wrestling / TV Reports

Csonka’s NJPW G1 Climax (Night 7) Review 7.28.16

July 28, 2016 | Posted by Larry Csonka
7
The 411 Rating
Community Grade
12345678910
Your Grade
Loading...
Csonka’s NJPW G1 Climax (Night 7) Review 7.28.16  

Csonka’s NJPW G1 Climax (Night 7) Review 7.28.16


OFFICIAL RESULTS
Block A Match: Togi Makabe defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan @ 10:08 via pin [***]
Block A Match: SANADA defeated Hirooki Goto @ 12:05 via pin [***]
Block A Match: Tomohiro Ishii defeated Naomichi Marufuji @ 12:14 via pin [****]
Block A Match: Kazuchika Okada defeated Tama Tonga @ 11:45 via pin [**¾]
Block A Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Bad Luck Fale via pin [***½]


NOTE: Like last year, I will be focusing on the tournament matches during my reviews.

Togi Makabe vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan: The Tenzan story continues as he goes on the final run. They worked a good back and forth match, but Makabe has been a miss for me so far in the G1 and there was something missing here for me as opposed to the other Tenzan G1 matches. it wasn’t bad, it was a god and enjoyable match with both guys using their usual brutality. Tenzan started to roll with the anaconda vice, but once again missed the moonsault; Makabe scored with the king kong knee drop and goes to a shocking 4-0. This should lead to quite the losing streak for him, this win made no sense to me though. Tenzan’s story has been great for the atmosphere in his matches, he’s working as hard as possible, has had great matches and I have no complaints.

SANADA vs. Hirooki Goto: SANADA has had some great performances so far in the tournament, but Goto has been rather bland and disappointing so far. This was a good match, they had to battle through the crowd not caring early, but they got past that and did a good job of getting them into the match. I will admit that while he has bored me at times, I felt that Goto did a great job selling the threat of the dragon sleeper and also the move it self. Goto repeatedly was able to escape and or refuse to tap, which I was not a fan of, and SANADA had to use a moonsault to score the win. Listed fucker, if Tanahashi is good enough to tap to the dragon sleeper, Goto surely the hell is and should have here. I mean, the clean win and good of course, but they really have a chance to do so much good for SANADA in this tournament, but protecting captain bridesmaid was a misfire.

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Naomichi Marufuji: Oh it was clobberin time here kids, and it was a beautiful thing. This was Ishii trying to be a bad ass while Marufuji just rips his chest apart with brutal chops and kicks. This was the theme of the match; Marufuji wasn’t afraid and was tearing up Ishii, who just kept rolling through everything (despite the pain) like the Juggernaut (bitch). They got the crowd early, kept them throughout, and as they worked down the stretch and to the finish they got them so riled up that it helped to take the match to the next level. Marufuji was not messing around either, brutalizing Ishii and scoring with stiff kicks, but this just enraged Ishii, who went straight up violent as he owned Marufuji with the head butts and lariat, and then finally ended his day with the brainbuster. What makes this really work is that it is just more than guys hitting each other; it’s Ishii trying to keep his bad ass persona, it’s Marufuji trying to still prove himself in the New Japan ring, it’s Ishii trying to hold serve on home court and get out of the bottom all told in a beautiful display of violence. That’s exactly what the show needed right there to pick things up a bit.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Tama Tonga: This match continued two trends in this tournament, and both are disappointments. The first being that it is feeling that Okada is really taking nights off and the next being that Tonga is not living up to this huge chance he has been given. This felt like the Goto match, they did things; they were fine, it didn’t feel as if the match had any real heat and the people like Okada. No one buys Tonga, and he seems to be trying but I keep waiting for him to just break out and deliver, but it remains solid leaning towards good. Tonga is proving that he can have solid to good matches with the upper guys, but that is seemingly it, and I hate that because this time last year he really seemed to be thriving and going well. Fucking Camacho ruined him. Okada hit a rainmaker, it was fine, and we move on.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bad Luck Fale: And so we came to the main event, where the former ace Tanahashi was looking for his first G1 win, but to do so he’d have to defeat a monster in Fale who has done well against him in the past. Fale was working hard once again, and with Tanahashi knowing how to bring out the best in him, they was a very good match overall. Tanahashi sold a lot of the match, with Fale brutalizing him and giving the appearance that Tanahashi would once again fall and go 0-4. The story was well done, the work was good and they had a great atmosphere. Fale would score with the grenade, but when he went for the Bad Luck Fall, Tanahashi slipped out and countered with the backslide to score his first victory of the tournament. As previously mentioned, the booking was that Tanahashi was not 100% and was getting defeated partly due to that. This was the night where he stopped the funk, picked up a win, but was not dominant in doing so. It’s baby steps. The backslide makes for the perfect finish, he survived and finally had things go his way.

BLOCK A STANDINGS
* Togi Makabe (4-0)
* Kazuchika Okada (3-1)
* Naomichi Marufuji (2-2)
* Hiroyoshi Tenzan (2-2)
* Hirooki Goto (2-2)
* SANADA (2-2)
* Tomohiro Ishii (2-2)
* Bad Luck Fale (1-3)
* Tama Tonga (1-3)
* Hiroshi Tanahashi (1-3)

– End scene.

– Thanks for reading.

 photo fe36ffd0-0da4-4e3b-a2d3-b026b341dd87_zps41ef5d61.jpg
“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”

7.0
The final score: review Good
The 411
Like most of the tournament, a good night overall but not a lot of must see. If you’re short on time and cherry picking matches, make sure to watch the Tomohiro Ishii vs. Naomichi Marufuji match.
legend