quackhell

Fun show with the great collision of angles in the ending brawl to lead to next week's big show. Somebody please tell me the fan creepily stroking the Marty the Moth poster is a plant. If not...yeesh.

Well tarnation, I was fixin' to channel my old e-fed "skills" and cut a promo as Southpaw star Doc Wilde, but Rippa but the kibosh on that notion. Dag nabbit!

That was a lot of greatness packed into a few seconds. Cannot wait for this.

The Roode attack had to happen but I wish he would have clocked McIntyre first causing a clear DQ lose for Roddy as just another way to screw him out of a title opportunity. Billie Kay/Riot was okay, but the division really needs the influx of talent that will follow the May Young Classic. Montez Ford has bucket loads of charisma and helps elevate Dawkins who is still kinda blah to me. Lars taking out the trash was great. Interested to see what Regal's reaction is as this story develops. Ember Moon wasn't great on the mic during the dull contract signing. Very shouty and being careful to enunciate everything like a good WWE robot. Asuka loses her usual cool as ice demeanor at the end indicating the champ is concerned that maybe Moon has her number. Overall not a great go home show for the Takeover.

Sanada leaving/getting kicked out of LIJ and evolving his character while mixing it up with his former stablemates seems like a solid and time tested way to go.

I love this pic. Just really captures both guys personalities perfectly.

Part of me feels like I just ran a marathon and am exhausted and happy to see the finish line. Part of me is like...."what the hell am I supposed to do now that there is no more G1?" Summerslam? Oh boy that will be a bit of a come down.

I am sure I could pick apart the main event, but right now I am just going to be happy my boy Naito won and just enjoyed the spectacle that ended such an incredible tournament. Also I absolutely loved Chono looking all bad ass Bond villain celebrating with Naito and LIJ.

Just when I thought the G1 was done tugging at my heart strings there is Shibata. Oh man. Omega/Okada 3 was maybe my favorite of their matches. Seemed more focused. Good story and build. Okada getting dumped on his neck in so many hurty ways. Omega desperate for the win as the clock is ticking down. Finally the OWA in the middle and Omega gets over that hurdle of pinning Okada. Now can he do it when the belt is on the line? I don't think it will be at the next WK though. I will be rooting and hoping it's Naito's time for the big win in the biggest spotlight. Omega and Ibushi seem locked into a collision at WK. I guess Callis is an effective heel because his top talent veteran worker/Kenny's stooge stuff really annoys the fuck out of me. His sleazing on women is especially cringey. I should probably stick with Japanese commentary.

Nagata/Fale killed me. Man the look on Nagata's face, the respect from Fale, Nogami a mess, the fans...such a great moment. Nagata left it all in the ring in every match and forced everyone he faced to bring their best to put him down. Yoshi-hashi/Makabe I had nothing for after the emotion of Nagata's finale. It was a match. Goto/Ibushi was yet another showcase for Ibushi as serious heavyweight, but Goto held his own in his reliable if unspectacular way. Ishii/ZSJ was yet another tremendous match between these two. Fantastic chemistry and story telling. Cocky Sabre does his usual arm work, but when he gets lit up he goes serious and targets the knee viciously. Ishii manning up on the kicks to the leg and executing Sabre with the lariat up through his chest to his head was brutally beautiful. Finish was fantastic. Even when tied into a painful pretzel the Stone Pitbull won't quit. Naito/Tanahashi was a classic. As a huge Naito fan I was in full mark mode and desperately worried when Tanahashi sat down with the cloverleaf. As others have said the possibility of a ref stoppage was already established with Ishii. So yeah to say I am happy with the result would be an understatement. All in for Naito against Omega/Okada in the Finals. This G1 won't quit bringing the greatness.

Ain't going to lie Nogami wasn't the only one crying watching this. Goddamn sometimes it becomes crystal clear why I love wrestling so fucking much. Thank you Nagata for going out on your shield and delivering an amazing last G1.

More Burch/Lorcan goodness with that respect building toward a possible team? Yes indeed all in for that. The kick exchange fighting for and against the half crab were the goods. Roddy muddying up the NXT title scene leaves me thinking that Roode gets involved in their match to set-up a 3 way at Takeover. Street Profits were fun and there is hope they can be a hit, because that tag division needs them.

Finally got caught up. Thought Suzuki/Okada and Sanada/Omega were really good, but bummed by EVIL losing and not having a shot. Can't wait for the final shows. What a great ride this had been. All in on my boy Naito.

I think you could have retold the Bayley underdog story on the main roster by getting over the idea that while she became the ace of NXT all the Horsewomen have upped their game while on the main roster and Bayley is lagging behind again. They should have had her struggle, especially against Charlotte never getting a singles win, and build and build and then pay it off at Mania when she finally gets the title AND breaks the PPV streak. It just seems so easy and simple. Plus you can be laying seeds for a Sasha turn soon after. I will agree that Bayley has struggled both with promos and in ring a bit, but the booking has been all over the map.

I imagine JT was perfectly fine with doing a more comedic gimmick after all that as were his spine and brain.