New Japan Pro Wrestling - G1 Climax 24: Nights 7 & 8 Review

The 2014 Edition of the G1 Climax rolls on with two of the best shows of the year!!

NJPW G1 Climax 24: Night 7

Tokyo, Japan 8/1/14

1.) G1 Climax - Block A - Shelton "X" Benjamin vs. Satoshi Kojima: ***1/4

2.) G1 Climax - Block B - Lance Archer vs. Toru Yano: **1/2

3.) G1 Climax - Block B - Karl Anderson vs. Yujiro Takahashi: **3/4

4.) G1 Climax - Block A - Doc Gallows vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.: ***

5.) G1 Climax - Block B - Hirooki Goto vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan: ***3/4

6.) G1 Climax - Block A - Bad Luck Fale vs. Tomoaki Honma: ***1/2

7.) G1 Climax - Block B - Tetsuya Naito vs. Togi Makabe: ****1/4

8.) G1 Climax - Block B - AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki: *****

9.) G1 Climax - Block A - Katsuyori Shibata vs. Yuji Nagata: ****1/2

10.) G1 Climax - Block A - Tomohiro Ishii vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: ****1/2

Overall: 9.5/10

Night 7 was absolutely incredible. I don't know if there is any other way to describe it. This was just an awesome show! While the first few matches were relatively average, the last six matches made this just a fantastic show to watch. Goto/Tenzan had a really entertaining match (and another great performance from Tenzan, who was really over in this match). Fale vs. Honma was also really entertaining, although Honma took a scary landing when Fale hit him with his Border Toss-esque finisher. Naito/Makabe was a really great match, which told a good story and had Naito showing some of his heel tendencies. Then we had the match. Styles vs. Suzuki. This was incredible, fantastic,  and amazing, all rolled into one match. It's my Match of the Year in all of pro-wrestling in 2014. What's even more incredible, is that New Japan wasn't done yet!! We had an awesome match with Shibata & Nagata, where they just beat the crap out of the each other, and an equally awesome Main Event, which saw friends & CHAOS stablemates Nakamura & Ishii going at it. Night 7 was simply an incredible show, especially when you consider that Okada & Tanahashi weren't even on this show!!! Also, the fact that the show was held in Korakuen Hall just added to the atmosphere. Definitely a must see show. Go see this now!

Standings

Block A

Shinsuke Nakamura (5-1-0) - 10 Points

Katsuyori Shibata (4-2-0) - 8 Points

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

Shelton "X" Benjamin (4-3-0) - 8 Points

Bad Luck Fale (4-3-0) - 8 Points

Yuji Nagata (3-3-0) - 6 Points

Davey Boy Smith Jr. (3-3-0) - 6 Points

Tomohiro Ishii (3-4-0) - 6 Points

Satoshi Kojima (3-4-0) - 6 Points

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

Tomoaki Honma (0-6-0) - 0 Points

Block B

Tetsuya Naito (4-2-0) - 8 Points

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

AJ Styles (4-2-0) - 8 Points

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

Togi Makabe (3-3-0) - 6 Points

Lance Archer (3-3-0) - 6 Points

Hiroyoshi Tenzan (3-4-0) - 6 Points

Toru Yano (3-4-0) - 6 Points

Karl Anderson (3-4-0) - 6 Points

Hirooki Goto (3-4-0) - 6 Points

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

NJPW G1 Climax 24: Night 8
Osaka, Japan 8/3/14

1.) G1 Climax - Block A - Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Tomohiro Ishii: ****

2.) G1 Climax - Block B - Toru Yano vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzen: **1/2

3.) G1 Climax - Block A - Shelton "X" Benjamin vs. Yuji Nagata: ***1/4

4.) G1 Climax - Block A - Doc Gallows vs. Satoshi Kojima: ***

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

6.) G1 Climax - Block B - AJ Styles vs. Lance Archer: ****1/4

7.) G1 Climax - Block B - Minoru Suzuki vs. Togi Makabe: ****

8.) G1 Climax - Block A - Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomoaki Honma: ****1/2

9.) G1 Climax - Block B - Yujiro Takahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada: ***1/2

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

Overall: 9.75/10

If you thought Night 7 was amazing, then Night 8 was just as amazing, if not more so. It's hard to believe that after the incredible event Night 7 turned out to be, New Japan was somehow able to top it with Night 8, which emanated from Osaka. From top to bottom, this was an amazing show. While Night 7 had four matches that were above the ****+ mark (including a ***** match), this show has SIX matches that were above the ****+ mark, which is absolutely insane when you think about it. It all started with Ishii/Davey Boy Smith Jr., where Ishii unfortunately suffered a shoulder injury during the match, but soldiered on to finish the match. Naito/Goto was fantastic, Styles/Archer greatly exceeded expectations, Suzuki/Makabe was really great, Shibata/Honma had an absolute war of a match, and the Main Event saw Tanahashi & Nakamura add another classic match to their historic rivalry. You also had a cool moment in the Semi-Main Event where Okada got a measure of revenge against Takahashi, who cost him the IWGP Heavyweight Title earlier in the year. If Night 7 raised the bar to incredible heights, Night 8 raised it even higher. It's crazy to think that we had two shows like this back to back. Do yourself a favor, and see this show!!

Standings

Block A

Katsuyori Shibata (5-2-0) - 10 Points

Hiroshi Tanahashi (5-2-0) - 10 Points

Shinsuke Nakamura (5-2-0) - 10 Points

Yuji Nagata (4-3-0) - 8 Points
Bad Luck Fale (4-3-0) - 8 Points

Satoshi Kojima (4-4-0) - 8 Points

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

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

Davey Boy Smith Jr. (3-4-0) - 6 Points

Doc Gallows (2-5-0) - 4 Points

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

Block B

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

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