Jordan’s NJPW G1 Climax 2017 Day 4 Review

NJPW G1 Climax 2017 Day 4 Review

So I started this the day of the show, watched all of the G1 matches, then left for the Royals game and didn’t get it up yet, then I got home and edited some things on my computer and then the Notes app crashed and I lost the whole thing. I had to start over but my opinions are the same.

Togi Makabe, Kota Ibushi, and David Finlay vs. Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, and Gedo

My Thoughts: I’ve gotta say, you all should watch these opening matches. I get why people only wanna watch the tournament matches, but these opening matches have been killer. Hell, the whole undercard has been pretty fun and created some really cool dynamics. This was a very entertaining opening match. The opening shit between Ishii and Ibushi was a great preview for their match. Goto and Makabe did some solid stuff. It was also nice to see Finlay get the win for his team, but he should change his finish. I don’t like the Stunner for him.

Rating: ***1/4

Zack Sabre Jr. and El Desperado vs. YOSHI-HASHI and Jado

My Thoughts: This was a fine, albeit kind of flat match. Jado is not a desireable wrestler to watch in 2017 (has he ever been desireable to see?). This just felt pretty boring to me, it felt like it never got going and it never pulled me in. I was just praising the undercards on these shows and then we get this. It wasn’t bad, but it was far from good.

Rating: **1/4

Yuji Nagata and Tomuyoki Oka vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuya Kitmura

My Thoughts: This was okay. Kitamura and Oka performed decently but they’re still super young in their careers and still green. Yuji and Tana had some decent interactions but I’m hoping for a better match on Day 5 and I think they’re very capable of doing that. The Young Lions slowed this down a bit which drew me out of it, but it wasn’t bad.

Rating: **1/4

Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi, and Chase Owens vs. Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi, and BUSHI

My Thoughts: This was a pretty fun match overall, the dynamic of LIJ vs. Bullet Club was cool. Chase Owens was a star performer here as he had good interactions with both Hiromu and Naito. Fale killing Darryl was a great touch and the crowd lost their shit. Naito vs. Fale won’t be that great but it could potentially be decent.

Rating: ***

Toru Yano vs. Satoshi Kojima in a B Block G1 Climax Tournament Match

My Thoughts: This wasn’t necessarily a BAD match, everything went smoothly, it just went on for far too long, especially considering the finish. They could’ve down they same finish in 2 minutes (the Yano G1 Special) instead of almost 10 minutes. This was everything you’d expect out of a Yano match for what felt like a ridiculous amount of time. Kojima put in a good effort but Yano did what Yano does, ruin matches.

Rating: *

EVIL vs. Juice Robinson in a B Block G1 Climax Tournament Match

My Thoughts: This was a really great match! It was hard-hitting, competitive, they had an invested crowd, and they both killed it. The counter sequence in the closing stretch was ridiculously fun and I really appreciated it. It’s nice to have finishers countered instead of them constantly being kicked out of. I think that adds to the drama of a match rather than a finisher kickout. These two really varied up their offense here and made the action unpredictable and entertaining. Both of these guys are having killer tournaments so far!

Rating: ****

SANADA vs. Minoru Suzuki in a B Block G1 Climax Tournament Match

My Thoughts: I really liked this match when there wasn’t any bullshit going on. I was afraid of Suzuki and Sabre’s additions to the G1 because yes, I knew they’d have great matches however I was worried that those great matches would get ruined by constant Suzuki-Gun interference and shit, and that hurt this match as Desperado got involved a lot in the middle. I did really enjoy the match after that as well as the closing stretch. These two still impressed and put on a very good match despite the interference. I’d love to see what they could do in a little longer, no bullshit match.

Rating: ***1/2

Kenny Omega vs. Tama Tonga in a B Block G1 Climax Tournament Match

My Thoughts: This felt kind of bland to me. Don’t get me wrong, the action was good, the story was sound, but I didn’t feel the drama or intensity here. Tama Tonga is decent but he tends to suck the life out of matches for me. It’s not a personal attack on him, he just somehow always does that. This wasn’t even a bad match, it was a servicable one, but for the story they were trying to tell it just didn’t do anything for me. Also, all the V-Triggers at the end annoyed me.

Rating: **3/4

Michael Elgin vs. Kazuchika Okada in a B Block G1 Climax Tournament Match

My Thoughts: This was an unbelievable match. I was really anticipating this match and by god, it didn’t dissapoint. The build was great, the near falls were incredible, there were some great counters, and they didn’t go too far outside of their comfort zones. It was a clean, amazing match. The sitout crucifix powerbomb near fall almost gave me a heart attack. This was my favorite match of the tournament thus far.

Rating: ****3/4

Overall Thoughts: Overall, this was the weakest of the G1 shows thus far even though it had the amazing main event. It wasn’t a bad show, just the weakest of the days so far. The undercard only featured one match worth watching and only 2/5 G1 matches are REALLY worth your time.

Overall Rating: 6/10