G1 Climax Night 4 Recommended Viewing
By: Matt Ederer
SHOCKER: This was another really good show.
For the first time since the G1 started, something truly noteworthy happened on the undercard:
A stuffed animal died! Or something. I am absolutely the wrong person to deliver this report, but the story as I understand it:
Hiromu Takahashi is a really awesome, batshit insane wrestler. Insane both in the “throw myself off the top rope head first” way, and in the “befriend a stuffed cat” way. I guess Darryl “the Cat Doll” Takahashi has been something of a confidant/asexual life partner for Takahashi, who goes by the nickname of Ticking Time Bomb. Probably because he throws himself off the top rope head first and talks to a cat doll.
Bad Luck Fale, who you may remember from Day 3 as a Big Mean Heel Monster, decided to rip Takahashi’s doll/best friend on earth apart because he is, of course, a Big Mean Heel Monster.
-scene-
NJPW twitter has been up in arms in the good, fun kind of way about it. Great morning for wrestling twitter. This brings me to a larger point: NJPW is so good that it’s bringing up the quality of not just of pro wrestling, but wrestling nerd communities everywhere.
Here’s a quick celebration of NJPW twitter to start Day 4’s review: definitely check out the world famous LARIATOOOOO!!! @MrLARIATO for all your NJPW G1 .gif needs. If one guy smashing your timeline with Japanese wrestling .gifs isn’t enough, I enjoy the work of @GIFDDT and one John.gif @DK1105 as well.
Also, for standings updates, upcoming schedules and general stuff, somebody named @thauros_ appears to be producing some informative and colourful screenshots:
G1 Climax Day 4 — I’m Struggling Four Title Ideas Already
Toru Yano vs. Satoshi Kojima
That wasn’t from this match, but as you can see, Toru Yano likes to incorporate water into his offense. This match started with Yano squirting water at the former IWGP champion Kojima from across the ring for a good ten seconds. I wish I could find a .gif of that to show you actually, because words don’t do it justice.
Yano tries his hardest to cheese a victory out of this match, throwing Kojima into the crowd and up into the entrance way and trying various underhanded tactics before succeeding with his old faithful move, the old low blow roll up 1–2–3.
To me it was a below average match that went a little long. Not unwatchable, good for a chuckle if it’s your thing, but not my cup of tea.
1*
Juice Robinson vs. EVIL
Great back and forth match between two guys who really needed the win. 2–0 would have been huge for Juicey, 0–2 would have been devastating for EVIL. The stakes really added to the proceedings here.
I actually think we have a new pick for most surprising match of the tournament. Ishii/Makabe was really solid, but they have had solid matches before. If you would have told me 12 months ago that I would have loved an EVIL v CJ Parker G1 match, I would not have believed you.
Within the first 5 seconds of this match starting, it was abundantly clear that Juice Robinson leaving NXT to go to Japan was the best decision of his career. Not that it wasn’t very clear before, but it’s just incredible how striking the difference is. His confidence and entire presentation as a wrestler is completely reborn.
EVIL is a guy who I had no time for before this G1 tournament. In fact, I have seen EVIL live a few times in Toronto, in his previous incarnation as Takaaki Watanabe. He wasn’t bad as much as he was bland, and he just never gripped me. Two matches into this G1, and suddenly I’m an EVIL fan. He has had two interesting and fun matches, and as the KING OF DARKNESS has developed a little bit of a heel personality.
Juice’s offense was great, including his awesome little flurry at the start and the Kokeshi headbutt (~!), but Juice’s biggest strength is in his bumping and selling. Top notch babyface in that regard.
Awesome match, really enjoyed this one. EVIL and Juice have both been revelations two matches in to this tournament.
4.25*
SANADA vs. Minoru Suzuki
This was the Minoru Suzuki match. Not bad at all, something I quite enjoy, but it wasn’t the 5 star classic that NJPW can and will give you. Suzuki’s entire gimmick is that he’s a real fighter, and he wants to win fights and win fast and win ugly. Great guy to have in the mix in your promotion for sure, and he’s capable of truly genius performances, but you’re also gonna get some one-sided matches.
Still an above average wrestling match. Liked Sanada here, trying to contend with the old grumpy Suzuki.
3*
Tama Tonga vs. Kenny Omega
This was an interesting match.
Both of these guys are partners in the same faction, known as the Bullet Club. The Bullet Club is full of cocky heels and dickhead jerks and dudes who have humongous egos and all secretly think they are better than each other. Kind of like all professional sports teams, BOOM.
Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks have taken to calling themselves “The Elite”, openly referring to themselves as the best of their group. Fairly offensive to the other guys in the group with them, if ya ask me.
Tama Tonga is one of the other guys.
Rather than being jokey like Okada/Yano, and starting friendly like EVIL/Sanada, this match was two bad guys with bad attitudes spitting and gouging before the match even starts. Tama Tonga jumps the bell attacking Kenny, and it’s a BIG HEEL FIGHT from that point on. We get an extremely profane mid-match promo from Tonga (not quite as good as the CM Punk mid-match promo at Royal Rumble 2009, but still cool). This felt like a break-up, the English commentary going as far to note that “I don’t know how Tonga comes back from this”.
Weird that we got a heel v heel intra-faction match twice in two days, but somehow NJPW managed to make both Omega vs Tonga and EVIL vs SANADA completely different from each other.
In the end, the BC makes up, for now. The match was good, one of the better Tonga performances I can remember. He’s really coming into his own here in this G1. I thought the work was tight, Tonga kept up, and this was unique and fun enough to bump it up to 4*. There aren’t many matches like this in wrestling.
4*
Michael Elgin vs. Kazuchika Okada
Awesome main event. For my money, this is the second best match of the entire tournament so far, though it’s neck and neck with ZSJ/Ibushi.
I think Elgin probably has “better” matches, but that was easily one of my favorite Elgin matches ever. Big Mike is a little too video gamey for me sometimes — an incredible wrestler in terms of execution, but he throws a lot of big bombs all the time in every match, and it can become overkill. Too much stuff, none of it matters, BAM BAM BAM big video game moves everywhere. That style is great if you’re live and you can go OHHHH with all the big moves, but it becomes too much on TV sometimes. Even live, actually. This particular match was different. It was structured in such a way that all of Mike’s big bombs really mattered to the match, advanced the plot, and had an impact. Nothing got lost in the shuffle. Every reversal and counter and giant bomb meant something, and advanced the match. The reversals themselves, the twists they threw in on some usual spots like Elgin catching the Okada cross body, were aces. Just a really good NJPW main event match.
For his part, Okada remains incredible. NJPW is telling a hell of a story with this Okada IGWP title reign. He just keeps having incredible matches, stretching himself paper-thin in kayfabe by withstanding all of this punishment and scraping closer and closer to the physical limit of what a human can do. Elgin took another piece of the champ here. Who will be the first to make him fall in the G1? Will anybody? Can anybody?
Also, fellow Canadian Don Callis has gotten really good, eh? Man. Didn’t take him long to completely get the knack of being an NJPW commentator.
Really great NJPW main event, fantastic professional wrestling match, rewarding on numerous levels.
4.5*
DEFINITELY WATCH RIGHT NOW
Ibushi/Naito — Day 1–4.75*
Elgin/Okada — Day 4–4.5*
ZSJ/Ibushi — Day 3–4.5*
PROBABLY WATCH AT SOME POINT IN YOUR LIFE
Juice/EVIL — Day 4–4.25*
Ishii/Makabe — Day 3–4.25*
Omega/Suzuki — Day 2–4.25*
Tanahashi/ZSJ — Day 1–4*
Ishii/Goto — Day 1–4*
Tanahashi/Fale — 4*
EVIL/Sanada — Day 2–4*
Goto/Nagata — Day 3–4*
WATCH IT MAYBE IF YOU LOVE THESE GUYS
Naito/YOSHI-HASHI — 4*
Omega/Tama Tonga — Day 4–4*
Juice/Kojima — Day 2–3.5*
YOSHI-HASHI/Nagata — Day 1–3.5*
Tama Tonga/ Michael Elgin — 3*
Suzuki/SANADA — Day 4–3*
Okada/Yano — Day 2–2*
SKIP IT
Makabe/Fale — Day 1–1*
Kojima/Yano — Day4 –1*
