G1 Climax Night 15 Recommended Viewing
By: Matt Ederer
NIGHT 1 — NIGHT 2 — NIGHT 3 — NIGHT 4 — NIGHT 5 — NIGHT 6 — NIGHT 7 — NIGHT 8 — NIGHT 9 — NIGHT 10 — NIGHT 11 — NIGHT 12 — NIGHT 13 — NIGHT 14
We’re 15 Days into this thing, and there’s a little bit of burnout setting in from the fan’s perspective. The quality of the shows are through the roof, but it is a lot to take in all at once. AWFUL lot of random names and numbers down there at the bottom of this article. What does it all mean? What am I even doing here? What is wrestling? What is life?
Existential crises all over the place. So, to help put all this into context, here is a brief explanation of the star rating scale that we (me, it’s just me) here at the Spoiler Role try to stick to. This is what differentiates 5* from 4.75*, what makes 3* different than 2*, negative stars, quarter stars, etc. What does it all mean, and who the hecking butt am I anyway?
THE STAR RATINGS SCALE AKA I swear I’m not taking this too seriously guys follow me on Twertsergram and Facebonk:
Plz note that this is sincerely not meant to be rude or insulting to the performers who literally risk their health for our claps and woos. Nor is it meant to seem self-congratulatory, or as though I’m putting my opinions on a pedestal. It’s just that I’ve seen way too much fuckin’ wrestling in my life (been watching since I was 3, and I just turned 30, so that’s 27 solid years of studying and loving wrestling and oh no I’ve wasted my entire life start to finish) and I feel like I should quantify it all. This isn’t meant to judge, though I am clearly, literally judging wrestling matches. This is meant to celebrate.
Also, people like star ratings? They like to talk about them and break them down and get all upset about ’em. Nothing wrong with that.
For older matches: Ricky Steamboat and Ric Flair in 1989 had no concept of what a match in 2017 would look like. You have to recognize what the standard of the time was. Penalizing old matches would be like penalizing Bill Russell’s 11 NBA Championships because he didn’t shoot 3’s. Which is the kind of stuff that people do. Trolls online and fools aflutter with the whimsical nature of youth, mostly.
Uhm, yeah. So, something like Hulk Hogan vs Ultimate Warrior from Wrestlemania VI was a 4**** match on April 1, 1990, and that’s what it should be remembered as. Even though it looks like this today:
I’m pretty sure that makes sense. Except the “fools” thing.
Here’s my interpretation of the basic, 5-star scale that I/many other nerdlingers use to rate professional rasslin matches. The top half is fleshed out a little more than the bottom half, since that’s what all waste our time arguing about:
5 * — An all-time classic wrestling match. Unquestionable match of the year contender, and will be talked about for years. Once it’s over, there’s no doubt about it. 100/100 if you’re into numbers.
4.75 * — An incredible, classic match, that didn’t connect quite at the level of an all-timer, or an almost perfect match with a minor flaw that slightly detracted from an otherwise flawless performance (*sniffs own farts for hours*). 95/100
4.5* — Borderline-classic, should be talked about, well-remembered, celebrated, watched at various nerdy social gatherings of wrestling fans, et cetera. 90/100
4.25* — A 4.5 star match but a little bit worse, or maybe a 4 star match but a little bit better. 85/100
4* — Clearly above average, really solid, good and memorable match. If this were school, 4* would be an A grade. 80/100.
3.5 * — B grade, somewhere between 4* and 3* ? 70/100
3* — C grade, still above average. A good, fun, or surprisingly good and fun match. 60/100
2.5* —D-ish grade depending on where you grew up. An average, plain, run-of-the-mill pro rasslin battle. 50/100.
2* — Slightly below average, 40/100
1* — Muchly below average, 20/100
DUD — An awful and unwatchable wrestling match — 0/100
-5* — An affront to the professional wrestling business and entertainment in general, Super F- grade, GTFO /1000
Quarter Stars and negative stars are handed out on a case-by-case basis, I guess? I don’t know I have already put way too much thought into this. We all should have used this time to learn the violin or something.
On to the review!
Yugi Nagata vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Yes! Awesome match. I want to see it again, except next time longer and for a title.
Yugi Nagata is one of those guys who can write a novel with his face. Some wrestlers, you look at and go “he looks mean”. Nagata, you look at and go “he’s mentally preparing himself for a match against a technical chess master, he’s confident that he can beat him but not taking him lightly”. It’s art, not science. Nagata is an artist.
This is one of those 4* matches that gets a slight bump up for the little things surrounding it. The right guy winning, the actual closing few minutes of the match, the crowd, the selling, the reaction from the commentators. It all made this feel really special. That stuff matters to us (me) here at the Spoiler Role.
4.25*
YOSHI-HASHI vs. Kota Ibushi
I really liked this. Did have some minor complaints though. Yoshi-Hashi seems like a dude off the street playing pro wrestler. Kota Ibushi seems like a highly tuned gymnast robot. SpotBot 3000.
I disliked that they used the exact same finish as Ibushi/Nagata. I felt it really worked for that match and that story, but to run the exact same finish back here felt lazy, dare I say. Took away from both the Ibushi/Nagata match before it and this match. Why not just put some kind of small twist on the finish, rather than doing the same one? I also think the Golden Star powerbomb should still finish a guy off around 50% of the time, because they are already really close to killing that move off. Yoshi-Hashi kicking out of it might be a jump the shark moment for that powerbomb.
Still a really good match. Ibushi is a great wrestler. It went long, but in the good way, in the “this feels like a real battle” sort of way.
One of the better YOSHI-HASHI matches of the tournament/his entire life.
4*
Bad Luck Fale vs. Hirooki Goto
I think these next two matches are fine example of what separates a slightly below average match from a safely above average match. Goto and Fale had a slow, clubbering battle that was fine, but nothing anybody needs to see ever for any reason. Goto is OK, Fale needs to be carried to a good match, and this wasn’t quite that. A pretty standard, run of the mill Bigman v Smallerman battle-uh. Throw any two random guys in a ring and it may be better, but this was a good representation of what should and will happen when Goto and Fale get into the ring together.
It would have fit in on an In Your House show in 1995.
2*
Tetsuya Naito vs. Togi Makabe
Now in contrast to the previous match, while not quite an A+, this was a really good, above average match that picked up big time at the end.
Makabe continues his surprisingly good tournament, and Naito is the odds on favourite to win this thing I think. He is good at what he does. Two guys who are on their games right now, doing the damn thing. This was professional wrestling, done well. Not mind blowingly well, but well. Solid.
Also, I mean hey, we saw a SPIDER SUPLEX, which is easily one of the coolest looking moves ever in wrestling:
The match was good, but post-match stuff was awesome. Professional wrestling done spectacularly. Naito has been screwing with Tomoaki Honma, an injured wrestler and major fan favourite, for the entire tournament. Honma is out with a broken neck, and has been sitting in on commentary a lot. Naito openly mocks this guy to his face. He literally spits on Honma during almost every match. After this one was over, Naito went up to Honma, and sarcastically raised his fist up, for a fist bump. A fist bump that he knew Honma couldn’t join him in, because Honma’s neck is so screwed up legit that he can’t lift his arm that high. That’s a very real,scary, “shoot” neck injury that easily could have ended Honma’s career and would have maybe ended the life of a person off the street. Naito fucking with Honma is this way was just tremendously dickish behaviour. The type of human drama that transcends language, that you can see with your own two eyes.
NJPW is the best wrestling company on planet earth and it is not at all close, really.
3.5*
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
The standard NJPW main event, which is a compliment when it’s that high a standard. Ishii and Tanahashi aren’t going to have a bad match. This felt like they did just enough to have a great match without emptying the gas tank. The final A block show is next for these guys, and that’s the big one.
Man, I love Hiroshi Tanahashi, Dillusional Ace. Okada is the clear #1 man in the company, and one of Naito or Omega are probably the safe #2/3. Tanahashi is only the “Ace” in his mind (and in his theme song). But he still wrestles like the Ace. He wrestles like he’s a hero to all the people, playing air guitar and basking in cheers. When he’s against Bad Luck Fale, that’s great, the crowd will be behind him. When he’s against a guy like Ishii who the crowd likes, they don’t really pop for Tana’s spots. But that’s the beautiful part of it. Tana feeds off that, and subtly goes heel. He stars acting like a dick, starts holding submissions longer, slapping guys in the face, and just generally doing bad guy things in such a way that he balances the line perfectly.
It’s a little bit like like those really awesome 5 minutes every month when Roman Reigns acts heelish, and we all lose our minds hoping for him to actually turn heel, except for a whole match.
Also, just because I haven’t said it in a few shows — Ishii still has the best superplex in wrestling today.
Good good stuff, we are cleared for Naito vs Tanahashi, the winner to take the A Block.
4.25*
THE TOP TEN
- Ibushi/Naito — Day 1–4.75* — BOMB FEST~!
2. Kojima/Okada — Day 8–4.75* — Great story-driven match. Okada is on record saying that the old men shouldn’t be in the G1 Climax anymore. Kojima is already eliminated, but a win v. the champ would guarantee a title shot and basically be a tournament win of its own. No extended finisher sequence either, it was awesome without being over the top. Probably the last great match of Satoshi Kojima’s career.
3. Elgin/Okada — Day 4–4.5* — Big Mike’s matches sometimes feel like too much. Between the apron moves, the powerbomb fests, and the insane backfists, stuff always tends to get lost in the shuffle. This was an amazing Elgin match though, perhaps my favourite performance of his career. Every move meant something, everything felt like it was sold and it advanced the plot of the match, and Big Mike’s power came into play for some unique and spectacular counters. I may have underrated this.
4. ZSJ/Ibushi — Day 3–4.5* — The CWC final we needed, but not the one we deserved.
5. Elgin/Omega — Day 8–4.5* — They have had superior matches to this one. Recently. This summer, in fact. Still, awesome stuff here between two good Canadian boys here in the G1 there, eh?
6. Nagata/Tanahashi — Day 5–4.25* — The best Nagata matches are those where it feels like old man Nagata is a threat. We got a nice taste of Heel Tana!~ here as well. Awesome match. Still want to rewatch this one.
7. Ibushi/Nagata — Day 13–4.25 * — Nagata is not willing to go down easy, but father time is unbeatable. Awesome little match, loved the display of sportsmanship after the fact, and the look on Nagata’s face post-match. Just really good stuff here. This is what the G1 is all about.
8. Omega/Suzuki — Day 2–4.25* — Style clash, but one that really worked for me. This was a really nice mix of the typical Omega match and the typical Suzuki match, maybe heavier on the Suzuki side. Trying a reverse rana on ol’ Minoru was maybe not the best idea.
9. Ishii/Tanahashi — Day 15–4.25*
10. EVIL/Okada — Day 14–4.25* — EVERYTHING IS EVILOO
PROBABLY WATCH AT SOME POINT IN YOUR LIFE
Ishii/Ibushi — Day 5–4.25* — They have had superior matches, but I could watch Ishii v Ibushi on every show ever and not tire of it.
Ishii/Nagata — Day 11–4.25* — Nagata is awesome. Just still a mighty fine worker at 49 years of age. A really good “I am tougher than you//I DISAGREE SIR, IN FACT I AM THE TOUGHER” back and forth match.
Omega/EVIL — Day 12–4.25* — PLZ DONT BE DEAD EVIL :( If I were booking NJPW, I would send EVIL home for the tournament and maybe the summer. After that blow to the head, with the losses of Shibata and Honma this year, I think it paints a pretty bad picture about NJPW to have him wrestle. He was on the next show in an undercard tag! Why? But I’m not a doctor, what do I know? With how EVIL’s next show turned out, I guess I understand why he had to stick around.
ZSJ/Nagata — Day 14–4.25 *
Ishii/Makabe — Day 3–4.25* — Surprisingly great brawl. Makabe is a brawler, and only a brawler, but he can have a good match with the right opponent. Usually, a brawler.
Juice/EVIL — Day 4–4.25* — Best match of either guy’s career up to this point. They may have both topped it later in the tourney, depending on how you feel about Juicey v Okada. But this was that G1 match that comes out of nowhere to surprise you.
SANADA/Okada — Day 6–4.25* — The Ace vs a true up-and-comer. SANADA is not quite there yet, but he’s close. He has all the tools, but hasn’t quite built the shed. The champ Okada also has all the tools, and has built a beautiful mansion atop Ace Mountain. Or something.
Ibushi/Tanashi — Day 11–4.25* — Victim of my own expectations here. I expected match of the tournament and maybe year, got a really decent match that was a little disappointing. Tanahashi’s selling and heeling is always a treat though. Worth watching.
Naito/Ishii — Day 9–4.25* — If you like this one, you’ll love their match from Feb 2016.
Omega/Kojima — Day 10–4.25* — Really solid match, just wish that it wasn’t so one-sided. The “old ass man” story that NJPW likes to tell is much more effective when the old ass man in question is a threat.
Tanahashi/Makabe — Day 13–4* — Hot hot take: Hiroshi Tanahashi is a good pro wrestler. Makabe as a pure worker, in terms of timing, presence, execution, etc etc, kicks the pants off of the Big Cass-types of the world. So even though most of Makabe’s stuff isn’t exactly exciting, he hits it with such impact, and it is sold so well and presented at such times of the match, that Makabe looks like a real threat. Also, the guy throws a hell of a powerbomb, and the Spider Suplex is one of the coolest moves in the history of wrestling. I digress.
Tanahashi/ZSJ — Day 1–4* — Awesome technical chess match, classic example of “working the arm”.
Ishii/Fale — Day 13–4* — Perfect length, great closing stretch, awesome display of what makes Tomohiro Ishii one of the most underrated wrestlers in the history of the business. Best Fale match I have ever seen, but that is an extremely low hurdle to clear. I have yet to see Fale v Okada from earlier this year, and missed pretty much every Fale v Nakamura match.
Tanahashi/Fale — Day 3–4* — Not as good a match as Ishii v Fale, but maybe the best count-out in the history of pro-wrestling?
Omega/Yano — Day 6–4* — While we are hyper-bowling, maybe the best comedy match in the history of pro-wrestling?
WATCH IT IF YOU LOVE THESE GUYS
Naito/ZSJ — Day 13–4*
Kojima/Elgin — Day 6–4*
EVIL/Sanada — Day 2–4*
Ishii/Goto — Day 1–4*
Goto/Nagata — Day 3–4*
YOSHI-HASHI/Ibushi — Day 14–4*
Okada/Juice — Day 10–4* — Biggest match of Juice’s career.
EVIL/Suzuki — Day 8–4*
Okada/Tonga — Day 12–4* — Biggest match of Tonga’s career.
Goto/Tanahashi — Day 7–4*
Goto/Makabe — Day 5–4*
Nagata /Naito — Day 7–4*
Naito/YOSHI-HASHI — Day 3–4*
Omega/Tama Tonga — Day 4–4*
Suzuki/Kojima — Day 12–3.75*
Goto/Naito — Day 11–3.75*
Naito/Makabe — Day 15–3.5*
Nagata/Makabe — Day 9–3.5*
Juice/Kojima — Day 2–3.5* — HEART AND HONOR vs KOZY, Student v. Teacher, this was great, Juice is a phenomenal babyface.
Juice/Omega — Day 14–3.5*
ZSJ/Goto — Day 9–3.5*
YOSHI-HASHI/Nagata — Day 1–3.5*
Goto/YOSHI-HASHI — Day 13–3.5*
Kojima/Sanada — Day 14–3.5*
Juice/SANADA — Day 12–3.5*
EVIL/Tonga — Day 6–3.5*
Makabe/ZSJ — Day 11–3.5*
Makabe/Ibushi — Day 7–3.5*
Ishii/YOSHI-HASHI — Day 7–3.5*
Fale/Ibushi — Day 9–3.5*
Okada/Yano — Day 2–2.5* — Some people found this one to be really funny, I didn’t like it nearly as much as Omega’s Yano match, but it may be up your alley.
Day 4 Undercard — The Death of Darryl Takahashi :(
WATCH IT IF YOU’RE MAKING A YOUTUBE COMPILATION OF THESE GUYS
ZSJ/YOSHI-HASHI — Day 5–3.25*
Suzuki/Tonga — Day 10–3*
Tanahashi/YOSHI-HASHI — Day 9–3*
SANADA/Yano — Day 8–3*
Fale/YOSHI-HASHI — Day 11–3*
Tonga/Juice — Day 8–3*
Suzuki/Juice — Day 6–3*
SANADA/Elgin — Day 10–3*
Tama Tonga/ Michael Elgin — Day 1–3*
Fale/ZSJ — Day 7–3*
Suzuki/SANADA — Day 4–3*
Naito/Fale — Day 5–3*
MAYBE JUST SKIP IT
Elgin/Suzuki — Day 14–2.5*
EVIL/Yano — Day 10–2*
Elgin/Yano — Day 12–2*
Fale/Goto — Day 14–2*
Tonga/Yano — Day 14–1.5*
Makabe/Fale — Day 1–1*
Yano/Kojima — Day 4–1*
