G1 Climax season is upon us, which means it’s time for I, Captain Lou, to return my calling as a professional reviewer/Internet Journalist for the beloved Lion Mark. Truth be told, New Japan have been testing my patience this year with some incredibly stationary booking that lasted from around February to May (what should become officially known as Rematch Season). Thankfully, the BOSJ and Dominion shook things up enough to renew my interest and now I am once again ready to write thousands of words on Taichi and Bad Luck Fale matches.
I won’t review this show’s undercard due to time restraints, but let me make a very important declaration real quick. This was the first New Japan USA show that felt like an actual, authentic New Japan Pro-Wrestling show. Improved production, solid commentary from Rocky and Double K Kevin Kelly, no ROH wrestlers in sight and an enthusiastic (and surprisingly not annoying) crowd made this a super easy watch and for the first time maybe ever I am feeling somewhat optimistic about THE DREADED EXPANSION. Thank you Harold.
Lance Archer vs. Will Ospreay – G1 Climax (Block A)
Big improvement over their New Japan Cup match, but still could’ve benefited from some spots getting left on the cutting room floor (that Code Red on the ramp sequence was just bad). That being said, these guys have undeniably great chemistry and their Marvelized David vs. Goliath (or Spiderman vs. Hulk) shtick will never not be fun, even if they always end up going overboard.
Will was a great underdog here and his next-level bumping made Archer look like a god damned beast. I loved the crazy ass POUNCE sequence they put together, as it seemed to reference their last match and played nicely into Archer being always one step ahead of Ospreay.
For me, the match clearly peaked with that amazing countout tease that ended with the Ospreay VAN TERMINATOR into SSP out of nowhere, and a lot of the stuff they did after that felt a bit superfluous and too kickout-heavy, BUT it got the good people going and more than did its job as a G1 Climax opener. Also, I’m a mark for a good Claw finish. ***3/4
EVIL vs. Bad Luck Fale – G1 Climax (Block A)
This certainly was a Bad Luck Fale match but I have to respect the hustle of anyone trying to pull a Fun Bad Luck Fale match and today EVIL was that person. They built up that Andre/Hogan Body Slam spot like some real 80’s pros, teased the EVIL homerun chair shot for the whole match and did the Lariat Fale Over The Ropes spot. So basically all the good Fale singles match boxes were checked. I also have to give a special shoutout to Marty Asami’s hilariously great HIGH FLYING BUMP off the EVIL ref-assisted lariat. What a legend. ***
SANADA vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – G1 Climax (Block A)
These two are officially at the point where they can do no wrong together. They are the most low-risk match up in all of NJPW and here they were getting reactions for wristlock reversals that matched anything from the Archer/Ospreay bombs-fest.
The opening chain wrestling standoff was one of the most impressive in recent memory and here’s the thing: there’s no real ‘’standoff’’ to their chain wrestling segments, they just keep going until someone runs out of reversals and it gives their shtick a big-time credibility boost.
Love Zack’s submission work but he’s also such an entertaining heel. He is legitimately great at being an annoying vegan prick and had a bunch of great character moments here like shrugging off SANADA’s test of strength invite with a dickish muscle pose and trolling the poor timekeeper later on.
Ending stretch had all of the counter wrestling that YOU crave (Zack countering the Moonsault with a Triangle choke was LIT) and it all came to a close with an absolute all timer of a rollup reversal exchange. I wish SANADA would spend less time focusing on the Paradise Lock but the ultimate payoff of him pointing at the Paradise Locked victim with an air of ‘’LOOK AT THIS DUMB PERSON STUCK IN THE PARADISE LOCK’’ gets me every time. ****
Kota Ibushi vs. KENTA – G1 Climax (Block A)
Here’s the good news: KENTA has brought back the stiffness. In the weeks leading up to this show, I’ve been claiming that the key to KENTA performing well in the G1 would be for him to tap back into the dickishness that made him notorious in NOAH, and he did.
The opening slap-off was the perfect way to get this match going and I had quite a pleasant time watching KENTA kick the ever loving shit out of poor Ibushi in order to re-establish himself as a proper threat.
Now for the bad news. While this all worked as a Reintroduction of KENTA, it didn’t make for the most compelling wrestling match ever. Some of KENTA’s runs of offense seemed to go on forever and the WWE reprogramming was still apparent in the overreliance on chinlocks and the WWE PERFORMANCE CENTER-APPROVED BABYFACE CLOTHESLINE RUSH.
I get why they would try to introduce KENTA to the NJPW Universe via a New Japan Epic Style match complete with the obligatory forearm exchange of death near the end, but due to the lack of history between both guys and lack of familiarity from the crowd with Old Kenter: it all felt a bit forced. Still, this was leagues ahead of the Marufuji clusterfuck from last year and I do think we’re off to a solid start with NJPW KENTA. ***1/2
Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi – G1 Climax (Block A)
In the Grand Pantheon of Okada/Tanahashi matches, I doubt the latest entry would break the top 5, but based on the atmosphere alone: this was pretty fucking special. From the insane short tights reveal pop to the opening bell standing ovation, the good people in Dallas were ready to witness modern-day New Japan Pro-Wrestling in his PUREST FORM and helped elevate this thing to another level.
In terms of the in-ring content, this was very much in line with the Okada/Tana matches from last year, although it never quite reached the same emotional heights. It followed the same story of cocky Young Champion Okada effortlessly handling the aging and injured Tanahashi, only for Tana to dig deep into his fighting spirit bank and miraculously dragon screw his way back to the top.
I think some people were getting worried about Tanahashi based on that iffy performance on the Dominion undercard, but he really brought it for this match. You could tell this main event slot meant the world to him and much like in all of his best recent matches, he more than made up for his physical shortcomings with incredible selling and emoting.
So many great moments: Tanahashi legit SHOCKING THE CROWD by rolling up Okada during the Rainmaker pose and then connecting with a gnarly ground dragon screw, the High Fly Flow to the floor that we (understandably) hadn’t seen in ages, that epic Heavy Rain into Twist N’ Shout into Sling Blade into Shotgun dropkick sequence.
The ending reminded me of their wonderful Dontaku match from last year, with a frenzied Tanahashi trying to fend off that final Rainmaker with desperation slaps only for a cool and collected Okada to inevitably rip his head off, highlighting the clear power level difference between the two in 2019. Loved it. ****1/4
Captain Lou’s G1 Climax 29 Match Rankings
- Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (Block A) – ****1/4 Day 1, 7/6/19
- SANADA vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (Block A) – **** Day 1, 7/6/19
- Will Ospreay vs. Lance Archer (Block A) – ***3/4 Day 1, 7/6/19
- Kota Ibushi vs. KENTA (Block A) – ***1/2, 7/6/19
- EVIL vs. Bad Luck Fale (Block A) – ***, 7/6/19
