G1 Climax Night 16 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 — NIGHT 15
It was a tough go for this show. Almost a lame duck show, in that the bigger shows are so close, and we’ve been through so much so far. This was late-August baseball. Just get me to the playoffs.
For example, I legitimately forget every single second of the Michael Elgin match, including the finish. Oh yeah, Elgin beat Evil via Elgin things.
Anyway, there was a superb main event here, and four matches that faced a steep uphill climb.
G1 Climax 27 Day 16 — Sweet Seize
Tama Tonga v. Satoshi Kojima
Tama Tonga’s new thing is to attack his opponent before the bell rings, steal their ring jacket, and start doing all of their signature spots and taunts. Great gimmick, I gotta say. Big fan.
This was a match. Not bad, not something you will be driving down the highway telling your grandkids about one day. Kojima is old. That is the story here.
Solid back and forth opener, Tonga is a fine wrestler and I think he is fully ready for WWE.
3*
Juice Robinson vs. Toru Yano
Wacky match here. Yano goes to untie the turnbuckle pad immediately. Juicey chases him under the ring. We hear invisible struggling and random fighty noises, and then they both reemerge at a 19 count. Yano tries to cheat some more but then nope Juice wins. It went 4 minutes.
If you can picture a Juice Robinson vs Toru Yano match in your head, this was every bit of that, nothing more, and nothing less.
It was good for what it was, but I still wouldn’t call it above average, or even at the level of average. I think this is the first time I’ve ever given the following rating to a match: If 2.5* = 2.5/5, or 5/10 or 50% and an average match (still a passing grade, in Canada!)… and 2* = 2/5, or 4/10 and slightly below average at 40%… this thing was between those two things.
Slightly above the matches I call slightly below average, but still not quite at the level of average.
THIS IS IMPORTANT STUFF you guys.
2.25*
EVIL vs. Michael Elgin
Hard hitting, rough-and-tumble, MEAN GUY MATCH as it were. Elgin beats EVIL, which kind of takes a bit away from his victory over Okada last show, but I digress.
Good match, awesome closing stretch. I still don’t love Elgin in the midcard, he’s the type who has to be main event or bust. Or maybe the big dude in a tag team, actually. Elgin’s style is “all bombs all the time”, and when he deviates from that formula, what you’re left with isn’t much. Just personal taste, nothing against the man, and if you like him that’s great.
I forget a lot of this one already. Elgin just isn’t my guy. Nice man I am sure. Would love to have him over for a beer, or a Somersby.
Has this blurb hit maximum Canadian quotient yet? Hockey! Beavers! Syrup n’ gravy!
3.25*
SANADA v. Kenny Omega
To me, the story of the match was a pretty terrifying missed moonsault that Kenny Omega almost died because of :
Plz note that Omega was completely and totally fine and carried on as though nothing was wrong at all. It was just the most memorable spot in the match.
Much like Yano v Juice, the match that you picture when you think of these two guys, is the one they had. Very good, match of the show so far, won’t be in the top 30 of the tournament.
3.5*
Minoru Suzuki vs. Kazuchika Okada
Don’t want to say “saved the show”, but this was a spectacular match that really stood out from everything else. If nothing else, you have to watch this one just to see the sweat flying off of these two guys. They beat the absolute piss out of each other. Just knocked each other senseless for 30 minutes.
Here is the backstory that I have only today gathered from the internets:
- NJPW likes to run this building on August 8th, because on August 8th 1988 (8/8/88) Antonio Inoki and Tatsumi Fujinami had the first ever 60 minute draw for the IWGP heavyweight title.
- Minoru Suzuki is from Kanegawa in Japan (where they were today).
- Suzuki and Okada already had a war this year, and Suzuki fell just short
- Not to mention Suzuki is one of Antonio Inoki’s protegés, having learned from the master himself:
We’re all learning! Earlier this year, Suzuki and Okada had one of my favorite matches of the year. It was a slower paced match, but it really felt like Suzuki was going to win the title. A great, intense, slow-building chess match, one that was intended to be a full three course meal of wrestling.
This was not a slow building chess match. This was a FIGHT. An all caps FIGHT between two guys who did not like each other, and wanted to hurt one another. There was almost no wasted time, no wasted motion, no playing around with each other. No extended fancy technical wrestling display that led nowhere.
The finish was a little telegraphed near the end, but it doesn’t detract too much from a spectacular war of a match. Watch this thing. But carve out some time for it. It’s a heaping helping of rasslin.
4.5*
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. Okada/Suzuki — Day 16–4.5*
6. 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?
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. 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.
9. 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.
10. Ishii/Tanahashi — Day 15–4.25* — 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. 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).
PROBABLY WATCH AT SOME POINT IN YOUR LIFE
EVIL/Okada — Day 14–4.25* — EVERYTHING IS EVILOO
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 15–4.25 * — 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.
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 15–4*
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*
SANADA/Omega — Day 16–3.5*
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*
Elgin/EVIL — Day 16–3.25*
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*
Tonga/Kojima — Day 16–3*
MAYBE JUST SKIP IT
Elgin/Suzuki — Day 14–2.5*
Juice/Yano — Day 16–2.25*
EVIL/Yano — Day 10–2*
Elgin/Yano — Day 12–2*
Fale/Goto — Day 15–2*
Tonga/Yano — Day 14–1.5*
Makabe/Fale — Day 1–1*
Yano/Kojima — Day 4–1*
