NJPW G1 Climax 28, LIVE AT THE BUDOKAN! 7/14-8/12

[Archibald]

I think I have worked myself into believing that Juice is going over Omega tomorrow namely for two reasons:

1. Juice is only guy with 0 points so far. If he loses tomorrow then mathematically he wouldn't be eliminated yet, but for him to stay alive Omega would have to lose all his remaining matches. Yes, we all know that Juice ain't winning, but I doubt that NJPW wants to book it that way and eliminate their USA champ from the running before we even get to the second half of the G1.

2. It happened last year so nobody is really expecting for it to happen again, but Omega has obvious history with USA title and them maybe doing champ vs champ for last Destruction show (or maybe for USA show if Juice/Tama ain't happening or if it is happening in Japan) could make some sense and elevate USA title/Juice further.

[Jenalysis]

It's weird the best English commentators were the ones at CEO, who were fighting game commentators, not wrestling dudes at all.

 

 

[Beech27]

Same, bud.

[Pete]

11 hours ago, Archibald said:

I think I have worked myself into believing that Juice is going over Omega tomorrow namely for two reasons:

1. Juice is only guy with 0 points so far. If he loses tomorrow then mathematically he wouldn't be eliminated yet, but for him to stay alive Omega would have to lose all his remaining matches. Yes, we all know that Juice ain't winning, but I doubt that NJPW wants to book it that way and eliminate their USA champ from the running before we even get to the second half of the G1.

 2. It happened last year so nobody is really expecting for it to happen again, but Omega has obvious history with USA title and them maybe doing champ vs champ for last Destruction show (or maybe for USA show if Juice/Tama ain't happening or if it is happening in Japan) could make some sense and elevate USA title/Juice further.

The early booking of Juice has been depressing so far. I get him dropping falls to Tama and Ibushi, but Naito felt like it should've been him getting his win back after losing the IC title match last year.

[Jenalysis]

I kinda want to see Juice go 0-9, get the 9 US title shots, but win them all once his hand is healed.

 

 

[sevendaughters]

enjoyed DAY 8, no surprise as it was Block B. there is one mild spoiler here so don't read on if you're avoiding.

Yano-Goto: I think Yano has abandoned any pretence of trying to wrestle now. Slight but funny. **1/2

Naito-Tama: wrestled like a Cena B-PPV main event against a shitty heel, felt superior because the crowd were adamant that Naito should win. The way it played out felt like testament to both Naito's incredible charisma and Tama's work in getting this act over, however much I remain nonplussed by it. ***1/2

ZSJ-Ishii: a good match as ever between the pair, balanced between bruising and torquing, maybe not their best, but their chemistry makes for unusual and unique little matches. ***3/4

Omega-Juice: well-wrestled match with some good moves and believable psychology but the result felt telegraphed which stopped it leaping to the higher rungs of excellence. ***1/2

SANADA-Ibushi: both men tremendously over and given space to work a good main event and they delivered strongly. crowd were into everything and a great reaction to the finish. honestly feels like a major PPV headliner given the right pushes. ****1/4
 

[Beech27]

-I guess I'm obligated to say that Ibushi didn't really sell the leg at all, but I also wasn't bothered. Limb work shouldn't always work; in this case, it didn't, so Sanada had to meet Ibushi at his striking/high flying level, did so, and won. I loved the slow walk out to the center of the apron, in order to hit a low dropkick, though. Excellent trolling, given the expectations, and a big win that felt wholly deserved by the end. Ibushi with two losses, though... come on man. Meanwhile, Naito and Sanada are tied for second. 

-I liked the inversion of their US title match in Omega/Juice. This time, Kenny tried to play nice, and kinda got trounced early. It wasn't until he went after the hand that he really turned things around totally, and accidentally v-triggering it was a great moment. Went reversal/bomb exchanging a little quick for my taste, but I get it: that's where Kenny is best, and you want Juice to feel close, even when he comes up short.

-ZSJ and Ishii can't help but be good together; the opener was fun; the Tama complaints are what they are, at this point (good analysis). 

-Tomorrow looks... yeah.

[sevendaughters]

DAVE went 5 for Goto-Ishii.

[Pete]

9 hours ago, alstein said:

I kinda want to see Juice go 0-9, get the 9 US title shots, but win them all once his hand is healed.

Great point on his hand. That does give him something of an out, even if it didn't prevent him from winning the US title.

[Archibald]

Ibushi/Sanada was great. Had few issues like leg selling or Sanada trolling everyone with that low dropkick outside the ring. Which I guess is not the issue if he intended to troll us? Anyway, was fun match overall.

I don't know, maybe it is because I worked myself into believing that Juice will win or what, but I didn't feel their match. Felt to me like perfectly fine *** match that I won't remember tomorrow. To me by far weakest of their three matches.

Zack/Ishii was top stuff as always. If I'm not mistaken they are now 2-2 in their rivalry and I'm really looking forward to their next match.

Naito/Tama to me was probably best Tama's match this G1, mostly due to hot crowd and Naito's charisma in general. I also liked that expected interference sequence ended in basically a comedy spot with slowest Destino set-up ever, because Naito's balls are hurting really bad. And yeah, if interferences hadn't been ran into the ground by now then this likely would look even better. I think that if 5 years later someone for some reason is going to make "top Tama Tonga matches" list then this match will probably make it and will look very good when removed from the current context.

For some reason I found it funny that Goto just murdered Yano with his regular moves without them doing much if anything.

Next B block main event is Omega/Sanada. Omega needs to drop a match or two for Ibushi to remain in the game. Looking at whats left for Omega before Ibushi... for me Sanada and Zack stand out as potential winners. In theory also could be Ishii, but Ishii is Ishii and I'm grown to accept that big things usually don't happen for Ishii.

I'm also not sure how valid of an excuse is Juice's injured hand. Like I get it, but I don't feel it at all. For the most part he wrestles like he usually does and it doesn't come into play as much as in his match with White. I honestly don't understand this booking and why it made sense to eliminate him from the tournament after 4/9 matches. Whats worse he already lost to Omega, Naito and Ibushi so there are no "names" left that would make him look great if he won against them. Like, he likely is going to beat Sanada or Zack or Goto, but thats not really comparable to what he got last year.

Another booking thing that I don't entirely like here is Ibushi being 2-2, if Omega/Ibushi is main event of the last day (and there is no reason to believe that it isn't) he can't really lose more matches... which makes it a bit boring.

[Beech27]

1 hour ago, Archibald said:

In theory also could be Ishii, but Ishii is Ishii and I'm grown to accept that big things usually don't happen for Ishii.

I'm holding out hope for this. Ishii never got the title shot he earned by beating Okada, so him challenging would be both fresh and really satisfying. He and Omega also work really well together.

[Jiji]

The crowd was kind of terrible outside of the Naito match (which is always the case) and parts of the main event. They, rightfully, gave Juice zero fucking chance of winning his match and it's a testament to how uneven the booking has been so far in the tournament. Yeah, Omega handshaking and hesitating to go after the hand playing against him until he kicked it as a shortcut to gain control was nice storytelling but... the match was nothing much beyond that despite the false finish roll-up for Juice (the same he won the US title with) being a neat li'l wink. Way beneath what I expect out of them at this stage and depressingly disappointing. Juice hasn't been knocking it out of the park this tournament so far. My guess is he beats SANADA and SANADA loses to Naito to take him out of true contention. 

Speaking of disappointments, Ibushi losing a second match this early kind of kills the intrigue for me. He has to beat Naito and Omega now. They've kept Naito strong outside of that initial fumble against Kenny, so it's not beyond the realm of possibility for Ibushi to win that match and set-up a must-win against Kenneth on the last day but it does seem like one of those matches from the past few tournaments that Ibushi should be winning but doesn't and then he just kind of fades out of contention. Only thing from stopping me from giving up all hope is that final day main event. This match was great though. SANADA keeps impressing when given opportunities. I'd probably go 4.

I would also go 4 for Zack vs. Ishii. Much like in his matches with SANADA, ZSJ can do no wrong against Ishii and they've never had a match less than great. Ishii keeping up with Zack in the beginning was seriously shocking. Is there anything that guy can't do other than win a top title or tournament? He's the fucking man. I adored Zack's struggle to apply holds because of Ishii's legwork but it faded over time, as I guess it probably should in reality. My MOTN.

The rest was some stuff; nothing stood out one way or another, though I guess the tags felt extra mailed in. Naito selling the ball shot forever did pop me too. Block A is really struggling along here and tomorrow's show is a nightmare on paper when compared to G1s of the recent past. EVIL/Page could be good and Tanahashi vs. Makabe will probably deliver at least. At this stage in previous tournaments, I'm usually tired of seeing similarly structured matches. Last year's did a tremendous job of avoiding that and keeping things fresh and this year they are doing an admirable job even if the match quality is a few noticeable steps beneath last year. Cookie cutter match layouts aren't an issue, it's just Block A kind of sucks beyond the odd match here and there.

[Firebreaker Chip]

I really need Fire Pro to have Destino (Painful Groin Version) as a dlc move

[Archibald]

7 hours ago, Oyaji said:

The crowd was kind of terrible outside of the Naito match (which is always the case) and parts of the main event.

This is why I cringe a bit every time I see comments about how wrestler X is over in Japan because he got good reaction in Korakuen. Get to another town and things looks very differently.

 

7 hours ago, Oyaji said:

I adored Zack's struggle to apply holds because of Ishii's legwork but it faded over time, as I guess it probably should in reality.

Yeah, this is how I see Zack's matches with Sanada too. Sanada can keep up and annoy Zack for some time, he can even steal a win in 10 minutes, but if match goes longer then Zack is eventually going to win, like in their NJ Cup match.

[sevendaughters]

Hangman Page's theme just another example of how classical / cinematic music bears guitars in wrestling. 

[sevendaughters]

Day 9 instareaction

ELGIN-SUZUKI for a bit I wasn't into this as Elgin showed his limitations by repeatedly dropping the 50 year old Suzuki on his back (who rarely takes a flat back bump) but a nice bit of character work from Suzuki before a strike exchange brought me round. Can't explain it, he just did this facial expression that was like "oh come the fuck on Elgin". It got better from there even though it was never super good or anything. ***1/4

PAGE-EVIL a nice surprise as two midcarders full of potential bring out the best in each other. I now see what people see in Page, who sort of reminds me of Adam Cole and Tyler Black at times. Crowd got into this and they got extra time and used it well. Top tip for HANGMAN Page - don't do a throatcut gesture, do a hanging one mb? ****

FALE-WHITE turgid and anaemic brawl that was laid out predictably, worked in a listless fashion, and the heat was so low that I could hear the US commentary bleed into the Japanese. Nothing particular against these guys but it didn't work for me. Least favourite match so far. 1/4*

TANAHASHI-MAKABE seemed to go home early and Makabe seemed to nearly cripple Tanahashi twice (once on his powerslam on a running opponent, the other with the Spider German) though I assume he was okay. The match they did have was solid Tanahashi versus a bruiser stuff. ***

OKADA-YOSHI nice main event with Okada in his gold-trim trousers being mostly disdainful to his jobber stablemate. Think the Sitout Rainmaker that Yoshi kicked out of was a callback to the first Okada-Yoshi match post-excursion, when Okada hadn't quite nailed his finisher and people shat on it a bit. Worked at 80% intensity despite what they're trying to sell with all the fighting spirit yelling, but even so that is good. ***3/4

[Jenalysis]

I liked White-Fale.  Told a good story in white being hoisted by his own dickishness and not having any friends, yet laughing while knowing he was about to get screwed over.  Also liked Jay bringing out his inner Suzuki-Gun with use of young lions as weapons.   I can forgive the lack of heat, it was heel-heel and the fans wanted to see them both get theirs.

Jay continues to impress me even if Page is the real breakout star.

 

[Beech27]

-Return of the shitty sitout rainmaker! God, what a callback. I think I get what this Okada thing is doing, now: He lost his first two matches because of bullshit and general malaise, and then won against weaker opponents despite himself; this was either his new beginning--from which he'll build towards Tanahashi, who has always been the boulder to his Sisyphus, the test he can't really pass no matter how much he succeeds--or a deliberate red herring. We saw Okada dominate Tana in their last match, and know that their bests are nowhere close these days--but can Okada be anywhere close to his best, these days? (I still think he loses, and the comeback arc takes a little longer, but we'll see.)

-I guess that kinda quashes the White-to-OGBC assumptions, yeah? And though the match wasn't much, I enjoyed White owning the price of his dickishness.

-Honestly, I wish Page's music leaned even more hick. Give him something that uses "holler" as a goddamn place name. Anyway, Man in Black Cowboy versus Fancy Goth is extremely what I want in wrestling, and this was good. 

[EVA]

I'm rushing to catch up, so I haven't watched last night's show yet.

And, boy, am I not looking forward to it.  A Block nights are just brutal to get through.  Between that block hosting most of the dregs of the tournament, the endless fuckery of Switchblade and OG matches, and Okada doing god knows what, the best you can hope for is that Tanahashi feels like working on any given night.  That he didn't against Hangman Page was one of my biggest disappointments of the tournament so far.

I've taken on kind of a fool's errand in attempting to keep track of my own personal rankings of every match in the tournament.  So far Ishii is in 3 of the my Top 5.  G1 IS ISHII SEASON.

[Pete]

On 7/26/2018 at 4:26 PM, Oyaji said:

The crowd was kind of terrible outside of the Naito match (which is always the case) and parts of the main event. They, rightfully, gave Juice zero fucking chance of winning his match and it's a testament to how uneven the booking has been so far in the tournament. Yeah, Omega handshaking and hesitating to go after the hand playing against him until he kicked it as a shortcut to gain control was nice storytelling but... the match was nothing much beyond that despite the false finish roll-up for Juice (the same he won the US title with) being a neat li'l wink. Way beneath what I expect out of them at this stage and depressingly disappointing. Juice hasn't been knocking it out of the park this tournament so far. My guess is he beats SANADA and SANADA loses to Naito to take him out of true contention. 

It isn't like Juice is working with a broken limb or anything.

[Jiji]

He had one of the best matches of the year with the same broken hand. 

[EVA]

I didn't love Omega/Juice, but I'd honestly put most of the onus on Omega.

They started out with a good story of Omega being too pure to go after the hand and Juice, with his back up against the wall in the standings, coming out on fire and really dominating the champ for a while.  The problem started when Kenny finally gave in and kicked Juice's hand.  That should've been the turning point of the match, with Kenny showing a champion's killer instinct by really going after the weakness.  Not only would it have built some sympathy for Juice that would've helped this particular match, but it also would've continued telling the story of what is separating Juice from the true top guys in the company.

But instead Omega just kinda goes on with his Best Bout Routine, only occasionally acknowledging the hand when it presents itself for a neat spot (the blocked V-Trigger that hurts Juice).  As a result, the match just has no heat, and while I like the *idea* of the finish (Juice's G1 frustration boiling over and getting the best of him, leaving himself open for a killshot), it didn't really feel earned because the rest of the match was such a heatless back-and-forth

For that ending to work, it really needed to feel like Juice knew he had just missed his best shot at winning, but it didn't because Juice was right there with him all the way.

[Jiji]

13 hours ago, Beech27 said:

-Return of the shitty sitout rainmaker! God, what a callback. I think I get what this Okada thing is doing, now: He lost his first two matches because of bullshit and general malaise, and then won against weaker opponents despite himself; this was either his new beginning--from which he'll build towards Tanahashi, who has always been the boulder to his Sisyphus, the test he can't really pass no matter how much he succeeds--or a deliberate red herring. We saw Okada dominate Tana in their last match, and know that their bests are nowhere close these days--but can Okada be anywhere close to his best, these days? (I still think he loses, and the comeback arc takes a little longer, but we'll see.)

Smiling dickhead weirdo Okada kind of disappeared today and for my money this was his first really good performance since Dominion. So, I'm with you 100% on the above timeline. The first half of the match is probably the closest we'll see Okada come to embody Genichiro Tenryu's surliness and disinterest. It was so well executed. The way he stared at shithead YOSHI-HASHI with such disdain or how hard he threw those chairs at him in the crowd... It was so far removed from smiling weirdo and I loved it. I feel like he may have been too generous with how much he gave YH but it was really impressive how they milked the butterfly lock and got the fans to buy in at least partially. I'm keen on finding out what Okada had to say in his post-match interview backstage. One thing I'll say I really adore about Okada and his connection with the fans (or lack thereof) is that they are always eager to cheer on the underdog against him. They like him and respect him but they don't love him like they love Tanahashi or think he's in the same ballpark as Naito regarding having that badass cool factor. It makes his matches so entertaining to see how they react to him and his opponent and because he's so dominant, it adds a necessary level of excitement when the fans really put their weight behind the usually hopeless underdog. He's done it with Page and YH so far.

EVIL/Page was very good too. I'll take two good matches from an A block show I guess. Makabe/Tanahashi tried but it just wasn't much. Maybe I'm being too hard on this year's tournament comparing it to last year's iteration, as when I really think back to those godly 5 star bitches they almost all came at the end. Suzuki/Okada, EVIL/Okada, and the two block deciders in Ryogoku were all in the home stretch. We have probably the best matches on paper outside of Naito/Omega still to come this year. Ibushi/Omega, Tanahashi/Okada, EVIL AND Suzuki vs. Okada (yay!), Ibushi vs. Naito, SANADA vs. Naito, Omega vs. Ishii, Ibushi vs. Ishii tomorrow(!!! They were not holding anything back in today's tag), EVIL vs. Suzuki, yada yada yada; I could go on. We've already had some really great matches so far and the best is yet to come. I'll lighten up on the tournament with that in mind. I'm thinking SANADA gets another big win before dropping some falls, either Omega tomorrow or Naito could be his last big scalp. Both need to lose a match to keep things interesting on that last day and he seems like the perfect defend the briefcase/IWGP title challenger in late September or October. He's already got the win over Kota so if Beech and I get our wish and Ibushi wins, that base is covered. He and EVIL are having super strong tournaments kayfabe-wise and I'm happy to see that. They need to start breaking out as top singles guys before they get the stench of mediocrity on them and have to settle for the tag titles.

@EVA I agree with your take on the problems with Juice/Omega. Look, I love Kenny to bits but he has his flaws. It's so frustrating to see him pay so much attention to details in the stories he tells with Okada over two years and then see him go through the motions to the point he far too often lacks nuanced storytelling in his less important matches. Like saying he struggles with narrative is way too much of a broad stroke because he shows he can do it when it really matters but I'd like to see him take a more varied approach to different matches over, as you said, settling into his Best Bout routine. He used Juice's hand to gain the advantage and once again at the end but that was it and while he so often goes completely hammy with his facial reactions there wasn't a whole lot of any of that here. He was subdued. Finding a nice middle ground with his facial reactions and more consistency in terms of attention to detail in smaller matches are the two things I'd love Omega to shore up over the next little bit but I'm concerned he's past the point of changing his game and probably brushes off constructive criticism at this point (or as Beech put it, he's at the Stephen King level). 

Btw, if you don't watch the post-match promos they post on World and YouTube, seek out Juice's from after the Omega match. One of his best and he has a library of great ones. I am only so hard on his performances thus far in the G1 because I know he's capable of more and I want to see him succeed so badly. I hated the idea of CJ Parker in New Japan initially but he's grown so fucking much in the past three years and he's still improving. For Juice's underdog, lovable loser story this G1, the hand should be a benefit not a detriment to his matches. I enjoy the fact he's expressing his frustrating with that role and even went so far as saying he'd forfeit the title if he goes 0-9. That one big win should be huge. He's got Yano tomorrow. His last opponent is Goto, who's protected and as NEVER champ probably won't lose to Juice, so I don't see them drawing it out that long.

[Pete]

So has any G1 competitor actually dropped a fall in one of these tag matches since they went to that format?

[MoeCristyV.1.6]

Ishii vs Ibushi!

THAT WAS AWESOME!

Watch it! NOW!