NJPW G1 Climax 25: Night 13
Yokohama, Japan 8/8/15
1.) G1 Climax - Block A -
Bad Luck Fale vs. Kota Ibushi: ***
2.) G1 Climax - Block A -
Tetsuya Naito vs. Toru Yano: ***
3.) G1 Climax - Block A -
"The Phenomenal" AJ Styles vs. NWA World Heavyweight Champion
Hiroyoshi Tenzan: ****
4.) G1 Climax - Block A -
NEVER Openweight Champion Togi Makabe vs. IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion
Doc Gallows: **3/4
5.) G1 Climax - Block A -
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata: ****1/2
Overall: 8.25/10
I thought this was a very
good showing from Block A. Bad Luck Fale vs. Kota Ibushi was the first
tournament match of the night, and it was actually a little better than I was
expecting. Once again, a superior worker (Ibushi, in this case) was able to
carry Bad Luck Fale to a respectably good match. They did some nice work with
the “big man/little man” dynamic, and in the end, the bigger man (Fale) walked
away with the win. We then had a pretty entertaining match between Tetsuya
Naito & Toru Yano. Of course, given Naito’s recent heel turn (which has
included just outright attacking referees), and Yano’s usual G1 tricks, this
match was full of shenanigans. Some might not enjoy this kind of match, but for
what it was, I enjoyed it. We then saw AJ Styles defeat Hiroyoshi Tenzan in a
surprisingly fantastic match. I mentioned in earlier reviews that during the
G1, Tenzan can delivered if he’s put in the right situation against the right
opponent, and that was the case here. There was a lot of solid action
throughout the match, and they told a really good story. Styles got the win his
Calf Crusher/Calf Killer submission (whatever you want to call it). I really
enjoy when guys win matches with different. It establishes them as real threats
later on in the tournament. We then had Togi Makabe vs. Doc Gallows. Now while
this was a decent match, I thought it was going to be a little worse than it
ended up being. Thankfully, these two were able to put together a solid match.
It’s not memorable, but it was fine. We then had the Main Event, where Hiroshi
Tanahashi & Katsuyori Shibata put on an absolutely fantastic match!! These
guys had two fantastic matches in 2014 (including in the 2014 G1 Climax), and
they delivered another classic here. They just work so well together that
anything less than ****1/2 would be considered a disappointment. A pretty good
show with and awesome Main Event!!
NJPW G1 Climax 25: Night 14
1.) G1 Climax - Block B -
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion Karl Anderson vs. "Unbreakable"
Michael Elgin: ****
2.) G1 Climax - Block B -
Satoshi Kojima vs. Yuji Nagata: ***1/2
3.) G1 Climax - Block B -
IWGP Heavyweight Champion "Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada vs. Yujiro
Takahashi: ***1/2
4.) G1 Climax - Block B -
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomoaki Honma: ****
5.) G1 Climax - Block B -
IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hirooki Goto vs. Tomohiro Ishii: ****3/4
Overall: 8.75/10
We’re now into the final
stretch of the 2015 G1 Climax. This show was the first of three straight nights that
would take place at the famous Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Personally, I thought
this show was easily the best of the tournament so far!! We had a few matches
which were, at the very least, really good. Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata,
two of New Japan’s elder statesmen, had a very good match. As I’ve said before,
don’t let the ages of Kojima & Nagata fool you. They can still go, and they
showed that in this match. Then there was Kazuchika Okada vs. Yujiro Takahashi.
Thankfully, Okada was able to carry Yujiro to one of his best matches in the
tournament. It helps that these two have a history, as Yujiro cost Okada the
IWGP Heavyweight Title at Wrestling
Dontaku 2014, joining The Bullet Club in the process. Then we got into the
awesome stuff.
The opening tournament match on this show saw Karl Anderson
going up against Michael Elgin. These two are actually familiar with each
other, as they had two encounters in ROH back in 2013. They actually split
those matches, meaning this was the rubber match. Not only was this a great
match, but I thought it was probably the best of the three matches they’ve had.
Anderson always does well in the G1, and Elgin continued his string of
impressive performances. Anderson would get the win in this one. Then there was
Shinsuke Nakamura against Tomoaki Honma. Another great match on this show!! These
two just clicked, and worked very well together. The crowd was really into it
as well. I’m sure part of that had to do with both guys being in must-win
scenarios (Nakamura, after his elbow injury, basically had to win all of his
remaining matches to win the block, while Honma was still searching for that
elusive G1 victory). Nakamura would get the win here in this very entertaining
match. We then came to the Main Event, which saw Hirooki Goto going up against
Tomohiro Ishii. These two actually had a killer match at Power Struggle 2014 over the NEVER Openweight Title. Fortunately,
these two were able to put on another killer match!!! This was filled with
hard-hitting action, as you would expect, and it was blast to watch from start
to finish! Both guys beat the crap out of each other, but in the end, the IWGP
Intercontinental Champion would take home the victory.
Standings
Block A
Tetsuya Naito (5-2-0) - 10 Points
Hiroshi Tanahashi (5-2-0) - 10 Points
"The Phenomenal" AJ Styles (5-2-0) - 10 Points
Bad Luck Fale (5-2-0) - 10 Points
Katsuyori Shibata (4-3-0) - 8 Points
Togi Makabe (4-3-0) - 8 Points
Kota Ibushi (3-4-0) - 6 Points
Toru Yano (2-5-0) - 4 Points
Hiroyoshi Tenzan (1-6-0) - 2 Points
Doc Gallows (1-6-0) - 2 Points
Block B
"Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada (6-1-0) - 12 Points
Shinsuke Nakamura (5-2-0) - 10 Points
Hirooki Goto (5-2-0) - 10 Points
Karl Anderson (5-2-0) - 10 Points
Tomohiro Ishii (4-3-0) - 8 Points
"Unbreakable" Michael Elgin (4-3-0) - 8 Points
Yuji Nagata (2-5-0) - 4 Points
Satoshi Kojima (2-5-0) - 4 Points
Yujiro Takahashi (2-5-0) - 4 Points
Tomoaki Honma (0-7-0) - 0 Points
Non-Tournament Matches To Watch
G1 Climax 25: Night 14 (8/9/15) - Six-Man Tag - Hiroshi
Tanahashi, NWA World Heavyweight Champion Hiroyoshi Tenzan, & IWGP Jr.
Heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA vs. NEVER Openweight Champion Togi Makabe,
Katsuyori Shibata, & Jushin "Thunder" Liger: ***
G1 Climax 25: Night 13 (8/8/15) - "Unbreakable" Michael
Elgin & Jay White vs. The Bullet Club (IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion
Karl Anderson & Cody Hall): ***
G1 Climax 25: Night 13 (8/8/15) - Eight-Man Tag - Satoshi
Kojima, Jushin "Thunder" Liger, Ryusuke Taguchi, & Yohei Komatsu
vs. Yuji Nagata, IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA, Mascara Dorada, &
David Finlay: ***
G1 Climax 25: Night 13 (8/8/15) - Six-Man Tag - CHAOS
(Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii, & Yoshi-Hashi) vs. IWGP
Intercontinental Champion Hirooki Goto, Tomoaki Honma, & Captain New Japan:
**3/4
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