Puro Fury: G1 Climax 26 Day 17

G1 Climax Day 17

 

August 12 2016

 

We’re in Tokyo, Japan at Sumo Hall. This is the final night in Block A. Going into tonight half of Block A is still alive in the tournament. When you’ve got five guys competing for a Block it’s almost impossible to go into the permutations of what will happen. There are two matches that are key. Goto vs. Marufuji. The winner of this match advances to 12 points and will likely be top of Block A when we head into our main event. Which could, in turn, tell us who’s winning the main event. Marufuji beat Okada but lost to Tanahashi. If Marufuji wins, Okada cannot win the Block. This is highly unlikely to happen. Whereas Goto has lost to both Tana and Okada. The likely undercard results for this show should include Fale losing to Tama, because he also beat Okada, and Goto downing Marufuji. Then it’s mathematically possible for either Tanahashi or Okada to win. If either Fale or Marufuji win their match then Okada cannot win and can only play spoiler for Tanahashi.

 

For the final three G1 shows NJPW are presenting English language commentary. In the past they’ve dabbled with various pairing but have settled on ROH duo Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino. A wise choice. Here they’re joined by someone who understands Japanese wrestling and can speak the language. It’s not Yoshi bloody Tatsu it’s Rocky Romero. They’re introduced officially too and Romero gets a great reaction.

 

Bullet Club Hunters (Yoshitatsu & Captain New Japan) vs. The Briscoe Brothers

You can tell we’re nearing the end of G1 as the full NJPW roster is brought into action. Yoshi has not been missed on the tour and not missed on commentary as Corino buries him right out of the gate. The Briscoes are way better than the BCH team. But then, you know this. They kill Yoshitatsu with a double team powerbomb and make short work of the Captain with the Froggybow. Hey, a squash! I appreciate that. It’s over so quickly Corino barely has time to bury Tatsu. Nobody gives a shit about the Bullet Club Hunters so this is fine by me. It reminds the Japanese fans who the tag team champions are. It’s all good.

Final Rating: ½*

 

Tomoaki Honma, Ryusuke Taguchi, Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask IV

There are eight man tags all over this undercard. This one specifically exists to set up Honma vs. Nagata on tomorrow’s show. Not that anyone cares about that match because both men are eliminated. It should still be fun. The commentary covers a lot of bases, like Taguchi’s microphone not being on, Nakanishi’s enormous breakfasts, Romero being Black Tiger and Robinson’s potty mouth. I love that Nakanishi does a little wrestling and his crossbody but then has to tag out to get a breather. Corino drops a little extra knowledge that Honma once hit on Alison Danger. This match is also extremely brisk and Liger literally hits one move by rolling up Finlay. Dave is once again distraught at losing. You’d think he’d be used to it by now. It still stings. Nakanishi still can’t do Liger’s exit from the ring. You know who can? Adam Pacitti. I’ve seen him do it. Popped all the buttons off his suit jacket in the process but he got there.

Final Rating: **

 

Toru Yano, YOSHI-HASHI, Katsuhiko Nakajima & Atsushi Kotoge vs. Katsuyori Shibata, Michael Elgin, Satoshi Kojima & KUSHIDA

Thrilled that Kotoge is here representing NOAH. He’s a terrific wrestler and NOAH are clearly positioning him as a future top star in the mould of KENTA or Marufuji. With the exception of Yano there is a tonne of talent in this match and I’m genuinely excited by it. Perhaps even more so after the first two matches were rushed through. That means something gets more time. Is it this? Nakajima vs. Elgin and Yano vs. YOSHI-HASHI are matches taking place tomorrow. Nakajima vs. Elgin should be tremendous. YOSHI-HASHI looks knackered so it’s probably for the best he’s wrestling Yano. Shibata and YOSHI-HASHI do another great little sequence in this, which makes their failure of a match even more disappointing. Romero has a lot of fun during this match, yelling support to CHAOS members and marking out for stuff. As with every match he’s been in on this tour KUSHIDA looks great. Kojima murders Kotoge with a lariat to remind everyone he’s in line for an ROH title shot.

Final Rating: ***1/4

 

Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, BUSHI & Jay Lethal) vs. Bullet Club (Kenny Omega, Hangman Page, Yujiro Takahashi & Tanga Loa)

After his dismal Tama killing run in Guerrillas of Destiny I was hoping we’d seen the last of Tanga but he’s here again. Tension on commentary erupts when Romero learns that Corino loves LIJ. Rocky calls BUSHI a “super turd”. Naito is at his charismatic best here going after Milano Collection AT and getting love from Corino. I’ve included Lethal in LIJ because he’s billed as being in LIJ and he’s wearing the t-shirt. I love the implication from the commentators that Bullet Club aren’t over any more. This match exists to shill Naito vs. Omega, which is the key match in Block B tomorrow. These are two guys who are here to out-do each other in the heel stakes. Naito, given that he doesn’t care about anything, pretty much wins. You cannot get a reaction out of him! The two groups try to out-heel each other although it doesn’t often work. Hangman pins BUSHI with Rite of Passage because they’ve got a tag title shot on Sunday (Hangman and Yujiro) and need to be hot going in. This wasn’t too good although I’m looking forward to Omega vs. Naito. Omega goes to salute Naito with the “Los” business but Naito flips him off.

Final Rating: **

 

The second half of this show is all matches in the Block A of G1 Climax 26.

 

SANADA [6] vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [4]

Tenzan has had a rough tournament from both a worked and shoot perspective. Kojima definitely should have wrestled instead. He must be unimpressed with Tenzan’s performances this year. Whoever loses this match will be rock bottom of Block A. The crowd favourite is Tenzan, as it has been throughout the tournament, and this could well be his final G1 match. SANADA does not give a shit about any of this because he’s Ingobernable. SANADA is deceptively fast and he catches Tenzan unawares several times. Tenzan wants to stick to his strengths but SANADA won’t let him settle and won’t play the traditional Japanese bound by honour duelling tactic. Tenzan looks miserable as the match progresses. He’s so beaten up and broken down. When he misses the moonsault the air goes out of the arena and Tenzan looks so completely fucked. But Tenzan finds another breath and fires up! This is one of the great comebacks of this years G1 and the crowd get really into it. Tenzan looked so dead and so finished. Then there’s another great comeback after SANADA gets the Dragon Sleeper and the moonsault. SANADA hooks the Dragon Sleeper again and Tenzan is forced to tap out. Kojima puts his head in his hands. Poor Hiroyoshi. He was just too old for this tournament. They did some wonderful emotional stuff with the near finishes here. SANADA finishes on 8 points, which is mid-table. If this was Tenzan’s last G1 match it was a decent way to go out. He weeps openly after the match and hugs it out with Kojima, who’s also teary-eyed. Wrestling, man, it eats away at you. This was a beautiful moment and I’m a little choked up myself. Thank you, Mr Tenzan.

Final Rating: ***1/2

 

Tomohiro Ishii [6] vs. Togi Makabe [8]

This is another battle of the also ran’s as both men are eliminated. Ishii can look back on two of the best matches of the tournament and a win over Okada, one of the biggest wins of Ishii’s career. However he’s been beaten way too many times and comes in two points down on Makabe. Togi won his first four matches and has been beaten in every match since. That seems to happen to someone every year. These two had a load of matches last year in a seemingly never-ending feud. They go hell for leather out of the gate, with no need to rest as there is no tomorrow, effectively. There is zero finesse but a shit load of strikes. Ishii wins this by repeatedly chopping Togi in the throat. They start to trade on throat work, which is patently ridiculous but sums up how tough and violent they both are. Ishii brings some great selling to put over Togi’s viciousness and it becomes another war between these two. Some of the trading in this is sick. They leave nothing for tomorrow. Both guys do wonderful no selling and Ishii’s selling when he’s no selling is magnificent. I’m fired up…no wait, I’m fucked…but I’m still fired up! Ishii takes a brutal Spider German superplex but rolls inside the King Kong Kneedrop to prolong the violence. This leads to the fucking headbutts and Togi kicking out of the lariat at one, for fuck’s sake. Ishii nails the brainbuster though and takes the 2 points. Was it worth it? This was a brutal match and one of the better fights these two have had. I was fired up throughout this, even after the series of matches they had last year.

Final Rating: ****1/4

 

Tama Tonga [6] vs. Bad Luck Fale [10]

If Fale wins he goes top of Block A on his own. Both of these guys are in Bullet Club so it creates a potential issue where Tama might just lie down. Romero points out they’re not only both in Bullet Club but they’re actually cousins and didn’t know this until they both started working in Japan. Tama goes to lie down and the crowd freak out! Red Shoes is having none of that shit. Tama then pulls out a roll up to mess with Fale. You get the felling Tama is a bit of a prankster. Fale decides to just fuck Tama up and get the win legitimately. The Bullet Club guys are around ringside for a bit of a pantomime so Fale powerbombs Tama onto them. That’s also a bit of a dick move. Are Bullet Club imploding before our very eyes? Or is this the change in attitude that finally gets Tama over with the NJPW fans? Both guys attempt finishers, perhaps too early before Tama gets a clever Headshrinker DDT counter to avoid the Grenade. Gun Stun! Tama puts Fale out of Block A. Decent showing but the storyline overwhelmed the action and it was kept short, under ten minutes. Fale hugs it out with Tama, even though the weird looking fool cost Fale a spot in the tournament final.

Final Rating: ***

 

Naomichi Marufuji [10] vs. Hirooki Goto [10]

At this point Goto is a rank outsider to win G1, even if he wins here because he lost to both Okada and Tanahashi. The only way he can win is if he wins this match and the Tana-Okada match goes to a draw. Corino calls Goto “Joey Chokesalot” and claims he’s 0-96 in title matches. It’s funny because it’s a slightly embellished version of the truth. Marufuji brings the usual level of chopping violence and he controls Goto like he controlled Okada. Goto gets lit up with those chops. You have to wonder if it’s really necessary for Marufuji to chop people as hard as he does. I like that when they do the rope-running business Marufuji is one step ahead throughout. As if he’s scouted Goto and knows what he’ll do. Goto gets caught with so many shots during the stand up that his only response is to headbutt to save himself. Marufuji has him beaten all ends up until that point. Even after that Marufuji destroys Goto with strikes, obliterating him until he tries for the Shiranui and that’s something Goto understands. He can’t stop Marufuji from hitting him but he can counter a move. He gets the sleeper and wears Marufuji down enough for the GTR. Marufuji was all kinds of great here and the finish made sense. Joey Chokesalot stays alive into the last match! Although he now needs Tanahashi vs. Okada to go to a draw.

Final Rating: ****1/4

 

Kazuchika Okada [10] vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi [10]

Whoever wins this wins Block A. Okada beat Tanahashi back at Wrestle Kingdom to confirm himself as NJPW’s new top guy but Tanahashi is still called the companies ace by some people. Okada might have beaten Tanahashi but he’s not gotten rid of him. Both guys look confident, as well they should, they’re two of the best wrestlers in the world. Crowd is very pro-Tana due to his injury and his comeback during G1. Tanahashi, ultimate hair ace, has added some white to his barnet, braiding white strands into the side. It’s a virtual crime. It should be illegal. Okada looks to make this quick but that allows Tana to pull out flash pins. I start marking out at the inside cradle to block the Rainmaker. They settle down a little after that with Okada making up submission holds on the fly and Tanahashi working the leg, as he enjoys doing. It’s a very deliberate pace, to the point where we’re teasing a 30 minute draw that would see Goto advance to the final. The selling makes sense here with Okada recuperating the knee injury by putting Tanahashi in holds that eat up time. He sells the knee as much as he needs to. It’s a clever performance. Tana is less clever, despite consistently working the knee, as he takes needless risks. Including the High Fly Flow to the floor. He just can’t help himself! He also refuses to take the count out win, due to pride and honour. They get into the big counters down the stretch with Tanahashi breaking out Slingblades out of nowhere and dragon screws in all manner of positions. It’s a stunning performance from Tanahashi but Okada is the one who finds the last gasp counters to save the match, even if it involves sacrificing his bum knee to stop the High Fly Flow. The near falls in this are fucking ridiculous. They fake me out with an enormous number of near finishes and counters. It’s absolutely incredible. The finish is the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen as Tanahashi hits the High Fly Flow and the referee has counted to two and the bell rings*. The time limit expires in the middle of the three count. Fucking Goto wins Block A. This was absolutely wonderful. A masterpiece of wrestling.

Final Rating: *****

 

*Before anyone says this has been done before, of course it has, but I’ve never seen it executed this perfectly. It takes timing to do this and to do it this perfectly takes two world class talents.

9.0

The final score: review Amazing

The 411

We knew the Sumo Hall stuff would be great but I don’t think I was expecting the level of excellence that Tanahashi vs. Okada brought. They’ve had great matches before, in the ***** territory, but doing a time limit draw in the way that they did it was masterful. I was truly bowled over by that match. It was a real rollercoaster ride of an evening too with a few swerves, tears for Tenzan and another fantastic Ishii performance. What an incredible end to Block A.