New Japan Pro Wrestling - G1 Climax 24: Nights 5 & 6 Review

The 2014 Edition of the G1 Climax reaches its midway point!

NJPW G1 Climax 24: Night 5

Miyagi, Japan 7/28/14

1.) G1 Climax - Block A - Doc Gallows vs. Tomohiro Ishii: ***1/2

2.) G1 Climax - Block B - Lance Archer vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan: ***

3.) G1 Climax - Block A - Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Satoshi Kojima: ***1/2

4.) G1 Climax - Block B - Yujiro Takahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki: ***

5.) G1 Climax - Block B - Karl Anderson vs. Toru Yano: ***1/4

6.) G1 Climax - Block A - Shelton "X" Benjamin vs. Katsuyori Shibata: ***3/4

7.) G1 Climax - Block B - AJ Styles vs. Hirooki Goto: ****1/4

8.) G1 Climax - Block A - Bad Luck Fale vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi: ***1/2

9.) G1 Climax - Block A - Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomoaki Honma: ****1/4

10.) G1 Climax - Block B - Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito: ****1/4

Overall: 8.75/10

For those of you who recall, Night 5 was by far the worse night of the G1 last year, mainly because the crowd was absolutely horrid. Thankfully, they didn't go back to that city (wherever it was), and Night 5 was a much, much better show. It was actually a pretty great show. Not a single match went under the *** mark. When you have shows like this, it just becomes extremely enjoyable and really easy to sit through. While I don't think there was a definitive Match of the Night, there are a number of matches from this show that would definitely be in the running. Styles/Goto, Nakamura/Honma, and Okada/Naito were all fantastic matches. Other things of note from this show include Bad Luck Fale picking up a big win over Tanahashi, and Shibata handing Shelton "X" Benjamin his first lost in the tournament (and believe me, I was as shocked as everyone else was that Benjamin went this far into the G1 undefeated). On the whole, this was a really great show, one that's well worth watching.

Standings 

Block A

Shelton "X" Benjamin (4-1-0) - 8 Points

Katsuyori Shibata (3-1-0) - 6 Points

Shinsuke Nakamura (3-1-0) - 6 Points

Bad Luck Fale (3-2-0) - 6 Points

Hiroshi Tanahashi (3-2-0) - 6 Points

Tomohiro Ishii (3-2-0) - 6 Points

Davey Boy Smith Jr. (2-2-0) - 4 Points

Satoshi Kojima (2-3-0) - 4 Points

Doc Gallows (1-3-0) - 2 Points

Yuji Nagata (1-3-0) - 2 Points

Tomoaki Honma (0-5-0) - 0 Points

Block B

Tetsuya Naito (4-1-0) - 8 Points

Kazuchika Okada (3-2-0) - 6 Points

Toru Yano (3-2-0) - 6 Points

Hirooki Goto (3-2-0) - 6 Points

Togi Makabe (2-2-0) - 4 Points

Minoru Suzuki (2-2-0) - 4 Points

AJ Styles (2-2-0) - 4 Points

Lance Archer (2-2-0) 4 Points

Hiroyoshi Tenzan (2-3-0) - 4 Points

Yujiro Takahashi (1-3-0) - 2 Points

Karl Anderson (1-4-0) - 2 Points

NJPW G1 Climax 24: Night 6

Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan 7/31/14

1.) Block A - Bad Luck Fale vs. Doc Gallows: **

2.) Block A - Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Yuji Nagata: ***1/4

3.) Block B - Yujiro Takahashi vs. Togi Makabe: **3/4

4.) Block A - Katsuyori Shibata vs. Satoshi Kojima: ****

5.) Block B - Karl Anderson vs. Hirooki Goto: ****

6.) Block B - Lance Archer vs. Minoru Suzuki: **3/4

7.) Block A - Shelton "X" Benjamin vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: ***1/2

8.) Block B - AJ Styles vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan: ***3/4

9.) Block B - Toru Yano vs. Kazuchika Okada: ***

10.) Block A - Tomohiro Ishii vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi: ****1/4

Overall: 8.25/10

Night 6 was a show that I found to be very similar to Night 3, in that it was a pretty solid show, but in the end, it wouldn't be one of the top shows of the tournament. Still, there were a number of really good matches on here. AJ Styles had a really great match with Tenzan, who continues to both impress and redeem himself from his poor performance last year. You also had a couple of really great matches in Shibata/Kojima (which was hard hitting) and Anderson/Goto (who have history & great chemistry). However, it would be The Main Event of Tanahashi vs. Ishii that would claim the Match of the Night. These two had a fantastic match in last year's G1 Climax, and while this rematch wasn't quite as good, it was still a really great Main Event. Tahahashi & Ishii are incredible performers, and they always seem to put on great matches every time. Another very solid show in the G1 Climax, but this would just be the calm before the storm of awesomeness that was to follow.

Standings

Block A

Katsuyori Shibata (4-1-0) - 8 Points

Shinsuke Nakamura (4-1-0) - 8 Points

Shelton "X" Benjamin (4-2-0) - 8 Points

Hiroshi Tanahashi (4-2-0) - 8 Points

Bad Luck Fale (3-3-0) - 6 Points

Tomohiro Ishii (3-3-0) - 6 Points

Yuji Nagata (2-3-0) - 4 Points

Davey Boy Smith Jr. (2-3-0) - 4 Points

Doc Gallows (2-3-0) - 4 Points

Satoshi Kojima (2-4-0) - 4 Points

Tomoaki Honma (0-5-0) - 0 Points

Block B

Tetsuya Naito (4-1-0) - 8 Points

Kazuchika Okada (4-2-0) - 8 Points

AJ Styles (3-2-0) - 6 Points

Minoru Suzuki (3-2-0) - 6 Points

Toru Yano (3-3-0) - 6 Points

Hirooki Goto (3-3-0) - 6 Points

Lance Archer (2-3-0) - 4 Points

Yujiro Takahashi (2-3-0) - 4 Points

Togi Makabe (2-3-0) - 4 Points

Hiroyoshi Tenzan (2-4-0) - 4 Points

Karl Anderson (2-4-0) - 4 Points