NJPW G1 Climax 2013: Night 8
Tokyo, Japan 8/10/13
* G1 Climax - Block A - Katsuyori Shibata def. Hirooki Goto via forfeit
* G1 Climax - Block B - Yugi Nagata def. Hiroyoshi Tenzan via forfeit
1.) Yoshi-Hashi & Takashi Iizuka Vs Kushida & Captain New Japan **
2.) G1 Climax - Block A - Prince Devitt vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr: ***
3.) G1 Climax - Block B - Karl Anderson vs. Yujiro Takahashi: **3/4
4.) G1 Climax - Block A - Satoshi Kojima vs. Lance Archer: *** 1/4
5.) G1 Climax - Block B - Toru Yano vs. Shelton Benjamin: **1/2
6.) G1 Climax - Block A - Togi Makabe vs. Tomohiro Ishii: ****
7.) G1 Climax - Block B - Kota Ibushi vs. Minoru Suzuki: ***1/2
8.) G1 Climax - Block B - Tetsuya Naito vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: ****
9.) G1 Climax - Block A - Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada ****3/4
Overall: 8.5/10
This show was somewhat of a mixed bag but in the end, it proved to be very good. The opening tag team match was better than the one from Night Seven, but that's only because Kushida was in it. Their were a few matches that were decent to good, then a few matches that were really good to great. Again, Archer & Smith continue to impress. Kojima is a lot better than his partner Tenzan, and his matches show this. Yano is still not impressing me and Benjamin remains a mixed bag. Makabe & Ishii had a hard hitting match that saw Makabe pull a Kevin Nash and drop Ishii right on the back of his neck/head in a botched powerbomb attempt. Naito & Nakamura had a very good match as well, but the main event between Okada & Tanahashi was fantastic. While not their best encounter, it was certainly up there. It was on the same level as the Ishii/Shibata match from Night Four, but for completely different reasons. They had great storytelling that was like something you would see in WWE. The match would end in a draw, meaning both guys get 1 point. It was overall a very good show. Not the best show, but definitely near the top of the list.
NJPW G1 Climax 2013: Night 9/Final
Tokyo, Japan 8/11/13
* G1 Climax - Block A - Tomohiro Ishii def. Hirooki Goto via forfeit
* G1 Climax - Block B - Kota Ibushi def. Hiroyoshi Tenzan via forfeit
1.) G1 Climax - Block B - Yuji Nagata vs. Yujiro Takahashi: ***
2.) G1 Climax - Block B - Toru Yano vs. Minoru Suzuki: **1/2
3.) G1 Climax - Block B - Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Shelton Benjamin: ****
4.) G1 Climax - Block B - Tetsuya Naito vs. Karl Anderson: ****
5.) G1 Climax - Block A - Lance Archer vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr: ***1/4
6.) G1 Climax - Block A - Satoshi Kojima vs. Kazuchika Okada: ****
7.) G1 Climax - Block A - Togi Makabe vs. Prince Devitt: ***
8.) G1 Climax - Block A - Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata: **** 1/4
9.) Akebono, Kazushi Sakuraba & Kota Ibushi VS. Takashi Iizuka, Yoshi-Hashi & Tomohiro Ishii: ***1/4
10.) G1 Climax - Finals - Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tetsuya Naito: **** 1/2
Overall: 9.5/10
I wondered if New Japan would be able to top their awesome Night Four, and they were somehow able to do that with the final night of the tournament, which should come as no real surprise. The only real match that wasn't good was Yano/Suzuki, but other than that the show was great. Nagata got busted open by Takahashi during their match and beat the crap out of him. Benjamin had his best match of the tournament against Nakamura, which should be no surprise since Nakamura is awesome. Naito/Anderson was a drama filled match that basically determined the Block B Winner. Archer & Smith had a good big man partner vs. partner match. Okada/Kojima was really good and Makabe/Devitt was fine, but nothing really special. Tanahashi/Shibata was a great match, and I feel like this whole tournament Shibata has really showed just how good he is. It would be awesome if we saw this match again. The six man tag was pretty good, mainly the bits between Ishii & Ibushi, which is another singles match I'd love to see in the future. Akebono also did a surprisingly good job, playing his roll very well. The finals between Tanahashi & Naito was a really good drama filled encounter and a great way to end the tournament. While I personally would have loved to see a Shibata/Nakamura finals, this one made sense as Naito beat the veteran to win one of the biggest titles in New Japan. Afterwords they had the post match ceremonies with Naito getting congratulations, trophies & money.
As I said in an earlier review, this was my first experience with New Japan. After hearing all about it from almost everyone, I decided to give it a try, and it did not disappoint. I got to see a ton of great wrestling shows and became fans of a number of New Japan talent, particularly Nakamura, who I consider my favorite. When people said New Japan has been on a roll in 2013, they weren't kidding, and the 2013 edition of the G1 Climax proved why they're so good.
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