If this is the only thing that I do
If this is our last time face to face
I’ll never get too far without you
What’s gonna fill this empty space?
The more that I say, the less it matters
So, how do I put this into words?
I never imagined what comes after
Don’t think I could feel that kind of hurt
Okay…
1. Yuya Uemura vs. Yota Tsuji
This was the second 15-minute draw for Tsuji on this tour, a match that began as your everyday rock solid Young Lions match with a few extra spices before closing as this intense battle for supremacy with neither guy backing down despite getting slapped in the face, like, REALLY hard.
Cool spot in the middle where Tsuji whips Uemura into the corner and backs up to prepare for an attack, but Uemura charges first and nails a back elbow, popping commentary – the PROGRESSION of this young man! Tsuji gets revenge later when he absorbs a few elbows and Uemura on the rebound with an incredible spear. They throw slaps and try to win with rollups but the bell rings and then they just claw at each other on the mat. Good wrestling. ***1/4
2. G1 Climax – Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. Toru Yano
At some point a guy had to tell Yano to just knock it off. He threw the t-shirt gimmick at Goto, who instead of trying it on… threw it back. Then Goto knocked Yano down and trapped him in a cradle for 3. This match was 18 seconds. ***
3. G1 Climax – Block B: SANADA vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
They did a few cradle pin teases early on here that were so good I thought New Japan might do two 30-second matches in a row. The rest of the match was basically 15 minutes of cool stuff, lots of tricky matwork and smooth counters before SANADA just won with a moonsault. Cool stuff that didn’t quite come together, these two are a case of great chemistry without a great match yet. ***
4. G1 Climax – Block B: Juice Robinson vs. EVIL
For some reason EVIL is the new Bad Luck Fale, a big slow guy who relies on crappy interference spots more than anything else. Usually that means the matches are a bummer, but once in a while somebody comes along with a good enough hook and takes it somewhere pleasant. Babyface Robinson was that hook this time, and EVIL still sells well enough that they were able to build some great drama at the end as they teased the possibility of a Juice win. ***1/2
5. G1 Climax – Block B: Tetsuya Naito vs. YOSHI-HASHI
YOSHI-HASHI sort of showed up like he usually does now, but there wasn’t enough energy from either side for this to hit. A lack of energy may be both guys’ thing, but come on – this is the IWGP Champion against the aloof underdog. Naito should at a minimum be a LITTLE better at putting something together. *3/4
6. G1 Climax – Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. KENTA
KENTA just beat up old Hiroshi for this entire thing and usually KENTA in control conjures up nightmarish memories of Hideo Itami yelling out “RESPECT MEEEE!” before applying his rear chinlock, but here it brought back some distant dream of that guy in NOAH who used to be good. Like in last year’s match between them, the babyface stylings of Tanahashi were the right stuff to bring back the meanest and most interesting version of KENTA there might be. He kept trying to break Tana’s leg before Tana just wrecked his and won with a Texas Cloverleaf. ***3/4
Happy Thoughts: Another mid-range show, though there were a lot of low key highlights here: great Young Lions match, Goto breaking Yano, and a return to form for KENTA among them. 6/10
