G1 Climax

[Garlic Junior 136]

I know, I know, we have a NJPW general topic, but I feel this tournament deserves its own for posterity. In the months and years to come it will be nice to look back and easily find links to the greatest wrestling matches of 2019.

 

A handy guide to all events in different timezones

 

Competitors:

 

A Block

Okada, Zack Sabre Jr, Tanahashi, Ibushi, EVIL, SANADA, Fale, Lance Archer, Osperay, KENTA

 

B Block

Naito, Ishii, Juice Robinson, Yano, Goto, Jay White, Jeff Cobb, Takagi, Taichi, Jon Moxley

 

"C" Block

Suzuki. Run in fear.

 

 

What match-ups are you most hyped for?

 

Who wins each block?

 

Over/Under 12.5 murders witnessed at the hands of Suzuki?

[Vic Boss 612]

What match-ups are you most hyped for?

 

Can't even list'em all. Nevermind the regular 4.5+ star candidates, every match that KENTA, Shingo and Moxley are involved in are going to be interesting as fuck. Shingo in particular is a guy who always has me fucking hyped by the end of his matches. Shingo vs Ishii might be a sneak Strong-Style King's Road classic.

 

(Holy shit Jon Moxley is going to fight Naito)

 

Who wins each block?

 

Ibushi v Jay White. Flip a coin for who wins (I would pick Ibushi, Jay White's got time to round into more of the form they want him to be)

 

Over/Under 12.5 murders witnessed at the hands of Suzuki?

 

I wonder if they're going to run an injury angle with him, like he attacks Okada and causes him to miss a few matches/costs him a tournament in some way.

[Vic Boss 612]

Night 1

 

Ospreay vs Archer (holy shit, Ospreay's gonna have an AJ Styles G1) and Tanahashi vs Okada are the must-watches.

 

ZSJ/Sanada was wonderful for that style, but I don't think it plays well in front of Americans.

 

Ibushi vs KENTA eventually got there, but I felt like Kenta was working sorta-heel in front of a crowd that didn't hate him and in front of a crowd who knew him as Hideo Itami and not KENTA. They didn't react to most of his big moves or spots

[Psycho666Soldier 287]

Night 2

 

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-I'm really into Uemura based on this outing.  Dude has a lot of ring presence.
-Kevin Kelly actually coming up with reasons for Chase being "so valuable to Bullet Club" other than leaving it at that is better.  Last week, he might as well have been saying, "We promise Chase is more than the BC jobber!"
-Fale/Owens vs. Archer/Kanemaru was better than it had any right to be.  Archer's transformation has been wonderful to watch.  I don't expect his match against Fale to be that great, but it should be a decent big man romp.
-I love Young Lion-heavy matches.  These LA Dojo guys seem pretty solid.
-Another great opening tag match.  The heat between KENTA and Tanahashi was off the charts, and all the Young Lions were killing it.  Looking forward to seeing more results from the LA Dojo.

-Juice/Shingo was a banger.  Crowd was super hot, the action was fast-paced, but smart, and they did a wonderful job of putting Shingo over as a monster while losing to the more veteran Juice, who has had a mixed bag of success in the G1 historically.  Just excellent storytelling that really solid where each man was in their journey. A-/91

-Mox/Taichi was a quick, enjoyable sprint.  Nothing too special, but a good non-cooldown between tournament matches.  Mox looks great in NJPW.  B/85

-Naito/Yano was fun and short as it should have been.  I was a bit shocked to see Yano get the W there.  C+/79

-Is there any question that Cobb/Ishii was excellent?  Just a lot of well-timed moves, a true battle of power with some wonderful selling and psychology.  For as powerful as Ishii is, you almost forget how strong he is, and he really got to showcase that against Cobb here.  Cobb absorbing Ishii's punishment and still coming back for more before starting to meet Ishii halfway on some bits was engaging as hell.  Also, Cobb kicking out at 1 after the lariat was insane.  It's also amazing how many times Ishii can have this style of match and always make it feel special.  That finishing Brainbuster felt more immense than normal.  Happy to see my boy start the G1 with 2 points.  Damn, what a fucking match.  A/94

-White persistent in treating Goto like he's below him, to his own detriment.  It's a sort of underestimation where Jay knows that deep down, Goto is a tough son if a bitch, but he refuse s to acknowledge that by taking him seriously early on.  On the flip side, Goto's trying to prove he's not yesterday's news and definitely not fodder for Jay White to have a lucrative G1.  White was selling wonderfully for Goto.  Ironically, this all went a long way into showing just how tough, tenacious and legit Jay White is, regardless if help from the outside.  LOVED the Goto headbutts while holding Jay's hair and setting up for that GTR.  Popped pretty big for the Shouten Kai.  Great end to the night.  A-/90

 

[Vic Boss 612]

Night 2

 

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- Karl Fredericks really caught my eye. Massive potential there.

- My body is ready for Ace vs Ace, Tana vs Kenta

- Archer and DBS Jr were criminally underrated and underutilized by NJPW for years, and ironically it probably took DBS Jr leaving for Impact to free them both up to get utilized more

- Juice vs Shingo was my favourite match of the night. It's rare that I'm not marking out by the end of a Shingo match, his speed, power and intensity make everything better and I wasn't expecting Juice to be an opponent who works so well with him. I fucking loved when Juice finally cocked him with the Juice punch, and then hit him with another one because he probably needed to to stop Shingo's momentum

- That's just about the perfect way for Moxley to have an opening match, with another guy who relies a lot more on brawling. RIP Taichi's neck, I love how Dirty Deeds has basically turned into Bloody Sunday

- Other matches were good and accomplished what they were supposed to. Cobb got to show off his monster strength but also showed he has room to grow because Ishii still outlasted him (I have a sneaking suspicion that Cobb is not long for RoH). I think Goto/Jay White got there eventually (Dat Shoten Kai, and then that modified GTR). I think Jay needs to start adding more to his arsenal, it's been less than two years for the Switchblade but we more or less know his game plan is to rattle his opponent, get Gedo to cheat and then catch them with the Blade Runner

[Vic Boss 612]

I'm gonna be shocked if A Block makes it to the halfway point of the tournament intact. Ospreay's apparently hurt enough to miss tag matches, Ibushi's still got a hurt ankle from Night 1 and ZSJ had his neck cranked on an Okada Tombstone.

 

NIght 3

 

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- Eyyyy Mox and Shota on adventures together

- Fale vs Archer was better than I thought it would be, crowd was into it by the end

- Ospreay and Sanada were like a millisecond off on their timing, but if Ospreay's hurt that makes more sense

- ZSJ vs Okada was my favourite match of the night, and I cringed when ZSJ kept going after that Tombstone probably at least gave him a stinger (fucking bridged on a pinfall after that, fuck).

- I think the last two matches were good (surprised EVIL won) but seemed to miss a little something. With KENTA I'm assuming it's just familiarizing himself with the audience.

[Garlic Junior 136]

Only seen Day1 so far I need to power through the rest asap. Archer v Osperay was amazing.

[Vic Boss 612]

Night 4

 

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- Shota showing a bit more attitude against Liger, I'm gonna chalk that up to Mox being a bad influence

- I dug the post-match EVIL and SANADA, looking forward to that one

- Yano almost Eddie Guerrero'ing Shingo

- I fucking LOVED the ending of Juice/Goto. The punches and headbutts into Juice getting a strong, clean win. Juice is 2 for 2 so far and I'm hoping he gets a near top-of-the-table finish to elevate the US Title when he wins it back from Mox

- I really liked the psychology of the Cobb/Mox match, but I think Mox was making the mistake of thinking that wrestling fans in Japan are familiar with the WWE and most of what he did before, and they're not. I knew the Hangman's DDT could be the finish, but I don't think most of the New Japan fans know that his finish is a Double Arm DDT

- Jay vs Ishii BUILT, I started off thinking it was solid, then it got good, then it got great by the end

- Naito vs Taichi was a match. That had a storyline behind it.

[Psycho666Soldier 287]

Night 3

 

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-First tag match was pretty solid, but didn't pop like the night before. Uemura still looks good though, and a decent win for Henare
-BIG LOL at Shota Umino wearing the Mox shirt and carrying out his Championship.
-I can't say it enough, but Moxley feels so fresh in NJPW. Decent preview of the match with Cobb, great showing for Umino and Narita, too. Loved the fire from Narita, and that Umino suplex on Cobb
-Skipped the Ishii/Switchblade tag match because they were the only two I cared about.
-I need more Shingo/Suzuki in my life.


-Archer/Fale was perfectly fine for what it was. The wild brawling in the crowd at the beginning was pretty fun, but it really lost most of it's intrigue by the latter half. I think the crowd digs Archer, though, so that helped this still decent to get through. C+/78


-Ospreay/SANADA was a bit awkward. It started strong, then fell into this territory where both didn't really seem like they knew what they wanted to do with each other. When they started going for the fancy shit, it felt like the chemistry wasn't there. But holy shit, did those last 6 or so minutes really turn it up. The rapid changing of holds during that part was mesmerizing, and the finish was a convincing way of giving Ospreay his first G1 victory. B+/88


-Nothing too special for ZSJ/Okada. I liked their previous two matches better. I think the last couple minutes were great, but otherwise it kind of felt like the standard idea of this match comes to mind when it's booked. Which is to say it was still good. B+/87


-EVIL/Ibushi was a hard ass hitting match, which isn't too surprising from Ibushi, but EVIL was out there throwing bombs. This one escalated at a great pace, but it felt like a unique kind of match for both of them. Not sure how long Ibushi has been using the Boma Ye, but that was an awesome touch. The finish was white-hot. One of the best counters to the Kamigoye I've ever seen. Big win for EVIL, and I think both well deserved and well-booked. A-/93

 

-Tanahashi/KENTA was better than KENTA/Ibushi for sure.  I think there's an obvious parallel of when Shibata faced Tanahashi in the G1, and while I think that moment was much more epic than this turned out to be, this was a lot more promising for KENTA and grabbed me by the end of it.  I love that Tanahashi has gotten more used to the stink attitude, so he doesn't even play with KENTA.  The way he stood up after one of those kicks made it feel like he was so pissed and annoyed with KENTA's style, both because he was sick of it and it hurt like a bitch.  Was a good way of showing both KENTA as the more dominant wrestler and Tanahashi as the more veteran-like wrestler, and were this like 3 years later, we would easily see a different result.  Best GTS so far, too, and the impact of KENTA having defeated the previous G1 finalists in his first two matches with a recognizable kill move...that helps makes the match feel bigger than it is.  I was very disappointed at the lack of focus on the potential of Tanahashi countering KENTA's kicks with relentless dragon screws, and even more so with the few times it happened not really being played up.  But overall, I got the feeling KENTA will only get better as the tournament goes on.  A-/90

 

 

[Vic Boss 612]

  On 7/17/2019 at 2:49 PM, Psycho666Soldier said:

Night 3

 

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-I need more Shingo/Suzuki in my life.

-EVIL/Ibushi was a hard ass hitting match, which isn't too surprising from Ibushi, but EVIL was out there throwing bombs.

 

I was very disappointed at the lack of focus on the potential of Tanahashi countering KENTA's kicks with relentless dragon screws, and even more so with the few times it happened not really being played up

 

 

 

 

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- Legit my reaction to both Shingo/Suzuki in the ring at the same time was "Oh SHIT, need this match :shiny: "

- I think EVIL is really underrated as far as the stiff wrestling group goes (Ishii/Goto/etc), and I think it entirely has to do with tenure. Part of the reason he's LIJ's #2 over Sanada is because Sanada is an outsider, but I also think part of it was that he unexpectedly meshed really well with the hard-hitting crew and that actually elevated him above his midcard standing.

- Death by 1000 Dragon Screws is for later, when the NJPW fan base knows what KENTA's all about ;)

[Psycho666Soldier 287]

  On 7/17/2019 at 4:24 PM, Death Rider Mox said:

 

 

 

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- Legit my reaction to both Shingo/Suzuki in the ring at the same time was "Oh SHIT, need this match "

- I think EVIL is really underrated as far as the stiff wrestling group goes (Ishii/Goto/etc), and I think it entirely has to do with tenure. Part of the reason he's LIJ's #2 over Sanada is because Sanada is an outsider, but I also think part of it was that he unexpectedly meshed really well with the hard-hitting crew and that actually elevated him above his midcard standing.

- Death by 1000 Dragon Screws is for later, when the NJPW fan base knows what KENTA's all about
 

 

 

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I thought the same thing about the dragon screws, so I kind of wrote it off as, "Tana hasn't learned yet."  The eventual rematch should be in fire.  Watching Night 4 right now, and I'm liking the bizarro Shibata storyline where he's outright trying to earn Tanahashi's respect, but Tanahashi doesn't want to give it to him.

 

And yeah, I think EVIL's always had it in him.  I think this was just one of those times where he really focused on it.  He's also just been on such a rise in improvement since he first came back from excursion.  

 

 

[Vic Boss 612]

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Yeah, if it wasn't for Desperado being in NJPW too, I'd probably call EVIL one of the most underrated guys in the promotion.

[Vic Boss 612]

Night 5 Prelims

 

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- Mox and Ishii have touched eachother. I'm so happy that these two men have touched each other

- "Maybe Yoshi-Hashi will be in the C Block." "We'll have Chris explain it to him." "What, the alphabet?" God dammit :rofl: (I have to give it to the English commentary. I'm a straight-up Japanese language snob but there's so many useful factoids that Kevin, Rocky and Chris pass along that I watch them half the time because I do feel like I'm missing something if I don't)

- Also gotta give it to Yoshi, he got the butterfly lock over as a finishing hold even though it looks pretty weak. Even Okada had trouble getting a wimpy submission finish over

 

Archer vs KENTA

 

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Delicious KENTA match. I think Archer might have given him too much, I kind of prefer when size plays itself right and Archer definitely let KENTA fight like he was a bigger dude than he really is.

 

I'll watch the rest later

[Vic Boss 612]

EVIL/SANADA and Okada/Fale were solid matches that performed about as expected

 

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I did love Sanada using EVIL's EVIL, and also that Okada/Fale finish was cool

 

ZSJ vs Tanahashi

 

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These two are so good together. It's so rare that two dudes could spend so much time exchanging holds and pinning combinations and have actually build in excitement. That hand-change into a reverse dragon screw by Tanahashi was nasty, and I loved the arm-triangle-reversed-into-a-pinfall that Tanahashi used to win the match. RIP ZSJ's tournament

 

Ospreay vs Ibushi

 

 

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- I loved the psychology of each man going after the other's injuries, and the slight overselling or dropping down harder in Ospreay's case made some of it look really killer (that Last Ride by Ibushi where Ospreay snapped himself down hard was brutal). The fucking disrespect they started showing each other later in the match (Ibushi just barely grabbing the ropes and Red Shoes diving to stop himself counting 3 was awesome). Also love that Ibushi probably won because Ospreay didn't stick to working the ankle enough whereas Ibushi kept on Ospreay's neck and back

 

That head drop was absolutely disgusting though, jesus. That might cost them stars with Dave :sick:

[Vic Boss 612]

Night 5 Backstage Comments

 

Ishii told Mox that he'll have "any kind of match he wants, a death match, a street fight, anything."

 

Also fucking Tanahashi

 

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He said the old Tanahashi who said Strong Style is a curse would now say that Strong Style lives on or Strong Style still exists across the ocean somewhere, referencing that Zack is basically wrestling OG Strong Style ;_;

[Vic Boss 612]

Night 6

 

Featuring Moxley vs Ishii

 

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- Okada countering an Oscutter with a dropkick, even when these guys are taking it easy, they're still fucking great

- Shingo and Taichi surprisingly fit really well against each other, that was a badass match

- Oh shit, Juice can do a standing moonsault

- Fucking Cobb catching Juice on an attempted Pulp Friction and then German Suplexing him, that guy is ridiculously strong

- Interesting that two of the biggest heels in the tournament, Jay White and ZSJ, are both 0-3, and no one has won the tournament who's gone 0-3

- Naito mocked Goto for his La Dojo shirt in his promo the other night, Goto starts the match by choking Naito with the shirt

- God, you just can't go wrong with Naito vs Goto (I wonder if this will hurt Ishii vs Mox at all)

- And they immediately get in each other's face before the bell even rings and my body is fucking ready

- Holy shit Mox gave Red Shoes a hug while he was brawling with Ishii in the crowd, he's really getting close to the Umino family

- HOLY SHIT ISHII

- No shoot headbutts please

- Oh god, that one Regal knee was VICIOUS

- KICKED OUT OF THE DEATH RIDER

- The high-angle Death Rider looks so brutal every time

[Vic Boss 612]

Night 6 Backstage Comments

 

I really love this format, you don't have to be a good scripted promo to get yourself over

 

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- ZSJ wondered if Fale counted as a large land mammal, called the Bullet Club "Oxygen Thieves"

- Fale and Chase are gonna storm Area 51 too

- I'm really digging Toa Henare's promos about grinding away and trying to force himself into next year's G1

- Yano's promo was him running by the reporters going "Nope, nope, nope, I didn't do anything wrong"

- Mox: "Ah shit Shooter, my wife is going to be so mad at me. She hates tables and shit."

[Vic Boss 612]

Night 7

 

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- Fucking Uemura has a go at Suzuki

- I loved the mad-scramble count-out victory that ZSJ got. Poor Fale

- Archer's having a fucking hell of a tournament. Him and Tana had an awesome match and didn't do a lot, just a lot of psychology and body language got them through

- Poor KENTA wants to be a babyface but the crowd wants to dislike him. To me, he'd be a natural fit for Suzuki-gun (unless he plans on going back to NOAH some day...) and I just want him to bully-kick everyone to death

- Just as I say that, he wipes off EVIL's guyliner and then punts him in the spine, arigato KENTA

- There's an alternate universe timeline where Shibata comes out of retirement and him, Goto and Kenta just start murdering everyone in New Japan

- Sanada focusing a lot more on trying to get the crowd (and maybe Ibushi?) to acknowledge his athleticism

- Something seemed off about that one. Maybe timing or they were both just taking it a bit easy or something

- Okada big-bro'ing Ospreay. Taking it relatively easy but then Ospreay starts tagging him and Okada ups the intensity to put him down hard

- Oh my god that reversal from the Stormbreaker into a Short-artm Rainmaker with wrist control

- That fucking roar when Ospreay almost reversed the Rainmaker into a Stormbreaker. One day he's gonna beat Okada and the roof is gonna collapse
 

 

[Vic Boss 612]

Night 8's solid all around. Ishii/Naito, Mox/Shingo, it's all about what you would expect

[Vic Boss 612]

Big Dave gave the 5 star treatment to Ibushi vs Ospreay on Night 5 and Ishii vs Moxley from Night 6, and 5.75 for Ospreay v Okada from Night 7. Moxley's first 5-star match

[Garlic Junior 136]

  On 7/14/2019 at 3:00 AM, Death Rider Mox said:

Night 2

 

 

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- Karl Fredericks really caught my eye. Massive potential there.

- My body is ready for Ace vs Ace, Tana vs Kenta

- Archer and DBS Jr were criminally underrated and underutilized by NJPW for years, and ironically it probably took DBS Jr leaving for Impact to free them both up to get utilized more

- Juice vs Shingo was my favourite match of the night. It's rare that I'm not marking out by the end of a Shingo match, his speed, power and intensity make everything better and I wasn't expecting Juice to be an opponent who works so well with him. I fucking loved when Juice finally cocked him with the Juice punch, and then hit him with another one because he probably needed to to stop Shingo's momentum

- That's just about the perfect way for Moxley to have an opening match, with another guy who relies a lot more on brawling. RIP Taichi's neck, I love how Dirty Deeds has basically turned into Bloody Sunday

- Other matches were good and accomplished what they were supposed to. Cobb got to show off his monster strength but also showed he has room to grow because Ishii still outlasted him (I have a sneaking suspicion that Cobb is not long for RoH). I think Goto/Jay White got there eventually (Dat Shoten Kai, and then that modified GTR). I think Jay needs to start adding more to his arsenal, it's been less than two years for the Switchblade but we more or less know his game plan is to rattle his opponent, get Gedo to cheat and then catch them with the Blade Runner
 

 

 

 

No love for Naito v Yano?

 

 

Ishii v Naito was... not my favourite of their 9 (is it 10 now?) matches, but not the worst either. The bar has just been set so high.

 

The entrance with them both showcasing their different Champion qualities, Ishii no nonsense defending his pride, Naito stating the NEVER is so far beneath him that once he holds both the Intercontinental and Heavy he wouldn't even bother taking the NEVER. Eurgh, such an arrogant twat lol

 

Started fine, lulled in the middle, ending was legit from the second Destino attempt onwards. 8/10 would rewatch, but wouldn't recommend as a Must See For New Fans.

[Vic Boss 612]

I could probably rec it to new fans just based on the crowd roar. And then you can follow it up by going "This was actually just a strong match, not even a MOTYC" ;)

 

Naito v Yano was fun for what it was.

 

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Naito straight up just trying to beat Yano at his own game, with his own taunts and poses and moves, and still getting out-Yano'd with the jersey'd shirt over the head

[Vic Boss 612]

Day 9

 

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- My body is ready for Naito v Moxley

- Jesus christtttt that Archer chokeslam on Ibushi

-  Archer having a hell of a tournament so far

- Eyyyy Red Shoes sticking it to the Bullet Club again

- ZSJ getting torched

- My reaction to Tana/Sanada was "that was aight" because their first G1 match from years ago is one of my fav G1 matches of all time

- I looked at the time remaining before getting into Okada/KENTA and they've gotta be going to a time limit draw

- Okada hitting KENTA with the Shibata dropkick, prick-mode Okada engaged

- Do you even lift, KENTA?

- Sure rung Okada's bell with those strikes, though

- Oh MAN, Okada's taking the whole this year, isn't he?

[Psycho666Soldier 287]

 Night 4

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-First match Tsuji has caught my attention.  His back and forth with Ibushi had a lot of fire behind it.  He also has some strong strikes on him.  Love Ibushi tapping him out with a more devastating version of the half crab, though.
-That tease between EVIL and SANADA was money
-Still really liking the LA Dojo guys.  A lot of fire and some explosive hits from those two.

-Shingo and Yano are such unique individuals that it made for an awesome first encounter.  The ring out ploy was one of the best ring out teases I've ever seen.  Shingo using Yano's own antics against him for the win was brilliant.  A good Yano match. B-/84

-I couldn't really get into Juice/Goto for most of it, but those last couple minutes looked like the ending to a Top 10 of the year match.  It gets some points for that, but it didn't really do anything for me until then.  B/85

-I think Moxley's style didn't mesh too well with Cobb's, but they managed to churn out a good match.  I loved the focus on the shoulder and how it played into Cobb's ability to lift Mox.  The finish was pretty clever, and I'm interested to see how Mox blends with the rest of his block.  B/85

-Ishii/White was another match where the first half really did little for me.  Seeing Ishii get in Gedo's face was pretty neat.  But it wasn't until Ishii started hulking out through Jay's strikes that this match really picked up some fire.  From that point, this match was a work of art.  I think this tournament is going towards having White lose despite having help from Gedo, which could lead to a transformation from White come Wrestle Kingdom.  B+/88

-Taichi/Naito To be honest this match is kind of a blur to me because I watched it over the course of three sessions.  The finish was pretty well done, and a Taichi with a touch of credibility could be nice, but nothing particularly stood out for me.

 

 

 

Night 5

 

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-Damn, I love that we now get Moxley and "Shooter" actually teaming together.
-That Mox/Ishii brawl
-I love that Narita has transformed from a terrified looking geek to one of the harder-hitting, ballsy young lions.  I'm proud of him
-Archer looks like white trash Nakamura.  I dig it.

-Archer/KENTA Archer's matches have been hot from the start, and that's only gotten better as the crowd grows more impressed with his metamorphosis.  That bit on the outside early on was hype as fuck.  Also loved the, "You're Hideo!" spot.  Great pacing and storytelling for a Big Man vs.  Smaller Striker match, and was a good chance for KENTA to show how he does when fighting from underneath.  A lot of good spot build-up(like the classy turnbuckle drama in the latter half of the match).  I will say the ending felt a bit flat, kind of like it came out of nowhere, but overall was a good start to the tournament matches.  Probably needed a little something more to be special.  B+/88

-EVIL/SANADA Really liked the battle for the Paradise Lock, and EVIL locking it in first was the icing on the cake.  Though SANADA getting him locked in the ropes like he's done recently shows why he's the true expert there.  EVIL is such a brawlmaster sometimes, and he shows it here in between showing some solid mat technique.  It also felt like they did a good job of doing the whole "Partners know each other so well" without being too heavy-handed.  I popped for the ref-assisted Magic Killer.  The last 7 or so minutes was a good sprint of counters, finisher-stealing, and a great take of competitive companions trying desperately to prove they're the better.  It felt like the kick out at 1 was SANADA's way of saying, "If you're gonna beat me, it's gonna take Everything is EVIL, motherfucker!"  The fist bump at the end was heart-warming, too.  Didn't quite cross the threshold for me, but it was a hell of a match I would be happy to watch again.  B+/89

-I'm catching up behind a few days, and I've seen this match-up enough times.  I'm skipping Okada/Fale.

-Tanahashi/ZSJ I loved the idea of Tana playing Zack's game and actually frustrating him, especially with how Zack's G1 has gone this year.  It gives a sense that while ZSJ was a problem in his first two years, the vets have now learned to counter his style.  ZSJ had to fight outside his comfort zone while dealing with Tana's considerably greater strength.  But when Tana started going out of his depth(like attempting the inverted jacknife pin), ZSJ takes advantage again.  Highlights were the Backslide reversal chain into the Sling Blade, Zack defiantly slapping Tana in a vain attempt to stop a dragonscrew, and the painful submission Zack countered the jacknife pin into.  The finish was an excellent way to keep ZSJ's G1 arc up while also showing Tana just barely survived.  Plus, it shows how damn resourceful the Ace is.  Great stuff here. A-/94

-Ospreay/Ibushi It's weird seeing Ospreay and Ibushi target a limb, but it's good for making the match feel unique while showing more depth for both, particularly Ospreay.  I like how this started as a tic for tac kind of match before immediately changing to something methodical.  Little things like Ibushi holding the rope to stabilize a kick are duly noted.  While disappointed Ibushi didn't sell his leg much, the second half was bangin'.  Those forearm strikes got brutal.  Speaking of brutal, how about that version of the back to belly piledriver? Ibushi's offense plays wonderfully into Ospreay's neck injury, with so many moves focused on crushing the head or neck.  I also liked how they made some of the moves seem like such a struggle to get off, like Ospreay's powerbomb.  Makes it feel like a more bitter fight.  The Dragon Superplex tease terrified me, but not as much as Ospreay landing in his had from the second rope German suplex.  He looked like he had survived permanent paralysis, and I don't think that was just selling.  Everything from that point was just sickening gangbusters.  Holy damn.  Fuck me.  That's the kind of match you're not sure you should even support it, but that shit was awesome in a stomach-turning way.  My match of the tournament so far. A/96

-Also, that show of respect from Ibushi at the end ;_;

 

[Vic Boss 612]

Day 9 Comments

 

 

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ZSJ throwing a tantrum because his UK Title now represents Boris Johnson and he can't concentrate on the G1 because he's watching the news all day
 

 

[Vic Boss 612]

Night 10

 

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- Juice vs Ishii was pretty good, that fall Ishii took on his head after the Juice Box was grossssss. I think someone got their bell rung too, things got a little sloppy or slow or out of synch or something like that. I liked the story of Juice trying to take a beating and pulling through but coming up short. He's trying too much to be Moxley and isn't him

- Shingo and Jay had a match. Nothing really wrong with it but it was the first time in a while that I wasn't pumped by the end of a Shingo match.

- I love that sticking a fist out is so intertwined with Naito and Mox's careers that they're basically doing one of their signature poses and mocking the other guy at the same time

- Lot of one guy zigging and the other zagging in Naito v Mox, but they got there by the end. I'm legit surprised Mox beat Naito, I would've thought that Naito and Jay White get the wins over him just in case he cuts out after AEW really gets going. Fckn Head-drop Death Rider too x_x
 

 

[MT 918]

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I hear Yano could be the one to hand Mox his first defeat

[MT 918]

Toru Yano is the best

 

 

[Vic Boss 612]

Night 11

 

Definitely a "middle of the tournament" show. Solid wrestling all around, another really good showing by Lance Archer, but also wrestlers in "preserving their bodies for the final days" mode (except Tana v EVIL, Tanahashi is always preserving his body and still somehow having 4+ star matches, this is no different)

 

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- Yano trying to sell the DVD to Mox, Mox rolls him up afterwards

- Fucking loved that Storm-Breaker Reversal into an Inoki Manji-Gatame ZSJ used to tap out Will

- Lance making children cry again

- Christ, air on that chokeslam

- KENTA, former NOAH ace, vs SANADA, former future-AJPW Ace and former short-term Wrestle-1 Ace

- WHOA Sanada won

- Dohohoho, I detected a little Great Muta vs Tanahashi with EVIL playing the part of Muta in the first half of that match.

- God man, Tanahashi is so great at doing so little but getting so much out of it.

[Psycho666Soldier 287]

Night 6

 

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-The opening tag lets me know I will actually watch ZSJ/Fale because that's a pretty interesting match-up.
-Kaneimaru kicking out of the splash from Fale was pretty immense.
-Suzuki is such a monster, standing through Honma chops like a fly landed on him
-Tanahashi is probably going to pull something special out of Archer
-That Tana/Honma double Kokeshi.
-them hot bars from Kevin Kelly
-THAT DOUBLE CHOKESLAM
-Clark Connors is a tough motherfucker
-Even if the matches don't live up to the hype, damn are the LIJ matches on Night 7 going to be intense
-Okada mocking Ospreay's pose was spicy
-I also don't know how the fuck Ospreay is even standing right now

-Taichi/Shingo make for good foils.  Shingo's strong, but inexperienced.  Taichi's a little more experienced and crafty, but still adjusting to the heavyweight style.  While Taichi's tactics catch Shingo off guard, any time Shingo gets a shot in, Taichi's left reeling.  They did a good job of showing Taichi can be tough, though, and I think it works best when it's against someone like Shingo who lacks the edge of experience.  There were some bombs thrown in this match, and Taichi looked better than I've seen up to this point.  Just a lot of well-timed spots and good pacing here, which Shingo is pretty consistent about.  Short and sweet and explosive.  Awesome start.  A-/91

-Cobb/Juice was another case of a kind of standard match until the last few minutes.  Juice is great for matches with good pacing and kind of playing out like a storyboard.  Cobb blended with him decently, and I think there were some unique counters in this match.  It just never really got me pumped or grabbed my attention for a long amount of time until towards the end.  B/86

-White/Yano was a lot of what you expected, though I like that White felt that even against Yano, he had to use dirty tactics.  And they bit him in the ass against Yano.  Brass Knucks to the nuts pretty convincing finish.  Hilarious, in the least. B-/82

-Naito/Goto I like this arc of Goto doing whatever he needs to do to get his career back on track.  It adds an extra sense of urgency to his matches, something that's felt missing the last couple years.  Counter of Naito's corner dropkick.  But as cunning as he can be, it's hard to beat the guile of Naito, who brutally works Goto's leg.  It allows Naito to control Goto's strength and cut down any comeback.  But when Goto lands a move, it's devastating.  The Destino countered into Ushigaroshi was badass, and I appreciate Goto acknowledging that he used the knee that was damaged.  Speaking of counters, that Ushigaroshi counter into that spike DDT was cringe-worthy(in a good way).  Really hot run to the finish, and Goto needing to take two Destinos shows that he's still the tough motherfucker we knew back then, even in a loss.  A/94

-Ishii/Moxley That explosion start.  Mox's reaction to Ishii unflinching to his head kicks.  That first heavy forearm from Ishii that made Mox crumple.  The fucking chair duel (and Moxley winning with the busted chair).  The table drama!  That forearm to the chair!  Ishii going off the top rope! My god, can this match stop for a second?!? No.  No it can't. Awesome.  This match was just incredible, top to bottom.  Balls to the wall without feeling like a spot-fest.  A lot of character here in the way both men met each other's level in their respective styles.    Ishii going outside his normal box was such a treat to see.  And it was a quick hot sprint within 20 minutes.  I don't even give a fuck, I think this match deserves it. A+/98

 

 

[Vic Boss 612]

(Taichi debuted in 2002, Shingo in 2004. Unless by inexperienced you just mean NJPW-wise or Heavyweight-wise)

[Psycho666Soldier 287]

Yeah, I meant both NJPW and it's heavyweight division.  But admittedly, his debut in New Japan was my first time seeing him.  Other than some old Noah and classic AJPW, I haven't really watched much else Japanese wrestling.

 

Except for FMW, of course.  Everyone has to watch some FMW.

[Vic Boss 612]

 

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For real I think the only FMW match I've ever seen was the exploding mine time bomb death match or whatever the fuck between Onita and Terry Funk

[MT 918]

Yano/Moxley

 

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¯\_(?)_/¯

[Vic Boss 612]

Night 12

 

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- I think Okada's going to suffer his first loss to Sanada. He laughed the other night that his new "rival" was doing so bad in the tournament and fucked around in their preview match. Taking him too easy, and Sanada would be a solid title defense before Wrestle Kingdom

- I absolutely loved how Shingo and Jeff Cobb worked the match. Shingo remained a power wrestler but had to chop down the tree of the much bigger power wrestler

- Oh my fucking god, Yano is taping Mox and Shota together

-  HOLY SHIT HE WON

- Naito's still alive (I think?)

- Juice taking off his entrance gear just as slowly as Naito

- Juice failing again to beat someone that Mox did

- Holy shit, Gedo is the worst. That's saying something in a match with Jay White and Taichi in it

- Don't look now, Switchblade's making a comeback run.

- Goto used an ushigoroshi GTR variation as a set-up move

[Vic Boss 612]

BTW, the first G1 Final between Keiji Mutoh and Masahiro Chono is Free on NJPWWorld, shit's awesome old-school wrestling (and not unlike Tanahashi matches are today)

 

Night 13

 

Watching the double-main first before I pass out, I'll do the rest later

 

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- I fucking love when Tanahashi does slow hold-exchanging wrestling

- Dat Ibushi countering the High Fly Flow into a top-rope hurricanrana had such a badass camera angle

- Please stop trying to kill Tanahashi. We only get one of him every 100 years

- That was an Inoki "where's your fucking fire, kid" slap that Tana gave Ibushi

- Ibushi using Shinsuke's Bomaye against Shinsuke's greatest rival always gets me

- Dat post-match where Tana was probably telling Ibushi to carry his torch and kill'em all but they were hiding it from everyone ;_;

- Arrogant Prick Okada coming out to play

- Oh my god this fucking finish

- Okada's not tapping or submitting, time ticking down, Sanada goes for the Moonsault

- HOLY SHIT SANADA

[Vic Boss 612]

Night 13 Rest of the event

 

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- I liked Juice wrestling stiffer, as if the frustration is getting to him or that he needs to change it up

- Jay White is such a bitch and I'm really looking forward to that match with Mox

- Good GOD, EVIL murdering Ospreay with those half and half suplexes

[Vic Boss 612]

Night 14 Last Two Matches (I'll watch the rest later)

 

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- Gedo running away with Mox's table

- Mannnn, that release vertical suplex almost went bad for Jay

- That brass knux spot was awesome

- Jay beats Mox, booking-wise I figured they'd do that, but they really had me wondering

- I like how Shingo is a Junior but he's physically bigger in every way to Naito

- DAT COUNTER DESTINO

- Mother of God, every time Shingo hits a lariat it makes me want to run outside and wipe someone the fuck out

- CANADIAN DESTROYER DE JA PON

- SHINGO KICKS OUT A RUNNING DESTINO

- NO SHINGOOOO

[Vic Boss 612]

Night 14

 

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- Karl Fredericks got to lock up with Okada, NJPW sees it too

- I really like Clark Connors underdog babyface fire. He's got an expressiveness that's gonna take him places

- As far as preview match build-up goes, my body is ready for Ospreay vs Kenta

- Yano tries to bait Ishii to fight him outside, Ishii just waits and Yano almost gets himself counted out

- And now Ishii baited Yano into a strong style fight

- Ishii just went for a low-blow, they're getting drawn into each other's bullshit

- My head says the B Block Finalist is either Jay White (they've been really playing up that no one has ever lost their opening three matches and won the tournament, which Jay is attempting to do now) or Mox (in my mind, you can't rely on him being around once AEW starts up so you want to have a few top guys beat him so they have the rub of beating a former WWE Champion, the same way they do it with Jericho and the same way WWE has done it with Shinsuke, AJ etc). But my heart wants Juice.

- Juice landed and rotated off his neck

- FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF I think Mox has to lose his last two and Juice win his last two (including against Mox) to have a shot at the final

 

So if I'm reading the booking right/predictions

 

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On Night 16, I would say Goto beats Moxley, Jay White eliminates Juice ;_;, Ishii beats Shingo, Naito beats Cobb, Taichi loses to Yano.

 

That would set up a situation where Mox, Jay, Naito, Goto and Ishii all have 10 Points, and Yano at 8 Points has a tiebreaker over Mox, Naito and Jay White. Juice beats Mox to eliminate him (paying him back for taking the US Title from him), Taichi beats Ishii to eliminate Ishii and continue their NEVER feud, Cobb beats Yano to eliminate him, Shingo beats Goto to eliminate him, and Jay White overcomes Naito to win B Block.

[Vic Boss 612]

Night 15

 

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- The female colour commentator has entered the rotation on the Japanese and every time she speaks, I love her even more <3

- Another really good showing by Lance Archer. If it's me, he takes Fale's spot as the generic monster title defense that every long IWGP Heavyweight Title reign has in it

- Female commentator is growling angrily whenever the heels cheat against Tanahashi and I love her <3

- Fale with the backslide victory

- Shit, didn't he beat someone else in the tournament with a roll-up or something too? Fale's gotta start relying more on his technical skill

- Ospreay's the perfect guy to have a KENTA style match with

- I just heard a Japanese man yell "ORIENTEERING WITH NAPALM DEATH"

- Those last 5 mins of EVIL/Okada were fire

[Vic Boss 612]

Night 16 - Prelims

 

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- Milano trying to show Chase how to do the Paradise Lock from the commentary table

- Hmmmmmmm, KENTA's last Block match is against ZSJ from Suzuki-gun... I find it interesting both because ZSJ cut his teeth in Japan in NOAH at the same time KENTA was there, and also because the faction KENTA would seemingly fit the best with is Suzuki-gun

- Karl Fredericks getting a taste of Suzuki's elbow

- Ha, ZSJ says "Hisashiburi" to KENTA. "Been awhile/Long time no see."

- Oh man, Clark Connors laying into Suzuki with no fucks given

[Vic Boss 612]

Okada/Sanada from 08.03, Naito/Shingo from 08/04, and Ishii/Shingo from this show pulled 5 stars (Ishii/Shingo with the 5.5)

 

Night 16 Block Matches

 

ISHII VS SHINGO YOSHHHHHH

 

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- Taichi using Yano tactics, wrapping Yano up in the ring skirt to try and get a count out

- Holy shit, Yano wrapped up Taichi and Kanemaru in the ring skirt for the countout

- Cobb hoists Naito up for a delayed vertical superplex, Naito thinks he's gone up heavy so he tries to come back down a bit and boost himself off the pole again, Cobb just powers him up and you see Naito's body go "Well, okay then"

- Cobb with such a sweet variation of the F5

- You can tell Goto likes Moxley

- LARIATSSSSSS

- 4 for 5 on my booking guesses. I thiiiink Ishii's been eliminated, even though he can tie the 10-pointers he's lost to three of them so he won't get the tie-breaker

[Vic Boss 612]

A Block Finals - Just watching Tana/Ospreay and Okada/Ibushi for now, the rest later (oh god, this weekend)

 

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- Super J Cup incoming, I think Ospreay wins against Tana, and then either wins the J-Cup or someone else who is going to be taking the reins of the Junior Division will (Hiromu comeback?). It's been a bit undercover, but the building of the Junior division has been slowly going the last few years, from all of the BOSJ being televised, to BOSJ main events being Junior matches, to the Jr Tag tournament moving from single elimination to league format. They may just want to crown Ospreay and continue building the division into something big or separate (though I also wonder if Kenny leaving has them spooked about putting too much into gaijin)

- Tana bridging into that leglock and Ospreay basically squatting down to sell it, fucking love it

- Ospreay's selling of his knee on landings is on-point

- WILL

- I think Ibushi wins... but Okada could win too. The thing I love about Gedo's booking the most of all is that he sets up his situations so that there's viable directions either way, so if the right turn is the most obvious turn, the left turn still makes enough logical sense that it can't be discounted. I think Okada vs Ibushi or Jay White is going to main event one of the Dome shows and Naito vs one of Ibushi or Jay White main events the other one. Okada/Jay and Ibushi/Naito seem like the most obvious pairings to me based on this year's storylines.

- Okada's going out of his way to show that he thinks Ibushi is no big deal, looking a little bored or business-as-usual as he's beating him up early on

- Holy shit, that Dropkick counter into the Golden Star Powerbomb x_x

- Ibushi going for the Bomaye... Okada's former leader's move

- Oh my fucking god, that 10 foot tall dropkick by Okada

- OKADA KICKS OUT OF KAMIGOYE

- IBUSHIIIIIIIIIIIII

[Vic Boss 612]

A Block Finals Prelims

 

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- If not a Heavyweight Title monster-defense, I'd at least have Lance Archer as an IC/US level monster defense. Especially now that one of those two belts may be main eventing 2-show Tokyo Domes going forward

- Fale holding the mic close to himself as he chokes out Sanada with the cord, just so the English speaking fans can hear him swear

- Fucking Fale wins with another Small Package

- Fale beat Kenta, Tanahashi, Sanada and Evil, I think all of them with some kind of roll-up (at least three of them with roll-ups)

- Liger popped on Japanese commentary when Fale and Jado almost left Chase Paradise Lock'ed in the ring

- Disrespectful KENTA is best KENTA

- Disrespectful Zack is also best Zack

[Garlic Junior 136]

My dudes, July/Aug is such a busy month for me entertainment wise. SGDQ, WSOP, ASG week and X Games, on top of other things, has distracted me for too long.

 

But I finished my X Games watch last night and will bust through the G1 shows I've missed.

 

When's the final? Is it this weekend?

[Vic Boss 612]

A Block Final yesterday, B Block Final right now, Final on Monday

[Vic Boss 612]

B Block Finals/Block Matches/Prelims Later

 

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- Ishii vs Taichi was straight fire. Tenryu's Offspring vs Kawada's Bastard Child.

- Juice bit out Mox's earring, holy fuck

- Mox and Juice getting dueling chants while exchanging Punches

- Mox getting pissed at Red Shoes for not calling the match after Juice seemed choked out by the STF, starts fucking up Juice

- YOSHHHHH NXT WASHOUT CJ PARKER JUST PINNED WWE CHAMPION DEAN AMBROSE CLEANLY

- HOLY SHIT THESE PUMPING BOMBERS MY FIGHTING SPIRIT IS FLAMES RIGHT NOW

- SHINGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

- Naito made a point of mentioning that he felt nostalgic about fucking with Jay White when he was a young boy, now he's mercilessly screwing with him in this match when Jay is usually the one screwing with everyone else

- God damn, that extended reversal sequence between Jay and Naito

- Bahhhhhh, Naito shoulda kicked out

- "Naito, Naito... Tranquilo"

- At least Jay's claiming that Gedo and co won't be ringside for the final

- And then he proceeds to fuck up Ibushi's leg

- I haven't watched Cobb/Yano yet but I was 4 for 4 with the other picks

[Garlic Junior 136]

  On 7/16/2019 at 5:08 AM, Death Rider Mox said:

Night 4

 

 

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- Shota showing a bit more attitude against Liger, I'm gonna chalk that up to Mox being a bad influence

- I dug the post-match EVIL and SANADA, looking forward to that one

- Yano almost Eddie Guerrero'ing Shingo

- I fucking LOVED the ending of Juice/Goto. The punches and headbutts into Juice getting a strong, clean win. Juice is 2 for 2 so far and I'm hoping he gets a near top-of-the-table finish to elevate the US Title when he wins it back from Mox

- I really liked the psychology of the Cobb/Mox match, but I think Mox was making the mistake of thinking that wrestling fans in Japan are familiar with the WWE and most of what he did before, and they're not. I knew the Hangman's DDT could be the finish, but I don't think most of the New Japan fans know that his finish is a Double Arm DDT

- Jay vs Ishii BUILT, I started off thinking it was solid, then it got good, then it got great by the end

- Naito vs Taichi was a match. That had a storyline behind it.
 

 

 

 

Agree, would also add:

 

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Jeff Cobb's standing moonsault is sex

 

The apron work was good but I find it hard to reconcile "badass Mox" with "cartoonish selling" Mox

 

I don't like seeing Ishii be fooled. I do however like seeing Ishii headbutt a motherfucker in the stomach!

[Garlic Junior 136]

  On 7/19/2019 at 8:21 AM, Death Rider Mox said:

EVIL/SANADA and Okada/Fale were solid matches that performed about as expected

 

 

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I did love Sanada using EVIL's EVIL, and also that Okada/Fale finish was cool
 

 

 

 

ZSJ vs Tanahashi

 

 

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These two are so good together. It's so rare that two dudes could spend so much time exchanging holds and pinning combinations and have actually build in excitement. That hand-change into a reverse dragon screw by Tanahashi was nasty, and I loved the arm-triangle-reversed-into-a-pinfall that Tanahashi used to win the match. RIP ZSJ's tournament
 

 

 

 

Ospreay vs Ibushi

 

 

 

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- I loved the psychology of each man going after the other's injuries, and the slight overselling or dropping down harder in Ospreay's case made some of it look really killer (that Last Ride by Ibushi where Ospreay snapped himself down hard was brutal). The fucking disrespect they started showing each other later in the match (Ibushi just barely grabbing the ropes and Red Shoes diving to stop himself counting 3 was awesome). Also love that Ibushi probably won because Ospreay didn't stick to working the ankle enough whereas Ibushi kept on Ospreay's neck and back

 

That head drop was absolutely disgusting though, jesus. That might cost them stars with Dave
 

 

 

 

I mean, I know I'm an LIJ fanboy, but I think you downplayed EVIL v SANADA  a bit.

 

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This is why I love G1, friends and tag partners forced to face each other in an organic manner.

 

Some of EVIL's comedy spots were a bit strange to me initially, but the match picked up a good pace.

 

The sequences were all smooth af. Smooth af. Especially the attempts at each other's finishers. Great match.

[Garlic Junior 136]

Day 6

 

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The Okada/Osperay sequence was so fun, starting with Okada imitating Osperay's pose right up to the run-up flip into enziguiri

 

Good guy Naito, spitting on Goto's back (no doubt accidentally) and then in the same sequence german suplexes him, wiping the spit off with his own cheek. Legend.