The G1 Climax separates New Japan from the rest of its competition. 1 month full of wrestling action that culminates in one man emerging as the #1 Contender for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. The tournament has a lot of ups and downs throughout, and it leads to a chaotic final 3 night span of the tournament for the block finals and for the tournament final itself.
2016 was itself a chaotic year for New Japan. Having lost four of its biggest stars including AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura, New Japan was looking more to wrestlers such as Tetsuya Naito and Kenny Omega to emerge as main-event level acts for the company to build around. Naito had captured the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for a short run earlier in the year, while Omega was building himself as the leader of the Bullet Club and having just completed a run as IWGP Intercontinental Champion. So, as destiny and Gedo's booking would have it, Omega and Naito would meet in the finals of their block to determine who would face Hirooki Goto in the G1 Climax 26 Finals.
Let's Do This!!! But first, cue that awesome G1 music please to get us in the mood...
G1 Climax 26, B Block Final
August 13, 2016
Tetsuya Naito vs. Kenny Omega
**Click on this link in order to watch the match: Omega vs. Naito (G1 Climax 26, B Block) .
Naito is in a position here where he does not have to beat Omega. All he has to do is tie him in order to advance to the finals. Omega comes into this looking to be the first Canadian born wrestler to get to the G1 Finals.
Naito gets a loud "NAITO" chant as he comes out in the white suit, cape, and the mask. Omega is shown on camera saying "I'm not impressed." Lol. Naito takes his good ol' time taking the suit off, making Omega wait in the corner.
The bell rings! Remember, 30 minutes is all they get in a G1 Climax match. Both men slow to start the match, building up the anticipation. Omega finally has enough and goes off on Naito in the corner. Nice sequence ends with Naito rolling into the Tranquilo pose. Omega just spits down at Naito! Now, it's a spitting contest!!!! Omega rakes Naito's eye and spits at him 3 times. Lol. Again, a very nice sequence leads to Naito dropkicking Omega's leg. Running Dropkick into the corner. Naito now targets Omega's knee with frequent kicks and attacks. And a spit for Omega's trouble. Naito again jams the knee, looking to stop Omega's ability to hit a lot of his high-impact moves like V-Trigger.
Naito gets sent out to the floor by Omega. Omega jumps over the top, and he lands on his feet coming down, jamming his knee. Naito, who avoided the attack, dropkicks the leg of Omega. Naito goes to whip Omega into the rail, but Omega's leg just buckles before he can make impact. But Omega suckers Naito in to ram him against the rail. A SICK SLAM AGAINST THE SIDE OF THE RING BY OMEGA!!!! My lower back hurts just looking at that.
Naito gets back in around 14. Suplex Neckbreaker against the bad knee by Omega who sells pain from hitting the move. 2 count. Omega now looks to establish his dominance in the match, focusing on the head and neck of Naito, likely trying to build up to his V-Trigger/One Winged Angel finisher. HARD CHOP by Omega. Rude Awakening by Omega for a 2. ANOTHER SERIES OF HARD CHOPS by Omega! Omega goes for "You Can't Escape," but the flip over hurts his knee and gives Naito the time to dropkick his bad knee while in the ropes. (Great storytelling and selling by Omega here as he continues to sell the knee. Naito, for his part, has been his usual awesome self up to this point, building up the anticipation for what he will do next.)
Ten minutes have passed. Naito now builds up momentum and hits some hard-hitting offense of his own. The classic Naito corner dropkick followed by the slingshot dropkick. And again, Omega unloads with a big chop. Naito continues to attack Omega's knee and locks in a modified Figure Four leglock (focusing almost all his effort on the bad leg of Omega). Omega gets to the ropes. Kotaro Crusher by Omega. OMEGA RUNS AND BOOTS NAITO OFF THE APRON SENDING HIM FLYING BACK HARD(!) AGAINST THE RAIL! Damn. (Bret Hart would be proud of that bump.) Omega goes out and powerbombs Naito ON ONE OF THE ANNOUNCE TABLES!!! Now, he's pulling the rail back and rolls back in the ring. Oh God! SPRINGBOARD DIVING SENTON ONTO NAITO INTO THE FRONT ROW!!!! GEEZ!
Omega rolls in clutching his knee. Omega sees Naito is coming back on the apron, goes out, AND NAILS HIM WITH A DRAGON SUPLEX ON THE EDGE OF THE RING! GOD! He drags him back in and hits a bridging Dragon suplex for a CLOSE 2 count. Naito looks like he's dead. Naito reverses a powerbomb and eventually hits a big DDT. Dueling strikes now by both men who are exhausted. Naito gets the advantage. V-TRIGGER!!!!! But Naito gets Omega with a Twisting Tornado DDT. Naito now puts Omega on the top of the corner. NAITO HITS A HURRICANRANA OFF THE TOP... BUT OMEGA ROLLS HIM UP FOR 2.9999! So close. Naito now unloads with kicks to Omega's knee and back. GLORIA! Omega kicks out at 2.9999 himself!
20 minutes have passed. Omega and Naito continue to strike and chop for an advantage. Naito German suplexes Omega who lands on his feet, HURTING the bad leg! He has to stumble backwards, and Naito smiles KNOWING Omega would hurt himself. (THIS is great storytelling in a match that you don't often see. A human chess match being played by two wrestlers in their match. It's not just going from one spot to another. Rather, it's an attempt to make a choreographed performance seem at least somewhat legitimate thanks to some basic human psychology.) Omega catches Naito running towards him with a lariat! V-TRIGGER! One Winged Angel is countered INTO A KNEEBAR by NAITO!!!! They are in the middle of the ring. He's had Omega in this for a minute now. Omega desperately makes it to the ropes just as the referee was about to call the match! Awesome stuff here.
Naito atomic drops the knee of Omega and smiles at Omega's pain. German suplex by Omega. He's barely on his feet as he hits a Gutwrench Powerbomb for a 2 count. OMEGA HITS V-TRIGGER!!!! One-Winged Angel COUNTERED AGAIN INTO DESTINOOOOOOO BY NAITO! BOTH MEN ARE DOWN! 25 minutes have passed! 5 minutes left!!! Omega is put on the corner by Naito. Naito climbs up. SUPER REVERSE RANA TO OMEGA OFF THE TOP ROPE! 1-2-OMEGA KICKS OUT AT 2.9! Naito wastes no time. DESTINO COUNTERED INTO A PACKAGE TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER BY OMEGA! 1-2-KICKOUT!!!! Omega again comes up clutching his knee. (This is some amazing stuff folks.) Short knees now by Omega to Naito's head. Omega's knee buckles trying to hit One Winged Angel. Naito grabs for the ropes desperately. HARD SLAPS by both men. Naito dives for a forearm, BUT HE GETS PUMMELED WITH V-TRIGGER!!!!!! SICK!!! ONE WINGED ANGEL ESCAPED, BUT KENNY HITS AN ELEVATED GERMAN! 1-2-KICKOUT! ANOTHER V-TRIGGER! 1-2-KICKOUT!!!! OMEGA HITS A DESPERATE ONE WINGED ANGEL!!! 1-2-3!!!!
Winner: Kenny Omega
Match Grade: A+. That was amazing. This had everything you would want out of a match. You want scientific wrestling? It's in here. You want strong style? It's in here. You want hardcore action? It's in here. You want high-flying moves? Yep. Here too. You love psychology and selling a body part? It's here too! These two just told an amazing story from beginning to end with Omega desperately trying to do anything to win while Naito wanted to beat Omega so much that he forgot about trying to go for the tie, which ultimately cost him the entire tournament. This has to be one of the greatest matches I've seen legitimately and a perfect example of what professional wrestling should be. This helped put Kenny Omega on the map as a main-event talent, a fact that would be solidified with a win over Goto in the G1 Climax 26 Finals the next night. Go find this match as it is worth every second of your attention.
After the match, Omega continues to grab at his knee. Naito is helped to the back by the NJPW Young Boys while reaching towards the ring wanting to continue the fight. Great after the match story being told here.
Kenny gets on the mic and the fans give him a good ovation. Omega quotes Rocky IV with his opening lines, saying he noticed that there were changes about how the fans felt about him and how he felt about the fans. But he turns heel on the crowd and says only when he won that the fans started cheering "Kenny! Kenny!" Omega says he didn't leave like those other guys because he felt that Japan was his home. And he tells the crowd to stop cheering for him. Omega gave this crowd his heart, soul, his "goshdarn" knee, and his back for this crowd. He calls himself the MVP of the G1. He's beating Goto tomorrow. Bet on Omega. Goodbye and Good Night. Bang. Fun heel promo to end the show.
_ _ _ _ _
That was legitimately one of the best matches I've ever seen period from beginning to end. Absolutely great storytelling by two wrestlers. I hope you enjoyed the match as much as I did.
Until next time, take care of yourselves. Spread some awesomeness.
Comments
Post a Comment