Beyond Wrestling: CRITICAL! Acclaim Review

Chris Hero comes to Beyond Wrestling to face off against JT Dunn!

Beyond Wrestling: CRITICAL! Acclaim

Providence, Rhode Island 3/23/14

1.) Fatal Four-Way Match - Stockade vs. Ryan Rush vs. Francis Kip Stevens vs. Jesse Vane: **1/2

We start things off with a match featuring four relative newcomers. This was a decent opener. It was basically a showcase for these four guys. Stockade would pick up the win in a solid four-way match.

2.) Submission Match - CZW World Champion Drew Gulak vs. ROH World TV Champion "Sicilian Psychopath" Tommaso Ciampa: ***3/4

These two had a really good match last year in Wrestling is Art of all places. This time, it's a Submission Match, and both guys come into this holding titles with their respective home promotions. This was very good match. While it started off a bit slow, it eventually picked up to the point you got really good. Of course you had a lot of submission exchanges as both guys tried to get the other to tap out. Eventually, it would be Gulak who would score the win after getting Ciampa to tap out.

After the match, Gulak cuts a promo talking about CZW making their debut in Providence, Rhode Island on April 27th in Fete Music Hall. He announces that he's issuing an Open Challenge for anyone to face him at that show for his CZW World Title. Biff Busick comes out, and accepts Gulak's challenge!

3.) Jaka vs. Eric Corvis: **3/4

Here we have a match with two guys who have become regulars (or at least Semi-Regular) in the CHIKARA/Wrestling is Fun! Universe. It was a pretty solid match. I've become a fan of both guys through their time in CHIKARA/Wrestling is Fun!, and they had a relatively decent match. Jaka would eventually get the win via submission over Corvis.

After the match, Jimmy Jacobs (who had started a feud with Eric Corvis recently) came out, and Corvis was basically begging Jacobs to spike him, but Michael Elgin comes out and makes the save, leading two the next match!

4.) "Unbreakable" Michael Elgin vs. Jimmy Jacobs: ****

I really like this match. It was pretty great. I don't know what it is, but Michael Elgin & Jimmy Jacobs seem to have really good chemistry. The fact they would go on to have another really good match in ROH a few months later further proves that fact. Perhaps it's the big guy vs. small guy dynamic. Whatever the case may be, this was one of the best matches on the show, without question. Lots of really good action between both guys, and eventually, Elgin would put Jacobs away and get the win.

5.) No DQ Match - The Contingent (Nicholas Kaye & Myke Quest) vs. Anthony Stone & Matt Tremont: **1/4

This is a continuation of the Nicholas Kaye/Anthony Stone feud that turned a lot more personal back at Point Of No Return, with Kaye once again going after Stone's family and Myke Quest joining him. For this match, Stone was able to pick a partner in the form of CZW's Matt Tremont. For what it was, it was ok. They brawled all over the building (even outside of it) and brought in a lot of weapons. It had a real CZW-esque vibe (more so than the I Quit Match), which is maybe why I really didn't like this as much. I'm sure you would like this more if you're a fan of the CZW Style of Hardcore Matches. The Contingent would end up getting the victory.

Up next, we have Michael Bennett coming out, who was not scheduled to be on the show. He talks about how he works for a company that pays him well (Ring of Honor), and that Beyond Wrestling can't afford to book him or his soon-to-be-wife Maria Kanellis. He trashed Beyond Wrestling and the fans in general. It was actually a really good promo from Bennett. This draws the ire of Chris Dickinson, one of Beyond Wrestling's mainstays. After trading a bunch of verbal shots, Dickinson challenges Bennett to an Anything Goes Match right here, right now, which Bennett accepts!

6.) Anything Goes Match - Chris Dickinson vs. Michael Bennett: **1/4

These two basically wrestled a match in their street clothes. This was a fine brawl, but for the most part, a relatively short one. The fact that the previous match also had a Hardcore Stipulation, lessoned the effect of this match. Though at the same time, this whole thing was more of an angle than an actual match, advancing the angle of Dickinson vs. outsiders, mainly from Ring of Honor. Bennett hit a low blow, and a roll up to score the win, and walked out through the front door afterwords.

7.) reDRagon vs. Team Tremendous (Dan Berry & Bill Carr): ***1/2

Coming into this match, reDRagon had just recently lost the ROH World Tag Team Titles to The Young Bucks. As for this match, it was a really interesting clash of styles. While this wasn't a great match, it was a really good match. Again, we have a match that you're really not going to see anywhere else. Solid back & forth action from both teams, with Team Tremendous picking up what some would call an upset over reDRagon. Again, the match was really good & very entertaining. 

8.) Chris Hero vs. JT Dunn: ****1/4

The Main Event featuring The Knockout Artist (and I guess the former "Young Knockout Kid") against JT Dunn, who has gained the name of The New Knockout Kid. Both men utilize the Roaring Elbow as a finishing move. I thought this was a fantastic Main Event. Hero & Dunn both put their hard strikes and elbows to use throughout this one. Hero had control for a good portion of the match, but JT Dunn, much like in his match with Michael Elgin, had to fight from underneath and fought back hard. The last stretch was really good, with both guys going back & forth with really hard exchanges. Eventually, they hit each other with Roaring Elbows simultaneously, and the match ends in a Double Knockout.

After the match, Chris Hero takes the mic and talks about how he's been hearing about JT Dunn, specifically people comparing JT Dunn to himself, for almost two years, and people have been wanting to see this match ever since his WWE Release. He mentioned that all JT Dunn wanted was his respect, and out of nowhere, hits him with The Cyclone Kill, turning heel in the process. He says that JT Dunn should spend less time trying to be the next Chris Hero, and focus more on being the first someone else. After Hero exits, JT Dunn proclaims that he wants one more match with Hero as the show comes to a close.

Overall: 8.0/10

This was a very mixed bad of a show. The quality of the matches seemed to be all over the place. You had a number of great matches on this show, specifically Chris Hero vs. JT Dunn and Michael Elgin vs. Jimmy Jacobs. You also had a few matches on here that were really good with reDRagon vs. Team Tremendous and the Submission Match between Drew Gulak & Tommaso Ciampa. From there, the rest of the card was....below average. The remaining four matches were all under ***. Now out of those, I would say that only one of those matches was bad (The No DQ Tag Team Match). While the others served their purposes as opportunities for younger guys and a really good angle with Michael Bennett & Chris Dickinson (which was more of an angle than a match), I don't think it helped raise the show's quality from an in-ring perspective (if that makes any sense). Despite the ups & downs of this card, it still had a number of matches that are well worth seeing.

Beyond Wrestling: Point Of No Return Review

The Eddie Edwards/Biff Busick Saga continues, this time in a Dream Tag Team Match!

Beyond Wrestling: Point Of No Return

Providence, Rhode Island 9/15/13

1.) Kevin Steen vs. Chris Dickinson: ***1/4

This match started really quicker as Steen & Dickinson brawled from the back before the bell even rung. You knew this was going to be just a massive brawl and that's pretty much what we got. It was a pretty good opener. It would eventually take two Package Piledrivers from Steen to put Dickinson away and score the win.

After the match, Chris Dickinson put over Kevin Steen on the mic, and likewise, Steen puts over Dickinson. Then out of nowhere, Dickinson low blows Steen! He says that, as someone who's been in Beyond Wrestling since the beginning, he hates people like Kevin Steen who come in and reap the benefits off of all his hard work. Then, as Dickinson is walking out, he sees Tommaso Ciampa (who was at the show, but wasn't booked. I assume he was visiting). He asks if Ciampa's an ROH wrestler before he shoves Ciampa and a massive brawl ensues! It takes a lot of people to eventually break it up.

2.) Four-Way Tag Team Match - Fusion Dance (ACH & Shynron) vs. Da Hoodz (Davey Cash & Kris Pyro) vs. M1nute Men (Devin Blaze & Tommy Trainwreck) vs. Abnormalz (Evolve Champion AR Fox & Black Baron): ***

There was a pretty good Four-Way Tag Team Match on Americanrana, so Beyond Wrestling decided to do it again. It wasn't quite as good as the match from Americanrana, but it still a fun little multi-man match. Two of these teams were in the last four-way (Da Hoodz & M1nute Men), while we had two new teams (Fusion Dance & Abnormalz). I actually really liked the ACH/Shynron tandem. Eventually, the team of AR Fox & Black Baron would pick up the win.

Before the next match, Tommaso Ciampa comes out to the ring. He essentially cuts a promo antagonizing Chris Dickinson and this leads to another brawl between the two.

3.) ROH World TV Champion Matt Taven (with Kasey Ray) vs. Aaron Epic: **3/4

This was when Taven was still the ROH World TV Champion, and he also comes out with his girlfriend/Hoopla Hottie in Kasey Ray. As far as the match goes, it was relatively solid. Nothing that memorable, but a fine match nonetheless. Taven would get the winning following the inevitable Kasey Ray interference. We also got a lot of public displays of affection, including Taven & Kasey Ray....I guess simulating sex in the middle of the ring after the match.

4.) Six-Man Tag - Johnny Cockstrong, Jaka & Oleg The Usurper vs. Dan Berry, Buxx Belmar & The Swamp Monster: ***1/4

Now this was an interesting match. It was originally supposed to be a Four-Way involving Dan Berry, Cockstrong, Jaka & Oleg The Usurper, but Cockstrong cuts a promo saying that he, Jaka & Oleg were going to gang up on Berry, who then proceeds to find two random wrestlers (Berry was without his usual partner Bill Carr) to team up with him in the disgusting Buxx Belmar (who was eating out of the garbage) and The Swamp Monster. This went pretty much how you would expect. It was a comedy match, and an entertaining one at that. You had a lot of fun stuff in here, which is what you're going to get with six strange characters like these. The team of Cockstrong, Jaka & Oleg The Usurper  would get the win in the end.

5.) I Quit Match - Anthony Stone vs. Nicholas Kaye: ***1/4

Here we have a feud that has gotten really personal, as Kaye has threatened Anthony Stone's family (who happen to be in attendance for this match). This was a pretty solid match. It wasn't the greatest I Quit Match that I've ever seen, but it certainly wasn't the worst. You got the usual hardcore stuff (chairs, thumbtacks, barbed wire, etc...), which was fine given the feud. At one point, it looked like Stone was going to win, but then out of nowhere, Myke Quest shows up and attacks Anthony Stone! He then ends up restraining Stone to one of the turnbuckles, and Kaye demands that Stone say "I Quit". Stone refuses, but then when he told Quest to get Stone's kids, and this threat causes Stone to say "I Quit" almost immediately. Kaye then attacks Stone after the match before he's finally freed from his restraints. Again, the match was fine for what it was, and it did a really good job telling the story (a darker one to be sure) that they were trying to get across.

Up next, we get the segment from The Wingmen, who want some women to come out for a twerking contest, but instead, Tabarnak De Team comes out and we have a match.

6.) Tabarnak De Team (Mathieu St. Jaques & Thomas Dubois) vs. The Wingmen (Mark Shurman & Gregory Edwards): **1/4

There's not really much to say about this one. The Wingmen got some offense in, but Tabarnak De Team dominated most of the match, and would end up scoring the victory. Again, not much else to say.

7.) Chuck Taylor vs. Eric Corvis: **

They had a local musician (a rapper/R&B guy) come out to do the guest ring announcing duties for this match. I don't know what it was, but this match just didn't click for me. We got the usual shenanigans involving Chuck Taylor, but other than that, it wasn't that good. Taylor would eventually pick up the win.

8.) "Unbreakable" Michael Elgin vs. JT Dunn: ****1/2

Last time he saw JT Dunn, he had a really good match with Johnny Gargano at Americanrana. Here, he going up against "Unbreakable" Michael Elgin. I though that this match was incredible! Michael Elgin seems to always have fantastic matches no matter where he is, but JT Dunn really stepped in this one as well. I think this might even be JT Dunn's breakout match, in my eyes. I knew he was good from what everyone has said about him, but this match definitely proved it. Elgin dished out all of his usual hard-hitting offense, while JT Dunn just wouldn't stay down and kept fighting back. Elgin would eventually pick up the win in an amazing match.

Afterwords, Elgin would take the mic and cut a promo putting over JT Dunn, and shook his hand.

9.) Biff Busick & CZW World Champion Drew Gulak vs. The Dojo Bros. (Eddie Edwards & Roderick Strong): ****1/4

Biff Busick & Eddie Edwards had a really great match in the Main Event of Americanrana, and they're having a rematch here, but this time with tag team partners. Busick picked Drew Gulak, while Edwards picked his Dojo Bros partner Roderick Strong. This was an awesome Main Event. It's great that Beyond Wrestling was able to put this together, because you're not going to see this match anywhere else. Lots of great action as you would expect from these four guys. They actually told a pretty good story where, at times, Busick wouldn't tag out to Gulak because he wanted to prove himself against Edwards & Strong, despite the beating they took, Busick & Gulak would fight back and picked up the win! While I don't think it was as good as the Michael Elgin/JT Dunn match, it was still fantastic.

After the match, Eddie Edwards cuts a promo, putting over Beyond Wrestling and all of the people in the ring (Buisck, Gulak & Strong). He then says that it's not over between him & Busick, and wants one more match. The fans chant for an Iron Man Match, and Edwards told Busick that he could pick the stipulation. Busick then follows up on the fan's request and he challenges Edwards to an Iron Man Match, while the fans chant "60 Minutes". Edwards accepts the challenge to close the show.

Overall: 8.25/10

This was a pretty good show from Beyond Wrestling. You had a solid undercard that, aside from two matches, was relatively good. While nothing necessarily stood out on the undercard, most of it was entertaining, and you had a lot of variety (singles matches, tag team matches, hardcore brawls, etc...) as well. The two Main Events were what really make this show. Michael Elgin vs. JT Dunn had a really fantastic match that made a star out of JT Dunn (in my eyes), while you had a Tag Team Dream Match in the Main Event that you won't see anywhere else. Those two matches are ones that are definitely worth going out of your way to see.

New Japan Pro Wrestling - G1 Climax 24 - Nights 11 & 12 (Finals) Review

The G1 Climax reaches its epic conclusion!!!

NJPW G1 Climax 24: Night 11

Yokohama, Japan 8/8/14

1.) G1 Climax 24 - Block A - Shelton "X" Benjamin vs. Tomoaki Honma: ***

2.) G1 Climax 24 - Block B - Yujiro Takahashi vs. Toru Yano: *

3.) G1 Climax 24 - Block B - Lance Archer vs. Hirooki Goto: ***3/4

4.) G1 Climax 24 - Block B - Karl Anderson vs. Tetsuya Naito: ***1/2

5.) G1 Climax 24 - Block A – Tomohiro Ishii vs. Yuji Nagata: ****1/2

6.) G1 Climax 24 - Block A - Doc Gallows vs. Katsuyori Shibata: ***

7.) G1 Climax 24 - Block A - Bad Luck Fale vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: ***3/4

8.) G1 Climax 24 - Block B - AJ Styles vs. Togi Makabe: ***1/2

9.) G1 Climax 24 - Block A - Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi: ***3/4

10.) G1 Climax 24 - Block B - Minoru Suzuki vs. Kazuchika Okada: ****1/2

Overall: 8.5/10

While this wasn't one of the top shows of the tournament, it was still a great show, and a fitting conclusion to the last night of Block Matches. You had two fantastic matches on this show. The first of those was Ishii/Nagata. Despite the shoulder injury he suffered on Night 8, Ishii toughed it out and had an absolute WAR with Nagata. It was just a stiff, hard hitting, brutal affair that was even more astonishing given, again, Ishii's injury. The other match that stole the show was the Main Event, which featured Okada vs. Suzuki. This was a great Main Event. Suzuki has had his ups & downs in the tournament (in terms of match quality), but I think he definitely ended the tournament on a high note. Another thing of note that occurred on this show was that Honma was unable to get a single win. He was really the unsung hero of this year's G1 Climax. Replacing the injured Kota Ibushi, he put on incredible performances throughout the tournament. Despite losing every match, he seemed to get more over every night. He really did an awesome job. You also had a few other really good matches on here, like Archer/Goto, Fale/Nakamura (one of Fale's best matches), and Davey Boy Smith Jr./Tanahashi, where Smith scored a massive upset win over Tanahashi, eliminating him from the finals. Speaking of which, Nakamura & Okada won their respective Blocks, meaning they would face each other in the Finals, while Tanahashi & Styles would face each other to determine 3rd Place.

Final Standings

Block A

Shinsuke Nakamura (8-2-0) - 16 Points - Block A Winner
Hiroshi Tanahashi (7-3-0) - 14 Points
Bad Luck Fale (6-4-0) - 12 Points
Katsuyori Shibata (6-4-0) - 12 Points
Satoshi Kojima (5-5-0) - 10 Points
Shelton Benjamin (5-5-0) - 10 Points
Tomohiro Ishii (5-5-0) - 10 Points
Davey Boy Smith Jr. (5-5-0) - 10 Points
Doc Gallows (4-6-0) - 8 Points
Yuji Nagata (4-6-0) - 8 Points
Tomoaki Honma (0-10-0) - 0 Points

Block B

Kazuchika Okada (8-2-0) - 16 Points - Block B Winner
AJ Styles (8-2-0) - 16 Points
Karl Anderson (5-5-0) - 10 Points
Minoru Suzuki (5-5-0) - 10 Points
Tetsuya Naito (5-5-0) - 10 Points
Lance Archer (4-6-0) - 8 Points
Yujiro Takahashi (4-6-0) - 8 Points
Hiroyoshi Tenzan (4-6-0) - 8 Points
Toru Yano (4-6-0) - 8 Points
Hirooki Goto (4-6-0) - 8 Points
Togi Makabe (4-6-0) - 8 Points

NJPW G1 Climax 24: Finals (Night 12)
Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan 8/10/14

1.) Eight Man Tag - Suzuki-gun (TAKA Michinoku, El Desperado & The Killer Elite Squad) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask, Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan: **3/4

2.) Six Man Tag - The Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi, Doc Gallows & Bad Luck Fale) vs. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & BUSHI: **1/2

3.) Six-Man Tag - Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Shelton "X" Benjamin & Takashi Iizuka) vs. CHAOS (Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI) & Kazushi Sakuraba: *1/2

4.)  The Kingdom (Adam Cole & Michael Bennett with Maria Kanellis) vs. Jushin "Thunder" Liger & Captain New Japan: ***1/4

5.) IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles - The Time Splitters vs. reDRagon: ****1/4

6.) Tomoaki Honma vs. Tetsuya Naito: ***

7.) Karl Anderson vs. Tomohiro Ishii: ***1/2

8.) Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hirooki Goto: ***3/4

9.) G1 Climax - 3rd Place Match - AJ Styles vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi: ****1/4

10.) G1 Climax - Finals - Kazuchika Okada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: ****3/4

Overall: 8.0/10

This show took place in the Seibu Dome, and I believe this was New Japan's first time running it. The Seibu Dome is essentially a massive baseball stadium. As for the show, it was pretty solid, but not many of the matches mattered. The opening few matches, a bunch of multi-man tag team matches, didn't mean much. You did have the seeds of the Suzuki/Sakuraba feud planted, but that's about it. You did have a number of ROH talents on this show, which was awesome to see. Adam Cole & Michael Bennett would defeat Justin "Thunder" Liger & Captain New Japan, while reDRagon lost to The Time Splitters in a great bout for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles. We got a segment during intermission where New Japan Officials came out with Jeff Jarrett & Scott D'Amore to make official the New Japan/Global Force Wrestling partnership. The show got better in the 2nd half (Ishii should not have been wrestling on this show at all. He was way too hurt), but only the last two matches really mattered. Styles/Tanahashi was a really great match. Tanahashi got the win, but what people will probably remember most is the end segment, where Jeff Jarrett & Scott D'Amore came out to save Tanahashi from a Bullet Club beatdown, only to turn on Tanahashi and join Bullet Club themselves. Honestly not sure what to make of it. Jarrett being in Bullet Club makes the group seem...less cool. Anyway, the Finals of the G1 Climax was a first time ever match (well...first time ever since Okada became a major star) between Nakamura & Okada. This match without question lived up to the hype. It was an absolutely incredible match, and in the end, it took multiple Rainmakers for Okada to put his CHAOS stablemate away to win his 2nd G1 Climax!! After the match, he then makes his intentions known that he's coming for his IWGP Heavyweight Title at The Tokyo Dome Show on January 4th.

In summary, this tournament was absolutely fantastic. I don't think there has ever been another wrestling tournament this awesome before. The 2013 G1 Climax was great, but this year's edition was even better. It was, without a doubt, one of the greatest tournaments, if not the best tournament, in wrestling history.

New Japan Pro Wrestling - G1 Climax 24 - Nights 9 & 10 Review

The 2014 Edition of the G1 Climax continues, and the picture becomes more clear!

NJPW G1 Climax 24: Night 9
Aichi, Japan 8/4/14

1.) G1 Climax - Block A - Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Tomoaki Honma: ***1/4

2.) G1 Climax - Block B - Yujiro Takahashi vs. Lance Archer: **3/4

3.) G1 Climax - Block A - Luke Gallows vs. Yuji Nagata: ***1/4

4.) G1 Climax - Block B - Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Togi Makabe: ***1/2

5.) G1 Climax - Block B - Minoru Suzuki vs. Tetsuya Naito: ****1/4

6.) G1 Climax - Block A - Bad Luck Fale vs. Katsuyori Shibata: **3/4

7.) G1 Climax - Block A - Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Satoshi Kojima: ****

8.) G1 Climax - Block B - Karl Anderson vs. AJ Styles: ***3/4

9.) G1 Climax - Block A - Shelton "X" Benjamin vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi: ***1/2

10.) G1 Climax - Block B - Kazuchika Okada vs. Hirooki Goto: ****1/2

Overall: 8.5/10

We're getting deeper into the G1 Climax, and New Japan is continuing to put on awesome show after awesome show, with Night 9 being another perfect example of this. By any normal standards, this would be a great show in any other company, but by the standards of the G1 Climax, this is probably around the 5th or 6th best show of the tournament, up to this point. You had a number of awesome matches on this show, like Suzuki/Naito & Nakamura/Kojima, while the Main Event, Okada vs. Goto, was the Match of the Night. We also saw a lot of entertaining matches on the undercard, like Makabe/Tenzan (another good match for Tenzan), a battle of Bullet Club stablemates in Styles/Anderson, and Benjamin vs. Tanahashi. The only real negative on this show to note was that Bad Luck Fale defeated Shibata on a fluke count out. Other than that, another solid show in the 2014 G1 Climax. New Japan continues their incredible roll.

Standings

Block A

Hiroshi Tanahashi (6-2-0) - 12 Points
Shinsuke Nakamura (6-2-0) - 12 Points
Bad Luck Fale (5-3-0) - 10 Points
Katsuyori Shibata (5-3-0) - 10 Points
Davey Boy Smith Jr. (4-4-0) - 8 Points
Yuji Nagata (4-4-0) - 8 Points
Tomohiro Ishii (4-4-0) - 8 Points
Satoshi Kojima (4-5-0) - 8 Points
Shelton "X" Benjamin (4-5-0) - 8 Points
Doc Gallows (3-5-0) - 6 Points
Tomoaki Honma (0-8-0) - 0 Points

Block B

Kazuchika Okada (6-2-0) - 12 Points
AJ Styles (6-2-0) - 12 Points
Minoru Suzuki (5-3-0) - 10 Points
Tetsuya Naito (4-4-0) - 8 Points
Togi Makabe (4-4-0) - 8 Points
Hiroyoshi Tenzan (4-5-0) - 8 Points
Hirooki Goto (4-5-0) - 8 Points
Lance Archer (3-5-0) - 6 Points
Karl Anderson (3-5-0) - 6 Points
Toru Yano (3-5-0) - 6 Points
Yujiro Takahashi (3-5-0) - 6 Points

NJPW G1 Climax 24: Night 10
Kagawa, Japan 8/6/14

1.) G1 Climax - Block A - Tomoaki Honma vs. Satoshi Kojima: ***

2.) G1 Climax - Block A - Bad Luck Fale vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.: **1/4

3.) G1 Climax - Block B - Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan: ***3/4

4.) G1 Climax - Block B - Karl Anderson vs. Minoru Suzuki: ***1/4

5.) G1 Climax - Block B - Toru Yano vs. Togi Makabe: *1/2

6.) G1 Climax - Block B - Yujiro Takahashi vs. AJ Styles: ***

7.) G1 Climax - Block B - Lance Archer vs. Kazuchika Okada: ***3/4

8.) G1 Climax - Block A - Yuji Nagata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi: ***3/4

9.) G1 Climax - Block A - Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohiro Ishii: ****1/4

10.) G1 Climax - Block A - Doc Gallows vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: ***1/4

Overall: 7.75/10

Well, we knew this was going to happen at some point. New Japan had been putting on incredible show after incredible show throughout this tournament. Eventually, there was bound to be a subpar show, and it's now surprise that it came this late in the tournament. To be completely honest, however, it's not like the show itself was bad, or the crowd didn't react well. The show was pretty decent. It's just that the tournament, up to this point, had set the bar so high, that a show like this comes off as incredibly subpar, compared to what came before it. Of course the big match on this show, and the match everyone wanted to see, was Ishii vs. Shibata, who had that incredible ***** match in last year's G1. Ishii was coming into this match hurt, having separated his shoulder in his match on Night 8 (he had Night 9 off), so obviously the match wasn't quite the standard of last year's match, but it was still the Match of the Night. You also had a few other really solid matches with Naito/Tenzan, Archer/Okada & Nagata/Tanahashi. Other than that, there really isn't anything else of note on this show. Definitely the weakest show of the tournament. 

Standings

Block A

Hiroshi Tanahashi (7-2-0) - 14 Points
Shinsuke Nakamura (7-2-0) - 14 Points
Bad Luck Fale (6-3-0) - 12 Points
Katsuyori Shibata (6-3-0) - 12 Points
Satoshi Kojima (5-5-0) - 10 Points
Yuji Nagata (4-5-0) - 8 Points
Shelton "X" Benjamin (4-5-0) - 8 Points
Tomohiro Ishii (4-5-0) - 8 Points
Davey Boy Smith Jr. (4-5-0) - 8 Points
Doc Gallows (3-6-0) - 6 Points
Tomoaki Honma (0-9-0) - 0 Points

Block B

Kazuchika Okada (7-2-0) - 14 Points
AJ Styles (7-2-0) - 14 Points
Minoru Suzuki (5-4-0) - 10 Points
Tetsuya Naito (5-4-0) - 10 Points
Togi Makabe (4-5-0) - 8 Points
Hirooki Goto (4-5-0) - 8 Points
Toru Yano (4-5-0) - 8 Points
Karl Anderson (4-5-0) - 8 Points
Hiroyoshi Tenzan (4-6-0) - 8 Points
Yujiro Takahashi (3-6-0) - 6 Points
Lance Archer (3-6-0) - 6 Points