Well a combined article is what will have to suffice here! The 9-5 was too busy for me to be able to sneak in any extracurricular observations, so I figured let’s just combine the days!

Hopefully combined days doesn’t happen too often, but given Japan’s propensity for weekday shows, I’m at the mercy of my workload. It does have to noted though, that A Block will be 1 match shorter since Naito is officially out, so all of his remaining matches are forfeit losses, so sort of a BYE for his opponent.

All in all, do we see Shingo get a measure of revenge for Naito? Which Bullet Club member will get their first win between Chase and Tama? Can Tanahashi bounce back?

Let’s get to this longer than usual article!

Ratings:

• Tanga Loa vs Yuji Nagata: Loa wins via Ape Shit @15:35 – ** ½
• A Block: Toru Yano vs Great-O-Khan: O-Khan wins via Eliminator @11:30 – **
• A Block: KENTA vs Yujiro Takahashi: KENTA wins via Game Over @15:48 – *** ½
• A Block: Kota Ibushi vs Tomohiro Ishii: Ibushi wins via Kamigoye @ 17:42- ****
• A Block: Shingo Takagi vs Zack Sabre Jr: ZSJ wins via Triangle Armbar @27:17 – **** ½
• B Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Hirooki Goto: Tanahashi wins via Inside Cradle @14:10 – *** ¼
• B Block: Tama Tonga vs Chase Owens: Tama wins via Gun Stun @12:59 – *** ¼
• B Block: YOSHI-HASHI vs Jeff Cobb: Jeff Cobb wins via Tour of the Islands @13:21 – ** ¾
• B Block: Taichi vs SANADA: Taichi wins via Black Mephisto @25:15 – **** ½
• B Block: EVIL vs Kazuchika Okada: Okada wins via Rainmaker @21:46 – **

Results:

Day 3 – A Block

Tanga Loa vs Yuji Nagata

Since Loa is the first recipient of the Naito pass, NJPW officials decided to still give him a singles match against an unofficial competitor. So Blue Justice shows up to make sure that Loa doesn’t get a legit BYE because of the unfortunate early injury. Should be interesting to see if any of the G1 competitors lose to their fill in match.

Nagata keeps Loa grounded, wrestle circles around the usual tag wrestler. Hammerlock take downs push Loa into the ropes and Nagata looks very superior early. Loa gets back up and utilizes his power advantage. This allows a few strikes back and forth, with Loa laying Nagata out. Then they head to the outside, Loa uses the Apron and stays on top of the veteran until you can see Nagata go into that irritated demeanor.

Nagata fires back a bit, Loa was left reeling and trying a few different submissions like an Anaconda Vice and OJK, but Nagata pulls out an old classic, Nagata Lock 1 (Reverse Figure Four). Loa has issues getting back up, Nagata rattles off some low Round Kicks, Loa fires up and Nagata chucks him with an Exploder. Loa manages to throat Nagata over the ropes, land a Spear and then a Power Slam, but only a 2 count.

PK from Nagata, Loa hits a Lariat and quickly goes to hit Ape Shit and pulls off the win.

Toru Yano vs Great-O-Khan

This match picks back up from the New Japan Cup where Yano tied him to the guardrail with his hair, and forced him to cut his braid and still lost the match. So Yano walks out already apologizing and O-Khan is irate. Yano manages to counter 1 Irish Whip and attempted to go after the current braid and tie that to the guardrail, but O-Khan fights back.

Yano is just getting throttled this entire time. O-Khan nearly has Yano unconscious with a Head and Arm choke, but Yano manages to keep it together enough to find the ropes. Yano manages to grab the ropes, O-Khan charges, Yano dodges, O-Khan bounces off the ropes and we have the Benny Hill moment. Yano thinks he has a shot with the spray bottle, but the small advantage gets reversed. O-Khan then goes for handcuffs he was hiding, and things get silly. Yano throws them into the crowd, then undoes the turnbuckle pad, the referee takes a bump, Dragon Screw Turnbuckle Whip and then Yano shows his own handcuffs! As Yano tries to cuff O-Khan, O-Khan Claw Holds Yano and slams him into the guardrail.

Yano has the keys, but O-Khan figured he would so he attacks him. Then Yano is almost counted out but takes the guardrail apart and slips the cuffs out to slide in the ring. Yano almost pulls the win out of nowhere with a Single Leg Cradle and then Backslide, but O-Khan won’t let it happen. Eliminator gets O-Khan a measure of revenge.

KENTA vs Yujiro Takahashi

Now it wasn’t really clear how these two would interact since it’s the first House of Torture vs Bullet Club match. KENTA threw up the Too Sweet, Yujiro ignored it, KENTA offered the Too Sweet to Pieter, but she rebuffed him. Yujiro then continued to attack while KENTA seemed to want to play nice. It did seem like Yujiro stalled for a second when KENTA was in the ropes and sounds like KENTA was pleading with him saying that they were friends.

Yujiro tried to ignore it, KENTA powdered, then we saw a switch flip in KENTA. Yujiro was dominating but decided to pander to Pieter and KENTA kicked him and hit a DDT. The referee was a 18, and KENTA decided to throw Yujiro in instead of just taking the Count Out victory. KENTA looked serious and was peppering in Forearms and kicks and slowly looks to be remembering his old self.

Game Over, Green Killer, Double Foot Stomp and finally a Go 2 Sleep attempt, but Yujiro has enough in the tank to counter! Yujiro is actually putting on a decent fight and KENTA is looking more serious than he has in a while. Yujiro hits the forearm and then the Olympic Slam for a near fall. Yujiro’s forearm strikes have been really gaining him traction, Miami Shine gets hit and KENTA kicks out.

Pimp Juice attempt, KENTA counter Jacknife Cradle, kick out, School Boy from the corner, kick out, rope run, Busaiku Knee! Go 2 Sleep attempt number two, Yujiro slips out and shoves KENTA into the referee, KENTA blocks the Low Blow, spins it into Game Over and Yujiro taps out!

Damn good match from Yujiro. Wow! Yujiro throws up the Too Sweet, KENTA actually does it. They hug, Pieter comes in and hugs KENTA. So maybe we get a return of Dating Game KENTA so he can cut a promo about Yujiro’s hair or something.

Kota Ibushi vs Tomohiro Ishii

Ishii and Kota start off striking but Ishii easily over takes him. Ishii is trying to motivate him as he chops his chest concave. Ishii finally motivates Ibushi to start catching him back. However we see no reaction from Ishii, just more talking crap. After a flurry of slap exchanges, Ibushi hits a middle kick and Ishii is dropped.

Ibushi bits the Frakensteiner to the outside, followed by Plancha, and Ishii gets thrown back in. Trying to hit the ropes for a lariat, Ishii gets caught by a Snap Powerslam and then a middle rope Moonsault gives Ibushi a 2 count. Ishii fires out of the corner, Ibushi hits a Dropkick, Ishii bounces off and then Pounces Ibushi into next week. Delayed Superplex from Ishii gives him a near fall.

Enzuigiri dodge, Moonsault dodge, Sliding Lariat dodge, low Gamengiri connects from Ibushi as both men try to recover. Ibushi looks slightly off on each move though. We see more stiff strikes and tough guy stuff after they both piss each other off with mocking strikes. Sitout Powerbomb from Ibushi seems to have given him control even if it only gives him the near fall. Ibushi tries the Kamigoye, Ishii blocks, so he gets kicked in the head, then fires up like a bottle rocket and an upward Headbutt knocks Ibushi down and…maybe out? No not quite.

Ibushi rotates out of the German Suplex, but eats a Lariat, then eats a Rope Run Lariat, but kicks out at 2. Vertical Drop Brainbuster attempt, Ibushi slips it, High Kick and Ibushi looks for Kamigoye. Kamigoye gets countered by a wild Lariat. V-Trigger from Ibushi, then he exposes the knee, Ishii Headbutts him in the stomach, tries the Brainbuster, countered, Kamigoye to the chest which drops Ishii down and then normal Kamigoye gives Ibushi an ugly win.

Shingo Takagi vs Zack Sabre Jr

Early one we see ZSJ looking for openings and hold transitions, as Shingo keeps up well. They have a whole dozen move or so counter, then they a submission trade, and it’s just really great to watch them both be very well balanced. Shingo even manages to drive ZSJ to the outside and do the one knee Naito pose to send a message.

ZSJ’s whole plan of attack was to go after the right arm. It started when he hit a Flying Octopus in the ropes and then just kept going after it. He did his leg twist Hammerlock, multiple Armbar variations and Octopus stretches variations that kept a focus on extending that right arm.

Shingo fought through it valiantly, hitting Noshigami, Made in Japan, power up and rolling out of many of the submissions. Shingo stubbornly still went for his power strikes, and he looked like he was going to catch ZSJ. But ZSJ stayed patient, he kept a Triangle Armbar in, Shingo tried his best to find a way to do something, but ZSJ extended the right arm further and Shingo was forced to tap out!

A Block:

1. Great-O-Khan/ 3-0 / 6 Points
2. Zack Sabre Jr/ 2-0 / 4 Points
3. Shingo Takagi/ 2-1 / 4 Points
4. Yujiro Takahashi/ 2-1 / 4 Points
5. Toru Yano/ 2-1 / 4 Points
6. KENTA/ 2-1/ 4 Points
7. Kota Ibushi/ 2-1/ 4 Points
8. Tomohiro Ishii/ 1-2/ 2 Points
9. Tanga Loa/ 1-1/ 2 Points
10. Tetsuya Naito/ 0-9/ 0 Points (Eliminated Injury)

Day 4 – B Block

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Hirooki Goto

Goto does not have much success against Tanahashi in his career, but when it comes to Goto, one never knows if he’ll choke or be impressive. The early goings are very slow as they feel out each other’s ability at the moment. Tanahashi gets the best of Goto on the ground and breaks out a Muta Lock, softening up most of the spots the Texas Cloverleaf attacks as well.

After a little bit of fight from Goto we get a nice spot of missed lariats, missed low dropkicks, dodges, Sentons and then Tanahashi manages to connect. The counters never really end, both head to the corners for different moves and the other either powers through or counters directly. Goto tries the callback to how he beat Tanahashi last year with Avalanche Ushigoroshi, but Tana counters it into a Sunset Bomb attempt, but Goto rains down elbows to break that up. The dismount is sloppy, but Shoten Kai attempt gets turned into a Twist and Shout. Tanahashi hits Aces High, tries to the finishing High Fly Flow, but Goto moves out of the way and comes through with a clubbing lariat.

Goto hits the Reverse GTR, goes for the legit GTR, Tanahashi wriggles out, Shoten Kai attempt gets blocked, GTR attempt again gets turned into an Inside Cradle, as Tanahashi picks up the win.

I hate this outcome. This is very reminiscent of the last few years when Tanahashi wins matches he shouldn’t with “veteran savvy” when the matches aren’t really Ace caliber.

Tama Tonga vs Chase Owens

Before the bell we get a nice Too Sweet, then we get the trading spot where the push each other into the ropes and get a clean break, but both clean break with Low Sweets. So they establish a different tone than KENTA and Yujiro had. Chase and Tama seem to really like each other, and then they start to pick up the pace and we get to real wrestling, not just playful gamesmanship.

Again surprisingly solid wrestling from two Bullet Club guys. The strikes are solid, Chase works on Tama’s neck between a Hip Toss Neckbreaker, Bobby Eaton style Neckbreaker and an STF. Hell Chase even pulled off a Tiger Driver. Tama might not have been expecting so much fight, but the Tongan Twist gives him a moment to breathe. Tama goes for the Gun Stun, but Chase shakes it off and hits a V Trigger, Tama keeps trying to fight through but he gets caught or countered each time. V Trigger, into Jewel Heist and Chase looks to have it locked up. Chase goes for the Package Pildriver, but Tama counters, flips through it and Gun Stun out of nowhere! Tama wins!

Also can’t be understated that Jado did not get involved in the match. He really did respect the fact they were on the same team. Tama helps Chase up, and they walk out together after a damn good match.

YOSHI-HASHI vs Jeff Cobb

There was a definite believability issue with this match. YOSHI-HASHI no matter what they try to do, never looks legitimate. YOSHI did have a few flashes of solid offense and a surprising Head and Leg Cradle as he picked the pace up.

YOSHI couldn’t gas Cobb, couldn’t really be quicker than him, and couldn’t be more clever. He falls victim to the Tour of the Islands, and no one is surprised.

Taichi vs SANADA

As per the tradition of their odd relationship, the match starts off a little slow and then leads into a peck popping contest. These two really do come off like good friends with different views on life but seem to have fun with each other. Which also kinda makes sense because a bunch of fans have their issues with both of these men not always giving 100%.

There’s a few quick interactions, but things really seem to pick up during one of their spots where SANADA counters the Kawada Kicks with a Low Drop kick, SANADA then ends up following to the corner for Taichi to reverse into a Gamengiri, Axe Bomber attempt but SANADA says no. Both of them have an All Japan reference spot with Tiger Driver, into Dangerous Backdrop into Tiger Suplex and both men are staggered and fall out of the ring. These two are really more similar than most fans realize.

Early on SANADA was working Taichi’s back and Taichi sold it great by having issues executing his offense. It was a great showing of calls back to King’s Road classic matches and wrestlers. All Japan came to the New Japan ring and put on a great match. SANADA likes to utilize a lot of Misawa offense even though he was trained by Muta and that plays well into the fact that Taichi was trained by Kawada. So we see a few spot callbacks to Kawada vs Misawa, simple things Taichi doesn’t really do like a Jumping Knee Strike.

If it weren’t for a couple exhaustion sloppy spots, this would’ve been the best match of the G1 so far. Taichi managing to avoid being stuck in the Skull End too long and always dodging the Moonsault gave him enough openings to go through a nice hold transition spot, Gedo Clutch almost wins him the match, Axe Bomber, Black Mephisto and our Holy Emperor is at the top of the block!

EVIL vs Kazuchika Okada

There were glimmers of something resembling a wrestling match, but we really need to petition New Japan to stop giving EVIL 20 minute or more matches if it’s just all of this interference/heel garbage. Yes I know he’s a heel, I’ve defended the concept of giving the fans in attendance someone to hate (and BOY do they), but enough is enough. Mix it up, stop with the same exact thing match after match.

At least Okada won, since the match was ruined after what was trending towards an okay match, then all of the Dick Togo involvement was back loaded. Red Shoes had a few bumps, chairs, numbers advantage stuff…ugh. NO MORE EVIL MAIN EVENTS!

B Block:

1. Taichi / 2-0 / 4 Points
2. Kazuchika Okada / 2-0 / 4 Points
3. Jeff Cobb / 2-0 / 4 Points
4. EVIL / 1-1 / 2 Points
5. SANADA / 1-1 / 2 Points
6. Tama Tonga / 1-1/ 2 Points
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi / 1-1/ 2 Points
8. Chase Owens / 0-2/ 0 Points
9. Hirooki Goto / 0-2/ 0 Points
10. YOSHI-HASHI / 0-2/ 0 Points

Overall Scores – Day 3: 8/10 – Day 4: 6.75/10

So let’s look at things, even if commentary wants to lie to you that B Block outperformed A Block, that’s half true. The first two days, B Block was a little better, but between Tanahashi having a sloppy match and Goto gets to start behind the 8 ball for no reason and EVIL existing in the main event…is awful. Plus YOSHI-HASHI doing the YOSHI-HASHI thing and getting close but failing, doesn’t really help the show. Day 4 had the Bullet Club face off with Tama and Chase; and SANADA versus Taichi as the only things worth watching.

All that said, this is an interesting situation especially since A Block is sort of a day ahead. Shingo does need challengers leading to Wrestle Kingdom even if he were to win the G1, so I anticipate 1 more loss or at least a Draw. But Shingo is still my choice to win the whole thing.

• A Block: Shingo Takagi
• B Block: Jeff Cobb
• Winner: Shingo Takagi