Pantoja’s NJPW G1 Climax 32 Night Seven Review

NJPW G1 Climax 32 Night Seven

July 27th, 2022 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 1,323

We’re coming off of the best match (and night) of the G1 so far but this show looks like it’ll be a step down on paper.

D Block: Will Ospreay [2] vs. Yujiro Takahashi [2]

Willy won their only prior meeting, which came in the G1 30 (***). Yujiro was out on his own with no PIETER after the El Phantasmo fiasco. He looked somber as you’d expect. She trailed him a bit later, they made up with a “too sweet” and a hug and she was around. This match went to the outside quicker than expected but that allowed Yujiro to take shortcuts to be competitive. Will is far above him on the food chain, so he needed an edge. Yujiro actually managed to get in more offense than expected but wasn’t shy about doing things like pulling the referee in Will’s way to avoid a shot. He did just that soon after a springboard 450 splash and got two on Miami Shine. Yujiro also busted out a satellite DDT, which isn’t typical of his offense. Will survived Pimp Juice and hit Hidden Blade to win in 11:17. Color me shocked but that was actually solid. The lack of House of Torture BS helped. [***]

A Block: Bad Luck Fale [2] vs. Toru Yano [2]

There’s a surprisingly long history here with Yano holding a 5-1 record over Fale. I saw them in the G1 25 (¾*), 2017 New Japan Cup (½*), and 2021 New Japan Cup (*). Needless to say, I’m not excited. There are guys who Yano is great against and brings levity to but Fale isn’t one of them. I don’t have the energy for this one. It was filled with typical Yano antics but in an unentertaining way. We got trips outside, ref distractions, the exposed buckle, low blow attempts, and Fale winning with a rollup in 5:36. Just not good. [*]

C Block: Aaron Henare [2] vs. Hirooki Goto [2]

Their only meeting came at a New Japan Road2019 show that I missed, with Goto winning. Sometimes this is all I’m looking for in the G1. Two guys without any real rivalry or history as singles dudes but who will hit hard and beat each other down. That’s just what I got here. A no-frills battle between two warriors fighting for two points. They traded stuff early on but as this progressed, Goto took a lead thanks to his veteran knowhow. That being said, you got the sense that Henare was out to prove himself against a guy who is kind of similar to him. He took everything Goto dished out and gave it right back. At one point, Goto was lying into him and Henare kind of no sold until it was too much. Henare looked about done but came back with the Blue Thunder Bomb and started getting some close calls on his moves. He ran into GTW and then lost to GTR after 17:12. A war that was highly entertaining. [***½]

B Block: Tama Tonga [2] vs. Tomohiro Ishii [0]

Tama Tonga is 2-0 over Ishii, beating him in the G1 26 (**¾) and G1 28 (**). I believe they can pull off something better here considering how Tama has been much better as a fiery babyface. Ishii was in desperate need of a win to have a slim chance to stay alive. He came out like a man possessed, wailing on Tama from the start until Tama hit a dropkick from out of nowhere to finally stop his momentum. They kept up the idea of Ishii having the upper hand only for Tama to find a way to counter him, doing things like turning a powerbomb into a rana. He also took down his top (TITTIES OUT TAMA) and challenged Ishii when it came time to strike one another, going as far as to knock him out which shocked commentary. Tama countered the Brainbuster into Gun Stun which set up the big barrage of counters and stuff we must get in New Japan matches. Ishii kept countering Gun Stun, finally turning one into the Brainbuster to win in 20:07. A very good main event that never fully grabbed me. [***¼]

6.0

The final score: review Average

The 411

A slightly above average show. I thought the opener was good, Henare/Goto was really good, and the main event was strong but none of them ever did anything more than that. Plus, Yano/Fale was ass.