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Puro Reviews: G1 Climax 25 Nights Seventeen and Eighteen
Loading...G1 Climax 25 Nights Seventeen and Eighteen
Night Seventeen (Block A)
August 14th, 2015 | Ryogoku Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 5,658
Night Eighteen (Block B)
August 15th, 2015 | Ryogoku Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 7,557
It’s the final two nights of regular block action. Unfortunately, not many people still have a chance. There’s Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura and Karl Anderson in B Block, while only Hiroshi Tanahashi and AJ Styles have opportunities in the A Block. Technically, Tetsuya Naito is alive but Styles and Tanahashi would have to wrestle to a no contest following a Naito win.
A Block
Doc Gallows (4) vs. Katsuyori Shibata (8)
Get ready for a lot of this. The issue with only two guys really being in play at this point, and facing each other, is that the rest of the card tends to suffer as it doesn’t really matter. Shibata went to work on the legs in the early goings. Gallows was on his game tonight. He came across as more menacing and mean than usual, which I think is how he should always work since he’s much bigger than most of the NJPW roster. He had the highlight of his tournament with a Chokeslam onto the apron. Shibata did his best to match the intensity, firing off some of his signature kicks. As he kicked out of a Gallows Pole, Shibata applied a triangle choke. Gallows got free, reeled off some kicks and won with a second Gallows Pole.
Winner: Doc Gallows (6) in 7:52
Probably the best work I’ve seen from Gallows ever. He worked the style that he should have worked and Shibata delivered on his end. After a hot start, Shibata lost to Tanahashi (understandable), Yano, Tenzan and Gallows. Disappointing to say the least. The match overachieved though. ***¼
B Block
Tomoaki Honma (2) vs. Yujiro Takahashi (4)
Fresh off of the night that HONMAMANIA ran wild, Tomoaki looked to face the worst performer of the tournament so far and start a winning streak. Yujiro had Mao with him again, which always makes everything he does much more tolerable. As always, the fans were hot for Honma. He tried for the Kokeshi and surprisingly got in most of the offense. That’s usually a good thing since Takahashi on offense leads to bad times. Takahashi resorted to pulling a Toru Yano and hitting Honma with a low blow before using Miami Shine to steal it.
Winner: Yujiro Takahashi (6) in 10:33
A hugely disappointing result. Honma should have won here since it wouldn’t have hurt Yujiro’s position and only added to the HONMAMANIA moment. Instead, Yujiro won and nobody cared. This was pretty good but severely lacked the fun of some of Honma’s better outings. **¾
A Block
Bad Luck Fale (10) vs. Toru Yano (6)
Another match that doesn’t really matter. Granted, this wasn’t exactly going to light the world on fire either way, but still. Yano sprayed water at Fale before the bell to gain an unfair advantage. Fale quickly turned it around and began to beat on Yano. Tama Tonga got in on the fun at ringside but Yano slipped away and hit both with low blows before getting in the ring at the count of 18, while Fale couldn’t answer the count.
Winner via countout: Toru Yano (8) in 3:44
There’s usually a countout win in the G1 and having it come here is fine. It made all of the earlier countout teases more believable since I don’t think people expect more than one. ¾*
B Block
Michael Elgin (8) vs. Tomohiro Ishii (8)
WE GOT US A HOSSFIGHT MAGGLE! This match ranked #17 in my “Top 100 Matches of 2015” list. Right from the bell, they just went at it. They just laid into each other and it wasn’t a case of them “no selling”, it was more a case of two guys that can take punishment. Elgin delivered a right hand that floored Ishii, which shocked me. Ishii did his thing throughout but I think the real story had to be Elgin, who was given a lot to shine. He hit the stalling falcon arrow and a deadlift German that were both top notch. Ishii again proved that selling is an underrated talent of his, selling the shoulder well after an apron death valley driver. To add to it, Elgin then nearly ended him with a running powerbomb into the guardrail! Their final exchange was fantastic and included Ishii hitting a sick headbutt as well as plenty of near falls, but not too many that it felt overdone. Ishii finally was able to get the victory in just under fifteen minutes.
Winner: Tomohiro Ishii (10) in 14:33
I fucking love this match. There’s no other way to say it. Two hosses having the perfect kind of match for them that lasted the perfect amount of time. Elgin was possibly the MVP of this entire tournament, turning in good to great performances at every turn. However, it was this one that fully sold me on him as a big time player and I’m glad he officially signed with NJPW. ****½
A Block
Hiroyoshi Tenzan (4) vs. Tetsuya Naito (10)
The crowd was totally behind Tenzan, as expected. Naito took extra-long to remove his entrance attire and ended up fighting for the first few minutes with it still on. Naito’s attitude throughout this was perfect. He seemed annoyed at the fact that he had to compete and didn’t take Tenzan seriously at all. He made sure to mock the Mongolian chops before getting lit up with some from the master himself. Tenzan stepped up, seemingly offended at being taken lightly and started to kick Naito’s ass. He survived a Koji Clutch before defeating Naito with the Anaconda Vice.
Winner: Hiroyoshi Tenzan (6) in 14:18
Not many people liked this outcome as Naito was set for bigger and better things. It worked out though since it was Naito’s attitude that cost him and Tenzan got to end a disappointing run (mostly due to injury) with a victory. This officially eliminated Naito. ***
B Block
Hirooki Goto (12) vs. Yuji Nagata (4)
Despite coming in with the same amount of points as Nakamura and Anderson, Goto was eliminated from contention thanks to his earlier loss to Nakamura. The match began and they got into their stuff but for some reason, this wasn’t connecting with my like I hoped. I enjoy the work of both men, but it was kind of just there. Nagata took a bit of a beating throughout, really selling for Goto. Nagata got in some hope spots, including his signature armbar, but Goto wasn’t about to tap out again after doing so against Shinsuke. Nagata was able to score with the backdrop driver from seemingly out of nowhere for a close near fall. He found a way to hit a second and score the late win.
Winner: Yuji Nagata (6) in 13:00
Not an entirely unexpected outcome since these final shows seem to have the guys with a small amount of points picking up wins to save some face. I liked that Nagata couldn’t keep up with Goto as his age is starting to hold him back, but he still finds a way to eke out wins at times. ***
A Block
Kota Ibushi (6) vs. Togi Makabe (8)
After a great start that saw him compete in three spectacular matches (against Tanahashi, Styles and Shibata), Ibushi has fallen hard and with a loss, would tie for the least amount of points in the block with Tenzan and Gallows. When I originally watched this match, I considered it to be rather disappointing. They didn’t do anything bad or offensive in any way, it just felt like they were kind of holding back. I originally suspected it was because neither guy was really competing for anything. In hindsight, they were probably holding back because a rematch was set to main event a show the following month (which was much better). Both guys basically got their stuff in until Ibushi landed on his feet when Makabe attempted the spider German. He won via Phoenix Splash shortly after.
Winner: Kota Ibushi (8) in 9:07
Kota Ibushi should have been a massive star coming out of the G1. He killed it at WK9, won the New Japan Cup and had a great heavyweight title match in the first half of the year. After the G1, he just looked like another guy. The match was fine, but nothing more. ***
B Block
Karl Anderson (12) vs. Satoshi Kojima (4)
Anderson was still alive entering this as a win here and a Nakamura win later would see him win the block by virtue of his victory over Nakamura. Kojima didn’t give a damn, coming into this with a lot of fire. It’s as if he saw Tenzan and Nagata get victories and was motivated to do the same. Kojima was better here than either of those guys were in their respective matches. Both guys traded most of their trademark stuff. They got into a relatively intense battle of strikes outside and nearly both got counted out. Anderson worked the arm, trying to prevent Kojima from hitting the lariat. Kojima dug deep, behind the roar of the crowd, and had enough to hit the lariat for the win, eliminating Anderson.
Winner: Satoshi Kojima (6) in 10:53
Better than I expected. Both guys put in some big effort here, trying to keep up the streak of good matches and they succeeded. A fine choice for the semi-main event. ***½
A Block
AJ Styles (12) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (12)
It all came down to this for the A Block. This match came in at #33 in my “Top 100 Matches of 2015” list. It had one of the bigger fight feels of anything in the tournament so far. While I haven’t loved all of their matches together, these two make a solid argument for the two best wrestlers on the planet at the time. You could tell they were going long as they began things with a lengthy feeling out process. It wasn’t one of those where they were just killing time though. Everything felt like a struggle and all of it made sense. Once they got going, things really kicked into next gear. When Styles attempted the Calf Killer, the fans bought into it as a possible match ender since it had been built up well during the tournament. They one upped each other several times, including Tanahashi delivering a low blow after Styles hit one on him. Tanahashi busted out the Styles Clash himself, so AJ connected on the High Fly Flow. This was really played to show that they were just about equals when it came to the ring. Styles hit Bloody Sunday, but it wasn’t enough. Tanahashi went back to the dragon screws and leg work to set up for multiple High Fly Flows to win the match and block as the crowd and young lions at ringside were in a frenzy.
Winner: Hiroshi Tanahashi (14) in 27:56
I’d say this was my favorite match between these two. It wasn’t the best of the block or tournament, but it was a fitting end for the A Block. Their two most consistent performers went out and had a fantastic outing. It felt like two guys having a classic and really having to scratch and claw for everything. The molten hot crowd was the perfect addition to cap off everything. ****¼
B Block
Kazuchika Okada (14) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (12)
The two top members of Chaos do battle for the right to make the finals and take on Hiroshi Tanahashi. This match ranked #12 in my “Top 100 Matches of 2015” list. It is also a rematch of the previous year’s finals. Being friends, there wasn’t really any animosity here at first. However, things slowly got a bit more heated as each guy got cocky and taunted the other, leading to some stiffer shots. Nakamura was able to connect on several big knee strikes but never had enough to put away the IWGP Heavyweight Champion. Okada scored on a tombstone on the outside and was about to win via countout, but, in a show of respect, rolled Nakamura inside, not wanting to win that way. Once back in, the match began to near the finishing stretch, which was one of the best all year. Closing sequences are among the things that Okada does best. Nakamura attempted Boma Ye only to run into a picture perfect dropkick from Okada. Okada then hit another tombstone and looked for the Rainmaker, only for Nakamura to counter into an awesome armbar. Okada fought and nearly escaped but fell into a worse position. The cameraman did a great job of showing his desperate face as he was forced to submit.
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura (14) in 23:31
Another tremendous match and a great conclusion to the B Block side of things. This was two great wrestlers having a great match that felt like an important main event. It was better than their finals match a year earlier and one of the best Okada matches I’ve ever seen. Just a lot of great moments throughout this. ****½
| A Block | Points | B Block | Points |
| Hioshi Tanahashi | 14 (7-2) | Shinsuke nakamura | 14 (7-2) |
| AJ Styles | 12 (6-3) | Kazuchika Okada | 14 (7-2) |
| Tetsuya Naito | 10 (5-4) | Karl Anderosn | 12 (6-3) |
| Bad Luck Fale | 10 (5-4) | Hirooki Goto | 12 (6-3) |
| Katsuyori Shibata | 8 (4-5) | Tomohiro Ishii | 10 (5-4) |
| Toru Yano | 8 (4-5) | Michael Elgin | 8 (4-5) |
| Kota Ibushi | 8 (4-5) | Yujiro Takahashi | 6 (3-6) |
| Togi Makabe | 8 (4-5) | Yuji Nagata | 6 (3-6) |
| Doc Gallows | 6 (3-6) | Satoshi Kojima | 6 (3-6) |
| Hiroyoshi Tenzan | 6 (3-6) | Tomoaki Honma | 2 (1-8) |
