Puro Reviews: G1 Climax 25 Nights Fifteen and Sixteen

G1 Climax 25 Nights Fifteen and Sixteen
Night Fifteen (Block A)
August 11th, 2015 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 1,742
Night Sixteen (Block B)
August 12th, 2015 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 1,736

It’s the final few days of the tournament. People are getting eliminated left and right and only a few guys still have a realistic shot of winning. Both of these shows take place in the legendary Korakuen Hall, before the final three events move over to Sumo Hall.

A Block
Doc Gallows (2) vs. Tetsuya Naito (10)
Well these guys come into this on complete opposite ends of the standings. Though Naito has been heeling it up during the tournament, Gallows was more of the heel here. He shouted vulgar things at Naito in English, yelling for him to take his entrance suit off and the fans were more interested in booing him anyway. They did some brawling outside, a staple of Gallows matches. Gallows’ offense continues to be mostly dull and it hurts all of his singles matches. The dude was just meant to be a tag guy. After some plodding stuff from him and fast paced attempts at rallying from Naito, Gallows scored the upset with a second rope Gallows Pole.

Winner: Doc Gallows (4) in 8:22
This was strange. Naito was doing his dick heel antics but this was the first time I found the fans cheering for it, which would become regular the following year. Gallows is just a chore to watch at times and Naito couldn’t save this. *¾

B Block
Karl Anderson (10) vs. Yujiro Takahashi (4)
For the second straight night, two Bullet Club members go head to head in Korakuen Hall (more on the other later). The whole Bullet Club comes out together and enjoys the view provided by Takahashi’s lady (Mao) this evening. They had some BC style fun, with Anderson biting the “too sweet” hand gesture from Takahashi. After that, this was really boring. Karl was pretty obsessed with Mao and it caused some tension but not enough to garner any interest. I love that Anderson’s gimmick towards the end of his run was creep obsessed with pretty women. Nothing of real substance here as Anderson beat him to stay alive with the Gun Stun.

Winner: Karl Anderson (12) in 10:04
This was their third G1 match in three years and it was pretty much the worst among them all. Nothing Yujiro does ever interests me and Anderson has been lackluster throughout the entire thing. **

A Block
Hiroyoshi Tenzan (2) vs. Katsuyori Shibata (8)
The Korakuen crowd loves Tenzan. He’s a legend in Japan and has the record for G1 appearances, competing in a ridiculous 19 of these. Shibata lost to other legends (Kojima and Nagata) on big shows in the last two G1’s, so he didn’t want history to repeat itself here. Both men came out firing, hitting each other hard from the opening bell. Tenzan took control until Shibata came back and nailed the corner dropkick. Each time Tenzan seemed to get momentum, Shibata had an answer. Even when Tenzan applied the anaconda vice, Shibata was able to get free. Tenzan survived the sleeper and started reeling off headbutts. He got put in the hold again, countered into the anaconda vice, which made Shibata pass out. The crowd went nuts for this. The loss officially eliminated Shibata.

Winner: Hiroyoshi Tenzan (4) in 9:49
A Block is two for two in upsets here. This was up there with the AJ Styles & Tanahashi matches as the best Tenzan showing this year. He seemed fueled by the Korakuen crowd loving him and they had some really good, hard hitting back and forth. The hot crowd helped this one along too. A healthier Tenzan would have a better match with Shibata a year later. ***

B Block
Hirooki Goto (10) vs. Michael Elgin (8)
Here was a first time ever meeting, though they would rematch it at ROH’s Field of Honor event about two weeks later. They started with a feeling out process that saw Elgin bust out some of his athleticism. Considering Goto’s spot on the card, Elgin was facing one of his biggest challenges and stepped up to the plate. The crowd ate up their hard hitting exchanges and even ended up chanting for Elgin instead of the established veteran. Goto was resilient, but Elgin always had a power move ready including two deadlift Germans in a row for near falls. It was great to see how the crowd reacted to Elgin as they got louder for him as things progressed. Both men fired up for a lariat battle before Goto rolled him into a very unique pinning combination to win.

Winner: Hirooki Goto (12) in 11:41
Better than I remembered it being. This was truly a star making performance for Elgin, more than any other so far. The fans completely bought into him over an established star. Though he was mathematically eliminated, Elgin came ready for war to prove himself and it worked. Goto’s win felt like it came out of desperation to beat a game opponent. All kinds of great.****

A Block
Kota Ibushi (6) vs. Toru Yano (4)
Despite being one of the most consistent performers in the tournament so far, Kota Ibushi isn’t doing too hot in the standings. Kota attempted to do his own Yano with the exposed buckle and flash pin but it failed. Yano went into low blow territory and rolled him up to steal it in under a minute.

Winner: Toru Yano (6) in 0:50
Nothing to really rate here. I understand that this is a Yano thing, but I don’t really see why this had to be done. Ibushi could have just won here and had a better place in the standings. Instead, he continues to fall a bit. NO RATING

B Block
Satoshi Kojima (4) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (10)
Since his injury, Nakamura has been on quite the roll. Kojima has clearly been on the opposite end of the spectrum but as was the case with Tenzan a night earlier, the Korakuen fans didn’t care. They love their legends and were ready to root for him against Nakamura. Kojima played right into it, mocking Nakamura at one point. I can’t say enough about what the hot crowd added to these matches. Nakamura’s injury seemed to creep up and Kojima was in control for a good chunk of the match. Nakamura rallied and hit Boma Ye but of course, it wasn’t enough. Kojima dodged a second and connected on a lariat. Shinsuke caught another lariat attempt in a sloppy looking armbar that Kojima stomped his way out of. Just as Kojima seemed geared for the upset, Nakamura came off the ropes with a big Boma Ye that was enough to keep his streak going.

Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura (12) in 11:24
Good match that felt like pretty much everything else Nakamura has done so far in the tournament. It was kind of just there. Nothing wrong with the performances or match but nothing to make them stand out. While other guys (Elgin, Ibushi, Naito, etc.) are standing out, Nakamura has been a disappointment. Granted, this is still a good run, he’s just set a high bar.***¼

A Block
AJ Styles (10) vs. Bad Luck Fale (10)
All of the Bullet Club came out together. After a “too sweet”, Fale laid down for AJ. He had second thoughts though and aggressively kicked out, causing AJ to yell at him about the coin they flipped. Fale picked him up like a baby and launched him over and out onto the rest of the BC. Karl Anderson tried to place the peacekeeper but it was on. Fale continued to throw AJ around like a rag doll. AJ was all for bumping like a madman for his fellow BC member. They fought into the crowd and up into the higher seats where I’ve never seen anyone really go. Fale tried to kill AJ with a Bad Luck Fall into the seats but AJ wriggled free and escaped back to the ring, where they barely beat the count. Once they got in, the match was a bit more normal though we did get a Styles Clash tease from Fale. Styles then used his feet on the ropes for leverage to win.

Winner: AJ Styles (12) in 9:53
A very different match than what we’ve gotten from most of the tournament. As usual, Fale is at his best when wrestling one of the better guys in the company. They worked around Fale’s limitations, added in some stuff to bump up the entertainment factor and in the end, it was just simply fun. ***¼

B Block
Kazuchika Okada (12) vs. Yuji Nagata (4)
This ranked 48th in my “Top 100 Matches of 2015” list. Nagata was clearly dead in the standings, while Okada stood atop everyone but not a soul in Korakuen Hall seemed to have been told that. They were red hot for Nagata and wanted to see their hero beat the IWGP Heavyweight Champion. I’m not a fan of Okada wrestling like a babyface, but I find him much more fun as an arrogant prick. He played that here, chuckling at some of Nagata’s offense. Nagata was more than pleased to put the youngster in his place a bit. Nagata frustrated Okada, who was happy to try and get out of this with a countout win. He got even more frustrated at the crowd’s reaction for Nagata’s trademark armbar. Nagata used his foot to block the Rainmaker, nailed a German and the Backdrop Driver but Okada got his shoulder up. Okada rallied from that with the dropkick, tombstone and Rainmaker to win yet again.

Winner: Kazuchika Okada (14) in 18:14
A lot of the time, Yuji Nagata finds himself in multi-man tags and kills time on shows. Then, on nights like this, he reminds you of just who he is. He turned back the clock with this performance. Nagata played the angry veteran looking to put the brash youngster in his place and it worked to perfection. The molten hot crowd only added to this must-see contest.****¼

A Block
Hiroshi Tanahashi (10) vs. Togi Makabe (8)
While this isn’t exactly what I’d call a main event I’d be super pumped for, it featured two veterans that the crowd loves. One of the best things in NJPW is when Tanahashi goes heel in his matches. That happened here. The fans were pro-Makabe so Tanahashi took that and ran with it. His offense was focused on the legs of the NEVER Openweight Champion, trying to prevent the King Kong Knee Drop. Say what you will about Tanahashi, but he almost always works smart. They had some really good back and forth before Makabe missed the King Kong Knee Drop. Tanahashi went right into dragon screws before multiple High Fly Flows finished it off.

Winner: Hiroshi Tanahashi (12) in 16:15
This was a good main event though I think it would have been better if it came earlier in the tournament. At this point, most people pretty much figured Tanahashi would win or be in contention on the last day. I, and others, didn’t really buy into Makabe winning and it took away from what was a strong match. ***½

B Block
Tomoaki Honma (0) vs. Tomohiro Ishii (8)
This match ranked 24th on my “Top 100 Matches of 2015” list. Earlier in the year, Honma and Ishii met for the NEVER Openweight Title in what many called the match of the year, so giving them the main event slot here was a good idea. A hot start saw them hit each other hard and the crowd pop for the usual missed Kokeshi. Honma looked to be on his game, even dead lifting Ishii on a suplex. They got into a battle of chops, which sounds all the more nuts with no commentary. It went on forever seemingly. Honma survived a superplex and nailed a headbutt to Ishii’s back for two. Ishii blocked a Kokeshi with a big forearm. Honma continued to survive everything and get into more exchanges of sick sounding forearms and headbutts. He then hit the Kokeshi and connected on the top rope one for his first ever G1 victory.

Winner: Tomoaki Honma (2) in 16:13
Not only was this one of the best matches of the tournament, it may have been the very best moment period. These two always deliver together and this may have been my favorite match between them. A rabid crowd just dying for the Honma win fueled a hard hitting war. When the moment came it was beautiful. After two years and nearly twenty straight G1 losses, HONMAMANIA ran wild. ****½

A Block	Points	B Block	Points
AJ Styles	12 (6-2)	Kazuchika Okada	14 (7-1)
Hiroshi Tanahashi	12 (6-2)	Karl Anderson	12 (6-2)
Tetsuya Naito	10 (5-3)	Shinsuke Nakamura	12 (6-2)
Bad Luck Fale	10 (5-3)	Hirooki Goto	12 (6-2)
Katsuyori Shibata	8 (4-4)	Tomohiro Ishii	8 (4-4)
Togi Makabe	8 (4-4)	Michael Elgin	8 (4-4)
Toru Yano	6 (3-5)	Yujiro Takahashi	4 (2-6)
Kota Ibushi	6 (3-5)	Yuji Nagata	4 (2-6)
Doc Gallows	4 (2-6)	Satoshi Kojima	4 (2-6)
Hiroyoshi Tenzan	4 (2-6)	Tomoaki Honma	2 (1-7)

8.5

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

Thanks to the B Block, this ruled. The A Block had two easy skips (Yano/Ibushi and Naito/Gallows) but the rest of their card was solid and featured a fun AJ/Fale match. The B Block was nuts though. Outside of Anderson/Yujiro, everything delivered. Kojima/Nakamura was solid, while Elgin and Goto had a great hard hitting match. Nagata and Okada nearly stole the show with their match until Honma and Ishii did what they do best. Add in the moment of Honma finally winning and this is a must see.