wrestling / TV Reports
Csonka’s NJPW G1 Climax Day 11 Review
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NJPW G1 Climax Day 11 8.05.15
OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Block A Match: Bad Luck Fale defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan @ 9:50 via pin[*½]
– Block A Match: Toru Yano defeated Katsuyori Shibata @ 4:00 via pin [**]
– Block A Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Doc Gallows @ 11:35 via pin [***]
– Block A Match: AJ Styles defeated Togi Makabe @ 11:15 via pin [****]
– Block A Match: Tetsuya Naito defeated Kota Ibushi @ 17;10 via pin [***¾]
* Disclaimer I will be doing what I did with the Best of the Super Juniors tournament, I will just be reviewing the tournament matches from each day. They are what matters, and I don’t worry about burning out.
Bad Luck Fale defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan: This was not good. You have Fale that is becoming slower as he becomes bigger, and then there is Zombie Tenzan. These two were not made to work together, and it felt as if it lasted an eternity, but it was actually under 10-minutes long. It wasn’t filled with blown spots or anything like that; it was just a bad pro wrestling match. The only redeeming quality is that the people still love Tenzan, but I wouldn’t exactly say that this had a great atmosphere. Fale used the High Fly Fale (stealing the high fly flow again) for the win. I am sure Tenzan loved that when he heard the finish.
Toru Yano defeated Katsuyori Shibata: This was the match where they had to dash some hopes after Shibata got out to the lead. He dominated the match, it was fine and then Yano scored with the flash pin. I generally like the tournament booking, but Shibata has been one of the very best guys in this tournament. He has been delivering great performances and gaining support; so having him lose to Yano just feels completely stupid to me. It was good for the time given because of Shibata, and I completely get that Yano “stole another,” but I was not a fan of the booking here.
Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Doc Gallows: Tanahashi and Gallows was a fun little match, one of Gallows better of the tournament. Huh, wonder why. They didn’t try to reinvent the wheel here; they basically had a good and quality match with Gallows playing the bully big man, and Tanahashi having to use his speed, skill and knowledge to overcome. Gallows got to look like he mattered, and Tanahashi was able to escape the tree slam, and then get a victory roll for the win. Tanahashi was in cruise control in many ways, but it was good enough to pull something good from Gallows. Now Tanahashi prepares for huge matches against Styles and Shibata. Speaking of Styles…
AJ Styles defeated Togi Makabe: These guys had a last year’s event, which was recently shown in clip form on last week’s NJPW on AXS TV, and it was a damn good match. It was actually, in my opinion ,heading towards real greatness until AJ landed on his head when Makabe hit a release spider German suplex. AJ got through the match and it was still very good, but I think it could have been better. They had another very good match here, as AJ’s biggest strength in the G1 matches has been his willingness to adapt to his opponents and work to their styles and strengths. The crowd was so good here, they were into this as if it were a big time main event, and it added to the atmosphere. This was one of those matches that when you are done, it feels way shorter than it was; the action is effortless and flies by. Also, the reactions the crowds give when AJ goes for the clash is always go good, they almost fear the move (due to the Yoshi Tatsu injury) and gasp when it’s about to connect. Very good work from both men in what would be the match of the night.
Tetsuya Naito defeated Kota Ibushi: Naito’s been clicking with his new persona, while Ibushi has been a candidate for the MVP of the tournament. With that in mind I was really looking forward to the match. I though that this started with an awesome pacing, and early on I thought we may b in for something really special. They had some awesome counters, and it felt like a big time match. But then it lost a bit for me, as the energy in the second half was just gone and it started to feel a bit long. While it wasn’t a great match, it was pretty damn good overall as Naito won with the Destino and jumped into the logjam for first place. If they could have kept up the pacing from the first half, kept that energy, this could have been one of the better tournament matches. It’s still good though.
– End scene.
– Thanks for reading.
BLOCK A
– Katsuyori Shibata – 8 POINTS [4 wins, 2 losses]
– Tetsuya Naito – 8 POINTS [3 wins, 2 losses]
– Bad Luck Fale – 8 POINTS [4 wins, 2 losses]
– AJ Styles – 8 POINTS [4 wins, 2 losses]
– Hiroshi Tanahashi – 8 POINTS [4 wins, 2 losses]
– Kota Ibushi – 6 POINTS [3 wins, 3 losses]
– Togi Makabe – 6 POINTS [3 wins, 3 losses]
– Yano – 4 points [2 win, 4 losses]
– Hiroyoshi Tenzan – 2 POINTS [1 win, 5 losses]
– Doc Gallows – 2 POINTS [1 win, 5 losses]
“I’m out…”
