Csonka Reviews Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW G1 Climax 25 Finals)

With everything that’s been going down due to the Coronavirus, NJPW canceling tons of shows in March, and ROH canceling their 18th anniversary weekend, I’ve been trying to fill the void with some other content. NJPW uploaded today’s offering to New Japan World, along with others I have been looking at…

* Apollo 55 vs. Golden Lovers (FantasiticaMania 2011).
* Apollo 55 vs. Taichi & Taka Michinoku (G1 Climax Special 2011).
* Prince Devitt vs. Kenny Omega (Circuit2010 G1 Climax Special).
* Prince Devitt vs. Gedo (NJPW Kizuna Road 2013).

That brings us to today’s offering,

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From The G1 Climax 25 Finals – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: While several people were still looking for a Nakamura win here, I personally was 100% set that Tanahashi was winning; a Nakamura win would have completely shocked me. So now the key is to work a match that makes me believe that Nakamura has a chance, and I was skeptical because in the past I did not think these two have delivered on the level that they should. The basic story was Tanahashi working the knee of Nakamura to try and weaken the Boma ye, while Nakamura worked the arm to set up the arm bar, which he has been successful with in the tournament. This work remained a constant thread through the match, not always a complete focus, but always called back to in the right way. Both guys are very good, especially in the big match environment, and I felt as if they did all of the big things, but maybe even more importantly the little things to make it all work and come together. We had a slow start, and then they simply built off of each part of the match, and in each instance the crowd responded about as perfectly as you could hope. The final 10-minutes was pretty epic, with both men unloading their arsenal in order to win this tournament. When things get going this wild, I do appreciate it a bit more because it not only makes the match feel important, but also what they are fighting for is even more important. It all led to both men battling up top, and Tanahashi knocking Nakamura partial off, hanging there, and then the high fly flow connected. Two more high fly flows later, and Tanahashi was the winner of the 25th G1 Climax after an absolutely amazing match. Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Shinsuke Nakamura @ 32:15 via pin [*****] It had the feel and work of the big time match, it had the crowd and I was completely emotionally invested in this match. There had been a lot of great matches in the tournament that year, some truly upper tier stuff that was more than worth my time. There were matches I was into, matches that I loved and at times stuff so good it had me wondering what in the actual fuck I was watching. This match felt big time, this match had that special feeling and was more than perfect to close out a tournament of this importance. These men, who I felt didn’t always have the best chemistry at times also put in some amazing efforts in the days just prior, managed to step it up and take it past the greatness that they delivered previously, but they surpassed it. I can safely say that this the best match of the entire 2015 tournament, and a top three all time G1 finals effort.

Following this, both men went onto WrestleKingdom 10, where Shinsuke Nakamura defeated AJ Styles in an amazing match to retain the IC championship, while Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura to retain the IWGP championship.

The 411 on Wrestling Podcast returns to the 411 Podcasting Network for episode 109. On the show, 411’s Larry Csonka & Steve Cook look at the latest news, breakdown NXT vs. AEW (4.22.20), while Jerome Cusson joins to talk Dark Side of the Ring Jimmy Snuka & The Death of Nancy Argentino. The show is approximately 145-minutes long.

* Intro
* News Roundup: 2:10
* AEW Dynamite (4.22.20) Review: 32:05
* NXT (4.22.20) Review: 56:55
* The Head to Head Comparison: 1:25:10
* Dark Side of the Ring: Jimmy Snuka and The Death of Nancy Argentino Review: 1:31:06

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– End scene.

– Thanks for reading.

10.0

The final score: review Virtually Perfect

The 411

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura was perfection, an all time great G1 final and essential viewing.