Continuing to work through the shows I missed on vacation as I begin reviewing the 5th Night of G1 Climax 28 action. This show should be another interesting one with Okada facing Hangman Page as well as Hiroshi Tanahashi facing Bad Luck Fale, among other A Block matches.
Again, there will probably be no undercard reviews as I'm working hard to get caught up on the shows. If anything significant happens in the undercard, I'll write my thoughts. Without further delays, HERE WE GO!!!!
Undercard
- I took a couple minutes to watch Kenny Omega and Chase Owens vs. Guerrillas of Destiny. Not surprised to see Chase Owens take the loss again. But again, they are pushing this new faction of the Bullet Club hard. Tonga nailed Omega twice with a Gun Stun: once during the match, another about 2 minutes after the match ended out of nowhere. I'm anxious to see how this match turns out in the B Block.
- I didn't get to read much in spoilers while I was gone, but I did hear great things about Ishii vs. Goto. So, I'm again looking forward to seeing that match hopefully tonight.
A Block Matches- Night 5
1) Jay White vs. Michael Elgin- Battle of the Unbeatens in the A Block. Elgin tells Jay to bring it. White tries to suplex Elgin, but Elgin reverses it into a pin attempt. Elgin shrugs off a chop and nails White with two chops of his own. Elgin nails a diving torpedo through the ropes to White. Elgin and White go to the outside. Elgin gets two chairs behind a guard rail and attempts to suplex White into the seats at ringside, but White reverses by dropping Elgin rib first into the rails. Then White nails a Saito Suplex on the outside. Then, White nails Elgin with repeated attacks against the edge of the ring and the guard rail.
White is back in the ring, trying to move Big Mike. But he eats another chop. I don't think the chops are going to work for White in this match. White executes the Float Over STF on Elgin, but Elgin gets to the ropes. White holds on to the last possible second before breaking the hold. Elgin executes a springboard stomp on White. Forearm by Elgin leading to an offensive flurry. Big enziguri by Elgin to White. (By the way, if White wins this, he would have beaten four former world champions in this year. Elgin is a former ROH World Champion.) Elgin gets White on the top turnbuckle, but White goes for Elgin's eyes. Another Saito Suplex in the ring from White. Uranage by White to Elgin gets a 2.
White and Elgin trade punches and chops back and forth with White falling to Elgin's massive chops. BARE ELBOW FOREARM shot to White produces a loud smack. White fights back, but Elgin nails the enziguri again! Elgin charges at White, but White nails the Flatliner followed by a delayed German suplex. 10 minutes have passed.
German Suplex by Elgin to White against the corner pad! He's going for the Buckle Bomb. White tries to fight it. Elgin hooks the arms, but White picks him up for a back suplex attempt. White nails Rolling Head and Arm suplexes. Elgin nails one of his own and places White on the top rope. Elgin climbs the top rope and NAILS a massive superplex into the ring for a CLOSE 2. Elgin climbs the ropes and nails a splash off the ropes for another CLOSE 2 count. Elgin is going for the Buckle Bomb, but White drives him against the other corner. Elgin places White on his shoulders, but White gets on the apron. Elgin is behind him, looking to hit a Snap Dragon on the apron. White reverses it and nails a Flatliner on the apron. White goes for a KIWI Crusher on the apron, but Elgin is too big. They both end up CRASHING on the floor outside the ring. Ouch.
Elgin almost doesn't get in before the 20. Sleeper Suplex on Elgin's head!!! Blade Runner countered. MASSIVE SPINNING ELBOW to the back of White's head. Another Rolling Elbow. A running clothesline!!!! TIGER BOMB! 1-2-KICKOUT!!!! WOW! Elgin picks him up for a Buckle Bomb. But White grabs the referee and pulls him in with him. The referee is down. LOW BLOW TO ELGIN!!!! BLADE RUNNER! 1-2-3!!!! OH MY GOD!
Winner: Jay White (6 Points)
Match Rating: B+. Great match between Elgin and White that could have gone either way. White continues to be the breakout star of this tournament as he's now beaten 3 world champions in this tournament (4 in the whole year that I can remember). Elgin has also had a great performance this tournament as well. It's going to be hard for anything else on this show to top this performance.
2) Minoru Suzuki vs. YOSHI-HASHI- This should be what the doctor ordered for Suzuki's G1 record. YOSHI-HASHI goes right after Suzuki!!!! Shoulder block knocks Suzuki down. They are now brawling on the outside. Suzuki thrown chest first into the guard rail. HASHI blocks a chair shot attempt. MASSIVE CHOPS by HASHI. Suzuki grabs HASHI's arm, twists it against the ringpost, and nails a chair shot on the arm while it is against the post. HASHI is thrown into and over the guardrail into the crowd. Suzuki drills HASHI with a chair to the back and to the ribs repeatedly in the crowd. HASHI makes it in before the 20 count. Suzuki locks in a triangle lock on HASHI's arm in the ropes for a 4 count break by the ref. Suzuki is maliciously going after the shoulder at this point. HASHI chops Suzuki twice, only to eat a stiff forearm by Suzuki. Suzuki goes for the PK, but HASHI blocks it and hits a DDT. HASHI presses the attack to Suzuki, including a dropkick to Suzuki's back and a blockbuster from the ropes for a 2.
HASHI chops Suzuki, but Suzuki grabs the arm and locks in an armbar. HASHI gets to the ropes. Suzuki now attacking with kicks to the arm. Rear Naked Choke applied by Suzuki. He goes for the Gotch Piledriver, but HASHI backdrops him instead. HASHI mounts a comeback and locks in the butterfly lock. Suzuki gets his foot on the rope. Ten minutes have passed. Armbar by Suzuki is countered into a Butterfly Lock. Suzuki is having difficulty getting to the ropes! He gets it finally. Backstabber by HASHI. He's going for Karma, but Suzuki elbows out. RUNNING DROPKICK NAILS HASHI! RAPID STRIKES by Suzuki. INSIDE CRADLE by HASHI gets a close 2. Suzuki nails a stiff forearm to HASHI. He locks in the Gotch Style Piledriver. 1-2-3.
Winner: Minoru Suzuki (2 points)
Match Rating: D+. This is not an offense to either man, but the result was never really in question to me. HASHI is the jobber of this tournament, and Suzuki more than carried him in my opinion in this match.
Suzuki tortures Kevin Kelly after the match by threatening to punch him.
3) EVIL vs. Togi Makabe- EVIL walks by the English announcers. Rocky: Hey, EVIL. Kevin: Only in pro wrestling will you hear someone say "Hey, EVIL."
Both men trade shoulder blocks and chops. Makabe clotheslines EVIL down. They are on the outside, trading forearms. Makabe THROWS EVIL into the guard rail but misses a splash into him, eating the rail himself. EVIL nails the double chair shot on Makabe, twisting the chair on Makabe's neck. They continue to fight into the audience, going up into the stands!!! Hey, that's Hiromu's territory! (A Super Junior's joke if you watched that tournament.) EVIL charges at Makabe (ala Hiromu), but Makabe ducks and nails a big clothesline on EVIL. (Something tells me they did that as a tribute to Hiromu specifically. It was too similar not to be).
Hey, there's a ring in this match. Did you know that? Because they found it finally. Makabe nails EVIL with standing ten punches on the corner. EVIL nails a thrust kick to the midsection. EVIL works over Makabe in the corner, including a running seated senton. EVIL tries for a submission, but Makabe pulls the hair to get out. EVIL gets him back into the submission seconds later. EVIL with a Fisherman Buster. Kickout at 2 by Makabe. DARKNESS FALLS, but Makabe kicks out at 2! EVIL motions to the crowd. He goes for the finish, but Makabe gets out. They are trading lariats now. Both men are crashing into each other with these lariats, and EVIL goes down finally. Makabe runs into EVIL's clothesline. EVERYTHING IS EVIL! 1-2-3.
Winner: EVIL (4 points)
Match Rating: C-. I liked this a little bit more than Suzuki vs. HASHI. But this still was a good few steps behind the opening block match. Unlike Makabe's match with Suzuki, his match with EVIL didn't capture the epic "Strong Style" formula they may have been trying to go for.
4) Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bad Luck Fale (w/ Tanga Loa)- Will Fale try to win this match or will he sacrifice another 2 points just to prove a point for The Tongans again? Let's find out.
TANAHASHI HITS A RUNNING DROPKICK once the bell rings. He's attacking Fale's knee immediately in the corner. He rolls through an attack by Fale and chop blocks him. Continued kicks at Fale's knee. Fale goes after Tanahashi again only to be caught in a leg lock. The Ace has a game plan tonight. TANAHASHI NAILS A CANNON BALL ON FALE OFF THE APRON ON THE OUTSIDE. Fale reverses a whip and throws Tanahashi up and over the barricade onto the announce tables at ringside. Fale gets a chair to distract Red Shoes (the referee). Meanwhile, Loa attacks Tanahashi on the outside. Here comes Fale, who tells the audience behind them to move. He throws Tanahashi into the chairs at ringside and goes back into the ring.
Fale stands on Tanahashi as soon as he gets back in the ring. Fale is working on Tanahashi's back. Fale slams Tanahashi down and sits on him for a 2 count. Nerve hold on Tanahashi by Fale. Tanahashi gets out and begins striking at Fale, only to get a forearm for his trouble. In the corner, Fale nails Vader-like strikes in the corner to Tanahashi. Tanahashi drop kicks at Fale's knees 3 times. Tanahashi goes for a Straight Jacket Suplex, but Fale blocks it. DRAGON SCREW to Fale's leg. Tanahashi is going for the Texas Cloverleaf, but can he turn him over? HE GETS HIM OVER!!!! Fale uses his leg strength to propel Tanahashi all the way outside the ring. Tanahashi rolls back in the ring. Fale tries to chase him back in, but Tanahashi DRAGON SCREWS his leg against the middle rope. Tanahashi goes for the Sunset Flip, but Fale SITS on him for a close 2. Fale nails a big splash on Tanahashi for another 2 count. Tanahashi runs at Fale, but he eats a clothesline. Tanahashi avoids a Grenade by Fale, but he eats a Samoan Drop for a 2 count. Bad Luck Fall attempt here by Fale. He has Tanahashi up, but Tanahashi reverses it into a roll up. Fale stops another cradle attempt, but The Ace nails a Twist and Shout followed by a Slingblade!!!! He goes for the HIGH FLY FLOW, but there's no water in the pool on that attempt!!!!
FALE CRUSHES TANAHASHI in the corner. GRENADE by FALE! 1-2- KICKOUT!!!!!!!! BAD LUCK FALL countered into a SLINGBLADE!!!! HIGH FLY FLOW!!!!! 1-2-LOA pulls the referee out! He's attacking Tanahashi!!!! 15 minutes have passed, but so has a clean finish to this match!!!! Tanahashi ducks out of a clothesline by Fale, who nails Loa by accident. SLING BLADE on FALE! But Tama Tonga runs in and GUN STUNS Tanahashi. Fale covers Tanahashi, and the referee is rolled in. The referee counts to one... as in 1 finger on each hand pointed right at the Tongans and calls for the bell!!!!! He's DQ'ed Fale!!!!! TANAHASHI WINS!!!!!
Winner: Hiroshi Tanahashi (4 points)
Match Rating: B-. I know it was another screwy finish, but I really liked this match while it lasted. Tanahashi fought the odds against Loa and Fale's massive size. This advances the Tongans' rampage against all of NJPW and Tanahashi's attempt to stay healthy throughout the G1. I liked the opening match better, but this was near the same level from a couple perspectives.
After the match, The Tongans attack the referee, the Young Boys, and Tanahashi in the ring
5) Hangman Page vs. Kazuchika Okada- Okada is desperately needing 2 points at the moment, while Page could really use another couple points to stay in the conversation of potential Block A winners. Okada gets Page against the ropes and does the clean break. With these goofy mannerisms that Okada is showing lately, he's reminding me of Nakamura. Page catches Okada while he's talking to the crowd, knocking him to the outside. Then he nails a dive elbow drop to the outside on Okada. "This is Okada, now." Page rolls Okada back in and nails a Fisherman Suplex bridge for 2. Page continues to work on Okada with chops in the corner. "This is him now," Page yells to the crowd. Okada misses a senton bomb and takes a standing shooting star press by Page for 2. Okada catches Page with a DDT and begins an offensive strike. Page fires back with strikes of his own, only to eat a flapjack for a 2 count. Okada dropkicks Page off the top rope to the outside. Okada throws Page into the guard rail and kicks him over the top of it into the audience. Drapping DDT countered into a Buckshot Clothesline by Page over the barricade. That's new.
Page tries a top-rope moonsault to Okada in the ring, but Page misses him. Page with a Tombstone Cradle! 1-2-Kickout! Page goes for the Rite of Passage, but Okada grabs the rope to get out. Okada and Page now on the top rope. Attempted superplex by Page, but Okada forearms him off temporarily. Page gets back up and NAILS a Top-Rope NECKBREAKER to Okada. Okada rolls out to the floor to avoid the pinfall attempt. Page climbs the top rope and NAILS a top rope MOONSAULT to Okada on the outside. BUCKSHOT LARIAT to OKADA! 1-2-Kickout! He's going for the Rite of Passage, but Okada rolls him up. Page lands on his feet from a German Suplex attempt. Corner Dropkick by Page. Tombstone by Okada!!!!
15 minutes have passed. They are trading blows, each trying to counter the other. DROPKICK by Okada. Rainmaker ducked. Superkick by Page. Buckshot Lariat countered into a Rainmaker countered into a Powerbomb by Page! 1-2-Kickout. Roaring Elbow by Page. Page eats a spinning lariat by Okada and then succumbs to the RAINMAKER.
Winner: Okada (2 points)
Match Rating: B-. Good match overall by both men. Page looks good even in defeat. Okada needed the victory given he's already lost two matches in the tournament, and he's at a certain level where he needs wins eventually.
Show Rating: B-. This was a step down from the previous two nights in my opinion. YOSHI-HASHI has no business being in this tournament, and the Evil/Makabe match was just there to me. But the opening match and the last two matches of this show helped make up for them. Still a solid show overall though.
A Block Standings After Night 5
Jay White (6 points)
Michael Elgin (4 points)
Togi Makabe (4 points)
EVIL (4 points)
Hiroshi Tanahashi (4 points)
Hangman Page (2 points)
Bad Luck Fale (2 points)
Minoru Suzuki (2 points)
Kazuchika Okada (2 points)
YOSHI-HASHI (0 points)
Take care of yourselves and spread some awesomeness.
P.S. 2 more shows to review until I get caught up!!!! Can I do it before succumbing to sleep tonight? Let's find out.
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