We're about half way through the G1 Climax now with several big matches still on the horizon.
Here's a reminder of where we are at at the moment for A Block.
A Block Standings After Night 7
Jay White (6 points)
EVIL (6 Points)
Hiroshi Tanahashi (6 Points)
Michael Elgin (4 points)
Togi Makabe (4 points)
Minoru Suzuki (4 points)
Kazuchika Okada (4 points)
Hangman Page (2 points)
Bad Luck Fale (2 points)
YOSHI-HASHI (2 points)
There's one match I'm not looking forward to today: YOSHI-HASHI vs. Okada. But Page vs. EVIL, Fale vs. White, and Suzuki vs. Elgin have me intrigued. Without further ado, HERE WE GO...
Undercard Notes
- We're getting Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tama Tonga tomorrow. More Tongan Shenanigans are likely to continue, but Sabre Jr. just tapped out Ishii. So, there's a chance Sabre Jr. could get the win. Today, we get the tag match preview with Sabre and Taka facing the G.O.D. Again, Taka Michinoku should always be Sabre's spokesperson. The pair just works. Tanga Loa, however, just had a breakout performance with his EXTREMELY NSFW introductions for the Guerrillas of Destiny.
- We're also getting Juice vs. Yano tomorrow as well. The tag match from today gave me enough hope to actually look forward to this match. Juice is the type of guy to react to Yano's shenanigans with equal shenanigans too. Their brief exchange during the tag match makes me thing we're in for a fun match tomorrow. But, for the love of God, I hope Juice finally gets the 2 points. Losing to Yano while still being U.S. Champion would break my brain cells.
- IBUSHI vs. ISHII!!!! Tomorrow is going to be awesome!!!!
- Sanada and Naito vs. Omega and Owens... I wonder who's taking the pin in this one? Lol. Anyways, I had SANADA upsetting Omega in the G1, and I maintain that prediction. SANADA needs a huge win, and this could be it. They also announce that Naito gets Goto tomorrow as well. That should be a fun match as well. And as predicted, Owens loses to DESTINOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
And now the G1 Climax music hits, meaning it's time for the A Block matches...
A Block Matches- Night 9
1) Minoru Suzuki (w/ El Desperado) vs. Michael Elgin- THIS IS GOING TO BE UGLY!!!! Suzuki with a big chop to Elgin early on. A few seconds later, Elgin gets a couple of his own. Big shoulder block by Big Mike knocks Suzuki down. Suzuki grabs Elgin's arm for a triangle armbar over the ropes, but Elgin picks him up and drops him to the floor. The attack goes to the outside (Suzuki's playhouse). Suzuki uses the referee as a distraction, along with El Desperado, and attacks Elgin with a chair from ringside. He starts bending and twisting Elgin's arm against the ringpost. They're going in the audience now! Suzuki wraps a chair around Elgin's arm and twists it. Chair to the gut by Suzuki. Suzuki stops the count from the ring, and he motions Big Mike to hit him at ringside. Suzuki takes Elgin's arm and twists it again, this time over the guard rail. Big Mike follows Suzuki back near the ring and chops him several times. Suzuki uses the guard rail again to twist the arm followed by a big boot. Suzuki and Elgin get back in the ring. 5 minutes have passed.
Chops by both men ended by an enziguri by Elgin. Elgin gets the powerslam on Suzuki. Elgin tries to use his arm to strike Suzuki, but he screams in pain. Springboard Splash on Suzuki, but Elgin lands on the arm. He's now using his left arm to clothesline Suzuki in the corner. Falcon Arrow by Elgin for a 2. Clubs to the back by Elgin using his left arm. Kick and a knee by Suzuki. PK Kick by Suzuki for a 2. Suzuki now targets the LEFT arm now, trying to injure both arms now! Wow. Twisting the left arm while making Elgin feel the pain on the right at the same time with an armbar. Elgin gets to the ropes. Suzuki kicks Elgin's head. Kicks and chops exchanged by both men. THUNDEROUS forearm by Suzuki. Suzuki tells him to "COME ON" and retaliate. Back and forth strikes by both men. Suzuki gets Elgin on the ropes. Ten minutes have passed. One big right jab by Elgin gets Suzuki off him. Szuuki is attacking that left arm with a variant of arm locks. Elgin picks up Suzuki and powerbombs him down off the arm. BIG clothesline with the right arm by Elgin. 1-2-Kickout. Elgin is going for the Buckle Bomb. It connects. He picks him up for the Elgin Bomb, but Suzuki escapes. Big forearm to the back of Suzuki's head. Tiger Bomb by Elgin. 1-2-Kickout! Forearms by Elgin against Suzuki on the ropes with the right arm. BIG RUNNING DROPKICK by Suzuki. Fist combos and open palm strikes by Suzuki. Choke by Suzuki countered into a Fireman's Carry countered into a suplex... COUNTERED INTO A GOTCH STYLE PILEDRIVER!!! SUZUKI HITS IT! 1-2-3!!!! Wow.
Winner: Minoru Suzuki (6 points)
Match Grade: B-. Fun match between two different styles of wrestling. I also liked the story being told with Suzuki targeting Elgin's arms to negate the strength that Elgin has. The finishing sequence was excellent with both men trying to hit that one last big move and Suzuki getting Elgin luckily in position for the GSP for the win. Suzuki now has won 3 matches in a row in the G1 after losing the first 2. Elgin is the opposite: losing 3 after winning the first 2. That's what I love about this tournament: You never know.
2) EVIL vs. Hangman Page- It's Hangman Page's 27th Birthday, and it's going to be an EVIL one. See what I did there? Waka Waka! Seriously, I'm looking forward to this match. Both men have wrestled at or around 54 minutes in the G1, according to Kevin Kelly.
Match starts immediately after the bell. Both go for their finisher early on, and Page takes a dive to the outside to gather himself. Headlock by EVIL followed by dueling shoulder blocks by both men. EVIL gets the better of the exchange, sending Page to the outside. EVIL follows, pushing the referee away. Page uses the moment to attack EVIl with a chair. EVIL dropped throat first on the guard rail. Page throws EVIL back in the ring. Page nails a DEADLIFT FALLAWAY BRIDGE SLAM for a 2. Chops by Page now followed by a choke using the top rope to EVIL's throat. EVIL responds with a chop but misses a senton. Page slapping the head of EVIL as 5 minutes have now passed. EVIL lands a thrust kick to Page's quad a few seconds later. EVIL clotheslines Page over the top to the outside. EVIL whips Page into the guard rails on three sides of ringside!!! Here come the chairs. EVIL wraps one chair around Page's neck and SWINGS FOR THE FENCES with the other! At 15, Page gets in only to eat a seated senton from EVIL for a 2.
Page is bleeding from the mouth. Happy Birthday, indeed. EVIL just gave him some stitches. Running dropkick by Page in the corner followed by a bridging German suplex for a 2. EVIL falls to the outside. Page goes to the top rope and NAILS a moonsault to the outside. EVIL is rolled in. Page goes back up the top rope and goes for a moonsault, misses, lands on his feet, and nails a standing shooting star press for 2!!! EVIL placed on the top rope. Page climbs up going for the neckbreaker. EVIL is knocked off instead. Page goes for a moonsault. EVIL stops him on the top rope, climbs up, and throws Page back into the middle of the ring. 1-2-Kickout. EVIL is grabbing his left knee now. DARKNESS FALLS by EVIL. 1-2-Kickout. EVIL is going for the EVERYTHING IS EVIL/STO. Page fights off and hits a superkick!!! Both slow to get back up. Both charge at each other in the middle of the ring twice. EVIL gets Page on the apron, turns around, and eats a BUCKSHOT LARIAT by Page for a 2!!! Page motions to the crowd for the Rite of Passage. 15 minutes have passed. Series of reversals. Headbutt and Lariat by EVIL for a 2. He motions for.... EVERYTHING IS EVIL!!!! IT CONNECTS! 1-2-3!!!! EVIL is the first to 8 points in the A Block!!!!
Winner: EVIL (8 Points)
Match Rating: B. A great match between two young talents. EVIL is having a great tournament thus far. Page is the Juice Robinson of this block: A guy with not a lot of points on the board, but he has had a series of great matches to show for his efforts. They aren't jobbing him out with these losses. Instead, they are building him up. (So far, A Block is having one of their better shows.)
3) Jay White vs. Bad Luck Fale (w/Tanga Loa)- Who is going to get DQed in this match? That's my question. Fale has probably broken the record for DQs in a G1, while Jay White has been cheating in every match so far himself. Two Heels are about to collide.
White crawls to the outside and attacks Loa on the outside. Fale gives chase to White. White attacks Fale as soon as he rolls in. Massive chop by White followed by a forearm and European Uppercut. Fale throws White headfirst into the corner!!! Fale gets a chair outside the ring distracting the ref. Say it with me folks: Loa attacks White on the outside while the referee is distracted. Have I seen this before? Yup. White rams Fale's back into the guard rails at ringside. White continues the attack into the crowd with Fale and throws Fale into the row of chairs there. White pressing the attack aggressively with punches to Fale. He throws a Young Boy onto Fale. He does this again to another Young Boy! He slams ANOTHER Young Boy onto the pile!!!!! Loa distracts White while FALE IS UP!!! Fale is attacking White now. White is thrown through his own rows of chairs at ringside. Well, this is a wild brawl.
White makes it back in the ring by 17. (5 minutes have passed.) Fale stands on White for a few seconds before mauling at him with Vader strikes at the corner. Slam by Fale but an elbow misses. It sounds like the English Announce Team bit the dust during that brawl. CHOPS by White to Fale followed by stomps at the knee. Dropkick to the knee now by White. He goes for the half-crab, but Fale just kicks him off. White ties up Fale in the ropes and unloads chop after chop on the big man. Running uppercut by White followed by a hanging DDT for a 2. Yep. That English Commentary team is like Jonathan Coachman's credibility: Gone. BIG Clothesline by Fale to White. SPLASH by Fale to White in the corner and again on the mat for a 2. BAD LUCK FALL.... escaped. Jay White goes for the German, but Fale just rams him backwards into the corner. SAITO SUPLEX by White on Fale! White's going for Blade Runner. Fale is too big, but White throws him backwards into the referee. 10 minutes have passed. Here comes Loa who unloads on White. And here comes Tonga. He lifts up a chair, puts it down, and goes to GUN STUN White. But he's thrown into Fale. CHAIR SHOT to Loa. LOW BLOW to Fale. White is smiling wickedly. GUN STUN from out of nowhere on White by Tonga!!! BAD LUCK FALL!!!!!! 1-2-3!!!! NO DQ?! REALLY?! Lol.
Winner: Bad Luck Fale (4 points)
Match Rating: C. WOW! No DQ in this one. This was a story of two cheaters going at it, with the younger cheater being no match for the group of hyenas outnumbering him. The match was fine for what it was: a wild brawl where both men did everything to get the 2 points. Fale just has more friends than White. Lol. With this loss, White is now 2 points off the lead after being dominant early in this tournament.
4) Togi Makabe vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi- The English Annonunce Team continues to be MIA after that last match. Two veterans of NJPW are about to go at it.
Makabe chants from the audience. Wow. Early tie up and arm twist by Tanahashi. Makabe reciprocates, continuing the wrist lock on Tanahashi. THERE'S KEVIN KELLY! They're back! Rocky Romero was working with the crew to get the commentary back on apparently. Headlock by Tanahashi now. Makabe shoulder blocks Tanahashi knocking him down. CLothesline in the corner by Makabe, and he's continuing to press the attack. Slam by Makabe. Twisting Toe Hold by Makabe on The Ace, who gets to the ropes. X2 on that one as tehy do the same thing again. Tanahashi tries to strike Makabe, but Makabe no sells and knocks Tanahashi back to the corner. Tanahashi nails a springboard crossbody off the middle rope. Forearm attack by The Ace. Middle Rope Senton by Tanahashi in the corner for a 2. "Go Ace" from the audience. Makabe fights out of the corner and starts working on Tanahashi on the opposite corner, nailing the rapid punches. Northern Lights Suplex for a 2 by Makabe. Clothesline by Makabe to Tanahashi. Dragon Screw on the leg by Tanahashi. Sling Blade countered into a powerslam by Makabe. "Makabe" from the crowd. They are trading forearms now. Now they are working in uppercuts, punches, clotheslines, and... A HUGE CLOTHESLINE by Makabe knocks The Ace down. Powerbomb. 1-2-Kickout.
A lariat by Makabe gets 2. Ten minutes have passed now. Clothesline in the corner to The Ace. Makabe is going for the Spider German in the corner. Tanahashi is fighting him off, but Makabe continues to hold on and fight back. Tanahashi turns around on the top rope, but he eats a Belly to Belly off the corner. Tanahashi avoids the knee from Makabe and hits the Sling Blade. HIGH FLY FLOW by The Ace. He's going for another one. HIGH FLY FLOW!!!! 1-2-3. EVIL and Tanahashi lead the A Block now past tonight no matter what happens in the main event.
Winner: Hiroshi Tanahashi (8 points)
Match Grade: C. The crowd liked this more than I did. It was an average match, but there was little memorable about this one. I've liked Makabe against other Strong Style wrestlers. But he and Tanahashi just had an average match you'd find on regular TV. Big story here is that Tanahashi has now risen to share the lead in the G1 now going into the next night of A Block action.
5) Kazuchika Okada vs. YOSHI-HASHI- A jobber main events the A Block against Okada. Let's be clear: Hell will freeze over before YOSHI-HASHI ever gets booked to beat Okada. But Okada will make him look good, as Flair did against countless other people several steps below him on the pecking order.
Okada throws his shirt at HASHI, who immediately attacks Okada and sends him to the outside. HASHI throws Okada to the guardrail and another one across ringside!!! Okada reverses a third attempt, sending HASHI into the guardrail and booting him over it. Okada throws HASHI into the row of seats in the audience and throws chairs on top of him. The count is on. Okada goes back out after HASHI and nails a hanging DDT off the guardrail. The count starts again. It gets to 18 before HASHI rolls back in. The poor commentary team keeps having trouble as Okada works on HASHI's arm. HASHI tries to fight off Okada with punches, but Okada nails an uppercut at the 5 minute mark. HASHI moves out of an Okada dive into the corner. HASHI tries to suplex Okada into the neckbreaker position and nails it after fighting with Okada for a good 15 seconds. Big chop by HASHI followed by a Headhunter. Okada is on the apron. HASHI nails him with a chop and dropkicks Okada on the back while he's hanging off the ropes for a 2. Okada backdrops HASHI. Flapjack by Okada now. Uppercut x3 by Okada with HASHI in the corner now.
Okada reverses a powerbomb into a hurricanrana. Okada with a running dropkick sends HASHI flying back into the corner. Okada climbs the ropes and nails a flying dropkick to HASHI, sending him again flying backwards into the corner. Overhead sitting neckbreaker by Okada to HASHI. 10 minutes have passed now. RAINMAKER!!!!!!!! 1-2-KICKOUT! HASHI kicked out! Tombstone attempt. HASHI rolls through for 2. HASHI reverses a RAINMAKER into one of his own!!!!!! Powerbomb into a jackknife pin combination. 1-2-kickout. Double knee pinfall attempt now for 2. HASHI climbs the ropes but misses the swanton. Okada dropkicks HASHI to the back of the head and again while sending HASHI to the ropes. RAINMAKER countered into a Butterfly Lock by HASHI. HASHI stays persistant with the lock. Okada gets him up and off him. But seconds later, HASHI puts him back in the Butterfly Lock. Okada goes for the ropes, but he can't get there yet. Okada almost taps. 15 minutes have passed. Okada is crawling to the ropes, but HASHI continues to pull him away from them. Okada finally gets to the ropes.
YOSHI-HASHI kicks at Okada's head and chest. And now, Okada is just getting angry. Forearm wakes up Okada. Okada responds with multiple forearms. HASHI responds back with forearms of his own. Western Lariat by HASHI for a close 2. Openhand slap by HASHI followed by a superkick. Brainbuster Variant by HASHI gets a close 2. He's going for Karma but gets a backcracker. Okada counters Karma into a tombstone. SPINNING RAINMAKER by Okada. RAINMAKER! 1-2-3.
Winner: Kazuchika Okada
Match Rating: B-. I can only go so high on a YOSHI-HASHI match. Okada made HASHI look better than he had any right looking. But it's still YOSHI-HASHI. Congratulations to Okada for doing everything in his power to make him look good. I'm being generous at putting it at B-. Nothing about HASHI made me believe he had a shot in this.
Show Rating: B-. There weren't any truly terrible matches on this show tonight. When your worst match is probably a very acceptable Fale vs. White match, you can't be low on a show. It's still not up to the level of the B Block, but they are doing a fair enough job with these matches. This was an average night, but it was a much better average night than the previous A Block show. The matches may have not been stellar, but they were very good at least.
A Block Standings After Night 9
EVIL (8 Points)
Hiroshi Tanahashi (8 Points)
Jay White (6 points)
Minoru Suzuki (6 points)
Kazuchika Okada (6 points)
Bad Luck Fale (4 points)
Michael Elgin (4 points)
Togi Makabe (4 points)
Hangman Page (2 points)
YOSHI-HASHI (2 points)
Until tomorrow, take care of yourselves and spread some awesomeness.
Here's a reminder of where we are at at the moment for A Block.
A Block Standings After Night 7
Jay White (6 points)
EVIL (6 Points)
Hiroshi Tanahashi (6 Points)
Michael Elgin (4 points)
Togi Makabe (4 points)
Minoru Suzuki (4 points)
Kazuchika Okada (4 points)
Hangman Page (2 points)
Bad Luck Fale (2 points)
YOSHI-HASHI (2 points)
There's one match I'm not looking forward to today: YOSHI-HASHI vs. Okada. But Page vs. EVIL, Fale vs. White, and Suzuki vs. Elgin have me intrigued. Without further ado, HERE WE GO...
Undercard Notes
- We're getting Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tama Tonga tomorrow. More Tongan Shenanigans are likely to continue, but Sabre Jr. just tapped out Ishii. So, there's a chance Sabre Jr. could get the win. Today, we get the tag match preview with Sabre and Taka facing the G.O.D. Again, Taka Michinoku should always be Sabre's spokesperson. The pair just works. Tanga Loa, however, just had a breakout performance with his EXTREMELY NSFW introductions for the Guerrillas of Destiny.
- We're also getting Juice vs. Yano tomorrow as well. The tag match from today gave me enough hope to actually look forward to this match. Juice is the type of guy to react to Yano's shenanigans with equal shenanigans too. Their brief exchange during the tag match makes me thing we're in for a fun match tomorrow. But, for the love of God, I hope Juice finally gets the 2 points. Losing to Yano while still being U.S. Champion would break my brain cells.
- IBUSHI vs. ISHII!!!! Tomorrow is going to be awesome!!!!
- Sanada and Naito vs. Omega and Owens... I wonder who's taking the pin in this one? Lol. Anyways, I had SANADA upsetting Omega in the G1, and I maintain that prediction. SANADA needs a huge win, and this could be it. They also announce that Naito gets Goto tomorrow as well. That should be a fun match as well. And as predicted, Owens loses to DESTINOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
And now the G1 Climax music hits, meaning it's time for the A Block matches...
A Block Matches- Night 9
1) Minoru Suzuki (w/ El Desperado) vs. Michael Elgin- THIS IS GOING TO BE UGLY!!!! Suzuki with a big chop to Elgin early on. A few seconds later, Elgin gets a couple of his own. Big shoulder block by Big Mike knocks Suzuki down. Suzuki grabs Elgin's arm for a triangle armbar over the ropes, but Elgin picks him up and drops him to the floor. The attack goes to the outside (Suzuki's playhouse). Suzuki uses the referee as a distraction, along with El Desperado, and attacks Elgin with a chair from ringside. He starts bending and twisting Elgin's arm against the ringpost. They're going in the audience now! Suzuki wraps a chair around Elgin's arm and twists it. Chair to the gut by Suzuki. Suzuki stops the count from the ring, and he motions Big Mike to hit him at ringside. Suzuki takes Elgin's arm and twists it again, this time over the guard rail. Big Mike follows Suzuki back near the ring and chops him several times. Suzuki uses the guard rail again to twist the arm followed by a big boot. Suzuki and Elgin get back in the ring. 5 minutes have passed.
Chops by both men ended by an enziguri by Elgin. Elgin gets the powerslam on Suzuki. Elgin tries to use his arm to strike Suzuki, but he screams in pain. Springboard Splash on Suzuki, but Elgin lands on the arm. He's now using his left arm to clothesline Suzuki in the corner. Falcon Arrow by Elgin for a 2. Clubs to the back by Elgin using his left arm. Kick and a knee by Suzuki. PK Kick by Suzuki for a 2. Suzuki now targets the LEFT arm now, trying to injure both arms now! Wow. Twisting the left arm while making Elgin feel the pain on the right at the same time with an armbar. Elgin gets to the ropes. Suzuki kicks Elgin's head. Kicks and chops exchanged by both men. THUNDEROUS forearm by Suzuki. Suzuki tells him to "COME ON" and retaliate. Back and forth strikes by both men. Suzuki gets Elgin on the ropes. Ten minutes have passed. One big right jab by Elgin gets Suzuki off him. Szuuki is attacking that left arm with a variant of arm locks. Elgin picks up Suzuki and powerbombs him down off the arm. BIG clothesline with the right arm by Elgin. 1-2-Kickout. Elgin is going for the Buckle Bomb. It connects. He picks him up for the Elgin Bomb, but Suzuki escapes. Big forearm to the back of Suzuki's head. Tiger Bomb by Elgin. 1-2-Kickout! Forearms by Elgin against Suzuki on the ropes with the right arm. BIG RUNNING DROPKICK by Suzuki. Fist combos and open palm strikes by Suzuki. Choke by Suzuki countered into a Fireman's Carry countered into a suplex... COUNTERED INTO A GOTCH STYLE PILEDRIVER!!! SUZUKI HITS IT! 1-2-3!!!! Wow.
Winner: Minoru Suzuki (6 points)
Match Grade: B-. Fun match between two different styles of wrestling. I also liked the story being told with Suzuki targeting Elgin's arms to negate the strength that Elgin has. The finishing sequence was excellent with both men trying to hit that one last big move and Suzuki getting Elgin luckily in position for the GSP for the win. Suzuki now has won 3 matches in a row in the G1 after losing the first 2. Elgin is the opposite: losing 3 after winning the first 2. That's what I love about this tournament: You never know.
2) EVIL vs. Hangman Page- It's Hangman Page's 27th Birthday, and it's going to be an EVIL one. See what I did there? Waka Waka! Seriously, I'm looking forward to this match. Both men have wrestled at or around 54 minutes in the G1, according to Kevin Kelly.
Match starts immediately after the bell. Both go for their finisher early on, and Page takes a dive to the outside to gather himself. Headlock by EVIL followed by dueling shoulder blocks by both men. EVIL gets the better of the exchange, sending Page to the outside. EVIL follows, pushing the referee away. Page uses the moment to attack EVIl with a chair. EVIL dropped throat first on the guard rail. Page throws EVIL back in the ring. Page nails a DEADLIFT FALLAWAY BRIDGE SLAM for a 2. Chops by Page now followed by a choke using the top rope to EVIL's throat. EVIL responds with a chop but misses a senton. Page slapping the head of EVIL as 5 minutes have now passed. EVIL lands a thrust kick to Page's quad a few seconds later. EVIL clotheslines Page over the top to the outside. EVIL whips Page into the guard rails on three sides of ringside!!! Here come the chairs. EVIL wraps one chair around Page's neck and SWINGS FOR THE FENCES with the other! At 15, Page gets in only to eat a seated senton from EVIL for a 2.
Page is bleeding from the mouth. Happy Birthday, indeed. EVIL just gave him some stitches. Running dropkick by Page in the corner followed by a bridging German suplex for a 2. EVIL falls to the outside. Page goes to the top rope and NAILS a moonsault to the outside. EVIL is rolled in. Page goes back up the top rope and goes for a moonsault, misses, lands on his feet, and nails a standing shooting star press for 2!!! EVIL placed on the top rope. Page climbs up going for the neckbreaker. EVIL is knocked off instead. Page goes for a moonsault. EVIL stops him on the top rope, climbs up, and throws Page back into the middle of the ring. 1-2-Kickout. EVIL is grabbing his left knee now. DARKNESS FALLS by EVIL. 1-2-Kickout. EVIL is going for the EVERYTHING IS EVIL/STO. Page fights off and hits a superkick!!! Both slow to get back up. Both charge at each other in the middle of the ring twice. EVIL gets Page on the apron, turns around, and eats a BUCKSHOT LARIAT by Page for a 2!!! Page motions to the crowd for the Rite of Passage. 15 minutes have passed. Series of reversals. Headbutt and Lariat by EVIL for a 2. He motions for.... EVERYTHING IS EVIL!!!! IT CONNECTS! 1-2-3!!!! EVIL is the first to 8 points in the A Block!!!!
Winner: EVIL (8 Points)
Match Rating: B. A great match between two young talents. EVIL is having a great tournament thus far. Page is the Juice Robinson of this block: A guy with not a lot of points on the board, but he has had a series of great matches to show for his efforts. They aren't jobbing him out with these losses. Instead, they are building him up. (So far, A Block is having one of their better shows.)
3) Jay White vs. Bad Luck Fale (w/Tanga Loa)- Who is going to get DQed in this match? That's my question. Fale has probably broken the record for DQs in a G1, while Jay White has been cheating in every match so far himself. Two Heels are about to collide.
White crawls to the outside and attacks Loa on the outside. Fale gives chase to White. White attacks Fale as soon as he rolls in. Massive chop by White followed by a forearm and European Uppercut. Fale throws White headfirst into the corner!!! Fale gets a chair outside the ring distracting the ref. Say it with me folks: Loa attacks White on the outside while the referee is distracted. Have I seen this before? Yup. White rams Fale's back into the guard rails at ringside. White continues the attack into the crowd with Fale and throws Fale into the row of chairs there. White pressing the attack aggressively with punches to Fale. He throws a Young Boy onto Fale. He does this again to another Young Boy! He slams ANOTHER Young Boy onto the pile!!!!! Loa distracts White while FALE IS UP!!! Fale is attacking White now. White is thrown through his own rows of chairs at ringside. Well, this is a wild brawl.
White makes it back in the ring by 17. (5 minutes have passed.) Fale stands on White for a few seconds before mauling at him with Vader strikes at the corner. Slam by Fale but an elbow misses. It sounds like the English Announce Team bit the dust during that brawl. CHOPS by White to Fale followed by stomps at the knee. Dropkick to the knee now by White. He goes for the half-crab, but Fale just kicks him off. White ties up Fale in the ropes and unloads chop after chop on the big man. Running uppercut by White followed by a hanging DDT for a 2. Yep. That English Commentary team is like Jonathan Coachman's credibility: Gone. BIG Clothesline by Fale to White. SPLASH by Fale to White in the corner and again on the mat for a 2. BAD LUCK FALL.... escaped. Jay White goes for the German, but Fale just rams him backwards into the corner. SAITO SUPLEX by White on Fale! White's going for Blade Runner. Fale is too big, but White throws him backwards into the referee. 10 minutes have passed. Here comes Loa who unloads on White. And here comes Tonga. He lifts up a chair, puts it down, and goes to GUN STUN White. But he's thrown into Fale. CHAIR SHOT to Loa. LOW BLOW to Fale. White is smiling wickedly. GUN STUN from out of nowhere on White by Tonga!!! BAD LUCK FALL!!!!!! 1-2-3!!!! NO DQ?! REALLY?! Lol.
Winner: Bad Luck Fale (4 points)
Match Rating: C. WOW! No DQ in this one. This was a story of two cheaters going at it, with the younger cheater being no match for the group of hyenas outnumbering him. The match was fine for what it was: a wild brawl where both men did everything to get the 2 points. Fale just has more friends than White. Lol. With this loss, White is now 2 points off the lead after being dominant early in this tournament.
4) Togi Makabe vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi- The English Annonunce Team continues to be MIA after that last match. Two veterans of NJPW are about to go at it.
Makabe chants from the audience. Wow. Early tie up and arm twist by Tanahashi. Makabe reciprocates, continuing the wrist lock on Tanahashi. THERE'S KEVIN KELLY! They're back! Rocky Romero was working with the crew to get the commentary back on apparently. Headlock by Tanahashi now. Makabe shoulder blocks Tanahashi knocking him down. CLothesline in the corner by Makabe, and he's continuing to press the attack. Slam by Makabe. Twisting Toe Hold by Makabe on The Ace, who gets to the ropes. X2 on that one as tehy do the same thing again. Tanahashi tries to strike Makabe, but Makabe no sells and knocks Tanahashi back to the corner. Tanahashi nails a springboard crossbody off the middle rope. Forearm attack by The Ace. Middle Rope Senton by Tanahashi in the corner for a 2. "Go Ace" from the audience. Makabe fights out of the corner and starts working on Tanahashi on the opposite corner, nailing the rapid punches. Northern Lights Suplex for a 2 by Makabe. Clothesline by Makabe to Tanahashi. Dragon Screw on the leg by Tanahashi. Sling Blade countered into a powerslam by Makabe. "Makabe" from the crowd. They are trading forearms now. Now they are working in uppercuts, punches, clotheslines, and... A HUGE CLOTHESLINE by Makabe knocks The Ace down. Powerbomb. 1-2-Kickout.
A lariat by Makabe gets 2. Ten minutes have passed now. Clothesline in the corner to The Ace. Makabe is going for the Spider German in the corner. Tanahashi is fighting him off, but Makabe continues to hold on and fight back. Tanahashi turns around on the top rope, but he eats a Belly to Belly off the corner. Tanahashi avoids the knee from Makabe and hits the Sling Blade. HIGH FLY FLOW by The Ace. He's going for another one. HIGH FLY FLOW!!!! 1-2-3. EVIL and Tanahashi lead the A Block now past tonight no matter what happens in the main event.
Winner: Hiroshi Tanahashi (8 points)
Match Grade: C. The crowd liked this more than I did. It was an average match, but there was little memorable about this one. I've liked Makabe against other Strong Style wrestlers. But he and Tanahashi just had an average match you'd find on regular TV. Big story here is that Tanahashi has now risen to share the lead in the G1 now going into the next night of A Block action.
5) Kazuchika Okada vs. YOSHI-HASHI- A jobber main events the A Block against Okada. Let's be clear: Hell will freeze over before YOSHI-HASHI ever gets booked to beat Okada. But Okada will make him look good, as Flair did against countless other people several steps below him on the pecking order.
Okada throws his shirt at HASHI, who immediately attacks Okada and sends him to the outside. HASHI throws Okada to the guardrail and another one across ringside!!! Okada reverses a third attempt, sending HASHI into the guardrail and booting him over it. Okada throws HASHI into the row of seats in the audience and throws chairs on top of him. The count is on. Okada goes back out after HASHI and nails a hanging DDT off the guardrail. The count starts again. It gets to 18 before HASHI rolls back in. The poor commentary team keeps having trouble as Okada works on HASHI's arm. HASHI tries to fight off Okada with punches, but Okada nails an uppercut at the 5 minute mark. HASHI moves out of an Okada dive into the corner. HASHI tries to suplex Okada into the neckbreaker position and nails it after fighting with Okada for a good 15 seconds. Big chop by HASHI followed by a Headhunter. Okada is on the apron. HASHI nails him with a chop and dropkicks Okada on the back while he's hanging off the ropes for a 2. Okada backdrops HASHI. Flapjack by Okada now. Uppercut x3 by Okada with HASHI in the corner now.
Okada reverses a powerbomb into a hurricanrana. Okada with a running dropkick sends HASHI flying back into the corner. Okada climbs the ropes and nails a flying dropkick to HASHI, sending him again flying backwards into the corner. Overhead sitting neckbreaker by Okada to HASHI. 10 minutes have passed now. RAINMAKER!!!!!!!! 1-2-KICKOUT! HASHI kicked out! Tombstone attempt. HASHI rolls through for 2. HASHI reverses a RAINMAKER into one of his own!!!!!! Powerbomb into a jackknife pin combination. 1-2-kickout. Double knee pinfall attempt now for 2. HASHI climbs the ropes but misses the swanton. Okada dropkicks HASHI to the back of the head and again while sending HASHI to the ropes. RAINMAKER countered into a Butterfly Lock by HASHI. HASHI stays persistant with the lock. Okada gets him up and off him. But seconds later, HASHI puts him back in the Butterfly Lock. Okada goes for the ropes, but he can't get there yet. Okada almost taps. 15 minutes have passed. Okada is crawling to the ropes, but HASHI continues to pull him away from them. Okada finally gets to the ropes.
YOSHI-HASHI kicks at Okada's head and chest. And now, Okada is just getting angry. Forearm wakes up Okada. Okada responds with multiple forearms. HASHI responds back with forearms of his own. Western Lariat by HASHI for a close 2. Openhand slap by HASHI followed by a superkick. Brainbuster Variant by HASHI gets a close 2. He's going for Karma but gets a backcracker. Okada counters Karma into a tombstone. SPINNING RAINMAKER by Okada. RAINMAKER! 1-2-3.
Winner: Kazuchika Okada
Match Rating: B-. I can only go so high on a YOSHI-HASHI match. Okada made HASHI look better than he had any right looking. But it's still YOSHI-HASHI. Congratulations to Okada for doing everything in his power to make him look good. I'm being generous at putting it at B-. Nothing about HASHI made me believe he had a shot in this.
Show Rating: B-. There weren't any truly terrible matches on this show tonight. When your worst match is probably a very acceptable Fale vs. White match, you can't be low on a show. It's still not up to the level of the B Block, but they are doing a fair enough job with these matches. This was an average night, but it was a much better average night than the previous A Block show. The matches may have not been stellar, but they were very good at least.
A Block Standings After Night 9
EVIL (8 Points)
Hiroshi Tanahashi (8 Points)
Jay White (6 points)
Minoru Suzuki (6 points)
Kazuchika Okada (6 points)
Bad Luck Fale (4 points)
Michael Elgin (4 points)
Togi Makabe (4 points)
Hangman Page (2 points)
YOSHI-HASHI (2 points)
Until tomorrow, take care of yourselves and spread some awesomeness.
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