Here it is: The penultimate show of the A Block. Believe it or not, A Block is done until Friday after this event. So, they get a good 4 day rest before next weekend's big 3 show finale.
Here are the A Block Standings After Night 13:
Hiroshi Tanahashi (12 Points)
Jay White (10 points)
Kazuchika Okada (10 points)
EVIL (8 Points)**
Minoru Suzuki (8 points)**
Bad Luck Fale (6 points)**
Michael Elgin (6 points)**
Togi Makabe (4 points)**
Hangman Page (4 points)**
YOSHI-HASHI (2 points)**
** Eliminated from contention of winning the block.
Here are the matches for today:
Kazuchika Okada vs. EVIL
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Michael Elgin
Jay White vs. Togi Makabe
Hangman Page vs. Minoru Suzuki
Bad Luck Fale vs. YOSHI-HASHI
This could be a very big show. It could also be the very definition of a throwaway show, depending on how things unfold. All three of the eligible winners could win which means only White would be mathematically eliminated. All three could lose, in which case White would need to beat EVIL on Friday and hope for Okada to beat Tanahashi in the finals. White has a tiebreaker over both Okada and Tanahashi. So he should win all tiebreakers.
HERE WE GO!!!!
Undercard Notes
- THE STONE PITBULL starts us off, coming off the HUGE win yesterday over Kenny Omega. He teams up with SHO to face Juice Robinson and Shota Unimo. Decent enough tag match. Unimo got a chance to show a little bit of promise. Ishii and Juice provided a good preview of their match.
- David Finlay and Toa Henara face SANADA and Tetsuya Naito. What does this preview? Well, Naito is facing SANADA tomorrow. Both have been cold towards each other once it was announced they were in the same block. More tensions are teased between the two of them. The announcers put over the fact that Naito has to win all his remaining matches, and he needs Omega to lose all of his matches. (I can see a scenario where Naito gets himself involved in Yano vs. Omega just to make sure Omega loses, such as lowblowing Yano to cause the DQ.) Oh. And David Finlay and Toa Henare were in this match too. They might as well have been two faceless jobbers for this match.
After the match, Naito goes for the fist bump. SANADA just knows better, but he fist bumps him anyways. Naito sends him into the corner, but SANADA jumps over and goes for the springboard dropkick. Naito ducks under. SANADA lands on his feet, and Naito does the Tranquilo pose. Good setup for their match Wednesday.
- Zack Sabre Jr. and Taka team up against Hirooki Goto and YOH. Goto vs. Sabre could be an awesome match Wednesday as well. YOH gets the win over Taka for his team.
- G.O.D team up against Kota Ibushi and Yujiro Takahashi, setting up the Tonga vs. Ibushi match on Wednesday. The Tongans offer Yujiro a chance to turn on Ibushi and join them, but Yujiro stays loyal to The Elite. The end comes when Loa pins Yujiro after hitting the Ape---(Rikishi Driver. I just can't type it folks).
- Gedo and Yano take on Chase Owens and Kenny Omega. Omega supposedly has six stitches on his bottom lip from last night. Owens pins Gedo after the cradle package piledriver. It's Omega vs. Yano on Wednesday. Here's hoping Omega doesn't lose to a guy like Yano.
The G1 Theme plays, and HERE WE GO!
A Block- Night 15
1) Bad Luck Fale (w/ Tanga Loa) vs. YOSHI-HASHI- Bad Luck Fale is the only man in this tournament to not be pinned or submitted. The ring announcer is chased out, and Loa continues his gimmick of doing the ring announcing for Fale. It's the DQ King vs. The King of Jobbers. SOMETHING HAS TO GIVE!!!!
The bell rings. HASHI attacks early on at Fale. But Fale nails HASHI in the midsection. HASHI comes off the ropes to shoulder tackle Fale (is he nuts?). After 2 failures, Loa trips him up on the third try, and Fale throws him outside. Loa nails a brainbuster on HASHI on the outside. Fale is coming out after HASHI now. Barricade toss to HASHI by Fale. Fale is back in the ring. The count is on. At 12, HASHI gets in, and Fale (stop me if you've heard this 7 times by now) stands on HASHI when he gets in the ring. Fale continues hitting HASHI, targeting the injured shoulder. Fale goes for a pin, but he gets only a 2. HASHI trying to fight back, but Fale is having none of it. Dropkick to the Knee by HASHI followed by the Head Hunter neckbreaker. Forearms by HASHI to Fale. Clothesline into the corner by HASHI. Top Rope Blockbuster by HASHI for a 2. HASHI is trying to Fisherman Buster Fale (idiot), but Fale knocks him over when he fails. BIg splash on the mat by Fale only gets a 2. Big flying lariat by HASHI gets a 2. HASHI climbs up the ropes, but Loa distracts him. HASHI punches Loa on the apron. But Fale picks up Hashi off the top. HASHI tosses Fale into Loa and gets a roll up for 2. Kick to the midsection of Fale. HASHI tries to reverse a Samoan Drop into a rollup, and Fale misses a sitdown splash for a close 2 by HASHI. HASHI gets Loa out of the ring and goes on the attack on Fale. He has Fale in a armbar submission hold, but Tonga comes in and nails him with a chair for the DQ. He continues to attack HASHI with the chair. Young Lions try to help, but they get knocked down.
Winner: YOSHI-HASHI (4 points)
Match Grade: F. I'm done with this. This is just more Tongan stuff. It was cute the first 4 times it has happened, but the 12th or 13th time just kills it for me.
After the match, Tonga goes into the crowd and puts his hand around the throat of a fan. A Young Lion tries to get Tonga away, but Tonga takes him out with the chair. (Guessing the fan was a plant or was in on it at least?) HASHI charges Tonga down the losers aisle, but Tonga nails him some more with the chair, sending part of it FLYING off.
**Update: Listening to POST Wrestling's G1 Climax coverage for this show. A fan who was at the show reported that the fan involved in the incident was NOT a plant. He had caused a lot of the wrestlers in the undercard to look at him as he was yelling at them the entire time. Tonga and him apparently had words during the undercard. And this was Tonga coming out to the crowd and legitimately putting his hand on the fan. Wow. That's uncalled for and should be grounds for suspension and/or firing if it is true. ** (Credit to POST WRESTLING's Patreon feed for this news. I definitely recommend it folks. It's worth the $6. http://www.postwrestling.com)
2) Minoru Suzuki (w/El Desperado) vs. Hangman Page- KAZE NI NARE!!!! Page jumps Suzuki to start the match. Page is throwing Suzuki around ringside. Desperado is sent flying. They are fighting up the aisleway. Page is taking Suzuki back to the entrance area down by the fans. Page gets on the top of the stage. MOONSAULT OFF THE STAGE onto Suzuki and Desperado down on the concrete! Wow!!!! Page drags Suzuki back and throws him into the ring. I didn't see this happening. 1-2- Kickout!!!! Suzuki with a wristlock now on Page!!!!!! Page and Suzuki are back outside. The guardrail meets Page's back. Suzuki has Page in the audience on the opposite side of the arena. Chair thrown on Page. Suzuki is angry. Guardrail put on Page. Chairs thrown on the guardrail on top of Page now. Suzuki gets another guardrail and throws it on Page's back! Suzuki walks back into ringside. Suzuki tells the referee to shut up after telling him to get into the ring. He's manhandling the referee. Here comes Page, and there goes Page into the guard rail again. Another chair shot on Page's back!!!!! The countdown is on. Suzuki gets back in the ring. 5 minutes have passed.
Suzuki continues the attack in the ring. Page gets a desperation clothesline out of the corner. Page continues the attack with forearms to Suzuki. Page with multiple clotheslines and a running dropkick into the corner. Suzuki is down!!!! Deadlift Fallaway Slam Bridge for a 2. Suzuki is again looking P.O'ed!!!!! It's about to be on folks. Page punches him and Suzuki follows with a combination of punches and a knee. Running kick into the corner and a PK kick for a 2. Armbar by Suzuki who now locks in both arms. Page gets to the ropes. The King is now hot! He's kicking Page's head saying "Come on." Page and Suzuki trade forearms now. Suzuki: "COME ON BOY!" Spit by Page followed by punches. Page: "Come On A----le!" Suzuki with multiple forearms, palm strikes, and a slap. 10 minutes have passed.
Buckshot Lariat avoided by Suzuki and a choke is on! Page gets out of the piledriver and nails a Roaring Elbow. Kick to Suzuki. Elbow pad is off. Page NAILS the Buckshot Lariat! Page is up. He's getting Suzuki up for the Rite of Passage, but Suzuki reverses into the choke. Page is fading. He's fighting back now, but Suzuki holds on. He goes for the piledriver, but PAGE REVERSES INTO THE RITE OF PASSAGE OUT OF NOWHERE!!!!!! 1-2-3!!!! PAGE BEATS SUZUKI!!!!
Winner: Hangman Page (6 points)
Match Grade: B. That might be high, but I really liked this match. Page brought it the entire match to Suzuki, took his best offense, and finally gets the G1 performance he needed to validate this entire trip to Japan. Suzuki just gets caught by Page and doesn't lose a dang thing. I agree with the announce team: Page got the biggest win of his career tonight.
3) Jay White vs. Togi Makabe- HARD chop by Switchblade followed by more strikes and uppercuts. More chops to Makabe. White with an elbow and more chops. Makabe gets him with a shoulder tackle. They are outside. And White gets whipped into the guard rail, but Makabe runs into the rail. Ringpost shot by White to Makabe. White propels Makabe into another rail, knocking it down. White with the multiple shots to Makabe between the ring frame and the guard rail in front of the English Announce Table. They lost a monitor this time and not their whole audio. So, it's a good day for them. They are back in the ring. Makabe is getting angry, but White is just torying with him. A slap to Makabe's head. Makabe with punches, but White gets a chop and uppercut in. Powerslam by Makabe. Running clothesline and ten punches in the corner by Makabe. White blocks a suplex attempt, but he runs into a clothesline for a 2 count. Back elbows by White, but he gets caught in a Northern Lights Suplex for a 2. Hard chop by White followed by a Snap Saito Suplex. Spinning Brainbuster for a close 2 by White. 5 minutes have passed. That's it?!
BIG forearm shots by White. Makabe: "Come On!" Hard chop and forearms by White. Repeat 2 times. Makabe takes a running clothesline and doesn't go down. He takes another one, but on the third, he catches him with a clothesline. 3 HARD chops by White. Makabe gets White down, but White gets the Flatliner and the Deadlift German Suplex. Makabe just gets right back up and knocks White down. Makabe gets White up in the corner. He's going for the Spider Suplex. White is fighting it. Makabe gets the Belly to Belly off the rope instead. White has the referee in the path of a knee drop. Makabe comes down. Blade Runner countered into a German Suplex and a clothesline for a 2 by Makabe. Bodyslam by Makabe. He goes back up for the knee drop. White avoids it, rolling inward towards the corner! White goes back out getting chairs from underneath the ring. He brings one in, but he eats a clothesline by Makabe into the chair in his face. Makabe gets thrown into the referee. White pie-faces Makabe with the chair at the 10 minute mark. Blade Runner connects. 1-2-3.
Winner: Jay White (12 points)
Match Grade: C. Another Jay White match. It was about as generic as it can be. Another former IWGP Heavyweight Champion falls to White. Regardless of whether he gets the A Block victory or not, this has been a great tournament for him. He's beaten 4 former world champions on his way to 12 points.
4) Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Michael Elgin- Elgin and Tanahashi collide with an early clean break. This may be a battle of whose body gives out first. Tanahashi going for a test of strength against Elgin. They lock hands. Even with a torn bicep, Elgin overpowers Tanahashi. Both hands now locked on the injured arm of Elgin, but Elgin is still stronger than Tanahashi. Tanahashi fakes a clean break and gets a headlock in, but Elgin shoulder tackles The Ace twice. Tanahashi gets a hip toss on Elgin now. Elgin catches Tanahashi in a springboard, and he slams Tanahashi flat off his shoulders onto the mat (Reverse Alabama Slam). Elgin gets a backbreaker in for a 2. Slam by Elgin followed by the slingshot splash for a 2. Elgin and Tanahashi exchange shots. Tanahashi trying to fight back, but Elgin stops the momentum. Tanahashi gets a flying forearm in finally. 5 minutes have passed.
Tanahashi tries to slam Elgin but can't. Both men catch the other's foot down. They place it down at the same time. Dragon Screw Leg Whip eventually connects by The Ace. Elgin responds with one of his own! Belly to Belly Suplex by Elgin to The Ace. Elgin is selling the shoulder on his other arm. Elgin runs into the corner and nails a Falcon Arrow on Tanahashi for a 2. Big chop by Elgin. He picks up Tanahashi on the top corner. Tanahashi slides out. He goes for a big belly to back suplex out of the corner. But Elgin gets him off, but Tanahashi responds with a Dragon Screw sending Elgin off the top turnbuckle back on the mat! Cloverleaf by Tanahashi now, dragging Elgin to the center of the ring. Elgin just powers out. Tanahashi is almost sent over the top rope, but he skins the cat and gets Elgin with a head scissors, sending him over the ropes. Ten minutes have passed.
Elgin catches Tanahashi on the top rope and connects with an enziguri. Elgin climbs the top rope with Tanahashi. He is going for the superplex and CONNECTS!!!! 1-2-Kickout! Elgin picks up Tanahashi for a Tiger Bomb. Tanahashi rolls through, but Elgin counters that into a deadlift powerbomb. The Ace's head hits the mat, but he kicks out at 2. Elgin is going for the Powerbomb. Buckle Bomb connects, but The Ace hits Sling Blade. 1-2-kickout. Crucifix Pin for a 2 as well for Tanahashi. Elgin fights out of a Dragon Screw with an enziguri. Rolling Germans by Elgin, but Tanahashi is fighting it out after #1. Big forearm by Elgin!!!! TWIST AND SHOUT by Tanahashi! Sling Blade!!! He's climbing up!!!! HIGH FLY FLOW is rolled through!!!!! Series of counters and reversals here. Elgin powers out of a straight jacket suplex. BIG clothesline by Elgin!
Elgin tells Tanahashi to get up at 15 minutes. Big clothesline with the injured arm. SPLASH MOUNTAIN BY ELGIN ONLY GETS A 2.9999!!!!! WOW! This is great! Elgin is getting fired up!!! Elgin gets the Buckle Bomb. Elgin Bomb is escaped!!! Tanahashi trips up Elgin into a roll-up! 1-2-3!!!! Tanahashi's face after the match was priceless, like he knew he just pulled the rabbit out of his hat. Elgin and Tanahashi shake hands after the match.
Winner: Hiroshi Tanahashi (14 points)
Match Grade: A-. They had me here for a good portion of the match. They both played up their injuries, and Elgin in particular shined by hitting some big offensive moves that had you believing he would win. The energy from the crowd helped as well as it made it feel like a big time match.
5) EVIL vs. Kazuchika Okada- I don't think there's a chance in hell EVIL wins this now. But I've been wrong before. As different as Okada and EVIL were last year in their entrances, they are even more different this year with Okada's new love of balloons.
The bell rings. Crowd sounds 50/50. EVIL takes an early headlock advantage. Shoulder tackle by EVIL and a big clothesline for a close 2. EVIL is going for the win out of the gate. But EVIL gets caught in Okada's overhead neckbreaker. Okada and EVIL both roll out of the ring. EVIL's at home outside. Wow! Both men reverse whips into the rail, but EVIL gets Okada at the end with a vicious strike against the rail. EVIL has the chairs, places one around his neck, and throws Okada into the ring post. EVIL rolls back in the ring. The count finally starts as the referee gives Okada a second due to the chair. (NJPW referee discretion kills me.) Okade gets in at 14. Arm wrench and twists by EVIL followed by a ButterFly Lock into a stomp by EVIL for a 2. BIG chop by EVIL x3 into Okada in the corner. 1-2-Kickout. Chin Lock by EVIL with the knee in Okada's back. Okada is fighting back. EVIL with a sidewalk slam on Okada for a 2. (Okada almost slid out of this.) EVIL gets caught by a desperation DDT by Okada. Kip Up by Okada. Big sliding forearm strikes by Okada, followed by the flying back elbow. FLAPJACK by Okada for a 2. He's going for the Tombstone, but EVIL blocks it. Uppercut by Okada. Big back elbow into the corner by Okada. EVIL prevents the dropkick in the corner. He avoids another dropkick and drops down with a senton. EVIL is on the ring frame with Okada. They're fighting back and forth. Okada is sent into the barricade off the ring frame by EVIL who followed him down. Ten minutes have passed.
EVIL takes Okada up the ramp. Darkness Falls is countered into a DDT by Okada. Big thud. Okada rolls back and backs up. Big running dropkick by Okada sends EVIL flying and rolling back down the ramp to ringside. The count is on. Both men back in. Running Dropkick again by Okada sending EVIL flying back into the corner. Okada is climbing the top rope and hits the diving dropkick flipping EVIL backwards!!! Tombstone again blocked by EVIL. But Okada gets him up. EVIL blocks again. Kicks Okada in the gut, puts Okada up with his feet on Red Shoes' (the ref) shoulders, and connects with a Magic Killer taking down both Okada and the referee. Geez! That's new. The referee is back up and in the ring. Okada is in the corner. EVIL charges, but Okada gets the boot up. x2. But on the third charge, EVIL gets the clothesline. DARKNESS FALLS only gets a 2. 15 minutes have passed. That's it?!
EVIL signals for the end. Evil's finish is countered. EVIL avoids a dropkick and a Rainmaker, but EVIL responds with a Rainmaker of his own!!!! 1-2-kickout. Half and Half Suplex on Okada. EVIl hits a big lariat for a very close 2 count!!! EVIL is going for it again. OKADA blocks EVERYTHING IS EVIL with an EVERYTHING IS EVIL of his own! 1-2-kickout. Another fun match here. Okada picks up EVIL. Dropkick to the back. Tombstone on EVIL. Okada is feeling it. EVIL avoids the Rainmaker and hits one of his own!!! Spinning Rainmaker by Okada!!! Rainmaker by Okada. 1-2-3!!!! Wow! That was a great finish.
Winner: Kazuchika Okada (12 points)
Match Grade: A-. EVIL and Okada did a great job playing off the previous match between the two of them, making you wonder the entire time if EVIL could pull the upset. The finishing sequence in particular was spectacular with both men counting each other's main maneuvers. Okada has scored 6 wins in a row now after losing his first 2.
Show Rating: B+. Two of the matches reached A- levels in my opinion. And there was an excellent Suzuki vs. Page match as well. Unfortunately, we had just an ok Jay White match with Makabe. And the Tongan nonsense continues in the tournament. In the end though, this was a very solid show. And now, bring on Tanahashi vs. Okada!!!!!
A Block Standings After Night 15
Hiroshi Tanahashi (14 Points)
Jay White (12 points)
Kazuchika Okada (12 points)
EVIL (8 Points)**
Minoru Suzuki (8 points)**
Bad Luck Fale (6 points)**
Michael Elgin (6 points)**
Hangman Page (6 points)**
Togi Makabe (4 points)**
YOSHI-HASHI (4 points)**
** Eliminated from contention of winning the block.
_ _ _ _
The Scenarios for Friday
So, where are we now? Simple. Here's how the finale wraps up: Jay White needs to win against EVIL Friday, and he needs Okada to beat Tanahashi. Okada needs to beat Tanahashi and Jay White to lose. Tanahashi needs to win or draw. A draw would put Tanahashi at 15, propelling him to the Finals. Something tells me EVIL is going to play spoiler for White. That way, it really comes down to Okada vs. Tanahashi.
_ _ _ _
And with that, it's time to close this thing off. We have only 4 shows left. B Block returns on Wednesday for their penultimate show. Then, we get 3 straight days of G1 action with the Block and tournament finals happening Friday-Sunday. It's going to be awesome.
Check out any of the previous reviews on my page using the Table of Contents tab. And spread the word to any of your wrestling fan friends. ALSO, BE SURE TO VOTE ON THE NEXT CLASSIC EVENT REVIEW THAT I DO. (It should be on the main page still.) Until next time, take care of yourselves and spread some awesomeness.
Comments
Post a Comment