & tear of the tournament is taking a toll on KENTA at\nthis point but he’s still a true pro, transitioning said botches to solid\naction. I thought they even played into the story as a whole with the much\nolder wrestler, unable to keep up with the much younger yet still equally\nbroken down opponent. It’s like Great Sasuke and Jushin Liger back then, two\nlegendary juniors on their own right, making botches a part of the long term\nstorytelling. This specific match shouldn’t be remembered for that though, it\nis one of KENTA’s best efforts in his New Japan run so far and obviously you\ncannot have a bad match with Will Ospreay at this point of his career. As far\nas I can remember, KENTA was not able to hit the GTS, Ospreay finishes him with\na Stormbreaker but before he could do so, hits one of the most devastating\nHidden Blades ever! One of the best 16 minute matches for sure if there is such\na thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kota\nIbushi def. Zack Sabre Jr.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Every time these two are in the ring, something\nspecial happens.” Kevin Kelly couldn’t have said it any better. If you’re\nnew to NJPW then the long term story between these two is actually pretty cool.\nRemember the Cruiserweight Classic back in 2016? Ibushi and ZSJ both\nparticipated in that. Lot of fans had it as their finals but they were\neliminated at the semis. Advance a year later, both men continued making waves\nin New Japan and became two of the best wrestlers in the entire roster, such is\nthe miss of the WWE. But you know what, I’m glad they didn’t sign with them as\nI think they fit New Japan better and they’ll probably get misused past NXT.\nAnyway, they’ve faced off in singles action twice already and this is the\nrubber match if you will. If you only know Ibushi as a highflyer who can strike\nthen this match definitely showcased his technical prowess. Lots of beautiful\ncountering from the two and it’s just they’re seemingly allergic to having bad\nmatches altogether. Zack trying to get in the head and emotions if Ibushi for\nthe most part makes for some of the best comebacks ever. By the end though, the\nGolden Star captures the victory with the patented Bomaye + Kamigoye\ncombination at the 15 minute and 46 second mark. Another instant classic\nbetween these two, they just never fail to deliver!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kazuchika Okada def. EVIL<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photo (c) njpw1972.com<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Main event for Night 15, Kazuchika Okada faces\nanother member of LIJ and the hometown boy himself: “King of\nDarkness” EVIL. Like with Ibushi and ZSJ, these two are perfect for each\nother as well whenever they go at it in singles action, dare I say even better\nthan Okada vs. SANADA. I prefer more on the high intensity, hard hitting\nmatches and that’s what we always get from Okada and EVIL. Brawling to the\noutside, multiple back-and-forth in the ring, just nonstop fast paced action from\ntop to bottom. Once again for those fans who aren’t that into long rigorous\nmatches, then this may be not for you, but I would still suggest you give it a\nchance as both wrestlers gave a performance that will really make you glue your\neyes to the screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Block Leaderboard:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

14\nPoints<\/strong> = Kazuchika Okada<\/p>\n\n\n\n

12\nPoints<\/strong> = Kota Ibushi<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8\nPoints<\/strong> = SANADA, Hiroshi Tanahashi, KENTA, EVIL<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6\nPoints<\/strong> = Bad Luck Fale, Will Ospreay, Zack Sabre Jr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4 Points<\/strong> = Lance Archer<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Night\n16<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Date: August 8, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From: Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium (Kanagawa, Japan)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Undercard Results:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shota Umino & Ren Narita def. Yota Tsuji &\nYuya Uemura<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fale, Yujiro, & BUSHI def. SANADA, EVIL, &\nBUSHI<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suzuki, Archer, & ZSJ def. KENTA, Connors, &\nFredericks<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Okada, Tanahashi, & YOSHI-HASHI def. Ibushi,\nOspreay, & Henare<\/p>\n\n\n\n

B Block Matches:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toru\nYano def. Taichi<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A match highly anticipated for ages. Two kings of\nthe antics. The Sublime Master Thief, Yano Toru against The Holy Emperor\nTaichi. A clean match…. it was not but obviously. YTR got tired quickly of\nTaichi’s BS and decided to go back and probably drink a beer or two with the\nCHAOS boys at the locker room but before he could do that, beer swinging man\nYoshinobu Kanemaru stopped him in his tracks and brought him right back.\nShenanigans after shenanigans, with YTR going as far as to removing Taichi’s\npants prematurely, much to the Emperor’s dismay and feeling of nakedness. Has\nanyone ever did that before? What a preposterous act! Yano was almost counted\nout with being wrapped around with part of the ring mat, but crawled his way\nright back, this however foreshadowed Taichi’s demise as he got wrapped himself\nWITH Kanemaru and got the 20 count on himself. YTR gets another victory and\ntechnically could still possibly main event the Tokyo Dome if all the starts\naligned the right way!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tetsuya\nNaito def. Jeff Cobb<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next up IC Champion Tetsuya Naito takes on Jeff\nCobb. I can best describe this as a solid television match. Didn’t go for too\nlong but wasn’t short to the point of it needing to add more time. Cobb having\nhard hitting affairs with the likes of Shingo and Ishii are fun, two of his\nbest matches, but him acting a strong dominant monster works perfectly too. In\nfact that’s the best way of booking Jeff Cobb in my opinion but obviously this\nis the G1, everybody is on equal footing so he ain’t just gonna squash\neverybody. Naito really sold like a ragdoll throughout most of the match. The\nformer Olympian even surprised everyone with him hitting a ferocious F5 (aka\nVerdict) and the Tour of the Islands countered into a Destino spot was amazing\ntoo! Naito got the win in the end, a Destino Cobb couldn’t kick out off at the\n12 minute and 47 second mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hirooki\nGoto def. Jon Moxley<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most polarizing matches of the entire\ntournament and mainly because of the finish but we’ll get into that eventually.\nThese two had the opposite path getting into this match, Moxley dominated his\nG1 debut, gaining win after win while it’s an entirely different story for\nGoto, being in a familiar place at the losing end of the stick but would catch\nup with his W’s in the end. Now for the match itself, I thought it was a pretty\ngood back-and-forth from both men. Lots of forearm strikes and all that jazz.\nAs things are about to pick up though, the end came out of nowhere at the 8\nminute mark with Goto beating Mox with the GTR. Probably saving time for the\nlast two matches, especially the main event. I personally didn’t mind this\nmatch although I would categorize it as a “middle of the pack”\nmember. Not great but not bad. This was Moxley’s first CLEAN loss as YTR and\nJay’s victories all involved some form of shenanigans. Some fans are angry, I\ndon’t mind it at all, it’s the essence of New Japan booking. Gedo and co. made\nus feel that Mox might just get in the finals but not so much. Both men are\nstill technically mathematically alive and could win the finals, but the main\ntwo favorites right now are Switchblade and Naito.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jay\nWhite def. Juice Robinson<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This isn’t the first time these two have met before\nbut man, a lot has changed since the last time but it wasn’t even that long\nago. Both Jay White and Juice Robinson are now at the top of their games. One\nis the leader of the Bullet Club and the other has a “reborn” of\nsorts, gaining a much needed attitude adjustment. Very drama oriented match,\nboth men worked the story well of Switchblade being the dastardly villain and\nJuice with the underdog in peril. Just like Ibushi and ZSJ, these two are great\nopponents for one another, playing off their strengths quite well. Obviously\nshenanigans would occur and I would like to bring out a point I’ve gotten while\nlistening to the Super J-Cast crew. Jay White is an excellent wrestler but the\nconstant interferences may take out the aura of him being the next “top\nforeign gaijin” of the heavyweights division and I couldn’t help but to\nagree in a way. I know they’re building him as the next Kenny Omega in that\naspect but if he often needs the help of Gedo to win matches then it does kinda\ntake away from him a little bit. I get it, he’s a heel, he’s supposed to cheat\nand all that, but it will get tiring especially if we see the same thing over\nand over. Personally I’m not to that point yet but I get why some fans will think\nso, just a food for thought if you will. Anyway, the match itself was worked\nexcellently, both men really gave it their all, but Jay White got the win with\nthe JTO (Juice Tap Out) which was formerly called TTO (Tanahashi Tap Out),\nmaking The Ace submit in his comeback match and now did the same for the\nflamboyant one. Of course he did a low blow before he could fully execute and\nnow Switchblade is on the verge of reaching the G1 Finals. All he needs to do\nis defeat Tetsuya Naito.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shingo Takagi def. Tomohiro Ishii<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photo (c) njpw1972.com<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Last match of the night and HOLY S**T this was one\nof the best G1 matches I’ve ever seen! I love all kinds of pro wrestling.\nTechnical, highflying, hardcore, you name it. But I prefer the most is the hard\nhitting striking contest between two hoss competitors. That is exactly what we\ngot. A Dragon and a Stone Pitbull stiffing the ever living crap out of one\nanother! If a friend of yours tells wrestling is fake, kindly make them watch\nthis match and then put them through a table afterwards. (okay maybe don’t do\nthat last one but I digress.) Kobashi vs. Sasaki is one of my all time favorite\nmatches, from NOAH 2005. That seemingly endless chop battle is such an awesome\nsequence, it just exudes fighting spirit to the fullest. Shingo and Ishii\npersonified fighting spirit and strong style throughout this 22 minute barn\nburner! If I’ve ever seen a 5 star match and this is it. For me to get\nentertained, sometimes a long term story isn’t needed, just go out there and\nrealistically beat the hell out of each other is all you need to impress me,\nwhich is why I love Ishii vs. Moxley too and my point still remains with that\nas my MOTY contender, but this one isn’t that far behind. Chops, headbutts,\nforearms, lariats, you name it, they did it all. The blood and sweat both men\ndrained off of one another will surely make Tenryu-sensei proud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

B Block Leaderboard:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

10\nPoints<\/strong> = Tetsuya Naito, Jay White, Jon Moxley, Hirooki\nGoto<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8\nPoints<\/strong> = Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6\nPoints<\/strong> = Taichi, Jeff Cobb, Juice Robinson, Shingo Takagi<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jhester Metchado@SuperMastodon Night 15 Date: August 7, 2019 From: Hamamatsu Arena (Shizuoka, Japan) Undercard Results: Taichi, Suzuki, & Kanemaru def. Yano, Tsuji, & Uemura Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI def. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":12960,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2,204,37,22],"tags":[455,44],"class_list":["post-13169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-featured","category-njpw","category-njpw-reviews","category-reviews","tag-g1-climax","tag-njpw"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9jnWd-3qp","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Jon-Moxley-G1-Climax-B-Block.jpeg?fit=1173%2C578&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13169"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13172,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13169\/revisions\/13172"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}