YOSHI-HASHI vs. Bad Luck Fale – G1 Climax (Block A)
Is it just me or YOSHI-HASHI’s theme would feel right at home on some obscure Sega Genesis platformer? Perfect fit for a jungle-themed stage where you have to dodge laser beams from cyborg monkeys. Here’s another YOSHI-HASHI thought for y’all: I love how over he is in Osaka because this dude would be the top guy in Osaka Pro-wrestling. I doubt there’s much intersection between this NJPW crowd and whatever’s left of the Osaka Pro fanbase, but you get what I’m saying. This match was okay but I spent all of it reflecting on all of these potential YOSHI-HASHI vs. Black Buffalo matches. There was interference and stuff. **1/2
Minoru Suzuki vs. Hangman Page (Block A)
Yes, this is the review where I will be ranting about wrestlers’ themes. Hangman Page’s theme is tremendous and sounds exactly like how I wish Hangman would wrestle. Less flips and more heroic Texan brawling action please. Actually, turns out this match had very few flips, lots of brawling and a bunch of great character-based wrestling. And it was rad! Suzuki being personally offended by Hangman daring to hit a Moonsault on him and then going on a damn rampage truly was the best case scenario for this match. Hangman took a king-sized beating, sold a lot, proved his worth as a potential tough guy and somehow walked away with the victory. I love me some Killer Suzuki, but Hangman deserves a lot of credit for adapting to Suzuki’s style and making his high spots work within this context. Great finish too – if you’re gonna have Hangman Page go over Suzuki, that was the way to do it. ***1/2
Togi Makabe vs. Jay White – G1 Climax (Block A)
As I was discussing with SPUNKWHY Dave Walsh on the Twitter, New Japan World replacing Makabe’s theme with that generic rocker is a travesty. 50% of Makabe’s shtick is the Led Zeppelin song. If you remove it, what’s left but bad corner punches? I’m kidding, Makabe’s fine. And so was this match, man. I love that these young gaijin guys stuck in Block A hell are forced to work The Togi Makabe Match. Just learning to work an entire match around beefy forearm and lariat exchanges. Jay did surprisingly well too: he brought the stiff chops and him exclaiming ‘’THERE HE IS’’ as a response to one of Makabe’s fighting spirit faces legit cracked me up. The chair shot/ref bump finishes are getting so predictable now. If every Jay White match has to end like this, at least switch it up a bit? They were doing good without it too. ***1/4
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Michael Elgin (Block A)
When Tana first switched from High Energy to Love & Energy, I was aghast. Why would you get rid of one of the best themes in wrestling? That sweet J-Rock lick had ‘’New Japan Pro-Wrestling Ace’’ written all over it. But as Ace Tanahashi slowly morphed into Broken Dad Tanahashi, I grew to appreciate the gooey catchiness of his new theme and today I think it’s a perfect fit for 2018 Hiroshi Tanahashi. Peep the segue way: these two guys were ALSO a damn good fit. Tana is all about the old-school American wrestling, so you could tell he was having a blast working these muscle spots and getting overpowered by Big Mike.
It was simple but effective stuff: Tana bumping all over the place, then using his craftiness to get in a few hope spots and pop the crowd. Elgin let his size advantage tell the story, didn’t go nuts with the finishing moves and put in a smart performance. The botched rollup finish was a bummer, but the rest of the ending stretch was genuinely exciting stuff. Massive Osaka heat for Tanahashi kicking out of Elgin’s biggest bombs and making it out alive by the seat of his pants. Some really fun chemistry between these guys – would love to see them wrassle again. ***3/4
Kazuchika Okada vs. EVIL – G1 Climax (Block A)
Midlife Crisis Okada’s remixed theme is very much like Midlife Crisis Okada himself: almost exactly like the previous version but with a tiny bump in weirdness. That wacky EDM intro symbolizes Okada’s life detour into balloon fetishism and hair dye experimentation before he inevitably finds his way back to the top of the Shinnichi Mountain. Speaking of the fabled Shinnichi Mountain, these lads planted their flag right on top of it with this awesome match.
Sometimes NJPW main events follow a fairly strict formula with a feeling out process and gradual escalation between two guys. Sometimes EVIL just decides to kill Okada right off the bat with a bunch of lariats. I’m somewhat partial to the second approach, so this thing was right up my alley. These two guys have great chemistry together – everything they do has an extra oomph when they get the chance to have a singles match. EVIL always seems extra-aggressive and Okada will do some crazy shit like a Jon Woo on the ramp or the highest missile dropkick you have ever seen.
EVIL using Red Shoes against his will to drop Okada with the Magic Killer was the best thing he’s done all tournament – a true GRADE 1 CLIMAX MOMENT. The ending stretch was of the highest order, just a bunch of wild reversals around the Rainmaker and EVIL’s STO – both guys surprising the other by stealing his finisher, mega crowd heat throughout. And even with all this tremendous workrate, my favorite moment of the match was Okada making the most passive-aggressive ‘’Fuck this dude’’ face ever after annihilating EVIL with his missile dropkick. Love the wrestling. ****1/4
