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NJPW 2017 G1 Climax 27


Raziel

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It more annoys me because if you've got that in your bag of tricks, why wouldn't you save it for when you're winning? It's not like Kota Ibushi is never going to win a big match.

ZSJ has been better post-CWC when he started kinda embracing that a lot of people hate him and using it to his advantage.

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Depending when in the day you asked me, I'll probably give you three different answers for my match of the night. I loved all of the last three so much. 

- Ibushi and Naito were two of the best athletes in wrestling just putting on a show. I agree the piledriver probably should have ended it, but man, this really was a spectacular match with both guys coming out of it looking stronger than when they came in. I liked the story of Ibushi's emotions coming into play. There's also a great bit where Naito has a look on his face like, "Holy shit, I better take this guy seriously." Very nice, subtle touch, especially with his too-cool-for-school demeanor. 

- ZSJ is such a perfect heel with that submission offense. The storytelling is great, as it basically lays out the arc for Tanahashi throughout the G1. 

- Goto vs. Ishii was fantastic. No frills, hard-hitting violence. This is the kind of wrestling I'd have to imagine Nick Saban would enjoy #RollTide. 

Those three being so awesome almost overshadows how good Yuji Nagata and YOSHI-HASHI were. YOSHI-HASHI looked impressive, and I enjoyed the presentation of the hardened vet in his last G1 giving the up-and-comer what-for. 

 

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I was pulling for Nagata so much but it was a really fun match and looking forward to see how the rest of the tournament goes for Yugi, there's definitely a few wins in there for him I think.

Fale/Makabe was fun too. I like Fale better in one on one matches than in the multi-man undercard matches, he gets to play to his size better.

Ishii/Goto was what I would expect from those two, lots of hard cringy strikes and an over all very good match, was a little surprised by the result. Goto is solid but he's probably just not a main event guy there is something missing there that will keep him from really breaking out. 

ZSJ/Tanahashi was really good. I've usually been pretty lukewarm on ZSJ but I've enjoyed him embracing the Suzuki-gun heeldom and am now starting to look forward to the rest of his G1 matches especially with Ibushi to see what-if CWC finals and with Fale to see how they work together.

Main was insane they probably could of cut some of the big moves out of there (and I did say "the ropes were right there!!), the avalanche piledriver and/or the into the ring german could have went, both felt like possible match enders (the german partly on the bump Naito took) but I loved it and loved the result. DESTINO!!!

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I'm shocked at how good Juice Robinson is. I don't know if he has just improved a ton since leaving WWE or if they just didn't know what his potential was/is but dude could be a huge star someday. Juice/Kojima is a quality match a good start to B block.

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Juice/Kojima was so good, and a perfect, straightforward match to offset a night of chairshots and interference. 

A glimpse at what babyface heavyweight Omega would look like was fun, and the knee could keep him in that sympathetic role if they want to continue teasing him that direction.

 

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Juice has worked very hard and worked with tons of far better talent than he was being stuck with in the WWE style in NXT with his shitty gimmicks not allowing him to actually do much of note to progress. He can probably do a hiptoss though. Everyone has to do those. Tons of times a day. Maybe he had some re-training from their dojo too, but he doesn't wrestle like that.

Edit: I see he was originally a Truth Martini trainee, so that probably helped a bit after he got out of the WWE system. Truth has had some part in training a LOT of guys.

Wrestlers trained stuck in spoilers because it's long. Lots of local guys I would imagine.

Spoiler

Aaron T.I.[13]
Alex Shelley[13]
Andrew Lee[13]
Arella Angel[13]
Austin Manix[13]
Bill Martel[13]
Brian Gorie[13]
Cameron Skyy[13]
Xavier Walker [13]
Chaz Montana[13]
Christian Able[13]
Chris Korvis[13]
Chris McGinnis[13]
CJ Parker[13]
Corey Bentley[13]
Curtis Spade[13]
Danny Shay[13]
Dave Manzo[13]
Dragon Kreed[13]
D-Ray 3000[13]
Eddie Venom[13]
Gavin Quinn[13]
Gideon Malice[13]
Gunner Franks[13]
Jay Abrams[13]
Jay Maynard[13]
Jason Harris[13]
Jeff Brooks[13]
Jimmy Jacobs[13]
Jimmy Whiplash[13]
J Miller[13]
Johnny Delicious[13]
Johnny Rebel[13]
Jonathan Presley[13]
Josh Raymond[13]
KC[13]
Kid Hybrid[13]
Kris Korvis[13]
Lance Star[13]
Lathan Clemens[13]
Lou Crank[13]
Mena Libra[13]
Palmer Cruise[13]
Paul Bowser[13]
Owen Travers[13]
Rave Killbourn[13]
Sonne[13]
Sonnie Scarboni[13]
T'Darius Thomas[13]
Tim Horner Jr.[13]
Tommy Treznik[13]
Tyler Elkins[13]
Vinnie Scarboni[13]
Whiplash[13]
William J. O'Maley[13]
Willie Watts[13]
Wreckingball[13]
Zach Gowen[13]

 

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Red Shoes took the v-trigger like a champ at least from the camera angle. Omega/Suzuki was really good which I expected it to be. Suzuki is a nasty human and I love him for it and I love Suzuki-gun as total asshole heels. Omega did show really good babyface fire, matched up with the most heel heel in NJPW and he played the part of face just about perfectly and the crowd was solidly behind him. 

Yano/Okada was super fun and I really thought Yano was going to win a couple times. They did a good job of mixing the comedy into the match without losing the drama.

EVIL/SANADA was pretty great also and continued to show that LIJ do not go light on each other in anyway. SANADA is on the verge of breaking out huge he is crazy athletic and everything he does looks great except for Skull End (at least 75% of the time). 

Tama Tonga is the worst guy in the G1.

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I so love that people seriously bought Yano's near falls against the IWGP champeen. That's quality booking, character development AND continuity since he's punched way above his weight in the G1 over the years. Jado running interference against Okada just so Yano could nut BOTH of them was fucking hysterical. 

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Even as a casual observer of these things the last few years, Yano in the G1 never fails to put a smile on my face. Always a great palate cleanser. And yes, I absolutely bit on a couple of those near falls. 

My first exposure to ZSJ was in the CWC and he didn't live up to the hype. But he's gotten my attention the last few times I've seen him in New Japan. Looking forward to checking out his match versus Ibushi when I get hom from work tomorrow. 

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Omega/Suzuki was great. Not perfect, there were a few moments of awkwardness, but the roles they took on and the general story of Suzuki's technical ability and striking prowess vs. Omega's athleticism was fantastic. Bad Luck Fale hauling ass to make the save was probably my favourite thing I've seen him do. 

Rest of the card ranged from okay (Tama vs. Elgin) to surprisingly great (opening tag, yeah Kawato us going to be pretty... Pretty good). I hope this is the start of SANADA's slow ascent up the card. Looks like a million bucks, super athlete, has the Japanese punk charisma and character down to a T (Big Dave doesn't get his shtick so he says he has no charisma) and he's a really good worker. Push him to the top over the next year and have him win the G1 or at least make the finals imo. EVIL is like the Ishii to SANADA's Tanahashi or Okada. 

I keep raving for about Juice to my friend and he doesn't believe me. His match today wasn't anything crazy but a good, solid changing of the guard type match. Super happy for him. He's earned it with how much he's improved the last year. 

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Night 2 thoughts: 

- Kojima vs. Juice: Holy shit, this was AMAZING. I can't stop raving about how much Juice has improved, and aside from the IC title match vs. Naito, this was his best work to date. Also, how about Kojima finding the time machine and bringing it at 2000s level? ****1/4 

BIG MIKE vs. Tama Tonga: I like the story they're telling with Tama Tonga seeking respect. This didn't really click for me, though. **1/2 

EVIL vs. SANADA: My choice for Match of the Night. I loved the stable-mates heeling it up on each other, and each guy bringing something very different to the table. I've really enjoyed EVIL in a few singles matches now so far this year, between this and the two against Tanahashi from the spring. As for SANADA, this was the first time I've been blown away by him. I love @Oyaji's comparison of EVIL to Ishii and SANADA as the flashy star, because that's exactly what it looked like. SANADA as "It." ****1/2

- Yano vs. Okada: Great fun. Yano is, to me, the perfect comedy character. He provides that different presence needed on cards with so much intensity, but at the same time, can believable win big matches. Fun stuff, and I'm glad Okada didn't need the Rainmaker. *** 

Kenny vs. Suzuki: Suzuki is the single greatest heel in wrestling right now, period. The only other person in the running with the same sort of thoroughly loathsome presence is Bobby Roode. If they're serious about an Omega face push after Long Beach, this was the perfect first opponent to put Kenny in there with. ****1/4

I loved seeing Fale come in and destroy TAKA and El Desperado. I'm quite excited to see what direction the Bullet Club split goes; my original assumption was it would just be Kenny and The Bucks, with Cody leading the remaining BC. But after this show, with Fale's save getting a huge reaction and Tama Tonga working quasi-face against Big Mike, I'm starting to wonder if they want split evenly into two entirely different groups. 

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The big question about the Bullet Club possibly splitting up... WHICH SIDE IS CHASE OWENS ON?!

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It really is awesome to see so many guys elevate their game the last year or two. EVIL was such a generic dude in ROH and early on in New Japan. He's now positioned to take on the Ishii role in that he's hard as nails, can believably beat anybody in the promotion, has great matches, but is lacking the look of what New Japan has been running with in terms of top, top guys the last 10 or so years. SANADA was a journeyman who was fine but starting with last year's G1 upset over Tanahashi, he's shown that he can be a guy that New Japan builds around long term. He's not there yet, but he's 29 and improving at a rapid pace. Look out. Juice Robinson to me was your typical WWE midcarder. Really good character work, decent if not forgettable in the ring. Now he's married the character work with high end in-ring performances and personality. He's so sympathetic and lovable. He's another guy that could be a fringe star. Hiromu made himself a star in Mexico through willingness to do the craziest of shit. Back in Japan, he's got one of the best characters in wrestling as the crazy Japanese punk from pretty much all of the mangas (he even talks like these characters from animes) and with the addition of DARYL, Hiromu is one of the best acts in the world. Big Mike was a guy I barely tolerated from his ROH and PWG days and is now a super gaijin hoss. Not quite Dr. Death level of awesomeness but he's capable and just needs that nudge in terms of booking. I would love it if he adopted the homicidal backdrop driver but I'm sure Tanahashi/Okada/Omega/Naito would rather not take that. I know he does the Burning Hammer as an ultra death move these days, so is there really that much of a difference? Naito was my least favourite New Japan major player before going heel and now look at him. I don't think I've ever seen a wrestler turn the switch like that. Just remarkable. 

And now you look at the guys coming out of the dojo and it really boggles the mind. Kawato looked so fucking good today. Kitamura is a beast. Green as turtle shit but he's going to be special. Ohka is the oldest 25 year old I've ever seen but he's a really solid foil for Kitamura. Henare before the injury was super impressive. I can't wait for him to return to action. Jay White has turned into a very good western style indie worker who will do big things in New Japan on his return. Umino looks really good for somebody who's just starting out.

I was concerned a few years back about New Japan's long-term health once Tanahashi started to decline. Looks pretty okay now.

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Moreso than anything else they have going for them, New Japan has stayed alive and prospered due to their dojo. The pound-for-pound greatest list of grads from any establishment that ever existed, AND the Young Lion -> Excursion -> Comeback Push model *actually* works. Trust the process.

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It also help that the Dojo probably has a strongest bunch of guys in the Young Lion/On Excursion area in a long long time.

 

And by the Seven, I'm coming around on SANADA, but he needs to get rid of the fucking Skull End, he just can't do it right.  That moonsault didn't suck.

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It's Mutoh-esque, that moonsault. Same trajectory and form. Bootiful. Skull End looks rad when he applies it properly but it's basically a coin toss as to whether or not that's the case. He's coming up with some really neat ways of getting into it too.

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Sanada has always been compared to a young Muto, so that's no accident with the moonsault appearance. He just took awhile to find the proper charisma of some sort. Also, Mike Sweetser should be Bullet Club's personal referee. Just throwing that out there for the hell of it. Also, it's not surprising if anything was off in Omega/Suzuki. Suzuki has a long history of head problems, so he bumps kind of weird and Omega has a lot of unique offense he likely hasn't taken from anyone.

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YOSHI-HASHI is really having a hell of a showing out of the gate so far. Really good matches with Nagata and Naito, and they aren't carry jobs either. 

That Bullet Club tag certainly turned into a salty affair with Tama and Chase going after Omega's injured knee big. More fuel for the split tease? 

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1 hour ago, Pete said:

That Bullet Club tag certainly turned into a salty affair with Tama and Chase going after Omega's injured knee big. More fuel for the split tease? 

I think so, and the story isn't a difficult one to tell. The Bullet Club has always been a refuge for gaijin who feel slighted by "the office", and want the protection that numbers offer. The more Omega, individually, is treated as a face of the company, the more he contradicts that ethos. Furthermore, he was always going to be an awkward fit in the long run, given his affinity for all things Japan. (He doesn't really want to be an outsider. Arguably, he doesn't see himself as one now. He speaks Japanese, talks of wanting a house in Japan for the rest of his life, etc.) Most of his promos, after all, focus on how he could ultimately help the company if only he were given the chance. We also have the chance to bring things full circle, with Ibushi back, since Omega distracting him (vs. Styles) was his real sell-out moment. 

But the Bullet Club merch machine is really strong, and while The Elite as a stand-alone faction (or part of a new one) would move plenty of shirts, I could see NJPW not wanting to mess with that. 

Regarding Sanada: I kind of love that he kept the weak looking backbreaker and flat trajectory on his Mutohsault, despite the fact that 10% of his gimmick at this point is based on jumping really high. 

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