{"id":9817,"date":"2018-08-07T19:35:28","date_gmt":"2018-08-07T19:35:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/?p=9817"},"modified":"2018-08-07T19:59:02","modified_gmt":"2018-08-07T19:59:02","slug":"njpw-g1-climax-nights-12-15-review-1-8-5-8-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/2018\/08\/07\/njpw-g1-climax-nights-12-15-review-1-8-5-8-18\/","title":{"rendered":"NJPW G1 Climax Nights 12-15 Review 1\/8-5\/8\/18"},"content":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Tokyo Wrestling Fan @twf87<\/a>, Laura Mauro @LauraMauro<\/a>, and Mike Grindle @mikegrindle<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

In its third week the G1 Climax began heading back east, starting in Kagoshima and then ending in a double-header at the Edion Arena in Osaka.\u00a0 There were a lot of marquee matchups this week, including Naito vs. Ibushi, Okada vs. Suzuki, and (spoiler) what turned out to be arguably the best of them all, Omega vs. Ishii.\u00a0 This week I was joined again by my colleagues Laura Mauro and Mike Grindle to analyse all of the G1 matches.<\/p>\n

G1 Climax Night Twelve, Kagoshima Arena, Kagoshima (3,490 attendance)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tama Tonga def. Tomohiro Ishii, 10:32<\/p>\n

Juice Robinson def. SANADA, 12:36<\/p>\n

Tetsuya Naito def. Toru Yano, 8:28<\/p>\n

Kenny Omega def. Zack Sabre Jr., 15:14<\/p>\n

Kota Ibushi def. Hirooki Goto, 18:09<\/p>\n

Night twelve opened with Tama Tonga taking on Tomohiro Ishii, and this was another Tama match that I didn\u2019t totally hate.\u00a0 It had the usual intereference and referee bumps, but Ishii tried his best to pull a decent match out of Tama, and nearly overcame all the interference from Tanga Loa and Bad Luck Fale.\u00a0 The crowd really didn\u2019t like the interference, so I suppose it\u2019s working as a way to get heat for the Firing Squad.\u00a0 One thing I didn\u2019t understand is why the referee didn\u2019t disqualify Tama when Tanga Loa pulled him out of the ring during a pin count, but at any rate Tama moved level with Ishii with this win on four points.\u00a0 In the second match Juice Robinson defeated SANADA in a fun match, which featured a lot of inventive reversals and attempts by both men to do the other\u2019s moves.\u00a0 Juice caught SANADA in the Skull End at one point, then attempted a moonsault in the same fashion that SANADA defeated Ibushi last week.\u00a0 Mostly this match was smooth, but in the closing sequence the punch that preceded the final Pulp Friction looked like it was wide of SANADA\u2019s head by a good way. \u00a0Still, a definite improvement on match one.<\/p>\n

In the third match of the night Tetsuya Naito defeated Toru Yano in a fun match, in which Naito ended up cheating more than Yano did.\u00a0 Naito tried to beat Yano with one of his main tactics \u2013 he taped his hand to the guardrail outside the ring and tried for a countout victory.\u00a0 Yano managed to separate the guard rail and dragged a piece of it back into the ring with him to just about beat the count.\u00a0 Yano tried some impressive amateur wrestling, but ultimately Naito beat him after a low blow and a Destino<\/em>.\u00a0 The semi-final match saw Kenny Omega defeat ZSJ with a quick rollup at the end of an entertaining match that featured Sabre punishing Kenny with submissions and come close to forcing the champion to tap out.\u00a0 ZSJ disrupted Kenny\u2019s normal rhythm, and he was only able to hit two V-triggers as he struggled to get his offence going.\u00a0 Sabre seemed to have the upper hand, but then Kenny rolled him up for a surprising three count.\u00a0 ZSJ has seen his confidence rocked in this G1 as he has been outwrestled by SANADA and now Kenny beat him at his own game to stay undefeated.<\/p>\n

The main event featured the home-town hero Kota Ibushi, who faced off against Hirooki Goto.\u00a0 The Kagoshima crowd were heavily behind Ibushi, but Goto was able to hold his own in this match, and came close to pinning Ibushi with a Shouten Kai<\/em>.\u00a0 Goto initially had Ibushi\u2019s number, and was able to dodge an early Golden Triangle moonsault, but Ibushi continued to show his strong style side and stood up to Goto\u2019s strikes, before responding with his own vicious kicks.\u00a0 Once Ibushi got into his stride Goto found it hard to keep up with the pace that Ibushi set \u2013 a Last Ride powerbomb got a close fall, before Ibushi hit what looked like a Bomaye<\/em> and finally a Kamigoye<\/em> for the win.\u00a0 After the match Ibushi told the Kagoshima crowd that he would return next year as a G1 winner.\u00a0 Night twelve finished with Kenny Omega still undefeated on 12 points, Naito on 10 points, Ibushi on 8 points, SANADA and ZSJ on 6 points, Juice, Goto, Ishii, and Tama on 4 points, and Yano now bottom on 2 points.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

G1 Climax Night Thirteen, Fukuoka City Gymnasium, Fukuoka (3,580 attendance)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Michael Elgin def. Bad Luck Fale, 11:13<\/p>\n

Hangman Page def. Togi Makabe, 9:10<\/p>\n

Jay White def. YOSHI-HASHI, 9:48<\/p>\n

Tanahashi Hiroshi def. EVIL, 12:57<\/p>\n

Kazuchika Okada def. Minoru Suzuki, 18:20<\/p>\n

The opening match of night thirteen in Fukuoka saw another DQ finish to a match between Bad Luck Fale and Michael Elgin.\u00a0 Elgin tried his best to make the match interesting by selling his injured right arm and fighting mainly with his left, but Fale hasn\u2019t been great this G1 and it wasn\u2019t a particularly engaging match.\u00a0 A ref bump allowed Tanga Loa to get involved, and after Elgin fought off Loa his brother Tama Tonga interfered in the match and started attacking Elgin for a DQ finish.\u00a0 The highlight of the match was the post-match beatdown in which Tama laid waste to all the Young Lions with a chair. \u00a0Match two featured two of the top performers in A Block going head-to-head in Hangman Page and Togi Makabe.\u00a0 Both wrestlers haven\u2019t scored many points, but they\u2019ve been putting everything into their performances, and tonight was no different.\u00a0 Makabe has lost a step with age, but he still hits hard, and his spider-German suplex on Page looked great.\u00a0 Makabe missed with a King Kong Knee Drop attempt, and that allowed Page to capitalise with a Buckshot Lariat and Rite of Passage for the victory.\u00a0 The victory clearly meant a lot to Page, and I could see him picking up points in his match against YOSHI-HASHI.\u00a0 Suzuki on the other hand might be a bridge too far for the Bullet Club debutant.<\/p>\n

In the third match CHAOS members YOSHI-HASHI and Jay White faced each other.\u00a0 In his new role as self-proclaimed CHAOS leader, Jay didn\u2019t just attempt to beat YOSHI-HASHI, he tried to hurt him.\u00a0 Outside the ring he smashed YOSHI-HASHI into the railings, and continued his punishment in the ring with a methodical attack on YOSHI-HASHI.\u00a0 Jay came close to hitting a Blade Runner twice, including once after a low blow, but YOSHI-HASHI managed to escape and even managed to get a near fall after a fisherman’s buster.\u00a0 Ultimately, Jay caught YOSHI-HASHI with a Blade Runner for the victory, solidifying the sense that he can hit the move at any time, and that it is a definitive matchwinner.\u00a0 The semi-final match saw Hiroshi Tanahashi take on EVIL, in a very good match that featured a lot of great counters and near falls before Tanahashi won with a High Fly Flow.\u00a0 EVIL focused his attack on Tanahashi\u2019s previously injured bicep, and looked to have the upper hand when he dodged a High Fly Flow and Tanahashi landed hard on his arm.\u00a0 EVIL came close to a win with Darkness Falls, and very nearly hit an STO, but instead Tanahashi was able to hit EVIL with an STO, then followed up with a High Fly Flow for a victory.\u00a0 This was a strong showing from both men, and it really seemed that EVIL was about to hand Tanahashi his second defeat of the tournament, before the Ace rallied to the delight of the Fukuoka crowd.<\/p>\n

The main event was Kazuchika Okada against Minoru Suzuki, in a rematch from Suzuki\u2019s 30th<\/sup> Anniversary show in June.\u00a0 That match ended in a time-limit draw, but this match was finished decisively by Okada with his rolling Rainmaker-Rainmaker combination.\u00a0 Suzuki began this match with a brutal beatdown of Okada outside the ring, including two very close teased countouts.\u00a0 When Okada made it back into the ring, Suzuki continued his brutal offence, punishing Okada with both strikes and submissions.\u00a0 Okada managed to find his feet as the match progressed, but Suzuki had clearly taken him out of his comfort zone.\u00a0 When Suzuki did the Rainmaker pose himself, Okada tried to up his offence, but struggled from the damage that he had suffered earlier in the match.\u00a0 There was a particularly vicious Rainmaker counter as Suzuki just slapped Okada in the face with a palm strike.\u00a0 In the finishing stretch Suzuki attempted a tombstone, but it was reversed into a Gotch-style tombstone by Okada and then the Rainmaker sequence.\u00a0 Given the way that this G1 is playing out, it didn\u2019t surprise me that Okada won this match, but the manner in which he did it was more definitive than I expected.\u00a0 The results of night thirteen saw Tanahashi on 12 points, Okada and Jay on 10 points, Suzuki and EVIL on 8 points, Page, Fale, and Elgin on 6 points, Makabe on 4 points, and YOSHI-HASHI still on 2 points.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

G1 Climax Night Fourteen, Edion Arena, Osaka (5,500 attendance)<\/strong><\/p>\n

SANADA def. Toru Yano, 5:22<\/p>\n

Hirooki Goto def. Tama Tonga, 11:15<\/p>\n

Zack Sabre Jr. def. Juice Robinson, 13:39<\/p>\n

Tomohiro Ishii def. Kenny Omega, 22:42<\/p>\n

Kota Ibushi def. Tetsuya Naito, 25:09<\/p>\n

On night fourteen he G1 arrived in Osaka for the first of two shows at the Edion Arena.\u00a0 The tournament matches opened with SANADA against Toru Yano in a quick but fun match.\u00a0 Yano attacked SANADA as he entered the ring, but it was SANADA who was able to use arguably underhanded tactics to win by tying Yano up with the Paradise Lock around a guardrail so that he was counted out.\u00a0 The second match saw Hirooki Goto take on Tama Tonga, in a match that featured the usual shenanigans.\u00a0 These matches have broken down into a first instance of interference, when Goto was able to fight off Tanga Loa, and a second instance, when Bad Luck Fale interfered.\u00a0 This match got even weirder than usual, because after Fale pulled the referee out of the ring to break up the pin it seemed like the bell was rung for a no contest, but then Fale gestured for Red Shoes to come out and count a pin on Goto.\u00a0 Red Shoes ran to the ring, but just as he was about to count, he flipped off the Firing Squad and disqualified Tama.\u00a0 Is this leading to a Red Shoes vs. Firing Squad feud?<\/p>\n

In the third match Zack Sabre Jr. took on Juice Robinson, in a good match that saw ZSJ aggressively target Juice\u2019s injured left hand.\u00a0 Juice fought through the pain, and late on in the match voluntarily removed his own cast, but ultimately ZSJ was able to tie him up in a vicious looking submission that started as a Jim Break\u2019s armbar, but ended up with all four of Juice\u2019s limbs contorted by the submission master.\u00a0 Juice is a great babyface, and he sold Sabre\u2019s submissions really well, as well as his comeback hope spots.\u00a0 After the match ZSJ posed with the US title, so presumably he will be getting a title shot in the future.\u00a0 The semi-final match was an absolute war between Kenny Omega and Tomohiro Ishii, that finished with Ishii handing Omega his first loss of the tournament.\u00a0 In the opening stages of the match it was clear that Omega didn\u2019t respect Ishii, but that attitude was soon dispelled when Ishii refused to be cowed by any amount of damage from Kenny.\u00a0 Kenny threw everything he had at Ishii, although he was unable to hit the One Winged Angel, and Ishii gave it all back to the IWGP Heavyweight Champion.\u00a0 Kenny definitely spammed V-triggers a bit too much for my liking, but it played into the flow of the match since Ishii just absorbed a tremendous amount of punishment from Omega.\u00a0 The crowd was heavily behind Ishii in this match, and every time he kicked out of a pin there was a huge pop.\u00a0 By the end of the match both competitors were bleeding from the mouth, and when Ishii finally got Kenny up for a brainbuster and a three count his face was smeared in blood, a fitting image for this brutal match.\u00a0 This was a great match, with a red hot crowd, and might have become my favourite match of the tournament so far.<\/p>\n

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Tomohiro Ishii will NOT be denied! #G128<\/a><\/p>\n

\u27a1\ufe0f https:\/\/t.co\/8n90d75Nfk<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/G1Zyz8RQf1<\/a><\/p>\n

— TDE Wrestling (@totaldivaseps) August 4, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n