Jordan’s NJPW G1 Climax 2017 Day 6 Review

​NJPW G1 Climax 2017 Day 6 Review

Togi Makabe and Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Kota Ibushi and Shota Umnio

My Thoughts: This was a a perfectly decent opening match. Umino got some shine and Ibushi made this exciting when he was involved. Makabe’s actually been having a pretty good tournament so I’m actually excited for Ibushi vs. Makabe. This wasn’t the best opener but it wasn’t a bad one either.

Rating: **1/4

Tomoyuki Oka and Katsuya Kitamura vs. Tomohiro Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI

My Thoughts: This was a fine match overall. Oka held his own in there especially with Ishii, and Kitamura did okay. This wasn’t anything spectacular but it gave the young lions a chance to shine and it gave a nice win to Ishii and HASHI. No real complaints here, nothing bad but not must-see.

Rating: **1/2

Yuji Nagata and Hirai Kawato vs. Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi

My Thoughts: This was a solid little tag match here. Kawato continues to be my favorite of the young lions right now. He worked really hard and put forth a great effort and even meshed well as a tag partner with Nagata. I’m very excited for Naito/Nagata. Their match in last years G1 was great.

Rating: ***

Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi, and El Desperado vs. Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takashi, and Chase Owens

My Thoughts: I enjoyed this match. Each man did their part and Taichi kept his bullshit out of this. Even though they didn’t catch very well on the broadcast, I liked Yujiro blocking Taichi’s mic stand with his cane (which I believe he broke). This was a very interesting dynamic but they performed very well and put on a cohesive match.

Rating: ***

Hiroshi Tanahasi and David Finlay vs. Hirooki Goto and Jado

My Thoughts: The downside of watching these undercard matches every show is that I have to see Jado wrestle. It’s the same shit every day, he hits the same spots and the crowd is into it every time. He’s like Yano but ridiculously boring. This was perfectly average at best, nothing gut-wrenchingly awful but I didn’t particularly enjoy this. Also Finlay, the Stunner’s gotta go my dude. It’s not a good finish for you.

Rating: **

Satoshi Kojima vs. Michael Elgin in a B Block G1 Climax Tournament Match

My Thoughts: This was a very good match! The build was nice, it started out at a nice, more relaxed pace and I liked Elgin mocking Kojima, and the crowd seemed to like it as well. Then after the Powerbomb on the apron this match really kicked into gear and it was absolutely awesome! These men worked their asses off and Kojima once again put in a great losing effort, but I hope both him and Nagata start racking up a few wins really soon. Elgin needed that win though after his losses against Okada and Tama Tonga.

Rating: ***3/4

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

My Thoughts: This was a pretty solid match overall. Started with a little crowd brawling, EVIL working in more of the face role was cool and LIJ really do work as bad guy faces, the crowd eats all of their acts up. They’re intended to be heels but it’s kinda hard when the crowd fucking loves them. This was competitive and the finishing sequence was brilliant. I’m glad EVIL got the win here as well.

Rating: ***

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

My Thoughts: This felt lethargic to me at points and I couldn’t get invested into it. It was just a lot of Suzuki beating up Juice and locking him in submissions which is okay in concept, but for me, the viewer, it was somewhat boring. This wasn’t a bad match by any stretch, it was just fine, but not a great match. I just wasn’t into this.

Rating: **3/4

Toru Yano vs. Kenny Omega in a B Block G1 Climax Tournament Match

My Thoughts: This was fucking garbage. I get some people like these kind of matches but I don’t see the appeal. I’m a funloving guy, I laugh a lot but I watch wrestling for the most part for fun, awesome wrestling matches. That is not what I get when I watch a Toru Yano match. It’s the same bullshit every fucking time and I’m sick of watching it. How do these fans not get fucking tired of his schtick? He exposes some turnbuckles, tries to use weapons, and is just a total annoyance. This match had a DVD filled with powder, every turnbuckle get exposed, both wrestlers getting their legs taped together, and felt like it when on for far too long. Not to mention, Omega got a fucking count-out win over Yano? You mean to tell me Kenny FUCKING Omega couldn’t beat this comedy goon clean? Fuck everything about this. If you haven’t seen this show yet, spare yourself and don’t watch this.

Rating: DUD

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

My Thoughts: I really liked this match! SANADA performed so well here and is continuing to impress as he has always been good but he’s always getting better. The pacing was great, there were some nice near falls and reversals. This just felt like a main event, like I could’ve bought into this as a title match if it had been one, that’s how well each man performed. Also, the finishing stretch to this match was entertaining as hell. Okada is a wrestling god.

Rating: ****

Overall Thoughts: I thought Day 5 was bad? What the fuck was I thinking? THIS show was pretty bad. The undercard was overall pretty decent with nothing must-see. The main card tournament matches were up and down. We started with a really good match, followed by a solid match, followed by an okay match, followed by a total shit match, and ending with a great match. Only 2 matches are really worth the watch on this entire card and one of the matches on this card is a STRONG candidate for worst match of the year. I love you New Japan, I’m sorry I gotta give you a bad review.

Overall Rating: 5/10