NJPW G1 Climax Day 3 07/21/2017

Day 3 of G1 and the card looks stacked with Zack Sabre Jr vs Kota Ibushi and Naito vs YOSHI-HASHI. Looks like it could be the best show yet.

Yuji Nagata vs Hirooki Goto

Now I said earlier that Nagata can pull out a good match still when called upon and god damn was this one of them. Him and Goto brutalized each other and it was a treat. If you are a fan of the art of Strong Style then you’ll love this. Just stiff kicks and all that jazz. Goto won and another loss for Nagata doesn’t have the forecast for his last G1 looking good.

Match Rating: ****

Togi Makabe vs Tomohiro Ishii

This was the same as the last just two dudes going out there and killing each other ahh how nice it is. I loved the spot where Makabe would usually go for his Spider German and Ishii battled out but Togi hit a Spider Belly to Belly which was sick. Two veterans just going out there and showing they can still hang I mean Ishii isn’t as old as Makabe but still a veteran on the roster. Ishii wins in another great match.

Match Rating: ***3/4

Kota Ibushi vs Zack Sabre Jr.

This was highly anticipated by not only me but by a lot of NJPW fans. This what people thought we’d see in the CWC but here we have it in the most prestigious wrestling tournament today. The story was basic, ZSJ’s stinging submissions and Kota’s lethal strikes. Sabre was hesitant to get close to Ibushi as he was afraid of the kicks but when he locked one on Kota was in trouble. For two people who haven’t stepped in the ring before to my knowledge they had amazing chemistry. Such slick counters and transitions I can’t even describe. Ibushi wins in a phenomenal match, just go watch this match, it is a beauty.

Match Rating: ****1/2

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Bad Luck Fale

Eh it’s another Fale match, boo. Hey! this was actually decent that it wasn’t worthless. Nice brawling outside and solid David vs Goliath story. Tanahashi wins by count out to show that he couldn’t really overcome the monster so Fale looks strong in defeat.

Match Rating: ***

YOSHI-HASHI vs Tetsuya Naito

I was excited for this because of course Naito is great I don’t need to tell you that but HASHI is really underrated and this G1 will be his chance to shine against top tier talent. This was a slower build compared to the other matches but I dug it. HASHI put up a hard fight with it taking two Destinos to put him away.

Match Rating: ***3/4