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Puro Reviews: G1 Climax 25 Nights Seven and Eight
Loading...G1 Climax 25 Nights Seven and Eight
Night Seven (Block A)
July 29th, 2015 | Fukuoka, Japan | Attendance: 2,640
Night Eight (Block B)
August 1st, 2015 | Osaka, Japan | Attendance: 4,523
After being forced to forfeit a match against Michael Elgin due to an elbow injury, Shinsuke Nakamura was officially back in action. There were concerns that he would possibly miss the entire tournament, but Nakamura would work through it. He would sport a heavy wrap on his elbow. So far, the G1 has been a mixed bag, not coming near the level of the previous year’s version.
Block A
Doc Gallows (0) vs. Toru Yano (2)
Gallows arrived with some Bullet Club members at his side. Yano had a sick black eye and bandage from his injury on night five. He’s a badass. He hilariously wanted Gallows to shake his hand, even saying he was a gentleman. When Gallows did so, Yano tried to squeeze it, but wasn’t the stronger guy so Gallows squeezed back, which Yano sold like it was killing him. The Bullet Club put the boots to Yano for a bit but, using typical Yano shenanigans, he turned things around. A distraction allowed Anderson to help as they nailed Yano with the Magic Killer for the 1-2-3.
Winner: Doc Gallows (2) in 6:58
Damn Doc. You can’t even beat Yano cleanly? Anyway, I thought this was fine. It was more enjoyable than I expected because Yano was in top form. I don’t always need a technical or hard hitting match. Sometimes, fun comedy is enough. **¾
Block B
Satoshi Kojima (2) vs. Yujiro Takahashi (2)
Whoever this girl was, she was possibly my favorite Yujiro girl so far. Instantly a top five Takahashi match just for her. I will admit that for the first time, a B Block show felt like a big deal. That’s what a hot crowd, big city and commentary will do for you. When Yujiro was on offense, it was every Yujiro match ever. Bland and featured Cody Hall getting in cheap shots on Kojima. Once Kojima started his rally, the crowd picked up the pace. The highlighted were Kojima’s apron DDT and Takahashi’s Buckle Bomb. Kojima seemed to have it won with a lariat but Cody Hall pulled the referee out of the ring. After taking care of Hall, Kojima tried another lariat but Yujiro ducked and nailed a low blow. Miami Shine followed to end it.
Winner: Yujiro Takahashi (4) in 13:01
Yujiro’s girl and the final five or so minutes were actually pretty good. The rest of it; not so much. It was more glaring proof that Takahashi should work under ten minutes. Kojima was good and got the crowd into it near the end. **½
Block A
Hiroyoshi Tenzan (2) vs. Togi Makabe (2)
Two veteran dudes beating each other up? I’m almost always down for that. That’s exactly what these two did. After trading blows in the ring, the NWA and NEVER Openweight Champions took the fight outside where Makabe threw Tenzan into the guardrail, leading to a countout tease. Like Kojima, Tenzan is loved by the crowd so his rally got a great response. Bless him, he’s trying his heart out but his body just hasn’t been able to hold up for the most part so far. He nearly had it with the Anaconda Vise but Makabe persevered. Tenzan kicked out of a lariat at one, but stayed down for the King Kong Knee Drop.
Winner: Togi Makabe (4) in 8:41
This was about what you’d expect from these two at this time. They kept it short, stuck to what worked and managed to get the crowd invested. Solid, but unspectacular. **¾
Block B
Karl Anderson (4) vs. Yuji Nagata (2)
While making his entrance, Karl Anderson gave shout outs to Samoa Joe, Kevin Owens and Finn Balor. He was a dick during this match, making sure to steal Nagata’s trademark taunts. Anderson worked the ribs throughout the match. They did things at a good pace but nothing done was really something that would wow a viewer. Nagata started on the rally that you’d expect. He put on his trademark armbar but it wasn’t enough. Despite his best efforts, Nagata fell after Anderson countered a backdrop driver into the Gun Stun.
Winner: Karl Anderson (6) in 11:15
If I had to call this match something, I’d say it was simple. That’s not a bad thing, it’s just that they did nothing special and had a basic, solid match. The rib work came into play in the finish as Nagata couldn’t really do his finisher, so kudos there. ***¼
Block A
Katsuyori Shibata (4) vs. Kota Ibushi (4)
This match ranked #5 in my “Top 100 Matches of 2015” list. It absolutely deserved that praise. Shibata is known for his hard hitting style, while Ibushi has never been one to shy away from that style. That led to these two guys just going to war with some vicious strikes. Ibushi’s ability to blend strong style with athleticism is uncanny. At one point he’s laying into Shibata with hard shots and the next he’s hitting a corkscrew moonsault. This felt like the classic Ishii/Shibata series but with an athletic twist. Shibata took some of the hardest kicks that Ibushi had to offer and just asked for more. Seeing Shibata catch a backflip kick from Ibushi and turn it right into the STF was tremendous. Following a sick slap, Shibata applied a sleeper hold and won via Penalty Kick.
Winner: Katsuyori Shibata (6) in 13:25
Just tremendous. The best match of the tournament so far. Both guys just went to war and I can only think of one better sub-fifteen minute match in my life. Stop what you’re doing and go watch this if you haven’t yet. It’s a must see match and I love it just as much after five viewings as I did after one. ****¾
Block B
Michael Elgin (2) vs. Tomoaki Honma (0)
Honma still finds himself winless coming in, while Michael Elgin has two points coming via forfeit. This ranked number 98 in my “Top 100 Matches of 2015” list. This was a damn near perfect example of what makes the G1 Climax work. It’s as if Honma and Elgin were born for this style. Elgin got into trouble in ROH by trying to work 30 minute classics but the shortened style of the G1 works perfectly for him. Honma meanwhile, has mastered this format. Elgin spent the entirety of the match looking the beast he is, while Honma was the terrific underdog that he is best known to be. The crowd ate all of this up and he came close to scoring an upset on several occasions. It took a flurry of powerbombs but Elgin kept him down for the count to earn his first real G1 victory.
Winner: Michael Elgin in 9:55
Pretty much everything about this match worked. It was booked and laid out to play to the strengths of both guys. The crowd was hot for Honma but still were impressed by Elgin’s offense. Best match from either guy so far in the tournament. ***¾
Block A
Bad Luck Fale (4) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (4)
Unsurprisingly, the best matches of Fale’s career have come against guys like Tanahashi and Nakamura. In last year’s G1, Fale defeated Tanahashi. Tanahashi is one of the best babyfaces on the planet and is great with Fale. Fale got to play the monster he was meant to be as he tossed Tanahashi around the ring. Tanahashi got to make the babyface rally and nailed two High Fly Flows. In typical Bullet Club fashion though, Tama Tonga pulled out the referee. Tanahashi escaped the Bad Luck Fall shortly after and survived some more of Fale’s offense. In a bit of a surprising call, Fale picked up the win over Tanahashi for the second straight year and this time, he did so with his own High Fly Flow.
Winner: Bad Luck Fale (6) in 13:07
Again, Bad Luck Fale works Tanahashi and delivers a good performance. Tanahashi just knows how to lead him and Fale follows like a smart man would. They work well together and played the David/Goliath angle very well. ***½
Block B
Shinsuke Nakamura (2) vs. Tomohiro Ishii (6)
Their match in the G1 Climax 24 was terrific. Shinsuke’s elbow was heavily taped and it was interesting to see how he’d handle the injury. He wasn’t exactly lighting the tournament on fire beforehand anyway. I think that, due to the injury, they had to work a relatively basic, safe match. It was nowhere near the performance from a year earlier. They battled back and forth, with neither man gaining a true advantage. Things got really good in the end, as their finishing stretch proved to be really strong. Ishii nearly tapped to Nakamura’s armbar, Nakamura nearly fell to some lariats, but it was a Boma Ye that won things.
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura (4) in 14:47
As noted, this was a rather basic match considering the guys involved. I loved their G1 24 match so this came off as a big disappointment, though they get a bit of a pass for the injury. Still, these guys not being their best was still pretty good. ***¼
Block A
AJ Styles (4) vs. Tetsuya Naito (4)
In 2014, these two had what I thought was the second best match of the G1 24, which Naito won. Naito came out in his mask and AJ complained about him wearing it. When Naito removed it, AJ hilarious said he was uglier without it. Similar to the previous match, this didn’t quite reach the levels that it did last year. One of the things that hurt was the heel/heel dynamic as the crowd was kind of dead for this. They had a good match that saw neither man really take a distinct advantage. Naito was more into the heel tactics, even spitting at AJ at one point. Styles started hitting his big offense, but lost when Naito busted out Destino.
Winner: Tetsuya Naito (6) in 17:13
A really good but not great match. Both guys being heel hurt things and I found myself disappointed since their previous two matches were really great. Naito was just nailing his new character again, I just wish the crowd was better for it. ***½
Block B
Hirooki Goto (4) vs. Kazuchika Okada (6)
I originally had this match at #88 in my “Top 100 Matches of 2015” list but after a third watch here, I realize that it probably should have finished even higher. This was Intercontinental Champion vs. Heavyweight Champion and it played out exactly the way it needed to. You got the feeling that more than just two points were on the line. They were fighting to prove who the better man was. Each man had the other well scouted and it allowed for great exchanges, counters and reversals. There was a battle of rollups that the hot Osaka crowd completely bought into. Goto dodged the Rainmaker at every turn. The final time he did it, he scored on two headbutts and won via Shouten Kai.
Winner: Hirooki Goto (6) in 16:45
Great example of how to book a competitive match between two guys trying to see who the better man is. This was very well executed, had a hot crowd and both guys were on their A game. The best part is that Goto pinned the Heavyweight Champion cleanly. No BS, just good old fashioned wrestling. ****
| Block A | Points | Block B | Points |
| Katsuyori Shibata | 6 | Hirooki Goto | 6 |
| Tetsuya Naito | 6 | Kazuchika Okada | 6 |
| Bad Luck Fale | 6 | Tomohiro Ishii | 6 |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | 4 | Karl Anderson | 6 |
| Kota Ibushi | 4 | Michael Elgin | 4 |
| AJ Styles | 4 | Shinsuke Nakamura | 4 |
| Togi Makabe | 4 | Yujiro Takahasi | 4 |
| Doc Gallows | 2 | Yuji Nagata | 2 |
| Toru Yano | 2 | Satoshi Kojima | 2 |
| Hiroyoshi Tenzan | 2 | Tomoaki Honma | 0 |
