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NJPW 2017 G1 Climax 27


Raziel

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Wow. Shibata with the shock return just before intermission. Super emotional. He looked to be on the verge of tears and women all around were crying. "I'm alive! That's all!" And he leaves. He looked good aside from the visible scar on his forehead. Glad he's moving around really well!

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Something is horribly wrong with his face. It's making strange motions previously unseen to the human eye. Those women in Ryogoku were not alone in shedding a tear or two. That was pretty emotional. I like that he looked to be in incredible pain to get that smile out, not because of his physical state but because he's Katsuyori Shibata and is perma fewmin'.

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P.S. Ricochet's selling was top notch for the most part. Started subtle until the Bucks honed in on it. Didn't feel like your traditional campy wrestling selling and more a guy selling a legit injury.

Fuck. Listening to the Japanese commentary for highlights after listening to the English feed and it's not even in the same ballpark. Callis is great but I take back the few nice things I said about Kelly earlier in the thread. He sounds so fake and bored, which is weird for a guy that's supposed to be so passionate about wrestling and has dedicated his adult life to it. Shinpei has more passion in his tonsils and he had a tonsillectomy.

DHF9n83UQAEh_Wd.jpg:large

Incredible.

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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.

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I tried the English commentary last night and it came across as second-rate - if I didn't know better, I'd say nobody was producing them.  I know I've heard good things about Rocky Romero on commentary but he was the shits last night.  I switched back to Japanese commentary and never looked back.  

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That was insane. Mostly in a good way. I'm reminded of those rare moments when a distance runner has set a blistering pace from the gun, then kicks from too far out... except, it isn't. They accelerate, and accelerate, until finally collapsing--right after the tape is broken. 

So, the story: Naito fucks Omega's neck up early, but Omega is very, very hard to kill. Still, it's something to keep coming back to. Omega, of course, has his v-triggers 'til death strategy. They do a ton of wild, impressive things, bump like hell and keep the crowd fired up. Which, both guys are clearly, insanely popular, and that helped. Every big spot got the right reaction, until the Destino counters finally gave way to the proper version, and then the end. The edge perhaps coming from that initial barrage; or maybe, as much as I hate "he just wanted it more!" in general, it came from a deeper place. Naito did need this, after all. Omega has his belt, his win over Okada, and was denied Ibushi. He certainly didn't wrestle like a man lacking motivation, but even fractional differences are... well, every wedge needs a thin end.

The most nuanced story either have ever told? No. Both of their de facto semis had that depth and current continuity, and were honestly better because of it. But if 90% of the movie is the climactic battle, and the other plot is sorta just an excuse to have it, these two are worth millions in effects. 

Naito's win does continue the story of his long road back to the mountain he never properly ascended, those years ago. Omega, presumably, will get Ibushi--a story that's actually even longer in the writing. 

What a tournament, though. I've never liked wrestling more. 

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Tuned in a 5:45 ET, assuming the show was on at the same time as the last two days. Clicked the vid, it was them presenting the trophy to Naito. Hell of a way to go spoiler-free.

Enjoyed both tag title matched more than I expected. War Machine can really go. For the dozenth time this year, Taguchi reminds us he knows how to work. And if seeing Nagata's manly blubbering the other day wasn't enough, now we get a misty-eyed Shibata... it's like Daniel Cormier somehow started all this. Ugh, my heart.

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Right resullt, great match, although the end got a little excessive and toward the WWE Epic style with finisher kickouts, and I could do without Kenny adding the J-Driller in as a near-fall move.  All and all a great show that set up pretty much every title match for Destruction.  

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I watched Naito-Omega with a pal who stopped watching wrestling regularly about 10/12 years ago and he loved it. He gets the biz but isn't a massive fan, and was always wryly critical when we'd get together for Raws and PPVs back in the day. Anyway, as I say, he loved it, thought both guys were great, and thought it was the best thing he'd seen in ages. I left him logged in to my NJPW World account and invited him to have a look around. Which is a good win.

Obviously the main was brilliant top-end wrestling done by guys in the prime of their life. I say 4.5 and not the 5s I see this match lavished with simply because I thought it was a bit overkill toward the end. One thing a lot of my all-time favourite matches have is a clear sense of ending and finality; often they veer towards being concise.

Kenny is obviously a freakishly-gifted performer, blessed with strength and athleticism and agility and cardio and just generally a great look for the wrestling business - but he loves maximalism and bombast. He's said it himself. He loves a video-game version of pro-wrestling. And while that leads him to do impressive shit that pretty much hardly anyone can do, it means sometimes he can't fully satisfy in shorter matches with lesser talents (all relative here) and sometimes goes too far in big match situations. Omega-Okada 3 was a bit too much for me, and Omega-Naito 2 was even more... Still, he's young as a main event talent and maybe he'll start to work a little smarter.

Naito on the other hand is completely ready. I would like him to maybe cut a couple of things where he takes a massive back bump giving a move and get a better submission. But he's doing some incredible stuff. Just comparing the guy who won G1 23 with the guy who won G1 27. It is night and day. My friend just loved him from the moment he strolled out in his suit. He has real "who is this guy and what is HIS deal?" quality, like Nakamura had in his pomp.

The booking going forward on the top and upper midcard is incredible. Omega has a title and owes defences to Elgin and Juice. He also has a win over Okada. And they started to put the flames under the Ibushi match. And let's be honest: who wouldn't like to see a Naito-Omega rubber? That is like a year of matches if done right. Same with the various permutations for Tanahashi, Okada, Elgin, Juice and EVIL. 

A number of workers have come out of the other side of the G1 with no real trajectory - like Ishii (apart from being fed to Naito for the briefcase), like Goto, like SANADA. I think once EVIL loses his title shot there's scope to really try and make something of the heavy tag scene: Goto and Ishii, SANADA and EVIL, KES, GOD, War Machine, maybe find a new member for GBH to tag with Makabe? I vote Kitamura. I'd pay money to see Goto/Ishii v LIJ if they booked with purpose.

Anyway, great G1. Going to go and watch the jr. tag and the Shibata return.

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I can't believe I fucking fell asleep when they were in that opening 5-10 minute directionless phase. I, of course, woke up to the last Destino and was crushed. I watched every single fucking match but the one I tried to stay up for and the one the whole tournament was building towards. Good job, good effort. I might take a day off and watch it tomorrow because I'm a little bummed on the (predictable) result.

I agree with most of sevendaughters' criticisms of Kenny. He needs to do a better job of filling the opening third of his big matches with more meaningful content. He's done it now and then but too often it's just stuff to kill time until the match picks up in the second act. He's incredibly intelligent at working in references to previous matches and layered storytelling and progression from match to match and within a match in the second and third acts, but for some reason isn't consistent in the opening portions. So, it's not as if he can't do it. Just look to the Okada match yesterday, the Minoru match from this year's tournament (lol, no eye contact with the bully was such a great touch), the Naito match last year in the G1, or last year's final for great character work in the first bit of a match. And, yeah, he needs to be a bit more flexible with different opponents. He's capable. He's not a guy that works a single formula for all matches but his style could be a bit more adaptable. Look no further than what Ibushi did. He wrestled a little differently with Suzuki but still wanted to get his shit in near the end. He wrestled differently with SANADA and Juice too. But there's room for improvement there. When he's in there with somebody that can really go and is athletic, I don't think there's anybody better in the world. What Okada, Tana, and Ibushi have on him is that flexibility though. Naito, I think, has a similar problem in that he doesn't really stray from his style all that much either. The reason why it isn't as egregious as with Kenny is that his style is far less demanding on his opponent and he's better at involving character work to tell a story in the first section of a match.

I want to see what happened between Ibushi and Omega backstage afterwards, damn it! As the Nobodies said in their podcast on the tournament in what seems like an eternity ago, SUBTLE GAY SUBPLOTS. Best storyline in wrestling. I hope it ends with a face turn for Ken-dog and reuniting Golden Lovers part-time.

Ugh, and at this stage, I'd rather not see Omega/Okada 4 at King of Pro Wrestling or Destruction or whatever else tour they run between now and the Dome. We know Okada's not dropping the belt until the Dome. Don't make this all-time classic feud a side note to Naito/Okada. Save the rubber match for when it's meaningful unless Kenny's off to WWE next year. I thought I read somewhere that he signed a 2 year deal in January, though, right? I think he's made it pretty clear he'd want to go with the Bucks as a package deal and they're signed with ROH until 2019 too.

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So yeah, while to overkill stuff is pretty inarguable, that final comes so much closer to being a real all-timer/*****/whatever kinda of match for me than any of the Okada matches. I didn't think the opening was boring at all; I was quite entertained with these two likable, cocky shitheads being cocky at each other and I think it builds really nicely to the fakeout Tranquilo tope, which I absolutely loved. The bumping and the athleticism is off the charts, obviously; with stuff like that super power bomb into a rana reversal later in the match it's not just the concept of the spot (which I feel like a lot wrestlers skate by on sometimes), it's the execution - their ability to wait until the last split second in the air and pull it off.

I think this match made me especially happy as someone who is entertained enough by the Okada/Omega matches but can never fully stop my eyes from rolling at Rainmakers and doesn't find Okada all that compelling. But framing it in that light probably does it a disservice, as I'm sure I would have loved it on its own as well. Naito has fully clicked for me, and I'm so happy he made it to this final and got to deliver that performance with Kenny. Wrestling is great.

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Fale vs. Nagata for the emotion (make sure to listen to the Japanese broadcast for that one) and Ishii vs. Zack Sabre Jr. II both from Friday. Goto/Ibushi from that show was frustrating but still really good. The two tag title matches from today were excellent too. I have yet to watch Kojima/EVIL but the other matches on the Saturday card barring the main event were pretty forgettable. 

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1 hour ago, sevendaughters said:

Still, he's young as a main event talent and maybe he'll start to work a little smarter.

I had to look at Cagematch to see how old Kenny is.  He's only 33.  Crazy.  I've been watching him since he debuted in the Canadian indys a decade+ ago.

Edit: Cagematch says he has been in the business 17 years.  Debut was in 2000.

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Agree 100%. Taguchi went from pretty stale to such a reinvigorated comedy guy that can step up and get serious when needed. Taguchi Japan (every.single.time. I read it as he says it in the silly American accent) is the most fun.

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1 hour ago, sevendaughters said:

A number of workers have come out of the other side of the G1 with no real trajectory - like Ishii (apart from being fed to Naito for the briefcase), like Goto, like SANADA. I think once EVIL loses his title shot there's scope to really try and make something of the heavy tag scene: Goto and Ishii, SANADA and EVIL, KES, GOD, War Machine, maybe find a new member for GBH to tag with Makabe? I vote Kitamura. I'd pay money to see Goto/Ishii v LIJ if they booked with purpose.

This is a great point. I've only been following NJPW at all closely for about a year, but in that time I'e been struck by how aimless their tag booking is in comparison to their masterful approach to heavyweight singles.

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I think a problem with Kenny's style is he's capable of so much cool shit and has SO. MANY. Ideas, that he isn't always as considerate as he needs to be as to how all that stuff fits together in a match, or if it should even be in the story they're telling in the first place.

Like, look at when he countered Naito's superplex into a freakin' DDT into the ringpost.  It looked like death and the crowd was aghast.  You'd think that would be a nice transition to Kenny going on offense...but instead it actually turns into Naito going on a long run of offense?  What?

Same thing happened the night before against Okada.  Kenny goes for a springboard, Okada counters with a dropkick that bumps him all the way to the floor.  Looks great.  Fantastic transition to offense for Okada.  Except it turned out to actually be a transition for Kenny to hit a reverse rana on the floor.

In the lead up to the Okada match, he's in the press talking up this great new counter to the Rainmaker that he's come up with.  And when he hits the uranage, it, again, looks like death.  Great.  But then, not only is it just a 2-count, not only does it not lead into Kenny's finishing stretch to win the match, but Okada literally hits him with another Rainmaker, like, 10 seconds afterward.  Okada is on top again right after Kenny debuted his big Rainmaker killer.

These are things that keep him out of the top-top tier of guys in the world, IMO.  When he really cuts it loose, he has a tendency to undermine drama for the sake of spectacular workrate.

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