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NJPW 2017 G1 Climax 27


Raziel

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19 hours ago, Oyaji said:

I don't like Red Shoes for the same reason I don't like Hebner. It's not about you, dawg. I also don't love dogs.

You liar.  Everyone loves dogs.  Dogs are the best.

21 hours ago, Ryan said:

Callis is very smart and likely well prepared, so that will help.

He's sober, too.  That makes a difference.

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I'll be watching Night 4 later today, but in the meantime wanted to pass along my Night 3 thoughts: 

Goto vs. Nagata: Another absolute slugfest for Goto, and another bout from Nagata that greatly exceeded my expectations. Despite starting 0-2, Nagata's been made to look outstanding, which is fitting with this being his G1 swan song. The crowd getting so firmly behind him added to the excitement. ****1/4 

Ishii vs. Makabe: This isn't the heyday of the rivalry, and this was the first singles Ishii in a while that hasn't blown me away. Certainly not bad, but felt far more plodding than most of the G1 to this point. **3/4 

Ibushi vs. ZSJ: Match of the Tournament thus far for me. ZSJ's incredible run continues with the single best performance I've seen out of him to date. His ability to ground Ibushi added so much excitement and drama, and I felt ZSJ came out of this looking stronger than when he went in: Basically dominated throughout, and Ibushi only won on a wing and a prayer, reversing that gorgeous flying triangle into the Golden Star Powerbomb. All praises to the Wrestling Gods for these two avoiding the Purple Roped Purgatory. ****3/4 

Tanahashi vs. Bad Luck Fale: Tremendous storytelling here. Fale looked like a monster; he's settling into the role rather nicely and producing some quality stuff. This joins the New Japan Cup final vs. Shibata and the title match vs. Okada in a pretty strong run for him this year. Tanahashi's selling of the arm was great, especially on the one-armed skin-the-cat attempt. Loved the finish. ****

Naito vs. YOSHI-HASHI: There was a point in the middle of this match that dragged, but boy, did the ending compensate. Exciting, torrid finish. YOSHI-HASHI really impressed me for a second consecutive performance, and what more can be said of Naito? He's one of the absolute best in the world right now. I think he could realistically be the winner of the whole thing, and a credible choice for that Wrestle Kingdom 12 main event. ****1/4

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Still making my way through day 4. Juice's selling is unreal. I would say he's better than just fun and indeed amazing. I don't think he's at the point where he can carry low level wrestlers to great things yet but he's able to elevate opponents of a similar skill level and certainly do wonderful things with the top guys. Great timing, sympathetic selling, plucky underdog charisma.

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If Juice isn't amazing, he's well on his way. Dude is 28, and just now getting significant work in high profile singles matches. I saw nothing at all in NXT, and didn't want him in NJPW, but I've rarely been as wrong about a wrestler. 

Regarding today: Fale and Makabe scoring the upsets would have been more interesting if the announcers hadn't pointed out the booking logic behind it the day before; ZSJ continues the best run of his career (I don't know if he associates with Suzuki at all irl, but he does seem to have learned a thing or two about mean rather than neat submission work); it's interesting how they're positioning Ibushi as a more credible heavyweight threat by pushing his striking ability.

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I feel like Tanahashi/Nagata stole the night.  The look on Tanahashi's face when he tossed the air guitar and got booed was priceless.

Fale/Naito and ZSJ/Hashi were just fine.  You could not pay me to watch Makabe/Goto.

It's been interesting to watch Ibushi wrestle different types of matches these last two nights against ZSJ and Ishii, reining in the craziness of the Naito match and keeping things grounded.

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Tanahashi has totally stolen the tournament for me thus far. It helps that all his matches have a natural story to tell but he's completely played into it in the best ways.

Elgin vs Okada was great but I'm not sure why there's some surprise online. Elgin has those type of "big matches" all the time. He just had one with Trevor Lee in CWF Mid Atlantic. He's very good at that big match style.

Zack has been the most pleasant surprise of the tournament. He's gotten as gritty as someone with his frame can get and the fans really respond to his nasty submissions.

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This has been pretty much the Zack Sabre Jr. I've seen outside of a few matches here and there (some of the Marty matches in England for instance were way too showmanship-y for my liking). He really shouldn't be a revelation in this tournament. Shit, even in the CWC he had that fiery match with Gulak that kicked all sorts of ass and seemed like a real statement to his critics. He's gotten a bit more intense with the heel turn in PWG and New Japan but I never fully got the criticisms thrown his way.

Still on the undercard from today's show but I'll say that Elgin/Okada was pretty much perfect. I seriously thought Big Mike had Okada with the powerbomb. The two lariats he hit Okada with late in the match were some of the grossest I've ever seen, particularly the second. Elgin's not going to really stray away from his big match formula but I don't think he really needs to. The crowd was going absolutely ape shit. 

Sanada/Suzuki was really good but not quite great. It's good to see Sanada bring some intensity but I don't think there's much of a choice when in there with Suzuki. Callis' commentary for Suzuki is spot on and for anybody new to puroresu gets over the idea that MiSu is a fucking killer and enjoys doing it. EVIL/Juice was outstanding. I'm running out of superlatives for Robinson but I think he's really winning over the audience with these performances if he hasn't done so already. Can't wait for the singles match with Minoru.

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Ibushi/Ishii was a king size slugfest. Damn. Ishii is so damn good. I have always liked him as the surly bastard who just stiffs the hell out of guys, but they have put him in some big spots and he has delivered big time. 

Little salty about Naito dropping points to Fale as I find the Bullet Club boring as all hell outside of Omega.

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Long time listener, first time poster here.

Up to the start of night five I'd say there was no one single "best match" and instead a lot of contenders that I'd accept arguments for (Ibushi-Naito, Kojima-Juice, Goto-Nagata, Okada-Elgin). DAVE said he thinks this G1 has started the best out of any. Looking over scores I'd give in the past (starting with G1 23) compared to what I was giving this year seems to suggest that there is a little compression between top and bottom - I have nothing from G1 27 above 4.25, but nothing has been below decent - but I think over the years I've become less inclined to say something is great whilst being kinder on flaws.

Anyway for me night five continued that journey

ZSJr-YOSHIHASHI my Twitter crew, comprising a lot of shoot-style fans, is deep in ZSJr hate. My natural inclination is to like people and when it comes to Zack I can state the following: i. I've seen him work twice before he got to super-indy status and he was always the best on every show ii. we used to chat on Twitter and exchange book recommendations and iii. I enjoyed his run in NOAH with Ogawa as jr tag champs. But in NJPW as a heavyweight working a style that is closer to vaudeville than real? It is difficult to suspend my disbelief that long. What I did here is pretend it was a jr match as Tacos is small. The timing and deployment of that lariat of Tacos is always spectacular, like Okada before he started spamming dropkicks. ***1/2

Nagata-Tanahashi heel Tanahashi is one of my favourite things and grumpy Nagata kicks are another so put them together with a bit of blood and a great bit of professionalism from Nagata going out on his back like this? chef finger kiss ****

Fale-Naito this didn't click for me like Fale-Tanahashi did (whoever upthread gave it 4...I agree!) but over the course of some 90 tourney matches there's gonna be some that clunk. I still sort of think Fale could be great. Is that stupid? They're still protecting him... **1/2

Ishii-Ibushi what I liked about this, apart from that they're two of the best itw right now and the bit where Ibushi went all straight-faced and started stepping on Ishii's head, is that it ended in the right spot with a secondary finisher but left you in no doubt they could have ramped it up and taken it to MOTY level. it preserves the integrity of the tournament if you cut some matches off mid-flight. ****1/4

Goto-Makabe i love that Makabe is so over in his home town that he can justifiably headline this show. i'm sure it pissed a lot of people off. Goto worked his ass off but this one wasn't for me really. can't put a finger on it. maybe i was tired and it deserves a rewatch. under time pressures, it won't get one. ***

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Night 4! 

Kojima vs. Yano: The Yano goofiness worked well with Okada, but this match was just a slog for me to get through; way too long for a Yano singles match. This was my least favorite of the G1 thus far. ** 

Juice vs. EVIL: It's a showdown between my two Most Improveds of 2017, and it did not disappoint. Juice coming out on fire set a great tone, and really added a layer to this burgeoning rivalry these two have going. Juice's intensity and fire gave him opportunities to win, but also cost him repeatedly, right from the outset with the miss on the outside. Juice's growing desperation to put EVIL away, compared with the TRANQUILO from EVIL made for a nice dynamic. Great stuff here. ****1/4 

Suzuki vs. SANADA: Suzuki is one evil son of a bitch, and I love it. The depths to which he and El Desperado sank and the refusal to DQ him put over two solid elements of the G1. SANADA's character is evolving in the early phases of this tournament, as he's showing off insane athleticism but still cultivating the savvy to harness it. That's juxtaposed nicely with the calculating veteran Suzuki. ***3/4 

Omega vs. Tama Tonga: There's no doubt about it, Kenny's a pure babyface and the split's coming. I thought this match did a nice job of establishing Tama Tonga as a threat both to Kenny's position in Bullet Club, and as a challenger in the ring. There's a quality to Tama Tonga that makes me think he could be a high value singles wrestler. His psychology needs some work, but his athleticism and intensity are impressive. ***1/2 

BIG MIKE vs. Okada: We have a challenger to ZSJ-Ibushi for Match of the Tournament thus far. From the Ladder Match at last Dominion, Elgin's just brought it for big matches. Here was no exception. I haven't seen a ton of his work, but based on what I know, I feel like Elgin's well-positioned as the Scott Norton of this generation. The tease of the Burning Hammer was SO GOOD -- but not as good as the reversal of the Rainmaker into a lariat of Mike's own.  And Okada's just on another level right now. ****3/4 

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Just finished Night 5. Pretty much agree with @sevendaughters I really loved Tanahashi-Nagata. I don't know if I preferred it or Ibushi-Ishii. Regardless, I want to scream from the tallest mountain that I'm in love with this ground-based Ibushi on display the last two matches. 

Don't get me wrong: Nutso high-flyer Ibushi is aewsome, with or without fireworks. His opener vs. Naito was breathtaking in spots. However, the struggle to survive ZSJ's submissions on Night 3 and the strike-based back-and-forth with Ishii were just the bee's knees 

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They're definitely kicking the tires on Tama Tonga as the next top guy in Bullet Club, and...ugh...well, actually, that might be the thing to finally kill the stable, so they should definitely do it.

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1 hour ago, EVA said:

They're definitely kicking the tires on Tama Tonga as the next top guy in Bullet Club, and...ugh...well, actually, that might be the thing to finally kill the stable, so they should definitely do it.

I think they'd love for it to be Cody, but don't want to pay him for full-time work. Other than that... umm... Elgin could turn heel? Dude keeps losing already; might as well try something. (I know this wouldn't make any sense. And you're probably right.)

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Oh, they for sure would've done the breakup already if Cody would show up for more than one or two shows every couple of months.  And if Tonga doesn't distinguish himself this month, they may yet have to come to terms with him, because there's no next guy up in the club.  Scurrl is not near established enough to jump into that spot.  Fale is still just Fale.

They really might have to turn Elgin.

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The only other left field option I can think of is Baretta. He's moving to heavyweight, will necessarily get a singles push, has established animosity with the Bucks, and his name is almost spelled the same as the pistol already. 

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Trent?/Longboy as a heel would be a bad idea. It plays against pretty much all of his best attributes (selling, great hope spots, willingness to do incredibly dicey shit). May as well turn Juice heel.

Zack Sabre Jr. would've made a lot of sense in this role but they stuck him with Suzuki-gun. They could accelerate Marty's rise though that's not something they ever do. Honestly, they should look to throw money at somebody established if Cody's not an option. I like Tama well enough. He has his strengths. He's one of the best athletes in wrestling but as a good heel doesn't really use it for flashy offense, he's got buckets of physical charisma, he's okayish on the mic, has a helluva look. But he doesn't have the match quality in him to be a top guy. I don't want to write him off but he's been at this for a while and he's still pretty much topping out at 'good' in singles matches and usually it's entirely forgettable. Back the Brink's truck up to Matt Riddle's home. Didn't I read that he was talking with Tiger Hattori recently? He would be phenomenal in New Japan and has the charisma/"it" factor you'd want in a top act. DO IT. Austin Aries after his non-compete clause expires is another option though he's small for New Japan's heavyweight division and who knows where his mind is at now.

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