New Japan Pro-Wrestling - G1 Climax 25: Finals (Night 19) Review

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Shinsuke Nakamura do battle in the Finals of the 25th G1 Climax!!!

NJPW G1 Climax 25: Finals (Night 19)

Tokyo, Japan (Ryogoku Sumo Hall) 8/16/15

Before the show, we get an in-ring promo from Delirious. Yes, you read that right. Delirious, from ROH, in a New Japan ring. He breaks out of his usual blabbering and rambling trance to cut a promo in broken English about ROH’s relationship with New Japan. He then announces that ROH would be coming Japan in 2016.

1.) Six-Man Tag – Mascara Dorada, Ryusuke Taguchi, & David Finlay vs. Jushin “Thunder” Liger, Yohei Komatsu, & Sho Tanaka: ***

We officially kicked off the show with a Six-Man Tag involved some of the juniors and a number of young lions. I thought it was a fine opening match. There was some solid action, and all six guys got a chance to shine. The team of Dorada, Taguchi, & Finlay would get the win here.

2.) Six-Man Tag – NWA World Heavyweight Champion Hiroyoshi Tenzam, Satoshi Kojima, & Captain New Japan vs. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, & Jay White: **3/4

My interest in one of these multi-mans always falls a little bit when I see either Manabu Nakanishi or Captain New Japan in a match. For what this was, it was a fine Six-Man Tag. There was some reasonably decent action in this match. The team of TenKoji & Captain New Japan scored the victory in this one.

3.) “Unbreakable” Michael Elgin vs. YOSHI-HASHI: ****

Here we’re getting a break from the multi-man tags to see a singles between YOSHI-HASHI and #BIGMIKE. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this match going in (I figured it’d be a showcase for Elgin) but it ended up blowing away my expectations. This match was great!!! Elgin, once again, looked very impressive, but YOSHI-HASHI stepped up in a big way, and this was probably his most memorable singles matches in a very long time. There was a lot of very good action throughout this one. Eventually, Michael Elgin would indeed pick up the win. #BIGMIKE has been fantastic in this year’s tournament. He could easily be one of the MVP’s of the tournament, and has definitely earned himself a spot on the roster.

4.) Six-Man Tag – The Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, & Kazushi Sakuraba): *1/2

I honestly don’t have a lot to say about this match. It had the tough task of following a surprisingly great Michael Elgin/YOSHI-HASHI match. Plus, this match just wasn’t that good to begin with. Take my word for it, you’re not missing much. CHAOS wins. You can definitely skip this match.

5.) Six-Man Tag – IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hirooki Goto, Katsuyori Shibata, & Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito, NEVER Openweight Champion Togi Makabe, & Tomoaki Honma: ***1/4

Now this is a Six-Man Tag that I was looking forward to checking out! I really like the idea of a Shibata/Goto/Ibushi trio. A pretty solid Six-Man Tag here. Not only was the action solid, but there was a lot going on here, feud wise, as you had the budding NEVER Openweight Title program between Makabe & Ibushi, as well as the growing feud between Shibata & Naito (their interactions in particular were great). In the end, the team of Shibata, Goto, & Ibushi would pick up the win here.

Up next, we had intermission, where Wrestle Kingdom 10 at The Tokyo Dome was officially announced. Then, from out of nowhere, Japanese Wrestling Legend Genichiro Tenryu came out to ring. He was going to be retiring from wrestling in a few months (November 15^th, to be specific) on a special retirement show. He basically calls out Okada & Gedo and challenged Okada to a match at his retirement show on November 15^th. Okada accepts his challenge, and it looks like the dream match has been set!

6.) IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles – The Young Bucks vs. reDRagon: ****

Of course, these two teams have a very storied history. They had three great matches in ROH in 2014, including a legitimate MOTYC at ROH/NJPW War Of The Worlds 2014 in New York City. They also had another tag team encounter earlier in 2015 at ROH’s 13^th Anniversary Show. While this wasn’t nearly as fantastic as some of their previous matches, this was still a great match, and another illustrious chapter in their feud. Great action from both teams in this one, as you would expect. Eventually, reDRagon would score the victory to recapture the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles!

7.) IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title – KUSHIDA vs. Ricochet: ****1/4

These two met in the Finals of the 2014 Best Of The Super Juniors Tournament, which Ricochet won. That’s the basis for this title shot. Similar to reDRagon vs. The Young Bucks, this wasn’t the best match these two have had, but this was still a pretty fantastic match! There was some awesome back & forth action between both guys in this one. KUSHIDA & Ricochet are just so good, that it’s almost impossible for them to have a bad match. This was so much fun to watch. In the end, KUSHIDA would get the win, retaining his IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title in the process.

8.) Six-Man Tag – The Bullet Club (“The Phenomenal” AJ Styles, IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson) vs. CHAOS (IWGP Heavyweight Champion “Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada, & The Kingdom of Matt Taven & Michael Bennett with Maria Kanellis): ***1/4

Now here’s a match that we (feasibly) could see in ROH, but I think The Kingdom being partnered with Okada would definitely confuse some people here in North America (given that Okada was going to be cheered no matter what, while The Kingdom are heels. Regardless, this was an entertaining Six-Man Tag. There was some good action mixed in with some comedy (mainly involving Maria Kanellis, Karl Anderson, & AJ Styles). The big moment, however came at the end of the match when Styles pinned Okada to win the match for his team. Obviously, this sets up a IWGP Heavyweight Title match down the line.

9.) G1 Climax – Finals – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: *****

These two have clashed numerous times in the past. Their most recent exchanges came in 2014, when they first fought over the IWGP Intercontinental Title, before they met in that year’s G1 Climax. Of course, the winner of the G1 Climax gets a shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Title at Wrestle Kingdom 10. I thought this was a fantastic match!! This was really a case of the tournament peaking right at the Finals. These two poured their hearts & souls into this one, and not only was it the best match of the tournament (just barely though, because there were a number of awesome ****3/4 matches), but it might have just been the best match these two have had together. The action was great, as you would expect from two of the best wrestlers in the world, but the storytelling was superb as well. The crowd in Sumo Hall was so into this match. It was unreal. The last few minutes were absolutely insane, but eventually, Tanahashi was able to score the victory, winning the G1 Climax for the 2^nd time!!

Tanahashi did shake hands with Nakamura after the match. Then we got into the trophy presentation for Tanahashi. There was actually a funny moment, as Tanahashi was celebrating with a G1 Flag, when the flagpole actually snapped in half. I believe he was able to put it back together, and continued his celebration.

Overall: 9.0/10

For the most part, this was a pretty fantastic show. I really like how they included other things on here besides the G1 Finals, like the two matches for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title & IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles. I think both of those matches really added to the show. We also had a surprisingly great singles match between Michael Elgin & YOSHI-HASHI. Some of the multi-man tags were good, and did feature builds towards future matches (Okada/Styles, Ibushi/Makabe, Naito/Shibata), though some of those multi-man tags weren’t that good. Of course, the G1 Climax Finals were fantastic, as Tanahashi & Nakamura put on a match for the ages! I’m sure it’ll be remembered as one of the best G1 Climax Finals in the history of the tournament.

As far as the tournament as a whole goes, it was a very interesting one. The new format prevented any Show of the Year Contenders (like we saw in 2013 & 2014) from happening, and I don't think it would say it's better than those tournaments. It's very close, but I just don't know if I could put this above the 23rd & 24th G1 Climax. That being said, we still saw some awesome matches in this tournament!! There were plenty of fantastic matches sprinkled throughout the tournament, but the last several shows were some of the absolute best. This tournament truly climaxed on the final night, with the incredible Tanahashi/Nakamura Finals. Another excellent G1 Climax from New Japan, and I can't wait to see what the 2016 G1 Climax brings!! 

New Japan Pro-Wrestling - G1 Climax 25: Night 18 Review

In the second of three straight nights at Sumo Hall, the winner of Block B is determined!!

NJPW G1 Climax 25: Night 18

Tokyo, Japan (Ryogoku Sumo Hall) 8/15/15

1.) reDRagon vs. Yohei Komatsu & Sho Tanaka: ***1/4

We kick off the second night in Sumo Hall with reDRagon taking on two of New Japan’s young lions. This was actually a very solid opener. Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish looked as good as they always do, but Komatsu & Tanaka certainly put up a fight. There was some good action between both teams here. reDRagon would, of course, pick up the win after hitting Chasing The Dragon.

After the match, as Fish & O’Reilly are celebrating, The Young Bucks ran out and attacked them. The other two young lions, David Finlay & Jay White, then ran out to make the save, and out 2^nd match of the night was underway!

2.) IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks vs. David Finlay & Jay White: ***1/4

Much like the opener, this was a solid tag team match, and served as a fine tune-up for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title match the next night. The Young Bucks were their usual awesome selves, while Finlay & White looked good here as well. As you might have guessed, The Young Bucks got the win.

3.) Ten-Man Tag – CHAOS (Toru Yano, Kazushi Sakuraba, YOSHI-HASHI, & The Kingdom of Matt Taven & Michael Bennett with Maria Kanellis) vs. The Bullet Club “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles, Bad Luck Fale, IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion Doc Gallows, Tama Tonga, & Cody Hall): **3/4

Since the guys in Block A have finished their portion of the tournament, some of these multi-man tags don’t have much of a purpose to them. This particular Ten Man Tag was fine for what it was. A solid undercard match, but nothing that memorable, save for Tama Tonga’s reaction to a dancing Maria Kanellis, and the brief interaction between AJ Styles & Sakuraba. YOSHI-HASHI got the win for his CHAOS team after pinning Cody Hall.

4.) Ten-Man Tag – Hiroshi Tanahashi, NWA World Heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA, & NEVER Openweight Champion Togi Makabe vs. Tetsuya Naito, Kota Ibushi, Ricochet, Manabu Nakanishi, & Captain New Japan: ***

In contrast with the previous match, this Ten-Man Tag actually has a little juice behind it, as we’ve got KUSHIDA & Ricochet on opposite sides (Ricochet is challenging for IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title, being held by KUSHIDA at the time, the next night). This was a relatively good match. I preferred this match to the previous Ten-Man Tag. We saw some good action, along with more important interactions, mainly between Ibushi & Makabe as well as between Shibata & Naito (who was fantastic in this match despite not actually doing a lot). Those would be two matches that would eventually be made as part of Destruction that September. Good build for those matches. As far as this match goes, Tanahashi would win the match for his team after hitting the High Fly Flow on Captain New Japan.

5.) G1 Climax – Block B – Tomoaki Honma vs. Yujiro Takahashi: ***1/4

Homna is coming off an emotional high after winning his first match of the tournament against Tomohiro Ishii. Yujiro, on the other hand, hasn’t been impressive at all in this tournament. He was easily the worst competitor in Block B. As far as this match goes, it was actually pretty solid. The only real complaint I had was with result, as Yujiro won. I really don’t know why Honma lost here. Both guys were eliminated, so it really didn’t matter who won. Having Yujiro beat Honma right after Honma got his first G1 win was so weird.

6.) G1 Climax – Block B – “Unbreakable” Michael Elgin vs. Tomohiro Ishii: ****3/4

Now THIS was one of my most anticipated matches of the entire tournament. I’ve always found these two to be very similar in terms of their style. I was really excited to see them go at it in a New Japan ring, and boy, they didn’t disappoint. This match was AWESOME!! I loved every second of it. These two went at each other right from the opening bell, and never let up. This was just a FIGHT. These two beat the absolute crap out of each other, and it was so much fun to watch. Ishii would eventually get the win, but lets be honest…..We’re all winners with this one.

7.) G1 Climax – Block B – IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hirooki Goto vs. Yuji Nagata: ***3/4

I think Goto was still alive coming into this match. Basically, if he won, then Okada would have been eliminated from contention to win Block B. Fortunately, we didn’t need to worry about those scenarios here, as Nagata ended his tournament with a big win over the IWGP Intercontinental Champion. It was a really good match that was just bordering on being great. Though I’m not sure if Nagata will actually get a title shot out of this…

8.) G1 Climax – Block B – IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion Karl Anderson vs. Satoshi Kojima: ***3/4

Coming into this match, Anderson was also, technically, still alive in the tournament. If he won, he would have needed Nakamura to win against Okada, but much like the previous match, Satoshi Kojima scored a big win here over Karl Anderson. The match quality was actually very similar to the Goto/Nagata match that preceded this one. It was very good, but just fell shy of being great. As Anderson is one-half of the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, this could lead to Kojima & Tenzan getting a title shot.

9.) G1 Climax – Block B – IWGP Heavyweight Champion “Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: ****3/4

Of course, these two met in the Finals of the 2014 G1 Climax in the Seibu Dome. Okada won that encounter, and this is the rematch. I thought it was fantastic!! One again, these two delivered another stellar singles match. There was great action, but it told a good story as well, with Okada being a little cocky towards his CHAOS stablemate. The latter stages of the match were especially great, and included a great counter into an armbar by Nakamura. Awesome stuff from both guys in this match. Eventually, Okada was forced to tap out, and Nakamura punched his ticket to the G1 Climax Finals!

Overall: 9.25/10

I thought this was easily the best night of the tournament. Of course, a lot of that had to do with Okada vs. Nakamura & Elgin vs. Ishii, which were both legitimate MOTYC. Those are two matches that are definitely worth seeing. The rest of the tournament matches on this show were good as well. Two of those matches (Goto/Nagata & Anderson/Kojima) were both bordering on being great, while Honma vs. Yujiro was fine as well, despite the wonky result. The real advantage of Block B in this particular tournament was that the talent wasn’t top heavy like Block A. Yujiro was really the only guy in Block B who produced subpar matches. The rest of the undercard was pretty solid, as we got more build for two junior title matches the next night.

Final Standings

Block B

Shinsuke Nakamura (7-2-0) - 14 Points - Block B Winner
"Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada (7-2-0) - 14 Points
Karl Anderson (6-3-0) - 12 Points
Hirooki Goto (6-3-0) - 12 Points
Tomohiro Ishii (5-4-0) - 10 Points
"Unbreakable" Michael Elgin (4-5-0) - 8 Points
Satoshi Kojima (3-6-0) - 6 Points
Yuji Nagata (3-6-0) - 6 Points
Yujiro Takahashi (3-6-0) - 6 Points
Tomoaki Honma (1-8-0) - 2 Points

New Japan Pro-Wrestling - G1 Climax 25: Night 17 Review

It's the first of three straight nights in Sumo Hall, the winner of Block A is determined!

For the final three nights of the tournament, I'm going to revert back to traditional one-show reviews. I'll provide the final standings for Block A in this review, and the finals standing of Block B in my review of Night 18.

NJPW G1 Climax 25: Night 17

Tokyo, Japan (Ryogoku Sumo Hall) 8/14/15

1.) Six-Man Tag – The Bullet Club (IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion Karl Anderson, Tama Tonga, & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. Satoshi Kojima, Tomoaki Honma, & Mascara Dorada: **3/4

Anderson is facing Kojima the next night, while Yujiro is facing Homna. I thought this was a fine opener. There was solid action throughout this one. Both Mascara Dorada & Tama Tonga, the two men in this match who weren’t in the G1, did a good job here as well. Tama Tonga would eventually get the win for The Bullet Club after pinning Mascara Dorada.

2.) Six-Man Tag – “Unbreakable” Michael Elgin & reDRagon vs. The Bullet Club (The Young Bucks & Cody Hall): ***1/2

Here we have what was essentially a Ring of Honor showcase match (save for the inclusion of Cody Hall). I really enjoyed this match. It was a ton of fun to watch, and packed with action. Elgin, of course, really shined here, while reDRagon & The Young Bucks were their usual great selves. I’d say this was definitely one of the most entertaining non-tournament matches of the G1. Elgin would eventually get the win for his team after pinning Cody Hall.

3.) Six-Man Tag – Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, & IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA vs. IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hirooki Goto, Ricochet, & Captain New Japan: **3/4

Now these two teams are a weird assortment of individuals. Each side has two guys that are really good, but then both have one guy that really isn’t quite good. I’d say this was about on par with the opener. A fine Six-Man Tag Team Match. It did a good job not only building up Goto vs. Nagata, but KUSHIDA vs. Ricochet as well. Nagata used his armbar to tap out Captain New Japan, scoring the victory for his team.

4.) CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii, Kazushi Sakuraba, & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. CHAOS (IWGP Heavyweight Champion “Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada, Gedo, & The Kingdom of Matt Taven & Michael Bennett with Maria Kanellis): ***

This is easily the most interesting non-tournament match of the G1. CHAOS explodes!!!! Of course, Nakamura & Okada are facing off the next night in the match that will determine who wins Block B, but here, they’ve basically split CHAOS in two! The match itself was solid, for the most part. The fact that we had all of these CHAOS guys in one match was fun to see. Sakuraba gets the win for his team.

5.) G1 Climax – Block A – IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion Doc Gallows vs. Katsuyori Shibata: ***1/4

We’re now getting into the last matches in Block A. This particular match was another example of a great wrestler (Katsuyori Shibata in this case) dragging Doc Gallows to a good match. Definitely one of the better Doc Gallows matches of the entire tournament, and it’s no surprise that it came against Shibata. Both men had been eliminated from contention by this point, but points were still on the line. Gallows would get the surprising win here over Shibata.

6.) G1 Climax – Block A - Bad Luck Fale vs. Toru Yano: *3/4

Here we have another solid contender for the worst match of the entire tournament. The only saving grace about this match was the finish, as Yano won by count out after hitting both Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga with a low blow. There’s nothing much else to add to this one.

7.) G1 Climax – Block A – NWA World Heavyweight Champion Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Tetsuya Naito: ***1/4

I thought this was a pretty solid match. The action was good, and they told a nice story, where Naito kept screwing around with Tenzan, but eventually got his comeuppance, as Tenzan would later make Naito tap out to the Anaconda Vice for the win. Having Tenzan win here against a newly heel Naito was a little odd (and I saw that some people took issue with this), but given that this is probably Tenzan’s last G1 match, I didn’t mind it too much.

8.) G1 Climax – Block A – Kota Ibushi vs. NEVER Openweight Champion Togi Makabe: ***1/4

This was another pretty solid match from Block A. It was a very interesting clash of styles for sure, as the high-flying Ibushi went up against the hard-hitting bruiser Makabe. Good stuff from both guys here. Ibushi would eventually pick up the win, which is a kind of a big deal, as Makabe was the NEVER Openweight Champion. Ibushi might have just earned himself a title shot.

9.) G1 Climax – Block A – “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi: ****3/4

The Main Event of Night 17, and the last match in Block A, is a match between two guys who know each other very well. They’ve faced each other three times (G1 Climax 24: Finals as the 3^rd Place Match, King Of Pro-Wrestling 2014, & The New Beginning In Osaka 2015), and I believe Tanahashi has a 2-1 lead in this particular series. I thought this was a fantastic match!!! The match started a little slow, but things certainly built and built throughout the match. The action was really good from start to finish, as you would expect, but the storytelling here was just impeccable. The last few minutes were absolutely insane, and serve as proof that Styles & Tanahashi are two of the best wrestlers in the world. In the end, Tanahashi would score the victory over Styles, winning Block A and punching his ticket to the G1 Climax Finals.

Overall: 8.0/10

This show, as a whole, was pretty good, but it was really lifted up by the Main Event. Styles vs. Tanahashi was an absolute classic, and easily the best match they’ve had with each other. The rest of the Block A matches all ranged from good, to average, to bad (that last one really only applies to Fale vs. Yano). The undercards tags were all pretty solid, for the most part. Elgin & reDRagon vs. The Young Bucks & Cody Hall was the best of the bunch, and was probably better than the majority of the G1 matches we got on this show. Now Tanahashi, the winner of Block A, awaits the winner of Block B.

Final Standings

Block A

Hiroshi Tanahashi (7-2-0) - 14 Points - Block A Winner

"The Phenomenal" AJ Styles (6-3-0) - 12 Points

Tetsuya Naito (5-4-0) - 10 Points

Bad Luck Fale (5-4-0) - 10 Points

Katsuyori Shibata (4-5-0) - 8 Points

Togi Makabe (4-5-0) - 8 Points

Kota Ibushi (4-5-0) - 8 Points

Toru Yano (4-5-0) - 8 Points

Hiroyoshi Tenzan (3-6-0) - 6 Points

Doc Gallows (3-6-0) - 6 Points

New Japan Pro-Wrestling - G1 Climax 25: Nights 15 & 16 Review

The 25th G1 Climax continues with two more big nights in Korakuen Hall!!

NJPW G1 Climax 25: Night 15

Tokyo, Japan (Korakuen Hall) 8/11/15

1.) G1 Climax - Block A - IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion Doc Gallows vs. Tetsuya Naito: **3/4

2.) G1 Climax - Block A - NWA World Heavyweight Champion Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Katsuyori Shibata: ***

3.) G1 Climax - Block A - Kota Ibushi vs. Toru Yano: N/R (great for what it was, though)

4.) G1 Climax - Block A - "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles vs. Bad Luck Fale: ***

5.) G1 Climax - Block A - Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. NEVER Openweight Champion Togi Makabe: ****

Overall: 7.25/10

From a match-quality perspective, the second straight night in Korakuen Hall was one of the calmest nights of the entire tournament. The only match that I would say was really great as the Main Event, which saw Hiroshi Tanahashi defeat Togi Makabe. These guys are two of the bigger names on the babyface side of the roster, and they really put together a great match. While none of the other tournament matches on this show were bad by any means, they were all decently good. Gallows vs. Naito was an ok match, but I don’t think anyone saw Gallows actually defeating Naito, especially with this new heel persona that Naito has (then again, getting upsets at this point in the tournament really shouldn’t be a surprise). Then we had Hiroyoshi Tenzan taking on Katsuyori Shibata. This was a good match, but it didn’t come close to reaching the level of some of the other matches Tenzan was able to have in the tournament against guys like Tanahashi & AJ Styles. Once again, we had another shocking result, as Tenzan actually got Shibata to submit to the Anaconda Vice. The closing stretch of that match was actually very good. 

After that, we got Kota Ibushi vs. Toru Yano. Now, if there was going to be an upset on this show, it was going to be this match. As I’ve said before, you can never count Yano out in the G1, as he can beat anyone. This match definitely delivered an upset, as Yano go the win over Ibushi in just fifty seconds!!! I know people don’t like seeing Yano in the G1, but it has to be said that his inclusion always provides for some unique twists & turns. Then we got AJ Styles vs. Bad Luck Fale in a Bullet Club vs. Bullet Club match. As you might have guessed, we did see shenanigans, with the rest of The Bullet Club being at ringside, but it was still a decent little match. They tried to get Fale to lay down for Styles early, and it looked like he was going to, but it was a trick, and Fale went right after Styles. The clocked in at just under ten minutes, and it features a fair amount of crowd brawling. They were actually able to tell a nice little story, and as the whole, the match was entertaining to watch. I never would have guessed it, but they managed to pull it off. Styles would eventually overcome Fale for the victory.

NJPW G1 Climax 25: Night 16 

Tokyo, Japan (Korakuen Hall) 8/12/15

5.) G1 Climax - Block B - IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion Karl Anderson vs. Yujiro Takahashi: **1/4

6.) G1 Climax - Block B - IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hirooki Goto vs. "Unbreakable" Michael Elgin: ****1/4

7.) G1 Climax - Block B - Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Satoshi Kojima: ***1/2

8.) G1 Climax - Block B - IWGP Heavyweight Champion "Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada vs. Yuji Nagata: ****1/4

9.) G1 Climax - Block B - Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tomoaki Honma: ****1/4

Overall: 8.5/10

The third straight show at Korakuen Hall featured more matches from Block B. As a whole, I thought this was a great show! While it didn’t quite reach the level of Night 14 (the first night in Korakuen Hall), it was definitely better than Night 15 (the second night in Korakuen Hall). The opening tournament match was another Bullet Club vs. Bulled Club match, as Karl Anderson went up against Yujiro Takahashi. They basically did something similar to the AJ Styles/Bad Luck Fale match the night before, with the other members of The Bullet Club getting involved. Anderson, who has had a crush on Maria Kanellis for several months, was smitten by the lady that Yujiro brought to the ring, which led to Styles trying to get Anderson focused on the task at hand. Anderson would eventually go on to defeat Yujiro in a match that wasn’t very good at all. Thankfully, things only got better from there. We had a match between Hirooki Goto & Michael Elgin, which I thought was fantastic!! There was great action from start to finish, and the crowd was really into it on several occasions. Also, I thought these two worked pretty well together. Once again, we saw another example of #BIGMIKE being awesome, and continuing to prove that he belongs in New Japan. 

We then saw Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Satoshi Kojima. This wasn’t a great match (certainly not as good as some of the other matches on this show), but it was still very good. I really enjoyed it. Nakamura got the win there. After that, we saw Kazuchika Okada going up against Yuji Nagata. There actually was a little bit of build to this match, as Nagata had been doing specific training to counter The Rainmaker. These two ended up having an awesome match!! Okada delivered, as he always does, and Nagata looked great here as well. I think Nagata did counter The Rainmaker at one point, but it wouldn’t be able to counter another one, as Okada would eventually hit The Rainmaker for the win. The Main Event was Tomoaki Honma vs. Tomohiro Ishii. These two had an incredible match earlier in the year at The New Beginning in Sendai 2015 over the then vacant NEVER Openweight Title. While this match wasn’t nearly as good as that encounter, it was still a fantastic match. These two were beating the crap out of each other right from the opening bell. There was a ton of action, and the crowd was really into the match. Of course, the big story here is that HONMA FINALLY GOT A WIN!!! The crowd in Korakuen Hall exploded when Honma ended his drought and finally scored his first G1 victory. It was honestly a really great moment, and definitely one of the highlights of the entire tournament.

Standings

Block A

"The Phenomenal" AJ Styles (6-2-0) - 12 Points

Hiroshi Tanahashi (6-2-0) - 12 Points

Tetsuya Naito (5-3-0) - 10 Points

Bad Luck Fale (5-3-0) - 10 Points

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

Togi Makabe (4-4-0) - 8 Points

Kota Ibushi (3-5-0) - 6 Points

Toru Yano (3-5-0) - 6 Points

Hiroyoshi Tenzan (2-6-0) - 4 Points

Doc Gallows (2-6-0) - 4 Points

Block B

"Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada (7-1-0) - 14 Points

Shinsuke Nakamura (6-2-0) - 12 Points

Hirooki Goto (6-2-0) - 12 Points

Karl Anderson (6-2-0) - 12 Points

Tomohiro Ishii (4-4-0) - 8 Points

"Unbreakable" Michael Elgin (4-4-0) - 8 Points

Satoshi Kojima (2-6-0) - 4 Points

Yuji Nagata (2-6-0) - 4 Points

Yujiro Takahashi (2-6-0) - 4 Points

Tomoaki Honma (1-7-0) - 2 Points

Non-Tournament Matches To Watch

G1 Climax 25: Night 15 (8/11/15) - Eight-Man Tag - Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata, Tomoaki Honma, & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. CHAOS (IWGP Heavyweight Champion "Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii, & Yoshi-Hashi): ***3/4

G1 Climax 25: Night 16 (8/12/15) - Six-Man Tag - NEVER Openweight Champion Togi Makabe, NWA World Heavyweight Champion Hiroyoshi Tenzan, IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA vs. Kota Ibushi, Tetsuya Naito, & Mascara Dorada: ***1/2

G1 Climax 25: Night 15 (8/11/15) - IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hirooki Goto & Yohei Komatsu vs. "Unbreakable" Michael Elgin & David Finlay: ***1/4

G1 Climax 25: Night 16 (8/12/15) - Six-Man Tag - Ryusuke Taguchi, Sho Tanaka, & Yohei Komatsu vs. Jushin "Thunder" Liger, David Finlay, & Jay White: **3/4