Views from the Hawke’s Nest: NJPW G1 Climax 2014 Blog #2 (Days 3 & 4)

As I explained in Blog #1, I’m not watching (much less recapping) the entire 2014 G1. The 2013 G1 taught me there is too much filler and too much repetition within the tournament for my liking. Instead, I’m going to be watching some select matches and reviewing them here. As some of the commenters pointed out though, I should have included the full results from each day, and I will be doing so going forward. My bad. I will also be linking to all of Dylan Diot’s reviews, as he is actually recapping every single match:
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4

Night 3

Yamagata, Japan
7/25/2014

Minoru Suzuki [0 Points] vs. Hirooki Goto [6 Points]
They traded some overhead chops early. Goto won that. Suzuki came back right away though and almost won by countout. He was still in control after that. Goto came back with a lariat. TAKA Michinoku tried to interfere after that, but Goto got rid of him. Suzuki cut him off with a big slap and a boot to the face. Suzuki went for the sleeper twice. Suzuki went for the Gotch Piledriver after the second, but Goto reversed it into a pinning combination: 1…2…3!

Suzuki was not pleased with that result. He shoved a young boy into a wall after.

I was not expecting too much from that match, but I appreciated them going for “short & sweet” as opposed to doing an unnecessarily long match for no reason. I doubt they’re setting Goto up to win or even make the finals, but he’s probably going to be a player down the stretch. Suzuki has not been a player in NJPW for over a year now. NJPW has seemed to lose interest to pushing him at all as a potential main eventer.
Match Rating: **1/2

Hiroshi Tanahashi [4 Points] vs. Satoshi Kojima [2 Points]
Tana called for the High Fly Flow to the floor early, but Kojima ran away. Tana then hit him with a pescado. Tana started going after Kojima’s right arm after that. Kojima managed to hit a DDT and then made a comeback. Tana came back with a big forearm and a middle rope senton. Kojima came back with an Ace Crusher and then sent Tana to the floor hard with a lariat. Tana got back in the ring, but Kojima pounced with an Ace Crusher: 1…2…NO! Tana reversed a lariat into a strait jacket German: 1…2…NO! Tana then hit the shittiest Ace Crusher that I have ever seen. He went for High Fly Flow, but Kojima got his legs up! Kojima then hit Cozy Crush Dynamite: 1…2…NO! LARIAT FROM KOJIMA: 1…2…NO! Tana caught him with a Sling Blade. Kojima got to his feet, but Tana hit him with a High Fly Flow! HIGH FLY FLOW: 1…2…3!

Well, that ruled. Kojima threw everything he had at Tanahashi, but the NJPW ace managed to survive long enough to be able to pull off a couple of High Fly Flows to get himself two more points. If I had one complaint, it’s that NJPW match structure can sometimes have tells that make the winner seem 99% certain. While the closing stretch was the most fun part of the match, it became obvious to me that Tanahashi would win once Kojima started throwing bombs. That is a nitpick though.
Match Rating: ***3/4

Kazuchika Okada [4 Points] vs. Togi Makabe [2 Points]
These two had one of the best matches of the year for 2013 in the Dominion main event. I would not be entirely surprised if they pulled off something similar right now. The crowd is primed for them.

Okada baited Makabe to the floor and then cut him off there. He brought him back to the ring to work him over. Makabe started to come back, and the crowd rallied behind him. Okada came back and hit Heavy Rain. Okada then applied Red Ink. Makabe struggled and struggled, but he eventually made it to the ropes. Okada hit the dropkick, and he went for the Raimaker. Makabe reversed it into a lariat of his own. Makabe hit a folding powerbomv for a nearfall. He set up for the Spider German. Okada initially resisted, but Makabe banged his head on the ringpost and then hit the German. Okada just barely avoided the diving knee drop. Okada hit his beautiful bridging German for a nearfall and then transitioned into the Rainmaker: 1…2…3!

While this was nowhere near as good as their Dominion 2013 main event, this was still satisfying and a fine way to close out a G1 show. Makabe is fairly uninteresting to me as a performer, but Okada is a good person for him to work with.
Match Rating: ***1/2

Full results and update points totals (credit to cagematch.net)
G1 Climax 2014 Block A Match
Doc Gallows [2] defeats Tomoaki Honma [0] (7:37)
G1 Climax 2014 Block B Match
Lance Archer [2] defeats Karl Anderson [0] (7:35)
G1 Climax 2014 Block B Match
Hiroyoshi Tenzan [4] defeats Yujiro Takahashi [2] (11:16)
G1 Climax 2014 Block A Match
Shelton Benjamin [6] defeats Tomohiro Ishii [2] (8:11)
G1 Climax 2014 Block B Match
Tetsuya Naito [4] defeats Toru Yano [2] (9:11)
G1 Climax 2014 Block A Match
Davey Boy Smith Jr. [2] defeats Katsuyori Shibata [2] (9:42)
G1 Climax 2014 Block A Match
Bad Luck Fale [4] defeats Yuji Nagata [2] (10:57)
G1 Climax 2014 Block B Match
Hirooki Goto [6] defeats Minoru Suzuki [0] (7:03)
G1 Climax 2014 Block A Match
Hiroshi Tanahashi [6] defeats Satoshi Kojima [2] (13:01)
G1 Climax 2014 Block B Match
Kazuchika Okada [6] defeats Togi Makabe [2] (14:49)

Night 4

Akita, Japan
7/26/2014

Tomohiro Ishii [2 Points] vs. Tomoaki Honma [0 Points]
Honma is 0-3 so far. I do not expect him to win until Night 11.

Honma went for the headbutt early, but Ishii obviously avoided it. Ishii got control and used a number of non-falling headbutts. Ishii went for the Ishii Driver, but Honma managed to reverse it into a suplex. Honma missed another headbutt. They then traded a lot of chops. Honma won that particular battle and then connected on the falling headbutt! Yay! Ishii hit a backdrop driver. Honma hit a big lariat and then a piledriver. He then hit a big spiked DDT! He went for the diving headbutt, but Ishii rolled out of the way! Ishii came back with a superplex for a nearfall. Ishii then hit a folding powerbomb: 1…2…NO! Honma reversed an Ishii driver into a pinning combo for an amazing nearfall. Honma then dropped Ishii on his head with a German. Honman then hit a lariat and a brainbuster: 1…2…NO!!! Honma looked like he may cry. They traded a lot of strikes. Ishii took his head off with a lariat: 1…2…NO!!! ISHII DRIVER: 1…2…3!!! WHAT A FUCKING MATCH!

For anyone who subscribes to the idea that a match needs to be long to be great, you really need to check out this match. (Well, everyone needs to check out this match, but more on that later.) As wrestling goes on, I hope more and more pro wrestlers recognize that going long for the sake of going long is stupid and usually just bores a crowd. Anyone who still writes/says “it would have been better if it was longer” is so out of touch and comes off like a buffoon. That’s not to say a match that can’t be great if it’s long, but a thirty minute match where a crowd is somewhat into the action is by definition, not as successful as a match that has a red hot crowd for all 12 minutes.*

*Yes, yes, wrestling is subjective. I know.

This match played to both men’s strengths. Ishii is great at controlling a match, as he just seems so brutal and unforgiving. Honma is obviously great with coming from behind, and the crowd will go ballistic when he finally wins a match in the G1.
Match Rating: ****1/2

Shinsuke Nakamura [2 Points] vs. Yuji Nagata [2 Points]
The match started fairly slowly. Nakamura connected on a couple of strikes and then got control of the match. Nagata came back with the Kitchen Sink and then delivered a number of kicks. Nakamura came back again. He was continuously taunting Nagata throughout the match. Nagata fired back with many strikes. Nakamura took him down with his leaping kick. Nagata applied a crossface. Nagata then transitioned to the eye rollback armbar. Nakamura got to the ropes, but Nagata remained in control. Nakamura came back with a diving Boma Ye. They traded forearms. Nagata hit a spinning heel kick and then a rebound German. He then got a nearfall with a backdrop driver. Nakamura came back with a knee strike to the head, a sliding kick, and then Boma Ye: 1…2…NO! BOMA YE: 1…2…3!

I was very surprised to be somewhat underwhelmed by this match (conversely, I was somewhat surprised how good their 2013 G1 match was. Opinions are weird!). The match felt a little cold, and the substance of the match did not particularly interest me. It was perfectly fine of course, but it’s not something I will ever consider rewatching.
Match Rating: ***1/4

Tetsuya Naito [4 Points] vs. AJ Styles [2 Points]
Five years ago, this could have been a match that I would be very excited for. As it is, I’m cautiously optimistic as Styles seems more comfortable with working in NJPW.

This match started with both wrestlers being very tentative. AJ got the advantage after his dropkick. Naito’s head wound got opened up, and AJ removed the bandage. AJ worked him over for a long time. Naito eventually managed to dump AJ to the floor. They then both went down after a double lariat spot. They managed to get back in the ring, and Naito made his standard comeback. AJ cut him off again and went for the Clash. Naito avoided it but ate the Pele. Styles then hit Bloody Sunday. Naito avoided the Clash again. Naito avoided the Clash again and went for a super ‘rana. AJ went for a super Clash, but Naito avoided it. Naito then hit a German and Gloria. Stardust Press: 1…2…3!

Much like the last two matches, I thought this was fine. It was not a standout match, but I enjoyed watching it. AJ continues to look more comfortable in NJPW now than when he first got here. Naito just does not do much for me as a performer any more. He’s capable of good matches obviously, but he’s not somewhat I feel the need to seek out unless it’s a really fresh pairing.
Match Rating: ***1/4

Kazuchika Okada [6 Points] vs. Karl Anderson [0 Points]
Anderson attacked Okada while the latter was posing before the bell rang. Okada came back quickly enough though and sent Machine Gun to the floor with a dropkick. Anderson cut him off with a pump kick that sent Okada to the floor from the apron. Anderson was in control for a while after that. Okada managed to connect on a DDT, and he then made a comeback. He hit a DDT on the floor. Anderson avoided a Rainmaker and hit a Liger Bomb for a nearfall. Anderson hit a diving neckbreaker for a nearfall. He got another nearfall with a sitdown tombstone. Okada avoided the Gun Stun and hit a dropkick to the back of the head. Tombstone from Okada. They reversed each other’s finishers a ton until Anderson caught him with the Gun Stun: 1…2…3!

These guys have good in-ring chemistry, but their dynamic is much better when Okada is controlling the match. The finish was somewhat surprising, but NJPW seems to like to keep fans on their toes during the G1 in terms of who is going over. In one sense, you would like push a few guys really hard during the G1, but it seems like the majority of the wrestlers end up doing well enough in their bracket to not seem like a jobber.
Match Rating: ***1/4

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Shibata went for the Penalty Kick and the corner dropkick early, but Tana just managed to avoid both of them. Tana came back with a pescado. Shibata came back and gave Tana a yakuza kick that sent him over a barricade. Shibata was in control for a few minutes, but Tana came back after avoiding a corner yakuza. Shibata came back quickly enough and hit the Corner Dropkick of Doom and Destruction. Shibata went for the PK, but Tanahashi reversed it into a dragon screw. Shibata came back with a second sleeper. Tana avoided the PK again and hit a Sling Blade. High Fly Flow to the back! Shibata got his knees up on the second High Fly Flow though! They then traded a lot of forearms. Shibata took him down with a backfist! That was brutal. Shibata went for the GTS, but Tana reversed it into a small package: 1…2…NO!!! Tana went for the dragon sleeper, but Shibata reversed it into a GTS! PENALTY KICK: 1…2…3!

This was not the classic that I think these two are capable of, but it was my second favorite match of the tournament all the same. Their history together (and their performances) added a great deal of intensity and made the match seem to have higher stakes than a normal G1 match. The backfist was a genuine “holy shit” moment, and it lead to the small package nearfall which was a great play on the finish of their 2013 G1 match (and was just awesome in general). The finish was then definitive and just everything you would want from an important match. This was a big thumbs up.
Match Rating: ****

G1 Climax 2014 Block A Match
Satoshi Kojima [4] defeats Bad Luck Fale [4] (8:25)
G1 Climax 2014 Block A Match
Shelton Benjamin [8] defeats Davey Boy Smith Jr. [2] (8:44)
G1 Climax 2014 Block B Match
Minoru Suzuki [2] defeats Hiroyoshi Tenzan [4] (11:04)
G1 Climax 2014 Block B Match
Toru Yano [4] defeats Hirooki Goto [6] (1:21)
G1 Climax 2014 Block A Match
Tomohiro Ishii [4] defeats Tomoaki Honma [0] (12:06)
G1 Climax 2014 Block B Match
Togi Makabe [4] defeats Lance Archer [2] (10:35)
G1 Climax 2014 Block A Match
Shinsuke Nakamura [4] defeats Yuji Nagata [2] (16:11)
G1 Climax 2014 Block B Match
Tetsuya Naito [6] defeats AJ Styles [2] (15:55)
G1 Climax 2014 Block B Match
Karl Anderson [2] defeats Kazuchika Okada [6] (12:34)
G1 Climax 2014 Block A Match
Katsuyori Shibata [4] defeats Hiroshi Tanahashi [6] (16:16)

Thanks everybody for reading! You can send feedback to my Twitter or to my email address: [email protected]. Also, feel free to check out my own wrestling website, FreeProWrestling.com. Also, check out my Best of Chikara blog and an archive of all my 411 video reviews.

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Hirooki Goto vs. Tomohiro Ishii
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Prince Devitt vs. Kenny Omega
Sin Cara vs. Averno
Prince Devitt vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
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Davey Richards vs. Kota Ibushi
Kota Ibushi vs. KUSHIDA
Naomichi Marufuji vs. Prince Devitt
YAMATO vs. Jushin Liger
Kurt Angle vs. Yuji Nagata
ORLANDO JORDAN VS. YUJI NAGATA
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