Pantoja’s NJPW G1 Climax 31 Night 6 Review

NJPW G1 Climax 31 Night 6
September 29th, 2021 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 664

No NXT 2.0 review today as I’m pressed for time and opted to cover the G1 Climax instead.

B Block: EVIL [2] vs. Taichi [4]
If you would’ve told me in 2016 that I’d like Taichi way more than EVIL, I would’ve laughed at you but here we are. They’ve never had a singles match together before. Commentary noted that this is basically like if EVIL vs. Taichi happened in 2017 but with their roles reversed. We got off to a start with some brawling outside and some cheating as Taichi went for choking spots and EVIL got help from Dick Togo. I love how EVIL used to be the hard hitting dude of LIJ and now Taichi is running his ass over with lariats and shit. Taichi had it won with the Gedo Clutch but Togo distracted the referee and then he went after Miho Abe, which is basically a cardinal sin at this point. EVIL hit a low blow and Everything is EVIL before putting Taichi in the Scorpion Lock as Togo made Abe watch. Taichi was out cold, losing in 11:30. That had some good moments but they overdid the shenanigans as always. Save interference until the Miho spot at the end because it got the right despicable reaction. [**¾]

B Block: Chase Owens [0] vs. SANADA [2]
First time ever meeting here. The early bits saw both guys go for the Paradise Lock to continue Chase’s unsuccessful attempts at it. He thought he got it right but SANADA was quickly freed in a pretty fun spot. The guys went back and forth after for a bit before SANADA trapped him in the Paradise Lock to show him how it was done. Their exchanges were strong, including the one that saw the referee take a bump that felt legitimate rather than cheap. It gave SANADA a visual win before Chase came back with a Package Piledriver attempt. SANADA countered with a rana and then turned an O’Connor Roll into a version of the Skull End. That led to the terrible “let go and do a moonsault” spot but since it’s only Chase Owens, SANADA nailed it and won in 11:58. Pretty much the definition of a 6/10 match. Consistently good and crisp throughout but that’s it. [***]

B Block: Hirooki Goto [0] vs. Jeff Cobb [4]
Goto holds a 2-1 record over Cobb, winning at the G1 Special in San Francisco (***¼) and G1 29 (***), while Cobb won at Honor Rising 2019 (***½). There’s an interesting concept that the NEVER Tag Champions can’t get it done in singles matches anymore. Ishii, HASHI, and Goto have 0 actual wins so far this G1 (Ishii’s only win is via forfeit). Cobb is on fire though and it showed here. At times, he dominated Goto with impressive moves like carrying him around the ring to drive him into multiple turnbuckles and his awesome chop/lariat combo. Goto was on his heels when most years, he lives for these hard hitting matches. Of course, Goto got going and started hitting his stuff but it never truly felt like he threatened Cobb here. Even when he countered the powerslam, he just ended up getting tossed around. Cobb put him down with the Tour of the Islands, moving to 3-0 after 15:08. I’m digging Cobb matches so far but it is really hard to get into anything Goto does. [***¼]

B Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi [2] vs. Tama Tonga [2]
Their only prior one on one match came in the G1 26 (**¾), which Tama won. Tama surprised me with a *** outing and if anyone can get something better out of him, it’s Tanahashi. This got off to a slow start that made me worry they were going to try and go long. We got wrist locks and a feeling out process but they thankfully picked things up as Tama looked for the Gun Stun a few times. He also busted out a Tongan Death Grip, which I had to pop for even if I don’t like his matches. Haku rules. Tama mocked Tanahashi with High Fly Flow, so the veteran fired up with dragon screws and some of the other offense we’ve come to love from him. He missed High Fly Flow but survived the Gun Stun, turning a pin into a crucifix to win in 14:47. About as good as I think you can get from Tama Tonga. Tanahashi is the god and I’m intrigued by his wins recently. [***¼]

B Block: Kazuchika Okada [4] vs. YOSHI-HASHI [0]
Most of their meetings came during Young Lion days, with Okada holding a 12-0 record total. I’ve only seen their G1 28 meeting (**¼). At first glance, I wanted no part of this because I saw that it went 26:53. Like, what are you doing New Japan, can you please not book 27 minute YOSHI-HASHI matches? These guys are buddies, so this didn’t have the intensity some others do. They had a lengthy feeling out process before Okada surprisingly looked for a countout win after a DDT outside. In a lot of ways, this followed the Okada formula of an early portion that was forgettable, an okay middle, and then ramping up down the stretch. The issue is that no matter how much heart YOSHI-HASHI brought to this, I never thought we’d get the upset and that’s in a tournament known for those kind of results. Okada put him down with the Rainmaker, winning a good but not great main event. [***]

A BLOCK	POINTS	B BLOCK	POINTS
The Great-O-Khan	8 (4-0)	Kazuchika Okada	6 (3-0)
Zack Sabre Jr.	6 (3-0)	Jeff Cobb	6 (3-0)
Toru Yano	6 (3-1)	Hiroshi Tanahashi	4 (2-1)
KENTA	6 (3-1)	SANADA	4 (2-1)
Shingo Takagi	4 (2-1)	EVIL	4 (2-1)
Yujiro Takahashi	4 (2-2)	Taichi	4 (2-1)
Kota Ibushi	4 (2-2)	Tama Tonga	2 (1-2)
Tomohiro Ishii	2 (1-3)	Hirooki Goto	0 (0-3)
Tanga Loa	2 (1-3)	Chase Owens	0 (0-3)
Tetsuya Naito	0 (0-9)	YOSHI-HASHI	0 (0-3)

6.0

The final score: review Average

The 411

A classic middling G1 show. You get these often and I fully expect at least a few more in the rough patches of the B Block. There’s nothing bad on this show as everything was hovering around *** but nothing you need to see.