Lance Archer vs. Bad Luck Fale – G1 Climax (Block A)
I’m a fan of these two in the right context, and a match with non-stop interference from old Juggalo Dad Jado just ain’t the right context. They did some cool shit here and there (the Lance Archer flying cross body and the big Superplex spot) but the overbooking of it all was just mind boggling. This pairing is such a simple and efficient story on paper: two big monster bros going at it and destroying each other. No need for all the bells and whistles. Fuck. **3/4
Will Ospreay vs. SANADA – G1 Climax (Block A)
A bit of an uneven match with a ridiculously hot opening, a flat middle with Ospreay just running through his regular spots and SANADA fucking around with the Paradise lock, then a mostly hot finish with some overly ambitious counter attempts. While these guys seem like a good stylistic match for one another, they went for a lot of needlessly complicated spots that ended up looking a little rough.
They were good enough to continually save each other’s asses from straight up botching anything, but their first-time chemistry wasn’t sharp enough to actually make the wild stuff they had in mind completely land. Also, sure the Paradise Lock is a dumb move, but Ospreay flipping out of it so easily kinda ruined SANADA’s whole gimmick?
That crazy ass Ligerbomb sequence that kicked off the whole ending stretch was great though, and it’s always fun to watch SANADA work with a guy that can match his speed. I just think they have a better match in them down the road. ***1/2
Kazuchika Okada vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – G1 Climax (Block A)
Big fan of the homoerotic tension during the intro with Zack just ramming his British heavyweight title into Okada’s IWGP belt. All kidding aside, ZSJ is a real master at pulling off petty shit like this and it always brings his matches up a notch for me. Outside of that great opening, this felt like the usual Okada/Zack match until Lil Kazu decided to do away with all the submission shit by straight-up DRILLING old Zackmeister with the most disgusting Tombstone of the year.
Zack kept selling his ravaged neck like a pro while trying to stay on top of Okada with his plant-based submission arsenal and it made for a crazy fun dynamic. These boys really got me going when Zack decided to take the dickery up a notch and started punting and slapping Okada like a bitch only to get dropkicked to death by the Champ. Then you had the usual nutty flash roll-up near-falls and wild Rainmaker counters – pretty gripping stuff. ***3/4
Kota Ibushi vs. EVIL – G1 Climax (Block A)
I am writing the review for this match almost two days after the fact and I’m still internally debating whether Ibushi’s DERP FACE German suplex no-sell was hilariously terrible or the Greatest Thing I Have Ever Seen. While Kota Ibushi continues to be an impenetrable enigma, I’m quite certain that this was a great first match between two super talented guys.
The G1 Climax is the place where real life injuries are instantly turned into pro-wrestling storylines and thus I fucking loved EVIL going after Ibushi’s bad ankle like a complete GOTH ASSHOLE. Ibushi’s never been the greatest limb seller but he was on point here, probably because that ankle is legitimately destroyed. The one-legged springboard Moonsault thingy he pulled off was pure wrestling nerd gravy.
This weird thing happened where the whole match was Very Good Wrestling all the way through and then the last MINUTE or so was completely batshit with EVIL absolutely obliterating Ibushi with everything in his arsenal to the glorious sound of Milano Collection A.T. LOSING HIS GOD DAMNED MIND. Awesome. ****
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. KENTA – G1 Climax (Block A)
As the kids say, this was very much my shit. It felt like a direct sequel to the wonderful Tanahashi/Shibata beef of 2013-2014, with a hard-kicking outsider (Shibata’s BFF) trying to prove his worth as a New Japan roster member by battling it out with THE ACE. The whole thing felt very carefully laid out to maximize every big character moment, complete with comically-nervous spotcalling from KENTA, and it made for a much more satisfying match than Ibushi/KENTA.
Tanahashi’s insane superstar aura and popularity were a huge advantage here because it made KENTA’s assholery shine that much more. The tense slap opening and the spot where KENTA booted Tana in the head while he was air guitaring were flawless professional wrestling. Anything you needed to know about this match and these two characters was right there in these first few minutes.
In a way, this was the first G1 match of the year with some real palpable hatred and I just live for this kind of stuff. Beyond the big personality clash, the wrestling was pretty great too. Loved Tanahashi crushing KENTA with what looked like a SHOOT HIGH FLY ATTACK and KENTA slowly working towards the PK only for Tana to catch his damn leg because it’s been done to him a million times before by Shibata.
Tana blowing off the post-match handshake was Peak Asshole Tanahashi and I feel like there’s a lot more juice to these two together. They should literally mirror the initial Tana/Shibata beef and have them wrestle until KENTA finally wins Tanahashi’s respect and becomes a fully-fledged New Japan wrestler. Just do it Gedo, you know it’s good shit pal. ****1/4
Captain Lou’s G1 Climax 29 Match Rankings
- Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. KENTA (Block A) – ****1/4 7/14/19
- Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (Block A) – ****1/4 7/6/19
- Juice Robinson vs. Shingo Takagi (Block B) – **** 7/13/19
- Kota Ibushi vs. EVIL (Block A) – **** 7/13/19
- SANADA vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (Block A) – **** 7/6/19
- Will Ospreay vs. Lance Archer (Block A) – ***3/4 7/6/19
- Kazuchika Okada vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (Block A) – ***3/4 7/13/19
- John Moxley vs. Taichi (Block B) – ***1/2 7/13/19
- Will Ospreay vs. SANADA (Block A) – ***1/2 7/13/19
- Hirooki Goto vs. Jay White (Block B) – ***1/2, 7/13/19
- Kota Ibushi vs. KENTA (Block A) – ***1/2, 7/6/19
- Tetsuya Naito vs. Toru Yano (Block A) – ***1/4, 7/13/19
- Tomohiro Ishii vs. Jeff Cobb (Block A) – ***1/4, 7/13/19
- EVIL vs. Bad Luck Fale (Block A) – ***, 7/6/19
- Lance Archer vs. Bad Luck Fale (Block A) – **3/4, 7/13/19
