wrestling / TV Reports
Kevin’s NJPW G1 Climax 29 Night Three Review
Image Credit: NJPW
Loading...NJPW G1 Climax 29 Night Three
July 14th, 2019 | Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 4,074
The B Block surprised me by equaling the much more loaded A Block with a strong opening night. We’re back to that A Block group for their second night of action. This card features four matches that sound really interesting on paper, so I’m looking forward to seeing how it plays out.
A Block: Bad Luck Fale [2] vs. Lance Archer [2]
On night one, I said I only preferred Archer to two guys in this block. One was Ospreay and Fale is the other. I quite enjoyed Fale in his first few G1s but last year he reached a point where he became awful. Jado was with Fale and he attacked Archer with the kendo stick. They brawled in the crowd for a while. Archer turned the tide and Jado again used the kendo stick. I actually quite liked Archer’s performance here. He did well, but Fale continued to bring little to no effort. But then he busted out one of the biggest superplexes you’ll ever see. Archer hit an impressive chokeslam and won with the EBD Claw in 10:12. It was a decent brawl that was ultimately better than expected. Archer has outperformed Ospreay and gotten something watchable out of Fale. Archer the GOAT.[**½]
A Block: SANADA [2] vs. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay [0]
SANADA is such an interesting wrestler. He can kind of adapt to any style, which makes him an ideal opponent for many. Technical bout against Sabre? He fits in. Showing off athleticism against Ospreay? He nails it. A lot of the early exchanges were based on that. As smooth as they were, I wasn’t a fan. It felt like they were doing it for the sake of it, rather than because it made sense within the match. Everything they did just looked so great. From the aerial stuff to some of the strikes to the counters they pulled off. It looked easy but is actually quite difficult. I respect the hell out of that. They went into the expected counter battle late. Ospreay hit the Oscutter, held on, and rolled into Storm Breaker to win his first G1 match in 17:06. As I said, from a wrestling standpoint, I dug it. This was crisp as hell. It just felt kind of hollow and lacked drama. Neither guy has nailed the ability to captivate with their storytelling. [***¾]
A Block: IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada [2] vs. RevPro British Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. [0]
Shouldn’t two heavyweight champions facing off be higher on the card? Anyway, Okada beat Sabre at Sakura Genesis last year (****¼), while Sabre beat him at Strong Style Evolved UK (***¾). I love undercard Okada. He keeps it simple and usually performs better than when he tries for some epic main event. Sabre has been built to the point where his European Clutch is a believable near fall against the top guy after about three minutes. Each move or hold he did felt like a threat to Okada. It was like he had an answer for everything. Okada put the focus on Sabre’s neck following a vicious looking DDT and a disgusting Tombstone. Sabre went after the arm to remove the Rainmaker. Okada still hit it, winning in 12:01. An Okada match only going 12 minutes? Sign me up. I loved the idea that Sabre was in control, so Okada could only do his greatest hits. My biggest gripe was Okada still hitting the Rainmaker despite the arm work. [****]
A Block: EVIL [0] vs. Kota Ibushi [0]
An intriguing first ever matchup. Ibushi entered with a bad ankle and that quickly became a target. He can’t even get his usual height on a dropkick or anything like that because of it. I thought Ibushi did a good job of selling it and modifying his offense to fit the narrative. He started throwing strikes and focusing more on that aspect of his well-rounded game. EVIL’s leg work was fine, but it went on for a bit too long all things considered. The final stretch went away from it a bit and went into the traditional counter stuff. I didn’t mind it but it did feel somewhat out of place. Either way, EVIL won with the STO after 19:11. The leg work dragged at points but other than that, this was very good. A hard hitting match with an unexpected story being told surrounding the ankle. It’ll be interesting to see where that takes Ibushi going forward. [***¾]
A Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi [0] vs. KENTA [2]
Katsuyori Shibata joined commentary, not picking a side to corner. I loved the dynamic of this match. Tanahashi had a look of disgust and annoyance on his face the whole time. As if KENTA and his style of wrestling was beneath him. Meanwhile, KENTA was all about being the disrespectful little shit we all always loved him for. That gave this a level of intensity that the other matches have kind of lacked. KENTA kicked the shit out of Tanahashi, so he started in with dragon screws and focusing on the leg. Simple, yet effective. I loved KENTA pulling out the Shibata sleeper/PK combo and Tanahashi being wise enough to have it scouted. KENTA still hit it and added a GTS that Tanahashi sold like death, winning in 18:35. Just what I wanted. KENTA still has a few spots that look awkward, but he’s rounding into shape. They had an intense match playing perfectly to both of their styles. I love KENTA having his swagger and being a dick. [****]
| A BLOCK | POINTS | B BLOCK | POINTS |
| KENTA | 4 (2-0) | Hirooki Goto | 2 (1-0) |
| Kazuchika Okada | 4 (2-0) | Tomohiro Ishii | 2 (1-0) |
| Lance Archer | 4 (2-0) | Toru Yano | 2 (1-0) |
| Bad Luck Fale | 2 (1-1) | Jon Moxley | 2 (1-0) |
| Will Ospreay | 2 (1-1) | Juice Robinson | 2 (1-0) |
| SANADA | 2 (1-1) | Jay White | 0 (0-1) |
| EVIL | 2 (1-1) | Jeff Cobb | 0 (0-1) |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | 0 (0-2) | Tetsuya Naito | 0 (0-1) |
| Kota Ibushi | 0 (0-2) | Taichi | 0 (0-1) |
| Zack Sabre Jr. | 0 (0-2) | Shingo Takagi | 0 (0-1) |
