Here they go again, another round of tournament rematches from New Japan that the folks were asking questions about a few cycles ago. The work is reliable, the work rarely stinks, but it takes something extra special to give the work a spark. There’s also a pandemic.
Here I go again too, 7AM in the morning and distracting myself from the unclear asks of Corporate America with the power of round-robin Strong Style. Maybe I have a problem or maybe this is just my happy place leave me alone.
Jay White, Juice Robinson and Will Ospreay all skipped the tournament, not major losses until you realize in their place were Chase Owens and each individual Guerilla of Destiny. First timer O-Khan in for Minoru Suzuki on legend excursion feels just fine though, and I full gulped writing that.
Ladies and gentleman…
NJPW G1 CLIMAX 31 NIGHT 1 (9/18/21)
1. SHO vs. Ryohei Oiwa
I don’t have much read on young Ryohei Oiwa right now: he seems as well-trained and packed with potential as many of the lions who came before him, while the amateur wrestling background will serve him well. Right now though, he just has a job to do: runs down the ramp, gets thrown into a rail, fires off a dropkick and finally submits to bad guy SHO.
2. G1 Climax – Block A: Kota Ibushi vs. Yujiro Takahashi
Ibushi and Yujiro opened up G1 Climax 31 with a good match that had zero energy, notable anyways due to “The Tokyo Pimp” Yujiro Takahashi pinning Kota Ibushi. I didn’t buy much of it but ol’ Yooj throws hands, a boot to the face, and Ibushi high in the air for an Olympic slam — then after a pair of solid near falls he wins too. He just wins. **3/4
3. G1 Climax – Block A: Great-O-Khan vs. Tanga Loa
Ayyyy, First Timer’s Club! Just relax yourselves and go follow Ibushi with a 17-minute wrestling match. This didn’t fall off the rails or anything but all I truly recall is Tanga Loa making fun of O-Khan’s poses for a second. Without that moment of levity all we had here was these two trying to have a… shudder a good, solid match. *3/4
4. G1 Climax – Block A: Toru Yano vs. KENTA
KENTA mocking Yano’s hold-the-ropes shtick is a great bit, though it makes the second match in a row where the best part just called attention to how repetitive a guys’ act is. They had a real local kind of crowd-pleaser type of match here, though in the context of a G1 Climax it was just a bad one. *3/4
5. G1 Climax – Block A: Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Though it can still provide incredible peaks on occasion, Naito’s start slow then go balls out approach can misfire as much as it hits, especially in the clap crowd environment. Thankfully, Zack Sabre has both the credibility and ability to make him try something new and it’s to all our benefit.
Trading the usual neck work and generalized dicking around for Naito having to find ways out of Zack’s intricate bullshit holds made for a much more interesting first 15, and actually most of the match was ZSJ on offense until Naito just succumbed to the fight and tapped out.
Similar to their tag series over the summer, this was a good match that felt like it was missing something — though a few days later it was announced Naito was pulling out of the tournament with a knee injury — so maybe it was just that. ***1/4
6. G1 Climax – Block A: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Shingo Takagi
The classics are the classics. After seeing Ishii and Shingo collide in the G1 the third year in the row, my thoughts are this: the first match still feels like their best, a raucous pre-COVID atmosphere where Shingo emerged yet again as a breakout talent (though I’m not sure then I would have predicted IWGP Champion). Their second is the one that feels most impressive, both guys powering through an era of crowds that seemed to always be recalibrating themselves.
This still rules though, the two realest wrestlers going just battering each other. They don’t break the vibe either, neither willing to admit he’s hurting even if he and his opponent are throwing an inhuman amount of energy behind every chop, headbutt, and so on.
Whether by close near fall, well-timed counter, or a man doing extraordinary things in pursuit of survival, the New Japan formula relies more than most on the element of surprise. I mean, the idea of one human let alone two delivering and absorbing this punishment is shocking… but not surprising: There wasn’t much surprise here though, and no “oh wow” moment (or six) that can sometimes take these things over the edge.
Still though: awesome match from two of the lifeforces of modern G1. Neither was formally trained in the New Japan system but here they were, continuing some interpretation of its’ tradition and headlining while doing so. ****
NJPW G1 CLIMAX 31 NIGHT 2 (9/19/21)
1. SHO vs. Kosei Fujita
I don’t have much read on young Kosei Fujita right now: he seems as well-trained and packed with potential as many of the lions who came before him, while the amateur wrestling background will serve him well. Right now though, he just has a job to do: runs down the ramp, gets thrown into a rail, fires off a dropkick and finally submits to bad guy SHO. Wait—
2. G1 Climax – Block B: YOSHI-HASHI vs. EVIL
YOSHI-HASHI is clocked in and back to work, Mr. G1 not only providing the tournament an interesting dynamic beyond “good match” or “Jado and Dick Togo” but also being one of the best examples of guy who does step up their game for the G1 Climax. Like, Yujiro kicking out of an Ibushi signature is neat — YOSHI-HASHI choosing violence is compelling.
The timing helps too, another low key thing YOSHI seems really good at from an outsider’s point of view. Any punk can take a whip into an exposed turnbuckle and respond with a lariat, they can superkick away a possible counter from their opponent… but the real pros know how to make it count and really pop a crowd.
Both really laid all Their Shit in here too, especially an early chop and shoulderblock from YOSHI that really set a tone. All this and EVIL gets slapped by the referee. Good guy, bad guy, good match. ***1/2
3. G1 Climax – Block B: Jeff Cobb vs. Chase Owens
One of those matches that pops up in the G1 when you have just violently fucked up in your lowering of expectations, though there was a period not so long ago where Doc Gallows and Bad Luck Fale kept ending paired up so maybe I should just skim and be thankful.
There’s places and scenarios either can excel in but this here right now didn’t feel like one of them. Cobb went for the back after a belly-to-belly on the floor, then Owens hit a crap neckbreaker and began to wrestle. As they exchanged moves and eventually headed to a close, the crowd woke up a little even if it felt like their general demeanors were like, “should we clap? I guess we should clap?” Felt appropriate. *3/4
4. G1 Climax – Block B: SANADA vs. Tama Tonga
Like Tanga Loa’s Night 1 match, an ambitious amount of time (20 minutes) got allocated and it wasn’t a disaster… just kind of a silly way to spend that amount of time. Tama Tonga showed off his sub-Switchblade abdomen and cranked a couple chinlocks, while SANADA did a Paradise Lock and at least three backflips. **
5. G1 Climax – Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. Taichi
New Japan is going through some things but here’s some hard work to get through the messy, another pair of guys who step up for G1 season by bringing the pain and excitement into every match. Here Goto sells and sells whether being choked with electrical wire or perfectly kicked in the face, and that selling ensures the people are losing it for — or at least invested in — his stoic and focused comeback. It doesn’t reach that Completely Epic Feel but is still probably better than like 95% of active wrestling. ***1/2
6. G1 Climax – Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada
They’ve gone a little dormant but it’s not like Tanahashi and Okada don’t remain among the best in the world, if not still just the best outright. They rely more on brain over braun, but otherwise this is similar to the Ishii/Shingo Night 1 match: great wrestling that’s happened before, in Tanahashi and Okada’s case on bigger stages too.
They hit the mat and find a pace and build to a crescendo that actually does manage some surprises ranging from the Money Clip countering High Fly Flow to the fact that so little attention to the time limit draw that was nearing — in a good way. I liked the approach.
Early on there are plenty of headlocks and chinlocks and the occasional selling quirk from Tanahashi if he got caught in something. Okada eventually smashes him with a DDT on the floor, just perfectly placed execution from both parties. Tanahashi soon catches Okada with a dragon screw leg whip, and they keep it conservative for a while: Okada target neck, Tana target leg. Body parts, baby.
Instead of theatrics over going for a flash cradle, they power through with a bunch of great false finishes: Okada sets up Rainmaker, Tana fires back with a Sling Blade. Tana tries High Fly Flow, Okada puts knees up. Okada lights Tanahashi up with three Rainmakers.. well yeah that might actually do it.
In just under the 30 minutes they brought their crowd out of COVID hibernation and developed another proud entry into their G1 series. ****1/4
Happy Thoughts: Even before Naito had to drop out this wasn’t a very promising block lineup, but G1 season can bring the best work out of unexpected places. For the first two nights though, all the best work was mostly found in the the expected places: both main events were excellent, their semi-mains very good, and YOSHI-HASHI’s G1 pursuit is back. Good, just not totally G1-ish. 3.0 / 5.0
