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NJPW G1 Climax 30.


The Natural

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I watched this live this morning (!!!) but tapped out right as the final started. I was in the chat too, Ryan showed up for a bit. 

The young boy match was really good! The only thing they needed to drop was the strike exchange which was eye-rolling. If it's become a serious problem with the main events then you don't need it in the first match on a card, or at all really. (This goes for all of puro. Cut it out.)

Tana/ZSJ was of course MOTN. The older he gets the more I like Tanahashi. Zack is a wizard. 

Man is Juicey Boy goofing it up, that Blues Brothers ensemble was something else. I think I've finally got Goto figured out: he belongs in '90s AJPW or '00s NOAH. Let that roll around in your head awhile. 

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I also really enjoyed Sabre vs. Tanahashi. Tanahashi rubbing some salt on the wound there by holding down Sabre with the pinning combination was interesting. Sort of a rare instance of poor sportsmanship by Tanahashi, but it was meant to symbolize the heat between the two. I thought it was a nice touch.

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Quote

The full card has been revealed for the final night of G1 Climax 30, with Kota Ibushi and SNADA headlining with all the glory at stake. 

I'll probably be calling him SNADA from now on. 

Quote

2nd Match: Los Ingobernables De Japon (Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi) vs Suzuki-Gun (Minoru Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)

Oooo, crazy juniors vs. Suzuki and (somehow) Kanemaru? Sign me up! 

Somebody is gonna have to tell me who Douki, Master Wato, and Great-O-Khan are because I haven't the slightest. 

Juice looks like an alternate world Shawn Michaels at a Pride rally in his photo btw

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17 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said:

 

Somebody is gonna have to tell me who Douki, Master Wato, and Great-O-Khan are because I haven't the slightest. 

 

Douki is a Toryumon Gym trainee who worked for Kaientai Dojo,  Wato and O-Khan are both young lions returning from excursion (Mexico and Rev Pro, respectively) with (crappy) new gimmicks, 

Is his name not SNADA?

Rumours that O-Khan and Douki will team together as Okie-Dokie are completely unfounded. They were started by a wrestling fan from Cnada who likes to think he is funny. 

Edited by gordi
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18 minutes ago, gordi said:

Douki is a Toryumon Gym trainee who worked for Kaientai Dojo,  Wato and O-Khan are both young lions returning from excursion (Mexico and Rev Pro, respectively) with (crappy) new gimmicks, 

Yes, the Master Wato gimmick sucks, and likely a career hinderer at a minimum. However, it's only one night in for New Japan for O-Khan (and I'll admit to not seeing Oka/O-Khan in Rev Pro), but I think his new look is awesome and he's in a far better position on his return from excursion compared to Wato. He had a bad ass look on Friday, and is a in a great spot as Ospreay's heater in his new faction.

Yes, The B block final night fell short of the A Block finals, but super happy to see Sanada win (I'm in the tank for LIJ as much as Milano, and Sanada has been a personal fave now for a couple of years). Hard to argue that his execution of Skull End is a bit loose, but the rest of his moves look real crisp, and when he's on, he finds the right contrast between the high spots and slowly telling the story in his matches. It is wise to switch his finisher to the moonsault, and like many American fans who initially started watching wrestling in the late 80's or early 90's, my first forays into Japanese wrestling were Liger and Muta. Therefore, I will always have a soft spot for one of Muta's main proteges. Also, I will not stand for badmouthing the Paradise Lock. It's one of the best taunt moves in wrestling, and especially humiliating for arrogant heels. I reluctantly agree that Ibushi likely wins tomorrow and maybe even at Wrestle Kingdom (though I'd hate for Naito to have another fairly short reign, as I want him to at least have a few successful defenses), but I'm pulling for Sanada and cheering for an all LIJ main event at Wrestle Kingdom.

Edited by Big Z
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59 minutes ago, Big Z said:

... it's only one night in for New Japan for O-Khan (and I'll admit to not seeing Oka/O-Khan in Rev Pro), but I think his new look is awesome and he's in a far better position on his return from excursion compared to Wato. He had a bad ass look on Friday, and is a in a great spot as Ospreay's heater in his new faction.

 

Yeah, you're right about that. It seems obvious to me that he's going for a Killer Khan/Kin Corn Karn gimmick, and I'd prefer a guy who is 6'5" and 300 pounds in that role, but Oka is a legit tough guy and a true heavyweight, at least. A 2020 version of Kin Corn Karn could be just awful unless he does it just right. If he does manage to nail it, it could be amazing. 

Either way, we'll know a little more in just a few hours!

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Edited by gordi
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1 hour ago, gordi said:

Final show starts in an hour and a half. 

It's almost gonna be weird to see tags and 8-mans again, after watching so many NJ singles matches recently. 

I've enjoyed the format forced upon NJPW by the coronavirus crisis. All A Block show, All B Block show with a Young Lions match opener.

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2012 introduced the NJPW G1 Climax winner having to defend the Wrestle Kingdom IWGP Heavyweight Championship contract. Nobody has lost it in that time, needs to happen at some point to show it can. Since 2012 only one G1 Climax winner has gone on to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom, Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom 13 in January 2019.

Edited by The Natural
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G1 Climax 30 Final *SPOILER WARNING*

Spoiler

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Kota Ibushi beats SANADA in G1 Climax 30 Finals. Right result that. Ibushi's the first back to back winner since Hiroyoshi Tenzan (2003-2004). I do believe that Kota Ibushi would have won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship from Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 14 if it wasn't Double Gold unifying the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championship. It was Tetsuya Naito's time. I'm predicting Ibushi wins at Wrestle Kingdom 15.

 

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It's almost a relief that the G1 is over. I enjoyed the hell out of that but I think one more week might have burned me out. Not sure what I'll do with my extra free time next week. Been a pleasure watching and discussing with all y'all.

Personally, I think I'll mostly stick to AEW between now and WK, but who knows - maybe the combined BOSJ and Tag Tournament will drag me back in.

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Just finished the final show. It was REALLY good. The first three tags were super fun. After 108 singles matches in a row (90 tournament matches; 18 young lion matches), multi-man matches felt like a novelty! 

Question: anyone know what Tanahashi was saying to KENTA after their tag match? He seemed to be teasing him about his briefcase . . . or maybe something more was happening.

Not a fan of the two tag matches before the main event. I really wanted more aggressiveness from Okada. It started promising, but it was strange that the most impressive performer in the match wasn't even involved in the big angle on Night 17.

More Naito/EVIL? Meh.

Okay. So I was NOT looking forward to the main event, but it was GREAT. These guys took their time, didn't sprint through anything, and the match was laid out into really distinct and logical chapters/segments. The selling was good; there were some neat nostalgic spots. The effects of the LEG KICK match factored in. Add in the CRAZIEST near fall of the tournament (which was itself a callback) and a hot crowd? Overachieved (for me). A few slip ups, but SANADA and Ibushi handled them like pros.

After that, I might be something of an Ibushi fan! Really liked his performance. SANADA also looked great here.

Edited by doctorhbomb
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Just wanted to pop in and say how much I loved Ishii getting to win the A Block final night main event.  He has been the G1 MVP for like 5 years running, but given his age and standing in the company, I feel like this was about as close as he’ll ever get to making the finals or winning.  Great moment for him.

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