Kenny Omega and Tetsuya Naito was your headline as block B of the G1 Climax got underway – and you’ll be shocked, but those top two matches were out of this world.
That Man With A Mission song is already burrowing into my soul… the hook is so damned catchy. Kevin Kelly, Don Callis and Rocky Romero are on the English commentary once again from the Ota City Gymnasium.
Bullet Club (Hangman Page & Chase Owens) vs. Michael Elgin & Shota Umino
Spaghetti Western music starts us off as the Bullet Club warm up for tomorrow’s Elgin/Page match.
It’s Page and Elgin who get us going, but there’s interference already as Owens snuck in and attacked Elgin from behind, who shrugs it off and tagged in Shota Umino to take care of it. Page easily gets into it with a dropsault to Umino, before Chase Owens came in and kept up the assault by throwing Umino into the turnbuckles. A thrust kick and a neckbreaker gets Owens a two-count, but his effort to sucker punch Elgin on the apron’s caught, allowing Umino to come back and make the tag! Elgin’s in with forearms to Owens… then a forearm to Page on the outside as he returned with a Falcon arrow to Owens for a near-fall. Page comes in to try and block an Elgin Bomb, but it’s fought off as Elgin tagged back out to Umino, who came back in with more momentum, taking it to Owens with elbows and a spinebuster.
Shota rolls Owens over into a Boston crab, and resists Page’s attempt to fight it away, but eventually the two-on-one pays off as they break it apart before Page lays out Elgin with a shooting star headbutt off the apron… leaving the path clear for the Jewel Heist trapped-arm clothesline from Owens for the win. A fun sprint to get us going, and it’s curious that none of the guys in the match tomorrow were involved in the result. **¾
Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL & BUSHI) vs. YOSHI-HASHI & SHO
EVIL and YOSHI-HASHI is the match tomorrow – a bout that on paper is unappetising, but perhaps could be a surprise given how good YOSHI was yesterday.
We start with EVIL grabbing a headlock as the opening salvo of shoulder blocks quickly gave way to chops with YOSHI…getting knocked down. YOSHI returns the favour, but gets tripped in the ropes as SHO’s attempt to make a save backfires, while YOSHI gets thrown into the guard rails with such force he ends up in the lap of a sound engineer.
Back in the ring, BUSHI’s in with the t-shirt choking to YOSHI as SHO briefly had the referee tied up. A missile dropkick from BUSHI keeps YOSHI down, but he’s able to bring in SHO to help clear things with back elbows, only for BUSHI to get free and tag in EVIL, who’s quickly dumped with a back cracker. SHO tried to follow up with a cross armbreaker, but they’re quickly in the ropes as YOSHI’s again sent into the railings… returning to the ring to eat the Everything is EVIL STO as LIJ effortlessly took the win, courtesy of the Banshee Muzzle to SHO. One-way traffic from EVIL, which usually means one thing in the block matches… **½
Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & El Desperado) vs. Togi Makabe & Toa Henare
Suzuki/Makabe is the match tomorrow, but first Suzuki’s got some Young Lions to kill out of frustration.
It’s the Suzuki-gun jump start special, but Minoru takes the guard rails chest-first as El Desperado began on the defensive, with Henare… quickly getting kicked in the back and caught with a hanging armbar by Suzuki as things swung around. Suzuki and Makabe end up in the crowd, as is the norm, before returning to focus on isolating Henare again. Henare’s able to get free and tag out to Makabe, who willingly laid into Suzuki with lariats and mounted punches in the corner, but that Northern Lights suplex is blocked… as was Suzuki’s running boot as we quickly segue into clonking elbows. Suzuki edges ahead with those, only to get surprised with a falling lariat by Makabe, then a flying shoulder tackle from Henare as he almost took the win.
Desperado hits the ring to try and break up the double-teaming, but he’s sent flying to the outside… only for Suzuki to go “eff it” and quickly finish off Henare with a rear naked choke and a Gotch piledriver out of nowhere. Simple, but effective. **½
Post-match, Suzuki goes after Yota Tsuji before kicking the barrier by the English commentary desk, making Don Callis scream like a girl in terror.
Firing Squad (Bad Luck Fale & Tanga Loa) vs. Kazuchika Okada & Gedo
Okada still loves balloons, and he keeps a couple on the way to the ring… sadly not to try and beat Fale with. It’s almost like losing the title’s dumped him into a midlife crisis…
Fale’s straight after Okada, taking him into the ropes before decking him with a forearm. A DDT stops things, but Tanga Loa’s instantly in to go after Okada, only to get met with the Scooby Dooby Doo crossbody! More forearms from Fale keep Okada rocked, but the former champ hits back… and gets flattened with a shoulder block and a big splash as the rather pedestrian pace of this was playing right into the big Tongan’s hands.
Tanga Loa’s in to keep up with shoulder charges, and to tell Okada to “Scooby Doo that”… which he does, by returning fire with a neckbreaker slam. In comes Gedo, and he meets a predictable end, saved when Okada clotheslined Fale to the outside. Gedo comes back with a chinbreaker and a lariat to Tanga, but the kick-out is so effortless that Gedo flew into the air as he tried to snatch wins with roll-ups. One such small package is blocked muscled up into a Fire Thunder Driver, giving Tanga Loa the win as the post-match saw Okada save himself from a Bad Luck Fall through the commentary desk. This was what it was… not great, but it sets up tomorrow well. “Reinventing” Okada has lost a lot of his aura, but once he finds “it”, it’ll be business as normal for him. **
Jay White & YOH vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & David Finlay
After singles wins over Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada this year, you have to wonder… is Switchblade going to avenge the egg at Tokyo Dome and get a W over Hiroshi Tanahashi tomorrow?
Tanahashi and White looked to start us off, but Switchblade walks away as he’s saving himself for the points tomorrow. He’s a change of heart, but he returns to tag in YOH to avoid losing by count-out, so we begin with YOH and Finlay… and of course, Finlay’s quickly jumped from behind as White tosses him into the corner. Tanahashi hits the ring to make a save, but White goes for the knee, whipping it into the mat as the Kiwi looked to continue the work of Suzuki from last night. We’ve another taste of Finlay/White, ending with a uranage backbreaker out of Finlay after he took a beating from Switchblade… but that backbreaker’s enough for him to get a tag out as Tanahashi’s in to take down White with a crossbody and a flip senton.
White turns it back around with a snapping Saito suplex, but both men tagged out, as YOH keeps up the momentum with a flying forearm to Finlay, then a superkick and a Falcon arrow! It’s enough for a near-fall as Tanahashi broke up the cover, but he’s quickly taken outside as Jay White finds a chair and uses it on him in the outside. He offers the chair to YOH, but the bad influence of Switchblade doesn’t work… and he’s instantly met with a Stunner from Finlay for the win as Jay refused to come in and make the save. INTRIGUE! I like this attempted hostile takeover by White, especially since the defacto leader of CHAOS is too busy messing around with balloons. A decent match with a good story behind it… although it did overshadow the G1 match tomorrow. ***
Fake interval time now – as we’re in with the G1 matches after barely an hour of the show. Good.
G1 Climax, Block B: Toru Yano vs. Tomohiro Ishii
We start block B with a tag team exploding, and a first-time singles match. Yano’s promising to keep it clean during the tournament, and he starts by trying to slow things down before… starting with elbows?!
Ishii edges ahead, but he’s quickly taken down with armdrags by Yano, then sent outside as Yano faced temptation. A whip into the barrier is reversed, but he returns the favour before going for a chair as the ribbing continues by the English commentary crew. The chair’s not used, so we’re back inside as Ishii keeps up with chops to Yano, who puts the brakes on as Ishii looked for a suplex… only for the brakes to give way as that suplex lands for a near-fall.
Yano gets back up to trade elbows, before he sneaks in an atomic drop, and now he’s slipping into form as he removes a turnbuckle pad. The follow-up whip’s almost reversed, but Ishii runs into the exposed corner… then slingshotted in as Ishii seems to have not learned from what his partner does in every single match. A low blow’s blocked by referee Marty Asami, as both men end up meeting that exposed corner, with Ishii managing to rebound out of it with a lariat. Another clothesline attempt gets countered into a backslide by Yano, who follows up with a small package for another near-fall. A drop toe hold into the corner led to another cradle for a near-fall… but Ishii’s got a second wind in him, only to get dumped with an elbow from Yano! Ishii tries to return with a German suplex, but Yano’s right back up and catches Ishii with a belly-to-belly, before he runs into a lariat as Yano’s really surprising people here… including when he kicks out of Ishii’s sliding lariat!
Yano grabs the referee to save himself from a brainbuster, but he still can’t get the win… and after more low blows were teased, we end up with Ishii out-Yano’ing Yano, with a mule kick low blow and a roll-up for the win! My God… this was all I hoped up and then some. Yano can go after-all! There’s a huge grin on my tired face after that… ***¼
G1 Climax, Block B: Tama Tonga vs. Juice Robinson
Tama’s out with Tanga Loa… so expect shenanigans.
There’s a nice touch as Juice’s slapping hands with the fans… and ends up inadvertently using his broken hand, aggravating himself during his entrance. Yeah, we’ve still got the DQ stipulation for Juice if he uses his cast.
They open with a lock-up as Tama tries to assert some dominance, but there’s plenty of counters and reversals in the early going as they keep the graps basic… until Juice faked out a hiptoss as the two square off instead. From there, Tama brings the strikes as he throws Juice to the outside, where Tanga Loa’s there to provide a distraction as Tama takes Juice into the ringpost. The guard rails come into play as Tama wraps Juice’s arm in them before almost throwing one of the gates closed into the arm… but Juice just rolls back into the ring as he wants to wrestle rather than fight. Tama’s back with the wacky rope runs, but he’s met with armdrags and a big back body drop, before recovering to take Juice outside.
Yeah, we’ve got the shenanigans as Tama has the referee distracted, allowing Tanga Loa to attack Juice on the outside with a short-arm lariat. Robinson beats the count-out, but Tama’s right back in with elbows and a backdrop suplex… a Stinger splash misses as Juice looks for an Electric Chair, only for Tama to slip out with a reverse Gun Stun neckbreaker for a near-fall. Second time was the charm for the Stinger Splash, before a Tongan Twist nearly gets the W… but not quite.
Tama stands on the broken hand of Juice in a bid to prevent a fightback, but it only delays things as some Dusty punches from Juice ended with him running into a boot and a guillotine choke as Tama looked to be going for Vereno. Somehow Juice counters it into a Jackhammer, before taking Tama into the corner for a cannonball as another Electric Chair’s escaped… but Juice counters the counter with an awkward brainbuster for a near-fall. Eventually Juice sets up for Pulp Friction, but Tanga Loa gets on the apron for… reasons…. Juice hiptosses him into the ring so he can Dusty Punch him to death, using the cast for extra effect, before Pulp Friction was countered into a Gun Stun as Tama Tonga gets the win. Well there’s my bracket busted for the day. Technically sound, but this felt extremely lethargic. I’ve a feeling these Firing Squad matches may be a slog… **¼
G1 Climax, Block B: SANADA vs. Hirooki Goto
Commentary painted that SANADA’s match with Naito later in the tournament may be what he’s focusing on… which perhaps explains why he was slow out of the blocks here.
Goto’s on top early, but SANADA fires back with a springboard missile dropkick before they rushed outside for the guard rail spot, and then into the aisle as SANADA drops Goto head-first into the guard railings. They’re back in the ring as Goto tries to chop his way back into it, only for SANADA to hit a low dropkick to restore order and get a near-fall.
A short-lariat from Goto takes both men down, but Goto’s back in with a spinning heel kick and a Saito suplex as he almost snuck out the win. An attempted ushigoroshi’s escaped as SANADA comes back in with a double leapfrog, dropkick and a plancha as the tempo was quickly raised, then lowered as we’re back in the ring with the pair of them exchanging forearms/elbows until SANADA slipped in an uppercut to change it up.
SANADA quickly runs into an ushigoroshi as he perhaps took too long, before the pair juggle between a GTR and Skull End. It’s the Skull End that looked to win it out, before SANADA swings him around in the hold, as a follow-up TKO is again stuffed by Goto, who rains down some elbows, only to get caught with an ushigoroshi out of nowhere! From there, SANADA slips in another Skull End, but he lets go so he can go for a moonsault… which misses. For some reason I just had to laugh at Red Shoes, as he put his hands on his hips and looked on almost in disgust at that! Goto returns with a running clothesline to keep both men on the mat, before returning to try and kick through SANADA’s chest… but it’s caught as SANADA eventually takes him into the ropes for an O’Connor roll into a Skull End, which gets escaped as they jockey for position once more, ending with a headbutt from Goto! From there, we’ve a reverse GTR before SANADA almost rolled him up for the win… but Goto’s out at the last possible second!
Another moonsault into a Skull End comes from SANADA, but Goto blocks it and draped SANADA into another reverse GTR, before finishing off the Ingobernable with the genuine thing for the win. Starting out slow, this blossomed into really good by the end, with the counters and reversals. SANADA put in a hell of a shift here, but in the end his scouting g Goto was undone by Goto switching things in. This was a match that low-key looked to take its toll on folks, with SANADA looking to be bothered by his neck in the aftermath. ***¾
G1 Climax, Block B: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kota Ibushi
On the prior night, Sabre added the “Zack Driver” (Michinoku Driver) to his arsenal, as he’s no longer just the best technical wrestler in the world.
Ibushi and Sabre are 1-1 in their two singles matches, the first being in the last G1 almost a year ago, and we start with Kota trying to feint some kicks while Sabre scrambled for a takedown attempt. There’s a neat escape from Sabre early as he unpicks a takedown by using his own leg, before he goes for Ibushi’s arm… but the knuckle lock gets reversed as they went back-and-forth, eventually with Ibushi forcing Sabre to the mat, only to get the roles reversed as Sabre takes over on top.
The knuckle lock’s put back in as they worked up to a monkey flip before Sabre rolled through and regained the upper hand for a moment, before Ibushi took control, throwing kicks and elbows as Sabre was forced to release the hold. One swift kick to the chest dumps Sabre, as does another flurry of strikes before a standing moonsault draws a near-fall. Sabre rolls onto the apron for respite, but he just sucks in Ibushi… and gets kicked to the outside as Kota kicked him through the ropes ahead of an attempted Golden Triangle… but Sabre pulls him onto the apron, then down to the floor with a heel hook! We’re back in the ring as Sabre keeps up on the leg, only to get punched in the gut as Ibushi gets admonished for his rather cheap shot.
Zack returns the favours with elbows and a kick, leading to a leg sweep before he goes back to the leg submissions, grapevining Ibushi as he worked into an effortless Indian deathlock. More kicks from Sabre ended with an expected retaliation from Ibushi, who went for the chest again, before a low dropkick from Sabre was leapt over, with Kota countering with a neat double-stomp. An overhead kick from Sabre targets the arm, but Ibushi again shrugs it off for a dropkick to take Zack outside for a plancha!
Returning to the ring, Ibushi’s springboard back in goes awry as his leg buckles, giving Sabre something else to target… and when he catches an overhead kick from Ibushi, business looked to be back to normal… only for Kota to catch him with a lariat to make sure Zack couldn’t go back to the legs. An attempted Golden Star powerbomb from Ibushi is effortlessly countered by Sabre, who rolled through into another wacky submission, tying up all four limbs at the same time before pulling him so hard in a single-leg crab he sent Ibushi into the ropes.
Ibushi recovers quickly for a scoop slam, but Sabre hits back with some PKs for a near-fall as they began to measure each other for their strikes. More kicks from Sabre are met in kind as they aimed for each other’s leg, but eventually Ibushi’s kick is caught and met with a leg-trapped German that Ibushi actually flipped out of, before a palm strike sent Sabre down once again! Sabre returns the palm strikes as they slapped each other back to their feet, then back down to the mat as Sabre ends up putting himself in harm’s way – putting himself on the top rope to escape a backslide, only to get kicked in the back.
From there, Ibushi takes Sabre down as he looked for a Kamigoye… it’s repeatedly blocked before a powerbomb nearly put the Brit away. Of course, it’s not long before Zack’s back with an Octopus, before Ibushi’s reversal almost went badly wrong as his knee buckles, nearly sending Zack careering out through the ropes and to the floor. A Zack Driver attempt from Sabre’s quickly slipped out of as Ibushi nails a Dragon suplex and a buzzsaw kick, as he looked to finish him with a Kamigoye… but instead we’re countering, countering and countering as Sabre found his way into a Tiger suplex for a near-fall! After kicking out, he’s instantly nailed with Kamigoye, and that’s the win for Kota Ibushi! Absolutely sublime wrestling from two of the absolute best. How the hell do you top that display of counter wrestling, striking and just general awesomeness? I don’t know… but this is a match you need to put aside time to see! ****¾
G1 Climax, Block B: Tetsuya Naito vs. Kenny Omega
These two have met in the last two G1s – Naito winning in the final last year, after Omega won on the final day of block action in 2016 with a match that saw him tie Naito with points… but crucially win the tie-breaker in the year that Kenny went on to win the G1.
The crowd were on fire from the start, but it was Kenny who was all about tranquilo here as he calmed them down. Naito uncharacteristically doesn’t start with his mind games as he went for a headlock, but Omega edges out with a shoulder block before nonchalantly walks over Naito, much to the chagrin of the Ingobernable. Naito returns the favour as they’re mocking each other, before he looked to fake out a dive… and just spits towards Omega instead.
Back in the ring, a hard backdrop suplex gets Omega a near-fall as he began to ease into control, whipping Naito into the corners before grounding him for a submission attempt. Naito tries to fight back, but Kenny puts on the brakes and looks for a powerbomb… which gets blocked as Naito throws some chops and forearms… only to see his back body drop kicked away! The heavy lumber followed as Omega hits another chop, but Naito stops that with a hiptoss and a low dropkick as the LIJ leader looked to claw his way back in. The Finlay roll’s blocked by Naito as he takes Omega into the ropes for a draping reverse DDT and a neckbreaker for a near-fall, before setting up for the outside-in dropkick… which Omega catches and countered back with a Finlay roll and springboard moonsault for a two-count. They’re outside again as Omega drops Naito on the apron with a backdrop suplex, before he begins to tear down some of the padding around the ring… but Naito flies in with a dropkick as Kenny was unsighted by the padding.
Second time’s the charm for that outside-in dropkick, but Naito can’t follow-up with Gloria, as Omega blocks it and hits a ‘rana to take him outside… and there’s a table looming on ominously as Omega set up for a dive… only Naito to return and hit a tornado DDT off the ropes instead. Things quickly turn around as Omega dropkicks Naito to the outside, sending him into the crowd before a springboard plancha sent Omega over the guard rails and right into the front row!
WOW!!! @KennyOmegamanX #NJPW #g128 https://t.co/4ULitIni5Z pic.twitter.com/srWvlKn18M
— LARIATOOOO!! (@MrLARIATO) July 15, 2018
We’re back inside as Naito looked to catch Omega off the top rope with a ‘rana, but Kenny slips out and dumped him head-first into the turnbuckle before a snap Dragon suplex put Naito on the mat, just like last year. The Dr. Wily Bomb’s next for a near-fall, before Naito sidesteps a V-Trigger… only to eventually get drilled in the back of the head with one as Omega teases a One Winged Angel, which gets countered into a reverse ‘rana instead! Naito tries to take Omega up top for a ‘rana… and it comes off this time as Gloria follows, dumping Omega high on the back and neck for a near-fall. A leaping forearm from Naito misses as he’s waffled with another flying V-Trigger, but he’s able to counter Omega’s Aoi Shoudou into a Destino, before another one’s somehow countered?! One Winged Angel? NO! A package tombstone instead, but Naito kicked out at two as these two continued to astound.
GODDAMN!!! #NJPW #g128 https://t.co/4ULitIni5Z pic.twitter.com/rxlfVgIekV
— LARIATOOOO!! (@MrLARIATO) July 15, 2018
Omega takes Naito into the corner for another V-Trigger to the back of the head, before lifting him on the top rope for… an avalanche One Winged Angel? No! Naito reverses into a sunset bomb, but he cannot follow-up quickly, instead taking his time for Destino as we ALMOST had the end there! Good heavens, Naito’s coming closer… so he pulls up Omega by the wrist and goes for another Destino, before hitting a uranage instead. We’re back to Destino, but Omega blocks again and tries for a V-Trigger… this time with Naito slapping away and hitting a Koppo Kick as another Destino’s turned into a sit-out tombstone.
FUUUUUUUCK!! Spiked him!!!! #NJPW #g128 https://t.co/4ULitIni5Z pic.twitter.com/Qmy1c4u6xw
— LARIATOOOO!! (@MrLARIATO) July 15, 2018
FFFFFFF…. Naito somehow kicked out of that, and a Praying Mantis Bomb, before a V-Trigger and the death blow that was the One Winged Angel finally puts him away. I have no words. They topped Ibushi/Sabre with a totally different kind of match, and one that at times was a little tricky to watch given the neck drops on Naito… but my word this is one for the ages. We’re saying that a lot, I reckon… *****
Post-show, Omega’s backstage promo sees him put over the entire block as he said everyone had an exciting match, before vowing to win the G1 (“and that ugly ass trophy”), so he can pick his opponent at WrestleKingdom. But we’re already getting Ibushi in the G1 so…?
Take out the undercard, and this was a hell of a show. Those undercard tags are always going to be hit and miss on this tour, and save for the Jay White tag, you can comfortably skip all of it. As for the G1 matches… holy hell, block B got off to a firey start. From Toru Yano rolling back the clock to his amateur stylings rather than the comedy stuff that winds up so many people in the G1, while Sabre/Ibushi produced an all-time classic. A match that we’d be talking about… except Omega and Naito tore down the house as the opening weekend of the G1 broke into a rather effortless stride. Block A’s back in action tomorrow, main eventing with Jay White vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi… here’s how both blocks look after their opening matches.
Block A:
Michael Elgin, Togi Makabe, Hangman Page, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Jay White (1-0; 2pts)
EVIL, Bad Luck Fale, Kazuchika Okada, Minoru Suzuki, YOSHI-HASHI (0-1; 0pts)
Block B:
Hirooki Goto, Kota Ibushi, Tomohiro Ishii, Kenny Omega, Tama Tonga (1-0; 2pts)
Tetsuya Naito, Juice Robinson, Zack Sabre Jr., SANADA, Toru Yano (0-1; 0pts)