Before I start this off, I want to apologize for posting these reviews months after the G1 Climax concluded. I've gotten into a grove recently with my blog where I try to post things chronologically.
So...here we go again! To give a brief history, the G1 Climax is an annual round robin tournament held by New Japan Pro Wrestling. Traditionally, the wrestlers involved are split into two blocks, and winners of those respective blocks go on to face each other in the Finals. I got hooked on and realized how great New Japan is (like everyone had told me beforehand) through watching the 2013 G1 Climax, which everyone raved about. When I found out that all the shows were going to be available on Ustream for $110, there was no way I was passing this up!! The 2014 Edition of the G1 Climax had the biggest field in history (22 Competitors in all), with a shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at New Japan's annual January 4th Show in the world-famous Tokyo Dome on the line! Here are the participants in this year's tournament:
Block A
Hiroshi Tanahashi
Satoshi Kojima (NWA World Tag Team Champion)
Yuji Nagata
Tomoaki Honma
Katsuyori Shibata
Shinsuke Nakamura
Tomohiro Ishii
Shelton "X" Benjamin
Davey Boy Smith Jr.
Doc Gallows (IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion)
Bad Luck Fale (IWGP Intercontinental Champion)
Block B
Togi Makabe
Hirooki Goto
Tetsuya Naito
Hiroyoshi Tenzan (NWA World Tag Team Champion)
Kazuchika Okada
Toru Yano
Minoru Suzuki
Lance Archer
AJ Styles (IWGP Heavyweight Champion)
Yujiro Takahashi (NEVER Openweight Champion)
Karl Anderson (IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions)
Before I get to the first set of shows, I'm going to give a quick description of how I'm reviewing these shows. With twelve shows in total, I will be doing two shows per post, so six shows in total. Instead of giving thoughts on all of the matches individually, I'll give a larger review at the end of each show, summing up my thoughts on the matches. I'm also going to try and provide standings, show by show, so people can see how the tournament progresses. Without further ado, let's get things started!!
NJPW G1 Climax 24: Night 1
Sapparo, Hokkaido, Japan 7/21/14
1.) G1 Climax - Block A - Bad Luck Fale vs. Tomohiro Ishii: ***1/2
2.) G1 Climax - Block A - Doc Gallows vs. Shelton "X" Benjamin: **
3.) G1 Climax - Block B - "Machine Gun" Karl Anderson vs.
Hiroyoshi Tenzan: **3/4
4.) G1 Climax - Block A - Yuji Nagata vs. Satoshi Kojima: ***1/2
5.) G1 Climax - Block B - Minoru Suzuka vs. Toru Yano: * (Booked Perfectly)
6.) G1 Climax - Block B - Yujiro Takahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito: ***3/4
7.) G1 Climax - Block B - Hirooki Goto vs. Togi Makabe: ****
8.) G1 Climax - Block A - Tomoaki Honma vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi: ****
9.) G1 Climax - Block A - Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: ****
10.) G1 Climax - Block B - AJ Styles vs. Kazuchika Okada: ****1/2
Overall: 9.25/10
New Japan kicked off the 2014 G1 Climax with a bang! Night 1 was an absolutely fantastic show from top to bottom. The only match that was really skippable was the Doc Gallows/Shelton Benjamin match. Even the Suzuki/Yano match, which is part of a feud that seems to be dragging on for what feels like forever, was booked perfectly with Yano getting a quick victory. Everything else was good, to great, to fantastic. The Ishii/Fale match was a really good opener and started the show on the good note. You had some really solid matches in the middle of the card with Kojima/Nagata & Naito/Takahashi, and the show closed out with a bunch of **** level matches, with Styles/Okada leading the way as the undisputed Match of the Night. As awesome as Night 1 was, it would prove to be a sign of great things to come.
Standings
Block A
Katsuyori Shibata (1-0-0) - 2 Points
Hiroshi Tanahashi (1-0-0) - 2 Points
Satoshi Kojima (1-0-0) - 2 Points
Shelton "X" Benjamin (1-0-0) - 2 Points
Bad Luck Fale (1-0-0) - 2 Points
Davey Boy Smith Jr. (0-0-0) - 0 Points
Shinsuke Nakamura (0-1-0) - 0 Points
Tomoaki Honma (0-1-0) - 0 Points
Yuji Nagata (0-1-0) - 0 Points
Doc Gallows (0-1-0) - 0 Points
Tomohiro Ishii (0-1-0) - 0 Points
Block B
Kazuchika Okada (1-0-0) - 2 Points
Hirooki Goto (1-0-0) - 2 Points
Yujiro Takahashi (1-0-0) - 2 Points
Toru Yano (1-0-0) - 2 Points
Hiroyoshi Tenzan (1-0-0) - 2 Points
Lance Archer (0-0-0) - 0 Points
AJ Styles (0-1-0) - 0 Points
Togi Makabe (0-1-0) - 0 Points
Tetsuya Naito (0-1-0) - 0 Points
Minoru Suzuki (0-1-0) - 0 Points
Karl Anderson (0-1-0) - 0 Points
NJPW G1 Climax 24: Night 2
Aomori, Japan 7/23/14
Aomori, Japan 7/23/14
1.) G1 Climax - Block A - Tomohiro Ishii vs. Satoshi Kojima: ****
2.) G1 Climax - Block A - Bad Luck Fale vs. Shelton "X" Benjamin: **3/4
3.) G1 Climax - Block B - Yujiro Takahashi vs. Hirooki Goto: ***1/2
4.) G1 Climax - Block B - Lance Archer vs. Tetsuya Naito: ***1/4
5.) G1 Climax - Block A - Tomoaki Honma vs. Yuji Nagata: ***1/2
6.) G1 Climax - Block A - Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: ***1/2
7.) G1 Climax - Block B - AJ Styles vs. Toru Yano: **3/4
8.) G1 Climax - Block B - Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan: ***1/2
9.) G1 Climax - Block B - Karl Anderson vs. Togi Makabe: ***1/2
10.) G1 Climax - Block A - Doc Gallows vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi: ***1/4
Overall: 8.0/10
After getting off to a great start with Night 1, things slowed down a little bit on Night 2. Only one match (Ishii/Kojima) cracked the **** mark, but that doesn't mean there weren't good matches on this show. You had a number of matches around the ***1/2 range, one of which was Okada/Tenzan. It's not really surprising that Okada has good matches, but Tenzan's performance was a surprise, especially after his lackluster performance in last year's G1. He really stepped up in a big way. Other good matches on this show involved the usual suspects (Nakamura, Anderson, Goto, Makabe) and relative underdogs (Davey Boy Smith Jr, Takahashi). The show closed with Tanahashi vs. Gallows, which was a good match, but not the best on the show. A good show on the whole, but not the best of the tournament (which speaks to the quality of New Japan Shows).
Standings
Block A
Hiroshi Tanahashi (2-0-0) - 4 Points
Shelton "X" Benjamin (2-0-0) 4 Points
Katsuyori Shibata (1-0-0) - 2 Points
Shinsuke Nakamura (1-1-0) - 2 Points
Yuji Nagata (1-1-0) - 2 Points
Satoshi Kojima (1-1-0) - 2 Points
Tomohiro Ishii (1-1-0) - 2 Points
Bad Luck Fale (1-1-0) - 2 Points
Davey Boy Smith Jr. (0-1-0) - 0 Points
Doc Gallows (0-2-0) - 0 Points
Tomoaki Honma (0-2-0) - 0 Points
Block B
Kazuchika Okada (2-0-0) - 4 Points
Hirooki Goto (2-0-0) - 4 Points
AJ Styles (1-1-0) - 2 Points
Yujiro Takahashi (1-1-0) - 2 Points
Hiroyoshi Tenzan (1-1-0) - 2 Points
Toru Yano (1-1-0) - 2 Points
Togi Makabe (1-1-0) - 2 Points
Tetsuya Naito (1-1-0) - 2 Points
Minoru Suzuki (0-1-0) - 0 Points
Lance Archer (0-1-0) - 0 Points
Karl Anderson (0-2-0) - 0 Points
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